#OPPOSITE: SHRIKE.

[nikomedes]

realizing like a fool that shrike is, in both looks and temperment, just the dad from yotsuba&!. what have i done. can u even imagine. u hear dread whispers the bhaalspawn carved of the gods own flesh has returned to drown the world in blood, and u look over, and he’s

[monkey-wrench-series]

Is cabbage the opposite of pizza?

I look to Shrike creators as the authority on this matter.

[ifortom]

masterlist

⪼ Tom Holland

⌁ Shrike - One-Shot - angst

Royal Guard!Tom x Reader

A princess and a royal guard live a forbidden romance, hiding their feelings from the world. As they try to keep their love a secret, challenges and moral dilemmas test the strength of their relationship. Will true love triumph over conventions and royal expectations?

⌁ Champagne Problems - One-Shot- angst/fluff

Dad!Tom x Mom!Reader

Tom and y/n, a couple that used to be inseparable, now face a deep crisis in their marriage. Their daughter, Olivie, 4, is in the middle of this emotional turmoil. With busy lives, differences of opinion and fragmented communication, the love that brought them together is slowly fading. After the aftermath they must face their own demons, rediscover empathy, and find a way to rebuild the relationship they once shared. Not just for themselves, but also for the well-being of their daughter, who longs for a united family.

⌁ Bad Decisions - Series - angst/fluff/smut

Tom and Y/N, two students with opposite personalities, join forces to solve a problem: they both desperately need a fake relationship to escape different social pressures.

[snickerdoodlesart]

you.. do you have any facts to divulge about the abyssal and the shrike..

I answered a Shrike ask a bit ago so it's now the Abyssal's time to shine. The melatonin rat itself.

In a lot of ways, the Abyssal is Rivulet's opposite despite looking so alike. Number one, they're emo. Number two, they are completely sluggish on land and will asphyxiate and dry up if they stay out of water for too long. They can breathe fine underwater and maneuver it as easily as a jetfish.

They're also completely carnivorous and trying to force feed them plants will make them throw up. They are not designed for the path of veganism.

The rusting iterator gal is Mellow Tide. They don't have a solid design yet so I really just winged it.

[toastedclownery]

Okay I'm gonna be a bit crazy on the main tag and share a theory

I think Beebs tried applying for Civil service but couldn't because of his... History

I think it went like this

He was studying/training for it and he was about to be accepted

Something... Tragic happened. The "accident" where he lost his limbs? That might or might not have been his fault. But he was charged for it

He was no longer able to apply because he has a criminal record now?

We've seen a couple of times that he's ready and prone to help and protect people, it's just something in his nature

Also he's very quick to adapting to other species' customs or societies, or their biology. Like being respectful to Punti, and being surprisingly chill when he was communicating with the Agari's phantom.

It would explain the speech he gave before attacking Us, it'd be something that he learned from his training

Maybe his glove which is a similar blue to Killix' uniform and his multi-tool?

Now I don't have evidence for this last point but it's giving me vibes okay. I think he might have been banished from his home planet for what happened in the accident, too.

We barely know anything about Walrinian culture, but I figure their tusks are important. At least with real walruses, tusks are a form of status. I think him removing his tusks (or possibly having them removed against his will?) could be a sign of dishonor.

Or maybe he just lost them in the accident and he just filed them down. But either way, the Symbolism is still there. He no longer has a connection with his home planet and culture.

Beebs strikes me as someone who knows what it's like to lose it all, and he really doesn't want it to happen again, so he plays it very safe with everything he does. Like for example how he wants to slowly build up on the Monkey Wrench company

And I'm willing to say he's taking this approach with Shrike's friendship too.

He's the opposite to Shrike, he dislikes risk. I think it was this accident or... Whatever happened that shaped him into what he's like today. And it would make this conversation with Us make more sense.

If all of this is right (or close), that means he's lost so much. The majority of his limbs, the direction he was going to take with his life as a civil servant, possibly the link to his family and his culture. All of this happening so quickly might have motivated him to...

Yeah.

