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Description
Well this only took 8 freaking months to complete. Yay depression. The reason this took so long is because of: Depression, Lack of Motivation, Artblock, Indecisiveness and stress. The indecisiveness Includes changes to her outfit and weapons, what I could change and to what. I had an Idea for a modular weapon (Listed under her weapon), but I didn't want to replace her current weapon. Having both meant she would have too many weapons, so after soooo long of brainstorming, I compromised. The same with her outfit, what could I change that made her look better, but have the same overall esthetic. It felt like my head was completely empty of ideas. But, I pulled through.
As for the depression, don't worry. I have seen a doctor, talked to a therapist, gotten the right medication, and I am currently doing much better than I did before. Hope I didn't bum you out too much. Another quick thing, Iv added who I think would voice each character the best. Check out the other girls to find out, under "Personality".
As always, I hope you like Taliyah's new design, the old one can be found here: www.deviantart.com/xsanaty/art…

Character Profile:
Name: Taliyah Primrose (Real Name: Valiantina Victoria de Mana)
Name Explanation: Taliyah stems from the Greek word "Thallein" which means "To flourish / Blooming". Primrose is the name of a flower that can be yellow.
Nickname: Tali, Angel of Blades, Angel
Age: 17
Birthday: October 3rd
Gender: Female
Race: Human
Emblem: Wasp
Affiliation: Beacon Academy / Ghosts of the Desert (Former)
Team name: SWET
Physical appearance:
Height: 186cm (6’1”)
Weight: 78kg (172lbs)
Eye Color: Light blue
Hairstyle: Short
Hair Color: Light blue
Complexion: Sun tanned
Body Type: Athletic, Hourglass
Cup size: D
Other: Her emblem tattooed on her arm
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Character Personality:
Taliyah is a fun-loving, sassy, adventurous tomboy who thrives when participating in high adrenaline activities such as fighting Grimm, combat training or riding her dirt bike. She comes off as a cocky, carefree girl who shows little-to-no respect for her opponent, often playing around and coming with the occasional quip in combat. She is quite the daredevil often doing things just for the hell of it, even if there is a chance of her getting herself hurt in the process. While she doesn’t see it herself, she sometimes comes off as arrogant, thinking that because of her time with the ghosts, her combat abilities are superior to her fellow huntsmen. Although it’s not something she brags about, as she lets her actions speak for themselves. She can even admit she underestimated her opponent, if she is on the losing end of a fight.
Outside of combat, she becomes more of a laid-back, relaxed person, just marching to the beat of her own drum. Those who get to know her, would describe her as a joking, playful and encouraging person, always keeping the spirits of those around her high. She doesn’t seem to respect authority figures however, such as police, military, professional huntsmen, but does at least respect her teachers at the academy, by attending and listening to their lessons. When it comes to school work that isn’t related to combat training, she would rather spend her time with her bike. She is overly cautious about what she says to others, often just brushing off questions about her past or trying to change the subject. With people from Atlas, such as Weiss or even Erica, she rarely speaks with them unless spoken too and tries to limit her interactions with them, in case they somehow recognize who she really is.
This is because of her past. She tries to hide her true identity from anyone she meets, as she has experienced, letting others know her true self only leads to her getting hurt. She lost all she cared about in seconds after they found out. She is paranoid that it might happen again, thus avoiding building bonds as much as possible. Even when fighting alongside her teammates, she doesn’t seem to be part of the team itself, but more of a person that happens to be there in the same place, fighting the same opponent. She doesn’t mind fighting with her team even if she does her own thing. She even respects their fighting style, although she can see Scarlett’s recklessness is a problem.
Taliyah may seem like a fun, strong, seemingly friendly person, but underneath this persona is a person who is hurting and in desperate need for companionship. If her team can assure her that they are not there to hurt her or sell her out, she might be able to open up and allow them to build a bond with her, becoming close friends.
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Likes:
Playing music with the Violin or Piano, Dancing, Singing, Fighting/Training, Running, Maintaining her bike, Going for long rides, Playing around especially in combat, Her sword collection, Collecting blades, Her teammates, Her foster parents, Scarlett.
Dislikes:
Anyone touching her bike without permission, High-class people, Authorities such as police or military personnel, People ordering her around, Anyone seemingly from Atlas, Her biological family, Weiss Schnee, Being called her real name.
Strength(s):
Optimistic, Assertive, Adventurous, Determination, Works well in teams, Fast learner, Adaptable to most situations, Often in a good mood, encouraging, playful.
Weakness(es):
Distrusting of strangers, Dishonest, Arrogant, Overly cautious of anyone's intentions, Unpredictable in combat, Too quick to judge others, Slightly masochistic, Occasionally swears, Can’t let go of the past.
Fear(s):
Despite what happened in Vacuo, she still keeps her real past a secret. She fears that if her true self is discovered, she will lose all the relationships she has gained at Beacon because of her origins, so she does what she can to avoid being found out.
Habits:
Taliyah often sings to herself or dances around when doing activities such as working on her bike, taking care of chores, studying or while going for walks.
Fatal Flaw(s):
Taliyah often acts without thinking when in combat. She is the type of person that would jump off a cliff, if it seems like it has some sort of tactical advantage.
Taliyah often shows slight masochistic tendencies in combat, being mostly unbothered by any hits she takes. Regardless of how hurt she is, she always finds a way to make funny remarks at the situation.
Hobby(ies):
Taliyah owns a dirt bike, which was a gift from her ex-girlfriend. She uses her spare time either going for long rides, or maintaining it.
Talents and Skills:
She is knowledgeable about mechanical engineering and can maintain or repair most ground vehicles, given the right parts and tools. Her speciality in this is any motorbike, specifically dirt bikes.
While she keeps this part of her life a secret, Taliyah knows how to blend in at High-class formal environments by the way she walks, talks and acts.
She has some musical talent, being able to play the violin and piano, while also being good at singing and dancing.
Quirks:
Taliyah is slightly masochistic. Not in the sense that she wants to be hurt physically nor derives any pleasure from it, but is mostly unbothered by physical harm, especially in combat.
She talks to Broken Devotion as if she was talking directly to Noire, but only when by herself. Similar to keeping a diary, she talks about her adventures, growth and how she misses her.
Voice:
Cherami Leigh (Makoto - Persona 5, A2 - Nier Automata, Gaige - Borderlands 2)
Common quotes:
“*Various flavors of swear words*” - When working on her bike
“Die as prey, or live as a hunter” - Motivation for being a huntress
“Hit me harder, maybe it will hurt” - Taunting her opponent
“Let me show you why they call me the “Angel of Blades” - Before letting loose
Music theme(Trailer song):
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vox66e… (Main theme)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pP2NPH… (Angel of Blades theme)
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Weapons:
Because of past events, Taliyah is equipped with two different weapons: Her own and part of her Ex-girlfriends weapon.
Main weapon:
Weapon name: Vespula Stinger
Type: Sword + 4-point Shuriken + Throwing dagger
Color Scheme: Black, Yellow, Silver
Description:
Taliyah has spent much of her time with the Ghosts learning how to fight using swords, giving her a fascination with various types of sharp weapons. During her training, she has mastered sword fighting with any type of sword and along with her semblance, has earned her the nickname “Angel of Blades”.
Her main weapon is a sword that transforms into a four-point shuriken. The handle is surrounded by a circular rail, where the blade is split into four pieces before sliding into position. The blades can either be locked in place or move freely around the rail when fighting. The weapon is also dust compatible. By placing a dust vial into a slot located in the handle, the blades can be infused with dust or it can fire/throw various flavors of dust around, to either attack her opponent or otherwise affect the environment.
In addition to her main weapon, Taliyah is also equipped with a dagger, which is almost exclusively used with her semblance. Because of its small size, Taliyah can create a seemingly endless amount of daggers to throw around.
Secondary weapon:
Weapon name: Broken Devotion
Type: One-handed shotgun + Kama
Color Scheme: Black, Dark red

Description:
Taliyah’s second weapon is part of a 3-part set of modular weapons called “Crimson Devotion”, which consists of a one-handed shotgun + Kama, a revolver + Axe and a rifle + Spear. The rifle acts as a main connector, that when combined with the other weapons turns into a Scythe (The shotgun), a Two-handed Axe (The revolver), or a Halberd (Both). The blades on the weapons are created with Hard-Light dust.
Taliyah received the shotgun as a parting/farewell-never-come-back gift from her ex and renamed it “Broken Devotion”. She mainly uses her own weapons in combat, but will on occasion use this weapon depending on the situation. Equipping the weapons melee mode alongside her main weapon is beneficial, as they are more durable than making copies. She makes a copy when using the gun so as to not lose ammo, but can only fire a few rounds before it breaks due to her semblances limitations.
Additional equipment:
Taliyah is also equipped with the A.E.G.I.Z. gauntlets, a pair of “Assault Equipment Gravitational Interaction Zone'' gauntlets created with stolen Atlas tech during her time with the Ghosts. The gloves allow her to infuse any copy made with her semblance with dust, by placing a dust vial in its slot. The gloves are connected to her main arsenal with gravity dust. This allows her to throw and recover the weapons, manipulate their trajectory while in the air, hover them around her or launch them in a direction with help of the magnetic forces from the dust. The same works for any copy made with her semblance, if the copy itself is not infused with dust. A few indications on both the gloves fingertips and the weapon hilts light up when manipulated this way.
Special functions (If any):
Both her shuriken and gauntlets can be loaded with various flavors of dust.
The blades can be spun around so fast they turn into a saw blade. Taliyah can throw her weapon with the blades still spinning.
Potential upgrades (If any):
A way to switch between different dust types without having to exchange the vial itself. That way she can quickly change the approach depending on the situation.
Making the gauntlets more efficient in manipulating her weapons, while decreasing the dust drain significantly.
Connecting Broken Devotion with her gauntlets for the same options as her main weapon.
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Semblance:
Description:
Taliyah's semblance is “Material Duplication”. It allows her to create an almost perfect copy of any solid object. Each copy will have the same appearance and functionality as the original, unless the copy itself is infused with dust. Her semblances work on an energy system. Depending on the size of the object, the more energy is required to create a copy. Smaller objects such as her own weaponry doesn’t take much energy to create, thus allowing her to create multiple copies in quick succession. Larger objects such as vehicles take more energy to create. Also, if the object is too large for her semblance to handle, she won’t be able to even attempt making a copy. Since a semblance is dependent on the users own aura, the lower her aura is, the lower the energy pool for her semblance becomes. The energy levels slowly regenerate after a while of not having activated her semblance.
The copies themselves have lower durability than the original. Copies of her blades can only take a few hits, while a copy of her gun can only fire a few rounds before dissipating by themselves. However, she can increase their durability by concentrating on it, which works well with her team attack with Scarlett, allowing the team to each have a copy of Scarlett’s weapon for a longer duration.
Each copy can also be infused with dust, giving them new properties but lose any functionality of the original. The effects of the infusion increases with the size of the object, meaning a fire-dust infused version of her shuriken will have a larger explosion than one of her dagger. Taliyah mainly carries Fire, Ice, Lighting and Hard-light dust, but can use other types for various purposes. The different effects are:
Fire dust: Explodes on impact
Ice dust: Starts freezing anything it hits / Creates Icicles on impact
Lightning dust: Electrocutes anything it hits
Hard-light dust: Increases the durability
Rock dust: Creates rock versions of copies
Wind dust: Creates a gust of wind or tornadoes during flight
Gravity dust: Creates a zone of anti gravity for a short duration on anything it hits
The copies change color depending on the dust used.
Strength(s):
Her semblance can be used in combination with dust which creates a lot of different possible attacks, such as exploding fire daggers or freezing her target using ice dust. The copies are also able to use dust, if the copy itself is not infused with dust. It is almost impossible to tell the difference between the copy and the original, which can be used to her advantage in certain situations.
