Fellden Application

[sealeted]

PLAYER

NAME: Shana
AGE: 26
PREFERRED CONTACT: shanatic or shanatic#2785 on Discord
OTHER CHARACTERS: N/A

CHARACTER

NAME: Hakuno Kishinami
AGE: Chronologically less than a year old, having been created for the Grail War, but physically ~17 years old while exhibiting a corresponding mental and emotional age.
CANON & CANON POINT: Fate/EXTRA CCC, End of the Gilgamesh Route
RESERVATION LINK: HERE.
HISTORY: HERE

PERSONALITY:
Hakuno, for all intents and purposes, was a complete blank slate at the very start of her existence. Originally crafted as an A.I. based on a cryogenically frozen girl to serve as an N.P.C. during the Moon Cell Grail War, she spent a brief time under the impression that she was a normal schoolgirl during the Preliminaries. However, when she took the place of a failed participant and managed to pass that round, she did not receive any 'true' memories, as her opponents had. Her 'other self' was an amnesiac due to her disease, and Hakuno was left bewildered and completely clueless as to the true nature of both the Grail War and her own existence.

So, perhaps it's better to say she was merely 'the reflection of a blank slate', in the beginning.

Bearing that starting point in mind, Hakuno at first glance seems like a normal girl in those strange, deadly circumstances: scared and confused by her circumstances, and clinging to her desire to live to survive. However, for all her lack of memory, Hakuno isn't just some bland stand-in. Though she never manages to forget the threat looming above her, or the unsettling void where her memories should be, she narates her experiences with a sometimes sarcastic, usually dry wit. Often, she rides a fine line between self-derision and wary resignation, frequently comparing herself—empty, unknowing, and without a cause beyond survival to drive her—to the other, far more complex people she ends up pitted against.

"I'm here because I've accumulated victories and crushed dreams," she says at one point near the end of the War in the first game. "Because of the cost to others, I can't even imagine failure."

Hakuno, for all her (lack of) life experience, remembered or otherwise, deeply respects all of her opponents. She empathizes with them, and is almost always hurt herself when the fight ends and the opponent is deleted. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that each fight she has helps cement her newly-minted humanity; she fights a selfish child, a man with noble intentions, a boy-king looking to unite the world under his rule, an assassin, and a literal ghost in the machine, among others, each one introducing a new facet of what it means to be a participant of the Grail War. She mourns each of them, pities some, even outright cries for others, and tries to make friends when she can. She can be a bit naive at times, simply as a by-product of honestly not knowing any better, but she is also very reasonable most of the time. She freely admits that she can see logic in the war-mongering plan of the Final Boss in the first game, but in the same breath firmly rejects that logic as one that is out-dated and ill-suited to the current state of humanity, as she has come to know it from the people she fought and befriended along the way.

Ironically, while her initial weakness is that she lacks the resolve to throw herself into the Grail War one hundred percent, like a soldier or even somebody coveting the ultimate prize, at the end of it all she is able to weigh her death against a far greater threat, and march straight into the belly of the beast—or in her case, the core of the Grail that will grant her wish and delete her as an aberration in the same instant—without wavering. Once she makes up her mind, Hakuno Kishinami is not a person who can easily be swayed. Be it climbing her way to the top of a battle she doesn't fully comprehend or binding herself to an impossible, sometimes cruel Servant—such as Gilgamesh, in the sequel—Hakuno can show a backbone of pure steel when it comes to staying resolved.

That progress, her slow build as a person and horrified realization of her true origins, is ripped away from her once again in Fate/Extra CCC, leaving her once again lost and uncertain. But not alone, in both better and worse ways. She finds a new Servant, one far more arrogant, more caustic, more self-indulgent and outrageous than any of the original three options from the first game: Gilgamesh, King of Heroes. From the very first moment they meet, he seems to be everything she isn't: vibrant, powerful, confident, bored, and seeking nothing but his own amusement. He is, when they meet, all-mighty and merciless, only deigning to stay with her after she sacrifices all three of her Command Seals—which spell death for her, even if she does return to the other side of the Moon Cell—as a way to kill time now that he has been awakened.

If Hakuno's other relationships deepen her understanding of humanity, in the beginning it seems as though Gilgamesh is intended to do the opposite. Even her very first glance at him only poisons her view of herself, making her feel absolutely fleeting and insignificant compared to him. Once he starts talking—and does he ever—Hakuno is more often than not treated to full discourses on everything from relationships between men and women, to money, to philosophy, to desultory remarks about anyone and everyone they know, in one way or another. He makes it clear from the start that he could kill her at any time, if the desire took him, and for a long time there is very clearly a strong undercurrent of fear coloring her views of him. Hakuno is smart enough to never forget that fact, but at the same time, she can't help but be fascinated and repelled by him in turn. Though she usually holds her tongue, some of his extreme views—be they sexist, inhuman, or just outright cruel—clearly clash with her own values, and occasionally she even speaks out. He's an existence she sometimes can barely fathom, let alone follow, but she soldiers on, and gradually begins to gain some sort of understanding.

Even when given the chance to break her contract with him, she refuses; not out of affection, but out of an instinctual comprehension of the fact that if she wants to defeat all of her foes, then Gilgamesh is a weapon she should not—can not—part with. When she tells him this straight to his face afterwards, he all but laughs himself sick, and their dynamic seems to evolve a step. Though she is still insignificant in his eyes, he freely admits that he has underestimated her.

