#Anatomy of a Metahuman

[gotham-at-nightfall]

DC’s Anatomy of a Metahuman

Explore the powers of DC Comics' greatest characters like never before through stunning anatomical cutaways and in-depth commentary from the Dark Knight.

Concerned about the threat that so-called "metahumans" may pose to the world, Batman has begun compiling a detailed dossier on their incredible physiology and abilities. From villains like Killer Croc, Bane, and Brainiac, to Batman's own comrades, including Superman and Cyborg, the file brings together the Dark Knight's fascinating personal theories on the unique anatomical composition of these formidable individuals.

[krdaaaa]

I think a perfect way for Bruce and Damien to bond is through art. Like guys, have you seen that metahuman anatomy book that was canonically written and drawn by Bruce.

The man can draw.

[kal8elle]

[wiz0moz]

Custom Metahuman

Custom metahuman for personal use

[bet-on-me-13]

The weirdly competent Doctor

So! The Watchtower's Medical Bay is a hub of constant Activity. With the number of Heroes who work under the Justice League, there are always injuries, health check-Ups, and illnesses that need healing.

But with the amount of Variant Biologies that those Heroes have, it's always a guessing game as to how to help them best. Some Metahumans react positively to penicillin, but others react like it's their Kryptonite. Some Aliens have anatomy similar to Humans, others are so different you can't tell the Stomach from the Bladder.

So when they hired a New Doctor for the Medical Bay, they had to run him through an entire Course on Variant Biologies and how best to treat specific Heroes. It was long and difficult to remember fully, but it was necessary for him to know.

But then the new Doctor started correcting Them.

"Actually, Martian's react better to the Syrup of Eucalyptus Plants better than Penicillin, since Eucalyptus is very similar to a medicinal plant from Mars which they used in many of their antibiotics."

"I don't think just pumping double doses of sedative is the best way to calm down a Speedster, that could have adverse effects on their body. Perhaps try Psychic Intervention? Their minds move a Mile a Second, but if you can calm them down their bodies will follow suit."

"Of course you use Micro-Doses of Kryptonite to operate on Superman! What else would you do?! I don't know, maybe ask JLD to enchant your Equipment to make use of Kryptonian suseptiblity to Magic? The Kryptonite is just gonna give him Cancer!"

Of course the Doctors didn't take kindly to being rudely corrected by a newbie, and Fired him on his first day.

Then a few days later their usual Treatments don't work, and they decide to give those strategies the Quack Doctor gave them out of desperation.

And Lo and Behold, they work! Martian Manhunter is fully healed and feels much better than the previous times he has needed surgery. Apparently they used a different Antibiotic that worked better with his Biology. Which was incredible, how had they figured it out?

Another Doctor you say? One who was experienced on Martian Biology and Medicinal History? He would very much like to meet with the man!

...

What do you mean you fired him for talking back?!

[lurkinglurkerwholurks]

Book recs: DC-specific

If I'm going to make official book recs specific to good dads and found family and all the things we love about BatFam, it makes sense to first start with actual DC things. I've talked about these books before, but here's another look at books I own and enjoy.

Anatomy of a Metahuman

This is a collection of scientific notations and hypotheses written by Bruce Wayne about various metahumans in his world, from Superman to Bane. It's intriguing, as grounded in real-world science as a thing like this can be, clever in its references to comic canon (which, in-text, is just "real life" for Bruce), and nails Bruce's voice.

I would not be surprised but would be delighted to learn that S.D. Perry and/or Matthew K. Manning wrote fic, because they get our boy's interiority so well.

The DC Book of Lists

This is maybe the least voicey of all the books on this list because there is not a narrative and therefore there is no point of view. This is the Guinness Book of World Records for comic geeks. It is an exhaustive compiling of DC across universes and story arcs and refresh after refresh. It makes me worry for the author's sanity, but in a mildly approving way.

My Buddy, Killer Croc

This book has my entire heart. It is a graphic novel for tweens about a Gothamite child who adores Killer Croc. Absolutely 100% hero worship of both Waylon James the wrestler and Killer Croc the rogue. Batman and Bruce Wayne both make appearances that are wonderful and in line with what I love about him/them, and Killer Croc is still a villain. He still causes harm, but he's also given depth and it's a thrill to experience him through the eyes of the one person in Gotham who stans him.

Wayne Family Adventures

Obviously I love the bindups of the Webtoon comic series. Books one and two are out now (November 2023) and books three and four are on their way. If you are somehow unfamiliar with the series, WFA shows the daily life shenanigans in the DC universe, largely centered on the Manor and Gotham but sometimes branching further afield. All your faves make an appearance and so many of the storylines feel so freshly plucked from fanfic tropes that I feel Seen.