Weakness(es):
The copies that she creates have less durability than the original, so a copy of her weapon will only be able to block a few attacks, or fire a few shots before breaking. The same goes for copies of other objects. While she can counteract this by using either hard-light or ice dust, they are still less durable and lose any functionality they might have had. If she doesn’t concentrate on maintaining the copy, it will dissipate by itself.
Future potential:
The copies she makes could last much longer and be created with much less energy. It might even extend to being able to create a perfect copy. She could potentially make a copy of larger objects such as vehicles.
The ability to create copies of different sizes and in relation to that, change the size at will. For example, creating a tiny copy of a vehicle and resizing it later.
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Combat:
Combat style:
Melee: Swift, aggressive, offensive
Ranged: Swift, accurate, rapid, long-close range
Taliyah fights with, what can be considered a “Jack-of-all-trades”, fighting style as she can effectively fight with and without her weapons. Without her weapons she fights using martial arts, focusing on quick strikes to block or counter her opponents moves. While not as strong, fast or effective as Scarlett’s and Erica’s, her punches and kicks can still bring her opponent down. With her weapons, her attacks become more elegant and swift, both in melee and ranged. Her blades are used to slash, cut, strike, block and even fire at her opponent using her gauntlets. Her gun is most effective at close range and is mostly used against multiple smaller opponents.

Combat Techniques:
Dual blades - Taliyah equips two copies of Vespula stinger to attack her opponents with quick strikes.
Broken Blades - Taliah equipes Vespula stinger and Broken Devotions melee mode to attack.
Dust blade attacks - Taliyah loads up dust into her weapon and throws it at her opponent by spinning the blade.
Blade’s dance - Taliyah spins rapidly in place, throwing copies of her blades in all directions
Spinning blade(s) - She uses her main weapon, or two copies of it, to attack in melee range while they are spinning.
Far reach - Taliyah attaches her main weapon to a surface and uses her gauntlets to propel herself towards it.
Elemental rain - Taliyah throws her spinning shuriken directly above her, having it firing dust in all directions.
Deflecting spin - Taliyah spins her shuriken around fast enough to deflect bullets.
Yoink! - Taliyah makes a copy of her opponent's weapon and uses that against them.
Bottomless Hailstorm - Taliyah relentlessly attacks her opponent by creating copies of her one-handed shotgun, one after the other.
Rain of blades - Taliyah creates a bunch of copies of her smaller blades, propelling them towards her opponent.
Railblade - Taliyah creates a copy of a blade and launches it in a direction with the help of her gauntlets. The bigger the blade, the larger the impact.
Angel of Blades - Taliyah creates multiple copies of her blades, having them hover in a circle around her and attacking her opponent by swinging all of them at once towards her opponent.
Strategies:
Taliyah is versatile in her fighting style, taking the role of either a close range “Blade Dancer” or a ranged “Mage” which can be used supportively or offensively. She mostly takes the close range blade dancer role while fighting alongside her team, but will on occasion use ranged dust attack to support them at a distance.
Against multiple opponents, Taliyah mainly fights by throwing multiple copies of her weapon, or simply making her way towards each of them, taking them down one by one.
Against singular or tougher opponents, she still uses throwing weapons or quick strikes to attack their weak spots. Depending on the enemy, she uses dust that best suits the situation.
She attacks flying opponents by using her main weapon to fling dust projectiles towards it, og using her “Railblade” attack, depending on distance.
Team Pairings:
Guardian Angel - With Scarlett
Balisong - With Wisteria
Jumpcut - With Erica
Team combinations:
Destructive harmony (With Scarlett) - Taliyah creates a copy of Scarlett’s weapon, essentially doubling the firepower. In some situations, especially against a big horde of Grimm, she creates one for each of her teammates for four times the destruction.
Ice rink (With Erica) - Taliyah uses her ice dust to create a big ring of ice on the ground. Erica can use her bladed legs to stand on the ice without slipping, while their opponents have no traction.
Saving throw (With anyone) - Taliyah can throw her shuriken for anyone to grab, in order to pull them towards herself. This can be used to throw a teammate at an opponent if set up correctly.
Strength(s):
Taliyah’s time with the Ghosts has earned her a lot of fighting experience, putting her close to other capable fighters such as Pyrrha Nikos in terms of combat skills. Her vast variety of blades allows her to vary her fighting style depending on the opponent. While she prefers to fight by throwing her blades around, she can fight most opponents at close range in multiple ways. Equipping her main weapon, equipping two copies of it or her other swords, throwing multiple copies of any blade, or using her backup weapon. At longer ranges she can throw her weapon or throw/shoot dust projectiles, or use the magnetic forces in her gauntlets to launch a blade at incredibly high speeds. She is a strong fighter that brings variety to any encounter.
Weakness(es):
Her versatility has limits. Switching between the various fighting styles takes a moment for her and can be difficult in the heat of the moment. The amount of dust she has is limited, so she needs to use it sparingly. This includes the gravity dust, so throwing and retrieving her weapon multiple times during combat can drain her supply during long encounters, especially using her “railblade” attack, which drains a good chunk charging it up. Since she mostly keeps her gauntlets loaded with either Fire- or ice dust, she needs to take a moment to change the dust vial out to adapt to new situations.
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Stats:
Physical Strength:
(7/10)
Taliyah hasn't been much physically active for the first part of her childhood due to the strict living conditions. During her time in Vacuo, she had the chance to work out and build physical strength, enough to handle herself in combat.
Endurance:
(7/10)
Since she never had the chance to be physically active for most of her life, her stamina has always been on the low end. She has become much better at taking physical abuse and building up her stamina, especially during her time in the Ghosts, but she still seems to tire out quicker than most others. Despite her average endurance, due to her personality she keeps going in combat, even when on the losing side of the fight.
Intelligence:
(6/10)
Taliyah has always been able to gain new knowledge easily, being an efficient reader while also having a good memory. Although she was forced to learn complicated material at a young age, she seemed to retain a lot of the information she was taught. Despite this, she didn't like the way she was forced to learn, choosing to forget most of it after fleeing from home. Besides her academic knowledge, she has learned a lot about mechanical engineering during her time in a garage in Vacuo, while surviving in a harsh, unforgiving environment.
Agility:
(7/10)
Taliyah's combat style involves a lot of movement, running, jumping and throwing her weapons around, while staying a fair distance away. She is flexible and along with her tough fighting spirit, she can quickly get into a closer position, dodge or parry enemy attacks.
Melee combat:
(8/10)
Taliyah’s arsenal allows her to fight effectively at close range, having the ability to equip various blades to best suit the situation. She fights both with her weapon directly, or with copies, but mainly she equips both Vespula stinger or Broken devotion’s melee mode. Of course, it all depends on the situation, her environment and her target. Against smaller enemies, she might fight using copies of her sword, since they take only one slash to kill.
Ranged combat:
(3/10)
The only ranged weapon is her one-handed shotgun, which loses its effectiveness on targets at longer ranges. The only ranged attacks she can do is either with dust or throwing her blades, but her opponent can easily see those attacks coming, making them easy to block or dodge.
Defense:
(7/10)
Her outfit consists of a few modified armor pieces that protects her from harm, both her arm and leg pieces are all created to protect the wearer from various attacks. She can also use her shuriken as a shield to block bullets if she spins it fast enough.
Aura:
(7/10)
Taliyah has a strong aura, being able to take a lot of abuse before depleting completely. Besides that, her aura regenerates fairly quickly compared to others.
Semblance:
(6/10)
Her semblance gives her a lot of options in combat, having the ability to utilize various flavors of dust in order to adapt to the situation. But even with dust, the copies she creates are not as durable and they dissipate on their own after a while.
Teamwork:
(4/10)
Despite her strong sense of teamwork, she mostly acts on her own while fighting with the team. She can follow orders if needed, but since her leader is a reckless mess, she mostly does her own thing. It can be described as fighting the same opponent at the same time, but not directly being part of the team. If the situation calls for team work, she asks for assistance from her allies, taking the role of second-in-command. Still, she fights on her own accord most of the time.
Social skills:
(5/10)
She grew up in a formal environment where part of her training was how to properly speak to others. She has a high vocabulary, but this is rarely used due to her trying to leave that part of her behind. She is cautious when meeting new people, being careful that her true self is not revealed to the wrong people. She might seem friendly most of the time, but seems to prefer being left alone.
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Background:
In the northern Kingdom of Atlas, there is a company called "Mana Enterprises" who specializes in the research of implementing dust in various technologies, mainly weapons and vehicles. While not as well known to the public as their business partner, their main method of making money is working together with the Schnee Dust Company, who pays them big sums of money for their research, along with supplying them with the necessary dust. One day during a business trip to other kingdoms, there was an assassination attempt on the CEO of Mana Enterprises by the White Fang themselves, in order to make sure the SDC doesn't gain any more power than they already have. Following this event, the CEO knew he needed to take some precautions. Besides increasing security for himself, his home and his company, he sprung the idea of having a successor to the company to his wife in case both of them lose their lives. She agreed, but only as a precaution as she didn't care much for having any children. One year later, the successor to Mana Enterprises was born under the name "Valiantina Victoria de Mana", simply referred to as Victoria.
Victoria had a tough, strict and enclosed childhood when growing up. Her parents were too busy to personally take care of her, leaving it in the hands of the maid Talia. Talia is currently a Huntress, who was hired as a maid to take care of Victoria’s needs and as her personal guardian to protect her against harm from “Anyone”. Mr. Mana was very strict on how she should be raised, forcing Talia to raise her into an outstanding, smart, reliable person who can handle the pressure of being the CEO of a big company. She did follow this direction to a certain degree, as she knew by experience that such responsibility is best learned over time. Victoria was fairly easy to handle, she knew how to follow directions, how to act responsibly, how to show respect to the higher ups, mainly her parents. It was rare that her parents were able to check in on her, but when they did it was only to check her progress, not so much to show her affection. Whenever Victoria did something as simple as a hug, she was pushed away as it was not proper etiquette. She was expected to greet them with respect, bow to them and tell them her progress. Being a child this was very tough on her as she wanted to feel love from her parents, to make them proud of her achievements but to them she was only meant to replace them one day.
Victoria did her best to balance her studies and her spare time by making a schedule on what she would practice on certain days. Over the course of a year this worked out perfectly, she spent her allocated time each day on studies, once she was finished for that day, she would head to the studio to practice one of her hobbies. However, after a while she started feeling down, like something was missing in her life. She had everything she could ask for, living in a wealthy family, having food, shelter, doing things she likes after her studies, but she still felt an emptiness inside she couldn't quite explain to herself. Slowly she realized. All of her studies were for her to eventually become the CEO of her father's company, which was the only thing that was expected of her. Even in her spare time, learning various musical abilities would not be allowed if it didn’t benefit her father in some way. Her path was set by her parents and there was nothing she could do about it. After realizing this, she began to doubt herself. Over the next few months, her efforts in her studies started to drop which affected her grades. One day after a test where she received a B, her father quickly found out much to her dismay. He approached her in the study room, shouting and reprimanding her for laziness, slacking off and not taking her duty of the future CEO seriously. As she was backing away from the verbal abuse, he stepped forwards to slap some sense into her, but was quickly stopped by Talia who stepped in front of him. He ordered her to step aside, but was quickly reminded of her contract with him: To protect Victoria against harm from anyone, which of course included him. He wasn’t stupid, he knew the contract and could not blame anyone else for such an oversight. However, he ordered the studio to be locked up until she could redeem herself, by presenting him with a perfect report card. Sadly, Talia was bound by contract so she obliged, giving Victoria an apologetic look.
