miss rat

Nepherits

Nepherits were created by The Necromancer thousands of years ago to be vicious warriors to help Him take over the world. These creatures were created from dead bodies, and are, at their core, clones of The Necromancer, infused with His traits before being trained to hone their capabilities, based on what He wanted to use them for (e.g. melee, ranged weapons, stealth, etc.).

They are basically body-snatchers; when the body they're in begins to deteriorate, they pull the soul out of a living body and take control of it. Once they have control of the body, much of the biology of it ceases, and it takes on a very corpse-like appearance--its alive, but just barely. They have no blood, heartbeat, or body heat (they are constantly ice cold to the touch); almost no color in the skin, eyes, or hair; sunken cheeks, dark circles around the eyes, a discolored tongue (usually a purple-ish color); and they lose their ability to taste, detect temperature, and reproduce. However, they still have to eat, drink, sleep, and blink, or else the body will fully die (though nepherit-occupied bodies can go for longer periods of time without these).

The Necromancer was very close to taking over the world because the nepherits were such excellent fighters with extraordinary stamina and the inability to die. However, the nepherits, who were greatly abused by The Necromancer, rose up against Him and killed Him. They thought they would be hailed as heroes for this, but were so greatly feared and hated by the entire world that they couldn't live in normal society.

After The Necromancer was dead, the nepherits collectively started having an existential crisis. They had no purpose anymore. They didn't have their own identities. They weren't allowed to lead normal lives with others. Everyone wanted them dead. There was no point in existing anymore. Many nepherits committed suicide (allowing themselves to die without taking a new body), while the remainder exiled themselves to an island referred to as the Dead Isle, where they tried to build their own society secretly. It is a sad society of only around 50 remaining nepherits, but they try their best to survive and find some meaning. They are constantly afraid of being discovered and still periodically lose nepherits to suicide, but they emotionally support each other. They often have town meetings that act as group therapy sessions, and decorate the naturally desolate landscape of the Dead Isle with brightly colored flowers.

Nepherits are almost folklore at this point. People know what they are through stories and do suspect that some are still around, but most go their entire lives never seeing one. People do not know that the nepherits live on the Dead Isle. They just think it is a haunted island and stay away--if you go there, you do not come back. Nepherits are, of course, still widely hated and seen as monsters (though the rare few who are more knowledgeable about the scarcely-recorded Necromancer's War do see them as noble heroes).

Misc. facts:

Aside from Jax (see below), there are also four nepherits known to be in the world; 3 are employed by the king regent and used as body guards and as a scare tactic (there was one more, but the regent's father had killed him for insubordination); the 4th is a vengeful nepherit said to be working for a reincarnation of The Necromancer, though that is purely a rumor (see Panathir below)

Nepherits have no memory of the life they lived before they were necromaced and became nepherits

The Necromancer tagged the ear of each nepherit to distinguish them, enchanting the tags to attach to the nepherit's essence so they would transfer onto each new body

Many nepherits chose their name based on the letters and numbers on their ear tags

Some nepherits change their pronouns based on the body they're in, while others stick with one set

Jax (they/them)

Jax is a nepherit who had left the Dead Isle thousands of years prior to the present day. They were tired of being exiled and wanted to do something with their existence and see the world. They are nomadic and still an excellent fighter, and get by doing mercenary/adventuring work, as well as selling wooden sculptures that they hand carve.

While Jax is often discriminated against, they are good at getting others to like them by matching their energy and being socially intuitive. To others, they are easy-going, friendly, witty, agreeable, helpful, and successfully help others feel comfortable, supported, and included. Truly, this is key to their survival.

