#because it's like. this is an entire species of creature you do realize that right

[bewareofjabberwock]

In my Raspy Cricket Era tee hhheee

[novella-november]

Is this fanfic friendly? I feel like an outlier.

I guess this is my sign it's time to throw together a FAQ post to link to lol.

Yes, every event for this blog is fanfic friendly :D

Though as I mentioned on my Ominous October post, for events that include multiple short stories, I encourage everyone to flex their creativity and take one of their planned short story fanfics, and at least *attempt* to turn one of them into something entirely original; rebuilding a character and story from the ground up to stand on its own two legs is no easy feat, and that is what makes it so fun!

It really gets your creative gears turning, to make an "au of an existing material" to be something entirely original, and you can be pleasantly surprised about the things you come up with!

As a few people say, its not just a matter of "filing the serial numbers off" -- you have to add in just as much *or more* as what you take out when you are turning a fanfiction into something that is original and completely divorced from its original source material / inspiration, and that is a hard, but very rewarding challenge!

Obviously, this is not a requirement (there's no hard requirements for any of the challenges, other than no cheating, including no using AI),

but if you would like an extra challenge for the short story events and you're planning on doing entirely fan-fiction, I highly recommend trying it out at least once, and seeing where it leads you--

you may find yourself pleasantly surprised by what you find down that rabbit hole!

[nabbit-unmasked]

Thinking about when time when I was in Reddit therian and otherkin communities.

Once time, I made a google slides presentation for myself with positivity about being C.A.R. kin, and every single being supported me except this one exclusionist guy. He called me controversial and had a whole argument with me in the comments.

He was very strict about who he saw as a valid otherkin and gatekeeped others to hell and back. It wasn't just with me and being an African nation, but he pretty much nitpicked everyone he saw. If there was anything about them that didn't match his perfect standard of being an 100% involuntary, monokin/very few kin, non-physical, completely serious, not seeking validation, mythical creature otherkin, he found a way to argue with you and tell you what he thought you should be. This man was in his 20s and talking to a bunch of experimental/new-to-kin teenagers about this stuff, mind you.

Later on, my and a fellow otherkin friend messaged a user that he was, once again, gatekeeping and invalidating. I believe it was because they were original species kin, but I'm not quite sure. Either way, they reported him and he was banned the next day (thank goodness).

When I was in Reddit spaces, this wasn't all that uncommon either. He was just a more extreme example. People did make fun of "tumblr kins", which I believe was a satirical/troll movement a couple years back that made fun of bizzare kintypes and experiences. But the same idea still stuck; sometimes, tumblr was known as the place with a bunch of fakers and confused teens with 50+ kintypes, which is extremely indicative of "faking" in reddit spaces.

I admit that I partook in it gatekeeping, too. Specifically in therian spaces: it was extremely common for young & new therians to come in and ask if they were a valid therian, and a few people would reply and tell them the usual spiel: "as long as you aren't controlling it and you dont think you're physically an animal and you identify as not with, then yes!!!!"

When I found the r/alterhuman subreddit instead of other big kin subreddits, I totally changed my views on who counted as a "real therian/otherkin/whatever-else-kin". If you identify as it, you are it, and only you can decide that for yourself. It's no one else's decision, because they aren't in your mind.

That's when I left Reddit and came over here.

I realized something that could have been useful years ago when I was experiencing impostor syndrome over my plurality.

If you think you're faking, what's the reason for that? Is it because you feel like you subconsciously chose to be the way you are? Is it because you got hyperfixated on the community you're in? Is it because you dont experience any of the common or "more serious" traits of your identity?

Chances are, whatever it is that's making you feel that way is actually valid. Gatekeepers will try to shape their communities into the perfect mold that their brain sees them as, or as the people around them have made it out to seem. In reality, the ideal community is completely subjective and imaginary. There is no one, no force, no ideology that can stop you from identifying the way you do. It's entirely mental, individual, and personal. Theoretically, I could put on any label that I wanted to right now, and no one but myself could stop me.

After I realized I could apply that to myself, I understood most of my imposter syndrome came from the fact that my autism clung to communities and made me subconsciously gravitate to them due to hyperfixation. I always tried to find reasons why that couldn't be true, but I realized I didn't have to do that anymore. I accepted that was essentially what was happening. If someone did develop their identity, subconsciously or not, due to a hyperfixation, that was valid. When I built my own moral compass and stopped gatekeeping others, I was then able to stop gatekeeping my own self.

[dates-with-the-void]

Void Bois During Shark Week

Got some time before work, so figured I'd make this since this has been on my mind for a bit (considering I started this blog during it AND also sick with the flu) might as well get it out now. Dedicating this to all the AFABS out there, and the ones who actually go through this since not everyone with a uterus does.

I'll do the Gals probably tomorrow, cuz I know I won't have time today AND I don't wanna try with posting on phone

—

Cho'Gath

He wasn't really concern at first.

He noticed you were far more emotional lately, things seemed to get you upset faster and you got overwhelmed too quickly at times

He thought it was something normal with your species, like when he gets far more hungrier than usual and it'll pass soon enough.

Which you do frequently eat snacks so he really just chalked it up to when he gets periods of intense hunger.

When you mentioned pains, that's where the concern starts to show up.

He'd do his best to help, and while all you ask for is for heating pads, hot compresses or just comfortable places to rest for the time being. He feels like you need more than just something hot and a bed.

Waking up to smelling blood was not an immediate cause of concern, the smell lingers in the air even after his rampages.

Except he's been by your side this entire time, and there shouldn't be blood. Especially when that smell is coming from you.

You both know there's nothing you could do to really phase him, but you giving him a hard smack where his 'nose' would be for the rude wake up did make him stop for a second.

Finding out this was normal for AFABs of your species was reassuring, while also concerning at the same time. Since his species doesn't do that. Especially for a whole week-ish there's going to be blood in the air

He's more on guard with you during this time, mainly because of the fact there's other creatures- as well as other voidborns that enjoy the smell of blood as well.

—

Kha'Zix

He noticed your slight change in behavior early on.

He figured something must be affecting your mood, and when he questions you don't really give a solid answer. Not yet anyway.

He's so sensitive to change, he picks it up before you realize, so you have to play catch up with yourself to figure out what he was referring too.

Which doesn't entirely help when you get annoyed easily right now.

You eventually realize what he meant when the cramps started to kick in, and knowing how protective and possessive he is of you- you need to prepare him quickly before he smells it.

Which was a good idea, hearing that soon enough you're going to be bleeding due to your breeding cycle was going to freak him out and attempt to hunt down anything that just hurt you.

But because you are going to be bleeding soon, his senses and instincts are going to be thrown a-wall around you.

He's going to be far more protective of you, and willing to do whatever you need of him.

Heating pads, hot compresses, snacks. If you want it he will get it no matter what he has to do.

You're just going to have to compromise that he's going to be holding on to you majority of the week you're bleeding. Ensuring you're safe and nothing tries to harm you.

Aside from being even more protective and clingy, he does get a bit more affectionate as well.

He'll restrain himself until you give him consent, even if the self-restrain becomes unbearable at times.

—

Vel'Koz

He's disintegrated plenty female specimens of your species, so he is completely unphased when you hit that point in the cycle where you're flushing unfertilized eggs from your body.

This was actually part of when you two first started dating, when he was being overly observant of you.

He wanted to see when and if you hit that period, so he could prepare everything in advance. As well as your general mannerisms and behavior.

This was slightly more of challenge when you turn out to be irregular, but he still somehow managed to predict when you'd hit the shark week.

He will give you a heads up whenever you don't notice it yourself.

He'll have everything prepared by that time, everything you need and use during this particular period of time.

He'll even have things you don't normally or usually use on stand by, because of the rare times you do request those things.

He seems completely in control and unbothered by your cycle.

He's actually just really good at hiding his concerns and worries for you, since he's aware of the complications that could arise as well.

He takes special care of you to ensure this process is as smooth as possible, and he'd catch anything complications to you before its too late.

