CHARACTERIZATION.

physicality (fantasy) physicality (urban fantasy) betrayal, near-death experience (rewrite) body language sexual intimacy friendship romantic attachment (et al.) (rewrite) water symbolism, growth, change (rewrite, defunct) denial sleeping habits empathy (rewrite) weaknesses (rewrite) core character & narrative traits

WORLDBUILDING.

EDUCATION & LEVEL OF SKILL.

importantly, regulus isn't prodigious in any respect. whatever it is that he knows about magic, he knows because he worked so hard to learn it. whatever skills he has, he has them because he trained and practiced and failed and tried and tried and tried and tried again. whatever knowledge he has, he has because he studied and researched and traveled and yearned for it. it's true that he was born with the capacity for magic but the ability to wield it effectively is because of his effort. his curiosity, his blood and sweat.

that said, he does have a great advantage over many other magic-users of his kind — given his upbringing in a magical environment and his access to resources and millennia of forgotten knowledge. he was born into the privilege of access to this knowledge and a safe environment in which to learn it. outside of this self-study and family-provided tutelage, there is no type of magic school or centralized system. those who have connections to other magical people will learn what they can from them, or will rely on their own efforts to discover and knowledge and practice the limits of their abilities.

between his self-study, curious nature, and home environment, regulus develops highly-skilled magic use at a young age — and continues developing it long into old age.

while he could be described as an overall magical proficient, he does have several specialties which have been his particular focus.

MASTERED SKILLS.

CURSES : curses, hexes, and cursebreaking. regulus' access to dark magical materials makes him rather adept at identifying, placing, or unraveling curses. it was a particular interest of his in his youth and he carries this knowledge with him into adulthood, at times working as a cursebreaker in exchange either for favors or services, or for fun. he also takes to the practice of cursing objects as traps for others ( if he believes they deserve it ).

ABJURATION : protective wards, shields, barriers. regulus' father is particularly skilled in this respect and passed that knowledge down to regulus, who later expands upon it. he can produce wards that keep someone out of a space, either by installing an impenetrable barrier or a barrier that harms and disintegrates those that touch it. it could also be a barrier that, once crossed, spits the person out on the other side of the protected area.

he can produce wards that trigger a trap or trigger a quiet alarm to alert the spellcaster, without the intruder knowing an alarm was sent.

regulus' shields can withstand high blast pressure, especially if he's there to continually maintain and repair the shield as it's damaged. however, constant maintenance does draw a lot of his energy and it's not something he would choose to do often without some great need.

regulus also uses wards for more mundane uses, such as soundproofing rooms and spaces or blocking the view in through his windows so outside figures can't see into his home, office, or car.

ENCHANTING : binding spells to spaces or objects to augment existing properties or add new properties. regulus frequently uses magic to enhance clothing and weaponry or to create new things that serve a higher functional use ( ie. a blanket that cannot be penetrated by the cold or keeps a person cool in the heat ). he loves gifting these objects to his friends and loved-ones — especially those leading dangerous or complicated lives. clothing that is fire or cut-resistant, gloves that remain warm in the coldest air, trick arrows that surpass that which technology can perform, etc.

this is a particular fascination for regulus and something at which he greatly excels specifically because he finds so much joy in it. it is the balance of knowledge and creativity that lends extremely well to this kind of innovative magic use.

CLIMATE CONTROL : in his early-20's regulus adopts a deep interest in plant life and, around this time, begins cultivating a massive garden property with flowers, trees, shrubberies, and every manner of flora. in an effort to preserve and care for these plants he put a great deal of effort into learning climate control magic; ie. controlling the temperature, weather, and pressure in a given space. his entire property is interwoven with intricate spellwork for the sole purpose of keeping his garden alive and thriving year-round.

outside of this use, he can also magically control the temperature in the space around him, enchant items to retain warmth or coolness, and otherwise create a comfortable environment without electrical appliances.

