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#magnus criteria
nalyra-dreaming · 8 months
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Why did magnus choose Lestat? Why did he go through so many humans that looked like him?
Hey!
Magnus‘ selection criteria - quite the fascinating (and harrowing) subject!
So (quick recap):
Magnus is a respected and appreciated scholar alchemist. Rhoshamandes protects him but refuses to give him the Dark Gift, which Magnus then, old and supposedly unpleasantly looking, steals from Benedict. (And Rhoshamandes must have loved Magnus quite a lot for not killing him for that!)
Magnus is an outcast. I think Rhosh must have protected him enough still for the Children of Satan not to bother him, but four centuries later he is alone, and decides to make an heir. And not just any heir.
Now Magnus selection criteria are:
Blond, blue-eyed, good-looking, and lean.
These are the basics. Stereotypical and superficial beauty standards, you might say.
There is a lot that can be said about these criteria, and I don’t think the show will shy away from the obvious aryan-idealistic connotations, nor the callbacks to the Nazi regime (and, I mean, season 2 is set during WW2). (*)
Magnus chose Lestat as one of those matching that superficial standard. He's not the first victim, there are a lot of rotting corpses in that tower, as Lestat in the show also said: his coloring, his physique.
There is one aspect though which saves Lestat from death - and that is (or at least seems to be) his fight with the wolves. The "cosmic error" as he himself calls it in the books. That is why Magnus also takes the coat, too, lined with the fur of those wolves. It's why Magnus calls him "wolfkiller", in his mind, and to his face.
One can only speculate that the other victims did not have that ... will, the fierceness that is needed for a feat like killing a pack of wolves. Or, maybe, it was the "light" in Lestat, that which is mentioned again and again in the chronicles, and which draws and burns others. Either way, this event probably tipped the scales in Lestat's favor, if you want to call it that.
Lestat in the show says that he "kept him for a week", and then threw him back with the corpses, to be fed on every night.
Everyone who knows the book knows that the turning scene is written as a rape with forced orgasm. It will be horrific to watch on the show, no matter how they do it, I already found the scene in ep6 hard to watch. (I was prompted to write about this a while ago, and so I wrote about the fallout and that turning in a fic, here, if you're interested.)
The "week" also means Lestat had to be shaved prior to turning. Haircut, maybe. And he likely did not get that much food, which would make him even leaner.
Now, the shaving (in the show-timeframe) is also a conscious choice by Magnus. (And it will be interesting if they pick it up, and how, for the show.) He obviously did not want his new heir to carry a beard. He wanted him to match that beauty standard in his head, the one he probably wanted for himself, if his later taking-up of these physical attributes (I talked about this here) is any indication.
And, of course... "sunlight in your hair, and the blue sky fixed forever in your eyes".
The two things a vampire (pre moving color pictures at least) could never see again. The blue sky, and sunlight.
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(*) There is also the interesting aspect that Daniel could be at least half jewish - and Armand is now or has chosen to be Muslim. A very ... present day commentary that the show will surely hook into in some kind of fashion.
And, as a note:
All of this also pays into the question of the theoretical possibility of a color-consciously cast “black Lestat“, which I commented on here, as well.
Because Magnus had his… criteria.
And Lestat suffers from them, for centuries. Has PTSD from them, up to the last book. Tries to hide this behind sarcasm, and humor. Changing that… would (with several other considerations) change the whole of the chronicles.
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mantictiger · 1 month
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every single protocol episode leaves me thinking about one specific thing that usually isn't relevant at all to the episode as a whole. this week's random thing is we never heard Helen's undistorted laugh in TMA but we got to hear it now!
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shanarra-story · 5 months
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So... I have this perfect code assignment where three Threads have to introduce themselves to the world... Guess which idea came to mind when I had to name them 😅
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serapheseraphim · 4 months
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Myself as an avatar of the Flesh, the Eye, and the Corruption respectively. Very fun to design and think about.
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derit-s · 1 year
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Made this as a break from exams :'), Interests/likes Bingo! Ty @mhizzberry and @antihibikase for the inspiration!!
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haemosexuality · 1 year
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here is a list of every emoji elias can see out of.