[fandom-gt]

FANDOM: How To Train Your Dragon

REQUESTED SUMMARY: ”This story would be set in the How To Train Your Dragon movies, specifically right before the second film. The main character is a villager on Berk that's a year younger than Astrid. She is essentially like a mentor to him, having taught him how to fly on his dragon due to both of them having Deadly Nadders. One day, he's on the way to visit her after a Dragon Race when he encounters a strange dragon and is shrunk by it. After making it into Astrid's house, he sees that she isn't there. She does end up returning after about an hour after finishing the dragon race. Exhausted, she takes off her boots to air out her sweaty feet. He decides to approach her at that moment and, after arriving at her feet, is tempted to indulge in his usually hidden desire towards feet as he's never seen hers before. Reasoning with himself that she has some extra time as she'll be relaxing for a while, he gives in and takes in their scent. After getting closer to touch them and feel how warm her soles are, her foot then presses down on him and pins him to the ground, which leads directly to the second part.”

CHARACTERS: Astrid, Berk Villager OC

WARNINGS: Feet, Unaware, Femdom

COMMISSION TYPE: Full Page + 2 Add-On

——

Despite what his peers would have you believe, Kolskegg is not in love with Astrid. She’s his mentor, which is a completely different, wholly separate thing. They’re bonded to the same breed of dragon, is all, and she was there for him when pretty much nobody else was. She was able to teach him how to ride, and she’s been looking out for him ever since she took him under her wing, and he respects her. That’s completely different from being in love, and besides, Astrid has a boyfriend that’s pretty much like the coolest, smartest, most famous guy in the village now. Kol barely ranks on the radar compared to Hiccup, and he knows it.

So yeah, maybe she looked super awesome and cool during the dragon race, and maybe he was cheering her on the entire time – but that’s just what mentees are supposed to do. They cheer for their mentors. And yeah, maybe he’s headed to her house to congratulate her on her big win, but that’s just a completely normal, not remotely sad or pathetic friend thing. And if he’s been rehearsing what he plans to say to her during the entire walk over, that’s just because he’s bad at talking sometimes and he doesn’t want to look like a moron.

He’s so consumed with his recitations, actually, that he doesn’t notice the creature obstructing his path until he literally walks straight into it – bouncing off of the scaly hide so hard it sends him sprawling backward onto his butt along the dirt path leading to Astrid’s house.

There’s a dragon parked on her lawn, he realizes belatedly, stupidly. A dragon he’s never seen before, a species type he doesn’t recognize, which in and of itself isn’t hugely shocking – they’re still discovering new types every day. It’s just that, apparently, this one is skittish, far more so than his Deadly Nadder.

Despite the fact that Kol’s small form barely even nudged the massive dragon’s thigh, it still squawks out an alarmed sound, jolts, and whirls around to cough a thick cloud of something blue, and sparkly, and choking directly into Kol’s face. And then it bolts, flapping swiftly away from the lawn, leaving Kol to wheeze around the dust particles immediately flooding his lungs.

By the time his coughing fit dies, by the time he can rub his watery eyes and actually see again, the world around him is… very, very different than it was a moment ago. For a silly, confused second he’s half-convinced he’s been teleported, or snatched up by the strange dragon and dropped off somewhere entirely different – but no. No, both of those things would have been better than the truth.

Vertigo lurches through him; shock ripples alongside waves of disbelief. His vision vignettes at the edges, his breathing picking up pace to something just this side of hyperventilation. He’s in exactly the same spot he’d landed, it’s just– stretched. Scaled up, vast, larger by miles. Incomprehensibly huge, to the extent that Astrid’s home is no longer a modest hut, but rather a towering mountain too vast for his eyes to fully perceive from where he sits.

Slowly, uncertainly, he pulls himself to his feet. His knees wobble for a cowardly moment, until he takes a deep breath and steels himself. This isn’t what Astrid taught him – she’s fierce, and she’s been teaching him to be fierce. To be brave. To be worthy of the Deadly Nadders they both ride. Squaring his shoulders, steeling his nerves, he musters up as much of his composure as he can and marches determinedly forward.

Astrid will be able to help him. He’s lucky, actually, that this happened so close to her house. All he has to do is get inside, get her attention, and explain what happened. She’ll be able to hunt down the dragon that did this to him, and her super genius boyfriend should be able to find a way to reverse it, right? Right. It’s not even that big of a deal. It’s fine. Everything’s going to be fine.

Mostly. It’s going to be mostly fine, he concedes, after forty minutes of rigorous athletic exertion, huffing and puffing, straining himself just to get up the path, up her stairs, and wriggling beneath the gap under her front door. What should have only been a few seconds and a few easy steps transformed into an entire freaking journey, and by the time he collapses onto his back, sweating and struggling to catch his breath, it’s been nearly an hour since the dragon race has ended.

She must have stopped to chat, or to take care of her dragon, or to meet up with Hiccup after, he thinks – right on time for the first thunderous quake to gently reverberate through the hardwood underneath his back. It’s subtle, distant, but it doesn’t stay that way for long. One after another, rhythmic and undeniably approaching, the quakes grow in strength. The moment they reach climactic crescendo, Astrid’s door us thrown open with such force, the gust of it sends Kol’s tiny body tumbling end over end across her living room.

Probably for the best, he realizes belatedly from his sprawled position on his stomach, watching her kick off her boots and begin to tread directly where his tiny little body had been only seconds before. He’s not sure how durable he is at this size, but there’s a distinct possibility she might’ve flattened him without even noticing him.

He drags himself slowly to his feet, awe beginning to replace the panic in his mind as she flops into a safe, stable position on her couch. When she’s not moving, when there’s no chaotic tornado of sound and momentum, when she’s still, he has time to appreciate the magnitude of her. She is… enormous.

She is so staggeringly large, he can’t really see all of her in one go without craning his neck, and he finds himself slowly drawn toward her as though in a spell. As though compelled, as though at her scale she has her own gravitational pull – and it specifically attracts stupid little mentees with no better common sense.

She’s beautiful, he thinks, in the way that acts of nature are both beautiful and terrible. The way infernos are beautiful, the way storms are beautiful, the way tidal waves and hurricanes are beautiful, even though they’re deadly and devastating. Maybe it’s not smart of him to be wandering mindlessly toward her like this, but… she’s his mentor, right? He’d feel drawn regardless, even without whatever… weird… pheromone-induced stupor keeps trying to dull his senses. She’s the one that’s going to help him. All he has to do, he reasons, is get her attention, and then it’s all downhill from there.

It feels like a perfectly sensible plan – right up until he finally clears the underside of her coffee table, and comes face to face with the soles of her feet, crossed at the ankles and propped lazily on her heels. Those, he hadn’t managed to see from his perspective until right now. Not up close, not like this, not with the same detail and immensity as the rest of her towering body. Now, they’re right there, directly across the flat surface of her floor, and he…

Lied. He lied. Earlier, he may have slightly lied when he went on that whole tangent about how he totally definitely super was not in love with her. He might be a little in love with her, and he also might have a very… unique and specific thing for feet. He’s never seen hers before, though, not until right now, and this very first introduction he’s getting to them?

It’s unlike anything he’s ever experienced before. Even the ones he’s gotten to see up close and personal were at a far smaller, far less impressive scale. Hers are so – they’re so – they’re just–

They’re everything, they’re all-encompassing, they’re massive, and the closer he gets, the less he can focus on anything else. Even the smell of them is oppressive, stealing his attention and blanking out his mind, until the next thing he knows, he’s standing directly in front of her arch, still sweaty from the exertion she put into her dragon race, absently flexing and gently dragging along the hardwood floor in front of him in a move he’s almost certain is unconscious on her part. Such a large movement for him, disruptive enough to lightly shake the ground beneath him, and she doesn’t even realize she’s doing it.

