#mostly for Vindemiator

[n0r]

WHY IS GAVIN THE WAY HE IS?

A character analysis

Redacted Audio is a channel full to the brim with interesting and developed characters and events that keep you on the edge of your seat with every post, however, a character that I find left me with one question Gavin, why is he the way he is?

Presented as an arrogant incubus, we meet Gavin at a 7/11 on our way to D.A.M.N. He’s teasing upon our first interaction, a harsh, almost cruel kind of teasing. He immediately labels us as a “voyeur”, and then somewhat when we ask for directions due to it not being on Google Maps, “Maybe you are as simple as you look”.

Despite this, he becomes someone the listener cares for and vice versa. When shit hits the fan with Vega, Gavin starts the audio, ‘The Cost’, his usual flirty self, attempting to watch a movie with Freelancer until Caelum shows up tired and distressed, and he immediately jumps to comfort the daemon. There's also a protectiveness for those he cares about, immediately jumping to be the line of defence when Vega shows up. Even under Vega's threats, Gaven holds his ground, stating, “I’ve been fueled by high octane freelancer energy for days now” instead of Vega, who’s practically exhausted himself chasing after Caelum. His time with the listener isn’t fueled by the need to feed, nor is it transactional; he’s with them because he wants to be.

Gavin is very drawn and motivated by those he loves and cares for, though hesitant to be open even then. He does open up to Freelancer about what aria was like, stating “I want to be a person, my own person,” that being an individual is frowned upon among incubi because he’s “supposed to exist purely for the desires of others because that’s what keeps me alive.” A struggle for identity and wanting to simply live instead of being an object of desire. He wants to love and be loved. “Gavin is the name I chose for myself,” He identifies with this, as this whole new person stating that Vindemiator is “someone else.”

He states himself that he is ‘evasive to the end.” often redirecting topics and conversation to flirting and innuendos galore. When he meets Huxley, Damien, and Lasko with freelancer for mostly the first time, freelancer asks if he’s nervous and observes that he’s tense. He immediately attempts to swerve the conversation to a sexual manner, “tense? Well, you’re welcome to help ease the tension if you’re looking to be fashionably late.”

I don’t believe Gavin is sex driven or that he thinks of it constantly. While he is something who feeds off it and someone who enjoys it, he still treats freelancer as an equal, as someone he loves and respects; as human. He left Aria because he wasn’t treated as a person, but as an object for pleasure, but upon meeting freelancer and the rest of the D.A.M.N crew, hes treated as he longed to be; human.

I think Gavin is the way he is, in all of his suave, teasing, protective, and reliable self because he’s grown used to it. He’s used to deflecting and using innuendos to lure people in because he’s been told lost of his life that that is his purpose, but we see him evolving and growing as a person the more time he spends with his “deviant” and their shared friends. More than that, we see him being treated the way he longs to be, being loved and loving others in every sense of the word love; he loves freelander deeply as both a romantic and sexual partner and a friend, we see him bug Damien (from a place of love and friendship of course), we see him bond with huxley, tease lasko, and love all 3 (4 including laskos partner dear) as both friends and family. He’s built a network of people who love and support him that he can rely on. He’s his own person, an individual now.

Analysis question offered by @breezysuffers

Proofread by @porters-fangs <333

[ryoko-san]

Alice of human sacrifice AU because i was bored, yes.

I want the AU to sort of be like a hybrid between prime and imperium mashed together with a mix of alice in wonderland like setting?? (Idk how to put it in words so)

Vega ~ (First Alice) - went through a sadism path like from Prime/Canon, however he did indeed went on a killing spree here out of vengeance— however gets trapped and imprisoned. (by hush)

Avior ~ (Second Alice) - its hard to explain this part since its mostly headcanon based— he was a really good singer and made everyone infatuated of him because of his voice. However, one day gets cursed by a guy which traps him in the meridian.

Vindemiator / Gavin ~ (Third Alice) - he still bares the name Vindemiator, and like from imperium— he encounters Kody and y’know where it goes. It was happy at first but went extremely downhill after finding out about the thread slicing.

Caelum / Regulus ~ (Fourth Alice) - they’re both kinda like twins here? Always sticking to eachother’s sides no matter the cause…which leads to caelum being influenced by regulus in most acts. (yikes)

[vind3miat0r]

VINN!!! VINN VINDEMIATOR PSPSPSPS

who is your favourite listener, my good sir, and why?

RAAAAHHHHH HELLO ASTER PORTERS-FANGS!!!!!

gah i love all the listeners tbh (except for Sweetie since theyre kinda dumb) but i think its a tie between Sweetheart Treasure and Starlight :3

as for why i like them, it varies between listeners, but i like how, despite them mostly being blank slates, their personality still shines through. Sweetheart is a troublemaker who is so devoted to Milo it makes me sick /pos. Treasure is shy and seemingly quiet, and theyre so sweet towards Porter despite not really knowing him. and Starlight is curious, basically a human version of Avior, and i love how they mirror each other while still being their own person

uh yeah i jus like the listeners :3

[starlitangels]

Maybe You’ll Find Them

Avior’s only three years older than Gavin and for some reason that’s disproportionately hilarious to me. 1.1k words

—

1991

—

“Go away, Ophiuchus,” Vindemator snapped as a presence drifted up beside him.

The amusement that rolled over him didn’t feel like his steward’s. “Oh, trust me, if I were Ophiuchus, I wouldn’t be getting anywhere near you for the next three days—at least,” a voice said. Vindemiator turned. The astral demon beside him was definitely not like him. He didn’t feel like a Concubus. “I know when my student needs space from me.”

“And you are?” Vindemiator snipped.

“My name is Avior. I’m one of the Inchoate stewards.”