While they do not regret leaving the Dead Isle, it has been very difficult for them to grapple with the inherent issues of being a nepherit all on their own, without anyone else to be able to relate to or feel supported by. They have a lot of mental health issues and struggle with feelings of self-hatred, loneliness, depression, anxiety, neurosis, a lack of purpose, a lack of identity, abandonment, anger and rage, self-harm, existential fears, paranoia, and suicidal ideation. They constantly feel weighed down by the stigma they carry being a nepherit and frantically try to avoid reinforcing stereotypes about them, often to their own demise. They minimize their own issues and feelings to be as palatable to others as possible. This prevents them from making true connections with other people, even though they crave companionship.

In addition to the stigma that others hold against them, they also suffer from a lot of self-stigma. They often hate themselves just as much as others do, if not more. No matter how hard they try to show people they are a good being, they know they aren't. They lament ever being made and feel abandoned by the gods. They don't even consider themselves to be "alive" or a "person"--they just "exist" as a "being" or a "thing" or a "creature".

However, they've come a long way, and have a better hold on themselves now than they have in the past. They feel that they have found some sort of purpose through helping other people live the best lives that they can, even if its just in small ways. Mortals have such short lives, and it would be a shame to make these lives harder than they need to be. They have learned to cope better with losing people, but of course it still hurts when a friend is particularly close to them.

They do have a difficult time when they have to switch bodies. They always feel immensely guilty and will apologize to their victim. They do not react to killing people in fights and whatnot because those are enemies and, because they are dying normally, their souls get to go to whatever afterlife there is and can rest peacefully. When switching bodies, though, the person isn't really dying because the body is still alive--their soul is being ripped out and thrown into the ether. Jax has no clue where it goes and assumes they just wander aimlessly forever, which weighs heavily on them. But still, they have to survive somehow.

Misc. facts:

They keep a journal! Nepherits still have a human-length memory capacity, so Jax writes down a lot of notes that they think will be helpful in the future in a big journal. However, they are a TERRIBLE note-taker, so the journal is just full of random words, drawings, and symbols that they scribbled down. When the time comes to refer back to their notes, it's a total puzzle, basically.

They have a secret location where they store all of their past journals.

They love kids and get along well with them.

They had an adopted son once and loved being a parent.

They love to dance and are really good at it.

They love the theater but are definitely not gifted enough to ever be a part of a show.

With each body, they follow the same color scheme (black base, with red and purple accents), prefer to keep their hair short, and tend to wear long sleeves and pants; each body gets a different kind of outfit and a different dual-wielded weapon than the last one (they currently use axes!)

The scar across their nose appears on every body they take because it was given to them by The Necromancer, so it is bonded to them.

They love physical touch, but often avoid it because of how cold their skin is. When shaking hands, they will cover their hand with their sleeve, and when someone gives them a hug, they make sure to crane their face away from the other person's so their skin doesn't touch theirs.

Because they can't taste anything, Jax prefers foods that have a crunchy texture.

Despite not being able to feel temperature, Jax will dress somewhat weather-appropriate, so as not to look out of place

Jax's ear tag was J4X-115

They pry their ear tag off every time they switch bodies

Ironically, they still love to fight and kill, a product of the nepherits' inherent--yet guilt-inducing--warrior bloodlust. Nothing brings out their "LET'S FUCKING GOOO" side like a tournament

Though nepherits take what they can get, body-wise, Jax tends to end up in biologically male bodies because their body-switching often happens when they're in a fight, which usually means there's more men around (though they have taken female bodies before, of course)

(1. as a nepherit warrior; 2. their current body; 3. a different body!; 4. literally ignore Topher, but this is the only full-body drawing I have of them in their current design with their axes LMAO)

(if you go into my annikuh's creating tag, you'll for sure find more Jax :3)

Syvis (she/her)

Syvis is an elf! She's independent, intelligent, intuitive, confident, level-headed, dedicated, and excellent with a bow and arrow. She's the daughter of a florist (her father) and the region's head religious leader (her mother). All three are very well-respected. She and her community are very nature-based, as is their religion, and the elves in general are immortal.