Look, she’s relaxing, right? She just got home. She’s bound to take at least, what, ten minutes to catch her breath? Fifteen, maybe? Probably twenty, even – which means he has plenty of time, doesn’t it? When is he ever going to have this opportunity again? After she helps fix him, he’ll never again be at a scale where he can truly appreciate her feet like this, at this scale, with this much- presence. It won’t hurt anything, she probably won’t even notice; and if she does, he can just say that he was trying to get her attention, which is mostly kind of objectively true, isn’t it?

Right? Right. Okay, that’s settled then, glad we’re all in agreement, he thinks diplomatically, before reaching out a trembling hand to gently, gently place his palm against the leathery sole. It is, in a way, a little bit like taming a dragon. They’re similar in scale, the texture isn’t too hugely different, the smell is equally as omnipresent and the movements equally unpredictable. For a wild and ridiculous moment, his imagination is assaulted with the idea of riding her feet the same way he rides his Deadly Nadder, and he can’t help the rush of heat that runs through his cheeks, down his spine, all the way down to his belly, where it uncoils fiercely.

They’re so warm beneath his hand, and just a little damp from sweat, and-

Moving. They’re moving. Wait, oh crap, they’re moving- reality snaps back into place a beat too late. Try as he might to retract his hand and stagger backward, he isn’t fast enough. Her towering sole begins to descend swiftly as Astrid mindlessly uncrosses her ankles and braces her feet on the floor.

One of them, of course, settles directly on top of Kol. He’s pinned to the hardwood, trapped by the weight of it, and all but invisible now beneath its mass.

This is probably not good. This is probably a very, very bad thing…

And yet…

You know… he isn’t really all that broken up about it…

[mildlylesbian]

@biterflies I literally just say this reblog on this post now, so ignoring the fact I'm 2 months late - LET'S TALK ABOUT THE VOID

As I said in the other post, the void is a living entity that feeds off of players. It is basically the primary god of The End and has the same amount of consciousness as Mojang (the god of the overworld) and is able to create life.

The void is endlessly expanding. While it will not consume every dimension thanks to Mojang and its own free will, it is a force that never stops growing. Hence endless worlds. Its goal is not destruction but rather survival, and to do that it needs to keep consuming.

The Void did technically take over The End. The End is where The Void was born, and before Mojang realized it existed it destroyed much of the land there, rendering thousands of species extinct. Once it learned of the harm it was doing it stopped destroying The End, but continues to exist there and expand.

This is where we get to discuss what is and isn't a voidbeing. My definition of a voidbeing is a lifeform made in the modern day by the void. This wording is very deliberate, as there are ancient beings made of void who no longer exist and are not classified as voidbeings.

So Shulkers are not voidbeings. I imagine them to be descendants of an ancient species of floating sprites who began using shulkers as protection much akin to turtles or crabs, at some point having shulkers fuse with them so they may take them wherever.

Endermen also aren't voidbeings. Taking a note from one game theory video I watched, endermen are players that have been fully corrupted by the void. Aka, they died in the void too many times. This also explains why endermen exist in all dimensions because you can die in all dimensions via the void (with enough creativity and exploits). Most endermen were created when The Void destroyed The End, cause that destruction included a lot of players.

As for actual voidbeings. The modern-day version are made entirely of void but can manipulate their shape to an extent, allowing them to appear almost player-like - but it's never just right. They do not need to consume food, but are able to. They cannot survive on overworld air, and most importantly: they absorb light. If they are in a room that is fully lit it will appear pitch black due to the void being. This is important to my version of Xisuma and Evil X's lore, which I might expand on in the future...

Those are the only voidbeings believed to be alive today. Keyword: believed. In the past there were a lot of trial and error species made by The Void, ending in modern Voidbeings, and players believe all these 'test beings' died out due to being imperfect. The Players are wrong.

Mimics were one of the first life forms created by The Void, and any species that can shapeshift are believed to be based on them. They were a lifeform that could perfectly replicate anything they looked at, able to morph their body to resemble a player, mob, or even object. They fed off of players, destroying their code and making them unable to respawn, and were known to mimic loved ones and blend in with a community only to feed off them and kill them all. They went extinct hundreds of years ago... or did they? My onlinesona, Anura, is one of these extinct creatures, born from the leftover residue of voidbeings.

This isn't even mentioning my idea the voidbeings and mimics are made from the same recycled void, causing them to be made of dead mimic and voidbeings and having slivers of those ones memories. I have so much shit for these guys you have no idea.

That's all I can think about right now, please please please ask me more questions about my minecraft headcanons. Ask me about mobs, ask me about players, mojang, watchers, etc etc etc, even ask me about servers omg.

Also as always, this is canon to Of Songbirds And Watchers which is still gonna happen I just suck.

[solradguy]

curious if you could elaborate on, like, specific cases(?) or just the general phenomena of gg community ignoring character flaws since i feel like i probably agree n wanna hear someone else's thoughts on it

Almost every single Guilty Gear character has done something that would get them ostracized in other fandoms, I think. But what I see sorta often in GG's community is that sometimes people will go to great lengths to defend one character and then talk about how bad another character is for the things they've done. Zato, for example, did horrible things to Millia and her hating him/wanting him dead is entirely justifiable. But Zato gets condemned for that while Happy Chaos, who brainwashed numerous people to fight and die for him just because he thought it was funny (among other things he did before and after that), rarely gets criticized, presumably because his personality is sillier and he's got a more broadly appealing design.

I get stuff like this happens in pretty much every fandom that's ever existed ever, but it's really funny seeing it in a game called Guilty Gear, where every character has done horrible things that haunts them haha. I went with the Zato and Chaos comparison because at least in some other characters' cases, the character does have some guilt over their actions or has a redemption arc of some kind (Bedman and Ky are good examples of that), but neither Zato or Chaos seem to have much remorse over how they've treated other people yet Zato is frequently hated while Chaos is adored.

Going back to Ky for a sec since he might seem like an odd choice to include there: Ky was a child soldier that wanted to utterly annihilate a sentient species capable of intelligent communication with evidence of a unique culture, and he killed them mercilessly when he could. But he eventually realized what he was doing was awful and went back on everything he was raised to believe to try to make up for what he did. And it haunts him. It wasn't like he woke up one day and just decided to stop killing Gears because he got bored of it; it's a major part of his character that the weight of what he had done was crushing him and he'll never fully forgive himself (or ask for total forgiveness) for it.

Bedman doesn't get as much of a chance before he dies to try to make up for what he had done, but it's still there a little bit right at the end. He's also young too and not having a fully developed prefrontal cortex is a pain in the ass. Sympathy to all the people younger than 25 out there.

Even Sol, the other main box art guy, has a whole list of awful shit he's done. He also wanted to destroy the same creatures that had individual thoughts and desires as Ky did and in Sol's case it might even be worse because he was partially responsible for their creation in the first place, and he was ruthless during his Holy Order arc when he fought against Gears the most. Ignoring Aria's wishes to be allowed to die peacefully from her illness and Sol wanting to sacrifice the entire world to save Jack-O' at the end of Strive are both selfish and awful in their own ways too. Sol is also THEE guilty Gear though. We know that's all weighing on him something fierce.

But this is what makes Guilty Gear so GOOD. It's not black and white. The good guys are deeply flawed and the bad guys can be sympathetic. This series has an insane amount of nuance that all too often gets boiled down to who's redeemable and who isn't and nearly everyone's a little bit of a bastard in their own unique ways.

I guess what I'm trying to say here is that I think if someone is a fan of a character that's taken/tried to take away the autonomy of another character, emotionally manipulated someone via dog murder, or wanted to exterminate an entire species that was mostly fighting back because of how humanity had treated them in the first place, that they should keep that in mind when harshly criticizing other characters' actions.

[mal-likes-biscuits]

Character Arcs in Archfall - Mal

You'll notice I didn't say "Malthael" at the top there. I think his character is developed enough from canon it's safe and probably good to keep the distinction.

Last series was about Malthael. He learned a lot about mortality, immortality, life, death, and possibly most importantly, love. The universal kind of love that binds a lot of creatures together and makes short life meaningful. He learned what he would do for love, instead of fear, and what he was willing to sacrifice to make the right decision, not the easy one.

