ferra and tekai are both weird in that they are forest/volcanic crosses. tekai got the coloring of a volcanic gryph but the long fur, large size, and overall stockiness/musculature of a forest gryphon. ferra's coloring is just.. weird, but discounting that she's mostly volcanic (long beak, semi-webbed feet, sleek) save for the long ears. i'm explaining complete lack of hybrid problems by saying all gryphons descend from a common ancestor and are essentially the same species, with drastic breed differences (like dogs). i'm still waffling over how civilized to make them, exactly, but we'll see how that goes.
ironically, i picture the moon/ocean/etc goddess as much closer to a desert gryphon, and the sun goddess as much closer to a forest gryphon living in colder climes.
human caiosverse Tekai/Mordecai: 5'11, moody Hoodie Goth who wears eyeshadow Litai/Laertes: 5'6, angry leather jacket punk, knows how to knife fight and probably puts this to good use Kophis/Kostya: 6'0", who the fuck knows what their fashion sense is Ferra/Farrah: 5'10", butch as hell, weight-lifts five times a week Estelith/Estelle: tall like 6'2" tall, generic femme witch Illva/Ila: ??????
morgan Today at 5:47 PM hmm on one hand i do like laertes (human litai) as a concept but on the other hand, the others don't really, fit tekai's story in particular is based around having a power he doesn't want and learning how to deal with it and i thought of this as a non-magic universe? i mean, i suppose i could adapt it, but at that point what distinguishes this from every other Humans With Powers In The Modern World universe morgan Today at 5:51 PM i might have to make him a distinct character. litai's story arc is, essentially, a dramatization of an ex-friend's behavior with extra magic for flavor, because it was a good example of Not Being Able To Handle Emotions Healthily which transfers over fairly well, but if i want tekai/mordecai to be anything more than "laertes's ex who has no direct presence" then i'd have to tamper with this fairly severely i mean, not the first time i've come up with a character and adapted the world around them (it's the second time. the first time was caiosverse Original Flavor) man shout-out to original litai who was just some rando jerk without a distinct design or personality now that spot is taken by estelith, except minus the jerk part. She's Good she just doesn't really have a personality yet. i mean, neither does ferra? none of my characters besides tekai/litai/maaaaaybe kophis are very... solidified
honestly? human mordecai is kind of boring. laertes is a bad bad angry man and i love my problematic son. ila and him are perfect for each other because they're both fundamentally hurt people but they handle it in ways that are detrimental to their past relations. they can be terrible, terrible people, TOGETHER. short recap, human version: ila and farrah were a Purely Physical thing but ila started having more intense feelings for farrah. she wasn't good at handling them (at least partially due to internalized homophobia in humanverse), flipped out, started insulting and being harsh to farrah, who went "what the hell" and dropped her. it's up to the reader to decide whether farrah returned her affections or whether she considered ila a temporary fling, whichever is more angst. laertes, meanwhile, got dumped (probably not hurt physically, in this verse) gracelessly by mordecai, and didn't really get over it. he's very, very bitter over it, and considers it entirely mordecai's fault. his strong anger over petty things, his tendencies to be completely detached when spending time with mordecai, his apparent lack of caring about the interests of others, and his total lack of self-awareness when it came to really any interactions with other people were DEFINITELY NOT THE ISSUE HERE. (litai is of course not based on anyone i used to know haha why would you think that.) they're both bi disasters and they probably have a relationship based on mutual hatred of their exes, which of course does not last for very long because hatred is a terrible basis for a relationship. the fallout from their breakup is legendary. (this is in their very early twenties at the latest. at some point they develop actual social skills or at least shame for their past actions. their friendship is genuine but kind of awkward. or possibly they never interact again but mutually regret their past actions.) i'm not sure whether to make laertes a disaster teen and a somewhat functional adult or a complete and total wreck for most if not all of his life. i tend toward characters who are actually decent people, but laertes is some of my nastier impulses in addition to being based off of an ex-friend.
estelle is the most functional of the whole bunch, probably, although she does tend to offer more of her emotional energy to other people than she can handle. she goes for morning runs before her job, which is, uhhhhh. [frantically roots around in the Sack Of Ideas] tea shop? librarian? something enjoyable and chill. maybe not the only thing she wants to do with her life but it's a good gig nonetheless. she enjoys hiking in remote places. in comparison laertes is a city boy and wouldn't know a robin from a hawk if it bit him, which physically pains me to say but there you have it.
But what if a tea shop library? (Things I've heard of being a thing IRL: coffee shop book store, queer bar library. I mean.)
Powell's has a coffee bar I think so yes that is a thing. "Bookstore barista" would be a neat job, if not really something you'd want to do for an overly long stretch of your life.
Spoiler: body horror warmup sketch of litai. PSA, kids: don't sell control of your body to a demon, even if you really, really hate your ex.