Vindemiator grunted acknowledgement.

“For the record, I always thought Ophiuchus was a pain,” Avior continued. “He’s not a bad steward; he’s just...” Avior’s Spellsong hummed lower. “Not open-minded enough. He hasn’t learned the thing I had to learn the hard way when I started.”

“Which is?” Vindemiator grumbled.

“It’s not our job as stewards to decide how demons are supposed to be. It’s our job to guide them to figure out what they want for themselves.”

“… Vindemiator.”

“Pardon?”

“My name. It’s Vindemiator.”

“Ah. Pleasure to meet you, Vindemiator.”

“You too. I guess.” Vindemiator studied this inchoate steward for a moment. What? No questions or snarky comments about how much of a mouthful my name is? Vindemiator thought, keeping it to himself rather than broadcasting it as a telepathic communication to Avior.

But Avior had no derision in his tone or his emotional aura.

The two were quiet for a moment. “Aria is beautiful, isn’t it?” Avior asked after a while.

“Yeah,” Vindemiator agreed.

“Elegy is too. But in a different way.”

“Sure.”

Avior paused for a moment. “Come with me.”

“Where?”

“Elegy.” With a flick of magic, a rift tore open. The darkness of a nighttime on Elegy was visible through it. “There’s something you might like to see.”

“What is it?”

“You’ll see when we get there.”

Vindemiator followed Avior through the rift, both of their physical forms wrapping around them as they passed through the Meridian.

“I felt your emotions when you coalesced,” Avior said. “A free steward from each race was waiting at the Well to see who would be taking you on. Myself included. You were curious. Eager to learn. I’m sorry you ended up with Ophiuchus.” He stepped out of the rift and onto the pavement somewhere in Elegy. Vindemiator appeared just behind him. The rift closed.

“Where are we?” Vindemiator asked.

Avior pointed to a sign bolted to the side of a building. “Welcome to the Dahlia Academy for Magical Novices,” he said.

Vindemiator snorted. “D.A.M.N.? Really? That’s the place’s acronym?”

Avior shrugged. “Yes. But don’t let the stupid acronym fool you. This is one of the best magical academies on this plane. Honestly, it might even be better than the satellite campus we made in Aria. That’s probably debatable but I doubt you’re interested in that debate.”

“Not particularly.” Vindemiator looked around. “Humans, mostly.”

“Well, yes. It’s a human academy. But demons have their own school within the greater infrastructure. There’s a mostly-unspoken rule that demons and vampires aren’t to use the campus as a... well. The term they use is hunting ground but that’s more for lack of a better one. It’s a respect thing.”

“I get that. Why would you think I’d care about a place like this?”

Avior smirked, clearly used to attitude and not letting it phase him. “Like I said. I was there when you first coalesced. Your first emotion was eagerness. Curiosity. My first was curiosity. This is a place to learn. You and I both know Ophiuchus was a poor fit for you as a steward and I barely had a moment to check. Which means it’s obvious. So, maybe you’d consider going to school here. Learning more in your own way, without Ophiuchus.”

Vindemiator cast a glance at Avior. “Is that what this is about? Sticking it to my steward?”

Avior snorted sarcastically. “Of course not. Other stewards are not competition. Especially not stewards of other races. We all should share the same goal. Fostering our students’ natural proclivities as best we can. And any good steward ought to do whatever is in their power to further their student’s dreams. I’m sorry to Ophiuchus but he’s not getting the job done. So I thought I would do what a good steward should do and point you in the direction that might lead you to further your dreams.”

“And what are my dreams, Mr. Know-It-All Steward?”

Avior’s gold eyes glittered in the starlight. “Well, if you don’t already know, there’s nothing I can do for you.” He nodded toward the D.A.M.N. school sign. “But maybe you’ll find them here.”

Vindemiator scoffed. “Doubt it.”

“You never know.” With that, Avior ducked backward through a rift, leaving Vindemiator alone on the campus. He looked around. He’d only been coalesced for about a year. He doubted he was ready for a magical academy just yet, demon school in the infrastructure or not.

—

2021 - Thirty Years Later...

—

His deviant was all curled up and asleep in his arms, hair damp from their shower, and skin still warm from its lingering heat. Gavin trailed his fingers up and down their bare back. He’d told them he loves them—and they said it back.

That was last week.

He still wasn’t over it.

If Gavin was honest with himself, he wasn’t sure he would get over it any time soon.

He kissed their forehead. “I love you, my deviant,” he whispered. 

Their emotions were subdued with sleep, but they mumbled, “Love you, Gav,” quietly.

It was no small wonder they didn’t wake up from how his heart stuttered and then started pounding. Love you too. Love you too. Love you too.

How had this happened to him? How had he gotten so lucky? He’d never anticipated falling in love. It wasn’t usually a luxury afforded to incubi. In Gavin’s experience, the closest thing he got to love was sex.

This Freelancer, tucked safely in his arms, was the first person who treated him as more than that. Sure there had been attraction from the get-go—he was damn sexy and he knew it—but they had been kind. Wanted to get to know him as a person. Not just a body in their bed.

“Dream come true...” he whispered. “Dammit. Avior was right.”

He’d found his dreams because of that stupid D.A.M.N. campus.

—

Tag list: @zozo-01 @thegoldenlittlerose

[willgrahamismybabygirl]

Idc if the story is mostly wrapped up if I don’t get to see Vindemiator this October I will cry

[ya-boi-haru]

Redacted conspiracy/,headcannon:

So during the 22 Redactness 'After Dark' Vindemiator got the phone call, by Echo helping 'DJ Anxiety' make the call into his world.

Echo acts as a "bridge" for both Our world, Redactedverse and Imperium.

