Question Absinthe and Company.

Since we have seen several of Morph's other characters make it into canon. Will we be seeing a visit from the MCO's pet mutant any time soon? And if so...How much of her backstory will survive?

I believe the general assumption is that at least in broad strokes the story isn't being changed too much and Absinthe is largely waiting on the 2007 year to progress a bit further as she arrived mid-term for her second story. Of course I could be wrong in this, but we won't know until the stories are either out, or one of those in the know interjects.

What is more assured at the moment is Sphere, however. With canonical events and introductions possibly setting it up. She too arrives late, but early enough that she was clearly integrated with the other students in Absinthe's eyes. We know that Jinx is at Whateley which is the strongest piece of evidence in favour, meanwhile there was mention of the Liberty League being off busy around where Sphere lived in the exact team composition mentioned in Round and Round.

So it's likely to just be a matter of time while existing plots get wrapped up a little.

The problem with the second Absinth story is that it relies so heavily on Nikki still having Aunghadhail , not to mention giving Caitlin a very specific backstory. But Nikki no longer has the queen in her head, and I'm not sure how well Morphius' details fit in with Caitlin's cannon backstory. This suggest that the story will need substantial changes.I think as much has been said in another thread.

Note that MCO Agent Wells has also already been mentioned in canon stories. He was the agent involved in trying to get Kayda on murder charges.

Absinthe arrives 2 to 3 weeks after Sphere in the original fanfics.

Then again there are potential problem characters in Absinthe 1, Boost and Frankenstein.
Both their powers seem to be outside the Whateley norm.

Also Absinthe's aura itself operates differently.

Also, according to the story, Gwen is a direct descendent from a sidhe, which is against cannon as they can't breed with humans.

Depending how under the radar Whisper has been, there should be some comment or interaction there too. Illusionist elves. Surely someone pointed them out to each other.

Waiting impatiently for her story to turn up in cannon though.

That's what i was worried about. I was re reading the Absinthe stories yesterday. And those thoughts did cross my mind. I do love the Caitlin piece. Was a wonderful look into the life of an Artificer. Or shall we say,one of the lives of the Artificer. And even though Cait has been named Galathea. That could just be one of many names she has possessed over the centuries.

Actually Boost and Frankenstine would be just fine. There's already one student on campus who can boost powers. He popped up in one of Jade's stories. As far as Frankenstine's immunities...We have a few students with simular power sets already. With Mule coming to mind off the bat. The Sidhe issue might require a little adjustment. There's no doubt.

*Sits down with Anna as we wait for the canon version,and shares her popcorn.*

I'll just mention that there is precedent for this kind of situation. Look at J.G.'s entry into canon. Caitlin's first story was accepted with just very minor changes... but the second story was simply tossed aside.
I wouldn't be surprised if Absinthe's second canon story ends up VERY different from the fanfic version.

That guy boosted the Jade. I don't remember that he could do it for anyone else. More a side effect of his powers than an actual power.

The various immunities are, from memory, limited. Doug's seems way too broad.

Nothing major, but no doubt requiring a little more thought, discussion, and rewriting than the regular conversion.

For Absinthe 2, I'd forgottn that JG had returned. That should make things easier.

annachie wrote: That guy boosted the Jade. I don't remember that he could do it for anyone else. More a side effect of his powers than an actual power.

The various immunities are, from memory, limited. Doug's seems way too broad.

Nothing major, but no doubt requiring a little more thought, discussion, and rewriting than the regular conversion.

For Absinthe 2, I'd forgottn that JG had returned. That should make things easier.

Yeah... JG and Morpheus have been talking... a lot... be afraid.

annachie wrote: That guy boosted the Jade. I don't remember that he could do it for anyone else. More a side effect of his powers than an actual power.

The various immunities are, from memory, limited. Doug's seems way too broad.

Nothing major, but no doubt requiring a little more thought, discussion, and rewriting than the regular conversion.

For Absinthe 2, I'd forgottn that JG had returned. That should make things easier.

Boost is just kind of the opposite of Hamper. If you have a guy that can shut down mutant powers, having a guy that strengthen them isn't bad. As long as he doesn't boost someone beyond Whateley norms. I don't remember Boost doing that.

Having Frankenstein be immune to certain mutant effects, instead of all, wouldn't be too far out of line, as both Jade and Billie are immune to many of the "auras" that are around.

The big problems from Absinthe are her lineage, although that could be changed along the lines of what was done with Aung's "lineage."

Major portions of Absinthe 2 would have to be changed because Aung is dead. Although TK is going to get tired of random new students running away from them.