--

There are other books out there that I want to try or that I have tried and don't feel strongly enough about to recommend, but if you enjoy the kinds of fanfic I also like and want to try DC-approved published works with those same vibes, start with these.

[zeddpool]

Superbat Week 2024 - Day 3

Xenobio Extravaganza

A/B/O | Alien Biology | Kryptonian Diet

(I am a massive xenobiology nerd, you have no idea the monster you've unleashed)

So I’m perpetually annoyed by the fact that Kryptonians look exactly like humans, have the same blood colour as humans, are reproductively compatible with humans, etc. despite being from completely unrelated planets

So I thought, what if Kryptonians developed a very mild form of shapeshifting as some kind of survival mechanism

So Kryptonian children slowly but surely grow to almost exactly mimic the dominant species of whatever place they grew up, or, like, the species they were raised by

So a Kryptonian raised by Skrull or Vulcans or wtvr would grow up to look like those species instead

It’s not a perfect explanation but it’s the first one that’s made any sense to me

Anyway, the illustration is just more of my headcanons on what remaining Kryptonian traits Supes might have, written in the style of Anatomy of a Metahuman, ie I tried to write it like these were Bruce's notes

Text from the image under the cut

Kryptonians produce far more varied pigments than Humans, and as such have a wider variety of hair, eye, and even skin colours: Kal has blue-pigmented eyes and hair a similar iridescent black as ravens and crows

Vestigial pointed ears, though what the ancestral purpose was, I can only guess

Kryptonians seem to have some similar membrane to the Tapetum Lucidum, giving Kal far superior night vision, though it must make it difficult for Clark to have his picture taken with flash

Very prominent canine teeth, Kryptonian ancestors were definitely meat-eaters, and his teeth seem to be actual bone, unlike humans

As muscle mass can only increase through repeated micro-tearing and healing during regular and strenuous exercise, Kal doesn't actually have that much bulk since he'd have to bench press an aircraft carrier every other day to "get big"

Lack of nipples would indicate non-mammalian ancestry, but the presence of a belly-button suggests Kryptonians were a placental species. The only alternative would be that Kryptonians lay eggs, which is...

...I have seen this man knowingly and willingly consume metal multiple times. I have no idea what is going on in here, but I fear asking him if I could get in his guts could be misconstrued. (Here's what inspired this point!)

From my translations of some Kryptonian texts, their society had wildly different concepts of gender than Humans, as well as indications that there was a wide array of how their biological sex presented. Perhaps my theory about egg-laying isn't so far-fetched...

[thatpointything]

Decided to do some stuff on the Greylock Tapes. Like other mutations the survivors had that we didn’t see in the pictures shown.

Warning! Body horror galore below the cut!

Thomas Rockford

Other mutations: Just ever so slightly taller than he was before the incident. Adrenal glands are also discolored and dysfunctional, which causes the random outbursts.

Samuel Washington

Other mutations: Mutated thalamus produces psilocybin nonstop, which causes the constant delusions and paranoia. One side of the jaw is also grossly elongated, and flesh around the shoulders is sloughing off.

Ramón Herrera

Other mutations: Aside from the broken-looking neck, several organs have fused into one large sack-like structure that produces a highly acidic compound (it’s not puke anymore) that must be expelled every now and then. This compound, as it evaporates, emits a highly potent nerve agent that is structurally similar to Novichok. Arms and legs are slightly atrophied due to lack of use.

Charles Flemming

Other mutations: Aside from the obvious, his brain is relatively untouched and he would be more talkative (though he’d mostly beg for God to save him and the other patients) if his vocal cords didn’t crap out. Even though he’s still mostly sane, his ‘attack and eat on sight’ thing is less a sight thing and more a physical proximity thing, and he seemingly blacks out shortly before going on the attack. His feet are also digitigrade, like the feet of a dog or wolf (long feet, heel always off the ground). This means he’s REALLY fast once he starts running.

Scott Oakhurst

Other mutations: Sociopathic narcissistic asshole before he mutated, and he’s even worse now that he’s a metahuman freak. That large wounded eye of his was not there before. He lost the old one five years prior to mutating. His new teeth are also self-sharpening, meaning that whenever he shuts his mouth, the teeth get sharper as they rub against each other. The bones in his fingers also burst through his skin and basically became claws. And not only is his increased bite force strong enough to crush bones like crackers, but the motherfucker chewed through a wooden door made from Australian Buloke like a beaver on steroids during the April 6th, 1987 incident.