She's also Jax's soulmate. She found them on the side of the road being beaten by a gang of cart thieves and (after almost shooting them in the head too lol) took them in to make sure they weren't hurt after hitting their head so hard. Syvis clicked with Jax quickly, even though Jax was truly a disaster and at the lowest point of their existence, and the two became friends and lovers. She got a lot of backlash from her community for associating with a nepherit, but she let it roll off her back and was sure to protect Jax from any negativity. Eventually, the community accepted Jax in--they weren't going anywhere, so they might as well. She's a great rock for Jax, being unconditionally loving while still being firm with them. And while she and her family are highly religious, they are very respectful of Jax's aversion to the gods.

In the present day, unfortunately, Syvis and the elves have been dead for several hundred years after the humans committed a mass elven genocide. She had been killed right in front of Jax by a dozen human soldiers, whom Jax promptly obliterated. Jax had recently found a drawing of the two of them, but because it was so long ago, they couldn't remember who she was but knew she had to be important. Eventually, they accidentally stumbled upon the room where she had been killed (thanks to their god-awful notes they followed)--littered with human bones and, at the back wall, Syvis's skeleton displayed, decorated with flowers and her headscarf. All the memories quickly came flooding back to Jax, and they are still struggling with this grief again. Now, they carry the scarf with them.

Misc. Facts:

She helped Jax raise their son

She loves adventuring

She is also a very good dancer; one of her and Jax's first bonding moments was them dancing together

Syvis was the first person to touch Jax's bare skin without flinching or reacting

She finds Jax's skin temperature refreshing because she naturally runs hot

Her color scheme is very warm and earthy colors--she likes orange and yellow the best

The headbands and the many piercings on her ear are common elven traditions

Panathir (he/him)

Panathir is another nepherit and considered to be Jax's twin. When he was created, The Nec had considered him defective for his purpose, possessing more extreme negative traits that outweighed any beneficial skills he had. The Nec held onto Panathir, as he was still one of the first nepherits that were created (number 11), and didn't want to fully destroy him--he was still another warrior that could be used. However, Jax was created to correct the mistakes that The Nec had made with Panathir, thus making Jax nepherit number 11.5. They are the only set of nepherit "twins" that were ever created.

Panathir is insecure, vengeful, impulsive, abusive, obsessive, codependent, power-hungry, and emotionally stunted, and makes it everyone else's problem. Whereas Jax feels stigma about being a nepherit, he knows he's evil, he knows he's a villain, and the fear makes him feel powerful. He's very obsessed with being the dominant position in every situation, but his insecurity makes any perceived disrespect--however minor--feel like a threat on his life.

He feels incredibly threatened by Jax, as he is fully aware they are better than him in every way possible (e.g. better warrior; self-sufficient without him) and far more well-liked than he is. This manifests in him tearing down Jax however he can to assert his dominance over them; he truly hates them. At the same time, he is obsessed with them. Jax makes him feel whole and he craves their love and acceptance, and he (often successfully) tries to isolate them from others who may steal Jax away from him. Jax is the only one who cares/cared about him (despite how afraid they are of him), and kindness from them make him melt; this makes him feel pathetic and even angrier at them. Very much an "I hate you, don't leave me" dynamic.

After The Necromancer was killed, Panathir and Jax tried living in the real world and, like the rest of the nepherits, were highly discriminated against. Panathir preferred to literally fight back against this; if someone wanted him dead, it gives him free reign to kill them. He and Jax lived by this for a while, terrorizing the mainlands who dared to hate them, but this got to Jax, eventually, and they insisted they retreat to the Dead Isle.

After mounting concerns about Panathir's violence and the vengeful person they felt Panathir was turning them into, Jax had abandoned him in the middle of the night to escape him, plunging Panathir into millenia of constant distress and anguish over this abandonment and betrayal. He spent every day thinking about them, hating them and crying over them and begging the universe to bring them back to him, and only stayed "alive" out of the small possibility that he'd find them again. His rage built constantly and he externalized his anger often. Whereas Jax often turns their distress on themself, he turns it outward on others and has never emotionally progressed.

