Zodion: App

[beautymark]

✖ CHARACTER:
Name: Diarmuid ua Duibhne (a.k.a. Lancer)
Canon: fate/Zero
PB/Image: canon art
Info links: Lancer on the Type-Moon wikia!
Canon Point: post-death / episode 16
Gender & Sex: Male
Age: exact age unknown! Appears in his mid-20s but probably actually died the first time in his 40's. It's weird.
Birthdate/Sign: May 2 - Taurus (not canon). Diarmuid’s personality showcases many of the positive and negative traits of a Taurus. On the positive side he is very loyal and dependable, selfless, considerate, self-disciplined, strong-willed and sensual. On the downside, he is prone to getting stuck in bad situations or patterns, has a hard time initiating change, and can be stubborn and reserved to a fault. While he is good at tactics, displaying the same kind of traits that lend themselves to being organized and adept with business (and in life he managed to become one of the richest men of his time and place), he is also very cautious, sometimes to the point of seeming politely distant rather than making himself vulnerable.
Tattoo: on his chest right over his heart, about two inches in diameter
Suitability: N/A
Power: zodion power - earth healing: mending.
Personality: The man who became known as "Lancer" is and has always been primarily a knight. Born in third century Ireland to a landed knight of relative fame, Diarmuid was fostered to the fairy god of love, life, and creative pursuits. He grew up doted on by his foster father, and upon reaching the age to become a knight he was given four mighty weapons: swords Moralltach and Beagalltach and lances Gae Dearg and Gae Buidhe. He joined the Fianna -- once many small bands of lesser children of nobles acting as freelance knights and masters of the wilderness, now under the command of the great hero Fionn mac Cumhaill.

As a Knight of the Fianna, Diarmuid gained fame and fortune. He was considered one of their finest, a man beyond men, and it wasn't just for his battle prowess. Diarmuid was a shining example of honor and chivalry, a man who was fiercely loyal to his lord and his fellow knights and who adhered to the notion of “geasa” or “taboos” -- ancient Irish spiritual obligations or prohibitions similar to holy vows or spells. He put great value on his position of knight and fought bravely for his lord, defeating many men until he had enemies in every corner of Ireland. He was happy -- until the curse he carries reared its ugly head. You see, the the mole under Diarmuid’s right eye is more than a simple beauty mark. It’s an enchanted “love spot” that causes any woman who looks at his face to fall for him. The effect varies depending on the woman, but the girl betrothed to Fionn fell fast and hard. Using a geis, she forced Diarmuid to elope with her, causing an uncrossable rift between him and his lord. Though he learned to love her, after years of running from Fionn as outlaws and years more in uneasy peace, Diarmuid’s violent death was orchestrated by the very lord he’d so longed to serve.

Given this life, it’s no surprise that he answered the call to the fourth Heaven’s Feel, a war between magus and their summoned Servants for the synthetic wish-granting magic item, the “holy grail”. Though he also carried the qualifications to be summoned into the Saber class container, Diarmuid was summoned as Lancer. His master was Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald, using Kayneth’s fiance Sola-ui Nuada-re Sophia-ri as the source of prana, the magical energy required for a Servant to manifest. Both Masters & Servants enter the Holy Grail War for a variety of reasons, but Diarmuid’s was simple and is the best summary of his person possible: he wanted only to fight alongside his lord and uphold his honor.

As that implies, Diarmuid is a very dedicated person. Above anything else he prizes his honor as a knight and all that it stands for. Fairness, honesty, loyalty, kindness, all of these virtues are wrapped up in his sense of “chivalry”. Diarmuid is a polite man, not given to crudeness or rash action, and holds himself with refined pride. He is somewhat reserved, and though he usually passes off awkward or painful words with brief dismissal or bitter joking, he doesn’t often open up emotionally. His belief in fairness holds true in battle as well -- ideally, he’ll fight someone weapon-to-weapon, fairly, with no handicaps or underhanded means and with mutual respect. It’s in this kind of fight that he finds the most joy -- even at his worst moments the prospect of a good honest battle cheers him up and fills him with purpose. This can be seen shortly before his death when Saber’s offer of completing their duel alone brings out his most genuine smile despite his very negative emotional state at the time.

