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Jun. 29th, 2024 08:50 am
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❥ Character Information
Character Name: Nero the Sable
Character Age: 20
Character Species: Experimental Human
Current Health: Has had the shit beaten out of him, but nothing lethal
Outfit: Scarlet designed this

Character Canon: Final Fantasy VII Remake
Link to History: History
Canon Point: At the end of Intermission
Canon Iteration: Canon, FFVII Remake Timeline
Canon Iteration Explanation: Canon

❥ Folkmore Roles & Attributes

Skills:
- Trained in several forms of combat and weaponry.
- Sharpshooting & all forms of armed combat. The man has four arms and uses them to be infuriating.
- Spycraft, subterfuge, and assassination
- Manipulation
- Torture
- Wetworks
- Military Protocol
- Leadership (when pretending to be someone else)

Canon Abilities: Dirge of Cerberus is a great game but it explains basically nothing so here we go.

Nero was born infused with stagnant mako, essentially the crud that the lifestream filters out because it cannot be reabsorbed. The mako that he was created with appeared to be specifically tied to the WEAPON called Chaos, which is essentially the harbinger of the end called upon to end what remains of life on the planet once it has reached the end of it's life cycle.

Nero can drain people's lifeforce the same way a healer can mend it. And while doing so, once again, they'll feel nothing but cold despair. He doesn't seem to have great control over as being in proximity to him can also just trigger it.

Immortality. Nero is killed at least once (arguably twice) on-screen in Dirge of Cerberus, however it just doesn't stick. Anything short of undeniable lethal damage is something he will shrug off and walk off. If harmed badly enough, it does appear as though Nero will experience a brief physical death and his soul will exist outside of his body until he is able to reform his body, or something double kills him. I imagine this will work differently in Folkmore and am open to nerfing it however makes sense.

The Darkness. Nero was born linked to a endless blackhole of suffering. This darkness appears to be a more malignant version of the lifestream as it is comprised of everything the lifestream rejects. It's the silt at the bottom of the river, and it is constantly seeping out of him. When sapient beings are exposed to this darkness they seem to be forced to relive their worst memories - and Nero is able to view and collect these memories for himself. He states that the darkness is able to extract anything, and the worst of the experiences remain with him regardless of whether he's seeking them out.

As such, when people have close contact with Nero and the darkness that is constantly seeping into the air around him they are unfortunately exposing themselves to his abilities. This seems to be mixture of limited empathic abilities geared entirely around negative emotions and memory reading. Nero has shown some ability to manipulate the memories of those who come into contact with him, though he has no real skill at it as he's never had much use for it.

This void can consume anything whether living, dead, or inanimate. Anything Nero puts in this void appears to erode over time, living matter cannot survive within it for long. It does appear to be tied to a physical space within the lifestream, though it should be noted that it appears separate and does not flow the same way the rest of the lifestream does. Nero will not have access to this physical space here in Folkmore, but he will be able to throw people into the void. Those with strong enough wills and resistance to dark magic should be able to escape it as it will not be nearly as powerful here.

It is constantly seeping out of him and seems to erode his body underneath the containment suit he wears. He is able to manifest and control this power even when restrained, but without the use of his hands he is unable to exert any fine control over it. When his hands are unbound, he is able to manifest this power in full and blanket entire rooms with this darkness. The flip side of this is it can overwhelm him and Nero can completely lose control.

Shadow Walking. Nero is able to disappear into shadows. He uses this as a method of travel and also as a way to hide his presence.

WEAPON physiology - Bio-mechanical Wings & Arachnero. WEAPONs in the Final Fantasy VII universe are enormous bio-mechanical creatures that work as the planet's immune system. As Nero was made from these things it appears he is able to transform into a WEAPON himself if pushed too far. Nero's eyes also take on the same gold coloration that others associated with WEAPONs do when tapping into these abilities, and frankly, probably cannot transform back once he hits the end game stage.

