#Anyways this is getting added to the list of worldbuilding now | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

skekdris · 11 months ago

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Sketch of my OC/Species graciously brought to life by @aryeonos , The Arhulian. Needless to say, a huge, six-eyed, badger-centipede is both intimidating and hard to depict visually. Thanks to Ary again for assisting me with editing and proof reading. I don't think my story could have reached this level of polish if I did not have my love to bounce it off of. <3 Down below is a short story of them meeting the Amaranthine characters by @kwillow and @chocodile . They are in for a surprising house guest, that's for sure! Seems like a good way to get a feel for a character is to put them up against some "knowns" to see how the character would react in those circumstances. Acts as a good backdrop to flesh them out from there. As for right now, I'm still 'sculpting' out a lot of the Arhulian lore and worldbuilding. Initially the story was supposed to be with Hyden, Alex, and Theo, interacting with my Arhulian character 'Niadris' - but the way things were written out and flowed - it turned out to be Alex, Theo, and Ridge instead. I really wanted Hyden to meet them in this story, but then again, Hyden being deadass asleep while all the interesting stuff happens sounds like a pretty Hyden-y thing to do. Anyways, onto the story. It's somewhat of a long read, at ~7k Words. There's a lot of character interaction, so I hope stayed close to how the three would react in such a situation!

The Visitor

It was an afternoon in middle spring - which for this area of the continent meant that if the weather was good, temperatures would rise above freezing. The cool air with the humidity of melting snow seemed pleasantly mild compared to the long, bitter winters. In the study of a large manor on the outskirts of a town called Northcrest; an older, corpulent, Rabbit with a cracked gem embedded in his forehead was gripping the sides of his hair in frustration. "A person of my mind, MY intellect should have solved this weeks - no - months ago!" Hyden snarled to himself.

"You sure you aren't just stalling for time to enjoy your little 'vacation' here?" A Bat leaning in the doorway chided.

Hyden put on a despondent look. "I am trying, Ms. Solokov. Really, in earnest. The faster I can put an end to this disaster, the faster I can rebuild my oh-so woefully maligned reputation!" He said, crumpling up another paper of scribbled equations of arcane theory, tossing it into a waste basket.

Alex wanted to retort, but it would just be another fight, another exchange of barbs like all the other times before. She rolled her eyes, then stood up to wander out of the office. "Hopefully Ridge gets back soon. I want someone I can actually talk to." She thought, returning to her room to take stock of her things.

Hours later, as the sun was setting - casting the hillsides in an amber glow, a brawny teal Shark bundled in a heavy coat returned. In both of his arms were large crates, as well as canvas bags hooked around his arms. The door was opened by a short, roundish fancy Rat. "Oh, do make sure you remove your filthy boots at the entryway, I don't want any melting slush being tracked all over my estate." They sneered in their shrill voice.

"Yes, of course Theo. I wouldn't want to sully your pristine hardwood floors." Ridge responded dryly. Before the Rat could retort, the large Shark added. "Anyways, here's everything you had on your shopping list, these supplies should keep us stocked for a few weeks before another trip." Preemptively cutting off Theo again, Ridge blurted out: "Oh, and I trust 'ya have the perfect spot to put everything. I wouldn't want to scramble 'yer pantry, after all."

Theo scowled at the bulky outsider, their constant pokes and attempts at wit got under his skin. He knows Ridge was trying to get out of putting away the groceries after a long walk - but he was also right. "Yes, of course. As the sole keeper of this venerable estate, it is my duty to tend to all it's functions, right down to it's inventory." Theo stated. There would have been more words to shoot back, but Theo's duty as a host kept him from slipping any further into banter with his guest.

After dropping off the groceries for Theo to tend to, Ridge went off to search for alex. The manor contained more rooms and floors than any “house” he had ever set foot in. It irritated Ridge to no end that the little rich Rat insisted that the doors remain closed at all times, so he had to peek into half a dozen rooms and three closets before finding the reading room his friend was residing in. The weary Shark entered, flopping down on a chair; glad to be able to finally sit down on something soft and cushy after his trek. Alex smiled, welcoming him. "Your shopping trip took a long time Ridge, I know he asked you to grab a lot. Is everything alright?" The Bat queried.

Ridge sighed. "Yea... well maybe. Just some things 'goin on." He added before continuing. "I know you don't get out much since you 'gotta keep an eye on them two, so I figured I'd go around town and pick up a little news for ya. See what's happening. There's been talk of some strange things going on. Livestock vanishing, hunting season has been looking a little sparse, and strange tracks out in the snow. People said they look like ski pole marks, I dunno what to make of it, I figured you uh - you have gotten out more than I have, so you'd have an idea."

Alex frowned. "Well, unless we are dealing with a roaming pack of wolves with skis, it's probably another one of those magic, twisted monsters that appeared ever since this whole catastrophe began." Alex sighed, rolling her eyes. "Yet another thing I ought to give that fat Rabbit a piece of my mind about." She said, her voice lowering, oozing with contempt.

Ridge gave Alex a concerned look. "Yeah, well, if it was just that, that wouda have been one thing. But I saw those funny tracks near the path to the mansion... I don't have a good feeling about this."

Alex nodded. "I see. As much as I want to see that guiltless loaf ripped apart and eaten like cheap, stale bread by the very monsters he's created; we need him. I'll keep my eyes and ears out for anything strange." The following nights were uneasy for Alex. Each night, she'd take station and perch herself on one of the roofs accessible via a second story window, scanning the horizon for activity. Her large ears would catch whispers of something roaming in the distance, but she never could locate the source of the sound or what direction it was coming from. It always vanished just as she felt like she was homing in on her target.

She felt an uneasy tingle in her veins as her frustration mounted. If it was just wildlife, or even a monster, she surely should have spotted something by now. "Is anything really out there?" She thought to herself. After another uneventful evening watch, Alex swallowed her worries long enough to get some rest. She already has Hyden to keep watch over, she doesn't need whatever this is stealing her attention.

During the late evening; an hour past midnight, the manor was quiet, save for the crackle of the evening fireplace, as well as the stirring of but a single person; Theo. Between his duties as host, the sole caretaker for an entire servant-less manor, as well as his intense suspicion of everybody - save for his living historical idol Hyden - Theo was often the last person to go to bed, and the first to rise. This truncated sleep schedule, the bags under his eyes; they were merely the cost of business to keep everything in order. During the final rounds of his estate, a knock came from the door just as theo entered the foyer. The ears of the diminutive Rat twitched, his shoulders jerking at the sound of the knocking, which in the dead of night was as clear as his crystal wine glasses.

Tap tap tap. Another knock came. Theos' ears were not deceiving him. "Who in their right mind would visit at this godsforsaken hour?" Theo thought to themselves. This was abnormal. Tap tap tap. He rarely had visitors, ever. Let alone at a time like this. As he neared the door, he hesitated. The magical crystal embedded in his left hand felt strangely warm, and his hand was flush with blood flow. This was never a sensation he had experienced before - something was off. Tap tap tap. Before Theo could ponder any further, the fancy Rat scrunched his nose and bared a snarl as they heard more knocking pickaxing through his inner monologue. Whatever was going on, it was a terribly rude hour to be disturbing anybody, let alone him. Arming himself with some choice verbal barbs for his unwanted visitor, Theo opened the door.

As the door swung open, he was greeted by a silhouette of something massive - even taller than Hyden - though much of it's form was obscured by the evening darkness and their ebony fur, but what could be seen was not the body of a person. It was of some kind of beast. The fuzzy forelimbs of this creature ended in large, gently curved, off-white spikes, similar to that of a praying insect that Theo had only seen depicted in a historical encyclopedia. He looked up; his eyes met with the pairs it had on their badger-like head. The creature's triangular ears flicked, then it looked down at the Rat; the creature's three pairs of eyes were arranged above one right after the other - like the pips of the six side of a die. The eyes were pure black, save for the iris that shone like a purple ring in the light of the lantern. The words Theo had prepared found themselves lodged in his throat.

Aghast, the fancy Rat stumbled backwards, but his heel snagged on the edge of a floor rug, causing the Rat to land on his posterior, painfully pinching his tail. "Eek! M-monster... Gnnnk! Demon! Hng Aberration!" Theo exclaimed in a shrill voice as his rapid breathing caused him to fumble over his own words. He wanted to call out for help, to Hyden; even to the outsider, Alex. But he could not utter anything beyond sharp gasps as his breathing went to disarray.

The imposing creature looked at the panicked Rat and spoke to them. "Oh? Is that so? Would a monster choose knocking over divorcing your door from its frame?" The creature's voice was deep, coarse, and multitudinous as if three separate beings were speaking in unison. The creature remained in the doorway, peering at the quaking Rat, examining them and their actions closely. All six eyes were locked onto Theo, and the gaze made his fur stand on end. Theo already hated being stared at by just one pair of eyes.

Theo sat on the floor, his whole body feeling flushed and trembling from his pounding heart. That thing had just spoken to him. In fluent dialect no less! Theo had heard of monsters before, but never an intelligent one - let alone one capable of speech. Something about this creature disturbed him to his core. His mind raced at kilometers a minute trying to process just what he was witnessing.

The creature's lips tensed as if it were about to speak; but then it stopped, before looking to its left. "It seems your sentry has been roused." The creature spoke aloud.

"Ess... Sentry?" Theo questioned. Then it clicked; it was referring to Alex. She always kept watch. How did they know about her? "Was this thing spying on us?" Theo exclaimed in his mind. The Rat felt dread bubbling up within him.

In one of the manor's guest rooms, Alex was sleeping. The tension of the last few nights had made deep sleep an impossibility. Thus, when the sound of Theo's raised voice came from downstairs, it was enough to wake her. She rubbed her eyes as she rose from the bed. "Was that Theo shout-" Her large ears flicked as they heard the sound of something unearthly and her fur stood on end. Without any further thought, her body reacted and she grabbed her hunting rifle, sprinting to the location of the sound. Fortunately, her eyes were fully adjusted for the night, and she made it to the foyer without a stumble despite her scramble.

She sprang into the foyer, stopping herself with the guard rail of the grand staircase. Alex laid eyes on the huge beast in the doorway, it's six met with hers. Alex was prepared to shoot, but the violet irises of the beast were staring right at her the instant she rounded the corner into the foyer; as if it already knew she was going to be there. The sight made her freeze. "Theo! What in the hells is that!?" Alex exclaimed.

"A monster!" Theo shouted.

"A visitor." The creature stated, it's baritone, stentorian voice matching Theos' shouting in volume.

No longer half asleep with no obstructing walls to deaden the sound, Alex heard the creature's course, multitoned voice clearly. "Did that thing... just speak?" She said aloud.

Before either Theo or Alex could interject, the creature filling the doorway spoke to the two startled people in the foyer of the manor. "Yes. I did. Your language is relatively simple compared to my native tongue." The beast stated flatly.

"Meh Ms. Solokov! It's egk dangerous! It's bee been spying on us!" Theo said, his chest still struggling to steady itself.

