monsters! ❚ and six years later.
Click to view❝the skies turned red❞ No one knows our names, lying in this grave unmarked, with no name. Found you lying down by the roadside, half ways melted into the ground. Down into the ground. Come and lay me down beside you here in this ground, with five thousand more. One fifty passed and the hunger is gone now the feeling remains but the people are stronger. I still hear you calling out today. I walk past your grave each night and each morning I still hear the voices of eight million starving. I still hear you calling out today. Descended from a line of famine survivors, millions escaped but how many died though. I still hear you calling out today.
ouroboros
revenge is best served cold Little Wayne Hoffman grew back into Ouroboros and devoured Stephanos just as he was about to do the same to Emily Kingston - whether it was because it felt like it was the right time or because there was actually any concern for Emily's life isn't all that clear. Ouroboros never bothered to change bodies or hide his identity since, helping Hope Moore with her revenge against Romazvhir, one of his most hated brothers. He was her mentor for some time and donned her a new name as the monster Xesirit. Ouroboros now continues his search for revenge alone and in a much lest focused manner. One can argue that he makes himself a little too easy to find...
❖ ♎∞
xesirit
embrace the monster Little Hope grew up when the abuse from Romazvhir escalated and she discovered who he really was - the monster who had raped her mother. By chance or opportunity, she then met Ouroboros, who had finally gotten rid of Stephanos and moved on to his next target. He became her mentor when Both found that they had much in common in matters of revenge. The day before they completed their plan and executed Romazvhir, Hope asked that she be granted a new name to complete her metamorphosis into a monster. Xesirit was born when Romazvhir drew his last breath. Xesirit now roams on her own, killing and devouring as much as she pleases, far away from her origins and morality. There is little left to remind her of who she once was.
✧ ♉24
fenrad
human no more Although Sasha was rescued, Sergej went mad from anger and that gave the monster inside of him a chance to take over control once again - even if winning the inner battle a struggle. Cursed to stay inside Sergej's body forever, Fenrad came out victorious as it once again regained absolute command of his actions, silencing Sergej and to punish the human, he tried to kill his daughter Sasha. While he left her to die in a ditch, he didn't finish the job himself as the last flicker of Sergej inside of him urged him to walk away - but after that final spark, the human inside was silenced forever. Kulshedra did not escape Fenrad's wrath either, as he blamed her for his fate, and made her suffer the same destiny he had: humiliation. He violated her brutally; unbeknownst to him, she became pregnant and gave birth to his daughter in secrecy.
❖ ♒∞
kulshedra
in modest times Attacked, called out and betrayed, Kulshedra was left with practically nothing with Sergej took out his revenge and Fenrad followed. Kulshedra managed to flee with what little strength she had left and relied on Aspen's help for a long time. Fenrad's rape resulted in an offspring, Raicho, proving wrong whatever certainty there was of Kulshedra's sterility. She now lives secluded and in a new body, slowly plotting her rise back to power.
❖ ♈∞
raicho
a terrible noise The baby monster, one of the very few that did not come from Mother Monster. Raicho is kept under the radar with her mother Kulshedra, but being just a baby she has the tendency to wander off a lot. It also doesn't help that she has the habit of making an enormous mess with her food - she likes it when they run and scream and usually leaves a gory trail behind, which in the end always earns a scolding from her mother. Nevertheless, Raicho loves her mommy more than anything in the world. She has the peculiar ability of inhabiting two bodies, hopping from one to another without causing damage to it when she does. She likes to take the body of pretty boys to flirt with people and then break their heart - and then eating them. Raicho can also make great terrible noises which can make wood and stone and flesh and bone shatter, but she has little control of it and has only been able to use it when stressed. She also loves Wendigo very much.