But this is Mal. In many ways, he's starting his life over again. Everything he'd felt tied to previously outside of Sanctuary is gone. Shattered into thousands of little shards that are now spread across the landscape. Little stab wounds that remind him of the results of his decision.

It wasn't just his decision, was it? It feels that way a lot, for him. We see this in Breathe, when he's trying to dig himself out of the harrowing pit of depression. He did convince people, and he's so used to doing that for an entire species, it's hard for him to admit this one wasn't actually him.

And so, as that entire previous life is mostly torn away from him, and he's left with a lot of time on his hands, he realizes he still has a lot of questions -- for himself.

Who is he? Not the former Archangel of Wisdom, or the Reaper of Westmarch, or even That Guy That Haunts the Library -- but him.

Who is Mal? What does he like? What does he hate? He has all this time to consciously ponder these questions, instead of everything being reactive as it's been for the last nearly 7 years he's been mortal. He's walked, or more run, from crisis to crisis, plot to plot, and now the immensely hyperactive brain of his is being given a chance to soul search.

Oh, does he hate it, initially. But then, is it really so bad? To take a moment and breathe? To read those books, drink that tea, eat those biscuits and treats he likes?

And gradually, he realizes there's momentum to his life in other ways. Whether he likes it or not, the Heavens are as good as gone. But he's there. Tyrael and Auriel are there. Farah, and Lyndon, and the Nephalem who survived ... they're there too.

Is it so awful to rebuild again with those who have come to love you as you are?

Interestingly, Mal ended up having one of the strongest, how to term it, anti-sin reflexes of many of the characters I've been writing. For being the Angel of Death, he's often caught up trying really hard not to fall in other ways. He doesn't even realize he does it, most of the time.

Because, isn't indulgence a form of sin? Gluttony? Greed? He doesn't have time for those things, he tells himself. That's for the Hells. He has better things to do than to sit and enjoy himself.

Maybe, deep down, it's because he knows he fixates on things, and if he gives himself that chance to relax and enjoy things, he's going to be gone. Where's the safety in that? It's asking for someone to stab you in the back.

Isn't it shameful, in a way? Wasteful? So very, very --

Human.

Millenia of selfishness, in many ways, has tempered his desire to ever do something for himself again. But has Mal ever functioned otherwise? He's certainly learning. He's learning to trust, and to be genuinely, overtly kind. Again, we see this in Breathe, when likely for the first time in his extremely long life, he fully apologizes to someone for his own behaviour.

And this is the through-line that really carries Mal's behaviour and development in Archfall. Left without a cause, he makes his cause himself -- finally, if most of the other characters were allowed a comment.

He's spent so much time running away under the guise of finding the truth. Hells be damned, though, he's going to try this time. And never let it be said that when Mal puts his mind to something, he won't succeed.

Series 1 had that accidental, deliciously slow burn of a love story. Series 2 is a methodical, heartfelt, comical even at times, but fully earnest romance about a poor sap who isn't romantic in the slightest, but he is going to do his best for the woman he loves.

Thankfully, he has some pretty awesome wingmen, and one patient pi'ra.

[theintrovertbean]

Rules & Masterlist

Because we love an organized page full of loving women.

Rules:

The stuff I will not write:

Anything that promotes discrimination (homophobia, transphobia, racism, sexism, etc.)

Characters that are any other species than humans (wolves, creatures with tentacles, etc.) Vampires, I might consider I grew up watching Twilight

Violence, pedophilia, zoophilia, animal abuse, body shaming, sexual harassment/sexual assault

Character death and dead bodies

Characters that are not Nadia. Sorry, I haven't read the other routes, but I might do it later. For now, this blog worships only one Goddess. (It does not mean that a character can't appear for a scene or a few sentences. Like, Portia can totally enter Nadia's room during a scene to take out the teacups or something.)

Things I will consider:

Smut. I spent my entire teenage years reading NSFW content, and I have written smut before (I'm actually writing some Nadia smut right now, idk if I'll ever post it), but it's just ehh. I'm trying, but my smut is boring as hell. Still, if someone has a request, I can try, but I can't promise anything. Spicy headcanons are more than okay. Of course, sex should always be consensual, so please, ask according to that. I love NSFW headcanons, so send as many as you'd like. I've changed my mind. You can send me smut requests.

Serious topics. There are certain things like mental illnesses, nightmares, etc. If the request promotes healing and personal growth, then I will do it. Just look at my Do you ever feel lonely? series. Think of something like that.

I mostly write about gender-neutral reader/MC, but they can be any gender. They are always at least 18 years old. I do not wish to promote any hate or hurt anyone.

I'm a human too, so please, keep things civilized. Saying thanks is always nice. If a request is, well, troublesome, I will probably just delete it.

Masterlist:

Headcanons:

Bike girl Nadia

Nadia with an MC who still has red plague symptoms

Devil!MC x Nadia NSFW headcanons

Nadia x cheater MC headcanons

Nadia and Chandra bonding with MC and their familiar headcanons

Jealous Nadia headcanons

Nadia x Icy MC

Nadia with an MC who is Lucio's sibling

Nadia x Disliked MC

Modern AU Nadia's career

Nadia x Fem!MC, who is horny all the time

Drunk Nadia headcanons

Nadia's reaction to MC standing up for her

Nadia Satrinava headcanons

Nadia calling dibs on MC

Nadia x Shy Reader

Nadia and MC's arguments

Nadia with an MC who has motion sickness

Nadia with an MC who has vitiligo

Nadia kink headcanons post 1/Nadia kink headcanons post 2 (they're the same, but the first one didn't work appear for many people)

The animal wing

Nadia with an MC who has low libido post 1/Nadia with an MC who has low libido 2 (same as the previous one because Tumblr hates me)

Grandma Nadi headcanons

Chaotic Nadia headcanons

Mommy? Sorry.

Nadia x MC with mommy issues

Nadia x MC with cat traits

Nadia x Extroverted Fem!Reader

Nadia wedding headcanons

Switch Nadia discussion

Nadia with an MC who has a big, affectionate family discussion

Nadia x quietly angry MC

Nadia x Jealous MC

Nadia x MC who wants a divorce

Submissive!Nadia headcanons

Nadia voice headcanons

Nadia x Astronomer MC

More biker Nadia headcanons

Nadia x MC who prefers living at their shop

Nadia's reaction to MC's parents disapproving of her

Sugar Mommy Nadia headcanons

Nadia x MC who mimics animal noises

Nadia x MC who apologizes a lot

Nadia as a retail worker

Nadia x Elf MC

Nadia x F!Chubby MC with low self-esteem

(It was getting too long, I had to put a break here)

Nadia x MC who wants a divorce part 2: The return

Nadia x an MC with a thirst for knowledge

Nadia x MC who freezes when they're flustered

Nadia x MC who is painfully oblivious

How Nadia realized that she loves MC

Nadia is an obsessive partner (essay, I guess?)

Nadia's reaction to receiving a 16th century ring that unfolds into an astronomical sphere

Nadia is Sleeping Beauty

Nadia and physical touch + a little guide to comforting her from someone who also tends to withdraw

Nadia is a rich girl

Nadia x MC who knew Nazali before meeting Nadia

Nadia wet dreams headcanons

Nadia x Muscular MC

Nadia x MC who can't take things seriously

Smut, oneshots, etc:

The Devil never sleeps

The Pain Behind Her Eyes (Cheater Nadia x MC)

Everything That a Countess Needs

The Night is Ours (smut)

Spellbound Desires (smut)

Real (Nadia x Reader smut)

Love in Bloom (Nadia x Dara)

Wounds of Magic, Scars of Love (Nadia x Dara) series

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Do you ever feel lonely? oneshot series (Nadia x MC):

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Other works:

Which Satrinava siblings are married/in a relationship (in my opinion)

The Arcana Main Six + MC as The Phantom of The Opera Characters

Main 6 as nicknames I call my gf

Some things about my OC

Satrinava family's reaction to finding out that MC died and came back to life

The Main Six and the types of movies/series they'd act in

Main 6 and the types of high heels they'd wear

Main 6 and the kitchen duties I'd task them with

Main 6 watching Saltburn

Main 6 x Dara relationship dynamics

If one of the links isn't working, please, feel free to let me know!