The next few years were hell on her, both physically and mentally. Her study time was doubled, meaning she had to eat dinner while studying. She felt trapped inside her own home, like she was chained to the walls at all times. It was time for a change, she had to escape this mental prison of hers and she knew exactly how. All she needed was patience. Years later at the age of 14, Victoria has now become a proper, talented smart lady, ready to start working as an assistant at the company. She showed complete obedience towards her parents, had perfect grades in school, was formal in the way she speaks, stands and presents herself. Every so often, venues would ask for her to perform where she would perform perfectly to represent herself as a well known musician. However, this was all an act. Victoria had no plans on becoming the successor to the company, but instead followed her own dream which she couldn't do in her parents' clutches. During one of the company parties, she overheard a conversation about shipping equipment to one of their mining posts in Vacuo. She knew that all equipment from the company had to be personally expected by the CEO himself to ensure the right and best equipment was sent out to the right places. However, this could also be done by the CEO's most trusted employees, such as his wife or Victoria herself. She asked her father if she could oversee this shipment, selling the idea to him as "practice for being the successor to the company". Surprisingly, he liked the initiative but expressed it as “about time". She didn't care, her plan for escape was now set in action.
The day of the shipment arrived and Victoria showed up at the airfield wearing the uniform of a Mana Enterprises high ranking employee. Her guardian was shadowing her in case of trouble, although it would be unlikely at the Atlas airfield. Victoria started her inspection, carrying a clipboard and having Talia open each crate before they were sent into the airship. The crates contained the usual mining equipment, dust cells, weapons, spare parts, rations along with a few vehicles. However, she noticed some of the crates contained experimental dust-powered auto turrets, something that was never shipped before, written down as “Night time Grimm Repellent”. The guy writing the list must have a sense of humor, but Victoria didn’t pay this much mind, quickly moving on and checking things off her list. She demanded to inspect the inside of the cargo ship, which the crew accepted, not that they had a choice, so she made her way inside. Observing the interior, her motive was to find places to hide once the cargo had been loaded. After getting a good look around, she set her plan into action. Talia was in on it, of course without the knowledge of her father. She gave the clipboard to Talia who promptly gave it to the crew, distracting them from Victoria sneaking under one of the tarps covering one of the trucks. Talia quickly went over and gave her a little pat on the head, along with a small cloth with something inside. She mouthed “Good luck” with a smile on her face before lowering the tarp again. Victoria was laying in wait, as the cargo started to move onto the ship. Not long after, the plane was taking off, making its way to Vacuo and hopefully a better life.
A few hours later, the ship landed in an airfield just outside the main capital of Vacuo. The plan is to unload the cargo onto trucks, who will then ship it to their destination; a SDC controlled mine ways into the desert lands. As the crew began to unload the cargo, Taliyah took the opportunity to sneak out from under the tarp, before making her way into town. She quickly got rid of anything in her pockets by burying it in the sand on her way into town, but now she had a new problem. Since she was used to the cold environment of Atlas, the hot baking sun currently high in the sky felt intense, making it hard for her to breathe. Also, she never had the chance to get a drink on her way here, so Taliyah was slowly getting dehydrated standing in the sun like this. She made her way around the city, going down the streets looking for a place to get some water. Her search led her to a street filled with market stalls, with signs saying "Open Market Day" placed all around the entrance to the street itself. She mingled around the people, hoping that any of the stalls would sell water. After some searching she found one, but ran into another problem. She didn't have any money one her and her credit card was not accepted at the market, besides, using her card would leave a trail for her Father to find her. Feeling like her head was starting to split in two due to the intense heat, she contemplated her next move until a big muscular man walked up next to her. He ordered two bottles of water, handing one of them to Taliyah. She looked up at him, seeing his big bald head, a huge brown mustache and the biggest friendly smile she had ever seen in her life. She was shocked for a short moment, until her pounding headache made her quickly grab the bottle and chuck the entire thing in one go. The man let out a hearty laugh, commenting about her thirst before handing her his bottle and getting himself another one. As the man excused himself, Taliyah began to follow him, thanking him for his kindness. Before long they both fell into a long conversation as they walked around the market.
The man presented himself as Mr. Brown, owner of a mechanics shop in a small town far from the city. He was currently in the market stocking up on supplies along with a few other errands. When the topic switched to Taliyah's journey, she didn't want him to know about her real identity, so she spun a tale about running away from her abusive household, without saying she was from Atlas. Not knowing the entire story, Mr. Brown gave her some wise words about family and forgiveness but he didn't want her to feel bad about her decisions, so he dropped the topic. Once he was finished with all his business, he made it back to his truck with Taliyah right behind him. She needed a place to stay. She knew that he couldn't just leave. Feeling compassionate, he gave her choice; She could come with him, but the only place she could really stay was his garage, which wasn't exactly built to live in, but it was better than living on the streets. With a big smile, she jumped into the passenger side of the truck and before long, they were on their way home. Knowing she wasn't from around here, Mr. Brown decided to tell her about life in the desert. He explained how the SDC turned the place into a desert, how the people are living by traveling from place to place, only staying in once place for a short while. She started to feel extremely guilty, being related to a company that would do such a thing, but there was nothing she could do about it. He pointed out that life in the desert is simple; if you can survive against the harsh environment, you are welcome here regardless of who you are. This made her a bit nervous, but he assured her that it wasn't that big of a deal, he would make sure of that. Eventually they arrived in a small desert town, the buildings worn down, various campers, trailers and tents placed around some of the buildings. At the far end, a small garage in a similar state to the rest of the town. This was one of the few settlements in Vacuo that didn't travel around, but instead acted as a place for people to travel through, as there was not much to see in town. The only thing people would stop for repairs at the garage, it being the only building in town with a purpose other than a place to live.
After helping him unload all the things he bought, Taliyah was welcomed into his home where she would meet the rest of his family; His wife and 4 young kids. He explained the situation to them and luckily for her, they were just as nice as Mr. Brown himself which made her feel welcome. After presenting herself to the family, Mr. Brown took her back to the garage which was right next to his home. The place was a mess, tools, tires, various bits of metal were scattered all over the place. He put his hand on her shoulder and apologized for the mess with a big smile on his face. She got down to her level to explain; She was allowed to live with her but it could not be for free. She understood but told him she didn't know anything about working at a garage. With a hearty laugh and a pat on the back, he told her that would not be a problem. He would teach her everything he knows about working here, starting off simple as to not overwork her too soon. Taliyah agreed to this, partly because she didn't have other options, but also because she now had something to do with her life. She knew that it would be tough to get used to this environment, but at least she would feel free, like she was doing something productive with her life. Also being here would ensure her family would never be able to find her. With a happy smile on her face, she shook Mr. Brown's hand to signify her agreement to the terms. From then on, her new life had begun.
During her time at the garage over the next few months, Taliyah had never felt happier. Her new guardian taught her everything she needed to know about her new job of fixing vehicles, which mostly consisted of trucks, dirt bikes and dune buggies. Unlike her real father, Mr. Brown was always patient, kind and praised her for everything she did. This was something she never thought she would experience so for the first time in many years, she felt genuine happiness. Never could she have imagined her life could get even more exciting. One day, a few people riding dirt bikes arrived at the garage. One of them was the leader of the biker gang "Ghosts of the Desert", all of them wearing jackets saying “GD” on the back. The Ghosts were a gang that consists of members that are sick of the oppressive SDC, with their main mission to drive them out of the nation by attacking their quarries and destroying their mining equipment. They also take various requests from those who are willing to pay them, which mostly consists of killing Grimm that are attacking a settlement, or escorting a group of Nomads across the nation. Unlike official Huntsmen, they don't do it to protect the people, but to earn money for their gang. If you can't pay them, don't expect any help. The leader seemed to be good friends with Mr. Brown who were responsible for maintaining their vehicles. Taliyah got started on the bikes, which just needed a tire change. Meanwhile, Mr. Brown and the leader of the gang started catching up on various topics, but it quickly changed to talking about her, how long she had been working here, how they met etc. Just as Taliyah was finishing up the last bike, the leader approached her. She presented herself as "Wraith", a tall, Black-haired woman with a tough, seemingly intimidating aura. Taliyah was a bit scared of her but once she extended her arm to shake hers, the smile on her face melted any fears away. Before saying anything else, Wraith asked her bluntly if she would like to join the Ghosts. After a few seconds of processing the question, Taliyah looked over at Mr. Brown who was smiling with a thumbs up.
Taliyah managed to get some words out, explaining how she never had been in a fight, never had training, nor did she actually know how to ride a bike. Wraith explained that the Ghosts could always use new members, even someone as young as Taliyah. Every new member would be put through training to ensure they have the ability to partake in any raids or missions they accept. She was hesitant at first, especially since they were involved with the SDC which had ties to her family, but Mr. Brown encouraged her to join since it was more fun than being cooped up in the garage all day. Taliyah gave it some thought, seeing it as an opportunity to get out there and explore the world. With that, she accepted the offer much to Wraith's delight. The next year of her life was the most physically straining of her life. While she did build a little muscle working at the garage, the training at the Ghosts was nothing like it. Long runs to build stamina, tons of physical training, how to fight hand-to-hand, riding a bike, even sword-fighting was part of her training schedule. It was tough, but she loved every single second of it. The comradery she felt was amazing with Wraith overseeing her training. Before long, she had built the stamina and strength she needed to be a real Ghost.
One day while working at the garage, Taliyah was visited by Wraith to explain what was going to happen next. She would take her someplace secret to do a couple of things: First she would receive a weapon of her own design. Secondly she is required to wear the mark of the Ghosts, which is to be tattooed on her arm. Then she would get her very own dirt bike to travel on. Finally, she would meet her partner at the official welcoming party. When questioned about the partner, she explained to her that every member of the Ghosts work together in pairs, to look out for each other at all times. Taliyah was nervous but excited to get started. After quickly finishing up her work, she told Mr. Brown where she was going and before long she was on her way to the secret HQ. After getting her weapon designed, along with getting her tattoo, Taliyah was ready to partake in her first official mission. The mission was a simple scouting job to update them on the situation in certain areas, including both Grimm activity and SDC operations. After the briefing was finished, Wraith asked Taliyah to stay behind to be presented with her official partner. Once the teams were leaving the room, one person stayed behind who made her way over to them. As the girl made her way over to them, Taliyah suddenly felt something strange happening to her. Her heart rate increased, her breathing became heavy and her face began blushing like crazy. The girl, named Noire, was a young, black-haired woman around her age wielding a rifle as her main weapon with two side arms strapped to her thighs. She introduced herself to Taliyah while shaking her hand. Taliyah was unable to say anything at first, until Noire waved her hand in front of her face, which snapped her out of it. With a low voice she presented herself back while avoiding eye contact, which resulted in a cute giggle from Noire. Wraith gave them their coordinates and with a pat on the back sent them on their way.
It has been a few hours since they started their patrol. Since there was nothing but miles of sand, no Grimm nor any signs of SDC activity, they both decided to take a break. Parking their bikes at the top of a sand hill, they looked over the vast desert, seeing a few makeshift camps around, the top of a town and the towering mining machines of the SDC in the distance. Taliyah was a bit nervous to say anything to her new partner, but Noire was the one to break the ice. She started asking questions about her, where she was from, why she was here, why she joined the Ghosts, along with a few questions to get to know her better. Taliyah answered every question carefully, not wanting anyone to know who she really was. Noire then opened up to her, answering the same question she asked. She mentioned the reason for joining the Ghosts was for training, so she one day could become an actual huntress. When asked why, she explained that her family consisted of huntsmen, so she was expected to become one herself. But her main reason for joining was to push back against the SDC. According to her grandparents, the lush beautiful landscape was slowly but surely ruined by the mining operations. She, along with everyone at the Ghosts, hates the SDC along with anyone from Atlas for what they did. After taking a deep breath, Taliyah showed empathy towards her, giving Noire her promise that she would be with her all the way during her time here. With that, they both grew a little close before getting back on the road.