❖ ♑∞
wendigo
the watchdog Most animals have the tendency to run away from monsters and monsters themselves don't really pay attention to animals, but this particular doberman seems rather fond of Raicho - perhaps because the monster still is a baby. Wendigo is a very well trained dog but seems only loyal to Raicho, obeying her every order and protecting her fiercely. He is not vicious unless he think he, his property or his owner are in danger, but he's not a dog that allows proximity. Petting him will not result in a bite, but he will growl at strangers. Wendigo is an incredibly intelligent doberman - sometimes almost a bit too much - but there is no doubt he is just a dog. Or, at least, so far.
balthazar
the hunger does not own you Son of a monster and his whore, Balthazar has been taunted by brief memories of a forgotten past for as long as he can remember. His mother was one of those humans attached to their monster. She was one of those whose body could not hold any monster, but surprisingly, she was able to hold the seed of the creature and later give birth to the hybrid named Balthazar. She did not keep him, unable to love anyone else but the monster that would eventually eat her. The baby was put in dumpster but fate would not have him dead and it was Brynja that saved the little baby from dying alone. Balthazar was taught to control his monster urges and find ways to lessen harm done to live humans. He proved however that he was able to resist the hunger for a lot longer than Brynja had ever seen. The she-devil kept him around her until he was about twelve, time when she abandoned him, trusting the boy would be able to survive on his own. For a long time, he only cared about finding his father and mother, but soon he turned to other focuses, like keeping devils from turning humans into slaves, keeping an eye in monster attacks to hunt them down, and looking out for human rebellion groups, making sure they were safe so that they can kill monsters.
✧ ♋25
adam lauderdale
let's play a game Oh, Adam's life was never made to be a happy one. Orphaned at a young age, the boy travelled with countless groups of humans, joined rebellion after rebellion, never staying for long in one place. With a talent for music, he always brought a certain warmth to those he stayed with, entertaining them and providing them with something light to ease their minds. He picked up any songs that he could find, collecting old CDs and cassettes and always somehow unearthing somewhere to play them. Adam never had much contact with monsters; he considered himself lucky, or that never staying in one place for long was like avoiding their path. But he couldn't run forever. Whether through good graces or terrible misfortune, he was found, alone and vulnerable, by the baby monster Raicho. Instead of an imminent death, Adam became "hers", practically her very own "toy", a sweet little human who would sing for her and keep her company. In return, he has been given his life - for now.
✳ ♌23
brynja
convert them not It would not be a stretch to call Brynja a stray devil. While one cannot choose the nature of their being, this one devil strongly believes she can choose her own path - if that is true or not, well, it's something she will eventually find out. Mocked and even targeted violently by other devils because of her unwillingness to convert humans into sulfur slaves, Brynja has separated herself from her siblings, though she still loves daddy Devil no matter what. However, one could argue that the Devil her made her this human on purpose...
✩ ♓∞
jack gibson
cut a deal Cerbos was different from most of his siblings, unable to completely control a body and keep its voices shut. Instead he jumped from one dying man to another to breathe life into them and allow them to live as themselves as long as they allowed him to feed through them. Jack Gibson was as good as dead when the monster found him and presented that same deal. Desperate to cling to dear life, Jack accepted. The two travel together now, for better or for worse, and the man with the monster in his ear has been forced to question and forget his sense of morality ever since. Jack still finds enough of it to stand up to the monster on occasion, which often results in Cerbos completely taking over for a limited about of time.
✧ ♌43
patience
of two halves Born to two hybrids, Patience had the good fortune never to be familiar with her father. Less fortunate was she and her mother's capture by a monster when she was fourteen, and treatment as some sort of pet. The details are messy, but a combination of stockholm syndrome (her mother's) and torture (her own) didn't do much to develop her faith in people, hybrid or otherwise. She eventually got away, and has been traveling - running, one could suppose - ever since.
✧ ♒26
teagan
hold on to humanity Teagan was raised on the phrase "even the good people can't always control themselves". It was a justification, a reason for her to be as human as she could despite being something terrible. Her childhood was spent travelling, running. An unfortunate encounter with a devil at the age of twelve left Teagan physically scarred and separated from her mother; ever since, she has gone on alone, looking for the one person who she always loved and loved her back unconditionally. No one wants Teagan, neither monsters nor humans, but she lives in hope. Despite everything, she feels human, in her emotions and her motivations, and she refuses to give into the monster instinct. She wants to be worth all the things that humans crave: life, love, security, happiness.