Hudson (DJ Anxiety) knows about Echo somehow. Kind of like a "deal with the devil" relationship.

Echo occasionally shows up (mostly around March and October) Echo won't explain too many "other worldy" details to Hudson (for good reason). He's aware of Imperium, but not the extent of it.

Echo is Hudsons supernatural being buddy that just pops in on occasion. Echo is always his spooky, mysterious, haunting deminor self, but Hudson acts like they're the best of buds.

That's just the vibe they give me anyway,

Thank you for coming to my Ted talk

[gingerbreadmonsters]

14&16 of those asks if u like c:

rowan is talking about this ask game (still open)!!

14. What's your favourite way to emotionally destroy your favourite character?

[hair flick] being deprived of my presence, obviously

ok ok more seriously, i think it's to deprive them of what they want? i mentioned it in a different ask, but essentially i like to really turn up the juice on the whole obsessive thing - normally, it's a particular person (generally the reader character) that they're obsessed with, but it doesn't have to be. as a result, the main thing that fucks them up is when that person gets taken away - think william mourning vincent and alexis in blood sugar, baby!, elliott and sunshine sent reeling from their separation thanks to closeknit, or alexis absolutely howling to the back row in mad or sublime

looking more specifically at my FAVOURITE character, it has to be gavin/vindemiator - and wow, he really gets the short end of the stick when it comes to me! it's probably most obvious when i'm looking at the imperium, with vindemiator falling to pieces over the life he can't have in five more minutes, or being completely whaled on by president lasko in come into my parlour, but it's funny you should ask - i actually have two different wips involving gavin on the go at the moment, both of which deal with gavin being isolated from the life and the people he's "supposed" to have, so expect to see some more of this in the hopefully-not-too-distant-future hehe

16. Do you primarily want your readers to feel sad or turned on (or both) (or neither)?

i mean, probably mostly turned on? obviously there's the actual sexy stuff, like kingdom come, resist and elongate, stranglehold, and ALL MINE, but in general i try to come up with a world where everything is a little bit sexier than normal, in a kind of slick, smooth way where one-liners always land, comedy pratfalls are always perfectly timed, and everyone always commits to the bit - that is, in the sense that they all have a little bit of 'oh god well i can't NOT fuck them', whether that be because they're 'aw you're so sweet and endearing' fuckable or 'wow you are so deeply and intensely fucked up' fuckable, yk??

there are some times where the goal is sadness - think of motion capture, wrapped up in clover, one more paradox, five more minutes - and for those the inherent sexiness kind of gets dialled down a bit in favour of 'oh fuck that's horrible oh GOD that's just mean', because the focus is on the cruelty of the story that's being forced on these characters, and the way that they're being buried under the weight of a narrative that doesn't care for them at all (or maybe it's paying too much attention to them?).

that's not to say that i'm opposed to making things sad and sexy at the same time - william in blood sugar, baby! is definitely my finest example, and i'd say that lasko in come into my parlour and gavin in a ring on the carousel actually pull it off more successfully than i thought they would, albeit in very different ways!

[the-gender-bending-squid]

OKAY- it’s a ba right? so i’m not sure of what it’ll be more wise within the imperium

LIKE YOU SAID: I AGREE ABOUT THE SHAW PACK BEING LIKE A MOB AU IN THIS

ITS SO FASCINATING TO SEE

also alpha asher can get it- not that normal asher can’t but HIM AS AN ALPHA DEAR GOD

so if it’s asher i’ll lose my shit as well cause omg

I think it IS a BA, which is mildly unfortunate for plot.

But yeah, I'm really curious to see who it'll be! I'm hoping it's a new Imperium character, but I'd be more than happy if it's Asher

(Tbh Ash isn't really one of my favorites, but him in the Imperium hits DIFFERENT)

[teddybasmanov]

The more things change, they say, the more they stay the same

This is finally done. It's bad, but I just had to get it out of my system.

Pairing: Gavin/Freelancer

TW: trauma, angst, post Inversion, running away, poor communication,

Word count: a little below a thousand.

Notes: a nameless incubus character, guess the city by one description and knowing me, coincidences because I can.

An incubus strolls along the embankment of a frozen river - the weather, in general, isn't very welcoming and he thinks that searching for anything outdoors might be a lost cause, but then he notices a human figure on the stairs leading to the water, currently hidden under a thick layer of ice. They're shifting from one leg to another as if fighting the urge to sit down on the granite. They seem to be not doing anything in particular or being in any hurry and he decides that they might be an easy meal, familiarly turning his appearance to what they most desire. Imagine his surprise when he is met with an expression of confusion if not borderline shock and the strongest stings of pain and guilt he has felt in maybe a dozen years.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I thought for a moment that you were someone else."

"I can be whoever you want me to be, gorgeous," he says more out of habit than anything else.

At this point they have finally felt his aura.

"Sorry, friend, there's nothing to catch here," they smile apologetically.

And now he's starting to realize whose appearance did he just acquire.

"Wait, are you Vindemiator's charge?"

"Gavin's," they correct him, "Why?"

"'Why' they ask. Because I saw him yesterday - he has no face on him! He is asking for you everywhere - I'll go tell him."

"Wait!" they hurry to stop the demon before he rifts, "Don't tell him where I am, please," the freelancer - the human is clearly a freelancer and with a pretty noticeable aura - continues much quieter.

"And why is that?" ooh, that's getting more interesting, "Is he pursuing you? Stalking maybe? Shouldn't it be the other way around?" he was mostly teasing. He knew the other Incubus from D.A.M.N. and, while they were nowhere near close, he couldn't imagine him stalking anyone. People do change though.