The masterlist will be updated in the future.

[weregreatatcrime]

I'm sick and rereading Two Halves and I know I leave a lot (A LOT) of stuff in the end notes but there's actually lots of stuff I still never mention or talk about so here's a long sick at 4am ramble about things I didn't get the chance to talk about but wanted to (in somewhat of an order reminded by rereading) or at least just some lines I particularly enjoyed

So here it is! Chapter Commentary ch1 let's goooo

"She felt pity for the scientist. What was it like to be so ignorant you slept deeply even with a ticking bomb around your neck?" <- She actually feels some envy, even if she won't admit it, because Karai has never slept this soundly in her Life much less in a dangerous situation. She's puzzled by normal people's ability to NOT be on guard 24/7 but wishes she could sleep that nice

I REALLY AM a huge huge fan of this trope, the "X character was SECRETLY Y hidden monster species all along!" because of the amount of interpersonal shenanigans it can cause. This AU is a bit of a new one for me because most of the shenanigans are actually action packed over straight up personal drama haha

I like to think the cut Karai left on Stockman’s jaw in ch1 ended up scarring so he has a Cool AU Marker to tell him apart

That collar looks So uncomfortable Stockman how do you sleep in that thing

I guesstimate in later chapters that Karai is about 600lbs in her changeling form, but likely she weighs more (before losing a couple dozen pounds to injuries). Basically, she nearly busted Stockman’s desk sitting on it like that but she's prone to Sitting On Things when stressed. The height advantage gives her comfort

The way Karai speaks to Stockman in chapter 1 is deliberately very formal and unlike her. She's approaching it as both a potential professional deal and as a potential massive risk, so Stockman is actually about one wrong sentence away from being killed this entire chapter. He only realizes this way way way later. Karai relaxes her way of speaking to him later a TON and we see that she talks pretty casually with him by the end

Stockman staring at her curiously, Karai bristling over it. He's a scientist and she's a new creature he hasn't seen yet! But Karai is specifically Never Supposed To Be Seen. Staring makes her very very twitchy (stabby)

“You have plenty of choices. You just don’t want to play with your life enough to try for all of them. I can respect that.”

"When it was just your own life on the line, it was easy to gamble with it." <- There's two ways to interpret this. One: When your life is on the line, you'll do anything to win. Two: When just YOUR life on the line, you'll do anything to win. The first is Stockman, who is only in it for himself, who can afford to risk it all. The second is Karai, who has Miwa to think of, and therefore the only thing Karai HAS to risk is her OWN life, because Miwa’s comes first.

Technically the Kraang are a bigger threat than Gumm-Gumms, but because Karai's own priorities revolve around Miwa and herself, Gumm-Gumms are the far more important threat

“She’s your collar.” [Miwa] I just love this so much like Stockman caught on IMMEDIATELY and compared it to his situation in a heartbeat and realized in all of thirty seconds that Karai is just as much at gunpoint as he is

Karai loves her human form only in that it's technically Miwa. Otherwise, she fucking hates it. It's weaker, softer, squishier, her senses are awful, and changelings get Very Twitchy (Stabby) when they're forced to be in one form for too long. In a ninja compound, Karai doesn't get to use her natural form NEARLY enough

Karai’s chest scar isn't actually present in her human form. But she gets phantom pains

Karai is that meme of crying her heart out for ten minutes and then her alarms go off and she's back to working without any issue. Gotta be efficient with your breakdowns

Karai projecting right off the bat that the Hamatos will hate her purely for being what she is. This is both from experience and from her own feelings. Aha 💔

It took you 15 chapters honey but you finally killed Shredder 🧡

I dislike a lot of the turns of phrase in here. I have cognitive difficulties and getting back into writing after two years of struggling just to function, that's been most evident with getting words to go together the way they should. Sometimes there's certain ways I know words need to go together but I can't remember how? Or I get the entire sentence scrambled and have to go back later and reorganize. The intent is there, but the words get literally out of order. I spend a good few runs going over chapters to iron out those kinks but this early on it's especially easy for me to see where I was struggling on some parts. Fortunately practice makes perfect and even just a few chapters later there's a lot of improvement!

Suck it, health issues! I've been working hard to get my body back and now my mind is on the right track too!

Notable comments this chapter that made me giggle

[snootlestheangel]

Curious about the ocs you mentioned and your original work.

That has gotten me thinking about my own original work and adding it to my current hyperfixation, our darling COD and its men and women.

Though only a part of my original work would flow with COD, but it would flow better with Halo lol

Oh my work wouldn't flow super well with COD without some weird magic stuff going on but the characters will be unstoppable

*cracks knuckles* Prepare yourself for a long ass read cause we gettin' into it *screams of victory in the distance* (I have not introduced anyone to these characters/this story in literal years so I am flipping out. This is soooooo much information I apologize for the dump but holy shit the autism is autisming) (also halfway through writing this I am starting to realize this is not really what you are probably expecting... but I've had literally years to think about these characters soooooooooooooo *panic*)

First, the homebrew monsters cause important

Death Crawlers are humanity's greatest enemy, as they were created out of a greedy desire to bring humanity to its knees. Magic users with the capacity to live very long lives, but are easily killed by most things. Under the command of the first of their kind, Sortis, and the Elders, the first generation. They are cunning creatures willing to do anything to be successful, which we'll get into later ;)

Death Crawlers are strict in how they run things, actually. There is no such thing as friendly/neutral interactions with humans. Every interaction must have ill-intent behind it, otherwise you are subject to execution. Any magic with a visible presence, such as summoned fire, appears Blue. That is critical information! Limited uses of magic: cannot heal things/people, must study different books written by the Elders to learn new advancements (most DCs can wield a small flame as children but cannot make it useful aside from lighting a candle until they study). There's more worldbuilding stuff here that I can get into but I'm not gonna right now

Night Watchers are the predecessors/cousin species of Death Crawlers. The exact date of the beginning of their existence cannot be traced, but it is assumed they have existed alongside humanity the entire time. They get their name "Night Watchers" from the early humans, because they often kept the nightwatch to keep tribes/communities safe. Very well adapted for the dark. Night Watchers' greatest duty is to protect humanity. They have what is referred to as Red Magic, while DCs have Blue.

They are the reason humanity didn't know/believe in the existence of monsters and other species. When Death Crawlers became a nuisance, a war between the 2 broke out, trapping humanity in the middle. Together, the Council in the Night Watchers Royal Court came together to combine their magical knowledge/prowess to erase the memory of DCs and all other monster-kind, including themselves, from humanity's memory. All documents were destroyed and any trace of their existence completely wiped. This threw the DCs into hiding, as most of their power came from taking humanity out from within, but they didn't know how to blend in and relied on their status as magic-wielders to manipulate people. Night Watchers have taken sanctuary underground.

Dragons!! Live in what could be interpreted as a side dimension from ours. Massive creatures that can shift into a human-appearing form, although it isn't uncommon for most dragons to retain a few reptilian-like qualities in this form (such as slit eyes, sharper teeth, split tongues). Cold-blooded creatures so they are mostly found in warmer areas and are known for just lying in giant piles together. They "breathe" fire based on a system of gas produced in their digestive tracts and a small, hard piece in their throats that can be flicked to create sparks. The sparks ignite the gas, thus fire! (literally just basically think of it as they burp (exhalation of gas) and the spark just makes it fire breath). Don't have a true government system (there's a major story with that) but basically whichever dragon is the biggest gets to claim the "crown". Very rowdy creatures with some aggressive tendencies but that's just cause of their size. Have a hatred for unusually small dragons :)

Characters!