Years later, Taliyah has become much more comfortable with who she is and how to live her life. Unlike her childhood of doing things to meet expectations, she now does whatever she wants without feeling guilty about it. Her life in the desert, along with her friends in the Ghosts, has changed her to become a more confident, sassy, adventurous tomboy who also is a daredevil, often doing stunts while riding her bike that could potentially kill her. Her time at the garage has also changed her, having learned to have a positive outlook on life while becoming an amazing mechanic from Mr. Brown. He would ever so often catch her singing or dancing around the garage, although when something went wrong or she hurt herself while working on something, he would hear various flavors of swear words flying out of the garage. Taliyah was even lucky enough to find love, having officially been together with her partner Noire for some time now, who would often come over to ask her on a date when they were not busy working on missions. Taliyah's life was perfect and she wouldn't want to trade it in with anything else. However, not all good things last forever.
One day all members of the Ghosts were called in for the biggest mission of their lives. One of the scouting parties gathered some intelligence, that a CEO of a company working together with the SDC would be visiting the main quarry deep in the desert to inspect their security systems. Wraith believes that taking down any associates of the SDC would decrease their operations here in Vacuo, especially this man since it will prove to them, their security systems are faulty and any further operations would be unsafe. If not, they would have taken down a powerful ally of the SDC, so regardless it would be a win for them. When Taliyah asked who this person was, her heart sank deep into her chest when it was revealed that it was the CEO of Mana-enterprises, her own Father. Noire asked if she was okay. Taliyah just brushed it off, telling her she was fine. The briefing went on, filled with plans on who did what, scouts, main attackers, support, etc. The next few days were spent on preparing for the assault, mostly getting the equipment, weapons and vehicles prepared to go. Taliyah was obviously nervous, so Noire spent the hours before the mission cheering her up by helping her prepare her equipment and giving her words of encouragement. Once it was time to go, they both jumped on their bikes and made their way to the meeting spot.
The main quarry would be a challenge to assault. It was surrounded by big walls connected with guard towers, with only one big gate acting as the main entrance, since the mining vehicles were so big. Each team got into position at various locations around the quarry. The plan was to have one team distract the guards and auto-turrets, the same auto turrets that Taliyah oversaw a few years ago. The gate would be rammed with a big truck, forcing the doors inwards and allowing the members in the back of the truck to assault the base from the inside. Once the gates were open the last team, Taliyah's team, were to enter the quarry, make their way down to the landing platform where the CEO would be dropped off. After taking a few deep breaths to prepare herself, Taliyah's team put on their bandanas to cover their faces. Noire gave Taliyah a quick kiss on the cheek before getting on the same bike to provide fire support. The plan was set into action, gunfire, alarms, all kinds of noise filled the air as the tension grew higher. After what seemed like forever, a big explosion followed by radio chatter gave them their que to go in. They quickly got their bikes up to speed, making a b-line towards the now open gate while dodging the intense gunfire. Noire did her best to suppress the guards around the quarry that had their eyes locked on them, while Taliyah occasionally threw an Ice-dust infused dagger to create walls to give them cover. The entry went smoothly, Taliyah's team were now on their way down to the landing platforms, but more trouble started following them. Security trucks with guns on top started following them down the roads at top speed, shooting at the bikes while trying to knock them over with the truck itself. As they dodged the gunfire from behind, more trucks started making their way towards them from the front. Seeing the opportunity, Taliyah dodged all of them by driving off the road, sliding down the sandy sides of the quarry. Her team followed her example and before long, they were at the bottom riding towards the dropship.
They got to work planting the explosives on the back of the dropship to blast the doors open. Taliyah felt tons of mixed feelings, she hadn't seen her father in years and despite not having the best relationship with him, she didn't necessarily want him to die. After the charges were set, the team fell back to a safe distance before pressing the detonator. The explosion destroyed the locks of the door, which fell to the ground with a bang. Expecting to see the CEO along with some security, the team pointed their guns at the smoke, ready to fire once it was clear. However, once they gained visibility, they saw the dropship was empty. Confused, they radioed it in to Wraith who was still topside but before they could finish their report, a shadow started looming over them. Looking up into the sky, a carrier of the Atlas air fleet was making its way into position over the quarry, deploying smaller dropships to drop Atlesian Knights down on them. Wraith radioed in, ordering everyone to scatter in various directions, as to not lead them anywhere they shouldn't be. Taliyah and her team had a hard time getting out of the quarry, having to dodge the security teams chasing them before, along with the new soldiers that had just dropped in. One of the bikes got caught in the fire, but they didn't have time to get him back, since it was life or death at this point. They made it topside but before they could reach the gate, several vehicles were blocking their path. She tried to go around, but a well-placed rocket blasted them both off the bike, making them roll in the sand towards the gate. Dazed by the blast, Taliyah tried to get up off the ground, but a sudden kick in the back forced her back down. She looked up to see that they were surrounded by Atlesian Knights, all pointing their guns towards them. She looked over at Noire who was also face first in the dirt, just to make sure she was still alive. The Knights pulled them onto their feet and pushed them towards another group of Ghosts, who was standing by the security gate also surrounded by Knights. One of them was Wraith, who looked angrily at the surrounding soldiers, but who also apologized to them for the mission being a failure.
Shortly after, the CEO of Mana-enterprises, escorted by Talia, walked over to them with a smirk on his face. Taliyah froze as she recognized his escort. It would make sense that she would either: be fired for losing her, or be relocated to be his personal guardian instead. She clutched her closed hand over her chest where her pendant was under her clothes. He reprimanded them for thinking that the main quarry of the SDC would be so poorly defended, that they would even have the slightest chance of getting to him. The security was deliberately loosened to lure them in here, as the Ghosts were getting quite annoying over the last year and this operation was a perfect opportunity to get rid of them. Taliyah tried to hide among the few other members as to not be recognized by her Father, but unfortunately her intense stare got his attention. He ordered the Knights to push her forwards, much to her dismay. Without hesitating, he ripped the bandana off her face followed by a shocked expression. He uttered her real name in disbelief which caught the attention of the Ghosts and her old guardian, who looked as shocked. He started going on about her absence, how disappointed he was in her, leaving such a perfect life behind in exchange for such filth. He was about to slap some sense into her, but once again, her guardian stopped him by grabbing his arm and standing between him and Taliyah. They might have had a change in position, but their old contract of being her guardian was still valid. Even if it wasn’t, she would never let Victoria come to harm. The ghosts started whispering and murmuring to each other, looking at Taliyah with disbelief. Was she really from Atlas? Was she a spy? Similar questions were asked around, as the CEO took a deep breath. He ordered the Knights to kill the Ghosts, but Taliyah shouted at them to stop. The Knights were programmed to follow the orders of any member of the Mana corporation, and while she didn’t know that for sure, she risked it for the safety of her new family. She shouted her full name “Valentina Victoria De Mana” followed by an order to stand down, which the Knights promptly did after recognising her as a commander. Taliyah heard a quivering voice behind her. Looking back, she saw Noire staring at her in disbelief while tears were streaming down her face. Taliyah's true self was revealed, that she was not only from Atlas, but also the daughter of the company that was associated with the SDC, their sworn enemy. Taliyah tried to explain herself but none of the Ghosts were willing to listen, calling her a traitor. Her Father found all of this amusing but didn't have time to waste. He once again used his authority to order the Knights to kill the Ghosts, being the higher authority, they obliged.
Just as the Knights were about to execute them, the ground started to shake violently. Before they could register what was going on, a big serpent Grimm emerged from the ground, throwing all of them to the side. The negative energy from the situation had lured the Grimm towards them, but at least it gave them the chance to escape. While the Knights were busy attacking the beast and escorting the CEO away, all of the Ghosts took this opportunity to escape. Talia quickly gave Taliyah a short hug, before running to protect the CEO of the following swarm of Grimm entering from the main gate. The Ghosts stole a few vehicles, while Taliyah ran towards her dirt bike that survived the rocket attack. As they were leaving the area, Taliyah tried to follow the rest of the Ghosts, but a radio call of Wraith ordered her to back off or she would be killed. All she could do was watch them drive off, seeing Noires face at the back of the truck filled with tears and anger. Taliyah quickly took another route to escape out of the area. Once she felt like she was far enough away, Taliyah stopped the bike before breaking down, crying her eyes out. She lost everything she had, her friends, her family and her girlfriend in the span of a few minutes. After crying for a while, she laid back on the sand before falling asleep due to exhaustion. About an hour later, she woke up, hoping everything she had just experienced was all a nightmare. But, she knew it was real and got on her bike to make her way back to the garage. Once she arrived, Mr. Brown was standing outside waiting for her, but she knew something was off. His usually cheerful demeanor was filled with gloomy sadness, which made Taliyah hesitate to even approach him. He waved her over as he pulled two chairs out, gesturing for her to sit. She did, but dreaded the conversation she was about to have. With a big sigh, Mr. Brown broke it down. The Ghosts had stopped by to warn him about her, telling him everything that happened. Taliyah was afraid to even speak, but he continued with telling her a secret. He knew from the day he met her where she was from, as he observed her leaving the airfield back then. Even then, he could not out of the goodness in his heart leave such a young girl at the mercy of the Vacuo desert, so he took her in.
Taliyah was shocked at this news. Regardless, she was thankful to him for not only taking care of her, but to keep her secret for the past few years. They both got up and hugged it out before he gave her some bad news. The Ghosts are not a forgiving bunch, maybe someday they will see her as a different person fighting for their cause, but for now it would be best for Taliyah to flee from Vacuo. She couldn't say anything as he was absolutely right, she would probably be killed if she stayed. Mr. Brown took her into the garage for a surprise. He and Noire were working on something for her birthday in secret and he might as well give it to her now. It was a custom Dirt bike built from scratch based on Noires own design. Not only the bike, but Mr. Brown pulled out a one-handed shotgun which she recognized as part of Noires weapon, Crimson Devotion. It was given to him, so he could hand it over to her as a parting gift. Taliyah couldn't stop crying, as both happiness and sadness overwhelmed her. Mr. Brown pulled her into a tight hug as she sobbed into his arms. After calming down, he gave her some positive encouragement, to always remember the bright days of the past, on better times that made her smile and to look into the future with positivity. He smiled widely as he handed her the gun, the keys to the bike, and two duffle bags filled with her stuff. He assured her that once things had cooled down, she would always be welcome at the garage. When asked where he thought she should go, he suggested she could join a huntsmen academy as her time at the Ghosts would surely be enough training for her to pass the entrance exam. He pointed out that it would be best to avoid Shade academy, as they would most likely find out sooner or later, so he suggested traveling east towards the academy in Vale. With that, Taliyah gave a tearful goodbye to her foster parent and before long, she was on her way to Beacon Academy.
After arriving in Vale, she got to work applying to attend Beacon which was more of a challenge than she had hoped for. Being essentially homeless and without proper ID, Taliyah convinced them to give her a chance to prove herself. She nailed both the written and physical exam, so they gave her the opportunity to join the academy. With that, her chance at a new life had begun.
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Trivia:
Taliyah’s landing strategy involves her attaching her weapon to the cliff side and using her gauntlets to slow her descent.
Taliyah teamed up with Wisteria, after she saved her from an ambushing Grimm.
Taliyah still has access to her allowance, as it is automatically transferred to her account, unnoticed by her busy Father. She’s rich basically.
Taliyah is nearsighted.
Taliyah is ambidextrous, meaning she can use both hands equally well.
Taliyah’s real name was decided to instill a sense of great authoritarian power once she overtook the company.
Inside the cloth she got from Talia was a small pendant with a picture of them both.
Taliyah’s semblance uses an energy source, beside her Aura, which is an allusion to mana, the power source for mages in various games.