Luckily for him (and unluckily for Jax), he has found them again and works constantly to make them regress back into the violent and vengeful person they were when they were with him, and isolate them from their friends by convincing them that nobody else understands them like he does. He genuinely thinks he is helping them by doing so, believing that their constant masking and catering to mortals is a waste of their time and actively harmful to their quality of life, but he will put that belief on the back burner if it means that they stay in his life. He wants the best for them, and thinks that what's best is being with him.

Jax doesn't remember him, but he is so desperate and in such clear pain that they can't help but take him in. They see their younger self in him, and want to help him be better, but his words also worm their way into their head and easily influence them, trapping them back into that abusive dynamic.

Misc. facts:

He is VERY smug most of the time, believing himself to be better than others

He walks very heavily, as if the massive chip on his shoulder actually holds weight

Anytime Jax threatens to leave him, he will go to extremely humiliating lengths to keep them there, even throwing himself at their feet; if they were to actually leave him for good, he'd likely commit a murder-suicide

He fostered some magical capabilities

His obsession with Jax resulted in a deeply and violently psychosexual attachment to them; his feelings are romantic/erotic in the same way that stalking, or wanting to skin and cannibalize someone alive, or keeping someone in your basement, or cuddling with the person you just murdered are

He is very handsy with Jax, often softly touching their face or their hair, and has to hold them while he sleeps; the amount of physical contact and the intimacy of it is often unnerving for Jax, but they are so touch-starved and so happy that they don't have to worry about him pulling away because of their temperature that they just let it happen

He's a talented artist and can easily draw Jax from memory

Over the time he spent without them, he created a wall of illustrations of Jax, some of which he collected (e.g. "wanted" posters), and others that he had drawn; he would frequently stare at these and throw darts or knives at them when he was angry

He has a good memory of Jax and can recall details about them that they didn't even remember, due to his obsessive fixation on them.

His color palette is opposite of Jax's--dark green and teal

He has a large scar diagonally across his chest (at the same direction and angle as Jax's scar across their nose), given to him by The Necromancer, that follows him into every new body he takes

He had coincidentally been working with the villains that Jax and their friends were going after, which is how their paths crossed again

When he had caught wind that Jax was nearby, he lured them to him by torturing and killing a family, then kidnapping and psychologically torturing one of their friends, knowing this would upset them enough to lead them to track him down

His nepherit ear tag was J4X-11, though he quickly changed that once The Necromancer was dead and the other nepherits began changing their names to try and distance himself from Jax

Like Jax, he, too, removes his tag when he changes bodies, often destroying them himself

Bonus OCs that occupy different universes:

Dr. Dawn Walker (she/her)

(Vampire the Masquerade; year 1995)

Dawn is a high-empathy, high-insight Malkavian and a licensed psychologist, who specializes in severe trauma. She has a deep commitment to all of her patients and an extremely high success rate, thanks to both her skill and an…unusual treatment technique. It’s a redressed “new-age” version of bloodletting—bleeding a lunatic will allow the insanity to escape and will restore their humors. Thus, Dawn will end a session with a short visualization meditation and draw a vial of blood, which she drinks upon their departure. She doesn’t believe in the treatment at all, but finds it ultimately ethically sound since she takes very little blood, the placebo effect is incredibly powerful, she provides aftercare, and—most importantly—it keeps her from getting her fill of blood in MUCH less ethical ways. She “lives” her undeath by the principles of harm reduction and reasonable harm, and the APA code of ethics…in her own way.

Dawn has an unwavering obsession with maintaining her humanity, and does so through her deep connections with her patients, which leads her to be unable to separate her work from her real “life.” She often becomes unhealthily obsessed with her patients, thinking about them 24/7. She uses her hyper-empathy to suffer their traumas alongside them, which makes her a great psychologist, but leads her to internalize their problems. This all fuels her Malkavian insanity—she suffers compulsions and delusions, most prominently regarding her connection to certain patients, and, during her intense fits of psychosis, intense hallucinations of her patients’ trauma as if they were her own. Terrifying.