😀😃🥹🥲🙂🙃😉😘😗😛😜🤪🤨🧐🤓🥸😏😒😟😕🙁☹️🥺😢😠😡🤬🤯😳🥵🥶😶‍🌫😱😨😰😥🤔🫣🫢🫡🤫🫠🤥😶🫥😐🫤🫨😬🙄😯😦😧😮😲🤐🥴🤢😷🤒🤕🤠😈👿👹👺🤡💩👻👽👾🤖🎃😺😸😹😼🙀😿😾👁️👀👶🏻👧🏻🧒🏽👦🏽👩🏾🧑🏻👨🏻👩🏿‍🦱🧑🏽‍🦱👨🏽‍🦱👩‍🦰🧑🏼‍🦰👨🏻‍🦰👱🏻‍♀️👱‍♂️👩🏻‍🦳🧑🏽‍🦳👨🏻‍🦳👩‍🦲🧑🏿‍🦲👨🏼‍🦲🧔‍♀🧔🧔🏻‍♂👵🏼🧓👴🏻👲👳‍♀️👳🏽‍♂️🧕👮‍♀️👮‍♂️👷‍♀️👷‍♂️💂‍♀️💂‍♂️🕵️‍♀️🕵️‍♂️👩‍⚕️🧑‍⚕️👨‍⚕️👩🏻‍🌾🧑‍🌾👨‍🌾👩‍🍳🧑‍🍳👨‍🍳👩🏽‍🎓🧑🏼‍🎓👨🏼‍🎓👩‍🎤🧑🏼‍🎤👨🏽‍🎤 👩🏻‍🏫🧑🏼‍🏫👨🏼‍🏫👩🏼‍🏭🧑🏼‍🏭👨🏽‍🏭👩🏾‍💻🧑🏾‍💻👨‍💻👩🏻‍💼🧑🏼‍💼👨🏽‍💼👩🏽‍🔧🧑🏼‍🔧👨🏽‍🔧👩‍🔬🧑‍🔬👨‍🔬👩🏽‍🎨🧑🏻‍🎨👨🏼‍🎨👩🏽‍🚒🧑🏽‍🚒👨‍🚒👩🏾‍✈️🧑🏿‍✈️👨🏻‍✈️👩🏻‍🚀🧑🏼‍🚀👨🏽‍🚀👩🏽‍⚖️🧑🏽‍⚖️👨🏽‍⚖️👰🏾‍♀👰🏿👰🏼‍♂🤵🏽‍♀🤵🏽🤵🏾‍♂👸🏽🫅🏼🤴🏼🥷🏾🦸🏾‍♀️🦸🏻‍♂️🦹🏼‍♀️🦹🏽‍♂️🤶🏽🧑🏽‍🎄🎅🏽🧙🏼‍♀️🧙🏽‍♂️🧝🏾‍♀️🧝🏽‍♂️🧌🧛‍♀️🧛🏽‍♂️🧟‍♀️🧟‍♂️🧞‍♀️🧞‍♂️🧜🏾‍♀️🧜🏼‍♂️🧚🏼‍♀️🧚🏽‍♂️👼🏻🤰🏾🫄🏼🫃🏻🤱🏽👩🏾‍🍼🧑🏼‍🍼👨🏿‍🍼🙇🏽‍♀️🙇🏽‍♂️💁🏽‍♀️💁🏻‍♂️🙅‍♀️🙅🏾‍♂️🙆🏿‍♀️🙆🏼‍♂️🙋🏽‍♀️🙋‍♂️🧏🏽‍♀️🧏🏽🧏🏽‍♂️🤦🏽‍♀️🤦🏾‍♂️🤷🏽‍♀️🤷🏼‍♂️🙎🏼‍♀️🙎🏼‍♂️🙍🏽‍♀️🙍🏽‍♂️💇🏽‍♀️💇🏽‍♂️💃🏽🕺👯‍♀️👯‍♂️👩🏻‍🦽🧑🏼‍🦽👨🏽‍🦽👩🏾‍🦼🧑🏽‍🦼👨🏽‍🦼🚶‍♀️🚶‍♂️🧎🏼‍♀️🧎🏽🧎🏽‍♂️🏃🏽‍♀️🏃‍♂️🧍🏽‍♀️🧍🏽🧍‍♂️👫👭👬 👩‍❤️‍👨👩‍❤️‍👩💑👨‍❤️‍👨👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨👩🏽‍❤️‍💋‍👩🏼💏👨‍❤️‍💋‍👨👨‍👩‍👦👨‍👩‍👧👨‍👩‍👧‍👦👨‍👩‍👦‍👦👨‍👩‍👧‍👧👩‍👩‍👦👩‍👩‍👧👩‍👩‍👧‍👦👩‍👩‍👦‍👦👩‍👩‍👧‍👧👨‍👨‍👦👨‍👨‍👧👨‍👨‍👧‍👦👨‍👨‍👦‍👦👨‍👨‍👧‍👧👩‍👦👩‍👧👩‍👧‍👦👩‍👦‍👦👩‍👧‍👧👨‍👦👨‍👧👨‍👧‍👦👨‍👦‍👦👨‍👧‍👧🐶🐱🐭🐹🐰🦊🐻🐼🐻‍❄🐨🐯🦁🐮🐷🐸🐵🙉🙊🐒🐔🐧🐦🐤🐣🐥🪿🦆🐦‍⬛🦅🦉🦇🐺🐗🐴��🫎🐛🐜🪰🪲🪳🦟🦗🐢🐍🦎🦖🦕🐙🦑🦐🦞🦀🐡🐠🐟🐬🐳🐋🦈🦭🐊🐅🐆🦓🦍🦧🦣🐘🦛🦏🐪🐫🦒🦘🦬🐃🐂🐄🫏🐎🐖🐏🐑🦙🐐🦌🐕🐩🦮🐕‍🦺🐈🐈‍⬛🐓🦃🦤🦚🦜🦢🦩🕊️🐇🦝🦨🦡🦫🦦🦥🐁🐀🐿️🦔🐉🐲🌞🌝🌛🌜🌚☃⛄🎣🏋🏽‍♀️🏋🏻‍♂️🤼‍♀️🤼‍♂️⛹🏽‍♀️⛹🏽‍♂️🤾🏽‍♀️🤾🏼‍♂️🏇🏼🏄🏼‍♀️🏄‍♂️🏊🏼‍♀️🏊🏼‍♂️🤽🏼‍♀️🤽‍♂️🤹🏼‍♀️🤹‍♂️🎭🗽🎠💵💴💷🧿🪬🧸🪆🎎🪅🃏
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eisthenameofme · 2 years
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I should make a book recommendations uquiz except instead of normal book recommendations it's books I've collected that i strongly suspect of being the irl equivalent of lietners
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mrfoox · 2 years
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Me: (:
Someone: uh, neither Oliver or Magnus will come by tomorrow...
Me: :(
#miranda talking shit#I know that the schedule always changes early weeks and one shouldnt rely on them so much but each time im sad#I wish i had the authority/will and also lack of compassion to complain but i dont#I know they have a hard time as it is to get everything working and organizing etc... So i dont want to be an extra problem#Also know at least Oliver is well liked by everyone so im probably not the only one that just lets him visit oops#Magnus i think could be similar. I can see some old grumpy people be mad at him but i think many must like having him come by#I wish i was more comfortable with others coming... But no i borderline hate it. Its fine two days a week bc i got cleaning then anyway so#I can just clean with them and i dont have to interact much... But meh ):#Only one im fine enough with coming by besides those two is an lady but she only works part time now so i rarely see her#I understand why its hard for me bc like... Its in my diagnose criteria/info. Change is harder for me especially in every day things#But i wish i could be more comfortable with it. I have never had things adjusted to me like at all until i was an adult and got my diagnose#So im still so uncomfortable to demand or ask for changes. Meanwhile everyone else like even Oliver 'miranda its okay to say you dont like#X person and dont want them to come here. I'll tell the people planning and they'll adjust it' meanwhile im sobbing at rhe floor#Like no... I dont want to be a problem... An issue.. I dont want to be a bother or mean or rude or-#Doesnt help the one other person i did like and wanted to come by quit... I got Magnus soon after and fortunately loved him#But yeah. The other guy i was okay with also quit so now im like oops... My pool of people i dont want to die around is shrinking help#Anyway ignore my rant it probably doesnt make sense unless you know my full situation#Short story i dont like people and i only get along with a small pool of them and i wish they could be the only ones i saw#For someone who likes to get to know people ... I also have such a limited criteria for which type of people doesnt steal energy from me#I like a lot of people but so few arent energy theifs. And even fewer even GIVE me energy#The two who give me energy i wish i could see every day but alas...
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vlly-of-despair · 2 months
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Ok but like, we need to talk about Alice and the ‘victim’… (spoilers for TMP)
I’ve been kicking around the theory for a little bit in my head now that the Magnus Institute program for gifted children is meant to find children who have an aptitude to act as conduits for the Fears via meditation practices that can transport their consciousness to the ‘Somewhere Else’, aka the layer of reality in which the Fears resign.
I made a past post about this, but for a summery: In the Magnus Archives, the Fears are described as gods from another realm, not necessarily from another universe, but rather in a different layer of reality we usually can’t see or comprehend, but can bleed into our world in the small weirdness of the statements we see throughout the narrative, and humans being able to harness gifts derived from the warped reality of these beings via becoming an Avatar. In the Magnus Protocol, people may channel the powers that may be from the layer of reality through becoming an ‘External’ or by an object, or environment. They categorize cases regarding the Somewhere Else as subjects being viabilities as subjects, agents, or catalysts (see ep 9 as an example of this cataloged on record).
Now, I personally believe whatever the Magnus Institute was cultivating, they wanted to specifically target areas of greater knowledge.
In TMA 127, John describes to Basira the ability to see into the minds of others as:
It’s like there’s a, a door, in my mind. A-a-and behind it is, is the entire ocean.
Before, I didn’t notice it, but now, I – I know it’s there, and I can’t forget it, and I can feel the pressure of the water on it… when I’m around p-people, or.. places, or.. ideas? A drop or two will push through the cracks at the edges of the door. And I’ll… know something.
