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Thread: Monthly Create-A-Servant Contest

  1. #7321
    ah, seems like its only visible on pc. thanks

  2. #7322
    闇色の六王権 The Dark Six pinetree's Avatar
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    That's strange, I can see it just fine on mobile. Is ayone else having that problem?

  3. #7323
    後継者 Successor DrStein's Avatar
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    Apologies for the lack of collapse tabs


    Avenger



    Theme

    “I despise this world. I shall return all things within it back into the void.”

    True Name: Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator Alter
    Alias: Serpent From the Nile, Eater of Souls
    Alignment: Chaotic Evil
    Alternate Classes: Caster, Berserker
    Height: 5’6’’
    Weight: 132 lbs
    Place of Origin: Alexandria, Egypt (Historical Fact)
    [Mid 100s B.C. {Late Ptolemaic Dynasty}]
    Age: 39 Years Old
    Attribute: Sky
    Catalyst: The Remains of a Mysterious Liquid, Resembling Snake Venom and Melted Wax
    Strength- C
    Endurance- EX
    Agility- C
    Mana- EX
    Luck- E
    NP- EX
    Armament: Seemingly Nothing but her Bare Hands




    Lore


    Avenger's True Name is Cleopatra Alter, the altered form of the Last Pharaoh, Cleopatra VI Philopator. She has become twisted by her desire for vengeance against the people and nations who destroyed her kingdom, deposed her rule, and murdered her eldest son. She has completely abandoned her status as a wise queen, and has become a vessel of destruction who seeks to dismantle and destroy all marks of civilization around her. Whether through cruel manipulations or sheer destructive power, she will see every living thing, every product of order around her ground into primordial dust.

    Cleopatra has forsaken humanity, the gods, and the World itself. All that exists is merely a target of her bloodlust.


    Likes: Destruction, Death, Consumption

    Dislikes: Civilization, Life, Order

    Talent: Destruction, Manipulation, Disrupting Order




    Personality:

    This version of Cleopatra has been completely subsumed by her desire for vengeance against the world that took so much from her. Her usual elegance and refinement has been flung to the wayside, in favor of absolute brutality and a savage disregard for life. She is unendingly cruel, takes sadistic pleasure in causing destruction and inflicting harm, and whatever mercy she once held within her has been torn away.

    Her normally devious and hardworking personality is gone; now, she will simply take the shortest and most direct path in order to cause the most destruction possible. That’s not to say she is less intelligent or manipulative; Cleopatra will not hesitate to use and discard everyone and everything around her in order to achieve her objective. The biggest change on that front is that she seems to purposely aim for those she uses to meet grisly ends, rather than simply being pragmatic.

    She has completely forsaken both her ties to her family and her devotion to the gods. She declares that she holds no love for anything in this World, and that the gods are simply another thing she must crush and devour. She takes no pleasure in beauty, finery, people, or even victory. The only satisfaction she feels is in destroying everything within her sight. It can well be said that this Cleopatra is entirely antithetical to her “normal” self.

    Cleopatra Alter’s wish for the Holy Grail is for the absolute destruction of the World. She declares that everything that has wronged her must be destroyed, and everything that did not avenge or protect her must also be destroyed. A strangely simplistic wish from someone normally so deep-thinking…



    Class Skills:


    Incarnation of Vengeance: EX

    The signature ability of Avenger-Class Servants, representing the state of an Avenger as one who gathers the grudges of the world onto one’s self. Negative emotions are collected into one’s self from others and converted into power. Additionally, one’s natural mana regeneration is increased upon sustaining injury. The ability to convert hatred into strength.

    Cleopatra Alter has declared the World her enemy, and will do whatever it takes to destroy everything. She feels little need to elaborate more than that.


    Oblivion Correction: EX

    The domain of those who wallow in hatred. Pain and grudges will never fade. The source of one’s hatred will never be forgotten. Every ounce of suffering Cleopatra Alter has ever felt shall be given back tenfold to the entire World.



    Personal Skills:


    Divine Core of the Serpent Goddess: A

    A skill expressing one’s rank as a true Divine Spirit. An evolved form of Divinity. Can be used as a measure of the strength and conceptual weight of one’s divine Authority and presence. Provides immunity from all mental interference from non-divine sources, and can grant resistances, advantages, or disadvantages against certain abilities or Noble Phantasms.

    A Divine Core that Cleopatra Alter has somehow acquired. One would assume it comes to her through her deification as either Venus or Isis, but rather than their domains, this core is painted over with the concept of serpents. Cleopatra’s association with them is famous, but exactly where the divinity comes from is unknown.



    Manifestation of the Beautiful Asp: A++

    A skill parallel to Ideal Form. It denotes the possession of a natural and perfect body, possessing beauty beyond the limits of humanity. Grants Charisma-like charm and persuasive ability, as well as various other effects. As one of the most famously beautiful women in human history, Cleopatra of course possesses this Skill at a high Rank. However, for some reason, this Skill has been slightly altered. Cleopatra is shockingly beautiful, but rather than an incarnation of grace and refinement, her beauty is almost horrific, and induces terror in those who look at her. Her words are irresistible, not through persuasion or charm, but through inspiring fear and awe in those lesser than her.

    This Skill also grants the effects of Tyrant’s Charisma at Rank EX.


    Mystic Eyes of White Noise: A++

    The possession of Mystic Eyes. In this case, they hold the rank of Jewel. A form of supernatural power concentrated within the eyes, which can interfere with the outer world through sight alone. Mystic Eyes are the oldest form of magecraft known to humans, deriving from neither ritual nor study. They are the product of mutation of the optic nerves, either naturally occurring or artificially induced. They generally work as Single Action spells activated simply by looking at an object or space and then enforcing some effect. The different types of eyes are ranked by classifications, with said rank being determined by the effect of the eye as well as the scale of he Mystery it embodies. These Ranks are called Noble Color.

    In this case, any living being that Cleopatra Alter gazes upon will be overwhelmed by some sort of Mental Interference effect, resembling an overload of information. A type of “white noise” will overcome their senses, as if their brains were overloading and overheating like a computer. Resistance to mental or magical effects does nothing to prevent this, and all subjects within her gaze are subjected to paralysis and death via some unknown means.

    Cleopatra Alter does not seem interested in explaining how she acquired these eyes, or how exactly they work.



    Mana Burst (Unknown): EX

    The ability to increase one’s performance by infusing one's body and weapons with magical energy and expelling it. At Rank A, even a normal everyday object, or even one’s bare limbs, can be empowered to attack at a level on par with a Noble Phantasm. Variant skills can be created using mana of different elements or attributes. In this case, Cleopatra can somehow create effects resembling natural disasters just by surging her mana and projecting it outside of her body. Thunderstorms, whirlwinds, and tidal waves all seem to be within her power to create. She can even disrupt the ground to create sinkholes and earthquakes.
    Again, Cleopatra Alter will not deign to explain how exactly this is possible, or why she has acquired an ability so similar in nature to a Divine Authority.



