This is why everyone loves Caligula. He was so batshit insane it seems almost purposeful.
...I am now imagining Nero and Caligula playing Halo while Elagabalus is getting a keg with his jeep-chariot. And all have their collars popped-up.
Then their roommate Diocletian has enough of their crap and splits the household into two. :3
Caligula would love teabagging. And 4chan.
<NEW FIC!>Revolution #9: Somewhere out there, there's a universe in which your mistakes and failures never happened, and all you wished for is true. How hard would you fight to make that real?
[11:20:46 AM] GlowStiks: lucina is supes attractive
[12:40] Lace: lucina is amazing
[12:40] Neir: lucina is pretty much flawless
Who knows? Maybe the correct phrase is: "Caligula loved teabagging."
"Now, if you'll just get underneath Incitatus' haunches... there we go!"
Caligula: he just did things.
<NEW FIC!>Revolution #9: Somewhere out there, there's a universe in which your mistakes and failures never happened, and all you wished for is true. How hard would you fight to make that real?
[11:20:46 AM] GlowStiks: lucina is supes attractive
[12:40] Lace: lucina is amazing
[12:40] Neir: lucina is pretty much flawless
Nope. A 5th century BC wall-painting in Athens, in a building by the Acropolis entrance, had him living with them. It's a thing.
Ah alright, I read a book about it "Transvestite Achilles" or something, which explores the cross-dressing featured in the Achilled, among other things. But now that I think about it, I think Ovid also mentions it (roman all the same). In any case, I cannot find the wall painting you referenced on the Internet, but 5th century BC smells like Polygnotos to me, so I guess that is correct.
Bradamante, huh? Would have to do some research first, but sure, I could give it a try.
To be honest, I've always imagined her to be huge tsundere. Or maybe the Onee-san type, because lol-Astolfo.
Tsundere or Onee-san Bradamante? Yes, please! Oh, and thanks in advance for the attempt even if it doesn't end up working out!
Originally Posted by Seika
Herakles for Omphale; Odysseus in Ino's long veil; and Achilles to avoid the Trojan War: these all ended up cross-dressers - big names, you know. Tiresias gets changed into a woman and eventually returns to being a man; conversely the invincible hero Kaineus of the Centauromachy was originally the woman Kainis. Amazons are obviously easy to gender-bend; and if you pick any of the debauched Roman emperors there's probably some story about them cross-dressing. The gods obviously do plenty of shape-shifting and anyone whose guise is taken over by a female god therefore becomes suspect (e.g. Deiphobos, the brother Hektor, when Athene looks like him in order to force Hektor to stand and fight Achilles).
Wow. Did not know Achilles was so hesitate to join the war that he crossdressed to escape. You'd think such a badass would be a little more willing to seek glory in battle. I had remembered reading he was something of a gloryhound and could go ballistic when pissed off, so he didn't strike me as the type to be a draft-dodger!
Originally Posted by Verg Avesta
This is why everyone loves Caligula. He was so batshit insane it seems almost purposeful.
Almost?
Originally Posted by Lycodrake
Caligula would adore 4chan. =P
Clearly, he was depraved beyond redemption!
And while you are here, I've been meaning to ask, "Who is the burnt girl in your avatar (or is it a girly-looking boy)?"
I might do a Servant profile tomorrow. Depends on how things go. I've been slacking with my college work this week so I might not have the time until Sunday... It's actually going to be a profile for an already existing Servant, but with a bit of twist that was inspired by a discussion on another thread about said Servant that got me thinking.
In any case, I cannot find the wall painting you referenced on the Internet, but 5th century BC smells like Polygnotos to me, so I guess that is correct.
You're right that it's Polygnotos. We've only recovered the ruins of the house, I think? Anyway, we know because it's mentioned in Pausanias' Description 1.22.6.
λέγουσιν ὁμοῦ ταῖς παρθένοις Ἀχιλλέα ἔχειν ἐν Σκύρῳ δίαιταν, ἃ δὴ καὶ Πολύγνωτος ἔγραψεν.
