NOTICE!!
Jackass' has been going through a lot of development recently, as well as her pre-fuse life and memories (which are also yet to be added to the neocities.) I am sorry to say but right now I can't update these pages fully because of other factors. one day!!! one day i will be able to show her to you more!! but not today...
NOTES
irt the memories thing there are certain things that happen when jackass or shiloh regain a memory and i want to give it justice or a longer post. time slips away though goood god
JACKASS' NAME
the Fuse pretty literally scrambled Jackass and shiloh together both physically and mentally, which combined with Shiloh's body having been dead and decomposing for weeks meant that both parties lost many of their memories - indeed while the two conciousnesses re-separated, the incoherence of their mind left them essentially incapacitated - and while Shiloh discovered it was transgender and therefore simply chose a new name, Jackass herself never bothered, meaning that Shiloh's initial annoyed nickname for her simply stuck. she finds it incredibly entertaining when the few people who learn of her existence uncomfortably ask if there really isn't some other name she'd like to be called? (there isn't, she's having a ball.)
NOTES
the real mental scrambling partially happened also because of the way that leech colony minds work - many small minds coalescing into one. when Shiloh's mind was added to the mix, it was much more complex and overpowered individual leeches as part of the whole which upset the mental balance in Jackass, and of course Shiloh had never experienced multiple minds at once and was totally overwhelmed. even in current tme when the two minds are mostly separate, Jackass has an easier time with the sensory overload of both minds being awake at once.
ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE AU 
i don't usually post or draw them much, but i do have a little handful of au scenarios i like to play with. most recently the one i've been futzing with recently is a sort of 'zombie au', along the lines of classic 80s movies in terms of tech and infrastructure (but with magic.)
in this scenario the zombies themselves aren't actually virus zombies but (according to certain theories) a kind of mutated embalming/funerary spell that has become both agrssively self propagating and infectious through magical avenues, i.e ritual fluids like blood, as well as magical energy etc.
obviously as An Apocolypse, many things are very different from general canon. because of the widespread destruction, shiloh never finds boone, and so jackass is the one to 'wake up' first, as well as being the main one awake most of the time. towns and settlements are much smaller and more insular (even compared to canon) and often built in the ruins of much larger ones. guns and ammunition are a scarcity, and as such jackass saves her precious firearm for only the most dire of situations - instead favoring a machete, or letting shiloh take over for unarmed combat. overall, both of them are quieter and more serious, spending less time around people when possible. due to the fuse and its effects, the zombies ignore her completely (she has a few tentative explanations, mostly hinging on shiloh's body 'smelling' dead). a blessing and a curse, as while it does allow them to travel unimpeeded by the main threat of the apocolypse, it raises even more suspicions among fellow survivors beyond those already dealt with in canon.i have been having a lot of fun with this one recently, so maybe i'll put more down about it later.
NOTES
the balance of AU work is between changing things up enough to be fresh and interesting, and not changing so much that it also shifts significant developmental markers for the characters. i enjoy playing with jackass and shiloh's 'balance' being flipped, because normally in canon jackass isn't the one in the front seat all that much. it's very funny too because without shiloh's incessant drive to save/protect in any situation ever, there are a lot more situations where jackass looks at trouble brewing and says 'well, that's none of MY business' and leaves. she's not like. malicious but shit it's the end of the world out here she can't go sticking her neck out for every poor schmuck she comes across.
although their research initiatives have long since been abandoned by the wider world, most schools in the wilds were founded as research institutions focused on the magical phenomena within the wilds themselves, and those funded by wealthier patrons even continue to offer classes pursuing those studies. Jackass herself studied the effects of magical contamination on the development of living organisms and their preestablished environmental adaptations, with lesser focus on general ecology as well. she remembers very little of it (and sadly probably won't ever be able to prove her credentials) but remains very interested in such subjects and enjoys visiting the libraries of richer clients if she can get the chance.
NOTES
when she was a student, it is likely that she got a lot of amusement from the fact that she (a colonial organism only possible through the effects of wilds magic contamination) was studying magical contamination. she deeply enjoys talking about and discussing any related fields she can, and sometimes puts people off as a know-it-all because of it.
Jackass is the one who arguably lost the most in the Fuse - both literally (even years on, she's only gotten a sparse few memories back) and the fact that while shiloh was, well, dead, and only really stood to gain, Jackass was doing pretty damn well for herself - not that she remembers. despite feeling this loss pretty keenly, she is generally the less serious of the two, determined to prosper, circumstances be damned.
generally the 'feeling' of a colony infesting a body is that of being 'within' it, but because of the weirdness of their existence, both jackass and shiloh are simultaneously the body and the infection, at all times. it can be more than a little disorienting.
NOTES
short n dirty character notes. shiloh's half is on their page. BOTH these cunts are ridiculous idiots but i think that is pretty obvious
original tumblr caption: the Curse is substantially overblown - generally speaking its pretty hard to find anyone out in the wilds, and shiloh n jackass usually try to run unless they're really cornered. as with most rumors out there, at least 80% of the casualties of "the thiefkiller curse" probably never existed to begin with....
[check shiloh's page for more on the 'curse']
Bonus:
technically having several hundred brains doesn't make studying any easier...
NOTES
1. the leech blood thing is only technically true; coelomic fluid is mostly colored by its contents look it up yourself if you're curious
2. since jackass lost pretty much every memory of her degree, she has to do it over again. (well, she doesn't HAVE to but she's GOING to) i would imagine it's even worse than the first time through, given her new life...
original tumblr caption: "jackass doodle from halloween. girls who say nya when they shoot out ur ankles >.<"
NOTES
although the inherently extremo edge of the character concepts (and generally jackass' story as a whole) dont at all indicate it, i need it to be known that jackass is an extremely silly person. she was silly before the fuse and she remains silly afterward. the horrors cannot keep her from whimsy even if they can and do keep her from it. you understand?
Wondering about how leech colonies work? unfortunately the explanation i have is too big of an image for my website setup, but you can find it, along with supplementary notes, on my tumblr here!