[ffverr]

Hozier x Jean/Scott edition because I can make everything about the X-Men AND this Irish man:

Jean is SO arsonist's lullaby coded while Scott is northern attitude (the opposites attract of it all!!!)

Scott point of view on jean??: NFWMB (on the nose but I'm right) (also Shrike AND Sunlight if you get what I mean).

And Jean's point of view on Scott/ their relationship + the phoenix's involvement is SO As it was

[ofmistandmire]

ARC 1 - OUT OF THE ASHES

Nearly four years ago, Scorching Rays was named the Voice of the Kith of the Whispering Grove. He had held a reputation as a proud and strong cat, and it was initially believed that he would lead the Kith into an age of success and honor. However, as the moons passed and Scorching Rays' reign carried on, his true intentions began to be revealed. Power-hungry and remorseless, Scorching Rays slowly transformed into a cruel tyrant before the eyes of his kithmates. With the remainder of the Council finding themselves near-powerless after the appointment of Billowing Bane, Scorching Rays' staunchest supporter, as Head Fighter and Successor, it seemed there was little anyone could do to stop him. Scorching Rays held little regard for the laws and traditions of the Kith, openly defying the Code and going against the Kith's previous commitments to remaining a peaceful presence in the area. With a disdain for Outsiders, he severed many of the positive relationships and alliances the Kith had formed with their neighbors over generations. He also began increasing the militarization of the Kith, ordering members of several Trades to cease their usual duties in favor of increasing patrols, tightening borders, and preparing for battle. Cut off from their former trade partners, and with fewer cats focusing on maintaining the Gardens, Aviaries, Library, and other vital structures, members of the Kith began to experience supply shortages and undue stress. However, any who were brave enough to speak up in opposition of Scorching Rays would be dealt harsh punishments, culminating in the brutal execution of the Head Spiritualist, Devout Tempest, for daring to question his leadership. As the Kith deteriorated under Scorching Rays’ grip, and especially after watching as one of her fellow Council members was struck down, Striking Talon, the Kith's Head Crafter, knew she could not sit idly by. Though she could do little in an official capacity, she began gathering loyal kithmates in secret with plans to rise up and remove Rays from leadership. When it became apparent that Scorching Rays was ready to launch a needless full-scale war against the neighboring Pride of Panthera, she made her move. As she suddenly struck Scorching Rays, her forces rallied behind her and battle broke out in camp, the rebels rising up against the tyrant and his supporters. In the ensuing conflict, Billowing Bane was killed by the vengeful Whistling Shrike, one of Talon's most trusted followers in the rebellion. Scorching Rays was left wounded but alive, and Striking Talon's rebels chased him and his surviving followers from Kith territory, with the promise that they would be met without mercy if they were ever to return. With no Successor remaining, Striking Talon claimed the role of Voice, vowing to restore her Kith to the security and peace they had once known. In an unprecedented move, she appointed Whistling Shrike as her Head Fighter without holding the customary election, citing the need for the support of the Fighters if Scorching Rays were to attempt to return. Now, the cats of the Kith have begun to rebuild their home in the wake of the tumult. And though the dust seems to have begun to settle, a lingering current of anxiety runs through many of them still - their former tyrant still alive, threatening to lunge from the shadows and return to claim his place once more. Still others may find themselves doubtful of their new leader - can a cat who seized power by force truly lead with a pure heart? Or is the true threat something far older and deeper than anyone could have imagined?

Of Mist and Mire will be taking applications for our first opening from March 1st to March 22nd, 2024. More information to follow in the coming days, including adoptable characters.

Rules | FAQ | Character Creation Guide | Timeline

[justketerthings]

I don't want to make 2 whole panels for mating idk what to put in the other pictures. I'm a naturalist.

Rooks and drakes fill the same role sexually, but drakes are likely to have larger harems, and drakes are seen as a "good luck" or "Ideal" spouse for their rarity and coloration. Not every shrike is interested in drakes, and usually they have an opposite attraction if they grew up with drake family members. Its a type thing.