Eduard Kowalski

Other mutations: In comparison to the others in terms of psychology, the original Eduard Kowalski is just not there anymore. Physically, those eyes of his should be functionally blind, consisting mostly of scar tissue and… something else. However, he can see in the infrared spectrum of light just fine, so he isn’t blind. Plus his arms are a lot longer than they were prior to mutation, and in comparison to the anatomy of normal people, his proportions are more similar to those of gibbons than people. And as for his newfound ability to get people to do just about anything using only his words… Those eyes of his might have something to do with it.

John Rafferty

Other mutations:

Poor little Johnny…

Poor weak, pathetic little Johnny…

Too afraid to be himself…

Too weak to be anything else…

[jkknight98]

Bite-Sized Bats 1

So after who knows how long it's been, I'm finally making a comeback to writing again and it's for a new fandom, the DC universe! I hope everyone enjoys this first part of a series I am doing with Batman and Superman at its center. Of course, do not share this to the main fandom tag, and if you send me hate messages, do get a better hobby.

Warnings: Soft vore, implied character death, injuries, strong language.

Life in Gotham was never easy; the local populace was constantly infighting between the rich and lower class; villains and heroes caused property damage almost daily; and even the city atmosphere had an air of despair hanging around it. It was rare that a new building would stay pristine before it quickly ‘broke in’ as the city accepted it, robbery being the most common form. The normal citizen would always need to walk with both eyes and ears open, or else they would be robbed, killed, or used in a hostage situation by one of the many villain groups. Life in Gotham was tough, but somehow people managed to do it.

The other aspect of Gotham life that didn't help keep things easy was the secondary caste system that labeled everyone as either Predator, Standard, or Prey. A predator was a metahuman with enhanced senses and instincts like that of their categorization; they were a predator wearing a human mask, with mannerisms that caused the other casts to be wary of their very presence. They also have a dangerous ability to produce a strong pheromone when they enter a hunting state, having a major impact on prey castes and only affecting standards if the predator is especially strong or ravenous. It wasn’t uncommon that before the modernization of society, predators would actively hunt the other two groups for both sustenance and sport; now it happens rarely due to the work of the Gotham police. One would be a fool to think that it still didn’t happen behind closed doors and paid off hands, however. A predator takes full control of the prey or weakened standard when they shrink them down, especially in the case they decide to swallow them. This is done as a means to gain sustenance in an especially cruel manner, or in some worse situations, a predator has full control over their digestive system to create a living prison.

A prey is a metahuman that is almost indistinguishable from the Standard but is heavily influenced by a predator's pheromones, forcing them to become frantic and compress in size to hide/escape from the threat. This may have been advantageous when there were hiding places in the outdoors, but it would have almost become a death sentence if the city wasn’t so cluttered. Prey have also grown to be as difficult or unappealing to consume as possible, their anatomy changing to look as similar to predators as possible or to have a more lanky appearance to hide the hidden muscular system in their body. These metahumans are built to move and escape from any potential predation, so they excel in more athletic and sport-related career fields to keep their skills fresh, but it was too easy for a predatory manager to decide to thin his team and write it off as,’ They decided to pursue a different career path’.

The standard is, as the name itself states, they’re a human that can’t produce a predator's pheromones or be as easily influenced by them as a prey is. They sit in the middle ground as they usually can’t compete with the hyper-competitiveness of the predator while also lacking the physical abilities to compete with prey, leaving them to balance between the two sides without being attacked by either, almost acting as the mediator between the two. This wasn’t always the case as there would forever be bad blood between the two, and even a standard human could find themselves being shrunk or faced with the savagery of a cornered prey. 

But there is a glimmer of hope when a Predator decides to act against their nature and becomes the silent hero of Gotham, becoming both a symbol of hope for all three casts and an annoyance for those who seek the old ways or pure chaos.

~

Bruce sighed as he adjusted the black tie at his neck, both loosening and tightening it as his mind continued to wander. This event was supposed to act as a memorial for the passing of his parents as well as a means to raise funds to end the predator-on-prey violence charity he started ages ago, but he can’t help but think back to that fateful night down crime alley...

Bruce couldn’t help but laugh as he ran about the alleyway with his arms spread wide and spinning about; he wanted to be just like the superhero in the movies. He looked back at his parents with a hopeful smile. "Do you think I could be a hero too, even if I’m a prey?”

He remembered the look his parents shared before his father leaned down and ruffled his hair with a soft smile: "Well, we may not be like the superheroes on screen, but we are heroes to our fellow prey. By being at the top of the social ladder as we are, we beat out those predators and stand as a shining example for our people.”

