Saige Cristallo

"It is through our strengths that we discover our greatest weakness, and fall at its hands. Unlike the rest of you, my weakness will be my greatest strength."

- Saige

NOTE: This article is a work in progress.



Appearance
Saige is an individual a little taller than the average female, bearing long straight-cut hair and void gray eyes. Her physique was developed overtime to withstand extreme speed navigation and combat, as well as close-range melee battles, hence why her attire is very minimal. Her muscles are relatively slender, but sturdy enough to endure direct hits from blunt objects. Her chocolate brown hair is unnaturally long and fades out at the ends into cyan streaks, reaching down to her backside if not a little farther; it's usually pin straight, and if not, she will iron the heck out of it. The only thing strange most people would notice about her is the bird cage tattoo on her right shoulder, its door open and a lone feather resting on the "floor" beneath it.

Saige's attire is relatively simplistic, with a bright blue sleeve on her left arm and a matching turtleneck tunic that ends in a diamond-shape at the front and back, lined with think black seams. The long slits on the sides are filled in with a waist-high, sky blue underskirt that extends sideways into petal-shaped folds. Under all this is a pair of skin-tight black shorts that only go down so far, leaving the rest of her legs bare. Her shoes are just as plain and simple, sky blue like her underskirt, lined with black etchings like her tunic, and the tops extend into points. As far as accessories go, Saige really only has an obsidian armband at the top of her left arm, and a small sheathe for her weapon, the harnesses strapped to herself underneath the tunic.

Personality
Let's see... How to describe Saige? Well, she's not one to have much interaction with other human beings, unless it's of the upmost importance or her responsibility—one of three things she keeps as her priorities. Saige is a very diligent person, as in if a homework assignment is handed to her, or an Ursa comes walking through the forest in her direction, she'll get the job done in the nick of time. This quality, among several others, is what makes her such a notable nomination as a member of her future team.

Aside from this, Saige can also be pretty closed off from society, not feeling the need to make friends, unless her emotions get the better of her. She is mostly solitary on her own time, preferring to work alone, because she claims that others will "slow her down." In reality, she fears she will be the one to slow them down. As a result of this thinking process, her self-esteem is a bit low regarding self-capabilities. Intelligence-wise, her esteem is as high as it could be, making her confident she can ace whatever comes her way.

Being "sad" is another story. After what happened to her, Saige prefers to hide when her guilt or sorrow gets the better of her, closing herself off until she can get her act back together. Most people have never seen her cry because of this, and assume she is simply a coward beneath her tough steel exterior. This is one of the many assumptions about her that can make her mad to no end. Her rage is something just about everyone is terrified of facing, when her cool and calm self turns boiling hot and mentally scalds her victims. Saige can be very open with her temper, which doesn't surface often, and she usually scars those surrounding her to a good extent. Her rage comes in few forms—one being yelling or insults—the other oriented as beating others to a pulp with her bare fists. Maybe this is one other reason she doesn't have any friends.

Weapon
Weapon Name: Sinyayarost'

Type: Melee + Long-Range

Modeled After: A 1928A1 submachine gun. And a panabas sword, which is a twice-curved blade.

Inspiration: The Russian phrase for blue fury, which is translated as "sinyaya yarost'." These words were blended togethe to avoid trying to say "ya" three times over.

Capabilities: Sinyayarost' is firstly capable of the obvious--transforming. But it only does so to a minimal extent. There is a mini sliding mechanism on the grip of the gun that enables it to slide back into a more compact position; the same goes for the blade when determining whether to go with gun form or gun blade form.

It can also fire most kinds of ammo, both in metal form and in Dust form. The ammunition chamber on the top of the weapon is for the Dust, and the one on the bottom is simply a replaceable cartridge for bullets. Her primary ammo is blue Dust, both powdered and crystalized as seen in the RWBY series, though it is still unknown what its capability is.

Abilities
While Saige doesn't look the part, she fits it to a T, capable of participating in long-range, melee, and hand-to-hand combat. When in doubt of physical attributes, her intelligence and quick wits easily make up for it all, finding sneaky techniques and skills to aide her when things start looking Grimm (pun fully intended).

Fighting Style
Her fighting skills are as smooth-flowing as her personality is—calm, fluid, and calculated, like a rushing river. Her movements during combat will never be found to be jerky or unplanned, unless her rage gets the better of her, in which case all Hell breaks loose. She is overall adaptable to her environments, capable of shifting combat styles, and ready to take on the world, whether she succeeds or fails trying.

Background
Like those with a one in a ten thousand chance, Saige was born as Sylvia Hazel Cristallo in a hospital on the coast of Vale. But as one might not know, she wasn't born alone. Originally, her mother and father planned to give birth to twins, but upon delivery, it was discovered Saige's twin sister Faith had been strangled by her sister's umbilical cord, resulting in suffocation and a stillbirth. The cost of the hospital bill and to respectfully dispose of Faith's infant body were staggering, something the Cristallos could not afford.

For the next several years or so, the small family lived in poverty. Their home was a measly townhouse outside of Vale, and one they could barely afford to keep up with. Their electricity bill was unpaid, as well as their heater, and both were shut off because of their lack of funds. They had to survive off of eating nothing but loaves of bread and cold tomato soup for several months...until Saige's father found a solution. He had taken the newspaper from their front door and intended to use it as another paper blanket, until he came across a wanted ad in the job section. "Wanted: Local Vale residents that can lift light or heavy cargo. Contact the Schnee Dust Company employment office for details." The family was overjoyed to hear of their new shortcut to a better life, before Iago took off to the shipping ports and headed off by boat to cities and regions alike all over Vytal. Everything was looking brighter for them...

