SilverTails

A Strains:

Nickname from humans: Demons Nickname from other Solvers: Bats Nickname for Young strain A Solvers: Pups

Notable people that have it: Jaelyn Doorman (AA) Khan Doorman (a) Nori Doorman (A) ??? (Ba)* ??? (Ab)*

AA (doubled)- bigger wings, bigger tail head...like, can't hide them big. Jae has to have hers hidden under her coat as she wraps them around her like a cloak. Her tail is more often than not tied around her waist or hiding under her desk gnawing on something. They are half again as tall as she is individually (she's nearly 5 feet)...so her wingspan is closer to being about 16 feet in length. S for comparison (7ft tall) has a wingspan of about 14/15 feet. Her tail's fangs are also bigger and sharper and more akin to hunting knives than glass shards. Strain As in JS also have their tails talking to them as soon as they start showing signs of infection regardless of their transformation state. It's a mental voice only they can hear (Jae's is already super chatty and she hasn't turned yet. It's that intrusive little 'We don't like her, we should totally bite her' moment when E's tormenting her...and is also the internal voice that was shrieking alongside Jae about 'dying' during the vision fits).

a (diluted)- has either wings or tail but not both. Still has the venom that all A strains have and the future visions.

A (regular)- See canon Uzi for wing size and tail size, also has neurotoxin venom.

Ab (Greater Hybrid)- has wings and tail and one or two reaper blades. Can displace themselves like two inches to the side via teleport. Also has visions of both past and future. Kids with this strain are dubbed "Oracles".

Ac (Greater Hybrid)-has wings and tail from Strain A and the eyes and claws from the strain C though they are more the size of DD claws. Aka...hi, here's the biomechanical Murder Drone. Kids with this strain are dubbed "Diablos"

Ad (Greater Hybrid)- has wings and tail from Strain A while a shadow limb or two and the pharyngeal jaws from Strain D. They are capable of minor illusions and can patchily cloak themselves to become camouflaged. They also have the Strain A neurotoxin and future visions. Kids with this strain are dubbed "Fiends".

B Strains

Nickname from humans: Reapers Nickname from drones: Scissors Nickname for young Strain B Solvers: Safety Scissors/Butter Knives

Notable People that have it: ??? (b) * ??? (Bd) * ??? (Ba) ** ??? (Ab) **

BB (Doubled): Generally has about 6-8 Reaper Blades (insanely sharp 'bladed limbs' of 'invisible' air...will be tinged the same color as the Solver Drone's light that can fold back against the drone's back to make more a 'shield'...is strong enough to deflect bullets as we saw Doll deflect "Tessa's" shots) and they range from being smooth to serrated. They are able to see the past or force others to see the past as well as teleport multiple times within moments.

b (diluted): Will have two reaper blades at most, can teleport but at most a few inches to dodge a blow. Can still see the past/force others to see the past.

B (Regular): What I gave Canon Doll with a little flavoring from Kirie from Internecion Cube. Will have 4-6 Reaper blades and they are smooth, more like knives. Can Teleport and see the past/force others to see the past.

Ba (Greater Hybrid): Will have 4-6 Reaper Blades and can teleport like the others as well as have visions of both past and future. They will have wings OR tail much like a diluted strain A. These children are called "Oracles".

Bc (Greater Hybrid): Will have 4-6 Reaper Blades and can teleport like the others, can have visions of the past. Will have an optic array like the C strain does and claws about the size of a DD. They do not have a gun. These children are called "Spellshots"

Bd (Greater Hybrid): Will have 4-6 Reaper Blades and can teleport like the others, can have visions of the past. They have the D strain's pharyngeal jaws and are capable of creating minor illusions. These children are called "Wraiths"

C Strains

Nickname from humans: Marksman Nickname from drones: Snipers Nickname for young Strain C Solvers: Pistols

Notable People that have it: Luke Sterling (c) Emmett Sterling (Cd)

CC (doubled): ABSOLUTELY MASSIVE claws with knuckles that drag the ground. Can make both their arms go from claws to fleshy sniper guns rather than one or the other. Has an ocular suite much like a DD does.

c (diluted): can manifest claws about the size of a DD's, no gun. Debatable if they have the ocular suite as well (In JS they do, unsure about LG).

C (Normal): Claws are long enough the knuckles will brush the ground, one arm will become the C Strain's gun. They have the optical suite much like a DD does (JS after the first transformation will have these eyes permanently, LG is unknown and at Silver's discretion)

Ca (Greater-Hybrid): Claws are long enough that the knuckles will brush the ground, has the gun and eyes as well that is typical for a C strain. They have either the wings OR the tails of the Strain A and are capable of seeing visions. They also have the strain A Neurotoxin. These children are called "Diablos" just like their Ac counterparts.

