xprogenitor

[xprogenitor]

( selene. )

    Selene recalled no other moment beyond this when silence forfeited preference to noise, when another’s company might have buffered an alliance into fruition. No, she thought, and at once snuffed the idea of alliance — they required only an understanding, perhaps, and an established line of boundaries first and foremost. Only in a perfect world should she be so lucky. Here they sat, the two of them: with her gaze fixed beyond the frosted window and the Danube crawling below. If Lucian had eyes upon her now, Selene ignored him; yet his presence came not without a sense of apprehension, and an acute awareness of the strength in her bones. 

    In the pod of seats behind her, her daughter and David made sparse conversation; rather, an occasional kind word or reflection upon the terrain offered itself to silence, and silence came for its return. A wondrous thing: the girl for all of her naivete had hardly flinched at the idea of stepping into a plane, and the reticence from her now seemed more a statement upon a mute sense of purposelessness — rather than fear. In a way, Selene nearly envied her: a blank slate at its purest form, without pretense or expectation or irrational analytics of world views she’d only ever studied from a laboratory’s confines.      Selene bit her tongue. Tasted blood behind her teeth. How ignorant a thought, after all this time..     The little Prince muttered something about having just passed into Germany. Her gaze flickered up, away from speckled lights and cozy little homes all lined up in squarely filed rows. And where it flew and landed next? Selene was irate to find his attentions already set to meet her — always at the ready, always watching, seeing what he should not. 

     Selene’s eyes narrowed. Lucian’s only glittered. Csillagom. Selene called to mind the shape of his mouth forming to taste the word plainly: and how from his lips it sounded both a taunt and an accolade. He might just eat her before the night was out, and toss the children from his keep like a gluttonous king fit to watch and feast from his throne. He could, if he tried. 

       In her mind flashed image of a flea-ridden beast picking its teeth with splintered bones. A bitter smile, curbed behind a brief glance toward his finely-kept shoes, dismissed the thought elsewhere.     “David,” she said, and as she spoke, Selene made no move to break her gaze from the other, “why don’t you two sit up with the pilot?” Uncrossed her legs, leaned forward with a forearm balanced upon the armrest. Selene’s voice lowered a fraction, yet loud enough still for the boy to hear, “Lucian and I need to have a conversation.” 

    He had wondered how long her patience would hold. Selene had graciously allowed him to the lead her and the young ones away from the checkpoint and back to his car — and had mostly maintained her stony silence all the way to the airport, where Lucian had forgone the formality of the lot and security check, and pulled directly onto the tarmac. The jet he’d ordered fueled and prepped idled at the ready, and with little fanfare, he’d waved the trio of fugitives onto the plane, quickly now, if you please.

     And the Death Dealer went without so much as a protest, casting him only a sharp, side-long glance before she slipped from the car — but she boarded the plane nonetheless, the boy and blood-spattered child close at her heels. What little conversation there’d been in the cabin since takeoff had come almost exclusively from the boy, with the girl offering only quiet, short-worded responses in occasional reply. Lucian left them to it, content to lean back in his seat and give his ( thorough, undivided ) attention to the woman in front of him.

     What a pair they would make in this. While she had not chosen to study him quite so openly as he studied her, he could feel the weight of her attention on him even when her eyes were not. His lips curled up at the corner, amused. Her suspicion was reasonable and he could not begrudge her the caution of it. He was true to his word, sure enough — they were out of the city safely, and well on the way to shelter — but she had no need to trust him further than this.

     It is not a surprise when she sends the children out of the room. This much he expected, sooner if not later. That she’d come along with any degree of faith was an unlooked for advantage; to come along quietly and avoid questioning him in the meantime? 

   Well, he was not in the habit of expecting miracles.

    Lucian found his lips curling upward at both corners, slow and bemused. In contrast to Selene, he leaned back into his seat — comfortable, open. The picture of acquiescent civility. With the young ones safely out of earshot, he made a motion with one hand — go on, it said — and trusted she needed no translation.

#xprodigium #&.┊better the devil you know. #!! #( whispers hey look. ) #( a thing i finished. ) #( for you. ) #( never mind that in reality. ) #( we're 800 threads ahead of this. ) #( but it's fine. ) #( bc these are important moments. ) #( and we live for them. ) #( throws all the important threads @ all the blogs. ) #( B))))) )

[xprogenitor]

‘ if we continue to live as we do now, then we disgrace the past and don’t deserve a future. ’ | DAVID.

hybrid. noble blood & a heart of gold. groomed for leadership, bound for glory. death before dishonor. don’t raise your voice; improve your argument. a sharp mind wielding gentle hands. war is always personal. quiet rebellion. stand & fight. to command is to serve. if not you, then who? always read the rules before you break them. learn from history. pupil. mentor. more than a birthright. turn another page. protect her to your last breath. a boy-king lives beside his people. —— commander & elder  ☽  the eastern coven.