Their window for mating is brief, and outside of this time they do not engage sexually at all and will not desire it. Sexual activity has no emotional weight in their society, and the accumulation of new wives is not seen as cheating. After laying eggs, females will not be fertile again for a few years. The harem gives the members a social circle and a partner to mate with in a species that is disproportionately shrikes.

Males also have mating songs which are actually very unpleasant and scary for humans. And loud. You know how crows caw with a pretty high pitch, but when you teach them english they sound like grown ass men? yeah. Imagine how deep that would be if the crow was 6 feet tall.

Harpy egg color ranges from blood red to light yellow, color is genetic, and they're about 6 to 8 inches. The male of the family is in charge of incubation, while shrikes scavenge during winter.

[dailydamnation]

As if a solo book isn't enough (it isn't, not nearly, great as it promises to be), there's more Illyana in the January 2025 solicits:

ULTIMATE WOLVERINE #1 CHRIS CONDON (W) • ALESSANDRO CAPPUCCIO (A/C) VARIANT COVER BY GLEB MELNIKOV • VARIANT COVER BY STEVE SKROCE VARIANT COVER BY LEE BERMEJO • VIRGIN VARIANT COVER BY LEE BERMEJO CONNECTING VARIANT COVER BY JOSEMARIA CASANOVAS ULTIMATE SPECIAL VARIANT COVER BY LEINIL FRANCIS YU • VARIANT COVER BY TBA THE MAKER'S ULTIMATE WEAPON! From rising star Chris Condon (That Texas Blood) and MOON KNIGHT powerhouse artist Alessandro Cappuccio comes the story of the ULTIMATE WOLVERINE! In order to maintain control of their corner of the Maker's world, three members of his council – Magik, Colossus and Omega Red – deploy their most lethal asset: The Winter Soldier! But WHO is the weapon behind the mask? 32 PGS./Rated T+ …$5.99

UNCANNY X-MEN #8 GAIL SIMONE (W) • JAVIER GARRÓN (A) • Cover by DAVID MARQUEZ VARIANT COVER BY NICK BRADSHAW • CONNECTING VARIANT COVER BY CHRIS GIARRUSSO GAMBIT VARIANT COVER BY MIGUEL MERCADO GAMBIT VIRGIN VARIANT COVER BY MIGUEL MERCADO "RAID ON GRAYMALKIN" Part FOUR! The epic RAID ON GRAYMALKIN story ends here, with Rogue and Cyclops on opposite ends of the mutant struggle, perhaps forever! Are they honoring Xavier's legacy or destroying it? Do they choose loyalty or the law? An all-out action issue that will affect both teams (and the entire mutant community) with devastating results! 32 PGS./Rated T+ …$4.99

X-MEN #10 JED MACKAY (W) • NETHO DIAZ (A) • COVER BY RYAN STEGMAN FANTASTIC FOUR HOMAGE VARIANT COVER BY MICHELE BANDINI MAGIK VARIANT COVER BY LEIRIX • MAGIK VIRGIN VARIANT COVER BY LEIRIX "RAID ON GRAYMALKIN" AFTERMATH! In the wake of the raid on Graymalkin, the X-Men are fugitives – and O*N*E knows exactly where to find them. Heavily armed Shrike squads are en route to the Factory to serve warrants and lock up the X-Men, and it won't be long until the X-Men find themselves right back in Graymalkin. Unless… 32 PGS./Rated T+ …$4.99

We're kind of getting spoiled in quantity this month!

[janeelyakiri]

Hi I was the anon who asked about how the skeletons felt about humans, this ask is about the same thing but I wanted to know about the other skeletons. I also wanna ask more questions about the skeletons we don’t hear about much about; So I’ll probably ask more about them. You don’t have to answer the ask u don’t want to of course. Srry for that small rant

How do the other skeletons feel about humans/ strangers?

Sorry this took a bit, some struggle to remember who had been asked ^^; I ASSUME the main 12, so I'm gonna go with outcodes and such! (Apologies if there is a repeat!) AND YESSSS please feel free to ask about any of them! I have a pinned post with links to all the variants!! 💙💙💙

Starling- Humans, monsters, they find it difficult to trust anyone in general.