His father was smiling so brightly when he finished that statement, it made Bruce’s heart sore with happiness... But a subtle smell caught his nose and caused both him and his parents to freeze. Bruce couldn’t even open his mouth before he was pulled behind his father and into the protective grasp of his mother, but it didn’t stop the smell from growing stronger. It was an almost heavy smell, full of musk and a sour smell of breath, which sent his hair to stand on end... This was the smell of a predator.

“Damn Wayne Family... stupid prey not knowing their place... even with all your money... I’ll show you where you belong on the food chain.” Stepping out of the shadows was a disheveled man; his clothes and physical appearance likened him to a coyote, a lurking predator that excelled in the city's darkened alleyways. He bared his teeth in a predatory smile that oozed hatred while the air started to grow thick with a sickly sweet smell.

Bruce’s father tried to pull out a handheld air purifier (a handy device that attempted to ward off a predator's pheromones), but the man tackled him to the ground before he could. His mother couldn’t help but scream at the sight before her, unfortunately causing her to breathe in deeply, which she realized as she turned and shoved Bruce toward the entrance as her body started to convulse. "Brucie... Run baby... and don’t stop til you get home!”

Bruce froze as his eyes traveled over his mother’s shoulder to see the man standing up with his shrunken father in his hands, squeezing him tightly as he laughed loudly, ”How do you like that Wayne, being put in your rightful place… I’m going to do that to your bitchy wife and bratty son too~” He lifted his father upwards and opened his mouth wide, Bruce turned and started to run as fast as he could. He stumbled slightly as his own body started to shake from his own exposure to the pheromones, feeling tears roll down his face and he fell and scraped his knees, staining the pants he and his mother worked so hard to pick out to match his father's.

He turned at the sound of his mother’s scream and cried harder at the sight, his mother's pearl necklace had been ripped from her neck and the white orbs were sent flying across the alleyway all while she was rapidly shrinking like his father. The Predator was standing over her form cackling as he watched her shrink, saying something that Bruce forced himself to block out as he got back to his feet and ran out of the alleyway, trying to blink away tears as his mother's screams grew fainter. He stumbled again as his body tried to stop the shrinking, but his training was done in a safe setting with a predator his family trusted, but this was real and the effect much stronger.

“Oooh Wayne Bratt…..Where did you go??”

Bruce froze at the crooning voice of the predator, he needed to hide because he couldn’t run anymore at his now tiny size. He looked for the best hiding space he could and dove into an opening formed by a collapsed building, hoping to find safety in the rubble and trash. He burrowed his way deeper into the debris and dirt hoping to hide his terrified scent and hide anything that would stand out, especially his crisp white button-down that Alfred worked so hard to iron. He made his way to a wall and curled tightly against it, using the small opening made by a water-wilted box to keep an eye out for his hunter… just when he thought he could relax and think he could think of a plan to get home… the voice came again.

“Are you here Bratt, this is the closest place a prey could get to at your size, you think I won’t smell you out, all you rich trash smell the same..” He couldn’t see the man yet but he could feel the small tremor of the man’s steps…. Almost as if he was in the dinosaur movie his father sometimes watched that had the T-rex and its booming steps….he wondered if this is how that goat felt. A shadow fell over his box and Bruce just closed his eyes to accept what was coming… he couldn’t fight or run anymore…but at least he would be with his parents.

But something else happened.

“Damn Bats…Rats with wings!!” The shadow moved away as a flurry of squeaks filled the air and the man left the building,” Damn kid probably isn’t here…” The muttering grew fainter as the man moved on, leaving Bruce in total disbelief…

It wasn't until a few hours later that a worried Alfred went to leave the manor to search for the missing Waynes and he stumbled upon a very disheveled Bruce just outside the manor grounds. The boy somehow managed to make it back though he looked like he'd been drugged through hell, and when he got the sob-filled story from the boy, the older man couldn’t help but think he did. Alfred knelt and pulled the boy to his chest, ignoring the smell of filth, and had to stop a protective growl at the scent of a predator on his young master.

“Come on Master Bruce, let's get you a bath drawn and I’ll set you up in your parent's room for the night.”

He tried to pull his arms away, but when the boy's arms tightened around his neck, Alfred sighed and resigned himself to lift the young master into his arms. He slowly began to walk back towards the manor as he listened to the boy's muffled sobbing, he liked working for the Waynes, even with the fact he was also a predator. He would take his own time to grieve the loss later but for now, he needed to focus on the boy he also viewed as a surrogate son, the young master will need a lot of help for this trama but he would see to it that all of Thomas’s and Martha’s work would not be in vain. 

His eyes were drawn upwards as a group of bats darted around overhead as they chased the midnight insects, he was oddly drawn to them.

