THE WATCHERS
An original/multi-fandom concept inspired by Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
By Scribblue
Death comes for everyone. Or, more specifically, Death waits for everyone…some more patiently than others.
The Lore
Everyone has a Watcher that follows them from Once Upon a Time to The End, and only the Watcher's judgement can decide whether you meet a Happily Ever After or tragic fate.
Watchers are immortal, multi-dimensional beings that can exist in any world. They are incarnations of death, and are all part of the same thread of fate, however they are also individuals of their own right and may or may not assume the title of "Death" itself. They are created from the shadows and tend to stick to them, unseen by their assigned life forms until they are forced to intervene.They do not need corporeal forms, but may choose to take one anyway, or shift between a variety of forms over the course of their existence. Upon the Final Judgement, they also may take on the form of an entity that either soothes or elicits fear from their assignment, depending on the individual's actions in life.
The Watchers possess the power to see into the souls of any being, including other Watchers, which helps them make their Judgements.They are expected and required to be fair, patient, and impartial. Watchers that do not meet this criteria will be dealt with in a manner appropriate to their misdeeds. For small or infrequent offences they might receive warnings, but in more serious cases may be assigned a Watcher of their own, banished to purgatory, or be Unwoven (which is the most severe punishment and is the only way a Watcher can "die").Watchers can sometimes extend the lives of their assignment, but it requires a sacrifice of self– they lose part of their material permanently for each year extended past the assignments intended Ending. This leads to holes/gaps/less material to work with when taking on a corporeal form, which, if continued, would eventually lead to the Watcher being completely Unwoven.
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original characters
Tortoise and Hare are a duo of Watchers, forcibly connected by the red string of fate after Hare went rogue and began reaping souls early. This connection is unbreakable by Hare, and will remain in effect until Hare can prove that they have been fully rehabilitated from their deadly impatience.
●●● Confidence
○○○ Patience
●○○ Wisdom
○○○ Compassion
●●● Aggression
●○○ Forgiveness
●○○ Sense of Humor
●○○ Communication
●●○ Listening
●○○ Flirting
Hare once said...
I am a prisoner of Fate.
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Have you tried not being alive?
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I am beyond time, beyond life, and beyond scales. My anger is immeasurable and existence transcendent.
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Sentimental fucks. If I have to be subjected to one more sappy sentence I'm gonna reap myself.
●●○ Confidence
●●● Patience
●●● Wisdom
●●● Compassion
○○○ Aggression
●●○ Forgiveness
●●○ Sense of Humor
●●○ Communication
●●● Listening
●●○ Flirting
Tortoise once said...
What a precious thing, to live.
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Joy is addictive. Once ya know how to spot it, how to hold it inside'a yerself...ya start seeing it everywhere.
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It's an impressive skill to be able to find peace and acceptance wherever'ya are, whatever life throws at you.
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When ya can't fathom the beginning or end, all you got is the in between. And that's plenty, if ya ask me.
PIBTLW Involvement
Within this AU, Lobo is Puss in Boot's Watcher, who was assigned to watch and judge him since birth.After using up his 8th life, Puss went on to have several near-death experiences, one rendering him legally dead for several minutes before being revived.Lobo, having already judged Puss as unworthy of a Happily Ever After due to his "legendary" status as the cat who laughs in the face of death, viewed this as a blatant act of disrespect towards the sanctity of life and decided to take what is owed (and, in his opinion, overdue).During the final confrontation of Puss and Lobo, Puss lays down his weapon and surrenders to his fate, but is shown mercy when Lobo realizes he has changed.
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ABOUT
I originally conceptualized the Watchers as an AU/lore extension for Puss In Boots: The Last Wish, however I quickly got attached to the idea on its own and decided to make it a separate concept, which can exist in just about any universe (including PIBTLW, of course.)Anyone is welcome to make their own Watcher OCs or incorporate the concept into their own creative projects! Credit for inspiration is appreciated! (@scribblue on most socials)