"You’re fretting over pointless things," he tells Hakuno frankly not long after that, about halfway through the game, when memories of the War up to the Fifth Round are returned to the Masters on the Far Side and she can only speculate hopelessly about who she might have been before that time. "Whether you were a good person or a bad person will not change the fact that you are a mongrel. For you, your “self” is a life you threw away into the darkness. For me, you are a life I happened to pick up. Even if your memories return and your past becomes clear, that will not change. Besides, you are not yet mature enough to do evil. If you would speak of atrocities, first set out to do good. If you can’t do that it would be better for you to die. When your worries crush you that will be the end of the show. I will go ahead and reap that head of yours without reserve."

This is, perhaps, far more reassuring to her than it might seem, derogatory undertones and all. That sums up their relationship more or less; Gilgamesh has literally impossible standards, but the flip-side of that is that he always gives Hakuno something to strive for and something to depend on when she has very little to keep her grounded, even if it's just his cheerful, unceasing contempt. He scares her, infuriates her, exasperates her, encourages her, and altogether motivates her to keep pushing forward, even if the only thing she can be certain of is death after victory. She is literally taken aback when she is forced to realize that she does actually trust him, on top of all of that, but she accepts it and pushes onward still, hoping to someday be able to understand him, even if being equal is impossible. It culminates the moment she resolves to put her very existence on the line to restore his memories of her after they're separated, painfully being destroyed with each step:

"I started to trust him. I was just starting to think it wouldn’t be so bad to not want to acknowledge it. I confess, there were even times I respected him. I feel that the anger toward humanity that lurks in all his words is just. …that’s why I keep going. He made a contract with me. So I’m not letting him duck out halfway through. I’ve got no intention of letting such a powerful Servant slip through my hands. If I’m going to have a partner, he’ll do quite well. Even with a Master as inexperienced as I am, he’s never once abandoned me. I need this Servant—!"

Her hardship is rewarded, as she succeeds and then gains a fair amount of Gilgamesh's regard for the effort. He even breaks from his role as 'observer,' telling Hakuno that he will be her sword from that point out, and at the end of the game even fighting the Moon Cell itself to prevent her deletion. If it were anybody else, it's impossible to say whether reaching such a point with such an impossible Servant could be done, but luckily Hakuno Kishinami is a woman that never gives up—to the point that it's even listed as her notable talent by TYPE-MOON.

ABILITIES/SKILLS:
From basically the first day of her existence (spanning a few months) Hakuno has frequently made use of assorted Codecasts, with stronger effects resulting in quicker mana exhaustion:
☽ add_invalid(); - Nullifies the damage of a single enemy's next attack if applied before they strike.
☽ add_regen(); - Somewhat heals health at end of the "turn".
☽ add_revive(); - If applied before an ally is knocked out, they revive immediately.
☽ cure(); - Cures poison, paralysis and curses.
☽ gain_con(); - Raises an ally's defense.
☽ gain_mgi(); - Raises an ally's magical strength.
☽ gain_str(); - Raises an ally's physical strength.
☽ hack_grd(); - Temporarily weakens an enemy's defense.
☽ heal(); - Rejuvenates an ally's physical health
☽ move_speed(); - Increases Hakuno's speed of movement.
☽ mp_heal(); - Rejuvenates an ally's magical energy.
☽ recover(); - Improves physical health and cures status effects.
☽ release_mgi(); - Stuns nearby enemies for a short period. (1 "turn" of combat)
☽ shock(); - Unleashes physical damage and stuns an enemy.
☽ vanish_add(); Negates status-buffing magic.

Of note, an CCC-exclusive ability that would be rigidly opt-in for any players interested in having their characters experience them, if the mods permit it:
☽ Thesis of the Still Heart - A Code Cast that uncovers Secret Gardens: three secret, hidden parts of the owner's heart that are pivotal to their identity. They can range from twisted desires to deeply personal habits.

INVENTORY/COMPANIONS:
Ejected from her Inventory upon arrival:
☽ ONE (1) Original School Uniform, worn
☽ ONE (1) Classic School Uniform, folded
☽ ONE (1) Girl's Gym Uniform, folded
☽ ONE (1) School Swimsuit, folded
☽ ONE (1) Pair of Glasses, nonprescription
☽ FIVE (5) Small Jars of Ether Powder
☽ ONE (1) Return Crystal, Inert

FACTION CHOICE: Moon Temple

REASON: Hakuno Kishinami is very much a doer, as much by nature as necessity's sake. Her entire life can be summed up as "fix each issue as they arise," with each "issue" usually translating to a new foe more tricky and deadly than the last. She is enough of a natural negotiator that she managed to placate a Servant of unparalleled personal difficulty enough to work wither and her allies. On the flip side of that, she is very used to gathering intelligence under pressure, and is able to quickly turn that information against enemies to give herself an edge in battle.

TATTOO: On the palm of her left hand, opposite to her Command Seal marks.

SAMPLES

NETWORK:
If anyone has seen a tall blond man covered in gold, please let me know where he is as soon as convenient. He left his compass here and I can't reach him. He may currently be loudly insulting somebody, laughing in the street at somebody, fighting with somebody or some thing, drinking in excess, or otherwise occupied. If you feel safe approaching him, please let him know that Hakuno is looking for him.

If you don't, please contact me immediately.

Please also give me a ballpark estimate of any damages I might have to pay when I get there.

Thanks, and sorry in advance.

—Hakuno Kishinami

LOG: HERE

NOTES, QUESTIONS, COMMENTS:
My only concerns are mainly mechanic-based! Hakuno has a personal inventory mechanic that would be temporarily lost upon arrival, which was answered in the FAQ, but her nature as an NPC physically taken out of the Moon Cell before arriving here gives me one big question: would she be human enough to bleed in Fellden, or would her body still be a soul-bearing avatar composed of spiritron particles?