#and several elongated limbs

[indiestsnake]

uh. I’ve already posted this. but that was when like 6 ppl knew of my existence and im really proud of it so

content warning, minor body horror. no gore, just something with a few too many limbs

this is my bird do u like him

he is in moderate to severe pain but he is living just like the rest of us

[gobingirl]

Meeting the JL fit

So it’s been said before that Danny would have an eldritch horror form. But what if there different stages he could morph into just for the intimidation factor?

Like imagine he’s trying to make a good impression on the JL but he wants them to take him seriously as a hero. So he’s just in his room shifting from one form to another and everything in between trying to decide what would say ‘friendly but not to be trifled with’ and not ‘shit your pants’. It’s like watching a girl trying to decide what to wear on a first date.

He pulls Jazz into his room to help him decide:

“Just be yourself!”

“But all of these is some form of myself!”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“How about this one?”

And he shrinks from whatever wendigo form looking thing he was a moment ago into his normal Phantom look. But then he lets his claws extend, his hair grows longer to drape around his face dramatically, and several extra eyes pop up over his face and neck. His limbs grow long and his teeth sharpen and elongate to poke out from behind his pale lips.

Jazz just sits there for a moment in silence, looking a little pale herself. Then shakes her head.

“Tone it down just a little.”

He reduces the look to lessen the effect but it’s still pretty terrifying and bad ass.

And that’s what he settled on to go meet the JL for the first time. When he gets there he forgets to turn off his invisibility and when he remembers he just appears in the meeting hall, I’d imagine that Flash would screech in alarm and run into a wall or something before he introduces himself.

[dougdimmadodo]

Italian Three-Toed Skink (Chalcides chalcides)

Family: Skink Family (Scincidae)

IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern

Like several other species of lizard, the Italian Three-Toed Skink has adapted to move through areas covered with dense vegetation by developing an elongated, flexible, snake-like body with highly regressed limbs, although unlike many other "snake-like lizards" members of this species still possess four tiny limbs, each ending in a stumpy three-toed foot. Said limbs are far too small to support the skink's weight and serve no role in movement (which is achieved through an elegant snake-like slithering motion,) which has led many to question what purpose, if any, they serve; it is generally assumed that the limbs are vestigial and that, given sufficient time, the descendants of modern Italian Three-Toed Skinks will lose them entirely, although some herpetologists and evolutionary biologists have suggested that the continued existence of this species' limbs suggests that they must serve some function, such as being moved as part of a courtship display or allowing mating individuals to hold onto one another (although as these behaviours have never been observed these suggestions are entirely speculative.) Found in damp, well-vegetated areas across most of mainland Italy as well as Tunisia, Algeria, Libya and the nearby island of Sardinia, members of this species are diurnal, feed mainly on insects and breed during the spring; like most skinks, females of this species give birth to live young, with newborns, which resemble miniature adults, being independent immediately after birth.

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Image Source: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/53646-Chalcides-chalcides

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Word List: Animals

for your next poem/story (pt. 2)

Accentor - a small Eurasian songbird with generally drab-colored plumage

Brach - a female hound

Culver - a dove or pigeon

Diprotodon - a monotypic genus of Australian Pleistocene herbivorous marsupials related to the kangaroos, resembling a rhinoceros in size, and walking on four legs

Eyas - an unfledged bird, specifically: a nestling hawk

Falanouc - (or Falanaka) a viverrine mammal, Eupleres goudotii, of Madagascar closely related to the Asiatic palm civet

Gerenuk - a large-eyed antelope (Litocranius walleri) of eastern Africa with a long neck and limbs

Huemul - (or Guemal) either of two small South American deer, Hippocamelus bisulcus and H. antisiensis, having simple forked antlers

'I'iwi - Hawaiian honeycreeper (Vestiaria coccinea) with chiefly bright vermilion plumage formerly used in making feather cloaks

Jerboa - any of several social nocturnal jumping rodents (family Dipodidae) of arid parts of Asia and northern Africa having a long tail and long hind legs

Kinkajou - a nocturnal arboreal omnivorous mammal (Potos flavus) found from Mexico to South America that is related to the raccoon and has a long prehensile tail, large eyes, and yellowish brown fur

Leveret - a hare in its first year

Murre - any of a genus (Uria) of black-and-white alcids, especially: a common seabird (U. aalge) of northern seas

Nyala - an antelope (Tragelaphus angasii) of southeastern Africa with vertical white stripes on the sides of the body, a dorsal crest of hair from the neck to the base of the tail, and in the male shaggy black hair along the underside; also: a related antelope (T. buxtoni) of Ethiopia

Olm - an elongated European cave-dwelling aquatic salamander (Proteus anguinus) with permanent external gills and small eyes covered by the skin

Pudu - a small reddish deer (Pudu pudu) of the Chilean Andes having simple antlers resembling spikes and standing only 12 or 13 inches high

Quarrion - cockatiel (i.e., a crested small gray Australian parrot, Nymphicus hollandicus, with a yellow head)

Rorqual - any of a family (Balaenopteridae) of large baleen whales that have relatively small heads, short, broad plates of baleen, and the skin of the throat marked with deep longitudinal furrows and that include the blue whale, humpback whale, minke whale, fin whale, and sei whale

Spatangid - a sea urchin of the suborder Spatangina; heart urchin

Turaco - any of a family (Musophagidae) of typically crested African birds that are related to the cuckoos and have a long tail, a short stout often colored bill, and red wing feathers

Urubu - black vulture (i.e., an American vulture, Coragyps atratus, that is smaller than the turkey buzzard and heavier in flight)

Vicuña - a long-necked mammal (Lama vicugna synonym Vicugna vicugna) of the Andes from Peru to Argentina that is related to but somewhat smaller than the guanaco, has a light brown woolly coat that is paler below, is considered to the be ancestor of the alpaca, and has been historically hunted for its wool and meat

Widgeon - any of several freshwater ducks (genus Mareca)

Xiphosura - an order of arthropods comprising the horseshoe crabs and extinct related forms and usually including only the two recent genera Limulus (synonym Xiphosurus) with representatives along the American coast of the Atlantic and Tachypleus with species along the Asiatic coast of the Pacific

Zokor - a burrowing rodent (Myotalpa aspalax) native to the Altai mountains that resembles a mole rat

More: Word Lists ⚜ Part 1

[tribbetherium]

'Beta-twilight gives way to true night as the dim red sun vanishes below the horizon. In the dying scarlet gleam of its final rays, a number of winged, shadowy figures take to the air: a flock of dingbats. Dingbats, the most basal lineage of ratbats, are nocturnal flyers most convergent with Earth's true bats: clumsy on the ground with sprawled limbs, they prefer to hang from trees or rock cliffsides as they roost. They too have small eyes and poor vision, but compensate with large ears and disc-shaped snouts that allow them to navigate via echolocation, using sound, not sight, to find food and avoid obstacles. Highly succsessful, despite the presence of other diurnal ratbat species as well as wingles and pterodents, the dingbats number several hundred species strong, taking on niches such as insectivores hunting flying bugs in the air, nectar-feeders that feed on blooms that open in nighttime, and fruit-eaters that gorge on fruit and spread the seeds in their droppings.

