Headcanons for Phantom and Monarch Being Allies(?) Since Nate and Amanda Are Friends
Just a reminder: yes, I can still write about egos/characters other than the ones I’ve made. (In fact, I’m working on my next story about one of those egos/characters right now. The Pentas Family is my new passion project, I can’t help it.) However, I’ve also realized that it’s been a long while since I gave the NWTB egos any attention. And I’ve been toying with these headcanons for quite a while, so, now’s as good a time as any to post ‘em.
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The Basics
When it comes to power, these two are evenly-matched. That doesn’t stop them from trying to one-up each other
The bickering that goes on between them has varying levels of severity. Surreal shenanigans are almost always guaranteed, but neither Phantom nor Monarch are human, so dark magic and reality-bending shit doesn’t bother them too much.
When they decide to work as a team, there’s simply not much that can step to them.
In a way, they sort of balance one another out. (In my opinion, Phantom is some head-honcho eldritch abomination while Monarch is canonically a goddess.)
Phantom has learned to recognize Monarch’s clones; some of them visit his businesses from time to time.
Whenever they work together, it’s usually because one of them needs help with magic stuff (gathering ingredients for potions, doing a spell/ritual that requires more than one person, etc). Other times they’ll conspire against enemies or screw around with humans.
They’re thoroughly addicted to anime. They both think humanity is a bit pitiful, but anime is one of few exceptions. (Another one of those exceptions is cute animals.)
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The Shapeshifting/Body Horror Ideas (As a Treat)
Phantom is to snakes as Monarch is to butterflies. That is all
Actually, no, that is NOT all.
Phantom wears a glamor when interacting with humans, but can adjust said glamor at will (for example: his eyes might sometimes flash slit pupils. His teeth can lengthen/sharpen into fangs, and you’d better believe they pack some horrifically deadly venom.
His true form is pure nightmare fuel for anyone who’s ever had ophidiophobia. I’m thinking something like a snake skeleton with exposed organs, but shrouded by a veil of smoke. I’m imagining he still has arms in his true form for some reason? Like, long arms with sharp talons? I feel like that might make him look more like a dragon, so, yeah.
Monarch has said that her true form is too much for human eyes to handle, and has implied that it’s more horrifying than breath-taking. I immediately thought of Mothra, because of course I did.
It’s hard to make something like a butterfly scary, but I’d imagine that Monarch would be a giant butterfly with multiple pairs of wings and too-long, blade-like legs. A jagged exoskeleton that looks like the blue crystals in her throne room. Maybe eye patterns on her wings that are actual eyes?
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The Unnecessary Backstory
These two are obsessed with souls. They both feed on the energy souls provide, but Phantom likes collecting for status (plus it always pays to have a stockpile). Several brawls have been started over Monarch trying to steal souls from Phantom’s collection and vice versa.
In fact, souls are the reason they even know each other. Monarch was using some of her clones to spy on a mortal whose soul she wanted. The mortal in question wound up visiting one of Phantom’s businesses and happened to catch Phantom’s interest. Phantom managed to schedule a few meetings with the mortal and tried to bring up a contract.
Keyword: tried. The clones Monarch was using saw this and informed her, and she wasn’t happy. She summoned Phantom to a less-than-human realm by tying a message to a very heavy crystal and then using magic to throw that crystal at Phantom’s head through a mirror.
Anyway, they eventually meet up. Things are somewhat civil at first, but that doesn’t last. Both parties are pissed, so their argument over who gets the soul quickly spirals out of control. They take to their true forms and slug it out for a while
The initial fight ends sooner or later when they begrudgingly call a truce. They technically could have kept at it for as long as they wanted, considering Phantom’s undead and Monarch’s immortal, but they’ve got busy lives. Phantom has a supernatural underground empire to run; Monarch has clones to watch. They can’t just drop their responsibilities.
For a while, they go back to their respective lives. They keep having passive-aggressive jabs at one another using magic.
That one soul they both wanted? Well, it somehow ends up in the hands of some other entity. Phantom and Monarch get pissed at this and simultaneously plot revenge. They actually end up talking/griping about it during their attacks on one another.
So, they ultimately come together in conspiring against the soul thief. They manage to track them down for a chat. Things get violent, the soul thief ends up dead, and it turns out their soul collection, while much smaller than Phantom’s or Monarch’s, has just enough souls to be divided evenly between them.
After all that happens, Phantom and Monarch stay on neutral terms. Their rivalry is still alive and well, and they keep jabbing at each other because they’re petty, but their arguments don’t become full-on death battles anymore.
@that-bat
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