#Magmint

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            You guys have technically already met Magmint before, heard of him, seen him, even gotten a glimpse into his general personality; But here’s your official introduction to this silly, goofy, actually dangerous nerd!

         The Escapee with the most Just Some Guy energy, of course even Magmint is a little bit. Messed up. Sometimes chill, sometimes obsessive and neurotic. He’s a short little guy, a member of the Lava Lith species. It should be noted that Lava Lith is a misnomer; These guys are actually soft, almost gelatinous beings with hardened clusters scattered all over their body. Their red-orange bioluminescence and ability to super-heat their bodies as a defense mechanism gives Lava Liths the appearance of rock and lava, but they aren’t actually made of the stuff, even if they do live amongst it.

         Magmint is short and diminutive by his species’ standards, and was naturally picked on by his peers for this. A total nerd and bookworm, he was the kid who did others’ homework, was roped into their schemes, and got into trouble alongside them for it. Magmint eventually left his home to pursue a college education and become highly learned, becoming interested in the field of automaton engineering. With a bit of magic and resources, Magmint pioneered an innovation he dubbed ‘Phasor tech’, using it to create all manner of devices to assist him at a moment’s notice.

         With his Phasor tech, Magmint was taken much more seriously, far less of a pushover and able to fight back. He became a freelance engineer, helping a wide variety of clientele on building various devices and bringing them to life, with some jobs much more dubious than others… Still, it paid well, so Magmint didn’t question it!

         In his free time, Magmint dabbled in some personal ideas and side projects, some taken more seriously than others, others more a vague idea he entertained. One of these was for a grid of devices that, when inserted into subterranean magma flows, could create a volcano in that spot, one whose eruptions would be under the total control of the grid’s user.

         Magmint saw it as a way to develop real estate for Lava Liths and other volcanically-inclined species, restore dead volcanoes and the ecosystems they once supported in the Monster Realm, that sort of thing; Imagine all of the volcanic ash that could be used to help farming! But Magmint’s genius had caught the attention of the enigmatic Phantom Alliance, who looked for pioneers and geniuses such as Magmint. Thanks to their spies, the Phantom Alliance learned of Magmint’s projects without his knowledge, and one leader took particular interest in his volcano creation grid.

         This leader, Golar, targeted Magmint as a candidate and potential recruit for the Phantom Alliance, and a perfect pawn to bring about an unprecedented soul harvest. Operating mostly through liaisons and other discrete methods, Golar approached Magmint with a bold plan; He had seen his plans for a volcanic creation grid (don’t ask how), and Golar believed Magmint thought too little with such an idea. Instead of creating a few volcanoes here or there, why create any at all, when you can merely threaten everyone with the creation of countless?

         Golar wanted to take over the world with this grid; Or one of them, in the Shining Void. The planet’s mantle was ideal to host a volcanic creation grid on a global scale, built right under everyone’s noses beneath the crust; Being a Lava Lith, Magmint was suited to extreme temperatures, and knew how to build equipment that could handle them.

         Golar suggested that Magmint build a global version of his grid within the planet’s mantle, each device located at a major city or some other key site. When his grid was ready, Magmint could announce his demands to the world; Subjugation, resources, worship, whatever he wanted! If people refused, Magmint could activate his entire grid, setting off a global chain of eruptions that would drown civilization in molten lava and ash. To prove he was serious, Magmint could erupt one volcano in a safe, fairly removed spot; And likewise, he could also show off the original, benevolent applications of his grid, in order to make people more accepting of the new arrangement!

         Magmint found the pressure of taking over an entire world, all eyes on him, to be a bit much; So Golar offered to be the face for him, while Magmint acted as the muscle and brains that actually made the logistics possible. Much more at ease and thinking of how he could strong arm the world into a better place, while actually making it better with the original function of his VCG, Magmint naively agreed.

         Exactly as Golar planned, Magmint built a global network of his VCG, implanting devices under key geopolitical locations and cities. As he did, a lone Wayvren caught wind of the plot, and began to investigate into unusual criminal activity…

         Magmint and Golar’s literally underground operation was discovered, and Wayvren confronted them. But as Magmint fought Wayvren, both were horrified to see Golar activate the entire VCG without any prompting or warning to the civilizations on the surface. Confused, Magmint wondered if Golar made some mistake, misunderstood how the VCG worked; Why would Golar just choose to kill everyone, without at least getting something from them first?!