MID-LEVEL ABILITIES & POWERS.

there are certainly things that regulus is very good at, even if he hasn't put the most time and effort into learning them. these are things that he uses often and with confidence but wouldn't consider himself to be "one of the best" at.

TELEPORTATION : regulus can teleport from one area to another via "manifesting" or "space-walking." he disappears into a cloud of black, billowing mist and reappears in another cloud of billowing mist, in another location. the action is completely silent and appears as if he's simply walking out of space.

he can take one or two people with him but taking larger groups of people requires more energy than he's usually willing to expend. his butler, paul, was born with the innate ability of teleportation and regulus will often enlist his help for emergencies.

LEVITATING OBJECTS : regulus can levitate large objects, though larger objects ( ie. walls and buildings ) would require more focus and energy. he can lift and move small objects with negligible ease and often does so when he's in the private company of people who know he's a sorcerer. he can also levitate people — however, he can't levitate himself and therefore can't fly. this is largely due to disinterest, as he prefers to teleport.

CONJURING : regulus can conjure smaller and more basic objects, and he can use conjuring to retrieve objects from other locations.

SHADOW MANIPULATION : purely for entertainment, particularly for children. he can move them like actual shadow-puppets and puts on little shows. it is one of his most favourite forms of playful magic.

ELEMENTAL MAGIC : manipulating and creating with the elements. this might be slightly related to his proficiency with climate magic, but generally speaking he does not work often with fire or water; though he can start fires, grow them, subdue them, and manipulate water.

SENSORY MANIPULATION : spells that alter sight, sound, and confuse the senses. can be considered a form of ILLUSION MAGIC, creating images that bewilder, redirect, or otherwise trick another being. regulus prefers to work in this indirect type of combative magic and has therefore focused much of his time and energy into learning it.

SHAPESHIFTING : himself and others. he can shapeshift himself into simple creatures and typically adopts the form of either a black cat or a peregrine falcon. he can transform the shape of others and has on more than one occasion performed rescues by turning someone into a mouse and tucking them into his pocket.

GLAMOUR : he can apply glamour to himself, others, as well as a given space; either to conceal or transform it visually into something else. regulus does not prefer doing this due to the number of factors affecting this type of magic ( ie. others who can see through glamour, the magic somehow failing, someone entering that space and therefore bypassing its appearance ), and it's therefor not a type of magic he typically relies on.

DEFICIENCIES.

while regulus has many high-level skills, there are certain things that have never ever interested him and he's therefore put little to no effort into learning them — or things he has stayed far away from, either for moral or cautious reasons.

BREWING & POTIONS : "how much can a single potion cost? ten dollars?" the subject of brewing has never interested regulus, especially given his resources and connection with those who are highly-skilled. he's always just assumed that if he needs one, he can buy one from someone else.

HEALING : "when will i ever need this?" famous last words, because he needed it and didn't have it. regulus is not a completely hopeless healer, he can heal small scrapes and bruises and he can mend most things long enough to get them to someone who's actually medically-capable, but he shouldn't be relied-upon.

DIVINATION : he wants no part of it. regulus holds no negative thoughts or feelings on others who practice these arts, but he himself doesn't want to know the future, does not want to speak to the dead, and refuses to believe in 'fate,' 'destiny,' or the other wise pre-ordained.

NECROMANCY : regulus himself has no interest in the practice of necromancy though he does have a high academic understanding of it, through the knowledge in his family archive.

HAEMOMANCY : blood magic. i don't think regulus has ever been particularly interested in this, though he does have a vague understanding of how it works and how it is used, through texts in his family's archive.

