There are moments where Atieno isn’t sure what to make of their own being, their own sentience. They’re not sure if there’s a way to really talk about it with most that they know. And they don’t really know if they want to share with Sliske, why would they assume that he would be willing to listen to them.
And yet, there’s an impulse there that drives them to want to try anyway.
It’s a strange feeling that they are sitting with.
“Do you mind if I ask you a question? There’s something I’ve been mulling over more often lately. Or.. at least it’s been coming up again. And I wonder if you’ve ended up thinking through things like this every so often.“
Is it oddly confessional? Maybe. They’re not sure, which is probably why they feel a little.. nervous, cautious about the whole thing.
❝ What’s the most outlandish or cliché you’ve heard another immortal say? I kid you not, dear, I heard a vampire well into his 2000s spout that ‘A lion does not listen to the opinions of sheep’ line. He was absolutely serious, not a lick of irony. It was dreadfully hard not to laugh. ❞
Karda's hands and forearms were stained dark, a low hum following the music playing in the background of his back office. A body was on the metal table, steadily and carefully being stripped of it's implants, prosthetics, and a few organs. The scarred body itself wouldn't fetch much, but selling everything being set on the side table would cover the failed operation at least twofold.
He'd just pried an optical prosthetic out of the reptilian's skull when something… felt off. The fin pressed to his back by his clothes prickled and alarmed stripes of color flickered on his face. Any friends he might have had would have called him paranoid, but he didn't live this long by being lax in his precautions.
The prosthetic had barely touched the table as he looked around, scanning the doorway when sulfur-yellow eyes lit up from the darkest corner across the room. Karda scrambled back, bloody fingers grasping for whatever sharp tool was in reach as his hands tingled with panicked electricity.
"How did you get in here?!" He snarled, facial marks now fully lit up.
The feeling of it clings to the back of her neck, like a cold sweat that won’t wash off, fading and swelling and constantly calling for her attention once more. The presence of other entities in Limbo is a given, but the sheer magnitude of this one has unnerved her since the moment she first felt it. It’s grander, more powerful than even Lillith or Mundus. She’d come only to make her commute easier, but ended up changing course for the Sanctuary instead, hoping to leave the feeling behind. But it stuck to her, and does still, even in this place where few Demons set foot. She feels like prey.
She stills on the grass and listens. Water breaks on the fountain’s edge, visions of doves scatter at her intrusion, but no footsteps. A survey reveals nothing, just the doves retreating over the horizon and greenery unmoved by wind. But the feeling persists.
Ebony makes her best guess at what direction the presence is coming from, and faces it. She spreads her arms, inviting, as though she’s not deeply unnerved.
“If you could come out, so I can decide whether to shoot or slap you, that’d be great.”
i have to separate them, but thank you for sending so many! this first one is a long one, so buckle up
🧱 how would you describe your muses’ morality? what are their core values?
main verse alex is lawful neutral aligned. that is, they are someone who is driven by their principles, but are neither benevolent nor malevolent enough to tip into the scales of good or evil. does a fair mix of both, arguably — past and present.
it's fair to say alex has seen the worst of the worst. moreso, their circumstances forced them to learn violence. it runs natural to them anyway given their viral nature; they're a lethal bioweapon, top of the food chain. but, there was never any choice for them except means of survival, or death. blackwatch gave alex no other options. there was no bargaining, no surrender. choosing flight never worked out, the choice had to be fight, every time. so assuming it's on the table, alex will nearly always choose violence to solve a problem. it's proven effective, and they have no regrets over slaughtering gentek personnel for their hand in events.
this gets tempered only somewhat when alex learns patience, and gets a little change in perspective. at their base, alex is incredibly black and white — judgemental really, but that's because most of their views were shaped by the mistakes of theirs and others. it's a cluttered perspective. reactionary, almost. alex's stint in containment cleared some thoughts, and muddied others; half a year is time enough for both introspection and overthinking.
in my canon-divergent verse for alex, my main verse, they make the decision that dana is better off without them. because they think they failed her, and are furthermore just a virus wearing her brother's skin. (shout out to this thread i have going with my buddy sketch where their dana is confronting alex.)
though arguably a poor decision, alex loves her — it hurt them to make that decision, but it's genuinely what they thought was best. dana mercer is alex’s anchor; in every sense pivotal to their growth and future choices. she is what it is to have family and to sacrifice, to fight for others. an alex without dana’s influence would be irrevocably different. (like my mass effect verse alex.)
alex shoulders burdens and failures heavily. this means they're quick to admit fault, which enables them to learn from their mistakes, but they haven't reached a balance. alex's experience denotes that people die when they make a mistake, so failure can't be a process of exploration and learning like it is for someone with a more mundane life.
and all their mistakes are theirs alone to live with. sometime back i did this ( WHAT ARE YOU THE GOD OF? ) just for fun, and what alex got was the patron of amends. which i love, it's so perfect. i’m going to highlight some snippets from it.
GOD OF THE STRENGTH TO STILL SHAKING HANDS, GOD OF REALIZING WRONGDOINGS AND PERSONAL FAILURES.
THE ONE WHO BLESSES THOSE FIGHTING TO MAKE THINGS RIGHT, FALLING ONTO SWORDS AND WALKING THROUGH FIRE IF IT CAN AFFORD EVEN JUST THE SMALLEST CHANCE AT FORGIVENESS.
YOU CANNOT GUARANTEE ACCEPTANCE, ONLY THE SLIVER OF TIME IN WHICH THEY CAN BE SEEN AND HEARD AND ATTEMPT REPENTANCE.
alex certainly doesn’t believe everyone deserves the benefit of the doubt, a second chance — but they do believe in the process of righting one’s own wrongdoing. they’re not someone who strives to be good or compassionate, but there are things that they view as inherently wrong, and they'll fight to correct them. arguably alex spends the latter half of the videogame doing that. then, the nuke at the end that they didn’t know they’d come back from; walking through fire.
CORE VALUES: & justice — harsh principles, retribution, and combating the malign. & redemption — not as absolution, but to fight to correct one's own wrongs, thankless. & survival — inherently neutral; that done for the sake of survival is not punishable. & family — love, sacrifice and unity; to be solid ground when those you care about need steadiness. & change — growth, adaptation and anything in between; mutability for the sake of it. & freedom — in the most literal sense, simple autonomy. & tenacity — to grit your teeth and fight, even when standing alone. & strength — authoritative, resolute and merciless; responsibility to the hard decisions. all-carrying.
❛ mirage said to keep an eye on you. ❜ calculated steps, she’s careful to avoid scattered bodies on the ground, souls reaped, all they were missing were to be six—feet under. but that was the job of others. law—abiders. no job for people like them. ❛ but that seems kinda boring — i thought i’d join in on the fun but you seem done. i didn’t take you for the brutal type. ❜
