Fish of Oblivion

Digimon: Fallen Knights

Does California actually exist? I thought Red Hot Chili Peppers made it up.

Digimon: Fallen Knights

Sasha, 16 going on 60

Sasha Ilyinichna Koslova

Age: 16

Appearance: At 5'7" with a slim build, Sasha's posture and restrained dress sense gives her the air of someone significantly older than her actual age. Despite her slim frame, she's deceptively strong, and rarely seems to show any outward stress; at least, not until she nods off at the first opportunity to rest.

Personality: Sasha is a peculiar and often disarming mixture of maturity and naivety, the telltale signs of a child who's had to grow up perhaps a little too fast. Though a little sharp-tongued and stubborn at turns, she's kind and perceptive, talking firmly and confidently to be heard and listened to and keeping an eye on anyone she feels 'responsible' for. Moreover, she seems quite comfortable talking to people much older than her, and more than comfortable in talking back to them like they're half her age if they talk down to her; her logic being that if you act like a child, you deserve to be spoken to like one. At the same time, however, she's still more than a little childish herself; thrust into a position of responsibility almost overnight, she hasn't yet had the chance to develop a strong sense of character judgement or a sense of her own limits. While she'll admonish others for being irresponsible or pushing themselves too far, she'll rarely if ever extend herself the same mindfulness, and her family's reliance on the kindness of friends and neighbours has numbed her sense of who can be taken at their word and who shouldn't be.

Background: Sasha was born in a small rural town in Indiana, the oldest of three children born to a third generation Russian-American father and a local working-class mother. They met when he moved from the East Coast to work at a plant that a major steel manufacturer had opened there, and while they didn't plan to have Sasha, the surprise wasn't an unwelcome one; they married while she was pregnant and stayed together, managing to carve out a niche for themselves as their little family grew and became part of the community around them, a younger brother joining them four years later and a younger sister three years after that. Despite more or less living paycheck to paycheck, they did well enough for themselves, and Sasha grew up a happy and hard-working child alongside her parents and siblings.

Things didn't quite last, however. A slump in profits saw the plant procedurally lay off a number of workers, before outright closing up as the company behind it decided it was more trouble than it was worth to keep going. At first, it seemed as if this would just be a temporary bump in the road- both were still young and there was other work going in and around the town- but six years ago, when Sasha was ten, her mother was killed in a vehicular collision while commuting to a new job. Her father had already been struggling after the new accident, but now he was left as the sole carer for Sasha and her two siblings.

Despite her own grief and young age, Sasha did her best to support him and stepped up to take care of her younger brother and sister and the house. She'd always been a helpful girl, cooking on nights where her parents worked late and taking her siblings to school on mornings they were working early; now as her father was forced to look for work outside the town to support them and spend long spans of time away from home in the week, she picked those responsibilities up nearly full-time and picked up more besides. She didn't resent the arrangement, and the family's friends in the town pitched in when they could despite their own troubles, but it was clear to everyone but her that she wasn't dealing with things anywhere near as well as she claimed. Despite the brave face she was putting on, she was still far too young to be saddled with such a responsibility, and she was losing the opportunity to properly grow up instead of being forced there by circumstances beyond her control.

As of the present, things have stabilized a little. Her father is still rarely able to be at home, but her younger siblings are a little more able to take care of themselves. But Sasha still clings to her assumed role; perhaps she still finds stability in it as life moves on around her, or perhaps her sense of duty has just let her unable to want anything more out of life. Either way, she seems stuck between a childhood that never ended and an adulthood that began too soon, unknowingly counting down the days to an experience that'll change her life forever.

Partner: Labramon (Anastasia)

Digivice G appearance: Perhaps due to her background, Sasha's Digivice G takes the form of a pair of welding goggles.

Misc:

• Voice Claim: Alexis Tipton

Anastasia, Most Restrained Dark Souls Boss

Anastasia

Species: Labramon

Level: Rookie

Type: Beast -> Demon Beast

Attribute: Virus

Family: Nightmare Soldiers/Virus Busters

Attacks:

• Retriever-bark: Creates a hyper-oscillation with a powerful bark.
• Cure Liquer: Restores and optimizes the data of weakened Digimon.

