#The whole building has cryptid energy

[corviddrawsstuff]

Pretty sure the place I work at is an entrance to the backrooms

[pixiatn]

Returning to my old roots of being the CEO of Duke/Danny

Honestly surprised there's not much fics pulling from the Ultimate Enemy Timeline, and I'm talking Abt post semi redeemed Dan, or Danny's friends and fam die but he doesn't go evil just traumatically runs away, id like to see an in the middle concept. Like post him becoming full ghost but pre him becoming Dan.

Now being a full ghost and a powerful one at that, Danny's chaotic destructive ass makes a beeline straight for Gotham due to its raw supernatural energy that he's heard rumors about from peeps in the Ghost zone. And his ass goes there to chomp on weaker/blob ghosts (idk if it was said how Dan got powerful like that so I'm making shit up)

Like usually some people who see him do this are like "omgee, new hero/protector!!" And he just hisses and vanishes, bro has reached cryptid poltergeist status. he doesn't care about saving people cause that's LAME, and he DOESN'T DO THAT ANYMORE, cause it's LAME, but he doesn't admit that deep, deep, DEEP down, there's a flicker of humanity that buzzes with warmth at being recognized as a protector again

Batfam is obviously suspicious of this deeply suspicious and mistrusting ghost guy but Duke has a bit more of an open minded thinking bro is going through a metahuman crisis and wants to help because there's not a lot of open metahumans in Gotham (that aren't evil) and wants to offer some sort of guidance before the intricate web of evil catches him.

So Duke is investigating Danny on his own, trying to learn more about ghosty dude and how he can find him or help him, eventually learning about the GIW and their attempt to enact anti-ecto laws which by association would allow them to experiment ghost/specter powered metahumans. As well as wanting to take them down, he also wants to find out if they have anything about the Ghost boy he's investigating.

While casually breaking into one of their facilities in Gotham, he finds a group of scientists in the middle of beginning some type of ghost dissection on Danny while hes still awake and thrashing, so as one does, Duke proceeds to jump everyone. In the scuffle, Danny gets freed and is about to escape but actually sticks around to start beating everyone's ass with Duke.

Duke guides Danny out of the building and before he can even say anything, Danny hisses and vanishes. Duke sighs at the loss of his investigations victim but finds himself being almost stalked by the ghost. Dried ectoplasm smeared above doorways which only he can see because of his perception of light, electronics being finicky around him, being surrounded by a cold air, and a whole bunch of semi threatening gestures

Unknown to Duke, this is Danny trying to befriend him aggressively due to kinda forgetting how to do it normally

[methoughtsphantom]

DP x DC

not me thinking about imaginary scenarios of ten year old Tim Drake in the ghost zone (pariah’s castle)

where Tim thinks it’s strangely soothing that despite being the only one whose steps connect to the ground, there’s not that eerie silence that befell drake manor

strange blob creatures chitter softly and nip at his hair and swooshes and wisps of wind betray the presence of an invisible ghost

which after following he realizes it’s almost like he’s trailing after the black dark shadow that is batman again

which gives him the idea that, maybe, just this one time, he can play the part of robin

that in mind Tim makes out a game of sneaking to the side of ghosts that look like they’re brooding and if they can spot him he loses

most just grunt in response (very in character) while others fuss over him and ask questions which Tim uses to infodump

he also politely asks the ghost that always asks him how he’s doing to instead say the word “report”

(the ghost looks at him weirdly but humors him and besides the answer would be the same anyways)

Tim also(!!)

gets on the case of why the walls lack tangibility when he is the one leaning on them (he doesn’t live down the time he wanted to look cool only to fall through the wall)

hyperfixates on how gravity works in the ghost zone because he couldn’t do a skateboard trick he has pulled off many many times and he’s salty about it

tries to figure out where they are getting human food from (cause it’s hot enough to be homemade but also there’s no kitchen —so how could it be) (also he wants coffee)

finds out the dude that often gives him a side eye when he finds that Tim knows how to do something (math homework), is next in line for the throne and yet doesn’t have a single “mingle and talk people up” bone in his body. (despite it his networking is a solid 7/10)

gets a ghost horse to adopt him what

discovers pretty quickly that there are rooms to which he can’t phase through (a.k.a. he’s not allowed entry) to which he begrudgingly backs off even though that stands in his way of doing a very thorough layout™ of the place (robin would)

sulks over the lack of extreme sports in the place

(Danny takes him to the Far Frozen where they go tire sliding in the snow and where tim learns how to use a skateboard skate and also that ghost ice cream is just as good as normal ice cream)

sulks again cuz he caught a common cold

also because there’s no sun or moon poor Timmy’s already screwed sleep schedule gets more messed up to the point no one knows when or where he will fall asleep

(ghosts find him in the most unhinged of places with a signature purple cloak draped over him every. single. time.)

overall, be a menace

see-> the time he threatened to build ghost weapons he’d somehow memorized the blueprints of cause Danny wouldn’t let him visit the radium girls factory but yes the renaissance period

see-> that time he went through the whole ghost energy and how to work with it book section in the library and half an hour later had a prototype of a star wars laser beam made

(note: bribing only works for hot chocolate, not for letting him keep cool-looking guns)

just tim having the time of his life

clockwork being no help at all (the ghost loves being a cryptid)

and danny trying not to get attached while he progressively gets more concerned over this chaos child he emotionally adopted as his little brother

(to fit canon cause i want it to this would just be until Danny finds the dimension little Timmy is from, then they can safely yeet the child back to the moment he first went missing)

anyways before anyone knows it’s been three months

[silbeni]

Dante Aguilar 🧬 🧠 🌀

(Namesake: Dante Alighieri)

Stand: GHOST TRAIN

Pronouns: He/xe/they

Labels: Xenogender transmasc panromantic asexual!

Uses Masculine/neutral gendered words.

Age: 24 (Stone ocean)

Height: 4'11"

Nationality: Puerto rican 🇵🇷

Notable characteristics: Glossy black eyes, spike piercings, black lipstick, sharp metal teeth, small, upturned button nose, ear gauges.

Build: Short with a twiggy frame. Xe has top surgery scars.

Pairings: Electricplankton (Dante/F.F.)

Voiceclaim: 🎙️Alcryst FE!!

PERSONALITY

Dante’s biggest flaw is their cowardice, and the most prominent aspect of their personality. Simply put, he is the wettest beast - xir confidence has the constitution of wet 1-ply toilet paper. However, they will do anything if it means helping someone they love. Xe deeply values the few connections xe's got, so he is incredibly loyal. He loves fully and attaches easily.

Besides lacking bravery, they are also sensitive. They feel emotions with the wholeness of their being. When they are happy, anyone can tell. When they are sad, everyone will hear them bawling in the next room over.

On the flipside, it wouldn't seem so, but Dante is actually very competent. When xe needs to, he can be quite formidable. He may not be strong, or brave, but he proves to be a valuable asset where intellect and strategy is involved. Xe's a clever one under all of the anxiety.

Likes: Videogames, energy drinks, manga/comics, sour candy, junk food, cryptids, internet forums.

Representative animal: White-tailed deer.

MISC

Motifs: Intersecting lines like DNA strands, metal spikes, balaclava masks, spirals (brain symbology)

Particularities: Strongly believes in superstitions of bad luck. Likes horror media despite being easily scared. He struggles with spelling.

Skills: Computer/tech skills. Black hat hacking. Puzzle solving. Incredible Tetris and Minesweeper skills. Can name the list of 151 Pokemon. An absolute fiend for cyphers.

Education: Full highschool education. A tattoo artist apprenticeship that was never followed up on.

OCCUPATION

Was previously a pizza delivery person prior to conviction. Held several low paying jobs before that.

CANON CHARACTER RELATIONSHIPS

F.F. Quick friends who then became lovers. They are so sappy and corny that they make Jolyne and Ermes gag. Truly the silliest couple ever.

Ermes/Jolyne. They couldn't tolerate him at first, but they eventually developed a strong friendship through the events of Stone Ocean.

Emporio. They have a really sweet relationship. Dante is like an older brother to him.

Weather Report. Consider each other good friends. Weather cools Dante’s anxiety with his chill disposition.

Anasui. They don't get along. He is very rude to xem and xe is too afraid to stand up for xemself.

Jotaro. They don't really know him, but they admire his strength.

ORIGINAL CHARACTER RELATIONSHIPS

(Alt!DIU) Romeh. Xe thinks he is so cool and intimidating. Romeh feels responsible for looking after xem, which is sometimes exasperating - but he does it anyway. It's pretty clear to see he cares about the little guy.

(DIU) Ryoma. Friends with sibling energy! They are very sweet together. Despite Ryoma being younger, they are like an older sibling to them.

