#my brain is scrambled at all times and connecting the simplest of lines is a struggle so! im trying i promise

[little--ghost]

its 1:37am its time for me to b incoherent again /j (im horrible at explaining, and a lot of my hcs aren't 100% fully thought through so this makes more sense in my head i am so sorry o7)

All vessels are born from within the Abyss, as such all of them contain shades

Vessels aren't necessarily separate from their shades in this verse, when taking enough mortal damage they revert into their shade and move to wandering until their physical form recovers fully after however much time is needed. Shades sort of exist in the background as the 2nd voice in their vessel's minds by default, but some are capable of overtake due to something like intensely strong emotion, self protection ect. Shades' appearances match the vessel they're from. Except more wispy and ghost like. (Mod note: an example of "this makes more sense in my head")

While in a shaded state the vessel is not 100% conscious, being aware yet not at the same time and taking the back seat in watching their actions- mostly staying to simple courses of action and/or emotion if any at all. Most of the time they prioritize not experiencing further harm. Capable of fighting back, and actually can be quite dangerous in some cases. Many vessels won't remember anything that occurred during this period, if they do it will be in blurry or spotty bits in memory. The time leading up to whatever caused it may or may not be affected.

Shades have been observed to be relatively violent to any entity in its proximity, sometimes even other vessels. Though, for many, staying a respectable distance away or backing away slowly if spotted is enough to remain out of harm’s way. However, some shades can be extremely violent. It’s unknown what causes certain shades to show extreme agitation to anything within its area, but it’s suspected it may have something to do relating to the vessel’s personality, tendencies and other factors amplifying whilst as a shade.

Void by nature is somewhat violent, having only grown more agitated after the infection started. It'll overtake whatever it can grasp, and consume those who get too close which can include beings of its own creation at its worst. Most of it has stayed contained within the Abyss, but traces can be found within the basin above, and curiously enough in a small section within Deepnest. It's rumored in the hushed whispers amongst the siblings an escape through Deepnest is possible from the Abyss.

Death is. weird. when it comes to vessels. Admittedly I haven't even figured this part out myself. Though one reasonably could choose however to return back to the void, if they put their regrets to rest. Most exist still, keeping their conscious and just exists within the mass that is some kind of shared hivemind of some kind. Just existing as passing whispers in the darkness. But if one wanted to fully return to complete unconscious all attachments and ties must be fully severed otherwise they go into... something. A purgatory state? Where the physical being exists but the mind no longer is attached? They just go into a coma i guess?? (Mod note: i definitely was thinking about RW in the back of my mind when i first thought of this)

Void is generally used as a more obscure source of magic, and its thought currently only the old snail shamans and vessels are capable of using it. Some uses include minor teleportation (Echo has shown capability of this), offensive spells (Ghost mostly just stole these, but Azu is capable of this) or self defense (all 4 vessels on this blog use their capes as void tendrils when needed to defend themselves. but that's only because its easier that way. Echo is capable of using their missing arm to form tendrils)

Ghost has been observed being capable of shading themself for More Power at will, though is required to be fueled by desperation and seen as a last resort (this is completely unrelated to the fact they get more aggressive as they take more damage) Pre-Voidheart this state was mostly uncontrolled and kind of just... happened sometimes. You can reasonably say they kinda just go a bit feral, and while they do have some extent of influence on their actions a lot of it isn't fully conscious. They do not remember much, if anything at all when it happened. Post-Voidheart it's a lot more controlled, though memory is still somewhat fuzzy afterward they remain conscious and aware of their actions. The constant in both periods of timespans is it's extremely draining in all aspects and usually results in them being left unable to fight once they're out of that state. They try very hard not to fall into this, and while other vessels are maybe capable of this only Ghost has been observed so far to be able to willingly do this. May have something to do with the fact they're Lord of Shades in present time.