Evolutionary line:

Paomon -> Xiaomon -> Labramon -> Gargomon -> Manticoremon -> [DATA MISSING]

Misc:

• Voice Claim: Natalie von Sistine
• In spite of their feminine-sounding voice and nickname, Anastasia is both genderless and sexless; they don't seem to be concerned about how others refer to them, though they do display at least mild discomfort at being referred to as 'it'.

Digimon: Fallen Knights

Alright, I may come back and prod this, but I think it's good enough to post, so I'll shove it up before I have second thoughts:

Sasha, 16 going on 60

Sasha Ilyinichna Koslova

Age: 16

Appearance: At 5'7" with a slim build, Sasha's posture and restrained dress sense gives her the air of someone significantly older than her actual age. Despite her slim frame, she's deceptively strong, and rarely seems to show any outward stress; at least, not until she nods off at the first opportunity to rest.

Personality: Sasha is a peculiar and often disarming mixture of maturity and naivety, the telltale signs of a child who's had to grow up perhaps a little too fast. Though a little sharp-tongued and stubborn at turns, she's kind and perceptive, talking firmly and confidently to be heard and listened to and keeping an eye on anyone she feels 'responsible' for. Moreover, she seems quite comfortable talking to people much older than her, and more than comfortable in talking back to them like they're half her age if they talk down to her; her logic being that if you act like a child, you deserve to be spoken to like one. At the same time, however, she's still more than a little childish herself; thrust into a position of responsibility almost overnight, she hasn't yet had the chance to develop a strong sense of character judgement or a sense of her own limits. While she'll admonish others for being irresponsible or pushing themselves too far, she'll rarely if ever extend herself the same mindfulness, and her family's reliance on the kindness of friends and neighbours has numbed her sense of who can be taken at their word and who shouldn't be.

Background: Sasha was born in a small rural town in Indiana, the oldest of three children born to a third generation Russian-American father and a local working-class mother. They met when he moved from the East Coast to work at a plant that a major steel manufacturer had opened there, and while they didn't plan to have Sasha, the surprise wasn't an unwelcome one; they married while she was pregnant and stayed together, managing to carve out a niche for themselves as their little family grew and became part of the community around them, a younger brother joining them four years later and a younger sister three years after that. Despite more or less living paycheck to paycheck, they did well enough for themselves, and Sasha grew up a happy and hard-working child alongside her parents and siblings.

Things didn't quite last, however. A slump in profits saw the plant procedurally lay off a number of workers, before outright closing up as the company behind it decided it was more trouble than it was worth to keep going. At first, it seemed as if this would just be a temporary bump in the road- both were still young and there was other work going in and around the town- but six years ago, when Sasha was ten, her mother was killed in a vehicular collision while commuting to a new job. Her father had already been struggling after the new accident, but now he was left as the sole carer for Sasha and her two siblings.

Despite her own grief and young age, Sasha did her best to support him and stepped up to take care of her younger brother and sister and the house. She'd always been a helpful girl, cooking on nights where her parents worked late and taking her siblings to school on mornings they were working early; now as her father was forced to look for work outside the town to support them and spend long spans of time away from home in the week, she picked those responsibilities up nearly full-time and picked up more besides. She didn't resent the arrangement, and the family's friends in the town pitched in when they could despite their own troubles, but it was clear to everyone but her that she wasn't dealing with things anywhere near as well as she claimed. Despite the brave face she was putting on, she was still far too young to be saddled with such a responsibility, and she was losing the opportunity to properly grow up instead of being forced there by circumstances beyond her control.

As of the present, things have stabilized a little. Her father is still rarely able to be at home, but her younger siblings are a little more able to take care of themselves. But Sasha still clings to her assumed role; perhaps she still finds stability in it as life moves on around her, or perhaps her sense of duty has just let her unable to want anything more out of life. Either way, she seems stuck between a childhood that never ended and an adulthood that began too soon, unknowingly counting down the days to an experience that'll change her life forever.

Partner: Labramon (Anastasia)

Digivice G appearance: Perhaps due to her background, Sasha's Digivice G takes the form of a pair of welding goggles.