Cb (Greater-Hybrid): Claws are long enough that the knuckles will brush the ground, has the gun and eyes as well that is typical for a C strain. These children are called "Spellshots" much like their Bc counterparts.

Cd (Greater-Hybrid): Claws are long enough that the knuckles will brush the ground, has the gun and eyes as well that is typical for a C strain. They have the D strain's pharyngeal jaws and one or two shadow limbs, though the latter will manifest post transformation. They are also capable of minor illusions or cloaking. These children are called "Trickshots"

D Strains

Nickname from humans: Ghosts Nickname from drones: Spooks Nickname for young Strain D Solvers: Boos

Notable People that have it: Alice Sterling (d) (Note from old convo that I found funny: She didn't need mind fuggary in JS but here we are") Beau Sterling (Dc) ??? (Bd) ** ??? (d) *

DD (Doubled): Aura of System Shock is larger, able to effectively become invisible to both organic and inorganic life. Illusions are more realistic and cannot be seen through other than by another D Strain. They have more shadow limbs and their pharyngeal jaws' teeth are much larger (think almost as big as the ones we see on Eldritch J).

d (Diluted): Can cloak but it is very patchy and easily noticable, aura of System Shock is very small and can effect only a handful of people. Illusions are more akin to what Eldritch J showed at the beginning with 'Frank' and cannot be projected far. They have one or two shadow limbs and their pharyngeal jaws' teeth are smaller.

D (Regular): Able to project illusions around themselves and in general area. The lower oil level they have the more their 'mind fuggary' System Shock effects those around them ranging from headaches to full on fainting. They are able to cloak in plain sight only barely visible by small pieces of colored code. They are unable to be seen on camera. They have pharyngeal jaws that manifest soon after infection is visible though the shadow limbs are available after first 'transformation' (Note: This is for JS, LG has different reasoning!)

Da (Greater-Hybrid): Able to project illusions around themselves and in general area, are able to cloak themselves, have the typical shadow limbs that a D strain has and have the pharyngeal jaws. The also have wings OR tail from Strain A as well as the neurotoxin and future visions. These children are called "Fiends" much like their Ad counterparts.

Db (Greater-Hybrid): Able to project illusions around themselves and in general area, are able to cloak themselves, have the typical shadow limbs that a D strain has and have the pharyngeal jaws. They also have about two reaper limbs and can teleport just out of reach of a blow (a few inches) from their B strain parent. They also have the ability to see the past or force others to see the past. These children are called "Wraiths" like their Bd counterparts.

Dc (Greater-Hybrid): Able to project illusions around themselves and in general area, are able to cloak themselves, have the typical shadow limbs that a D strain has and have the pharyngeal jaws. They also have the C strain parent's claws, though they are about the same size as a Disassembly Drone's rather than the full C Strain's as well as the optical suite which appears after first 'transformation' upon reaching single digits and will remain with the Dc child much like their jaws do. (This is for JS, not LG). These children are called "Trickshots" like their Cd counterparts.

A Child with a Worker/Disassembler Parent and a Solver Parent that is diluted has a 50% chance of becoming a Solver Drone. Of that, there is a 50% chance that they gain the Normal form of the diluted Parent's strain. (So for example...a Worker and b Strain solver might have a B strain child).

A Child with two Solver parents will always either be a Doubled or Greater Hybrid. Example: Jaelyn is an AA strain despite her father being a Diluted strain and her mother being a Normal strain. Emmett is a Cd strain despite both his parents being Diluted strains...Emmett exhibits Strain C dominant traits, Beau exhibits Strain C dominant traits.

In terms of oil consumption from Greatest to least:

AA A Ac a Ab Ad CC Ca C c Cb Cd Ba Da Bc Dc BB B Bd b DD Db D d

aka...Jaelyn gets REALLY hungry REALLY fast (and also VERY hostile VERY fast) compared to say Beau who gets hungry but not so much as Emmett or Khan. Strain As and Strain Cs will fight each other for material as they both need it especially for first transformation.

Beau and Emmett's last name of "Sterling" came from 'sterling silver', which when I think of silver...I normally think of wild west things which fit with them. This would have been Beau's last name in Ad Astra as well. Cyn's last name of "Beaufae" is a bit of a mashup. "Beau" being a nod to the fact she's dating Beau but is also french for beautiful/handsome and fae being for "fairy" so her full last name is "Beautiful Fairy"...I've described her as being a bit ethereal for a Worker and it's a nod to the more mystery stuff in canon with her and the Solver.

For the strains, I can't take credit for C and D as they're originally from @mephiles97 and their story Through the Looking Glass!