EDUCATION & LEVEL OF SKILL.

importantly, regulus isn't prodigious in any respect. whatever it is that he knows about magic, he knows because he worked so hard to learn it. whatever skills he has, he has them because he trained and practiced and failed and tried and tried and tried and tried again. whatever knowledge he has, he has because he studied and researched and traveled and yearned for it. it's true that he was born with the capacity for magic but the ability to wield it effectively is because of his effort. his curiosity, his blood and sweat.

that said, he does have a great advantage of being raised in a magical environment with access to resources and millennia of forgotten knowledge. he was born into the privilege of access to this knowledge and a safe environment in which to learn it. he was guided by tutors, members of his family, and his own self-study. the dupois family believes that magic is derived from the moon and the stars and their unique customs and motifs are heavily-laden with these motifs. driven by pride and a strong personal interest, and equipped with endless resources, regulus absorbs more of this magical knowledge than most of his family members in an age.

while he could be described as an overall magical proficient, regulus does have several specialties which have been his particular focus.

HIGH-LEVEL PROFICIENCIES.

ABJURATION : wards, shields, protective barriers. abjuration is a particular focus of the dupois family and their unique spells and style are passed down through their descendants. regulus learns these techniques from his father and expands on them later in life. he can produce wards that resist fire, warn him or others of an intruding presence, or cause minor harm to those who cross. he can fortify walls and structures against blunt damage attacks and destruction.

ENCHANTING : binding spells to spaces or objects to augment existing properties or add new properties. regulus frequently uses magic to enhance clothing and weaponry or to create new things that serve a higher functional use ( ie. a blanket that cannot be penetrated by the cold or keeps a person cool in the heat ). he loves gifting these objects to his friends and loved-ones — especially those leading dangerous or complicated lives. clothing that is fire or cut-resistant, gloves that remain warm in the coldest air, trick arrows that surpass that which technology can perform, etc.

CLIMATE CONTROL : altering the temperature in a given space, increasing the air pressure in a given space. perhaps light weather magic. regulus can use this to defend himself or others against both cold and warm climates & improve the life quality of plants.

TELEPORTATION : regulus can teleport from one area to another via "manifesting" or "space-walking." he disappears into a cloud of black, billowing mist and reappears in another cloud of billowing mist, in another location. the action is completely silent and appears as if he's simply walking out of space. he can take one person or animal with him. attempting to teleport multiple people would be an enormous task.

LEVITATING OBJECTS : regulus can levitate large objects, though larger objects (ie. walls and buildings) would require more focus and energy. he can lift and move small objects with negligible ease and often does so when he's in the private company of people who know he's a sorcerer. he can also lift people.

CURSEBREAKING : ... and its counterpart, cursing. regulus' access to dark magical materials makes him rather adept at identifying, placing, or unwinding curses. it was a particular interest of his in his youth and he carries this knowledge with him into adulthood, at times working as a cursebreaker in exchange either for favors or services, or for fun.

MID-LEVEL PROFICIENCIES.

there are certainly things that regulus is very good at, even if he hasn't put the most time and effort into learning them. these are things that he uses often and with confidence but wouldn't consider himself to be "one of the best" at.

SCRYING : achieving distant sight through reflective surfaces. gaining wisdom from the moon, stars, and nature. tapping into the energy of the natural elements to receive visions, insight, and in some circumstances pass information across long distances.

CONJURING : regulus can conjure smaller and more basic objects, and he can use conjuring to retrieve objects from other locations.

SHADOW MANIPULATION : purely for entertainment, particularly for children. he can move them like actual shadow-puppets and puts on little shows. it is one of his most favourite forms of playful magic.

ELEMENTAL MAGIC : manipulating and creating with the elements. this might be slightly related to his high proficiency with climate magic, but generally speaking he does not work often with fire or water; though he can start fires, grow them, subdue them, and manipulate water.

SENSORY MANIPULATION : spells that alter sight, sound, and confuse the senses. can be considered a form of ILLUSION MAGIC, creating images that bewilder, redirect, or otherwise trick another being. regulus prefers to work in this indirect type of combative magic and has therefore focused much of his time and energy into learning it.

