The Pretender (Stands So Far Series)
Jan. 3rd, 2016 10:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
madimpossibledreamerSPWF NOTES: TOP SECRET
A note to the interns: Would you *stop* taking these out of the library? It’s
important for agents to get information on various Stands, yes, but just
leaving them out in the open where anyone could take them has proven to be
problematic (in the ‘people die’ way) and probably will continue to do so
in the future. We’ve gone an entire 243 days without any agents dying. Let’s
keep that record up.
The Pretender
Stand User: Xander Lavelle “Harris” Joestar
Power: B
Speed: A
Range: C
Durability: B
Precision: C
Potential: Infinite
(Due to special abilities)
The Pretender may appear on the surface to be a simple attack
Stand. Its appearance is roughly comparable to Star Platinum or The World,
unlike some of its less humanoid 'brethren'. Similarly, the name 'The
Pretender' seems straightforward, that the Stand's owner is nothing but a
pretender, a fake, not the real deal.
The Pretender is the living embodiment of the phrase
'appearances can be deceiving'.
If you listen to the lyrics of the associated song, they
clearly state that the listener, not the singer, is The Pretender. The
Stand's name, in that case, is a kind of irony applied to every opponent,
but even this is not so clear and straightforward. Johan's attitude
sometimes as well as most of the Pretender's abilities suggest the first
interpretation is correct. In the end, like much of its existence, the
true meaning of the Stand's name remains at best a question for another
day, at worst an ambiguity that will never be resolved.
Note: This picture doesn’t adequately capture the metallic-ness of the
boots. Also, I forgot to turn the picture to get the right angle to see
this, but Pretender has a star on the left, uncovered shoulder.
Like Hermit Purple, The Pretender’s most straightforward use is connected
to the use of Hamon. With the use of Same Old Story, the User of The
Pretender can learn Hamon moves without a teacher. This includes a Hamon
move that is from Pretender himself, Golden Mercy Sunlit Strike, which can
be used to knock out human opponents. Xander can use Hamon if, for
whatever reason, he can’t use Pretender, and can also use Hamon to sense
vampires and humans (useful, for a guy with one eye). Same Old Story and
Stranger Things Have Happened are two sides of the same coin, and are the
easiest for Xander to use, since technically he began using Stranger Things
Have Happened before he fully awakened to the power of his Stand. On the
other hand, if these powers of his Stand are blocked in some way, it makes
him irritable and unable to be refreshed by any amount of sleep.
Stranger Things Have Happened (Stranger) – In his dreams, Xander can relive
situations from the point of view of anyone of Joestar blood alive before
he was born (this takes into account the world colliding, odd timeline
effect, so he can, for instance, go through the memories of Jotaro or
Josuke). If Pretender believes that knowledge (or, in the case of Same Old
Story, technique) would be useful for Xander to know, he is capable of
pulling Xander into the dream world, but this can be risky in combat. In
addition, he slowly picks up things that he wouldn’t otherwise know (for
example, the word ‘sakura’) through general dreams not meant for a specific
end.
Same Old Story – Xander is also able to learn Joestar techniques through
dreams, though these must be ones which Pretender or Xander are capable of
performing (for example, The Pretender cannot turn into vines like Hermit
Purple).
The Colour and the Shape- As an extension of the powers in dreamscape, The
Pretender has created a ‘safe’ core, in which Xander can retreat to
strategize or just relax and prepare. It usually either resembles the Kujo
house or the Joestar mansion. The doors symbolize unlocking further power.
It was this that Xander entered and fully unlocked his Stand, despite the
dangers of having a new Stand and not knowing how to control one. No
matter how long he spends in here, if he’s there for a little while, he
wakes up fully refreshed.
Barrage of Punches – After using Same Old Story to copy Jotaro, The
Pretender learned another innate ability, the barrage of punches. The
Pretender shouts Tora when he uses this technique (Tora meaning 'tiger' or
'attack' in Japanese). As Pretender is not as strong as Star Platinum,
this technique does less damage.