They say Achilles lived in Skyros among the maidens, and which Polygnotos has drawn here. (Pausanias is contrasting Polygnotos with Homer who passed over the event)
(For a literary reference, Ps.-Apollodorus' Bibliotheke (1st Century BC, Greek), mentions it. Somewhere in Book 3, can't remember where.)
Originally Posted by G-Man
Wow. Did not know Achilles was so hesitate to join the war that he crossdressed to escape. You'd think such a badass would be a little more willing to seek glory in battle. I had remembered reading he was something of a gloryhound and could go ballistic when pissed off, so he didn't strike me as the type to be a draft-dodger!
It's because his mum didn't want him to go, on account of knowing (her own foresight or previous knowledge of the prophecy, probably depends on the version) that he would die if he went to the Trojan War. Given he could fit in (more-or-less) with the girls, we guess that he was too young to really want to disobey his mother, though Odysseus still manages to recruit him.
I remember that when Odysseus went to get him, he found him by giving gifts to a group of women. One of the gifts was a sword, which Achilles picked up and played with, the rest chose the dolls and stuff. That's how Odysseus found him out. What was really funny to me was that the girls would later crush on both of them, half would be dreaming about Odysseus and half would be dreaming of Achilles. Reminded me of the BISEXUALS!Batman picture.
Hope Rides With His Godly Ronin/Cowboy Brother In Law
Well, yeah. His famous nigh-invulnerability is all because of his overprotective mother...
Kind of random, but I'm reminded of one scene in the Iliad where Achilles meets a Trojan warrior on the battlefield that has invulnerability very similar to his. So they go at it for a while, but neither can wound the other. Achilles then crushes/strangles him to death with his arms... ironically proving that he himself can also be defeated this way in battle.
Last edited by mewarmo990; May 18th, 2012 at 11:08 PM.
Well, yeah. His famous nigh-invulnerability is all because of his overprotective mother...
Kind of random, but I'm reminded of one scene in the Iliad where Achilles meets a Trojan warrior on the battlefield that has invulnerability very similar to his. So they go at it for a while, but neither can wound the other. Achilles then crushes/strangles him to death with his arms... ironically proving that he himself can also be defeated this way in battle.
Cycnus? His tale is a pretty late addition to the Trojan War mythos if I remember correctly, found best detailed in Metamorphoses by Ovid, book 12. He also turned into a swan after dying.
At Petrikow's request I will start moving my Servant stat sheets to this thread. I don't intend to flood the thread with multiple posts, however, so I will wait some time between presenting each Servant. It gives me the chance to take another look at them and maybe fine-tune some things if necessary.
So, the first one. To be honest, I've considered a F/SN fic for the longest time now. I think I'm getting pretty close to building a plot I would like to write, but so far the only result has been a crapload of original Servants. This was the very first one I built for an hypothetical remake of the 5th Heaven's Feel, Daneel Rush version. In the end she was discarded because it's just hard to give Shirou a Servant other than Arturia in a reasonable manner that does not involve severe changes to the setting.
But anyway, I'm rambling now.
*******
TATTERHOOD
Servant: Rider
Gender: Female Height: 150 cm Weight: 44 kg Three sizes: 82/56/86
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Appearance: Most of her appearance is concealed by the dirty, tattered hooded cloak she wears all the time. Her face, however, can be clearly seen in all its hideousness—marred by warts and pustules as it struck by multiple poxes. Locks of unclean, unkempt blond hair sneak out of their place under the hood, and intensely bright green eyes pursue her surroundings with disturbingly unblinking attention. Her almost perennial smile, while marred by the lack of several teeth and the extensive presence of dental calculus, is undeniably warm, friendly and open to anyone willing to accept it in spite of her unsightliness.