This will not be relevant in Folkmore unless there comes a need or a want for a giant mech battle event.

What's important here is that Nero has 'wings'. They are made of metal and appear almost skeletal, the 'feathers' are blades. They are also topped with a pair of sharp metal hands that function just like regular hands.

Free Flight. Gravity doesn't mean shit to him. Nero is able to fly with with ease.


Role: Legend
Role Qualities/Attributes: Nero will slowly begin to take on more angelic traits. His metal wings will become less sketal and gain blue jay feathers, with the metal wingtips now hidden underneath the plume, along with faint feathering along his back and arms. We can't forget the halo.

Nero's eyes will also take on a bright yellow glow when he is agitated or upset.
Role Reasoning: Nero is a brutal and sadistic person who, arguably, could fit into Myth without batting an eye. However, it is important to note that Nero's motivations stem from a genuine, selfless love for his brother and a desire to see them freed from the suffering they were born into. While attaining this goal might result in an incredible amount of bloodshed, in the eyes of the Tsviets - they are the victims and all at the other end of their blade are deserving of their fate. Whether it be because they were born into privileged lives on the surface, or because they gleefully tortured the Tsviets for the sake of science and profit.

Nero is an emotionally driven person whose morals and worldview have been horrifically twisted by the environment he grew up in, but as of yet, he isn't doing anything world-ending. He just wants to get out of the hell he was born into.

❥ Personality

Please choose one of the follow options for your personality section. Please clarify which option you have picked and, if option 2, which questions you are answering:

Option 1. Summarize your character's personality in general and what their full potential would look like to them and what they would be willing to go through to meet that potential and what gaining that potential would mean to them. 400-800 word requirement.

Option 2. Choose FOUR-FIVE of the following questions to answer and expand upon. You may choose a fifth question if you feel it is integral to your character's personality. Each answer has a 100-300 word requirement.


OPTION 2 QUESTIONS (PICK 4-5) 100-300 WORD LIMIT EACH:

  • What is the most important and defining relationship(s) in your character's life and why?

  • Nero's older brother, Weiss, is inarguably the most important person in his life. In Nero's own words Weiss is the only person who has ever loved him, and the only person he will ever love. The brother's share a close bond which is unnatural to DeepGround, and that bond has been used as a means of controlling them and preventing them from rebelling against their captors in earnest as doing so would potentially damn the other. Everything Nero does is for Weiss, and as long as Weiss is alive and well - Nero is a mostly functional, albiet extremely fucked up and twisted, person.

    If (when) Weiss dies, this is gone. Nero becomes a hollow shell of himself, consumed with the idea of bringing him back and having them both escape the world that hated them.
  • What is a headcanon (or two) you feel strongly about and that you prefer playing your character with? How is this supported in canon and why do you think it benefits the character's story?

  • I figured I would add these here as they are not explicitly confirmed but are decently implied within the text of the game? I'm not sure if they count as divergences or just headcanons.

    - Nero was the only test subject out of thousands to survive the Stagnant Mako experiments because Vincent Valentine's Chaos infused DNA was used to make him. Nero inherited Vincent's immortal body, however he is not immune from the ravages of the darkness as Vincent is. It is a constant toll on his physical body, his body simply endures it because it can't really die.

    - Nero is essentially the antithesis of a Cetra. While they have a connection to the flowing portion of the Lifestream, Nero is closely tied to all that which cannot be subsumed by it - such as the Gi Tribe and all of JENOVA's remnants. As Nero was not born of the flowing lifestream he can't return to it even if someone managed to kill him, thus damning him to a cruel immortality he absolutely does not want and would give anything to escape. Nero seems to have an obsession with death, viewing it as a "release from suffering" and one that he just can't have.

    This is the reason why when his brother eventually dies, Nero goes insane with grief as he knows they will never be reunited.

  • What is your character's moral code? Do they have one? Why or why not?