"Gods, of course not! He just needs a break even if he doesn't understand it," they utter at the highest speed, "Can you please change your appearance back? It feels really awkward like that."

He shrugs and shifts again feeling the human getting slightly more at ease.

"A break? Did you dom him too hard or something?" Why would an Incubus need a break from his charge? Vindemiator was always weird, but that's definitely something new.

"Listen, friend, are you sure you want this? It's not that interesting and frankly speaking none of your business."

"Well, if it isn't, I'll go fetch him and you can discuss it with him directly."

"Okay, okay, I'll tell you," they rise their hands slightly, acquiescing, "we were in the ward together and"

"What ward?" the demon frowns.

"During the incident at the E&E games at D.A.M.N. a few weeks ago," they explain patiently, "so as I was saying, we were in the ward together and saw... things. And we both don't feel great about it, of course. It would have been okay be he anything but a demon, because my pain hurts him not just empathically but quite literally. And him hurting makes me feel bad, him hurting because of me makes me feel guilty and it hurts him more, and him hurting more makes me feel worse and me feeling worse hurts him and"

"I got it," he stops the ramble. Didn't he hear something like this somewhere already?

"And I can't even feed him properly and he himself feels bad feeding off me and it's a vicious cycle of all that pain," they are speeding up again and their voice is dripping with emotions - he could have felt it without any demonic abilities, "and it's like he's refusing to see that staying together like this hurts us both but especially him and he refused to leave and feed properly and go back to Aria for a longer time to rest," the human takes a shaky breath and collects themselves a bit, "So I took matters in my hands and left. And he can finally take a break," they articulate all the words in that last sentence.

"Okaaay," the incubus is trying to process the information, "wait, are you living together or something?" it sure sounded like it.

"Yeah, sort of," their determination from before is clearly lacking.

"Next thing you're going to tell me you're dating," he's mostly joking and trying to de-escalate the situation.

"Maybe we are, but it has nothing to do neither with the situation nor with you," they seem to be realizing that they've just shared something deeply personal with a complete stranger and are now getting defensive.

Okay people don't change - Vindemiator remained weird as ever.

"Hold on there, sweets, you're not his charge, you're his partner?" definitely weird, but he decides not to question it for now.

"Okay, I am, so what?" they're having trouble keeping their voice even.

"Aside from the fact that it's absolutely nuts, you just up and left your bloody boyfriend and now, while you're here freezing your ass, he's driving himself crazy thinking you're dead somewhere in the ditch!" why is he suddenly so invested in a situation is a question he's going to answer later.

"Well, I left him a note explaining everything. Again," their tone changes - so it's sinking in now, good.

"A note, huh, how thoughtful of you," why is he even doing it here hungry and cold, screw it, "I'm getting Vin- Gavin," and he rifts before the human managed to put in another word.

When they rift back the human is still there - they haven't moved an inch, but they're finally sitting on the iced granite with a devastated expression.

"Deviant!", Gavin rushes toward the freelancer, "Stand up immediately, you're going to catch a cold!"

He stays besides to at least get a circus out of the situation if he can't get bread. It's the first time he's ever seen a demon cry.

[cat-arsenal]

Vin and the Freelancer make plans A.K.A. I’m bad at titles and full of feels

It's been a week, or two, or more since they arrived, and they've managed to meet only a few times between classes and lectures and training and indoctrination.  Vindemiator has been recovering and listening, feeding enough to no longer be starving, and the Freelancer has been doing what they've always done: keeping their head down, learning whatever they can, making a mental list of potential allies vs enemies, and a mental map of escape routes and chances to take them.  Said chances are rarer than the times they can steal away to see Vindemiator.

They find each other in the wee hours at the end of a rarely-used hallway and sink wordlessly down the wall, shoulders touching.  They let out a deep sigh, and Vindemiator rests his head atop theirs.  Sometimes they talk, sharing information and questions of concern.  Sometimes they just sit in silence, two souls allowing their walls to drop only for a moment, only for each other.

Vindemiator is just beginning to doze off when the Freelancer turns, pressing their head more firmly into his chest.

"We could run," they say, quiet but clear.  He opens his eyes slowly.

"What?"

"You and me."  They sit up, eyes locked with his.  "We could do it.  I've been thinking about it, and I know how we can get out and stay out.  Be free."

He shakes his head, frowning.

"There's no 'freedom' for people like us, Cutie, you know that."

"What I know," they reply evenly, "is that we're stronger together.  What I know is that being on the run is better than being trapped here with that creepy director and his attack dogs and all these brain-washed zombies."

"I was on the run for a year," he reminds them softly.

"I was on the run for ten," they counter, without venom.  "And I was fine up until that night.  And I'll be better with you.  And you'll be safe with me," they murmur, reaching for him but not touching, "and maybe happy?  I don't know."

He takes their hand and holds it to his chest.

"I am happy with you."

They smile a little, surprised but pleased, and he thinks, not for the first time, about kissing them.  Then they turn serious, tone pleading.

"Will you be free with me?"

He struggles, as he has since arriving.  True, the Academy is far from the haven it advertised itself as, but it's also true that they are safe, mostly, and fed, and have access to education, even if that education consists primarily of propaganda.  But they aren't free to leave, or see each other, or really be themselves under the strict scrutiny of the Imperium, staff, students, and other Academy residents.

He sighs.  God damn it.

He pulls them close by their clasped hands and rests their foreheads together.  He trusts them.

“Just tell me what to do.”

[themonotonysyndrome]

I really want Imperium Lasko x Imperium Freelancer

I love the dynamic ( even tho its mostly toxic)

-◇

Morning, Diamond!Anon!

If you're in the mood for some Imperium!Lasko x Imperium!Freelancer, Yuyun got you covered on their blog!