         At this point, Golar revealed his true intentions to Magmint; He didn’t want to rule the world, because most of the world was comprised of useless idiots and fodder. Such a goal pursued quantity over quality, which was not his true aim… Instead, he just needed to kill as many people as possible. Why? Golar wouldn’t specify that, he didn’t consider neither Magmint nor Wayvren worthy enough to explain himself to, they wouldn’t understand so there was no point trying and giving them the valuable knowledge.

         But his job was done, and he fled the scene. Magmint panicked; He hadn’t planned to actually destroy the world! Just threaten everyone who lived there to listen to him, and he’d still be helpful with his VCG too! Golar didn’t even bother to negotiate or announce what was cooking underneath everyone’s feet, he just went for it, no demands or anything.

         That said, he DID intend to take over the world regardless, so while his actual goal wasn’t as bad as what really happened, even if he didn’t mean this, even if Magmint WAS duped to some extent… He was still a villain for going along with it anyway, and what pretenses he was under were pretty immoral. After Wayvren helped Magmint stop the VCG to prevent any more damage from occurring, they nevertheless pointed out to the diminutive Lava Lith that he needed to face justice and atone for his crimes, and/or work to undo the damage.

         Magmint, paranoid about being executed by the vengeful masses, decided he’d rather just skedaddle back to the Monster Realm, since only he, Golar, and Wayvren really knew about his involvement; And only Wayvren cared to report it to the wider public, if necessary. In which case… Well, Magmint realized Wayvren was a witness, apologized for having to kill them, and then tried to kill them.

         But it’s Wayvren, so of course they won and defeated Magmint. By this point however, they recognized that maybe Magmint had a point; Even if he revealed what he did to the masses, they would demand his execution, no negotiation about it. And Magmint was too paranoid to listen; He’d do anything to break free and escape to the Monster Realm, but even there, bounties might follow the Lava Lith.

         Wayvren looked outside; Even if Magmint had halted the eruption of his VCG, that didn’t stop the lava that did emerge from burning everything in its wake. There was nothing any of them could do about this, really… So in the end, Wayvren sort of conceded to Magmint’s argument, deciding he had a point about how endangered his life was.

         Wayvren decided to imprison Magmint in the Tower of Tears; Like others trapped there, Wayvren reasoned that with enough time, society would forget about them, and magic and technology would innovate to a point where many problems deemed unsolvable could be handled. Wayvren figured that with Magmint, generations would pass and the personal impact of Magmint’s VCG would lessen, until Magmint could finally emerge safe and sound, and not have to worry about anyone from that generation, or the generations after, who would still bear a grudge and want him dead.

         Maybe then, Wayvren could talk to a calmer Magmint, and the two could collaborate on making the world a better place, diverting Magmint’s genius to much more productive things, as he initially intended. But when Wayvren brought the idea up, as he expected, Magmint was horrified at the thought of being cryogenically frozen and removed from his time, so once again Wayvren had to make the choice for him.

         Magmint was transported to the Tower of Tears, frozen and preserved. His nightmares ranged in intensity; Some more mundane, just his childhood of being bullied for being a diminutive bookworm. Others were far more terrifying; An entire world, millions of people, calling and raging for Magmint’s execution as they all burned before his very eyes, incredibly injured but still alive and still very angry.

         When the Tower of Tears was destroyed by Wayvren’s fallen sibling, Magmint wanted nothing to do with any of this, only to find himself roped into Azayle’s schemes. She had a very charismatic plan, one seeking power and control. You’d think Magmint would’ve learned his lesson by now, but maybe a part of him DID realize he had a taste for conquest, after the incident…

         Plus, Wayvren was right; Nobody remembered him now! Or even knew about Magmint’s involvement to begin with. He basically got away with it, and yet Magmint felt resigned to his life as a criminal and villain, feeling as if it couldn’t be undone. Magmint seemed destined to get into trouble, so he may as well embrace it on his own terms. Granted, it may not have been his terms entirely… Azayle MAY have used his magic to basically remove Magmint’s heart without killing him, and then held onto it so she could hold the Lava Lith’s life hostage to control him.

