Bach "Burgundy" Taggert

"To heal, first kill."

"Its easy to shoot. Any idiot can shoot. Put a gun in a kid's hand and in three weeks, under a mediocre instructor, that kid will shoot like a pro. But that alone would not make him a sniper. A sniper can't be taught from scratch, only polished to perfection."

Profile
Name - Bach 'Burgundy' Taggert;

Age - 19 years old;

Gender - Male;

Race - Human;

Height/Weight - 159 cm/72 kilograms;

Hair/eyes - Crew-cut black hair, black eyes;

Appearance
Taggert is younger than he looks, and that is a source of great consternation for a hunter like him.

Despite being two years older than his peers, Taggert looks like someone's lost, little brother. Short, big-eyed, smooth cheeked and looking generally green all around. Taggert fails, by all accounts, to look like a hardened warrior and slayer of beasts. Instead, he looks lost most of the time.

But than again, Taggert is an assassin, and sometimes looking lost can be an advantage.

Look past his youthful demeanour and innocent appearance however,  and one could not help but notice the too broad shoulders, the barrel chest, the distinctly calloused hands and the controlled grace of his movements. Too predatory and confident for a mere untrained youth. It his face however, that reveals the potential danger, napping beneath a veneer of gangly confusion. Plump lips that never reaches his eyes when he smiles, cheeks devoid of expression in the company of his schoolmates, and the overall impression of bored, but alert consideration as he enters a room or is introduced to someone else. It is the curiousity of a predator, a predator curious as to what it will take to kill you, and whether anything in that room could expediate the process.

For attire, Taggert prefers comfortable clothes. Old Shirts, jeans and combat boots. The only constant in his ensemble is a sleeveless hoodie. Lined with pockets for any odds and ends he may acquire. He also wears a utility belt.

Personality
Taggert loves conflict, believing that healthy, logical debate is the best way to get an idea of a person as a whole. From one's choice of words and insults to the way they defend an idea or position, it is the combination of words and thoughts that define a person, and there you see Taggert in a nutshell, an utter contradiction to his ideals. Quiet and taciturn outside of combat, but wicked mean in battle. Taggert serves as the medic from hell, with horrendous bedside manners, inappropriately morbid jokes and operating on a very loose understanding of the hippocratic oath. His 'mad doctor' persona however, hides a person who is afraid of losing those he cares about. So instead of having to watch his loved ones suffer every time they go to battle, he keeps his distance by being as abrasive as possible, in order to preserve his sanity. Simply put, he'd rather act the mad doctor, than actually go mad from grief.

While his domain is not the frontline, to underestimate Taggert is to commit suicide. While Taggert may not be an impressive warrior, he is a deadly assassin. He doesn't fight to win, he kills, with the surgical skill and the extensive knowledge that characterizes medical professionals. Something which he enjoys doing, to those who would think him, and his patients, an easy target.

 Taggert's greatest love is helping others, his dual role as sniper and medic allows him to fulfill the role of support in combat, to the greatest extent possible. As a sniper, he is able to eliminate threats early. And as a medic, he can ensure that any failure at prevention could be cured. Unfortunately, Taggert does not know how to help others. His inability to emphathize with others causes his good intentions to be misunderstood by those he helps. His mad doctor persona does not help. His skill also works against him, by eliminating threats early, other hunters fail to appreciate Taggert's assistance in combat situations. All they know is that missions tend to go smoothly whenever Taggert is around, and completed with few casulties, all of them quickly treated with no lasting effects. However, people are reluctant to reconcile Taggert's capabilities with his attitude. They simply can't believe that a loner jerk, who looks like a kid fresh out of basic training, possesses skills rivaling second year hunters, and may have very well been responsible for ensuring that his teammates all get good grades on missions or tasks.



Weapons and abilities
Taggert is both a trained sniper and medic.

As a sniper, Taggert focuses primarily on the field craft necessary for his role. As such, he is a skilled tracker and stealth expert, capable of sneaking behind enemy lines to provide scouting and reconnaisance for teammates as necessary. Of course, as much as Taggert favours the scouting aspect of his sniper role, he is perfectly capable of putting a bullet into a target from a thousand yards away.

As a medic, Taggert was trained to sense and detect the flow of aura in a patient, to discern injuries or ailments affecting a patient. From there, Taggert is able to decide on the best way of treating a patient, either using medical supplies or his own aura as needed.