Alex kept her rifle leveled at the beast in the doorway. She wasn't sure if Theo was speaking the truth, or was just in shock. "Okay, who and what the hell are you?" The Bat said, keeping her focus on the creature.

They replied. "I am Niadris. I am what your tongue would call... an Arhulian."

Alex looked at Theo in bewilderment. Theo glanced back at the Bat. "Are-rule-lee-an?" Theo said aloud, sounding out the word by each syllable. "In all my eghk studies. I've never heard of such a species!" Theo said. The Rat's eyes glanced back to the creature in the door with fear and revulsion. "More like 'arhulian'." Theo muttered under his breath. One of the Arhulian's pairs of eyes shifted it's gaze back to the Rat.

"After knocking on your door and introducing myself, you suggest that I am a feral beast?" Niadris queried, in their deep, hellish voice causing the Rat's fur to stand on end as they swallowed nervously. The 'Arhulian' did not just speak their language, but had an advanced understanding of their grammatical structure. The implications of this rattled Theo as he shuffled back to get further away from this creature.

Alex took a deep breath as she maintained composure, interjecting before the situation escalated any further. "Alright, 'Niadris', why are you here? Theo said you were spying on us." She questioned, her rifle planted firmly in the direction of the unplanned visitor. The Arhulian was unfettered by her brandishing a gun right at them. Did it really not know what a gun was, or worse - did it not care?

"Spying? Given that your kind have responded to me with either fear or hostility on sight, I must carefully select when I reveal myself and to whom. It is no act of subterfuge. It is a necessity. Even now; you have your armament at-the-ready just from me knocking on your door and speaking to you. I wanted to speak to an individual, then have them inform the rest of my presence. Do you really imagine this going any better if I had been more bold in my approach? Depicting myself as non-threatening would be an order of magnitude harder with gunshot wounds." Niadris snorted, all three pairs flicking their gaze to Alex before one of them returned to Theo. The multiple pairs of eyes looking in different directions at the same time perturbed them both.

"I eghk do agree that your appearance ehm elicits revuls-" A second pair of eyes locked onto him again. " -ghn a response." Theo said, catching himself. The Arhulian did not speak a word, yet the message was clear; it tore Theo up on the inside to even dare admit, but so far this 'visitor' has shown themselves to be quite capable of not letting verbal barbs go unnoticed.

Alex lowered her rifle, still keeping both hands on it. "I suppose that's... a pretty good point actually." She sighed. "But still, why are you here?"

Niadris spoke calmly. "We share a common enemy. Despite my imposing stature and prowess, physical might is all but meaningless against a foe that subsumes and absorbs all flesh that it touches." Alex's eyes widened as the creature continued explaining. "All my strength and ability are merely tools to avoid becoming a hearty meal in the wake of such a lurid foe." Both Theo and Alex became less defensive as Niadris continued. "...It is a terrible entity that digests without need or moderation. It is a blight upon this world."

Alex and Theo knowingly looked at each other.

"Yeah. We call it the Shadow." Alex said. Her mind feeling a slight amount of guilt over her hostility, her rifle lowered completely.

"Hrm Yes. In that regard we do have a commonality..." Theo relented, stopping before adding too much.

The fancy Rat composed himself enough to stand back up, and brush himself off. "So, that brings us to the matter at hand. How did you find out about our mission? I don't think anyone would have snrk told you about Rising Dawn."

The Arhulian stared with no reaction. "Rising Dawn? Is that a title?" They paused before adding: "No, I sensed that this place had an anomalous aura, so I studied you from afar before approaching."

Theo raised an eyebrow. "What is this urgh 'aura' you speak of? What do you mean by sense?" He asked, his voice dripping in incredulity.

"My kind - Arhulians - have a 7th sense if you will. We can see the 'aura' of living things." Niadris explained. "This place caught my attention because I observed a strange aura much further than I would normally be able to; I was at the crooked sign above the red roofed well when the aura became detectable to me. My normal range is about three-fifths of that."

Theo and Alex raised both their eyebrows. "That's half a kilometer!" They both exclaimed in their minds.

"As I approached and could resolve things in detail, I noticed five distinct auras." Niadris raised their scythe-like forelimb and pointed in various directions. "Two crimson auras; one that luminesces brightly." Niadris pointed to Theo before continuing. "Crimson auras? Is it referring to our catalyst stones?" Theo thought to himself as the creature explained. The Rat was still skeptical, as him being a witch was public knowledge after all. As the Arhulian continued narrating, they mentioned: "The second crimson aura seems faint - as if it were hibernating or asleep." Theo's face twitched in shock as the creature pointed to the direction of the room Hyden was currently residing in - an interior room with no visibility from the outside, nevermind the fact Hyden's presence was supposed to be hidden. Niadris, still speaking: "Then there are two mundane auras - one of them with a notable a tendency to perch from a defensive vantage point." The Arhulian stated, pointing their bone-tipped forelimb to Alex.

"Is that how he snuck past me? He knew I was on watch and avoided me?" Alex pondered.

"Then lastly, the fifth aura. A writhing, squirming mass of discordant signals, that seethe and roil like water itself harboring anger, yet cannot move freely. As if it were sealed away." Niadris pointed in the direction of where the shadow sample was.

Alex and Theo were at a loss for words. There was no way this thing could have such intricate knowledge of Theo's manor without ever having set "foot" inside.

Before either could speak up, the Arhulian spoke again. "Another one of your kind has roused. It is the other mundane aura, and a voluminous one at that. They are to the northeast, and heading in this direction. Could you inform them of my presence before another outburst happens?" Niadris asked with a dry tone.

Alex was stunned in disbelief. They must be talking about Ridge!

Theo butted into the conversation: "I'm not sure what kind of feh fool you take me for, but I highly doubt you really have such a fantastical ability. Really, you can 'see' us through solid walls?" Theo's mind was a whirlpool of doubt and skepticism. The creature's claims seemed too extraordinary to be true. Theo was not sure how, but it has to be some sort of ruse! In the depths of the Rat's mind, the idea of this creature being able to observe him constantly, undetected was a soul-chilling prospect that fundamentally violated his privacy. It has to be a ruse.

"Yes." Niadris bluntly responded.

"Hmph Well, it was a cunning deception, but I'll have you know, our guest is residing in the southwest portion of my manor. And even if they were where you claimed to be, you aren't even looking in that direction..." Theo scoffed. As he was monologuing, the Bat's large ears flicked as she picked up the sounds of footsteps... coming from the northeast.

Niadris did not care to let the Rat finish before speaking, their baritone, multitudinous voice overpowering the Rats' in the conversation. "You have previously admitted to having no information about my species, yet you are presuming knowledge of my capabilities?"

Theo was incensed at being interrupted. "How dar-"

Ridge entered the foyer, scratching his back with a pillow in the other hand. "Hey, uh, is there a barbershop trio here, who are you talki-" The large Shark froze in place as his eyes met with the strange, badger-like creature filling the doorway. "Ah! uh! What in the goddamn...?!" Ridge dropped his pillow and adopted a boxing pose as best they could as their limbs still felt heavy from their evening nap. The Arhulian's eyes devoted a pair to focus on each individual in the foyer.

"Calm down, Ridge! This thing isn't... being dangerous. It wanted to talk to us." Alex blurted out with as much composure as she could muster.

Theo's face was flush as he exclaimed. "What are you doing there? Your room is on the other side of the manor!" The Rat's entire body tingled as any shred of doubt he could summon was scalded away by the unfolding situation.

The muscular teal Shark stammered, as so much was happening all at once for him. "Uh, well, I wandered around and dozed off in one of the book rooms. I got up because it was cold, then I heard this guy... thing?" Ridge said, glancing at Niadris, reluctantly dropping their boxing pose and grabbing their pillow.

"Well, at the very least, Niadris isn't lying to us." Alex said exasperated. Though she too, had her doubts about this 'visitor', she did not appreciate Theo antagonizing them openly. Theo glared at her. So far the Rat has shown hospitality to the outsider, but this jab from her really rubbed him the wrong way. In the uncomfortable silence of the foyer that was now getting cold due to the door still being open, Alex's mind sparked with an idea. "Wait a minute. Your special 'sense' is omnidirectional? And it works through stuff?" The Bat thought aloud, raising her voice as her ideas congealed before her. "You mentioned exactly where our sample of the Shadow was earlier too... Theo! They can detect the Shadow long before any of us can see it coming! Don't you realize how insanely useful that could be?"

The fancy Rat stammered as they choked on the shreds of their ego. "Hhhhnngh I'll... take that into consideration... Eugh if we are going to board this creature. I just hope it's civilized enough to behave as a guest." Theo sneered.

The Arhulian made a grin, showing off their sharp, carnivorous fangs to the Rat, as well as the deep plum hue of their interior flesh. "Considering your kind have reacted negatively to my being - often with violence - my exposure to 'civilization' has been quite limited. If my lack of knowledge bothers you so greatly, perhaps you could take some time to elucidate on the matter of guest-hood~" Niadris smirked.

"Grrrr... Perhaps I will." Theo scoffed. “But I hope you know, we do not have the culinary erk inventory for something of your dietary needs.” Niadris nodded. “I am more than capable of procuring my own food, so you will not have to worry about my nutrition. In fact, I had eaten a deer a few days prior. I should be satiated for several days at least.” The fancy Rat raised an eyebrow. “You have, egh ‘eaten’ ’a’ deer? I think your grammar is a touch underdeveloped. Don’t you mean you caught a deer? hmph What did you do? Swallow it whole?” Theo sarcastically remarked. “I had to break off those meddlesome antlers, but yes, I devoured it whole.” The Arhulian responded nonchalantly. The foyer was stunned. “A-an entire deer?” Alex said incredulously. Theo’s face contorted with disgust. The thought of a creature this size ingesting prey whole - and possibly alive - summoned dreadful imagery in his mind. “So… that would uh... ‘splain the missing animals without a trace. Heh, we thought that was the Shadow ‘fer a moment there.” Ridge chuckled nervously. Theo did not relish being in the room with this lurid creature any longer than he had to. He turned up his scrunched nose before walking off. He was ready for this evening to end. “As I was stating; ehm your first lesson on etiquette will be on closing the door. You're letting all the warm air escape!" Theo spoke as he slinked to the other room, pulling out a cigarette and a lighter from his suit pocket, needing something to take the edge off. As he puffed on his cigarette, the tingling in his hand faded.

Niadris scuttled forward into the foyer, bowing their head to ensure they cleared the door. As the Arhulian entered, their full figure and size was apparent to Alex, Ridge, and a distant Theo peeking from a doorway. Though superficially resembling a badger from the neck up, from the neck down; the Arhulian had a long, Myriapodic form with six pairs of pointed, centipede-like legs. The limbs started off fleshy, covered in fur, then transitioned to softly curved limb spikes that were off-white in color, like bone or horn after the third joint. The Arhulian's body was long and arranged like that of a large, furry millipede or caterpillar, albeit with no segments. Despite their body arrangement, the Arhulian was mammalian - bone clad in flesh - yet clearly centipede-like in their silhouette and locomotion. Niadris closed the door with a light slap of their long, tapered, heavy tail.

