Quill's Quixotic Questers

[quillpleasant]

Look at my characters boy

New little guys will be added here as I make em. Individual posts to follow below because they're my babies AND they deserve it.

Hyphaelia~ A mycoid (mushroom girl) who's on the run from her mother, Queen Hyphaelia, of whom she is also a clone. She has little experience among non-mycoids but is very well read, leading her to think many commonplace things are fictitious. Pleasant but somewhat amoral, with a taste for decaying things.

Harley LaLune~ Former trickster god, his powers were stripped away and bound to him in the form of a filigree rabbit mask that can't be taken off. In order to be freed, he must bring a thousand times more joy into the world than he has brought suffering. This makes him extremely nice, but only because he has to be.

Atya~ Cult escapee made immortal against her will. Mean spirited but flirtatious, with emotional barriers a mile high. Extremely greed motivated. She's obsessed with fire, and her signature chemical thrower has a number of different settings to melt or burn anything she wants (which is most things).

Nathair~ Former ruler of an ancient civilization that was destroyed as a result of their poor leadership. Burdened by guilt, they now seek to atone by acting as a hired bodyguard and/or magician. Skilled in the occult and easily distracted. Their broken body is tied together with golden spellware cybernetics that keep them alive.

[quillpleasant]

Hyphaelia

Aliases: Lia
Gender/Orientation: She's a mushroom, she couldn't care less about these things
Species: Mycoid (mushroom person)
Age: ???
Profession: Runaway/criminal
Theme Song: Mushrooms/DeadPeople - Meredith Bull

Description
Hyphaelia's appearance is somewhat mutable, but she usually resembles a tall slender young woman with a large mushroom cap growing from the crown of her head, somewhat resembling a wide brimmed hat. She tends to be extremely thin, almost malnourished, with willowy limbs and deep set eyes.
Aside from that, details depend on her current molt, but her skin tends towards bright flashy colors like pink or teal with her hair and cap tending to be darker. Sometimes she glows. She disdains normal clothing, instead growing coverings from her own body, preferring diaphanous flowing garb.

Personality
Hyphaelia is not the easiest person to get along with. Her general naivete and somewhat alien outlook can come across as insensitive or simply strange, and she doesn't have a lot of empathy to go around. It's not that she's unkind or mean spirited, she's just not very nice.

She doesn't have much in the way of a moral code, and although she won't harm others without provocation she also won't hesitate to do so if it directly benefits her. Her insatiable curiosity can lead to annoyance due to her constant questioning of just about everything, while at the same time she can be extremely smart in random ways. Her education is incredibly sporadic, leading her to be an expert on some subjects and a complete novice in others.

Due to being raised in an isolated and alien environment but with access to a largely random assortment of books from throughout the multiverse, Hyphaelia has come to the conclusion that many basic things are fictional world building. So she might, for example, be able to recite the Illiad in its original Greek while fully believing that marriage isn't real. This can lead to misunderstandings and, you guessed it, lots of questions.

Abilities

► SHOW SPOILER

Mycoid Physiology: Due to being a mobile fungus rather than an animal, Lia’s body reacts very differently to most humans. She does not have to breathe, and is largely immune to poisons and diseases, or other effects that rely on a nervous system or having blood and organs. This comes with some drawbacks however, chief of which is her fragility. Her body lacks bones, and is much easier to damage than the average human. She also ages extremely rapidly, dying of old age every six months or so.

Rejuvenation: Whenever Hyphaelia is killed, she can create a fresh new body to inhabit. The amount of time this takes depends on how greatly her previous body was damaged, and how much access she has to fresh soil. Her bodies are never exactly the same, and she can sculpt them to her whims, within reason. The only ways for her to permanently die are to waste away with no access to food, soil or water; or to be completely incinerated.