The pictured species, the long-eared pyramidnose (Noctinyctimys pyramirrhinus) has developed a special relationship with the drooping teadrop (Cadopomus nyctophilus), a unique species of pebblefruit tree whose elongated fruits are dull green, but hang down from its branches well clear of its leaves. These are perfect for attracting its target seed-dispersers, who, being nocturnal, do not locate fruits by color but instead by echolocation, and by being in a clear flight path unobstructed by leaves and having a distinctive shape that registers a unique sonar signal to the dingbats, the tree ensures that its fruit will easily be found and more readily consumed by its partner species that allows it to propagate.'

---------

[new-dinosaurs]

Kiyacursor longipes Averianov et al., 2024 (new genus and species)

(Type specimen of Kiyacursor longipes, from Averianov et al., 2024)

Meaning of name: Kiyacursor = Kiya River runner [in Latin]; longipes = long foot [in Latin]

Age: Early Cretaceous (Aptian)

Where found: Ilek Formation, Kemerovo Oblast, Russia

How much is known: Partial skeleton of one individual including several vertebrae and limb bones. A partial neck vertebra found at the same site may belong to the same individual.

Notes: Kiyacursor was a ceratosaurian theropod. It resembles the Late Jurassic ceratosaurs Elaphrosaurus of Tanzania and Limusaurus of China in having relatively elongate lower legs and feet, suggesting that it was well adapted for fast running. The type specimen of Kiyacursor is estimated to have been 2.5 m long in total body length, but it probably had not finished growing when it died.

Although ceratosaurs are known from the Late Cretaceous of Europe and especially the Southern Hemisphere, Kiyacursor is the youngest known ceratosaur from Asia. In addition to Kiyacursor, the Ilek Formation has produced fossils of various other animals that are more characteristic of Jurassic ecosystems, including certain types of proto-salamanders, proto-crocodylians, and proto-mammals. This may indicate that what is now Western Siberia acted as a "lost world" for some Jurassic animal groups during the Early Cretaceous.

(Select bones and schematic skeletal of Kiyacursor longipes [scale bar refers only to the skeletal and not to the photographs of bones], from Averianov et al., 2024)

Reference: Averianov, A.O., P.P. Skutschas, A.A. Atuchin, D.A. Slobodin, O.A. Feofanova, and O.N. Vladimirova. 2024. The last ceratosaur of Asia: a new noasaurid from the Early Cretaceous Great Siberian Refugium. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 291: 20240537. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2024.0537

[seniorpollinationtechnician]

Despite their best efforts, the team couldn't locate Jorlan. Every attempt to trace his steps proved futile no matter how many devices they deployed. Then, just as suddenly as he had vanished, Jorlan returned. One evening, as the team gathered for their evening meal, he stumbled into the research station. Everyone rushed to greet him, bombarding him with questions about where he had been and what he had seen. Jorlan, however, remained tight-lipped. They assumed his reluctance to talk stemmed from a traumatic experience and in wanting to respect his privacy, they didn't push for answers. The team tried their best to support Jorlan but found it difficult to do when he began to exhibit strange behaviors. It was subtle at first. He became more reclusive, often avoiding social gatherings and spending long hours in the lab. His normally meticulous work grew erratic with unfinished projects and nonsensical reports. He was frequently lost in thought, his eyes unfocused and distant, as if he were somewhere far away. As days turned into weeks, Jorlan's condition worsened. He started missing routine check-ins and meetings, a stark contrast to his previously punctual nature. When approached, he would brush off concerns with a weak smile, insisting he was fine, but his pallor and the dark circles under his eyes told a different story. Eventually, he fell ill. It began with a persistent cough that quickly escalated into severe fatigue. Jorlan, who once navigated the station with purpose and energy, now moved sluggishly, his steps unsteady. He rarely left his room, and when he did, it was only for brief moments before retreating back into the confines of his quarters. One morning, as the light cast a long shadow across the research station, the ORION team members went about their tasks, unaware that what they'd been harboring for the past few weeks had reached maturity. Jorlan, who had been confined to his room for days, emerged unexpectedly. His appearance was shocking; his skin had taken on a sickly brownish hue, and his eyes, once bright and intelligent, were now clouded and devoid of emotion. He moved with a jerky, unnatural gait, his body seeming to struggle against some internal force. The team gathered around him, alarmed by his sudden appearance and worsening condition. They pleaded with him to return to his room, to let them help him, but Jorlan did not respond. Instead, he let out a guttural, inhuman growl. His body convulsed violently, and before their eyes, he began to change. Vines and tendrils erupted from his skin, tearing through his suit. His limbs elongated and twisted into grotesque shapes, covered in thorny growths. His face distorted and lost all semblance of humanity as it morphed into a gaping, petal-like maw that split open into a star-shaped pattern. With terrifying strength and speed, he lunged at the nearest team member, his thorny appendages slicing through the air. Panic erupted as the team scrambled to defend themselves, but they were no match for the creature Jorlan had become. He moved with deadly precision, his new form imbued with a primal, savage intelligence. The station descended into chaos. Alarms blared, and lights flickered as the team members fought desperately to contain the creature. But he was relentless, his plant-like body impervious to their efforts. One by one, they fell, succumbing to his vicious assault. Amid the carnage, it became clear that Jorlan was no longer acting of his own will. His attacks were calculated, as if driven by a singular purpose. After incapacitating the entire team, he somehow managed to override the ship's controls and force it to return to their home planet. The citizen's of Sixam were caught completely off guard. The luminescent cities and serene landscapes became battlegrounds as the monstrous plant creatures descended upon them and overwhelmed the unprepared populace with brutal efficiency. The few survivors, driven to the fringes of civilization, could only watch in horror as their world was overrun.

[freezingmcxn]

what are the most dangerous creatures in the forests??

DANGEROUS CREATURES OF THE FORESTS (CRP AU)

Maine’s portal-linked forests are divided into Zone 1, Zone 2, and Zone 3. (check out this post for more detail).There’s lots of dangerous creatures but I’ll cover my favourite creature/entity in each of the forest’s three zones.

ZONE ONE (The Outskirts):

MANNY

They call it “Manny” on the Weird Maine Sightings forum, photos of Manny litter the site. Manny is not something you ever want to see outside your screen.

Manny is an unnervingly tall, spindly figure with skin the color of decayed parchment. Manny’s body is unnaturally smooth, like a mannequin. Manny’s elongated fingers and toes taper into sharp black tips, almost like claws. Manny is completely naked, but where genitalia should be, there’s nothing, just an eerie, unbroken surface.

Manny’s face is the worst part. It’s painted on, with grotesquely large eyes and a thin, too-perfect smile full of gleaming white teeth. It’s like someone tried to give a mannequin life and failed in the most nightmarish way.

The first photos of Manny started appearing in the outskirts of forests across Maine. People would find it posed unnaturally, sometimes hunched, other times sprawled in provocative, twisted ways. Manny often clutches bones or severed limbs, though no one can tell if they’re real.

Every time someone posts a new picture, the timestamps are weirdly close, even though Manny is spotted miles apart. No one can explain how Manny moves so quickly (but I will dw)

Manny isn’t just a normal mannequin someone is using as a way to scare others. Manny moves, and Manny is not bound by normal rules.

Manny is controlled by ancient spirit or demon that’s both elusive and enraged, using the portals to warp across the forests.

