#as well as somethin new altogether :0

[artnerd1123]

Angels and Demons and Hybrids, Oh My! ((aka i’m a nerd and wanted a fancy title to the rambling that’s undercut sldkfjs)) ((enjoy this aimless talk about AFW angels, a lil bit about demons, and some blurbin about stuff in between :D))

Angels:

Dark magic (using it or being around large amounts of it) makes them sick. Too much can kill them.

A dead angel dissolves into a cloud of light after a couple of days.

Angels don’t really ‘eat,’ perse, but they do absorb and feed off of light. Sunlight and other natural light sources are the most filling. They can feed off magical/artificial/firelight, though, if they need to!

Since they watch people down below all the time, the concept of privacy isn’t really a thing they grasp well.

This goes further by angels being very communal, all of em kinda sleeping in piles and just kinda chillin wherever with each other.

Angels that’re really good friends will preen each other’s wings!

Their wings are pastel colors. No darker/black wings.

Angel heirarchy is a thing, but its mostly used just to name what kind of angel looks like what (ex: if you’ve got 6 wings they call you a seraph, if you’ve got 4 you’re probably cherubim, etc)

They tend to just kinda heck off to sky town for the most part. This is why you hardly ever see them. They much prefer watching people and chillin up in the sun.

Doesn’t mean some of em don’t go down anyways tho!

They can be just as mischievous, nosy, and curious as demons if you manage to catch their eyes.

They can see out of all those eyes, actually, so there’s no way to avoid them seeing anything around them unless you’ve blinded them all.

Tbh they’re all just really curious about everything. You won’t find an angel that isn’t at least moderately nosey in the right context.

All angels are scared of some type of snake.

Loud noises tend to alarm them greatly. Thus, angels usually avoid stuff like thunderstorms, volcano eruptions, concerts, and other loud places.

Some of them know how to use disguise magic to hide their wings, and walk around in towns on occasion. The only way you’d be able to tell they’re an angel is if you startle them- any extra eyes they have will open up, and their unseen wings will flare open/knock into stuff.

They’ve got their own brand of defense magic called heavenflames. It’s exactly what it sounds like. Only more powerful angels have full access and control to these, though.

Average angels can only have a few handfuls of heavenflames at a time. They tend to use heavenflames only for when they only need it-- it saps their energy pretty fast.  

Heavenflames are completely resistant to dark magic, and can burn it away if they’re allowed to burn hot/long enough.

However, heavenflames can be put out by water boiled over a hellfire flame.

While angels are quite a handful, and aren’t quite the best at the whole ‘hands off and leave me alone’ thing, they generally strive to do at least a little bit of good. They’re like weird cryptids who don’t know a lot but just wanna help people out and make people smile. (even if the only smiling people they want are their friends).

Demons:

Regular magic (using it or being around large amounts of it) makes them sick. Too much can kill them.

A dead demon melts into a puddle of shadows after a couple days.

Being around/ingesting dark magic will heal any demon.

Demons usually eat dark magic, chunks of souls, or dead things (like scavengers). Some have combo diets, but only one of these tend to actually fill them up.

Really old or powerful demons have the ability to create and use hellfire. Its exactly what it sounds like.

Hellfire is exclusively dark fire. It can eat up and corrupt anything it touches, if you let it get out of hand. However, it’s also really good for demon healing/feeding. Basking in its heat allows wounds to heal in a matter of hours rather than days, even clearing up unwanted scars. Basking also allows dark magic eaters to absorb and consume the dark magic radiating off the flames.

Hellfire burns like oil flames. It won’t get put out by water unless it’s been boiled by heavenflames.

Demons is a mix of good n bad tbh. There’s plenty of rotten ones, but you can def find good eggs in there too! About the only thing in common they have across the board is a tendency to be chaotic and get really overly dedicated to something/someone/their morals/etc in life.

Hybrid time:

Because ofc there’d be some of these. C’mon man. Y’all know it’d happen.

These are referred to as “fallen angels” (hybrid kids who take more after their angel parent), “risen demons” (hybrid kids who take more after their demon parent), or “nephilim” (hybrid kids who are kinda just in-betweens-- or hybrids in gereral).

If they have wings, they’re typically batlike with feathers on the main part of the “limb,” and darker colored. there’s absolutely exceptions to this tho!

If they have tails, they’re usually short, or lack embellishments on the end such as stingers/barbs/etc (they can have your typical devil’s arrowhead tho!).

Black and white might be cliche here, but there’s definitely a color clash somewhere in their design. Opposing/opposite colors often work themselves into their hair/skin/eyes/etc even if one of the colors isn’t on either parent.

The color clash doesn’t have to be loud and obnoxious tho

Since mashing both heavenflames and Hellfire doesn’t work too well, these hybrids are usually left with some sort of regular fire magic, if they get any at all.

They’ve got a really weird diet. aka they eat shadows/darkness. nice. 

They get sick a lot. (their immune systems tend to fight themselves-- its not a fun time)

Aside from the drawbacks, they do get some added abilities!!! So it’s not all terrible!!!

