#attack on zoraxis

[agent--shadow]

What Lays Beyond

The water rippled, lapping at the stone ledge. The waves crashed against the rocks, nearly reaching the top of the tall and jagged cliff. Something swirled in the water far beyond the shallows, something unnatural. The sun shone just over the horizon, casting surprisingly bright pinks and reds and oranges all over the sky.

A forest lay sprawled at the edge of the cliff, dense and dangerous, lined with traps to deter anything- or anyone, from coming out alive. Let alone anything resembling several agents ready for destruction.

[ @blueorchid-95 @silverdragon889 @agentwraith @eod-agent-13-12 @phoenix-and-found-family]

[eod-agent-13-12]

Is it an Interview or an Interrogation? Either Way, it'll be Intense.

Dawn broke, the light from the window slightly blinding them to the morning sun. Trevor was still wrapped around Florian, taking shallow breaths.

Florian used the second set of curtains to keep the room dim before slipping away to take a bath and change.

As they put on their anti-glare glasses and pin, they took a deep breath. Trevor might wake up soon, but they don't have time.

At least Ameri got them bread buns. Just a quick coffee brew and breakfast is settled.

They left their room, properly tucking Trevor in as they head to the breakroom, fully hoping that they finally get a turn to ask questions.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tag List: @agent--shadow, @agentwraith, @blueorchid-95, @phoenix-and-found-family, @silverdragon889

[pandagobrr]

Finally finished my rendition of Millie, now we have an image for the adorable anxious bean.

@blueorchid-95 @silverdragon889 @eod-agent-13-12 @agentwraith

[pandagobrr]

It's okay! Take all the time you need ❤️❤️❤️ im here if you ever need to talk 🫶

And Blue would likely not like what she found 💀

Random lore dump that probably won't come up significantly, but I've been thinking about it way too much.

Shadow doesn't dye her hair. Does not think it's worth the effort. Ironically, her hair color is natural. She's *tried* dying it solid black to attract less attention, but those streaks of purple and blue always seem to come back, almost as stubborn as her.

She doesn't really care anymore, it's weird but the colors have faded over time, so she figures it's harmless to her missions. Still odd though...

She doesn't know this but it's likely the result of her mother consuming very questionable food and drink (because war rations), and messy around in wildly unsafe conditions in early childhood.

So sorry I’m answering this late. I’ve been having a really hard time emotionally and have been mostly neglecting my ask box, and I am sincerely sorry to all who have reached out to me.

And that’s interesting lore, Panda! I imagine Blue would have done some investigating and come up with possible causes for Shadow’s purplish hair.

[mothbeasts]

ok since you're the fabby expert riddle me this bc i've been thinking abt this all day for some reason. what do u think like. her childhood/young adulthood was like. i rotate her in my head all the time but it is SO difficult to think abt her outside of the state she's currently in now. i know she didn't spawn upon this earth like that. but that's the only way i can picture it so i need insider intel on this subject

SO glad you asked because i think about this extensively. disclaimer that this probably does not line up with Actual Canon it's just my fun little version of events that happens in my brain.

With that out of the way. What was younger fabby like?

For starters. she was 100% a theater kid and finds it embarrassing as an adult. But you cannot stop being a theater kid. Ever.

Honestly. I feel like she was fairly normal as a kid. Maybe a bit TOO interested in morbid things like poison and murder but honestly. That feels Normal. She would've been the kind of kid who like enacted the strangest scenarios and drama with dolls I think.

Things get interesting at around her young adult era. See, in my mind, a lot of her issues started at around that time. Her general constant stress and poor sleep schedule were Definitely worse when she started university. But she powered through (mostly on spite) to get her engineering degree anyways. And then got a job with Zoraxis. Which in no way helped anything ever. In my mind she also got a minor in an art field - not entirely sure what but that's just how I imagine it going. Probably something fashion related, if we wanna take that watch poster into account.

Another thing in my mind is that she was far more reserved in. i wanna say the late teens-early 20s range. Quiet, not really drawing attention. Very absorbed in her studies. Her turn towards evil science was kind of simultaneous with her becoming more like the Fabricator we see in the games; by the time she's gotten a cozy spot near the top of Zoraxis, she's got her act perfected. But the perfect evil science persona DOES take time to craft and that wasn't really the direction she had intended to go at first. She started off just wanting to go into normal engineering or something. Even into her early days with Zoraxis, she was a bit eccentric perhaps but not quite at evil science level for some time.

I think her interest in poisons and such started to take a turn for the worse when she got access to university level chemistry labs. And then her engineering education obviously went towards murder.

