Mortimer Jakobs

CHARACTER

Name: Mortimer “Mort” Jakobs

Age: 17, born 1/21 as far as he knows.

Gender: Male

Species: Human

Symbol: A gray fish-eye or bullseye. Filled circle inside a larger circle.

Occupation: Beggar, sneak-thief, student

Appearance: Short(5' 3”), thin(110 lbs), and utterly unremarkable, though regular exercise and general skittishness have ensured that any weight he puts on is lean muscle. His features are gaunt without being remarkably so, his sharp cheekbones emphasizing a permanently neutral expression. Short, dark brown hair that rebels against all attempts to style it(not that Mort puts any work into it) rests lazily on his head, making sure that his slouching posture not only looks disheartened, but disheveled. His clothes are also rather dingy, with a worn pair of green pants with patches and pockets in equal measure, and several shirts of muted colors that sport various paint or grease spots and small holes. Over it all is a frayed green wool coat that seems to have been repaired innumerable times, offset by a pair of new leather work boots. The only thing that really allows people to remember Mort at all is his piercing gray-blue eyes, which often go unnoticed due to his reluctance to meet anyone's gaze.
After going to Beacon and receiving his uniform, Mort wears that around school for the most part. He wears the uniform to blend in, even though he finds it uncomfortable. He will usually leave the cuffs and front unbuttoned on the jacket to keep it looser. He's also been known to pick nervously at the knees and elbows when they constrict his movement.

History: Mortimer's life was a simple one. He grew up in an orphanage. Simple, but not kind. He doesn't know whether his parents abandoned him or died. Pretty sure he'll never find out. Either way, if you put enough kids in one place with very little supervision a certain hierarchy develops. Mortimer soon learned that he would never climb that ladder. Sure, he was quick and quiet, but that wasn't getting him anywhere. He saw it. For some reason, he could always see how things were, what was coming. So, he worked to remove himself from the system. He blended into the background, stayed so quiet and out of sight that eventually, even the most persistent bullies decided that some targets weren't worth hunting down. That is how Mort made his way through life.

Eventually, he left the orphanage entirely to beg on the streets. That was where his instincts failed him. You had to stand out to get anyone to drop money in a hat, but that also invited the bullies. Stealing was easier. Stay out of the spotlight, use every distraction as an opportunity, take very little from a lot of places, and never, ever, run like a suspect. Mort saw the streets of Vale as few did, an unnoticeable observer in the grand play. He knew everything that was happening on the streets, but never told anyone. Rats and snitches always got noticed, no matter how hard they tried not to. Instead, he quietly watched from crowds, from rooftops, from the gutters, from wherever he could hide as a dozen minor gangs rose up or fell, people were murdered or stood strong against adversity. He fell through the cracks society, then watched from the shadows. Until someone different noticed him.

Once, when extremely hungry, he stole a loaf of bread from a window. Not an unusual occurrence. Most people wrote it off as just some gutter trash if they didn't catch him. Mrs. Jakobs was not so dismissive, especially after seeing ragged young man scurry up the side of her house to get away. From then on, she began leaving small offerings on her roof. A small loaf of bread, or an apple, or a worn blanket at the weather got colder. Mort watched. He knew the Jacobs family, in his way. He knew that Mr. Jakobs was a carpenter and walked with a limp. He knew that Mrs. Jakobs baked a lot and often took things to her neighbors. As he watched more intently, he also knew that they couldn't afford to feed him even while they did just that. Things went on this way for a time, until Mort would often sleep near or on their house, despite having spent the last five years never sleeping in the same place twice.

He just needed one last catalyst to step from the shadows. That was provided by the madman in the sewers. Mort knew he was there, of course. Parts of the pipes were inaccessible, and the local homeless were either avoiding certain areas or disappearing. So, when vermin-like grimms began boiling up from the ground, he wasn't surprised. What surprised him was his own reactions as they moved down the street towards the Jakobs' house. Without thought, he slipped in through the window to their bedroom, startling them both nearly out of their minds as he warned them to lock their doors and windows. The next bit was only half surprising, as Mr. Jakobs pulled Vaquero from the closet and proceeded to pick off the grimms from the window before limping his way to the street, sword in hand. Mort had guessed at him being former military after scaring off some punks, but he wasn't really prepared for just how dedicated he was to protecting his neighborhood. Of course, ex-military or not, he couldn't take on all the grimms. Mort saw the black, rat-like monster circling around behind the old man, and did the first courageous thing in his life. Grabbing a large kitchen knife, Mort protected Mr. Jakobs' back with knowledge gleaned from watching dozens of fights and desperation that only really came from protecting the one thing you care about. Eventually, even the two of them would have been overwhelmed if the Hunter hadn't come along. With the immediate crisis taken care of, it did take a little convincing for Mort to show Mr. Jakobs and the Hunter where the madman had taken up residence, but he did. With the threat completely dealt with, Mort began to live with the Jakobs, and actually consider that his future might not be on the street, but as a hunter. A little remedial tutoring gave him grades high enough to get into Beacon on, and a lot of scholarships and hard work paid the way. He'd learn to hunt down the monsters in the world, as penitence for watching them roam free most of his life.