Following that logic, Diarmuid also believes in combat as an essential part of human life. People disagree, people fight, and an honorable battle is a good way to solve things. Coming from a culture where both battles between armies and single combat between champions were frequent and glorified, his views reflect that in his love of competition. His opinion of other people is also influenced by these views -- cowardice is frowned upon, as is cruelty and undue self-centeredness. It’s all about holding oneself to a standard in Diarmuid’s eyes. Each individual person should do their best to be honest and fair and free of corruption. It goes back again to those “geasa” and the thought behind them: everyone has different rules they have to follow, but throwing those rules to the wind is incredibly dishonorable. Breaking an oath is, above all else, spiritually damaging to the point that it can cause death. Even removed from an existence mired in these oaths and rules of honor, Diarmuid tries to uphold them. The lack of self-discipline and the rampant corruption of the modern age is painful for him, as those he interacts with often can’t be expected to treat him with the same open fairness and respect that he shows to them.

For example, there’s the issue of his Master in the Holy Grail War. Kayneth is an arrogant man who had never faced difficulty when the war started, let alone failure. In battle he prefers to stay out of the way, and outside of it he expects the utmost in luxury and shows no appreciation whatsoever for those around him aside from his fiance. This extends easily to Diarmuid. Summoning Lancer was a short-notice, emergency action for Kayneth as his original summoning artifact had been stolen. Due to that, he quickly grew frustrated and took it out on Diarmuid. Nothing the hero could do was good enough. That kind of thing wears on Diarmuid very quickly. He places such importance on loyalty and on his honor that being so harshly blamed and attacked by someone he considers his superior (and especially by someone he considers his Master) is one of the worst things he can face. He wants only to do well by his lord, and feeling like he’s failing or that he can’t accomplish this is a huge source of anxiety for him.

He’s also quite sensitive about his reputation as a ladies’ man. Since much of the attention he receives from women is due to his spot, and since his original life was shaped so much by that curse, thinking about it is a major sore spot. When Sola-ui falls under the charm spell he can’t turn off, her very presence begins to cause him discomfort, and when Kayneth uses it to verbally tear him up the effect is enormous. Being told that he’s driven by lust, that he’s a traitor, a womanizer, and someone of little worth hurts more than any physical wound could, and Diarmuid is left without a shred of pride by the time he’s been berated enough. Saber’s offer of a fight helps, but even then he states that it’s the only thing left that can lift his spirits. This goes to show exactly how much feeling like a failure weighs on him. It is, essentially, the biggest thing in his world -- his loyalty and the consequences of staying loyal despite his lord or master’s bad behavior shape his very being.

When he dies, Diarmuid dies cursing. Forced to suicide by Kayneth, who was in turn forced to give the order by Saber’s master, the repeat of his death at the hands of a master who hates him for things he had no control over hits him extremely hard. He feels as though Saber must have been in on it and therefore has betrayed him as well. This is likely to impact him in the future as well -- he is frustrated by the pattern that follows him and disgusted by the petty greed and careless dishonor people show. Because Diarmuid is so determined to control himself and to be a proper knight, other people using that to take advantage of him is a real issue and something that makes him both horribly upset and hideously angry. He doesn’t understand why anyone would act that way and he only wishes people would listen to and respect his very simple wishes. All he really wants is to follow a master who shares his ideas and for whom he can fight to the fullest. He wants to exist alongside someone with whom he can share mutual respect and gain honor through victory or fair death.

Of course, Diarmuid is not without faults. He is a bit naive in his beliefs and thus gullible. He has a hard time balancing how much he should stand up to his master for what is right versus how much he should bow his head in the name of loyalty. While he isn’t afraid to talk back and lecture to an extent, he lacks the decisive ability to split from and outright disobey someone he considers an authority. Also, though he is slow to anger, when Diarmuid is pushed his temper is explosive. This is seen in the bloodied, furious ranting at his death as well as in the fact that while he refused to fight his fellow knights in life, he mercilessly decimated foreign mercenaries out of anger and frustration. Self-doubt is also a fault, as he is easily hurt by words and internalizes his guilt into fuel for his habit of blinding himself to his master’s sins out of desperation to please him and stay loyal. He’s very conflicted in this manner, since his desire to do well ends up being conflicted with his strong sense of morals.

Essentially, Diarmuid is a prideful knight with a strong will to serve and a sense of sadness in the way he carries himself. Though he is somewhat playful and quick to smile, he is always plagued by his struggle to uphold his expectation of himself and to justify them when surrounded by people who don’t share his beliefs. He is good-hearted but a bit easily emotionally manipulated, and wishes more than anything in the world to simply be loyal and have his loyalty returned.