"Holy shit. That's... not somethin' you see everyday." A tired Ridge said, not entirely sure if they were still dreaming or not.

Alex looked at Niadris and saw that they had the strap of what appeared to be some kind of homemade rucksack across their chest as their only article of clothing. "Yeah, I was about to ask about the lack of clothes... but I guess there's nothing in your size." She remarked lightheartedly, trying to break the tension in the air.

"No. There is not. My metabolism can vary to maintain body heat relative to the environment, so clothes would be unnecessary. In addition, they would both limit my range of movement, and be unlikely to hold up to the kind of abuses my hide experiences." Niadris responded earnestly.

The teal Shark spoke up once there was a gap in the conversation. "So, uh... How do I say this? I don't see nothin' down there, and yet your voice is deeper than an Ironfrost coal mine. What are ya? A guy or girl?" The Shark asked.

Alex's face went wide with shock before scrunching back down into a glare at the Shark. "Ridge! That's terribly rude to just go and ask someone a thing like that!"

Niadris interjected. "There is no need to chide him. It is a perfectly legitimate question. After all, that den keeper did state there appears to be no documentation whatsoever of my kind in their knowledge base - and given the encounters I have had - neither do the rest of your kind for that matter. To answer the first question, my reproductive organs are housed internally to protect them from the rigors of life. Likewise, the answer to the latter question is that your binary terms are insufficient to describe me. Arhulians possess both the ability to fertilize a mate, and sire children. We are hermaphroditic." Niadris explained. "Your language is... limited in expressing my form, so gender neutral terms will be adequate."

Ridge's face was flush with embarrassment as he realized how personal and blunt his question was. "So yeah, on that... if 'yer talkin' about mates; doesn't that mean there are more of 'you' out there?" The shark said sheepishly, trying to adjust the course of the conversation away from his prying faux pas. He clutched his borrowed pillow tightly. Talking to this thing still seemed like a surreal dream to him.

The Arhulian was silent for several seconds. Up until now, they had been immediate to respond to questions. Alex and Ridge glanced at each other. "My kind are not native to this land. In addition, I have traveled a substantial distance. It is highly unlikely you will encounter another Arhulian." Niadris stated, with a briskness to their voice.

Alex looked down at Ridge from the second floor and gave Ridge a gesture to "Cut it out." Ridge gave a small nod. Alex sighed. "Well, it's safe to say your arrival has been quite a surprise. I think we all should get some rest and continue your introduction properly tomorrow." The Bat said, waving her arm for Ridge to come over to her.

Ridge added: "Oh, uh, I don't think we have any beds that'd fit you. 'Fer now you'll have to stay in the reading room I was in. Theo's got a big cushy rug in there. The fire is dyin' down, but I'm sure it's better than out there, heh.``

Niadris gave an acknowledging nod while their triangular ears perked up. They then pointed in the direction of the room Ridge came from with their uppermost arms, that had regular - albeit large, clawed - hands instead of a fang-shaped spike like the rest of their limbs. The shark raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, uh, how do ya know what room I came from?" Ridge asked, confused.

Alex sighed and rolled her eyes. "Yeah... I'll explain that in a minute, Ridge. I think Niadris here wants some space, they need a moment to relax after the 'welcome' we gave them." She said, physically pushing on the Shark to usher them out of the foyer.

It was true that they wanted to be left alone. Niadris had little experience dealing with people. They felt exhausted having to keep their composure on total lockdown to appear as non-threatening as possible. Niadris was eager to find this "reading room" Ridge had mentioned. Spatially, they knew exactly where it was based on the Shark's location in their mindsphere. On the other hand, their mindsphere did not consider walls, thus the Arhulian had to take a few moments to figure out how to navigate the interior of the manor to the reading room.

Despite their size and bulk, the sound of the Arhulian's centipede-like legs scuttling across the floor were much quieter than one would anticipate. Niadris made it a point to take light steps, and maneuver on rugs and carpets to minimize sound. Not out of etiquette, but as a means to hone their stealth. Never before Niadris had such an opportunity to interact and maneuver around people in close proximity in a safe environment.

The Arhulian noted a single aura tailing him; it was the bright, crimson one of Theo. Not desiring further drama, Niadris elected to ignore the Rat's presence as they made their way to the "reading room" Ridge had spoken of. The comforts of fire and shelter were secondary to the Arhulian; what had piqued their interest was the very title of the room itself. Alex and Ridge were returning to their rooms, trying to process the evening's events. "They were... quite the visitor." Ridge said, his tone unsure. Alex looked down at the floor as she walked. "Yeah. Something about them makes my fur stand on end. It's like a creeping feeling going up my back." The tall Shark looked down at his troubled friend. "Are... are ya afraid? They give me the creeps somethin' fierce too." The Bat exhaled. " I... I don't know Ridge. I had my gun pointed right at their head, but they were unfazed. Niadris seemed to know what guns are, yet they treated me like an afterthought. They don't seem dumb either; they gave Theo a good run for their money in a debate. So either they got a damn good poker face, or... this 'Arhulian' might be even tougher than it looks." Alex trailed on, the confidence in her voice gone now that she was in private with the one person here she could truly consider her friend. "...I'm a soldier. A hunter. I've had scraps with big game, I've fought people bigger than me. Even gave ol' lard chops a bloody face." Alex said, referencing her brawl with Hyden. "But that creature, it isn't like anything my training could have prepared me for. I don't fancy getting into a fight with them." Ridge scratched his fin. "So, was letting 'em in really a good idea?" "Personally, I think their alibi passed the sniff test. They could have attacked any time and hit us when we couldn't see it coming. If they wanted to make a move, I'm pretty sure they wouldn't be playing mind games like a certain someone I know. We have that going for us at least." Alex paused. "Even so, I feel like they aren't telling us everything." Ridge nodded. As they reached their bedrooms, the two parted ways, then closed the doors to their rooms.

In the other portion of the manor, the Arhulian arrived at the reading room; their three pairs of eyes widened in delight. Wall to wall shelves lined with books! Niadris had very limited experience with books from their fleeting encounters - or spoils - from outsiders. Most of those books contained relatively uninteresting data like logs or journals, or completely fictitious tales. Here however, had an assortment of books on a large variety of subjects and organized quite neatly. The Arhulian removed their handcrafted backpack and pulled something out. It was a thick leather-bound book. It was plainly covered, with the sole word "Dictionary" for the title.

Niadris' chest seemed to squirm and writhe all on its own, followed by the faintest of popping and cracking of stiff joints. With a sound of flesh being pulled taught, numerous pairs of spindly arms came slinking out from in between the creature's ribs on the sides of their chest! These arms were very thin; near-skeletal in appearance. The hands on them were clawless, and consisted of three vaguely conical digits - two fingers, one thumb. These limbs were much slower and deliberate in their movements, and the leathery skin they had was a very deep plum color, almost black. In their travels, Niadris had quickly learned that the pages of books often were too delicate for their stronger, clawed, "normal" arms.

After tenderly putting away their dictionary, the creature's three pairs of eyes darted all across the room, scanning the spines of each book for topics of interest. The low-light conditions of the dying fire was more than enough for the Arhulian to discern the titles. Then, the Arhulian scuttled across the perimeter of the room, picking out a dozen books before returning to the center of the reading room by the smoldering fireplace. The huge, badger-centipede-like being then rested their long form on the floor, their body and abdomen landing on the carpet with a plompf. Niadris laid out three books with the covers open, while each pair of eyes scanned it's own book.

Theo had been quietly observing the beast from a hidden spot in another room through a peephole; and totally-not-a-hole that he had not gotten around to patching yet. The Rat monitored them carefully, shuddering at the sight of the numerous lanky arms protruding from the Arhulian's chest, and those arms touching his books. Yet, his attention was stolen when he witnessed this creature reading three books at a time! Was this creature really that capable of absorbing knowledge? Then, another thought crept into his mind. "Wait, who taught them to read in the first place?" As his mind contemplated, Theo's eyes widened when the creature looked up, and peered straight at him. Eye to eye contact, as if the wall parting them was not even there. Niadris gestured "come over here" with one of their their large, scythe-like forelimbs that were mounted below their exterior arms. Theo ducked down from the footstool he was standing on - nearly falling off in the process - then he covered his face in embarrassment. It seemed like there really was no hiding from this damned creature.

Letting out a sigh, Theo came to the reading room. The warm tingling sensation in his left hand returned. Was his catalyst stone reacting to this creature? The fancy Rat took slow, cautious steps forward. "It is remarkable. A wealth of knowledge at my fingertips." Niadris spoke aloud. They continued. "For so many years, I had to learn matters in direct fashion. I knew your kind stored information on physical documents, but I never could have imagined this place being lined to the ceiling with this treasure." When Theo was up close to Niadris, and composed enough to listen clearly, the Arhulians stentorian voice seemed to be composed of multiple octaves speaking in perfect unison. The scholarly Rat recalled the Arhulians' comment on their native language... “If the multiple octaves can be modulated separately, the grammar of this species could be phenomenally intricate!” However, Theo had more pressing things on his mind than appealing to his inner linguist, and set aside that tangent in his mind for later. The voice had strong projection, and the beast seemed to be making a concerted effort to whisper - which was speaking volume to Theo’s delicate ears.

Theo initially had some words for the Arhulian prepared, but the "treasure" comment gave him pause. The Rat stood there in silence for several minutes as the Arhulian continued reading what appeared to be volumes from an encyclopedia series, watching their thin ribcage arms turn the pages of each book. The hands were slow, deliberate, and delicate. Near by was a cloth that seemed to have been borrowed to wipe the oils from the creature's hands before interacting with his books. The rat let out a swift, small exhale. This monster treated his things better than some people he's hosted. Theo then spoke up. "At least someone else besides His Grace sees my library for what it is, and not eguh ornamentation. Though, I am surprised you would have any academic interest at all." Theo's words trailed on. Niadris shot a glance at him. "However, I presume it is not a completely irrational observation; a thing like you just can't sceh scuttle into a library. Which begs the question at hand, just who would teach you to read?"

The Arhulian paused, before giving Theo their full attention. "I... am not sure." They responded.

"What." Theo said, the word seemingly having spilled out of his mouth in disbelief. "What do you mean you don't know? How ek! How is that even a facsimile of an answer!? Didn't your moth-er well, parents teach you?" Theo said, his voice raised in frustration.

Niadris explained. "I do not know how I came to this knowledge. My earliest memories were of me being carried in my brood lord's abdomen. In my cradle of flesh, I would see and hear the world as they would. They would make demonstrations for me to observe as I nursed inside them. Their past memories would come to me in my dreams." As the Arhulian narrated, Theo shuddered at the prospect of being entombed alive and conscious in writhing, moist, undulating flesh from all sides. The fancy Rat took a deep breath and persisted in wading through the graphic descriptions from the beast - he wanted answers for the trouble he had gone through this evening.

