#c:i Curator

[regular-gnome]

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[regular-gnome]

Archiving is an important job

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[regular-gnome]

pick'a boo, making funny faces to the little kid

[regular-gnome]

how would your archivists react to the collector plush?

not exactly a plush but in a ny case

[regular-gnome]

Have the archivist ever tried to archive each other?

How would that go, they can use their powers against each other can't they? In like fights or smth and if archiving is just changing a creatures physical form into paper or a statue, wouldn't it be as simple as a sneak attack or knocking the victim out?

Oh but... archivist have A LOT of genetic information I wager, if the form they take is a "condensed" one correlating to the amount of power they have,, then it would take a very powerful amount of magic to: expand their forms, avoid retaliation, archive them, and then have them stay like that for any meaningful amount of time

Unless, they do it willingly just to test it? But with how painful(?) or jarring being archived is I can't imagine any of them volunteering

their form isnt related to physically but to the energy they contain, something difficult to store

but on whenever they would test it out- I could see Wayfarer and Architect going jackass, just to see what would happen. Sure might hurt but would be funny, like the electric button experiment

[regular-gnome]

HAPPY VALENTINES DAYS

Throws chocolate at all your Archivists

[regular-gnome]

I wonder if the archivists or the collector are ticklish, we know they're not made of flesh and bones like mortals, but it's a funny thought, I imagine them doing it when some brother is distracted

oh they would murder each other, its too much power in one hands

[regular-gnome]

More on social systems, what is the Archivist hierarchy like? I suppose with this specific group a family unit but would it be like that amongst a different group?

Do they HAVE to listen to the oldest? What happens if they don't? Is it just an honor system, not to be rude but the Archivist don't seem like the most honorable bunch-

Oh, theyyy certainly aren't honorable, but they are very focused on their goals and it takes precedence over personal grudges. The organization within the groups varies a lot depending on how the group originally formed. In general, collectors try to establish and maintain an archive to further the goal of preserving life within the galaxy. Someting started after extinction event of an early world where the starchildren once lived when the universe was still young and mostly empty

After a while—through bit of trial and error—a single large archive where best way to descibe the leadership is "overpowered gremlin induced chaos" became impractical as the universe expanded. The collectors eventually split to cover more ground and prevent a scenario where life might vanish completly. That’s when smaller groups started to form. Some paired up, creating their own archives, older collectors taking in younger ones who weren’t yet ready to manage an archive on their own. Others formed groups with those they got along with, though that was rare, as there was a lot of ground to cover and few of them. Most though went alone

As time passed, new starchildren came into existence and were brought into these groups, figuring out organisation as they grew up within them. In case of this group after being split off from other collectors the Anatomist established archive before eventually finding other siblings who helped expand it. But as the universe continues to grow, it’s only a matter of time before this archive will have to split as well, which will change group dynamics all over again

With if they do have to listen to the oldest - not really? It all depends on how the dynamics between them play out and how their personalities fit together. Anyone with siblings knows that if one starts bossing the others around, they’re likely to be ignored. But they all care about their work so learned to cooperate. Oldest makes most of the decisions mostly due of their expertise in handling archive (....and having essentially had raised the younger ones), but for everything else, it’s handled on a case-by-case basis or fought about

[regular-gnome]

slimy salamander

[regular-gnome]

starchildren

[regular-gnome]

getting mixed up with mortals

a while ago someone asked about other siblings time around mortals, while I wasnt planning to post it orginally I finished this drawing and kinda wanted to give some background to the situation. They didn't really have a pleasant time back then

[regular-gnome]

*Takes the starchildren because they're my babies now*🏃🏻‍♀️🥰

goodluck

[regular-gnome]

Hmm do the archvist sleep? I mean we saw the collector sleep so maybe they need to, if so do they dream?

They don't need it to survive, but they can and do get tired. Also, in the back my take on the lore, how it started and the origin of the guidebook:P

and a brief curseofhyperfixation's Sirius cameo, check out their arts too!

[regular-gnome]

Do the archivist ever cook or make food?

not usually

Anatomist might have some proficiency since they deal with keeping the living alive but the rest doesn't really need to

bonus

[regular-gnome]

Is it just me cause whenever I listen to "Aleph" by Gesaffelstein, the only thing that comes to my mind is the Archivists. It just screams Archivists to me, no one can tell me otherwise 😭🙏

Love the uncanny music:D something unsettling behind the first melody line that I cant really put into words so kinda tried to draw it. Been listening to it on a loop now

[regular-gnome]

huh...

So when the Archivist find a planet capable of sustaining life but currently without life, they... Release single celled organisms? ...Just to archive them in the future? That's so odd to me.

Why not just wait, is archiving some sort of deep-seated urge or instinct that they NEED to do? Isn't it counterproductive to not just let life naturally develop, or is artificially creating new life apart of the reason they exist?