Taliyah’s character design was inspired by Ashe (Overwatch), Yuffie (Final Fantasy 7) and Exusiai(This one mrfz.fandom.com/wiki/Exusiai) (Arknights), with a dash of Alucard (Hellsing Ultimate Abridged) and Justice (Helltaker)

Description
Well this only took 8 freaking months to complete. Yay depression. The reason this took so long is because of: Depression, Lack of Motivation, Artblock, Indecisiveness and stress. The indecisiveness Includes changes to her outfit and weapons, what I could change and to what. I had an Idea for a modular weapon (Listed under her weapon), but I didn't want to replace her current weapon. Having both meant she would have too many weapons, so after soooo long of brainstorming, I compromised. The same with her outfit, what could I change that made her look better, but have the same overall esthetic. It felt like my head was completely empty of ideas. But, I pulled through.
As for the depression, don't worry. I have seen a doctor, talked to a therapist, gotten the right medication, and I am currently doing much better than I did before. Hope I didn't bum you out too much. Another quick thing, Iv added who I think would voice each character the best. Check out the other girls to find out, under "Personality".
As always, I hope you like Taliyah's new design, the old one can be found here: www.deviantart.com/xsanaty/art…

Character Profile:
Name: Taliyah Primrose (Real Name: Valiantina Victoria de Mana)
Name Explanation: Taliyah stems from the Greek word "Thallein" which means "To flourish / Blooming". Primrose is the name of a flower that can be yellow.
Nickname: Tali, Angel of Blades, Angel
Age: 17
Birthday: October 3rd
Gender: Female
Race: Human
Emblem: Wasp
Affiliation: Beacon Academy / Ghosts of the Desert (Former)
Team name: SWET
Physical appearance:
Height: 186cm (6’1”)
Weight: 78kg (172lbs)
Eye Color: Light blue
Hairstyle: Short
Hair Color: Light blue
Complexion: Sun tanned
Body Type: Athletic, Hourglass
Cup size: D
Other: Her emblem tattooed on her arm
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Character Personality:
Taliyah is a fun-loving, sassy, adventurous tomboy who thrives when participating in high adrenaline activities such as fighting Grimm, combat training or riding her dirt bike. She comes off as a cocky, carefree girl who shows little-to-no respect for her opponent, often playing around and coming with the occasional quip in combat. She is quite the daredevil often doing things just for the hell of it, even if there is a chance of her getting herself hurt in the process. While she doesn’t see it herself, she sometimes comes off as arrogant, thinking that because of her time with the ghosts, her combat abilities are superior to her fellow huntsmen. Although it’s not something she brags about, as she lets her actions speak for themselves. She can even admit she underestimated her opponent, if she is on the losing end of a fight.
Outside of combat, she becomes more of a laid-back, relaxed person, just marching to the beat of her own drum. Those who get to know her, would describe her as a joking, playful and encouraging person, always keeping the spirits of those around her high. She doesn’t seem to respect authority figures however, such as police, military, professional huntsmen, but does at least respect her teachers at the academy, by attending and listening to their lessons. When it comes to school work that isn’t related to combat training, she would rather spend her time with her bike. She is overly cautious about what she says to others, often just brushing off questions about her past or trying to change the subject. With people from Atlas, such as Weiss or even Erica, she rarely speaks with them unless spoken too and tries to limit her interactions with them, in case they somehow recognize who she really is.
This is because of her past. She tries to hide her true identity from anyone she meets, as she has experienced, letting others know her true self only leads to her getting hurt. She lost all she cared about in seconds after they found out. She is paranoid that it might happen again, thus avoiding building bonds as much as possible. Even when fighting alongside her teammates, she doesn’t seem to be part of the team itself, but more of a person that happens to be there in the same place, fighting the same opponent. She doesn’t mind fighting with her team even if she does her own thing. She even respects their fighting style, although she can see Scarlett’s recklessness is a problem.
Taliyah may seem like a fun, strong, seemingly friendly person, but underneath this persona is a person who is hurting and in desperate need for companionship. If her team can assure her that they are not there to hurt her or sell her out, she might be able to open up and allow them to build a bond with her, becoming close friends.
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Likes:
Playing music with the Violin or Piano, Dancing, Singing, Fighting/Training, Running, Maintaining her bike, Going for long rides, Playing around especially in combat, Her sword collection, Collecting blades, Her teammates, Her foster parents, Scarlett.
Dislikes:
Anyone touching her bike without permission, High-class people, Authorities such as police or military personnel, People ordering her around, Anyone seemingly from Atlas, Her biological family, Weiss Schnee, Being called her real name.
Strength(s):
Optimistic, Assertive, Adventurous, Determination, Works well in teams, Fast learner, Adaptable to most situations, Often in a good mood, encouraging, playful.
Weakness(es):
Distrusting of strangers, Dishonest, Arrogant, Overly cautious of anyone's intentions, Unpredictable in combat, Too quick to judge others, Slightly masochistic, Occasionally swears, Can’t let go of the past.
Fear(s):
Despite what happened in Vacuo, she still keeps her real past a secret. She fears that if her true self is discovered, she will lose all the relationships she has gained at Beacon because of her origins, so she does what she can to avoid being found out.
Habits:
Taliyah often sings to herself or dances around when doing activities such as working on her bike, taking care of chores, studying or while going for walks.
Fatal Flaw(s):
Taliyah often acts without thinking when in combat. She is the type of person that would jump off a cliff, if it seems like it has some sort of tactical advantage.
Taliyah often shows slight masochistic tendencies in combat, being mostly unbothered by any hits she takes. Regardless of how hurt she is, she always finds a way to make funny remarks at the situation.
Hobby(ies):
Taliyah owns a dirt bike, which was a gift from her ex-girlfriend. She uses her spare time either going for long rides, or maintaining it.
Talents and Skills:
She is knowledgeable about mechanical engineering and can maintain or repair most ground vehicles, given the right parts and tools. Her speciality in this is any motorbike, specifically dirt bikes.
While she keeps this part of her life a secret, Taliyah knows how to blend in at High-class formal environments by the way she walks, talks and acts.
She has some musical talent, being able to play the violin and piano, while also being good at singing and dancing.
Quirks:
Taliyah is slightly masochistic. Not in the sense that she wants to be hurt physically nor derives any pleasure from it, but is mostly unbothered by physical harm, especially in combat.
She talks to Broken Devotion as if she was talking directly to Noire, but only when by herself. Similar to keeping a diary, she talks about her adventures, growth and how she misses her.
Voice:
Cherami Leigh (Makoto - Persona 5, A2 - Nier Automata, Gaige - Borderlands 2)
Common quotes:
“*Various flavors of swear words*” - When working on her bike
“Die as prey, or live as a hunter” - Motivation for being a huntress
“Hit me harder, maybe it will hurt” - Taunting her opponent
“Let me show you why they call me the “Angel of Blades” - Before letting loose
Music theme(Trailer song):
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vox66e… (Main theme)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pP2NPH… (Angel of Blades theme)
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Weapons:
Because of past events, Taliyah is equipped with two different weapons: Her own and part of her Ex-girlfriends weapon.
Main weapon:
Weapon name: Vespula Stinger
Type: Sword + 4-point Shuriken + Throwing dagger
Color Scheme: Black, Yellow, Silver
Description:
Taliyah has spent much of her time with the Ghosts learning how to fight using swords, giving her a fascination with various types of sharp weapons. During her training, she has mastered sword fighting with any type of sword and along with her semblance, has earned her the nickname “Angel of Blades”.
Her main weapon is a sword that transforms into a four-point shuriken. The handle is surrounded by a circular rail, where the blade is split into four pieces before sliding into position. The blades can either be locked in place or move freely around the rail when fighting. The weapon is also dust compatible. By placing a dust vial into a slot located in the handle, the blades can be infused with dust or it can fire/throw various flavors of dust around, to either attack her opponent or otherwise affect the environment.
In addition to her main weapon, Taliyah is also equipped with a dagger, which is almost exclusively used with her semblance. Because of its small size, Taliyah can create a seemingly endless amount of daggers to throw around.
Secondary weapon:
Weapon name: Broken Devotion
Type: One-handed shotgun + Kama
Color Scheme: Black, Dark red

Description:
Taliyah’s second weapon is part of a 3-part set of modular weapons called “Crimson Devotion”, which consists of a one-handed shotgun + Kama, a revolver + Axe and a rifle + Spear. The rifle acts as a main connector, that when combined with the other weapons turns into a Scythe (The shotgun), a Two-handed Axe (The revolver), or a Halberd (Both). The blades on the weapons are created with Hard-Light dust.
Taliyah received the shotgun as a parting/farewell-never-come-back gift from her ex and renamed it “Broken Devotion”. She mainly uses her own weapons in combat, but will on occasion use this weapon depending on the situation. Equipping the weapons melee mode alongside her main weapon is beneficial, as they are more durable than making copies. She makes a copy when using the gun so as to not lose ammo, but can only fire a few rounds before it breaks due to her semblances limitations.
Additional equipment:
Taliyah is also equipped with the A.E.G.I.Z. gauntlets, a pair of “Assault Equipment Gravitational Interaction Zone'' gauntlets created with stolen Atlas tech during her time with the Ghosts. The gloves allow her to infuse any copy made with her semblance with dust, by placing a dust vial in its slot. The gloves are connected to her main arsenal with gravity dust. This allows her to throw and recover the weapons, manipulate their trajectory while in the air, hover them around her or launch them in a direction with help of the magnetic forces from the dust. The same works for any copy made with her semblance, if the copy itself is not infused with dust. A few indications on both the gloves fingertips and the weapon hilts light up when manipulated this way.
Special functions (If any):
Both her shuriken and gauntlets can be loaded with various flavors of dust.
The blades can be spun around so fast they turn into a saw blade. Taliyah can throw her weapon with the blades still spinning.
Potential upgrades (If any):
A way to switch between different dust types without having to exchange the vial itself. That way she can quickly change the approach depending on the situation.
Making the gauntlets more efficient in manipulating her weapons, while decreasing the dust drain significantly.
Connecting Broken Devotion with her gauntlets for the same options as her main weapon.
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Semblance:
Description:
Taliyah's semblance is “Material Duplication”. It allows her to create an almost perfect copy of any solid object. Each copy will have the same appearance and functionality as the original, unless the copy itself is infused with dust. Her semblances work on an energy system. Depending on the size of the object, the more energy is required to create a copy. Smaller objects such as her own weaponry doesn’t take much energy to create, thus allowing her to create multiple copies in quick succession. Larger objects such as vehicles take more energy to create. Also, if the object is too large for her semblance to handle, she won’t be able to even attempt making a copy. Since a semblance is dependent on the users own aura, the lower her aura is, the lower the energy pool for her semblance becomes. The energy levels slowly regenerate after a while of not having activated her semblance.
The copies themselves have lower durability than the original. Copies of her blades can only take a few hits, while a copy of her gun can only fire a few rounds before dissipating by themselves. However, she can increase their durability by concentrating on it, which works well with her team attack with Scarlett, allowing the team to each have a copy of Scarlett’s weapon for a longer duration.
Each copy can also be infused with dust, giving them new properties but lose any functionality of the original. The effects of the infusion increases with the size of the object, meaning a fire-dust infused version of her shuriken will have a larger explosion than one of her dagger. Taliyah mainly carries Fire, Ice, Lighting and Hard-light dust, but can use other types for various purposes. The different effects are:
Fire dust: Explodes on impact
Ice dust: Starts freezing anything it hits / Creates Icicles on impact
Lightning dust: Electrocutes anything it hits
Hard-light dust: Increases the durability
Rock dust: Creates rock versions of copies
Wind dust: Creates a gust of wind or tornadoes during flight
Gravity dust: Creates a zone of anti gravity for a short duration on anything it hits
The copies change color depending on the dust used.
Strength(s):
Her semblance can be used in combination with dust which creates a lot of different possible attacks, such as exploding fire daggers or freezing her target using ice dust. The copies are also able to use dust, if the copy itself is not infused with dust. It is almost impossible to tell the difference between the copy and the original, which can be used to her advantage in certain situations.
