for fuck's sake enkidu (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
muddlesome) wrote2016-01-10 10:22 pm
muddlesome) wrote2016-01-10 10:22 pm
FUTURO APP
APPLICANT INFO.
NAME: Moo
CONTACT:![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
bacsojin
CURRENT CHARACTERS: None
CHARACTER INFO.
NAME: Lancer (Enkidu)
CANON: Fate/Strange Fake (Note that some background information comes from Fate/Extra CCC, despite Enkidu not being a character in that game)
AGE: Old... as dirt. Enkidu's actual age is over 5000 years old. Enkidu can appear to be any age, as desired. Enkidu typically appears to be a person in their late teens.
APPEARANCE: Enkidu's true form looks like this. As a shapeshifter Enkidu can appear like anything as desired, but defaults to an androgynous person in their late teens.
CANON POINT: Just after Rider appeared and interrupted Enkidu's fight/reunion with Gilgamesh.
BACKGROUND: Here's a link to Enkidu's wiki page. However, the Type-Moon wiki is notoriously unreliable and I'm linking it for completion's sake. You can, however, find some translations of Enkidu's scenes. I'll include these at the bottom of the application.
Before I continue with the application, I feel it's important to talk about Enkidu and the matter of gender. Enkidu was built to be a weapon and even after dying, Enkidu's self-image is that of a weapon. The narration reflects this in the way Enkidu speaks and also emphasizes the point by referring to Enkidu as "it" during scenes when Enkidu is acting on behalf of the earth. So, if I refer to Enkidu as 'it' instead of 'they', I am simply mirroring the way Enkidu addresses/thinks of itself. Having said that, Gilgamesh uses male pronouns for Enkidu, and at points I will as well to reflect the issues the character has with self-identity. When it comes to others referring to Enkidu, the character does not have a preference regarding the pronouns they use.
Gilgamesh smells and no one wants to talk about him, but alas, Enkidu's story begins with Gilgamesh. It is the tale of how the gods decided they would control humanity by making the perfect being, one part human and two parts god. Yes, their creation would be so perfect, it would defy biology itself. For a while it worked well enough; they got a cute little boy out of it, and he loved the people and sang the praises of the gods. And then he hit puberty and became such an asswipe that even he doesn't know what the hell happened there.
And that's why the gods created Enkidu; asswipe insurance. If Gilgamesh was going to play dirty, so were they.
Literally. They made their anti-Gilgamesh device out of mud. Having learnt from their earlier mistake, they wanted something a little more flexible. Unfortunately, while Enkidu was a great upgrade in many ways, it was a downgrade in one way in particular that mattered kind of a lot; like an Ikea product, they put the whole thing together before realizing one of the parts was missing. That part happened to be a soul. And so, the gods had created the strongest weapon on the planet, and essentially forgot to program it, leaving it to run around the wilds like a giant disturbing, unintelligent mud puppy. This was a bit of a problem, so the god Anu threw a sacred whore at it.
As it turns out, sex with women can do a lot of things, including giving giant mud weapons humanity and reason. The story goes that Enkidu got freaky with the sacred harlot for seven days and seven nights, but the likelihood that anyone stood around counting is pretty slim. Shamhat was truly the most beautiful creature that Enkidu had ever seen, and even after becoming a civilized mudperson this remained true. The weapon was so enchanted with her that it tried to emulate her form and wore her face until its dying breath. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, as they say.
Once Enkidu was given human understanding and reason through the powers of mind-blowing sex, it realized its true calling, which was to go to Uruk and punch Gilgamesh in the face for harassing all the virgin girls. So it did. For some reason, Gilgamesh didn't like that very much, and the two fought a battle so fierce that Gilgamesh exhausted his entire treasury while Enkidu used all but a scrap of its clay. This battle was an important turning point in Gilgamesh's life; not only was it the moment where he realized tantrums are more fun when you throw pointy things at people, but he learned that friendship could be gained through the power of your fists. Enkidu had fisted him a lot, and he couldn't deny that he liked it. After all, no one had dared to fist Gilgamesh before.
Like any good shonen hero, Enkidu won over the antagonist through the power of beating him up a lot, and from then on Gilgamesh was ... still pretty bad, actually. Enkidu decided to interpret its purpose more creatively instead, deeming that it could still obtain its objective by being Gilgamesh's friend and easing his loneliness. In a way, this worked; the two went on to star in the ancient world's equivalent of Dumb and Dumber. They had truly become the closest of friends, influencing each other to grow in ways that neither could have otherwise. This was as important for Enkidu as it was for Gilgamesh; where Shamhat had given Enkidu the means to be human, Gilgamesh granted Enkidu a sense of self. No longer was Enkidu simply defined as a weapon to keep the great Tyrant of Uruk in check; now he was also Friend of the King, the only one who would be granted this honor. (But in all honesty he was probably the only one who wanted it, let's be real here.) In return, Gilgamesh learned to think of those other than himself, and his reasons for ruling and acting the way he did were finally understood by someone.
