#Lorne Lanning

[lesserknownhusbands]

[ask-alf-oddworld]

Are there any wild sligs left in the wild today? If so are they friendly? I'm asking because I'm lonely.

[ohfugecannada]

Lorne Lanning and Benny Terry on DeepWell.DTx

[thecuddlymuffintop]

Right now, I will be streaming Oddworld: New'n'Tasty until I finish the game with all Mudokens saved. Wish me luck.

[violetfoxviolarose]

It's times like this I like to return to the Oddworld games.

Not just because I'm a silly fan with so much nostalgia for them, but because the narratives of the oppressed rising up and taking back their power is so deeply healing. It gives me a little spark of hope that things will get better, as tough as it is.

[mable-stitchpunk]

Fnaf definitely needs a Scott Cawthon again.

And i dont mean pulling him out of retirement, but there needs to be someone who can take the reigns for him. A single, creative director who has a real vision, and is allowed to oversee all avenues of the franchise - games, books, comics, McDonalds Pogs with hidden lore scraps, whatever - and can properly coordinate everyone with that vision. I mean, maybe there is already someone for that, but if so they need to be replaced fast, cause they’re not working.

I know that’s sounds like a hard sell for what’s become a multi-media conglomerate, and it would not be easy for sure, but i think you need that driver at the helm who can chart the course for everyone else around them to work out the details.

You're absolutely right! And it's not a hard sell. Disney, Nintendo, Sega- plenty of huge companies who have big properties have that. They have something or someone, or someone(s), overheading and making sure quality doesn't slip and the brand sticks to its goals.

Fnaf is big enough now that it needs that, but I don't think Scott put anyone in charge when he retired from that portion of the community. I think he basically gave Steel Wool rights to the games, Scholastic rights to the books, and occasionally sends a suggestion here or there- but if the Steel Wool interview is any indication, not much at all.

And this can be a problem. Needn't I remind you of the Sonic comics and what happened when Sega didn't keep too close of an eye on what was going long. At least in that case Sega had the ability to step in and change what they wanted. If Scott sold some of the rights to these other companies, then he doesn't have any say in what they do.

And that's the issue here. Bendy, Oddworld, Mario- all of these game series' have a backing development team behind them. One that owns their rights and manages their property.

Fnaf does not. Fnaf has Scott, Steel Wool, Illumix, Scholastic, Funko, Youtooz, and none of them seem to be over-heading the operation since Scott retired/moved to focus on the movie.

[freakova]

Munch has a fun friendship with Abe because it’s clear that they don’t see eye-to-eye despite being in similar situations, has a story that would be extremely fitting to the NQ and is way more interesting than whatever Abe and Stranger could potentially have.

Actually yknow what? I am so sick of how OWI constantly ignores Munch compared to Abe and Stranger. Like completely ignore the fact that MO introduced an entirely new community AND generation to the Oddworld franchise. Fans focus so much on Abe and Stranger potentially meeting when Munch is just as popular, has a great design AND important story.

[bosskie]

Evolution of Molluck

This post is dedicated to analysing changes Molluck has gone thru and how he became the Glukkon he is now. I just felt like gathering my thoughts and observations related to him since they are pretty much scattered around right now, and I haven't even mentioned them all, but I also wanna write about them in more detail... So, let's talk about this endearing Gentlegluk!

This is a huge post, as you can assume, since I could just keep talking about Molluck... So, I also just share my thought about Molluck 'n' stuff related to him in general. I also discovered new things while working on this post... Man, Molluck is so fascinating...

I hope that my 'unnecessary expertise' on him can give you something:

------------------------------

Table of Contents

Appearance

RuptureFarms 'n' Essence

Anatomy

Voice

Personality

Other

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Appearance

Despite of the redesign, Molluck has kept his certain recognizable features: His trusty cigar, glowing eye(s), sharp pinstripe suit, and similar shoes.

His facial features have remained quite similar too:

But there are still lots of changes which can also make him unrecognizable.

His colours have changed significantly. He has now pale skin and dark gray suit instead of his previous darker brown-ish skin and purple suit with a red shirt (or whatever that is). His eyes are red instead of yellowish orange, and he has better/more teeth now. In general, his features have become more refined and delicate. But I would also like to say that it's interesting how 'human-like' his current teeth seem now. It makes me wonder if Glukkons eat also something else than mere meat since their teeth look clearly like omnivore teeth now. Mudokons instead seem to have herbivore teeth. I just really have been wondering what does Molluck eat... Other than some luxury meat stuff I mean.

His suit has also a different shape now. OWI probably wanted to make it describe better his business trait, since "Molluck was inspired by [Lorne's] encounters with smiling, ruthless Wall Street brokers and NYC's gangster-business types who thrived in moral gray zones" (Lorne Lanning on X | 15.8.2024). Everything can be business! "Don't take it personally when he sells your guts for fertilizer - it's only business", said the manual of Abe's Oddysee about Molluck. But Glukkons got more personalized suits 'n' looks since Abe's Exoddus, so it could also relate to storytelling OWI wanted to do for Abe's Oddysee because all the Gluks in AO look very similar. (But it might also be just due to limited time and budget.)

Before I continue about Molluck's suit, I wanna point out that not only did his suit change from the early Soulstorm concept, his head is also a bit different in the final version. His final head looks once more more refined and delicate. It seems that his eyes might even be a bit bigger than they were in that concept art piece.

It's really interesting that OWI changed the side of his suit clip. The early Soulstorm concept had the same side as the previous Mollucks, which is also the same side as men's clothing has. But he isn't the only Gluk in Soulstorm whose suit fastening side on the left: Morguer also has his buttons on the left. The other two have their buttons on the right, as you could assume. I have been wondering if it really means something, that is it like a sign of something... I have only made a joke that it tells you about the Gluk's preference, which means 'a win' in my case... But I really wonder why the side of their suit fastening differs... I just don't feel like it was changed just because "it looked better". But the design of Molluck's suit clip was also changed to the final version since the earlier Soulstorm concept seems quite similar to the previous versions.

