Difference between revisions of "Organization: Ends of the World"

Latest revision as of 19:01, 5 July 2020

Ends of the World may, as a name, confuse. It refers not to the calamitous end of humanity, but to the edge of potential - "ends" as a synonym for the far edge of a space. They are thus sometimes also known as the World's Edge. Ends of the World, then, are those who stand at the edge of the world as we know it; guardians and gatekeepers of terrible greatness, they seek out those whose will to power exceeds their morals, and offer them that very power.

Members of Ends of the World come from all walks of life, so long as they have in them the willingness to claw their way to the top, and the potential to actually get there. No matter how many middle school underachievers whine for their day in the limelight, the eye of Ends of the World will only fall on those rare few who might actually do something great, if only they had the chance. Ends of the World, therefore, has very few demon kings or hateful supernatural forces. Ends are a power of rulership and conquest; there is no point to reaching the world's edge if the world has been burned to ash behind you. Thus, Ends of the World's members include leaders of many of the large, human-based organizations that seek to conquer some or all of the world's secrets. The Searrs Foundation, the corporate face of something very old indeed, is among its most powerful members; the Easter Corporation and StandardSoft, two of the largest corporations on Earth with near total dominance of the Entertainment and Software industries, respectively, both have a number of ranking members as well.

Indeed, Ends of the World are tempters and tamers. They would far prefer to take enemies into their own fold than destroy them. Destruction is messy; destruction removes usable power from the world. So much better to befriend, isn't it? So much easier to offer the poverty-stricken Tuner a luxury condominium for her family than to put up with her blowing up your entire ring of ice cream shops out of some misguided morality. Besides; then, she owes you. That forward-thinking is key to the World's Edge. Ends are not interested in revenge for past slights against long-lost foes. There is greatness to be had, if you can release your past; join them. They will show you.

The structure of Ends of the World is strange. Claiming whole organizations as its membership might not, necessarily, be wise. Induction to Ends is individual, personal; one receives a monogrammed letter, signed by Ends of the World. The letter instructs one in how to claim their invitation - some small test, from a proof of loyalty through a simple acceptance of minor but symbolic temptation. Other letters follow, with eerily precise dates and times when events will occur, and what to do about them. Ignoring the letter is losing that chance; everything that could be gained by following its instructions will surely never be found, if one chooses to ignore it. Yet the offer has no expiration; Ends, through means known only to the letter-writer(s?) themselves, knows the difference between a wavering, temptable heart, and one that has decided to close that door.

Who sends these letters is not certain. Some claim to have written them, but in turn, often they turn out to have been instructed to do so by their own letter. If there is an end to the chain, nobody knows where it lies. Could such a network possibly be the product of one mind? Is there one man, monster, or goddess at the bottom of the rabbit hole? Or is it an unending warren, all appropriating and uniting around the same useful monogram? Is it a coincidence that a smiling long-eared fairy often appears near those who receive the letters? Nobody can tell, but the reach of the Ends of the World is all-encompassing, sweeping across worlds and eras, raising up those who become great; smiting down those who would trouble their pawns.

There are recipients of Ends letters in every corner of the world; from the most neophyte magical girl, to entrenched Magic Association Precures. Many pass the letter off, or resist the temptation.

Many more do not. It is in the dark grip of passion that Ends finds its pawns - and from that grip, the Ends will ensure there is never any escape.

Ends meetings can occur virtually anywhere, but a very common meeting room is the High School student council room in Ohtori Academy, where all the members are some greater or lesser agent of the Ends of the World. Corporate boardrooms are common, as are restaurants both big and small, but never one-off mom-and-pop places. Chains, massive, clean, and with excellent marketing, are where the Ends take their meals.

Example Character Concepts

Appropriate Ends of the World characters include:

• An Illuminati agent who will achieve perfect control over the world, one secret at a time... by extracting them through peoples’ nightmares.
• The young heir of a major corporation, who is expected to use her newfound magical powers for the good of the company; they’ve made her an offer she dare not refuse.
• A ruthless CEO who will stop at nothing to get the boundlessly powerful artifact he seeks. But why fight for it directly when he can manipulate pawns to get it for him?
• An ambitious mage following the instructions of some mysterious letters in order to advance himself. They’ve been... mostly... harmless so far, but he’s already in deeper than he ever imagined the rabbit hole would go. If he turns back, he loses everything. If he keeps on this path, he may lose himself.

