nova-dracomon

[nova-dracomon]

The Sol System's Alterhuman Writing Challenge

In November 2021, we challenged ourselves to write an alterhuman-oriented piece every day until the end of November, ideally building up to 50,000 words written overall. We wanted to take this challenge up for several reasons—to help strengthen our writing habits, to set up routines during a time we normally struggle to do anything due to our seasonal depression, to finally learn to put our first drafts out there fearlessly instead of being ornery perfectionists, and to just generally get better at handling mixed reviews with our rejection sensitive dysphoria.

All in all, it was a huge success and a ton of fun-- we wrote about topics we might not have otherwise touched on, made a TTRPG, and just had a grand time overall with all the responses we got from the community. And because of that, we want to offer it to any of y'all folks who might be interested in tackling the challenge yourselves (even if it's a few days late, but who's counting?)

Here are the rules we bound ourselves by:

You must finish and publish at least one piece of writing a day, on your platform of choice—DreamWidth, Tumblr, Mastodon, PillowFort, DeviantArt, Twitter, Discord, Neocities, anywhere. It has to be publicly accessible and (if possible) tagged appropriately.

That piece of writing must either be about or in connection to alterhumanity (in general or your own), the alterhuman community, a community typically classified underneath the alterhuman umbrella, an experience related to or connected to alterhumanity, or otherwise be something inspired by alterhumanity/alterhumans/alterhuman experiences/etc. This category is meant to be as broad as possible, while still sticking to theme. Use prompts or go off the cuff, whichever works best.

Other than that, go nuts! Fiction, nonfiction, games, NSFW, do whatever you want. There is literally no limit on what type of thing you write, just that you write. You can also start a piece at any given time—for a couple of our pieces, we started them one day, after we’d already published something, and then finished them and posted them a day later. I also personally recommend dedicating one unique tag to it on your blog to help keep track, but it's your writing and your rules all the way down other than what I've listed out here.

And if you do decide to take up the challenge, consider tagging us in it! We'd love to see whatever you write!

[nova-dracomon]

Things to call headmates other than "my Alters"

Headmates: solid 8/10, clearly a system term though

The Others: 7/10 kinda mysterious, not much pizazz

Family: 9/10 yeah replace those sorry ass relatives of yours!

Brothers/ Sisters: 8/10 personally I like calling them my brothers and sister, but tbh kinda sounds like catholic priests/ nuns. -2 points

Roommates: 9/10 Basic like headmates, but phrased in a way singlets understand

Friends: 10/10 Wholesome, although I am definitely not friends with everyone in here

The Voices: 3/10 People gonna absolutely think you're crazy

Greek Chorus: 5/10 It's funny when someone actually knows what you're referring to

Peanut Gallery: 7/10 Similar concept to the above, only more understood by the average person

Backseat Drivers: 9/10 The most correct one on the list, especially said with just a touch of contempt. Might make someone upset

The Collective: 8/10 very ominous, better when talking about the system as a whole singular unit

Comrades: 10/10 Like friends, but commier! Perfect!

Coworkers: 10/10 very accurate representation of how it actually works in here

The Council: 9/10 The Council has decided that it's really entertaining to refer to ourselves like that

Chat: -10/-10 How is it so perfect, yet so awful, yet so awfully perfect?

[nova-dracomon]

It takes a village (to be a person)

[nova-dracomon]

trick or treat!

It's late. We're already curled up asleep in our lair when you arrive. Groggily we rifle through our stores -- nothing edible left.

There's no time to cook more, we're going to have to improvise. Luckily, there's one thing we have a million of.

Treat?

Crystal Talon

"This trophy proves your worth as a hunter."

[nova-dracomon]

I know I'm made of clay that's worn / blinded by imperfect form (creature - half•alive)

a drawing i did a few days ago that im extremely proud of. its about nonhumanity of course, about how a person is not their body, but how they see themselves. it represents my three kintypes: dragon, enderman and unicorn, and how phantom shifts can make them overlap sometimes over my physical body.

edit - i based my drawing on this one by @mossymenagerieart! go look at his art its really cool

[nova-dracomon]

Trick or treat! :D

TRICK! We're all out of near death experiences though, so have this inflatable dinosaur running up a wall!

[Image description: First image is user junebugabug holding out a Halloween bucket filled with all the treats received so far. Second image is a gif of someone in an inflatable t-rex costume running up a steep slope on American Ninja Warrior. End description.]

[nova-dracomon]

Trick or treat!

Treat! Here's something unique to the Crystal Isles -- with a wonderful rainbow hue!

Primal Crystal

This strange crystalline material can be shaped into lenses, used as an electronics component, or mixed into powerful explosives. This particular crystal pulses with primal energy and is the Crystal Wyvern's favorite treat. - Ark Wiki

[nova-dracomon]

Trick of treat!

Treat! Lucky you, we made too many, so have some cake!

Sweet Vegetable Cake

+500 Health to Tamed Herbivores

A sappy vegetable cake which Herbivores find delicious, which will be automatically eaten when needed for healing.

[nova-dracomon]

trick or treat!

TRICK. Thylaceleo attack!

[nova-dracomon]

Trick or treat! :3

Our headspace is the Crystal Isle Ark so we're handing out food items from the game!

Treat! This interesting purple broth of veggies, berries, pearls and wooly rhino horn will expand your mind and broaden your horizons.

Broth of Enlightenment

+50% Experience gain

[nova-dracomon]

Trick or treat!

Treat! With this, nothing will be able to stop you today!

Battle Tartare

+65% Melee Damage, +15% Damage resistance, +50% Movement Speed, +50% Food and Water consumption, Increased Stamina regen, -90 Health (0.45 per second)

[nova-dracomon]

TRICK OR TREAT.

TRICK. Purlovia attack!

[nova-dracomon]

Trick or Treat! 🦊

Treat! Enjoy some chili to gain a boost in all your crafts and projects.

Focal Chili

+25% Movement Speed, +100% Crafting Speed

[nova-dracomon]

Trick or Treat!

Treat! Shadow saute steak is the perfect meal before cave diving to protect you from the elements and reduce recoil as you combat swarms.

Shadow Saute Steak

+50% Hypothermic Insulation, +50% Hyperthermic Insulation, -80% Weapon recoil

[nova-dracomon]

trick or treat!

Treat! Here's an energy boost!

Energy Brew

+40 Stamina

[nova-dracomon]

Trick or treat!!!

TRICK! Raptor attack!

[nova-dracomon]

Trick or treat :3

Cactus Broth

Reduces water consumption, Makes user less noticable to wild creatures

Treat! Here's some soup for you! ^v^