sqarletsworldlesswandering

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OOOIUGH I love this-

have this screenshot from my original playthrough :D

Less of a redraw and more of a

Just

Scene draw

But whatever

I thought it would be cool to give them pupils of each others color when they combined

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I feel bad for the fairy that ended up in the Golden Spire. Like, girlie how did you get up here? Are you okay? Have you been kidnapped?

...Actually, aren't both fairies we encounter in "enemy territory" so to speak?

Makes me wonder if they're scout/spy types....

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Okay do you have any trivia on Hyena/ Acids? Because that oc idea caught my attention... plus that acid sounds adorable-

UHHHHH not really-

Hyenas are one of the species that have a higher chance of sapience, but they're a little more 50/50. They can be sapient, especially if surrounded by others who are sapient, but they can also not be. However, across the line they are very clever.

The dynamic between sapient Hyenas and non sapient is oddly smooth - they see each other fondly enough, but there's no real fuss over the roles they play. It's sort of like that Talking Creature vs non talking creature divide in Narnia, if you're familiar.

Cut because this somehow got long!

Stellpeci Hyenas:

Stellpeci Hyenas are often the hounds of the army - they're lethal hunters, loyal guards, and big enough to be trusty mounts as well. They're fast and efficient, and excellent survivalists.

Their acid is also a very valuable resource for many things, and can be harvested without hurting them. The acid can be used for weapons as a tip coating, or brewed into a potion consumable to imbue their innate weapons with the same effect, often concentrated. The acid comes from the large glowing sacs encased in their underbellies, which are normally sheathed, but they can open their ribcage and push them out to utilize them defensively. The acid itself comes from sets of glands within those sacs, but those same sacs have auxiliary glands that secrete a liquid designed to protect their own shell from the substance. Their shell coats itself with the substance normally from smaller glands, but these are designed to generate more to keep their softer insides and underbellies safe.

Also, and to the extreme bemusement of some, the acid can be neutralized and rendered consumable, and is rich in nutrients that aid shell strength. It's a rather tedious process to do externally, though. The Hyenas can do this themselves internally, and it's quite efficient, but it's considered rude to try and harvest the converted substance directly from them unless they offer it. This substance is the baseline for a number of elixirs. As an internal process, it's purpose is to reclaim nutrients. They've also been known to give it to starlets as a boost and stabilizer - works wonders if their essence is acting up.

Hyenas often form packs, and have a strong set of protective, nurturing instincts. If for whatever reason your camp has starlets in it, Hyenas are some of the safest ones to leave them with.

Sapient Hyenas:

These guys have a really funky anatomical switcharoo that happens - while quadrupedal, their back legs angle up then down, rather like a grasshopper, and extend behind them. But, while bipedal, their legs bend frontwards like any normal knee joint. Starfolk have primary essence lines which, through the strength and solidity of the essence around them, determine how flexible any given limb or joint is. The essence line that connects from their "spine" to their pelvic region and hips, however, has this weird little knob ending where the essence is spongy and flexible, and softens further to permit of 360º rotation when signaled. This allows them to rotate their hips around and change the orientation of their legs, and returns to a firmer constitution when the rotation is complete.

They prefer quadrupedal movement for rapid travel (and are much faster as such), but for day-to-day activity prefer bipedal movement. their dexterity with their claws is also much improved.

They do still clump in packs, but the packs don't have to just consist of Hyenas. They will gladly take other starfolk into the back, and really if you spend any length of time with them you are considered "pack." Don't be shocked when then insist on tucking you under their chin and keep hooking their chin and head around you (they're scent marking you and also hugging you).

The mechanics of the acid stuff chances slightly as well - they have a lot more control over their generation of the material, so they don't have to worry about buildup - it's a voluntary trigger now.

As a rule, you do not ask to harvest acid from a sapient Hyena. If they offer, that's great, go ahead, but if they don't, you don't bring it up short of extenuating circumstances. It is entirely dependent on how much the Hyena feels like being part of your alchemy projects. During the Conflict, though, it does become fairly standard practice for sapient Hyenas to go in for a harvest now and again, at least if there are no Stellpeci Hyenas in the camp.

Role-wise, they're still very adept hunters, just with a bigger arsenal of attacks and an alarming ability to climb stuff. Also, they can squeeze themselves into spaces they absolutely should not be able to.

The more combatively inclined make for some deadly soldiers and occasionally assassins. Others become scouts and other such stealth units. The less combatively inclined often help around camps and herd troop movements, sometimes as resident doctors, other times as gatherers and resource scavenging, yet others as cooks and brewers. These know how to make a camp properly comfortable and cozy, and can boost troop moral. (...It would be heckin' hilarious if a Hyena was the one to figure out how to make Starfolk or Darkfolk booze (at least during the Conflict).)

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It's a Hyena (Acid) and a Hexabracc (Hands).

