atwilightghoul

[atwilightghoul]

// Character info!

// migrated from @ atwilightghoul on Twitter

Name: Aster

Element: multi-ghoul [light(can extend to lightning) and shadow, touches of earth(mostly plants)]

Pronouns: he/they

Height: 5'10" ?

Sexuality: doesn't focus on a label, is attracted to men the most often

Theme song: Cult of Dionysus by The Orion Experience

Personality:

Shy at first, but playful once he opens up

CAN be quick to temper

Romantic and dramatic

Theatrical and fruity

Loves nature, music, literature, folklore, drinking, and smoking

VERY protective of loved ones

A little mischievous but also loyal

Miscellaneous:

Speaks many Mediterranean dialects and hints of other languages including Arabic, Hebrew, and Sanskrit

Has definitely participated in more than a few orgies

His infernal form resembles a satyr/faun with the lower half of a black goat. His hair has more of a purple shimmer to it, and gold covers his fingertips, horn tips, and the bottoms of his hooves. Ivy/grapevines/bindweed tangle through his hair, around his horns, and generally all over his body.

Since his infernal form has hooves he has the habit of walking on his toes even when glamoured

His mask is actually just an Era 0 mask, but he broke and altered it himself

Is madly in love with Terzo

Powers:

Shapeshifting: his shadow element allows him to take on the form of a shadow. But it isn't perfect, it's much more solid with smoky wisps emanating from him. His more frequent manner of shapeshifting is his ability to turn into a panther (specifically a leopard). It's much larger than a normal leopard, and there are visible golden remnants of the markings. He also retains his gold claws and black sclera in this form, which are his giveaways to tell that it's him

Shadow manipulation: like his ability to turn into a shadow, he can manipulate shadow into something more solid, able to grab things and interact physically, as well as the shape or size of the shadow

Light manipulation: less physical than shadow, but he can dim or brighten light and generate it himself. Not used often

Plant manipulation: harder for him to do, and it's not as extensive, but he can aid in the growth of plants or make them die and has minor control over the movement

Beast tamer: less of a power and more so just his natural gift to communicate with animals

Night vision: his eyes glow and it's not just for show; he can see in the dark very well

Infernal Euios: ability to amplify voice, mimic voice, throw voice to other locations, and multiple voice

Lore:

Aster was born in the Ancient Roman/Byzantine Empire but was considered Greek. He speaks Latin and Koine Greek as his first languages, but over time has also learned modern Greek, Italian, and English fairly fluently. He was raised somewhat communally by his community and his adoptive mother, the daughter of a priestess of Bacchus/Dionysus. He was always trained to one day become a priest of the cult himself, and he succeeded in doing so. It was a bittersweet ascension, though. The previous priestess, his adoptive grandmother, died but her daughter saw potential in more potential in Aster than herself. She felt he had a special gift and was destined for it. So, while it was unusual for a Bacchante to be a male priest rather than priestess, and it was even more unusual that he was so young, he became priest.

The traditions of the Greek and Roman pantheons were phasing out with the spread of Christianity, and the specific era (and area) he existed in was experiencing efforts to either convert or eradicate pagan temples and practices. It wasn't always enforced by actual government authority, but Aster's cult was being targeted (mostly by the local citizens). After the locals did some "vigilante justice" on their temple, Aster's followers tried to retaliate but it turned into a riot of sorts. Aster was killed by an injury to the chest (unknown if blunt force trauma, piercing trauma, or both), and his surviving followers fled with his body to the mountains to lay him to rest. He became Bacchante at 19 and died ten years later.

That fourth picture at the end is his funerary portrait, which the Ministry obtained before it could go anywhere else and it is now being displayed with other artifacts in the church. It looks much more aged, has deteriorating edges and is a little fragmented, but it was mostly recovered.

Lucifer, touched by his rebellion to the Christians and his worship of a god that is linked to himself, came to his body and carried his soul to his underworld realm where he was reborn as a ghoul. Because he was alive during the transition between the Greek/Roman pantheons and Christianity as well as being Greek under Roman rule, although he was reborn in Hell he was able to move freely between Hell and Tartarus.

He was first summoned by Papa Nihil to be a musical mentor to any future project ghouls and his sons, teaching them music, poetry, history, and all manners of mythology/folklore/theology in early adulthood. There was a caveat, though. In those early days, the Ministry didn't want any ghouls rebelling and they feared Aster's skills for persuasion and inspiration. He wasn't allowed to room with the other ghouls, instead being sequestered from the ghouls' wing and put in his own room. It was basically a storage room in the band's practice room. Because of this he didn't really bond with the other ghouls and spent most of his time drowning in wine. The Papas, though, he bonded with very closely.

He taught Primo all manners of horticulture, and the two bonded over it. Secondo he was a bit of a safe space for, as the two shared their darker moments and heavy depression.

But Terzo was special to him, a true lover. They just clicked. They shared their first kiss near a patch of poppy flowers growing in the Ministry gardens, so Aster gave him the nickname "Poppy" (papavero, papavero mio, fiore papavero mio, etc).