POWER PERMISSIONS

[wolof]

Now that Akua will be coming into her Named powers as Calamity, I begin the first of many permissions posts.

APPRAISE

This power is going to be very similar to powers called See and Narrate from her own canon, (to the Warden, and Akua's new counterpart the Wandering Bard respectively) but I wanted it to be distinctive. Where "See" allows one to visualize Names and Stories along a path as a sum of a whole, and Narrate allows one to... "tell" the story as it is happening -- Appraise will allow Akua to take in the sum of the "story" of the person before her, or Appraise their role in the story. This will allow her to essentially divine certain data from a character. This will NOT be a "know everything about a character's history" button, but instead, she will be able to divine the following facts:

• A Characters's "Role" in their canon. Are they an Antagonist? The Martyr? What trope do they fall into? I included some additional info below, click to expand!
  
  
  

  ↬What is a Role?↫

  
  

  Terminology clarification: what the fuck is a "Role"?
  "A Role is the function of a Name in the pattern (as in, a Tyrant is meant to rule and a Thief to steal)." - WoE
  
  That ^ is not the only thing the word "Role" is used to mean in Guideverse. We also have Akua's "it's the Role that matters, not the Name" in Chiaroscuro; what does that mean?
  
  It means that a Role is the function of [you] in a pattern. In that story that everyone hypothetically knows (see above), what would they cast you as? It's not necessarily the same thing as what your Name implies: pattern of three is Name-independent, and Indrani breaking the spell on Masego in Twilight by sacrificing herself in an attempt to rescue him did not depend on what either of their Names were, either. Those moments don't often get referred to as uppercase Role, but it's one of the meanings of the word.
  
  A Role and a Name are often referred to as interchangeable because a Name is inseparably tied to a Role. A generic Name that is not instantiated - a Squire, not this specific Squire - has a broader Role: "a Squire is apprenticed to, or wants to become, or is following in the footsteps of, a Knight". A specific instance of a Name - the Squire who is Catherine Foundling - has a narrower one: "is apprenticed to the current Black Knight of Praes who is Amadeus of the Green Stretch" (that fits within / is a subset of the more generic one).
  
  A Role is like a causal interface through which the instantiated Name (the growth on a person's soul that gives them powers) is impacted by events in Creation. The price of grain in Ashur doesn't impact Masego's Name because his Role does not include statements related to the price of grain; but it might impact Malicia's, because her Role includes statements about inspiring dread in other countries, of which the price of grain is one of the available venues. Losing an army would not impact Tariq's Name because his Role is not that of a leader of armies, but it did impact Amadeus's, because his instance of Black Knight was very much about that.
  
  But not every Role is tied to a Name. To generate a Name, a Role needs to be (1) significantly impactful (technically, "dead background peasant #23" is also a Role - it's something you might get to play in a threatre production of the story), (2) archetypically clear (if people don't associate your Role with a specific verbal label, you don't get a power-conferring verbal label on your Role).
  
  Yes, this contradicts the literal interpretation of the statement in Prologue I about how Gods gave Names to Roles. So does this WoG: "There would be no cultural drive anywhere on Calernia to birth a Name like Grey Knight, which effectively ensure it could not come into being." The Prologue exposition is a quote from The Book of All Things, and The Book of All Things is acknowledged as not a reliable source in-universe.
  
  Anyway, to figure out if something is a Role or not, or what the Roles are in a given context: a Role is a possible set of lines/stage directions you might get as an actor in a theatre production of the story it's a Role in.

  
  


• High Points of their "Story" (For example: as many as the player wishes to provide of The Important Beats to their story. Not the canon at large, just the individual character's story. This can have as much or as little context as is provided by the player.)


• Whether the character is a Hero, a Villain, or Neither.


• Lastly, she is allowed one glimpse of a character's current "predicament", whatever it may be. This could be a decision, a potential loss, or an action that they must take. This is obviously intending for her to be able to "guide" if the character is amenable, and is much more for the fun of it!