(Jojolion) Kyouka. They exploit Dante’s gullible nature for amusement. They keep convincing him of silly things to scare him. Dante is wary of them, but he can't help but believe everything they say when they say it with such confidence.

(Battle Tendency) Nocera. She coddles him because she thinks of him as a baby. He generally doesn't mind this, but it gets a little tired sometimes.

BACKGROUND

-Brief mention of recreational drugs-

Dante’s life before moving out of their homeland was pretty uneventful. They didn't have a good relationship with their parents, their sense of self and choices were incredibly limited, but they stuck though it all until adulthood. He was sent off to the US to study dentistry, to which he attended for about a month before dropping out, unbeknownst to their parents. He began living wrecklessly. Couch surfing and chasing highs. Xe found friendship with a couple of black hat hackers, who taught xem their skills. He began breaching government databases, doing nothing with the information - he just wanted to see if he could do it. It was exhilarating, and the most fun they had ever had. They had hardships still, but this was one of the happiest times in their life.

Then, one night, they place they were staying at was seized by the cops. All their electronics were taken. As it turns out, one of their casual friends, who they trusted too much, had outed them to the police. Dante was been smart and no tangible evidence was found, but they had been sloppy otherwise. Since they were unable to be charged for cybercrimes, they were imprisoned for possession of weed with a sentence of 5 years.

Their hacker friends that were also snitched on, blamed them for everything. Especially since Dante received a much lighter sentence. They carried a lot of guilt because of that. His parents were notified of his imprisonment and he would be completely shut out of their family. The rest of their friends on the outside cut communication, either scared of being persecuted by the law, mutual friends wanting nothing to do with them, or simply not wanting to continue the friendship due to the circumstances. Xe made the news, and civilians rallied in favor of a heavier sentence for xem. Their peak was followed by what felt like an age of darkness. They were so alone.

Inside the prison, things were worse. They were routinely pushed around and taken advantage of. The absolute bottom of the food chain. They, again, were out of control of their life, powerless. That was until he acquired his stand. Ghost Train would retroactively help them navigate their day to day. Soon, a rumour would spread - that Dante was under the protection of a real life ghost, and the harassment would dwindle. The arrival of their stand would turn things around for them. Xe was still sad and lonely, but after that, xe had a much easier time behind bars. The string of fate that draws stand users together would eventually cause Dante’s and Jolyne’s paths to cross and thus their involvement with the plot begins.

[arudoe]

talk about bruise anything you want, i wanna hear

YAAAY MORE BRUISE

i alr talked about some hcs so ill chat a bit about some aus i have heehee!

- idol jay au !

i feel like this one is prolly the most well known (only because its the only one ive ever drawn for….) but basically jay is an idol/musician and cole is his nr1 fan! it was very inspired by prime empire and also those like harry styles x reader wattpad fics from back in the day… yeah…

all ive got for the story so far is that cole went to a fansign event and while getting his magazine signed jay also sneaks his personal phone number on one of the pages (something along tbe lines of xxx-xxx-xxx text me o_<) and… yeah things move on from there 🙏🙏

- mad scientist jay and his creature cole

OKAYY this might be one of my weirder ones but i think about it a lot 😭😭

anyways jay is a disabled basement dweller college dropout scientist guy and one day he kind of feels some paranormal presence in his lab and conducts a bunch of tests and comes to tbe conclusion there is a ghost floating around in his lab. so like the normal person he is he tries to communicate with it but only gets a bunch of weird cryptid messages that dont make sense… so he comes to bright idea of “hey! i should make this ghost a vessel they can possess!” so he makes a body frankenstein style and low and behold his plan worked!

cole, a ghost from the 80s who possessed the body is now chilling in jays lab with him, but like most people who have been dead for over 40 years he is very curious about the outside world and what has changed.

but jay for some reason is very adamant about him not going outside at all, which causes some tension between the two..

(the reason is jay has abandoned issues) (also cole is kind of a freak of nature) (affectionately)

I LIKE THIS AU A LOT cus its so stupid honestly and i love me some ghost cole also like im still mad about how ninjago decided to completely discard jays love for inventing… let the man make his little trinkets…

- wizard school au

basically what it sounds like… they are wizards.. at a wizard school… and do magic…

yes this was partly inspired by h*rry p*tter BUT ONLY THE VIBES (i barely remember the movies)

BUT UM this is like a whole universe thing and theres so so much lore and world building so… if u want a separate post about it… lmk

- roommates au!

this is my most recent one (and the one i think about the most) but um yeah pretty self explanatory it was based off this jdrama/manga called good morning call so uhhh ya!

basically cole and jay were enemies throughout highschool and basically spend all their energy hating each other but they to their separate ways during college but reunite (unwillingly) as roommates!

they navigate living with each other and learn to let go of their hate (which stemmed from a mixture of misunderstandings and insecurities) and then eventually fall in love!!

i think this is the au i have the most work done on (i have a draft for every major scene that happens in the story heehee) and perhaps! one day i will actually make it a real thing !

so um yeah! i have a bunch more but most of them are very unfinished or just… vague ideas or vibes i go by… i also have some aus that arent bruise so um if anyone wants to hear about those… smiles

BUTTT TYSM FOR UR QUESTION i dont rly say this a lot but any interaction i get with my content means the world to me and i always giggle and kick my feet when reading reblog comments bc everyone is so nice 🥹🥹

[suzanami]

just some random info about my unicorn OCs, I guess

(some of the characters mentioned in the ramblings)

SETTING: generic old-timey fantasy setting. the small continent of Arcelia has an island to the south where humans haven't settled. most unicorns keep to this island, and most humans don't believe in them anymore (they're the local cryptids lol). there's a unicorn village near the center, where mostly human-form unicorns live; the horse-form ones mostly live in the wild, living in the Old Ways. in the village there are cottages with kitchens and beds, and temples and shrines and a building where the Council of Elders does their councilly stuff. so they live a lot like humans, who they use to live alongside in the Ancient Times. there's a nearby human city (I think I called it Whiteshore but I'm too lazy to search the doc rn) so they're not completely isolated; they keep tabs on what the humans are up to, a little.

BODIES: their "natural" form is a horse, but eons ago they began using their magic to shapeshift into humanoid/elflike forms. in their natural horse form, they have more endurance, their magic is stronger, as are their bodies. (they can talk as horses bc why not, it's easier) in their human forms, they enjoy culture borrowed from humans: beautiful architecture, the many tastes of food, the use of hands. some unicorns prefer one form over another; few remain in one for her whole life. they can only change forms under a new moon and it takes quite a lot of energy. they're immortal in both forms, though they can be killed, die of a broken heart, etc. in their horse form they're vegetarian, but as humanoids they range from vegan to omnivore.

RELIGION: unicorns from the continent of Arcelia are mostly of the Moon Clan and their village is the center of worship for the unicorn deity Mo'anne. she's a two-sided moon goddess with another self called the River. there is a high priestess-- Charisma, Estrella's mom, has been the high priestess for a couple hundred years. Marisol is anointed the next high priestess shortly after she and Estrella became priestesses. under her are several priestesses. common iconography of their religion is the moon, mirrors, water, rabbits, and silver.

PRIESTESSES: when a unicorn is born with a birthmark in the shape of a star or crescent moon, it indicates that she's been chosen by Mo'anne to be one of Her priestesses. they're born with a joy and devotion in their hearts to the goddess. a few don't choose the path of the priestess- Sky pilots the ferry on and off the island, serving the goddess in her own way. all unicorns have magic, but a priestess' is obviously much stronger since she has a holy connection with the goddess.

THE ASCENDED: every few hundreds of years, one priestess is anointed by Mo'anne to serve as The Ascended Who Carries Candle's Wings (Candle being like a saint, and the first unicorn). the Ascended grows wings and has the responsibility as a bridge between the Divine and the unicorns who worship Her (like the pope lol). she's not chained to her duties, because the one defining characteristic of unicorns is that their first love is always the needs of their heart. so Estrella can leave to find her mom and stuff, but she does need to talk it over with the Council, who may Strongly Advise that she doesn't go, etc, but as the Ascended she doesn't technically answer to them, so she can go as soon as her conscience lets her.

idk that's all I feel like rambling about right now! if you drop me asks about anything else you're curious about, I will try to answer!