SHAPESHIFTING : himself and others. he can shapeshift himself into simple creatures and typically adopts the form of either a black cat or a peregrine falcon. he can transform the shape of others and has on more than one occasion performed rescues by turning someone into a mouse and tucking them into his pocket.

GLAMOUR : he can apply glamour to himself, others, as well as a given space; either to conceal or transform it visually into something else. regulus does not prefer doing this due to the number of factors affecting this type of magic ( ie. others who can see through glamour, the magic somehow failing, someone entering that space and therefore bypassing its appearance ), and it's therefor not a type of magic he typically relies on.

DEFICIENCIES.

while regulus has many high-level skills, there are certain things that have never ever interested him and he's therefore put little to no effort into learning them.

BREWING & POTIONS : "how much can a single potion cost? ten dollars?" the subject of brewing has never interested regulus, especially given his resources and connection with those who are highly-skilled. he's always just assumed that if he needs one, he can buy one from someone else.

HEALING : "when will i ever need this?" famous last words, because he needed it and didn't have it. regulus is not a completely hopeless healer, he can heal small scrapes and bruises and he can mend most things long enough to get them to someone who's actually medically-capable, but he shouldn't be relied-upon.

NECROMANCY : also wants no part of that. and while i fully believe that he could successfully perform a necromantic ritual, regulus does not fuck with the dead. this is therefore a subject that he actually knows a great deal about, academically, but has never intentionally practiced himself.

EDUCATION & LEVEL OF SKILL.

importantly, regulus isn't prodigious in any respect. whatever it is that he knows about magic, he knows because he worked so hard to learn it. whatever skills he has, he has them because he trained and practiced and failed and tried and tried and tried and tried again. whatever knowledge he has, he has because he studied and researched and traveled and yearned for it. it's true that he was born with the capacity for magic but the ability to wield it effectively is because of his effort. his curiosity, his blood and sweat.

that said, he does have a great advantage over many other magic-users of his kind — given his upbringing in a magical environment and his access to resources and millennia of forgotten knowledge. he was born into the privilege of access to this knowledge and a safe environment in which to learn it. outside of this self-study and family-provided tutelage, there is no type of magic school or centralized system. those who have connections to other magical people will learn what they can from them, or will rely on their own efforts to discover and knowledge and practice the limits of their abilities.

between his self-study, curious nature, and home environment, regulus develops highly-skilled magic use at a young age — and continues developing it long into old age.

while he could be described as an overall magical proficient, he does have several specialties which have been his particular focus.

MASTERED SKILLS.

MEMORY MANIPULATION ( INNATE ABILITY ) : every meda is born with a single, unique ability. this ability is neither learned nor practiced; it is an innate, advanced-level skill born into each of them.

regulus was born with the ability to wield memory magic. he can read, copy, add, remove, alter, or completely erase memories. this power will work on any being capable of memory, including animals extraterrestrials, and supernatural entities. though not every being's memory works the same, and regulus often has to experiment with techniques to learn how to manipulate different mental spaces.

this power can be used to lethal effect, but regulus, as a highly-principled person, rarely does so. the most common use of this ability ( in combat scenarios ) is to turn his opponents on one another by implanting memories that implicate them against each other. he has also targeted leaders and manipulated them to direct their forces against another enemy force.

ABJURATION : protective wards, shields, barriers. regulus' father was born with the innate ability to produce them — and while regulus can never reach the apex of his father's skill, he learned what he could and expanded on that knowledge with his own experimentation.

he can produce wards that keep someone out of a space, either by installing an impenetrable barrier or a barrier that harms and disintegrates those that touch it. it could also be a barrier that, once crossed, spits the person out on the other side of the protected area.

he can produce wards that trigger a trap or trigger a quiet alarm to alert the spellcaster, without the intruder knowing an alarm was sent.

regulus' shields can withstand high blast pressure, especially if he's there to continually maintain and repair the shield as it's damaged. however, constant maintenance does draw a lot of his energy and it's not something he would choose to do often without some great need.

regulus also uses wards for more mundane uses, such as soundproofing rooms and spaces or blocking the view in through his windows so outside figures can't see into his home, office, or car.