Strength D Endurance D Agility B Magic C Luck B Noble Phantasm D(A+)
Class Skills:
* Magic Resistance: Cancels spells with a chant below two verses. Cannot defend against Magecraft on the level of High-Thaumaturgy and Greater Rituals. Tatterhood’s minor resistance against harmful magic developed after battling many witches was enhanced by her designation into the Rider Class.[/INDENT]
* Riding: Expertise to ride animals and vehicles.
A – All creatures but those of the Phantasmal Beast and Divine Beast can be used as mounts.
Personal Skills:
* Bravery: The ability to negate mental interference such as a pressure, confusion and fascination.
B+ – Bonus effect of increasing Armor Class and Saving Throws when facing multiple enemies.
* Disengage: The ability to break away from combat.
D+ – Agility rank up when breaking away from combat. While conditions remained unchanged from the situation at the end of battle, disengagement is still assured.
* Guardian Knight: Temporarily raises defensive power when protecting others.
C+ – Defensive bonuses gained upon devoting herself to protecting a single person. In her tale, it was her little sister.
* Independent Action: The ability to remain independent even when rejecting the prana supply from the Master.
C – Capable of remaining in this world for one day without an established contract (increases upon activation of her Noble Phantasm).
Noble Phantasms:
Prinsessebruden
Victory March of the Princess Bride
Type: Support
Rank: A+
Range: 0
Ability similar to a Reality Marble in that it projects Tatterhood's "internal world" onto reality. It is the modification of her body into a form that properly matches the greatness of her soul. Her pride and longing for the truest, most radiant experience of authentic love stop her from revealing her greatness to just any person. This is a complex technique bound by a complex array of conditions that must be fulfilled for the ugly princess to be able to reveal her true self.
Tatterhood will only—can only—reveal her true self before somebody else. It has to be a gift, an offering of the entirety of her existence driven by love. She cannot unleash this Noble Phantasm simply because she needs a power boost. However, not just any person will do, for Tatterhood cannot give her golden heart to just any man. She demands respect—she can only love a person who has never used any kind of coercive power to force her to do something she does not approve of. She demands kindness—she can only give herself to a person who has never inflicted physical harm on her. She demands acceptance—how can Tatterhood accept a fool who has looked down on or denigrated her ugly appearance? She demands faith—she cannot be asked by another to reveal her true form; it must be Tatterhood’s own choice born out of true love. And, of course, she expects her feelings to be returned—the person she is offering herself to must love her as much as she does him.
If all these conditions are fulfilled, the princess assumes her true, unblemished form. She becomes a princess of impossible beauty; a creature of harmonious loveliness and strength, a triumphant warrior princess that bedazzles the world with her greatness. Her body is an aesthetic ideal, a hyperborean Helen gifted by the planet itself—she gains rank-up to Strength, Agility and Luck. She carries herself with the poise of a ruler, for her presence spells victory and her rallying words lead men to greatness—she receives the benefits of Charisma at rank B. She is beloved by both humanity and the world, for she is an exalted example of human greatness and eternal chthonic magic—the protection of Alaya boosts her Independent Action to rank A+. And furthermore, her transformation extends to her two perennial companions—both Tresleiv and her dear mount change into their true forms, with corresponding modifications to their specific capabilities, as detailed further below.
Note that her new Independent Action rank implies Tatterhood can remain in this form indefinitely as long as she does not use any prana-demanding abilities—this Reality Marble-like ability is confined to her body and is not rejected by the planet. Tatterhood can be forced to transform with a Command Seal. However, doing so severely limits the Noble Phantasm's effect—she only gains rank-up to Strength, Agility and Luck. She gains no new Skills or improvement to her existing Skills, and neither her Noble Phantasm nor her mount undergo any kind of improvement.