Instead of picking on defenceless girls with his dick, Gilgamesh decided to pick on defenceless demons and spirits instead, not realizing that this was his sort of sister-aunt-cousin (it's one of those relationships, you see) goddess Ishtar's biggest kink. So she asked him to marry her. Because Gilgamesh is an idiot, he told her to suck his dick. And also no. He told her no, too.
As it happens, goddesses don't like to be told no, so Ishtar asked her daddy to smack that boy with some bovine punishment in the form of the Bull of Heaven. Gilgamesh called bullshit and Enkidu took it one step further by throwing the whole ass end at her. Turned out, Ishtar didn't like that either. She asked her daddy to make Enkidu die.
And so, he did.
For Enkidu, death did not mean going to the Throne of Heroes, as was the fate destined to Gilgamesh. Enkidu once again regarded itself as a weapon, and if Gilgamesh would not wield, nor would it be wielded against him, then its purpose would be to become the tool of the earth itself. Alaya, the guiding force of all human consciousness, and Gaia, the spirit of the very world itself, set Enkidu aside as the world's very first Counter Guardian, a being that would be summoned into the world as many times as needed to protect it against any threats against all of humanity. And so, Enkidu was fated to never again be the friend of Gilgamesh.
Or so he thought. Thousands of years later, this would be proven false. Some greedy Americans stole the design of a certain hero-summoning ritual in the far east, and though they could not replicate the system completely, they had enough success to suit their purposes. Enkidu was summoned by a man so cruel and cowardly that he did not summon the Servant Lancer on his own merits; he bred and used an animal to take the spiritual burden for him. Since all mages are jerks, the magus abused the animal and treated it with no decency whatsoever. Turns out this is a mistake when your Servant is arguably the world's first furry. That guy didn't contribute to the story for very long.
After bonding with its new Master and friend, the wolf, Enkidu sensed his friend for the first time in thousands of years. He sang the most beautiful WHAT'S UP, BRO? the world had ever heard, just in time to prevent Gilgamesh from shaving off ten years and running around midwest America as a little boy with poor fashion sense. Enkidu asked the forest -yes, the entire thing- to protect his wolf, and then went out into the desert to greet Gilgamesh the same way he always had - with a smile and a figurative punch to the face. The boys had fun with their toys while the rest of the state filed ten million noise complaints, and then Enkidu had to go home early because disease was creeping up on them. Literally.
Turns out, when the gods force you to become sick and die, you get a little bit uncomfortable around the personification of death by disease. Who would have thought?
PERSONALITY: {“I am a weapon. Wield me as you please.”}
Like most characters of the "AI redefining what makes a person" trope, Enkidu's, story is one of discovering self-identity. When Enkidu's life begins, there is nothing but freedom, sheer joy in simply existing, with only a hint of longing for something undefinable.
When Shamhat comes, this all changes. {"And thus I spoke my name for the first time. At that instant, the world became something extremely simple."} Crude jokes aside, Shamhat is responsible for Enkidu's personality in a very real way. Enkidu emulates more than her appearance; it is from her that Enkidu learns how to think, how to speak, how to be a person. Enkidu loses some of its divine nature and instead gains a lot of humanity. And in many ways, the result is a person who is Gilgamesh's exact opposite.
First impressions of Enkidu are of someone who is humble, gentle, and kind. This person speaks politely, with movements that are graceful and never hurried, and there's a sincere honesty in all that Enkidu does. {“Please lower your weapon. My Master wishes you no harm.”} Unlike Gilgamesh, Enkidu is born with empathy and consideration for all life, seeing all living things as something to be protected and not harmed if it can be avoided.
Simply stated, Enkidu is often also the more reasonable of the pair. It is Enkidu that acts as mediator between Gilgamesh and the rest of the world. It is Enkidu that approaches most situations with calm logic, thinking before acting. And it is Enkidu who tries to tell Gilgamesh "this is a bad idea," before following the stupid King on all of his adventures anyway. It isn't that Enkidu doesn't consider the consequences, but loyalty to Gilgamesh often overrules all other thinking.