But his medal in Soulstorm also got more refined shape later on. It's surprisingly difficult to find online good versions of those concept art pieces with his medal visible, and even odder is that one earlier medal concept piece ended up to both 'Oddworld: Abe's Origins' and 'Oddworld: Soulstorm - the Art of the Videogame' books... I would have assumed the artbook to have the newest one but nope. But, at least there you can find a good quality version of that. But his 'neckthing' has changed earlier too. It seems that the earliest version was like a necklace and then it was changed into a collar-like necklace. His current 'neckthing' is like a bolo tie which is more related to his career than those previous Magog Cartel necklaces. His current bolo tie doesn't really have less authority though since it's an award for his success: a gold medal of Stockgluk Guild which denotes his position as a keeper of livestock.

In NnT, Molluck did lose his suit pocket he had in AO, but he got something better in return in Soulstorm: It seems that those 'arm holes' of his suit were a later addition. It has been confirmed that those holes do exist that the Glukkons can now use their hands, well, as hands. Too bad that we don't see that 'hand action' in Soulstorm. But I'm still glad to see that Glukkons ain't anymore as helpless as they used to be. Though yeah, they do are still quite limited physically, but Molluck has been proven to be deadly even with such limitations. Don't mess with him!

Related to anatomical things: In Abe's Oddysee, you could clearly see Molluck's elbows thru his suit, which was changed in New 'n' Tasty. Therefore, Molluck's backside in Soulstorm is similar to one in NnT. Frankly, I have been wondering what OWI thought when those elbows were visible... I cannot personally watch that opening cutscene 'normally' after I noticed that detail because they look like odd buttocks to me... I just laugh like everytime I see that cutscene because of that. (Though, I do laugh at it in all the cutscene in AO in general, but yeah... Meat grinder would probably call me if that Molluck knew it. (Y)) I wonder if the other creatures in Oddworld thought the same before it was changed... Yeah, using the finest silk ain't always the best option for a suit.

Soulstorm Molluck model is a reworked New 'n' Tasty model and it can be noticed for instance from some details. For example, Soulstorm Molluck has some of the same pimples as the NnT one:

I personally like those lil pimples he still has! But he certainly looks better having them less than previously.

I feel like these photos show some other similarities and changes too, obvious stuff that I don't need to explain. But I assume that Soulstorm Molluck has still the same body as the NnT one since in the Soulstorm artbook his bare shoulders can be seen and there seems to be no change. (There was obviously no need to do changes since we don't see him naked in Soulstorm... A pity.)

Hot or Not According to OWI

Originally, Molluck was described to have "boyish good look" and "charm", but in Soulstorm, he is described to be "uglier than before" with his lost eye and broken "disgusting teeth", making him seem scarier too. So, original Molluck had better looks according to OWI.

From boyish good looks 'n' charm to ugly 'n' scary. (Y) These are subjective opinions though, but the way OWI presents his looks has changed. But OWI has called Glukkons the ugliest species in Oddworld during the release of Soulstorm anyway, so he is kinda just another ugly Glukkon according to OWI. He is still kinda unique compared to the other Glukkons since he is the only one with glowing eye(s).

So, it's basically up to you if Molluck is still "attractive by Glukkon standards" since OWI seems to have changed the way they talk about Molluck's looks. (If you ask me, Molluck is my whole beauty standard!)

Oh, and yeah, I almost forgot that Lorne has called Soulstorm Molluck a "crazy-looking smart monster" in this video. So yeah, that's how Lorne sees Molluck. (Y) He doesn't seem to talk about him in a positive way there anyway, but it's totally understandable, I see the narrative. But I still see him in a different way... So, the message got corrupted on its way to my brain or something. (Just joking. I love that 'crazy' Gluk!) Also, I have said this earlier, but it seems that Lorne has forgotten or doesn't realize that Molluck does have one stereotypical feature that is related to highly intelligent characters: large head. Molluck has the biggest head/brain of all the Glukkons in Soulstorm and I bet that it's not a coincidence.

RuptureFarms 'n' Essence

Originally, RuptureFarms seems to have had burgers as one of its products. These are some logo designs and RuptureFarms marketing tactics:

Glukkon Burgers, I'm lovin' it. (Y) What. These are just quite interesting concepts... They make it seem like those burgers are made from Glukkons, not that they were made by Glukkons, in general at least... Frankly, I would still be interest in tasting some Glukkon meat, even they are my favourite Oddworld species... (I still eat octopuses even they are my favourite creatures on Earth, so it's the same... I eat them with love! It's quite rare meat here though.) Those logo designs also kinda evoke a question if Glukkons practice any cannibalism... Just wondering.

I wonder if the Munch's Oddysee PlayStation 2 tech demo has a reference to this. The part where the Sligs march with a looming hamburger on the background just reminds me of this.

There also happened another kind of development but between Abe's Oddysee and New 'n' Tasty: RuptureFarms is cleaner and lighter now.

Man, it's long since I touched NnT... I still feel like I cannot really stand playing it but I wanted to take some screenshot to show the difference. And this comes from a person who played all the main Oddworld games for the first time in the same year. I personally feel like Molluck is somewhat ruined in NnT, has less personality and soul than in AO, but I appreciate the model though. (Y) But more about this later.

But I have been joking that RuptureFarms is cleaner now because there are 299 Mudokons instead of 99! Molluck figured out how many Mudokons it takes to clean up the Farm. (Y) But I gotta say that I really prefer this bloodier and darker Farm. I'm really glad that Molluck got back to more like his original self in Soulstorm where he basically embraces butcher theme. Just look at his blimp:

There he is, with a meat cleaver 'n' hook! There's even like a circular saw on the background, which reminds me of the limited edition cover of New 'n' Tasty though... But it doesn't still remove the fact that NnT Molluck seems softer than AO Molluck, no matter how pitch shifted his voice is there. My point was just that Soulstorm Molluck feels more similar to AO Molluck than NnT Molluck. SS Molluck and AO Molluck feel like the same character while NnT Molluck just feels like something is off...

When I look at these, that SS Molluck and AO Molluck have the same energy and expression while that NnT Molluck more like just looks at the Slig without frowning like the other Mollucks, but his mouth's expression is also different. (Molluck is so cute also when he looks angry!) So, I tend to think that SS Molluck's personality is more like from AO Molluck, but his appearance is derived from NnT Molluck. More about the personality change later on.