Their dynamic is my fav next to the Warden and Vega's. Especially more so when Imperium!Freelancer went along with it to ensure that Vindemiator wouldn't be harassed or hurt in I.A.D. Bonus point if President Lasko knows this and takes full advantage of it.

The fallout when Vindemiator realise the true nature of their relationship would be deliciously devastating!

[vind3miat0r]

"fuck around and find out!"

Vindemiator (call me Vinn!) || he/fae || later years of being a minor

some fun facts abt me:

im very much gay and trans (ftm)

pink is the superior color (imo)

autistic 👍

creatively inclined (artist+writer)

the number one Cash Flagg fan (REAL NOT FAKE)

god gave me the "imitate other people" autism instead of the "good at science/math" autism

i got that silly spine disease (scoliosis)

fandoms im in:

Redactedverse/Redacted Audio

Interview With The Vampire

Reverie Audio

Yuurivoice

Helluva Boss

Hazbin Hotel

what to expect from me:

shitposts (mostly about redactedverse)

a SHIT TON of reblogs (i cant help myself)

specifically redacted fanart

DNI list

dni if one of the following applies to you

racist

homophobic/transphobic

pedo

a TERF

proship

prolife in an overly pushy, negative, close-minded way

creepy in a sexual way

EXTREME 18+

tags i use!! (WIP)

#vinn says dumb stuff (shitpost tag for stuff not related to redactedverse/other fandoms)

#vinn says fandom things (tag for stuff related to fandoms)

#vinn draws things (art tag 👍)

#vinn answers asks (asks tag)

#vinn posts wips (wip tag)

#vinn reblogs things (reblog tag)

#vinn writes fics (fic tag)

#vinn says really dumb stuff (the ultimate shitpost tag)

#vinn cant anatomy (exactly what it says (2nd art tag))

#vinn is a simp (vinn is a simp)

#vinn yapping (vinn yaps about stuff)

#vinn headcanons things (canon is nice and all, but consider: it’s my bitch and i do what i want with it)

#vinn's ocs (OC LORE OC LORE OC LORE)

#vinn theorizes (uh oh, there goes Vinn with his tinfoil hat again)

#vinn makes edits (vinn makes edits)

#vinns silly moots (my moots gettin silly :3)

aaand thats about it! enjoy your stay!!

(blinkies by the amazing @/milogreer :D)

[ryoko-san]

Can you please tell us more about your reverse au for redacted? I love it sm please infofump about it :)

If you're talking about magic swap au, be my guest!

While the AU is basically the characters swapping their magic (and personalities/roles), there are some characters that are technically still similar to their prime universe counterparts.

~Here are a few things about this au~

1. The vampires and the wolves both swapped in this.

2. (Inchoate) Vindemiator/Gavin and (Fire elemental) Lasko incident thing still happened in this AU, except it sort of ended up differently.

3. Despite (fallen) caelum being extremely envious towards regulus for having a better life as an empathy daemon (and sort of being the center of attention) he still sees him as his big brother.

4. Asher getting turned as a vampire was non-consenting. Explains why he's pretty angry all the time.

5. (Sadism) Camelopardalis is very manipulative. Regulus falls for this very easily.

6. (Inchoate) Vega's an anti-hero. He is pretty much a chaotic neutral in this au.

7. While Gabe lives in this au, William is not. Which makes Vincent the alpha of the Solaire pack.

8. (Earth elemental) Damien may be a sweet person, don't even think to insult his friends, this dude is ready to throw you some roasting.

9. (Wind elemental) Huxley's an artist! Mostly loves to sketch the nature around him.

10. (Fire elemental) Lasko isn't really a tsundere, he's just really pissed off all the time due to his work and trauma as a child.

11. Starlight's other nickname that (incubus) Avior calls them is "Pudding"

If you'd like any more questions for the other characters i did not mention, go ahead and ask! I'd be happy to share them ^^

[starlitangels]

@frenchiefitzhere I want Wolf Mama back pls I would have put this in your inbox but I think it's too long. 536 words. I'll be in the bathtub if you need me

—

Imperium-Lasko is great for several reasons. The first is the contrast between his prime universe counterpart, the second is character foiling.

The whole point of the Imperium universe is showing the characters reflected through a "dark mirror." Showing what they would be like in a world where the fundamental rules are vastly different. An illustration of how strengths can be weaknesses and vice versa depending on the situation. How the characters change, and how they don't.

Imperium Lasko, president of the Imperial Academy of Dahlia, shows our prime universe Lasko in a world where he didn't have to be scared of who he was and the powers he has. In the prime universe, his intelligence is often secondary to his anxieties. He knows what he's talking about and he's good at theoretical knowledge, but hesitant to use his magic in significant ways most of the time.

Academy President Lasko has none of those problems. He's confident. Both in his magic and himself. He's aware that he's intelligent and he has no fears or anxieties in using that intelligence to his full advantage. Which he often does. Compared to prime-Lasko, his Imperium counterpart shows what he could be, with all the confidence in the world on shameless display. While Imperium-Lasko is often cunning and has been shown to abuse the power he has, he was very sexy doing it he never once wavers in his conviction. He expects to get what he wants, and he gets it.

He is shown, in the Imperium, to be a character foil of the Imperium universe's version of Gavin, Vindemiator. The two and their interactions are clearly meant to showcase their differences, highlighting one against the other. Where Vindemiator is forced to swallow his pride to get what he wants for the sake of his safety, President Moore gets what he wants in part because of his own fearless pride in himself.

In the brief instance they're shown together, they illustrate the darkness of the Imperium as a central government and its influences, as well as the less-influenced personality of someone who is new to the culture.