And this is true of Enkidu's very purpose as well; where Shamhat gave Enkidu the ability to be a person, Gilgamesh gave Enkidu the ability to define for himself who that person is. Enkidu is not outright rebellious or confrontational like his companion, always having the respect and dignity that Gilgamesh sometimes lacks, but Enkidu develops an iron will that cannot be changed. He alters interpretation of his own purpose from "Keep Gilgamesh in line by any means necessary and rid of him if it comes of that," to "keep Gilgamesh from his more stupid and cruel impulses by easing his loneliness." This change of mindset proves without a doubt that Enkidu can develop his own opinions, thoughts, and feelings, just as any other person can.
{"…..At that moment, I received a precious word, one like a bright star.
It was this moment that I had acquired a “self” in the true sense of the word."}
Which isn't to say that he fully comes to terms with himself. Upon Enkidu's death, Gilgamesh is told not to mourn a mere tool, that it can be replaced with better things. Gilgamesh rejects this notion and tearfully insists that Enkidu is not a tool, but a person, and his only friend.
{....I remember the words of that time.
I remember him at the time when I declared myself to be a tool.
"Fool"
"Living together, talking together, fighting together.
That is neither a person nor a tool. You call that a friend, Enkidu."}
While this is a very, very important turning point for Gilgamesh, it does not have the desired result for Enkidu. After death, Enkidu returns to being a weapon, and the spirit of that weapon reveals much about how it thinks when discussing Gilgamesh with Hakuno. Enkidu expresses guilt to Hakuno and begs that Hakuno ease Gilgamesh's loneliness in Enkidu's stead. Enkidu wishes that Gilgamesh would no longer grieve for him and would move on.
{"I am but a long-gone regret of the past.
From hereon out is your future, your story.
The story of someone who, unlike me, is human."}
That doesn't mean that Enkidu accepts events as they happened, however, or that Enkidu simply goes with the flow without any negative feelings. The conversation with Hakuno reveals an underlying bitterness toward Enkidu's fate, though not toward Gilgamesh. {"......I had always yearned after that. I had always hated that. Why were we such different beings, I’d wondered, despite being created by the same father?"} Enkidu believes that if one of them had to die, it should not be the one who was meant to rule the people, but on the same side of the token Enkidu questions why one of them had to die in the first place. This unwillingness to blindly take things as they are is seen again when Enkidu is summoned into the American Holy Grail War. The magus who summons Enkidu uses a wolf to do so, not wanting to use more of his own mana than necessary. Enkidu is summoned not by the mage's will, but by the animal's suffering, and the magus is very quickly shown that Enkidu is capable of wrath. Needless to say, that guy doesn't stick around to become Enkidu's Master. Enkidu even shows a bit of fear in the approach of the Pale Rider, his death at the hands of illness such a sore spot that he will not stick around to face his natural enemy.
Just as Enkidu shows negative emotions, there are also plenty of positive ones. While that polite calm demeanour is by no means a ruse, it does give a bit of an incorrect first impression. That of a mature, humble individual who's feathers are not often ruffled. And while Enkidu certainly has those traits, there are more traits just under the surface that are perhaps less expected. Put simply, Enkidu can be a bit of a playful jerk. One has to be, if they're going to keep up with the greatest five year old of all time. Enkidu teases his friend relentlessly, picks at Gilgamesh's flaws in a playful and blunt way that would easily get anyone else killed for showing disrespect to the King of Heroes. {“You can’t do that, Gil. A king isn’t supposed to make a gloomy face like that. When a king worries his subjects, it upsets them even worse than the fear of a tyrant.”} Gilgamesh later goes on to say that this behaviour is pretty normal for his friend, telling his own Master that Enkidu has a love for playing pranks. And it would seem that he's very, very good at it.
Lastly, for all that Enkidu fits the 'gentle giant' trope (albeit hiding in a petite, delicate, androgynous body based on the looks of a holy prostitute), that does not mean that there's a lack of aggression. Enkidu is, after all, a biological weapon. The character is shown to display just as much viciousness and love for a good fight as Gilgamesh, though Enkidu's targets are chosen with more care; demons, rude people, crazy goddesses, and Gilgamesh himself are all examples of prime Enkidu targets. {“Let us continued the duel on that plaza once again… Let us relive that joy.”} The need to protect life overrides all other things, and when being utilized by the planet, Enkidu displays a cold, calculating, emotionless sort of wrath that can be literally devastating. {“I don’t have the right. As a tool, how I ought to be depends on the will of my Master (user). Ah, but I do make the final judgment. It’s better if I’m the only one the desert resents.”}
So, all of that was a really long-winded way of saying Enkidu is kind of a playful, watchful guard dog. But made of dirt.
{“There is no need to grieve. I am a weapon.
I am but one of the numerous in your collection.
You will find countless treasures greater than I from hereon.