Though yeah, I also gotta mention that RuptureFarms brand is slightly different in Soulstorm, which can be seen from Molluck's blimp:

I think that the interesting thing here is why "brand" is well, "brand"... Is this the same Molluck who knows that his products are disgusting? I mean, in Abe's Oddysee, he knows it:

I hope that you can see what I see, that AO Molluck and SS Molluck are surprisingly similar. (That text was removed in NnT. A pity... I love that text!)

Anatomy

After getting into meat here, let's look at Molluck's meat, I mean, his anatomy, since it has gone thru some changes too:

How much moolah I need to get that sculpture, even just to rent it... There ain't any radical changes here but they are still interesting, at least for me. That early concept art Molluck also got an interesting tattoo there.

In the early concept art, his body is shorter and his pectoral muscles seem more like ribs. In Abe's Oddysee, his body seems to be longer and he seems more muscular in general. In New 'n' Tasty, Molluck's body looks, yet again, longer but also more refined, which makes his body parts more distinct; earlier his pectoral muscles and ribs seemed to be like smashed together. NnT model also seem to have less muscular arms than AO one. His hands have also gone thru some slight changes, but my own personal favourite is that hand on the top right and I use that as my reference for my Molluck stuff. (Those hands are just like the most beautiful hands, okay... I love those long sharp nails too...) Oh, and yeah, his single toe nails have some lil changes too, mainly related to its size though. (I prefer that NnT model one here.) So, yeah, when it comes to my Molluck anatomy, I have mixed my favourite stuff but also done my own refinement. But my basis is also that NnT model, like it's for the Soulstorm model too.

I have seen that people mainly laugh at Molluck's body, or if they do shipping, like self-ship stuff, they alter his body to have 'human-like' body proportions, or at least change 'that one fact'... Yes, I do laugh at Molluck's elbow ass in AO, but he is clothed there and I wouldn't laugh at his bare body. I personally love his body as it is, and I feel like I would even like it much less if it had more 'normal' proportions. Yeah, I might have an odd taste, but his body is just, uh... exquisite, the whole Gluk is! Like, I only find his lil legs as dainty and beautiful. I just prefer his body just as it is here, without any additions to his anatomy, you know, I don't miss that thing. One person on the official Oddworld Discord served did a great image of that though; I love that. (Y) But yeah, frankly, he doesn't need it. (That Gluk just makes me go crazy... I cannot hide it; I only want him... No one else has made me feel like he does... OWI, can I marry Molluck? I wanna give him all my love... I only just wish that he could still enjoy making love, since it's about love for me, and I only wish him to feel good.)

I love that little big Molluck! His 'odd' body proportions are a part of him and I feel like he would lose a part of himself if they were altered significantly. It's also one reason why he is so adorable to me... Oh, and I'm not here to judge anyone, just sharing my observations and thoughts. Just like your Molluck stuff like you want! But frankly, I feel like I like/love/prefer Molluck in a different way than the others in general... I have just seen no one like me... Maybe they are just silent but still.

Voice

Even Lorne Lanning has always been Molluck's voice actor, his voice is different in each game. But the most interesting example of this is New 'n' Tasty:

In cutscenes, Molluck has quite pitch shifted voice which makes him feel more soulless and having less personality. He doesn't even do his lovely murmur 'n' 'giggling anymore in the opening cutscene when Abe introduces him, just some generic growling... I just love that AO Molluck's giggling. (Y) But what's the interesting thing here is that the emergency boardroom meeting announcements given by a Glukkon sound mainly very close to Soulstorm Molluck...

I recorded those announcements from the game and there are some Sligs screaming stuff on the background due to that... But you can hear the stuff still. When I tried to record these, the first two came only once while the other two multiple times, so some of them are rarer than others. I have been able to catch four unique announcements by a Glukkon, and I hope that I have them all...

The first one is the most interesting one, and I don't think that I have even heard it before... But those first three ones really sound like Soulstorm Molluck in my opinion... That fourth one actually reminds me of Dripik but I still wanted to include it here.

I'm not totally sure if those all are made by Molluck, but my point is that that Glukkon voice sounds like Soulstorm Molluck! Why the odd he couldn't have that voice in NnT cutscenes... He has just way too much pitch shift there... In Soulstorm, I'm only glad that they gave him some pitch shift! That earlier a bit higher Molluck voice just makes me laugh... It just doesn't sound good enough. So yeah, I dig that final Molluck voice, love actually. (Y) You can still hear the 'unnatural' pitch shift though, especially when he breathes, but it's alright.

I gotta say that while recording those announcements, I started to think this question: Did Molluck use the Glukkon executives as 'a meat shield' since he didn't come to the meeting? I mean, Molluck did probably understand/know how dangerous Abe could be, so he made a plan where he tricked Abe to use his power to the executives and after that ordered the Sligs to capture Abe. This really makes sense to me... Yeah, he probably tried to use the other Gluks to save his ass, but the Mudokons' 'supernatural powers' ruined it all. It really sounds like him; he is described to be cruel, a ruthless back-stabber after all. Also yeah, Molluck knowing about Abe's powers could explain all the security orbs around the Farm that prevent Abe from chanting...

And if that's the case, the first announcement is certainly by Molluck! See, he asks all the executive Gluks to report to the boardroom, and then the Slig asks if he is also coming to the meeting. He certainly doesn't wanna answer the truth, because it would make the other Gluks doubtful. So, if I hear right, he answers the Slig "Shut your piehole!", because the Slig is about to ruin his plan. Man, I only now started to think about this more... I have never even seen anyone talking about this. But welp, I'm probably 'the biggest Molluck enthusiast on Earth'... Someone gotta take care of Molluck too! But before I completely change the topic, I wanna say that the second announcement gotta be Molluck too because it sounds exactly like the first one. I'm not sure about the third one, but it does sound like him still.

Therefore, I gotta give some props for NnT for helping me to discover this Molluck's plan I have ignored all this time... Man, why it feels like NnT Molluck has more personality in that one announcement than in any NnT cutscene... Like, that's the actual Molluck for me! I'm glad that I finally found him in NnT too. (Y)

I don't feel like it's necessary to put any direct voice comparison stuff here since well... I'm mainly just pointing out interesting stuff here and you can do that comparison by yourself if you wish. So, um, yeah, I'm just like a guide here.