First, the "protagonist" Maxlar

Utmaxos 'Maxlar' Whishling is a Death Crawler with a bounty on his head. Through some series of events, mostly not his fault despite what everyone believes, he is being actively hunted by the Death Crawlers. He was born with purple eyes and it was soon realized his magic did not have a blue appearance, but rather purple. (combination of Red and Blue is no bueno in this world). This was a huge scandal, of which his family suffered the most. His parents were put through several trials to prove their loyalty to their blood-line, and his brother got the worst of it

Believe it or not, DCs actually hate killing their own kind, hence why execution is typically left for those that have interacted with humans in ways that benefit the human/lack any ill-intention. Maxlar was exiled at one point because he never engaged in truly "evil" acts but more or less just acted as a trickster towards humans. They didn't like his poor commitment, especially when it was worsened after the murder of his family. However, upon finding out he's married to a human and has a family, Sortis puts a bounty on his head. Dragons are technically allied with Night Watchers and DCs are, in the modern era, allied with humanity. There's a special agreement between them that there is to be no travel between the Realms (Dragon realm, Night Watcher Realm, and DC/humanity).

Therefore, when a dragon with a vengeance against Maxlar breaks out of prison and into the, what is referred to as Natura, realm, Sortis declares war, thus giving him the excuse to hunt Maxlar down and execute him. However, one of the Elders with a unique focus on fortune telling, sees the inevitable downfall of the Death Crawlers through this war, thus she enlists the help of The Demon to both protect and "end the Whishling name in a fate worse than death".

Physical description: Roughly 5'11, maybe 6' if he's wearing the right shoes. Brown hair that lightens naturally as it gets longer. It's stuck between a constant state of curly and wavy, thus making it an absolute mess but he rocks it. Keeps it roughly at his collar/shoulders. Never clean shaven, kind of a mess appearance wise but he's just like that. Dad bod dad bod dad bod. Intense purple eyes, always wearing just like a leather coat that touches his knees, jeans, and a V-neck shirt even though he's in the middle of a war. Got the weirdest collection of socks. Is schizophrenic, according to those around him he "cannot shut up to save his life", is a really openly emotional guy.

Absolute Dad! Married to the most beautiful human woman named Andrea, has several children and adores them. Literally so in love with his wife sometimes he'll be sitting there just crying quietly cause he misses her. His best friend is Devon, a dragon, and they actually canonically have an invalid Las Vegas marriage. Andrea knows about it and thinks it's so funny, she gifts both of them flowers on their "anniversary".

Devon Blackstone

Technically the prince of dragons since his father is current reigning King, and he's bigger than all the other dragons. Doesn't really give a shit about the throne, especially since when he was beginning the process of becoming a full-fledged prince is the time he met Maxlar. Really chilled out dude, but is such an instigator. Literally has the best time doing stuff to intentionally annoy Maxlar. Carnivore diet? Sure, but also a massive seafood eater. Has been known to just go hunting in the ocean as a dragon. Fiercely protective of Max and his family. Likes to throw his weight around when in fights, can be a bit of a masochist. Darker skin, broad flat nose, kind of mean looking but then he smiles and you're like "ah! friend! :D"

Massive teal-colored dragon: has longer hind legs than front ones, uses this to pin and gain the upper hand on dragons that are closer to his size. Wish I could tell y'all just how big, but like roughly 200yards nose to tail, and maybe like 2/3rds of that in height when on his back legs. Wings are massive (the ratio is like 3x of their size I think). He's got spines along his back that are perfect for riding behind. Human form is roughly 7', and he still has some teal coloration to his hair, so he keeps it buzzed and pretends he dyes it. Literally the King of Dad Bods! Big, massive guy. Just really round and beefy and just *chef's kiss* I love my big boy.

Hades Evanchio

Tired, wants to go home. Please. The only Night Watcher that resides in Natura (referred to as Topside in the Night Watchers' Realm). This is because he was nearly executed for a crime he technically didn't commit; the crime being treason of the highest offense and him being royalty made the penalty that much worse. Only reason he was able to survive is because his mother, the Queen, begged for the Council to stop it. (Night Watcher executions are brutal. They have an executioner that is highly versed in the ways of using fire. The executioner will tie a thread around the victim's throat, set it on fire and force it through their neck. It also simultaneously cauterizes the wound/keeps them alive until their brain stem is destroyed. It is torturous.)

He, like most Night Watchers because they literally live underground, is unnaturally pale. British accent because it's where he first ended up and relearned how to speak due to his wounds. Has red eyes, dark very curly hair (just like his Mum), and chronic anxiety. Literally 6'4" ish but is so skinny and is constantly hunching in on himself because "please do not perceive me I will cry". Wears scarves/turtlenecks all the time to hide the really obvious scar on his neck from his near-execution. Runs naturally cold, uses his cold hands to get Maxlar to shut up (will wrap one around his neck to which Max freezes and just slowly drops to the ground cause COLD)

Hades got brought back into the Night Watch Realm after the war broke out because his father had been poisoned and stated no heir other than Hades. Literally dragged down there against his will. He hates the Council, the Council hates him, thank god for the Queen Mother. He just wants to go back to his little cabin, curl up with tea and write poetry while using his dragon husband as a pillow/bed.

Atendarajo Evanchio

Feral little dragon. Hades's beloved husband. Cannot put enough emphasis on the feral and little aspects of his character. Escaped the dragon realm a long ass time ago because he's dangerously tiny for a dragon. Devon is considered unnaturally big, but Aten is definitely like concerningly tiny for a dragon. Dragon form has legs of the same size, he stands only the same height as Devon's human form like this (7'). Has a beautiful headpiece made of horns and smaller spines. Gorgeous red-orange color. Literally a ginger in human form with so many freckles it drives Hades crazy. He's constantly having to fight Hades off cause "You cannot count them all! I am busy!" Retains his sharp teeth and wings in human form. (Thank goodness Night Watchers possess healing magic otherwise poor Hades lmao). Stands only like 5'4", maybe 5'5" on a good day. This does not prevent him from picking fights with anyone and everyone. Hades is so anxious he wants to cry in crowds meanwhile he's married to the feral little guy trying to fight a biker gang for literally no reason. Literally falls apart every time Hades calls him his "good little dragon" despite the fact that if anyone else called him little, he's trying to kill them. Will literally start fights with Devon because he's filled with rage. Severe small dog syndrome.

Asmalverious Whishling

He's the last one for today, I promise :')

Most commonly referred to as Malvo, or better yet, The Demon. Is Maxlar's younger brother. Died nearly 200 years ago but due to the curse of the DC Elder, he had to crawl out of his own grave. Is now contractually bound to protect Maxlar. Unless the threat against Maxlar's life is eliminated or Malvo is killed, Maxlar cannot be harmed by DCs when in Malvo's presence. Anyone actually within a certain distance of the younger Whishling brother is safe from harm caused by DCs. The curse cannot be broken unless the above stated or a much more upsetting scenario that I am not sharing.

Referred to as The Demon because he is. Demons aren't actual demons, but rather a group of people that participate in a forgotten, ancient form of Black Magic. When he was a child, Sortis contracted out several of these "demons" to twist Malvo into one. He is by far the most powerful being but still requires studying/practicing before able to do very complicated things. His magic is Black, not Blue, as he's more practiced in the darker arts of Demon kind. Sortis knows what he is capable of and hopes he will win the Demon's favor.

Literally a know it all. Thrives on learning and knowledge, thus he's far more advanced in his magic than he often lets on. Aten refuses to trust him. It's unclear why exactly.

Same height as Maxlar, perhaps a bit taller. Constantly clean shaven. His curly/wavy black hair is always slicked back, literally the image of perfect hygiene and self-care. Always wearing classy clothes. Prefers classical fighting styles such as using weapons like swords. Has a very cool looking navy blue sword that is like one of two possessions of his he cannot afford to lose. The other possession being a journal. No one knows what is written in it or why it's so important. Very unnerving cause he always makes too much eye contact and he's got really intense, empty green eyes. Speaks like he's from the 19th century, cause he is but he just refuses to adapt.