         I’m not sure if I’ll write that bit in, or if Magmint agreed, and THEN Azayle did that as ‘coverage’. Maybe a part of Magmint naively hoped that THIS plan with Azayle would actually work out this time, as intended, and Magmint would use the leverage and stake he held as one of Azayle’s teammates to do the good he wanted. But this was Magmint, who was never particularly moral in the first place, even if he wasn’t needlessly sadistic, either… Maybe he discovered something twisted about himself that he finally admitted. Even if that part wasn’t so dark as to commit mass genocide, it was still dark regardless.

         In the end, Magmint went along with Azayle’s crazy plans, often finding himself working with Nykon the Lightning Dragon, an incredibly surly, spiteful, and aggressive individual. Like many of her victims, Magmint found Nykon to be a bit much, and the two would build up a Good Cop, Bad Cop dynamic. While Nykon reveled in torturing people not just physically but emotionally, Magmint would be perturbed by the whole sight and remark as such, prompting Nykon to tell him to can it. And Magmint… wouldn’t actually do much about it in the end.

         Yeah. Magmint is one of the more reasonable Escapees, at least on the surface. But at his core, he’s still kind of messed up too, otherwise he wouldn’t be here in the first place. A Good Cop is still a Cop by the end of the day.

         Magmint acts as a more rational buffer to Nykon, often having to point her back to their mission, sometimes keeping her in line, rather than the other way around. He more openly fears Azayle than the rest, even if they all do, technically, so Azayle can count on him to stay in line and follow orders, and remind people to do so.

         Compared to Nykon, Magmint might seem like the voice of reason, someone you could talk to, the less evil one; He’s a pretty silly, goofy little guy, and not obsessed with the theatrics of aggression or dominance like the rest. But he’s still a mostly willing accessory to murder and conquest, and while he has some loftier ideas about improving the world with his inventions, he doesn’t have THAT many qualms about killing people, as it turns out.

         Even if Magmint seems like the beleaguered, mistreated loser of the group, don’t underestimate him; He’s technically killed more people than every other Escapee combined! He can be a dingus sometimes, but Magmint is still incredibly clever, and was deemed a genius for good reason; That’s why Golar and Azayle both sought him out.

         …That’s Magmint! He’s rather chill and down-to-earth, someone you can actually imagine doing hobbies with, despite his elemental associations; Magmint has the Only Sane Person role amongst his group and really most of the Escapees… Except, Magmint kind of isn’t so sane himself, he’s kind of messed up too and there are moments where that becomes apparent. You kind of feel bad for him, but also kind of don’t, because he still IS to blame for a lot of horrible things.

         It’d be easy to underestimate Magmint as a meek dingus, a total nerd, but he can be pretty snappy and is often the one saving you from your own trouble. He’s still a capable supervillain in his own right, it’s just not as obvious when he’s paired next to more blatantly evil and theatrical teammates, and reacts more like a normal person would to the insanity around him.

         But there’s a certain practicality to Magmint that others don’t possess, which doesn’t waste itself on tasteless violence and cruelty when it isn’t necessary, but when it is, Magmint makes the most of it. He isn’t as arrogant or brash as his teammates and that caution makes him a better survivor, though that isn’t to say Magmint doesn’t have a little bit of pride over his intelligence, not entirely undeserved.

         While others are more content to take the big spotlight and come up with the grand ideas, Magmint is the dude who actually figures out how to make these insane plans work, the unsung contributor; He’s more comfortable hiding in the backseat, enjoying about as much of the spoils, with almost none of the uncomfortable spotlight and attention brought to him. The Meek will inherit the Earth and all that, but Magmint is just fine, and arguably more dangerous, being the humble guy in the back… He’s used to being a lackey if you think about it.