Personality

I have said earlier that New 'n' Tasty Molluck seems 'softer' than Abe's Oddysee Molluck, but I cannot still deny that NnT Molluck feels more like some 'generic evil Gluk' and it's mainly due to his too low pitch shift voice... But otherwise NnT Molluck seems 'softer' than AO Molluck, and with softer I mean like less cruel or something.

One example of this is the ending cutscene. In Abe's Oddysee, Molluck says "Kill 'im!" when he orders the Slig to pull the lever, while in New 'n' Tasty, Molluck says "Get toast!". Why Molluck had to be 'more child-friendly', or how I should describe that change... I like Molluck brutal. (Y) But if you also just compare those two cutscenes, you can see the quality difference here, which really affects my way to see these two Mollucks... NnT doesn't even show how Molluck's clothing gets burned, just changes the camera... AO one just has more details, like look at that smoke that comes out from Molluck's mouth when he shouts too! (That detail is not in NnT either.) It's a pity that we don't have those cutscenes in high quality... Oh, and I did forget to mention earlier that NnT Molluck doesn't laugh with the other Glukkons like AO Molluck does after revealing his Mudokon Pops plan. It's an interesting change... He just seems to be pleased with the Gluks liking his plan.

I feel like I have already explained those differences that much that I'm unsure of how to describe the personality change any better after all... It's just something I see and feel, and therefore, it's not easy to explain. But yeah, I do see that Soulstorm Molluck has a soft side because he just feels friendly... But he still has the same brutal and ruthless side as he has in AO. He do is always ready to throw someone under the bus and cut 'people' (or what the odd you should use in Oddworld...) out from his life, when he doesn't need them. So, I bet that he barely has empathy and is egoistic like Gluks do are in general, but I still feel like that deep inside of him he is also able to love and care... He just needs to be like that in order to survive; it's also how he gained his position. Saying "life is a game" would fit this. His mother doesn't even seem to truly love him, since I bet that she loves him just for him being successful and is ready to abandon him after failing her. Molluck's life is just about working hard and getting rich, living and dreaming of luxury life. He was bred to work for Magog Cartel. I just wish that he could get to feel true love too...

I'm not justifying Molluck's doings, or trying to make him seem innocent, but just trying to paint the bigger picture. He is even afraid of his investors... I just feel bad for him since I see that he could also be kind... This is just how I see him. I just wish that I could hold him tight... Worker Glukkons are basically just 'higher slaves'. Molluck's main priority is to keep his investors and the Cartel happy. But I'm not denying that Molluck probably does actually enjoy being brutal, but it's interesting that he produces products that he sees as disgusting... Does he produce them because his investors wish that? But yeah, the way Lorne descibes those Magog Cartel investors here doesn't sound pleasant indeed... But I really hope that OWI is able to show them like he says there! Frankly though, I'm a bit afraid of the next Oddworld thing since I wish that nothing brutal happens to Molluck... Like, I don't wish to see him die... I bet that you can understand this since he is just so dear to me... But even if it happens, I'm okay with it; it's just his story and I accept it. I can still keep him loved and create an alternative story where Molluck has a happy ending.

Oh, and yeah, Lorne has also explained some stuff about the Glukkons at that annual board meeting, like who they were, which I did ask. You can find the answer here, if you are interested. I'm totally changing the subject here... But like I said, I ended up painting the big picture of Molluck's life here, for whom and with whom he worked. I just wonder the whole Glukkon staff at RuptureFarms since there seems to have been also other Gluks working there... For example, that cancelled Oddworld movie would have contained a Glukkon named Mr. Ryce who was responsible for the security at the Farm. Interestingly, New 'n' Tasty mentions him too... But if you read the script of the movie, you can see Molluck's usual behaviour... He ordered him to be fed to the Wyenas. I wonder if 'Wyenas' are hyena-like creatures in Oddworld. But I'm just really interested to know what like Molluck's life was at the Farm, like even just his average day...

Other

Here's some smaller stuff I feel like mentioning:

Age

Originally, Molluck was described to be 40-something, but Lorne has said Soulstorm Molluck is 50-something, when I asked him how old Molluck is 'n' other stuff like that. I just wanted to be sure about it since frankly, Molluck doesn't seem like 40-something, and he seems to had been close to retiring... Poor Molluck... (I just genuinely feel bad for Molluck, okay.) This is again like something unrelated, but I just wanna say that I have been wondering if smoking is the reason why the average Glukkon lifespan is 65 years... But according to the lifespan, Molluck has lived 80-90 % of his life. Can he be considered old? I personally don't know...

Retirement

Previously, it seems that Molluck's retirement plan was to buy a house in Lake Como after he could afford it, and then leave RuptureFarms behind. But Soulstorm suggests that he actually wants to retire on a luxury air yacht. It's an interesting change, but fits Glukkons in general.

Scarring

I have been wondering if Molluck's scarring is something that's only present in Soulstorm, because 'the previous Molluck' doesn't seem to have any scars after 'the disaster'... Those are only concepts though but still, I would assume him have some scars if he was planned to have them back then.

But I have also been thinking if he got scars just like that to look more evil... I mean, that kind of eye scar seems a somewhat stereotypical villain scar. And his red eye(s) highlight this theme here even more. So yeah, I bet that OWI did aim to make Molluck look intimidating, sinister, and evil. But yeah, like I wrote earlier, this message did 'corrupt' inside my brain, so all I see is just the cutest creature I know! That message's error rate gets just greater the more time passes... I mean, I just keep loving this Gluk more and more. He makes my heart burst...

Oh, and I can say that I do have several nicknames for him... They are mainly just some Finnish nonsense derived from his name though... Möllykkä, Möllyskä, Mällökki, Mälökki, Mällöskä, Mollukka, Molluska, and so on... (If Molluck's name was written in Finnish like its pronounced in English, it would be "Mälök".) Yeah, I love my language's versatility. (Y) I also tend to call him 'Mussukka' which, yes, sounds kinda like his name, but it's also an actual word in Finnish. (Some of those nicknames I mentioned are also actual words in Finnish though.) I love Molluck's name too, by the way!

This whole post is becoming some nonsense at this point... So, better end this post now...