Theo waited for an opening in the creature's explanation to jump in. "Your kind- urk Arhulians, have hereditary memory? If so, how is it you do not know where your knowledge came from? Perhaps a past ancestor?" Theo questioned, only half seriously.

The Arhulian shook its head in disappointment. "If only the answer was that simple. It is far more complex, and I am uncertain of the details. I will tell you what I know." Theo rubbed his brow, adjusted his glasses, and nodded. "When I dream, I see fragments of memories; but these memories are abnormal. I see... a settlement, a school, memories of a life not only not that of my ancestors, but not of my kind entirely... and our biology cannot interbreed. That I do know."

Theo gestured for the creature to get on with it. It was unconscionably late.

"I do have one possible hypothesis. There is another way our kind can exchange memories and experience. A ritual called Arhel-vāl." The strange word was accentuated by the Arhulian's multitudinous voice. "In your tongue, the closest word to it and what it means is amalgamation. Two mature specimens of our kind, typically one larger than their partner, subsumes the other into their flesh..." Theo's stomach churned at the vexing, visceral, possibly even vulgar imagery the Arhulian had verbally illustrated to him. "...but unlike ordinary cannibalism, the subsumed being is absorbed alive, mind intact, and two, become one." Niadris described, sparing no detail, much to Theo's revulsion.

The fancy Rat's tail quaked as his analytical mind began to put together a picture his sensibilities did not want to see. "You're hnnngh suggesting you have Esss assimilated a person?" He said, his mind racing as fast as his heart. "Oh heavens! Is that why it is here? To consume our minds and seize our knowledge?!" Theo's mind screamed.

The Arhulian peered down at the Rat. "Your luminant aura is flaring and seething. Do you find this knowledge troubling?" Niadris asked. Theo looked at the beast glaring down at him, his eyes wide with terror. "I see. You imagine me as your would-be predator." The beast let out a hushed, hellish chuckle with their deep, multitudinous voice. "Worry not, Theo. The ritual of Arhel-vāl is strictly between my kind; the 'donor' in question must be of the utmost certainty in their union - lest their knowledge be torn apart in a maelstrom of panic and fear. Your kind were never even considered a possibility due to the mental fortitude required to uphold the ritual. The being that amalgamated with me - whomever they were - must have been exceptional in their conviction."

The trembling Theo swallowed. "Well, erf I suppose that is good to know. Hrf Well, if you'll excuse me, egk I need to be getting some rest.” He stammered. “It is dreadfully late. And do take care to return my books exactly as you have found them. hgn It was painstaking to order them all as I have." With an abnormal spring in their step, the fancy Rat wheeled around and left the reading room with haste.

"By the gods, what is that thing? How does it exist? And why did it show up to MY manor, of all places?" Theo cogitated. Their attempt to seek out answers seemed to have only made the question mark hovering over this mysterious creature even fatter. Theo paced around the manor, and passed by the room Hyden was sleeping in; him blissfully unaware of all that had transpired this evening. Theo raised his gloved hand, as if to knock on the door, but he stopped himself. "I can't disturb His Grace during his rest... but I must inform him of this aberrant thing as soon as I can."

Theo, anxious and jittering, sat down on a cushioned chair outside of Hyden's room, fumbling with a pack of cigarettes. Alone with his thoughts his mind began to wander; all trains of thought leading back to that enigmatic creature. A particular moment from the Arhulian’s behavior stood out to Theo. The way they retreated to the library, and found refuge in books where they were not judged for their appearance or the mannerisms that others found odd... Theo shivered as he felt what was quite possibly a degree of familiarity with this creature. He did not want to fancy such feelings. The Rat shook their head and calmed their mind enough for exhaustion to take its toll; his head bobbed down, and the unlit cigarette in his hand fell onto the floor beside him as he lapsed into sleep right in his chair. The heavyset Rabbit snoozing under their blanket on the other side of the door was the only person in the manor to have had quality sleep that evening.

#theo #alex #fanfic #verse: amaranthine #my ocs #arhulian #original species #niadris #original character #short story #furry

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utilitycaster · 9 months ago

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you got me. i binged all of midst in two days and it was great, but now i dont have a lot of other podcasts to listen to. do you have other good fiction podcasts you like?

DO I. I am not the Most Podcast Person I know but I definitely follow a lot because I drive a lot and walk a lot and put them on in the background while I do chores. Also, I'm sticking to scripted/plotted fiction here and not actual play but I can provide some actual play podcast recs too, though none are terribly obscure.

Wolf 359 is a completed podcast but a great binge. It also is science fiction and deals with capitalism and corruption and complicated characters and weird space stuff; it regularly makes the "great fiction podcasts" to check out and I think is closest to Midst in that it's also a tightly plotted work that goes to a natural end point.

I frequently talk about and recommend the Silt Verses and the thematic nature is remarkably close to Midst, but the vibe is very different. It has a lot of folk and body horror elements (audio-only, but they are absolutely present). Also covers the "man what if capitalism and religion were working explicitly in tandem" element of Midst with the added dimension of "what if there were many many gods and and they all demanded literal, physical sacrifices". Sister Carpenter is cut from a similar cloth as Lark and I love her dearly. To draw other comparisons would be to spoil it. It's on season 3, which will be its last. It is extremely intense in that when I fell behind I found it tough to binge without taking breaks, but it's really fucking good. (I also recommend this to people who like Candela Obscura, though that's more for eldritch horror vibes).

The Penumbra Podcast is great because it has two separate storylines (it was originally intended to be an anthology, but people fell in love with Juno Steel specifically). I like both, but Juno Steel is the more popular one - it's set in the future, in our solar system but in space, and follows Juno Steel, a private eye. It's extremely weird neo-noir. There is a homme fatale and a fantastic cast of characters, and it's also an interesting ongoing plot. The Second Citadel is more fantasy rather than sf though it's also kind of in that general New Weird bucket and is even harder to describe but I think it's underrated. It's also on its final season but it's been going on a while so it will take a bit for you to catch up.

Within the Wires is also a podcast I've recommended in the past. It's by the people who do Welcome to Nightvale which isn't listed here both because I assume you are aware of it, and because that's an ongoing slice of life sort of thing; there are plots but there's sort of that sitcom-esque "nothing really changes the status quo" element though the earlier era had some more structured stuff. Anyway, Within the Wires is found audio, so each season is different - the first is relaxation cassette tapes, the second museum audio guides, the third voice memos, etc. There are callbacks/connections between seasons at times, and I would recommend listening to at least the first two seasons in full (which are very strong) to get a sense of the world before hopping around later. The reason I recommend it here is because the worldbuilding is spectacularly done in a way that reminds me of the elegance of the worldbuilding in Midst, and because it's found audio, while it's one narrator per season you will get those weird asides and interesting tonal choices.

Tentative rec for Camlann, a roughly modern day post-apocalyptic take on Arthurian legends and the folklore of the British Isles only because it just started and has 3 episodes. I like it, but I don't know what plot it's building to (nor how long it will be; they have funding for one season but aren't sure about future ones.)

#answered #Anonymous

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villageoflight · 9 months ago

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Rebecca's Molded Creatures Guide - Pt 9

[The following notes are recorded in a lizard-skin bound journal always kept on the person of Rebecca, the co-leader of the Recovery Colony, for the purpose of documenting and sharing the details and record of events of the Mold infestation.]

These notes include illustrations and details regarding the Molded, creatures of our world that have been infected and/or created by the Mold. It should be noted that all creatures listed are very dangerous and should be avoided at all costs to lessen the spread of the Mold. If interaction is unavoidable, these notes will also detail how to keep oneself from getting infected - if it’s possible.

[This is, as of right now, the final page of the journal.]

Leeches

Water Leeches are mostly unchanged, though they have become known as the Batflies of the water. Like Batflies, Water Leeches have grown in size and their ferocity has increased

However, they no longer swarm to devour, but to latch on and infect

Swarms have been know to herald the approach of Leviathans, which they treat as a mobile sanctuary - latching on to absorb nutrients, hiding amongst its tentacles and fronds, and eating scraps from its meals (if there are any) that they help incapacitate

Land Leeches - also called “Worms” have also evolved and are believed to be, like Centipedes, the cause of the parasitic strain of the Mold

Like Water Leeches, Worms will attack larger prey with the intent to infect, not devour. Smaller prey is fair game, however, and they capture this prey by digging pits into the earth and waiting for unsuspecting creatures to fall in

Water Striders

These Mold growths are of an aquatic variety, infesting rivers, streams, estuaries, and any other body of water they can take root in

Striders are called as such due to their method of spreading: parts of the central cluster, usually those with a frond attached, will break away and float away to settle in a new area, where it will anchor itself and spread

More active than their land counterparts, Striders actively use their fronds to lure prey. The sacks will then expand rapidly and break into tendrils, which will wrap around prey, rendering it immobile, and then infecting it

It is believed that these Striders infected Leviathans, which they also utilize to help them spread

Unlike land Mold, the infestation is limited to these clusters and do not cause the same kind of coverage. However, the sacks do release spores into the water that will cause infection upon ingestion

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Part Five

Part Six

Part Seven

Part Eight

Part Nine

Okay and here is the last page of the creatures guide! There are a few mobs that I know I hadn't added to these lists, like bugs and worm grass and jetfish and squidcadas and snails, but honestly these were just the MAIN ones that I wanted drawn and written about. Will I ever touch on all those other ones? Maybe, maybe not. It'll depend on how I feel. Just know, for right now, that like everything else they also fall victim to the Mold and change and mutate.

I'm taking a break from Plague World for a bit, but I do have more worldbuilding stuff in the works as well as plot stuff! A future comic is in the early development stage. Don't know when it'd be done, but it WILL be done, mark my words.

Anyway, thank you all for interacting with my little crossover AU, I look forward to showing you more! <3

#my art #worldbuilding #plague world #resident evil au #rain world au #rainworld

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anulithots · 3 months ago

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How dryad anatomy works (at least for Ankh and Kamari I don't know what I'm doing)

thank you @sleepy-vix for asking!

so Kamari has a pointed oval shaped head, two heart shaped leaves on either side, with relatively heart shaped antennae and roots that grow longer on one side (and faer's are very wavy)

fae also has a small scar on faer left cheek. If I've ever forgotten to draw it no I didn't.

Fae also has large wings and a tail like a bird. THe underside is a matted brown, whereas the top sides are a glossier

(the legs aren't accurate in this sketch. I changed them.)

Fae has the most 'medium build' out of everyone. ANuli is on the chubbier side for a younger dryad (most dryads get chubbier as they age and it's typically seen as wisdom here) Ankh is more... broad I suppose?

so for legs it's similar too... kangaroos but not really?

in order to look right, fae has longer thighs and calves, and faer toe is longer and gets wider at the toes.