         I’ve already brought up the powers inherent to Magmint himself; He’s soft with hardened clusters over his body, punching those spots is like punching a rock. Likewise, Magmint’s flexibility allows him to roll with some pretty hard blows and forces that would kill an ordinary human, which has led to a humorous incident in which Magmint was sent ricocheting off of multiple surfaces in a room once. Beyond that, he doesn’t have a whole lot of strength, but was never his specialty anyhow.

         (How does Magmint eat? He just… slides stuff into the area below his eyes, as it’s absorbed by the gelatinous part of him, like a cell eating things. You can even hear an audible crunch from within his face once Magmint’s food goes past his membrane.)

         Magmint’s REAL talent comes from his engineering skills, which culminate in his Phasor tech; An enormous swathe of bronze parts, machinery, and tech that he’s charged with Phasor energy and magic. From his control chair (also made of Phasor tech), Magmint can coordinate these various parts into a flying, swirling swarm, and build whatever he desires, Phasor energy doing everything to power his spells and machinations. That’s what Automatons are in the GEverse, after all; The perfect fusion of magic and technology!

         Magmint can construct all manner of floating constructs and devices, whatever he needs, from claws and clamps, to rolling vehicles, drills, lasers, etc. His imagination is the only limit, and it’s a very boundless imagination. He can even create interdimensional portals using his Phasor tech, which gives Magmint convenient access to Azayle’s pocket dimension, without having to rely on her own spells or creations. This just plays into Magmint’s role as someone who might seem easy to bully and belittle, even by Azayle, but she ultimately values him as one of the most important members of her team, someone she truly needs to get this done; Other Escapees, she could sacrifice, but not Magmint.

         Magmint’s own hover chair, while made of Phasor tech, is not so robust, acting more as a controller for him to interface with his pile of parts. It’s got controls on the armrests, and can flip out a keyboard for more advanced commands. The cannons on either side can spew fire, lava, or Phasor bombs. The rotor blades at the top spew fire, why? I’m… actually not sure. I know the Doylist reasons, it’s because it looks cool and completes Magmint’s fire imagery.

         I like to think one of the Watsonian reasons is that it warms Magmint; As a Lava Lith, he’s meant for volcanic climates, so anything below that must be pretty cold to him. And a rotor spinning over his head would just cool Magmint down even more, hence the addition of these flames when they activate; It counteracts any fanning by keeping Magmint nice and toasty! And maybe they can be used to generate a brief vortex of fire, why not? Could be for intimidation and to keep people at bay with the high temperatures, too.

         (If you remember my original drawing of Magmint, I went for actual flames as the rotor blades, because cartoon physics. This was entirely unplanned, but I like how the actual rotors and their exhaust vents still kinda resemble the ‘inner flame’ that a lot of fire is drawn with, to contrast with the outline of actual fire they spew.)

         The hover chair itself isn’t much, it’s a controller with movement and some basic protection; Magmint’s swarm of Phasor tech is where it’s at, and by the end of the day, it’s a bunch of flying metal. Even if Magmint didn’t build anything with his wide array of parts, he could always pelt you to death with them, and some parts are already sharp enough to act as blades! His power is all in his mind and what he’s invented, but he has no latent powers to himself; Again, the most Just Some Guy energy. If you knocked Magmint off of his chair and away from his controller, his Phasor tech is unlikely to help if not already built into something that could function on its own.

         But again! He’s a durable guy who can take a lot of punishment thanks to how soft he is, and Magmint can cause serious third-degree burns by heating up. He’s even got a little laser dagger on hand to protect himself with! And Magmint doesn’t just have to build one device at a time; Depending on how many pieces each one takes, he can build multiple robots to attack you with, or combine every part with his hover chair into a giant mecha! In terms of personality and powers, Magmint is the guy who seems like a pushover at his core, until you get there and are horrifically burned, and realize just how dangerous Magmint actually is, and in what way.

#Magmint #the escapees #tower of tears #oc #ocs #my ocs #GEverse #my art #drawing #sketch

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Sometimes Magmint wonders what brought him to this point, what series of misguided choices and poor circumstances led his life down this path. But as much as he bemoans this, deep down, I think Magmint doesn’t actually regret it; Accidentally causing an extinction-level event, sure! But despite seemingly being a softer, tamer soul, I think this type of insanity truly is his calling. Maybe he was always destined to be a *puts on sunglasses* bad boy.