✖ SAMPLES:
"Zodion" First-Person Network Entry: [The audio feed begins with a long pause filled only with the occasional shuffling noise of fingers over the microphone. It’s not that he isn’t sure what to do with it -- it’s just the kind of pause that comes before saying something with significant weight for the person speaking.]

Though I am skeptical of the statement that we are benefitting “the cosmos”, allow me to assume it is entirely truthful. Given that, I understand the need to bring in as much aid as possible. Still, I find the entire situation a bit distasteful. Loyalty is meant to be pledged willingly with one’s own knowledge. Without such a thing, there can be no trust or respect between lords and subjects. It is, in short, an underhanded means of acquiring followers and their service.

Unfortunately, I also assume that this means little to those who rule this place. As I have no other choice I will fulfill the requests made of me, as it seems most of you have decided to. Please accept my sympathy for your unpleasant circumstances.

[There’s another, shorter pause, punctuated by the sound of an almost amused puff of breath.]

I suppose it’s imperative that we learn to cooperate with one another at least a bit, in any case.

"Zodionlogs" Third-Person Prose Entry: Anger. Sorrow. Betrayal. Diarmuid’s mind was a seething mass of negative emotion as he faded away back into death. What a bitter turn of fate that he should experience death at the hands of the man to whom he’d pledged himself again. Had the nature of men corroded so much in the this “modern” age? Had all sense of honor been lost in favor of greed? It was hard to stomach the thought of it in a few people, let alone in most. His words were only half-thought curses, the only way he had to give his torrential rage a form and show it to those who’d been so treacherous. He knew well enough that he’d go back to the Throne of Heroes after, and that what he’d done here may well be wiped from his memory. A mixed blessing, that. If he forgot he’d be more content, perhaps, but he’d also lose the lessons learned. Even as bitter as they were, even as hard as it was to maintain coherent thought, some of his anger went into the idea that it could happen again.

He was beyond hysterical anger, but waking up was like ice-cold water to the face. All at once something snapped within him, leaving him sitting up with a gasp and much more rational thoughts. He wasn’t anywhere he’d seen before. A strange atmosphere, an unexpected awakening, and the sensation of air coming into his lungs -- real, physical lungs -- all together it was enough to shock Diarmuid out of his fury. There was no sign of a summoning. He didn’t remember being called from his place in the Throne. He didn’t remember a single thing after his second death left his consciousness black. It didn’t make any sense. If there was no summoning, why had he been brought somewhere else? And why did he not have knowledge of the place? As a Servant, at least he was granted the knowledge to move around in the time he’d been summoned to.

This was something else entirely, especially judging by the solid body he seemed to inhabit. He was no “ghost” this time, and that fact itched at his mind as he gingerly stood. He was unarmed, another thing to note as he warily scanned the area with a sharp gaze. There was no sign of any enemy (no sign of anyone else at all), only an altar which his eyes lingered on while. After a few moments of nothing changing, and though he stayed on edge, he carefully pulled down the skin-tight fabric covering his body until he could see the place his own lance had pierced his chest. There was no wound, but in its place instead he found a strange pale mark -- as if his death was branded there for him to remember. Diarmuid frowned, letting the mark be covered again but leaving his fingers lingering over it.

Standing there, remembering the physical and emotional agony, he felt a wave of resentment build up in his chest. Why again? Would he be expected to follow an unjust master once more? Would he find himself the victim of betrayal again, and suffer for someone else’s greed? How cruel did destiny need to be before it was satisfied with him? If there was someone to lash out at, he may well have done so in that moment. But there was none, so all there was to do was to was to investigate the area.

At first, he avoided the altar. It had a draw, and thus it was probably a trap. But after a few minutes he found himself closing in on it anyway. He hadn’t found anything else of interest, and he just couldn’t forget it. If it was his fate to open that box, then who was he to shun it? There was always the possibility that this sudden transportation could be a good thing. A third chance, perhaps. The culprit would show their face in time, and when they did he’d discover if it was an enemy, an ally, or perhaps even a new Master.

Whichever the case, he’d face it with a strong heart and stubborn pride. Even if it turned out to be another repetition of his unfortunate pattern, even if hatred blossomed again inside of him, he’d press on and move forward. Even if the brand on his chest meant something ugly, he’d rise above it, and someday...

Someday he’d find a way to prove his honor. And perhaps he’d find a lord to serve who’d fight alongside him to set it right.