~

“You’re going to wear out the fabric of that tie, Master Bruce, are you trying to start a fire with it, That really would put on a show for those stuck-up predators out there.” Bruce jumped slightly when Alfred appeared behind him in the mirror, the older man smiling softly up at him as he moved around him, gentle hands reaching up to fix the tie to perfection.

“You are truly a skilled man Alfred; I would never have defeated that horrible thing.” Bruce couldn’t help but crack the joke as the older man huffed in disappointment, but enjoyed the comforting feeling of the man’s warm hands as they brushed away any wrinkled or speck of dust he must have missed when he pulled on the suit. “I’ll be fine Alfred, I’ll deal with those predators trying to intimidate me into making deals or threaten to eat me with the hors d’oeuvres we will be serving tonight... What do you think I would go best with?”

Alfred could only huff as he turned away to check his attire for any blemishes,” For the bullheaded attitude like to take up with me and the villains you face... You would pair best with a toasted crostini with whipped goat cheese and pesto while you act as the sliced tenderloin, but you will not be on the menu tonight, Master Bruce.” The elder gentleman then turned to leave the room, pausing just enough to slightly ruffle the younger man's hair before he fully left, his voice echoing in the halls as he directed other staff to their roles for the night.

Bruce huffed as he tried to smooth his hair, ”What kind of butler ruffles his master’s hair.”

[prehistorictoast]

Some more oc doodle stuff because I got bored.

On the real tho, been considering making a “Anatomy of a Metahuman” type series post on my version of the werewolf. They have a lot of very interesting lore to their biology and I’d really like to share their story. Especially since I and my friend working with me on these characters do plan to make a comic series with them. IDK maybe if I get to it.

[practically-an-x-man]

Any backstory info (or anything you want to say about it, really) on Broken Pieces?👀

Oooooh absolutely!! (link to the fic here for anyone who's curious - fair warning, it's super whumpy)

So I've always been a huge nerd for anatomy and the human body, I even was a forensic anthropology major before I dropped out of college. I can't claim I'm any sort of authority on anatomy or how to write it, but I do have a decent base of knowledge and I love working it into my whump pieces.

The first spark of an idea I had here was the image of Eris chained up with their ribs surgically opened, with their healing factor strong enough to keep them awake and lucid during it. Super dark concept, and it only got darker as I continued to flesh it out, but... metahuman angst is just KILLER and I love leaning into that sort of anatomical, scientific style of whump.9

And you'll see that the fic is listed as inspired by a one-line prompt I was given - that's not exactly true. I was in the process of writing this fic when I received that prompt, and I decided to work it in rather than writing a whole separate piece for it. It actually had very little bearing on what I had planned for the overall fic, but it guided the softer scene at the end. Originally, I didn't have Eris quite so rattled after what happened, but I think the hesitation works. It was an intensely traumatizing situation to be in, even for them, and it opens up a bit more of that deeper emotion that we rarely see from Eris (along with how much he really trusts Rick)

I really do love writing for Eris. The combination of their healing factor and simply their view on the world makes for some fascinating whump, especially when it comes to finding that point where they can't muscle down their emotions anymore. They'll fight as much as they can, but press on the right nerve... they're just SO good for whumpy fics like that.

I've actually been working on a few different ideas for them recently: I've mainly been focusing on this three-part Corto Maltese fic, which is going well, but I also have a few oneshots in the works (including that one you came up with about Rick being used as blackmail for Eris in a meta fighting ring)... and they're all pretty angsty >:)

Thank you so much for the ask!! <3 <3 <3

[godstaff]

It's a kind of magic...

This is a topic I touched some time ago, but it's still happening and is still bothering me: Everything human heroes do is perfectly natural. Everything metahumans do need to be explained scientifically.

Batso, like Cyrano, can beat 100 opponents at once because he practice a shit ton of martial arts. No questions asked. This is so. Period.

Green Arrow can place an arrow in the asshole of a cockroach a 100 yards away. Okay, he's an artist with the bow. He was alone on a desert island an practiced a lot. Cool.

Superman flies. How the hell can Superman fly???? Well, he manipulates gravity forces and such...yeah. But how can he change directions so fast? He manipulates gravity very fast, even in deep space, where gravity is so thin, you must go near a solar system to feel some. But...how???

Bullets bounce out of his chest. His body is as hard as steel. Better yet: he projects an energy field about one inch around his body which deflects the bullets, that's why his clothes are unharm...or his clothes are indestructible...or something...

How??

How??

But...how???

It never ends. It's a kind of magic.

For humans doing the impossible is like breakfast: happens every day. It just is.

For Supers it's like going to the Moon: there has to be an explanation, a reason why this is so.