ENCHANTING : binding spells to spaces or objects to augment existing properties or add new properties. regulus frequently uses magic to enhance clothing and weaponry or to create new things that serve a higher functional use ( ie. a blanket that cannot be penetrated by the cold or keeps a person cool in the heat ). he loves gifting these objects to his friends and loved-ones — especially those leading dangerous or complicated lives. clothing that is fire or cut-resistant, gloves that remain warm in the coldest air, trick arrows that surpass that which technology can perform, etc.

this is a particular fascination for regulus and something at which he greatly excels specifically because he finds so much joy in it. it is the balance of knowledge and creativity that lends extremely well to this kind of innovative magic use.

POCKET DIMENSIONS : regulus opened his first pocket dimension when he was fourteen, largely out of curiosity. three years later he created the memorium, which became his lair base and private refuge.

–> there's a more detailed look on pocket dimensions and the memorium here.

while regulus has the ability to open new dimensions, he doesn't do this often. the amount of energy it requires to complete the spellwork would knock him out for a few hours at best, and a few days at worst — and regulus doesn't invite that kind of vulnerability without a good reason.

it is, however, something at which he's extremely skilled and he would do if a particular need arose, such as finding a new base of operations in the event of an emergency, hiding or trapping figures, or creating areas of absolute secrecy.

*interdimensional travel is not a particular skill of his but may fall under a "skills that regulus can learn later in life" category.

CLIMATE CONTROL : in his early-20's regulus adopts a deep interest in plant life and, around this time, begins cultivating a massive garden property with flowers, trees, shrubberies, and every manner of flora. in an effort to preserve and care for these plants he put a great deal of effort into learning climate control magic; ie. controlling the temperature, weather, and pressure in a given space. his entire property is interwoven with intricate spellwork for the sole purpose of keeping his garden alive and thriving year-round.

outside of this use, he can also magically control the temperature in the space around him, enchant items to retain warmth or coolness, and otherwise create a comfortable environment without electrical appliances.

CURSEBREAKING : ... and its counterpart, cursing. regulus' access to dark magical materials makes him rather adept at identifying, placing, or unwinding curses. it was a particular interest of his in his youth and he carries this knowledge with him into adulthood, at times working as a cursebreaker in exchange either for favors or services, or for fun.

MID-LEVEL ABILITIES & POWERS.

there are certainly things that regulus is very good at, even if he hasn't put the most time and effort into learning them. these are things that he uses often and with confidence but wouldn't consider himself to be "one of the best" at.

TELEPORTATION : regulus can teleport from one area to another via "manifesting" or "space-walking." he disappears into a cloud of black, billowing mist and reappears in another cloud of billowing mist, in another location. the action is completely silent and appears as if he's simply walking out of space.

he can take one or two people with him but taking larger groups of people requires more energy than he's usually willing to expend. his butler, paul, was born with the innate ability of teleportation and regulus will often enlist his help for emergencies.

LEVITATING OBJECTS : regulus can levitate large objects, though larger objects ( ie. walls and buildings ) would require more focus and energy. he can lift and move small objects with negligible ease and often does so when he's in the private company of people who know he's a sorcerer. he can also levitate people — however, he can't levitate himself and therefore can't fly. this is largely due to disinterest, as he prefers to teleport.

CONJURING : regulus can conjure smaller and more basic objects, and he can use conjuring to retrieve objects from other locations.

SHADOW MANIPULATION : purely for entertainment, particularly for children. he can move them like actual shadow-puppets and puts on little shows. it is one of his most favourite forms of playful magic.

ELEMENTAL MAGIC : manipulating and creating with the elements. this might be slightly related to his proficiency with climate magic, but generally speaking he does not work often with fire or water; though he can start fires, grow them, subdue them, and manipulate water.