If you’re ever lucky enough to stumble upon Manny, do not touch Manny. Don’t even get close. The moment you do, Manny moves with a speed that defies reason, and you will not be able to avoid Manny.

Those who have came in contact with Manny have vanished, their bodies or what’s left of them are found scattered, torn to pieces.

You can not find Manny, Manny will find you, take a picture, upload it to the forum, wave to Manny if you want, but don’t touch Manny.

(Fun Fact: Manny is an oc I created to get over my fear of mannequins..DIDNT work.)

ZONE TWO (The Forest) :

STALKERS

Stalkers are strange, malevolent entities that appear as lost campers, approaching you with the innocent plea that they can’t find their way to the nearest campsite.

At first glance, everything about them seems perfectly ordinary: disheveled hair, muddied clothes, and an anxious, tired expression. They’ll stumble out from behind trees always alone, their voices soft but urgent.

There are signs all around them, clear paths, yet they keep up with their ignorant narrative, staring at you as though you’re the only one who can help them.

The moment you engage with them, whether offering directions, speaking, or even acknowledging their distress, you’ve made a terrible mistake.

That simple, well-meaning act binds them to you, giving them the power to follow you anywhere, even beyond the forest.

They don’t seek to harm you physically, but they don’t need to. What they crave is your fear, your paranoia, the slow erosion of your sanity.

The more anxious and scared you become, the stronger they grow, feeding off your dread like an agonisingly slow poison.

Their smiles stretch too wide, as if their faces are unfamiliar with the expression, their lips too thin, stretching unnaturally. Their eyes blink unnervingly slow, the movement lagging just a bit too much to seem human.

And if you look closely, their gaze never quite aligns with yours, as if they’re looking through you or just to the side, never fully present.

Even when they’re not visible, you’ll feel them lingering just out of sight, their footsteps faint, always a little too close.

You’ll catch glimpses of them standing among the trees, watching silently, their eerie smiles barely discernible in the shadows. They never chase you outright, instead, they follow at a distance, patiently waiting.

And the longer they stay near, the deeper the fear sinks into your bones. You can feel their gaze even when you’re alone, and over time, your anxiety spirals into madness.

If you notice them for what they are, never engage. Don’t answer, don’t acknowledge them, don’t even look at them for too long. Turn and walk away. If they follow, keep moving.

ZONE THREE (The Depths):

NOORE

Noore is a feral, nightmarish entity trapped between human and beast, a predator that haunts the depths of the Durham Forest (only there, she physically can’t travel anywhere else).

Her body is gaunt, her skin stretched too thin over wiry muscle. However, her strength is inhuman, her speed even more so. Her bones jut out like knives, her skin pale and mottled, giving her the appearance of something long dead, yet still alive.

Noore moves with the erratic grace of a wolf, but more unnatural, jerking and lurching in ways that seem wrong for her humanoid form, as though her body is constantly contorting to the edge of breaking.

She doesn’t speak; instead, her only communication is a guttural series of snarls, growls, and hisses that echo through the trees.

Her hunger is endless, insatiable. She has been starving for years, perhaps centuries due to the barrenness of this specific Zone. Anything that does cross her path is torn apart in a savage frenzy—be it human or animal, it doesn’t matter.

She doesn’t kill out of malice or cruelty but out of an instinctive, desperate need, a hunger she can never satisfy due to the lack of prey.

No one has ever outrun Noore. She hunts with an unsettling patience, blending into the forest like a phantom until her prey is vulnerable, pouncing with a weirdly good precision.

THANKS FOR READING !!!

I can talk about some more if y’all want but these are the ones I love the most and find the “scariest” and most dangerous. They’re so ruthless and violent, be it psychologically or physically.

PHOTOS USED IN THIS POST ARE NOT MINE

[skyeslittlecorner]

Tails for All! - Abaddon edition

Other parts: Kings | Gehenna | Tartaros | Hades | Avisos | Nilfheim | Paradise Lost

Dantalian

A small fluffy ball, slightly elongated towards the top. It looks like a deer, but with black fur instead of brown.

He's glad he has small horns because it makes him look less dangerous. He is even happier with his little tail. It's cute and matches Sailor Moon's uniform more than any nasty weapon. He only wishes you could write on it.

Asmodeus doesn't like his tail because, unlike the other two, he can't hold Dantalian by the tail like on a leash. Dantalian offered to attach barbed wire to his tail. You don't know how this conversation went further.

His tail smells lovely, like almonds. Why? Nobody knows.

The best anti-stress squeeze in all of Hell.

Sensitiveness 10/10. Stand on it. Crush it. Tear out the fur. Set it on fire. The more you abuse it, the better.

He will be honestly surprised when you start stroking and kissing him, but... hey, it's actually nice too!

Phenix

A long, feathery tail. The feathers are blurry because they are made of pure flames, you can't see where the feathers end and the fire begins. The whole thing is long up to the feet.

The color of his tail depends on his emotions, in arousal the shades change between red, orange and white when he cums (so usually).

Asmodeus asked Beelzebub to give Phenix a piercing at the base of his tail. Beel could not agree, because he was not his citizen, but under his watchful eye, Asmo did it himself and put a padlock on Phenix, thanks to which his tail does not burn inanimated objects.

Phenix can actually regulate whether his tail will burn someone or not, but he's too excited to consider such things.

Perfect for fighting. Angel feathers smell beautiful when they burn. In addition, severed limbs can be burned to prevent the enemy from bleeding out too quickly.

When not excited, his tail curls up and is much smaller and about the size of Stolas. At least that's what Morax said. No one else can confirm or deny.

Sensitiveness ?/10. How do you want to touch the fire? 

In fact, you saw that a one person can touch Phenix's tail whenever he wants. But Asmo is a mean bastard and all you will hear from him is "try it yourself".

In bed it can only be used as a night lamp. At least until you teach that little bird to keep his emotions in check (good luck).

Ronove

Calf-length, very hard, covered with stone-hard skin, with a ball the size of a fist at the end. Morningstar, actually. Dark, gray skin, rough. He actually has patches like a dinosaur. 

The spines are long, sharp and hooked at the tip. They will tear out a piece of meat if they get stuck. 

Can retract spikes. He controls them much better than Phenix controls his flame. When you're dealing with just the ball, it's very nicely slick and in the right shape... wait, that should have been at the end.

When he was younger and Asmodeus told him to shut up, he put his tail in his mouth. Now it's a bit too big. You can lick it too... wait, yes, at the end. Again. Oops. 

Perfect massager. Heavy enough that you can feel it running along your back and shoulders, but not overwhelming.

Sensitiveness 7/10. He loves playing with his tail when you are together. The tip and base are the most sensitive. Play with them, but not too gently, spankings and whips are most desirable.

Rough skin is perfect for grinding. Besides, he'd love to see it.

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…well, we know about one more figure from this country. And I have an unhealthy obsession with him. He's so hot he burned a hole in my brain, and he isn't even out yet. We only know his appearance from Love Unholyc, but just let's have some fun, I'll try to fit him something. We'll see how this post ages lol.

Asmodeus

Scorpion tail. As thick as his arms, black as his hair, hard and shiny, with a sting at the end.

At first, his tail is confused with Beel and vice versa. In fact, they are two completely different things. Beel is much more flexible and thinner, while Asmo is larger and harder.

