#all of this could change in the future

[huntressao3]

Oddworldtober Day 23: Fingers

The sky above the Monsaic Lines had darkened, with the only light coming from campfires or lit torches from the village Abe and his fellow mudokons had sought refuge in. Abe had been wandering around the village while receiving endless amounts of praise from the mudokons he had freed from the farm, all of them cheering wildly when he walked by, with some raising bottles of brew in the air.

Exhausted but alive, he stayed near the edge of the village, surveying the surrounding wilderness, a place he had only just gotten the chance to experience, even if it consisted of running from sligs and dodging dangerous predators. Abe sighed before noticing a familiar shape- a lone elum grazing on the dry grass. Abe’s heart skipped as he got up and began to approach the elum, believing it to be the same one that had helped him in his quest. But as he approached, he noticed this elum’s horns were different and it looked at him with big wide eyes as it shifted it weight on either foot.

“Hey there buddy,” Abe said as he got closer “What are you doing out here?” The mudokon inched closer with his hand extended before Abe heard a rustling in the grass and suddenly felt a sharp thud hit squarely against the side of his pointy head.

Abe stumbled, his vision swimming as he heard the elum run away. He then felt a hard slap against his back as he spotted a small figure darting around him in the corner of his eye, grunting and yelling in the process . Abe then reached out and grabbed a stick that was just about to hit him again and held on tight. Abe could then finally see another figure holding onto the stick and trying to wrench it free.

The smaller creature then stepped back, holding the stick almost like a spear and allowing the mudokon savior to finally get a decent look at his attacker.

It was pale and dirty and smaller than him and was dressed in a white dress that was stained with dirt and mud, it breathed heavily as it held the stick, ready to strike again. It glared at Abe with intense eyes, it walked on two legs just like him except its face was flatter, its head was covered in short…feathers? Feathers that only came to its chin and its gaze was intense.

“Stay back!” It-no- she snarled in a hoarse voice that was higher pitched but not unpleasant to listen to. She raised the stick again as she eyed Abe, who raised his hands in the air, palms facing the…mudokon? With his eyes wide.

“Who… or *what* the hell are you?” The smaller figure demanded, hereyes narrowing after looking him up and down as she dug her feet into the ground.

“Uh, I’m Abe,” he said, his hands still raised “I saw the elum and I was just seeing if I could-“

“He’s mine,” the figure said gripping the stick tighter just as the elum peeked his head over the grass, hooting softly as he looked at the mudokon. Abe swallowed hard, not sure what this creature could do and not wanting to scare her away.

“I didn’t mean any harm, I just saw him and thought- well it doesn’t matter. I’m not here for a fight. The strange creature glared at him a moment longer before glancing at the elum and then cautiously lowering the stick but not letting it go. “So…what’s your name?” He asked “You got a name right?”

“Evie” she said after watching him for a moment longer, her gaze occasionally turning to the forest.

Abe sighed, relieved that she wasn’t attacking him anymore, and titled his head, finally able to get a better look at the..mudokon? It seemed to have five fingers on its hands, long and slender unlike mudokon fingers. Her body was dirt streaked and smaller than a typical mudokon’s but her muscles were still coiled despite the exhaustion as if ready to strike again. Abe guessed she had likely escaped from another factory.

“I’m not gonna hurt you,” Abe repeated, lowering his hands, “ But I get it if you don’t trust me” The elum came forward and hooted at Evie, who cautiously placed a hand against his side as the creature snorted and began to pace behind her.

“Alright, but if you try anything-” she tapped the stick against her palm to which Abe nodded.

Neither girl nor mudokon knew at the time what fate had in store for them and northern noticed the green eyed ratz watching the scene unfold from the shadows before leaping off into the forest

Finally managed to get this one out, I was having trouble getting it (especially Evie’s face) to turn out how I wanted and I don’t really like the little short story since it could potentially change in the future, but oh well!

[quazies]

Thank you to everyone who's taken interested in my cryptid project!! Here's some more sketches!

I've been animating awhile and it feels right to start making my own lil' series..I've loved North American cryptids since I was a wee baby! I actually wanted to be a Cryptozoologist when I was a kid.. (I guess this is as close as I'm gonna get!)