#david | ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʀᴏᴍɪsɪɴɢ ᴘʀɪɴᴄᴇʟɪɴɢ. #( bless up. ) #( lucian has lots of feels about david and his path. ) #( and they're not neatly contained to tags. ) #the coven. #the pack.

[xprogenitor]

#david | ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʀᴏᴍɪsɪɴɢ ᴘʀɪɴᴄᴇʟɪɴɢ.

[xprogenitor]

#selene | ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴇsᴛ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ. #x | ʟᴏɴɢ ʟɪᴠᴇ ᴡᴇ ɢᴏᴅs ; ❪ selene. ❫

[xprogenitor]

so if lucian is a hybrid, is he planning on making all lycans hybrid?

howl.  well, anon – you’ve accidentally stumbled upon a small but weighty detail of lucian’s worldview, and this is probably gonna get lengthy. if you were looking for a short response, i’m sorry. the most succinct answer i can give you is – no, lucian has no intention of making hybrids of all lycans. or of anyone for that matter.

your initial reaction is probably, oh, followed by a but why not? and that’s understandable. given that lucian has been such a champion of his species, that he struggled so long against the vampires, why wouldn’t he give as many of his brethren as possible the advantages he possesses? would an immunity to silver, increased stamina, strength and speed, and an ability to greater blend in amongst mortals not benefit the whole lycan populace? would it not make them relatively safe, render them practically unkillable? absolutely it would. and that is precisely the problem. 

+ reason #1: lucian’s goal with the alliance has always been to establish and foster the peaceful coexistence of the two immortal species – a pipe dream if ever there was one. but the benefit of having eternity in front of you, of having a millennia behind you, is that you have nothing but time. with his greatest enemy dead, with his long-cherished plans for revenge both dashed and fulfilled by proxy – with the covens going up in flames and the war effort dying without its generals – lucian was faced with a choice. 

– and he had waged a lifetime of war in sonja’s memory, to avenge her and to see viktor reduced to ash for what he did – but what of life beyond that? once, he had thought to kill himself after seeing viktor safely to hell, but when the time finally came so many endless centuries later, he could not bring himself to do so; he’d been persevering for far too long against odds too steep to go quietly into death now. hindsight is perfect vision: in lucian’s case, a glimpse back on all he’d achieved, on all he’d done turned up destruction, desperation, misery, and death, with precious little redeemable good therein. such a fine legacy he’d left for his species, and for sonja’s – for the world. he’d done all these things in the name of a good woman ( for a love he felt more acutely in memory than in practice; a lover lost, whose face he could no longer remember as clearly as he once had ) – and if death was not to be his ultimate destination, then he would have to devote himself and his continued existence to something better than war. 

in the aftermath of so much upheaval amongst the immortals, lucian chose to dedicate himself and his unlooked for second ( or was it third? fifth? eightieth? ) chance to once again attempting the impossible: establishing peace between the lycans and the vampires. certainly it was a goal sonja would have found admirable if laughable – but it was a more fitting tribute to her faded memory, and truth be told, lucian was wearied of the unending, senseless slaughter. he helped start the war – it seemed only fitting that he should mastermind its end.

lucian established a handful of aliases, the monastery, and the pack that called it home in the space of a year. he brought a small force of lycans to the edge of civilization, gave them a home, gave them a place to train, to run free – and gave them the dream. an end to the immortal war, an end to the feud with the covens; coexistence; alliance. a chance at something different – if they were willing to try; to unlearn decades and centuries of prejudice, to set aside bad blood; to abide in a code of tolerance for the covens, and to stand against any who would continue to make war – even their own kind. not all his candidates were interested; not all who were interested bought into the idea of peace – but all who stayed swore an oath, to abide by lucian’s laws – and received in turn a promise: that he would never ask any more of them than he would of himself.

are you still with me, anon? great. but you’re probably wondering: what does this have to do with the question I asked?? and that’s an excellent reminder to me to stay the course and get back on topic. so, continuing.