The Hands is a seasoned Lightfolk soldier - she's ascended and descended a few times and tabled the identity crises after the first two swaps. She's a little mercenary - pay her enough and she can be persuaded to do or not do plenty, but she's got a moral code in there somewhere. Either way, she's been through the wringer and had more than a few encounters with Darkfolk and Lightfolk well above her paygrade. She won... some of those encounters.

The Acid is, while still a rather experienced fighter out of necessity, not a terribly violent soul. He's much more at home behind the lines making sure the camp actually functions. He can more than hold his own in a fight, and contrary to some accusations he's no coward, but he feels no strong pull to the front lines, and in his opinion the Darkfolk are severely lacking in campsteaders to keep things home-side going smooth and at least sort of comfortable. He's gotten good at managing camps, getting food to large groups of people, pitching shelters, and tending to injuries, plus delegating others to do the same.

When all is said and done, and New Eden finally rises, the Acid settles right in - he sets himself up and makes a modest living helping people get established, setting up homes, making meals for people, etc. Eventually, though, once the essentials of life are going steady, he decides it's time to try and resurrect the finer joys of life. Since he's already got skill in a kitchen, he turns to baking, pastry making, and then candy making. A source of fresh-made candies and other sweet things brings a lot of joy to the area, and he's got a business before long.

The Hands doesn't settle in nearly so quick - she's become a bit of an adrenaline junkie. It's not that she wants to keep fighting, but constant action and movement is so deep in her bones she's not sure how to sit still. At first she can keep herself plenty busy with construction, errand running, escorts, rescue missions, all the cleanup that needs to happen. It's great while it lasts, but when the locals start suggesting they get to work on a place for her to stay and settle down, she's... not sure what to do with it. She sets up on the edge of the tiny town, though - a small place with easy access to the road and central walk, and not too far from a certain sweet shop.

Well, she needs something to do, and some routine in her life, so she heads into town to see what's what now that things are actually turning into living and not surviving. She decides to pop into this... coffee shop looking place, where there's a chipper little fairy behind the counter and a case full of fresh pastries, and some jars of candy on top. There's a window left of the counter showing what looks like a kitchen currently making some of those candies. There, chopping candies and shoveling them into little backs, is a certain Acid, expression pleasant and focused, and with an entirely unreasonable number of scars on what she can see of his arms.

Can you blame her for being curious?

dangit I want to turn this into a ficlet now help-

Stupid thought of the day:

There are two people - lovers, very good friends, what have you, that are both very scarred. Burn scars, cut scars, strange unidentified scars, you name it.

One of them, as you may expect, is a veteran of combat, a retired mercenary.

The other is a candy maker.

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Also on the Allagi train, uhhhh got any ideas for them when they're grown up?

Like would they look exactly like Summum or a little bit different?

(AKA Baby dragon is absolutely adorable and I love them)

That's the concerning thing.

They don't really... seems to be growing. Everyone is a bit worried by that - they should have grown at least some by now, but... they're still at the same stage. Summum is especially fussed because it's sending all the dragonish instincts up in alarm.

Now, for the hopeful case that Allagi does mature, they would look similar to Summum, but not identical. Summum is huge, even by dragon standards, so Allagi wouldn't be quite as big. The horn patterns can vary as well, as can spine count and tail length. There would be little differences - at a glance he looks like Summum's mini-me, but a long look reveals subtleties and changes between the two.

Duality's fused form, Eden, and Aloysi also generally abide by this - they appear more in the young adult phase than full grown per se, but they've got some of the same phenomena. One of the big things that can differentiate dragons is whether or not they ever walk upright. Summum never does - he's too big and sees no need, though he will sometimes sit upright. Meanwhile Duality, Eden, and Aloysi all walk on two legs most of the time, and only occasionally switch to all fours - as such, their appearances are a little different to allow for both modes of travel. Allagi's form would depend a bit on whether they default to bipedal or quadrupedal travel. I imagine they might favor quadrupedal, but use bipedal pretty often too since they see everyone else doing it. It's also unclear whether Allagi is a true dragon like Summum, or just draconic, like the other transcendeds. They are, if nothing else, very nearly a true dragon.

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.....SSL

Starfolk Sign Language

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A scene redraw with my semi-gijinka style

I wanna do more of these (pls I need more screenshots tho it’s so hard to get them sob)

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Okay you know what

Good any trivia for Allagi? Because I think Umbro is a few seconds away from adopting them- /SILLY

I might! *rifles through document*

As I have him now, I'm thinking they're the mix of... maybe a Hands and a Fire Elemental? I'm not sold on that. Either way, things went wonky when they merged.

"Allagi" is Greek for change. I'm so very creative, I know.

Allagi is… interesting. They're a little stunted as far as development - Quimera’s guess is that something happened during the transcendence that sent things wonky, and they didn't quite develop fully.

At any rate, Allagi is helpful and very sweet, but not necessarily all there. Mostly, they present as very absent, largely non-verbal, and in need of direction. They're a little robotic at times, sort of like a lemming without instructions (idk if y'all are familiar with the game).