He likes to sit on a chaise-longue-like throne in a brothel-looking hall, hold you in his lap, wrap his deadly tail around you, and watch Dantesque scenes at his feet with his queen by his side. The only thing missing is popcorn.

Like his hair, the tail is wrapped in barbed wire. Normal devils would prefer it had some sort of cover on it. The other kings wondered whether they should really do one to him.

Of course it's poisonous. The only antidote is to drink milk from his horn. If you don't please him, he will sting you to try harder. He likes watching you fight for your life…

...but he will never lose himself enough to do real harm to you. I mean, kill you. He will detoxify you long before you pass out.

By the way, do I need to mention that this poison is the strongest aphrodisiac in hell?

Sensitiveness 4/10. As opposed to being the embodiment of lust, his tail is used for fighting rather than caressing.

Yes, he will try to put his stinger in you. No, this is not a good idea. Of course he knows it, but he loves the horror and outrage on your face.

[indiestsnake]

sample time!!!! just made the introductory post so might as well show the world what the best of my original work is

warning! some body horror. no gore tho.

this is my bird do u like him

he is in moderate to severe pain but he is living just like the rest of us

[hisbutleronhiatus]

It has been 33 days since the Kuroshitsuji hiatus was announced.

Today, Sebastian indulged in a deliciously cathartic full-body stretch (elongating his back and limbs around and through several of the manor's rooms and corridors).

Credit: @reine-du-sourire

[witch-hazels-musings]

nepenthe

Warning: slight angst/ much comfort - sfw, domestic (unconditional love), character perspective | sending love to our sad boys 

character x GN reader | anthology

Includes: Childe, Dainsleif, Diluc, Kaeya

Hope.

A dying concept. One withering away slowly, painfully, until nothing but the hollow truth is left behind. Hope is debilitating - so why not let it go?

Childe

Sounds. It’s always sounds that wake him. Soft rattles, distant shouts, blood-wrenching screams he’d wish would let him rest but, alas, he could never escape what destiny kept throwing at him. Childe’s steady, heavy breathing began to ease as he captured several in his lungs. It energized the body that itched to move so he stretched his limbs and arched his back until reality came back into clarity. 

The pillow he held was wet so he pushed it away and let his face fall on the bedsheets below. They smelled familiar, comfortable. So much so that he crawled his way to the source only to find nothing there for him to touch, to pull against him, to wrap his yearning arms around just so he could hear a gentle protest. His brows furrowed and he opened his eyes. 

How come you have left me. I told you not to, didn’t I? 

Pushing up on his arms, he collapsed on bent legs, his bare arm pushing into the mattress as he yawned and shook his head. Tufts of hair slapping about in an un-brushed mess. 

‘Let me help,’ he expected someone to say but none came, and he hated it. He felt an itch, an unease somewhere in his chest that nothing could satisfy. An elongated mirror reflected his displeasure back at him. 

Scanning the room, he searched for answers. A closet left unattended, a desk where he expected to see a figure bent over and working on something he didn’t understand, a hand on a hip as it stood in the doorway, waiting for him to get out of bed already. He found nothing except an unease and a clinging scent that had no owner. 

Frustrated, he crawled out of bed. The floor was warmed only by the sun spilling in through the windows. Even the house itself felt vacant. As he headed for the bedroom door, he heard something that made him pause and, just like a wish he would make as a kid, an angel appeared in his doorway. 

“O-Oh, hello sleepy,” you beamed, your hand filled with two cups of steaming liquid. You passed by him and he smelled it; the thing he was missing. “I’ll place your cup here while you get rea-aye! Childe!” 

He lifted you from the floor not caring that you protested. Like he’d done it countless times, he hoisted you up and over him so he could practically body-slam you onto the unmade bed. His arms closed, secure around your waist while you fought with the sheets to breathe. 

“Childe!” You struggled against him, shock and awe plastered on your very existence. 

“Sleep more.” 

“What do you mean sleep more?” He pushed you forward with powerful legs while his bare and muscular arms pulled you against his chest. Your back felt so comfortable he wondered why he woke up with a pillow instead of you. “Ch-” 

“--n’t call me that.” He mumbled against the back of your neck and draped a leg over your own. “You smell good.” 

He felt you shiver, it made his heart pound, “do I, Ajax?” 

“Yes,” he said with satisfaction in his heart but hunger everywhere else.  

Hope. It holds the lifeline to a life we want to believe in. 

Hope. And it sounds like your name. 

--

Dainsleif 

His back ached so he adjusted. His legs felt tight so he uncrossed them. His hand felt empty so he reached for what should have been there. The panic in his heart rose slowly until his nails dug into the earth, void of what should have touched them. 

Dainsleif opened his eyes against his own better judgement. The sun in the leaves was brighter than he anticipated so he blocked it out with his hand. Birds sung above him, the leaves rustled gently. The world moved on but he felt stuck. 

A quiet keeper with nothing left to keep.

Curiously, he searched for signs of what was lost to him. A life he never imagined, a place unmeant for a being like him. This knowledge he knew but somewhere he refused to listen anymore, and now, now he wish he had. 

Pressure on his arm lingered, the weight of another pushed against him but his side was vacant, ready to be filled. Carefully, he lifted himself from the ground so he could wander, follow, or listen as he needed. The camp before him looked undisturbed. The barrier above him was still holding, the thick canvas rustling in the morning breeze. The fire just out of reach burned as if it had recently been lit, a kettle steaming above it. There were signs, signals. He just had to read them correctly. 

Pacing around the campsite, he noticed a set of footprints and set off in the direction they went. Dain wanted to run, wanted to sprint after them but their trail was so faint her might have missed a turn, a backtrack; one miss-step and he could become even more lost than he already was. 

A splash caught his attention and soon he reached the edge of the tree line that gave view to a babbling riverbed. There you were, standing at its bank with your hand in the stream and body perched on a rock. It appeared you were washing something, perhaps an old shirt that had wandered a journey far more dangerous than he’d ever wish upon it. He thought seeing you there would give him back the ability to breathe, but it didn’t. 

He stepped and you found him. 

“Dain, morning,” you called with a ring in your voice. The one he’d recognize above all else, the one he’d remember until all else faded. His. His one. 

When he drew close enough, he stood above you while you sat on the rock. Your hand wet from the cool river, arm exposed to the sunlight that had already started affecting your skin. He’d block it all out if he could. 

“Hey, I’m almost -- Dain?” He leaned in, his hand flush against the spring-touched stone and he captured what he knew he shouldn’t with lips that had known no other for centuries. 

Hope. It holds the lifeline to a life we want to believe in.

Hope. And it sounds like your name.

--

Diluc 

It took a while for his senses to return. For the pull of sleep to fall away from him like frost on morning leaves. His breathing shifted from steady, slow movements to deliberate ones, ones that filled his ears as if to rouse him more. Diluc could feel it all. The bedsheets beneath him, the silken one against his stomach. His hand as it rose and fell on his bare chest, twitching fingers spurring to life. He adjusted in the down-pillow and became washed in a scent so powerful it opened his eyes. 

He expected to find you there. Resting peacefully at his side. Perhaps you would face him and he could take in your radiance, or you’d have your back to him so he could be gifted with a place for his tender kiss. It was likely you’d already be awake, a book in your hand or document to review. Hair out of place but oh so perfect. He expected to see you, turning to him with a smile he’d recognize and a voice that called his name. You weren’t, and his heart ached because of it. 