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Thank you for your time and interest! I hope that this post gave you something, was worth reading. I'm always glad to talk about Molluck. And yeah, this seems to be my longest Molluck post so far, at least when it comes to writing... And here ain't even all I could write about him! I just cannot get enough of this Gluk... He just feels like "the one" for me, and I love him with my whole heart... Molluck! <3

Oh, and my goal here is not to make you also love Molluck. I more like just wanna share my thoughts about him, like how I see him and what observations I have made. What I post on my blog is just my narrative. You can think whatever you want about Molluck, even hate him with your whole heart. I'm still always interested to hear how people see him, even if he was hated, I can get it. Love is not about loving only someone's positive sides, so I do also see his negative sides, but he is still just such an adorable entity... I just think that he is a lovable character.

This whole blog was established to spread Molluck love, so I'm just doing my job! And "I love this job", like that one Slig said. (Y) Oh, and it seems that I got a message from Molluck:

I just had to... It's just funny how I can make good enough Molluck impersonation. It's very useful for creating some Molluck stuff. (Y) I still think that he wouldn't shout at me like that, so I only made that for shits and giggles. His way to talk can be harsh though, but he doesn't always mean to be harsh. (Also yeah, I love that grumpy face!)

I still feel like I might have forgotten something, but it's probably the best to continue the talk in other posts...

(All the thing I'm doing for this Gluk who ain't even 'real'... But our brains see no difference between loving a real person and a fictional character, so gotta blame my brain! I mean, sometimes I just laugh at my Molluck thing, even he means the world to me... Man, how many times I have even repeated that I love him? Not enough apparently. I just feel like I love him so much that I cannot even express it... Again, you can think whatever about this, I don't mind; I'm used to be seen as a weirdo. I also got other things in my life and am able to do them successfully, but Molluck is like always on my mind. (Y))

[vykker]

Oddworld Headcanon 3/?: Mudokon Drones

@freaknova shared this great screenshot from Lorne Lanning's twitter and it got me wondering about mudkokon drones! Yeah it was three years ago but I'm always late to everything. Idk.

Right away, the language choice here is interesting. Drones "GET" to live very different lifestyles, that is to say, their lifestyle is actively tolerated by the industrialists rather than something they need to fight for. And for whatever reason, a worker becoming a drone is a bad thing, at least from the industrialist perspective. So, why can't a factory owner just put drones to work with everyone else? What makes them so special? I think there's a few possibilities.

I'll rank them from what I find least likely to most likely- and it's all just speculation of course for my own amusement. Here we go:

1.Drones are aggressive, especially towards other drones. The right to mate is awarded only to the strongest drone. I ranked this one at the top because I believe it's the least likely. Mudokons are a very social and collaborative species. Just for this reason I find it hard to believe drones would have to fight each other to breed. I think it would be too distracting and unproductive in a village hierarchy to have workers turn into drones and start fighting each other. Plus, I can't imagine any mudokons getting into a fight to impress their queen- not only does it sound dangerous, but I don't think their resident queen would be into it. I think queens want their villages to be peaceful.

2. Drones breed and then die. We see this in bees [& a ton of other species.] A drone bee's only purpose is to mate with the queen one time, then get out of the way. Even if they don't get to mate, their lifespans are incredibly short, and they quickly die. If mudokon drones are similar, driven by a horniness so extreme it kills them, this would obviously be a huge problem for factory owners trying to use them for labor. [Funny though!] That being said, I don't think this is likely. There’s a lot of logistical problems that come with this concept.

3. Drones are beautiful, but physically frail. In this scenario, the biological toll of turning from a worker to a drone is so great, their bodies neglect everything else. After all, if the drones only purpose is to breed with the queen, then they don't need to be capable of physical labor or defense- they just need to make sperm and look good. We see this in nature all the time! The diminutive and beautiful male putting on a show for a much larger, more utilitarian-built female. You don't need a large body to produce sperm, but you DO need a large body to produce lots of eggs.

Heck, there's even a ton of animals out there where the female breeds with the male one time- like the drone bees- then stores sperm to produce several clutches of offspring. This isn't just an insect thing, vertebrates do it too. Perhaps having stunning display feathers and coloration comes at the cost of being weak and easily injured- but it ultimately doesn't matter so long as they breed with a queen just once. As for "getting to live very different lifestyles"- the phrasing does not wholly indicate something positive. It could be that because drones have something ordinary mudokons lack, such as big ornate feathers or some other interesting flashy thing that the rest of society would find novel, they are able to work in more domestic fields requiring less physical labor, if only because they look pretty. Though IMO, it would be a reach.

4. Drones are nomadic wanderers who seek out villages far from home, perhaps breeding with multiple queens in their lifetime. In this scenario, a worker CAN become a drone at any time, regardless of whether any non-related queens are present. However, the physical changes that come with it also trigger a psychological urge to travel far, far, FAR away. In order to produce healthy offspring, drones are inclined to seek queens far outside the range of their birth families. They cannot resist this urge. Because of this, they have a reputation for being the ultimate wanderers, and are also quite flaky and noncommitted as a result.

Other mudokons view them in a negative light less because they're horny prettyboys, and more because they're unreliable. A drone could find a nice village with an unrelated queen, start settling in, then suddenly decide to pack up and leave- he's done his job- never mind any friends or responsibilities he gained at his new village. Or even worse, your brother could start showing signs of Droneing Out, and if that happens, you know he'll leave one day, and you'll never see him again. Thus, in mudokon society, it could be the workers discouraging each other from becoming drones. Industrialists would discourage this as well because it’s obviously annoying to deal with. Imagine a bunch of your workers see a drawing of boobs by accident and now they're covered in feathers and keep trying to make a run for it all the time. It would be a pain in the ass!

5. The Magog Cartel has a monopoly on drones. The Labor Eggs contract stipulates that each drone belongs to the Cartel. Assuming drones are extremely rare, but still common enough to be a known phenomena, factory owners would not want their workers turning into drones, because the Cartel legally can take ownership of them & they would not be reimbursed for the loss. They would have to buy a new worker out of pocket. What does the Cartel do with these drones? Don’t they only have Sam- wouldn’t any drones from the factories be her sons? HMMM! That’s an interesting question isn’t it? It may suggest they know where their next queen will come from, and it will not be Sam’s daughter. Or maybe they're aware of a rival group with their own mudokon queen, and are destroying potential competition.