Iron man has metal shrapnels inserted milimeters from his hart. He parties, drinks, fights, has sex. No problem. Business as usual. Batso has his entire body scarred and sewed together like a map. It only bothers him when he laughs. No biggy. Nothing too severe.

Superman catches a tiny fragment of Kryptonite in his torso, every human around him must carry his fainted body to the nearest meta medical emergency facility before he dies.

I know it is to celebrate the immense resilience of the human condition...but, how about extend the same courtesy to the metas and aliens?

In the end, all explanations reach a loop. A neverending circle where How and Why are repeating incesantly ad infinitum, like Pi. Then writers, exhausted their meager imagination, conclude shouting "It just is!" in annoyance. Then why didn't you say that earlier, instead of the scavenger hunt for explanations, one more idiotic than the other. (it must be said that scientists stil have supercomputers working 24/7 on Pi, it must be the same sentiment).

DC went so far as to post a book, supposedly written by Batso, called "Anatomy of a Metehuman", which offers little or none answers to the big "how" and "why". It just complicates matters. For a price.

Basically, don't look for answers there. It's a waste of your hard earned money and your precious time.

Interesting thing is: in spite considering Superman a different species than us all together, he still has sex and reproduces with a human...sort of.

Like in the fifties Sci Fi movies, where aliens abducted women to procreate.

No so different after all.

Guys...

Just admit it's a kind of magic and everybody happy. Stop digging for plausible explanations that don't exist.

Remember in the "Golden Age" of comics when couples got married and children magically appeared from the woodwork? No questions asked.

Let's leave it at that. The better answer is always the simpler one. Specially in literature.

[batmannotes]

Explore over eighty years of Batman history in this updated official edition featuring a wealth of new content, including a new chapter on acclaimed feature film The Batman.

Full video review below:

Featuring two new chapters and content from the new feature film The Batman, this updated volume tells the complete story of Batman and his many guises throughout the years. Since his 1939 debut in the pages of Detective Comics, Batman has become an icon, instantly recognizable the world over. Yet, despite being known to millions, Gotham City’s Guardian has been interpreted in so many radically different ways that we all now have our own Batman. To some he’s the colorful Caped Crusader who dispatches villains with a POW! To others he’s the grim Dark Knight hell-bent on avenging the death of his parents. And to others still he’s made of LEGO, has great abs, and likes to eat lobster thermidor!

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Language ‏ : ‎ English

Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 440 pages

ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1647228964

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1647228965

Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 7.5 pounds

Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.25 x 2 x 12.75 inches

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[greatwyrmgold]

Powers can serve many purposes in a narrative. That sentence is my excuse to stick three unrelated half-baked setting ideas in the same blog post.

Powers As Disability

First, an alternate history. Sometime in the 20th centuer, beings of unfathomable power and motivation fought over Amalthea (one of Jupiter's moons); one absconded with the moon, with the others either pursuing it out of the Solar System or slinking away.

Their battle devastated that corner of the Solar System, but luckily Earth wasn't too close. But it didn't get away completely unscathed. The Great Old One equivalent of a piece of bloody shrapnel crashed into the Moon, leading to fragments of eldritch something orbiting around the Earth-Moon system and frequently falling into the atmosphere. And when those fragments come into contact with humans, bad things happen.

Luckily, those bad things can be contained. You know those "man in a can" metahumans, who either have superpowers that would be wildly destructive if they weren't contained in cool power armor or have weird anatomy/construction/physics that would lead to them being killed/dispersed if they weren't contained in cool power armor? In this setting, every superhero is one of those.

The cans are patented by Giger LLC [working title], a company built on the backs of several eldritch patents. It sells containment suits to people who need them, for a rather high price, which your health insurance probably won't cover. If you aren't independently wealthy, you basically need to work for Giger, using your powers for their benefit.

Maybe they plug you into some generator or assembly line, capitalizing on your powers in a very direct way. But if you're cool and photogenic enough, you might get to join the Giger Squad [working title], a superhero team Giger maintains to fight all the other nasty results of eldritch alien bits (partly for dibs on studying whatever's leftover, mostly for PR).

These powers are a pretty direct stand-in for disability. They prevent you from living a "normal" life, and while treatment is available, the people who provide it know they can charge through the nose for it. And that's shitty! I've got a sort of half-formed plot bunny about some of the metapeople abused by Giger LLC discovering a way to survive without the containment suits.

Powers As Resource

Second, we have a fantasy world, ruled by a coalition of god-monarchs. Long ago, titans roamed the earth. The gods slew the titans and took their hearts, gaining immortality and immense power in the process. The titans' other potent body parts were turned into divine artifacts or used to reward retainers with lesser powers.