The short answer (its kinda a tdlr, the text got long)

So life develops slowly and needs stable conditions, what is hader when things like stars have finite lifespans (our Sun is already halfway through!). The Starchildren can’t create life or bring it back, and not all planets have the right conditions for it to start in time when planet is habitable, but might adapt once it’s there. They treat planets bit like gardens in a region where apocalypses are common, with the Archive serving as a storage for seeds, saplings, and tools. Its more usable and not as much lifeless museum of life

Most planets do well on their own, so only parts are collected but beyond that left alone, and some are destroyed or struggle to progress beyond microbes. In those cases, they might step in to improve conditions or remove threats. Sometimes, they just observe how life adapts to what chaos it has. If it can.

There are also personal reasons for work, things like attachment or desire for control, but their mission began when the first life-sustaining planet was destroyed, leaving them alone in the void believing everything was lost forever. When life SLOWLY re-emerged on other worlds, they began preserving and protecting it, spreading across the void.

Long answer under the cut

Life in general develops extremely slowly. Earth is around 4.5 bln years old (Ga), it's estimated that it took around 1,1Ga to go from anoxygenic bacteria to aerobic bacteria (after some ox producing bacteria ruined the party for all those who couldnt deal with it, also called Great Oxygenation Event). From there, it took roughly 0,5 Ga for eukaryotic cells to develop. Shortly after (like 0.1 Ga), life transitioned from single-celled to multicellular organisms. In comparison it took 1.7 Ga for evolution to progress from algae to humans—about 1.6x faster than the journey from primordial soup to microbes

There could be planets capable of supporting life that are just off the mark, preventing organic material from developing well enough. Some might have all the right conditions but lack the right combination of energy sources, maybe too far from a star, maybe something else. But, once life forms and we get a "Last Universal Common Ancestor" (LUCA) It could spiral to the point where, as on Earth, almost no surface remains untouched by life (you really don’t want to know how many bacteria are on your phone). But thats only really because life got a really good footing here. If a catastrophic event wiped out all complex life, bacteria adapted to extreme would probably be fine and maybe evolve further.

If primitive cells formed under specific conditions and those suddenly changed, all that progress could halt or go back entierly to a primordial soup (Going with the Heterotrophic Theory, this is my gen favourite term for this, soup). And there is another aspect. Suns are not eternal; our sun, at ~4.5 Ga, is already halfway through its lifecycle before becoming a red giant. At that point, Earth will lose its "habitable" status. If Earth went through a hard reset, and assuming everything went the same, next intelligent life might be one witness their star’s death, sooo there is a finite window of habitability.

Each evo step is faster than the last one, Archivists intervene at mostly early stages making the beginning bit smoother, more controlled. They aim to make planets with potential more habitable or stoping them from losing it. For example they might create an atmosphere if one lacks it but is otherwise perfect, and past that let life develop naturally.

And even with perfect conditions, factors like astronomical events could mess up whole process. In the infinite space it's not really a question of if but more which planet heads into a catastrophe, so they stay around. Archive functions like a backup, preserving progress where possible. If a planet faces extinction, they might change the enviroment, whatever is esponsible for it, maybe introduce creatures more capable of surviving—or even short-lived organisms, some that arent meant to survive but will provide enough short term nutrients for the native organisms to pull through.

That being said they usually try to avoid too much interferance, sometimes its just patching up small element before it becomes an problem. But sometimes they will just stay clear. If one is doing okay or particularly fascinating they'll stay back and watch how it adapt to the unique environments. World where due to temperatures the only habitable zone is on the edge of a star’s light? Organisms adaptation might give some insight for future and give templates for backing up similar ecosystems elsewhere. But there are limits to their interference. If saving a planet requires more effort than its results justify, they let it fade, something Wayfarer was upset about

There’s also a personal element. Archivists sometimes release life forms they’re familiar with—ancestors of creatures they once befriended. While they know these won’t develop into the same beings, it’s comforting to see familiar traits re-emerge (and to know how to deal with them). When universe is so hellbend on reminding of inevitable end, its a small victory.

Those are some words about methods, when it comes to why they even start its bit diffrent. The Starchildren’s mission stems from witnessing the first total extinction of life on a first developed planet. Unable to create life or reverse what had happened, they were confronted with the vast emptiness of the void and believed all was lost, that was it. And then saw the painfully SLOW emergence of life elsewhere, collectors agreed on a mutual goal to prevent life fading out of existance, not taking for granted it will work out. Bit ironic joke of fate that ones suited to live in isolation of void are also one to seek company. When the only other comapny is one that lives in blink of an eye its easy for the unguided Starchildren with almost divine power develop some quirks and complexes (not an excuse, just a reason).

But maybe its by design, just the right trait to have something always watching tirelessly over the gardens, ensuring there is someone there. I wouldn't say there isn't a quiet internal push for it, a drive that took root in the right environment and grew into a lifelong mission. Magic, like energy, isn’t created—it once formed part of Everything. When Everything awakened, it wanted to be more, sought to ensure there would always be something