President Moore and Vindemiator aren't just foils of each other. They also foil their own prime universe counterparts. Lasko is often shown in the main universe to be of the somewhat more timid variety, and Gavin is bold and easy-going and unflappable in almost every situation. Often leading conversations and spearheading (mostly flirtatious) interactions. In the Imperium, we get to see the dynamic flipped. Vindemiator has to submit while President Moore plows ahead.

He gets to be a great character because of his differences between his own counterpart and the other characters he's surrounded with. He's well-mannered and smooth-talking where the Imperium version of Huxley is brute force and blunt honesty. He talks with a honey-sweet voice that belies all the scheming going on just below the surface. He owns who he is and he's satisfied with that choice.

No matter which universe, Lasko is shown as very comfortable with his own sexuality. In a universe where his confidence in the rest of himself is boosted beyond belief, that much is obvious in how he handles himself—as well as his interactions with others.

[starlitangels]

Hello lovely, sorry if it’s a lot for asking but I heard you were a lore goblin and was hoping if you could explain the Imperium AU to me? I’m too scared to listen to the audios 😭 I’m a wimp!!

Hello, friend! You have come to the right Lore Gremlin/Goblin/Little Creature/What Have You! (LOL—apparently you caught me in a mood). It's definitely not too much to ask. And don't worry about being to scared to listen to them. I understand completely XD

If you have any other questions about Imperium after this, let me know. I tried to cover as much as I could

*rubs hands together* Let's go! This is long and it's fairly thorough, but told with a sort of chaotic energy. I'm going in the order that the episodes released, by the way

—

I don't know how familiar you are with Echo, on Redacted's channel (fourth-wall-breaking narrative tool, creepy eyeball). Echo is a character who twists our faves into scary versions of themselves, among other things.

Echo created the Imperium just to show us how the characters would be different if the Redactedverse was reflected back through a dark mirror.

The good guys are bad, and the bad guys are worse. Let's do this

It starts with some introduction. Way way back, in human Pre-History, there was a race of beings called the Sovereigns. If memory serves, they're from Aria?

Anyway, the Sovereigns created demons and daemons. Beings of pure magic. Meant to be servants to the Sovereigns. Eventually demons were saying no, so the Sovereigns crossed over into Elegy (Earth), and started experimenting on humans. Giving humans magic via Cores tied to Aria by Threads. Then they wove the Meridian over the natural interdimensional barrier between Aria and Elegy (Earth) in order to reinforce it. Because humans have to puncture the barrier to reach the magic of Aria. And the natural barrier was extremely thin. Too much magic being drawn through would break the barrier entirely, merging two realities into one.

The Sovereigns wanted humans to be their servants too.

Eventually, humans and d(a)emons teamed up and fought the Sovereigns, defeating them.

All of that information, is canon to the main Redactedverse (though mostly forgotten to history). Where is diverges is what happens next. In the canon universe, we don't know yet what happened to the Sovereigns after their defeat. In Imperium, the d(a)emons took them back to Aria, imprisoned, so d(a)emons could endlessly feed of the Sovereigns' energy (the way they feed off human emotion in the canon universe). Afterward, demons and humans fell out of contact with each other.

And empowered, magic humans became the ruling class of Earth.

Suspend your disbelief and fast-forward to our day-and-age.

We start with the Freelancer's story. Freelancer, our beloved Deviant/Voyeur, is on the run. The Imperium (the name of the empowered human government) actively hunts down humanborns. So Freelancer left their family to keep them safe, and took off.

Freelancer gets caught by our most detestable Water Elemental, Kody. And also Blake. Who contributes nothing useful.

Kody runs what is called a "Slicer" gang. Meaning they use powerful magic to slice a humanborn's Threads, cutting them off from their powers. They claim it's to "keep families together" (because the Imperium takes humanborns away from their families). Which is BS and neither useful for helpful.

However, there are no humans alive who have powerful enough magic to slice a fellow empowered human's Threads.

So guess who else is in Kody's gang (unwillingly, mind you)?

Gavin. Or, because he never chose that name for himself due to being brought up full-time in Aria, Vindemiator.

See, demons (and daemons, but to simplify, I'm using one spelling) are the only beings powerful enough to cut a human's connection to magic. And Kody is essentially blackmailing Gav—Vindemiator—into being part of his gang. Because the Imperium spreads propaganda that demons are bad/to be feared so that when demons are found on Elegy, they're turned in.

But they're in Dahlia. Where the Imperial Academy of Dahlia (D.A.M.N. but wrong-side-of-the-mirror) has what's called a demon haven. Rumored places where demons are sheltered from the Imperium, kept safe.

So Vindemiator takes his chance. He manipulates Kody into letting Freelancer keep their powers for the moment, and gets Freelancer alone in the back of a truck to lay out his plan: They go to the academy together. He needs a humanborn to vouch for him. He gets into the demon haven, and Freelancer stops running. Freelancer takes some convincing, because they don't really want their powers, but they didn't want Kody to make Vindemiator slice them either, but they agree.

So, after Vindemiator gets his revenge on Kody by literally burning out every pleasure receptor in his brain, they escape with one of the gang's trucks to head to the academy.

There, they run into Huxley and you hear my heart shatter into a million pieces. Who is not our sweet, himbo good boy. He's an Imperial Enforcer who is an absolute bully and pretty much roughs up Vindemiator a little bit before finally taking them inside the academy to meet the academy president.

Lasko. Who is even more of a terrifying, twisted version of himself. Lasko without the awkwardness and stuttering sounds like a crazy villain, okay?