Misc:

• Voice Claim: Alexis Tipton

Anastasia, Most Restrained Dark Souls Boss

Anastasia

Species: Labramon

Level: Rookie

Type: Beast -> Demon Beast

Attribute: Virus

Family: Nightmare Soldiers/Virus Busters

Attacks:

• Retriever-bark: Creates a hyper-oscillation with a powerful bark.
• Cure Liquer: Restores and optimizes the data of weakened Digimon.

Evolutionary line:

Paomon -> Xiaomon -> Labramon -> Gargomon -> Manticoremon -> [DATA MISSING]

Misc:

• Voice Claim: Natalie von Sistine
• In spite of their feminine-sounding voice and nickname, Anastasia is both genderless and sexless; they don't seem to be concerned about how others refer to them, though they do display at least mild discomfort at being referred to as 'it'.

Digimon: Fallen Knights

Sorry for the delay, almost done with my sheets. Should have them up either later tonight or some time tomorrow?

Digimon: Fallen Knights

Alright, settled on an idea and a rough trajectory. Might be a bit slow-going on account of work but I'll see if I can get my two done ASAP?

Digimon: Fallen Knights

Currently leaning towards Plotmon -> Gargo(yle)mon -> Manticoremon and got a few options cooking for the Mega, main thing is finding something that doesn't feel like a total aesthetic downgrade from 'most restrained Dark Souls boss'.

Digimon: Fallen Knights

@Cleveraptor That checks out, on both counts. I'll sit down and go through my options, but right now I'm floating either an Impmon/Wizardmon descended from some of the Demons left behind after the war who's had to deal with a lot of the fallout from it and is looking for answers on how/why it started, or a Plotmon/Gargo(yle)mon created to fight in the war who gets revived and has to deal with the clash between their original 'programming' and what they've learned through lived experience as their memories slowly come back?

Not quite sure where I'm going with the human yet, but they're probably on the younger end of things and a bit more normal by comparison. We'll see.

Digimon: Fallen Knights

Dang, I missed a lot while I was asleep.

Got the day off today so gonna work on a concept alongside other things, had a quick look over everyone's stuff so far and that's helped me pick some distinct aesthetics/abilities. Digimon's lived rent-free in my head for twelve years so whatever line I ultimately go for will probably be dependent on the angle I go for with my humie, but I do have a couple lore/world questions to help narrow things down:

1- Considering the backstory and emphasis on corruption, is there anything I should keep in particular mind for Demon Digimon? Most of my ideas are leaning in that direction one way or another, so just curious if there's any extra history (both before and after the war itself) that I should be aware of, how they're generally viewed and treated today, that sort of thing?
2- Getting the impression so far that this is a continuity where partnerships are more incidental than preordained, but could a partner have been active long enough to be met in their Champion/Adult form (whether they get to stay in that form by default is another matter, of course)?

One hint for how we're getting to the Digital World.

@Cleveraptor

Digimon: Fallen Knights

Yo, Psyker dropped me a line while figuring out lines; need to have a check around myself, but figured I'd drop in to say hi now if you're looking at a small group?

Fate/Illuminate Histoire

Awesome; already been through him elsewhere, so if Beato's good to go I'll chuck my Servant up too:

Good day, you look reasonably sane!

• Name: Caspar, Der Freischütz
• Class: Archer
• Appearance:
  
  
  Archer is certainly an attractive man, standing at an impressive 6’1” with silver hair, sharp golden eyes and a countenance both rugged and yet somewhat boyish. However, his experiences have left their mark on him and telltale signs of desperation are starting to shine through his otherwise composed, appealing features. Though he conducts and carries himself with poise, any unexpected challenges or roadbumps will gradually unravel that and expose the terror lurking beneath his calm facade.
  
  When summoned and when active in battle, he wears a black version of the formal attire he wore in life, an Early Modern European military uniform curiously and anachronistically supplemented by a highwayman’s coat and tricorn hat decorated with a red feather, with a dusack as a sidearm for close combat encounters. Outside of combat, his dress sense tends towards business casual, appropriate to the ‘professional image’ he wishes to project.
• Personality:
  
  By and large, Heroic Spirits are a varied bunch- for as many as there are that are undeserving of their fame or status, there are as many whose seeming unworthiness obscures a far more fascinating and admirable character.
  