Diluc rose from the bed. Strong arms flexing to keep him up-right as he scanned the room in search of something to ease his unsteady nerves. There was nothing except for the lingering knowledge you were once here. 

A shirt draped over the back of a chair. Items you’d picked out in the city strewn across the dresser her gave up trying to keep clear. The bathroom door left ajar but the wafting remnants of shampoo spilled from inside. He rubbed the back of his head, let his hands run across his tired face before they fell in between the legs he’d walk for miles on just to see you one more time. 

The world is still, but he is not. 

Diluc adjusted his shirt; memories of your fingers buttoning it closed, of your hand running down his chest. They made him smile and he shook his head in the mirror at what a man he’d become. The belt around his waist tightened, the engravement on the leather made him pause when his thumb ran over it. A gift from you. Practical, personal, something to carry you with him no matter where he wandered. You were always protecting him, in more ways than one. When he reached for his tie, he flung it around his neck knowing he didn’t need to see to put it on, and made his way down the hall. 

Maid’s bowed in respect, attendants continue on their duties while he searched, meandered; he was lost. 

A gentle melody spilled from the kitchen, drew him in. It was empty save for one soul who reeled him in like a fish accepting they’d been caught. His hands reached for their hips, his chin settled against them and elicited a laugh that filled his heart more than anything ever had.   

“Goodmorning, handsome,” you hummed, head turning to press a kiss to his lonely cheek. He replied with one of his own to your upper shoulder. “I made coffee, want some?” 

“In a minute,” Diluc spun you to face him, let his forehead rest against your own, breathed in what he was missing from his bed. 

“I love you too,” you professed as you adjusted his skewed tie while he waited for yesterday to fade so he could welcome in today. 

Hope. It holds the lifeline to a life we want to believe in.

Hope. And it sounds like your name.

--

Kaeya

The night comes unexpectedly. Each and every time he falls without knowing - perhaps it’s on purpose that goes until he forgets. Is it hard to face the truth Mr. Calvary Captain? He’s uncertain but there is one thing he knows. 

His dreams have come again. Those dreams that leave a bitter taste in his mouth until he finds something sweet to drown them out. His own twisted sense of curative measures that never last long. Licking his lips makes him grimace so he reaches for what clears his senses. 

A scared hand extends across silken sheets, searches, yearns for the warmth that should be there but finds only cold. In a flash his eyes open as if seeing will confirm that what holds him together hasn’t really left him, not yet, please not yet. What he see’s brings him no comfort; tense fingers gripping the nothingness that’s seeped in once again. He raises his head, moves to the other side of the bed. Traces, only traces are what’s left. 

Kaeya feels his heart plummet into his stomach. It stops, it all stops, and in the early morning a familiar feeling creeps back in. 

Once the abandoned child, always abandoned. 

Kaeya tears the sheets away from his legs, the cool air hits his skin: his chest, his thighs, his arms and back. He can feel the cold as much as he has command of it. A noise from behind him pulls his attention. The open window whistling as if to mock his nerves so he quickly moves to quiet it. 

His eyes adjust and start to see life where it should be. A bag dropped to the floor, contents spilling out as they often are. A jacket, a hat, it’s all where it should be but their owner is missing and he needs to see - needs to be where that heart beats. Needs to feel the gentle hand that cups his face, the one that takes his with them, the one that cares for him as much as he does them.

A noise from beyond the closed door reminds him there is still a chance so he makes his way there and hopes what lies beyond can chase away the thoughts creeping in. 

A kettle whistles, a voice floats down to meet him so when he reaches the end of the hall and sees the figure who should be at his side standing alone in the half-lit kitchen; he wonders why it’s still so hard to breathe. To ease the pain in his chest that was left by an empty side of the bed. 

When you turn to him, as if you knew he was there all alone, the face you show him is one of love and with open arms you welcome him home. 

“Morning. It’s still a bit early, did I wake you?” you say, unbeknownst to the turmoil he awoke too. You moved to the island counter, hand pressing onto the marble while the other extended to him. He swallowed. 

“And here I thought you were being loud on purpose,” he pushed through, attempting to hold onto the tease that kept him afloat all these years, “what, did you miss me?” 

“So what If I did. I’m allowed,” you played back and he was happy for it. 

He grabbed your lower back, pulling you to him as he breathed desperately, oh so desperately, across your lips, “show me how much.” 

“You first,” you hum. 

So he did. With a kiss that bent your back and brought you close to him, he showed you just how near he was to losing himself to the feeling. All his life he’s given in to the will of others but now he wishes to give it all to you; only you, as long as you are here and he can know the warmth that comes from your touch - even for a moment. 

Hope. It holds the lifeline to a life we want to believe in.

Hope. And it sounds like your name.

nepenthe :: a potion used by the ancients to induce forgetfulness of pain or sorrow 

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Word List: Animals

for your next poem/story

Aardwolf - a maned striped nocturnal mammal (Proteles cristatus) of southern and eastern Africa that resembles the related hyenas and feeds chiefly on insects and especially termites

Bittern - any of various small or medium-sized, short-necked, usually secretive herons

Chevrotain - (also called mouse deer) any of several very small hornless deerlike ruminant mammals of tropical Asia, the Malay archipelago, and West Africa superficially resembling the musk deer, the male having short tusks, and being among the smallest known ruminants, standing only about a foot high

Douroucouli - (also called owl monkey) any of several small nocturnal monkeys (genus Aotus) of Central and South American tropical forests that have round heads, large eyes, and densely furred bodies

Eland - either of two large African antelopes (Taurotragus oryx and Taurotragus derbianus) bovine in form with short spirally twisted horns in both sexes

Falconet - any of several very small falcons

Gemsbok - a large and strikingly marked oryx (Oryx gazella) formerly abundant in southern Africa

Hoatzin - a crested large South American bird (Opisthocomos hoazin) with blue facial skin, red eyes, brown plumage marked with white above, and claws on the first and second digits of the wing when young

Ichneumon - a mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon) of Africa, southern Europe, and southwestern Asia

Jacana - any of a family (Jacanidae) of long-legged and long-toed tropical wading birds that frequent coastal freshwater marshes and ponds

Klipspringer - a small antelope (Oreotragus oreotragus) that is somewhat like the chamois in habits and is found from Cape Colony to Somaliland

Lammergeier - a large Old World vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) that occurs in mountainous regions, has long black bristles at the base of the bill, and in flight resembles a very large falcon; bearded vulture

Muntjac - any of a genus (Muntiacus) of small deer of southeastern Asia with an alarm call similar to the bark of a dog and having in the male elongated, downward-pointing upper canine teeth which protrude from the lip and short, usually unbranched, pointed antlers; barking deer

Nightjar - any of a family (Caprimulgidae) of medium-sized long-winged crepuscular or nocturnal birds (such as the whip-poor-wills and nighthawks) having a short bill, short legs, and soft mottled plumage and feeding on insects which they catch on the wing

Ouzel - blackbird

Palfrey - archaic: a saddle horse other than a warhorse; especially: a lady's light easy-gaited horse

Quetzal - a Central American trogon (Pharomachrus mocinno) that has brilliant green plumage above, a red breast, and in the male long upper tail coverts