So fed up with Maxlar's bullshit. Constantly wants to go back to being dead. Not suicidal, just not happy he got dragged out of his grave.

And those are my boys!! I love them very much (clearly) and I cannot wait to write the thing with our beloved COD boys. Also, I have some visuals of their appearances (not drawn by me, but they're pretty accurate representations of my boys) if y'all want those

[codecicle]

HELLO !!!! Wondering what. Ur favourite video game is rn. And persnaps🦀 things in it u enjoy ??? (*^_^*)

OHHHHH THANK YOU FOR THIS I GET AN EXCUSE TO TALK ABOUT SUBNAUTICA >:DDDD

Subnautica and Subnautica: Below Zero will be my favorite set of games forever and ever man. Mentally I'm still there and I will never leave those games gave me my passion for both robotics and deep-sea travel/creatures in real life its what made me as insane as I am today ^_^

The Reaper leviathans (and all the leviathans in the game for that matter. reefbacks are peak fuck the haters 🔥🔥) always have a little compartment in my brain and I will never shut up about their design and how effective they are when it comes to horror. The way they're introduced AFTER the player runs into the completely friendly reefbacks so their fear of "loud noise/big = bad" is subdued and broken down so their guard is lowered right before entering the dunes and feeling true primal fear for the first time apon seeing them is just executed SO perfectly I've never seen something come even close to comparing. I wouldn't say they're my favorite thing across BOTH games though because oh my goddd that spot is definitely reserved for AL-AN

Him and his whole planet will forever live in my head rent-free (both because I'm not a landlord LMAO and also. Insane about him disease) every little detail about him makes me so insane. The fact that his species is mainly robotic and mechanical so he doesn't understand a majority of Robin's feelings and experiences that she's been through, the way they built apon the original virus on 4546B by explaining the way it showed up and mutated to annihilate every species on that planet was BECAUSE of the very architects that meant to protect it. Them having to build the original quarantine system that crashed Riley's ship (The Aurora) because their bodies weren't entirely mechanical, and all of their biological components were made out of the most efficient and compatible parts of 40-ish species which means once they caught the original disease, every other species that they pulled from could now get it. That only makes them trapping the Emperor Leviathan so much sadder because they didn't realize she could communicate with them and actually give them what the whole planet so desperately needed because they talk through entirely closed off mental frequencies, so even their bio components couldn't let her talk to them. AL-AN being one of the few to try and go against the current and felt bad about what they were doing to the queen is just so in character for him, especially with how he acts to all "lower" lifeforms that Robin runs into. Him being cut off from his entire family and neural-link is just so fucking devastating and him finding that comfort and connection through Robin, going so far as to rescue her and take her off-planet with him once she builds his body will NEVERR leave me man godd what an ending

Speaking of his body, I've gotta say it's the single coolest alien design I've ever fuckin seen. Look at this shit

like oh my god??? what the fuck right??? everything about it makes me so insane. NOT TO MENTION this concept art (which IS his final design btw just not 3d rendered yet) is made by Pat Presley, who also ended up making concept art for all the other Archetects that we haven't met yet and will meet in Subnautica 3 (whenever the fuck that will begin development LMAO)

like look at how different they are from him. how much more mechanical and less colorful, more hivemind-esque and lifeless they seem. even just down to the pose he's standing in gives off so much more life than they do and it makes me INSANEEEEE his time with Robin absolutely changed him and his physical form reflects that. He is such a combination of all the other archetects while also being NOTHING like them at the same time. The fact that he is literally able to move and change the shape of his arms and be fluid the same way he is fluid and willing to change unlike all of those on his home planet is crazy to me.

Speaking of his home planet too, it's also sick as fuck and I just need to show this finale screenshot real quick because oh my GODDDD I'm losing it. You have no idea how hyped I was to watch this shit when the full game released

AND ONE MORE THING!!! speakkkinnggg of the full-game release, the game actually released in beta testing with a different opening than the final version!! and in the beta testing, you started out in the final area where the finale takes place in the final release version. Visiting that old station again at the very end of the game feels like such a nice nod to the beta-testers that feels perfectly planned out. It really makes the game come full circle, even if you don't have the context of the beta testing version to appreciate.

Subnautica is (either story or gameplay-wise) probably the objectively better game imo, but Below Zero holds such a special place in my heart for the AL-AN story line alone. Godd he makes me so insane I love him sm <3 <3 rant over thank you for the ask

[hellaverse-critical-confessions]

Hey what about these demons?

They are my favs

I would show more but tumblr does not allow

Oh yeah, absolutely! I was gonna go over the sea critter demons in subsequent posts... but I guess I could leave some thoughts here-

I have no idea what these two are but they're Very Silly. The big ole ruffles and hats/sleeves contrasting their skeletal bodies give them a fun look. Guessing they're from Greed, since it's also green and circus themed? But they don't resemble any kind of hellborn demon we know, nor are they sinners, since those can't access other rings. I think that means there are a lot more local species in Hell than we've been shown! (Still waiting to see those "possessors" whose existence was suggested on the mafia sharks ref sheet. There's also "dealmakers", I think? We're on to season two and stuff like this is still super unclear. Pretty sad.)

This is Limón and I love him. He looks so chill. The type of guy you'd smoke weed with. You can observe another case of "compulsively giving characters chokers" syndrome but he makes it work. And I like his hairstyle too. In conclusion, he's a cutie.

I just can't understand the people simping over Chaz when this dude is literally right here. I mean, c'mon.

(My only gripe is the fleshy gap around his arm like a chewed apple core. It makes him look... zombie-like? Bones occasionally sticking out of shark demons is one thing, but this makes him appear less demonic and more undead. Also raises all sorts of questions.)

Fella on the right is Turkoyz and they're nonbinary! Ain't that nice representation. Especially when it's a background character you'll miss entirely if you blink at the wrong time and has no in-episode indication of their identity whatsoever.

...Okay, that was salty. I just feel like, for a queer show, they could use to have at least one openly nonbinary character.

But I like their design. Funky stripes and color scheme. Nice tank top and collar. As for the jellyfish, they're cool and delightfully creature-like, but there happens to be another jellyfish demon that I prefer...

I just think she's adorable. The flower is... a bit weird, with the pentagram detail (it's small, yet intricate, which makes it stand out amidst the otherwise broad and simple shapes), but she's just an armless girlie in a big ole ball of jelly, with tiny horns. Which is so real of her. I also like the purple.

Ah, Alessio. The guy everyone and their grandmother ships with Crimson. I think he's alright. Colors are alright, shapes are alright. (The red was inevitable.) Dude's got neck for days, too, which makes him stand out.

Took me way too long to realize that the tapeworm protrusions on his tail are actually a hook lodged into it. Distracted me for a hot moment, but I suppose it's fine.

Stu also has the red. I'm a bit "meh" on that particular red with his pinkish skin, but I do appreciate him overall. He's a succubus hybrid, which is neat. However he should NOT have hair. It looks so weird. Let him be bald.

Cool clowns! I like their desaturated outfits. First one is very shaped with the curves vs triangles. I worry for the second one, though... where are your feet?!

And Stella's rich asshole friends. Felt compelled to not separate the pair, partly because I like the lady's curves (she's not big, but just about the closest we'll get) and the sort of Cleopatra hairdo she has going on. In any case she's more refined looking than the guy, who's quite scruffy and gangly, but fun nonetheless. (Not as fun to animate, I imagine, with that many individual feathers... good thing he only gets a handful of shots to his name.)

[tabswrites]

Writer Questions Tag

Tagged by @writernopal here. I love these questions, thanks for the tag!

Gently tagging: @clairelsonao3 @gummybugg @rachaellawrites @zmwrites

What is your absolute all-time favorite idea you’ve ever had?

I am equally proud of Silver Sentinels and Ascension. The magic system in S.S is really cool to me, and I’m having a lot of fun creating it. I also really love the magical creatures!! With Ascension, I have been creating my own mythology within the world as well as creating an entire species, and that’s something I’ve never done before and it is going to be incredible.