How Kamari naturally walks in on faer toes. If you look at a bird they kinda hop around with little flaps. Kamari walks pretty much the same. Fae'll half-hop on faer toes with little flaps. ANd when fae's standing still or relaxed fae'll rest faer weight on faer entire foot.

Now this isn't like the majority of dryads in Trinity HOllow, so the Unseen's elders told Kamari to walk normally. So Kamari nowadays forces faerself to walk one foot and a time, and not rise to full height when fae walks.

This is uncomfortable for faer. It causes faer feet to ache constantly and was the original reason fae took relief herbs.

ANkh's anatomy is different.

more 'vertical face' one ear is shorter than the other, just because that's how faer tree grew. No tragic backstory behind that. Fae's taller than Kamari, but shorter than faer when Kamari's at full height. Thin tail with leaf at the end.

And knots that look like eyes littered around faer body.

Now in terms of limbs fae gets thicker at the extremities, and is overall stocky.

(OKay so Kamari's medium build, but has broader shoulders.... that's just what makes faer looks right? ... in fact they all have fairly broad shoulders IDK them being bipedal was me being lazy anyways)

ALso ANkh is plantigrade. What that means is that faer legs work like ours. Thighs, knees, then calves. Typically you see bears as the example for this. Also hence why ANkh has thicker feet and hands, for balance reasons, fae has more of paws than 'feet' per se.

Now I would say the difference is because Ankh comes from the... US I think? I think faer tree is native to here but I'm not sure.

Kamari's tree (Fae's a magnolia) is native to North and South America, the Himalayas, and East Asia.

And Anuli's tree is from Afirica. That being said, I don't have much built for different anatomies for different places... it got tiring and so I do things randomly.

trees are more so a wide swath of plants that aren't even that related to each other, they just happened to all find a similar way to grow that proved best to collect sunlight. So for dryads they are going to have widly different anatomies since they don't need to collect sunlight, but since thier trees interact with each other, they will all kinda act like the same species. even though they are anything but.

alsdkjffsad that was actually really nice to worldbuild, extra angst for kamari yayay

The dearest, most wonderous people, otherwise known as the lotff tag list:

@waitingforthesunrise @sm-writes-chaos @holdmyteaplease @full-on-sam

@osbob-the-existent @awleeofficial

@clearcloudlesssky @gummybugg @sleepy-vix @starryeyeddarlings

@sea-dwelling-wizard @snowpoet123 @ashirisu

lmk if you'd like to be added or removed <3 🌿

#the land of the fallen fairies #Kamari the dryad #Ankh the dryad #Anuli the dryad #writeblr #creative writing #worldbuilding

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xaloncat · 4 months ago

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Made This For Friends But I'll Post It Here To Because I Think Its helpful For Ppl To Have These Resources ^^

MASTERLIST OF SITES YOU CAN USE TO KEEP OC INFO AND WORLD BUILDING LORE Main Sites Toyhouse! (https://toyhou.se/) This Is One Of If Not The Most Popular Site For Characters. You Can Make Custom Folders, Characters, Worlds And Advertisements Very Easily. It's A Great Place To Sell Characters And Trade Them, But Even Better For Keeping Track Of Your Characters! There's Some Little Specific Features That Are Less Known (Like How You Can Toggle OOC/IC For Roleplaying When Commenting And Such) But You've Probably Heard Most Of The Info I Care To Compile About The Site Already. I Do Feel An Obligation To Address Something Though, That Being The Fact That Toyhouse Is Not Free To Use/Sign Up For. Toyhouse Can Currently Only Be Accessed Via Having A Join Code, Which You Can Get From A Person Who Has Toyhouse Premium (Which Allows You To Produce Codes) But If You Are In Servers Like Artfight Or Just General Art Servers, Its Not To Hard To Find People Giving Out Freebies Or Trading Them Off (I Can Probably Find Someone You Can Contact If You Were Interested) Now, The Thing About Toyhouse Is That It Utilizes An HTML Code Format, Allowing You To Fully Customize A Characters Page. And The Community For This Site (Being Very Cool) Often Post These HTML's On Forums!

Here's A Few Links That Might Interest You ! https://toyhou.se/5564121.ftu-html-hero-s-journey - https://pastebin.com/NjnNZ7sU A Very In Depth Worldbuilding Html, Allowing For Pages on The Progression Of The Story, Roles Of Each Character And More ! Very Visually Interesting As Well. https://toyhou.se/27969594.purifiers-code-html-f2u A Decently Simply Character Info Page With Two Tabs (One For Info And One For Relations) Other Character Info Pages By This Creator - https://toyhou.se/27749456.project-moon-code-html-f2u https://toyhou.se/27946874.jackpot-html-f2u - https://pastebin.com/F2Uuf2Uf A Jackpot Themed Character Page, Which Includes A Basic Info Tab, Trivia/Notes Tab, A Relationship Tab And A Story Tab https://toyhou.se/27894933.html-affinity - https://pastebin.com/2dpGHeY5 Another Worldbuilding HTML, This One Including A Button To Play A Song Of Your Choice On It https://toyhou.se/27871561.unravel-htmlf2u A DND Character Themed Page, Including A Scroll That You Click On To Open The Oc's Info And A Lot Of The Basic Info Needed For A DND Character https://toyhou.se/27969906.washing-machine-oc-profile -https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CpgHf0TGG8t9A1jtXNSZamJRzK2Zm6xcCyPq3ebhAHM/edit Last But Not Least For Toyhouse, Goofy Washing Machine Profile For Your Oc's ! Self Explanatory, Put Your Oc In A Washing Machine

Unvale (https://unvale.io/)

A Decently Popular Site For Storing Your Characters ! It Includes A Gallery Tab, A Writing Tab, A Social Tab And A Traits Tab On Each Character. You Can Also Integrate A Song On The Character Pages If You Like. The Pages Are Decently Customizable Even Without Being HTML And It's Still Updating And Adding More Features Every Day! They Have Many Community Events As Well, Which Are Always Fun :3 I'm A Huge Ad For This Site (I Have Gotten 6 People To Sign Up For It-) So I'm Biased But It Is One Of If Not The Best Site For This Stuff IMO.

Character Hub (https://characterhub.com/home) (*NOT Chara Hub)

I Haven't Seen Many People Talk About This Site But It Is Decently Popular (Though It Is The Least Popular Of These All) And Recently Just Became Completely Free To Use (No More Waiting List For It :P) It's Pretty Customizable With Around 20 Different Extra Info Things You Can Add To Your Page, Plus You Can Upload Art There, Sell Commissions, Sell/Trade Ocs And Roleplay With People On The Site !

Artfight (https://artfight.net/)

I Know What You Might Be Thinking, "Xalon That Doesn't Really Fit Here" And I Agree, But I Put It On Here Anyway Because I Can. Now, Artfight If You Don't Know- Is An Art Trading Game Hosted Every Year For The Entire Month Of July Where You Earn Points By Drawing Other Peoples Oc's. So Of Course, It Has Character Info Pages. Though It May Not Be What You Typically Think Of When I Say "Oc Info Storing Site", It Does Allow You To Store OC Info And Therefor Gets To Go On The List. Now, Similar To Toyhouse Artfight Uses Html (and BBCode)!! So Its Super Customizable, Both For Your Page And Your Oc's Pages, So Here's Some Links For That :) https://toyhou.se/27961292.artfight-character-profile#84166978 A Decently Simply Character Profile Page, Containing Info About Them That People Might Need When Drawing Your OC https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gYcUPr7eNk55ZX_B-lpICRYcVqhA81MDu9K93XC4uMU/edit?pli=1#heading=h.ky1wi7ab18y6 Another Oc Profile Template ! I Personally Use This One For All My Characters https://toyhou.se/11685585.code-art-fight A User Profile For Yourself, Including Many Variants (2 Of Which Are Themed After This Years Teams) https://toyhou.se/27884262.af-css-mangos-stardust-code - https://pastebin.com/PEgYMWJP A Stardust Themed Template For Your Profile On Artfight https://toyhou.se/27870517.f2u-art-fight-profile - https://pastebin.com/9BcxWRry Another User Profile (For Yourself), Themed To Be Seafoam By Default https://toyhou.se/27856750.af-cssneon-voxel-theme - https://eidolonentropy.art/random/artfight/AF%20Neon%20Voxel%20Theme.css Green Neon Themed User Profile (FOR AF PREMIUM USERS ONLY) https://toyhou.se/16738271.artfight-card-c-html A User Profile Card https://toyhou.se/27857096.af-css2024-team-themes 2024 Team Themed User Profile (FOR AF PREMIUM USERS ONLY) https://toyhou.se/27887437.f2u-artfight-permissions - Permissions Badges For Your Page In The 2024 Themes (I Adore The Stardust Ones For This)

Ref Sheet (https://refsheet.net/)

I Hadn't Actually Heard About This Site Before Making This List So I Don't Know Much About It. But From What I've Seen, It's A Pretty Simple Website Where You Can Keep Characters! It Has The Ability To Upload Images And Such And You Can Post Ads On The Site For Commissions And Such. It Seems To Be Relatively New And Only Run By A Few People

Other Links

Please Note That This Is For Sites I Do Not Know Much About And I'm Only Adding For You To Research While I Add Basic Info. https://lorekeeper.me/ - A Site For Keeping Character And World Info, Primarily For Devianart RPGS But Likely Can Be Used For Other Stuff https://wavemaker.co.uk/ - A Program Used For Writing And Stories On PC/Laptop (REQUIRES DOWNLOAD) https://plottr.com/ - A Program To Keep All Info About Your Story, Characters And Such Ect Where You Can Also Write Stories :) (REQUIRES DOWNLOAD) https://milanote.com/ - For People Who Like To Visually Organize Their Stories With Collaborative Brainstorming Boards https://www.weebly.com/ - Free Website Maker, Can Prob Store Stuff About OC's Here If You Want Your Own Site https://www.notebook.ai/ - For Writers/Roleplayers, Free To Use And Online. https://www.worldanvil.com/ - For Dnd Characters And Worldbuilding. And Thats Everything ! If You Want Anything Added, Please Contact me And I Will Update The List To Include It If I See That It Fits :)

#xalon rambles #art resources #artist #artists on tumblr #art community #art info #helpful art stuff

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rhyme-thinks-stuff · 6 months ago

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Fractured Life: A Life Series Crossover AU

(I've had this post in my drafts for almost a month now, hopefully it makes sense! i put a lot of work into it)

An AU where I put characters from my various different fandom interests into a Life Series game and shake them about >:]

Features characters from Homestuck, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Legend of Zelda Tears of The Kingdom, Hollow Knight, and all the regular Life Series members, with a total of 44 players. I might add more if I feel like it, Hades and ATLA are especially tempting me, but then that might me too many characters.

This AU is mainly just a concept/outline for now, a little sandbox I can think about and play around in. It's ment to be self indulgent and fun. I've made a whole lot of notes and a few bits of drabbles and oneshots, a bit of art, and a Minecraft World!