Our MC's are Bigs (BigFoot) and Tad (LoveLand Frog)

The two of them have lived in isolation their whole life, and the series follows them as humans slowly take over more of their neck of the woods, as well as meeting other cryptids over the series! (They also take care of the Moth-Baby I've shown in previous post!)

While the tone will be slice of life, that doesn't mean there wont be some drama/horror elements!

[yudol-skorbi]

and what if i go insane

[transmascxielian]

I LOVE BEING AROMANTIC! I love talking to my friends about stuff they like. I love kissing my friends on the face and telling them I'm in love with them and knowing that it isn't romantic, it's just us. I love knowing myself well enough to know that I don't want romance or a relationship. I love platonic interpretations of media. I love defiance of amatonormativity. I love how my experience could be completely alien to that of another aromantic person because of how personal and multifaceted it can be. I love containing multitudes. I love aromanticism and I love being aro and I love being queer and trans and I love eschewing conventional relationships. I love loving.

[rexonalapis]

it is very telling that average genshin players cannot comprehend seeing an actual mature, qualified leader that is actually good at taking her job seriously after meeting archons who either is still childish, clowning whimsically, or straight up incompetent.

[thunderstomm]

Young adult Dev hairstyle exploration to go with my Hazel ones from a week ago… tell me which ones you like the most !! ✨

[goldenn-moments]

I'm sorry but THE PARALLELS OF SALLY TELLING POSEIDON THAT PERCY IS BETTER THAN WHAT THE GODS WOULD MAKE HIM, AND ANNABETH TELLING HEPHAESTUS THAT PERCY IS BETTER THAN THE GODS AND THEIR HUNGER FOR POWER AND GLORY. JUST. I-

percy is the change the godly world needs because sally gave him the tools. then years later, a girl who's only steady part of her life has been the gods and their callous ways, knows percy for less than a week and starts to change for the better too. the power of one mother loving her son enough to affect what will eventually be a whole generation, and the future of demigods as we know it

sally jackson the goddess that you are

[hamletshoeratio]

Apparently, Eloise is a mean girl and is not a girls' girl???

[customizablefriend]

My true self still loves Tommyinnit I am still an inniter at heart I have not changed

[backjustforberena]

Rhaenys Targaryen being perceptive as HECK:

Devotion has never sat well with him. Where he goes, he wishes to be his own master. [...] Not as such (will he challenge her). But neither can he allow her to command him.

"Neither can he allow her to command him." - We never see Rhaenyra actually order Daemon's flight to Harrenhal. Not directly. It was his choice to go when he did, it was his plan to being with, at the start of the whole thing - to create a toehold in the Riverlands. It was Daemon's instincts and feelings. He follows his own path.

Again, Jaehaerys's murder was done without Rhaenyra's sanction, he chafed against staying on Dragonstone whilst she searched for Luke's remains, and he took charge of the war council and drew his sword against Otto without waiting for her leave to escalate. He addresses Otto's terms before she does. Whilst he shows loyalty and believes his motives to be selfless and his allegiance as true, it's not true deference. He seeks power/independence where he can.

Devotion and love don't sit well with him, though he has great capacity for it - we see him struggle with those feelings and the warring sides of his nature during Harrnehal: his brother, his niece, his second wife. His ignorance of his daughters. There is a corruption to his love. An acidity.

"Where he goes, he wishes to be his own master" = he goes to Harrenhal, and wishes to be his own master, and even King.

He doesn't not challenge her "as such" = he never raises banners against her, never pushes for his own claim other than in private conversations. Still, his behaviour causes Rhaenyra to have doubts in herself as Queen and others to have doubts in her as well.

It absolutely challenges outside perceptions of her rule - his lack of communication creates fractures in her council, leading, amongst other things, Alfred to question her suitability. It also makes her strategy wayward as they cannot be sure of ground support for any campaign. She's doing things she shouldn't have to do because of his behaviour.

His behaviour also challenges her because the things that he does impacts how her cause is received. Her name is cursed in King's Landing because of what he enacted, leading to the death of Jaehaerys. They blame her for what he did in her name.