A note to the interns: Would you *stop* taking these out of the library? It’s
important for agents to get information on various Stands, yes, but just
leaving them out in the open where anyone could take them has proven to be
problematic (in the ‘people die’ way) and probably will continue to do so
in the future. We’ve gone an entire 243 days without any agents dying. Let’s
keep that record up.
The Pretender
Stand User: Xander Lavelle “Harris” Joestar
Power: B
Speed: A
Range: C
Durability: B
Precision: C
Potential: Infinite
(Due to special abilities)
The Pretender may appear on the surface to be a simple attack
Stand. Its appearance is roughly comparable to Star Platinum or The World,
unlike some of its less humanoid 'brethren'. Similarly, the name 'The
Pretender' seems straightforward, that the Stand's owner is nothing but a
pretender, a fake, not the real deal.
The Pretender is the living embodiment of the phrase
'appearances can be deceiving'.
If you listen to the lyrics of the associated song, they
clearly state that the listener, not the singer, is The Pretender. The
Stand's name, in that case, is a kind of irony applied to every opponent,
but even this is not so clear and straightforward. Johan's attitude
sometimes as well as most of the Pretender's abilities suggest the first
interpretation is correct. In the end, like much of its existence, the
true meaning of the Stand's name remains at best a question for another
day, at worst an ambiguity that will never be resolved.
Note: This picture doesn’t adequately capture the metallic-ness of the
boots. Also, I forgot to turn the picture to get the right angle to see
this, but Pretender has a star on the left, uncovered shoulder.
Like Hermit Purple, The Pretender’s most straightforward use is connected
to the use of Hamon. With the use of Same Old Story, the User of The
Pretender can learn Hamon moves without a teacher. This includes a Hamon
move that is from Pretender himself, Golden Mercy Sunlit Strike, which can
be used to knock out human opponents. Xander can use Hamon if, for
whatever reason, he can’t use Pretender, and can also use Hamon to sense
vampires and humans (useful, for a guy with one eye). Same Old Story and
Stranger Things Have Happened are two sides of the same coin, and are the
easiest for Xander to use, since technically he began using Stranger Things
Have Happened before he fully awakened to the power of his Stand. On the
other hand, if these powers of his Stand are blocked in some way, it makes
him irritable and unable to be refreshed by any amount of sleep.
Stranger Things Have Happened (Stranger) – In his dreams, Xander can relive
situations from the point of view of anyone of Joestar blood alive before
he was born (this takes into account the world colliding, odd timeline
effect, so he can, for instance, go through the memories of Jotaro or
Josuke). If Pretender believes that knowledge (or, in the case of Same Old
Story, technique) would be useful for Xander to know, he is capable of
pulling Xander into the dream world, but this can be risky in combat. In
addition, he slowly picks up things that he wouldn’t otherwise know (for
example, the word ‘sakura’) through general dreams not meant for a specific
end.
Same Old Story – Xander is also able to learn Joestar techniques through
dreams, though these must be ones which Pretender or Xander are capable of
performing (for example, The Pretender cannot turn into vines like Hermit
Purple).
The Colour and the Shape- As an extension of the powers in dreamscape, The
Pretender has created a ‘safe’ core, in which Xander can retreat to
strategize or just relax and prepare. It usually either resembles the Kujo
house or the Joestar mansion. The doors symbolize unlocking further power.
It was this that Xander entered and fully unlocked his Stand, despite the
dangers of having a new Stand and not knowing how to control one. No
matter how long he spends in here, if he’s there for a little while, he
wakes up fully refreshed.
Barrage of Punches – After using Same Old Story to copy Jotaro, The
Pretender learned another innate ability, the barrage of punches. The
Pretender shouts Tora when he uses this technique (Tora meaning 'tiger' or
'attack' in Japanese). As Pretender is not as strong as Star Platinum,
this technique does less damage.