Dove- Opposite of their sibling, they sometimes trust a little too much. Neither are worried about humans harming them- they ARE deities after all.

Gull- Humans sure are something!

Pigeon- Doesn't trust them one bit.

Dire- He's a ghost he only cares if they have enough magic for him to possess.

Shrike- Has a very bad reaction to most humans, but he's getting better.

Dal- Look as long as his brother is calm he's calm. Mostly.

Ibis- They're a Grim Reaper. They like human inventions but otherwise they aren't afraid one bit.

Ber- Finds humans sort of entertaining but again, is not worried about them. Finds some of them a bit annoying when it comes to accepting that they are dead.

Bug- Hates when they get stuck in a cellphone. That's about it.

Decoy- Fascinated, nothing more.

Ducky- Annoyed, nothing more.

Painted- They distract him long enough.

Berries- It's not interested in humans, since it can't infect them.

Nix- Beautiful, gorgeous. So resilient, so in need of love and luxury. His castle often has a good mix of humans and monsters to keep him entertained and to feed off of.

Gale- Some can be very pretty, but she's busy trying to kill Nix and help other versions of herself. Also general trust issues thanks to her childhood home.

Chimera- 😋🍴

[deadmountaindaughter]

Ok! The promised theory post! Shorter than I thought it would be because the document I thought would have had all my notes did not have those notes, so i'm reconstructing this based off messages to a friend who also read pnat, along with a reddit post i made ages ago. Without further ado, twenty theories:

1. the large subterranean insect spirit is Sandman's real form. First off, here's the insect's leg:

And here's Sandman's "head":

these are CLEARLY the same shape. I think the "sandman" we saw was just a chunk of the real thing. Bonus proof:

yeah.

2.One interesting thing I noticed is that throughout the entire time we see Peekaboo, it never shows any spectral energy. We could assume it's orange, like dimitri, but it's weird that out of all the partner spirits we see, every single other one of them has their energy show up at least once. Except...

we never see the Shadow's energy either. additionally, take a look at those drippy bits coming out of the hole on the right side, and compare:

So here's my theory, illustrated incredibly poorly:

given the reveal of davy's locker spirit, which makes the SAME NOISES when he uses it as peekaboo does(the wrrrwrrrwrrr thing), and that cody describes as "squashing and stretching" space- exactly how dimitri explains peekaboo's powers- i think that spirit is another chunk in here. maybe the missing eye on the left?

3. on page 8-49, cody mentions a time he was "caught sleepwalking after a curfew [davy] commanded" and saw these scars, which he thinks are from shrike:

we've seen shrike's hands in werewolf mode. those hands did NOT make those scars. if davy had been hit by those claws, he would have half his chest missing, not just a few big cuts. but what interests me is HOW Cody found out- he was sleepwalking after curfew on a night that just happened to be a full moon. but every other time we see him talking about davy's commands, it's like they're physically impossible for him to break under any circumstances, and i highly doubt sleepwalking would be able to break that effect.

but werewolves and vampires are apparently mortal enemies and opposites, so maybe a werewolf curse could nullify a vampire command. and cody's hands are pretty small in human form...

4. i think eightfold is in a very important book. take a look:

this is what the book looks like in its spirit realm. davy's symbol is pretty clear there, along with the author (a. beaumont or something) and the title: on the birth of gods. if you ask me, that sounds like the name of a manual for making a wight.

5.

i think lisa is a Witch. in fact, I think Witch is not necessarily a name, or a title, but a descriptor of WHAT someone is. we have fauxbia the fear witch, but what if lisa is the...i don't know, the weirdness witch? someone smarter than me can figure that part out. as for what Witch means:

I think in the same way medium means the host to a spirit, Witch means host to one of these parasites. as for lisa, suzy has confirmed this:

it would be SO zack morrison if that line was literal.

6. ok im not going looking for it but sockpuppy's intro card describes them as not a spirit but an "anomalous spectral lifeform". apparently they were created by mina, who also defeated the witch years ago-did she make them out of a scrap of the witch that was left behind? they do share the same aesthetic.