Otto Hightower would never have allowed this. Hotter blood has prevailed, I think. The young men have taken the bit in their teeth. They wish to punish, to avenge. Soon they will not even remember what it was that began the war in the first place.

Otto Hightower did, indeed, not allow or know anything about sending Arryk to assassinate Rhaenyra, leading to the death of both twins. In fact, Otto was appalled by the scheme.

It was, as Rhaenys surmises done on the orders of the "young men" (Aegon, and the less young Cole) - as punishment and revenge for the death of Jaehaerys.

Aegon has "declared" war following the death of his son and has seized on offence. He did this whilst his blood ran hot: a scene where he is smashing up Viserys's model.

We teeter now at the point where none of it will matter. And the desire to kill and burn takes hold and reason is forgotten.

The deaths of the children (Luke & Jaehaerys) in the scene with Alicent and Rhaenyra, ultimately don't affect the idea of peace or war. Alicent does not change her behaviour due to the loss of a grandson, and Rhaenyra does not for the loss of her son, either to make war or peace more or less likely. The road is already set. They reach a point where it doesn't matter.

Rook's Rest represents a point of no return. They pass the point.

Rhaenys sees "the desire to kill and burn" take hold over reason in close quarters - she sees Aemond burn his own brother. That is the kind of savagery: the unforgivable. The bloody war between dragons and the hateful act of kin against kin. It's chaos.

Rhaenyra’s council is wayward. She has a hard task. I must hope she will rise to it, but I fear she’ll need you by her side sooner than late.

After Rhaenys dies, Rhaenyra has one council session, where each of the men around her have individual ideas - they argue amongst each other but none of them have no true plan to offer her. There is no progress.

Nor does she rise to command them: they continue to ignore her, shoot her down, not work with her, leaving her isolated. As Rhaenys fears, she needs Corlys. Rhaenyra soon offers Corlys the role of Hand.

[giddlygoat]

hater has disturbing reoccurring dreams about wander crawling inside his ribcage that always have him waking up in a cold sweat [they just feel too real and hater can’t place why]. wander has reoccurring dreams of hater ceremoniously destroying him with the Disaster Blaster and it’s the one dream he doesn’t eagerly blab to sylvia about because he doesn’t know how to tell her that it never feels like a nightmare. soooo is anyone else sick in the head or is it just me

[pyrepostings]

Conditioned whumpee, whose caretaker is trying to convince xem it's ok to take off the collar now that whumper's gone.

Whumpee decides, in xeir head, that xey could explain to whumper if xey are recaptured that xey downgraded xeir collar because whumper wasn't there to give orders. See, xey still wore a collar, it's just made out of leather instead of gold. See, xey didn't think for a moment xey could be free.

And this way, Caretaker can be satisfied about aer "progress" in the meantime.

[hazelkjt]

"A Glimpse Of What's To Come"

Lord Emmanellain and Lady Hazel de Fortemps enjoying a reprise from the former's role as Camp Dragonhead's commander. The two take an evening stroll through Ishgard while accompanied by Ser Honoroit Banlardois, a knight of the Fortemps family.

[perpetuallyfive]

did you think act 2 had a dip in quality when in comes to writing? i've seen so many people complaining and i can't, for the life of me, understand why, apart from people having these really personal expectations that weren't met (vi's pitfighter era being just the montage, caitlyn not spelling out her inner turmoils, isha's entire existence, jinx being family oriented instead of a freedom fighter, sky is also pissing people off lol), and I'm just so confused bc idk if I'm just easier to please, or if my lack of expectations just allowed me to enjoy the story plain and simple

I think there's a fair chance that many of the people complaining didn't watch season 1 until all three acts were released and aren't used to watching Arcane as a week to week experience; a huge percentage of the people in this fandom only joined it around the time they saw an "oil and water" gif set. No shade, of course. I can understand why people weren't jumping to watch women written by Riot, but that does color how you're going to view the pacing of a season.

This very well might be the first time a lot of those complaining built up expectations of where the story would head next, how they'd watch the struggle play out between Zaun and Piltover, only to see things they wanted to watch in depth get covered in a montage.