So there is no reason for you to shed those tears;
I have not the worth left in me to deserve them.”}
ABILITIES: Enkidu is a biological weapon made of dirt. This weapon looks like something out of a Ghibli film in its natural state, but can shapeshift into anything it likes. If it wants to shapeshift into a form bigger than itself, it simply... uses more dirt. If it wants to shapeshift into something smaller, it can do that too (in fact, it typically does.) Enkidu's shapeshifting abilities are so well honed that it can mimic anything or anyone (note: player has no intention of Enkidu pretending to be other characters in the game without permission!) almost perfectly. In fact, what usually gives Enkidu away is the fact that it looks too perfect. It is worth noting that Enkidu can only copy physical attributes; shapeshifting into Gilgamesh, for example, would not give Enkidu access to all of Gilgamesh's abilities.
As a weapon, Enkidu is fast, strong, and has incredible endurance, but is not unbeatable. In that very first battle with Gilgamesh, the two were brought to a stand-still, showing Enkidu's greatest weakness in battle; if too much of Enkidu's clay is used up in too short a time for Enkidu to replenish at the same rate as the clay is being used, Enkidu can run out of clay and die. Enkidu's original death also shows that Enkidu is not immune to curse or disease. In fact, Enkidu appears to have developed a phobia of the latter, and it is implied in canon that Enkidu's natural enemy is sickness itself.
Enkidu's job as a weapon isn't limited to destruction. It is Enkidu's top objective to protect the interests of the planet, and as such, Enkidu is connected to the planet. In some ways this is a very straightforward thing; Enkidu is linked to the spirit of Earth itself. In other ways, it's more subtle. Enkidu can communicate with plants and animals, heal living things, and can manipulate earthen matter such as, well, dirt, rocks and water. Convincing an entire forest to protect a wolf is something Enkidu does with apparent little effort. Of course, this connection has a downside; Enkidu's empathic connection with all of Life means that Enkidu also feels it when these things are experiencing pain, death, and destruction.
As a Servant, Enkidu's abilities reflect Enkidu's status as a weapon. Enkidu is the very first Heroic Spirit to become a Counter Guardian, just as Gilgamesh is the first to enter the Throne of Heroes. As mentioned, this gives Enkidu a very direct connection with Alaya, and Enkidu can draw on the power of Gaia itself to totally annihilate any opponent. This is Enkidu's Noble Phantasm, and for the purposes of Futurology, I would like to make it entirely inaccessible because it's just crazy.
Enkidu's other Servant abilities include dematerializing at will, having a special bond with a Master that includes a telepathic link, and having "stats". Enkidu's stats ultimately mean nothing, though, because like the rest of Enkidu, they can be altered to suit Enkidu's needs in any given situation. At default they are all given the rank of "A".
Note: I did not really get into Enkidu's connection to Alaya/Gaia here because frankly it's a long, convoluted process to explain how that works, and I fully intend to go into the game with the ability nerfed entirely anyway. However, if you still want elaboration, I can give it. I just figured I'd save us all a headache. ;)
INVENTORY: Enkidu has absolutely no belongings. Even the clothes Enkidu wears are filthy LIES. Unless carrying an injured, mostly normal wolf who happens to be a Master around counts as inventory, anyway.
WRITING SAMPLES.
NETWORK SAMPLE: [The person that appears is as androgynous in voice as appearance, which is pretty darn androgynous. Almost impressively so. The face that peers into the feed and makes all manner of curious expressions is so perfect that it is eerily not perfect at all. But the smile that then greets whoever is on the other end could charm the birds out of the very sky.]
Good afternoon, my fellow adventurers. I hope that this message reaches you in good spirit! As well, I would wish to thank whoever has seen fit to give me this pretty trinket; I have seen many magical treasures in the hall of my King, but never one such as this. I am not in the habit of keeping things, but for your generosity, I will do so just this once!
As for myself, there is something that I seek. I would hunt for him by my own merit, but I fear the damage that could be done if I meet him carelessly. He is a bit childish, this King of mine, in all the ways that matter.
[The person pauses, and laughs in delight with a tilt of their head.]
Gil, if you are witness to this message, then come! Greet this friend of yours properly! Know that I do not sing to you not from spite, but from fear of what my voice might do in a land such as this one. You will find me not in the halls of men, but in the trees or the fields I love so dearly. How long will it take you, I wonder? I wish to see it, how slow you have become without me to keep you at your best.
[There is another laugh, pretty as a bell, and then the feed ends.]
LOG SAMPLE: Log sample is here.
Translations, if you would like them:
You can find Enkidu's summoning in Fate/Strange Fake here. (Warning for animal abuse)
You can find Enkidu's first battle with Gilgamesh in Fate/Strange Fake here
You can find CCC translations related to Enkidu here.