+ reason #2: there is a weight of responsibility at the top of the food chain. for all that the covens were corrupt, power-hungry and blindly obedient to their leaders, lucian has always agreed with one aspect of their governance above all else: that the elders had played an important role in keeping the covens intact, and in making and enforcing their laws. stronger in blood & body than their subjects and peers, an elder’s power was subject only to interference from another elder – and they were served by an advisory council, ostensibly to avoid turning into despots. 

lucian, too, is stronger than his peers – and his enemies; this is due not just to his considerable natural vitality but to his hybrid blood. he has a unique ability to rein in ( and overpower, if need be ) not only lycans, but also vampires – something that, as head of the alliance, he may indeed be required to do. not all lycan packs or lonewolves agree with the idea of peace; and not even the threat of extinction bows all noble vampire heads. if there is to be a truce between the immortal clans, and a lasting end to the fighting, then there needs to be a strong power capable of ensuring it – and dealing with those who would threaten it. before crossing paths with selene post-awakening, lucian intended to handle that task entirely himself – but with so formidable an ally at his side, lucian opts for a more cooperative approach: himself, and selene, at the head of the alliance, and the elders of their respective clans. between the two of them, they are equipped to handle anyone who threatens the hard-won peace the alliance is attempting to forge, but they maintain that edge not just by prowess but by the privilege of their blood. turning everyone into a hybrid would cut their advantage in half.

+ reason #3:  while lucian wants peace for the two immortal species, he also seeks to find a way to balance the immortal’s existence against the lives of the mortals who share their world. it might seem an even more impossible dream than peace between the lycans and vampires, if only because humans are the primary source of sustenance for both immortal families – but lucian is a realist in this. with the ability to create synthetic blood, and the robust variety of non-human animals lycans can feed upon to sate their hungers, lucian believes that a balance can be struck, if not an actual peace. in a world without the fear of ‘monsters lurking in the shadows’, ready to tear the throats out of the innocent and oblivious, mortals could feasibly be coaxed into accepting the reality of the immortals with time. the three could live in a reasonable degree of harmony.

so why all this information on lucian’s no good very bad horrible terrible idea? because it relates directly back to the question. while creating a wealth of hybrids from the legions of lycans or vampires still remaining might seem like a good way to shore up the immunity of immortals to the ways humans might destroy them, it would also ensure the dominance of the immortals over their mortal neighbors to an even greater extant than they already manage. and why not just make hybrids of a few select immortals? the favorites, the inner circle, the council? another good thought, and the answer is – because lucian’s life has left him with a careful distrust of any system that puts one special breed systemically above others in a hierarchy. he could no more countenance the idea of creating a council of hybrids to lord over other ‘lesser’ vampires or lycans than he could accept the re-enslavement of his species. moreover – and perhaps most important, as it relates to every reason above – the hybrid blood is coveted, and dangerously powerful. the more people who possess it, who have the ability to give or lose it, the more precarious the fate of the peace he wants becomes.

and that, gentlemen, simply will not do.

#xprogenitor #howl. #missive. #anon. #canon. #meta. #( this got long & i'm not sorry. ) #( surprise !! world building. ) #( pardon our dust. ) #( and lucian's idealism. ) #( and my rambling. ) #( he's a jaded old man. ) #( but he dreams big and he has a disposition for the impossible. ) #( oops. ) #underworldedit #( will smith hands. ) #( here it is. ) #( at last. )

[xprogenitor]

Tell the mun what you think of them and their portrayal of the muse.

They have to publish it without commenting.

#audience. #( shrug hands. )

[xprogenitor]

Everything I’ve ever let go of has claw marks on it.

David Foster Wallace, Infinite Jest  (via lesbianymir)

#with a carefully guarded heart.

[xprogenitor]

Quirk: We have a love for the way Lucian so casually bares his teeth. An easy monster comfortable in his own skin. A man with power who wields it as a tool instead of a weapon: who could truly forget that he is one, himself? Whether you take it as a threat is your own business, but rest assured if he meant it that way, there would be no doubt about it. Yes. Lucian flashing his teeth is a quirk we like quite terribly.

howl.  lucian is undoubtedly a predator disguised as a gentleman, and it’s never more obvious than when he bares his teeth ( in a smile, or a snarl ) because there’s a world’s worth of confidence in the expression – the quiet, undeniable truth that he’s not afraid of you. he’s comfortable in his own skin, well aware of his own power and lethality; he needn’t prove anything to anyone, and amongst people who don’t know him, it seems like hubris, or cocksureness. who’s this lycan, who smiles when he should strike; who laughs when he should lunge for the throat? but it’s something newcomers learn the way of with time: that lucian needn’t wrap his fist around a thing to grasp it; that he doesn’t need to haul on the reins to steer the course – and that his smile can be anything from welcome to warning, and everything in between. 