The summary is she was honestly Pretty Normal in my mind up until she started working for Zoraxis. After that she realized she actually thinks the whole evil thing is fun and she wants in on it.

HONORARY OTHER HEADCANON MENTION: I tend to draw her with a prosthetic arm. Why, you ask? Lab Incident. She accidentally blew herself up really bad. This happened shortly after the start of her career at Zoraxis.

[stellar-collective]

have y’all ever seen that one post about Mistlefoe(TM)? it’s just mistletoe but instead of kissing whoever is under it you have to FIGHT them.

i think that mistlefoe is a time-honored Agency/Zoraxis tradition that stretches back so far that no one knows which of the two organizations came up with it first. over the years, it’s been honed down to a science: no weapons, one attack each, dodging and blocking is allowed. it’s still stupid dangerous but when has that EVER stopped them

most people have a signature attack that they do under the mistlefoe. here are a couple of my ideas, feel free to add on!!

Agent Phoenix - bit of a wildcard; default is a friendly slug to the shoulder since most agents don’t try to dodge their attack (highly subject to change since every Phoenix is so different)

Reginald - a well-telegraphed right hook that can be easily dodged. you’d better actually dodge it tho bc he hits HARD

Juniper - he’s slapping you. everyone knows that that’s what he’s going to do, and everyone thinks that they’re going to be the one who can block or dodge or otherwise avoid it, but you cannot prevent the John Juniper Movie Slap. it is inevitable. he’s slapped everyone at Zoraxis, and now he’s slapping everyone at the Agency. you cannot stop him

Roxana - she thinks that this game is stupid (true) but if absolutely forced to participate she’ll roll her eyes and punch you in the solar plexus and instantly knock the wind out you. most people don’t force her into it twice

Fabricator - she plays dirty, man. either she’s got a trap already set up (technically against the rules, but who’s going to call her out?) or she’s going for the shins with her high heels. you will die

Solaris - she’ll effortlessly block anything you throw at her, then flick your forehead. sounds weak but she’s got enough finger strength she can knock you off your feet like that

Hivemind - no bees allowed, so he’ll just pinch you really hard for a similar effect

Caliente - he’s the sort of man who respects the classics. you can expect any kind of straight-forward punch from him

Anna - when she first joined, she’d go for the ribs. by the end, though, whatever she threw was so easy to dodge it was sort of hard to tell what she was even going for

Ollie - he’s either booping your nose or laying you out flat with a punch even he didn’t know he was capable of, no inbetween

Zor - pray that you never find yourself under the mistlefoe with them. no one knows what they do because no one has ever survived it

did i miss your fave? do you have a funnier idea? lmk :]

[phoenix-and-found-family]

More totally overanalyzing shit again

So as a normal sane human does I was watching an IEYTD 2 playthrough and the fucking song

The line(s?) I am overthinking are

"Cause the truth is... I despise you... I will tear apart, all these works of art, that disguise you..."

John's whole personality is built on and out of lies. The game's called The Spy and The Liar, for crying out loud, and we know that Phoenix isn't supposed to be the liar.

Everything in the game he does is either a lie or a way to uphold a lie. He wants the agency to think he's a victim in this, for just a little while? Sure, invite an agent over on his autonomous jet! He does know something about the theater attack, why don't you send someone over? It'll be a smooth ride, don't worry about it!

He wants everyone to believe his lies, and to be celebrated for it. That's basically what an actor is, after all. He wants to be celebrated for his ability to fool and trick and scheme and lie, and he has been. He's seen as the greatest actor in the eyes of many. But that's not enough.

It was never enough, was it?

Zoraxis gave him the ability to pull off the greatest lie in the history of the world- The Peace Summit. A masterpiece, flawlessly executed by him and him alone! Sure, Fabricator might have made the mask, I guess, but he was the one who brought it all together.

And then along came a pesky little bird.

Phoenix broke all of his lies, lies years in the making, exposing the truth he put so much effort into covering up with something better, in a WEEK. Less than that.

Agent Phoenix was his downfall in his eyes, because he fell for his own lies and couldn't look past his own pride.

The truth he used to have? Gone. That was lost years ago. He threw it out and replaced it with more lies.

You want to know the truth, Agent Phoenix? The truth you seek above everything, despite hiding yourself behind so much?

He despises you. It wasn't his fault, it was yours. You tore everything down. You ruined his lies. YOU broke open the world, YOU CLAIM YOU SEEK TRUTH YET EVERYTHING YOU STAND FOR IS A LIE AS GRAND AS HIS OWN.

HE GAVE YOU YOUR NAME, PHOENIX.

AND YOU GAVE HIM NOTHING BUT LIES.

