#oc philos

Today, I got a wonderful ask describing a creature describing a creature who is easily injured, but heals by being petted and cuddled. I decided to make him!

In Greek, “philos” means “a friend; someone dearly loved (prized) in a personal, intimate way; a trusted confidant, held dear in a close bond of personal affection.”

Since I'm not continuing the story and will not be on Tumblr anymore, here's the sequence of events that the remaining story would have followed! These would have been structured as sets of images accompanied by a short caption. Each one would have a picture of Philos, and a picture of Carmine, and a short bit of prose or poetry below. TW: This whole story was going to be a metaphor surrounding domestic violence, pregnancy, and abortion (painting abortion in a positive light). These things aren't really depicted literally, but that's the theme.

10, 54, 55 and 67 for Philos, if you want? He’s fascinating!

Thank you!

10. How long have you been in captivity?

Oh, let me think...time is so hard, I'm not familiar with the way it moves. Um...not long? A little over a month? That seems right.

It's alright. I can be patient.

(Ooc: I have an idea about him being transferred to another person - basically bought from the circus. Things get much worse for him after that. I see him falling in and out of a lot of bad situations. That's not exactly spoilers because I think I want each of these places to only be about a chapter or two, like dreams coming and going, but anyway. Enough yapping, back to the in-character bits!)

54. If you could say anything you wanted to [Whumper] without any consequences whatsoever, what would you say?

If there were no consequences? I would tell him I'm looking for Carmine, and get all the information I can. Supposing he has to answer me, of course. I would have done already. I'd gladly make a deal but...it's better if bad people don't know anything about her. She's real here, so I think he might really be able to hurt her.

Oh, did you mean, would I give him a piece of my mind? No, I wouldn't - my mind is my own and I'm keeping it.

55. If you could do anything you wanted to [Whumper] right now, what would you do?

*He looks very distressed.*

I can't. It would upset him. And - and if he stops believing in me, I'll disappear. He told me. No! No, I won't even think it.

67. Do you have any secrets you've kept from [Whumper]?

37. Who do you trust the most right now?

42. Do you think that you have a future?

70. Do you think that you deserve this?

For Philos

27. If you could go back in time, what would you have done differently?

I don't think you quite understand. I haven't had a choice about anything that mattered. Yes, I might not have encountered the ringmaster if I had walked down a different street. I might have avoided punishment on this or that occasion.

But coming to this world? That simply happened to me. Things shift and unfold. And even after that, if I had walked down a different street, who knows what fate would have been waiting there? This is clearer in my realm. Industry, planning, the whole motion of time...these things are not as clear-cut, and not much stock is put into them. There is such a thing as giving an order or setting off a chain reaction or drawing a map. But it is known that the results will be unstable, and can decay. Consequences will not be what is predicted, but what is psychically connected.

If I could connect ideas and images to one another differently, that would do more. That is timeless. I wish that I were connected with some form of peace.

37. Who do you trust the most right now?

Are you asking if I trust you? *steps back slightly* I'm sorry to disappoint, but I don't trust anyone. I am not so foolish. There are some people I would prefer to be hurt by, above others. Some people interest me. Carmine interests me. That's all.

42. Do you think that you have a future?

I think that things will change again. Something is coming, something is not yet clarified and played out. There will be some completion for me. Maybe that's a fuller life, a stabilization? But maybe that's just death. I don't know. *winces* Fffff...I shouldn't have thought about that.

Excuse me.

*limps away*

28. What is the worst case scenario to you, right now?

26. Do you like yourself?

12. Do you have a caretaker? Someone you trust?

6. How are you feeling right now?

5. What's the worst thing that's happened to you?

:3

A cat! Hello. It’s been some time since I saw a fellow…creature. *Eyes you suspiciously. Catlike creatures are not always nice where he comes from.*

28. What is the worst case scenario to you, right now?

Sometimes I think it would be worst if I was swept off to another world again. It could be even worse than this, just some nightmare where I’m being battered forever and ever…

*whimpers, clutching at his chest - he’s starting to be hurt by the things he’s thinking about*

But it could be even worse than that, in truth. What if I have never been here at all? And nothing that I ever cared about…was really ever with me…

*bruises appear from his heart outward, blooming over his skin up his neck and down his arms*

N-no…stop. Please stop!! Please let’s talk about anything else, I can’t… *curling in on himself*

26. Do you like yourself?

I am nothing so dreadful. Repulsive, yes, but I have not hurt anyone. I don't despise myself. What have I done to deserve a life like this? Who would even think of this? I am alive. Isn’t that enough to deserve some kind of happiness? What more do I need to do?

12. Do you have a caretaker? Someone you trust?

Sometimes I dream about a person. I feel…no, I know, I am certain, that things are…right, between us. The way we are bound together, it is just right. I think I used to be in her dreams. But now I’m afraid she’s in mine. I can’t find her. When we passed through the town I came from, there were missing person posters for a woman named Carmine.

I don’t know if creatures like these can survive where I fear she has gone. I might be too late. She may already be dead.

6. How are you feeling right now?

*glares* What kind of question is that, after asking me such miserable things? Do you not notice my jugular vein splitting itself open inside my body? Be more careful or my heart will bleed out under my skin. I don’t know what could happen to me then. I’m not joking, Cat.

5. What's the worst thing that's happened to you?

Tumbling over the Crystal Falls. Three hundred feet onto jagged diamonds.

6. How are you feeling right now?

Well, it’s not so bad if I don’t think on it too much. The sun is shining and no one has bothered me yet today. Tents are going up, so it’ll be hours before anyone comes by. They know I’m not fit to help with setting up. It’s okay. It’s…everything feels a bit wrong but just let’s not think about it.

11. Are you injured right now?

…Yes? Always.

My…er…ribs…I don’t know when this happened.

Philos bled through from an Alice-In-Wonderland-esque dream world on Halloween, in the 1960s.

He wandered through the streets of a small town and ended up being captured by the owner of a circus (yes, we are going full camp with this).

He is horrified by the thought that he might not be real and might suddenly disappear.