I post more about them here: @unicorndolls

[dragonsaltartales]

(Ashwee belongs to Bunn / @hunnybunnyburrows ! All the info was written by her, art by me, Cheru)

Here's Ashwee! She's laid back, easy going, friendly, but also hot headed and fiery at times. "What you see is what you get" isnt a phrase that works with Ashwee, as looking at her, one would expect a rough neck trouble maker. Leather jacket, intimidating tusks, with a snaggle tooth and all! But you'd be surprised to learn thag Ashwee hasn't even got a parking ticket! She just adores the rock/grudge aesthetic and knows she's cool and likes to look it! She finds Bugsnax interesting and loves messing with them, catching em, or just watching them do their thing. She tried one once and that’s all she cares to ever do (She swears her stomach has never been the same). They love to go about with their camera and Walkgrump, taking pictures of scenery and what she finds interesting, while also being on the hunt for the lastest undiscovered cryptid.

BELONGINGS:

-Grumpboy

-Link cable for said Grumpboy

-Tape Player/Recorder + Headphones

-Camera

-Grumpagotchi

-Very out of character pastel journal with matching pens and chewed up pencils

-Switch blade Comb

-Prized Leather Jacket (She never leaves anywhere without it)

LOVES:

-Cherrly - Ashwee's journalist partner and beloved spouse!! Ashwee meet them while working at GNN and loved their art, and was sure to let them know it! Next thing she knows a coworker is pointing out how Cherrly had been silently following and sketching them for weeks without Ashwee's knowing...and how could anyone not find that adorable and endearing??? They start dating, fell in love, then got hitched. The usual fairy tale romance.

-Floofty - Look, it’s already clear that Ashwee loves em crazy. But in all honesty, Ashwee found them insanely fascinating (if not a little rude)...and easy on the eyes. But Ashwee found herself really enjoying Flooty's passion and, surprisingly, their compassion. They just want to make the world a better place at any cost. Sure it can be a little unhinged but how could anyone not grow to adore that?

-Chandlo - The purest grump she's ever met that wasn't Cherrly. Chandlo is a sweet, welcoming, fun loving guy who has everyone's best interest at heart. The dude believes in you more than you ever will. Like...come on. Bro builds homes for the homeless in his free time. Who doesn't love Chandlo?

-Wambus - Yeah he doesn't talk much and can come off stiff yet polite, but once you get to know the guy he's great! Ashwee enjoys listening to him talk about his garden, how to properly irrigate soil, and even just the weather. Wambus is someone she knows she can just go to when she wants to silently chill and hang. Also dude straight dunks on Chandlo, and threw a grumpus clean across a river. Wambus is a RIOT.

Babycake legs, Instabug, Charmallow - "These guys are the best...look at em go!! Living their best life!"

Eggler - "Aaaawww~"

Wee Mewon - Ashwee ADORES these weird little balls. She has a pet one that’s just a liiiittle more unhinged than the rest. She really looked at one that gave off the energy equivalent to a toddler hopped up on 20 pixie sticks and a whole cold brew and went "Yep that’s the one.”

-Sprout - Sprout!! The best boy!! The MVP!!! She loves this little guy and just how hyped he is to do EVERYTHING!

DISGUST:

None of the crew really disgust Ashwee. She worries for them more than anything. Everyone is going through their own thing and react differently to it. She believes everyone has their reasons and doesn’t like to hold it against em...even if she side eyes em from time to time.

Clumby - Ashwee's superior and the BANE of her existence. Ashwee is normally as chill as it can get but just the sound of Clumby slamming her table is enough to make it feel like a vessel is gonna burst. Ashwee hates how every story she wants to write about the newest and latest findings in the world of cryptozoology is met with mockery and dismissal. And don’t even get her STARTED on her Grumpfoot story.

Banopper, Scoopy, Millimochi - "For the love of gruMP GET IN THE TRAP OR ZONK OFF!!!"

Ribblepede - "I-it has BONES...why is it wiggly??? WHY IS IT SQUISHY I HATE THIS"

FEAR:

Buffalocust - "Why does it look like that? Why does it move like that?? Stay away frOM ME-"

Snaxquatch - "Wait whats tha- nopenopenopenopeNOPENO-!"

[catmaidetho]

:0 i would love to hear how you write etho!

after making that post and going to bed i've realized that it's so hard for me to describe all the thoughts that go into it so

tl;dr: i have consumed an ungodly amount of ethoslab content to the point that writing him is kind of second nature

you could also probably go thru my archive for etho text posts i've rb'd, cuz those have also influenced me a lot and i'll link a few at the end. i also sincerely recommend watching and rewatching his hc7 because that is like, everything i love about etho in 40-smth episodes.

long and kind of complicated/messy answer under the cut. i tried to go as in-depth as i could w/o being overly rambly

when you think of etho, what do you think of? you probably think "mysterious cryptid redstone guy who is scary." that is the devil talking. he is not mysterious, a cryptid, or scary at all. he is just a guy who's reputation is bigger than him.

here's some (very basic) traits i'd assign to etho before any of those:

humble

reflective*

confident

competitive

friendly

mischievous

avoidant

*reflective in the sense that he mirrors other people's energy.

originally i had a whole rant typed up explaining these personality traits, but i realize you are probably a fellow ethogirl and a lot of these need no explanation. if you want an explanation/to better understand why i chose those personality traits, i am going to once again recommend his hc7, as well as checking out anything he's done with team canada (pick a series and just start watching. if you dont know where to start, one of my beloved mutuals has a neat little guide for ppl new to etho's content that includes some staple team canada content.)

some things i apply to my etho that make sense to me that might go overlooked by the casual enjoyer:

he is so incredibly neurodivergent coded. i am not going to make any assumptions on etho's brain structure, i dont think its my place, but seriously. give your etho some silly thing to be super passionate about on the side. make him easily distracted/get off topic easily. make his storage system start out well but quickly descent into chaos as he gets too lazy to use it.

he goes with the flow! this goes along with me describing him as a reflective person. he "yes, and"'s stuff like there's no tomorrow. he takes whatever energy is thrown his way, and he chucks it right back at you. he gets dragged into shenanigans and goes "oh this might as well happen! let's see how far we can take it."

he likes to avoid problems he doesn't see as immediately his own/aren't immediately affecting him. his response to moon big was literally "i'll let the other hermits deal with it. look this low gravity makes not having elytra so much easier! lets go build a bee farm." if it doesn't affect him right this instant, or there's nothing he can do about it, he will worry about it later (and probably forget to worry about it.)

he prioritizes the "fun" factor above all else. if you know what the bamboozler is, you understand this. also, the bee farm i just mentioned. if there is a very efficient/straight-forward way to do something or a very fun way to do something, he will go with the fun way most of the time. if the only option is boring, he'll find a way to make it fun.

his reputation precedes him, but his reputation is a little inaccurate to modern times. someone who doesn't know him very well might think he's menacing or scary, but the reality is that he's just a silly little guy. don't get me wrong, there is a reason he's seen as menacing, and if he wants to be he can be, but most of the time he's just here to chill.

his humor is very roundabout. he tells a very long story to get to the punchline, or he tells something that plays into stereotypes so much it's ridiculous. here are some examples. he is also a professional "your mom" joker, like i literally cannot link enough examples his staple joke is "your mom."

most importantly, i think, is that etho doesn't take himself too seriously. i think a lot about the quote from cleo that goes like, "etho doesnt say he's a grownup, he giggles and runs away." so dont make etho too serious!

HE IS LITERALLY JUST SOME GUY. i cant stress this point enough. he should have "just some guy" energy. tiny voice he's doing the best he can. things happen to him and he is mildly bewildered. something goes wrong and he needs like, one second dedicated to panicking before he does anything about it.

just for bonus content, some of my favorite posts/clips that heavily influence the way i interpret/write etho. he is so ^-^ | he calls food poisoning an adventure | evidence that etho's a former scene kid | obviously your mother never loved you 'cause you're some sorta monster :) | "you jerk" compilation | etho teasing scar in among us

[indomiinus]

verses updated!

🦊volo | 🔹adaman | 👑leon

changes to existing verses is limited to basically just some wording. new verses are below the cut to keep things nice and tidy for everyone's dashes. Added quite a few verses to Leon! :D

👑Missing Person's Case👑 Major canon divergence

Content warnings for abuse, exploitation, anxiety, depression, loss of identity, burnout, and minor horror themes

Verse with @fightful

After the Darkest Day and after having the lost championship, Rose has been arrested and Leon has been left the remains of the company. He wants nothing to do with it, and begins to work with the Gym Leaders about dividing the company assets and abilities between all of them equally. Leon just wants a quiet life after it all, he wants nothing to do with the corporate life. But in the middle of legal proceedings to begin dissolving the company, Hop has gone missing. Leon drops everything to try and find his brother, but when his own efforts turn up nothing, he's forced to turn to others for help. Never before in his life did he imagine himself walking into a PI's office, pleading for help.