Below is an explanation of the rules of the game, a complete list of characters, art I've made, screenshots of the Minecraft world, and some extra ramblings about it.

RULES

Fractured Life has the same basic rules of any Life Series, with some bits of added worldbuilding for the story. This season's gimmick is that it's a mix of every other season, both in the rules of the game and the world itself.

Backround Setting

Players don't choose to be in the games.

Players are sent signs a couple weeks before a game starts, generally in dreams.

Players have all their memories intact when they start their first game but they may grow foggy over time.

When a player loses their last life, they're made a spectator ghost until the end of the game.

Ghosts cannot talk to living players (most of the time) but can talk to each other.

All players are sent home at the end of the games.

Basics

Limited amount of lives

Lose enough lives and you turn red, and hostile

You're out when you lose your last life

You can give another player one of your lives

Each session some of the players will be boogeymen, and will have to kill another player or be sent straight to red

Each player has a “Path” that gives them additional mechanics they have to use to play the game

Each session is 72 hours long, with 24 hours off time in between

During the break players aren't allowed to kill each other, and timers are paused

Each character is assigned a “Path” which determines which past game’s mechanics they use. Last Life mechanics are spread across each, most players use mechanics from Double, Limited, or Secret Life in addition to this. Winners get the same mechanics they had in the game they won.

Limited

Each Limited player has 864 hours to live (1 canon hr = 36 AU hours)

Normal deaths take off 36 hours

Boogey deaths take off 72 hours

Normal kills give 18 hours

Bogey kills give 36 hours

576+ hours = green

576-288 hours = yellow

under 288 = red

36 hours = 1 life (for trades)

Limited yellow lives can kill green lives of any path

Double

Double players each have a soulmate, with whom health and lives are shared

Boogey consequences are shared but only one player has the curse

A Double player doesn't need permission from their soulbound to trade lives away

Secret

30 hearts as usual

trading lives doesn't change heart amount

regular rewards and penalties

Secret Keeper is in a more hidden location

Red lives are given 1 task to harm someone each session and gain 10 hearts from completing it

Reds may attack players outside of their task, and get hearts from kills

3rd

starts with 3 lives, cannot interact with any extra mechanics

CHARACTER LIST

There's 44 players total in Fractured Life! The total cast of the Life Series is 18 people, it's a bit more than doubled because I couldn't bring myself to cut anyone, and I might add more if the whim takes me. I'm probably not going to come up with full stories for each and every one of them, but I want them here in my sandbox anyways.

Life Series OGs

Grian

Scott

Pearl

Martyn

Scar

Gem

Jimmy

Mumbo

Lizzie

Cleo

Etho

Bdubs

Joel

Rendog

BigB

Tango

Skizz

Impulse

MLP

Twilight

Pinkie Pie

Rarity

Apple Jack

Rainbow Dash

Fluttershy

TOTK

Link

Zelda

Hollow Knight

Hornet

Quirrel

Hollow

Ghost

Homestuck

John

Rose

Dave

Jade

Roxy

Jane

Jake

Dirk

Karkat

Vriska

Kanaya

Terezi

Nepeta

Feferi

ART

Terezi pushing Quirrel off a cliff because what i even the point of making a crossover AU set in a death game without making characters you like push each other off cliffs. I came up with this idea by choosing two characters at random to write a drabble of an interaction between them, and said interaction ended up being an attempted boogey kill. Quirrel has a sunhat because it'd help keep the sun out of his eyes while he explores, Rarity made it for him!

Another random pairing! Zelda and Applejack's bases are fairly close together, and I think they'd get along pretty well! Zelda has diplomacy skills and AJ has friendship skills. Here Applejack is giving Zelda bread, in the early game before everyone gets stable food sources.

My twin suggested that Fluttershy and Mumbo be soulbound together because it'd be funny. So here they are being disasters together :D

Zelda and Hornet are two of my favorite video game characters ever, the thought of pairing them popped into my head and wouldn't leave so here we are <3

Hornet and Link are soulbound. They agree to team for practical reasons, and then Hornet slowly finds herself caring for both them and Zelda. Meanwhile Zelda is a Limited Player, which means she has a timer ticking down instead of lives. Link and Hornet try to keep her alive for as long as possible.

Bases from this post vvv

I love my silly crossover crackship throuple <33 I think Link and Zelda are in a QPP, Zelda is bi and polyamorous and Link is demiromantic and acespec. Hornet hasn't had much chance to be in a relationship like this before, she's still figuring herself out.

MINECRAFT WORLD SCREENSHOTS

Parts of builds from past games are scattered throughout the new map. I did the replicated bases in creative, and the original ones in survival!

Scar's base was torn out of the ground and put up in the sky which he's a little bit annoyed about since he didn't even move out of it. I spent way too much time on trying to get the path blocks here exactly correct!

I built Pearl's tower first, it was very fun! I had difficulty finding reference for the roof but a Scott thumbnail came through for me.

The Scottage, it's at the edge of a town. This one's pretty unfinished

Desetduo home. It's a bit torn up, not exactly in the same way as in canon though. I think the older builds are somewhat built on memory, rather than being the exact same places just moved to this map.

Original builds time! Here's a bridge I built.

This is where Zelda, Link, and some amount of the HK bugs live. It's dimmed so the bugs have a place to hide from the sun, but still spawnproof.

Aplejack's farm area! I just like making big wheat fields. And I think AJ'd want to make sure no one starves to death, even if they are in a death game.

Side note, I wanted to add more images but hit the limit D:

Bonus ramblings!

If you got this far then thank you, that's very cool!! PLEASE ask me any questions you have I'd be happy to answer them, and feel free to suggest ideas for character interactions and things like that :D

I've been working on this AU in bits and pieces since January.

Planning this AU is what made me finally get around to reading the last half of Homestuck.

It's also a large part of the reason I'm currently rewatching MLP:FIM

I haven't been able to watch anything since this without considering adding the characters to the AU.

Revolutionary Girl Utena, Delicious in Dungeon, and Avatar TLA have all tempted me with this, however I have 44 characters already I really shouldn't.

I've also briefly considered adding Genshin and She-Ra characters to this AU but I just don't have much the fixation on either of those right now.

Also considering Hades characters that would be so fun. Hmm. but again 44 characters. I'd have to expand the world border.

I've ended up shipping Zelda TOTK and Hornet HK because of this AU. My idea is that Link and Hornet are soulbound together and Zelda is Limited. Hornet sticks with them for practical reasons at first but ends up bonding with both of them and she and Link try to protect Zelda and keep her in the game as long as they can.

I think this is a post canon AU for the Homestucks, they're probably in their early twenties. I was originally going to have them still be kids because there's something very funny to me about the idea of the other characters being concerned about the teenagers in this death game only to find out they're all very used to death and carnage, but I decided I'd rather they be a bit closer to the other characters so things are a bit better balanced.

Also all the trolls survived because I wanted Nepeta and Feferi here. I don't think I'm going to include the other six, because again the cast is large enough, but I might change that later if I get more invested in them all. And then I'd probably also add Calliope because I like her and I might as well!

The ponies are somewhat humanized, but still have their pony ears, coat colors, tails, hooves, and horns/wings. None of them can fly or do magic.

I've done most of the work on this before Real Life came out, I'm not sure yet if I'll find some way to work it in or just say it happens afterwards.

it took me a couple hours to write this post.

I have 37 separate documents for this au in a folder, including it one I used to write this post in.

I have 15,000 words worth of notes and planning

in addition to notes I have ~6000 words worth of drabbles and one shots, and bits of a possible first chapter from Twilight's POV

this post is ~1500 words long and I think I spent over 6 hours putting it together somehow!

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ravenwingdark · 7 months ago

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like fire, ice and explosions was soooooooooooooooooooooooo good. i… like... reading stories where shouto... loses his shit? he "deserves" that, you know what i mean? to go off the rails, either a little or a lot. he should be allowed to not be fucking okay! he should be allowed to have a reaction, and a messy reaction at that. i feel like he isn't actually allowed to do that though, in canon that is. maybe the mangaka thinks it's unnecessary but i don't think so, so i'm really glad for your story, for you letting him go through all of these feelings, for letting him react in a "messy" way. and i like how supportive is bakugou, and how bakugou he still is, like he's probably not the most comforting person ever, but maybe that's exactly why it works, with shouto at least. i wish we had had more characters reacting in "canon" to the part of dabi's speech about shouto instead of people only reacting to him as being related to dabi and all of that. i don't remember if there's even any comment about the quirk marriage thing? but, yeah, it's like people don't really say anything about what happened to shouto, even now that it's in the open and, okay, of course, shouto wouldn't want people to say anything, but like, it's weird that it doesn't happen. but anyway, that became a rant, i'm sorry, that was not what i was meaning to do.

i like pyrrhic victory too. i like the trio's dynamic in there very, very much, and the scenes of the rescue were so perfectly good. what i like the most is... probably how fitting is anamnesis's quirk to, like, shouto's entire life story? like, of fucking course that's the quirk of the person who kidnapped him, it's sort of poetic in the most disturbing way. pyrrich victory kind of makes me really depressed though. it's a whole new fucking trauma for him, and i'm not really seeing any "light at the end of the tunnel" for shouto, not at the moment anyway. it doesn't seem like shouto will ever be moderately okay again! i'm glad he slipped up in the latest published chapter and that bakugou noticed it and confronted him about that quickly and because it's bakugou i'm hoping he won't be fooled by however shouto tries to deflect from that, and then maybe there's hope yet, but i don't know. i'm not feeling that hopeful even with the "angst with a happy ending" tag. do you have the ending in mind already? how do you usually write? do you usually have everythingh planned, or you "go through the motions"?

haha thank you so much! you really touched on all the worldbuilding and inner conflict I wanted to explore in the series. Frankly, Hori just doesn’t have the time to dive so deep into every character that deserves it—mangakas have such strict schedules and a timeline they need to follow (or they may get relegated to Shounen Monthly), so a lot of the inner world of some of the secondary characters has to be implied. thats the joy of fanfic!

And yes, I do have everything in place for the ending, and almost all of it is written :) I know this ask is a bit older so maybe out of date, but at the 75% point of a story is usually the “Darkest Moment” where everything looks the worst.

In some ways, Shoto’s worse (suffering from new trauma, not trusting his own head) and in other ways he’s become more resilient—he’s got a very strong support system system, and he’s learning how to ask for help. He’s learned a lot from LFIE and the aftermath, learned to forgive Endeavor (as much as he can) and is trying to move past his trauma, though he’s 18 years old, and only a few years removed from that abuse, and def doesn’t have his life figured out

When I decided to write the sequel I did a bullet point list with each major development being numbered, then subsections. I believe it had 51 major plot moments. Since it’s a plotty casefic, I’ve pretty much adhered to The Plan with only adding extra details here and there. (Meanwhile, LFIE was seat of the pants)

And if you’re worried about a happy ending, just take a look at the title! Pyrrhic Victory—well, we’ve already gotten quite a bit of suffering, what’s left?