    Noble Phantasms:




    Serpent Resurrection

    Anástasi Fidioú - Divine Revival: (Rank EX, Anti-Unit)

    A conceptual Noble Phantasm which guarantees the user’s absolute revival from any injuries or curses. No matter what injuries Cleopatra Alter sustains, up to and including death, she will always revive in perfect health within a few hours. Even beyond physical injuries, she will be purged of all negative status effects or maladies, with zero long-term effects. A seemingly infinite resurrection ability, with no apparent limits, and a negligible cost in mana.

    This Noble Phantasm seems to originate in the legend of the goddess Isis reviving her husband after he has been cut into pieces and scattered across the Nile River. As the human incarnation of Isis, it makes sense that Cleopatra Alter has inherited one of her Noble Phantasms. However, for a Heroic Spirit born from a normal human to be able to wield a divine Authority so freely is abnormal, to say the least.

    Cleopatra Alter does not care to explain her Noble Phantasm in detail, simply stating that it is natural for one such as her to possess a power like this.




    Tactics: In her seeming all-consuming drive for destruction, Cleopatra Alter forgoes all careful games of manipulation, and simply crushes everything around her with brute force. Using the power of her Mana Burst and Mystic Eyes, Cleopatra will kill or destroy everything around her while hardly lifting a finger. She doesn’t lack the intelligence to plan and scheme like her normal self; she simply can’t be bothered to do so. Her shockingly immense destructive power seems to live up to that belief.



    Relationships/Reactions:

    Gaius Julius Caesar
    Her favored lover, and the father of her eldest son. She seems to despise him for abandoning her in his death. She will kill him on sight.

    Ramses II
    She seems to have developed some strange enmity towards him. She will kill him on sight.



    Gaius Julius Caesar
    “I have nothing to say to you. Die.”

    Ramses II
    “Incarnation of the sun god. Die.”




    Master Preferences: Cleopatra Alter shows little care for or interest in her Master. They are merely a vehicle to maintain her existence in the present world; an anchor to ground her presence. Their personality is irrelevant. Their talents are irrelevant. Their dreams are irrelevant. She is more likely to ignore them entirely and go about her business. Unless they are particularly stubborn about getting in her way, she will not even bother to seduce them into acting as her pawn.

    Cleopatra Alter bluntly states that she has no interest in the tiny existences of modern-day humans. Rather than a lack of preference, it can be said that she hardly even acknowledges them as living beings.



    Bond Level 1:


    Bond Level 2:
    …Hm? Die.

    Bond Level 3:
    Die.

    Bond Level 4:
    …you are oddly persistent. Die.

    Bond Level 5:
    Your resilience amuses me. It almost reminds me of myself.
    I suppose I’ll kill you quickly.



    Bond CE

    The Primordial Waters


    -- I despise it…this World of Order you’ve created. I hate its life. I hate its movement. I hate its sun. I won’t accept it.

    So…I’ll devour it.

    -- The true desires of one who detests all life on this Earth. A being who exists to return the World to Primordial Chaos. A being who seeks to swallow the sun.

    But…how could this be Cleopatra?

    The Serpent rears its head, and bares its fangs at the sky.

    ********************************

    Ancient Serpent - Avenger



    Theme

    “gggssssshhhhAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!”

    True Name: Apāpi
    Alias: Lord of Chaos, Enemy of the Sun, The World-Encircler
    Alignment: Chaotic Evil
    Alternate Classes: Berserker
    Height: Cannot Be Calculated
    Weight: Cannot Be Calculated
    Place of Origin: The Primordial Waters of Chaos (Egyptian Mythology)
    [First Recorded: Late 4000s B.C. {Predynastic Era}]
    Age: Unknown(Primordial Serpent)
    Attribute: Sky
    Catalyst: The Incapacitation of the Egyptian Gods
    Strength- EX
    Endurance- EX
    Agility- B
    Mana- EX
    Luck- E
    NP- EX
    Armament: His Own Monstrous Fangs, Jaws, and Coils



    Lore

    Avenger's True Name is Apep, the ancient Egyptian god of chaos and darkness. He was a massive serpent who was said to embody the very concept of Isfet (chaos). He was a malevolent force of destruction which could not be killed no matter what was done to him. He is the sworn enemy of Ra, the chief god who maintains Ma’at (order).

    Apep was formed in the waters of primordial chaos, embodied by the god Nu, back before the primordial mound, the ben-ben, had even risen. He is said to have been formed from Ra’s umbilical cord, but is also a timeless being who has existed since before the World itself. In any case, Apep is a being antithetical to order, who thrives in the undivided waters of chaos. As the other gods started to appear, and began to shape the waters and the Earth from their formless state, Apep became angry. As Ra, the god of the sun, was at the center of this new order, Apep naturally became his enemy, and set about to consume the sun and return the World to the dark waters.

    In order to give life and heat to the World, Ra must journey across the sky every day in his sun barge. In turn, every night, he must journey through the underworld before returning to the surface. It is during this time that he is vulnerable to Apep’s predations. Apep lay in wait beneath the horizon, simultaneously existing at both dusk and dawn. As Ra’s barge passed through the underworld, Apep would strike at him. If Apep were to succeed at swallowing Ra, the entire Earth would be plunged into darkness. In order to prevent this, an entire host of gods accompanied Ra in order to defend him. Foremost among these guardians were the god of chaos and storms, Set, and the goddess of cats and protector of the household, Bast. Set would negate Apep’s hypnotic eyes and pin the serpent with his spear, and Bastet would engage Apep in close-quarters and tear open his belly with her claws should Apep ever succeed at swallowing Ra.

    Ra’s victory every night was to be ensured through the prayers of the priests of Egypt. A yearly ritual called the Banishing of Chaos was said to weaken Apep through the burning and crushing of his effigy. The priests would also cast spells of protection on the souls of the dead, so that Apep could not consume them and gain even greater power.

    And so this process continued for thousands of years, until the Age of Gods came to an end, and all the gods found their way to the Reserverse Side of the World. What happened after that is unknown.
    --------------------

    As the Age of Gods faded, and the gods of Egypt waned in their power, Apep recognized an opportunity to break the eternal cycle. With their weakening came a drop in the gods' awareness, and so opened a hole in their net. Though he himself had become too weak to break through with sheer power, he still retained the strength to send a fragment of himself through, to reach the surface of the World beneath the gods notice. To do so, he simply needed a vessel.

    Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator. The Last Pharaoh, a vessel of gods, and a Heroic Spirit deeply welded to the concept of serpents. She lacked the hatred to become a true Avenger, or the malice to truly destroy the World, but there was enough. Apep grafted a part of his own soul to her’s, and manifested himself on the surface within her body. Through her, he shall create a foodhold for himself upon the Texture of the modern World. He shall drag his true form up from the muck of Primordial Chaos, beneath even the Reverse Side, and then he shall finally be free. He will take the sun in his jaws, and swallow all life on this planet. Then and only then will his unfathomably ancient wish be fulfilled.