7. razor rex is weirdly childish in a lot of ways, and apparently sometimes asks for video games as tribute. a lot of her cultists are also teachers, so i'm wondering if her hideout when she's not being a goddess is mayview middle. that's not much on its own, but look at this prophecy:

going off theory 5, this could also refer to Lisa as the Witch in the prophecy. But we see from the second line that occasionally the sphinx of truth switches l's to w's, and i guarantee that zack morrison would not have done that without it being plot relevant somehow. we see from "wiffin" that sometimes other parts of the spelling of a word are also changed... so what if it wasn't meant to say witch(fauxbia or lisa) but instead Lich(razor rex)?

8. doorman mentions that "fearsay" was defeated by the activity club. fearsay. fear + hearsay(something not true). fauxbia. phobia(fear) plus faux(something not real). i dont know what this means but i think it's important.

9. so pj is totally davy's son. he died and thats why davy wants to be such a good dad to cody, and why he's so protective. what if pj died BECAUSE OF davy? he says it had to be a meteorite, but he doesnt know for certain- could it have been the blast from killing a wight? and adding on to that, according to zack ghosts can only do one thing with their spectral energy, and it relates to how they died. it would be incredibly zack if pj's power is some absurdly powerful blast that puts him at the top of the power scale. just. imagine that.

10. when angel is talking to cherub, there are several instances where it seems like she's manipulating his emotions to make him trust her. the way it's described seems oddly similar to another emotion-manipulating spirit in the comic. and we haven't seen ventrilobite since the flashback...

11. this one is the hill i will die on even if it gets confirmed false: we know ghosts can kind of stretch themselves into weird shapes(see the faculty ghost from way back in the beginning) so it stands to reason that given enough time dead, their appearance can change radically(has anyone here read everlost? yeah like that).

we also know that ghosts do not have legs, ever. just spectral energy. we see from crush that they CAN make legs out of that energy if they want, but it's still just energy. spirits, on the other hand, ALWAYS have legs. except for one.

he's described as a spirit, but that may not technically be false- after all, ghosts are a subtype of spirit.

conclusion: king c is an aztec/mayan era furry who decided to become really cool in the afterlife, and honestly he was so right. he probably got struck by lightning- the lightning he makes is the same color as his energy, so what we think is a spirit power may just be the spectral energy ability his death gave him.

12. just... this entire page: https://www.paranatural.net/comic/chapter-5-page-228

is so suspicious to me. she doesnt turn around until the end, and when she does- INHUMANLY fast- her eyes are a blur with a single white line- almost like she's trying to hide the glow of spirit trance by closing them almost all the way. i think everything isabel said there was right, just not in the way she thought it was.

(also- on this page, isabel asks to talk and the principal says "I'm afraid not, child. important meeting to attend. Come by during office hours and-" the VERY NEXT PAGE, lucifer demands to talk with hiSpender, who says "S-sorry, let's talk later. I'm busy right now and-" the parallel here is INCREDIBLY interesting.)

(also why is she so small? it could just be a comic thing...or it could be a medium thing.)

13. The Shadow's power seems to be based on perspective: when the shadow looks like an umbrella, it can become one, and a dark shadow that Mr. Spender sees as a bottomless pit becomes that too. The Shadow is a shard of the Doctors Burger's prisoner, and Dr. Burger tells Spender to "leave Clayview and its darkness far behind". Clayview. Clay-view. Clay(molding, shaping, sculpture) View(perspective). Was the prisoner-the spirit named Clayview- originally able to mold reality based on its perspective, sort of like Superliminal to the extreme? "Its darkness", therefore, would have that only in regard to shadows, and also implies Dr. Burger knows what Spender did.

14. why does zarei have yellow eyes? i don't think she's been confirmed as a medium but that's really weird.

15. Moving in spirit trance is apparently really hard, but Ed just…does full workouts in it without noticing? And runs all the way down the hall without breaking trance? How???