The fact that a single montage tells us everything we need to know about where Vi is at and what she's been up to is actually good, economical storytelling, but that's not the kind of thing people are used to in most shows. If you go back and watch the pilot of Arcane, so many things happen in that one episode. You get almost a full season of TV in a single 42 minutes of Arcane. A lot of other shows are just filling time, running in place until one of the two or three big moments for the whole season can happen a few episodes later.

That's not how Arcane works now or ever.

I imagine if some people had watched season 1 week to week — with lots of time to imagine what came next while at the edge of their seat — they would have been upset that we never saw the three youngest girls growing up. Act 1 ends with this huge cliffhanger and then we jump an unspecified amount of time into the future. We don't spend time with Vi in jail, we don't actually see any of the trauma alluded to. We don't see the tension in Caitlyn's relationship with her mom and how that plays out over time, which is a pretty huge part of season 2. We don't see Jinx's transformation into the damaged girl she becomes. All of that happens off screen and is only implied.

The techniques people are complaining about this season are exactly the same as last time, when they loved the show. But if you watched everything all at once before — no time to build up an imagined result that didn't pan out — and were reassured by how much you liked the payoff, then maybe you didn't even notice these things that you can hyper analyze while you wait 7 days for the next drop.

Hell, I saw multiple people surprised that introducing tension into Vi and Caitlyn's relationship has already paid off so well because it led to, you know... tension. Some people are so used to shows not doing anything that they are surprised when actually doing things can turn out to be interesting.

I think a lot of the things you say people are complaining about are probably going to be covered in act 3. Jinx has always been family oriented. She only cared for the found family she had with Vander, and then Silco took that place. She didn't give a shit about anyone else working with him, and actively made their lives harder just for fun. It's going to take some effort and time to move her from that pretty self-interested place she's always occupied to being some kind of freedom fighter risking herself for strangers, and Isha was a vital part of getting her there.

I also think there's a really strong chance that isn't even Sky, but rather a manifestation of her created by the Hextech/Void/Whatever that consumed her using her as a puppet to manipulate Viktor into spreading its influence further and faster. But who knows! There's an entire three episodes left and, again, a single episode of Arcane covers so much and always has. None of us can actually know where the stories will be one episode later, let alone three.

Look, for all I know, this might not pan out. We never know if a show is going to stick the landing one season to the next. But they're not really doing anything differently from last time, so I don't see a reason to panic or complain yet.

[walkingstackofbooks]

My vision for endgame Data/Julian which has consumed me ever since I watched Picard 😅

A few months after the Dominion war, the Enterprise docks at DS9 for a short while allowing Data to meet his long-time pen-friend, Julian, again. Julian's not doing well, but since he seems to enjoy Data's company, Data decides to take a couple more weeks of leave to spend some more time with his friend. However, Julian starts becoming more and more withdrawn and anxious, and after an incident one evening where he becomes agitated to the point of storming out, Data reaches out to Deanna to see if she can give him any insight into his friend's behaviour. She has some ideas, but also suggests that Data ask Keiko, and after talking with the O'Briens, Data believes he understands what's wrong. When he asks Julian if he's correct in thinking that his impending departure is what's upsetting the doctor, Julian's surprise at the question is enough that he answers truthfully - yes. To Data, the solution is obvious: if Julian is distressed by the idea of someone else leaving him, then Data will not leave. (Julian begs him not to make promises he cannot keep, and has a minor breakdown when he realises that Data is deadly serious.) After a lot of conversation, some favour-cashing, and the fortunate coincidence that one of Beverly's doctors was beginning to look for a promotion to CMO, Julian ends up transferred to the Enterprise: technically a demotion, but after so long having so much on his shoulders, it's actually a relief.

While on Enterprise, Data and Julian get closer and closer. Their relationship brings some difficulties when it becomes public, though: some see the fact Julian's dating an android as proof that he's not really human; others wonder how Data's affection can be real, and feel that if he were as human as he wants to be, then he wouldn't be dating an augment. Julian's parents definitely berate him for wasting all the gifts they gave him by marrying an android - if only he'd talked to them before the wedding, they could have adbised him against it! - making him a zillion times more grateful Data talked him out of inviting them every time he started to feel guilty about it. But that's by the by. They're together, happily married, endgame Julian/Data achieved, right?