Tresleiv
Humble and Dauntless Armament
Type: Anti-Unit
Rank: C
Range: 1-2
Maximum number of targets: 1 person
The plain wooden spoon Tatterhood wields as her favored weapon. A Noble Phantasm among Noble Phantasms in that, rather than a symbol of its owner’s legend, it is closer to an extension of her self, for she was in fact born carrying it. It represents Tatterhood more closely and intimately than any other Noble Phantasm does its owner, to the point that its mere presence, in spite of its plain appearance, makes her identity as obvious as the visage of Excalibur in the hands of Arturia Pendragon. Like Tatterhood herself, it is a construction of Alaya in response to a single human’s earnest, if selfish, wish. The ugly princess was born an accident; the result of a queen’s recklessness and inability to follow instructions. However, Tatterhood is still an existence created by the inchoate will of humanity in response to a single human’s wish for a daughter. If her appearance represents the truth of ‘the beauty of one’s soul cannot be marred by one’s external ugliness’, her trusty spoon represents Tatterhood’s virtues of peerless bravery and devotion to one’s loved ones.
This is the weapon Tatterhood used to beat countless trolls in her tale, and as a Noble Phantasm it has become a powerful anti-monster tool, dealing bonus damage to Magical Beasts of all kinds and increasing Tatterhood’s magic and physical resistance against such creatures. However, going by her folktale, this weapon should carry the potential for even greater power…?
Tresleiv
Sublime Protection upon Her Unparalleled Beauty
Type: Anti-Unit/Anti-Thaumaturgy
Rank: B+
Range: 1-2
Maximum number of targets: 1 person
When Tatterhood changes into her true, magnificently beautiful form, the wooden spoon changes into a dazzling, foot-and-a-half-long silver wand—the symbol of the planet’s blessing upon her valiant, unblemished soul, imbued with a powerful anti-magic ability.
Tresleiv becomes the materialization of Tatterhood’s many instances fighting and defeating witches; an existence that rejects magic by dispersing all prana it touches. Whether it is a projectile-type spell like Gandr, a weapon brought into existence via Projection, or even the body of a Servant which needs prana to remain anchored to the mortal coil; they will all be broken down into useless motes of magic upon being wounded by the silver wand.
Background:
Spoiler:
The ugly princess from the old Scandinavian folktale. Tatterhood is an artificial human created by Alaya in response to the improper execution of a magical ritual by an irresponsible queen eager for a child. The ritual, which should have resulted in a young baby girl of immaculate beauty and unshakeable morals, created instead two entities. At the moment of birth, Tatterhood’s and her sister’s bodies immediately developed to early adulthood and, as per the tale, the ugly princess was born holding the spoon that would become her signature weapon.
Undeniably unsightly, Tatterhood was regardless possessing of matchless bravery, heartening wit and peerless fleetness of feet. Furthermore, she was a doting and loyal sister, constantly keeping guard on her younger sibling, who had indeed been gifted with great beauty. Tatterhood would eventually fight and defeat countless monsters and witches to defend and save her sister, only wielding her trusty spoon and riding the magical goat she was born with the ability to summon.
After her marriage as depicted at the end of the folk tale, Tatterhood led the people of her new country to defend their lands from marauding bands and rampaging beasts with unceasing success. To this day, she remains a symbol of unwavering valor and loyalty to family and nation; an example for Nordic children and one of Norway tradition’s very few female heroines. She lived a long, successful life, but she forever lamented the fact that even the man she eventually offered herself to did not see beyond her original ugliness without her cueing.
As an existence that represents ‘beauty beyond mere physical appearance’ and ‘the greatness of a valorous soul’, she lived—and still exists—to bring out the best from others and teach them to see beyond first impressions and surface appearances. She still longs to find one who would truly accept her after discovering the beauty she conceals under her ugly appearance, for that would be the person she would be able to show the entirety of her radiant self.
Keywords:
Spoiler:
Tatterhood’s Awesome Goat – The nameless goat of the spunky young princess, which was bound to her since the moment she was born. Rather plain and filthy looking, but unmistakably a Magical Beast of considerable power. Its loyalty to Tatterhood is utmost and unshakeable: it is immune to any supernatural effect that would urge it to betray its owner. Tatterhood can summon it at will to her side, an action that does not take a second.