  • Truthfully, Nero believes having a code of ethics or morality is a waste of time. He's seen enough of the darkness in people's hearts to know how depraved they can be, and so he kills and torments indiscriminately. Friendship and close bonds are either a risk, or exploitation waiting to happen. Nero is not opposed to being civil with others, but anything deeper is something he does not understand as he was raised in a kill or be killed environment and spent much of his life being treated like a monster even other monsters did not want to associate with. Raised to be a ruthless killer in an environment that explicitly discourages friendship and camaraderie, Nero sits comfortably in the role of monster that his predecessors rejected, embracing it as it allows him to do whatever must be done to keep the one person who does matter to him safe.

    That is perhaps the most tragic part. Nero craves connection and companionship. As a deeply lonely person who merely adapted to the terrible circumstances he was born into, Nero does understand love... and obsesses over anyone kind enough to give it to him when he believes himself undeserving. So he will bloody and dirty his hands to the sake of the one person who looked past what he is and what he's capable of, all in the hopes that one day they will live free from DeepGround.

  • Is your character capable of forgiveness or will they hold a grudge until they die? Would anything ever make them change their mind?

  • If someone wrongs him he can most likely shrug it off as that is something he would do himself. There are few things that phase Nero, and things like physical violence are something he'll actually seek out and not take personally. It's difficult to upset Nero because you have wronged Nero, he simply doesn't care about himself in that way.

    However, when it comes to those who wrong Weiss... There is no forgiveness, no salvation. Nero would hunt them down to the ends of the earth and torment them for daring to do so. He would literally die mad about it.

  • What would your character sacrifice to get what they want or to reach their potential? What have they sacrificed already?


  • Nero deliberately downplays his intelligence and his capabilities, allowing them to believe that he is either an animal who can be bribed with treats, or a mindless killing machine who must be tightly leashed. As such Nero does not have many freedoms, but all of this is in the name of being underestimated. If they think he's but an animal who can be yanked back by a chain, then they aren't paying attention to what he's hearing. They see the big explosions of power and rampaging and don't look any closer at the destruction, missing the details as they believe Weiss to the brains behind the operation.

    This has resulted in Nero having no freedom and living in deep isolation, even for a Deepground experiment. When not in use, he's put in a containment pod and drugged into a deep sleep. Or he's chained to a pillar and left to scream himself hoarse. Nero lives a deeply lonely existence, with the only light being his brother and what little time they get to spend together.

    But the thing is, Nero could escape at any time. He isn't bound to DeepGround the same way the rest of the Tsviets are. He could easily kill their jailers - but doing so would also damn his brother to death. As such, Nero remains in these chains willingly as he refuses to escape without Weiss. He has sacrificed any happiness he could have outside of Weiss for Weiss.

    ❥ Player Information
    Player Name: Shikki
    Pronouns: They/Them, He/Him
    Are you over 18?: Yes
    Contact(s): minimoffs @ plurk
    Who Invited You?: Maruah</>
    Current Characters: N/A
    Permissions:
    Here
    Writing Samples: one & two.

    soulerosion: (Default)
    PLAYER

    NAME: shikki
    CONTACT: minimoffs @ plurk
    ACTIVE TIMES/PACE: absolute random hours, boomeranging
    BRACKETS/PROSE: . brackets

    OFFENSIVE SUBJECTS & TRIGGERS YOU DO NOT WISH TO DISCUSS IN THREADS: none.

    with this said, since nero is a character who can draw out your character's worst memories and i fully welcome people to take advantage of this, i do ask that people give a heads up as to the contents of any traumatic memory. this lets us figure out everybody's comfort levels before we dive head first into it and ensures we're both getting something out of the thread, and it's not just intense trauma dumping.

    examples of sensitive subjects i'd like a heads up and discussion about - sexual assault, childhood abuse that mirrors something you'd find in the real world, significant discussion or exploration of suicidal ideation, any instances of homophobia/transphobia/racism, etc. this just makes sure everyone is on the same page and the thread isn't going to go completely off the rails.