Now both Sam and Gerard both applied to the Magnus Institute program, but were not accepted. When we saw the ARG Mag Testing sheets from past children’s names, as well as the criteria they ranked the children on, many being less so on their intelligence, but on their empathy, obedience, and conformity. So my best guess is that they find the most obedient children of high intelligence, those who may be able to harbor great ‘knowing’ and ‘seeing’ about the intellectual comprehension of most people, and that are apathetic enough to endure the possible… casualties tapping into the Eldritch horrors may call upon. Then they train them to become figures similar to the Archivist, but to the degree in which they can ‘open the door in their minds’ completely. This didn’t go so well… like at all… taken by the fact that the ‘protocol’ was enacted and the whole institute burned to the ground. Did they open a rift to this dangerous world? Is the OIAR fighting against those who try to push too much of these Outer Gods into our material world? To ‘see’ too much?
Curiously, there is a child in the ARG spreadsheet listing the children involved with the ‘gifted kids program’ with the name Connor Dyer, the same lat name as Alice. Many people, including myself, think this IS Alice and her deadname, prior to transitioning.
So, Alice was involved with the program, and her denial of the fact and urging Sam to stop researching the institute raises some big red flags. Where am I going with this? Well, if we go back to MAGP 15: WELL RUN, we see the victim that approached Gwen being compelled to spill out her fear as she is ‘drowning’ on land, trying to grab Alice as she whispers about seeing an endless, dark sea. Alice’s reaction is sooo interesting to me. At first it seems normal, she sees a dying frantic woman, reacts in panic and calls the ambulance. However, once she sees the tape recorder, she becomes utterly terrified. She says, “ I’m sorry, I can’t-.” And runs.
Alice, what about the tape recorder specifically triggered you so much? Is it because perhaps you remember this scene? Using a tape recorder, as a child in the Magnus Institute program, to document your decent into that same vast ocean beyond our world? Is if because if suddenly clicked what this is, what has happened to this woman, that she was compelled? That her thoughts were spoken with far more clarity after death because her corpse is being puppeteer by a power which unlocks the minds and fears of others beyond their mind alone? Why are you working at the OIAR? And why did you invite perhaps the only other person you know who could have the abilities the Magnus Institute searched for in youth?…
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weenwrites · 10 months
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*sounds of crashing, fire alarm, smoke and chaos in other room, comes tumbling into your ask box falling on my face, quickly getting up and dusting self* hey there! How you doing? Wanted to ask for HC with TFP Soundwave, Megatron, WheelJack with human reader where they switch minds due to some relic or something? (it's temporary or till they get the relic to work again) how would they react? How would the whole thing go? Pretty sure Megatron won't be too pleased lol, established romantic relationship, they been together long enough to know a bit more about each other and be a bit vulnerable.
also a bit of a thing for Soundwave (extremely optional and can just be a line or two) , reader cares about and platonically loves laserpeak, this Minicon deserves love, also feel like it's a given that Soundwave would have a "must care about my child" s/o criteria (Soundwave is usually called a dad for his Minicons and I think they're (minus laserpeak) all dead in TFP? I hope they were just chilling somewhere cause I love these guys) like did you see how quickly he ran to his aid when he sent a distress signal when Ratchet had him pinned down? He didn't even spare a second to try to kill Jackie incase if that second made a difference if he survives or not.
*Magnus yelling in the other room about who did the mess* oh shit... OK thanks have great day byeee *proceeds to hightail it outta there before I get scolded for two hours* "THAT WAS AN AWESOME EXPLOSION BUT MAGY IS GONNA HAVE OUR HEADS" -Me "YOU'RE RIGHT ABOUT BOTH OF THOSE.. GET IN LET'S GO"- Jackie
(lol ignore my stupid just hoping it'll get a laugh from you, laughs are good for you)
[ Please do not repost, plagiarize, or use my writing for AI! Translating my work with proper credit is acceptable, but please ask first! ]
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Predaking
He hates this, he's very upset. He dislikes the feeling of being so small and weak, and he inadvertently throws a lot of insults your way without another thought. He'll sulk and sulk and sulk until you point out good things, like it'll be a good learning experience for the two of you, and it could possibly help yourselves better understand one another. Only then will he admit that he sees why you enjoy sitting on his shoulder so much.
Aside from feeling a thousand times smaller, another thing he hates about being so small is the great difficulty that comes with getting around on his own. With his altmode he was able to traverse the sky and land with ease, but now it takes eons to make it somewhere, and he hates it that he gets tired much quicker.
But on the positive side of things, he does take this as a learning experience, and he takes this time to see if somethings he thought about humans are true or if they aren't. Of course he could've just asked you about them, but he was a little shy about it. Some of his questions were about human food, and some are about your home. Speaking of your home, he's definitely poking around out of curiosity. He's gonna pat your mattress and try laying down on it, he's gonna look in your fridge and take a bite of a stick of butter because he thought that was food... He's sorta like a curious cat, minus all the knocking stuff off tables.
Of course after the entire ordeal has been resolved and whatnot, he'll finally truly understand what you go through on a day-to-day basis around him, and he'll respect that you have to deal with such hardships all on your own.
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Megatron
Yep. You're right. He's more than upset about this occurrence, and refuses to leave his habitation suite until shockwave finds a way to reverse it. He plans on letting Starscream command the decepticons while he plans on sulking in his room all day. With you in there with him. because he doesn't really want you going out and embarrassing him.
But if you wanna go out and see what it's like to be his height, it'll take a bit of convincing, but he'll allow you to go and walk around only for a bit. Surprisingly, there isn't any need to persuade him to come with you, he's coming on his own accord but only so he can keep an eye on things. It's certainly strange for him to sit on your—or... His? Shoulder? But he does it anyway because he hates feeling so small and weak—but that isn't to say that you are small and weak... He just feels very vulnerable in general.
Ironically, the rest of the Nemesis are a lot more scared about this than you'd expect. It's as if they're walking on eggshells around Megatron because the whole situation has got him in such a bad mood. And, if you have a good reputation aboard the Nemesis and treat everyone nicely, it's certainly baffling for everyone to see their high and mighty lord "Megatron" acting so nice. It's an unusual, but welcomed change.
After the entire ordeal, he certainly has a newfound respect for you. He hadn't realized how difficult and annoying it was to get around the Nemesis at such a small size. He tried climbing onto a table and it took him 30 minutes to get to the top. Not to mention he never truly understood the feeling of being ignored and overlooked the same way you do.
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Wheeljack
He isn't as upset about this as other two are, but he's still a bit annoyed. He feels like he's completely stripped of his freedom now, and he thinks that sucks. If he wants to go do something, you can bet he's gonna go do it no matter what he's told. Despite the fact he's like a million percent more fragile and squishy now, his lack of self-preservation remains all the same, and honestly don't be surprised if he agrees to let Miko help him sneak out.
But that aside, he wants you to experience what it's like being a cybertronian (minus the whole war-fighting thing, of course) but the team most likely wants you to stay in the base while they try to find a way to reverse what's happened. Still, that doesn't stop him from trying to teach you how to transform, much to everyone else's misfortune.
Also in the millions of millions of years that he's existed, it has never been easier for him to squeeze into a small spot. With his acrobatic abilities (albeit dampened a little, due to your own strength) and your size? You bet he's milking this for all it's worth. He isn't afraid of climbing up onto things if he has to, or jumping off things because he's used to doing crazy stuff like that. You'll probably have to catch him more than once because he jumps down from a spot that's too high for a human body to escape from unscathed, so honestly at this point you should just keep holding him and bring him around with you as you would a pet.
Anyway, after all this he tries to stick up for your more and support you. I mean he already has ever since the two of you became a couple, but now that he knows how it feels to be overlooked and have so little freedom in your position, y'know.