  Archer is definitely in the former camp. Despite presenting himself as a slick professional, with the charisma and eloquence to match, this superficial charm conceals a cowardly individual wholly aware of his unremarkable nature, who would rather take easy victories and recuse himself from anything that could cause him stress than push to improve himself or help another without immediate benefit. While he doesn’t seem terribly at odds with his apparent insignificance in the grand scheme of things, and possesses a frank (if rather self-serving) estimation of his own capabilities, this facet of his personality is continually undermined by desperation to prove himself as worthy to or show up those who look down on him. Whilst he doesn't seem opposed to not being 'the best', willing to settle for being a big fish in a small pond for the sake of a comfortable existence, there is a burning spark of ambition inside of him that deeply resents those who would spurn him or exercise authority over him. Essentially, his self-worth is based on a fragile sense of pride that is challenged by others refusing to play along with his games and if not for his unremarkable nature being exemplified in his non-existent Rank in Independent Action, he would be all too happy to trick his Master into their own demise so that he could take off from it all and live his second life in leisure.
  
  But Archer didn’t get where he got in life by being entirely reckless or bereft of impulse control, and when given the opportunity to hatch a scheme, he can be terrifyingly cunning. Though an unremarkable individual, such a status is not always a negative when dealing with individuals whose ideals and neuroses have made them the stuff of legends; there is a certain shrewdness and practicality to his means that make him difficult for more high-minded individuals to properly reckon with, a knowledge of how history hinges on more than ‘big names and bigger guns’ that allows him to perceive elements and factors that would otherwise go unnoticed. Indeed, the story of Caspar is one that rarely ended well for anyone but him, and time will tell what this strange new coda shall append to it...
• Stats:
  
  • Strength: D
  • Endurance: D
  • Agility: B
  • Mana: B
  • Luck: D
  • Noble Phantasm: A+
• Class Skills:
  
  • Independent Action: The capacity of Servants to subsist without a Master.
    
    • (N/A): Despite it being a Class Skill, Archer is afflicted with a curse that prevents him from functioning without a Master unless very specific conditions are met. If he is cut off from his Master, both the Grail and an imperceivable demonic force will act to claim him, tearing him apart and killing him instantly.
  • Magic Resistance: The ability to cancel or diminish the effects of magecraft used against oneself.
    
    • (C): Cancels spells with a chant below two verses. Cannot defend against magecraft on the level of greater magecraft and Greater Rituals. Despite his relatively modern nature, Archer had enough experience with the supernatural in his life to obtain an intermediate rank in this Skill rather than a mediocre one.
• Personal Skills:
  
  • Charisma: The natural talent to influence others and command troops. Increases the ability of allies during group battles. A rare talent.
    
    • (D): The Servant is naturally likeable. They can inspire people to whom they are capable of ingratiating themselves.
  • Clairvoyance: Superior visual perception. Supplement long-range aiming and increases dynamic vision.
    
    • (D): Can see the world more clearly and in greater detail than any modern human could hope to, and see an object at a range of up to a mile away with no noticeable difficulty. The world also appears to move somewhat slower to him, allowing him to follow objects that would be difficult to keep track of with the faculties of a modern human.
  • Disengage: The ability to withdraw from combat.
    
    • (D): The Servant can reliably withdraw from combat and will return all skill conditions to their initial value, but retains any inflicted statuses.
  • Magecraft: Knowledge of and proficiency in modern thaumaturgy.
    
    • (C): Capable in the fundamentals of magecraft, with a particular affinity for spirit evocation and the use of curses. Though Archer was a fairly unremarkable mage for his time, his abilities are powerful by modern standards and he’s quite capable of using them to interact with spirits and bind curses, with applications ranging from soliciting spirits evoked by other mages to fight for him instead to using curses to increase the power of his bullets or his dusack.
• Noble Phantasm(s):
  