He will do the exact same thing you did to him.

He will tear down all of your lies, he will expose your truth, for the whole entire world to see.

And there's nothing you or anyone else you love can do to stop that from happening.

(Jesus that was a whole thing wasn't it)

(I think I got possessed by John there for a hot minute)

(TL:DR, The lines mean that John, who's whole thing is lying, is finally telling the truth, saying he hates Phoenix's guts and is going to tear them down if it's the last thing he does)

[silverdragon889]

Bluenix's B-Side: I Won't Say It

Here you go, guys! The phone call >:3 @blueorchid-95 @agent--shadow @agentwraith @eod-agent-13-12

Bluenix stares at the door like it personally wronged him.

Sure as shit, there was a heart decal on the door. Bluenix felt his cheeks warm; why were the others so insistant it was a crush? It's affection and admiration- nothing more. It can't be a crush.

Crushes get people killed.

Nonetheless, he steels himself and enters the room. The black company phone sits there, and it somehow feels like it stares at him. He stares back. It's like that for a good 15 seconds. He breathes. It shouldn't be this hard to call a friend... He dials the familiar number and waits.

A kind, familiar voice answers.

"Phoenix? Phoenix! Oh it's so good you called- where ARE you? You up and left without so much as a note and Reginald's been losing his bloody mind! I've been losing my bloody mind! Are you hurt? I can-"

Woah, woah, Ollie-pop! Slow down a sec.

He chuckles a little.

It was an emergency. Still is. But I'm ok; no scratches or wounds except to maybe my pride.

"An emergency? Phoenix, what's going on?"

Multiversal conundrum: Zoraxis managed to trap a bunch of Agency personelle, and I was recruited to help get them back.

"The multiverse again?"

Yeah. Again. But, uh, I called for a different reason than to just explain.

He shuffles, his firey feathers puffing out unconsciously as he lets out a heavy sigh.

Mechanique is here... She targeted me and I just... Needed to hear your voice. I was doing well on my own for a good bit but well-

He smiles

I missed you.

Ollie worries, but he chuckles into the phone. Bluenix pretends his heart doesn't speed up.

"Well, I missed you too. Medical's been awfully quiet without you around, you know."

Hey! I'm not THAT clumsy!

"I can hear a little nasal in your voice. You ran into a wall, earlier didn't you."

... I plead the fifth.

The two laugh. Conversation flows between the two for a while. Eventually, though, Ollie is needed back in Medical, and the two say reluctant goodbyes.

I'll see you soon, ok, Ollie-pop?

Ollie giggles.

"Of course, Feather. I'll hold you to it."

Ollie hangs up as Bluenix processes everything he just heard; the soft way Ollie called him 'Feather' replaying in his head over and over as he sinks to sit on the ground. He holds his head in his hands as he groans in partial frustration.

He had a crush.

He was so screwed.

Mierda.

[agent--shadow]

Rose walked down the hall with Kai in her arms, the sun was setting and she was pretty sure it was the little guy's bedtime.

She set him down in the room Oriae directed her towards, and he snuggled into bed, the blankets comically large for his size.

She chuckled and was about to head out when something shiny caught her eyes. It was some sort of golden sphere on the bedside table. She walked up to it, and picked it up gently, it was so intricate, maybe some sort of astronomical sphere?

All of a sudden the bands began to shift, forming letters and sentences. She nearly dropped the thing as she stumbled backwards. Heading out of the room so she didn't wake Kai up, and also to see if this was something she should be telling someone.

Once she closed the door to the room she looked back at the sphere, it read 'sing the song of the soul'

Huh, wonder what that meant. She went off to find Oriae, hopefully she knew more about weird cryptic artifacts than she did.

@silverdragon889

[eod-agent-13-12]

Ellie hears a knock on her door, it's Kai. He's finished all his business and is now ready for whatever work with the graveyard there is waiting for him.

*She goes to open the door.

"Oh, hi. I did hear my brother sent you. Come in."

*She's definitely friendlier now. She welcomes Kai (@agent--shadow) inside.

[pandagobrr]

19. They get stuck in an elevator. How does everyone react?

Florian would be the one to press the help button,

Shadow climbs up and out the little door at the top, forgetting about everyone else.

Kai is trying to help people, but rarely anyone needs his help.

Wraith follows suit after Shadow.

Bluenix probably calls Ollie to pass the time until help got there.

Handler Blue is trying desperately to keep up with Shadow, but is failing miserably.

Handler Ellie is standing off to the side, burying her head in her hands.

Typhoon is probably trying to pull Wraith back into the elevator to annoy her and get back for the hair dye prank.