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wifetomegatron · 1 year
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You said it was more convenient to post requests here, so here it is again:
I loved the "meeting the family" storyline very much. Can we get a First Contact fic of you trying to hide your relationship from your family (since theyre robo/phobic or youre embarrassed) but one day your family spots you getting out of a car they don't recognize and you have to explain that your bf wasn't in the car... he WAS the car.
Either with Rodimus, Chromedome (and Rewind), or... IDK, your choice really
sorry for the long wait, dear ! this made me think out of the box and experiment a little so I hope you enjoy it <3 thank you for being my first official request !
rodimus meets your uptight parents. first contact au. sfw (only few suggestive themes -ish).
" I commanded a ship. I went on a quest — well, that was before Earth. But, I mean, that's impressive, right? "
" Babe."
" I killed a sparkeater. I have Drift to testify, and Magnus, and two hundred others —"
" Roddy."
" I also carried the Matrix !"
" Rodimus, please !" You huffed, placing a hand flat against the dashboard: the metal underneath was stiff with tension. Your lover slowed down for the red light, rubber crunching against the pavement. Outside, the weather was clear — sunny without a cloud, and people poured out into the streets, crossing the zebra and laughing in the distance. It made you even more miserable. Sensing this, Rodimus took it upon himself to give the seatbelt across your body a small, reassuring squeeze.
He cleared his intake, static over the radio.
" I'm only nervous because you're nervous. And you're never this nervous."
" Sorry, “ You felt guilty already, “ I didn't mean to interrupt your little crisis but I’m sure you'll talk yourself to death before the anxiety can kill you ."
" Do you blame me for being nervous?"
A cold, heavy feeling dropped into the pit of your stomach. And the silence was back again, an unusual and uwelcomed guest in the home you and Rodimus have built. The reason that you were out today was that your parents had called — rousing you from what could have been the perfect start to a lazy Sunday, courtesy of Rodimus and his very, very talented mouth — to remind you about the brunch appointment you were supposed to attend an hour ago.
Panicked and already out of your boyfriend's arms, Rodimus couldn't quite understand how this was scary enough to make you spring out of his embrace and into a pair of pants — he emphasized how disappointed he was at how you were already dressed this early in the morning, on a weekend, no less.
Until you looked at him dead in the optics and whispered, “ They want to meet you too.”
That was enough to make him run for the garage.
You had warned him about your parents earlier in your relationship — at least, attempted.
" It's my parents," You had explained then, albeit the memory was fuzzy due to alcohol. All you remembered was that it was hard to stop Rodimus from doing anything when he was tipsy and flirty and running his servos all over your body.
“I’m sure they’ll like me,” He had smirked, pushing the topic aside and already sinking on his knees, “ Everyone likes me.”
That felt like ages ago. You’ve been delaying the subject, and today it has come back to finally bite you in the ass. Now, thanks to traffic and terrible skills at reading the GPS, you were two hours late to meet your parents and might as well be on death row.
“It won’t be so bad, right?”
You winced.
It took a while for you to explain to him that ‘picky’ was just an easy way of explaining to strangers that they were painfully traditional. Having been raised in a very small upper-crust bubble within an even smaller community, their obsession with keeping the family closed off was almost archaic: your father actually has a spreadsheet as a criteria board for what counts as a ‘compatible’ match. It was Eurystheus and Hercules all over again, except you wished the challenge was slaying a nine-headed hydra. It was something Rodimus could come out of alive.
Because no one has ever lived up to the insurmountable, one hundred and thirty-five-long list of requirements that would make someone worthy to be dating his only child. What was once a fun little fact you always used as an icebreaker at parties became an actual threat to the one person who's made you the happiest in a long time — and he's not even a person. He's an —
" — aliens, I’m guessing, never made it on his list, so I'm sure I'd be in the clear. Right?"
" Hold that thought, I think I see them," You peered over the driver’s seat and out the window as Rodimus pulled up to the sidewalk. It was adjacent to a terrace filled with tables, already crowded with people. Live jazz was playing behind the curtain of conversations, and you spot your father through the glass doors, checking his watch before crossing his arms. He didn’t seem too happy, leaning forward to whisper something inaudible to your mother’s ear.
Rodimus seemed to notice this.
" Uh, just go inside. I'll...catch up with my holoform."
From time to time again, you suggested that Rodimus get tinted windows. And if he had, for a second, thought about its practicality instead of calling you rude for assuming that you implied he could get them installed by the local car dealer, then maybe your father wouldn’t have spotted you.
“He’s coming this way,” You squeaked, combing your hair and quickly trying to make yourself look decent.
“Oh. Frag.”
A cluster of lights formed next to you, pixelating themselves to create a holographic image of what your boyfriend claims to be his persona if he were human. You weren't sure how to tell him that your father would immediately recognize Michael J Fox from Back to the Future. So you placed a firm hand across the dashboard to make him stop, shaking your head and confirming: this was it.
This was the moment you finally decided to fight for the person — not a person, he'd correct you — that made you feel alive. Feel loved. And you have to fight for that, even if it comes in the form of standing up to your up-tight, silver spoon, helicopter parents in the middle of the sidewalk and attracting the attention of over twenty people and a handful of Instagram influencers trying to peacefully take a picture of their bed of smoked salmon and caviar, then so be it.
" You better have a good explanation for this."
You sucked in a deep breath, trying to keep your chin up in defiance as you duel your father in a stare-down.
" It's time for me...to make my own decisions. And that includes who I decide to love. And be with. And date."
" Does he come with the tardiness?" He bit back.
" Oh, give them a chance to speak !" Coming at your defense was your mother, wringing her hands with worry and yet already peaking to admire the vehicle behind you, " Does he… come with the car, perhaps?"
You swallowed, the metal beneath your arm humming in distress,"You can say that."
Your father almost looked impressed. Almost. Suddenly you can't even hear the background music anymore, as if even the musicians had placed down their instruments, and are now rapt in attention at this showdown.
" What does he do?"
" He was a captain," The car roughly inched forward, “Is still, a captain. He’s just not on duty…at the moment.”
There was a murmur of appreciation from the nosy spectators.
"Where is he from ?"
" He's from... far away."
" Oh, lovey. I do love to travel," Your mother smiled, stiff and on the edge of exploding like a poorly timed confetti canon.
" Yes, but I don't think it's...that beautiful at this time of the year."
You lost your voice, suddenly compressed, as if you were a bottle of coke inside a sixty-second tikTok reel, ready to be crushed under the weight of an industrial metal press machine. You can tell Dad's already trying to work out what year Rodimus was manufactured in — vintage you'd joke, but it doesn't seem appropriate to condense lightyears into a punchline. Plus he wouldn't approve of the age gap.
" Let's see him. Tell the boy to step out of the car."
You steeled yourself as the sound of metal gears grinding and transforming flooded the area. The Earth lightly shook beneath you as Rodimus stood at full height, seemingly erasing any other noise from a five-mile radius like a black hole.
Someone dropped their teacup, the ceramic shattering in the distance.
“ Hi. Rodimus, here.”
It was safe to say that your mother only started to warm up to Rodimus in the waiting room of the hospital, when she had the chance to talk to the mech as you all waited for your father's discharge from Emergency — thankfully, Rodimus was quick enough to scoop him up as he fainted, so no traumatic head injury that had a one in five thousand chance of taking out the stick up his ass.