Actually, I think a better justification for a power booster's existence would not be power nullifiers, but power mimics.

Let me explain: a power nullifier does not require interfering on someone's actual power mechanism -- it can work just as a specialized Esper trait, like it doesn't so much breaks your power but rather convinces your brain to shut it off. In fact, it's likely that Damper's power works exactly in this fashion, since his twin (Hamper) has an Esper power that disrupts other thought processes. I'm not going as far as saying that this is the case for other nullifiers, such as Negator -- in fact, there's canon evidence that Negator DOES interfere directly on someone's power. But there's a lot of wiggle room to explain away nullifiers -- even if they do interfere on metapatterns, like Negator supposedly does, it does not require a complex manipulation of same -- just a blunt instrument approach should be enough.

OTOH, mimics HAVE to be able to change a metapattern on demand, following a "template" that they read from someone else. They just happen to change their own metapattern. From there, it's not a huge leap to infer that there are mutants who can read someone else's metapattern and temporarily reinforce them.

Even Absinthe's lineage and aura can be explained away with just a touch of corruption from that bear changing Val? Just enough to make a crossbreed possible, and that same touch of corruption twisting Gwen's aura.

After all, after it took her arm she was never really in a position to get healed properly.

annachie wrote: That guy boosted the Jade. I don't remember that he could do it for anyone else. More a side effect of his powers than an actual power.

As an Avatar, Timeless maybe could do that for any spirit, not just one of the J-Team. Considering how he gets his own life energy to help fuel that power, I'd be surprised to see him to do that for anyone else.

Too bad that he could benefit from a ley-line tap, if only he didn't actively keep his actual powers secret. (Or has he, after two Combat Finals?)

Just had an idea about Abbie's lineage. She could easily be tied in to Elle's story with a few minor tweaks. Just swap out Aung for one of the lesser queens.

annachie wrote: Then again there are potential problem characters in Absinthe
...
Also, according to the story, Gwen is a direct descendent from a sidhe, which is against cannon as they can't breed with humans.

We in the authors group have talked at length about that - the discussions in the public forums are only a shadow of what we've discussed - and what we've figured out regarding Absinthe. We did come up with a solution; you'll have to wait for Morpheus to finish adapting the story.

Speaking of which, I don't think that I've mentioned how impressed I am that you and Morpheus were both able to create characters who dug into the mystic history of the WU but were still canon compatible despite not having access to the secret plans of the cabal. Kudos to both of you.

Even if Morpheus' plan was derailed slightly by EE's curveball.

Honestly Elrod, I don't think anyone here would have thought different.
Perhaps that the discussion hadn't happened yet, but never that it wouldn't.

Be interesting to see hoe close any of us got.


Re: timeless. His boosting of Jade seems to be purely boosting the time one of her constructs could stay away from her, from what I remember anyway, and that seems to be a direct effect of whatever his power actually is (and infering from his code name), not an ability to boost avatars or spirits in general.
A very specific side affect that works because of how the two abilities interact.

Bringing this back to discus the character.

Sir Lee wrote: Actually, I think a better justification for a power booster's existence would not be power nullifiers, but power mimics. [...]

Apparently Reverb is a mimic + amplifier, but the only knowledge about the latter is from the Canon Bible? I haven't been able to find any sources, at least.

When I thought about that part my "solution" was that Abbies ancestor (who still doesn't have a name I think) procreated with "lesser" elfs (how are the faerie written) and they're children again with more of "lesser" kind and once the Sidhe blood was properly thinned out procreation with humans worked. Or was it mentioned specifically that the child she protects while dying has a human father? I skipped the ancestral memory parts while re-reading the canon adaptation.

Oneiros wrote: . Or was it mentioned specifically that the child she protects while dying has a human father? I skipped the ancestral memory parts while re-reading the canon adaptation.

I believe it was mentioned specifically that the child has a human father.

seeking refuge among a tribe of humans. The only joy I had left was this newborn infant. I’d been so lonely that I’d allowed the human shaman to make me fertile, and the chieftain to fill me with child, a decision that had not been easy, and one that I did not regret. This boy in my arm was my last shred of happiness.

Oneiros wrote: I skipped the ancestral memory parts while re-reading the canon adaptation.

It's the canon version that Morpheus put so much effort into writing that should matter.

In the Whateley Universe, some souls have turned out just as capable of remembering a past incarnation as any other spirit is capable of remembering a past host. Some even have enough power to influence or even hijack a mutant's manifestation. That is what I think that Gwen has been experiencing. Different aspects of this mechanic have been explored with Loophole and Solange, and I think it also makes a more viable story (and far more consistent with Western metaphysics) in handling what are popularly called "ancestral memories".