Despite her young age, having been turned only ~20 years earlier, she has recently sired a former patient, Sarah, whom Dawn had been convinced was her “soul”mate. 

Unfortunately, Sarah had left Dawn’s practice after only a few sessions, but after many months of twitching at the incompleted “prophecy” and compulsive light stalking, fate had reunited the two after Sarah was kidnapped by a villainous vampire for her powerful blood. The doctor seized the opportunity, and now keeps Sarah locked in her already-soundproofed apartment, feeding her blood drawn from Dawn’s patients–the safest, most ethical option for her and everyone else. Sarah is miserable and exhausted by her new “life” with her insane ex-psychologist, but Dawn is confident her childe will soon realize the supernatural bond they share and come to love her just the same. Until then, the doctor will continue to study and care for her apathetic Sarah and silently cry her frustrations out in the shower.

(Sarah & Dawn)

Misc facts:

Though she doesn’t identify with any labels in particular, Dawn would probably fall somewhere along the asexuality spectrum. She’s never had a partner before, and her interest in sex is mostly based in a studious curiosity. 

Sometimes she fantasizes about seeing Sarah nude, but mostly just to admire her purest form and for the emotional intimacy it would bring. If Sarah asked (which she probably won’t), she would be delighted to touch her, but likely wouldn’t get any physical arousal out of it.

Dawn lives in a normal apartment in Manhattan, New York. 

She uses two layers of blackout curtains over her windows, the outsides nailed to the wall and the insides tightly buttoned together (just in case she needs to look out the window during the nighttime).

She sleeps on a mattress pad under her (somewhat elevated) bed, with short curtains hanging on all sides for extra extra protection

Frightened of disturbing her neighbors, her floors are heavily carpeted and her walls are soundproofed.

She grew up in California and came of age during the hippie movement and still wears her beads every day.

Oddly, she managed to evade the darkness of the scene; she was too busy with her studies to get into the heavy drugs and sex.

One of her favorite ways to regulate herself before she was turned was to spend time in the sun. Now, she simulates sunbathing with a reptile heat lamp hanging from the slats under her bed, a fuzzy green carpet, and sometimes a small fan. She does this before work every day, listening to her favorite music from the 60s through her walkman.

Her sire is her long-time therapist, whom she still has sessions with, regularly. Even after all this time, Dawn knows almost nothing about her.

She had a handful of psych ward stays when she was growing up, which helped inspire her to go into psychology.

When very anxious, she self-soothes by tapping on her collarbones with one hand (using the side of her thumb on one collarbone and her middle finger on the other) or counting the beads on her necklace, usually to spell out the name of the person making her anxious, starting on a bead that matches the color of their shirt.

Her eyes appear frightening in pictures, but comforting and inviting in person, even without using any of her powers.

She tries to keep up with fashion trends and pop culture. She’s really enjoying the 90s so far! There’s a lot more to watch on TV at night.

She likes to bring coffee and a donut to the security guard who attends the building her office is in. It makes him happy, and helps her stay as human as she can. 

Though certainly still odd to other kindred, she’s usually the most sane Malkavian in a group. She has a few friends in her clan that she spends time with outside of work, all of whom have a more advanced type of madness. She finds it very interesting, but also treasures their friendship.

She’ll sometimes mobilize them to send letters to the city council about recent political developments (especially after meeting Sarah, who worked as a nanny for one of the councilmen; if there was strife there, she’d assume it would cause stress at the councilman’s home, which would cause stress for Sarah, which Dawn couldn’t allow)

She’s very interested in continuing her research, especially into vampire-specific psychology. She would love to start a scientific journal on the topic at some point, but there’s a lot of logistics that would need to be ironed out first.