NAME: Moo
CONTACT:
CURRENT CHARACTERS: None
CHARACTER INFO.
NAME: Lancer (Enkidu)
CANON: Fate/Strange Fake (Note that some background information comes from Fate/Extra CCC, despite Enkidu not being a character in that game)
AGE: Old... as dirt. Enkidu's actual age is over 5000 years old. Enkidu can appear to be any age, as desired. Enkidu typically appears to be a person in their late teens.
APPEARANCE: Enkidu's true form looks like this. As a shapeshifter Enkidu can appear like anything as desired, but defaults to an androgynous person in their late teens.
CANON POINT: Just after Rider appeared and interrupted Enkidu's fight/reunion with Gilgamesh.
BACKGROUND: Here's a link to Enkidu's wiki page. However, the Type-Moon wiki is notoriously unreliable and I'm linking it for completion's sake. You can, however, find some translations of Enkidu's scenes. I'll include these at the bottom of the application.
Before I continue with the application, I feel it's important to talk about Enkidu and the matter of gender. Enkidu was built to be a weapon and even after dying, Enkidu's self-image is that of a weapon. The narration reflects this in the way Enkidu speaks and also emphasizes the point by referring to Enkidu as "it" during scenes when Enkidu is acting on behalf of the earth. So, if I refer to Enkidu as 'it' instead of 'they', I am simply mirroring the way Enkidu addresses/thinks of itself. Having said that, Gilgamesh uses male pronouns for Enkidu, and at points I will as well to reflect the issues the character has with self-identity. When it comes to others referring to Enkidu, the character does not have a preference regarding the pronouns they use.
Gilgamesh smells and no one wants to talk about him, but alas, Enkidu's story begins with Gilgamesh. It is the tale of how the gods decided they would control humanity by making the perfect being, one part human and two parts god. Yes, their creation would be so perfect, it would defy biology itself. For a while it worked well enough; they got a cute little boy out of it, and he loved the people and sang the praises of the gods. And then he hit puberty and became such an asswipe that even he doesn't know what the hell happened there.
And that's why the gods created Enkidu; asswipe insurance. If Gilgamesh was going to play dirty, so were they.
Literally. They made their anti-Gilgamesh device out of mud. Having learnt from their earlier mistake, they wanted something a little more flexible. Unfortunately, while Enkidu was a great upgrade in many ways, it was a downgrade in one way in particular that mattered kind of a lot; like an Ikea product, they put the whole thing together before realizing one of the parts was missing. That part happened to be a soul. And so, the gods had created the strongest weapon on the planet, and essentially forgot to program it, leaving it to run around the wilds like a giant disturbing, unintelligent mud puppy. This was a bit of a problem, so the god Anu threw a sacred whore at it.
As it turns out, sex with women can do a lot of things, including giving giant mud weapons humanity and reason. The story goes that Enkidu got freaky with the sacred harlot for seven days and seven nights, but the likelihood that anyone stood around counting is pretty slim. Shamhat was truly the most beautiful creature that Enkidu had ever seen, and even after becoming a civilized mudperson this remained true. The weapon was so enchanted with her that it tried to emulate her form and wore her face until its dying breath. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, as they say.
Once Enkidu was given human understanding and reason through the powers of mind-blowing sex, it realized its true calling, which was to go to Uruk and punch Gilgamesh in the face for harassing all the virgin girls. So it did. For some reason, Gilgamesh didn't like that very much, and the two fought a battle so fierce that Gilgamesh exhausted his entire treasury while Enkidu used all but a scrap of its clay. This battle was an important turning point in Gilgamesh's life; not only was it the moment where he realized tantrums are more fun when you throw pointy things at people, but he learned that friendship could be gained through the power of your fists. Enkidu had fisted him a lot, and he couldn't deny that he liked it. After all, no one had dared to fist Gilgamesh before.
Like any good shonen hero, Enkidu won over the antagonist through the power of beating him up a lot, and from then on Gilgamesh was ... still pretty bad, actually. Enkidu decided to interpret its purpose more creatively instead, deeming that it could still obtain its objective by being Gilgamesh's friend and easing his loneliness. In a way, this worked; the two went on to star in the ancient world's equivalent of Dumb and Dumber. They had truly become the closest of friends, influencing each other to grow in ways that neither could have otherwise. This was as important for Enkidu as it was for Gilgamesh; where Shamhat had given Enkidu the means to be human, Gilgamesh granted Enkidu a sense of self. No longer was Enkidu simply defined as a weapon to keep the great Tyrant of Uruk in check; now he was also Friend of the King, the only one who would be granted this honor. (But in all honesty he was probably the only one who wanted it, let's be real here.) In return, Gilgamesh learned to think of those other than himself, and his reasons for ruling and acting the way he did were finally understood by someone.