SENSORY MANIPULATION : spells that alter sight, sound, and confuse the senses. can be considered a form of ILLUSION MAGIC, creating images that bewilder, redirect, or otherwise trick another being. regulus prefers to work in this indirect type of combative magic and has therefore focused much of his time and energy into learning it.

SHAPESHIFTING : himself and others. he can shapeshift himself into simple creatures and typically adopts the form of either a black cat or a peregrine falcon. he can transform the shape of others and has on more than one occasion performed rescues by turning someone into a mouse and tucking them into his pocket.

GLAMOUR : he can apply glamour to himself, others, as well as a given space; either to conceal or transform it visually into something else. regulus does not prefer doing this due to the number of factors affecting this type of magic ( ie. others who can see through glamour, the magic somehow failing, someone entering that space and therefore bypassing its appearance ), and it's therefor not a type of magic he typically relies on.

DEFICIENCIES.

while regulus has many high-level skills, there are certain things that have never ever interested him and he's therefore put little to no effort into learning them — or things he has stayed far away from, either for moral or cautious reasons.

BREWING & POTIONS : "how much can a single potion cost? ten dollars?" the subject of brewing has never interested regulus, especially given his resources and connection with those who are highly-skilled. he's always just assumed that if he needs one, he can buy one from someone else. HEALING : "when will i ever need this?" famous last words, because he needed it and didn't have it. regulus is not a completely hopeless healer, he can heal small scrapes and bruises and he can mend most things long enough to get them to someone who's actually medically-capable, but he shouldn't be relied-upon.

DIVINATION : he wants no part of it. regulus holds no negative thoughts or feelings on others who practice these arts, but he himself doesn't want to know the future, does not want to speak to the dead, and refuses to believe in 'fate,' 'destiny,' or the other wise pre-ordained.

NECROMANCY : also wants no part of that. and while i fully believe that he could successfully perform a necromantic ritual, regulus does not fuck with the dead. this is therefore a subject that he actually knows a great deal about, academically, but has never intentionally practiced himself.

viltrumite musculature and skeletal structure are extraordinarily dense and resilient, forming a single integrated system that governs their strength, durability, and speed.

they can exert immense force, withstand catastrophic impacts, and generate devastating kinetic damage through both physical strikes and high-velocity movements.

their bodies can continue operating even after sustaining catastrophic internal damage, with fatality typically occurring only when critical organs (heart, brain) are destroyed, or when overall bodily trauma becomes overwhelming.

they are capable of recovering from severe injuries as long as critical organs such as the brain or heart are not destroyed, and have been shown to regenerate damaged internal tissue

neurologically, viltrumites possess heightened sensory perception, reflexes, and spatial awareness, allowing them to perceive, track, and engage targets moving at extreme velocities.

their internal organs are equally reinforced, enabling survival in environments instantly lethal to most life forms.

viltrumites gradually become stronger over time as a result of prolonged survival, combat experience, and continuous physical development. this results in older viltrumites generally being more powerful than younger individuals.

PERSONALITY, MENTAL ATTRIBUTES.

a few decades into regulus' life, his parents noticed in him the emergence of empathy. they attempted to quash this, to some initial success, but succeeded mostly in causing him to repress and ignore these feelings rather than eliminate them entirely. he learns to keep these feelings well-buried to the degree that he himself doesn't notice they exist — until they make themselves known at the most inconvenient times.

while regulus is highly empathetic, this empathy does not hinder his ability to take a necessary killshot. consistent with his canon universe, regulus is pragmatic and realistic and understands life as a contest of "kill or be killed." his ultimate disillusionment with viltrum might make him slightly less-inclined to take a life but he will never pull his punches against enemies that he knows won't pull them with him.

above all else, regulus is a being driven by curiosity. he is eager to learn and absorb, to understand and to study. he will tolerate things he once considered intolerable for the sake of gaining new knowledge. this, combined with his latent feelings of empathy, eventually define regulus' journey towards actual change and defection from the viltrumite empire.

