Maribelle Black

Maribelle Black (nee Koizumi) is an original character set within the universe of RWBY, and the mother of Mercury Black. She is specific to my portrayal(s) of Mercury, but if other Mercuries want to write with her for whatever reason then, hey, I’m all for it! I won't force her onto anyone, but if you'd like to write with her I'd be happy to.

More in-depth info below.

Physical

Maribelle stands at around 5’5” with a curvy yet toned body type. She is fair-skinned but tans easily in the Vacuo sun. Her skin is littered with various scars from both her work as a Huntress and her previous marriage. The most prominent is a large aura burn scar across her full back, reminiscent of Lichtenberg figures from having her semblance stolen by Marcus Black.

Maribelle is Mistrali, hailing from the northwestern part of the continent, born in Argus. She has a round and kind face, with tired silver eyes. There is a small but noticeable scar underneath her left eye. She typically does not wear makeup much anymore, except for special occasions.

Her hair is jet-black and noticeably starting to turn grey in some places. She keeps it cut short-ish, never letting it pass her shoulders. She has bangs that fall messily into her brows. Her faunus trait of dove wings - rather than sprouting from her back - are where her ears would be. They are nonfunctional for flight, but are very expressive.

Maribelle typically dresses for her own comfort, most often seen in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, or yoga pants and a sweatshirt, if the Vacuo weather allows. She enjoys dressing up for special occasions, favoring long dresses. When doing Huntress work, she wears athletic clothing reminiscent of pirate outfits.

Image link for visual reference (missing eye scar… I forgor).

Her IRL face/voice claim is Marina Diamandis.

Personality

Above all, Maribelle is kind. She has a big heart, and she’s proud of it. She’ll always lend a hand, wherever and whenever someone may need one. Anyone who knows her even a little bit would likely describe her as ‘motherly’. She’s highly emotionally intelligent, and very good at picking up on subtle emotions.

Maribelle is also a deeply fearful person, several of her actions when alone are dictated by her anxiety and paranoia. Her fierce protectiveness over her daughter (which she’s usually able to disguise as ‘silly overbearing mama’ antics) is a direct result of this. Due to the treatment she faced from Marcus, she is intensely distrusting of men her age, but masks it well with skilled, practiced politeness and patience. Maribelle’s PTSD makes her a little jumpy, flinching at sudden noises and avoiding being touched by strangers, if she can.

That said, Maribelle is an extremely touchy-feely person once she’s comfortable with someone. She adores giving (and receiving!) hugs, linking arms, holding hands, the like. But she’s also acutely aware that not everyone shares her fondness for touch, and always asks first, once she’s at that level with someone.

She can be brutally stubborn, but hates arguing. She’ll avoid an argument and go and do whatever she was going to do anyway. She often will keep her mouth shut and not speak her mind to avoid the possibility of being scolded. If she makes a mistake, she apologizes intensely and profusely, and will do everything in her power to avoid making it again.

In her youth, Maribelle was a bit of a wild child, but has since mellowed out in her adult years. Of course, she still has a spark for adventure, and likely always will.

Skills & Abilities

As a certified Huntress, Maribelle is highly skilled in combat.

Semblance

Before it was stolen away by Marcus, Maribelle’s semblance was aerokinesis. She could create winds and manipulate existing ones, and further manipulate the air in plenty of other ways. Such other abilities included flight, and if she was able to concentrate long enough, call storms. Her semblance had grown immensely powerful by the time it was stolen away.

Weaponry

Maribelle has a highly flexible fighting style, able to fight at range or up close. Her weapon is a pair of scimitars that, when combined at the hilt, form a bow, and she always keeps a stash of dust-empowered arrows to fight with. She can also feed dust into her scimitars to give them an extra boost. Its name is Redeemer.

Silver Eyes

Maribelle also possesses Silver Eyes, a trait that is especially effective against fighting creatures of Grimm. Having lost her semblance and wanting to keep this ability a secret, she pretends her Silver Eyes abilities are her semblance.

Non-Combat Skills

Fluent in Mistrali and sign language. Extremely talented cook.Apt at reading emotions and body language. Highly skilled sailor, though is out of practice, and often relied on her semblance.

Weaknesses

Lacking a semblance, Maribelle is also lacking a fraction of her Aura, which was also stolen away by Marcus.

History

Background

Maribelle had a rough but fiscally comfortable childhood, and eventually enrolled as a huntress at Haven Academy, becoming the leader of Team MRNE (Marine). Following her schooling, she adventured as a pirate for a while, before settling down with her husband, Marcus Black. Their marriage was tumultuous, and he eventually abandoned her with absolutely nothing. Years later, she found her family again, but was only able to rescue her daughter. The two currently reside in Vacuo.