But the titans are long dead. The discarded titan entrails have empowered a new generation of lesser magical creatures, who are being harvested in turn to feed the kingdoms' hunger for magic and magic items.

The powers in this setting are resources—a workable allegory for both finite natural resources, and possibly the economic/social capital that the people controlling such resources can consolidate.

Powers As Cool Thing

Finally, the least-formed setting of all. Really, it's just a few cities and a few ideas for how I could justify their existence.

Basically, it's a post-apocalyptic or otherwise perilous world, where most ordinary people have to live in great cities protected by an absurdly powerful superhuman, or at least close enough to one that they can shelter there if need be. These cities include:

A floating city, held aloft as one of the many things its telekinetic leader does to keep it running.

An undersea city, kept warm and aerated and relatively dry by its leader's incredible elemental powers.

A city of lights and iron, built and powered by someone with incredibly potent electromagnetic powers.

A shapeshifter. Not a city run by a shapeshifter, a shapeshifter who has turned himself into a city-sized and city-shaped form. Lots of public transit, which is basically just him shapeshifting train-car-sized pockets of himself around his body.

And other high-concept city ideas. I've considered a few ways to incorporate these powers into a story's themes, but their primary purpose is just being a cool thing. Sometimes, that's enough.

[morallygreysimp]

THE FLASH…II

CHAPTER NINE: PROGENY

TW: mention of grave injuries, anxiety and panic attacks, blood, violence, paralysis and weapons

The red, flickering light was giving Barry a headache. And loud noise was worsening it. The collected façade he had put on crumbled as the rapid beeping of the monitor next to him melted in with sound of the alarm, creating a strident and discordant cacophony.

His heart was hammering against his ribs, preventing his lungs from inhaling the needed amount of air. Barry could feel his entire body vibrate with anxiety. Every muscle, every bone, every single cell that composed his anatomy was palpitating. Barry felt small yet powerful shocks of electricity travel from a finger to another, as he clenched his jaw so hard that he could hear his teeth scraping against one another.

Barry knew what it meant, the siren and the scarlet light. He knew it too well. Last time it rang he ended up trapped in a hospital bed, poked by five different needles and attached to as many monitors. He was almost completely sure he couldn't feel his legs properly.

But that wasn't the source of his worry. Surprisingly.

The source of the despicable feeling itching under his skin was Oliver.

Oliver who had run out at the hideous sound.

Oliver who was currently speeding through the city's busy streets with murderous intents clouding his mind.

Oliver who was out there, risking his life for him. Because of him.

Oliver was a talented fighter. A skilled archer. He was cunning, intelligent, observant. He was a quick thinker, witty and reflective. But Zoom? Barry was used to confront metahumans. One could say he was used to confront Zoom. Sure he wasn't good at it, but he was used to it. But Zoom was fast. In all its meanings. He could reach what Barry considered impossible goals. He was cruel, malicious, villainous. He was pure evil.

Zoom was a monster.

"Cisco!"

His voice scratched its way out.

"Cisco!"

His friend barged into the room. Barry was trying to get out of the bed, clearly struggling to do so. Cisco hurried towards him with a wheelchair. He put his arm around his friend torso and rapidly transferred him to the chair. Caitlin was protesting in the background, but her words were a blur to Barry. All he could hear was the alarm and his thoughts, running almost as fast as him.

It was excruciatingly upsetting waiting by the computers. Not a red dot moving through the city's map. Not a signal from the satellite. Not a sign from the com-link. An anguished silence embraced the room. Everyone stayed immobile in their positions. Cisco's grip on the wheelchair loosened. Iris hand remained on the keyboard. Joe didn't dare to move from the doorway.

Nothing happened. It was as if time had stopped running. The world had stopped. Not ever air moved around them. Everything was frighteningly still.

The horrendous quietness squeezed Barry's lungs. He abruptly clenched the wheels of the chair and sprinted towards the desk. He not so gently shoved Iris and Caitlin away and feverishly started typing something, anything that could possibly give him a sign that Oliver was at least still alive.

Joe stepped away from the entrance and approached carefully his son. He had raised him, he had been blessed with the chance to see Barry at his highest and cursed with opportunity to console him through his lowest.

But that. That psychotic reaction. That unhinged behaviour. He had never seen him like that. Joe was pretty sure he had never witnessed anyone act like that.

"Bear" he tried to say in a calming manner.

The boy turned towards him, his eyes darted frenetically around the room as he panted heavily. He looked mad.

"Don't"

Joe had never heard Barry's voice sound do shrill and aggressive. Until then he had firmly believed Barry was incapable of such rage.