16. More a question than a theory, but how was Polaris captured in the staff without killing the disciples? We know wisped wights absorb everything around instead of tooling up, but Angel somehow got around that.

17. Why was the barrier created? It contains spectrals and spirits, but not ghosts or tools/non-spectral mediums. Theory: it was made to kill a wight twice. If a wight was inside the barrier and killed once, its absorption effect might have been contained by the barrier(while another barrier protects whoever was doing the killing), and if that was still enough to heal it, then there wouldn't be any energy left for it to absorb if it was killed again. Was that how they beat the Great Sphinx, or was it the plan for handling the Doctors Burger's prisoner, except something went wrong?

18. Completely insane theory: Shred Eagle, after leaving his surfing job for TV and leaving that due to the "accident", returns to his hometown and becomes a teacher. Mr. Garcia. I have zero basis for this outside of the "messily dismembered and devoured" thing and their vaguely similar appearances.

19. Flipflop swaps positions. Switchswatch makes me think of color swatches, so maybe swapping energy colors? Hiphop…I don't know, but I feel like they each have one aspect of Polaris's powers.

20. doorman also mentions that "facade" was eaten by the witch. and now we come to the thing that i am 100% certain of and incredibly mad at zack morrison for:

facade sounds like the name of a spirit dealing with disguises. just a wild guess, but what if its power was to make a really bad disguise work as well as a good one?

...

THEY LITERALLY SAW A NORMAL KID. THIS WAS NOT A BIT. SHE WAS USING THE POWER SHE STOLE FROM FACADE TO MAKE A COMEDICALLY BAD DISGUISE ACTUALLY WORK. AND BECAUSE THIS IS A COMEDY WEBCOMIC WE COULDNT TELL. ZACK I AM SCREAMING

i probably have more but these are all for now.

[cryptvokeeper]

how long Godherd would be if [CHARACTER] had a gun:

Peck: about the same length. It would solve a lot of her problems but she’d spend too long debating whether or not to use it

Shrike: 6,583 years. The amount of problems Shrike would cause with a gun. She cannot be stopped.

Fisher: significantly shorter. He’d get shit done in like half the time.

Lark: no change. Does not need a gun nor want to use it. In his lane, thriving.

Wren: 2 seconds. The story’s over before it even begins. She’s not fucking around.

GE: the story is over before it even begins but for opposite reasons.

[plushs-stuff]

Kinda hard to see but in the first opening of shrikes room in episode one of Monkey wrench you can see a photo of shrike and I assume a group of old friends.

Makes you wonder if they'll come up, perhaps they had a falling out? We know that Shrike used to work for League of Aligned worlds aka L. A. W, specifically in the navy of L. A. W. which I find very interesting because at multiple points Shrike expresses a lot of sustain for L. A. W. Like in episode one when Beebs brought up the news of Lady kara supposedly killing another wealthy law supporter Shrike says

" Probably deserved it. Supporting Laww and all..oh and speaking of miserable!"

I don't think we can come to the conclusion that his prior career did not align with his preferences of chaos, cuz we all know shrike loves to fight and shoot a blaster. So taking all that into accountability he probably stopped for some other reason.

It could just be his somewhat easy to anger personality but in the photo he does not look happy, like at all. Though his friends look the exact opposite.

In episode two the guys actually even take a job presented to them as being from " L.A.W." well until it was proven otherwise. But at some point Beebs references something Shrike said before the job, before the start of the episode. About not trusting the job they're currently taking, agreeing with what he said and claiming he might be right. This aligns with Shrikes not so savory history with L.A.W and what he might assume or expect of the organization.

Shrike also then states the above which is interesting to mention he talks about holding a gun in relationship to L.A.W caring or not caring about you, from someone who fought in L.A.W Navy.

This shows L.A.W probably isn't afraid to get their hands dirty.

Also in episode two when they finally do apprehend the crazy scientist lady and turn her into L.A.W, one of the L.A.W workers forgets a certain line I assume you say when arresting someone in the L.A.W organization. Shrike is then there and able to repeat the whole saying where he could not. Although in a very unenthused tone of voice.