#xprogenitor #missive. #xprodigium #( this is an ancient one. ) #( but here i am. ) #( pushing it out onto the dash; bc i love u katherine. ) #( and i love the way u love me. ) #( and my muses. ) #( bless. ) #meta. #archives. #( when i wax poetic. oops. ) #( channels lucian too hard 2kalways. )

[xprogenitor]

#( seriously?? )  #( why is this a thing that still needs said. )  #( this is an exceedingly small fandom. )  #( familiar muses & muns. )  #( i'm generally not about this shit. )  #( but here i am; because someone had to. )  #( lifting details from someone's fic for your muse's backstory is still swiping. )  #( and it's both bad form and tacky; c'mon. )  #( she's too nice to be mad about it. )  #( but i'm not. )  #( i'm not gonna tag you. )  #( but you know who you are. )  #( i should hope you know what i'm talking about. )  #( so don't be that guy. )  #( go apologize for blatantly lifting some shit. )  #( and credit her properly. )

unshaken.  psa: don’t make an rp blog for a 2.5D canon character who comes with zilch in the way of canonical backstory, play him as a 400+ year old bitten-vampire, and then – only after someone else who plays that character kindly shares their character-specific fic with you – decide to alter your muse’s backstory to fall in line with their fic’s characterization. because not only is it confusing to anyone reading your page, but it’s also fuckin’ shady as shit. 

like?? you wanna incorporate some aspects from someone else’s fic into your depiction of a character – some very obviously-lifted background information that wasn’t specific to the fandom to start with? try asking permission first – & then, after, credit that shit. i don’t care if there’s ‘no new ideas under the sun’ or ‘this is just rp, it’s not real’ ; yeah, no, to hell with that. 

have some creative integrity.

y’aint slick.

#howl. #shifter. #( seriously. ) #( maybe it was accidental. ) #( but come on. ) #( don't incorporate someone else's creative legwork into your muse w/o asking. )

[xprogenitor]

👻

[xprogenitor]

👻

#howl. #( go ahead; do the thing. )

[xprogenitor]

howl.   when the whole squad gets matching themes bc we're family in more than blood or name.

#howl. #shifter. #xprodigium #( now the folks match the kids. ) #( watchout. )

[xprogenitor]

demonicvulcan:

person: but it’s canon

me: yes, but it’s very badly written, so we ignore it

#howl. #( this is literally us tho. ) #( also. ) #( but it's canon! ) #( yes bad it's badly written. ) #( so we reWRITE it. ) #( B|||| ) #( get at me len wisemen. )

[xprogenitor]

                        KATHERINE’S 5TH ANNIVERSARY !!

katherine !!  ♥  friend, congratulations on making it to five glorious years in the tumblr rp community, & better yet, five amazing years playing our favorite queen, selene. it’s tough to come up with something lovely & eloquent to say here, because so much has already been said ( and because i lack lucian’s skill with pretty words  )  but -- listen, you’ve changed the face of the underworld fandom ( for the better, always ) & i am always 2000% happy about being around to witness your greatness, & being able to play with a writer and a muse who are both so thorough & genuine & well-developed. we’ve been mutuals for what feels like forever, & friends too, & i feel i can comfortably say hell fuckin’ yeah, you go partner, that’s my partner. don’t you ever dare hate on your writing in my presence, because a) that’s bullshit, stop that, but also b) you need to love your writing as much as i do, bc if you don’t, you’re wrong, and you know i’ll tell you so.

i love always being able to come at you with my random underworld thoughts -- & i’m glad now that when you made your initial faces at me three or so years ago when i laid out lucian’s survival to you, i didn’t let you shut your eyes to the way, the truth, and the light, bc look at what beauty has come out of it. from the monastery to the eastern coven; from the start of the war to the end of it, old gods & new -- we’ve built an entire world out of headcanons & backstory, and populated it with characters and feels; we’ve laid out more fandom lore than the movies have, & quite frankly they should just hire us to fix their plot holes bc we do it better anyway. i lowkey live for 3am meta & what-if storms, and i love looking down at my phone at work & seeing that i’ve got some beautifully written thing to read on my next break, or rolling over in the morning to find a response already waiting for me. we’re on opposite sides of the planet & it’s not always easy, between sleep schedules and work schedules and muses clamoring for love and attention, but we manage & it’s so, so nice, okay.