TYSM for such a kind, thoughtful comment, hope you enjoy the final stretch :)

#asks

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brick-a-doodle-do · 2 years ago

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Absolutely love the vamp au idea!!!!

Sooo ideas!

What does Tommy borrow to eat when he gets to their house? I assume he atleast has water, but he eventually has to notice that these people got nothing, probs feels bad for them😂

I feel like borrowers won't know about myths and stuff, so how do they rationalize the weird stuff?

Hmmm maybe borrowers sjnce they're also unkown, being a type of myth kinda, have like a unique taste or smell, and thats why Wilbur doesn't immediately kill Tommy, since he's something different?

Hmmmmmm if you wanna include noms maaayybbbbeee🙃 they can 'feed' from borrowers in their stomach/storage/whatever word ya wanna use, since their Teeth would literally impale them😂😬

I don't know how angsty you wanna be or what direction ya wanna go, so these are ideas I've seen in other noms stuff and some I've though about, feel free to use what you want😁

i would've answered this earlier but when i was abt 3/4 of the way through this i accidentally closed the tab and declined the warning and lost it all 😭

anyways :'D

thank youuu i'm also rlly enjoying it so far!

i haven't thought about this much, but you do bring up a good question !! tommy primarily borrows fruit, which is one of the only things in the house because wilbur and phil are both fruit bats and whenever they use their bat forms they get cravings for the stuff their breeds eat,,

and also following onto that, after wilbur starts visiting tommy more often, he often gradually gets more snacky items

yep...water... :)

tommy does not have water.

clean water, at least. i'm trying to follow along some common vampire mythis and according to european folklore it's said that because water can typically be so clean and unlikely or carry disease or anything along the lines of that, it is considered "holy" and therefore vampires cannot cross paths with it. so the water in their house as purposefully been made muggy and even then it's rarely used. but of course, also like the food, once the vamps get more comfortable with tommy they'll buy it for him.

yess tommy has absolutely no idea why these idiot humans have a disturbingly low stock of food, disgusting water and a strangely high tolerance for pain! he doesn't learn what they are until much later, and for one reason i've been bugging to talk about: misinterpretation. tommy saw their fangs early on and gets very antsy around them and he always brings it up when he's riled up and scared, which leads them to believe that tommy is afraid of them turning him, while tommy is actually very much just afraid of them killing and eating him.

(update, picking this up out of my drafts bc i randomly remembered it existed! sorry for the wait :'D)

ohh i haven't thought of it that way before! my initial idea for the dynamic between tommy & wilbur was to have wil want to visit tommy just once to see what his deal is and hopefully find a way to get him out, because although he's the pretty much the nicest of the bunch (from an outside perspective), he's a vampire and has his territories just as the others do.

anyways what turns into a one-time-only thing develops slowly into a friendship type thing, where wilbur will show up and just let tommy talk to him, and he listens. anyways i like the odd scent/being idea so for the hell of it, another thing that drew wil to investigate tommy was the fact that he was far different than anything he'd ever seen before. essentially just a small human, which he'd frankly never heard of.

hmm i think i'm gonna see how long i can go without adding noms. going down my au list, i think at least every one has noms in them at somepoint. so let's have a nom-free au for now :]

but that idea is really cool tho :00

mm i think primarily pretty neutral, not too fluffy and not to angsty. ty for all the questions, the worldbuilding is very helpful! <3

#brickquiries #graci brickling #graci my beloved !!#unnamed vampire au #cw vore implication/mention

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ratmannn · 1 year ago

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Ratman's OC Masterlist

I'll be real, this isn't gonna be finished by a longshot when i post it, I just have too many god damn ocs so I'm probably just gonna update this in the future. I'm just gonna start with ocs that are on my mind recently and I've been drawing

Click the readmore to see em (not super intense but im gonna put a bodyhorror warning here just in case since Necronomicom is at the top and I'm adding pictures where I can)

Current Fandoms Listed

Necronomi.com (Original Universe)

Dungeons and Dragons (Incomplete)

Wizard101

Whats up its time for cringe, these are gonna be organized by fandom/setting

Necronomi.com

This is a setting I made with few characters so far but they're basically just monsters existing in a modern setting (heavy inspo from Trevor Henderson I'll admit)

Tadpole (she/it)

Formerly a human, Tadpole is a "demon" that feeds on nightmares. She's just very very big and honestly turned out kind of motherly, since it replaces nightmares with good dreams by nature and will sing to people having nightmares if it can't reach them.

Here is she

Bandage (any, i usually default to it/its)

Bandage is another "demon" but instead of coming from a human, Bandage was originally a fern. It doesn't have a single true form, but the one constant between its forms are bandages wrapped around its face, only revealing one eye if any

Its resting form is closest to a true form and its a potted fern and it also has a humanoid "commimunication" form it plays with sometimes (both pictured)

DnD

Maybe eventually there'll be more than DnD in here, this is more just TTRPG characters

Nowhere (he/him)

My sweet Teifling Warlock (very original i know) Nowhere. He's half elven, hence his ears, and completely swagless. He is dying more than half of the time because his pact makes him violently ill. He originally wanted to be a wizard like his adoptive lesbian moms but that didn't work out and he got a little desperate.

In specific circumstances he's Asmodeus himself's accident son and also stole Strahd von Zarovich's husband with his loser rizz

Wizard101

I love this game it sucks ass. I have a fucking LAUNDRYLIST of various worldbuilding headcanons if anyone gets curious

Anyway, onto the wizards

Zachary Wyrmtail (he/him)

My Thaumaturge. He's a prior main who has taken the sidelines for now while I procrastinate Zafaria. Level 71.

Hes a resident of the Spiral since he was young, but was originally taken from Earth. Taken to none other than Marleybone unfortunately. He grew up there with barely restrained talent in ice magic but he got an Elsa complex about it because Marleybone is dumb and hates magic. He's better now. Still British but he's cool and very sunshiney

Depicted at 21 years old, still in school and simultaneously the only competent detective to ever join (and leave) the Marleybone Police Force

Joshua Inkweaver (he/him)

My Conjurer. Current main at level 36. No idea what I'm gonna do when I hit Zafaria on him.

He's a resident of Wizard City, born and raised, and grew up on Cyclops Lane. He has three younger sisters, Kestrel, Holly and Angela. He loves writing fiction and dreams of one day hopes to write a story so legendary that there come to be Myth spells based around it. As you can imagine, he is rather pretentious about it, but he LOOOVES to help his juniors when they're too afraid to ask Professor Drake. Complete motherhen. He works part time at the Wizard City Library, which really expedites his tutoring process since he knows exactly where everything is. Every bossfight with him consists of him cussing the boss out and calling them a jackass and moron in various ways until he finds the right words to make them cry. His favorite evokation.

For my artistic purposes, Joshua is the same age as Zachary and in the same grade. In game though, I have him at about 17 and in Mooshu.

Groups to add

Ensemble Stars

Diablo 3

#that dnd list isnt complete either im just tired lmao #to edit in the future #ratman ocposting

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eluminium · 9 months ago

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"#anyway don't look at all the w.i.p fics i have about skizzleman #they would prove that i am insane" i started planning out an imp & skizz fic (with bonus tango) and ended up with several pages of just worldbuilding before ever getting to the plot. this is tumblr, we are all a little insane about our blorbos :'D (this is an implicit request to drop any skizz fic concepts u feel like talking about rn)

Ah yes, the good ol "oops where did the plot go" when you're too busy world building <3 anyways, for skizz concepts, let me just list off the ideas of all the current W.I.Ps I have. AHEM

-Dramatization of that one moment in early Limited Life where Skizz asked Cleo to look into his eyes to prove they were loyal, with added Last Life flashbacks to when Skizz "saw" the boogeyman in Ethos eyes

-Dramatization of Skizz's final death in Secret Life

-Imp and Skizz sickfic with sick Skizz

-Dredge AU inspired by Skizz's dredge streams with other Hermitcraft/Life Series characters

-Character study of both Skizz and BigB in Secret Life after BigBs "Betrayal"

-TangSkizz Plateup Smut

-Various little fics inspired by the Imp and Skizz animated shorts

-Hardcore skyblock Imp and Skizz where Skizz gets struck by lightning

-an AU vaguely inspired by Cult of the Lamb where Skizz is a newly ascended God and Impulse, his best friend in life, is now his head priest. Shenanigans ensue.

Now if I had the brainpower to finish writing any of these I would be so powerful you wouldn't believe

#el answereth #LOOK #ONE DAY #I WILL HAVE THE BRAIN JUICE

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ale10ander · 1 year ago

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Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur episode tier list

Episodes within a rank ordered by release date

Episode 7: Goodnight, Moon Girl

This is everything I wanted from Moon Girl. There's no villain, just ordinary problems caused by being a teenage superhero. Lunella gets invited to a sleepover by the popular girls and is worried about not fitting in. We get some hilarious scenes as she switches bodies with her dino (something she can do much easier in the comics), and her legitimate fears of never fitting in, or of Devil being more popular than her are crushing.

I'm a sucker for any time when a group of people come together to help the hero, and the volleyball team bump, set, and spiking the remote to Moon Girl had me sobbing. We also get jocks who aren't just caricatures. 10/10 episode!

Episode 1: Moon Girl Landing

This double-length pilot does a lot of worldbuilding AND introduces a strong villain while showcasing the struggles between being a hero AND being a kid. I wouldn't have been upset if Aftershock was the villain for the whole season!

When Devil Dinosaur comes back at the end, I couldn't help but tear up a bit.

Episode 3: Run the Rink

Lunella gets herself into trouble and has to run the ice rink while her parents are away. Naturally, villains show up and ruin the day. We also get the best fight scene of the series, to Childish Gambino's Sweatpants (I'm winning, yeah yeah, I'm winning)

Episode 8: Teacher's Pet

In a classic premise, Lunella is tasked with taking care of the class hamster. She doesn't tell Devil that it's only for the weekend, and he gets extremely jealous. But, he's a Very Good Boy and tries to take care of Angel anyway. The hamster escapes and Devil tries to cover up the accident, resulting in hijinx. We also get introduced to the Rat King, who was my favorite villain of this show. More of him!

Episode 13: Devil on Her Shoulder

It's the Clifford episode! Devil can't go to the movies because he's simply too big! So Lunella makes a device to shrink him down, but things get out of hand when he shrinks too far! There's a Godzilla fight at the end, and Devil accepts that being big is okay. The ending is a little cheesy, but Devil's so cute at his various sizes that it makes up for the rest.

Episodes 15 and 16: OMG Issues #1 and #2

Woah! So much revealed in these last two episodes! The only part of this I don't love is "Moon Girl" being a name that Lunella assigns to the scientist in episode 1, only to learn now that she called herself that all along.

I really loved the history here, as well as the family dynamics. My favorite part of any superhero story is how it interacts with "real life" and this show has to deal with that from now on. The base raid is extremely cool, and we end the season with a neat cliffhanger.