    Likes: Destruction, Death, Consumption, Deep Waters, the Void of Space

    Dislikes: Civilization, Life, Order, the Sun, Cats, Sand

    Talent: Destruction, Manipulation, Disrupting Order



    Personality:

    Apep is a vessel of destruction. He possesses intelligence, but it is completely subsumed by his destructive nature. He is a being who exists to crush, consume, and destroy everything that exists in this World. He is a being that is antithetical to order, and so is obsessively driven to destroy everything which exists beyond the shores of the Primordial Sea.

    He feels particular hatred for the gods Ra, Set, and Bastet, who stood foremost in the way of his desires. Anything related to them will be ground up with even more fervor than usual. Apep is basically incapable of interpersonal connection beyond such hatred, so, paradoxically, it could be said that these three are the people he is closest to.

    Apep is capable of complex planning, but once the shell that is Cleopatra Alter has been cast off, he sees little need for it. He is an engine of destruction, and all that exists is merely fuel to feed further acts of destruction.

    Apep sees no need to wish upon the Holy Grail. Once he has been called forth to the surface, he will fulfill his ambitions with his own jaws and fangs, and finally devour the sun once and for all.




    Class Skills:


    Magic Resistance: A

    Grants protection against magical effects. Differing from a resistance effect that merely rejects magical energy, this ability cancels the spells altogether. Cancel spells of A-Rank or below, no matter what High-Thaumaturgy it is. As a primordial deity, Apep naturally possesses this Skill at a high rank. As a being capable of withstanding even the divine Mysteries of the gods, Apep can naturally shrug off the petty magecraft wielded by humanity.


    Incarnation of Vengeance: EX

    The signature ability of Avenger-Class Servants, representing the state of an Avenger as one who gathers the grudges of the world onto one’s self. Negative emotions are collected into one’s self from others and converted into power. Additionally, one’s natural mana regeneration is increased upon sustaining injury. The ability to convert hatred into strength.

    Apep has declared himself enemy of Ma’at, and sworn to destroy everything which exists beyond the primordial abyss. Additionally, he seeks to avenge the wounds he has suffered at the hands of the gods who prevent him from achieving his ambition. This Skill works to terrifying effect when combined with his first Noble Phantasm. No matter what destruction is delivered upon his body, Apep will only ever grow stronger.


    Oblivion Correction: EX

    The domain of those who wallow in hatred. Pain and grudges will never fade. The source of one’s hatred will never be forgotten. From the very beginning of time, from the moment the Primordial Mound emerged from the seas of Nu, he remembers, and he hates.



    Personal Skills:


    Divine Core of the Abyssal Serpent: A

    A skill expressing one’s rank as a true Divine Spirit. An evolved form of Divinity. Can be used as a measure of the strength and conceptual weight of one’s divine Authority and presence. Provides immunity from all mental interference from non-divine sources, and can grant resistances, advantages, or disadvantages against certain abilities or Noble Phantasms. As the sun-devouring god of chaos, Apep obviously possesses even this incredible Skill at top rank.


    Mystic Eyes of Chaos Noise: A++

    The possession of Mystic Eyes. In this case, they hold the rank of Jewel. A form of supernatural power concentrated within the eyes, which can interfere with the outer world through sight alone. Mystic Eyes are the oldest form of magecraft known to humans, deriving from neither ritual nor study. They are the product of mutation of the optic nerves, either naturally occurring or artificially induced. They generally work as Single Action spells activated simply by looking at an object or space and then enforcing some effect. The different types of eyes are ranked by classifications, with said rank being determined by the effect of the eye as well as the scale of he Mystery it embodies. These Ranks are called Noble Color.

    In this case, any living being that Apep gazes upon will be overwhelmed by the “knowledge of chaos”; information overload. A type of “white noise” will overcome their senses, as they are exposed to an infinite amount of useless information. Anything and everything in the universe will be forced into their skulls, until their brain overheats and their soul cracks under the strain. Even the gods are not immune to this power, because even they are not all knowing. The endless flood of information is many times what even their capacity for storage can contain, and so they are hardly any more resistant to his effect than a normal human. Any being capable of comprehending information will be overloaded to the point of paralysis and death in short order.
    The only god capable of opposing Apep’s eyes was Set, the god of the desert and disorder. As a god of chaos in his own right, Set’s divine corpus was naturally attuned to endure this endless stream of meaningless data, and so he could resist Apep’s gaze and engage him in battle. For this reason, even the most spiteful of gods could not deny his place of honor, for without him Apep would plunge the world into darkness without any being at all capable of resisting.


    Mana Burst (Chaos): EX

    The ability to increase one’s performance by infusing one's body and weapons with magical energy and expelling it. At Rank A, even a normal everyday object, or even one’s bare limbs, can be empowered to attack at a level on par with a Noble Phantasm. Variant skills can be created using mana of different elements or attributes. In this case, Apep releases a small fraction of his Authority as the god of chaos into the World. Reality itself is crushed and compressed, and natural phenomena fly out of control. Apep can rend the land, summon bolts of lighting, or even summon titanic floods from nothing. The laws of physics will lose all meaning as nature spirals out of control. The only law of this power is absolute destruction.


    World-Encircler: EX

    Apep is a being which exists beyond humanity’s ability to perceive size or distance. He is said to have dwelled just beneath the horizon, laying in wait to strike at Ra upon both his entry into the underworld in the west, and his exit to the east, within the Tenth Region of the Night. Apep exists simultaneously along both edges of the World, and by extension exists at every point in between. His size is functionally infinite, and he exists at any point where an observer may consider it possible for him to be. Additionally, as a being who exists on multiple planes of reality, this effect extends beyond and beneath the World’s Textures, expanding as far as Apep can be perceived.

    The Sun cannot escape Apep’s fangs, because Apep has already swallowed it.



    Super Monstrous Strength: B++

    A skill held by those with monstrous blood. Grants the ability to temporarily increase one’s Strength in times of need. However, activation sharpens the user’s monstrous blood, and brings them closer to a feral state. In this case, the increase in power goes beyond the boundaries of merely monstrous. As a being of infinite size and weight, Apep’s physical strength is inherently limitless. However, there is a limit to how much of his mass an individual can perceive. The strength of Apep’s jaws and coils is limited in proportion to how much of his mass each observer can comprehend. Those who perceive only a fraction of his full size will only face a fraction of his true strength. In turn, those who can comprehend his true immensity will face a strength capable of taking the sun in its jaws.