Personality: Most people pick Mort out as shy. Those that talk to him for a short while usually find him bland. It's true, in that he has a hard time reaching out to people, and his first instinct is to blend into a crowd. However, Mrs. Jakobs has been trying to convince him to open up and connect with people at school, which is something of a chore for him. Despite outward appearances, the one thing that Mort does not lack is confidence, though. He knows what he is good at, and if he tries something, he knows he can succeed. The hard part is breaking a way of life that has essentially been written on his brain since childhood. That being said, his speech is clipped, and to the point. Sharing his thoughts often leads to insights or perspectives that others have a hard time understanding. Couple that with a habit of sleeping wherever he feels safe, and occasionally glancing about nervously before eating, and those that actually notice him tend to find him unusual. While he is very observant and clever, of sorts, he is not what people call intelligent. He has had to hit the books extra hard to catch up after years without traditional education, and will have to continue to study a lot to keep his grades up.

Strengths:
Mort's talents for both observation and stealth are his primary strengths. Stalking, spying, and reconnaissance are all natural tactics to him. Mr. Jakobs has trained him to be a fairly effective marksman with the Vaquero. In melee combat and when under attack he is very agile and acrobatic, since dodging is the only way he survives. Should the need arise, he also has very nimble fingers, and pickpocketing or working simple locks is no problem.

Weaknesses:
Unfortunately, one of his greatest strengths is also a huge weakness, as his willingness to go unnoticed keeps him from contributing to the team as often as he should. Not only that, but his odd perspective and general weirdness can keep people from taking him very seriously. Lastly, years of malnutrition left him rather frail. An iron will and tenacity to hang on to life only goes so far when the body is broken. He's also had a somewhat untraditional education, and so hasn't acquired some of the skills that many take for granted(writing papers, knowing basic history).

Semblance: None that he knows of. It has been theorized that his ability to analyze a situation is part of it, as his aura has been known to flare when confronted with puzzles and things, but nothing has manifested overtly.

WEAPON

Name: Vaquero

Primary Form: Like someone mixed a M1 Garand with a crossbow, the crossbow section sits atop a long, blued steel barrel, with large ejection ports on both the top and right side and a double trigger. The “crossbow” is actually a single shot flechette thrower that mainly fires long metal darts great distances with extreme accuracy, doing incredible damage. The real advantage to this system is that it can also project a variety of specialty flechettes, some of which are still used by the military. Though Mort doesn't really have access to any of these, they can be loaded with dust to explode on contact, light things on fire, trap them within ice, or other varied effects.

Secondary Form: The barrel underneath is something like a semi-auto marksman's rifle. A fifteen round magazine fits underneath, almost flush with the stock. While it doesn't match the fire rate of many hunters' weapons, it is still fairly powerful in its own right and able to keep a steady rate of fire in practiced hands. Lastly, when not in use, the flechette launcher's crossbow limbs fold flush, and the entire gun folds into a single block for easy transport when not in use(ala Mass Effect).

History: A custom version of the standard military rifle that was issued to Montgomery Jakobs nearly thirty years ago. As his unit's designated marksman, he tuned it for accuracy, then added the flechette launcher and precision sights. Its old, but it will still do the trick.

EDIT1.0(5/2): Added more physical description in response to Skylight's comments. Later added some extra description in both strengths and weaknesses, and some ideas for his semblance when it manifests.
EDIT1.1(5/3): Bumped his age up to 17 to fit the school better.
EDIT1.2(5/4): Removed semblance ideas upon suggestions from Skylight, and are putting them here.

Possible semblance for later:

EDIT1.3(5/5): Added some extra description for when he is wearing the school uniform.

Everything seems fine to me, although I would like to see a little more added to the physical description, such as his facial features, and muscle mass.

Wanted to call attention to my edits, particularly the semblance. While it seems like most semblances are more physically based, the True Sight thing seemed more fitting. Opinions?

Everything looks good to me, +1 Approved!

One down, one to go. Also, added a little note in his description about the school uniform. Because I realized how silly it would be for him to walk around school in hobo-clothes.