Assassin (Fate/Crossover - Tira)

Assassin (アサシン, *Asashin*) is the servant of ??? in the ??? Holy Grail War.

"Gloomy gets angry if I go overboard." — Jolly Tira

"I wish Jolly would choose more worthy opponents!" — Gloomy Tira

## Profile

### Identity

Assassin's true identity is Tira, former member of the Bird of Passage, who was raised from a baby in the art of murder. Not many could match her skill. However, when the Evil Seed event occurred while she was on a mission, the group’s leader was driven insane, which led to the disbanding of the Falcons.

As a result, Tira was left without anywhere to go, and lacking direction. Though she was taken in by a family, her “normal” life did not last long—such mundanity could never have been enough for her. Tira flew into a rage over a trivial matter, killing every last one of her new family, and then set off on a journey to claim as many lives as she could.

Tira had always been emotionally unstable, but the incident with her adoptive family had pushed her over the edge. As her journey continued, she exhibited increasingly strong signs of mania, which eventually led to her personality splitting in two. Her more jubilant side became known as Jolly; her moodier side, Gloomy.

One day, she happened upon the aftereffects of Nightmare’s cruelty. Despite thinking she had grown numb towards death, the level of his atrocities took even Tira aback. Bewitched by the Azure Knight’s handiwork, she set out to locate him. However, when she arrived at Ostrheinsburg, he was nowhere to be found. According to a man who carried a great scythe, Nightmare was nothing more than a puppet to the cursed sword Soul Edge. If that was the case, she decided, then she would set her sights on finding the blade itself. By now she was convinced beyond doubt they were fated to meet...

### Personality

Tira is nearly as ruthless and sadistic as her master, having no qualms with claiming the lives of her victims. She derives a demented form of amusement from others' suffering, apparently due to her upbringing as an assassin, and is lethally addicted to murdering others.

Tira uniquely suffers from disassociative identity disorder (multiple personalities) which manifests in the forms of Jolly, seemingly her original persona, and Gloomy, a persona that emerged when she killed her foster parents. While prone to bickering between themselves, they are both ruthless killers who enjoy the act of murder.

Jolly, as per her name, is the more exuberant of the two, perky and upbeat. Jolly finds it easier to blend in to society and more cunning, often planning out her kill and toying with her prey. Her voice in this state is higher pitched and prone to giggling.

Gloomy is the opposite, being callous, impatient, brutal and quick to anger. Gloomy prefers just to attack regardless of her target being isolated or with witnesses. As such, she tends to get the pair into trouble when she's unable to keep her bloodlust in check. In this state Tira's voice drops in pitch, becoming gruffer and more subdued. She dislikes being called "Eiserne Drossel."

Both personalities also take a keen interest in Nightmare, enraptured by the destruction left in his wake.

In contrast, Tira is shown to be affectionate toward animals, especially birds, easily valuing their freedom over people's lives.

### Relationships

#### Nightmare

Tira is shown to be a Loyal servant of Nightmare or rather Soul Edge/Inferno in Soulcalibur III and Soulcalibur IV. As of Soulcalibur V, she has grown negligent of the new Nightmare and has separated herself from him, taking matters into her own hands. She also considers the new Nightmare a coward and seeks a new host to replace him.

#### Sophitia Alexandra

She has tormented Sophitia by threatening her children and eventually kidnapping her daughter.

#### Siegfried Schtauffen

It is implied several times during Soulcalibur III that she does not like Siegfried, however, it could be a general dislike toward the current wielder of Soul Calibur and the spirit sword herself.

#### Pyrrha Alexandra

She has kidnapped Pyrrha prior to the events of Soulcalibur IV. Tries to set her up as a replacement host of Soul Edge, due to her dislike of the current Nightmare.

## Abilities

“Iron Thrush” was Tira’s code name while she was a member of the assassin guild, Birds of Passage. This name may come from the scraping noise her ring blade makes as it grinds against her metal gauntlets, the sound of which some say resembles a thrush.

The outer edge of Tira’s weapon is one razor-sharp blade, which makes it extremely dangerous to wield. The blade is also designed to kill in an extremely violent and unique way, and those who know what to look for can tell at a glance that the slain was the victim of the Bird of Passage. Additionally, Bird of Passage assassins like Tira are trained to brutally mutilate their victims after death as a means of displaying the organization’s strength, and this has helped earn them a fearsome reputation

As Tira is no longer a member of the Bird of Passage, she doesn’t care about any of that anymore. What matters most to her is the song her little birdy sings which satisfies her endless and ferocious appetite for blood.

Tira still fondly remembers the assassination techniques her Parent Bird taught her; the graceful movements they employed while toying with their prey, the merciless way they pursued their quarry, and the look of sheer ecstasy on their face when they finally moved in to clain the kill. It was… beautiful.

Tira doesn’t remember much from when she was forced to kill her Parent bird, but her teacher is always there in the back of her mind when she closes in for a kill. Though Tira has since left the Bird of Passage, her dangerous fighting technique remains a relic of her affiliation with it. At a certain point, Tira’s mind became unhinged and her personality split into two. Naturally, this has an effect on her techniques. One side of her personality relishes in the unadulterated joy of slaughter, while the other is filled with a cold and calculating malice as it kills. The sudden transition from one personality and fighting style to the other often startles her opponent, and Tira never fails to exploit this to dispatch her victims.

One thing Tira’s opponents must never, ever to do is awaken her true personality, which she keeps buried deep down inside her. Doing so would be touching on the taboo, and only anathema awaits those that rouse this beast.

Nevertheless,  Tira is a highly skilled fighter who is very sadistic and likes the idea of torture. Jolly and Gloomy has slight changes in their fighting style, though she likes to torture her foes, which could also comeback to bite her.

### Noble Phantasm

#### **Judecca Requiem**

Tira vertically slashes her opponent, leaps on top of them, and kisses them passionately while they squirm. As she drains their soul, the screen will fade to a dark gray and a foggy, skull shaped cloud will appear — presumably representing the victim's death.

Depending on her mood, this is what she'll say afterwards:

**Jolly**: How was that?!

**Gloomy**: Hmph...you don't interest me.

#### **Discord Parade**

**Jolly**: Tira will say "It's time to party!" and will proceed in dancing around with her Ring Blade — violently hitting the opponent while doing so. Each strike will make her weapon glow a golden orange and will produce small sparkles as the enemy endures more damage. When the maneuver is finished, Tira will likely become Gloomy.

**Gloomy**: Tira will glide her thumb across her throat — symbolizing death upon her foe. She then rapidly swings her Ring Blade onto the enemy and shares with them the means of a painful death. Her weapon will glow with a dark purple as the attack moves forward and a dark aura will surround her and her victim throughout the entire maneuver.

#### **Bleak Concerto**

A fast, rising middle attack that can be used in air combos. If unleashed while Jolly, it'll finish with Tira transforming into Gloomy. If unleashed while Gloomy, however, it will perform a follow-up attack that deals a huge amount of damage.

## References

https://soulcalibur.fandom.com/wiki/Tira

https://vsbattles.fandom.com/wiki/Tira