After, the blue guy offers shrike to help in the arrest, Shrike looks very disgusted at this idea and then immediately denies walking away annoyed,

" Nah Amigo, That ain't my thing no more."

Again GO WATCH MONKEY WRENCH it is amazing and beautifully animated, I know it's hard for me to get into a show when you have to track it down but Monkey wrench is available free on youtube! And you don't have to worry about the plot picking up when in their first two episodes a lot of action, comedy and world building are included!

Again creator credits to: @monkey-wrench-zeurel

[midwinterwings]

I dont know my name or anything right now. I'm a new alter formed over the past couple of days and well.

Thats the thing. I got medicated for ADHD and my mind has quietened down and its so calm here. When I'm not stuck in the static of my thoughts, playing in several realms at once, I just feel like Loki. Right now anyway. Shifts do still occur but I find that unsavoury ones from alters who would take over for coping purposes, happen much less frequently. Its become kind of odd, actually. When interacting with the body's family and friends, instead of shifts occurring (I have no idea what happens when theyre in the same place. I feel only one of us is fronting and pretending to be the other one that would front to talk to a friend if family is also present) I kind of just stay me. Whoever I am right now.

Thats the thing. All of us are Loki. We're always Loki no matter who we are. Right now I feel more connected to the 'essence' of Loki, as I feel the flame flickering in my chest, nice and warm. But there's kind of a conflict because I want to put feathers in my hair and fly across cold plains which...I can't do that. Not in this realm at least.

I feel there needs to be a distinction between 'corporeal' - 'real world' - physical world, external world whatever its called, and the...er, other one. Incorporeal? Spiritual? I dunno. Yeah. Two things can be true at once. I've always thought of things as absolute - autism haha - so if one thing is true the other can't be. Because I like computers and gaming and maths and programming and doodling, it seems, well, kind of the opposite to what the fire in my chest makes me feel. When I'm more connected to my self as Loki, I think...pine needles for some reason or pinecones, that appeared somehow, and the opposite of tech, and falcons and swifts. Lots of swifts. Snakes too. Haha banana snake

Maybe shit isn't that deep. Maybe I can be two things at once. Well, three. Even though I'm the only one fronting right now.

Theres...me right now, kind of unknown name, maybe T(). Who wears modern clothing and has tech related interests.

And there's me right now who is the opposite of that. I'm Loki chilling out somewhere. It's either a mind palace of the past or me doing other stuff in other planes. Not sure. Completely different.

Oh and there's me in animal form. That's why I identify as a therian. I'm usually a snake, swift, falcon, or a shrike.

And these are true at the same time. That's the thing I've been struggling with grasping. If one thing is true how can that other thing be true? If im here and like these things and like this, how can I be pretty much the opposite in every single way, at the same time?

Answer: I don't know. But I do know that I operate in 3 planes default. (Not counting if im covering for another alter while they're off doing god knows what and theyre the one who made a friend who thinks I'm that alter so shit is really awkward and I just pretend it's me)

So I guess, 3 planes authentic.

1 plane (covering+masking plane) non authentic but still happening.

Before the meds I was operating on like...20 🗿 also, I couldn't tell which were intrusive thoughts and which were actual stuff that was relevant. So. 3 is perfectly OK.

So...tldr : stuff is weird. Very weird. It keeps getting weirder.

