#tske

This is a general piece focusing on the average Taint, which are regs. For details on other Taint types, please refer to the pinned post for links.

Taints are mostly humanoid in appearance: two legs, two arms (sans Tares, who have four), normal-looking head. The face is where the biggest deviations occur: the eyes (of which there are two) are uncannily large, and bulge out of the skull; the mouth remains jagged and uneven; and there is no nose on its face. It may also be good to mention that despite the size of a Taint’s eyes, they are functionally useless. Taints are visually almost blind, able to clearly see only about three feet in front of themselves. They rely on their sensors instead, which can sense minute frequencies in a 360 degree radius - meaning that sneaking up on one is virtually impossible unless it is suitably preoccupied to begin with. The sensors - or sensorstrands - grow out of their scalp much like hair, except it most definitely is not. Those are basically exposed nerves, and besides being extremely sensitive, also conduct electricity. Big no-no zone for anyone who is not of their own.

Height

Crown (all): 5m

Tare (all): 3m

Common (adult): 2.01m - 1.37m

The Mother has no definitive measurements to take, so She is not included. Also this is the only numerical statistic I even have, not sure why I decided to delegate an entire section to it.

As mentioned earlier, a Taint’s sensors conduct electricity - as does all of it, actually. As well as blood vessels, Taints have conduits within their bodies. These carry naturally produced current, which is often used as a weapon. Current strength is (fun fact!) just about the only natural variation that is allowed to exist within the species, with some having weaker abilities due to bodily modification (which would be the taller end of the common height range. That is not natural, they were artificially changed to serve their specific purposes). As for other abilities, the Taints emit ambient radiation, are immune to pretty much every substance, can tolerate extreme temperatures, and can digest pretty much all matter if they can get their hands on it (there are rules in place - strict rules - advising against the act of eating furniture within base limits. This rule is routinely ignored).

Being a hive-mind, the Taints also possess some psychic abilities mostly within their own network, such as telepathy. In cases where a higher-ranking Taint needs to take over the mind of a subordinate, they can do just that - for the hierarchies, refer to the pinned post for links.

And now, colouration!

HIERARCHY TREE

TYPES AND ROLES

MOTHER

The creator of all Taints. Her physical form resides within the Core, which is the central source of power concentrated from Herself and is located in the Inbetween. The Core contains Mother’s will and the integrity of the entire Taint network.

CROWN DIAMOND

Crown Diamond is the eldest Crown, overseeing the Tares, his Kingdom, and the base regime of the other two Kingdoms. Personality: he has the least of it. Justice of the utmost importance to him; strategy, protocol, and efficiency rule his mind. He rarely expresses any emotion, appearing cold and indifferent even to his brothers.

CROWNS GOLD AND SILVER

Twinborn Crowns, and therefore connected in a deeper way than most Taints. Despite this, their personalities could not be more different:

Gold is short-tempered, highly egotistical, and is genuinely the least qualified Taint to rule. He routinely takes his anger out on his subjects, terrorises everyone, and can only be stopped by Silver (or Diamond, but Silver is the only one he actually cares about).

Silver is cool, calm, and generally considered the most reasonable of the ruling Crowns. Gold sometimes rags on him for being lenient, but Gold’s interpretation of “lenient” is nothing one would consider reasonable.

CROWN BRONZE

Crown Bronze is the last-made Crown (although it should be reasonable to mention that all the Crowns came into existence within the same minute. They were the first Taints ever created by Mother). For this, and for his softer personality, Diamond banished relegated him to the Nursery, not giving him the status of a ruling Crown. Bronze may be the most legally sympathetic Taint in existence.

TARES

The Tares are a legion of artificially-created Taints, specifically for the purpose of network monitoring and science. They only inhabit their labs within Diamond’s palace and are rarely sent out to oversee research from outside outposts.

They were designed to have no emotions and behave accordingly. The best feature for someone who wipes minds, alters bodies, and controls wayward minds to have, if we’re being real. Even other Taints find them uncanny.

COURTIERS

Courtiers are common Taints (regs) which are kept by the side of the Crowns. They do not fight, they live in the palaces, and have existed for ages (see first clause of this sentence). Nothing is particularly special about them apart from their rank, which gives them access to the Crowns’ direct network.

COMMON TAINTS

Comprising over 95% of the Taint population, these embarrassments to the multiverse have literally every job from construction to IT to actually fighting on the front lines. There is a military hierarchy within the common Taint structure, but I don’t know enough about those yet to properly formulate it. Coming soon!

JUVENILES