Example Theme Affiliations: Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha (Jail Scaglietti), Mai-HiME (Searrs), Miraculous Ladybug (Papillon), Revolutionary Girl Utena (pretty much everyone but Utena herself), Senki Zesshou Symphogear (Fine), Shugo Chara! (Easter Corporation), Star Driver (Glittering Crux), Yuki Yuna Is A Hero (Taisha), ambitious corporations and secret societies meddling in the supernatural from practically any theme!

• This list is not exhaustive, nor universally accurate for a given theme's antagonists, but exists to give an idea of typical themes (or characters within a theme) connected to the organization.

Cast of Characters

This list can be edited by players to add their characters to their appropriate organization. Feel free to add your name as a link to your character page!

Cooking With Mascot: Fred Burgermeister

Knights of the Round Table REBORN!: Takeo Akamizu

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha: Jail Scaglietti

Mai-HiME: Alyssa Searrs, Miyu Greer, Shizuru Fujino

Revolutionary Girl Utena: Akio Ohtori, Souji Mikage, Anthy Himemiya, Miki Kaoru, Kozue Kaoru, Touga Kiryuu, Nanami Kiryuu, Juri Arisugawa, Kyouichi Saionji, Kasagami Araki

Shugo Chara: Ikuto Tsukiyomi, Utau Hoshina

Star Driver: Kanako Watanabe

Yuna Yuki Is A Hero: Karin Miyoshi

History

It may not be possible to identify the real origin of Ends of the World. It's a thoroughly modern-facing organization; the leaders of Standardsoft, Searrs Foundation, and Easter Corporation, three of the most powerful corporations on Earth, are powerful members.

It might be easiest to simply say that traces of the modern Ends of the World, in the form of their trademark handwritten letter, appears seemingly throughout history.

187X: Southern Cross Island had several smaller schools on it - Fuuka Academy, Southern Cross Academy, and Seiyo Academy, among others, all competing and rivaling each other in the academic space. Some of these were as old as the island itself...or older, with deep, fundamental roots. But when the Ohtori family came to Southern Cross, one by one, they folded before the Ohtori family's money and influence. The Patriarch of the Ohtori clan at the time, asked why he put so much of his influence into the acquisitions, said only that he had had a vision of his family's new unified academy, triumphant and shining, standing watch over the edge of the world.

196x: In the aftermath of Lord Dune's arrival, the Magic Association came to the architect of Tokyo Tower, whose opening the Desert King interrupted. There, they found a single letter, seemingly harmless, suggesting inspiration to a mind in need. Its signer: Ends of the World.

199X: During the Schism War that raged through the Earth's magic community twenty years ago, the magical luminaries of Ala Rubra discovered a complex plot to batter down and weaken the magical defenders of the Earth and unravel the stuff of Mundus Magicus. The masters of this conspiracy, the Perfect World, Cosmo Entelecheia, seemed to be a never-ending warren of high-ranked conspirators - beginning at Senators and rising higher, to governors, to archwizards, to kings, to gods and back again. Yet in interrogating their foes, again and again, they found the monogrammed letter; the long talon of the World's Edge, pushing history into place, pawn by pawn.

They appear in every era; in 188X, the Searrs Foundation bought out the entire empire of a founding Tuner under the Aegis of the Ends. As of 2011, the Easter Corporation owns half the record labels you've ever heard of, and most of the ones you haven't. By the first half of 2013, Standardsoft controlled 95% of the world's computers through its frankly mediocre OS, World Standard. Today, the Duel Game is run out of Ohtori Academy - a magical proving ground, a place where people can come together to fight. Every single participant but one is invited in the same way: The monogrammed letter, and the signet of the Rose.

The servants of Ends of the World have controlled kingdoms, companies, armies, and souls. Not every great person in history, or even on Earth today, is a member of Ends; and yet, somewhere in their vicinity, on a trusted aide, in a locked room, the letter can surely be found.

All of this is possible at the hands of Ends of the World: They who stand at the gate to greatness.

For more information, please see: Organizations, History, Theme Primer, Theme