JOURNEY / PLOT HOOKS.

while regulus has left the cruiser at several, limited points ( in the short years immediately preceding this au ), his experiences off-ship are few and far between. his first real mission is to travel to earth and help to convince mark grayson to join them, and secure viltrum's rule over the planet. it is suggested that regulus' age might help him "relate" to mark, and therefore be more persuasive without the need for endless infighting.

while this seemed like an excellent idea on paper, this mission ultimately succeeds only in turning regulus against the empire...

—

FOR INVINCIBLE MUSES : inside of the invincible setting, regulus is wandering earth and exploring the planet's ecosystem and studying humanity. he is endlessly fascinated, sometimes to the point of overwhelm, and learning to shed the biases he learned as a subject in the viltrumite laboratory.

FOR OTHER MUSES : outside of the invincible setting (dc, marvel, comicspace), i imagine most of this is very much the same, but the viltrum empire has not made an attempt to attack earth ( yet? we could do that ) and regulus was sent to earth as a reconnaissance mission, or it's possible he has already defected and arrives to earth to blend in and live a peaceful life. which ends up being anything but. idk this is the point at which i got lazy

in all things from his interests to the friends that he keeps regulus must consider his family. is this appropriate? will this make me (us) look bad? is this considered proper, respectable behavior or should i reconsider?  his outward appearance (the way he styles his hair, his choice of fashion, even his body language and posture) is all dictated by what is considered “proper” for their corner of society. and while regulus isn't actively thinking, “i can’t do[this] because it’ll make my family look bad in society!” it is definitely a subconscious, deeply-rooted factor that touches everything he does.

THE JOURNEY.

now — we know how this manifests in his young life: he adopts his family's elitism, makes friends with the "right" kind of people, has all of the "right" skills and interests, and is the otherwise perfect son of a wealthy and influential meda sorcerer family. but in ways in which regulus himself couldn't recognize, there was always, always a disconnect between the person he was taught to be and the person he inherently was. he parroted his family's beliefs because it's what he knew but those beliefs never reached all the way down to his core. it never felt exactly right. and because his family never fostered an emotionally-intellectual environment, regulus had absolutely no way of unraveling these tangled feelings. he can't tell the difference between things like discomfort, guilt, anger, sadness, confusion. he is not equipped with the skills necessary to process his own thoughts and feelings — and he's a master of self-denial. it's easier to be ignorant and naive than it is to learn to reconcile the person he's told that he is and the person he actually is.

regulus is a rectangular block who thinks he's a square block, forcing himself to fit in a square hole.

things really only begin to change around the age of 17-18, when his involvement in the vesperan war forces him to confront the physical manifestation of these elitist ideals. he sees the people he is meant to respect perform unspeakable acts of cruelty towards nonmagical communities and those who defend them. he forms bonds with people from outside his corner of society who challenge his perception of wealth and status, who redefine friendship and love. regulus learns to give a name to the dead weight sitting on his chest — i'm the wrong one.

realizing that he was wrong is the first, very small step to the much longer journey of rewriting his entire existential understanding. in that moment, regulus loses everything. he can no longer trust his parents, he no longer even trusts himself. he questions his own experiences. he needs to learn how to understand his own feelings and emotional reactions. regulus does all of this alone, without support or guidance — a boy who was raised to be mislead and controlled, without boundaries for the first time, and absolutely no way of knowing which direction to take. a mentally-taxing process for someone who has never been allowed to deviate from a given norm before now. regulus begins separating himself from the person that he is and was and begins trying to find the person that he needs to be.

what if he takes another wrong turn? how is he supposed to decide whether or not he’s actually getting better? what if he’s just adopting another kind of ignorance? 

