[hider=Stick]
[center][h1]Stick[/h1][/center]

[center][h3]Student of the Arts[/h3][/center]
[center][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtYwq4aBr0E[/youtube][/center]

[h3][u]Appearance[/u][/h3]
[b]Age:[/b] 19
[b]Gender:[/b] Female
[b]Ethnicity:[/b] Caucasian
[indent]Standing at just over 5’10”, Stick projects a rather friendly aura, with soft facial features, a warm smile that never seems to fade, big green eyes, and a messy head of brown hair that falls down to her shoulders. She has a relatively slender frame that she covers up with olive, baggy clothing, which is further covered by a fashionably cut blue poncho made from a tarp taken from an old shipping container. She also carries a bag with her, though whether it’s attached to her back or the long wooden staff she’s never seen without depends on how she’s feeling at the moment.[/indent]

[h3][u]Personality Traits[/u][/h3]
[indent]
[list]
[*]Friendly
[*]Optimistic
[*]A little naive
[*]Eager to learn
[*]Observant
[*]Tendency to fixate
[*]Really likes her stick
[/list]
[/indent]

[h3][u]Backstory[/u][/h3]
[indent]Some time after the Blast, there emerged a group of nomadic Warriors calling themselves Students of the Arts. Their mission; find, learn, and record every Fighting Art in existence, passing their wisdom down both to their offspring and to a hidden library tucked away from the eyes of any greedy bandits or warlords.

Stick was one of these nomads, having been born into the school and raised on its stories and teachings. She was always a bit of an odd one, having a strange fascination with staves that earned the young Student her name, but she nevertheless showed endless potential and had a shining enthusiasm for learning martial arts. She wanted to leave the nest and strike out on her own by the time she hit her mid-teens. But she had to wait. Warrior or no, the wastes weren’t a place for anyone so young.

Eventually, some time after she turned eighteen, she was finally allowed to strike out on her own, and contribute to the collective knowledge of the Students. Growing up on stories of New Fennec, the countless Warriors there, and legends of the Art that could thwart a nuclear blast, she was eventually drawn there, determined to learn how to do it herself. She wasn’t just going to record an Art, she was going to make history![/indent]

[h3][u]Fighting Art: Gakusei no Ken[/u][/h3]
[indent]Drawing from a variety of martial arts techniques from across the world, Gakusei no Ken is the signature Art of the Students, and it is unique among them in that it is almost entirely defensive, utilizing a variety of impregnable stances developed for the purpose of analyzing an opponent’s own fighting style. In its sphere of defense, it’s relatively versatile, able to swap from weaving dodges to fluid parries to solid blocks that enable the practitioner to avoid a variety of attacks in whatever fashion they see fit.

Stick’s own addition to this style is the weapon she was named after; a solid bo staff, just under six feet long and made of reliable oak. It’s a handy tool as well as a dependable weapon, being used for vaulting, deflecting, and blocking. Though it’s far more powerful than it’s simple appearance might indicate, Stick can also attach her survival knife to the end, forming a makeshift spear.[/indent]

[indent][indent][b][u]■ A Leaf in the Wind[/u][/b]
Stick shifts her stance and mentality to become light on her feet, embodying the wind itself. She stays in motion as often as possible, moving in circles and making graceful twists and dodges to avoid her opponent’s attacks and move around towards their back. It’s her favorite stance, and for good reason.[/indent][/indent]

[indent][indent][b][u]■ Be Like Water[/u][/b]
Stick loosens her entire body, taking the ancient adage to heart. In this stance, she becomes almost entirely reactive, taking blows and moving with them to minimize damage or using short dodges and following up with simple strikes, pulls or grapples to send an opponent to their feet largely through their own force.[/indent][/indent]

[indent][indent][b][u]■ Tough as a Rock[/u][/b]
Stick becomes as rigid as possible, focusing on being as sturdy and immovable as a mountain. She can focus her energy and block anything from strikes to blades to energy beams with astounding feats of strength. This stance uses up a lot of energy, so she only uses it either when she feels she has to or wants to show off.[/indent][/indent]

[indent][b][u]Weaknesses[/u][/b]
Gakusei no Ken’s greatest flaw is that it’s geared entirely towards defense, not offense. Not so much that Stick herself is weak, the Art was simply made for studying, not conquering, only offering various quick pokes and jabs to get the job done. In addition, Stick can’t completely mitigate the damage of attacks she doesn’t dodge, meaning that she can be worn down by anyone who can outlast her.[/indent]

[h3][u]Trivia/Other Information[/u][/h3]
[indent]While Stick finds her staff to be indispensable in combat, she’s also liable to use it for just about anything else she can come up with, from carrying bags to roasting food.[/indent]
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