    IN CHARACTER

    PHYSICAL AFFECTION: he'll resist but you'll find he's so touch starved he'll lean into it. his powers make physical contact a little tricky as anyone touching him who he's not comfortable with may find themselves exposed to a glimpse of all their worst memories.
    PHYSICAL VIOLENCE: go for it! he - might get way too into that, though.
    RELATIONSHIPS: an unhealthy attachment to his older brother. other than that, nothing. he was raised in isolation.
    PSYCHIC & PSIONIC INFORMATION: nero reads more like a summon / primal / weapon / guardian force than he does a human due to the experiments that created him.
    MAGICAL INFORMATION: nero radiates pure darkness. his very soul seems to be steeped in it. he won't read as human to most characters.

    Abilities: Nero is the only survivor of two hundred test subjects who were injected with stagnant lifestream, essentially dead parts of the planet's essence. He was born with the power to control a warped version of the lifestream that manifests as a flowing black aura around him that has the power to pull things in. His first act on the planet was accidental murder - he killed his mother with his void as he came screaming into the world. From that day forward he was thrown into mako-enhanced restraints that would suppress his powers.

    While the lifestream is described as 'hope and life' Nero's darkness is 'death and despair'. Its described in canon as the very essence of death, coming into contact with it makes you relive all your worst memories or can kill you outright if you're unfortunate enough to be drawn into it. It seems to be tied to an empty-void like pocket-dimension full off giant floating rocks.

    Once in there, objects begin to dissolve. If someone survives being drawn into the void, their mind will fall apart due to the overwhelming feelings of despair and the constant barrage of reliving your worst memories. Not many can survive long in the void.

    Nero has the ability to drain people's lifeforce the same way a healer can mend it. And while doing so, once again, they'll feel nothing but cold despair. This he doesn't seem to have great control over as being in proximity to him can also just trigger it.

    Nero is able to create constructs from this darkness (guns, a giant robot suit, clones of himself in his battle) and is able to store some objects in it. Per the games rules regarding hammerspace, that should be set at 10.

    Unsurprisingly, Nero's unable to control his power completely. He was never given the chance to learn and was instead thrown in restraints and subjected to cruel experimentation. He always wears restrictive clothing that suppresses the power to a manageable level - though there's always a flow of wispy darkness around him. Emotional outbursts can lead to massive spikes in power. All of this will be brought down to make him playable in the setting.

    - Nero's darkness will be massively reduced for playability purposes. Rather than being able to throw an AOE big enough to consume a cavern or an airship, Nero will be limited to a radius of about ten feet around him and won't be able to consume any player characters. He won't be able to make clones and will be limited to two darkness constructs at a time, no bigger than his handgun set.

    People having any sort of physical contact with him may still have to endure the emotional anguish until he likes them enough to stop doing that.

    Nero will also be coming in with a set of bladed mechanical wings on his back. They'll be mostly shattered and broken thanks to Hojo hijacking his brother's beefy bod and throwing him across the room with it. Other than that, he'll just have the ruined remains of his containment suit.

    Which god will they choose to support? Or do you wish to be randomized?
    MEDICAL INFORMATION: literally an enigma
    OFFENSIVE SUBJECTS & TRIGGERS: don't say anything bad about his brother

    OUT OF CHARACTER

    BACKTAGGING:
    THREADHOPPING: go for it!
    FOURTHWALLING: no thank you, that revelation might break him a little.
    NOT INTERESTED IN:
    Telepathy and mind-reading: Go for it! Nero has never encountered anyone else with any kind of mental and/or emotional manipulation powers so he has no defense against it.
    Content warnings and sensitive subjects related to the character: Nero was raised in a spartan society, knowing only that it was kill or be killed. He's a genetic experiment who grew up in heavy isolation with only his older brother to show him any kind of love or attention, resulting in an obsessive love that verges on religious worship. Not much bothers him because his abilities have consistently shown him the worst that humanity has to offer.