He was a traumatised kid, he had developed quite severe anger issues in high school. He had lashed out at Joe before. But never like that.

His voice had been harsh, it had dripped with fury before. But never like that. It had never been so violent, so bitter. It had never been so rabid and infuriated.

Joe wasn't given the time to react. Barry had already turned back to the screens and was once again typing incoherent numbers, hoping that would solve something.

Perhaps it did. They couldn't be sure. But something happened.

"Is that?" Caitlin mumbled to herself.

"It's impossible"

The others turned to her out of confusion.

"What?" Iris spoke for the first time since the call she made days before. Everyone turned to the young doctor.

"When" she stuttered out slowly.

"When Zoom first appeared, Cisco and I decided to upgrade the S.T.A.R labs' satellite to possibly be able to trace speedsters. We use it on Barry and of course Zoom. But"

She then paused. Caitlin was never one for dramatic, long movie-like pauses.

And it was quite obvious she wasn't starting a new habit now.

"But what Caitlin" Barry harshly commanded.

"But the speedster it has traced just now... it isn't zoom"

Barry's heart jump to his throat and then sink down to his stomach. He physically felt the blood drain from his face. For the first time after the lightning and the coma, Barry wished he wasn't gifted with that power. For the first time in over a year, Barry considered his speed a curse. Not a gift, not a casualty, a curse.

How he wished he had never gone back to his lab that night. How he desired to be that he still had one life. One simple, boring, normal life.

But he didn't. He had gone back to his lab that night. He had a second fast, dynamic, adrenaline inducing life. And he was sitting on a wheelchair in the middle of the former most important laboratories of the state, trying to suppress his anxiety while his breath shortened  for perhaps the fifth time that day.

"Bear" the soft whisper that shattered the silence forcefully pulled Barry out of his hurricane of thoughts.

"Ollie"

Barry's tried to move but he was paralysed. Quite literally.

Before he could process that, Oliver sprinted away from the door.

"There's another one" he ranted

"Another speedster. A girl. A young one, not older than 14. She- she was, I don't know, terrifying.

She appeared out of nowhere, she seemed to have history with Zoom. But he didn't. She said something like "know me yet". It was all a blur. She was incredibly quick and violent.

She called herself the flash"

The team wasn't granted the time to respond or react.

"Because I am" an orphic voice claimed. A thin, short unknown figure was leaning against the wall. The delicate features that picked under the vibrant red mask appeared slightly battered. A dried streak of dark vermillion blood stained her left nostril, melting in with the purpurin bruise under her chin.

The white and scarlet leather hugged her body like a second skin.

She had a snarky smirk plastered on her face, in great contrast with the look in her eyes. Soft, melancholic. Stunned even.

She suddenly took her mask off, moving the reddish hair out of her sight. She seemed awfully familiar. But Barry didn't know why. He couldn't recognise her. She was like a itch one can't scratch.

Then she spoke again. Voice low, almost a whisper.

"I'm Nora Queen-Allen, and I'm your daughter from 20 years in the future."

[theodorobrejafmp]

FMP - Necromancer Update 1

Starting the production period, I first focused on the playable character, the necromancer.

As base model, I sued the Unreal Engine Metahuman, which I previously customized. Because I am not using LoDs and face morphs in my project, I imported the model in Maya and deleted them, making the workflow a lot easier and manageable.

Fig.1 MetaHuman to Maya Adjusting

Once I hade my model prepared, I imported it in ZBrush to start practising sculpting the face. To have a better understanding on faces sculpting and how to add realistic details, I watched different tutorials, which I found to be very useful.

Fig.2 Sculpting Skin Detail Tutorial by J Hill

Fig,3 Skin Detail Tutorial by Outgang

In addition to the tutorials, I also gathered a more consistent base reference for head muscles and anatomy.

Fig.4 Pinterest Head Anatomy Reference

For my research and reference, I included images from multiple areas in order to have a better general idea of the muscles and proportions. On one hand I used the concept art as reference, but on the other hand I also used a variation of references from 3D sculpts, technical drawing, écorché, and real life.

Fig.5 Pinterest Body Anatomy Reference

Bibliography:

Fig.1: Unrealengine.com. Available at: https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/metahuman

Fig.2: Hill, J. (2021) Sculpting SKIN DETAILS with zbrush. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlHoIGE2Ocs

Fig.3: Outgang (2021) Handcraft better skin details in zbrush. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fe2TuSvt4PE

Fig.4,5: 200 Pose and anatomy reff ideas in 2024 (no date) Pinterest. Available at: https://ro.pinterest.com/obrejatheodor/pose-and-anatomy-reff/