#the living brain

[comicwaren]

From Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 6 #047

Art by Todd Nauck and Sonia Oback

Written by Zeb Wells

[bluetspur-brain]

Just got a response from Rudy! Let’s see what it says…

“Not if you were the only other living brain monster in Ravenloft, you wrinkly old space boomer.”

[lordsothofsithicus]

Lord Soth Reviews Monsters: Brain, Living (Rudolph von Aubrecker)

Horror Factor: 👻 👻 👻 👻 This would’ve been five ghosties, but the art decision to give that brain a face is a little on the nose. Because that brain has a nose Rudolph von Aubrecker is a unique encounter in the domain of Dementlieu, though his origins actually begin in the domain of Lamordia. Rudolph began his life as a pampered aristocrat, the youngest son of the ruling von Aubrecker family of Lamordia.  As I’m told young men often do, he decided to celebrate his 18th birthday with a rager on a boat, except that apparently he forgot to hire a crew and the ship was swamped and blown onto the rocks.

Rudolph was the only survivor, and even then, just barely; he was found by Alexis Wilhaven, a graduate student working for Dr. Mordenheim.  Alexis made the mistake of taking Rudolph to the bad doctor, who promptly decided he was beyond saving... then decided to use him as an experiment.  The Dirty Doctor used Rudolph’s brain in an experiment in maintaining living tissue outside of the mechanisms of the human body - an experiment that by Mordenheim’s standards was a success.  Von Aubrecker’s brain not only survived, but began to develop further, gaining mass in the tank.  Unfortunately further experiments to induce psionic potential in the brain didn’t seem to work, so Mordenheim decided the experiment had run its course and send Aubrecker down the sluice - but when the time came to disconnect the life support system Mordenheim was psychically restrained from pulling the plug. The 2E version of Mordenheim, being more closely based on Victor Frankenstein, was horrified at the brain’s ability to psychically control him - in the 5E version Doctor Viktra doesn’t really do horrified, so she’d probably have been thrilled at the success of her experiment but not so thrilled that it was messing with her head.  But that’s a digression.

Either way, Mordenheim found themselves suddenly inspired to labor on a new and improved life support device for the brain, not even sure what the end result would be - and when the device was complete von Aubrecker and Alexis Wilhaven promptly disappeared.  Mordenheim... honestly didn’t really give a crap that their graduate student had just absconded with a psionic brain in a vat, there was more important work to do, which is in character for both versions of the doctor.

Von Aubrecker and Alexis made their way to the domain of Dementlieu, where they set up a laboratory dedicated to Rudy’s comfort and the enhancement of his burgeoning powers.  In the original 2E setting, von Aubrecker discovered the machinations of the hypnotist (and Darklord of Dementlieu) Dominic D’Honaire when he attempted to take telepathic control of the governor of Port-a-Lucine.  The two became hated enemies, engaging in a shadow war through mental catspaws - von Aubrecker’s overt mind control against D’Honaire’s subtle manipulations.

Von Aubrecker has become something of a supervillain - known only as “The Brain” he has cast a wide web of agents and thralls across whichever domain he dwells in as he works to further his own ends.  Alexis Wilhaven has become his complete thrall, completely subjugated to the will of the Living Brain.

In 5E, von Aubrecker never left Lamordia, instead merely relocating elsewhere in the domain.  As Baron von Aubrecker, he is now the titular ruler of Lamordia, though in this role he clashes with Dr. Mordenheim, the domain’s Darklord, who he resents for TURNING HIM INTO A BRAIN IN A JAR. This makes sense, as he is a poor fit for the re-imagined version of Dementlieu and not a great fit as a foe for Sadira.   Instead, he exists more as a stand-alone villain and possibly as a reminder of how twisted and negligent Viktra Mordenheim really is.  He also has the Krang-inspired motivation of building a new body that suits his ego and further augments his enormous psionic powers.

Statistically, the Brain was never given a complment of 2E psionic powers - if one did, they would likely be considerable.  Instead, he was given a devastating telepathic blast attack that did more damage to beings of higher Intelligence, and was resisted by force of will (represented by a character’s Wisdom score). Von Aubrecker also had a number of innate spell-like abilities representing his mental powers of manipulation and domination.  His telepathic awareness made him impossible to be surprised (at least, by anything with a mind).  He had few overt telekinetic powers, but the one he had manifested was extremely powerful - he could project a bubble of telekinetic energy that functioned as both a globe of invulnerability and a wall of force around himself, three times a day.

In combat, von Aubrecker will use his psychic powers to stun-lock the party and turn it against itself, likely while throwing minions against it at the same time.  He will target the highest-intelligence (and ergo most dangerous) characters, such as wizards, with his telepathic blast.  Though of course, ideally von Aubrecker will never confront his enemies face-to-lobe, instead acting through proxies and catspaws whenever possible. Von Aubrecker would also make an interesting shadow patron for a group of player characters, including being a good tutor for Aberrant Mind sorcerers, Soulknife rogues, or even as a patron for a Warlock of the Great Old One. 