They’re actually chill around lots of both dark and regular magic. It doesn’t hurt them.

Since their existence kinda breaks the world a bit, they can create and slip through cracks into the afterlife realm, and travel back n forth. This takes a chunk of energy, tho, so they don’t tend to do it more than a couple times a week (if at all)

Some of them can turn invisible.

They can heal fatal wounds.

They’ve got the power of inhuman shrieking AND demonic screeching on their side- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

(aka they can get Really Loud™ and break glass or shatter people’s eardrums. Fun stuff)

So y’know how angels eat light and demons eat dark magic sometimes? Yea well these guys eat darkness sometimes. Wild.

Poison doesn’t work on them.

Cool stuff aside, these guys are pretty rare. And not bc of forboden romance or whatever, angels and demons just hardly ever cross paths.

[the-uptake]

The Uptake, The world was beginning to fluoresce into wounds. 0|0|1|-, Prologue. It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood.

It only stopped raining an hour ago. A handful of select CERCLIS staff, many of whom had half-stripped out of their neon yellow hazmat suits, lined up behind their leadership, awaiting further instruction in the intersection of a Level 0 street halted by media equipment, portable construction lights, and vehicles. One of the employees had not removed his suit, with unusual violet straps taping together every major seam, and more noticeably the hood he kept drawn was missing a visor shield altogether. He fidgeted in place. Galen had been requested to accompany Bensington today, but the one-eyed metahuman hadn’t expected his day off to go anything like this. There would be a billion Web eyes on him and he loathed the very idea of it.

Somehow, when the boom mic and reporter approached Bensington, and not him, it only unnerved him further. The heavyset Indian woman had removed her hood, and she checked the integrity of her snood-bun, while a makeup artist scrutinized the lavender eyeshadow which streaked uniformly from her orbits out to her temples. The camera lead gave her the green light, and they began.

“We’re speaking today with Yvpraksya Bensington, the regional executive for the Northeast and New England branches of the EPA.”

“Thank you, Alex. As many of you have come to know in the past few months,” Bensington announced, shoulders square but calm, “Tri-City’s foundations are slurrying. Seventy years or more of illicit disposal of industrial chemicals has resulted in the pollutants supersaturating the soil of Level 0. Investigations punctuate that the dumping evidence runs rampant throughout all levels which fall below city limits.”

“Miss Bensington, you said the foundations are slurrying. Does that mean you believe that Tri-City will get shorter?”

"The EPA has already launched remediation efforts to prevent it. We want to keep Level 24′s Mile High Club mile-high, don’t we?” She paused to smile at her own whimsy. “Since April, we’ve surveyed the extent of the damages wrought by improper disposal of these poisonous, highly reactive chemicals, in particular Wolfrin--ironically, the organochlorine responsible for much of fusion cities’ capacity for upward sprawl. Construction companies are estimated to be at fault for a majority of the chemical presence in the soil. We’re doing what we can to slow the chemical reactions with other wastes present in the Stalkers’ Quarter’s stalking yards.”

“The stalking yards are the city’s largest concentration of landfill plots. What does the sustained presence of the EPA in Levels 0 to 3 mean for the city?”

“Not to worry. E-cycling will not halt during this crisis. There is no threat to human life, so long as appropriate caution is taken. Our remediation efforts for this Super Fund will not impact city life, though it is strongly advised that citizens not sight-see the disaster and respect quarantine lines. The Agency can and will defend the quarantine by force. These chemicals are highly dangerous, and we can’t have trespassers distracting our cleanup efforts.”

“What is the EPA doing to, well, remediate?”

“We are isolating the contaminated soil, as well as separating solid from semi-solid and liquid wastes. Several sites have required the excavation of buried drums of waste. We’re neutralizing a majority of the waste on site. Cleanup requires extensive equipment and labor. In addition to the dozens of engineers and environmental technicians we have at our employ, we also have a specialist on site.”

“Miss Bensington, is that the specialist there, behind you?”

When the crowd of reporters clamored, Galen flinched to stand straighter, but he couldn’t help but turn his face from the camera lens. Bensington glowered at the reporter for putting so much focus on someone besides herself unrehearsed, and they pulled back to her. She cleared her throat and crossed her arms.

“--We have the finest on hand for this monumental undertaking. Our methods may prove a bit unorthodox, but the potential for catastrophe demands it. You can put your trust in the EPA to control and backpedal any damages irresponsible dumping may have done to this illustrious city. And I promise this city: I’ll get to the bottom of this myself, and locate as many perpetrators as I can. Good day.”

Bensington shooed the media cameras with an angry fat lip, and she pulled Galen along with her by the arm.

“Forgive them,” she started, walking briskly enough that he struggled to match her gait. “They’re scrabbling for any mote of interest. You stood out because you’re comfortable in your suiting.”

“S’the only clothes that really work anymore, Miz Benz. Y’know that--”

They stepped into an alleyway, so the leaden-pale ghoul could bestill himself.

“I apologize that you had to spend your day off this week doing something so... uncomfortable. I know you’ve never been too sociable. I appreciate you attending with me. I wanted my best represented.”