[ @eod-agent-13-12 @silverdragon889 @blueorchid-95]

[sweetstwawbewwymilk]

MATTERS OF TIME (BETA)

This was supposed to be a comic and Way more polished but the looming threat of Canon is getting closer with each passing day. So, here's my Phoenix's canon, and an explanation for the ominous hints i keep dropping.

TW for period-accurate vocabulary for LGBTQ+ identities

Enjoy!

Prism thumbed her teacup as she finished the story. Reginald, across from her, could only sit with his mouth agape. In the very next room, Agent Phoenix was sleeping soundly, exhausted from the events of the past three months, and ignorant to the information Reginald was now struggling to comprehend. 

“And… that's the whole truth.” Roxana finished. “I… I never told anyone else that.” 

“Never? Not… I mean- But, but- but… Roxana I…” 

Reginald set down his teacup and rubbed his eyes. “This is… so much to process. You've really never gone back?” 

“Never. As far as I know the Toledo lab is untouched. I want nothing to do with anything still in it.” 

“Right. Right…” Reginald rubbed his arms. “...Never told anyone? Not even Phoenix?”

“Oh yeah, great idea!” Roxana snipped, stress coloring her voice as she rose to a faux sweet tone. “HeeEEEEey, Phoenix! Sorry for trying to kill you, thanks for saving my life, hope your head doesn't hurt too bad from saving the world and nearly dying again, YOU’RE A CLONE BY THE WAY.” 

Reginald winced. “Yes, I… suppose now is not a good time…” 

He sighed, then looked at the picture Roxana showed him of the… well, the “donor.” He nearly dropped his teacup the first time he saw them. Mx. Blanc, inheritor of a small fortune. Youthful yet confident, standing upright in a crisp, white suit. 

A blaze of red hair cascading down their back, an amber eye so bright it shone like gold, even, coincidentally, a nasty scar down their right eye, covered with an eyepatch. 

They truly were Phoenix's mirror image. 

Reginald ran a hand down his face, as Roxana also looked at the old photo. She still remembered when they approached her, after being introduced through Valeri. Blanc approached her with a fear she could relate to all too well: passing on, and leaving nothing behind. They wanted to have a child of their own, to carry on their legacy when they were gone, but due to their specific blend of hermaphroditism, they never could. 

All she asked for back then was a sample of their DNA and three weeks. 

The cloning tank impressed Blanc, but they were even more impressed with the tiny human inside; their perfect genetic copy… and, in essence, their child.

Blanc and Roxana spent as much time as they could around the small clone. Roxana conducted a lot of her early research in the Toledo lab, keeping an eye on the tank and the clone.

And then…

Roxana blinked back tears as she recalled that horrible end to the year. Zoraxis’s first attack on the Agency. Blanc’s murder. The Operatives surrounding her lab, her smashing the tank, running through the cold with an artificial child in her arms, finding the Orphanage… 

Reginald rested a hand on her shoulder, snapping Roxana from her spiral with tears in her eyes. He invited her to sit next to him on the couch, which she gladly accepted. Roxana and Reginald leaned into each other, just stewing in the memories, and in the new information, with Blanc in front of them.

“I guess… that’s part of why I was so upset when Phoenix got so popular. It’s like… what Blanc was so afraid of came true. They got forgotten. And I helped write over their legacy.”

She rubbed her eye against her shoulder as she sank deeper into Reginald. He wrapped an arm around her, pulling her unto a half-hug. 

“...For what it's worth,” Reginald began, “I think Mx. Blanc would be rather happy to know their clone became Agent Phoenix.” He chuckled. “I know that if I had a child, I would be proud to see them become someone like Phoenix.”

Roxana smiled sadly. Her mind went back to her robots, emulating her greatest creation, even through their quirks. She reached up and squeezed Reginald's hand. 

“Yeah… I'm… I'm proud of them.” 

She looked back at Blanc's photo. 

“And… I'm sure they're looking down, and they're proud of them too.” 

******

Dr. Zor's fingers drummed against their armrest as they watched the security footage. The gleaming golden eye that wasn't scarred over narrowed through long, graying red hair. 

Of course Roxana would have swooped in to save her creation. A clever little thing, they were. Three plots, each with years of planning and thousands of dollars poured into them, washed away like sidewalk chalk in a thunderstorm. 

They wondered to themselves, long ago, what would pay higher dividends. Killing their wayward failure and starting over… or testing them. Bending them. 

Breaking them. 

Putting them through trial after trial, experiment after experiment, all to see if they had found their heir. Their immortality. 

Well, they figured, all the way back then. It was a win-win. 