👑zombie apocalypse👑 Major canon divergence

Content warnings for abuse, exploitation, anxiety, depression, loss of identity, burnout, horror themes, gore, violence, blood

Based loosely on the start of the Walking Dead but that's about it

The last thing Leon remembered was Eternatus. After that, it was just a sea of distant voices, beeping machinery. And when he woke up, silence. Where was everyone? Leon's a stranger in the new world, lost and confused and scared. He has his Pokemon, but no clue where his family or friends are or what happened. The whole world changed during his coma after the Eternatus fight, and all he can do is move forward in hopes of finding his footing in this new landscape. Maybe even make some new friends along the way and do some good.

👑vampire hunter au👑 Major canon divergence

Content warnings for abuse, exploitation, anxiety, depression, loss of identity, burnout, horror themes, gore, violence, blood

Can work with any type of vampires, including subwaybat's vampire au and regular old vampires

It's been an age old tradition in Galar: Gym Leaders and the Champion are trained to kill and hunt vampires. They don't show mercy, and even their Pokemon are expected to toughen up and face down life and death for the sake of their trainers. Leon has been Champion since he was ten, killing monsters since before he even knew who he wanted to be as a person. He's had to keep a brave face on through it all, working day in and day out bouncing between hunting monsters and being the smiling face for Galar and the Chairman. He's never known peace. He never gets a break. But he's not heartless: killing is never the first choice for him. His heart is too big for that and even when he has to kill his heart breaks and bleeds for them. Gym Season is the worst six months of the year though. That's the only time when hunting falls squarely on his shoulders, the Gym leaders far too busy with people challenging them to have the time or energy to hunt. And there's only so much one man can do.

👑ghost hunters au👑

Content warnings for abuse, exploitation, anxiety, depression, loss of identity, burnout, horror themes, possible violence, blood

a no pokemon verse

"Is the camera on?" "Oh, shoot, it is-- ah-- hi! This is Leon--" "--And Raihan!" "--And we're here at the abandoned manor outside of Celestic Town in the lovely Sinnoh region!" Leon always had an adventurous streak, and what better occupation than ghost and cryptid hunter for his friend Raihan's Youtube channel? Sometimes they collaborate, but a lot of the time Leon goes off and does things on his own and lets Raihan handle the editing and uploading since Leon can't navigate the editing software to save his life. Most of the time all he finds is dirty old buildings. But sometimes, there's something he can't explain.

[statecryptids]

A few years ago I wrote an article for Cryptid Culture magazine #7 about the microbial cryptids that may be lurking all around us. Since the magazine has been defunct for a while now, I thought I'd post that article in full here. 

You can still purchase copies of Cryptid Culture from Blurb. Definitely check it out. There were some great articles.

THE SHADOW BIOSPHERE

In our search for unknown creatures we often focus on large, impressive cryptids- Mothman, Sasquatch, the Jersey Devil, Nessie. Beasts that, if they do exist, would be extremely rare and inhabit the periphery of humanity’s territory.

But what if there are uncountable hordes of unidentified organisms all around us? What if they are in the soil beneath our feet? In the damp spots in our basements? Even lurking inside our very bodies? What if there are whole unknown domains of life whose existence we have never even suspected because they are too small to be seen with the naked eye and so radically different from conventional Earthly life that we do not even have the proper tools to detect them? What if there is an entire Shadow Biosphere (a term originally coined by researchers Carol Cleland and Shelley Copley of the University of Colorado in 2005) lurking all around us?  

The exact origin of life on Earth is not currently known, though scientists have posed many possibilities. Some have speculated that life coalesced out of the mineral-rich waters around hot springs or deep-sea hydrothermal vents. Others have wondered if the basic building blocks of life arose in warm tidal pools or on the surface of carbon-based matter floating in droplets of sea spray. Still others have wondered if the components of life might have been brought to Earth on icy comets. It’s possible- even likely- that simple life arose multiple times and in multiple forms in these and many other crucibles on the early Earth. 

At some point, though, one type of life predominated and took over every ecological niche on the planet. This kind of life is highly plastic in the form it takes: bacteria, amoebae, algae, jellyfish, dinosaurs, humans. Organisms very different in form and structure, yet all sharing the same fundamental building blocks. Their genetic information is wrapped up in double-helices of DNA constructed from four bases: guanine, cytosine, adenine and thymine . Their bodies are built and controlled by proteins and enzymes made of 20 different amino acids. And many of their support structures- hair, wood, cell membranes, etc- are constructed from carbohydrates.

But what if other life forms made from different sets of building blocks also developed in those dawn crucibles? What if they used a molecular structure besides DNA to hold genetic information? What if they utilized more than the familiar 20 amino acids to build their proteins? Or a different set of amino acids entirely? Even if such organisms did evolve they must surely have gone extinct early on, out-competed by life that dominates the Earth today? Otherwise we surely would have found evidence of them.

Perhaps not, though. The majority of living things on Earth are prokaryotes- unicellular microbes too small for us to see with the naked eye.  Under a microscope, most prokaryotes look fairly similar. Their cells are either shaped like pills, spheres or twisting corkscrews. You can’t tell what species a prokaryote is just by looking at it.

But this external simplicity and uniformity hides a universe of metabolic diversity. Some prokaryotes can photosynthesize like plants. Some can obtain energy from salt or sulfur. Some live off metals or oil. Some even feed on radioactive materials like uranium.  And of course, there are the more commonly known microbes that parasitize other living organisms. To identify prokaryote species, scientists have developed tools and techniques to detect the various enzymes, chemicals, and other molecular components that allow them to live and feed in these unique ways. Additionally, since prokaryotes are so small and numerous, these techniques are not performed on individual specimens. Instead, they are tested in a “shotgun” fashion on a sample of, say, soil or pond water to detect the overall presence and abundance of certain metabolic components.   These techniques assume, however, that the organisms being examined are composed of the DNA, proteins and other building blocks of regular terrestrial life.  They would not find denizens of the Shadow Biosphere if their structures and genetic material are different from what we currently know.

There is actually a precedence for discovering a completely new domain of life. Up until the late 1970s all life on Earth was placed into two broad categories based on the structure of their cells. Eukaryote cells have lots of smaller metabolism-performing structures called organelles inside them, including a nucleus to contain DNA, mitochondria to generate energy, and, in the case of plants and algae, chloroplasts to photosynthesize. All animals, plants, algae, fungi, and many single-celled organisms such as diatoms, paramecia, and amoebae are eukaryotes.

The aforementioned prokaryotes, by contrast, have no organelles. Their DNA and all metabolic enzymes float freely in the cell.  For decades all prokaryotes were assumed to be bacteria. In the late 1970s, however, researchers noticed that some prokaryotes had proteins and other chemical structures that were vastly different from those found in the majority of these microbes. What’s more, these strange prokaryotes were genetically closer to each other than they were to any other bacteria. It soon became clear that these organisms were a whole new domain of life that researchers dubbed the Archaea. 

It’s important to note that even though archaea differ from eukaryotes and bacteria in some structural ways, they still utilize DNA and the 20 amino acids found in the other two groups.  Archaea may have evolved separately from the other domains, but they are still ultimately descended from the same distant ancestor as the others. They are not part of a Shadow Biosphere. The point of this story is to illustrate the fact that that unique microbial organisms can indeed be lurking all around us without being detected.

  So, is there any evidence for a Shadow Biosphere? One possible clue to their presence is a phenomenon known as desert varnish. In arid regions around the world, exposed rock outcroppings frequently develop a thin red or black coating of iron, manganese, silica and clay particles. Native peoples around the world have created petroglyph images on these rocks by scrapping away this thin dark patina to expose the lighter rock underneath. Though desert varnish has been extensively studied, its exact origins are not known. Many scientists think it is caused by chemical weathering or by the slow action of bacteria or archaea living on the surface of the rocks. Some, though, have suggested that the dark patinas could have been deposited by the unknown organisms of the Shadow Biosphere. Testing this hypothesis would require developing techniques, which I will discuss a little later, to detect traces of non-traditional life forms.

It’s possible that some of these Earthly aliens have actually been found. In 1996 geologist Phillipa Uwins and her team discovered microscopic filament-like structures on pieces of freshly fractured sandstone they had pulled from 2-3 miles below the ocean floor. Soon, the filaments, which Uwins  dubbed “nanobes”, were found to be growing on equipment and containers in her lab that had come into contact with the samples. Experimentation found that the nanobes would also grow and even multiply on freshly fractured rock samples. Testing with DAPI staining- a technique for finding double stranded nucleic acids like DNA- produced a strong positive result, indicating that these filaments had genetic material and were thus alive.  That revelation created quite a conundrum, though, because these nanobes were one-tenth smaller than even the smallest known bacteria or archaea. At that size, a conventional organism would simply be too small to contain the genetic material and proteins necessary for life. Could nanobes have different chemical structures for carrying out life’s functions? Uwins and her colleagues are still hesitant to definitively claim nanobes are a new form of life, or even alive at all. More research is required to determine the exact nature of these structures.  Nevertheless, they are another tantalizing clue to the existence of an unsuspected Shadow Biosphere lurking all around us. 