Spores: Hyphaelia can create a variety of different spores, which can be thrown as small bursts or dispersed by touch.
-Euphoric spores: These dazzling blue spores cause a sense of extreme happiness and amusement when inhaled, causing those affected to break out in paroxysms of laughter that make doing anything else much more difficult.
-Sleeping spores: These dusty red spores cause an intense soporific effect, dulling response time or even causing unconsciousness.
-Nerve spores: These glittering purple spores attack the nervous system, causing erratic muscle spasms or even seizures. Ineffective against unliving beings or things with alien physiology.
-Nightmare spores: These dull black spores cause horrible hallucinations, making it difficult to distinguish what’s real and what’s imaginary.
-Flesh-eating spores: These buzzing green spores are Lia’s deadliest attack. They rapidly consume any organic matter, chewing through clothing, wood, and flesh alike.

Lia is theoretically capable of making even more varieties of spores, but doing so would take time and experimentation to perfect. In addition, since the spores are produced from her body, she can’t make too many of them without rest and sustenance, as they drain her rapidly.

Death Devour: Mycoids feast on the decaying and dead, and Lia has a particular hunger for animated corpses of any kind. Against such foes, she is capable of reshaping her body, enlarging her mouth and stomach to allow her to devour them whole. This process will entirely break down their bodies, making resurrection impossible without creating a new body or creating a copy. She is, however, wholly ineffective against incorporeal undead. But she’s working on it.

Mushroom Growth: Lia can grow any kind of mushroom from her own body. These can be plucked, and act in all ways as if they were naturally grown. This does allow her to replicate extremely deadly or expensive mushrooms; however, she uses her own body mass to create them and must replenish it by consuming dead tissue.

Equipment:
None whatsoever. Well, she did get a ring that grows her some extra eyes.

History:

► SHOW SPOILER

Lia comes from a place known as the Fungal Depths, an underground cavern system that is home to a kingdom of mycoids ruled over by Queen Hyphaelia. The similarity in name is more than coincidental, as Lia is the Queen’s daughter. However, it would be more accurate to call her a clone, one of many who are meant to grow up as copies of Queen Hyphaelia and extensions of her will. Eventually, these clones will die, and all their memories and experiences will be absorbed into their Queen, who functions as a living afterlife and hivemind to the mycoid species as a whole.

But such a fate did not appeal to Lia. Despite spending many years in the Depths, learning of the outside world and serving the needs of her community, she dreamed of a life where individuals were valued based on their own merit. She resented her predetermined fate, and rejected the all knowing wisdom of her Queen. Stealing away one day, she discovered a portal away from the Depths, and ended up in the Nexus, where she hopes she can make a life all her own.

However, she still has a sneaking suspicion that Queen Hyphaelia intended her to come here, as a way to gain information and experiences from an entirely different world. If this is true, then at some point the Queen will try to get her back, by force or trickery, and so Lia is seeking out allies who will help her to resist such a fate.

[quillpleasant]

Harley LaLune

Aliases: Harley, Rabbit in the Moon, Moon Bun
Gender/Orientation: Male, bisexual
Species: Currently human, formerly a god, formerly formerly a rabbit
Age: ???
Profession: Castaway/would be hero/do-gooder
Theme Song: The Moss - Cosmo Sheldrake


Description
Harley is a young man perhaps in his late 20s, although his short height might make him seem less than that. He’s slim, with lean muscles and pale skin. A multitude of scars cover his body, old ones all over his back and new ones on his chest and limbs. What little body hair he has is white, and his head is entirely encased in a filigree rabbit mask.
Said mask is made of silver with elaborate golden etchings on it, and long ears that extend several inches above his head. The only part of him that can be seen through it are his eyes, which are a light pink in color. He typically dresses in whatever clothes are available. He’s not picky.

Personality
Harley generally comes off as quite laid back, going along with anything life throws his way without complaint. He has a strong desire to help others and make them happy, and will go out of his way to do so even if it’s difficult or unpleasant. Conversely, he also avoids anything that could harm others or make them unhappy.
However, this isn’t completely out of a true want to do good, but rather because of his curse (see history). In reality, he’s a rather selfish individual who actively takes joy in messing with people- or he used to be, at least. It’s hard to say how much of his current personality is put on to reduce his sentence, and how much of it is genuine remorse and growth. Is it the actions that matter more, or the motivation behind them?

Philosophy aside, it’s clear that Harley has a dark side that usually comes out when he needs to hurt people for the greater good (i.e. when protecting people or fighting evil). In these situations where he’s “allowed” to cut loose, he can enter a vicious rage that might be quite shocking to those who are more used to his usual chill self.