Is there a question you’ve been asked in the past that really stands out to you, and you still think about sometimes?

Not really, but I’ve only really begun sharing my writing and talking to other writers for a few months.

What is your favorite part of being a writer? What parts could you take or leave?

I love being able to navigate complex themes and emotions in a variety of different ways. Playing with different writing styles to mess with people’s heads is one of my favorite things to do, because I’m secretly evil. The one thing I wish I could get rid of is the guilt of not being able to dedicate myself to my writing all the time. I am so, so passionate about my two stories but with the little free time I have it’s hard to get in the right mindset, and I feel like I’m letting myself down.

What is your greatest motivation to write/create?

Initially, I just wanted to have a bit of fun. Recently, I fell in love with storytelling again when I watched this show called The Owl House. It was unfortunately struck down in its prime by D*sney and even though there was a series finale, a lot of its world building fell flat when the writers were unable to continue developing it. It broke my heart, and a week after I finished it I got the idea for S.S. It’s like my subconscious was trying to tell me that I could fill the void myself.

What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever read or been given as a writer?

Give yourself permission to suck, especially in first drafts.

I struggle a lot with just getting the story out because I feel like everything I write is incoherent, but I also am getting really into my own plot so I want to keep going. I just have to remind myself that it’s okay if it’s not amazing right now.

What do you wish you knew when you were first starting out writing?

You can literally do whatever you want. If someone doesn’t like the direction you’re taking, they just won’t read it. You’ll find an audience some day. Just give in and be your weirdest self.

What is your favorite story you’ve written to completion? Link it if you’d like and can!

404. Page not found. (Haha, you guys finish stuff?)

What is your favorite out-of-the-box quote?

“The real violence, the violence I realized was unforgivable, is the violence that we do to ourselves, when we're too afraid to be who we really are.”

~Nomi Marks, Sense8 (my fave tv show)

Which of your characters would you say has the most controversial mindset? Why do you say so, and how do you personally feel about their ideals?

This is such a difficult question, but I’m going to go with Oliver, from S.S. His mindset is to basically do the bare minimum and expect everything to fall into place. Even from Ch. 2-4 he doesn’t even apologize or try to make amends, he just assumes Mara will forgive him because he got himself exiled too.

I think he’s a big dumb idiot, but I don’t think I try to hide that. He’s going to have very little development in book one for the sole purpose of me using him as a punching bag, so his idiocy is tolerated for now.

If you, when you first started writing, met you now, what would younger you think?

I think she would be super sad to know we became estranged from our longtime RP friends, but she would be absolutely floored that I’m attempting to write not one, but TWO multi-book series. At the SAME time. Yeah, little dude, we created characters in other people’s worlds, and now we create our own.

[tia-amorosa]

Keon (Part 1)

Now there was this human magnet, lying on the bed in front of him... calm and breathing deeply. And again Javier could see the scars. Hardly noticeable, but they existed. And he wanted to know...what a scar like that felt like. But when he was about to touch him... "Don't... touch." The deep voice startled him and he withdrew his hand again.…

After Javier took his distance, the stranger sat up and looked down at himself. He realized that he was completely naked. Then he looked away from Javier. “You…didn’t have to… do that”/ “I’m sorry, I just didn’t want you to get sick. You were cold”/“Yes. But not anymore. I don't want to... be touched"/ "alright... your pants were broken, I'll give you something new to wear"/ "is it... safe here?"

Javier sat down slowly and carefully on the edge of the bed, with his back to him so as not to look directly at him, because he had the impression that he didn't want to. “Safe from whom?”/ “the hunters.”/ “The hunters? Were they after you?”/ “mhm…”/ “What did you do?”/ “I was… just hungry! Can I get something to wear now?”/ “Of course… Sorry”

Javier left the bedroom so that his guest could get dressed first. . After a few minutes he came out. Xavier smiled contentedly. “I guess I picked the right one, the top is too big for me anyway”/ “thanks. Keon…”/ “hm?”/ “My name is Keon. “/ “Keon… OK”/ “Is it safe here now?”/ “Well… There is a hunter here, but he only hunts rabbits and small deer”.

“There is game here?”/ “Yes, and there are strict rules about eating meat”/ “Why?”/ “If we did that every day, in no time there would be any wild animals left here and no meat either, Except the fish in the sea. We have to live sustainably here…"/ "then I'm in the wrong place here, I should have continued swimming"/ "why?"/ "If I tell you this, you and the others will be afraid of me"

“and… Why should we be afraid of you?”/ “because I’m different. And that's why they were around... Yesterday...hh, yesterday the rest of my entire family was wiped out. I am the last... And now an Alpha who is no longer safe anywhere"/"Alpha?".

"Many people think it's just fairy tales or myths, but we really exist...""/ "Who?"/ "have you ever heard of werewolves, Javier"/ "um, I've lived here since I was 6, but No one has ever told me anything about werewolves... What..."/ "We are creatures of the night. Every time there is a full moon... our bodies and our being change. We are then wolves just looking to eat. No matter what”/ “even… humans?”. Keon took a breath.

“No, only the real killers of our species do that. But fortunately there were very few of them. We eat exclusively game. And once a month it has to be something big. For the rest of the time we learned to survive on normal food. Fish is definitely a good option”/“Anything else could really be a problem…”.

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End of part one

[thetragicallynerdy]

hiyaaa! it's fungi anon back after a few months! i entirely missed pride month :( but not disability pride month!!! so happy disability pride month!!!!! if it isn't too much, can you please rank your favourite traditional woodland creatures (think badger, fox, rabbit etc)? please have this little patchwork heatmat i made the other day! it is made of triangles!!!!

ohhh hello fungi anon!!! it's so good to hear from you buddy <3 that's okay, i missed a lot of pride month too, but yay disability pride month!!

okay hell yes i can. i started this and immediately realized i can't do like, "here's my least fav and here's my most fav," so they're all just getting a ranking on a scale of 1-10. (and i know you meant small creatures maybe but some big ones get included) i will probably forget some of them, and these are Very Canadian, but here goes:

bunny rabbits - 9/10. My favourite little guys. Every time I see one in the city it's like the most magical thing.

foxes - 12/10. Right now I am kind of obsessed with them. Scrungly little guys who can look so elegant or SO sad. Extra points for how rare they are to see.

moose - 6/10. So I have to go up north a bit to see them, but it's SO neat when you see one. Lower points for being dangerous as hell lol.

bears - 100000/10. HAVE I MENTIONED I LOVE BEARS. Also super dangerous and I don't actually want to see one up close but I adore them, they are perfect and can do many things wrong but I forgive them anyway.

squirrels - 4/10. Hilarious bastards. Get into everything. Listen when I was a kid I wanted to be a squirrel, I love them so much, but also they're kind of the worst and one time I had one run up my leg trying to get to the poutine I was eating so really I am justified in the ranking they get

coyotes - 10/10. Look I know they have a bad rep but I adore them. They're so neat!! Highly recommend people giving coyote nature books a read, they're a fascinating species. (I've only read most of Coyote America and it was v good, with big warnings that like, animal death is a big part of it)

badgers - 7/10. Round. Very shape. Honestly I know almost nothing about them, but they get extra points because the videos of badgers and coyotes being friends and hunting together is my favourite thing.

deer - 7/10. Seeing deer is always kind of magical as a city kid. However, I know they're also kind of pests, so, they get a lower rating.

turkeys - 3/10. Listen. I love turkeys. They're hilarious. However. They are LOUD and also did you know they nest in the very top of trees?? It is very disconcerting to walk through the woods and hear turkey gobbles coming from like 20 feet above you

That's all I can remember without googling XD

Thank you for the lovely ask friend!!! And thank you for the beautiful heatmat, it's so cool!!! I love patchwork stuff :D

For you I have a lot of fresh dill, because I have an abundance of it in my garden right now. And if you don't like dill, then I have a banana choc chip muffin for you instead <3

Have a lovely evening friend <3