All this speculation begs the question: how would one find evidence of the Shadow Biosphere if it’s denizens cannot be detected by techniques that target known Earth life? One possibility would be to develop experiments that look for other amino acids in the environment beyond the familiar 20. Another possible method would be to develop a chemical reagent that can distinguish between typical DNA and other genetic material that might have different bases besides guanine, cytosine, adenine and thymine. This reagent could be used to stain a sample of cells gathered from, say, a soil sample. Any cells that were not stained could potentially possess a gene-encoding structure different from typical DNA.

As I stated at the beginning, while the big, bizarre cryptids like Mothman and Thunderbirds may be the most popular, some of the strangest, truly unique organisms on Earth may be lurking under our very feet beyond the limits of what our eyes and scientific instruments can see. The trick to finding them may require looking beyond what we currently understand as life on this planet.   

REFERNECES

Cleland, C. E. (2007). Epistemological issues in the study of microbial life: Alternative terran biospheres? Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, 38(4), 847-861.

Cleland, C. E., & Copley, S. D. (2005). The possibility of alternative microbial life on Earth. International Journal of Astrobiology, 4(3 & 4), 165-173.

Uwins, P. J. R., Webb, R. I, & Taylor, A. P. (1998). Novel nano-organisms from Australian sandstones. American Mineralogist, 83(11-12, Part 2): 1541-1550.

[fantomcomics]

What’s Out This Week? 6/21

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY! 

Appare Ranman GN -  Appearacing & Antonsiku

The time is the 19th century. Eccentric mechanic boy Appare Sorano sets off on an adventure along with his samurai minder, Kosame Isshiki, only to be cast adrift on the Pacific Ocean. A passing steamship rescues them...and delivers the two not back to familiar Japan, but to the far-flung land of America! Trapped in Los Angeles with no easy way to return home, the pair decide to enter the world's first trans-American automobile race. However, with vast sums hinging on the dangerous event's outcome, they may find the odds are stacked against them...

Bloodborne: The Lady Of The Lanterns GN -  Cullen Bunn & Piotr Kowalski

Enter the city of Yharnam through the eyes of its citizens, when new hunters take to the streets to fight against the cruel and unusual epidemic that has gripped the city. In the black of the night, families and faith will be tested...

Bloody Sweet GN Vol 1 - NaRae Lee

One eerie night, in an old, abandoned church, a girl accidentally breaks the seal of an ancient vampire who...starts following her around like a hyper little puppy!  It may not be your typical vampire story, but for Naerim, a victim of school bullying, Vlad's manic energy might be just what she needs to regain her smile!

Bone Orchard: Tenement #1 (of 10) -  Jeff Lemire, Andrea Sorrentino, & Dave Stewart 

From the Eisner-winning creative team behind GIDEON FALLS, PRIMORDIAL, and TEN THOUSAND BLACK FEATHERS comes the biggest and most essential project yet in the bold and ambitious new shared horror universe of THE BONE ORCHARD MYTHOS!!! In this extra-length first issue, JEFF LEMIRE & ANDREA SORRENTINO bring you the story of seven residents in a building and the dark secrets that bind them together...beginning with a death that feels much more sinister than natural. TENEMENT is the newest entry into THE BONE ORCHARD MYTHOS from LEMIRE & SORRENTINO. This universe features self-contained graphic novels and limited series about the horrors waiting to be discovered within the Bone Orchard.  

Chilling Adventures Presents: Camp Pickens One-Shot - Tim Seeley, Mike Norton & Matt Talbot

Camp Pickens has always been the go-to summer destination for the younger residents of Riverdale. It's a rite of passage for the teen residents to hold the coveted camp counselor positions. However, Camp Pickens mysterious past shrouds a deep, dark secret: it's cursed, and this summer all of its campers are going to find out the hard way in this one-shot anthology that's equal parts Sleepaway Camp and American Horror Story: 1984, reuniting the team behind the mega-hit comic series Revival.

Cryptid Kids GN Vol 1 -  Sara Goetter & Natalie Riess

Penny swears that when she was a little girl, a creature called the Bawk-ness Monster-half sea-serpent, half chicken-saved her from drowning. Now, years later, she's about to move away to a new city, and before she goes she needs the help of her best friends, Luc and K, for a vitally important mission: to help her see "Bessie" one more time and prove that what happened was real. But in their quest to find Bessie, the kids stumble into a whole new problem-cryptids are being kidnapped by an evil collector, and only Penny, Luc, and K can save them!

Essence: Being A Muse GN Vol 1 -  Aya Fumio

“Somebody fill my emptiness!”  The day I was rejected from art school, everything that was "special" about me died. That's why I have no choice. Since I'm back to being "ordinary," I'll go to the job my mom decided on while wearing the clothes my mom picked for me so that I can find what my mom calls "happiness" alongside somebody my mom can boast about, trapped in a never-ending cycle of "What if?" and "Too bad" all the while.

Freak Buck HC 

In editor Alexi Zeren's words, Freak Buck is a prison for the monsters we build every day, and the book covers are the cell walls. It features new and cutting-edge work from Marti (La Vibora, The Cabbie), Igor Hofbauer, Abraham Diaz, Gunnar Lundkvist, Josh Simmons, Josh Bayer, Alexis Rose, Jasper Jubenvill, Longmont Potion Castle, Emily V Brown, Dylan Languell, Heather Bryant, and many more. A beautifully designed, limited run, cutting-edge anthology that showcases both established indie artists and previously unpublished cartoonists.

Garvey’s Choice GN -  Nikki Grimes & Theodore Taylor lll

Garvey's father has always wanted Garvey to be athletic, but Garvey is interested in astronomy, science fiction, reading-anything but sports. Feeling like a failure, he comforts himself with food. Garvey is kind, funny, smart, a loyal friend, and he is also overweight, teased by bullies, and lonely. When his only friend encourages him to join the school chorus, Garvey discovers his voice-and himself. He also finds a way to finally reach his distant father-by speaking the language of music.

Gospel GN  -  Will Morris & Ver

When opportunity refuses to knock for restless hero Matilde, the devil comes knocking instead. Thrust into action by the hellish arrival, Matilde and storyteller Pitt will quest for renown, the soul of their community, and answers to the toughest question of all: "Who am I?" Inspired by the work of Hayao Miyazaki and set in the chaos of King Henry VIII's reign, GOSPEL is a thrilling fantasy adventure that explores the truth behind the stories we tell.

Honeycomb GN -  Joanne M Harris & Charles Vess

A lushly illustrated set of dark, captivating fairy tales from the bestselling author of The Gospel of Loki with the illustrator of Stardust, Charles Vess. The beauty of stories; you never know where they will take you. Full of dreams and nightmares, Honeycomb is an entrancing mosaic novel of original fairy tales from bestselling author Joanne M. Harris and legendary artist Charles Vess in a collaboration that's been years in the making. The toymaker who wants to create the perfect wife; the princess whose heart is won by words, not actions; the tiny dog whose confidence far outweighs his size; and the sinister Lacewing King who rules over the Silken Folk. These are just a few of the weird and wonderful creatures who populate Joanne Harris's first collection of fairy tales.

Misen En Place One Shot -  Matt Carr, Lane Lloyd & Nicole Goux

After consuming every animal on Earth, humanity turns to the stars, enslaving, butchering and consuming creatures from across the galaxy. But now the food is fighting back - in spectacularly gory fashion! Tuck in your napkin for this messy, pulpy, over-the-top tale of bloody revenge. Dinner is served!

Out There GN -  Seaerra Miller

Julia didn't always believe in aliens. It was her father who convinced her otherwise. You see-Julia's dad believes he was abducted by aliens. And ever since then, he's been obsessed with the extraterrestrial beings living out there. So when a festival commemorating the 75th anniversary of the infamous UFO crash in New Mexico rolls around, Julia turns down a dream vacation to Hawaii with her best friend, Sara, to join her dad for a weekend trip to Roswell, where he expects the aliens to make contact. But amid the alien-themed goofiness of the festival, Julia finds she isn't sure whether her father really did get abducted. His memories of alien interference are starting to sound increasingly shaky, and with them, her faith in him. Will this weekend bring the two closer together or only drive them apart?

Scribbles HC Vol 1 -  Kaoru Mori

A collection of sketches from Kaoru Mori, the creator of hit historical manga Emma and A Bride's Story! Packed with illustrations done for practice as well as for relaxation, this compilation features commentary on every page as the roots of all her work are laid out.  