    Noble Phantasms:




    Book of Overthrowing Apep
    Djōme a’Phônje Ãapep - Winding Eternity, Inescapable Nightfall : (Rank Anti-Unit, Anti-EX)

    A conceptual Noble Phantasm relating to the legends of The Book of Overthrowing Apep. The Book was a sort of mass-produced grimoire, which listed all of Apep’s secret names as well as a collection of magecraft rituals which could be used to bind and kill him. It was the most famous of the Execration Texts, used to curse and weaken evil spirits. By creating a wax figure in Apep’s image, and then subjecting it to various punishments, such as crushing it, decapitating it, and burning its remains, the Priests of Ra could enforce a weakening curse upon Apep, and so aid the gods in defeating him over the course of their nightly cycle.

    This Noble Phantasm represents Apep’s ultimate weakness; however, in doing so, it also represents Apep’s ultimate strength. Apep is a part of the solar cycle; the eternal death and rebirth of the sun. The rising of the sun every morning represents Apep’s death and defeat, but by that same token, the setting of the sun every night represents Apep’s resurrection and victory. No matter how many times Apep is killed, he will always return. No matter what injuries he receives, no matter what weaknesses are targeted or what methods are used to kill him, he will always resurrect with the setting of the sun.

    Apep is an absolute, eternal being, who cannot be killed, sealed, or defeated in any meaningful way. Any wounds inflicted upon him will be healed by the next sunset. Any curses or maledictions inflicted upon him will fade away on their own as the hours pass. Any seal or restraint used to hold him down with crack and shatter as soon as the sun passes below the horizon. An absolute expression of Apep’s Authority as the god of chaos; without limit, form, or obstruction, impossible to contain, and impossibly intertwined with the very act of existing in this World.





    Star-Devouring Serpent
    Phôsdtaar Āmi Sydṯ - Cosmic Abyss, Star-Swallower: (Rank EX, Anti-World)

    A Noble Phantasm originating from the legend of Apep swallowing the sun and bringing the World eternal night. Initially, this Noble Phantasm appears to be fairly basic and straightforward. Though the act of swallowing and eating an object, Apep may absorb its power and become stronger. Apep can consume anything and gain power from it, but receives an especially large bonus when eating the souls of living things. Due to his status as a being which devours gods, this Noble Phantasm is particularly effective against Divine Spirits and those who possess Divinity, with Apep’s jaws and fangs doing increased damage to them and making the act of resisting being swallowed much more difficult. A strong and terrifying Noble Phantasm, to be sure, but a simple one to deal with. However, this Noble Phantasm has three additional properties.

    Firstly, anything which Apep consumes will be hurled into an infinite void of pure chaos. Its existence will be extinguished instantly, and recovery is absolutely impossible. This cannot be blocked, withstood, or avoided through any means. Once Apep swallows something, it will disappear from this World forever. Second, Apep’s jaws are not limited to physical matter. Pure energy, intangible existences, and even abstract concepts are subject to Apep’s hunger. Anything which passes through Apep’s gullet will be thrown into the void, without exception. Thirdly, anything Apep swallowed will not just be erased physically, but also conceptually. From that point in time on, the World will continue as if that thing which was swallowed does not exist; or rather, anything which is swallowed up by the void cannot exist in reality. Through this method, Apep may devour both people and concepts and permanently erase them from the World. Neither the Reverse Side, nor the Void Sea, nor even the Throne of Heroes are exempt from this effect.

    Though this expression of his Authority, Apep devoured the sun, every single night. By taking Ra and his solar barge within his jaws, Apep hurtled them into the void of nothingness. By taking the very concept of the sun into his throat, Apep consumed the life-giving star itself. And should he ever succeed in fully receiving the embodiment of the sun within himself, the very concept of the stars on Earth will be erased, and all that will be left of the World will be a cracked and desolate rock, floating in a void of infinite darkness.



    Threat Assessment: Apep is clearly an existential threat not only to humanity, but to the World itself. Should he succeed in swallowing a conceptual representation of the sun, the entire Earth will immediately freeze over and be hurled into space. He cannot be allowed to succeed in his goals, and yet it is impossible to stop him. He cannot be wounded, cannot be trapped or sealed, and even if he is prevented from consuming the sun, there are a near infinite number of other concepts for him to devour and destroy. This is the true reason why the gods must slay Apep every single night.

    In terms of combat, Apep will simply crush or devour everything in his path, and he inches ever closer to his true target. He does not even bother to defend himself, since any wounds he receives will always disappear in a matter of hours. He is nothing but irresistible raw power, not lacking in intelligence, but simple solely because he has no need of complex thought. An engine of destruction, and an enemy to all that lives.



    Relationships/Reactions:

    Ra
    His most Hated Enemy. He shall be torn to shreds while still alive, and then devoured.

    Set
    His most irritating foe. He shall be devoured.

    Bastet
    The attendant of his Hated Enemy. She shall be devoured.

    Huitzilopochtli
    A being similar in nature to his Hated Enemy. He shall be devoured.


    View of Humanity: Apep detests everything that lives and moves across the surface of the Earth. At best, they are snacks that offer themselves up to his unceasing hunger. At worst, they are annoying flies that sting him relentlessly, yet lack the power to harm him in any meaningful way. Even their so-called rituals hardly slow him down as he battles their pitiful gods.
    In the face of certain doom, humanity can do naught but flail around in despair.


    --------------------------------------------------------------

    Creator's Notes: Snek Wife become Snek Apocalypse.

    The goal here was mostly just to make a major Beast-level final boss who wasn't confined to the Beast trappings, ala Surtr. He's simple, because he's supposed to be simple ontologically. I like his powers, and I think he works well as a world-ending monster who functions differently to all the canon ones.

    Why is he possessing Cleopatra's corpse? Partly because it's cool, partly as a tie in to another sheet I'll release at some point.


    Image Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  4. #7324
    Quote Originally Posted by DrStein View Post
    snip
    Snek angy. Snek want wrld in sop.

    I actually briefly questioned if he was too OP before remembering that it's goddamn Apep, of course he'd be nightmarishly strong. Good work.

  5. #7325
    後継者 Successor DrStein's Avatar
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    I don't have time for proper reviews, but I've gotta say, Muramasa; I really like your entry.

  6. #7326
    祖 Ancestor Dreamerless's Avatar
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    Great sheets so far guys!
    My compendium is here: https://blogs.nrvnqsr.com/blog.php/14424

    My fanfiction Fate/Roundabout is here: https://forums.nrvnqsr.com/showthrea...ate-Roundabout

  7. #7327
    祖 Ancestor Dreamerless's Avatar
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    I didn’t think I would be able to post this time around. Fuck that.




    A monster loose in London.


    Assassin of Penny Dreadfuls

    Other Eligible Classes: Berserker
    True Name: Sweeney Todd
    Alignment: Chaotic Evil
    Origin: History, Literature - England
    Attribute: Man
    Height: 6’2'' / 187 cm
    Weight: 196 lbs / 88 kg
    Traits: Male, Humanoid, Hominidae, Weak to Enuma Elish
    Catalyst: A blood-soaked razor.
    Armament: A blood-soaked razor.