6. Drones have “special rights”, because the only drones allowed to live in the Cartel's territories are NOT Sam’s children. If every worker mudokon we’ve seen was a child of Sam, it stands to reason that fertile male mudokons of unrelated bloodlines would be extremely valued. These males may spend their days in luxury with the only cost being regular sperm donations. They might not even get to meet Sam! However, if one of Sam’s children becomes a drone, he ceases to be useful [for one of the reasons already mentioned] and is killed, because at the moment, there are no other mudokon queens owned by the Magog Cartel in need of genetic donors. Some of the other points may be true- they may be weak, they may be flaky- but these are more secondary elements. When we do finally see some drones, I imagine they will probably all be decorated and flashy and radically different from one another- different skin colors and patterns, each one feathered like a different bird of paradise - all visually distinct from the Sam bloodline. I think they'll also be really bored.

Anyway, that's all I have for now. I could keep speculating because theres SO MUCH that can be done with mudokon society structure & I need to burn dinner.

[dandunn]

I made an art influence map because @nblemons did it and I wanted to do it too!!

Template here

Honorable mentions/guys I couldnt fit on here: Yume Nikki, SamSketchbook, Monkey Punch, Wolf's Rain, Cowboy Bebop, Henri Matisse, Noda Satoru, Osamu Tezuka.

There are probably more but I've already spent way too long on this lol.

Wanna talk about them all briefly:

Watership Down: no duh. This movie imprinted on me from a very young age and made me way more of a furry than I already was. I always liked how realistic the designs were compared to mainstream rabbit designs which focus on the 'cuteness' of the animal. I think it's dumb because rabbits are kind of stroppy violent jerks and I like them for that.

Aboriginal Art: this is kind of related to Watership Down because I took a lot of inspiration from the intro and the almost cave-painting like designs. It took me way too long to discover that what was so grabbing about that into was that it was inspired by Aboriginal artwork! I hope this is okay to say because I'm neither Aboriginal or even australian and a lot of the cultural meaning is lost on my dumb ass, but I think the shapes, techniques and colours are wonderful. Painting I used in the pic is by Charlene Carrington

Lorne Lanning: is the main designer for the Oddworld series of games and I wish more people knew about him because his character designs and conceptual art are just fantastic and gripped me from a very young age. And he made a game where you play as a cowboy who shoots bugs at people!

Spyro reignited: dragons are hot.

Spirited Away: I love Miyazaki's entire filmography but Spirited Away really had a grip on me one particular summer in school, the same one where I learned how to use watercolour paints, and I think it had more of an influence over my art than the others for some reason. It's a very summer-y movie to me with very bright colours.

Edmund McMillen: probably more well known as 'that guy who made Super Meat Boy' I've always loved the cartoony yet grotesque imagery in the Binding of Isaac which I am about to clock in 1000 hours on on my steam account. Another game of his which really got to me was Aether from the Basement Collection. Watching his segment in Indie Game the Movie and how he translated his fucked up upbringing into fun, heartrending and addictive games really inspired me.

Animal Well: I only just played this game for the first time this year which is why I made it very small but idk what else I have to say other than 'just fucking LOOK at it'.

Frida Kahlo: I did a project on her for school which involved watching a movie about her life which was both fascinating and tragic. Her surreal art can be both bright and evocative and also downright tearjerking.

Pokemon: whenever I'm designing a character I have Pokemon in mind, say what you want about certain designs but Ken Sugimori and all the other artists who have contributed over the years really have the talents to make a cute, fearsome or oddball guy you want to go on adventures with.

William Turner: another one from my school days and an artist from my own country. I always loved the colours and sweeping brushstrokes.

Eiichiro Oda: Yeah man what can you say about One Piece. When I was about 15 and having daily meltdowns, copying the expressions on his characters really helped me figure out how I was feeling. Oda is a menace but good lord he can draw.

David Hockney: When I was also in school I attended an exhibition of his which was basically "im retired and I can draw whatever I want now" with blown up ipad sketches and these strange landscapes with fauvist colours. I thought some of it was dumb at the time but looking back I really admire his use of colours and the looser movements compared to his older work.

Masahiro Ito: Creator of Pyramid Head, Bubble Head Nurse and 'Honey Butter Fuck Toast'. The man, the legend, the 'this is fuck' guy. His blend of the grimy industrial, bloody, monstrous and sexual is so fantastic. I feel like I should also put francis bacon here because most modern horror artists owe everything to him, but god I love Silent Hill and the imagery this man created will live on in my brain forever.

[torashisama]

Siuaraine : Is Moiraine the top ?

Short, unexplained answer : NO.

Long and explained version : No but,

I don't think that Siuan is a top or that Moraine is a bottom. Not even that they are both switches. What I think is that they don't really fit into these labels anymore. (They might have at some point but not anymore, so far into their relationship). Submissive or dominant, it's something else, but "top" or "bottom": I feel are too rigid for something that's most likely fluid.

But then again, If Siuan had to be put in one of the two she would be the top but something like a service one.

"Someone who is a top in bed but likes to service the other person (mostly only doing things for the other persons pleasure ) rather then dominating them."-Urban dictionary

"An individual who applies sensation or control with the bottom's pleasure in mind, rather than their own."- Wikipedia

“A top who acts according to what pleases their bottom, which pleases them.”

Which does not fit into the multitude of narrative that are implied by her just belonging in the role of the "top".

As for Moiraine if she had to be put in one of those she would be a bottom, no doubts when it comes to New Spring but the show made this particular dynamic of theirs more complex by keeping Rosamund's ad-lib ("On your knees") in the show. Yet, she would still be a bottom and still is. Only, she wouldn't fit the narrative and implications of the role either. She'd be switching between some particular types of bottoms, she could be a regular bottom, a bratty one or a power one. It'll depend on how she feels basically or on what she needs.

A regular bottom would be what's most natural for her, whether she'd be bratty or a power one would depend on how confident she feels ordering a Siuan around at the time.

"Gay terminology, Similar to a bottom, but a specific variety. A power bottom tends to be in charge, and feels most powerful when bottoming, the one who bottoms is the one on the "throne" so to speak, "taking" the Top".- Urban dictionary

"A bottom or submissive sex partner who refuses or fights against the top/dominant partners orders in a bratty way" - Urban dictionary

Let's demonstrate how she still is the "bottom" (reminder that I think these labels are ill fitting for them).