Strain C and D have their own special little things for when they hit 'rage mode' low oil levels.

Strain C's basically have one of their arms explode and become a more fleshy version of the DD's laser canons while the other arm sprouts claws that (depending on the dosage of strain so diluted/regular/hybrid/doubled) can range from the size of a DD's claws (diluted and lesser hybrid)...to so big that the knuckles are dragging the ground (doubled/greater hybrid/regular). (Beau's are about the size of DD claws...Emmett hasn't hit that point yet...but he's got the unfortunate Greater Hybrid part). Strain Cs also gain the 'optic array' of the DDs...just more fleshy. Beau hides his under his hat since he's a hybrid...but it's only a couple eyes/not as good as a greater Hybrid would have. Lesser Hybrid and Diluted do not have access to the gun. So Luke did not have the gun, just the claws, same with Beau...Emmett has (or will have) the gun.

Strain D's have something that is called "System Shock" in which they have a literal bubble of electromagnetism around them that screws with everyone and everything...plus the fact that there are more shadow limbs and their pharyngeal jaws lock their ability to speak to just pings. Like with the strain C claws, the size of the jaws change with the dosage of Strain D the Solver Drone has. So a diluted or lesser hybrid D strain won't have it as bad as the Regular/Doubled/greater Hybrid D strain does (Emmett and Alice's wasn't as bad as Beau's).

Strain A actually does have a secondary thing. That being the neurotoxin in their mouths and tail. If they bite something organic, it will die in less than a minute (this is true for Ad Astra as well). Strain A in Ad Astra differs a little than Strain A in Jaded Stars in the fact that Ad Astra's male Strain As had claws (Luke in To Stay In Heaven was shown to have this, Max will be shown to have this when he does inevitably turn in To Serve In Heaven. V was a prototype in the manor so she does not count in this state). I did play around with the thought of Strain A having spines but...well...that got scrapped as I felt that might be too much. We'll see if that becomes a thing in the future.

For visions in regards of the C and D strains, Silver has said that they don't have them. Mainly because that felt like something unique to the original two strains and they wanted something different. (for more strain C and D stuff I HIGHLY recommend asking them! They love to chat about their works and they don't get NEAR as much as attention as they should.)

OKAY, SO! First up. Strain C

Strain C is an invert of Strain A where it has fleshy bits but specializes in ranged combat instead of close range.

Like DB said here, when entering Solver Mode, Strain C turns the drone's (usually dominant) arm into a gun. Think how the DDs have the missile launcher arms but make it a fleshy gross version like how the Strain A wings are a flesh mock of DD wings.

Transforming will crush the Strain C's arm as the flesh expands and changes shape... which allows them to use the shrapnel produced by that as ammunition for their new gun. Think bits of metal and bolts fired at super speeds thanks to [Translate] projectiles.

The gun is obviously only useful at long range and is way less useful in short range, so that's why the C's other arm and hand will transform into a massive claw made of flesh, metal, and bone. The claw is useful both for closer range combat if the target the C was shooting at gets in too close for the gun, plus the claws are sturdy enough to allow them to climb walls and get to higher vantage points or sniper nests

Strain C's also have an uncanny sense of accuracy and situational awareness not present in other strains. This is due to the band of fleshy eyes that every Strain C grows on their head like a DD optical array. That thing gives them better accuracy and literally gives them eyes on the back of their head so to speak once the C is good enough at using the extra eyes without accidentally getting effectively cross-eyed

And then there's the Strain D's

DB pretty much already hit the nail on the head with that one but yes, their main thing is an ability I called System Shock. Strain D's have a weirdness field around them that really screws with electronics (more so than the other Strains) and can affect other drones in the form of hallucinations, creepy feelings, nausea, and etc.

Hunting Strain D's will use this to either camouflage themselves by making their target see something that isn't them (like, say, the target starts seeing a trash can instead of the Strain D that's lying in wait) OR they'll use it to terrify their prey and get the prey to do what they want

(If you've read Cross the Jaded Stars, you've seen this one in action with the monster that was slinking around)

Strain D's also have the ability to cloak themselves in code and turn "invisible". They're not truly invisible; what's actually happening is that the onlooker's optics are bouncing off of them. So the onlooker knows someone is there/can sense someone is there, but they can't actually see them

Then there's the shadow limbs... Strain D's have shadow limbs (think what Solver!Nori got herself down out of the chains with in episode 7) that can grab things or whip people

The second/inner jaw is another quirk of the strain and mostly exists to aid with feeding. Two jaws is harder to rip away from than one jaw, after all

NOW! Last of all... Strain C and Strain D do not experience visions unless they're hybridized with a A or a B. A and B are unique in their visions so that's just not something that C and D's have access to unless they're hybrids