  • Name: Schweig ~ Hush, so that nobody hears!
  • Rank: C
  • Type: Anti-Unit
  • Appearance: A beautifully ornate silver rifle created by Caspar to serve as his Mystic Code in life, designed to require little to no maintenance and operate more discreetly and reliably than the early flintlock firearms of Caspar’s time, and to amplify his otherwise unremarkable skills in magecraft.
  • Effects: Schweig’s absorption into the legacy of Der Freischütz has elevated it to the status of a potent Noble Phantasm, the legend of the phantom marksman crystallising within the weapon rather than the user and granting him abilities beyond his capabilities in life. Not only do bullets discharged from it approach the power of the strongest modern munitions, befitting the weapon of Der Freischütz, they are discharged with barely a sound and are immune to negative conditions such as wind pressure, gravity or velocity decay so long as they remain within a certain range of Caspar, obviating many factors that may cause him to miss his mark. Furthermore, the legacy of Schweig’s creator hasn’t been entirely displaced from the rifle’s structure, far from it. Reflective of Caspar himself, a striking malice dwells beneath the rifle’s beautiful surface and structure, and not only perfectly conducts but amplifies curses to afford bullets fired from it additional effects and power similar to projectile curses employed by modern magi, albeit at a level and proficiency beyond all but the most talented practitioners. Furthermore, while it is not required to fire them, this nature is what makes Schweig the weapon best suited to make use of the Freikugeln; as its nature feeds and guides the curses inside the bullets, allowing them to be used safely and kept under their user’s control until they hit the chosen target.
  
  
  • Name: Freikugeln ~ Hell’s mouth swings wide, to accept him or you!
  • Rank: C+ ~ A+
  • Type: Anti-Unit
  • Appearance: The six silver bullets Caspar obtained in his deal with Samiel to survive the Thirty Years War, physically unremarkable save their alluring luster but engraved and endowed with a dark power that speaks to those around them.
  • Effects: While they are of a powerful substance that affords them the physical power one would expect of a C-Rank Noble Phantasm, the core essence of the Freikugeln is closer in nature to the cursed modern magi utilise as Gandyr bolts than actual bullets. The spirit known as ‘Samiel’ simply appeared to Caspar in a form he would be able to comprehend, and likewise provided him with six enormously powerful curses in a form he would know how to make the best use of. Striking the target isn't an absolute guarantee, and there's a chance to prevent them from connecting with the right tools or preparations, but each Freikugeln will nonetheless respond to their user’s intent upon being evoked and fired and pursue their mark with deadly accuracy and tracking. They will alter their trajectory, ignoring any and all external factors and disadvantages and even phase straight through physical barriers and defensive Noble Phantasms of inferior rank to strike their target, first as a physical projectile and then as a deadly curse that burns them from within; and while the physical body of the bullets can be destroyed by an attack of equivalent or greater rank, the curses within them will endure and maintain the pursuit until they strike a living target. Against Servants, the utility of this Noble Phantasm is mitigated by Caspar's poor Luck and the relatively low destructive power the Freikugeln possess, a merely average C-Rank for both the physical impact and the following curse, but against Masters, this is amongst the most deadly Noble Phantasms, as even if the impact of the bullet doesn’t kill them the curse inside them will almost certainly finish the job.
    
    If so inclined, Caspar can give the Freikugeln to others to use, as he did in life when he gave his last bullet to Max in order to trick him into making a deal with Samiel. Despite their particularly effective partnership with Schweig, they seem to be able to adapt to and be fired from any manner of gun; but in doing so the curses contained within grow more volatile and dangerous, exacting a great toll from their user to evoke and maintain control over them. Furthermore, although Caspar was only granted six bullets in life, the legend of Der Freischütz grants him one last ace-in-the-hole in the form of a ‘secret’ seventh bullet; the very one that Caspar requested as a means to have Max fall into despair, and what ultimately claimed his life. Endowed with an even more lethal curse that affords both impacts the dreadful power of an A-Rank Noble Phantasm, this bullet is directed by the lingering will of Samiel himself rather than that of Caspar or anyone he fobs the bullet off on to, and will choose its target in a way that is guaranteed to bring nothing but trouble to him. In return, however, whatever is struck with the bullet will serve as a sacrifice to Samiel in place of Caspar himself, lifting the curse over him and granting him A-Rank Independent Action to sustain him until he is able to obtain the Grail.
    
    Provided the aftermath of the shot itself doesn’t spell his doom, anyway.
• Alignment: Neutral Evil
• Changes:
  This version of Caspar was a member of a dying family of magi, whose line ultimately went extinct with him upon his death. This was mainly to flesh him out, but it does inform a lot of the character and mechanical details; though he was a poor magus, what abilities he does have are fairly potent by modern standards, and he knows his way around the type of people fighting in the Grail War.