Early Life

Born and raised in the city of Argus, Maribelle Koizumi enjoyed a comfortable life in her youth. Her father, a human, was a sailor, and her mother, a canary faunus, was a maid. She has an older twin sister, Miranda, a human like their father. Maribelle is no longer on speaking terms with anyone in her family.

While her family lived comfortably money-wise, her home life was much less comfortable. Her parents had a strained relationship, opting to have children to help them reconcile, and what was supposed to fix their marriage ended up driving it into the ground.

Maribelle was a spitfire, always getting into trouble and going places she shouldn’t. Miranda, on the other hand, was soft-spoken and polite. This led to everything being a competition between them, thanks to the influence of their mother, who would constantly press Maribelle to be more like her sister. This would spark a growing, life-long resentment between the twins.

Her father spent little time at home, his job as a sailor demanding his presence elsewhere, leaving her mother alone at home to care for the two girls. Maribelle was always excited to have her father at home, eager to escape the ire of her mother. She would beg her mother to allow her to sail with her father, and she would eventually acquiesce, eager to be free of her daughter’s chaos.

Maribelle adjusted to life at sea swiftly, and on a particularly rough day of sailing, she unlocked her semblance - aerokinesis. Using her newfound ability, she was able to help her father’s ship sail to safety. He would later help Maribelle control and train her semblance, as well as teach her how to use various types of weaponry. She preferred scimitars and bows.

Her parents would eventually divorce, and Maribelle would live with her father, and Miranda with her mother. Soon after, her father would fall to a sickness, and after his physical health rapidly deteriorated, he passed away. Maribelle was around 13 years old by then, and did not want to go back home to her mother, where she knew she’d be made victim of her mother’s constant belittling again. So instead, she convinced her to let her stay with her mother’s parents, since they lived closer to the primary combat school she was due to attend soon - Sanctum Academy.

For a time, her only solace was going to school with her friends, as her grandparents weren’t much better than her mother. Her grandmother was usually fine, but her grandfather - a coal miner - had a rough mouth about him and parroted many of her mother’s statements about Miranda.

Eventually, once she was old enough, she applied to Haven Academy and packed her things and left as soon as she could. Miranda had no interest in becoming a Huntress, and Maribelle knew this was the perfect opportunity to free herself from her family.

Haven Academy

Maribelle passed her initiation to Haven with flying colors, partnering up with Nijiko Chairo during the test. She was assigned captain of Team MRNE (Marine), with the other members being Roseanne Taurus, Nijiko Chairo, and Isla Estella. A team of all faunus, they worked together well, and instantly bonded. Thanks to Maribelle’s silver eyes, they quickly made a name for themselves during their schooling, competing in the Vytal Tournament as first years. They succeeded in their 4v4 round, but unfortunately lost their 2v2 (sending Maribelle and Roseanne) to a team of fourth years from Atlas.

During the Festival, Maribelle and her team thrived on the atmosphere of the unity of the kingdoms coming together to celebrate the tournament, and they couldn’t wait for the next one. As third years, they competed again, winning both their 4v4 and 2v2 (sending Maribelle and Nijiko). The team deliberated for a long time who to send to the final round, and ultimately decided Maribelle would get the honor. She claimed victory after a hard-fought battle against a team leader from Shade.

Her schooling was typical, not much to note. Her academic grades often suffered due to her own poor aptitude for studying, but she passed her combat classes with flying colors. The team graduated after their fourth year, and continued to fight together, for a time.

Maribelle & the Merry Belles

Post-graduation, Team MRNE decided to stick together and fight as huntresses for the innocent. Thanks to Maribelle’s history in sailing (and the fact that she still possessed her father’s old boat), they acted as a band of good-aligned pirates, often fighting aquatic Grimm and sailing around the world. Mainly, they took on rescue/recovery missions, and helped locate missing persons.

Later on, the team would slowly start working together less and less. Isla had a sudden illness in the family, and had to return to Menagerie. Roseanne suffered a brutal injury and would be in recovery for months. Nijiko and Maribelle had both found romantic partners outside of the team, and were about ready to settle down. So the team ended up disbanding for the foreseeable future, with promises to return to adventuring as soon as they were able to. They kept in regular contact, for a time.