Anyway, Lasko is kinda the reason the Imperium seeks humanborns so vehemently. He believes they're pure magic manifestations, and reveres them in a way, given he is one himself. He agrees to take Vindemiator into the demon haven, and get Freelancer started with some classes. Making my skin crawl the entire time

Also maybe it's just me but there also seemed to be an implication that Lasko and Huxley are hooking up but that's really none of my business

And that is where we leave the Freelancer

We're coming back to Damien, don't worry

We move, now, to Starlight. Who has recently been appointed as the coordinator of the demon haven. Starlight starts their job by finding Avior, the director of the demon haven, on a rooftop. Starlight thought they were taking the job as some way to stick it to the Imperium, but it turns out the havens are not shelter from the Imperium, they're shelter granted by the Imperium. The Imperium values power, so they're not going to give up having custody of demons—who will always be more powerful than humans.

Avior informs Starlight of this, and also drops a major truth bomb on them: the Meridian is crumbling. Unravelling. Falling apart. In the canon universe, the Meridian is fairly safe: magic users are rare and they don't use their powers all the time. The rate of puncture is slower than the Meridians natural healing rate.

In the Imperium, though, magic users are the vast majority of the population and they use their powers with reckless abandon. The holes in the Meridian can't seal fast enough for the barrier to remain stable. Avior has tried to tell Lasko, and the King-Imperial, and anyone who will listen, but he keeps getting ignored.

Also, point I forgot: in the Imperium AU, most demons don't know how to rift. The few who do all work for the Chorus, and they only open rifts to exile demons to Elegy (which is why Vindemiator, Avior, Camelopardalis, and Vega are all on Elegy to begin with. Amongst others, I'm sure) for speaking out. If a demon dissents or suggests the treatments of the Sovereigns is unfair, they're exiled to Elegy. Which the Chorus considers a death sentence, given humans are so scared of demons.

Caelum is never seen during Imperium—he's still in Aria since he's not mouthy enough to speak out unlike Gavin and Avior, who are definitely mouthy and I love them for it. Gavin's always been a non-conformer and Avior is Avior

Back to Avior and Starlight on the rooftop. Avior tells Starlight that if the Meridian crumbles, Aria will overtake Elegy. And every single human and otherwise living thing will die in a moment of mass extinction since humans can't exist in Aria. Humans literally come apart and dissolve when exposed to pure magic like that. So if humanity can't stop using their powers so recklessly, pretty much everyone's gonna die.

And no one else will listen to him.

It's directly implied that Starlight decides to help Avior try to fight for humanity to save itself.

Originally Erik was gonna have Elliott be in the Imperium as a Nightmare-Walker who works for the Imperial Department of Law Enforcement (Imperium's version of D.U.M.P.), finding humanborns in their dreams and reporting them to the Imperium, but he swapped Elliott out for Avior because this lore was more important. Moving on.

Let's briefly touch on Vega's video because it was the Patreon Bonus Audio for the month where, as far as I'm aware, the only relevant information is that volunteers have a facility where they can let demons feed on them.

Fabulous. Let's keep going.

Damien! Our intense Fire Elemental with through-the-roof ambition. Guess what? He's the f^&*ing King-Imperial. He literally is the monarch. Who keeps ignoring Avior.

He is also in a weirdly yandere relationship with Angel, Davey's listener. Who, in this universe, was his childhood friend. This is where the popular headcanon that Damien and Angel are childhood friends in the canon universe comes from, even though Erik has said that, no, they do not know each other in canon and everyone ignores him including me. Damien is kind of cracking under the pressure of being the King-Imperial but is far too power-hungry to want to let it go. People are doubting him because he's young and he took over from his mom, who assumed the throne in an unconventional way and he's facing the consequences of that. This was also where we learned that in both Imperium and canon, his mom is named Sofia! 😁

When Angel starts calling him out he does use some paralysis magic to make it so Angel can't move and stops struggling but at least we know Angel is consistent and will needle tsundere characters in any universe.

Next, we move on to Ivan's partner from the SadBoi and FlyBoi audios (so not the one he kidnapped). Who has just moved to Dahlia for work and is in a long-distance relationship with Ivan. And they have a dentist appointment! And the dentist is...

Sam?

Yeah. So, the Imperium is very much of the mindset that "more magic is better" so they have a program that they set up with the help of a few Old Blood vampires (including William Solaire) for mass-making vampires.

It's essentially a Multi-Level Marketing/Pyramid Scheme program where a vampire has to turn a ton of other people in order to get out of the program.

And William gave Alexis to the program. He chose peace, let's be real. And Alexis did end up turning Sam—though whether it was directly because of the program or because the car accident still happened is never stated, but Erik mentioned in a stream that turning an empowered person into a vampire would have been frowned upon in that universe (because you're limiting their magic, rather than giving some to a person with no magic), so I imagine it might have been technically outside the program since Sam was a Freelancer, but it would have been while Alexis was still in the program so Sam was put into it too???

Anyway! So, Ivan's partner/listener is the last person Sam needs to turn in order to get his Mass-Maker title and be freed from the program in order to join the Solaire clan proper. But while he's explaining that they tend to choose people who don't really have any ties, the listener gets a call from Ivan. Sam... almost... balks, but then changes his mind, and turns the listener anyway.

Because going to the dentist isn't nightmarish enough, Erik!

Next up, we set our sights on Baaabe! Who is running away from the Imperial Academy of Dahlia, being chased by shifters. Christian tackles Babe to the ground and is being Christian when Milo comes over and is telling Babe that his mate, who is a Stealth, was watching Babe the entire time they'd snuck into the academy to grab the files. Because the only canon couple still together (besides Ivan and his partner, I guess) that I can think of is Milo and Sweetheart yeeeeaaaah boiiii! Milo then also essentially proceeds to tell Christian to pull his head out of his butt when another voice joins.