✧ ♍17
julia gorski-grumley
heart of a lion With a human mother and a hybrid for a father, Julia has always been aware of her true nature as a half-hybrid and has always done her very best to hide it from the world. Separated from her family to increase the chances of survival, she traveled to a very destroyed France and there she found Emilia. She had a broken leg and was trapped after having hid from a monster raid to her small community, during which her ex-husband and father of her to be born children was killed along with everyone else. Julia took care of her until she was all better, eventually becoming her traveling partner so that she could keep her eye on her. Not long before Emilia had her twins, they began dating. But it was interrupted as the human was kidnapped by a fanatic cult that thought the twins were the hope to all humans. They fed them lies, telling Julia that Emilia didn't want any hybrid near her children, which made sense since she had told Emilia just before she had their babies. So she went away for six months, only to come back to get her Emilia back. Julia ended up confessing she was pregnant and they have been trying to patch up their relationship ever since. It hasn't been particularly easy.
✧ ♌28
emilia gorski-grumley
love over prejudice For years, Emilia kept hidden underground in a small community with her ex-husband Florian with whom she had an affair. She ended up pregnant, but never revealed the father's identity to the community. In fact, nobody but Florian would ever know at all as everyone was killed during a monster raid. Unfortunately, she got trapped with a broken leg in one of the escape tunnels and for one very long day, she waited for rescue without any actual hope of being saved. So when Julia came in, Emilia couldn't help but to wail, cry and beg to not to be harmed because she was pregnant, hoping she would take pity or sympathy and to her surprise, Julia did help her and even took care of her until she was completely healed. As they traveled together, they formed a friendship that lead up to a romantic relationship. A year later, a cult kidnapped Emilia as they believed the twins were humanity's last hope. They told her Julia had gone mad, had given into the monster, and Emilia believed them. She became severely depressed and isolated herself from everyone but the twins. But Julia came back and unmasked the cult's lies, taking Emilia and the twins with her.
✳ ♉30
chloe & matthias gorski-grumley
the young hope Barely old enough to perceive the world around them, the baby twins had a rather rough start when their mother was kidnapped to make sure they were safe as they were believed to be humanity's last hope for some odd reason. Twins were becoming unheard of and because these were born during the disappearance of Mother Monster, they were said to be the bearers of great things to come. If it's true or not, both Emilia and Julia don't seem very keen on educating their children to become warriors, rather to love and protect them as much as they can.
✳ ♏2
levi
praise the bringer Levi was saved by a sect of fanatics as a young boy, and since that day dedicated his life to serving the people who treated him well, treated him kindly. Their shelter and their food gave him strength, and he committed it to them whole-heartedly. Where he had been alone, he had family, and everything he had lacked before was now met. He believed in their virtue and the prophet they honoured, and his gratitude and loyalty would, in time, bloom into fanaticism. When they needed sulfur slaves for protection, he was among the first to volunteer. When news of twins reached him, Levi was eager to lead the group to rescue them from the demon that kept humanity's saviours shackled. He was a vigilant watchguard, and rarely left Emilia's side save for those times when the Leader himself requested it. It was one such time that sent him away from the commune for days, sparing him the bloodbath that came with the demon's return. Having survived this scourge, and saw it for what it must be; a judgement of the unworthy who tried to flee, those not prepared to walk the dangerous path, and a bloody, noble sacrifice by those who had stood. It was testimony to the strength of their beliefs and the importance of their work, and he, only he would be strong enough to guide the Bringer and the Saviours Two on their journey to save humanity. This is a simply test, and he will find Emilia and do whatever necessary. It is what any truly honourable man would do.