Odille Vale (she/her)

(Blades in the Dark RPG)

Odille is a sex worker who doubles as a spy and assassin, known in the criminal underworld as the "Hawk in the Mist" for her hooked nose--the only feature that can be seen when her hood is up when carrying out a hit. She uses her job at the brothel, The Painted Hen, to collect information on the other gangs in the city and her targets; it's surprising how much these male customers disclose. To others, Odille is serious, determined, straight-edge, cool, calm, and collected. She's stealthy, good with a gun, and an excellent improviser. The world she lives in is crime- and gang-ridden, dark 24/7, musty, and haunted by ghosts. It kind of has similar vibes to a creepy Jack-the-Ripper-Era England.

Odille's late husband, Colin, had met her when she was a sex worker and whisked her away to live an affluent life. When he suddenly died, his family left her with nothing, seeing her previously line of work as a stain on the family's reputation, leading her to have to return to sex work. When that was no longer enough to pay the bills, she got the opportunity to break into the criminal underworld and took it, finding that she had a knack for it.

Unfortunately, the loss of Colin has left Odille in a perpetual state of mourning. She deprives herself of any sort of fun or pleasure because it causes her to feel guilty--how can she be happy if her husband is dead? It is so severe that even smiling makes her feel bad. She refrains from drugs, alcohol, and non-work-related sex--not to mention love--lest she enjoy herself too much. People say that a late partner would want their widow to enjoy their life and move on, but Odille doesn't think so.

However, she is not immune to moments of weakness, especially around Henry (see below! please!). On nights when Odille gets too carried away celebrating a job well done or lamenting a job went wrong, she'll often have sex with Henry. She will give him a dollar that he then gives back to her so money is technically exchanged, creating a loophole that makes it a business transaction. She knows, though, that these spontaneous moments feel much different than any other time she's had sex with him at the Hen. She wants him, but her guilt won't let her have him, and she's sure to punish herself greatly for it the next morning.

Misc. facts:

While she dolls herself up for her job at the Painted Hen, she conducts her criminal work in male attire--a white button-down, black slacks and vest, black boots, a long black cape, no makeup, and her hair slicked back

Her gang is called the Audubon Society because, coincidentally, everyone has a bird-related alias

She still wears her wedding ring

She had never shot a gun before taking her first hit job

(picrew here! will eventually draw her too, but the few times i've tried i've hated it lol)

Henry (he/him)

Henry is Odille's closest friend, business partner, and most loyal customer. He runs a pub in the next neighborhood over and allows Odille and the Audubon Society to operate out of the basement. He is friendly, polite, intuitive, respectful, unassumingly intelligent, sober, and a shrewd businessman. He's knowledgeable about the criminal underworld from the information he overhears from his patrons, and helps Odille in her negotiations with other gangs.

He had first met Odille at the Painted Hen. It was his first time meeting with a sex worker and he was very shy and nervous, so asked if they could do some small talk before jumping into anything. They ended up talking all through sex, and he had such a good time with her that he kept coming back to see her. He would come by every night after closing the pub to come see her--sometimes for sex and sometimes not--and they struck up a good friendship.

Henry truly adores Odille, even though she keeps him at an emotional arm's length. He revels in the moments where she lets herself go, whether it be a loud laugh, confessing a deeper emotion, or spontaneously seducing him and making love to him. Henry truly cherishes those nights they sleep together outside of the Painted Hen's walls when she returns all the love he shows to her, though it stings to have to still "pay" her for it. He knows she has some sort of baggage that she won't tell him about and respects this, but it is heartbreaking to see her put her wall back up. He would never consider cutting her off, though; that heartache is worth it as long as she's still in his life.

Misc. facts:

He taught Odille how to shoot a gun

When he goes to the Painted Hen, he always asks Odille if she wants to have sex that night, instead of just expecting it because he's paying her

He lent Odille his clothes to wear on her first hit job