    Talent: Shaving people
    Natural Enemy: Sherlock Holmes

    Likes: His Barber shop, peace, blood
    Dislikes: The rich, the law, poverty

    Parameters:
    STR:
    D
    END: D
    AGI: B
    MGI: C
    LCK: D
    NP: B




    Sweeney Todd.

    The main antagonist of the Victorian penny dreadful tale “A String of Pearls”, Sweeney is a barber who murders his customers with his trusty razor before sending them down a chute to be made into pies by his partner in crime, Mrs. Lovett.

    Leave it up to the British, am I right?

    Although he most likely has his basis in the fevered imaginings of some pamphleteer, tales of cannibal parlors were quite common in Victorian London, so that’s quite unsettling. The notoriety of his tale never surpassed that of the darling of England’s true crime novels, Jack the Ripper, Sweeney’s blood-soaked razor is an enduring part of the national mythos.

    He has killed before, and he will do it again. The details don’t matter. Will he do it with a smile or with a tear or with shell-shocked indifference? Who cares? Although other adaptations of his tale have tried to soften or even make a friend of the murderous barber, adding deceased wives or a backstory in the military, the fact remains. He kills people, don’t he?




    Class Skills

    Presence Concealment B

    The Class Skill of Assassins. At this rank, it hides one's presence as a Servant. Suitable for spying. It is possible to disappear and become extremely difficult to be detected. Sweeney’s skill works in an interesting manner because rather than hiding his actual presence, it simply makes individuals not see him as worth their notice. After all, nobody expects a mere barber to actually matter, right? Nobody expects a simple low-class working man to actually kill someone… right up until the blood’s dripping down their throats.

    "One of my few joys. Seeing the look of terror on some rich bloated bastard's face as he realizes that he's had his last shave. No one expects me to do it. I never laugh, but I'll always smile."




    Personal Skills

    Murder on a Misty Night C+

    A Skill associated with the Servant's nature as a serial killer rather than as an assassin, which permits a pre-emptive strike against all opponents. Sweeney is not a classy murderer, he is a brute who kills people with surprise and the quickness of his razor. Just a lowly criminal. As such, this skill is at a low rank. It gains a + modifier if he is able to convince the target to allow him to shave them and/or the fight takes place inside of his tonsorial parlor.

    "I've killed so many men that I've forgotten. It all bleeds into the same thing after a while. Young, old, white, black, all the same. We're just meat and I'm the butcher. I'm not proud of it, but it's the truth. Killing might be my only one talent. The last thing I enjoy. Does that frighten you, master?"

    Man Eater B+

    The true form of existence is men eating men. Nature is a jungle in which the fittest survive and those weaker are either outright consumed or trodden upon as filth. Sweeney was one of the ones on the bottom until he came to his niche in life. If life is men eating men, then it is better to be the eater than the eaten. It is in this way that he managed to turn the bodies of his fellow working men into survival, getting by by slitting their throats and turning their flesh into pies. This skill makes him able to consume souls with a much greater efficiency than most servants who would dain to do such a vile act. No matter how horrible he must be, Sweeney will survive. He will eat anyone who tries to stop him and build a bridge of corpses if it means crossing a river. There is nothing sacred to a man in the throws of desperation.

    "You know how the church says that we're all angels who will go into heaven? Made in God's image? That's a fucking lie. We're apes and wolves. Anyone whose had a bite of old Nelly's pies can tell you that much."




    Noble Phantasm

    The Beast In London
    The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
    Ballad of Sweeney Todd


    Rank: A
    Type: Anti-City

    The very idea of Sweeney Todd is a ridiculous one.

    A barber who kills his customers for the purpose of selling their bodies to make pies. What an absolutely twisted notion that no one would ever believe, right? Right? But the most frightening part of Sweeney Todd is that people did believe.

    It was a story that could only be believed in Victorian London. Victorian London, a city that reeks of sin and grime. A city of rampant industrialization and poverty the likes of which was never seen before.

    This is the environment in which Sweeney Todd was first created.

    The Phantasm functions as a continuously active Anti-City ability that degrades the environment and public health around Sweeney until it more closely resembles Victorian London. Factories will find themselves laying off workers as poverty skyrockets and the streets will choke upon disease and the sooty black sky.

    It won’t be long before people start disappearing.

    The more the urban paranoia grows, the more powerful Sweeney will become, feeding upon the grime and fear. His physical stats will soar dramatically and his body will wrap and change. The Demon Barber of Fleet Street will become a real demon, morphing into a predator that haunts the streets of “London”.

    In its hands, no claws, it clutches a blood-soaked razor, slitting necks just like any other murderer, feeding upon the bodies and the disease. Its horned face and pale skin like something out of a dreadful storybook… this is what public rumour and newspapers turned Sweeney Todd into. A monster with bloodstained fangs and hands. This is what he will become.

    A truly terrifying noble phantasm that allows the killer in Penny Dreadfuls to take his revenge upon the real world.

    “There’s rats in the streets and it's filthy and disgusting and the people all lie and cheat and it’s fucking London and the rats are people and the people are rats and they all, all deserve to die. Why don’t I do my duty, ey? Come on then! Anybody want a shave?! Come on, step right up! Anybody will do! Come on, don’t be shy now! You sir? Closest shave you’ve ever seen!”




    Personality

    Due to his status as a servant with no real historical basis… Sweeney’s personality is inconsistent to say the least. Yes, he has some traits like an actual fondness for the barber’s craft and a violent temper, but beyond that… there’s not much to go off of.

    The best way to describe him is this:

    Sweeney is one who has seen men at their lowest and desperate and seen the depths of their soul. There is no good in it. There are only different degrees of evil and the most evil triumph. After having made this judgment of the world, Sweeney acts accordingly.

    He will kill for everything and nothing. For the sake of a desperate wish, for a few pennies, for a way to vent his anger at a world that allows injustice to continue. He will never back down from a fight as long as he has his razor with him and there is something he can make bleed. He will scream and shout and his master has to constantly wonder if today is the day that he slits their throat before going on a killing spree until their mana runs out.

    This is not to say that he is insane though. Sweeney, while he is unstable, is not a mere madman. He does not kill for sport like Jack the Ripper did. He just kills because that is all he knows. An unflinching pragmatism informs all of his mannerisms. To die is to be worthless. To live is to sin. This is the world as he sees it.

    A man who could have found beauty in his craft of cutting hair, or simple fulfillment in his job turned into a murderer, a creature of fear and disgust. A slasher in the Penny Dreadfuls. This is the tragedy of Sweeney Todd, the Demonic Barber of Fleet Street.

    Wish

    “What am I going to wish for, Master? I could wish to drench London in blood, giving back to the community, ey? Or I could wish to see Judge Turpin swinging as justice is restored… nah. That’s too complicated for a barber like me. I’d just wish for a quiet day, maybe a house by the seashore, and a tidy shop where I could cut hair.”