However, dreams and memories are simply stories told by the most unreliable of narrators.

annachie wrote:

Oneiros wrote: . Or was it mentioned specifically that the child she protects while dying has a human father? I skipped the ancestral memory parts while re-reading the canon adaptation.

I believe it was mentioned specifically that the child has a human father.

seeking refuge among a tribe of humans. The only joy I had left was this newborn infant. I’d been so lonely that I’d allowed the human shaman to make me fertile, and the chieftain to fill me with child, a decision that had not been easy, and one that I did not regret. This boy in my arm was my last shred of happiness.

The relevant point being that, it was only due to the magical intervention of the shaman, that she was able to conceive, and that this could be one of the sources of the Sidhe/Human crossbreeds, which would logically lead to there being humans with Sidhe ancestry.

Also, when you consider the snobbery implicit in the Sidhe society, the Sidhe denying that interbreeding was possible would make sense. Absinthe's ancestor only considering this as a course of action, when she had been exiled from the Sidhe's version of "polite society".

---

The relationship between Absinthe's ancestor and the Chieftan that she married; the Chieftan's natural desire for children, vs. the love that he had for his fey wife; the balance of the attitudes towards the tribal debt owed to Absinthe's ancestor vs.the insularity necessary for the survival of a clan-based social structure within societies operating on a tribal level; are all interesting plot-threads that would make for a really chewy back-story.

Looking forward to the next part.

My suspicion is that the shaman merely took a human egg and placed it within Gwendma's womb, probably along with a magical compatibility layer to make the place human-friendly. They probably also did some sort of ritual to make sure the child would be mystically linked to Gwendma rather than (or perhaps in addition to) its genetic mother. Sort of a preemptive adoption.

Kettlekorn wrote: My suspicion is that the shaman merely took a human egg and placed it within Gwendma's womb, probably along with a magical compatibility layer to make the place human-friendly. They probably also did some sort of ritual to make sure the child would be mystically linked to Gwendma rather than (or perhaps in addition to) its genetic mother. Sort of a preemptive adoption.

While that would make Gwendma, Gwendma. It wouldn't give Gwen any Sidhe genes, or make Gwendma genetically related to Gwen.

No, but we don't have any reason to believe that she ever had Sidhe genes before manifesting. All we have is Witchling commenting on her ancestry and bloodline:

Absinthe wrote: Witchling gave me an odd look, then explained, “My spells indicate that you have Sidhe ancestry in your bloodline, though it appears to be very far back. I don’t know how that is even possible, because the two species are supposed to be incapable of interbreeding. However this happened, it seems that your mutation may have awoken your distant Sidhe blood…and brought it to the surface.”

This can be interpreted as being about genetics, but she never actually says anything about genes. Witchling is a mage. Odds are that this is a mystic inheritance, not a genetic inheritance. Thus the magic adoption ritual I suggested. Between that and Gwendma being the one who technically carried and gave birth to the baby, Gwen probably counts as Gwendma's descendant at a mystic level despite what her DNA says.

Mister D wrote:
Also, when you consider the snobbery implicit in the Sidhe society, the Sidhe denying that interbreeding was possible would make sense. Absinthe's ancestor only considering this as a course of action, when she had been exiled from the Sidhe's version of "polite society".

the idea that human shide cross breeding is perfectly possible, but the Shide are hiding the fact is something that I find intrinsically appealing. Who knows it could even be that in times past some powerful shide actually had spells in place to prevent such children being born. Or alternatively, that there was a secret police that took care of any that were born.

IIRC there are supposed to be 99 Shide in the world who are older than Nikki, and we haven't really seen them, so we don't know what they are up to. For all we know some or all of them could be Shide supremacists planning for the day they take the world back from the humans.

konzill wrote: the idea that human shide cross breeding is perfectly possible, but the Shide are hiding the fact is something that I find intrinsically appealing. Who knows it could even be that in times past some powerful shide actually had spells in place to prevent such children being born. Or alternatively, that there was a secret police that took care of any that were born.

With enough magic, nearly anything is possible. That doesn't make everything possible a Good Idea. I realize that many readers want Sidhe/human genetic chimerae running around, but if pointy ears are so important I'm sure that Jobe could hook a character up.

konzill wrote: IIRC there are supposed to be 99 Shide in the world who are older than Nikki, and we haven't really seen them, so we don't know what they are up to. For all we know some or all of them could be Shide supremacists planning for the day they take the world back from the humans.