Abilities

► SHOW SPOILER

Harley used to have godlike powers, on account of being a god, including but not limited to: flight, shapeshifting, mind control, and illusions. But now he’s just a mortal, and has no powers whatsoever, unless he eventually breaks his curse. Weeeellllll… maybe he's got just a couple.

High pain tolerance: Due to being unused to a mortal body, Harley experiences pain in a different way than most people. It’s just a sensation, and he hasn’t really adjusted to thinking of it as negative, essentially giving him an unlimited threshold for dealing with pain. This makes him immune to shock and physical trauma, and allows him to keep going past the normal limits of endurance.
The downside of this is that it doesn’t stop him from sustaining damage, and can actually end up hurting him more. Pain is a defensive mechanism that prevents you from taxing yourself too hard, and Harley just can’t tell when to stop. He’ll keep walking until he literally falls unconscious, or keep fighting despite life threatening injuries without realizing how careful he should be.

Doesn’t have to eat: Harley doesn’t have to eat. Pretty self explanatory, this is due to his mask covering his mouth. He can still drink due to small slits in the mask, but he also doesn’t strictly need to.

Equipment
The indestructible enchanted rabbit mask that suppresses his godly powers. Nothing else. Well, he’s actually gained a spear recently.

History

► SHOW SPOILER

A long time ago, on a distant world, there was a rabbit.

This rabbit was very good at being a rabbit. It was fleet of foot, fast enough to escape any predator. Its burrows were deep and warm, and it fed well in the summer. It was the buck of its warren, and it kept its family safe. It was, in all ways, an exemplary rabbit.

One unlucky night, the rabbit was out after dark, rooting for tubers at the edge of a frozen lake, when a pack of wolves rushed silently out of the night. It ran from them, out across the lake where the cold moon shone down,. On this night, luck was not on the rabbit’s side. The wolves gained on it, and all hope was lost.

Until out of the sky, a figure stepped. It was the goddess Moon herself, and the wolves cowered in her presence. The rabbit, unafraid of her, ran to her for protection.

“Little creature, I have watched you for many years. Your fate is written, and tonight is your last. But you have lived a good life, a strong life, and so I offer you a blessing. You will be remade, not as a mortal but as a god. No longer will you play your tricks on hungry wolves. Now you will teach humbleness to Man, and instill their hearts with merriment and mirth.”

The rabbit bowed and nodded, though it scarcely knew what she had said. And with a wave of Moon’s hand, the rabbit was transformed into the Trickster.

Long did the Trickster hone his art, cavorting through the clouds. Long did he play jokes on mankind, teaching them humbleness. And long did he remain as a plaything and pet of the other gods, loved for his amusements but never given a true place among them.

Time begets change, and deep within the Trickster change begat wickedness. He became resentful of the gods who had given him this power but still saw him as a lesser being. This spite caused him to lash out, his pranks turning cruel. He no longer sought to teach, but to humiliate and frighten. He wanted to be seen as equal to the other gods, and no longer remembered his life as a mere rabbit. And one dark night, he chose to play a great trick on the one who had given him his power.

What exactly he did is not known, as the gods did not wish mortals to know the details of their anguish. But it is said that somehow he tricked his own creator, Moon, into killing her lover, Sun. When she learned what she had done, Moon wept bitter tears, not just for the death of her beloved, not just for all those who would suffer in the coming darkness, but for the betrayal of the Trickster who was like a child to her.

When the other gods learned what had been done, they burned with a righteous fury almost as bright as the dead Sun. They chased Trickster across the sky, just as the wolf pack had chased him so long ago. But this time, when he was finally caught, there was no one to come to his rescue.

The gods lashed him a thousand times with a whip made of stars, and condemned him to suffer eternally in a form both powerless and alien. They forged his powers into a mask that branded him as a killer, and that would forever keep him from escaping his fate. And they sent him down from the sky, to die on the ground alone and cold.

But Moon in her infinite kindness felt pity for Trickster, even then. And she gave him one chance to set things right. If he could bring a thousand times the joy to the world as he had brought suffering, then his curse would be lifted and he would be free once more.