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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.