    That said, the only thing Nero loves more than his brother is death - and oh boy does he want to die. While it's not necessarily a suicidal ideation, it is an almost romantic longing for death because he's an immortal trapped in a body incompatible with his powers. Think Deadpool but anime and somehow weirder.
    Content warnings and sensitive subjects this character won't be involved in: I'm open to anything as long as folks give me a warning. I know Nero is prime to spark trauma exploration but I really, really need folks to discuss their character's past and trauma with me before we dive into it. He's not here for emotional healing, he'll gleefully rip those scars wide open.


    FIRST IMPRESSIONS

    VISUAL: nero a very thin young man who stands at about 5'7. he wears a muzzle on his face.
    AURAL: nero speaks in a soft monotone. when overwhelmed, it jumps in pitch and becomes a shriek.
    OLFACTORY: probably not... great? musty maybe.
    DEMEANOUR: nero always seems to be holding himself back and may even seem slightly pained.

    ☆ code by kimmiserate
    soulerosion: (Default)
    INSERT AS TITLE OF YOUR COMMENT: Character Name | Canon | Reserved/Not Reserved
    PLAYER INFO
    ❥ Name/Handle: Shikki
    ❥ Contact: minimoffs @ plurk
    ❥ Over 18?: Y
    ❥ Other Characters: N/A

    CHARACTER INFO
    ❥ Name: Nero
    ❥ Canon: Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus
    ❥ Canon Point: After being killed by Weiss
    ❥ Fandom OC Approval: (Name of mod who approved you or N/A)

    ❥ History: a wiki!
    ❥ CRAU?: N/A

    ❥ Personality:

    Warped Morality & Understanding of the world. Nero is an experiment born and raised in a kill-or-be-killed environment to become the perfect weapon for Shinra. He's never known traditional morality and frankly he doesn't comprehend it. If you're close to him he won't go out of his way to bother you, however if it would benefit him to he'd do it without thinking twice about it. There is no "team" in Deepground. Every man is for himself. That being said, he understands that he can't simply do as he pleases and there are consequences to his actions. This translates to: good behavior gets you rewards like hanging out with your brother, and bad behavior gets you chained to a rock. To this point, he's kind of a tool? He delights in pressing people's buttons and getting them to hate him. Frankly, he has no idea how to interact with people who don't hate him if they aren't Weiss.

    Devoted / Codependent. Nero's older brother was the only person who ever treated him like a person. As a result, he is cripplingly dependent on Weiss, to the point that when Weiss died Nero decided he'd kickstart the apocalypse to revive him after Weiss died. Weiss is the only person who ever loved Nero and Nero believes that Weiss is the only person who can ever love him. Nero is capable of great kindness and love, he would move mountains if it meant his brother would be happy.

    Socially stunted. Due to the above and more. Nero spent most of his life as an experiment and enduring the cruelest conditions imaginable. He was kept largely in isolation and not allowed to engage with others. The only person he ever forged a genuine bond with was his brother, Weiss. Nero longs for connection and to be loved but doesn't understand it. The bond with his brother is all he has and he leans on that hard, as without it he feesls lost.

    Melancholy / Death obsessed. Nero talks fondly of death and views it as an end to suffering. His powers grant him dominion over death and a psuedo-lifestream where the souls he collects just kind of hang around. He's derived from an entity that's entire purpose is killing everyone on the planet. There's a lot of baggage there, especially given that he's never been able to completely control it and has killed people without meaning to.

    Calculating. Though Nero can come across as rather childish, he is an extremely intelligent and cunning young man. Rather than let Deepground know Weiss has died, Nero takes over silently and shoves the newly liberated organization into gathering as many non-Jenova infected people as they can in order to trick the planet into starting the apocalypse early.

    Unstable. Due to his life in Deepground, his powers, and the loss of his brother - Nero is a trainwreck. While often very calm and quiet, he's prone to emotional outbursts and irrational behavior. Nero's powers tie directly into this emotional state, meaning that he is always tightly controlled but that control is constantly fraying. His powers also give him a sharp slant towards sadism and cruelty as he revels in making people relive their worst memories and, just, flat out killing them because he hates them. Like all members of DeepGround, fighting makes Nero feel alive in a way nothing else does.