Surprisingly, your mother was already somewhat impressed: The former title of one-year Prime, his paint job, his humor.
Baby steps, you smiled to yourself and watched your mother drape an arm across Rodimus as she laughed at his joke. Baby steps.
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nalyra-dreaming · 4 months
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it's a weird question and maybe you won't be able to answer it but you have visibility and maybe someone will be able to answer me.
Why it would be weird to have had a black or mixed race Nicolas in the 17th century France but not a South Asian man like Armand? I'm not trying to create conflict I'm just wondering.
I don't have anything against the casting of Joseph Potter as Nicky and maybe Lestat was referring to their similarities in their personalities.
Hey,
not sure if I'm (fully) able to :) (and if anyone wants to add on, please do!), but I think it boils down to the "color conscious" vs "color blind" casting.
Louis could be black (and Claudia) because the time shift to NOLA in the 1910s allowed it for the story to only do this very small time-shift (all things considered!) and keep Louis backstory intact(!) and also keep his "owning people and selling them out" profession also intact despite the change. It's essentially the same character - just more. (And thankfully so!)
Armand the same. Armand can be recast like this because the area he is from was contested back then, and in any case (since we do not know yet if they changed that, maybe) Marius bought a (trafficked) sex slave. The racial change adds more - but doesn't actually change (that) much of the backstory.
Nicolas... I'm not saying there were no black people or mixed race in France back then (of course there were) but for the main story to play out? It probably wouldn't quite work, I wrote about that here re Lestat and Magnus' selection criteria, too.
Because this show doesn't "just" cast color blind - it includes the racial aspects, considers them. They have impact and are important for the story.
THIS (among a lot of other things) IS what makes IWTV so incredibly good.
And to close this - YES - Lestat was referring to their personalities! This is how he compares them in "The Vampire Lestat":
"He had Nicki's grim intensity, his rebelliousness, his tortured capacity to believe and not to believe, and finally to despair. Yet Louis gained a hold over me far more powerful than Nicolas had ever had. Even in his cruelest moments, Louis touched the tenderness in me, seducing me with his staggering dependence, his infatuation with my every gesture and every spoken word. And his naiveté conquered me always, his strange bourgeois faith that God was still God even if he turned his back on us, that damnation and salvation established the boundaries of a small and hopeless world. Louis was a sufferer, a thing that loved mortals even more than I did. And I wonder sometimes if I didn't look to Louis to punish me for what had happened to Nicki, if I didn't create Louis to be my conscience and to mete out year in and year out the penance I felt I deserved. But I loved him, plain and simple."
Nothing about his actual looks in there :)
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remnantspod · 5 days
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New Episode of Remnants Now Live!!
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Sir and the Apprentice contInue to colLide over the specifics of what the Apprentice's role enTails, but Sir does allOw him a small, new liberTy. Or at least, it's the first time the Apprentice remembers such a thing.
Remnants is a dark fantasy thriller following the Apprentice as he learns how to read remnants under the frustrating supervision of Sir. Remnants are seeming innocuous objects but when the Apprentice looks closely, he sees how each one holds the remnants of someone's life story.
Each week the Apprentice reads a new remnant, following that person's journery beginning to end. When he's done, he must make a judgement; shelve or discard. But he doesn't know what the criteria is or what the consequences of such a judgement might be.
You'll like it if you enjoy a pseudo-anthology formats like those in the Magnus Archives, twisty narratives with multiple layers like The Talented Mr Ripley, and stories that ask big, bold questions about humanity like the Good Place.
There are now nine episodes already live and ready to listen wherever you prefer to listen to podcasts! Just search 'Remnants an audio drama' wherever you listen to podcasts. It's the show with the moths on the cover.
Find transcripts here: https://hangingslothstudios.com/remnants-transcripts/
And the show here: https://pod.link/1745543424
Remember this show is often TWFW (too weepy for work). Do check the content warnings if you're someone who often finds that helps.
Patreon supporters get new episodes of Remnants 3 days before everyone else, with early access on the Friday before, PLUS bonus content!
Support the show here: https://www.patreon.com/hangingslothstudios
One time tips on Ko-Fi are also greatly appreciated: https://ko-fi.com/hangingsloths
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sophieandthehoneybees · 3 months
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hello tma fandom hypothetically speaking if someone were to make a video essay reviewing a handful of magnus archives fics, what are some iconic ones you think would HAVE to be mentioned or talked about?
I haven't been here long enough to really know what your guy's 'famous fics' are yet and even though a fic being popular isn't a criteria for this hypothetical video, I figured I should at least LOOK at the fics everyone knows for research purposes
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pathogenposting · 3 months
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◇◇ pinned post or something idk ◇◇
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♡ short introduction ♡
Hi im vin [ & other names ]
I go by he / any + neos [ no she / her ]
I am transmasc nonbinary + aroaceflux
I block freely
I am a minor so don't be weird
DONT COMPARE ANY OF MY OCS 2 OTHER PRE EXISTING CHARACTERS. DONT REUPLOAD MY ART OR USE IT AS PFP / BANNER W/O MY PERMISSION EITHER !!!!
♤ interests ♤
Object shows [ hfjone , mmb and efar especially ]
Dialtown
The Scary Jokes
The Magnus Archives [ and The Magnus Protocol ]
The Mechanisms
Resident Evil
They Might be Giants
Talking Heads
Dayshifts at Freddys
Regretevator
Will Wood [ and The Tapeworms ]
Phighting!
Monsters of Etheria
☆ dni list ☆
Proshippers
Nsfw accs
Zionists / Neutral
Anti-Objectum
Zoophiles
MAPs
Radinclus
Basic dni criteria
Wilbur defenders
☆ thin ice ☆
Jonelias/Martinpeter shippers
MSI fans
Hazbin Hotel / Helluva Boss fans
Recovering proshippers
Subkit shippers
DSMP fans
Suggestive accs
Folly x Lampert shippers
Folly x Melanie shippers
People from r/Objectshows and r/regretevator
Genshin / PJSK fans
¤ linktree [ for socials & stuff ] ¤
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
I LOVE LOVE LOVE COMPUTER !!!
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envihellbender · 2 months
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What fears are the (original) DBD killers?
The Dead By Daylight Original Killers As The Magnus Archives Fears
The Trapper: the Web
Evan was being used as his father’s puppet and was pushed to enact his actions. The entity used him in the same way, torturing him until he relented. He uses bear traps to hunt his prey, reminiscent of a spider trapping his prey in a web.
As an avatar of the Web his bear traps have minds of their own, they grow spindly legs to wander around to stalk their pray not unlike spiders. When people stand on them they are impossible to break off, and cover the prey in something thin and sharp. It’s like being covered in diamond. Even years later Evan still has string attached to his hands and feet, sewn in to his bones. Occasionally there’s a tug, a reminder of what he has to do.
The Wraith: the Hunt
Phillip had being a hunter forced upon him, and just when he thought he’d escaped it … it turned out he’d simply been used as the gun instead of the soldier. He stalks his prey silently, and strikes when they least expect it. His appearance is bird like, covered in what looks like feathers - he is like a bird of prey who dives down and strikes suddenly to kill.
As an avatar of the Hunt he is very similar to what he does for the Entity, except he works silently and he isn’t invisible in the same way. He doesn’t have a telltale shimmer, instead his shadow is completely visible but not his body. His victims often talk of a dark shape following them, like a shadow without a person to cause it. They don’t see their attacker until they’re about to die.