Instead of picking on defenceless girls with his dick, Gilgamesh decided to pick on defenceless demons and spirits instead, not realizing that this was his sort of sister-aunt-cousin (it's one of those relationships, you see) goddess Ishtar's biggest kink. So she asked him to marry her. Because Gilgamesh is an idiot, he told her to suck his dick. And also no. He told her no, too.
As it happens, goddesses don't like to be told no, so Ishtar asked her daddy to smack that boy with some bovine punishment in the form of the Bull of Heaven. Gilgamesh called bullshit and Enkidu took it one step further by throwing the whole ass end at her. Turned out, Ishtar didn't like that either. She asked her daddy to make Enkidu die.
And so, he did.
For Enkidu, death did not mean going to the Throne of Heroes, as was the fate destined to Gilgamesh. Enkidu once again regarded itself as a weapon, and if Gilgamesh would not wield, nor would it be wielded against him, then its purpose would be to become the tool of the earth itself. Alaya, the guiding force of all human consciousness, and Gaia, the spirit of the very world itself, set Enkidu aside as the world's very first Counter Guardian, a being that would be summoned into the world as many times as needed to protect it against any threats against all of humanity. And so, Enkidu was fated to never again be the friend of Gilgamesh.
Or so he thought. Thousands of years later, this would be proven false. Some greedy Americans stole the design of a certain hero-summoning ritual in the far east, and though they could not replicate the system completely, they had enough success to suit their purposes. Enkidu was summoned by a man so cruel and cowardly that he did not summon the Servant Lancer on his own merits; he bred and used an animal to take the spiritual burden for him. Since all mages are jerks, the magus abused the animal and treated it with no decency whatsoever. Turns out this is a mistake when your Servant is arguably the world's first furry. That guy didn't contribute to the story for very long.
After bonding with its new Master and friend, the wolf, Enkidu sensed his friend for the first time in thousands of years. He sang the most beautiful WHAT'S UP, BRO? the world had ever heard, just in time to prevent Gilgamesh from shaving off ten years and running around midwest America as a little boy with poor fashion sense. Enkidu asked the forest -yes, the entire thing- to protect his wolf, and then went out into the desert to greet Gilgamesh the same way he always had - with a smile and a figurative punch to the face. The boys had fun with their toys while the rest of the state filed ten million noise complaints, and then Enkidu had to go home early because disease was creeping up on them. Literally.
Turns out, when the gods force you to become sick and die, you get a little bit uncomfortable around the personification of death by disease. Who would have thought?
PERSONALITY: {“I am a weapon. Wield me as you please.”}
Like most characters of the "AI redefining what makes a person" trope, Enkidu's, story is one of discovering self-identity. When Enkidu's life begins, there is nothing but freedom, sheer joy in simply existing, with only a hint of longing for something undefinable.
When Shamhat comes, this all changes. {"And thus I spoke my name for the first time. At that instant, the world became something extremely simple."} Crude jokes aside, Shamhat is responsible for Enkidu's personality in a very real way. Enkidu emulates more than her appearance; it is from her that Enkidu learns how to think, how to speak, how to be a person. Enkidu loses some of its divine nature and instead gains a lot of humanity. And in many ways, the result is a person who is Gilgamesh's exact opposite.
First impressions of Enkidu are of someone who is humble, gentle, and kind. This person speaks politely, with movements that are graceful and never hurried, and there's a sincere honesty in all that Enkidu does. {“Please lower your weapon. My Master wishes you no harm.”} Unlike Gilgamesh, Enkidu is born with empathy and consideration for all life, seeing all living things as something to be protected and not harmed if it can be avoided.
Simply stated, Enkidu is often also the more reasonable of the pair. It is Enkidu that acts as mediator between Gilgamesh and the rest of the world. It is Enkidu that approaches most situations with calm logic, thinking before acting. And it is Enkidu who tries to tell Gilgamesh "this is a bad idea," before following the stupid King on all of his adventures anyway. It isn't that Enkidu doesn't consider the consequences, but loyalty to Gilgamesh often overrules all other thinking.
And this is true of Enkidu's very purpose as well; where Shamhat gave Enkidu the ability to be a person, Gilgamesh gave Enkidu the ability to define for himself who that person is. Enkidu is not outright rebellious or confrontational like his companion, always having the respect and dignity that Gilgamesh sometimes lacks, but Enkidu develops an iron will that cannot be changed. He alters interpretation of his own purpose from "Keep Gilgamesh in line by any means necessary and rid of him if it comes of that," to "keep Gilgamesh from his more stupid and cruel impulses by easing his loneliness." This change of mindset proves without a doubt that Enkidu can develop his own opinions, thoughts, and feelings, just as any other person can.