...That was, until the ambush. Only two months after Iago started shipping big crates of Dust from one end of the globe to the other, their ship was infiltrated by several members of the White Fang, who ambushed and battered the majority of the crew onboard. In the struggle, Iago tried to defend himself, but his right arm was cut off with a battle axe as a result; not to mention, every last crate of Dust was stolen and carried off to unknown lands. With the medieval bill staggering up once again, and their father too weak to work anymore, the Cristallos were right back where they started.

Only days after Iago came home, a representative from the Bank of Vale came to the family's doorstep and informed them that they either had to pay their debts, or face expulsion from their own home. Hearing this and knowing just how well that chance was, Saige became filled with grief and fled the house, running to the city's church, where she fell to her knees at the altar and prayed for a way out. Fate seemed to twist itself around, when a Sister who volunteered at the establishment, a Faunus by the name of Chrysanthemum Daaelia, approached her and informed her that she would be able to help. Chrysanthemum would pay off all their financial troubles, if Saige went to live with her in another region where she could exercise her physical and mental potential. She ran home and told her parents, who were filled with jubilation at the news. They helped her pack, and exchanged teary-eyed goodbyes, before she departed a day later to unknown lands.

When Saige first arrived, she was a bit suspicious about the place she was going to take up residence; Ms. Daaelia neglected to tell her that she was going to be living with several other individuals—neglected and abused Faunus. At first, they were skeptical of her arrival, seeing how others of her subspecies had tormented them, previously. But after a few days of living with her, they found her to be less biased and more compassionate than predicted. As if it were magic, they all seemed to get along in an instant, tending to the house chores and caring for each other like they were all siblings. When Ms. Daaelia informed them of her potential, they were all eager to help her achieve what she never thought could happen. They helped her to train, teaching her the ways of combat both empty-handed and armed, Informing her of Dust and its abilities, and what Aura was, and the semblance each person possessed. They helped her discover that her own semblance was mental adaptability, or high intelligence, regarding really anything technologically based. For once in her life, Saige didn't feel the pain of guilt over strangling her sibling at birth, though the fear of hurting one of them still surfaced occasionally.

After seven years, Saige was finally old enough to attend school, but she had no idea where to go. That was, until Ms. Daaelia told her of a school twenty miles away by the name of Siren Academy, an institution for those striving to be the highest ranked of their classes, people that would make history. Saige was hooked in an instant, despite not having a weapon to enter with; but with a little elbow grease and a bucket of sweat, she managed, crafting a transformer out of a panabas sword and what seemed like a power drill at first, though it turned out to be a submachine gun. She named it both after one of her Faunus siblings and a phrase she remembered hearing in her early days: "Sinyayarost'," which meant Blue Fury. Ms. Daaelia helped her fill out an application, and after several weeks of waiting, she got her acceptance letter, before she packed her bags and stepped outside the refuge home. An adventure awaited her, and she couldn't wait to get started.

The rest... Well, that's a secret~. {In other words this character is part of a roleplay on Gaia Online which has yet to begin.}

Regina and Iago Cristallo
Regina and Iago are Saige's parents, and took care of her for the first ten years of her life, through the struggles of no funds and little to eat. Despite this, Saige has high amounts of affection for them, though she still thinks down of herself for killing her potential sibling Faith. Regina and Iago are moving on from the incident in the present day, and have forgiven their daughter for doing so, when in reality it was a mere accident.

Chrysanthemum Daaelia
Chrysanthemum has been Saige's "foster mother" for seven to eight years now. She took her in after paying off her family's debts, seeing the potential for a master Huntress in the eyes of a child. Though Ms. Daaelia can be firm and somewhat strict sometimes, she means well, and looks after Saige as if she were her own child.

Sinya and Rhiver
Sinya and Rhiver are Saige's "foster siblings," also adopted by Ms. Daaelia. At first, when Saige arrived, they were scared of her, if not resentful. They discovered shortly after though that Saige was very affectionate towards them, seeing them as "adorable," which did shock them. Afterwards, they were able to warm up to her and treat her like an actual sibling. Saige is to this day very grateful for having them beside her the last several years, and loves them with all her heart.

Inspiration
Saige's character and design were inspired heavily by the history and personality of the protagonist of the Little Mermaid fairy tale, in which a girl lived in an unsatisfactory life, and desired to be part of a world beyond the ordinary.

Fairy Tale Comparisons

 * Much like the little mermaid herself, Saige grew up for the first 10 years of her life in a world where standards were unsatisfactory, and she desired to go beyond the limit. The most significant difference between the two perspectives is status of wealth. In The Little Mermaid, the girl was the daughter of a sea king, whereas Saige lived a life of poverty.
 * The little mermaid gave away her voice in exchange to be human so she could be with the man she loved. Saige went to live with Chrysanthemym Daaelia in exchange for having her family debts paid off.
 * The transfer from underwater world to the surface world is showcased with Saige's moving from Vale to the other side of the world, where she found new family and was accepted into Siren Academy.
 * Saige's caretaker Chrysanthemum could very well be an allusion to the sea witch in the fairy tale, magically turning her life around.
 * In reference to the Walt Disney version of The Little Mermaid, Saige and Ariel are both repulsed by the consumation of sea creatures as food.

Trivia

 * Saige considers her former Faunus roommates as her foster family, giving the impression that she was sort of adopted.
 * Saige's fairy tale inspiration is The Little Mermaid.
 * Saige's [unofficial] theme song is Killin' It (Chuckie Remix) by Krewella.
 * Had Saige been granted her own trailer, or a part in the Red trailer, her theme lyric would have been as such: "Bright blue waters drown my world, and drag me to the cold white shore."
 * Saige's representative color used to be silver, but was changed to Sapphire.