1. Moraine's been flustered any time Siuan was around or she thought about her :

During the first Siuaraine meeting in the Hall of the White Tower, as soon as Siuan arrives and turns around, Moiraine is thrown off balance. Her eyelashes flutter uncontrollably, her breathing is irregular, so much so that she breathes trough her mouth as if she needed to catch her breath because she had stopped breathing the whole time (also, when Siuan lift her gaze to look at her she instantly bow, almost, if not in sync with her and everyone closely follows after). scene

Before going to the hut, when she's preparing to go to Siuan and Lan arrives we can see that she's ridiculously happy and excited of finally reuniting with her, she's eager to get there and just want Lan to finally leave so that she can go and see and be with her. As Lan is leaving she gets all flustered again just thinking about her and has to exhale to compose herself before she even starts channelling to activate her ter'angreal; scene

In the Hut, she somewhat pretends to be calm, composed and unaffected because she knows that Siuan must be mad at her about the hall. She does not move, stays quiet, just listens but then as she listens to her, looks at her, it becomes harder, she starts to smile and when Siuan notice her do so, she orders.

"Don't smile.",

Moiraine obeys.

"Am I forgiven, Mother?", she teases. Siuan is not in the mood for it and reminds her harshly.

"I hate it when you call me that. Moiraine is still not moving an inch, she waits and Siuan continues

"So much for the Amyrlin Seat remaining neutral without favourite" she stands up closes the distances between them and as she does so, Moiraine follows her with her eyes and glances at her lips before looking back into her eyes and Siuan finishes on

"No life, no love of one's own, nothing but the seat". Moiraine asks

"When have we ever followed the rules?" It's a reminder. Siuan finally touches her, she lays her hand onto her cheek and Moiraine sinks into it for a moment then looks back at her, Siuan grabs her by the neck and gently pulls her in for a kiss, a short but deep and intense kiss, she pulls back to look at her again, it's still hard to believe that she really is there, Moiraine wanted more but stays passive and

only take what she's given, she too is looking at her, she glances at her tattoos, still not touching her and only hovering her hand over her skin (I never realised before too) she realises that they are new.

"These are new" she says.

"A year, maybe two"

"you've been gone such a long time" Siuan answers softly, almost whispering, she lays her hand back on the other side of her neck and pulls her back in for a kiss, maybe more, as she does so Moiraine suddenly speaks and says something reminding her of their performance in front of the hall earlier, stopping her from going further, she's surprised, looks at her, considers saying something and prefer not to and questions her instead with her look. She (might ) thinks

"is it what you want?" and somehow she knows, her puzzled expression turns into a quick smirk before changing for the last time before she descends. It had turned into an assertive, almost intimidating look warning her about what was to come.What did Moiraine do ? She ordered.

"On your knees." scene

( Yeah, i ended up writing it like I was writing a fanfic, i know, was not intended, I guess you can't escape this happening when you describe this kind of scene. )

2. Moiraine cannot challenge or resist Siuan :

In the hut :

After she composed herself before coming in :

Do not approach because she knows Siuan's mad and that she'll get scolded for the hall.

Is told not to smile, obeys no questions asked or backtalk.

Later,

Siuan : Rest.

''You think I can sleep now'' (resist order)

kisses "I'm here"

close her eyes to rest (obeys)

scene

When going to see Siuan in her study :

Ny : Let her wait

Mo: "Siuan Sanche only waits for one woman and it's not you."" while leaving to go see her wife at the speed of gays that she regained in E08 whether she's followed or not.

She will not risk making her wife angry or upset even though she'd actually be waiting for her and she knows it. (she also probably just wanted to be the most amount of time near and around hee when she could be before she'd have to leave but I included this scene because it also gives use some insight into their relationship a part from the fact that it tells us that Mo is head over heels for Siuan, possesive about her as she won't share any of the special treatments she gets by being Mother's favorite, not even with them and that she's proud and overly confident (in a good way) when it comes to her wife and will not hesitate to be more open when she can allow it because no ones around)

In Siuan's study :

Just watching and listening to Siuan, we can see that Moiraine's visibly fawning, melting,folding, everything over her. Had Ny and Eggy been able to pay attention to something else but Siuan they would have seen it too.

The woman has more colors on her face there, after their night together than during all of S1 and S2 combined.

scene

In the Hall (oath rod marriage) :

Siuan: ''By the light and the hope of my salvation and rebirth, I, Moiraine Sedai swear to obey the judgement of the Amyrlin Seat and never return til she calls me home or may the creator face turn from me and darkness consume my soul.''

Moiraine: ''By the light and the hope of my salvation and rebirth, I, Moiraine Sedai, DO swear to HONOUR and obey Siuan Sanche, daugther of the river, clever as pike and strong as the tides and never return until she calls me home….. or may the creator face turn from me and darkness consume my soul"

In her family home, in Cairhien, when Anvaere tells her that the Amyrlin Seat demanded an audience with her:

she's visibly distraught

S2: In the hall of the Sun palace

Their meeting follows the same pattern as the one they had in 1x06 ( shoutout to those who saw my thread on the similarities between these two episodes on twitter), even though, this time she's not overjoyed by the idea but rather apprehensive as she wanted to keep her away too, as she's had been doing with Lan.

reminder in case you don't how that's what she had intended on doing with Siuan in some type of way : related post

As I as said these meetings follow the same thread:

Confrontation ( Why did you do this?/ Why didn't you tell me ?

Scolding-> ( idiotic risks/ Lan's consent)

Comfort ( Siuan's closes the distance and initiate contact by first laying her hand on her cheek, kiss her etc../ Siuan closes the distance, initiate contact in the same way but no kissing for obvious reasons (+ it's cairhien)

Tension/Discomfort ( Exile necessity/ "it's time I meet Rand'Al Thor")

She also pretends that she's calm and unphased but we can see that she is not able to look Siuan's eyes, that even when she does, it is part of her act and she surrenders as soon as she tries to correct and mask what she truly feeks like.(except when it's not about her, them, Lan but the dragon reborn and their mission)

When Siuan approach she leans back slightly, and when she does touch her, she fights against it.