The goat’s physical stats are all top-class: it possesses superb agility and balance, allowing it to climb vertical walls and walk across extremely narrow ledges with ridiculous ease. Its jumping ability is also astounding, to the point that it might not be much different from flying. Its top speed matches that of Divine Beasts such as God Bulls—although assisted by smaller weight and a lighter load—without any noticeable loss of agility. The thunderous impact of its hooves as it runs could even be used as a trampling or sonic weapon, although it excels at butting enemies with its horns. Its physical strength is equivalent to that of a Servant with rank C.
Its true form, as unleashed by Princessebruden, is that of a horse fine like no other. It is by all means a Heroic Spirit equal to the one who rides it; were it born a human, it certainly would have accomplished many great things on its own. It has no Noble Phantasm, but it gains rank-up to Strength and it shares all of Tatterhood’s Skills—except for, of course, Riding.
Nobody, not even Tatterhood herself, really knows where the goat came from, why it was bound to her since birth, or why even a goat in the first place. Tatterhood considers it Alaya’s attempt at a joke, but she does not really care much about the mystery—she has a goat, and what an awesome goat it is.
Tatterhood’s Transformation – Do note that, as a folk tale originally transmitted orally, there is indeed a version in which the prince she married was indeed worthy of her, and induced Tatterhood’s transformation by showing honest interest in her appearance and manners without her cueing. While this was not the experience of the “real” Tatterhood, this variation indicates the straightforward way to fulfill the conditions of her Noble Phantasm.
Tatterhood’s personality does not change after she reveals her true form (neither do her body proportions, for that matter). It is, after all, her liveliness that makes her beautiful, more so than her unblemished looks. She is a person who cannot stand boredom, who always wants to be doing something, anything, as long as it’s entertaining. She wishes to live joyful, exciting days that know no boredom or disillusion. She is not childish; she only abhors routine. She is, in lack of better words, a fun person striving for fun times.
Her goat grows into a beautiful stallion, but her wooden spoon does not grow to match. The silver wand is almost twice as long as the soup spoon, but it is still too short to make a comfortable weapon to wield while on horseback. However, its new length—about the same length as a rapier—makes it more useful in combat while on foot.
Last edited by Daneel Rush; January 26th, 2013 at 05:18 AM.
Hello there! I just updated the index as I saw your post, it is not up to date in the opening post of this thread (yet?) but if someone wished to view it, the current version stands at page 168.
Nifty Servant you here there, pretty obscure though. Though this tale is usually recounted in Norway it is still possible for me to understand the Noble Phantasm names without problem since Swedish and Norwegian are so alike. Yay.
Just a small heads up though, I think "Anti-Magic/Magecraft" is a better type designation for Tresleiv (B+). Rule Breaker, for example, as a knife that dispelled magical contracts, had that type designation.
Daneel, I love Tatterhood, but I have a few questions:
One, if she is summoned as a Rider, why doesn't she have any NP involving her goat? What is so magical about the goat in the first place?
You mentioned the goat also changes when she transforms, but how, or rather, what does this transformation entail?
If she is indeed so famous (or rather, so easily identified), doesn't that completely negate the point of her own wish? I mean, I personally had never heard of her until I had read your profile, but it wouldn't take much effort to look up an extremely ugly heroine who wields a wooden spoon as her weapon (as you said, it gives away her identity almost immediately). Once her Master knows her identity, wouldn't that ensure that they could never learn to truly love her despite her appearance, because they already know she's actually really beautiful?
Finally, if you can just force her to transform with a Command Spell (as you would likely have to once you learned her true identity), how would that affect her Noble Phantasm? The anti-Magic wand seems to be her biggest trump card, and if it can really destroy a Servant's body just by her wounding them, it would probably be worth sacrificing the full stat boost she gets if her transformation was earned rather than forced (her AGI is already B as is, so she's supposedly around Diramuid's level of speed/agility; that should be plenty to hit almost any Servant who doesn't recognize her because she's already transformed).
I don't want to clog this post with my next profile, but I don't want to double post either, so I'll wait until someone else posts a comment before posting my next profile.
Originally Posted by Verg Avesta
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