Absent Love

In her mid-late 20s, Maribelle married Marcus Black and took on his last name. While dating, they had a loving relationship, but soon after their marriage and Maribelle having their first child, things would take a violent turn for the worse. Marcus was a heavy drinker, and was prone to bouts of rage where he would physically and verbally abuse Maribelle. He also cut her off from the outside world and forbade her from leaving the house; and he forced her to cut all contact with her family and Team MRNE. Later on, he also took her semblance. For a time, Maribelle was able to protect her son, Mercury, from Marcus’s torment, but there was only so much she could do.

Mercury was meant to be their only child, but Maribelle became pregnant a second time. Marcus was initially angered, but realized he could benefit from two children, an heir and a spare. Mercedes was spared from Marcus’s rage under the protection of both Maribelle and Mercury, but not fully. She was born hard of hearing, leading Maribelle and Mercury to learn sign language for her sake. Marcus did not extend the same courtesy.

Eventually, Marcus had Maribelle resume her duties as a Huntress. Having left the house extremely sparingly in the previous years, and almost never on her own, she was skittish at first, though soon came to enjoy the brief moments of freedom it offered her. However, there was also a feeling of intense, crushing guilt, knowing her children were at home with Marcus.

Galleria

When Maribelle was in her 30s, she returned home from a Huntress job to find the house completely empty. Her husband and children were nowhere to be seen - it was as though they’d never been there at all. The house was deep-cleaned to a stainless pristine, the furniture all rearranged, and for a moment, she almost thought she’d dreamed up the past eight or nine years. Then, the realization set in, and she panicked. What could have happened? How could Marcus do this? Why would he do this? Without a home, without any way to contact anyone, without any money, what could she possibly do next?

It took five years of searching, tracking, and intel gathering to finally pinpoint where Marcus had taken himself and their children. A house in the mountains, far away from everyone.

She’s sure she must have had a plan, but when she finally reached the home her mind went completely blank. Five years of nothing, five years of being away from her children, and they were right in the house in front of her. She’d made sure, at least, to come by the house when Marcus was out of the house. He’d just started a new job the day prior, and shouldn’t have been back home for at least the next few days. She stepped impossibly lightly throughout the home, afraid that any step could trigger some sort of alarm.

After reaching a particular room with a door left slightly ajar, she let herself in, and there they were -- her children. Her daughter, peacefully sleeping the early morning away. And her son, on the opposite side of the room, barely conscious, a suspiciously flat blanket covering the lower half of his body. She didn’t miss the bruises on what skin was exposed, and it tore her heart in two. Just as she reached out to wake him, she heard the front door slam, and her heart sank low as it could. How? Did he know? Was she wrong about his schedule?

Marcus made his way immediately upstairs, and after a violent altercation, kicked Maribelle out. But she was not deterred, if anything, it only motivated her to try even harder. In the weeks that followed, she doubled her efforts. Kept closer tabs, reached out to more of his known contacts, and eventually she tried again. Marcus would be traveling on a long stint for the job, she knew it was perfect. So into the house she went again, but her son was nowhere to be found. Her daughter she found easily, idling about in the kitchen, but Marcus had taken Mercury out on the job with him. She left a note in Marcus’s room, “I’m coming back for my son, too” and left with her daughter.

Unfortunately, the opportunity for Maribelle to retrieve her son never showed itself, as Marcus immediately relocated the two of them to the mountains, and cut all contact with everyone Maribelle had spoken to before. She heard later that some of them were even killed.

Back to Argus

After Maribelle fled with her daughter, she relocated the pair of them to the city of Argus. Mercedes obviously had a knack for fighting and had a strong semblance unlocked that Marcus hadn’t yet taken for whatever reason, and she expressed interest in becoming a Huntress like her mother. They had to move around a few times due to threats from Marcus’s remaining contacts and Maribelle’s own paranoia, but eventually they settled in an apartment within walking distance of Sanctum Academy, where Maribelle had studied. Maribelle didn’t enjoy being in such close proximity to her relatives, but she was luckily left alone.

The pair had a lax time for a while, though Maribelle was constantly paranoid about being found by Marcus, and got little sleep. That was, until one day she received a call -- Marcus had been killed. His home was burnt to the ground, and his body was found at the scene. Mercury’s whereabouts were unknown, but it was believed that he had likely perished in the fire as well. Maribelle wept for days, away from the eyes of her daughter. But, at least, some respite was offered to her in knowing that her husband was dead. Her paranoia never quite left, but at least she could know (some of) her worries were unfounded.