... Wrong. I hate Nemesis, but imagine Julian following Data down before he throws himself into space, knowing he could probably stop Data from doing this if he asks. Data saying, "I know I promised never to leave you," and Julian shaking his head and barely being able to choke out the words "It's okay," and then Data's gone. And Geordi's trying to reassure Julian (Geordi's trying to convince himself...) that Data will be alright, he's got the emergency tranport unit, and they get back to the bridge, and Picard transports in, and Data's still on the ship that's blowing up, and Deanna's asking what happened and Julian's sliding down against a wall, horarsely whispering "I let him go..."

20 years later... Picard season one. I haven't quite decided when I want Julian to appear, because the idea of Julian fighting for android rights is everything to me, but also I kind of like the premise of changing as little as possible in canon... (Maybe Julian had tried to be part of the movement for android rights, bu the media had really latched onto his augment status and used it as another reason to discredit the movement, and so he'd withdrawn from it, as it seemed his presence was doing more harm than good….) So the Picard crew all return to the Riker-Troi household after the final showdown and Deanna welcomes them in with a "Guess who we finally managed to get in contact with" and bring them into the lounge where Julian' anxiously waiting. And of course the initial introduction is awkward and Julian's talking a million words a minute until Will pokes him and then over the next few days he's trying to keep his distance so that Soji doesn't feel that she needs to let him into her life... And meanwhile Soji is still, you know, coping with ALL the feelings and trauma that the last - what, week? - have given her and so she has no idea what to do with this man, who was apparently her father's husband, especially as she has no clue how he feels about the whole suddenly-having-an-android-stepdaughter thing. But eventually they do manage to have a conversation (/are forced to talk it out) and they get on so well and Soji realises how much Julian genuinely wants to get to know her for her sake and while Julian's terrified at the prospect of having a daughter, he's also delighted (and Will and Deanna make them both stick around for a whole while, 1. because they do enjoy having them both around, 2. because Kestra adores Soji, and the two are pretty good for each other, and 3. because, while they have kept in contact with Julian over the years, they also know how long he's been on his own for, and they want to make sure he's got a solid base and people to lean on. As much as Julian wants to be a good father, Soji deserves more than one traumatised, lonely man doing a best that would quite possibly not be good enough...)

Picard season 3. Julian and Soji are visiting Geordi at the museum when the Picard crew come along, and are swept into the action... Julian learning that Data's alive - kind of... Julian tenderly kissing Data before they take down the partition, telling him he has to win so he can meet their daughter... The two of them barely having time to reunite before having to rush off to their respective duties in saving the ship... (I have VISIONS of Soji and Julian working desperately together to find a cure for the transporter virus, while Julian's augment physiology has done something weird to make it that he's turning, but very, very slowly. Julian making sure that Soji is armed, and making her promise to shoot him if he turns too quickly. Soji telling him he has to keep fighting it and refusing to think about what it might come to. Julian realising he's about to lose control and getting Soji to restrain him. Soji despairing that she won't be able to find a cure by herself - she's not a doctor doctor like he is - and Julian reassuring her that he believes in her, she just needs to do her best... but most importantly, if she doesn't find it, it's alright, it's not her fault, and he loves her. Resistance is futile. A phaser shot.) And afterwards, when Soji's found the cure and it's been distributed, Julian wakes up to find Data sitting next to him and Soji hovering nearby. He tries to scramble up and leave to help the rest of the crew, but Soji informs him that just as he took longer to turn, he took longer to get better, and he's the last one to wake up from it. And then she makes to leave, to give the two of them some time alone, and Julian tells her that's nonsense, she needs to meet Data, and Soji says that it's fine, they've been talking while he was asleep, and Julian replies that now he feels left out, so she definitely can't leave, come here, sit by me, I'm not letting either of you out of my sight.

[coquelicoq]

just got a promotionnnnnn