At first, it sounds like our beloved Davey. Grumbly and low. But it's quickly revealed that, no—it's Asher! Asher is the alpha! And Milo is his beta. Wait what? And Asher is going to drag Babe to the Department to report them for swiping some files from the academy.

When they're heading to a truck and Christian gets mouthy again, Asher slams him against the side of the truck (Babe has already been put inside) and drops another freaking lore bomb.

Yeah, Asher is alpha because David is dead! He and Darlin' died fighting Quinn and those two vampires Darlin' got super injured fighting in the canon universe when Sam tended to their injuries afterwards. Christian and Amanda were the closest ones who could have served as backup but were too busy blowing off their jobs to hook up to get there and Asher blames Christian for David's death.

Anyway, Asher dismisses Christian and gets in the truck and Babe is like, "Bruh, you good?" And Asher is like, "No—but why do you care?" And then we get into the meat of what's up

Babe broke into the academy and stole files that had no business being where they were. Which meant they were left there for Babe.

And they were. By Starlight. Because Babe and Starlight are friends in the Imperium universe. And only in the Imperium universe, according to Erik while I continue to ignore him.

Anyway the files detail Avior's information on the weakening Meridian. Asher changes his mind about taking Babe to the Department and instead alters their route to head to the pack's den so he can look at the files closer and figure out what he wants to do from here.

Aaaaand, onto the last major installment.

Lovely. We end with the characters the channel began with. Which I'm sure is deliberate.

Lovely, whose powers are still latent, and never manifested. Lovely, who is once again that dunce wandering around an abandoned amusement park to be found by Vincent. Which they are. But he's not quite the Vincent we know and love. He's still got humanity in him, but he's sadistic, too.

Lovely wants to be turned into a vampire. Vincent was never part of the pyramid scheme.

And, huzzah -_-, Adam is alive in this universe. He wasn't in the pyramid scheme program either because his maker had already reached Mass-Maker when she turned him. Oh and he and Vincent are lovers and it's totally not awkward at all hearing them make out in front of Lovely who is tranced so they can't move (but maybe that's because I'm a private person and PDA is awkward to me) while Adam is as creepy as ever—though Vincent is clearly displeased with the arrangement now. Apparently in the past, that wasn't the case but things change.

Anyway. They both feed on Lovely because, again, latent powers, potent blood, yada yada yada. But while Adam wants to drain Lovely dry right now, Vincent is like, "Bruh, that's dumb. If we keep them alive we can have that blood indefinitely." Adam basically tells Vincent to buzz off and Vincent does what Vincent does and rips Adam's head off. Again. Much to my genuine delight.

Personally it kinda felt, to me, like Erik was telling everyone who keeps wanting Adam to be alive to cool their jets because it's never gonna happen and that is fine with me. I can see why people would enjoy Adam as a character—I just very much don't.

From there, Vincent essentially... eh... not technically kidnaps... but he takes Lovely as something of a pet, I guess, so he can feed on their blood for, like, the rest of their life.

Then Echo welcomes you back to the canon universe and you can't help but feel mildly violated after listening to the whole thing between 12-3AM or so on a random night during which sleep escaped you (at least, that's how I experienced it), and you get a brief little bit of Asher and Babe (featuring Davey and Angel) being normal and happy and fine and there's still a lingering dread somewhere in the back of your mind...

That said, Erik has said that the Imperium is a creation of "Echo's" and that he has no plans for the universes to cross over. Which is great because I don't think I could handle that.

—

That's pretty much it! Sorry for the chaotic writing style. I was in a frenzied mindset when I wrote it and it took me... 2.5 hours? It's a 2.8k word explanation XD

[teddybasmanov]

Okay, two new brainrots currently

A dark one:

So, Imperium is all about magic, right? The more magic the better, humanborns are perfect and so on. Werewolves' magic is all connected to their shifting and that's pretty much it. Unlike vampires, they can't make more magic users and can't really turn this magic outwards like with trancing or superspeed/power. So, it would be safe to assume they are looked down upon. And here my brain asked me - why not take it further? And I agreed - why not.

So, I present to you the classical magic racism - those that are closer to animals are literal pets. (Hi, Siren's Son.)

I imagine:

a strong, silent (maybe mute) David guard (I'm still thinking bodyguard to the King's consort, but that's another time);

a literal pet Asher (maybe Babe, while being unempowered, managed to climb the career ladder at the department and now has a little puppy waiting for them at home);

a hereditary tracker/sniffer Milo (smaller wolf, so he can get to different places better and imagine if your police dog can turn into a human and tell you what exactly did it sniff).

A fluffier more normal one:

As a courtesy of @cat-arsenal I now have not only "Freelancer and Vindemiator live together in the Academy, join the revolution and overthrow the government" version but also "Freelancer and Vindemiator run away together and live not caring about the outside world".

Basically, I think if they do run away, the humanborn would be a full-on dark cottagecore witch. They are going to live in the depths of the woods in a little cabin they built together (mostly with magic but with traditional means too), start a vegetable and a herb garden (which they don't Really need, since Vindemiator can conjure everything, but they enjoy taking care of it and they don't want him to feel like they're using him or something), use all imaginable and unimaginable wards on their territory and the house. So they just live there, explore the forest, interact with animals (@1small-frogs headcanon about Gavin being an animal magnet comes in handy) and love each other.

So, unlike the Academy setting, here nothing really holds them back and we're having a whole nine yards of - two extremely unloved and traumatized individuals find each other and hold on to each other as tight as they can and finally learn how does it feel to be at peace and content and cared for.

And yes, the little Baba Yaga hut just appears one day and they accept it because they're already weird enough and a little more oddness isn't going to hurt anyone. It likes being scratched behind the chimney and fed honeyed water.