Time passed, and Mercedes continued her studies at Sanctum, and Maribelle continued her work as a Huntress, and in her free time, studied and took classes for counseling. However, Maribelle started to notice something odd - Mercedes had trouble remembering certain things. Once the news had broken to the public that an assassin by the name of Marcus Black had been found dead, and Maribelle finally talked about it with her, she didn’t seem to recognize the man at all. Maribelle would ask seemingly innocuous questions about her childhood, but would almost always be met with an “I don’t really remember that kind of stuff”, “It’s always just been us, hasn’t it?”, “I’ve had that scar forever, I dunno”, or something similar as an answer. Maribelle took her to psychiatrists and doctors, and soon figured out Mercedes had a form of dissociative amnesia, and couldn’t remember much of her childhood with Marcus. Maribelle had her start going to a therapist, but trying to recall just how awful the treatment she underwent with Marcus was extremely distressing for Mercedes, so Maribelle pulled her out after a few months. Mercedes’ memory issues spilled into her forgetting smaller things in her day-to-day, but it was never something she concerned herself with. It didn’t affect her studies too much, so she wasn’t worried. She retained some of the memory exercises she learned from her therapist, and utilized them frequently.

Eventually, the 40th Vytal Tournament would be held, and broadcast on every TV in Remnant. Mercedes was ecstatic to watch students from the schools she’d been dreaming of going to compete, and she and Maribelle frequently watched the battles together. Sanctum Academy also had the students study the fights. In the early stages of the tournament, during the 4v4, Maribelle’s attention was swiftly caught by one of the Haven teams. Led by a young woman named Cinder Fall, supported by Emerald Sustrai, Neopolitan, and… her son. Her son! Alive and well, and attending her old academy! She’d never felt relief like that in her life. Again, she cried for days, but couldn’t bring herself to tell Mercedes. Things seemed like they were looking up, but during the final rounds of Vytal, the attack on Beacon went down, and Maribelle, despite being miles and miles away, was scared. She didn’t want to move again so soon, but she had an awful feeling about all of it. But Mercedes was almost done with her schooling at Sanctum, and Maribelle herself was almost done with her counseling training, so she stayed a little longer.

That is, until Haven Academy was the next to be attacked.

Professor Black

Following the attack on Haven Academy, Maribelle and her daughter Mercedes packed up and took a bullet train all the way to Vacuo, moving to a modest house close to Shade Academy. Mercedes would finish her combat training at Oscuro, with plans to attend Shade Academy that fall. In the meantime, Maribelle took up a job as a counselor at Shade, as well as a substitute professor, filling in as needed. She joined around the tail end of everything happening with the Crown, aiding in the final fight against them.

That combined with what happened at Beacon and Haven left a really bad taste in her mouth, and she got a little paranoid about sending her daughter to Shade. It took some convincing, but she managed to talk Mercedes into taking a gap year, so the both of them could get adjusted to the area before then.

Current

Currently, as of Volume 8/9 RWBY’s canon, Maribelle is working in Vacuo at Shade Academy as a guidance counselor and substitute teacher. She also takes on minor Huntress work on the side, when she has the time. Her daughter Mercedes has also recently begun her first year at Shade.

Team MRNE

(M)aribelle Black

You are here!

(R)oseanne Taurus

A ram faunus with tanned skin and fiery red hair. Her faunus trait is her curved horns. She had unending patience, unless someone came between her and her team, who she was fiercely protective of. She writes to her teammates every so often. Adam Taurus’s third cousin twice removed.

(N)ijiko Chairo (later Katt

Maribelle’s partner. A cat faunus with brown hair, dyed several colors. The first and only person Maribelle met at Haven that was able to match her level of spirit. They’d often find trouble wherever they went, becoming the best of friends. She would later become Nijiko Katt, the mother of Neon Katt. They have since fallen out of regular contact, though prior to the CCTs all going down, would have brief interactions on [remnant equivalent of facebook].

Isla (E)stella

A fish faunus with dark skin and seaweed-green hair. She has gills and scales dotted along her skin as her trait. After graduating, she went back home to Menagerie following a sickness in her family, and still resides on the island.

Relationships

Marcus Black

Maribelle’s husband and abuser. There was a time they did share a genuine love for each other, but it violently dissipated over the years and she went from wife to victim. In some deep part of her, she believed she could change him if she just tried hard enough, if she could just get him to stop drinking, if he could just see reason. Unfortunately, she was never able to.

Mercury Black

Maribelle’s now-estranged son. She thought him to be dead for many years, but learning he still lived via Vytal was one of her happiest moments in recent memory. Just as she and Mercedes were leaving Mistral for Vacuo, she caught sight of him on a Wanted poster. She’d love to figure out how to reconnect with him someday, but she has no idea how.