When they do try to talk, it usually just... comes out as these staticky chirps, and it's unclear whether they're actually trying to say something, or just mimicking talking noises.

They're not... really very active? They don't tend to act without an instruction or a directive to do so, and it worries the transcendeds. They don't just... go play, or run around. The closest thing to an apparent autonomous decision they regularly make is picking someone to follow around.

Of the unstable transcendeds we fight, they’re the most stable. But they’re also very young and new - basically a dragonlet. 

That’s part of why they’re a defensive powerhouse, but don’t have as much by way of melee attacks - they have all the defensive magic, all the means to keep themselves safe, but fighting back is a lower priority than surviving.

Also, they like chin scritches and head scritches. 

Regardless of sapience, they're very nearly a starlet - only just past their beginning stages. They don't seem to remember anything prior to transcending, at any rate. Because they are basically a baby, they're under pretty constant care. The others hope that maybe, if they take very good care of them and spend lots of time with them, the rest of their mind will fall into place and click so they become fully sentient.

Yin-Yang is their most frequent caretaker, since they're a little more stationary and have all systems functional. Plus, it comes naturally for them. Quimera will help often, but usually just as accompaniment. Quimera is also a convenient "task for Allagi" - "Allagi, can you help Quimera get from A to B" type thing. Little mini-assignments when it seems like Allagi needs some entertainment.

Duality happily takes turns with them too (Teino and Kavo have had Conversations™ after the fact).

Summum, while often busy, is also scared he'll hurt the little fella, but... he watches him sometimes. Nestles him between his horns or in the spines on his back. He'll curl up with him too, snuggle the tiny, delicate dragon. Sometimes, if you sneak up to the door when he thinks everyone else is away, you can hear him whispering and cooing to Allagi.

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Summum gets absolutely *horrible* baby fever around Allagi send tweet.

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It the E!

The E

Got used to using MS Paint, so have The E

-Prince

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The boi! The lil bab. Have an Eclipsed Adaptation, better known as Allagi!

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Aaand I have hit a mild conundrum. Now that I think about it, there's not much that actually makes sense to change from a visual standpoint besides softening an edge here and there.

I've been contemplating having Eclipsed Yin-Yang be a gal - that's just the vibe they've been settling into, but I also have them as undecided/plural for a reason - they're not really quite one person, they teeter on the edge, and they can feel it. At the same time, the Scirta is definitively closer to the front. So...maybe gal when they're especially stable, and plural the rest of the time. I think I like that compromise.

But design wise, there's not that much to change anyways. I am... disinclined to just... slap a bigger chest on what is essentially a snake-person design, cuz it doesn't really make sense. At the same time, you could argue snake person, and you could also argue that it doesn't really make sense for any of the gals, but... idk?

Behold, before and after respectively of my current revision, with the absolutely TINIEST change of all time. Have a spot the difference game.

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Hrrrrrmb I am contemplating a revision of Yin-Yang's design.

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Also on the topic of silly things-

I have gotten a random urge to make a starfolk oc with genu recurvatum/ backwards knees and uh... yeah-

Basically, got any trivia for any mutations (?)/ disorders that starfolks could be born with? Idk why but my brain is going feral over mutations and genetics again-

Isn't- isn't that like... really bad for your knees, tho-

I mean... because they don't really form the same way we do, I don't think they necessarily mutate the same way. The closest comparison is if something tampers with the nebula or energy they come from, and those are never going to end well - shell abnormalities that obstruct movement or essence flow, magic instabilities that do damage to the user or render it unusable, haywire resistances and weaknesses, essence fluxes that make them anemic or explosive, heaven forbid something tamper with their core directly.

These are incredibly uncommon in any nebulas where there are people around - they monitor them to make sure they're healthy, and nebulas are good at looking after themselves usually.

But, every now and again, some foreign magic will go too far afield and mix with the nebulas.

Now, some magic - the ambient, natural magic - is benign and has more of an adaptive effect. It just adds a sort of... resonance for the ambience of the area. That could just be a sense of "this is home", or could be actually beneficial. Sort of like eating local honey will reduce your allergies to the local flora.

But, you can get malign magic, and that's going to come from fighting and death. Spilled essence, most often, or violent bursts of magic. That can lead to the imbalances above, but the nebulas will try their best to purge the energy a different way and withdraw from that area until it's healthy again.

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*Teleports*

I don't know why but that art gave me an idea

Eldritch Edda. Like Post-Worldless Edda looks like an eldritch angel: Lots of wings and maybe eyes-

This sounds familiar, lol.

But yes, eldritch gorl. she ate the demiurge let her have the demiurge powers. spooky time-

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Already gave it to him in Discord, but here's my Secret Santa for ShadowSong! It was fun interpreting and working with the prompts.

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I like these two

Little twist on the usual format of this joke