Edwin Jay Chemest

"" I am going to improve the two worlds of alchemy and hunting one step at a time...No wait, dont touch that!""

- Edwin



Appearance
Edwin is a slightly tanned man with a rather short cut with the focus of his bangs from the right side of his head. At the focus, theres a silly piece of hair pointing out he refers to keep free- Its said that its an odd piece of hair that was affected by Dust when he spilt Dust in his hair at a younger age. He usually has on a column-striped sweater with two armored plates on his shoulders. He normally wears regular denim jeans and his belt holds more than his jeans up. He has four faulds held to his belt and have their own seperate belt for holding special Dust Shells. He also has brown boots on.



Personality
Edwin's personality is alot more toned down and well-kept than when he was younger. He generally keeps to himself and his team, unless he sees a reason to do something or if something catches his eye- in which case he may commerse abit. As a more strategic person, hes always to be very introspective of a person, to think out his next move. However, he doesnt make friends easily, and for the most part, tends to keep to himself and those he cares about.

Though, to someone who is friends with Edwin, they would call him quite lively and witty. Edwin's personality is definately quiet yet pleasant, and he is actually rather classy and down to earth with his words. Edwin even attempts to flirt occassionally, though however he has to manifest the courage to not completely melt down to whoever he's talking to while doing so. Hes pretty helpful, but will put his own matters before someone else's if it includes Alchemy.

However, Edwin has several peeves that seem to override his calm personality. For one, he hates large crowds. While he may be able to stomach a party, he doesnt like huge social gatherings, and would much rather being around his friends or generally away where he wouldnt be awkward to spoil people's moods. Edwin can tolerate cuteness, but it just plain rubs him the wrong way. He actually cant figure out why it does, but sometimes he may seem annoyed to someone cute. Edward cannot and will not stand for someone who being teased, and may actually snap on the bully. This is because generally when he was younger, he was seen as an "outsider" by his adopted family and was subject to teasing and harrassment.

Backstory
Edwin was left as an orphan around the age of 3, and has no clear memory of his birth parents. Faintly, he could remember the blurs but he could never make out a face. Relatively soon after, the Chemest Family adopted him and changed his name to Edwin Alfred Chemest. The Chemest Family was a Dust Scientist family of chemists, engineers and inventors. Naturally, Edwin learned to adapt to his new families ways and became a rather smart kid. However, Edwin had this unnaturally strong and unkempt personality that soon enough, the more closed off Chemest Family soon disliked him for- despite his young breakthroughs and advancements. Though, while a few didnt mind Edwin, one of them actually liked him. Her name was Annastasha, and she was about 5 years older than Edwin when he was about 4.

Around the age of 12, Edwin was out in a forest collecting wood not too far away from the house, when the Grimm struck the area infront of him in a large pack. Paralyzed with fear, Edwin hid behind a sturdy tree as he looked very quietly. He believed at that time, there was no way he would be able to get away- until Hunters and Huntresses fought the pack off. Witnessing the display, he became infatuated with Hunting and finally had something he could channel his raw personality into. A few days later, he asked Annastasha about Hunters and she had an encouraging response to his inquiry- She also loved Hunters, but knew she couldnt be one due to her health. It was at that time Edwin knew in his mind, that he wanted to become a Hunter.

At the age of 15, naturally, the Family did not like Edwin's decision- There was never a Chemest who went into the life of Hunting. Edwin however told them, that he would still focus on alchemy, but would find a way to combine both researching and hunting together. Because it seemed rather of a low-chance idea, they granted him the credentials needed to go into a Hunting School once he got older. Edwin knew he had to train, so along with Annastasha coaching him, Edwin trained and continued to think hard of how he would live upto his promise of combining the worlds of Alchemy and Hunting. While he was physically tired, his mind was never at rest, thinking of designs, sketching them out, but trashing every single one. Later on when he was well into 16, Edwin had an idea: A multi-functioning Claymore, that would double as a Fragment Cannon- But he had no name for it. It was well into possible for him to do this, but he knew that Annastasha was very crafty and asked her help.