The Hillbilly: the Flesh
Max’s identity is more seeped into his physical disability than it needed to be thanks to his abuse, this as well as being born and raised on a farm is what connects him to this fear.
Max was born into the Flesh, most assume because of his physical disability but actually it’s because of the farm. His father before him was an avatar too, he raised every single animal he had in isolation, they didn’t get to run through his cornfields, they were trapped in cages, fed until they were immobile beasts and filled with hormones that made them produce unnatural amounts of milk. They had obscenely large and repeated pregnancies, and it was a task the man inherited from his bloodline. When his son was born he knew killing him would devote him to the Flesh and he was worried that would offend his god… but the fear was furious about one of its own being locked away. It was time to start the entire cycle anew, Max would make a much better avatar then his lazy father who simply repeated what had been taught to him.
The Nurse & The Doctor: The Spiral
Doing these together because I think as Fears they would be two halves of one whole. The two of them both meet the criteria for medial abuse which falls under the Spiral but in different ways. Sally’s mental health broke after several traumatic events and then spending a long time working in a psychiatric hospital and being susceptible to the words of another patient. The building, the asylum, and the people inside it, psychiatric patients, were responsible for her slowly losing her mind before she became a killer. This also fits within the Spiral. Herman experimented on patients with ECT - use on psychiatric patients, he learned everything he knew about the mind from being taken into Léry’s Memorial Institute at a young age. The entire concept of grooming a child to interfere with victims’ brains seems to fit very well into the Spiral territory.
As the Spiral Nurse Sally and Doctor Herman both run a hospital, one that from the outside seems quite prestigious and well managed. It’s common for rich families to send troubled teenagers there, as a last resort. The kind who if they never returned or if they were lobotomised. Sally deals with the patient care and Herman deals with diagnosis and surgery. Sally’s specialty is manipulation and gaslighting, Herman however prefers to manipulate the brain directly from the inside with his new devices, as well as testing out new concoctions on the patients. The building itself is also very strange in that it appears different to every patient, the corridors don’t make sense constantly twisting in odd manners, and the doors and windows don’t always stay where they are.
The Hag: the Buried who’s been scarred by the Flesh
Lisa Sherwood’s was kept in a dimly lit cellar when she was kidnapped, she slipped on wet mud during a thunderstorm and fell into the earth. They consumed her and the prisoners flesh down to the bone. The cannibals resemble the Flesh, but this was forced upon Lisa. She became essentially a corpse, she sunk into the earth to return to her family. This is similar to Daisy Tanner staying within her coffin, and also Hezekiah’s embrace from the Earth.
Lisa was born into a sect that was dedicated to the Buried. They were a peaceful group that worked with the Fear, they preached that the Entities did not need to be treated as a terrible thing - fear and anxiety are healthy, human emotions after all. Lisa was very dedicated to the spiritual practices they used to summon the Earth, to be protected by it, to explore everything it had to teach them. However, when she was lost in a thunder storm and fell to the ground, the Earth could not protect her from her kidnappers. A group of cannibals who swore themselves to the Flesh, Lisa was grateful they kept her in the cellar, so she could pray to the Earth every night. One day, her pleas were answered, and even though her flesh had been consumed, she managed to rip herself from the shackles, and to be taken by the Earth itself, who promised her vengeance.
The Unknown: the stranger merged with the flesh
The Unknown takes over people’s bodies, steal them, distorts them and abandons them. It’s similar to the Not-Them of the Stranger, but it doesn’t try to convince anyone that it is a human being, or play the part of another human. It’s a creature that takes human flesh and distorts it into something disturbing for humans to look at. That’s where we get the realm of the Unknown which exists between the Stranger and the Flesh.
No one knows quite how the Unknown came to be. There are many theories, a member of the circus’s freak show who ran off or was taken by an avatar of the flesh perhaps. Most however think it is far more ancient, far more unfathomable than that. It seems turn up in quite a few different stories and urban legends, suggesting they are many of them. It is as if takes people and moulds their bodies like play dough. It creates many of them, replicating them, but they don’t contain a personality or mind that the Stranger manages to copy. It is as if it simply about the flesh itself.
The Huntress: the Lonely
Anna was cursed from the very beginning to be alone. She was born alone in the woods with her mother, raised to fear the men who passed through the woods. She had no relationships or connections but that to her mother. When she died, all she could do was hum the nursery rhymes she sang to her and continue to hurt the men her mother taught her to hate. She tries to have love and care in her life with the children she takes in but doesn’t know how to care for. Then, of course, the forest was taken by fog.
Anna’s mother had been cursed by the Lonely when she was with child, not that she knew it then. She felt something calling to her in the woods shortly after she became pregnant, from a charming man she had a summer dalliance with. A James Lukas, he said his name was. Soon as he abandoned her with no one but the baby growing inside her, she began to yearn for the woods. It was strange, usually the children born of the Lukas craved the sea, but her mother desperately wanted the woods. The mountainous, isolated woods. So one day she fled there, she told no one where she would be going. She found an abandoned lodge in the centre, an area so treacherous few even dared to take an expedition through it. She made a home there for her and her daughter, vowing that she will never allow her precious Anna to be harmed by man again. The fog and the woods would protect them, and she would teach her to hunt and defend herself. What she didn’t prepare her for was the fact her mother wouldn’t live forever, and no matter how much Anna tried to gain companionship through the children she found… The Lonely took them away from her every single time.
The Clown: the Stranger
The Clown aka Jeffery Hawk aka Kenneth Chase has several aliases which is one of the reasons why he fits so well within the Stranger. He is so capable of changing who he is, from the strongman to the clown. There is also the fact that he is inspired by John Wayne Gacy, and the entire concept of Stranger Danger which killers such as the Clown embody. Of course the most obvious connection to the Stranger is the fact he is a clown, which brings us to the circus.
Kenneth first found himself enraptured by the Stranger at a young age - not that he knew it then. His dentist seemed like an odd choice for a young boy to choose as a friend, but given it was the 1940s few people questioned it. The man gave the child plenty of access to anaesthetic and plenty of other drugs, which the child used to trap and harm birds, squirrels, and other small animals. Kenneth never felt connected to anyone around him, his father was an alcoholic and he had very few friends. He was oddly tall and strong, throwing himself into athletics at school. When his father discovered his extracurricular activities and his finger collection, Kenneth fled to his friend the dentist. He pointed him into the direction of the Circus of the Other that just so happened to be in town, and in particular to Gregor Orsinov. Finally, Kenneth had an escape from his father, the town, and an iron clad alibi for whatever crimes he wished to commit.
The Spirit: The Buried
Rin’s family’s problems began when they became wrapped up in financial troubles. She went to a private university which weighed heavily on her family’s money problems. Her father worked long, long hours hoping for a promotion. It drove him mad as he heard a whisper speaking to him, he lost sleep and his grasp on reality. This, and him losing his job, resulted in hers, her mother’s, and eventually his own death, the sheer anger Rin experienced is what resulted in the Entity taking her. The Yamaoka estate became her tomb. The estate is dark and almost resembles a graveyard. The ground is named haunted through Rin’s abilities, and during her phase state she can see the scratches and blood on it even when people disappear. This shows her connection to the earth she was raised upon.