jae Today at 1:47 PM thinkin about demons in caiosverse they're less "intelligent and malevolent entities" and more "wandering spirits made of hate and power" (Wandering Hate Spirits would make a great band name) after The Sundering™, the power left over in dips and cracks of the land began to coalesce into collections of magic and anger. their forms were all kinds of murky and translucent shapes, but they all shared the drive to find a physical body keeping them away isn't difficult; they typically go after gryphons with magic, which are most equipped to repel them but sometimes desperate and angry fools have a purpose, and that's enough reason to summon one they twist the bodies they possess into vile mockeries of the shapes they once had, too many joints and teeth and wounds that leak a sizzling black fluid onto the earth they drive their physical forms to destroy, which can be focused on a specific target, if your will is strong enough which is how litai trailed tekai and kophis through days and nights he would have been successful if he hadn't been trying to fight against the greater version of himself, because demons are a pale shadow of kophis jae Today at 2:01 PM kophis is.. not exactly only the avatar of chaos. that would be inconvenient for story purposes. they're certainly a representation of the warring forces of the universe, given flesh and blood and bone (...mostly bone), but they're confused and unnerved by the world around them it isn't every day that massive power is crammed into a physical form with a consciousness and conscience, and they're still trying to understand the whole "having a body" thing this doesn't erase the fact that they are also very dangerous, but they're much different from a demon in the sense that their drive is less to destroy and more to understand the world ...i still don't know what the plot is, exactly like, i have a vague idea of what the world is like, and the mechanics involved, and even the timeline of certain events but i have no idea what tekai even wants, which is kind of the whole story
Spoiler: Online Politics, mostly a joke post kophis/kostya: probably antifa, definitely has punched someone IRL over politics tekai/mordecai: liberal, doesn't know anything about internet politics and is kind of concerned the more he hears about them litai/laertes: radical centrist, insufferably smug illva/ila: radfem, ramps the TERF-iness way up after she splits with ferra (who Did Not Hold With That) ferra/ferrah: liberal, similarly to her brother she doesn't actually engage in political discourse online (much) estelith/estelle: still has a flip phone, uses etsy as her main base of business, has never set eyes on tumblr
i have hit upon a characterization thing to make litai make more sense basically, he moved into tekai's territory a bit younger than typical independent age, trying to get away from his parents. tekai was attracted to him and hung around him voluntarily, but privately he thought litai was kind of an entitled asshole, which he was. litai pressured him into being mates of a sort. tekai was uncomfortable but passively went along with this. it was excruciatingly clear to everyone that tekai was uncomfortable, besides litai, because no one had ever really told him no. when tekai lost his family and ran off after losing control of his fire and hurting litai, he experienced really the first major rejection, from someone who had Put Up With Him for a while now, and in addition to that litai was vain about his voice and the smoke inhalation really did a number on that. he was betrayed and furious about it, and made all the more emotionally unstable by isolation. and then he summoned a demon and All That Happened.
i think litai is the most compelling character to me because he has a full arc and clear motives. i'm still not sure what tekai and kophis are trying to achieve, besides tekai's trying to keep it together both emotionally and magically and kophis is trying to help for.. some reason while figuring out the whole "having a body" thing. i think maybe i can't figure out what they want because neither can they. conversely, litai, although he has kind of a muddled beginning, has a fairly clear character arc by the time he's actually relevant. his characterization is more solidified than any of the others, he has a defined purpose post-Incident, and there's an ending to his story. for some reason, the antagonists/non-Good characters are easier for me to understand and write than the others. i should probably work on making my sympathetic characters more interesting so i actually want to write them
this is shitty writing but that's why i'd make this a webcomic and not a webnovel What Sort Of Hack Writer Would I Be If There Were No Friend Expys In This Universe -aveir is this universe's deity of artistic endeavors. they're not an overly powerful nor commonly primarily-worshiped god, but it's uncommon to find any permanent shrine or small temple-dwelling without a dedicated niche to them -[unnamed] is an oft-forgotten eldritch acolyte, a shadowy figure who's much less serious than common knowledge would have you believe. kophis probably gets along pretty well with them. -kymahs, plant-aligned deity -i'd write more but my eyes don't work anymore so that is for a later date
Spoiler: tekai and kophis "tell me how tell me when I'll ever tire of you here and I could comb this town for years and years and never find a gaze that's quite as clear clear as you sing to me at night and put me to sleep a lucid lullaby my heart you would keep hold hold hold you hold me here in your palm with fingers curled told told told I told you my dear that you would be my world" perspective by polite fiction Spoiler: kophis @ tekai "I'm in his favorite sundress Watching me get undressed Take that body downtown, Honey I say you the bestest Lean in for a big kiss Put his favorite perfume on Go play a video game It's you, it's you, it's all for you Everything I do I tell you all the time Heaven is a place on Earth with you Tell me all the things you wanna do I heard that you like the bad girls Honey, is that true? It's better than I ever even knew They say that the world was built for two" video games, cover by the young professionals Spoiler: ferra @ ilva "I believe, I believe, I believe, That this is your life and it can rule you. You believe that things are better when left unsaid. Well you're a fool 'cause you don't believe anything good can happen to the people it should. Well I believe in you, So get over yourself." i believe (get over yourself) by nico vega here are some song stanzas for my good good characters whom i love
me: i am the sole arbiter of caiosverse and anything i say goes also me: i can't remember if it's illva or ilva (i'm going with ilva bc i like it better)
some more songs Spoiler: ilva "Till human voices wake us And we drown, and we drown Seductive and impeccable abuse You do it to yourself I bet you know you do I love you cause I do it to you too These lofty thoughts are killing me Preoccupied by what I could be I get so high on my ideals Don't call me down But you can meet me where I land" evelyn by kim tillman Spoiler: litai "In any which direction, call me I will run for you I'll come for you I'll die for you I'll come for you Quiet little voices creep into my head I'm young again I'm young again I'm young again I'm young again Quiet little monsters creep into my head I'll fall for you I'll fall for you I'll fall for you I'll fall" quiet little voices by we were promised jetpacks
Spoiler: ilva, later in the story when she's less cruel "I called it quits, fell to the ground I hit every wall, I made every round I drank till dark, My family cried Trouble, I find chooses a side But I had enough, I had enough! I had enough! I had enough! Don’t let them win, don’t let them get under your skin, and into your head! They’re full of it. You’re full of love. You prove ‘em right if you’re giving up" blood by archis