(Magmint is immediately booed by Nykon and everyone else present.)

#Arnold from the Magic School Bus energy #Will Turner from PotC if he was a meek nerd who embraced becoming a super villain #Magmint #the escapees #oc #ocs #my ocs #GEverse

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Azayle: It’s pride month Magmint. You know what that means!

Magmint: Huh? What?

Magmint: Do you want me to make like... gay automatons? What?

Azayle: ...

#Magmint #oc #ocs #my ocs #GEverse #the escapees #incorrect quotes #meme #memes #pride month

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            Come to think of it, out of all of the Escapees, Magmint has had by far the greatest impact out of all of the others combined. Like sure, Midas destroyed the gold standard and Cardinsto was a famous general, but like. Magmint was responsible for a bunch of volcanoes just sprouting up out of the ground, all across the world, and erupting; A globally apocalyptic disaster that in many cases quite literally buried history under new earth, destroying countless historical records. Contributing to people not being aware of the Ancient Past, specifically how all of those legends and myths from long ago WERE real, to an extent at least.

         The calendar was completely restructured around this event, it was basically a hard reset for society. It was unparalleled. All of the other Escapees may have caused mayhem but it was within their own isolated little bubble, relatively speaking, not stuff that affected the grand scheme of things, even if a few intended to. Magmint probably has one of the highest kill counts in the entire series, and for many who didn’t know why it was happening, he was God bringing about a new world, a new age.

         Magmint looks like this btw;

         A short guy in a device and easily the Escapee with the most Just Some Dude energy. Just Some Dude who somehow caught up in Azayle’s schemes post-Tower of Tears, and is tied for the most chill, reasonable, and personable Escapee. And yet he has a successfully accomplished feat that completely embarrasses what more ambitious leaders like Midas or Azayle are aiming for.

        Like, I might just change his role in that apocalyptic event for various reasons. But on the other hand, part of me feels obliged to keep it, just because of how funny it is.

#I'll elaborate on Magmint's story later prob with an updated drawing but for now #Magmint #the escapees #oc #ocs #my ocs #GEverse

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Something I realize I haven’t spent enough focus figuring out is the order in which each Escapee was imprisoned in the Tower of Tears... I do have a general idea of the timeline, with Magmint once again coming in to help me, acting as a chronological landmark of sorts to distinguish the Ancient Past from Modern History in the Shining Void. So I’ve been workshopping an official list (with some placements more general and not too set-in-stone relative to others, because they don’t really need to be).

And when organizing this type of list, the question inevitably comes up; Who was the first person imprisoned in the Tower of Tears? Which is a fun question to consider, and I have to entertain the possibility that the Tears managed to capture at least one prisoner on their own before they entered a mutual contract with the Wayvrens.

Which means we have an Escapee with no actual basis for a grudge against the Wayvren family, who has a lot more reason to be ‘innocent’ (relatively speaking) and acknowledged as such; Because while the Wayvrens need some criteria to imprison people like that, the Tears are not nearly as moral in how they choose. So this is our first Escapee, the tragic precedent, the one who arguably didn’t deserve to be there at all, if there’s even a debate. 

Alas, this can’t be Magmint because as much as I love him and his chill Just Some Guy vibes, like I said, he technically has one of the highest kill-counts in the entire series, and the timeline does NOT work out. Likewise, I do have a general idea of when each Escapee popped up in the timeline, but there is ONE that seems like a decent fit... However, I’m not sure if the timeline of their established backstory quite fits, considering it’s connected to the backstory of another character as well, and that might not fit their placement in the timeline. Hmm. 

And before anyone asks, yeah, I have an idea for who was the last Escapee before the Tower of Tears was ended for good (probably... As I said, the Tears might vet one of our protagonists as a potential gift for their child). So there’s also the fun thematic exploration there, that this Escapee is the one for whom the cycle was finally ended, or at least so they hope...