His immediate compulsion was to deflect the compliment, but he caught himself and replied with a self-conscious smile which she mirrored with a genuine one.

“I know there’s more going on with you than simple stage fright. I’ve had the impression that you’ve adjusted pretty well to your position with us. We’ve outfitted you with clothing tailored to your unique physiology, scheduled you according to your limitations, and arranged housing for you on Level 8. Be honest with me, Galen. Do we need to further adjust your accommodations? Just say the word and it’s yours.”

“I... i, i, it’s not just the things y’done for me. Y’already do so much.” He gnashed his teeth a spell, not making eye contact. “Y’said e-cyclin’s gonna continue unhindered. The EPA hasn’t shut down more than three yards at once, t’my knowledge. An’ you’n me both knows just how dangerous Wolfrin is. But... what I, I--” He flinched and flared his nostrils at himself, “tryin’ t’say is... the stulkers not been evacuated yet.”

Warmth filled her face while she formed a response.

“The Stalkers’ Quarter is one of Tri-City’s largest landfills. CTMHW prevents any fusion city from outsourcing disposal to nearby cities. And Tri-City accepts wastes from adjacent non-fusion cities. We can’t halt waste procedures in the entire metropolitan area just because this one landfill sector’s soil is leaching.”

Galen could feel a flush cross his face, and he backpedaled to a previous topic.

“...Forget me mentionin’ it. Th, there is the one thing y’could do for me, since y’mention it. Y’got me set up with a serial an’ a cred account an’ all that... but besides buyin’ my own groceries, dunno how ta be a Leveler. Used t’read a ton before all this happened. Told that ta the Fultonites an’ they brought me a reader. Y’can pro’lly guess ‘bout how long that lasted. Used t’read physical copies, back before all this. Lotta the books, I, I fished outta the yards myself. Sides that, Pretty much lived in the school library back when I, I-- was still goin’. Hopin’ maybe... maybe you’d get me a library card? For Central? Always wanted t’be able t’borrow somethin’ from Central.”

“You need enrichment. Entertainment. Of course. And you’re worried your habituations would risk any technology that came into your possession. Paper products aren’t among your nutritive sources, nor have I really noticed you crave it... If you’re confident you’ll be comfortable with a physical copy, then consider it done. I’ll call my contact at Central and have it arranged this afternoon.”

He hadn’t expected her to agree so readily, and his jaw slacked.

“Thanks, Miz Benz. Y’got no idea how much it means t’me.”

“Is there anything else? You’re doing so well with the Golbrook site. I’d love to honor your hard work with a little token of gratitude.”

His eye widened, and in one stunned motion he pushed his hood back to run his gloved hand over his slicked undercut.

“...Really, the library card’s huge. But if y’willin’ to negotiate the rules... Maybe ya’d lemme keep another... say, five pounds a copper? Been distractin’ myself in my apartment with lots a art. Gettin’ pretty good at it, to be fair.”

Bensington chuckled, relishing the notion he had begun purposing his sweat toward learning how to sculpt with it.

“You’re currently allotted a hundred pounds, correct? One-oh-five doesn’t seem unreasonable. That’s fine. I’ll notify the CERCLIS supervisor you’re working with this week.”

“Really, gosh, you’re the best. If a body’d told me workin’ for the city’d be anything as gracious as this, would’a been with it from the start!”

“I’m a rare employer, and you’re an even rarer employee. You wouldn’t find a better job arrangement than you have with the EPA.”

“--With you. I’ve. I. I got trouble talkin’ with the sup’s y’got me under. Nothin’ ‘gainst ‘em but... you. You listen. Really listen. Y’get it. Get me.”

She glanced to her reader, then returned it to her pocket.

“Well, right now, if that’s all we needed to discuss, what I’ve got is an appointment I have to be getting to. If you think of anything else, don’t hesitate to communicate with me, all right? You’ll be transferring to your next site by next week. I’ll speak with you again when I liaison for you.”

“Hope it goes smooth,” he thanked sheepishly.

“As do I, your week.” She patted him on the shoulder, and started back to the media circus. “Enjoy the library. I’ll ping you when your account’s live.”

He waved her off, smiling strangely to himself, then excused himself as well. He passed the cred-chip embedded in the wrist of his left glove over the payment node when he loaded into the public lift back up to Level 3, and got more comfortable in the back corner of the car by rolling his coat down to his waist, affixing it with a reflective belt-and-brace harness he produced from an inner pocket. Beneath his gear, he wore a taut high-collar black compression top. He kept on his long black waxed leather work gloves. With a snuffle of the air, he snorted in nuisance that he could smell the product in his hair.

The EPA dress code regulation hadn’t required that he cut his hair, but they had insisted that he style the long part such that the undercut didn’t hang in his face.

As he switched off from the lift to a bus, he resolved to buy a tube of hair gel just to satisfy the desire to suck it out of his locks. He softened at the idea of deviating from his typical shopping list, and busied his mind enumerating all ilk of his comfort foods. By the time he let off at Level 8, he was whistling to himself.

“Miz Benz was right. Should treat myself. Gonna get the good weight oil today.”