Them

**Them** is a Powerpuff Girls fancharacter and a powerful deity that represents the concept of evil. They're the parent of Her and the canon villain, Him.

Besides "evil", a term mostly used to describe the unpleasant actions of intelligent life forms, they're also responsible for the more accepted ruthless realities of nature, like predators needing to kill to survive, animals self-preserving by abandoning unwell offspring, disease, parasitic organisms, genetic disfigurations, etc.

Them's real name is unknown, and as their pseudonym suggests, they're a fusion of multiple bodies and consciousnesses, though act as one.

Them was conceived on November 13, 2022, and artwork officially released at Deviantart on October 24, 2023.

## Backstory

> Them is an ancient being from a different universe than the one featured in the original show, said to have existed since the beginning of time. While they're best known as a demonic god of evil, they used to be the depiction of darkness and lifelessness -or alternatively, "non-existence"- which changed after their universe spawned a sun and living organisms with it. Their classification was automatically altered, as neither darkness and lifelessness were absolute anymore.
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> Them preferred the stillness of never-ending space, which had now been disturbed by the beating hearts of others. They took out their anger by messing with these inoffensive creatures and introduced the struggle of survival between predator, prey, and possible rivals. As time went by, more changes to these animals' nature and living environment were made in the hopes everything would kill each other or themselves, but the same force that created them had gifted them with the ability to evolve, ensuring there'd never be a planet without some sort of creature roaming about.
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> Since Them had meddled with the biology of animals still in their starting phase, evolution could not erase Them's actions; and all living creatures remained dependant on the deaths of others to survive. With evil and misery now an irreversible fact, the god that ruled over it grew stronger every day.
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> When more intelligent lifeforms emerged, a new concept arose that greatly interested Them, this being "the awareness of evil". While many animals committed horrid acts without the control or understanding as to why, evolution helped some see the difference between good and bad, and yet, bad behaviour amongst these species remained. Them found out how greatly their existence influenced their growth, and sought out the worst criminals the universe had to offer. Them's attraction to the mentally disturbed was so great, they instinctually began to devour them, whereafter Them learned of their ability to merge souls and become one with these organisms.
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> Them continued to eat, growing more powerful and wicked after every victim swallowed. Their mind became overrun with the life experiences, knowledge, strengths, and flaws of these souls, and after a while, Them realized mortals came with too much unwanted baggage and went back to feeding the old way.
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> But, enjoying the mere fact of evil existing wasn't doing much anymore. Not only had Them become too large and did they need more wrongdoing to sustain themselves on, but all intelligent animals had a routine of wanting to improve their environment, if only to benefit themselves, and would set up systems that punished criminals. Them's growth had stagnated and there was no clear way to satiate their self-inflicted addiction.
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> Them also struggled with themselves, as the many mortals they had consumed gave the once genderless, single-minded god desires they didn't have before. They wished for social interaction, a family, and more concepts that greatly clashed with Them's primal nature.
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> As living amongst mortals was not an option for them, they believed conceiving a child would silence most of these foreign urges. With their body having been altered by victims that adhere to biological reality, Them managed to achieve that which the god of non-existence couldn't before: the creation of life. Their mind was soothed, but only briefly, and the evil within them did not want to accept a lifeform in their presence. Them devoured their firstborn, and by doing so, noticed the tremendous boost of strength it gave.
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> A child born from themselves was like making a copy of their power, packaged in an easy target for consumption.
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> The greedy, abominable Them would continue to experiment with this. They came to learn that allowing a child to grow up would exponentially increase the results, but in addition, that the universe struggled to accept more than two of their kind existing at the same time. It threatened to break if Them dared to conceive multiple children, forcing them to be patient.
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> In order not to get retaliated against by their sacrificial offspring, they'd make them believe to be part of a divine monarchy and left hem clueless about their eventual doom.
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> As Them grew stronger, so would their children, and one day they foresaw the birth of a child most powerful. Instead of seeing it as a threat to their own existence, this enticed them to bring the prophecy into fruition for the chance to eat it.
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> Since they already had a daughter and wished to make sure which one would grow up to turn their vision into reality, they allowed for both children to exist, and eventually ordered them to battle "for the throne". The young Him surpassed the older Her as initially expected, but because of Them's habit of being a neglectful parent -if only to protect their offspring from themselves- Him refused to kill the sibling who had taken on the role of his mother his entire life.
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> With three fully developed gods now weighing down the universe, reality and the soul-bound Them were weakening. They realized to had made multiple errors in their calculation and could no longer consume their son, as doing so in their state would force them to merge with his body instead. In order to reset everything to normal, Them ripped open a hole in their tearing universe and ordered Him and Her find other worlds to destroy.
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> Under the guise of it being the job of a god of evil, they departed, still clueless about Them's initial intentions. Them's universe repaired itself once more and they continued their practises, free from the one threat that could've stopped them.
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## Personality

Them, as a god of evil, says and does whatever brings great discomfort to the common person, though not because they enjoy doing so, rather because it comes natural.

They didn't always have a personality and could be best described as the living concept of nothingness. When this got disturbed, they awakened with vengeful rage and took on a more active form. Not until Them began eating living creatures, who are more complex in their mannerisms and thoughts, did Them evolve to have the same capabilities and did they become what one would call "a person".

Nevertheless, since they're defined by their wickedness and desire the return of nothingness, any positive human emotion that enters their mind only results into more tragedy or is completely ignored. Them is incapable of love and is selfish and conniving.

## Appearance

In the beginning, Them was a shapeless being that hid away in the darkness. When the first sun came into existence and brought light to the universe, a body shaped itself, still dark, with the colour red pulsing deep inside of it. It moved around much like liquid in zero gravity.

This body became redder and more solid as time went by and the universe continued to develop, until it looked much like a piece of rock. With their core still in motion, the rock-like outer shell would break and regrow as they moved around.

When Them began eating living organisms, they adapted their features, though poorly, like they don't understand the appearance and workings of an actual body. Multiple fanged mouths spawned on their face, multiple black horns on their deformed neck, and a long tail with a crab claw at the tip, with what looks like screws imbedded near the base. They're covered in red fur with pink tufts on their shoulders, yet underneath sit black scales, and under there what looks like plates of white crab shell. Because they're a confusing combination of DNA, Them has bad mobility and it's easier for them to teleport around than use their hoofed, plump limbs.

## Trivia

* Them's children never look the same and are always a mash-up of the creatures they consumed over the years;
	+ One consistency is their red-black colour scheme, horns, and hermaphroditism;
	+ Him and Her purposely look the same, as Them suspected their DNA combination was the reason their abilities had become this heightened;
	+ It seemingly matters what type of animal Them uses to create their offspring with, as it affects their intelligence, strength, etc.

## See also

* Him
* Her