#Tower of Tears #The Escapees #oc #ocs #my ocs #GEverse

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🎫

            Azayle’s group of Escapees isn’t as sociable with one another as they could be, but they do get into conversations. Nykon being Nykon, she generally tries to avoid it, but sometimes she’s stuck in the background when somebody strikes up a conversation. That causes someone like Magmint to direct attention to her, and for Nykon to spit out an aggressive retort, but over time her fellow Escapees have gotten more of an answer out of her.

         So one day she idly wonders aloud, not even thinking about it, “I wonder what they’re up to” in regards to her fellow dragon peers, from before she was imprisoned in the Tower of Tears. Magmint is surprised, but then gets over it just as quickly, because duh! Nykon’s peers are dragons, who are long-lived! He knows that, he’s from the Monster Realm too…

         Naturally he suggests to Nykon, why not go visit her peers, check up on them since she’s one of the few Escapees who have people left over from her life that are still alive? Hang around like old times, see how much has changed but also be comforted by how much has stayed the same. Nykon snaps that there’s no reason to, but we all know there’s plenty of reason. What’s keeping her is the reason NOT to, and it’s her shame, humiliation, and embarrassment at what’s happened.

         Nykon has failed. She was sent on a mission nobody wanted to do, a loser rounding in other losers. And she failed. She kept trying to get stronger, sacrificed her body and now no longer qualifies as a dragon, even if she’s still in the shape of one. Nykon has changed and lost so much, and for what? Another failure, and centuries in the Tower of Tears, subjected to nightmares.

         She’s become even more of a freak than the traitors she was originally sent to round up. So as far as she’s concerned, there is plenty of reason NOT to go, which Nykon may as well dress up under the apparently confident, blasé framework of “There is no reason to go at all.” At which point…

         I can totally see Azayle deciding to fuck with Nykon and suggest a group trip to the Monster Realm, to the dragon vaults and whatnot. Nykon is livid and actually does try to protest, but it’s Azayle so ultimately, Nykon has to bow her head and follow. Magmint is excited, Monarch Man has never been to such a fantastical place he’d have only ever read about in his comics, and there are reactions from other members of the group I have yet to introduce.

         It’s painfully awkward, but Azayle does give Nykon some space to catch up with her peers on her own, while she and the others get caught up in the touristy side of things. I like to imagine Nykon had a colleague named Linde, a cave-dwelling dragon with an apprehension towards light that she used as a resource on information, possibly a librarian.

         Linde is bothered by the bright light Nykon exudes, since normally the only source is a humble lantern. They’re surprised to recognize Nykon and see how much she’s changed, especially since everyone assumed she was either dead or in self-exile. Being a dragon, Linde does not react as much as one may expect, because to be fair they live in the Monster Realm, a very strange and outlandish place in and of itself.

         A closed-off Nykon grumbles a thing or two as an answer. Linde complains that Nykon is too bright and should dim herself, leading Nykon to complain over how she can do that, she IS the light! She’s made of lightning itself! Unimpressed, Linde suggests throwing a tarp over herself. Nykon does note to herself that she can compress herself into one of her smaller forms, but Linde is pissing her off so she won’t. She contemplates saying something offensive, like if Linde hates light so much why don’t they just gouge their eyes out?! What a touching reunion.

         Anyhow, this trip back home all culminates with Nykon visiting one of her old superiors; She doesn't know why, maybe deep down she just wants to get it over with and satisfy the burning curiosity. The superior responds appropriately by arranging a lunch meeting, more or less rubbing it in Nykon's face that she can't eat anymore, as a result of her failures. If he's feeling particularly ceremonious, the superior offers some scrap metal.

         Some passive-aggressive conversation later, and Nykon actually, finally, snaps at her superiors, promising that when Azayle's plan comes through, they'll be listening to her! At which point her superiors are pissed off, and Nykon has to leave early under less than peaceful circumstances. Azayle and the others ask what's the rush and how'd it go when she shows up, and Nykon looks Azayle dead in the eye and insists, "We need to grab that Wayvren brat. NOW." Azayle is pleased by Nykon's takeaway from her nostalgia trip, and the Escapees flee the scene. There may or may not be a bounty on Nykon's head after this...

#Nykon #the escapees #oc #ocs #my ocs #GEverse #ask #reply