By his 17th birthday, they have created his weapon, a sleek-transforming Claymore Fragment Cannon. However, Edwin called this project CFC and asked Annastasha thought about it and told him, "Why not name it Ballista?", to compliment its heavy destructive capabilities, and in an ironic way, mocked its range. Edwin stuck to the idea and even scratched an "A" on the side to give her credit, but now he was finally grown enough to go prove himself infront of the family. Days later, Edwin showed what he was capable of with the new Ballista in his hands. Actually rather stupified to respond, the Family was indeed shocked at Edwin's amount of training and how Ballista performed- He truly had combined the worlds of Hunting and Alchemy into one powerful weapon. In return, Edwin had gotten credentials and recommendations sent to the school of his choice. He chose Beacon Academy, one of the most prestiegous Hunting schools around. He knew that would be a good school to get real experience and to truly test out Ballista's capabilities.

He was accepted, but felt kinda bad about leaving Annastasha behind. He still sends her letters every so often about his life at the academy.

Relationships:
The Chemest Family: Because he has no actual blood of the family, he was generally regarded as an outsider. His personality only made it worse to the most of them, and Edwin was not quite the most kept person. Few of them didnt mind Edwin- his research was quite useful, so him being different wasnt too much of a problem.

Annastasha Chemest:
The only Chemest who really gave him time. She is a bright, almost somewhat peppy girl who would constantly look out of Edwin even when they met when he was 4. Her craftmenship along with her love for building made her more of an inventor than an alchemist, but she didnt mind. She also has a large love for Hunters, but because of her rather low blood pressure condition, she could not preform upto the level as such. She helped Edwin create and name "Ballista", and still to this day supports and helps him whenever he asks.

Weaponry (Ballista)
Ballista is a close ranged weapon, despite its origin of name. Ballista is a fragment cannon designed into a collaspable Claymore design. It is designed for varied close combat experiences, whether it be with the claymore itself or the blasts it can create, it is a very heavy and damaging weapon sacrificing speed for strength. By pulling the trigger, Edwin could create an explosive blast from Ballista, and with the absorbsion hes put into the weapon, feel much less recoil to the blasts.

However, the biggest flaw is that Ballista isnt ranged at all, *which makes its name ironic. Added onto the weight of Ballista, and Edwin cant do much against someone with a ranged weapon, or any flying enemy without getting close. Add that onto the bulky, slowness of it, Ballista is a mis-match against anyone with a speed based weapon. This would be where Edwin would have to think outside of the box.


 * The name Ballista comes from the catapults commonly used in the 14th century, and Ballista was derived to mean "To Throw". However, Ballista does not have any long range capabilities.

Dust Shell Usage

 * Along with natural overheats, Edwin can use one of the shells he carries with his faulds to create a "Dust Explosion" for a few of his exploding shots. What the blast will do is according to whatever dust shell Edwin put into Ballista. He doesnt like doing this however, because he has to stop and load it in, and would slow him down dramatically in a solo enviroment.

"Vivid Blue Aura"

 * Edwin's Aura is a blue aura, and it only comes to him when hes motivated and focused on a single object. If his focus breaks, so does his aura, so to speak. His aura is more of an offensive adrenaline type, allowing him to move with more instinct and therefore, with more speed and barbaric strength while still retaining his tactical know-how. However, his Aura isnt able to get tapped into very well- he hasnt learned his own strength, so its more triggered by adrenaline than his own wish, so he'll use it when he gets pumped.

Semblance - "Endurance Shield"

 * Edwin seems more aware of his semblance, but cannot normally use it. He can only use it if he has the intention of defending, or surviving. In exchange of some of his life force, Edwin can deploy a temporary glyff-like shield to stall and counter blows. The pain doesnt make Edwin flinch, but he can feel the blows internally. He cannot use his semblance in repetition, or he risks blanking out from the loss of his "life". Edwin would use this to possibly counter-attack dangerous blows or let someone recover and run away, but its a last resort option.

Notes/Trivia

 * 1) When I was making Edwin, I decided to give him a theme or some sort of pun. Edwin "Al" Chemist was both noticable for me to use, yet still kinda funny to giggle at every once in awhile.
 * 2) His backstory is still pretty vague. It will most likely change once we learn more about the world of Yvtal.
 * 3) The sword was made from  several elements, and isnt compensation for his manhood, but rather his quiet nature.
 * 4) Edwin's names are oddly reminiscent of the protagonists in the anime "Full Metal Alchemist"
 * Edwin being close to Edward
 * Alfred being close to Alphonse
 * This wasnt even on purpose either. Perhaps it was hindsight- I didnt even notice that. It both makes Edwin both serious and somewhat of a gag name. But seeing that, I decide I'll still keep it. But it was an interesting note.