Stringer HC -  Patrick Kindlon & Paul Tucker

1983. Tournament tennis. A racquet stringer turned small-time drug dealer gets in over his head transporting a gym bag of cocaine across Europe. Carrying a half million in narcotics puts him on the radar of every dangerous man on the continent. Whoops.

Tales Of Asunda #1 -  Sebastian A. Jones, Julio Brilha & Caanan White

The first kill is always the hardest, especially when you are destined to save the world... or damn it. The Stranger has taught Niobe how to fight, but can she take a life? From the pages of The Untamed comes the first Tale in this anthology series about the world of Asunda.

Tales Of Syzpense #1 -  Chris Ryall, Ashley Wood & Nelson Daniel  The split book revival is underway at Syzygy! Every month, TALES OF SYZPENSE presents two titanic 12-page tales of terror and turmoil! Up first, courtesy of Lore co-creators T.P. LOUISE & ASHLEY WOOD, the lead-off mystery of "Les Mort 13" plays out on the surreal and mysterious island of Southport after a run-in with Eris, the goddess of strife... And then, proof that "power is wasted on the young"! CHRIS RYALL & NELSON DANIEL present "Dreamweaver," the story of an aging adventurer with a mystical secret who looks to pass on his abilities to the next generation of hero...until they have much greater success than he did, and he decides he wants those abilities back at any cost. Each issue features two "Les Mort 13" covers by WOOD, a "Dreamweaver" cover by DANIEL, and a Syzpenseful tribute cover to famous split books of the past.

Until I Love Myself GN Vol 1 -  Poppy Pesuyama

Still reeling from being born into a body they hate, Pesuyama confronts their past, their friends, and even their mother as they try to come to terms with who they are and what they experienced.

Vern, Custodian Of The Universe GN -  Tyrell Waiters

On the edge of burnout, Vern decides to return to his family in the Sunshine State to start over. Starting a new dead-end job as a custodian at Quasar-a local science facility with a shady motive-he shrugs on his uniform, grabs a mop and bucket, and trudges off to clean up... Black holes? Space-time anomalies? Galactic ooze? Things aren't entirely what they seem at Quasar, and when Vern accidentally plugs in a mysterious machine and finds himself standing on the brink of the destruction of every planet in the Multiverse, he's presented with the greatest question of all: what is the point? Fans of Ben Passmore's personal and political comics-as well as classic sci-fi comedies like Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and Rick and Morty-will enjoy this world of hyper fantasy with a touch of humor, as told by a Black creator.

Victory #1 -  David Walker, Brett Weldele & Dave Johnson

From Vampirella's fiftieth anniversary to her very own series! She started as Vampirella's lover and ended up a very powerful pawn of Vampi's mother, Lilith. Along the way, Victory's made new friends, seen countless horrors, been saddled with a demon's ring that she can't get rid of, encountered the ghost of an old friend, and opened too many dimensional gateways to count. Despite that, there's so much that we don't know about Victory, like what her childhood was like. Or what she's been doing with her demon ring and the crazy powers it has granted. Or which old - well, foe wouldn't exactly be the right word - is about to show up to cheer her on. From writer David F. Walker (Compass, Young Justice, Naomi) and artist Brett Weldele (The Beauty, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?).

Voyagis TP -  Sumeyye Kesgin & Ellie Wright 

In her comics writing debut, ELSEWHERE artist SUMEYYE KESGIN asks: What if one of the VOYAGER probes reached an uninhabitable planet laid to waste by a wandering black hole? With her people's resources dwindling under the thumb of a relentless tyrant, Sen, a resident of the ailing planet Modia, will find adventure, friendship-and possibly salvation-in an unexpected relic from an alien planet called Earth.

Wild’s End #1 -  Dan Abnett & I.N.J. Culbard

Journey to alien-occupied interwar England, courtesy of the award-winning creative team of Dan Abnett (Warhammer 40K, Immortal Red Sonja) & I.N.J. Culbard (Salamandre, Tales From The Umbrella Academy), with Nik Abnett providing additional material! Out at sea during the invasion, our intimate crew of unlucky voyagers returns to a world they once knew, their once-cozy seaside home now occupied by alien invaders.

Combining a rich cast of anthropomorphized characters in the tradition of Blacksad and  aliens unlike any you've ever seen in the spirit of War of the Worlds meets Wind in the Willows! Wild's End is a world unlike any other... one you won't want to leave.

Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop GN Vol 1 -  Imo Oono

"Smile" is a popular streamer who's self-conscious about her looks. "Cherry" is a shy boy with a love of haiku. When these two strangers accidentally bump into each other at the local mall, it's the start of a new relationship weaved by their modern and classical expressions of their feelings. Based on the gorgeous animated film!  

You’re Thinking About Tomatoes GN  -  Michael Rosen & Cole Henley

The fan-favorite story from celebrated author and former British Children's Laureate Michael Rosen, now in graphic novel form. Frank isn't doing well at school, and he has just been told off by his head teacher again... He has one last chance to prove himself: all he has to do is follow the rules on his class trip to Chiltern House, complete his worksheet, and stay out of trouble. But when a girl steps out of a painting and steals Frank's worksheet, staying out of trouble is easier said than done. Together, they embark on a perilous adventure to discover the girl's lost identity, uniting with new friends along the way who show Frank all is not as it seems in this stately home. How did the owners of Chiltern House come to own its priceless treasures? Can the secrets of the past ever really stay hidden? Will Frank's head teacher stop him and his new friends before they find out the truth? Frank's class trip is more than he bargained for, but it may just hold the greatest lesson he'll ever learn.

Whatcha grabbing this week, Fantom Fam??

[the-haunted-office]

Nightcrawlers

Cyrus and Aurora’s species, the Nightcrawler, is based on the cryptid the Fresno Nightcrawler. All the lore here is stuff I’ve made up!

Nightcrawlers resemble a pair of billowy white pants draped over a pair of five foot tall stilts, looking rather like a kid using a sheet as a ghostly Halloween costume. This likeness is not helped by their eyes looking like two big black holes cut out in a sheet. It’s not obvious at first, but they do have a mouth, and it is filled with long, dagger-like teeth. While they can easily bite through almost anything - including flesh - they actually prefer a vegetative diet and will only attack as necessary. Otherwise, on the whole, they are reclusive, peaceful, nature-loving creatures.

Nightcrawlers come from a planet at the other end of the Milky Way galaxy. Its name is unable to be pronounced in any human tongue or written in any human language, and this is largely due to the fact that Nightcrawlers communicate largely via telepathy. Their words are translated into the language the recipient will understand and deposited directly into their mind. It’s similar to the way the Babel Fish from the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series works, minus the need to shove a small fish into your ear.

This does not mean, however, that Nightcrawlers can read your mind. They can’t. All they can do is speak to you telepathically.

Nightcrawlers do not mate or have partners and indeed have no need or desire for romance in their society. When an adult is ready to reproduce, it is done asexually and at will. They weave themselves into a cocoon where a division process takes place. When they emerge from the cocoon, it’s with two babies. Nightcrawlers are always born in pairs and raised by their parent until maturity. At maturity, they reach a maximum height of five feet.

Once matured, the young Nightcrawlers will leave their nest together. Siblings are extraordinarily close and possess extraordinary abilities. These abilities are much more effective when they’re together versus apart. They can breathe underwater for extended periods of time. They can also manipulate the world around them with telekinesis. They are unable to lift objects that are too large, like buildings or entire trees, but they can lift a significant amount. They also possess shielding, disguising, and healing abilities. Since they are capable of sharing their energies between each other, one can heal and even revive the other, although the pain and weakness is then distributed evenly between them.

Another ability of theirs is shapeshifting. Once they have studied a particular species enough, they can shapeshift into them. Being weakened to a certain point, however, will cause them to revert back to their natural form.

They are very curious creatures, but prefer to do their explorations at night. Although they might look like they can run fast, they are actually quite slow - it’s just that their strides can be long.

Sadly, Nightcrawlers are few and far between and difficult to find these days. When their home planet was overrun by the Dampening mist, everything on the planet, including the planet itself, died, forcing the Nightcrawlers to abandon their home. Cyrus and Aurora went searching for a way to destroy the mist and haven’t returned home since. While the mist has now been eliminated, they do not have a way to return home. Their home is now Earth.

Here are some images of Nightcrawlers!

[ciaossu-imagines]

Day 14: You're hired to conduct a paranormal investigation - who's your dream team? (Characters from all fandoms) :)

Ahhhh!!! I love this so friggin’ much, you have no idea! This was such a fun thing to sit down and consider and plot out so thank you so much for sending it in!

So, building up a paranormal investigation team, and a sizeable one because we’re taking on the tough jobs, I’m going to recruit from each fandom, especially since you’re allowing me to.