Siuan tames her bratty bottom, and I mean that she literally does and proceeds as such:

She acknowledges the defying gesture and adjust accordingly

Instead of a caress, she chooses to cup her cheek in her hand and caresses her with her thumb instead

Moiraine folds here and there and melts into her touch and loses any ability to think of anything but Siuan until she's pulled out of it when she decides to let go of the hold that she has on her as she's telling her about her meeting Rand. For half of the sentence, her hand is still on her and Mo seems to just be lost in her eyes, as she somehow does not react at all, as if she couldn't compute what she was being told and it's only when Siuan ends and says Rand Al'Thor and finally let go of her that we finally get the reaction we'd expect from her.

scene

When they fought about Rand in the Sun Palace :

She dropped the ball when they were arguing about Rand.

After, she's angered Siuan she doesn't hold back her words anymore and at the end Mo surrenders, no backtalk, no more bargaining nothing just silence in compliance to what Siuan said would happen from now.

scene

"Siuan's dominant but she would sub for Moiraine":

As for those who agrees that, Siuan clearly is the dominant one of the two but would be more submissive in private or with Moiraine, well you have been showed thanks to the previous chapters that this simply was not true as she is still as dominant as she is when she's in public and fulfilling her role as Amyrlin Seat with Moiraine and in private. She's only softer as she actually cares about Moiraine's well being, needs and wants probably more than her own as she ended up being the one becoming Amyrlin Seat when of the two Moiraine would fit better (dominance set aside).

"Siuan's a bottom, she'd use the opportunity to let go":

For those who believes that she would be Moiraine's bottom because she'd take the opportunity to let go of having to always be in charge, I understand why you would think that. As it makes perfect sense for someone to want to let go of a mask that they had to wear all day long as it is exhausting (I understand on a personal level) but you're just mistaken about what exactly the mask she has to wear consist of.

To be brief and directly go to the point: Siuan is naturally dominant and takes on roles involving being in charge of her own volition. She's so dominant that she steps into these roles without realising it which is something that sometimes could have gotten her in trouble because of how she acted. It's as natural as breathing is, and as easy as we've all seen that channelling is for her. She doesn't pretend. This is what made the Amyrlin Seat fit her more than she fitted it.

Simply put, the Amyrlin Seat does not restrain her because she has to rule, lead, and command 24/7, this she does even without intending to do so. It's having to suppress her quirks, behaving, the superfluous manners that comes with the title and " sorinde, mashinde, obiyar isain shai".

Sorinde, Mashinde, Obiyar isain shai. ( No life, No love of one's own, Nothing but the Seat) - Siuan Sanche

e.g : Alone with wife and kids, she specifically states that it's Siuan not the Amyrlin Seat today, she actually never put on the amyrlin mode.

scene

e.g : With Rand she distances herself from her role and only includes herself in the group of Aes Sedais.

"Do you know what Tower Laws says the Amylin must do if she finds the Dragon Reborn ?''

''We are meant to cage you, keep you shielded, channelling only what we want, when we want and when the last battle comes you'll be the best weapon in our arsenal not our general.''

scenes : First Meeting/Six Months. Huh!

For those still not seeing why I used Eggy, Rand and Ny as examples it's because Siuan isn't only sweet caring etc…she's not putting on a mask when she stops smiling because Nynaeve's being disrectpectful or when she lift her finger and stops them in their tracks. She's alone with Mo and their kids. When she's being silly and cute and then intimidating and showing and/or exuding dominance, these are both instances of her being herself. She's not switching to the Amyrlin Seat Mode.

The Amyrlin Seat Mode is her being stiff, barely moving and standing straight chin up and no slouch. It's her not using her hands as much or not at all and not making fish metaphors or being as expressive. That's what she had to suppress and what would create the need to let go that you attribute to her having to rule and she gets it back in the hut which is why she hates being called Mother by Moiraine.

scenes : Cairhein arrival/Logain

P.S : There are other reasons why she even has to pretend even though she fitted the role but they would have to be proved by spoilers from new spring so I won't rely on them or add them.

As I feel that me pointing out how different she actually is when she has to act (or mask) for an audience or just official matters versus how she is when she's herself with no reason to pretend is enough.

Now, obviously, anyone can headcanon Siuan and Mo how they prefer it to be. I myself do not think that they fit into these boxes so I don't really think about them this way but as much as this is true for me, it still doesn't change the fact that Moiraine is still protrayed to be a bottom and sub and Siuan a top and dom which makes my actual point of view on this matter as much of an headcanon as it makes yours one too (if it is different obvi), and it is fine.

PS: if you like my thoughts (or just the way I think about things) and would like to get my opinion on something as a non-reader, feel free to ask, the feature's here just for that, also sorry for the delay to those who waited, might be nobody but we never know. I had some connections issues today and couldn't post before.

Here : "WoT about: Rand gets no hero moments"

[lesserknownhusbands]

[normal-girl-in-an-odd-world]

17 - What moment from the games made you laugh?

I was going to say 'how am I supposed to choose just one'

then I remembered.

everything about this is just peak comedy to me.

The slig jamming out on the mic like it was a guitar, "Yeah! Bone production down! *guitar sounds*", and Phleg's rant, OH MY GOD.

"It ain't my fault, It's that Abe guy! First Rupture Farms, Now Necrum Mines. There ain't no bones anywhere! No bones; no brew! I. Am. totally SKROOOOD!!!! My career. Is. OVER!!! *squid sobbing noises* And it's all that Blue Bastard's FAAAAULT!!!"

No joke, Lorne Lanning deserves some kind of voice acting award for this scene alone XD

[thecuddlymuffintop]

Right now, I am hoping to finish Oddworld: New'n'Tasty and freeing as many Mudokens as possible over on my Twitch channel. You're more than welcome to stop in.

[banquetoct]

THANK YOU for auditioning for Banquet OCT

Thank you everyone who auditioned for Banquet!

Here is my small thanks for your efforts, you have all been acknowledged.   

Yin Lan by Nikka Raven Luzon by Mae of Clubs Sophie Holmes by Kris Meg Gulliver by Jonas Ezekiel by Jpops Grace Lorne by LinkstheShifter Simon Frost by Talondoodle Baxter Heines by SaltyAnchor Ezra Oliveira by AndrusArts Jack Drapier by Jonas Chris Cortez by CarniMari Rosalind Ehrenberg by Jpops