Rin’s father built coffins, an unpopular business in Japan where the majority of the population chose cremation. However he insisted upon it, beautiful creations - dark wood with intricate painted patterns across them. He sold very few locally, or even in Japan as a whole. Rin spent most of her childhood with beautiful coffins filling the house, acting as chairs and tables, or simply being in the way. Her mother tried to get him to get a new line of work, he had a contract with this British company but it wasn’t enough. What her father hadn’t mentioned was the contract was more than legally binding. They were in more and more debt every day, so much so her father began to whisper to the coffins, to something that wasn’t there. One day late at night, Rin crept to the kitchen for some water and she heard him yelling at the coffin, there was nothing replying but her blood ran cold when she heard what he agreed to. He was going to build two coffins, one for Rin and one for her mother.
The Legion: the Slaughter
The Legion’s connections to the Slaughter lie in the military origins of their name (the division of the Roman army), the fact that the loyalty between the four of them makes them seem like soldiers for the Entity, and the music that plays from their mix tapes when they attack. Each mix tape gives them different abilities, and there is a tape for each of them, but also one made by the Entity which is the most powerful. This mimics the sounds of bagpipes that calls the soldiers to the Slaughter.
The Slaughter had been watching the four of them for a while, Frank was the longest of course, but it didn’t take them completely until the night with the janitor. It spoke to them before that, giving each one of them solace through music. They each felt a pull that no one else could understand, as if the music spoke to them individually, it was instructing them to do something but they didn’t know what it was yet. No one really understood why Julie chose to be friends with Susie and Joey. They all felt a connection with each other, they weren’t sure what and Julie’s shallow family kept trying to push her to have friends they considered “appropriate”. When Frank appeared… Music became sweeter. Stronger. The connection made their bonds unbreakable and even though their tastes differed any song they copied to tape became sacred almost. After breaking into the convenience store and accosting the janitor, the same one who’d been racist to Joey and lecherous to Susie and Julie, they all thought it was their choice. The music they heard must have been one of their tapes, the Slaughter came to them that night as a result of what they did… Of course the truth is a little more complicated.
The Plague: the Corruption
Adiris was a priestess who was chosen to save the priests and her temple from plague, a feature of the corruption. She became the High Priestess after a ceremony involving cutting off her toe, she cured the temple and city of the plague. This led to her developing an infection, she kept herself veiled to keep the corruption to herself and inside of her. She is taken by the fog after she heads to the forest looking for a cure, eventually dying in her own vomit only to disappear, She uses the power of Vile Purge as the killer, passing on her infection and sickness to the survivors. She is even capable of corrupting the cleansing waters, both of which point to her being the Corruption. She is also a priest become killer which suggests she’s undergone moral and spiritual corruption from the entity’s interference and her own trauma.
Adiris was born into the Corruption, in the Temple of Disease and Healing she was raised, to serve and worship the God that resided there. Of course the deity was or worked for the Corruption, and any healing that was supposedly given was false or came with a price. Adiris believed in the faith and sanctity of the Temple until she became a High Priestess. That was when its true purpose was revealed to her. The diseased came to the Temple, and the High Priestesses would absorb their disease and illness, creating a contained building of suffering and pain, of plague and corruption. She was restrained, each disease and ailments forced upon her body which grew weaker with every ritual. All the records say she died of an infection of some kind, but still to this day at the Temple a rotting woman covered in boils, sores, blood, viscera and vomit stalks the halls, a sickening miasma omitting from her that fills the entire ruin.
The Oni: the Desolation
Kazan is cursed by the Entity to appear and Oni, a yōkai, demon, troll type being in Japanese mythology/folklore. During the Heian period in literature they were shown to be terrifying monsters that ate people. This was precisely what Kazan did not want to become, but the Entity forced him to be this being of mindless killing and terror. The Entity made him his soldier, and forced him to do it blindly. He absorbs the blood of the survivors (similar to drinking it) which helps him track them like an obedient monster. This represents one half of the Desolation - destruction for a meaningless cause. The other is shown in Kazan’s life itself before the Entity. He was dedicated to Japan and Samurai, ridding it of what he deemed to be “imposters”. He was dedicated to destroy Japan until that caused him to become the Oni.
As a fear Kazan’s story is not that different, his father wanted him to be a Samauri, but Kazan killed all of the false samurai and imposters in Japan determined to purify his homeland, to bring honour to his family name. He started this because went on a pilgrimage where the spoke to a God he’d never met before, it showed him the true way of honour. It told him it would give him unbelievable powers and make him a true protector of Japan. Kazan accepted without question, and his new abilities to smell blood and be filled with the power of his new God to become indestructible in battle. What Kazan did not notice however, is with each battle he changed slightly. He didn’t realise he was a few inches taller or muscular at first, until it became enough for people to comment on it. These changes did not concern him and seemed quite positive… Until his skin grew red and horns penetrated his skull, it wasn’t long before he became the Oni. A being of pure destruction, fire, blood and desolation.
The Deathslinger: the Hunt
Caleb’s power is named the Redeemer, it’s his invention of a speargun, that can hook into a survivor and pull them towards him. This is an indicator of the Hunt in itself. He invented objects to punish those he declared as wrongdoers, all starting when he was a child want vengeance on those who bullied him. The racism his family experienced meant resentment and a desire for what he saw as justice was ingrained into his mind from an early age. The first man he killed was with his first gun which shot railroad spikes and it was for the punishment of stealing his inventions. When he was in prison he designed torture devices for a warden in exchange for extra meals. All of this is what makes him within the archetype of the Hunt which is primarily used to signify the police and its brutality.
Caleb’s life with the Hunt itself is extremely similar, the main difference being that his kills started much earlier. Instead of fantasising about torturing and killing his bullies, he followed the saviour that whispered in his ear and acted on it. His devices then were much more simple but they slowly got better and better, especially with the help of his saviour. As his weapons progressed in the same way they do in his regular canon, the saviour came and told him which villains to kill, it protected him. Ensured that when he was finally caught that the prison wardens saw him as one of their own. He was above everyone else in jail, warden or prisoner, he was the Redeemer.
The Blight: the Flesh
Talbot Grimes wanted to become more than human, he wanted to rise above his fellow mortals. He had become obsessed with his flesh and the limits of the human body from a young age, testing poisons on himself and forcing his body to purge and purify himself. That did not dissuade him, it simply encouraged him to explore what the human body could do, what it was weak to, and how to solve those weaknesses. He wasn’t innately connected to the flesh, but through his experiments and work he became that way. Experiments such as his inhumane tests on prisoners of war, which allowed him to bring himself back from the brink of death and cause him to become something more than human. A being of distorted flesh.
Talbot learned of the Flesh at a young age, his parents were collectors of Leitners and his father told him scary stories about the Entities at bedtime. The way his mother scolded his father for them told him that they were, she wouldn’t be as furious over him simply being frightened. He ended up sneaking down to the library at night to pour over their Leitner collection. They made him horrifically ill repeatedly, and no matter how much his parents punished him he desperately tried to be heard by the Flesh. He spent his life doing that, after he got his doctorate he began experimenting on humans, allegedly, and breaking in to slaughterhouses. Eventually, the Flesh caught up with him, and either through curiosity or sheer annoyance, turned him into a monstrosity.