From KHR, I’d definitely pull in Gokudera. He loves all the paranormal stuff, along with cryptids and urban legends and anything vaguely supernatural in the least, even canonically, and he excels at research. He’s my team’s main researcher and I feel he’d be able to give us the most information on each case, along with guesses on what type of paranormal creatures we might deal with, their weaknesses and so on and so forth. He’d be the voice in our ears as he stays in the van, watching the footage and shifting through the research he’s compiled.

From K, I’m recruiting Bandou. He’s very technologically competent and there’s a lot of gadgetry that goes into paranormal investigations. He’d be in charge of all the audiovisual equipment, as well as maintaining and teaching everyone how to use the gadgets, like EMF sensors, infrared thermometers, digital voice recorders, etc.

Nanbaka’s character recruitment is a no-brainer! It’s established in canon that Rock can see ghosts, so he plays such a huge role in any and all investigations the team conducts.

From Welcome to Demon School, Iruma-kun!, I’m recruiting Clara Valac. The girl is always prepared, and her high energy and good spirits keep the team’s motivation up. That, and she has very little fear, so I would never have to worry about her chickening out of an investigation if things started going down!

From Bungou Stray Dogs, I’m choosing Ranpo! He’s the team’s resident skeptic and with his keen observational skills, he’s able to weed out all possible hoaxes or normal causes for things that everyone else might be too quick to assume are paranormal.

From Servamp, I’m recruiting Mikuni. He might not be the most trustworthy at all times, and we all know he’s definitely in this whole thing for himself, but the man is a genius, with a lot of paranormal knowledge and an interest and knack for learning more. He’s part of the research team with Gokudera.

From Saiyuki, I’m definitely getting Sanzo on board the team, just because I need a smoking buddy who can shoot the shit and commiserate with me when everyone else is being idiots. That, and he’d come in incredibly useful if we ever had to exorcise a bitch.

From Mystic Messenger, I’m recruiting Jumin Han. He rarely comes out into the field with us, but he funds our entire organization and gives us valuable resources and we all love him.

From Ikemen Revolution, I’m recruiting Fenrir against his will, just because the idea of him having to go through even just a very basic ghost-hunt amuses the fuck out of me.

From Eyeshield 21, I’m recruiting Hiruma. He comes and goes as he pleases, participating only in the cases that interest him, but he’s an invaluable member of the team, nonetheless. He seems to  always know ‘a guy’ who gets us what we need or help us get to where we want to be, not to mention that he always seems to get the best jobs sent to us.

From The Outsiders, I’m recruiting Ponyboy. I don’t know why, but I do think Pony would be the most open to the idea of the paranormal and he’d work really well no matter where we stuck him, doing his best and just kind of keeping to himself and not causing many issues.

Okay, hear me out here. From Ronin Warriors, I’m recruiting Rowen. I can’t even fully explain it out, but I just strongly headcanon him as just being very sensitive to ghosts and spirits and the paranormal in general. He’s not bombarded by them, he doesn’t speak to them, but he does seem to draw them towards him and, with his high intelligence and ability to think logically, he’s both able to help the research team and  to keep his head while out conducting surveillance or working in the field.

From Kekkaishi, I’m recruiting Yoshimori. He really is a very empathetic boy, and he’s going to try to find ways to empathize and lay any spirits to rest during all investigations. He keeps all of us grounded and helps us remember the human element of paranormal investigation and that the end goal is always to lead whatever paranormal creature we’re investigating to peace.

From GetBackers, I’m recruiting Paul! He feeds us and makes the coffee, while working with the audiovisual and research teams. Honestly, he mostly sticks around because we all amuse him.

From Blush Blush, I’m recruiting Cole. While Stirling would be the more logical choice, given that he’s paranormal himself, I just feel that, with Cole being the obsessive stalker he is, I’d never truly be in danger with him around.

From Class of the Titans, I’m recruiting Odie, who rounds out the tech team. The boy’s a genius and he even helps create some new equipment for our investigations, though he does have a slightly skeptical side that does help keep the rest of us (save Ranpo, who Odie becomes fast friends with) from jumping to hasty conclusions.

While not technically part of our team, I feel my paranormal research team works closely with the entirety of The Howling Commandos from Disney’s Ultimate Spider-Man. Being paranormal creatures themselves, they give our research team lots of information and sometimes give us a hand with the tougher cases.

[pureamericanism]

I've seen, in recent months, a few people online talking about the 'spirit' or 'character' of landscapes, and this is a topic I have Strong Opinions about. I do not trust my intuition about the character of people much at all, but I trust my intuition about the character of landscapes implicitly. A skeptic might say that this is because landscapes don't have a 'spirit,' and thus my intuitions can never be proven wrong. Well, perhaps, but I'm going to indulge myself anyway.

In particular, the Appalachians have a reputation for being dark and sinister and forboding, and have for about as long as English speakers have known about them. Obviously the trope of the darksome woods is very old in European culture, and makes sense for an agricultural civilization for whom forest clearance directly leads to greater wealth. But the reputation of the Appalachian mountains is a separate thing, distinct in kind and degree from that of the Yankee's North Woods, the southern pinelands, or the forests of the mountain west. All of those were 'tamed' by American industry and literature. But no amount of coal-mining, railroad-building, or poetry-composing has dimmed the folkloric reputation of the Appalachians as a landscape haunted by dark forces. There's certainly a Marxist perpective that it's just because they're remote and full of poor people, but there's plenty of remote places with lots of poverty that do not have this reputation for the land itself being anti-human.

Over the past few years, I've had the opportunity to spend much more time in Appalachia than I ever previously had, and I've come to believe that this bit of American belief is wrongheaded. The hills and forests of Appalachia do not seem at all sinister to me, but instead give an impression of great peace. The hills and forests are old here, old and powerful beyond measure, to be sure, but I find them kindly, as if they had found in their great age an acceptance of the ways of things and that sense of Oneness With All Things we are told mystics strive for. Yes, I do find all forests (at least, all temperate forests) kindly to me in particular, because I love them so much and they condescend to return the favor. But I can still recognize that certain trees (spruces in general and Sitka spruces in particular; and willows in general and sandbar willows in particular) have in them a deeply inhuman spirit, inimical to us and perhaps to all animal life. But I find nothing like this in the Appalachian forests, and it is perhaps notable that they are crowned by red spruces, probably the least sinister member of the genus.

But there is a sinister geography in the region, and one that probably explains the ill reputation of the whole area. It's not the hills, though, and not the forests. It's the rivers. The Ohio river and all her tributaries seem to me to carry a dark, ferocious, brooding energy, that leaks out into the landscape immediately adjacent even farther than their floodwaters. To the physiognomist of landscapes, these constricted valleys seethe with angry inhuman spirits. When the morning fog rolls in from the river to blanket Portsmouth, Ohio, it's a very different feeling from the same thing happening in the San Francisco Bay. And since these valleys are also the corridors through which all human traffic in the region moves, all who travel in or through the area take this impression with them, however subconsciously.

This sees some reflection in folklore, too: the most famous 'cryptid' of the area, the mothman, was sighted around Point Pleasant, WV. For people from New York or Chicago, this is just one more random Appalachian mountain town, doubtlessly full of hillbillies. But no, Point Pleasant is a low-lying, (ex-)industrial river town. The great tragedy the mothman is associated with was even the collapse of a bridge over the Ohio River itself!

This may all be silly, pretentious gobbledygook. It's definitely silly and pretentious. And even if it isn't gobbledygook, I'm not occultist enough - or even necessarily believing enough in the supernatural - to speculate why this is, what causes this, or if it's anything more than a wannabe poet's fancy. But I still trust my readings of landscapes, and would like to see the vocabulary of the good and kindly hills (especially as contrasted with the cruel and violent valleys) enter the repertoire of Appalachian landscape writers.

[northwest-cryptid]

You know I think I understand why people who like the plot to AC6 hate seeing me play it.

Because I'm sorry but the "oh no you're a soulless merc who can't think for yourself and you're just a dog being used oh nooooo" is laid on so thick that I just honestly don't care.

Like I'm not saying it's bad, but I'm just so tired of that sort of narrative and there's no other game that gives me quite the same mech gameplay/building so the way I enjoy this game is that I build a silly mech and then go blow up other mechs.

So it's literally like

Everyone: Oh no Cryptid you have to go kill good-honest-innocent man McGoodNiceDude! Me: Okay! Yay! \(≧▽≦)/ Everyone: NO!

Like I cannot tell you how much I love the AC vs AC parts of this game. Going toe to toe with another specifically built machine is cool, it's like I finally get to use everything I've been building towards and AC as a series has always done a great job of making you feel it all, from the choice of thruster to which generator you're using. So even the minor upgrades that may not be cosmetic or that aren't necessarily a new big gun or whatever still feel FUN.