{"…..At that moment, I received a precious word, one like a bright star.
It was this moment that I had acquired a “self” in the true sense of the word."}
Which isn't to say that he fully comes to terms with himself. Upon Enkidu's death, Gilgamesh is told not to mourn a mere tool, that it can be replaced with better things. Gilgamesh rejects this notion and tearfully insists that Enkidu is not a tool, but a person, and his only friend.
{....I remember the words of that time.
I remember him at the time when I declared myself to be a tool.
"Fool"
"Living together, talking together, fighting together.
That is neither a person nor a tool. You call that a friend, Enkidu."}
While this is a very, very important turning point for Gilgamesh, it does not have the desired result for Enkidu. After death, Enkidu returns to being a weapon, and the spirit of that weapon reveals much about how it thinks when discussing Gilgamesh with Hakuno. Enkidu expresses guilt to Hakuno and begs that Hakuno ease Gilgamesh's loneliness in Enkidu's stead. Enkidu wishes that Gilgamesh would no longer grieve for him and would move on.
{"I am but a long-gone regret of the past.
From hereon out is your future, your story.
The story of someone who, unlike me, is human."}
That doesn't mean that Enkidu accepts events as they happened, however, or that Enkidu simply goes with the flow without any negative feelings. The conversation with Hakuno reveals an underlying bitterness toward Enkidu's fate, though not toward Gilgamesh. {"......I had always yearned after that. I had always hated that. Why were we such different beings, I’d wondered, despite being created by the same father?"} Enkidu believes that if one of them had to die, it should not be the one who was meant to rule the people, but on the same side of the token Enkidu questions why one of them had to die in the first place. This unwillingness to blindly take things as they are is seen again when Enkidu is summoned into the American Holy Grail War. The magus who summons Enkidu uses a wolf to do so, not wanting to use more of his own mana than necessary. Enkidu is summoned not by the mage's will, but by the animal's suffering, and the magus is very quickly shown that Enkidu is capable of wrath. Needless to say, that guy doesn't stick around to become Enkidu's Master. Enkidu even shows a bit of fear in the approach of the Pale Rider, his death at the hands of illness such a sore spot that he will not stick around to face his natural enemy.
Just as Enkidu shows negative emotions, there are also plenty of positive ones. While that polite calm demeanour is by no means a ruse, it does give a bit of an incorrect first impression. That of a mature, humble individual who's feathers are not often ruffled. And while Enkidu certainly has those traits, there are more traits just under the surface that are perhaps less expected. Put simply, Enkidu can be a bit of a playful jerk. One has to be, if they're going to keep up with the greatest five year old of all time. Enkidu teases his friend relentlessly, picks at Gilgamesh's flaws in a playful and blunt way that would easily get anyone else killed for showing disrespect to the King of Heroes. {“You can’t do that, Gil. A king isn’t supposed to make a gloomy face like that. When a king worries his subjects, it upsets them even worse than the fear of a tyrant.”} Gilgamesh later goes on to say that this behaviour is pretty normal for his friend, telling his own Master that Enkidu has a love for playing pranks. And it would seem that he's very, very good at it.
Lastly, for all that Enkidu fits the 'gentle giant' trope (albeit hiding in a petite, delicate, androgynous body based on the looks of a holy prostitute), that does not mean that there's a lack of aggression. Enkidu is, after all, a biological weapon. The character is shown to display just as much viciousness and love for a good fight as Gilgamesh, though Enkidu's targets are chosen with more care; demons, rude people, crazy goddesses, and Gilgamesh himself are all examples of prime Enkidu targets. {“Let us continued the duel on that plaza once again… Let us relive that joy.”} The need to protect life overrides all other things, and when being utilized by the planet, Enkidu displays a cold, calculating, emotionless sort of wrath that can be literally devastating. {“I don’t have the right. As a tool, how I ought to be depends on the will of my Master (user). Ah, but I do make the final judgment. It’s better if I’m the only one the desert resents.”}
So, all of that was a really long-winded way of saying Enkidu is kind of a playful, watchful guard dog. But made of dirt.
{“There is no need to grieve. I am a weapon.
I am but one of the numerous in your collection.
You will find countless treasures greater than I from hereon.