Weakness(es):
The copies that she creates have less durability than the original, so a copy of her weapon will only be able to block a few attacks, or fire a few shots before breaking. The same goes for copies of other objects. While she can counteract this by using either hard-light or ice dust, they are still less durable and lose any functionality they might have had. If she doesn’t concentrate on maintaining the copy, it will dissipate by itself.
Future potential:
The copies she makes could last much longer and be created with much less energy. It might even extend to being able to create a perfect copy. She could potentially make a copy of larger objects such as vehicles.
The ability to create copies of different sizes and in relation to that, change the size at will. For example, creating a tiny copy of a vehicle and resizing it later.
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Combat:
Combat style:
Melee: Swift, aggressive, offensive
Ranged: Swift, accurate, rapid, long-close range
Taliyah fights with, what can be considered a “Jack-of-all-trades”, fighting style as she can effectively fight with and without her weapons. Without her weapons she fights using martial arts, focusing on quick strikes to block or counter her opponents moves. While not as strong, fast or effective as Scarlett’s and Erica’s, her punches and kicks can still bring her opponent down. With her weapons, her attacks become more elegant and swift, both in melee and ranged. Her blades are used to slash, cut, strike, block and even fire at her opponent using her gauntlets. Her gun is most effective at close range and is mostly used against multiple smaller opponents.

Combat Techniques:
Dual blades - Taliyah equips two copies of Vespula stinger to attack her opponents with quick strikes.
Broken Blades - Taliah equipes Vespula stinger and Broken Devotions melee mode to attack.
Dust blade attacks - Taliyah loads up dust into her weapon and throws it at her opponent by spinning the blade.
Blade’s dance - Taliyah spins rapidly in place, throwing copies of her blades in all directions
Spinning blade(s) - She uses her main weapon, or two copies of it, to attack in melee range while they are spinning.
Far reach - Taliyah attaches her main weapon to a surface and uses her gauntlets to propel herself towards it.
Elemental rain - Taliyah throws her spinning shuriken directly above her, having it firing dust in all directions.
Deflecting spin - Taliyah spins her shuriken around fast enough to deflect bullets.
Yoink! - Taliyah makes a copy of her opponent's weapon and uses that against them.
Bottomless Hailstorm - Taliyah relentlessly attacks her opponent by creating copies of her one-handed shotgun, one after the other.
Rain of blades - Taliyah creates a bunch of copies of her smaller blades, propelling them towards her opponent.
Railblade - Taliyah creates a copy of a blade and launches it in a direction with the help of her gauntlets. The bigger the blade, the larger the impact.
Angel of Blades - Taliyah creates multiple copies of her blades, having them hover in a circle around her and attacking her opponent by swinging all of them at once towards her opponent.
Strategies:
Taliyah is versatile in her fighting style, taking the role of either a close range “Blade Dancer” or a ranged “Mage” which can be used supportively or offensively. She mostly takes the close range blade dancer role while fighting alongside her team, but will on occasion use ranged dust attack to support them at a distance.
Against multiple opponents, Taliyah mainly fights by throwing multiple copies of her weapon, or simply making her way towards each of them, taking them down one by one.
Against singular or tougher opponents, she still uses throwing weapons or quick strikes to attack their weak spots. Depending on the enemy, she uses dust that best suits the situation.
She attacks flying opponents by using her main weapon to fling dust projectiles towards it, og using her “Railblade” attack, depending on distance.
Team Pairings:
Guardian Angel - With Scarlett
Balisong - With Wisteria
Jumpcut - With Erica
Team combinations:
Destructive harmony (With Scarlett) - Taliyah creates a copy of Scarlett’s weapon, essentially doubling the firepower. In some situations, especially against a big horde of Grimm, she creates one for each of her teammates for four times the destruction.
Ice rink (With Erica) - Taliyah uses her ice dust to create a big ring of ice on the ground. Erica can use her bladed legs to stand on the ice without slipping, while their opponents have no traction.
Saving throw (With anyone) - Taliyah can throw her shuriken for anyone to grab, in order to pull them towards herself. This can be used to throw a teammate at an opponent if set up correctly.
Strength(s):
Taliyah’s time with the Ghosts has earned her a lot of fighting experience, putting her close to other capable fighters such as Pyrrha Nikos in terms of combat skills. Her vast variety of blades allows her to vary her fighting style depending on the opponent. While she prefers to fight by throwing her blades around, she can fight most opponents at close range in multiple ways. Equipping her main weapon, equipping two copies of it or her other swords, throwing multiple copies of any blade, or using her backup weapon. At longer ranges she can throw her weapon or throw/shoot dust projectiles, or use the magnetic forces in her gauntlets to launch a blade at incredibly high speeds. She is a strong fighter that brings variety to any encounter.
Weakness(es):
Her versatility has limits. Switching between the various fighting styles takes a moment for her and can be difficult in the heat of the moment. The amount of dust she has is limited, so she needs to use it sparingly. This includes the gravity dust, so throwing and retrieving her weapon multiple times during combat can drain her supply during long encounters, especially using her “railblade” attack, which drains a good chunk charging it up. Since she mostly keeps her gauntlets loaded with either Fire- or ice dust, she needs to take a moment to change the dust vial out to adapt to new situations.
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Stats:
Physical Strength:
(7/10)
Taliyah hasn't been much physically active for the first part of her childhood due to the strict living conditions. During her time in Vacuo, she had the chance to work out and build physical strength, enough to handle herself in combat.
Endurance:
(7/10)
Since she never had the chance to be physically active for most of her life, her stamina has always been on the low end. She has become much better at taking physical abuse and building up her stamina, especially during her time in the Ghosts, but she still seems to tire out quicker than most others. Despite her average endurance, due to her personality she keeps going in combat, even when on the losing side of the fight.
Intelligence:
(6/10)
Taliyah has always been able to gain new knowledge easily, being an efficient reader while also having a good memory. Although she was forced to learn complicated material at a young age, she seemed to retain a lot of the information she was taught. Despite this, she didn't like the way she was forced to learn, choosing to forget most of it after fleeing from home. Besides her academic knowledge, she has learned a lot about mechanical engineering during her time in a garage in Vacuo, while surviving in a harsh, unforgiving environment.
Agility:
(7/10)
Taliyah's combat style involves a lot of movement, running, jumping and throwing her weapons around, while staying a fair distance away. She is flexible and along with her tough fighting spirit, she can quickly get into a closer position, dodge or parry enemy attacks.
Melee combat:
(8/10)
Taliyah’s arsenal allows her to fight effectively at close range, having the ability to equip various blades to best suit the situation. She fights both with her weapon directly, or with copies, but mainly she equips both Vespula stinger or Broken devotion’s melee mode. Of course, it all depends on the situation, her environment and her target. Against smaller enemies, she might fight using copies of her sword, since they take only one slash to kill.
Ranged combat:
(3/10)
The only ranged weapon is her one-handed shotgun, which loses its effectiveness on targets at longer ranges. The only ranged attacks she can do is either with dust or throwing her blades, but her opponent can easily see those attacks coming, making them easy to block or dodge.
Defense:
(7/10)
Her outfit consists of a few modified armor pieces that protects her from harm, both her arm and leg pieces are all created to protect the wearer from various attacks. She can also use her shuriken as a shield to block bullets if she spins it fast enough.
Aura:
(7/10)
Taliyah has a strong aura, being able to take a lot of abuse before depleting completely. Besides that, her aura regenerates fairly quickly compared to others.
Semblance:
(6/10)
Her semblance gives her a lot of options in combat, having the ability to utilize various flavors of dust in order to adapt to the situation. But even with dust, the copies she creates are not as durable and they dissipate on their own after a while.
Teamwork:
(4/10)
Despite her strong sense of teamwork, she mostly acts on her own while fighting with the team. She can follow orders if needed, but since her leader is a reckless mess, she mostly does her own thing. It can be described as fighting the same opponent at the same time, but not directly being part of the team. If the situation calls for team work, she asks for assistance from her allies, taking the role of second-in-command. Still, she fights on her own accord most of the time.
Social skills:
(5/10)
She grew up in a formal environment where part of her training was how to properly speak to others. She has a high vocabulary, but this is rarely used due to her trying to leave that part of her behind. She is cautious when meeting new people, being careful that her true self is not revealed to the wrong people. She might seem friendly most of the time, but seems to prefer being left alone.
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Background:
In the northern Kingdom of Atlas, there is a company called "Mana Enterprises" who specializes in the research of implementing dust in various technologies, mainly weapons and vehicles. While not as well known to the public as their business partner, their main method of making money is working together with the Schnee Dust Company, who pays them big sums of money for their research, along with supplying them with the necessary dust. One day during a business trip to other kingdoms, there was an assassination attempt on the CEO of Mana Enterprises by the White Fang themselves, in order to make sure the SDC doesn't gain any more power than they already have. Following this event, the CEO knew he needed to take some precautions. Besides increasing security for himself, his home and his company, he sprung the idea of having a successor to the company to his wife in case both of them lose their lives. She agreed, but only as a precaution as she didn't care much for having any children. One year later, the successor to Mana Enterprises was born under the name "Valiantina Victoria de Mana", simply referred to as Victoria.
Victoria had a tough, strict and enclosed childhood when growing up. Her parents were too busy to personally take care of her, leaving it in the hands of the maid Talia. Talia is currently a Huntress, who was hired as a maid to take care of Victoria’s needs and as her personal guardian to protect her against harm from “Anyone”. Mr. Mana was very strict on how she should be raised, forcing Talia to raise her into an outstanding, smart, reliable person who can handle the pressure of being the CEO of a big company. She did follow this direction to a certain degree, as she knew by experience that such responsibility is best learned over time. Victoria was fairly easy to handle, she knew how to follow directions, how to act responsibly, how to show respect to the higher ups, mainly her parents. It was rare that her parents were able to check in on her, but when they did it was only to check her progress, not so much to show her affection. Whenever Victoria did something as simple as a hug, she was pushed away as it was not proper etiquette. She was expected to greet them with respect, bow to them and tell them her progress. Being a child this was very tough on her as she wanted to feel love from her parents, to make them proud of her achievements but to them she was only meant to replace them one day.
Victoria did her best to balance her studies and her spare time by making a schedule on what she would practice on certain days. Over the course of a year this worked out perfectly, she spent her allocated time each day on studies, once she was finished for that day, she would head to the studio to practice one of her hobbies. However, after a while she started feeling down, like something was missing in her life. She had everything she could ask for, living in a wealthy family, having food, shelter, doing things she likes after her studies, but she still felt an emptiness inside she couldn't quite explain to herself. Slowly she realized. All of her studies were for her to eventually become the CEO of her father's company, which was the only thing that was expected of her. Even in her spare time, learning various musical abilities would not be allowed if it didn’t benefit her father in some way. Her path was set by her parents and there was nothing she could do about it. After realizing this, she began to doubt herself. Over the next few months, her efforts in her studies started to drop which affected her grades. One day after a test where she received a B, her father quickly found out much to her dismay. He approached her in the study room, shouting and reprimanding her for laziness, slacking off and not taking her duty of the future CEO seriously. As she was backing away from the verbal abuse, he stepped forwards to slap some sense into her, but was quickly stopped by Talia who stepped in front of him. He ordered her to step aside, but was quickly reminded of her contract with him: To protect Victoria against harm from anyone, which of course included him. He wasn’t stupid, he knew the contract and could not blame anyone else for such an oversight. However, he ordered the studio to be locked up until she could redeem herself, by presenting him with a perfect report card. Sadly, Talia was bound by contract so she obliged, giving Victoria an apologetic look.