    Author's Notes


    I may have rushed things at the end, but I hope this is somewhat decent. I've been out of it for a while, so this is a way for me to see if I've still got it. That sheet maker magic.

    Last edited by Dreamerless; Today at 06:52 PM.
    My compendium is here: https://blogs.nrvnqsr.com/blog.php/14424

    My fanfiction Fate/Roundabout is here: https://forums.nrvnqsr.com/showthrea...ate-Roundabout

  8. #7328
    夜属 Nightkin sutaa's Avatar
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    "The purpose of a System is what it does."


    p r e t e n d e r
    IL SISTEMA
    we build upon the work of the third brother

    "So, there you are. I'll do you the service of not bullshitting and calling you capo, eh? Let me get the introduction out of the way and then we can get started. I create the things little guys like you call justice, and peace, and wealth, and I spread 'em round for you, out of the goodness of my own widdle heart. Or I paint the town red, take your sons, your daughters, and make you keep one eye open at night. Lemme be straight with you, I do both. I do my job, I keep the gears turning, I hold up the mirror and frankly, I don't give a damn what you think you see there."

    LIKES
    Opportunity, cash, thrills, busty women, respect
    DISLIKES
    Authority, whistleblowers, politicians, attention
    ALIGNMENT
    Lawful Evil
    IMAGE SONG
    Children of the City
    IMAGE VA
    Kazuya Nakai
    NATURAL ENEMY
    Charles Henri Sanson, Kit Scorza


    STR D
    END B
    AGI C
    MAG C
    LUK A
    NP E


    « Lore »Lore
    The Camorra are an Italian criminal society who, having escaped their native Naples, have expanded across the world. Predating the state of Italy by centuries, one legend holds that three brother-knights of the Spanish Garduna order, having escaped prison, each claimed a region of the land for themselves. The first brother, Osso, established in Sicily the Cosa Nostra. The second brother, Mastrosso, established in Calabria the 'Ndrangheta. And the third brother, Carcagnosso, travelled to the ancient land of Campania, where he created the bloody order of the Camorra.

    Though they lack the fame of the traditional Mafia, the Camorra are by far the most pervasive of the Italian criminal organisations, owing to their disorganised structure of multiple independent smaller clans each competing amongst themselves and the opposition. In Naples itself the Camorra equate to a separate form of governance unto themselves, with tenure far exceeding any local authority, making both the order they preserve and the internal conflicts between them an accepted fact of life. It is for this reason that members exclusively refer to the order as il sistema. The System. The mechanism that governs, and guides.


    « Skills »Skills
    Omertà EX
    "Around here keeping your mouth shut is not the simple, silent omertà of lowered hats and eyes. Here the prevailing attitude is ‘It’s not my problem.’”
    "He who is deaf, blind and silent will live a hundred years in peace."
    A code of conduct found in Southern Italy, it stresses the responsibility of the individual in resolving conflicts, and discourages dragging outside parties into one's personal struggles - particularly those that rest outside the realm of law. It is the principles of Omertà that have allowed common banditry and high-level crime to sink deep into the blood of Southern Italy over the course of generations, binding to absolute silence those who fall victim to criminal practice.

    Even if one's worst enemy destroys their home, betraying the name of the offender to outside authority is a betrayal of the self, denying one's own right to take vengeance. Nothing is more pathetic than a man who, once wronged, thinks to have the law fight his battles for him. Instead, if an individual cannot avenge himself against misgivings, let him accept his position over disgracing himself. Omertà implies strict self-reliance as at times enforced by fear, or application of force against snitches. People have chosen to seal their lips in the face of countless hardships over the shame of being a rat.

    A composite Skill combining the Assassin's Presence Concealment with Information Erasure, as befitting the men who work openly on shadowed streets. Where Pretender's ability to genuinely conceal his presence would fall somewhere within the D range alone, he bolsters himself through the culture he brings with him. Even up to the point where preparations to attack are made, external observers are unlikely to meaningfully register him, bar those he holds hostile intent towards. Pretender could appear in a busy street, gun down a Master, and make his escape without ever once worrying he might be identified, for to witness Pretender engage in criminal activity implants a powerful mental suggestion of 「This has nothing to do with me.」 Onlookers are barred from revealing him, and even his victims are expected to keep discussion regarding him to fellow witnesses. Only those of strong, albeit repulsive character are like to resist.

    To speak of Pretender to an outsider incurs an immediate penalty. An attack from Pretender himself, launched regardless of the distance between him and his target. If there is anywhere in the vicinity from where a shot could be taken, a shot will be taken; a single bullet aimed directly at the offender.

    "Bringing in outsiders is just bad business, not to mention pretty bad manners, when you get down to it. Sure, every now and then they stick their noses in uninvited and you've got to remind them how things work, but that's just part of the process, and you should never mistake third parties for real cogs in the machine."

    "So, what do you do when things don't work as they should in the System? Same as when your TV or anything else acts up: you give it a whack. But machines take more that. You need outsiders on the outside where they belong; you need people to sell to, people to mooch off, people to cut down. Beasts like men are fragile, so you've gotta keep a good environment going for them to survive in. The System's all part of that wider whole, and without a legal system it's real hard to have the illegal one propping it up. You need chaos before you can start building order."



    Thousand Faces B
    "The value of a life doesn’t consist of its length but in the use made of it; often people live a long time without living very much. Consider this, my friends, as long as you are on this earth everything depends on your will-power, not on the number of years you have lived."
    "The restructuring of the clans notwithstanding, the Camorra is the most solid criminal organization in Europe in terms of membership. For every Sicilian Mafioso there are five Camorristi, eight for every 'Ndranghetista. Three to four times as many members as the other organizations. The constant spotlight on Cosa Nostra and the obsessive attention to Mafia bombs have provided the perfect media distraction for the Camorra, which has remained practically unknown."

    The ability to seemingly be anywhere and everywhere through possessing more than one appearance, approaching the level of true shapeshifting at higher ranks. One of the greatest strengths of the Camorra System is the deliberate dereliction of structure, that the organisation persists in spite of being disorganised by design; for every established Camorristi clan a thousand more will emerge and collapse in its lifetime, from noted families to common street gangs. They are the decay that seeds the soil for new life, the gears interlocked unaware. All disconnected, functioning apart yet all feeding into and forming the workings of the System. In the absence of central, of any authority, the Camorra make the spectre of themselves enduring. An ever-present truth of Napoli life.