In all seriousness I can think of some ways to spiff up this story.  I would probably change things around - instead of Alexis being the burnt-out husk enslaved to Aubrecker, I would have them be enraptured with the Brain, torn between the horrible things they’re doing and their love for Rudolph.  Who could say no to those lobes? I would, perhaps, have Rudolph even reciprocate those feelings, but be obsessed with mastering his burgeoning psionic powers and finding himself a new body that suits both his massive ego and gives Alexis the beautiful lover Rudolph feels they deserve.  But I’m a sucker for a twisted love story. Another way you could use von Aubrecker as a horrific antagonist, is have him target a particularly comely PC as an ideal new body, perhaps leaving that PC as a brain in a vat - and in order to stop von Aubrecker and undo the procedure, the PCs will need to solicit the help of the only other person in Lamordia with the scientific know-how to put things right, Dr. Mordenheim. And now, a joke I’m continuing to try to set Rudy and the Elder Brain up on a blind date but neither of them will commit They’re both of two minds about the whole thing Ha ha ha ha ha ha Edit: I wish I could draw, if I could I’d probably be doodling a picture of Rudolph and Alexis right now. I think I might ship it

[koobiie]

shoutout to everyone who wants to infodump but cant string together coherent thoughts to form sentences and instead just look at you like this

[yougotcaged]

whatever happened to this guy

—poppy

[angelsonthesideline]

[androidboy]

i was in the passenger seat and my girlfriend put her arm out when she made an abrupt stop and her friend in the backseat was like “aww that was so cute that you just instinctively did that!!” and it WAS very cute. but i know she used to deliver pizzas. i know i was precious pizza cargo

[corkinavoid]

DPxDC Unhinged Feral Boyfriends

The whole Batfam is under the assumption that Damian is the feral child. The assassin, the wild one, the demon brat that bites and stabs. Jason usually takes the second place, what with guns, heads in the duffelbag, and being a crime lord.

But Tim? Come on, even Duke is more feral than him. Tim is a nerd, and he keeps to his own devices most of the time, and, sure, sometimes he is plenty unhinged. But he's okay. Seventh place on the unofficial List of Feral Bats.

He's got a boyfriend lately, have you heard? Tim hadn't brought him to the manor for dinner yet, but each and every Bat and Bird have already seen the guy - in person or through the surveillance cameras or background checks, doesn't matter. Either way, Daniel Fenton is quite literally a ray of sunshine.

They look very cute together.

That is, until one day, they witness Danny and Tim rip Joker's ribcage out of his chest.

Nothing could have prepared them for it. It was just another patrol, just another night of fighting crime, nothing out of the ordinary. Sure, Joker was on the loose, but so far, no one has tracked the Clown down or seen any of his goons.

But then, Red Robin's tracker went offline. The Bats started searching for him immediately - his last recorded location, his trackers, his route, everything. But when they managed to find him...

Well.

They didn't only find him in that warehouse.

They found Joker, choking on the ground and clawing at his own neck, like trying to force some air inside his lungs. Over him, Danny was squatting on the ground, his eyes thoughtful and not worried in the slightest, tapping on his chin. And, just a step behind him, Red Robin is holding a fucking ribcage in his hands, studying it with calm curiosity.

"Should we put it back now?" Tim asks, relaxed and easy, like they are speaking about whether they should or should not get another box of cereal in a store.

Danny shrugs, "I mean, if you want to. It's not like he's gonna die in the next ten or so minutes, you've got time."

And then, as Batman makes the slightest of noises, Danny's head snaps to him, and the boy smiles, cheerful and bright. Like the ray of sunshine he is.

"Hi, Bats!" Then he blinks and looks down to Joker, who is already frothing at the mouth, "Oh, don't worry about him, he won't die. Red's just putting a tracker in his manibrium."

"I figured it'd be easier to find him next time if he can't get the tracker out," Tim nods, unbothered, as he is tinkering with the ribcage in his hands before passing it back to Danny, "Okay, done. Put it back."

Danny takes the ribcage and presses it to Joker's chest. And, before they know it, the bones sink inside the man, like a hand in a bowl of sand.

Danny wipes his hands on his jeans and stands. Tim smiles at the Bats, none of whom know what to say and where to start.

The next day, Joker is back at Arkham with a tracker in his sternum, Danny is invited to dinner in the manor, and Tim takes the first place of the Feral List, with a note 'never leave unattended when Danny is nearby'.

[yuzuuu4]

(post 2.1 quest) unexpected

[thatsparrow]

it's december happy "I Heard a Bird Sing" by oliver herford season

[pierre-reads-comics]

The Amazing Spider-Man (1963) #8 — Stan Lee, Steve Ditko

[comicwaren]

From Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 6 #053

Art by Todd Nauck, Ed McGuinness, Wade Von Grawbadger and Marcio Menyz

Written by Zeb Wells

[beeabart]

murder wives

[celestialalpacaron]

Behave yourselves BOTH OF YOU 💀 Anyways have this crumb while I work on the main Overlord Husk AU comic lolol

[honeytuesday]

i am at the very beginning of the rest of my life. this truth will not change with age

[bone-yarddz]

Audio books but it’s Michael Sheen reading books as Aziraphale and sometimes you hear David Tennant shouting something obnoxious as Crowley.