His medical knowledge is also translated into hand-to-hand combat, based on aikido techniques, which allows Taggert the ability to target physical weaknesses in an opponent. Or create them. His aura sensitivity is not a semblance, it is a fighting style, an assassination form that allows Taggert a number of techniques;


 * The most obvious technique is him infusing his voice with his own Aura, creating a shout which can stagger opponents, or knock them out, if done right. The technique could be modified by Taggert singing, instead of shouting. This creates other effects such as raising his teammate's morale, or lulling opponents to sleep;


 * His sensitivity to Aura also allows a degree of pre-cognition, and thus Taggert is able to predict his opponent's or target's movements. However, combat will decrease this technique's effectiveness as the chaotic nature of close quarters fighting will overload his sensitivity, and could likely incapacitate him;


 * His most dangerous technique is him using his own Aura to overpower another's aura. It is dangerous as Taggert is still unable to control the technique's effect. Done wrong, Taggert could kill his target, as the sudden overpowering of another's aura could cause a full system shutdown, resulting in death. Taggert could limit this effect, but at his level, he can only do so through physical contact;

Taggert's semblance allows him to hide in shadows like pools of water, and launch attacks from them against unsuspecting enemies. The shadows also allow him a fast traversal and infiltration method, but he can't remain in the shadows indefinitely. It is akin to swimming, and like a swimmer, Taggert can extend his time in shadows by finding 'breathing holes'. Which are large, stationary shadows from which Taggert can breathe out of. However, this isn't a foolproof method, and he must still return to solid form or risk 'drowning', as it were.

Taggert's weapon is an old sniper rifle, passed on from his master, her master and her master's master. It is a weapon that focuses on reliable functionality, instead of long-ranged accuracy. A weapon which can be counted on to fire, and fire accurately, with minimal maintenance. The rifle has no name, and minimal modification. Its effectiveness is solely a result of his skill and knowledge, rather than any technical advantage provided by his weapon. In close quarters, Taggert uses a Tomahawk in conjunction with his Aura disruption techniques. The lack of modifications to the Tomahawk once again reflects his disdain for technological advantages, prefering to rely on his own skill and knowledge, to combat threats.

Backstory/History
There once lived an old healer, living in a town built within unprotected, monster infested territory. What many people do not know, is that this healer was once Remnant's deadliest assassin, retired in peace after decades of death dealing and Faunus hunting. Three months ago, rumours of this legendary killer's death had spread and been verified by a thousand sources, deep within the circles of warriors, and killers for hire.



 However, a new rumour has surfaced;



 The killer did not die alone. She had a successor.



 When Taggert was sent to a healer's hut, out in the boonies as he calls it, by his parents for a summer job. Everyone expected a three-month stint of hardwork and discipline which would hopefully instill values in an anti-social, video game loving son. What happened was a seven-year apprenticeship, covering a variety of topics ranging from combat, survival, marksmanship and ultimately assassinations. For seven years, Taggert studied at his master's feet, learning her skills, absorbing her experience before finally burning her body, scattering her ashes to the east wind before disappearing into the Grave-stone forest for three months. For three months, Taggert survived assassination attempts and man-eating monsters, before finally emerging from the forest in time for the first day of school at Haven Academy. With him he carried an old, yet operational rifle, enough scars to plaster a wall, a partner in the form of a wild dog and a mission. His master's last debt, owed to a man bearing an axe; Find him, and in his master's name, repay that debt.



Season 1 - Haven Academy
Event -

In Haven, Taggert meets another sniper during his academy initiation. A battle royale between the new initiates, last man standing with the most points wins. Forgoing the initiation, Taggert goes on a hunt for the rogue sniper.

Event -

Due to Taggert failing his initiation, he is left without a team for the time being. But education takes a back seat as responsibilities outside of school comes knocking. It is time for Taggert to present himself to his Master's colleagues, and be inducted into the underground fraternity known as the 'circle'.

Event -

Taggert is placed into a temporary team, all of whom are female, all of whom hate men and whose leader hates snipers with a passion. But when the team comes under attack and are seperated, Taggert and his team leader must work together in order to survive.

Event -

Taggert is called out by the circle to lend his medical expertise to a dying gang boss. But when assassins come knocking, Taggert is forced into a duel against a sword-wielding face from his past.

Event -

Taggert finds a lead to his master's debt, but to follow that lead, Taggert must earn his place in the delegation competing in the Vytal festival. It just so happens, that another sniper has her eyes on that spot...

Season 2 - Beacon
Event -

Taggert finds a man with an axe. But is he THE man with an axe? Perhaps working with his students would provide the answer...

Event -

Taggert doesn't dance. Why should he?

Event -

Taggert goes on a hunt of his own.

Event -

MONSTERS ARE ATTACKING VALE!

But even then, the past still has other ideas...