So there is no reason for you to shed those tears;
I have not the worth left in me to deserve them.”}
ABILITIES: Enkidu is a biological weapon made of dirt. This weapon looks like something out of a Ghibli film in its natural state, but can shapeshift into anything it likes. If it wants to shapeshift into a form bigger than itself, it simply... uses more dirt. If it wants to shapeshift into something smaller, it can do that too (in fact, it typically does.) Enkidu's shapeshifting abilities are so well honed that it can mimic anything or anyone (note: player has no intention of Enkidu pretending to be other characters in the game without permission!) almost perfectly. In fact, what usually gives Enkidu away is the fact that it looks too perfect. It is worth noting that Enkidu can only copy physical attributes; shapeshifting into Gilgamesh, for example, would not give Enkidu access to all of Gilgamesh's abilities.
As a weapon, Enkidu is fast, strong, and has incredible endurance, but is not unbeatable. In that very first battle with Gilgamesh, the two were brought to a stand-still, showing Enkidu's greatest weakness in battle; if too much of Enkidu's clay is used up in too short a time for Enkidu to replenish at the same rate as the clay is being used, Enkidu can run out of clay and die. Enkidu's original death also shows that Enkidu is not immune to curse or disease. In fact, Enkidu appears to have developed a phobia of the latter, and it is implied in canon that Enkidu's natural enemy is sickness itself.
Enkidu's job as a weapon isn't limited to destruction. It is Enkidu's top objective to protect the interests of the planet, and as such, Enkidu is connected to the planet. In some ways this is a very straightforward thing; Enkidu is linked to the spirit of Earth itself. In other ways, it's more subtle. Enkidu can communicate with plants and animals, heal living things, and can manipulate earthen matter such as, well, dirt, rocks and water. Convincing an entire forest to protect a wolf is something Enkidu does with apparent little effort. Of course, this connection has a downside; Enkidu's empathic connection with all of Life means that Enkidu also feels it when these things are experiencing pain, death, and destruction.
As a Servant, Enkidu's abilities reflect Enkidu's status as a weapon. Enkidu is the very first Heroic Spirit to become a Counter Guardian, just as Gilgamesh is the first to enter the Throne of Heroes. As mentioned, this gives Enkidu a very direct connection with Alaya, and Enkidu can draw on the power of Gaia itself to totally annihilate any opponent. This is Enkidu's Noble Phantasm, and for the purposes of Futurology, I would like to make it entirely inaccessible because it's just crazy.
Enkidu's other Servant abilities include dematerializing at will, having a special bond with a Master that includes a telepathic link, and having "stats". Enkidu's stats ultimately mean nothing, though, because like the rest of Enkidu, they can be altered to suit Enkidu's needs in any given situation. At default they are all given the rank of "A".
Note: I did not really get into Enkidu's connection to Alaya/Gaia here because frankly it's a long, convoluted process to explain how that works, and I fully intend to go into the game with the ability nerfed entirely anyway. However, if you still want elaboration, I can give it. I just figured I'd save us all a headache. ;)
INVENTORY: Enkidu has absolutely no belongings. Even the clothes Enkidu wears are filthy LIES. Unless carrying an injured, mostly normal wolf who happens to be a Master around counts as inventory, anyway.
WRITING SAMPLES.
NETWORK SAMPLE: [The person that appears is as androgynous in voice as appearance, which is pretty darn androgynous. Almost impressively so. The face that peers into the feed and makes all manner of curious expressions is so perfect that it is eerily not perfect at all. But the smile that then greets whoever is on the other end could charm the birds out of the very sky.]
Good afternoon, my fellow adventurers. I hope that this message reaches you in good spirit! As well, I would wish to thank whoever has seen fit to give me this pretty trinket; I have seen many magical treasures in the hall of my King, but never one such as this. I am not in the habit of keeping things, but for your generosity, I will do so just this once!
As for myself, there is something that I seek. I would hunt for him by my own merit, but I fear the damage that could be done if I meet him carelessly. He is a bit childish, this King of mine, in all the ways that matter.
[The person pauses, and laughs in delight with a tilt of their head.]
Gil, if you are witness to this message, then come! Greet this friend of yours properly! Know that I do not sing to you not from spite, but from fear of what my voice might do in a land such as this one. You will find me not in the halls of men, but in the trees or the fields I love so dearly. How long will it take you, I wonder? I wish to see it, how slow you have become without me to keep you at your best.
[There is another laugh, pretty as a bell, and then the feed ends.]
LOG SAMPLE: Log sample is here.
Translations, if you would like them:
You can find Enkidu's summoning in Fate/Strange Fake here. (Warning for animal abuse)
You can find Enkidu's first battle with Gilgamesh in Fate/Strange Fake here
You can find CCC translations related to Enkidu here.