    To assume everyone in Naples plays the game of morra is mere prejudice. To forget anyone can is the height of ignorance. Though a select number of Camorristi have achieved fame to merit a summoning, there can be no capo in the System. It is the System itself, the commingled activities and traditions and lives fed into it and the emergent will thereof that is the true
    「hero.」

    By dint of possessing well over a thousand faces, Pretender may adjust his shape at any time. Of any age, gender, social class, or indeed nationality, for the System's reach now extends well beyond the Napoli border, such is his form. However, though the guises he assumes may be truly perfect, there remains a distinct
    「aura」about him in any body that those of the right persuasion may be able to detect. A well of killing intent cloyingly-thick so dense that regardless of his best efforts it cannot be masked. Even had he the inclination, the blood of Pretender's hands will never wash clean. Rather, to be bloodied is their intended state.

    In spite of its mutability, Pretender's preferred form is that of Carcagnosso as a young man; the foundation of the Camorra's origin as filtered through its current condition. The bottom rung, the countless street gangs with their failed endeavours at rising above their station, the baby capo and his collection of witless wonders - such are the base unit of the System's foundations, and thereby the face Pretender opts to show to the world. Those at the top are a mystery, so a mystery they remain. To imagine otherwise is pretension. He has this message for you.

    "We never could see eye to eye on this, me and my brothers. They're both too flashy for their own good, too blatant, full of too much personality for our line of work. They think about glamour too much. Shipments of handbags, dumping sewage, any narcotic you want - there's no glamour there, just profit. Don't get me wrong, sentiment isn't completely lost on me."

    "When you give a kid with no family a place to belong, he'll give you a life of labour. When you keep violence on your own turf to an acceptable minimum, the people keep their mouths shut. When you put pressure on interlopers not to cause trouble, they'll put themselves back where they're supposed to be. Fear, loyalty, hope, prestige, they're all currencies of a kind, just the sort you won't find on the stock market, and I'm in the business of trading them. A few minutes with your loved ones, a few moments of peace - they're premium goods. Once you learn you can put a price on a life, that's when you're ready to start contributing to society."


    Subversive Activities (Systemic) A
    "Nothing ever ends poetically. It ends and we turn it into poetry. All that blood was never once beautiful. It was just red."
    “If they kill you delicately, a single shot to the head or stomach, it is interpreted as a necessary operation, a surgical strike, no malice. Unloading more than two hundred shots into your car and more than forty into your body, on the other hand, is an absolute method of erasing you from the face of the planet.”

    The talent to reduce the enemy forces in the preliminary stages before going into battle. The higher the rank, the more apparent one cannot be considered a hero. At this rank, it is possible to reduce the enemy's strength by as much as 60% prior to initiating combat. The true horror of the System, of course, runs much deeper. Rather than some meagre capacity to assail a single figure, an overarching aim to subvert
    「society」outright.

    The System is inextricable. Counterfeit luxury goods, illegal waste dumps, human trafficking, dissemination of controlled substances, extortion rackets, and of course, any number of hits. A strong self-imposed logic that treats disposal of one's enemies as a matter of course. Pretender is the incarnation of each and every act carried out under the Camorra, the mechanisms by which the System functions given flesh then cut away to expose the inner workings beneath, laid bare the nature of an apparatus that takes the lives of enemy and ally alike to process to profit and prestige. Crime is not a flaw in the structure of human societal structures, rather it is a feature. The gears will not mesh to whir unless greased with greed, with ambition, with blood sufficient to flood the streets of Napoli a thousand times over.

    As a System himself, Pretender may 「interface」with those that make up the structure of modern society, in the process introducing but a sliver of the internal logic that comprises him. People may envision themselves as system-makers, but in truth it is systems that take humans and make of them 「people.」Alter a single 0 on a bank's internal records to produce excess funds, immediately siphoned off, then create a false trail of embezzlement and grounds for executive blackmail. Adjust police records such that one's actions are seemingly never reported, or forge a dispatch for an armed unit to unwittingly carry out a hit. Unforeseen glitches that happen to be to the benefit of those in power to guarantee they're willing to turn a blind eye, especially when the money ends up in their accounts.

    By manipulating the raw data of human society, a Servant with a single body can simulate the existence of an entire criminal organisation. No, organisations. And society naturally makes room for his adjustments, for one way or another Pretender's System is invariably to the benefit of those who pull the strings. Pretender exists not in people, but in his impact upon them. In news reports, in moved goods, in screams on street corners, in blood money and spent casings, only there is the System perceived. Pretender will not indulge any hope otherwise.

    "Violence is a language everyone understands. Which all things considered, makes it not only perfect for programming, but the best for business, like Babel never happened. What do you when someone oversteps their bounds? Of course, you do a piece on them. One bullet, nice and clean. Aesthetic. And I say that when I've been the guy getting gunned down."

    "Now if that doesn't do the trick? That's where you have to be firm. More bullets. Go for the family, get them in church, don't leave enough for a funeral, stick one of them in a tire and set it alight, stamp down hard until everyone remembers to mesh together neatly and keep turning, nice and polite - and never forget, at the end of the day, that it's all just business. We're all in to cash in, whether we admit or not, so the flow of money, and goods, and blood, has got to keep going. There are billions of people on this planet. You think any of them want to be the ones stuck here when the river runs dry?"


    Bloodied Charisma D
    “Everyone I know is either dead or in jail. I want to become a boss. I want to have supermarkets, stores, factories, I want to have women. I want three cars, I want respect when I go into a store, I want to have warehouses all over the world. And then I want to die. I want to die like a man, like someone who truly commands. I want to be killed.”
    "Neapolitans call it “the system” with resignation and pride. The Camorra offers them work, lends them money, protects them from the government, and even suppresses street crime."

    To lead others onward, for the only path out of the swamp must surely be one paved in blood. The solemn but certain recognition that a System built upon exploitation cannot sustain itself without those willing to be exploited, thus to some even the evils of il sistema represent a form of 「hope.」Illegality is an inescapable consequence of any structure mankind may attempt to arrange itself into, with Pretender the System lurking behind those same systemic flaws. Humans exist in the bounds systems create for them. To defy them is to oppose the foundation of humanity itself, and none can resist the call of corruption forever.

    There will always be kids who see in il sistema a chance at more than their lot, dead before twenty-five but living such a life all the while. The brats who pop pills to survive day-long shifts at the factory. There will always be the string-pullers up above working outside the law to their own advantage, unaware they themselves end up willing-bound. The politicians who delegate their duties to dubious actors and pocket the profits. There will always be room for the quiet, tentative sort of peace held together by one part fear one part resignation. Stability cannot be maintained by the efforts of
    「good」people alone - certainty in that mantra comprises Pretender's flesh.

    An insidious charisma that infests whichever collective Pretender infiltrates, the aim is not so much to bring others round to his way of thinking, so much as it is to erode their faith in whatever system they already subscribe to. To all ages and creeds and colours, il sistema may be an escape. Humanity are all of a kind bound to one system or another already. Pretender merely offers a choice as to which strings they're strangled with.