The more I realize what's going on the more I hate covering for other alters because now I know its not me my friend thought they talked to. In the past before I knew I was plural I got an odd bodily sensation like I was watching my body talk, like they were talking through me to somehow behind me and I'm just relaying info from the person behind me to them. Actually I think that's pretty accurate. I didn't understand why. I've only understood why more and more recently and...I guess, I'm angry that it is this way. Really angry. And because the body I live in is tainted with trauma, especially since I look like SK (first alter) it keeps triggering shifts to SK which is really annoying. Also I get confused and think I'm SK which I'm not. Also SK isn't really active, he kind of grew up a bit to Cleo, so...I feel Cleo ends up fronting every time I just...see a picture of my body's face. I can't express things well, even anger, in the external/physical/corporeal/'real' world because everything is twinged with trauma and one specific alter, some versions of Cleo, have been carrying us through for years and years and none of us know how to really exist outside of the internal worlds. I feel we will be able to with time, but its one of those problems that are relevant every second, every movement, just you can't ignore it and if its a problem it will continue to be a problem every moment. If you can't ignore it you deal with it. Oh and I'm trying to learn acceptance rather than problem solving. "Yeah this occurs. Yes it sucks. Yes its a problem. And that's OK. I dont have to try to solve every problem immediently, especially since its not possible, sometimes the solution is completely unknown to you right now, a new experience or perspective is needed. I'm going to live with it instead of feeling things that aren't desirable are villains to be killed. Theyre part of me. They make up bits of me. I can't choose the good bits and try to kill the bad bits. It's just not even true."

So, yeah. Gonna have to live with the fact that existing as of now is very confusing, uncomfortable, and weird. People are talking to other people and I have to pretend I'm other people and its frustrating and invalidating. My body is riddled with trauma and associations with the body's parent that are no longer relevant. Seeing it makes an alter who technically dosent exist anymore front - or try to. Or his thoughts bleed into mine. I dont know my name or my story. I exist 3 times at once. Annnd that's OK. It is what it is.

Written by T - 'Midwinter'

[arclundarchivist]

So it’s the Imperium vs the Volition, which is a interesting name because it can be taken as “Your Own Volition” ergo, they’re an army focused on the freedom of personal action and free will.

Which takes a whole deeper level after seeing that the Willmaster could do, forcing an entire village to sacrifice themselves for her.

And I have to wonder the Bormodos claim they can’t dream, but… is that true, or is that something the Weavemind has convinced them of, feeding them the dreams and thoughts of Exandria so to draw them there in their plans to concur it?

Because we know the Imperium destroyed a lot of the original Rudian history, likely to push their own narrative, but what was the original narrative? Why do they hide Predathos’s true name?

Reilora, Bormodos, Cytaas, so far we have three folk, “made from the stone” aka born of Predathos, as “warped reflections”, and I have to wonder/fear that if Predathos awakens maybe they die, or vanish but what if, just as we saw they lose the free will that they have, and are just forced to march as one against Exandria.

I’m curious to see what other folk are out there, and if the Volition can reveal anything more about Predathos and the Imperium, and its constituent parts like the Tectus and Crooth.

Like is a Shrike just an occupation, they’re bodies look quite different from the more baseline Reilorans?

And what is gonna happen with all the folks they knocked unconscious like the Kid?

Honestly this town felt almost like the opposite of the town in Issylra, and I’m excited to see how everything turns out.

[toastedclownery]

Shrike is undeniably a warrior. He knows how to fight, but he's not very experienced at most things besides that. At least, not yet. After so many failed attempts at new skills and relationships, he tends to fall in the dark, and let himself believe that he's a nuisance and not good for anything else, just a living weapon. But since he got away from that cage, he's shown that he's the opposite of that. There's the way he goes about life and focuses on the little joys of it that brightens up people's day.

Beebs knows his inner workings at this point. He's hit low points in his life before, but those valleys always return to peaks again, it's a constant cycle. Back then, he gave himself, and they didn't appreciate it. He knew he had to leave, to let those people go. Now that he's left home, and he's started anew, he notices others start valuing him and giving back. There will be times when things seem bleak, but he knows that it will get better eventually.

They might call her bratty and immature, but they don't know the situation she's been in that's made her who she is. 2 decades that Lariat's spent trying to get out of that dump. And yet, now that she has, it feels like her life has just begun. It's a new dawn, and now she gets to decide what she wants to do with her new life. No one yet knows the great things she'll achieve, but not without silly mistakes made along the way.

Triangle prefers to keep to himself, to stay quiet and obedient. He follows and agrees on what the other members of his team say. He can do that, he's a machine after all. But the real reason he decides to keep mirroring others is because he doesn't want to start a fight. It's better than speaking out and causing problems. He's not aware that what he has to say is important, and necessary for things to change.