Rosella - an Australian parakeet (Platycercus eximius) often kept as a cage bird having the head and back of the neck scarlet and the cheeks white, the back dark green varied with lighter green, and the breast red and yellow

Springhare - jumping hare i.e., a sciuromorph rodent (Pedetes cafer) of southern and eastern Africa that resembles a kangaroo in form, that is about two feet long, and that is tawny brown in color and of nocturnal and social habits

Thylacine - Tasmanian tiger i.e., a somewhat doglike carnivorous marsupial (Thylacinus cynocephalus) that formerly inhabited Tasmania but is now considered extinct

Uintatherium - a genus (the type of the family Uintatheriidae) of large herbivorous ungulate mammals of the order Dinocerata from the Eocene of Wyoming resembling elephants in size and in the conformation of their limbs and having three pairs of bony protuberances respectively on the parietal, maxillary, and nasal bones of the skill, a pair of canine tusks guarded by downwardly directed processes of the lower jaw but no upper incisors, and a proportionately very small brain

Vaquita - a small, highly endangered porpoise (Phocoena sinus) of the Gulf of California having a dark ring around the eyes and reaching only four to five feet (1.2 to 1.5 meters) in length

Whitecoat - a very young hair seal and especially a harp seal

Xiphias - a genus (the type of the family Xiphiidae) of large scombroid fishes comprising the common swordfish

Zho - (also called dzo) a hybrid between the yak and the domestic cow

More: Word Lists

[luxudus]

Here's my celebration of 2023's femboy day! back when i was first drawing out the celebration in 2022 i was originally intending to use one of these guys, but due to time constraints and a bit of motivation I went with the sophonts seen in last year's celebration. This time i brought back those original concepts and fixed up their designs Some where slight tweaks and other complete redesigns. Lastly for reference they're all around 1.8 meters / 6 feet tall

The Mm-Kca't't are a sophont species of crustacean-like centaurs from a world named C'tok-Uur.

A blue moon orbiting a jovian world. Despite it's sheer blueness, C'tok-Uur has no major oceans but dozens of seas and lakes, it is dominated by savannahs and deserts where plant life takes on a deep blue hue. The dominant form of fauna are 4 limbed crustacean-like invertebrates with a single compound eye stretching across the face.

The Mm-Kca't't are heavily derived from that group, the "upper body" is actually an elongated head with the brain at the base, with their arms evolved from a pair of mandibles and the mouth is located at the center of the chest, males have large megacerops-like horns while females have a flat disk head. They are competitive obligate herbivores native to the savannahs of C'tok-Uur, males will spar with each other over potential mates. The motion dazzle camoflage helps their herds become indistinguishable to predators. They communicate through hums and clicks, and live in hierarchal herds, and living such social lives and with such surprisingly dexterous arms paved way for sapience

The Mm-Kca't't are somewhat advanced, they had just invented nuclear energy and are experiencing an atomic revolution as and are just beginning the construction of the first satellites. A popular facet of their culture involve male Mm-Kca't't denouncing their "masculinity" by cutting off their horns, modifying their diet, and present themselves more femininely while still identifying as "male"

The Hsh'shhh are a sophont species of mollusk-like flyers from a planet known as Sss'Shaa

Their homeworld is a humid superearth with an incredibly dense atmosphere and 6 moons. The planet has a wide axial tilt, coupled with the dense atmosphere, allows heat and light to distribute evenly across the planet. Giving ideal conditions for plant life of all photosynthetic processes to evolve and thrive, giving the surface of this world a "rainbow" hue. Fauna come in the form of external gilled, 4-eyed, slug-like pseudovertebrates that established an aerial ecosystem stretching into the clouds.

The Hsh'shhh evolved in the emergant layer of Sss'Shaa's rainforests. Descending from a line of "bipeds" that evolved their external gills into a set of wings. They eat with a radula located through the slit on their chest. Their red-pink facial disk act as ears while the blue fans act as a nose and rudders. They use their entire head and neck as a single arm to manipulate their envrionment, and their middle "finger" isa derived from a genital sheath. Their extremely vibrant coloring and black stripes help break up their outline when flying over the multicolored landscape, and their countershaded underbellies blend in with the sky. They live in order-less flocks and communicate through hissing.

Their society is surprisingly advanced given the higher gravity and greater air resistance of their home, but through the construction of several heavy duty space elevators and the establishment of 2 dozen space stations built for construction, they were able to bypass the limitations of their homeworld and colonize the rest of their star system, effectively becoming a kardeshev type 2 civilization comprised of independant nation states occupying different worlds. Their society is egalitarian and environmentalist and are currently terraforming their nearest interplanetary neighbours.

The concept of "femenine" males has been a cultural staple across Hsh'shhh history, and the idea is so prevelant that they and "masculine" females are categorized as their own entire genders

And the Vonzullt are a sapient species of mammal-like hexapods from a cold planet named Toiazuul.

Their homeworld is somewhat earthlike and is the only one supporting a breathable atmosphere. The major difference is that all landmasses are converged into a single supercontinent, and the planet is in the middle of an ice age that freezes any part of the planet 30 degrees away from the equator. flora on this world is yellow in color and technically wam blooded. The dominant fauna come in the form of jawless segmented vertebrate-like hexapods with 4 patches of layered photoreceptors that act as eyes.

The Vonzullt evolve from a family of mammal-like hexapodal carnivores that recently took an upright stance to watch out for apex predators. To make up for the lack of jaws, they and all other hexapods evolved a pair of chelicerae to hold onto food and "chew" on it. They live in hunting packs and evolved in the southern seasonal forests. Their intricate pack bonds and hunting strategies kickstarted their sapience, and eventually civilization as a whole

Unlike the previously mentioned civilizations, the VonZullt are far less developed, they experienced an industrial revolution a generation ago, are currently rediscovering the rest of their planet, and the concept of democracy has just developed and begun to spread.

surprisingly, the concept of feminine men is held with high regard among many Vonzullt societies, and in the case of the most prominent society, a somewhat militaristic empire. They are even given positions of power as they are seen as selflessly giving their strength to their brothers rather than hording it to themselves.

[tribbetherium]

While a relatively secluded ecosystem, the caverns of Arcuterra have expanded greatly over the last few million years. Consisting of a network of tunnels, chambers and crevices spanning for miles underground, the floor space of the caves have now exceeded those of a small island comparable to Earth's Tasmania-- and has gotten large enough to have several sub-biomes within itself, some levels more superficial and closer to the outside world where the abundance of nutrients trickling in allows the lush forest-like growth of subterranean pseudo-flora, and others beneath the upper layers where groundwater and detritus accumulates, forming stagnant, muddy swamps where, against all odds, life finds a way to thrive.

One of the ecosystem's most abundant animals are the feelerflits: the caverns' only flying animals. Descended from dipteran flies, their forebearers once did lose their wings in their initial colonization--yet over time re-evolved this ability through atavistic mutations once the caves had expanded enough to make flight advantageous again: though now, in pitch black darkness and without vision.

Feelerflits, however, managed to adapt by developing especially-hypertrophied feelers both on their antennae and their abdominal cerci, giving them the ability to detect movement both forward and behind. This, coupled by pressure sensors and long hairs on their feelers, allow them to discern their environment in flight, while olfactory and theroreceptor cells allow them to pick up thermal and chemical signals to recognize food, enemies, and conspecifics.

