[????] Mortis Character Ramble Thread [18+ edition]

[skinstealer]

krowling here to start this off, hi.

thinking about tonic a lot lately. really, been thinking a lot about all of our characters, but the past few days i've sat down and really started developing comorbidity with the rest of the system. the comorbid system is a really interesting group of characters and we've been super honing in on the horror themes we want to tackle, as well as narrowing down what kinds of elements from our real life we want to incorporate into their backstory and ongoing life. all of the systems in kaleidoclub are autobiographical characters so to speak, so it's a bit of a fun puzzle figuring out which aspects of ourselves and our experiences go into what system "cluster".

some elaboration on that: kaleidoclub characters are based on a method of organization our system has for categorizing system members, interests, and trains of thought- the cluster system. there are 12 clusters currently, each of them pertaining to some kind of theme that means a lot to us. these are really broad but tend to correlate to overarching things you can find in our system members, our work, what we gravitate to both aesthetically and thematically, etc. i had the idea earlier this year of making characters based on these clusters in order to create an actual technique and method for us making characters as a system faster and more effectively, and thus kaleidoclub was born.

each system in the club corresponds to a cluster, and the members of that system are written by members of OUR system that identify with That Cluster. in comorbidity's case, they're focused on the horror cluster. people who have been around a while know that horror is one of our biggest overarching themes in everything we do, and while it's present to some degree in every kaleidoclub system by nature of the topics at hand and the setting itself, comorbidity focuses in on that extremely hard, going all in on horror tropes and using them as metaphors for real-world experiences. all of the imagery that's resonated with us over the years and provided us comfort and resonance, it's going into these guys- along with things that legitimately Scare Us, and probably will for you too.

here's some things you need to know about comorbidity going in: some cool, overarching stuff.



here's comorbidity! you can call them comorbid/comorbity interchangeably, and it's also an option to tack on "system" at the end if referring to them especially collectively. as a group, they're a plural system of 20 members that mainly presents masculinely, and can be referred to with they or he pronouns. species-wise they're a wolf variant concept with a horror sludge motif- thankfully, it's inert and completely harmless, and had their metamorphosis pretty early at age 12. they've got a bad leg and struggle with anything that'd aggravate it, though thanks to frequent exercise and working out (not entirely by choice), it often takes quite a bit to get to that point. they work as an independent script writer for prospective TV shows and movies- they've never gotten anything out the door yet, but they do their best.

the biggest conflict that comorbidity deals with is their having blood fever, a horror mutation-related condition that they inherited on their father's side. blood fever is a retooled adaptation of a goofy mechanic from our scratch roleplaying days, namely with our "werewolf/vampire hybrid" characters. those affected by it have to ingest blood (or an analagous fluid/body material such as slime. if it'd be qualifiable as gore to a person, it counts) regularly to avoid turning into a terror, which for those out of that loop (it's been a bit since we've been over these in a big way), are generally Very Large, Very Fucking Dangerous, animalistic and cannibalistic beasts. this "terror state" lasts until they consume enough blood to be satisfied, and then they revert back to normal with the worst hangover ever. fresh blood seems to have a better effect overall, and regular feeding leads to way less risk of turning terror than intermittent binges.  along with all this mess, it's accompanied by the usual telltale signs of horror mutation- mood swings, irritability, impulse control problems, and very intense hunger cravings.

if you couldn't tell by now, part of what we really want to go for with this is a narrative about being bipolar- and especially growing up with it in an abusive household and in the face of what can be best called medical malpractice. while we did not eat people or anything like that there were definitely periods where we lashed out at others (especially while on mis-prescribed medications that we assumed were helping us) and felt like we were losing control of our life, and learning to manage that outside of stressors and with adequate healthcare and support was a huge struggle- something we feel like we can tell with this. i feel like there has to be some kind of essay out there about bipolar + lycanthropy combo imagery/narratives, but if there isn't, i guess we'll write that. something something cycles

and now we get to Tonic, the primary fronter of the comorbid system.



tonic is a transmasc gay guy who prides himself on a more formal appearance and trustworthy nature. he functions as the backbone of the kaleidoclub due to him being someone people can always go to for help, no matter what kind it is. behind his very competent outward appearance lies a very pissy and oftentimes petty soul who craves affection more than he actually allows himself, leading him to be somewhat bitter and exhausted around the rest of his system. he is always trying to keep things together but has been doing this for Way too long and needs a huge break.

for years he's also been in charge of blood feeding, something that the entirety of the system has VERY varied opinions on. he doesn't particularly enjoy the act of it and mainly chooses to predate on those in rich neighborhoods quite a ways out from his home. it's higher risk, and admittedly has lead to the system being put on a bounty list...but he would rather take blood from people who can afford the resulting hospital bills. after a point however, the danger gets to be too much- and other members of the kaleidoclub begin offering themselves up for light feeding sessions. this ends up working out extremely well considering some of these fuckers are literally coated in slime that counts towards fever feeding, so just. take a fucking spatula and put some in a tupperware for later, i guess.



in headspace, he resembles a cartoony vegicrus. in calliope, vegicrus morbitians are often associated with the experiments their species was created to participate in, and for tonic, he associates the medical experimentation his system went through in order to try and cure their blood fever with that sort of history and setting, even if not 1:1 by any means. tonic's a goofy fucking rat with ~hellish medical history lore~, and one afflicted with blood fever even in-headspace.

despite the fact that he's one of the more cartoonish members of the system headspace-wise, he's generally taken very seriously by the other system members. people do not fuck with him unless they're willing to risk getting snapped at, which is something he's trying to work on a little. he doesn't really have friends in headspace as a result, and more sees the others around him as peers he's trying to survive with.

external relationship-wise, his social circle is very rich, and his current committed partners as of writing this are Shriek (from toybox system) and Ivory (como character!). Aloe (decomposystem) is also planned down the line, but we're still figuring that out. aside from that, he has a slew of casual partners amidst the rest of the kaleidoclub, though all of them are low commitment outside of the general friendship they share.

Show Contentkink stuff:

he also specializes in BDSM, specifically domination. he's willing to teach anyone in the kaleidoclub the ropes (hahaha) and does a good job of it- earning the respect of many.

that's tonic and comorbid for now. i may return with more thoughts!