This power will never be used without checking in first! As one of these can be a nebulous statement, I may check in during a thread, to ask about the last one, if we choose to use it! It's essentially for flavor and Guidance!

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Please fill out the following box!

<b>Can Akua Appraise your character</b>: Y/N <b>What is your character's role in their canon?:</b> This is purely subjective, and there's no wrong answer! This can be vibes, or it can be fanon. Just hit me with your best shot! What purpose do they SERVE in their story itself? Not hero or villain, but are they a goal to take down? Are they a tool to be used by the story? Are they the martyr? <b>What are the High Points of their "Story"?</b>: tl;dr as much or as little as you would like! What are the highest points of your character's story? Not the world at large, or the canon, but what happens to <em>them</em>. What is significant? What guides their choices? What major mistakes live with them, and what triumphs do they look back on? What are the parts of your character that make <Em>them</em> who they are? This will be information Akua can divine, so when providing information, only provide what you're comfortable with, but she <em>is</em> a shady villainess so. She won't judge! <b>Is the Character a Hero, a Villain, or Neither?:</b> Again, just based on vibes!

Comments

[erbe]

Can Akua Appraise your character: Y
What is your character's role in their canon?:
Mentor | Love Interest | Dueteragonist

Despite not being the protagonist, Rin is actually the character with the most screen time in the story. She serves as the narrator for the prologue, and also the narrator for the Heaven's Feel (the route she's taken from) epilogue. She'd the subject of the school's rumor mill, popular but isolationist, the protag's crush before the story begins and one of the main lenses in which the world of magecraft is learned about.

Rin is the keystone in which the story pivots around. In one route she is merely the mentor and the protag's crush diverts to another, in another she's the main love interest and teammate, and in the route from which 'this' Rin is plucked she is the prior crush and sister to the main love interest. This story follows the conflict that the world of magecraft has placed on their family. In every route she saves the protagonist's life in the beginning for the sake of her sister's happiness.

What are the High Points of their "Story"?:

Before the age of seven Rin lived a life virtually untouched by the way mage society would one day shape her life. She lived with with her father, mother, and younger sister in a large western-style mansion in Japan. However just before, or perhaps right around the time she turned eight her sister was adopted away to another family and her father participated in a "fight to the death" ritual amongst mages to seize the infamous wish granter: The Holy Grail.

The Holy Grail War ended with her father murdered, her mother disabled, and Rin subjected to being the ward of her father's apprentice (and unbeknownst to her, the man that killed him). Ages 8-12 consisted of Rin teaching herself magecraft, and caring for her disabled mother who died right around the time she reached middle school. From then on she was raised by the man mentioned before — a sadistic priest known as Kirei.

Late into her high school career is when the next Holy Grail war starts. She takes up the legacy of her father and participates — pitting her against her sister and other mages (including the protagonist). Things get fucky, but the highlights are:

✧ She saves the protag's life
✧ Love triangle drama, though Rin doesn't see it that way
✧ Sakura's (her sister) body gradually going haywire and becoming a vessel for "All the Evil in the World"
✧ Rin losing her partner (Servant) and the highlight of how her life has been just a series of partings/farewells
✧ Right before coming to Kenos Rin has made the decision to "kill Sakura in order to save the world" (inwardly she's very conflicted about this)

The big takeaways are:

✧ Guilt over her sister being sent away
✧ Strict adherence to "mage ideals" to uphold her father's legacy despite resentment toward it
✧ Self-imposed isolation due to "mage ideals" but also out of a fear of losing anyone she might consider close or dear
✧ Weird sense of "obligation" in order to justify keeping people close without acknowledging emotional attachment
✧ Hypocritical or contrary behavior as she struggles with true self vs ideal heiress mask

Is the Character a Hero, a Villain, or Neither?: Rin wouldn't consider herself a Hero, but others would probably label her as such.