Most of the common feelerflits (Phantasmusca spp.) are generalist omnivores, feeding on decaying matter, shroomor spores and fungi, but some, in the abundance of resources and lack of competition, have ascended a rung in the food chain. The murksquitoes (Anophelomimus spp.) have become part-time parasites, supplementing their diet of mocklichen spores by biting larger animals such as daggoths, especially females that require additional protein in producing their eggs. Others, the darkdarters (Quadropteroides spp.) have become predators, preying on other feelerflits. With their halteres enlarged to resemble a second pair of wings but used as organs of balance instead, they are agile in the air, seizing other, smaller feelerflit species with spiny grasping forelimbs and using a sharp proboscis to pierce the bodies of their prey.

This abundance of insects, arthropods and other invertebrates has led to other unique specializations among the daggoths: the cavern systems' dominant troglofauna. Many are specialized insectivores, typically smaller species, but also some unusual outliers among the larger kinds.

One such creature is the trunked tendrilcrown (Oroproboscimys nasocephalus), a member of the cavehopper family that, unlike its other grazing kin, has adapted an elongated snout from the elongation of its lips, forming a trunk-like appendage with its mouth opening at the end, out of which emerges a long, sticky tongue equipped with small barbs, ideal for piercing through mocklichens to get at the interior, reaching into crevices to pull out rootlike mycelia, and most importantly to raid insect nests and feed on the inhabitants. Its trunklike appendage only contains its mouth, with its nostrils set far back behind the top of its head, keeping the vulnerable orfices far from reach of its biting insect prey.

Tendrilcrowns, like most other cavehoppers, are gregarious creatures that seek safety in numbers from predators like blindmutts and tendriltooths. They use their tail, atypically long for a daggoth, as a scent-marking organ to set territorial boundaries and identify related individuals. Yet, as their social behavior are merely for protection, their individual bonds are rather weak. When startled by predators, they individually flee with powerful thrusts of their leaping hind limbs, displaying little concern for their fellows whose company they only partake in to reduce the chances of individually being caught.

The cavehoppers may be agile and flighty creatures, but in the limited space, not all daggoths share their energetic means of movement. Some daggoths are content with a slower-paced life: especially those that live in the lower levels of the cave systems where fewer food is available and energy is better off conserved.

The gloomy squonk (Trogloporcimys nasoculus), one species of the gloomhogs in relation to the biblarodons, lives in the basement-levels of the cavern systems: where the muddy deposits gather into the large, wide chambers into a sort of underground marshland. Here, underneath the organic sludge, specialized filamentuous fungi grow in soggy, fibrous clusters, absorbing and converting the detritus back into biomass that, in turn, is the primary food of the gloomy squonk. Its ghostly eye-like orfices are in fact enlarged nostrils on its inverted, upturned snout, as it has adapted for spending much of its time wallowing in the subterranean swamps scraping off the fungi from the bottom, surfacing time and time to breathe. With larger nostrils as well as a markedly larger lung capacity, it is able to take in more air per breath, allowing it to make the most of the thin, oxygen-poor atmosphere so deep beneath the ground.

Its sluggish demeanor, large fat-storing body and glycogen-storing liver allow the gloomy squonk to survive for long periods without food, in one of the less-hospitable regions of the cavern system, where growths of its preferred forage follow irregular boom-and-bust cycles depending on how much nutrition is available from higher rungs. This, however, makes it an ideal potential meal for younger tendriltooths that may wander down lower crevices to avoid competition from aggressive and cannibalistic adults. However, while slow and typically placid, the squonk is not entirely defenseless. Its jaws, strong enough to tear fungal mycelia from rocky anchors, can also inflict a vice grip onto a would-be predator, after which it submerges into the muddy sludge in an attempt to drown its assailant.

Similarly, while some of the blindmutts became active, pouncing ambush predators, others, the cavegleaners, took on a more slow-paced lifestyle, wandering along as foragers and scavengers, picking on shroomors, insects, small daggoths and carrion, and thus alleviating competitive pressure from the tendriltooths, who now seldom consider them a threat and rarely bother attacking them.

The ridge-headed whiskersaw (Heliconasodon rubrilophus) is one such cavegleaner, often drawn to the leftover kills of tendriltooths to finish off the remains left behind once the predator is sated. Like the tendriltooth, the whiskersaw is equipped with sharp keratinous serrations on its nasal tendrils that function much like teeth. Yet now, with its foraging lifestyle, the whiskersaw now puts its false dentition to a strange use: coiling its two most prominent tendrils into tight spirals with the spines pointing outward, it then rotates them against one another as they uncoil back and forth: forming two abrading "polishers" that cleanly scrape the last residues of meat attached to bones, especially those out of reach of other predators. When uncoiled, these spiny appendages can also be inserted into hollows of bones to access the marrow, or be probed into the burrows of small prey to be extracted from their hiding spots.

The other conspicuous feature of the whiskersaw is of course the two fleshy ridges that adorn its head: the frontmost rims of which are made of highly-vascularized tissue that can be engorged and distended with specialized blood vessels to release a small amount of body heat. These are picked up by the thermoreceptors found on the nasal tendrils of other whiskersaws, in essence being used as a display organ by a species without eyes to see visual cues. Being mesothermic, like most daggoths, the display is a very energy-intensive effort in relative terms, and to the solitary creatures only means one of two things: a dominant male asserting his strength to a potential rival, or a receptive female advertising her readiness to breed. Also like the majority of other daggoths, the undeveloped but precocial young recieve minimal parental care, nursing for only a day or two before being deposited near abundant food sources conducive to their growth and survival.

A wide variety of large fauna now thrive among the drier regions of the caverns, which, while still smaller than surface animals due to the more limited space and resources, nonetheless reach impressive sizes for a cave-dweller. But the aquatic biomes of the caverns are not left out by such trends, as some aquatic daggoths have grown quite large, in particular the deeplake trogadile (Troglomyosuchus pennadactylus) which can reach lengths of up to a meter long or more.

While the tendriltooths are the top predators of the land, the trogadiles are the apex carnivores of the underground rivers and lakes where an impressive array of organisms thrive: aquatic insects, shrish, pescopods, hampreys and tubesnouts alike, dependent on a base producer of chemosynthetic bacterial mats and aquatic meatmoss, growing in thorny fronds like animal kelp. All of these are food for the trogadile: not a picky eater, it catches food with its muscular fused nasal lobes as well as two smaller tendrils equipped with sharp claw-like points, and using its extensible snorkel-like nostrils to breathe at the surface every few minutes, sometimes lying motionless just below the surface with only its snorkels exposed, waiting to strike at unwary prey.

Their specialized limbs, modified into flipper-like paddles, undulate rhythmically to propel themselves through the water, but, conversely, now make them practically immobile on land as grown adults, entirely helpless and vulnerable if beached. Young individuals, a few inches long at birth, however can manage a clumsy scuttle across dry land, enough to be able to disperse into other bodies of water. Once grown, they are permanently waterbound, though populations can still intermingle genetically despite isolated pools being separated, due to the amphibious capabilities of the juveniles.