Nikki was #1000-ish, among those considered Faerie mutants.

Fey: Mom, I Don't Feel So Good wrote: “Well for one thing, Nick, you appear to be the one thousandth Faerie mutant recorded in modern history. For that purpose, modern history runs from around the early sixteen hundreds to now.”

Depending on when and where Essence levels returned to the point that the descendants of Sidhe stranded off-planet (assuming they didn't evolve into something completely unrecognisable) could live and reproduce here, it may not be unreasonable to think that there may be more Sidhe on Earth. That still doesn't make them any more bonkable than a wombat.

null0trooper wrote: That still doesn't make them any more bonkable than a wombat.

Hotter, though.

Arcanist Lupus wrote:

null0trooper wrote: That still doesn't make them any more bonkable than a wombat.

Hotter, though.

I don't know.
We all know what a Wombat does.

So far in Canon, we have a distinct lack of Shide boys, so the return of their race remains in some jeopardy.

Also, Colin and Gwen are an OTP. so I'm sure they'll have to re-solve that hurdle eventually. Yea not in the timespan of the current batch of stories, but maybe if they show up in G2 in any capacity.

Oh lord...JG's plotting again!

So wombats are eminently bonkable after all. Who knew?

konzill wrote: So far in Canon, we have a distinct lack of Shide boys, so the return of their race remains in some jeopardy.

Also, Colin and Gwen are an OTP. so I'm sure they'll have to re-solve that hurdle eventually. Yea not in the timespan of the current batch of stories, but maybe if they show up in G2 in any capacity.

Thorn (the real one) and Rascal are Sidhe Males.

konzill wrote: So far in Canon, we have a distinct lack of Shide boys, so the return of their race remains in some jeopardy.

.

The Sidhe could bud, rather than have babies
Bit boring, though.

YA know Absinthe could be the descendent of one of the faeries rather than the shidi.
After all no one has said that there are any real differences in faeries and humans from the genetic or biology from humans. And it is known that faeries can change size, come from humans and probably can even become humans. See "Twisted Triplets" starting with "TT0: Seeing is Believing".

NJM1564 wrote: YA know Absinthe could be the descendent of one of the faeries rather than the shidi.
After all no one has said that there are any real differences in faeries and humans from the genetic or biology from humans. And it is known that faeries can change size, come from humans and probably can even become humans. See "Twisted Triplets" starting with "TT0: Seeing is Believing".

Isn't Twisted Triplets non-canon?

Arcanist Lupus wrote:

NJM1564 wrote: YA know Absinthe could be the descendent of one of the faeries rather than the shidi.
After all no one has said that there are any real differences in faeries and humans from the genetic or biology from humans. And it is known that faeries can change size, come from humans and probably can even become humans. See "Twisted Triplets" starting with "TT0: Seeing is Believing".

Isn't Twisted Triplets non-canon?

Yes. Whateley Independent Fiction, as it were.

null0trooper wrote:

Arcanist Lupus wrote:

NJM1564 wrote: YA know Absinthe could be the descendent of one of the faeries rather than the shidi.
After all no one has said that there are any real differences in faeries and humans from the genetic or biology from humans. And it is known that faeries can change size, come from humans and probably can even become humans. See "Twisted Triplets" starting with "TT0: Seeing is Believing".

Isn't Twisted Triplets non-canon?

Yes. Whateley Independent Fiction, as it were.

We have a separate section for Non-Canon stories.

NJM1564 wrote:

null0trooper wrote:

Arcanist Lupus wrote:

NJM1564 wrote: YA know Absinthe could be the descendent of one of the faeries rather than the shidi.
After all no one has said that there are any real differences in faeries and humans from the genetic or biology from humans. And it is known that faeries can change size, come from humans and probably can even become humans. See "Twisted Triplets" starting with "TT0: Seeing is Believing".

Isn't Twisted Triplets non-canon?

Yes. Whateley Independent Fiction, as it were.

We have a separate section for Non-Canon stories.

If you're thinking of The Library Collections , those are non-canon because they mostly stand independent of the Whateley Universe. Whateley Independent Fiction stories are set largely in the Whateley Universe or an AU very similar to it, but they are not considered as part of the canon even when written by a canon author.

Word of God, Twisted Tripplets is 'non-canon' ... at this time ... though I reserve the right to use any of my previous writing at any time in Canon pieces ...


... and anyway they are Pixies and not Sidhe!

I've got my fingers crossed that Collin and Gwen work things out.