    ❥ Abilities: Nero is the only survivor of two hundred test subjects who were injected with stagnant lifestream, essentially dead parts of the planet's essence. He was born with the power to control a warped version of the lifestream that manifests as a flowing black aura around him that has the power to pull things in. His first act on the planet was accidental murder - he killed his mother with his void as he came screaming into the world. From that day forward he was thrown into mako-enhanced restraints that would suppress his powers.

    While the lifestream is described as 'hope and life' Nero's darkness is 'death and despair'. Its described in canon as the very essence of death, coming into contact with it makes you relive all your worst memories or can kill you outright if you're unfortunate enough to be drawn into it. It seems to be tied to an empty-void like pocket-dimension full off giant floating rocks.

    Once in there, objects begin to dissolve. If someone survives being drawn into the void, their mind will fall apart due to the overwhelming feelings of despair and the constant barrage of reliving your worst memories. Not many can survive long in the void.
    pu
    On top of this, shing further into the reverse lifestream phase - Nero has the ability to drain people's lifeforce the same way a healer can mend it. And while doing so, once again, they'll feel nothing but cold despair. This he doesn't seem to have great control over as being in proximity to him can also just trigger it.

    Nero is able to create constructs from this darkness (guns, a giant robot suit, clones of himself in his battle) and is able to store some objects in it. Per the games rules regarding hammerspace, that should be set at 10.

    Unsurprisingly, Nero's unable to control his power completely. He was never given the chance to learn and was instead thrown in restraints and subjected to cruel experimentation. He always wears restrictive clothing that suppresses the power to a manageable level - though there's always a flow of wispy darkness around him. Emotional outbursts can lead to massive spikes in power. All of this will be brought down to make him playable in the setting.

    ❥ Extras:

    - Nero's darkness will be massively reduced for playability purposes. Rather than being able to throw an AOE big enough to consume a cavern or an airship, Nero will be limited to a radius of about ten feet around him and won't be able to consume any player characters. He won't be able to make clones and will be limited to two darkness constructs at a time, no bigger than his handgun set.

    People having any sort of physical contact with him may still have to endure the emotional anguish until he likes them enough to stop doing that.

    Nero will also be coming in with a set of bladed mechanical wings on his back. They'll be mostly shattered and broken thanks to Hojo hijacking his brother's beefy bod and throwing him across the room with it. Other than that, he'll just have the ruined remains of his containment suit.

    Which god will they choose to support? Or do you wish to be randomized?
    Random!
    SAMPLE Waking here alone was a nightmare from which he could not wake. Was this Hell? A beautiful world he was ill-suited to live in, a paradise without the one thing that he'd ever cared about? Banished from Weiss' side and damned to a world so soft that one look from a Tsviet should have leveled it to the ground.

    He didn't understand.

    Hadn't he always done everything right? Everything Weiss ever asked for had been done without question. His life had been lived to ensure his brother's happiness and future.

    So why this? Why this betrayal?

    His fingers touch the space where the wound had been. The novelty of being able to use his own hands had long since worn off, replaced instead with the loathing of why that was. Freed from his old chains and thrust into a new world with new expectations, ones he had been taught to avoid all his life. Nero was of Deepground. Cruelty and death came far easier than what they expected of him here, and the Gods had the gall to bind his powers to ensure he was better suited to their purposes.

    Or...

    Or perhaps that was simply the consequence of dying at his brother's hand. A god in of himself now. Handed off to lesser beings to serve them, now that he was no longer of use to the God he'd made of his departed sibling... or what he had so long believed to be. In that moment, Weiss hadn't seemed himself. Yet he'd awoken here before he could investigate, assuming it had been caused by the physical death.

    The young man shakes his head.

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