Many branches of the daggoth evolutionary family have thus produced a wide variety of some of the strangest and most alien-looking forms ever assumed by a rodent: to such an extent that many are scarcely ever recognizable as such. Many of these arise from derived lineages, but, from the gothtles, one of the most basal lineages, bizarre yet oddly familiar forms too have since emerged. These animals, in their basal forms once top predator of the caves, now find themselves at the bottom of the food chain, preyed upon by their distant kin: while some such as the xenomures adapted to flee and hide, others armed themselves with strange weaponry to to ward off and injure their enemies.

The veiled sixclaw (Hexaceratonychus cryptocephalus) is one such unusual species that, when threatened, conceals its face and sensitive nasal tendrils in a fold of thick skin as it curls itself up into a tight ball: leaving only six prominent defensive spines exposed. These long, horn-like projections are, surprisingly, actually elongated claws: attached to mobile, specialized digits, they can point in any direction to painfully stick into a predator's mouth, and, even when moving about and actively foraging, the sixclaw bears its weaponry in arms, raised above and behind its body to make it difficult to grab. Able to move together, they can pinch the tendrils and toes of an enemy, hard enough to draw blood, even if successfully picked up.

This ability for the digits to grip in junction has been put to good use by some species. The shield-faced pintler (Durocephalomus carcinychus) specifically has hypertrophied the first two pairs of its digits to use almost as grasping pincers, able to partly oppose and each equipped with a large, retractable claw. These serve it good use in excavating burrows, tearing apart food, defending itself and, most remarkably, used in intraspecific combat. Males can be up to twice as big as a female, and sport greatly enlarged claws and a larger keratinous facial shield that, while used in the females merely to protect their faces while burrowing, are defenses for males when they fight over territory, mates and resources, lifting each other up and tossing each other away as they tussle for dominance, with the losing combatant occasionally losing a few digits in the process.

These defenses, armor and burrowing abilities all reach their peak in the armored crustster (Carcinocricetus memeticus), a smaller and more placid relative of the pintlers that has evolved a more compact body and a single enlarged shield covering most of its back that, with its sharp-spined edges and smooth curved shape, makes it resistant to all but the most specialized of predators. Its powerful front claws are primarily used for digging, while its back, reinforced by a thick and sturdy spine with multiple interlocking vertebral processes, allow it great strength for its size, able to use it for leverage to wedge itself under large stones or into crevices, both to make itself inaccessible to enemies trying to fish it out of its hiding spots, as well as access small invertebrate prey taking shelter underneath.

[space-blue]

Selective breeding of viperhounds by the Txepiva clans

The Txepiva clans, also known in some parts as the Ash People, have no ikran and no pa'li. They are long distance runners and hunters, often on the move. Many of them are nomadic pastoralists, a practice unknown among the rest of the known Na'vi. 

Their habitat, in turn bleak and burnt or rich and green, rarely forms anything close to a forest. The clans are always on the move, frequently fighting over territory, and yet regularly meeting with others in great gatherings. The largest, meant to reunite all the disparate Txepiva clans, is called the Tsawlultxa, and is the perfect opportunity to discover and study the stunning variety of Nìsayntang.

Just like mankind adopted wolves and turned them into dogs, the Txepiva adopted the plains' viperwolves. Millenia of selective breeding created the Nìsayntang, which the RDA catalogues as viperhounds.

Most neighbouring clans outside the Txepiva look down on breeding, preferring to go in the wild to capture their own mounts. We're left to understand it verges on taboo. As usual, the Txepiva seem to hardly care or take notice of their neighbours' distaste.

The relative isolation of each clan has allowed for the development of several subtypes of Nìsayntang. 

Some clans have hounds whose forward arms have evolved to grab prey, while in others it's the secondary pair, with the elongated fingers of the hand coming back to fold over the rib cage in a position reminiscent of the stunbat's secondary arms. 

Another clan breeds specifically for hunting in low light visibility. 

Here are some examples of breeds of Nìsayntang!

The most standard breed type, seen all across the plateaus and plains. They reach up to a Na'vi's knees or higher, much like a greyhound for humans. They're excellent runners and hunt as a pack, keenly aware of the Na'vi hunters movements. They can carry and manipulate objects with the prehensile limbs that have retracted against their chests. It's most commonly the middle pair of limbs, but as we'll soon see, some clans have bred hounds whose frontal limbs are the ones that evolved to hold and grab.

Nìsayntang are intelligent creatures, keen to help, and capable of understanding complex orders, especially through tsaheylu. This agile breed, quick on its feet, is favoured by the clans that raise srä‘etnaw (the livestock at the source of aforementioned pastoralism).

They'll assist their Na'vi with crafts, carrying things across the camp, leading scouting missions and reporting what they see, or for the best trained one, even hold the meat before it gets grilled! They also use their hands to grab stray srä‘etnaw pups and bring them back into the fold.

The facial appendages of Nìsayntang are flexible sensory organs. They help them sense their environment, but also play a major role in how they communicate between pack members. Think of the way wolves communicate with their ears, back on Earth. 

This variation is quite rare, and bred by a single tribe that favours night-time hunting and lives along black volcanic cliffs and lava fields. It's one of the darkest environments known in Pandora, especially during eclipse.

Their Nìsayntang have greater control of their natural bioluminescence, granting them better camouflage. Like a cuttlefish fooling its prey, they can modulate and increase the bioluminosity, creating alluring displays. The sensory strangeness causes their prey to freeze, equally curious and confused, and now vulnerable to ambush. 

The stem-nisayntang were quite the genetically diverse and chaotic bunch, and the Na'vi of the Ash clans have been practising selective breeding on them for far longer than humans have with dogs. 

This is an example of the aforementioned breeds in which it's the foremost limbs that have developed to extend and grab. It's the largest of the breeds presented in this study, as large to a Na'vi as a lion to humans, and aptly nicknamed "Leonin Hound" by first contact researchers. Their huge, heavy arms make them ambush predators, preferring bursts of speed and action to their cousins' long distance running. Their hands aren't as nimble or crafty, each fingers closer to sharp, robust talons.

They have serrated teeth that tear through muscle and cartilage with unsettling ease. Their bite can even cut through most of the natural keratinous armour of Pandoran animals. 

Their bodies are covered in bristles that help them sense vibrations in the air and ground. Those keen senses and efficient ambush tactics have gained them a reputation as “All-knowing guard hounds” among travellers who’ve met their keepers.

Despite the fearsome appearance and size, their pack mentality, as well as their ability to bond with their entire clan, make them desirable playmates for children, and it's not rare to see a couple of Txepiva youngsters tasked to guard toddlers and younger children, doing so with the help of their hounds. It's also quite common for them to ride on their back. Despite what a human might think of such a sight, it's as safe and natural to the Txepiva as riding an ilu as a child is for the Metkayina. 

Bred to fend off the fearsome wildlife of the plains, the Leonin hounds are fiercely efficient at it and seem to have had their sense of fear bred right out of them. As such, they're one of the most widespread breeds in the plains. A handful of clans produce pups, and some are then traded at the great yearly Txepiva gathering. A clan might have their own specialised breed that has been living alongside them for untold generations, and still keep a couple of the Leonin hounds to help safeguard their camps.

Part I of @straydaddy (art and design) and @bluedaddysgirl (lore concept) in-world collaborative study, "Introduction to the Txepiva clans, their nomadic pastoralism and niche selective breeding practices in species of stingbats and viperwolves". On twitter we are Knarme and Bluedaddysgirl