considering the many factors in regulus' life at this point ( the vesperan war is still ongoing, he is isolated and friendless, he is heavily involved as a shadow of anwir ) the shift is slow and ongoing. he begins to shed ties with his family but he doesn't do so completely; he does not cut them off, he does not flee. he begins by removing himself from the family home and finding a private property in a different city where he can be truly alone with his thoughts. and while this is daunting and at times harmful ( given the dark and tumultuous nature of these thoughts ), being able to exist without the looming shadow of someone else's influence really allows regulus to discover the sound and shape of his own wants. regulus begins to make decisions for his own benefit, rather than for the benefit of someone else.

the path he was raised to follow doesn't exist anymore, leaving him something of an aimless wanderer trying to find roots.

the biggest and most immediate shift comes from his home environment. in the privacy and freedom of his own space regulus is able to live in such a way that gives him the most joy and comfort; on the surface, there's no clear separation between his manor and the home where he grew up. the house is large, empty. a lavish property dripping with finery and privilege. but the tone of that environment couldn't be more different than his parents' mansion — it is bright, open, warm, comfortable. because that is his identity: something softer, something natural, something welcoming, something more like a home. modeled after his own tastes, regulus' manor is a stark opposite to the cluttered gaudiness of his childhood home. the spaces are wide and open, the curtains are drawn, he dots the tabletops with potted flowers. but even this process is slow, an incremental journey wherein regulus learns what he needs to be happy in the space he's inhabiting. and what makes him happy is warmth and life.

for many years regulus remains isolated, cold, pessimistic. these are the products of a person still trying to find himself, trying to understand who he is and what he wants. he was raised as an extension of a family name and was never allowed or taught how to individualize himself from that. the early years of this journey are spent quiet, secluded, subdued, because he's learning to separate himself from the world he came from — and he has no idea which world to go to. it takes years for regulus to build a strong foothold independent of his lineage, and there will always be something of a heavy weight on him that he's forced to carry. however, with the right influences and in the right environments regulus really does have the potential to flourish and find happiness.

DOWN THE RABBIT-HOLE.

if all of the above defines regulus' character journey, then his thematic journey takes heavy inspiration from alice's adventures in wonderland.

symbolically and thematically, regulus as a character is driven by curiosity and nonsense. despite his enormous caution and moderate wisdom, regulus routinely falls victim to his own curious nature and almost-violent need for knowledge and discovery. it's this need that, fueled by his empathy, subjects him to life-altering scenarios that challenge his perception and outlook.

just as alice's perceptions and sense of identity are warped by her experiences in the rabbot-hole, regulus is altered by the challenges he faces once he leaves the confines of his sheltered bubble. he is introduced to a world in which the rules he was raised on are upside-down and backwards, and he either learns to adapt or allows himself to be swallowed by the unyielding weight of it.

‘Who are you?’ said the Caterpillar. ‘I—I hardly know, sir, just at present—’ ‘What do you mean by that?’ said the Caterpillar sternly. ‘Explain yourself!’ ‘I can’t explain myself, I’m afraid, sir’ said Alice, ‘because I’m not myself, you see.’

the world from which he comes is structured and rigid — a no-nonsense adherence to society and status and public perception. if regulus' disillusionment with his family's ideals is what sends him down the rabbit-hole, then this fall is what forces him to confront a reality in which the rules are warped and nonsense thrives.

regulus' "wonderland" challenges him to understand who he is by showing him what could be. at the start this is a harrowing journey — he forces himself to make sense of the nonsensical world around him, rather than allowing himself simply to exist and enjoy it for what it is. but because "wonderland" is, by nature, not a world that can be made sense-of, regulus' inability to shift and adapt works endlessly against him. his wonderland holds a mirror to his face and he refuses to look into his own reflection — regulus wears identity like an ill-fitting suit because the only one he has ever known is the one that was made for him by someone else.

it’s not really until regulus learns to confront his issues, seeing things for what they are rather than what he’s been told they are, that he grows, and learns, and finds his strength-of-self — and he ultimately pulls himself out of the rabbit hole.