thank you for convincing me to give lucian a blog, even if he’s reticent about using it for anything but his woman; thank you for making david a blog, so that eve can listen to his music; thank you for letting asher be a brother to his commander & a pain in his vampire boyfriend’s ass ( literally; ba dum dum tiss ). thank you for being the best kind of rp partner; supportive, creative, and patient. thank you for putting up with my wall-o’ text replies, and my random periodic disappearances. thank you for letting me lovingly con you into not one, not two, but three ships in this fandom. thank you for never scoffing at any au ( any of the seven or eight ) i’ve thrown at you. thanks for hurting me & making me laugh & making me need to go take a cold shower, all in turns. thank you for being a sweetheart; thank you for keyboard smashing at me at 5am. thanks for creating your muses, thanks for loving all of mine ( every single one of those punks ) & thanks for keeping up our snapstreak, & thanks for being my friend. we love you. ♥

happy 5th anniversary, @xprodigium. 

#howl. #shifter. #xprodigium #underworldedit #underworld #underworld rp #( happy tumblrversary friend. ) #( you & selene are an icon in this fandom. ) #( & you're a staple of this community. ) #( don't you ever ever say anything bad about yourself; ever. ) #( or i will fight u. ) #( also i'm sorry this took so long; u know how it is. ) #( but never fear. ) #( i am here to recognize u and preach about our love. ) #( & claim u. ) #( bc hi this is my partner; go find ur own. ) #( plants a flag. ) #(ง •̀_•́)ง

[xprogenitor]

‘ I am more than capable. ’ | VARGA. 

vampire. blue blood. weapons master. bred for allegiance, bound by treachery. you are not indispensable. respect must be earned. tear the knife from your back & lace it with poison. serve. survive. uphold tradition. a rope at your collar & a gun in your hands. even a pawn can take down a queen. bar the door; watch them burn. cutting mind meets sharper teeth. achieve through understanding. bed your enemies. do what you must & wear the guilt with a smile. do. die. always reason why. kind of a pretty boy, isn’t he? —— left hand & lieutenant ☽  the eastern coven.

#the coven. #vargatag. #xprodigium #meta. #( lucian voice be like. ) #( look at this one. ) #( pale. ) #( handsome. ) #( uptight. ) #( not asher's usual type but when are they ever. ) #( laughs bc. david had to choose an envoy to send to the pack. ) #( at lucian's behest. ) #( and this is his choice: varga. ) #( left hand of the coven. ) #( out of step visitor amongst a small army of beasts he would perceive as enemies. ) #( and yet. ) #( there's a method to the madness. ) #( bc re-education is needed. ) #( and if they are to manage peace between the two immortal species successfully. ) #( then they must change their people by first changing their commanders. ) #( what a beautiful strategy. ) #( lucian is v. proud of david for understanding it. ) #( for meeting him half way to continue their cause. ) #( and lucian is proud of asher. ) #( as his leader. ) #( for taking in this vampire. ) #( for welcoming him and making him comfortable. ) #( as his uncle however. ) #( lucian is one endless quiet laugh and fingers at his temple bc. ) #( damnit asher. )

[xprogenitor]

‘ have you always been blind or is it a recent development—? ’  | ASHER.

lycan. lone wolf. reluctant alpha. sarcasm for breakfast lunch & dinner. quick on the quip. all-seeing & far-sighted. equally proficient with a guitar & a gun; comes armed with a knife settled at his lower back & claws at the ends of two bloodied hands. casual lover; merciless brawler. level-headed; cold-tempered. his mother’s boy; his father’s problem child. easygoing & easy to like; soft-spoken, with an eloquent tongue & a filthy mind. droll intellectual; relentless self-improver; chameleon. tactician. head-ruled; heart-strong. dedicated; loyal. unshakeable.   ——— right hand & lieutenant ☽ the monastery pack.

#( made by mun. ) #the pack. #asher | ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴀɴᴅᴇʀɪɴɢ ᴡɪɴᴅs. #( tagging u katherine. ) #xprodigium #( bc you're a part of this. ) #( for anyone else just tuning in tho ) #( meet asher. ) #( lucian's nephew ; if you tip your head the right way. ) #( his unofficial right hand. ) #( before selene came to the monastery. ) #( lieutenant commander of the pack. ) #( and david's second in command. ) #( an easy going laid back kinda guy. ) #( with a chameleon's ability to blend in anywhere. ) #( he's everyone's friend. ) #( it's a pity none of them have realized they know nothing about him. ) #( B)) )

[xprogenitor]

What's a minor quirk or quality about my character you like?

What details have you seen that you just really enjoy?

#audience. #( do it. )