The next few years were hell on her, both physically and mentally. Her study time was doubled, meaning she had to eat dinner while studying. She felt trapped inside her own home, like she was chained to the walls at all times. It was time for a change, she had to escape this mental prison of hers and she knew exactly how. All she needed was patience. Years later at the age of 14, Victoria has now become a proper, talented smart lady, ready to start working as an assistant at the company. She showed complete obedience towards her parents, had perfect grades in school, was formal in the way she speaks, stands and presents herself. Every so often, venues would ask for her to perform where she would perform perfectly to represent herself as a well known musician. However, this was all an act. Victoria had no plans on becoming the successor to the company, but instead followed her own dream which she couldn't do in her parents' clutches. During one of the company parties, she overheard a conversation about shipping equipment to one of their mining posts in Vacuo. She knew that all equipment from the company had to be personally expected by the CEO himself to ensure the right and best equipment was sent out to the right places. However, this could also be done by the CEO's most trusted employees, such as his wife or Victoria herself. She asked her father if she could oversee this shipment, selling the idea to him as "practice for being the successor to the company". Surprisingly, he liked the initiative but expressed it as “about time". She didn't care, her plan for escape was now set in action.
The day of the shipment arrived and Victoria showed up at the airfield wearing the uniform of a Mana Enterprises high ranking employee. Her guardian was shadowing her in case of trouble, although it would be unlikely at the Atlas airfield. Victoria started her inspection, carrying a clipboard and having Talia open each crate before they were sent into the airship. The crates contained the usual mining equipment, dust cells, weapons, spare parts, rations along with a few vehicles. However, she noticed some of the crates contained experimental dust-powered auto turrets, something that was never shipped before, written down as “Night time Grimm Repellent”. The guy writing the list must have a sense of humor, but Victoria didn’t pay this much mind, quickly moving on and checking things off her list. She demanded to inspect the inside of the cargo ship, which the crew accepted, not that they had a choice, so she made her way inside. Observing the interior, her motive was to find places to hide once the cargo had been loaded. After getting a good look around, she set her plan into action. Talia was in on it, of course without the knowledge of her father. She gave the clipboard to Talia who promptly gave it to the crew, distracting them from Victoria sneaking under one of the tarps covering one of the trucks. Talia quickly went over and gave her a little pat on the head, along with a small cloth with something inside. She mouthed “Good luck” with a smile on her face before lowering the tarp again. Victoria was laying in wait, as the cargo started to move onto the ship. Not long after, the plane was taking off, making its way to Vacuo and hopefully a better life.
A few hours later, the ship landed in an airfield just outside the main capital of Vacuo. The plan is to unload the cargo onto trucks, who will then ship it to their destination; a SDC controlled mine ways into the desert lands. As the crew began to unload the cargo, Taliyah took the opportunity to sneak out from under the tarp, before making her way into town. She quickly got rid of anything in her pockets by burying it in the sand on her way into town, but now she had a new problem. Since she was used to the cold environment of Atlas, the hot baking sun currently high in the sky felt intense, making it hard for her to breathe. Also, she never had the chance to get a drink on her way here, so Taliyah was slowly getting dehydrated standing in the sun like this. She made her way around the city, going down the streets looking for a place to get some water. Her search led her to a street filled with market stalls, with signs saying "Open Market Day" placed all around the entrance to the street itself. She mingled around the people, hoping that any of the stalls would sell water. After some searching she found one, but ran into another problem. She didn't have any money one her and her credit card was not accepted at the market, besides, using her card would leave a trail for her Father to find her. Feeling like her head was starting to split in two due to the intense heat, she contemplated her next move until a big muscular man walked up next to her. He ordered two bottles of water, handing one of them to Taliyah. She looked up at him, seeing his big bald head, a huge brown mustache and the biggest friendly smile she had ever seen in her life. She was shocked for a short moment, until her pounding headache made her quickly grab the bottle and chuck the entire thing in one go. The man let out a hearty laugh, commenting about her thirst before handing her his bottle and getting himself another one. As the man excused himself, Taliyah began to follow him, thanking him for his kindness. Before long they both fell into a long conversation as they walked around the market.
The man presented himself as Mr. Brown, owner of a mechanics shop in a small town far from the city. He was currently in the market stocking up on supplies along with a few other errands. When the topic switched to Taliyah's journey, she didn't want him to know about her real identity, so she spun a tale about running away from her abusive household, without saying she was from Atlas. Not knowing the entire story, Mr. Brown gave her some wise words about family and forgiveness but he didn't want her to feel bad about her decisions, so he dropped the topic. Once he was finished with all his business, he made it back to his truck with Taliyah right behind him. She needed a place to stay. She knew that he couldn't just leave. Feeling compassionate, he gave her choice; She could come with him, but the only place she could really stay was his garage, which wasn't exactly built to live in, but it was better than living on the streets. With a big smile, she jumped into the passenger side of the truck and before long, they were on their way home. Knowing she wasn't from around here, Mr. Brown decided to tell her about life in the desert. He explained how the SDC turned the place into a desert, how the people are living by traveling from place to place, only staying in once place for a short while. She started to feel extremely guilty, being related to a company that would do such a thing, but there was nothing she could do about it. He pointed out that life in the desert is simple; if you can survive against the harsh environment, you are welcome here regardless of who you are. This made her a bit nervous, but he assured her that it wasn't that big of a deal, he would make sure of that. Eventually they arrived in a small desert town, the buildings worn down, various campers, trailers and tents placed around some of the buildings. At the far end, a small garage in a similar state to the rest of the town. This was one of the few settlements in Vacuo that didn't travel around, but instead acted as a place for people to travel through, as there was not much to see in town. The only thing people would stop for repairs at the garage, it being the only building in town with a purpose other than a place to live.
After helping him unload all the things he bought, Taliyah was welcomed into his home where she would meet the rest of his family; His wife and 4 young kids. He explained the situation to them and luckily for her, they were just as nice as Mr. Brown himself which made her feel welcome. After presenting herself to the family, Mr. Brown took her back to the garage which was right next to his home. The place was a mess, tools, tires, various bits of metal were scattered all over the place. He put his hand on her shoulder and apologized for the mess with a big smile on his face. She got down to her level to explain; She was allowed to live with her but it could not be for free. She understood but told him she didn't know anything about working at a garage. With a hearty laugh and a pat on the back, he told her that would not be a problem. He would teach her everything he knows about working here, starting off simple as to not overwork her too soon. Taliyah agreed to this, partly because she didn't have other options, but also because she now had something to do with her life. She knew that it would be tough to get used to this environment, but at least she would feel free, like she was doing something productive with her life. Also being here would ensure her family would never be able to find her. With a happy smile on her face, she shook Mr. Brown's hand to signify her agreement to the terms. From then on, her new life had begun.
During her time at the garage over the next few months, Taliyah had never felt happier. Her new guardian taught her everything she needed to know about her new job of fixing vehicles, which mostly consisted of trucks, dirt bikes and dune buggies. Unlike her real father, Mr. Brown was always patient, kind and praised her for everything she did. This was something she never thought she would experience so for the first time in many years, she felt genuine happiness. Never could she have imagined her life could get even more exciting. One day, a few people riding dirt bikes arrived at the garage. One of them was the leader of the biker gang "Ghosts of the Desert", all of them wearing jackets saying “GD” on the back. The Ghosts were a gang that consists of members that are sick of the oppressive SDC, with their main mission to drive them out of the nation by attacking their quarries and destroying their mining equipment. They also take various requests from those who are willing to pay them, which mostly consists of killing Grimm that are attacking a settlement, or escorting a group of Nomads across the nation. Unlike official Huntsmen, they don't do it to protect the people, but to earn money for their gang. If you can't pay them, don't expect any help. The leader seemed to be good friends with Mr. Brown who were responsible for maintaining their vehicles. Taliyah got started on the bikes, which just needed a tire change. Meanwhile, Mr. Brown and the leader of the gang started catching up on various topics, but it quickly changed to talking about her, how long she had been working here, how they met etc. Just as Taliyah was finishing up the last bike, the leader approached her. She presented herself as "Wraith", a tall, Black-haired woman with a tough, seemingly intimidating aura. Taliyah was a bit scared of her but once she extended her arm to shake hers, the smile on her face melted any fears away. Before saying anything else, Wraith asked her bluntly if she would like to join the Ghosts. After a few seconds of processing the question, Taliyah looked over at Mr. Brown who was smiling with a thumbs up.
Taliyah managed to get some words out, explaining how she never had been in a fight, never had training, nor did she actually know how to ride a bike. Wraith explained that the Ghosts could always use new members, even someone as young as Taliyah. Every new member would be put through training to ensure they have the ability to partake in any raids or missions they accept. She was hesitant at first, especially since they were involved with the SDC which had ties to her family, but Mr. Brown encouraged her to join since it was more fun than being cooped up in the garage all day. Taliyah gave it some thought, seeing it as an opportunity to get out there and explore the world. With that, she accepted the offer much to Wraith's delight. The next year of her life was the most physically straining of her life. While she did build a little muscle working at the garage, the training at the Ghosts was nothing like it. Long runs to build stamina, tons of physical training, how to fight hand-to-hand, riding a bike, even sword-fighting was part of her training schedule. It was tough, but she loved every single second of it. The comradery she felt was amazing with Wraith overseeing her training. Before long, she had built the stamina and strength she needed to be a real Ghost.
One day while working at the garage, Taliyah was visited by Wraith to explain what was going to happen next. She would take her someplace secret to do a couple of things: First she would receive a weapon of her own design. Secondly she is required to wear the mark of the Ghosts, which is to be tattooed on her arm. Then she would get her very own dirt bike to travel on. Finally, she would meet her partner at the official welcoming party. When questioned about the partner, she explained to her that every member of the Ghosts work together in pairs, to look out for each other at all times. Taliyah was nervous but excited to get started. After quickly finishing up her work, she told Mr. Brown where she was going and before long she was on her way to the secret HQ. After getting her weapon designed, along with getting her tattoo, Taliyah was ready to partake in her first official mission. The mission was a simple scouting job to update them on the situation in certain areas, including both Grimm activity and SDC operations. After the briefing was finished, Wraith asked Taliyah to stay behind to be presented with her official partner. Once the teams were leaving the room, one person stayed behind who made her way over to them. As the girl made her way over to them, Taliyah suddenly felt something strange happening to her. Her heart rate increased, her breathing became heavy and her face began blushing like crazy. The girl, named Noire, was a young, black-haired woman around her age wielding a rifle as her main weapon with two side arms strapped to her thighs. She introduced herself to Taliyah while shaking her hand. Taliyah was unable to say anything at first, until Noire waved her hand in front of her face, which snapped her out of it. With a low voice she presented herself back while avoiding eye contact, which resulted in a cute giggle from Noire. Wraith gave them their coordinates and with a pat on the back sent them on their way.
It has been a few hours since they started their patrol. Since there was nothing but miles of sand, no Grimm nor any signs of SDC activity, they both decided to take a break. Parking their bikes at the top of a sand hill, they looked over the vast desert, seeing a few makeshift camps around, the top of a town and the towering mining machines of the SDC in the distance. Taliyah was a bit nervous to say anything to her new partner, but Noire was the one to break the ice. She started asking questions about her, where she was from, why she was here, why she joined the Ghosts, along with a few questions to get to know her better. Taliyah answered every question carefully, not wanting anyone to know who she really was. Noire then opened up to her, answering the same question she asked. She mentioned the reason for joining the Ghosts was for training, so she one day could become an actual huntress. When asked why, she explained that her family consisted of huntsmen, so she was expected to become one herself. But her main reason for joining was to push back against the SDC. According to her grandparents, the lush beautiful landscape was slowly but surely ruined by the mining operations. She, along with everyone at the Ghosts, hates the SDC along with anyone from Atlas for what they did. After taking a deep breath, Taliyah showed empathy towards her, giving Noire her promise that she would be with her all the way during her time here. With that, they both grew a little close before getting back on the road.