✟ ♐26
sasha vlaschenko
ghosts of tattoos After years on the run, Kulshedra managed to shackle Sasha again and tortured the girl thoroughly before Sergej found her. She was rescued by him and learned he was her father but their re-encounter did not last long as Sergej later succumbed to the monster within. Sasha was found half-dead in a ditch by Aspen who, upon learning Kulshedra had killed her mother, decided to do some backstabbing. Once Sasha recovered, she was changed. Learning about herself and losing her father to a monster had a bigger impact on her than one would assume and she began to redeem herself. Although still a lone wolf, Sasha slowly began to plot the demise of monsters and devils alike. Ultimately, her metamorphosis into her new persona was when she asked Aspen to bite and claw through skin and meat to get rid of the tattoos that marked her body.
✳ ♏29
emily kingston
ahead of the rebellion Wayne Hoffman, the new pet of Stephanos, took his sweet time until he revealed that he was Ouroboros and Emily almost got caught up in that sort of family affair, was it not for Peter Johnson, who had just left the cult of the prophet Sebastien. The two of them quickly became great friends and slowly began to build a solid human front which was not as big as previous ones but far more effective because of it. Emily became the leader of said force with Peter as her right-hand man. They recruited only the bare minimum people they could trust, especially because some of their members were monster hybrids.
✳ ♋36
jerry redmond
before, now and after While Sebastien the false prophet was worshiped blindly by his subjects, the world had no idea that a true one had been roaming about since before the beginning of the war. Jerry Redmond has spent his entire life in his home nation, Canada, also ravaged by war and left with little more than ghost towns and refuge camps. Immune to the powers of both monsters and devils, Jerry always had the knowledge of the before, now and after of the world and the people inhabiting it. This drove him to seek solitude, dreaming of a simple, normal life he will never have. He is the only one who knows if the red skies will ever clear.
✳ ♑42
milo allberry
renounce them all Years ago, when the war exploded, Milo was just a normal kid and like many others, got lost from his family during the war. When he was a young child, he was rescued by Emily Kingston and she took care of him - until Stephanos took her away. He met Nicola and ended up developing a crush on her, but that soon was made impossible as she sacrificed herself to save him and the rebels he was with at the time. From that moment on, Milo started travelling by himself, hopping from rebellion to rebellion but never actually setting down, always rejecting the approaches of devils.
✳ ♐18
❖ | ✧ | ✩ | ✟ | ✳
deceased
romazvhir | ❖ ♊∞ The prince of lies and deceit almost became the king, but his hybrid daughter Hope - by then Xesirit - faced him and with the help of the monster Ouroboros.
stephanos | ❖ ♌∞ Tired of Emily's company and lies, Stephanos decided the time had come to finally devour her and move onto little Wayne Hoffman as his favorite companion. Turns out little Wayne Hoffman had different plans, though, when he revealed himself as the monster Ouroboros and saved Emily. Stephanos was much too stunned to properly fight off his brother and was devoured.
sergej vlaschenko | ✧ ♒∞ Sergej, enraged to what Kulshedra had done to Sasha, decided to take her down and though he almost did so, he ended up succumbing the last minute to the monster inside of him. The last of his willpower was used up to save Sasha from being killed by Fenrad.
nicola avery | ✳ ♓25 When her brother Jules was seriously injured by Dazvellos, Nicola abandoned the monster and joined a small faction of the rebel human forced. She ended up dying to save the human front hiding out from monsters and devils alike.
eddie gavell | ✳♓38 Eddie was Jack Gibson's only companion and partner for many years during the monster invasion, self-taught in the matters of handling a gun and fighting for his (and Jack's) life. An ambushed encounter with a monster whispered madness into his mind, however, and he returned to Jack a completely different man. The damage done to his mind was irreversible and he was convinced Jack was a monster as well, so attacked and left him behind to die. Eddie's whereabouts and unknown and he is presumed to be dead.
mary-elena | ✟♐31 After having found her son Jaden in the nest of the human rebels, she joined them, going against Xanthia and the Devil itself. This didn't go well, of course, and Mary-Elena ended up dying protecting the rebel group, driving away the attention of monsters and sulfur slaves to herself while everyone escaped. Jaden himself was secretly taken under Brynja's wing so that indeed, if Xanthia was to claim him, Brynja would intervene and protect him from his mother's fate.