I will now proceed to tell you how much I love the AC vs AC parts of this game.

Fighting a bunch of fodder enemies doesn't make use of all of that, but then you get to fight another AC and suddenly you find yourself using everything at maximum efficiency. It's like a test of your skills both as a player but also as someone able to build and design your AC. Which is cool because whenever I play a Dark Souls game or something my "build" is basically what weapon do I want to use, what's the best weapon for that type of weapon scaling wise; what stats do I need, and then just "git gud" at learning the fights.

Armored Core is different, does this guy use shields? Are they physical shields or energy shields? was I prepared for that? Are they using melee weapons at close range? Should I be using melee weapons? What does my opponent's design/build leave in terms of a weakness, what can I exploit here? Is my AC able to exploit that? Should I swap out my shoulder rockets for a shield this time, maybe a sniper rifle? I could probably hold a few energy weapons on my shoulder slots and swap to them as needed!

This whole thought process leads to creating an AC that feels like it's designed to be a solution based not just on how I play but on what the game is throwing at me. It doesn't feel like I'm flip flopping between "ugh okay I guess I'm going mage this time, spamming magic would be easier here. Then I need to get a larva thing so I can go back to Arcane Strength build again..." It feels like I'm planning for what might get thrown at me, designing my AC around what I need. If taking this rocket launcher is too heavy for my AC then I need sturdier parts, if those parts need a better power supply then I need to shop for a better generator. All of this is to say I'm fitting my AC for the situation at hand, fine tuning every part of it; and then when I get into the fight and they throw up an energy shield and I can whip out my plasma rifle to deal with that, I feel really good; because I was prepared for this thanks to my planning.

Everything you do in AC is thanks to how you built your AC. I mean literally everything, just dodging a missile is a matter of "wow this light frame and high energy generator is coming in handy, I can stay airborne and dodge these like nothing and I still have energy left over to boost out of here!" Having a really heavy sturdy tank tread AC that's just loaded with so many heavy weapons it could punch through a 50 foot thick wall feels good because you made that shit work! You're not blazing through enemies with ease because you have some overpowered weapon, you specifically built to use these heavy weapons; you strategized for this. Everything is the payoff of your direct actions.

The game is basically split into two categories, you have the planning phase and then the action phase. Getting good at one of these can absolutely cover for a lack of skill in the other. If you're a REALLY good action player then you could probably get by with even the worst designed AC, just because you're good at playing the game. If you're really bad at the action, but you plan accordingly and cover your ass with having a sturdy AC that can take a lot of damage; has solid defenses, and can hit enemies hard to ensure you don't give them much time to fight back. You're going to be able to make progress because you built essentially an invincible AC.

Every time I talk to someone who plays AC, they are almost always really attached to their AC by the end of the game because they've come to know that thing intimately. I've talked to a lot of Dark Souls players, none of them feel like their build or their character or their weapon "got them through the game" quite like an AC player.

Granted, mech enjoyers are a different breed.

[m0e-ru]

why do you use him/her he/she pronouns for mim in that post?? isnt mim strictly they/them???

yeah okay no. 1: sorry that post was literally unreadable no punctuation no context no shit no nothing no life. like literally how my discord message dumps look like I am SO sorry I really am. you can always ask though I talk about shit like it's an already known thing I'm sorry my dear okyakusan

no. 2.1: umm short answer: idc about pronouns really I've been juggling them the whole time. I'm balling 🤾🤾🤾 also I'm a writer and I like to be dramatic but that comes with the fact I make shit too vague and it doesn't make sense in the end but I like the drama. like telanovelas <-doesn't know what they're saying at this point

no. 2.2 and all the other sections under cut because I'll be a lot more talkative this time around while I uh. still have the energy though

I'll just put a really loose chart here for a second

Izy (my idea ,technically OC, of the whole Iznmi and Marie once was) - she/her Marie - she/her Mim - whatever (the situation calls for)

while publically and online I don't talk about my ideas in detail or like, something closer to a finished product, I do like to use pronouns dramatically trying to make use of the English langauge (<- thinks in 2-3 languages at a time). In this case, it'd be towards mim's different aspects. as a diety (she/her), human facade (he/him), or like uh Ame-no-Sagiri (it/its) and other stuff they do while possessing people probably.

imagine there being an omniscient narrator but likes to be dramatic and talking to an audience in the voice of a certain character and from that "perspective" (<- desperately trying to explain their bullshit writing style). If I write from a Teddie perspective then the narrative would use "sensei" for Souji and describe details curiously, or an Adachi perspective where the narrative would use "idiot" and sounds very annoyed and lazy, or Souji using "senpai" and is particular with descriptions and with things that catch his eye, or, very vaguely, mim trying to distinguish their roles and identities as god and as this human they're acting as.

but the narrator is also its own guy and decides to make analogies that could foreshadow something or make things sound interesting or sound embarrassing and cheesy and (gritting teeth, punching the fucking air)

onto a more personal take though, I guess I do leave the impression I use they/them for mim pretty firmly but not really strictly! I am a silly guy I don't really care it's not really firm at all lol

that, or you caught me while I was building this station from the ground up (2020 blog making) and pronoun usage was something really. violent eye twitching. to me. Sure I had some issues with it on a really personal level but it's fine now if that's what you're worried about. I get the feeling I do and if you came back after a while to see me messing around and letting she/he come out of my mouth without choking I'm sorry if that disturbed you. Just remembering I'm in a Community and this guy was a doll thing to be played around with and I can decide my corners and circles with blorbo. and also coming to terms with. myself (self projection revealing things about oneself WHO KNEW!!!!!!!) Or I could be completely mega wrong and I'm the only one in the world who had this experience oh well sorry

reiterating from my last letter (really long post, whichever that one was) "Mim" can be something so personal but at the same time I don't want to alienate people but make them feel comfortable with it instead. like a house name, like I am LITERALLY that friend who has nicknames for everybody and you just know who I'm referring to and you aren't obligated to use the same terms.

mim is like my guy. my boy best friend. my mom. my terrible aunt. my knows too much grandparent. my funny uncle. my cousin from a different city. my brother. my local cryptid freak thing

LIKE use whatever you want for mim, for Nami, for Izanami, whatever. I don't want you to force yourself to use mim because you think referring to them as anything else would make me turn into a hater. I am tottsly fine really its fun seeing what other people use. like a personality indicator. but if you do use mim genuinely then, well that makes me feel a bit soft.

if you want a closer look at my brain I'll try and plot it down /scratches head/

Mim is a general go-to, Mimi if I want to feel sentimental. Hell, I'll switch it up to Iznmi like calling your teacher sir Benny in class but having to say sir De Guzman to call him out from the faculty office (unless this analogy is a bit more specific, sorry, I meant when I'm vomiting ideas in message vs trying to plot it out for a proper discussion or talk to other people who don't know I use mim)

Iznmi is all contracted because of the Horrors but I ended up sticking with it, without the added Horrors, because it got easier to type and my keyboard already learned the word in its autofill, so. I also use it when I try to distance myself from blorbo vision and try to discuss more specifically and with proper details.

Izy is the oc she's her own thing. I got tired of using "izanami-no-mikoto" all the time i mean heres my nickname documentation

Izanami is when I'm referring outside of P4 like the creation myth or other Izanamis in different media (hifumi.........).

like a special code for myself especially when I'm trying to discuss all four in one sentence (IT GETS CRAZYYY) like "Izanami (p4) and Izanami (who marie was as a whole) and Izanami (creation myth) and Izanami (there was this really cool blazblue recolor I saw one time)" I WOULD'VE GONE INSANE !

okay back to pronouns um. having mim as a blorbo put me through very special horrors but at the same time a journey that taught me a lot. figuring myself out and what kind of trans swag I want. pronouns, presentation, etc etc all that junk. and I realized I do not really care? I can do what I want and so can mim and I'm happy for them and by extension happy for me. while I don't really care, I guess I don't like messing with the topic too much publically and I know of some people who have it close to their heart and do take identity and transness very seriously. I don't want to seem apathetic but also non accepting at the same time, it's just, augh, there are reasons I don't want to be popular and the fear of having a knife to my throat to have aggressive questions like this. you can do what you want! it's cool 👍 I don't want to take sides most of the time (unconfrontational, doesnt want to fight) but I'll have opinions when I have opinions (you know. the obvious). this is, auggg it's tiring to be people pleasing in general (it is 2am) THAT'S ENOUGH OF A PEROSNAL SPIEL GOODNJGHT ANON HPE YOU HAD A NICE FKRST TWO WEEKS OF THE NEW YEAR.