Mercedes Black

Maribelle’s daughter. She cares for her fiercely and protectively, though keeps her shielded from the truth about her father and brother. After realizing Mercedes lost her memory of them from her amnesia, Maribelle thought it would be easier to let her live without the memory. She figures she’ll have to come clean about it someday, but, well, that day is not today.

Qrow Branwen

A fellow teacher Maribelle has had the pleasure of working with a handful of times, especially after his relocation to Vacuo. The pair get along well, and Maribelle isn’t fazed by his unlucky semblance. He’s also quite good looking, isn’t he?

Professor Theodore

Maribelle’s boss. The pair get along like a house on fire. Maribelle enjoys working for him, and in turn, he appreciates the work she does, both for the school and for Vacuo itself, especially as an outsider. She admires his desire to protect his students, and his drive when it comes to running the school. This guy’s also really good looking oh god.

Xanthe Rumpole

Maribelle’s coworker. They have a friendly relationship, but aren’t overly close. They count on each other when they need to, and Xanthe frequently asks Maribelle to remind Mercedes she has to study.

Rowena Sunnybrook

Maribelle’s coworker. Like Xanthe, they are friendly, but not close. Rowena keeps a close eye on Mercedes during her weapons classes as requested by Maribelle, but Rowena insists Mercedes is her star pupil. (Maribelle is very proud.)

Nijiko Katt

Maribelle’s partner, when her surname was still Chairo. They were extremely close friends, but Maribelle was forced to cut contact with all of her old team. Of all the members, Nijiko is the one Maribelle would most like to get back in touch with, but, once again, has no means of doing so.

Isla Estella

Maribelle’s old teammate. After cutting contact, Maribelle unfortunately never learned of her whereabouts, or if she ever came home from Menagerie.

Roseanne Taurus

Maribelle’s old teammate. She misses her patience. Of all of her old teammates, she feels Roseanne would be the most understanding of her situation.

Shade Academy Student Body

Maribelle has a good reputation among the Shade students, and as counselor, frequently has interactions with many of them. They know she is a shoulder they can lean on, a teacher they can rely on.

Verse List

RWBY

Main verse, assumed as default unless otherwise stated. In-verse AUs are Summer Maiden and Salem's Captive. For more info for this verse you can just scroll up ‘ere ^

Canon Deviation 1: Summer Maiden: In this AU, after moving to Vacuo, Maribelle quickly makes friends with another woman after frequently pairing up for Huntress work. On a mission that ended up more perilous than anyone could have anticipated, she unfortunately does not make it, and reveals her status as the Summer Maiden, and the powers go to Maribelle.

Canon Deviation 2: Salem's Captive: In this AU, Maribelle is captured unknowingly by Mercury and brought back to Evernight. Her silver eyes make her a threat, but also a possible asset - Salem seeks to understand the eyes deeper, and learn how to use them to her advantage.

Modern AU

AKA coffeeshop, college, mall, band, what-have-you AU. In this verse, Maribelle and Mercury have reconnected and are slowly rebuilding their relationship.
Maribelle and Mercedes unfortunately live on the other side of the country, but they try to fly in to visit Mercury at least once a month, or every two months.
Maribelle works as a therapist and guidance counselor at the high school Mercedes recently graduated from.
Maribelle supports her son’s band, even if the music is a little heavy for her tastes.

Arcane AU

Also League of Legends, but I don’t really go here, I just know Arcane. So.
Maribelle Koizumi fell in love with Marcus Black, a dark and mysterious assassin from Zaun, and ended up abandoning her family in Piltover to live with him. Eventually, his treatment of her and their children got to be too much, and she fled with their daughter after Marcus fed her a lie that he’d killed their son.
Maribelle lives with Mercedes in Piltover, and has no idea her son yet lives, nor that her husband is deceased.

Pokemon AU

Maribelle is a flying-type gym leader somewhere. I’ll figure it out.

Skyrim AU

I’d like to say this is compatible with other TES games/timelines, but I’ve only played Skyrim…
Maribelle is a Breton smith working in Winterhold, she lives with her daughter who is attending the College.
This is the AU where Maribelle and Mercury have the most consistent contact, she forged his legs for him under instruction of Marcus. She is aware of her son’s employment with the Dark Brotherhood, but she’s created a cover story for him that he simply disappeared one day.
They communicate frequently through coded letters, and Mercury visits home every so often between jobs, or if his work brings him to Winterhold.

Muse Lists