If the Phoenix died, they took their dirty little secret with them. If they lived, they'd be running right back to them, and they'd get another chance at breaking the bird. 

And they would break them. Body, mind, or soul, they'd break them. 

It was only a matter of time. 

[neurotonic]

splurging abt this bc…. idk i want to. as much as i like to play around with potential animosity between prism and solaris, they’re such similar people, and i think deep down the both of them have a strange sort of fondness for the other in the sense that they can see themselves in each other…

as tough as i like to think solaris can be on prism, i think most of that- whether she knows it or not- stems from prism’s compassion and vulnerability. she’s a lover at her core, and solaris can’t imagine being that kind of person without getting hurt, or scathed, or trampled by the world. seeing prism be so whimsical is… unnerving. it’s not safe for her, and she doesn’t understand it.

meanwhile, i think prism is the exact opposite with solaris. she’s seen what happens when she lets her rage consume her… it got her working with zoraxis, inevitably being betrayed, ruining what she spent her life working towards, sending her spiraling into her grief… she can only imagine how angry and tired solaris is. how much the world hurt her. she wants to coax her out of her shell… mellow her out so things don’t become worse than they have to be.

but. you know. it’s hard to wrap their minds around each other’s viewpoints… and it turns into this strange messy friendship that the other is always misconstruing as an attack on their carefully crafted character

foirst of all you're always welcome to splurge in my inbox no matter what. second of all i really . really really like this interpretation of their characters... I've definitely thought about how similar they are in terms of experiences before, it's just how they end up interpreting their experiences and their general outlook in life has them acting very differently from one another... and like you said, even the smallest nudge in the opposite direction their fates would have been closer to the other's. Is Foil the right term for them...??

Which is why I really like the idea of them meeting and trying to work with their differing viewpoints ... Gotta be honest I haven't done much of that recently. sniff...those engineers sure can be a mirror of themselves yayyayy!!

The similarities get to them, I think, because sometimes they don't understand why they still couldn't get along most of the time?? It's a strange experience yet. I feel like they could complement each other's flaws by filling in a new perspective. and I always love that contrast between dynamics. The more they hang around each other I feel like they could appreciate each other's company. Even though they're still steadfast with their viewpoints (another similarity between them, I think it's not easy to make them discard their core beliefs)

Well. Anyways. I think this is social enrichment for them. Not romantic not platonic but a secret third thing (we're two sides of the same coin and we both don't know how to feel about that)

[agent-calivide]

If you're still taking art requests:

Juniper serenading Seraphina (I have a headcanon that JJ absolutely would do that to anyone he's in love with if given a chance.)

(Not forced though. /gen)

Honestly, I just have requests generally open for the foreseeable future! It’s helped me a lot with getting ideas of what to draw these characters doing rather than just… standing by each other or tango dipping- Not that that isn't fun, but I do those same two poses a lot.

That being said, THIS IDEA WAS SO CUUUUTE!!! Ended up coming up with a whole scene and everything!

Me being a feral shipper below cut

The general idea is after John and Seraphina get married in Number One Fan, he keeps acting, but Seraphina is still a secret agent by day and can't keep up with all of his after parties even if she goes to all of his first showings, so after the film premier she went home and got ready for bed while John went to the after party for his latest film.

However, rather than coming home and going straight to bed, John got the cheeky idea to throw rocks at their window to grab Seraphina's attention and proceeded to serenade her with a sweet love song the second she opened the window (shoe in hand to attack any potential Zoraxis op's).

Disregard the fact that Seraphina's in like. Greek robes, I was listening to Epic the Musical while drawing this and it seeped into her clothes lol

[apollo-fizz]

I don’t understand how zoraxis is still a company after all of those agency agents are tasked with destroying it. I think they’re probably multiple companies hidden away so if the agency attacks one of the smaller groups, there’s still so many more.

There’s just groups of Zoraxis agents who exist to trick the agency while they pulled off little things for the bigger picture. considering making oc’s just specifically for this.

[ieytdconfessions]

Given the fact that the agency and Zoraxis are global organizations, I would love to see other IEYTD OCs who are from other parts of the world. From both sides. The attitudes and variations between each region and how they interact.

I feel like there can be so many interactions that would be unlocked if there are more of them. What if one part of the world is more aware of Zoraxis activity and another is not? Some areas may have an unspoken truce that takes place whenever a higher up is not watching them, others may have an attack on sight policy.

Some governments may be agency friendly, others may tend to favor Zoraxis more. There's so much you can do with this. But the downside (or upside depending on how you look at things) is the fact you may need to worldbuild a lot.

.