    "Imagine there's a rock on top of a hill. You kick it, it rolls, it falls, it tumbles all the way down the bottom; at no point did that rock need someone to explain physics to it. It just fell, because that's what it does. Good men don't need rules to restrain themselves, and humans are only as good as they are at making laws as they are at breaking them. You build systems, give yourselves to us, not only because you know you can't control your natures, but because you trust us to guide them. You think il sistema would last five minutes without your... what are we gonna call it, approval? Newsflash, those cracks are the wider systems balancing themselves out, since just like the rest of you, I'm a cog myself, in that bigger machine."

    "The swindler up top needs ways to grease the wheels that get round the illusion of law, like the suckers at the bottom need the fantasy of trying and failing to work their way up. Isn't it the same the whole world over? Everyone feeding their limited lifespans into one soulless machine or another, hoping they'll get a reward? No matter which ruleset you play by, you're all living in the same shit sandwich, and no matter where you are in the System, at the end of the day you'll eat shit all the same. All we do is keep you fed."


    « Noble Phantasm »onorata società di carcagnosso
    to kill to live is to live to kill

    "So, here we are. I was wondering if we'd ever get round to this point, but I think we're actually early. You've seen what I am, you know what it means to break your chains and slip on mine, so now's a good time you decide where you fit in all this. Recruiting you's been on my mind all this time. Don't worry if you don't like my style; the brilliant thing about the System is it doesn't matter too much when it comes to the individual members. But, if you're curious... Eh, forget signing the dotted line, we'll do this the old-fashioned way. Bleed for me a little."

    Pretender's Noble Phantasm, the summation of the System itself, the power of il sistema having manifested as a Servant. An invariable consequence of the havoc Pretender slowly wreaks on his environment in integrating himself to it, of exposing the common man to the construct of which he's composed, is that bit by bit, they may come round to his way of thinking. As the streets turn foul, as all acceptable ways to sustain oneself fall short, there is the temptation. To cheat, to maim, to conceal, to kill.

    To abandon the bounds of law and become more, if not Camorra in name then Camorristi in spirit, lured by the promise of the System. Before succumbing to that train of thought, before embracing illegality, each and every individual in range of Pretender's Noble Phantasm is given a choice. A choice, if only on a subconscious level, extended to everyone, regardless of their status or pre-existing lack of moral integrity, of whether or not to join Pretender's System. To act as he acts, think as he thinks, achieve as he achieves.

    A System is, ultimately, made up of individual humans. Pretender is, ultimately, made up of his followers. Any who consent immediately become a component of Pretender himself, a drop in his ocean - and imperceptible as the System is, the ocean in every drop. It is not possible to truly divide his core after manifesting in a Saint Graph, but all the same is Pretender's essence present in all who surrender unto him. Without altering the body, lesser variants of Pretender's own skills and this Noble Phantasm. Without imposing on their individual wills, a strong subconscious directive to spread il sistema further. They are him and he too is they. The System, as it always has, will propagate far beyond the area of his summoning, spreading day by day outwards, back into the world.

    As the modern Camorra are themselves a component of Pretender's being, it should be possible for him to assert his will and deploy this Noble Phantasm through the present members - and yet he does not. That is his concession, the farce he toys with. Even should Pretender fall, this Noble Phantasm will continue to spread the System. Even if this Noble Phantasm is never activated, the System will continue to spread itself.

    Systems are not entities meant to be 「fought.」Even should they assume an 「avatar」they exist at a higher level.
    To imagine the Camorra, Cosa Nostra, the 'Ndrangheta, any of the Systems to which Humanity resign themselves, as something an individual human can comprehend, interact with, even defeat...

    That is 「pretension」of the highest calibre.
    The Pretender is an actor, a fool, a clown.
    And this the joke he plays upon you.


    « Relationships »Relationships
    Abel
    "Hah... How's it go again? Nobody loves cattle like Burger King do? Seems you've got a fine grasp of how this works but, if you'll forgive my blasphemy, I think there's still room for growth here. There's more than one kind of sustenance, and there's a certain type of beast you can butcher for it - once you expand your horizons, maybe those flies I can hear about you will buzz off too. What do you say, do I have permission to teach my forebear? Just be warned, it might cost you. Oh yeah, it'll cost you."

    "Rufus"
    "War, peace, the death of millions, the threat of the death of millions - they're all good for business, little one. Wastelands make bad marketplaces, but even if every bomb drops and the skies turn red, so long as there's life, the System will keep turning along. A hunk of junk that kills people is meant to kill people, or at least is better at it than anything else. Don't fight what you are, Demon Core. There's room in me even for you."

    Guillotin
    "If people were good, there would be no need for law. If law were absolute, there would be little need for justice. If justice were truth, executions would take place behind closed doors, not out on the street - spectacle is for the adoring public, not the sucker you cast in the starring role. Or, I guess the star is you now? We're both systems for establishing control in the end. No matter how many of my number you put down, you just create me in the crowd. No matter how many times I escape you, I only tighten your hold. Our teeth are already locked up, all nice and neat."

    Murderers
    "Well hey now! There you all are, doing what you're good at. Some of you are already of my kin, some of you are close, and some of you are only going to get in the way. It's another beautiful day in Man's world."


    « Craft Essence »The Ebb and Flow

    And so it begins
    The third brother sits there, in the chapel, in the bloodied room
    Some part of him already knows what is to transpire
    There is no God here, anymore
    Whatever it is he hopes to achieve today, he knows this will live beyond him
    That the river will continue to flow, and what shade it shall be
    He sighs
    He smiles
    He makes the first cut



    « Notes »It's finally done! This is... kind of an old idea of mine - how old, I hear you ask, and probably before Fate/Extra came out? At that point he was just a cringy Italian Hassan, so the idea's come a long way since then. I originally envisioned him as acting like a stereotypical gangster, but along the way I started thinking of him as an incarnation of the 'mechanisms' of a criminal organisation, and that word System started feeding a lot into his characterisation. Taking an organisation that is fundamentally dehumanising and putting a human face on it is farce - which leads into the Pretender class and the wider themes. I think in terms of execution this sheet reminds me the most of my Lamarck - which is to say that while I'm happy with it on a technical level, I think he's lacking the right emotional core? Though if you find him just a little repulsive that means I accomplished part of what I set out to do. Funnily enough BnEl jokingly asked me if he was meant to be an incarnation of capitalism and, while he isn't, it is by design that you could shuffle a few of the surface details around and make him into an incarnation of any other System. I may expand on this in another sheet, but I consider him a subtle member of the 'Things That are Almost but Not Quite Beasts' series like Horned God and Hiruko.

    First ascension art by Akarii.
    Fourth ascension art by wuhohoho.
    CE by lemonice.


  9. #7329
    不死 Undead Marethyu77's Avatar
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    As usual, sutaa walks in and drops a bomb
    We don't need sanity where we're going !

  10. #7330
    the bride of bride of frankenstein gears's Avatar
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    This thread is nothing but bangers this month, goddamn. Voting is gonna be so hard...
    discord: gears ・ magus and servant compendium

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