Years later, Taliyah has become much more comfortable with who she is and how to live her life. Unlike her childhood of doing things to meet expectations, she now does whatever she wants without feeling guilty about it. Her life in the desert, along with her friends in the Ghosts, has changed her to become a more confident, sassy, adventurous tomboy who also is a daredevil, often doing stunts while riding her bike that could potentially kill her. Her time at the garage has also changed her, having learned to have a positive outlook on life while becoming an amazing mechanic from Mr. Brown. He would ever so often catch her singing or dancing around the garage, although when something went wrong or she hurt herself while working on something, he would hear various flavors of swear words flying out of the garage. Taliyah was even lucky enough to find love, having officially been together with her partner Noire for some time now, who would often come over to ask her on a date when they were not busy working on missions. Taliyah's life was perfect and she wouldn't want to trade it in with anything else. However, not all good things last forever.
One day all members of the Ghosts were called in for the biggest mission of their lives. One of the scouting parties gathered some intelligence, that a CEO of a company working together with the SDC would be visiting the main quarry deep in the desert to inspect their security systems. Wraith believes that taking down any associates of the SDC would decrease their operations here in Vacuo, especially this man since it will prove to them, their security systems are faulty and any further operations would be unsafe. If not, they would have taken down a powerful ally of the SDC, so regardless it would be a win for them. When Taliyah asked who this person was, her heart sank deep into her chest when it was revealed that it was the CEO of Mana-enterprises, her own Father. Noire asked if she was okay. Taliyah just brushed it off, telling her she was fine. The briefing went on, filled with plans on who did what, scouts, main attackers, support, etc. The next few days were spent on preparing for the assault, mostly getting the equipment, weapons and vehicles prepared to go. Taliyah was obviously nervous, so Noire spent the hours before the mission cheering her up by helping her prepare her equipment and giving her words of encouragement. Once it was time to go, they both jumped on their bikes and made their way to the meeting spot.
The main quarry would be a challenge to assault. It was surrounded by big walls connected with guard towers, with only one big gate acting as the main entrance, since the mining vehicles were so big. Each team got into position at various locations around the quarry. The plan was to have one team distract the guards and auto-turrets, the same auto turrets that Taliyah oversaw a few years ago. The gate would be rammed with a big truck, forcing the doors inwards and allowing the members in the back of the truck to assault the base from the inside. Once the gates were open the last team, Taliyah's team, were to enter the quarry, make their way down to the landing platform where the CEO would be dropped off. After taking a few deep breaths to prepare herself, Taliyah's team put on their bandanas to cover their faces. Noire gave Taliyah a quick kiss on the cheek before getting on the same bike to provide fire support. The plan was set into action, gunfire, alarms, all kinds of noise filled the air as the tension grew higher. After what seemed like forever, a big explosion followed by radio chatter gave them their que to go in. They quickly got their bikes up to speed, making a b-line towards the now open gate while dodging the intense gunfire. Noire did her best to suppress the guards around the quarry that had their eyes locked on them, while Taliyah occasionally threw an Ice-dust infused dagger to create walls to give them cover. The entry went smoothly, Taliyah's team were now on their way down to the landing platforms, but more trouble started following them. Security trucks with guns on top started following them down the roads at top speed, shooting at the bikes while trying to knock them over with the truck itself. As they dodged the gunfire from behind, more trucks started making their way towards them from the front. Seeing the opportunity, Taliyah dodged all of them by driving off the road, sliding down the sandy sides of the quarry. Her team followed her example and before long, they were at the bottom riding towards the dropship.
They got to work planting the explosives on the back of the dropship to blast the doors open. Taliyah felt tons of mixed feelings, she hadn't seen her father in years and despite not having the best relationship with him, she didn't necessarily want him to die. After the charges were set, the team fell back to a safe distance before pressing the detonator. The explosion destroyed the locks of the door, which fell to the ground with a bang. Expecting to see the CEO along with some security, the team pointed their guns at the smoke, ready to fire once it was clear. However, once they gained visibility, they saw the dropship was empty. Confused, they radioed it in to Wraith who was still topside but before they could finish their report, a shadow started looming over them. Looking up into the sky, a carrier of the Atlas air fleet was making its way into position over the quarry, deploying smaller dropships to drop Atlesian Knights down on them. Wraith radioed in, ordering everyone to scatter in various directions, as to not lead them anywhere they shouldn't be. Taliyah and her team had a hard time getting out of the quarry, having to dodge the security teams chasing them before, along with the new soldiers that had just dropped in. One of the bikes got caught in the fire, but they didn't have time to get him back, since it was life or death at this point. They made it topside but before they could reach the gate, several vehicles were blocking their path. She tried to go around, but a well-placed rocket blasted them both off the bike, making them roll in the sand towards the gate. Dazed by the blast, Taliyah tried to get up off the ground, but a sudden kick in the back forced her back down. She looked up to see that they were surrounded by Atlesian Knights, all pointing their guns towards them. She looked over at Noire who was also face first in the dirt, just to make sure she was still alive. The Knights pulled them onto their feet and pushed them towards another group of Ghosts, who was standing by the security gate also surrounded by Knights. One of them was Wraith, who looked angrily at the surrounding soldiers, but who also apologized to them for the mission being a failure.
Shortly after, the CEO of Mana-enterprises, escorted by Talia, walked over to them with a smirk on his face. Taliyah froze as she recognized his escort. It would make sense that she would either: be fired for losing her, or be relocated to be his personal guardian instead. She clutched her closed hand over her chest where her pendant was under her clothes. He reprimanded them for thinking that the main quarry of the SDC would be so poorly defended, that they would even have the slightest chance of getting to him. The security was deliberately loosened to lure them in here, as the Ghosts were getting quite annoying over the last year and this operation was a perfect opportunity to get rid of them. Taliyah tried to hide among the few other members as to not be recognized by her Father, but unfortunately her intense stare got his attention. He ordered the Knights to push her forwards, much to her dismay. Without hesitating, he ripped the bandana off her face followed by a shocked expression. He uttered her real name in disbelief which caught the attention of the Ghosts and her old guardian, who looked as shocked. He started going on about her absence, how disappointed he was in her, leaving such a perfect life behind in exchange for such filth. He was about to slap some sense into her, but once again, her guardian stopped him by grabbing his arm and standing between him and Taliyah. They might have had a change in position, but their old contract of being her guardian was still valid. Even if it wasn’t, she would never let Victoria come to harm. The ghosts started whispering and murmuring to each other, looking at Taliyah with disbelief. Was she really from Atlas? Was she a spy? Similar questions were asked around, as the CEO took a deep breath. He ordered the Knights to kill the Ghosts, but Taliyah shouted at them to stop. The Knights were programmed to follow the orders of any member of the Mana corporation, and while she didn’t know that for sure, she risked it for the safety of her new family. She shouted her full name “Valentina Victoria De Mana” followed by an order to stand down, which the Knights promptly did after recognising her as a commander. Taliyah heard a quivering voice behind her. Looking back, she saw Noire staring at her in disbelief while tears were streaming down her face. Taliyah's true self was revealed, that she was not only from Atlas, but also the daughter of the company that was associated with the SDC, their sworn enemy. Taliyah tried to explain herself but none of the Ghosts were willing to listen, calling her a traitor. Her Father found all of this amusing but didn't have time to waste. He once again used his authority to order the Knights to kill the Ghosts, being the higher authority, they obliged.
Just as the Knights were about to execute them, the ground started to shake violently. Before they could register what was going on, a big serpent Grimm emerged from the ground, throwing all of them to the side. The negative energy from the situation had lured the Grimm towards them, but at least it gave them the chance to escape. While the Knights were busy attacking the beast and escorting the CEO away, all of the Ghosts took this opportunity to escape. Talia quickly gave Taliyah a short hug, before running to protect the CEO of the following swarm of Grimm entering from the main gate. The Ghosts stole a few vehicles, while Taliyah ran towards her dirt bike that survived the rocket attack. As they were leaving the area, Taliyah tried to follow the rest of the Ghosts, but a radio call of Wraith ordered her to back off or she would be killed. All she could do was watch them drive off, seeing Noires face at the back of the truck filled with tears and anger. Taliyah quickly took another route to escape out of the area. Once she felt like she was far enough away, Taliyah stopped the bike before breaking down, crying her eyes out. She lost everything she had, her friends, her family and her girlfriend in the span of a few minutes. After crying for a while, she laid back on the sand before falling asleep due to exhaustion. About an hour later, she woke up, hoping everything she had just experienced was all a nightmare. But, she knew it was real and got on her bike to make her way back to the garage. Once she arrived, Mr. Brown was standing outside waiting for her, but she knew something was off. His usually cheerful demeanor was filled with gloomy sadness, which made Taliyah hesitate to even approach him. He waved her over as he pulled two chairs out, gesturing for her to sit. She did, but dreaded the conversation she was about to have. With a big sigh, Mr. Brown broke it down. The Ghosts had stopped by to warn him about her, telling him everything that happened. Taliyah was afraid to even speak, but he continued with telling her a secret. He knew from the day he met her where she was from, as he observed her leaving the airfield back then. Even then, he could not out of the goodness in his heart leave such a young girl at the mercy of the Vacuo desert, so he took her in.
Taliyah was shocked at this news. Regardless, she was thankful to him for not only taking care of her, but to keep her secret for the past few years. They both got up and hugged it out before he gave her some bad news. The Ghosts are not a forgiving bunch, maybe someday they will see her as a different person fighting for their cause, but for now it would be best for Taliyah to flee from Vacuo. She couldn't say anything as he was absolutely right, she would probably be killed if she stayed. Mr. Brown took her into the garage for a surprise. He and Noire were working on something for her birthday in secret and he might as well give it to her now. It was a custom Dirt bike built from scratch based on Noires own design. Not only the bike, but Mr. Brown pulled out a one-handed shotgun which she recognized as part of Noires weapon, Crimson Devotion. It was given to him, so he could hand it over to her as a parting gift. Taliyah couldn't stop crying, as both happiness and sadness overwhelmed her. Mr. Brown pulled her into a tight hug as she sobbed into his arms. After calming down, he gave her some positive encouragement, to always remember the bright days of the past, on better times that made her smile and to look into the future with positivity. He smiled widely as he handed her the gun, the keys to the bike, and two duffle bags filled with her stuff. He assured her that once things had cooled down, she would always be welcome at the garage. When asked where he thought she should go, he suggested she could join a huntsmen academy as her time at the Ghosts would surely be enough training for her to pass the entrance exam. He pointed out that it would be best to avoid Shade academy, as they would most likely find out sooner or later, so he suggested traveling east towards the academy in Vale. With that, Taliyah gave a tearful goodbye to her foster parent and before long, she was on her way to Beacon Academy.
After arriving in Vale, she got to work applying to attend Beacon which was more of a challenge than she had hoped for. Being essentially homeless and without proper ID, Taliyah convinced them to give her a chance to prove herself. She nailed both the written and physical exam, so they gave her the opportunity to join the academy. With that, her chance at a new life had begun.
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Trivia:
Taliyah’s landing strategy involves her attaching her weapon to the cliff side and using her gauntlets to slow her descent.
Taliyah teamed up with Wisteria, after she saved her from an ambushing Grimm.
Taliyah still has access to her allowance, as it is automatically transferred to her account, unnoticed by her busy Father. She’s rich basically.
Taliyah is nearsighted.
Taliyah is ambidextrous, meaning she can use both hands equally well.
Taliyah’s real name was decided to instill a sense of great authoritarian power once she overtook the company.
Inside the cloth she got from Talia was a small pendant with a picture of them both.
Taliyah’s semblance uses an energy source, beside her Aura, which is an allusion to mana, the power source for mages in various games.
Taliyah’s character design was inspired by Ashe (Overwatch), Yuffie (Final Fantasy 7) and Exusiai(This one mrfz.fandom.com/wiki/Exusiai) (Arknights), with a dash of Alucard (Hellsing Ultimate Abridged) and Justice (Helltaker)