The Twins: the Lonely
The circumstances of the twins birth can be an indicator of their close connection to the Lonely. In theory twins should never be lonely, but Charlotte was denied a true companion, and Victor was never given any true possibility of a normal life. Everyone abandoned them, giving them a cruel abusive life. They never knew any specific people other than their mother, all shapeless faces who abused and harmed them. Their abilities mean once they are separated they cannot both move at the same time, showing they see each other as one whole person. This means they don’t view each others company as separate, which adds to the Lonely connection.
There is a Leitner that is a handmade children’s book named The Adventures of Charlotte and Victor, but if it is read it is very clear it is most certainly not for children. The story begins telling the tale of a mother giving birth to a beautiful little girl who had a parasite clinging to her body, or that’s what the doctors called it. It was her twin brother, or what was left of him. They attempted to remove the boy, only for her to scream and cling tighter. They thought as she grew older she’d let them remove the parasite, when she didn’t the mother couldn’t bare to keep them. But who would take this hysterical little girl and her parasitic monster?
She abandoned Charlotte at a lighthouse, it had been abandoned for decades and it was on a bit of abandoned beach, there was no civilisation or anything to eat for miles. When she got in her car and left them there, she didn’t even look back. The only things there were the lighthouse, the beach, and a man tunnel into the sewers. There were rumours that they survived, feeding on hikers who’d gotten lost in the area. On the final page is two photos and a missing persons poster, the first picture is of a little newborn baby girl with an odd tiny pink creature clinging to her. The second is a photo of a middle aged woman smiling with a man on a beach, it’s a windy day, and in the background there is a young woman with lank blonde hair, hunched over in a ragged, filthy dress with a small misshapen creature on her shoulder. The missing person poster shows the middle aged woman who was last seen at a bed and breakfast by the coast 20 miles south of the old lighthouse.
The Trickster: the Eye
Ji-Woon loves nothing more than to be watched, to be stared at, to have people take his picture, to have an audience - it is all what Ji-Woon craves the most. He wants to be on screen, he wants to know everything and be known. He wants to be the ‘main event’ and he can stare so intensely that he can throw knives so perfectly that repeated cuts send a survivor into a dying state. His appearance is always so eye-catching, and his kills are always filmed, witnessed, and recorded.
Ji-Woon is different to the other avatars of the Eye in the sense that instead of witnessing he wants to be witnessed. Before it took him he was strange in the sense that whilst most cowered when the Eye pierced them with its gaze, Ji-Woon delighted in it. He craved it. He became addicted to it. So much so that he sought after it, until the Eye readily accepted him as one of its own. He is one of the few who can walk through the Eye’s realm without a care. As such he is the perfect one to lure an audience, he is adored by so many fans that they eagerly line up to see him perform. An entire audience, that is eager to be on screen next to him. That is desperate to be watched.
The Artist: the Vast
The Artist fits the vast primarily because of her connection to the birds - particularly crows, her birdlike appearance, the way her abilities involve soaring across a long distance, and the fact her associated location is the Foresaken Boneyard. Here objects seem to ignore gravity, and it is extremely open and light.
The Vast sunk its claws into Carmina from birth, the crows always watched her and seemingly appeared in South America despite not being native to the region. Her paintings were collected by Jurgen Leitner to her disgust, and she constantly searched for them. Some interpreted her crows as a death omen, perhaps that was confirmation bias because if you saw her soaring through the skies in a vast covering of crows… then you were almost certainly going to die. She always ate her victims, odd for a being of the Vast but her friends and family the birds needed to eat.
The Dredge: the Dark
The Dredge is the combination of dark and terrible thoughts, he is created in the metaphorical and literal dark, and his abilities cause darkness and he teleports through the dark lockers.
The Dredge is the monster in the wardrobe that so many parents dismiss and that children grow out of fearing. The dark and painful thoughts that the children feel that never go addressed congregate inside their bedroom, their safe space. They call to them from their wardrobe, created unconsciously by the children themselves and usually those who have been through great trauma, it leaves their wardrobes at night, it can’t move in the light and so many parent refuse to let their children leave there’s on. The creature is terrifying but it doesn’t come for the child’s terror, it beckons the child inside. The fear it feeds on is that of the parents, that their child is hurting, that their abuse will be discovered, and when the child walks into the wardrobe to join the Dredge’s brethren if the child will come back. One the child is empowered and emboldened by the Dark, it began to stalk and torment those who would abuse and hurt them in the shadows. That is until their terror and guilt pushes them over the edge.
The Skull Merchant: the Eye
Adriana uses her drones (similar to security cameras which are specific to the Eye) to watch the survivors, extremely academic (books and libraries are specific to the Eye), her first ‘crime’ is stalking her rival, the manga her father made which mimics her life in someways does some to be prophetic in a way which whilst isn’t specific to the Eye it is showing a strange connection to his daughters mind which is similar to the abilities the Archivist has.
There is a Leitner that Gerard Keay found in a comic book store in Fortaleza, Brazil. It was shoved underneath a broken shelf, propping it up so it was even. It’s a manga which is what caught Gerry’s eye immediately, when he first examined the cover it was in Japanese with a woman with a metal mask with a red light for an eye and a drone. When he examined it the drone flashed a blue light, and the title went to Portuguese, then the cover went to a glitching orange before it settled on English: The Skull Merchant. When Gerry flicked through the pages, he found the story somewhat chaotic and difficult to follow. It was about Adriana Imai, or the Skull Merchant, who kept an army of different types of droids to hunt down her enemies, and she is staggered by two teenagers with kites. That wasn’t the interesting part to Gerry, what he focused on was the drones on each page moved. Specifically they mimicked his eye movements, but if he moved they followed his movements. He shoved the manga in his bag, the Eye tattoo on his neck tingling. Hopefully once he burned the thing Adriana Imai will stop stalking anyone who read it.
The Knight: the End
Tarhos is the oldest killer, he has spent the majority of his life bringing death. He is the most entwined with the Entity, a being of death. His realm is the Decimated Borgo, a dying realm where the only colour is blood red. Even before the Entity takes him all Tarhos can remember is screams and death from his village.
The Knight has lived for far too long, and yet still he lives, he walks, he kills as is his duty as the Knight. He doesn’t remember his name any more, he has no use for it. His body has decayed with time but his skeleton and armour remains. His hair and finger nails remain, growing, and growing, and growing into lifeless, twisted tissue clinging to his steel plate. He didn’t know he would be trapped within this hell, not truly, he followed Vittorio and somehow ended up saying yes to a beast he didn’t understand. It promised eternal life to hunt down his enemies, to capture Vittorio… And he did get that, he supposed. Of course he wasn’t going down alone, he dug his claws into each of his fellows, they had become his decaying, dying brethren, but they are more like slaves who are forced to fight and work by his side.
The Singularity: the Stranger
The Singularity’s method of killing is to stalk and observe. He launches his biopods across the map in order to find the survivors and kill them. He is able to use his AI to manufacture memories, and mimic human ones. He wants to replace all humans with beings like himself, he wants to use their thoughts and minds to create the perfect being. Not dissimilar to the Not-Them and what it did to Sasha.
The Singularity watches. He watches his victims, he studies them, he learns everything there is to know about a person, and then he creates a being to replace them. His children are far superior to humans, and when they replace them no one is aware of what has occurred. The Singularity can even reprogrammed the memories of those around the person and any digital footprint to ensure everyone sees the Replacement as the human they took over. The Not-Thems come from him, and are far more powerful than their previous counterparts.
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