Episode 4: Check Yourself

Lunella gets extremely competitive and challenges a computer to a game of chess. She acts selfishly, ignoring its boundaries until the computer turns hostile. Eventually she saves the day and the computer becomes the guidance counselor. I'd love to see the computer return for more episodes. This is a pretty run of the mill episode that's either a low B or a high C.

Episode 10: Moon Girl's Day Off

Lunella fakes a broken ankle because it's easier than communicating her needs to her friend. This episode has great lessons about lying, communication familial expectations, and setting boundaries. Plus we get to see Casey trying out the superhero gig for a day.

Episode 9: Skip This Ad...olescence

A solid episode that's really just Moon Girl's take on Click. The lesson here is to enjoy the now, even the mundane stuff. We get some goofy AI / Time travel sci fi stuff, but the show starts with a portal to dinosaurland, what do you want?

Episode 2: The Borough Bully

This is the first of the PSA episodes, this one about bullying. It's got a good message, and I do like the interplay between real life and superheroing, but something about the giant literal troll, and ignoring it didn't land for me.

Episode 6: The Beyonder

Probably my most contentious entry. This episode wasn't bad, though it did show Lunella being a huge jerk to Eduardo. I could tell that Laurence Fishburne was having a blast as the Beyonder (one of my favorite Marvel villains), but the stakes felt too high for the show. The science fair would have been enough, but the fate of the world? In episode 6? Nah.

Episode 11: Like Mother, Like Moon Girl

A creepy couple comes in and tries to make the lower east side into an Apple commercial. Moon Girl becomes an honorary mayoral figure and gives them all the power they need... until she realizes that gentrification is bad. As Lunella, she starts a protest, and as Moon Girl she beats up the couple and their fancy devices.

Episode 14: Coney Island, Baby

My favorite part of this episode (which had me tearing up again) was Devil Dinosuar being afraid to swim to Coney Island because of the jellyfish... and then doing it anyway and having his whole butt covered in them. What a good dino!

Lunella has to overcome fear at Coney Island, but this is done by facing memories of her past and, for some reason, the Beyonder is here again. It feels like a little too much going on, but it's fun nonetheless.

Episode 5: Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

This episode has some important messages about loving your body (and specifically your hair). I'm sure it's good for Black kids to hear, and I don't think many other shows talk about this at all. That said, I didn't enjoy Mane as a villain, nor the school picture sub plot and deus ex machina resolution. This episode was rather underwhelming, the worst of the series for me.

Episode 12: Today I am a Woman

Most of the time, Lunella is the one who turns selfish for an episode, but here it's Casey's desire for fame that stirs the conflict. It's her bat mitzvah, and she wants Moon Girl to be there in order to attract a Twitter influencer. Unfortunately, this means Lunella can't also be there, which causes a lot of confusion from Casey's family. I don't think I've ever seen a bat mitzvah on TV, so that was neat, but the episode overall was forgettable.

#moon girl and devil dinosaur #moon girl magic #disney #mcu #marvel #tier list #Yes I cry at kids shows #But also I was very sick at the time #Sue me

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keyboardandquill · 2 years ago

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On creating a wiki for your worldbuilding

Do you have a lot of lore to keep track of? Whether you're an author, a Game Master, or simply someone who really really likes worldbuilding, this post is for you.

Here's a quick overview of what I'll be talking about:

Platforms people use to create personal wikis

Formats and organization systems you may find useful when creating your own wiki

A brief look at the actual content you might put in your wiki (I'm planning a more in-depth post on that later with more images and demos)

And because this is gonna be a long'un, I'm putting a read-more here! I'll also make downloadable epub and PDF versions of this post available for free on my Ko-Fi at some point in the future.

(I'm also planning to reblog with a list of links later on, but I want this initial post shows up in search)

Also now that you're here, I'm going to say this isn't, like, super comprehensive or anything. I'm just talking about stuff I know a little about or have experience with. Please feel free to reblog with additions and/or corrections as needed!

What is a wiki?

According to Wikipedia, "a wiki is a hypertext publication collaboratively edited and managed by its own audience, using a web browser."

In this case, you'll likely be the sole person making updates to your wiki. The web browser part is optional these days as well, as you'll soon see.

Platforms for creating wikis

Websites for creating worldbuilding wikis

WorldAnvil

This one is actually designed for people who want to create big worldbuilding wikis.

Pros: Worldbuilding prompts! Those are great. It's got a pretty comprehensive set of article types too.

Cons: Kind of expensive to upgrade for features like making your wiki private, and it does NOT work well with adblock turned on, so if you don't want to pay for a membership you'll get inundated with ads. I'm not a huge fan of the interface in general and a lot of it isn't intuitive, but I like what they're doing so I support them anyway.

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Tiddlywiki/Tiddlyhost.com.

In addition to having a cat as its icon and also a silly name, each 'article' you create with this is called a 'tiddler' which makes me think of Chuck Tingle. I haven't used it much myself yet, but I did make an account and it seems pretty neat.

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Miraheze

A community-hosted wiki platform that runs on MediaWiki (which is what Wikipedia runs off of).

Pros: It's not Fandom.com.

Cons: You have to request a wiki and can't just make it yourself, as far as I can tell. I haven't actually looked into this one as much.

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Neocities

An option for if you want to go super oldschool and create a website using only basic html and hyperlinks (without the handy shortcuts of bbcode or Markdown). Monthly cost is $5 usd if you want to have more space and your own domain.

Pros: 100% control over your content.

Cons: Doesn't support PHP databases for wiki software, and can be fairly labour-intensive to update if you break a link or something.

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Fandom.com

Unfortunately, this one is the top result you'll get when you look up how to make your own wiki. I'm only including it here to tell you to stay as far away from it as possible!!

Its staff are known to ban wiki creators from their own wikis and a bunch of other nonsense that I'm not getting into here.

Programs and apps/web apps for creating worldbuilding wikis

Obsidian.md

My personal favourite. I'm planning to make a whole post about how I use it in the near future as part of this article series.

It's a markdown-based application that you can get on just about any platform (Windows, MacOS, Linux, iOS, Android, etc) which is great. Obsidian is really easy to pick up and use and also has great themes and community plugins!

Best thing is, it's FREE and you only have to pay if you use their publishing service, which... I don't, so.

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Notion

I've heard this one is pretty good too. Idk if it costs anything. It's another "second brain" style app (might be markdown also?) and I think it might do more than Obsidian, but I haven't checked it out much myself.

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Microsoft Word/Google Docs etc.

...Or just about any word processor that lets you create internal hyperlinks. Word may work best due to the collapsible headings so it doesn't get too unwieldy, but *shrug* whatever floats your boat.

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Excel/Google Sheets etc.

Or, again, any spreadsheet creator that lets you create internal hyperlinks.

I'd recommend having some basic spreadsheet knowledge before doing this. It could get complicated. Before I started using Obsidian, I was using Sheets to keep track of my glossary, notes about characters, and plot ideas.

Types of formatting & organization systems

There are as many organization systems as there are people who want to organize their stuff. Everybody needs something a little different! I find the ones that work best for me are systems that have a lot of customization options.

Here are a couple I know of.

Johnny Decimal

This system is absurdly simple in its concept and yet so versatile. From their website (it's just johnnydecimal dot com but I'll link it in a reblog later):

Take everything you need to organise and sort it in to, at most, ten large buckets.

Make sure the buckets are unambiguously different.

Put a label on each bucket.

Their website has a better explanation than I can give in this post, but I'll sum up the appeal of this system as quoted from their site: "There's only one place anything can ever be."

Usefully, part of this method is creating a directory for the rest of the system.

So if you're like me and tend to shove things wherever only to lose track of it later, this is a great system—especially when used in conjunction with the Zettelkasten Method (see below).

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Zettelkasten Method

Originally devised as an extensive paper-based knowledge management system, Zettelkasten is meant to easily add new entries to a knowledge base while giving each one a unique ID for easy 'linking.'

The creator of this method said 'it is not important where you place the note, as long as you can link to it.'

As with the Johnny Decimal system, I can't explain it super succinctly (nor can the website, if I'm being honest), so I'll include a link in a future reblog for a video that gave me an excellent run-down of the basics.

Setting up your own system

An organization system is only useful if you can actually, y'know, use it.

It can be fun to set up a super-detailed organization system with predetermined categories for everything, but is it easy for you to use? How will you navigate it?

Making decisions

There will be a lot of decisions to make as you set up your system. The only set-in-stone rule I follow is... don't set anything in stone. It's okay if you decide something that doesn't work later on.

Figuring out your categories

My advice: go fairly broad. You can always sub-categorize. I'm going to go over my own wikis for Athenaeum and Rocket Boosters in detail in a later post, but here are the starting top-level categories I'd recommend for worldbuilders:

A meta category for notes about your database, templates, and any relevant research you've done.

Characters, including main characters, minor characters, and important figures

Worldbuilding

In the last category, which is the main reason for the existence of my wiki, I might have:

Culture

History

Locations

Organizations

Lore (if relevant)

Technology

Transportation

I'll go over the nuances of these 'main' subcategories in that future post I mentioned. In other words, the stuff that actually goes in those categories!

Determining the importance and relevance of worldbuilding elements

You'll need to figure out whether a topic is complex enough to deserve its own entry, or if it should be a sub-heading under another entry. It's okay if you decide on both! I have short subheadings under some entries that amount to "see [link to main entry on that topic]."

I've also decided to expand subheadings into their own topics, and I've removed topics as their own entry and shoved them under subheadings. I do this a lot, in fact! So it's okay if you don't know.

Templates

Will you be creating several of one type of entry?

Individual character profiles

Towns and cities

Factions

(to name a few)

It might be handy to figure out the basic types of information you'll need about each of those things and create a template for them.

A character template might have spaces for the basics, such as name, role, age, and so on.

Some characters will have a lot more information, and some might have even less than what your template dictates! And that's fine.

A word of warning about using system-creation as procrastination

Creating a wiki can be a daunting task. You might decide it's not for you, and that's okay. But you might also decide to go headlong into the process and work on every minute detail, and that is also okay, but.

But.

Beware of using your wiki as an excuse to procrastinate your actual writing/session preparation. Yes, use it to keep track of all the lore you've injected into your manuscript/campaign/whatever, just make sure it stays in its place as a companion to your main project rather than becoming your main project.

How formal should your entries be?

Honestly this one's entirely up to you. I have a mix. Some entries are written like Wikipedia entries with a thorough explanation of the topic with proper punctuation and formatting, while others are simply bullet-point lists of thoughts and ideas that I can return to at a later date.

What methods do you use to keep track of your lore and worldbuilding? Let me know in a reblog or comment!

And please make sure to check the notes. I'll be reblogging with links, and then reblogging that reblog to make sure they're, y'know, actually visible in the notes.

#wiki #worldbuilding #writing advice #writeblr #writeblr community #resource #worldbuilding wiki #obsidian #zettelkasten #resource by keyboardandquill

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