#hidden city lore

[its-wabby-stuff]

So, emperyum is neat.

But what exactly is it?

I have a theory.

Perhaps it’s stating the obvious, but it seems that emperyum is, to put it plainly, krang blood. Expired krang goo? Something like that.

Now we know that Draxum used emperyum to create the turtles and the oozesquitos that create mutants (or maybe we don’t know that, was that stated in the series? I can’t remember). Also should be noted that emperyum can be used to take someone’s mystics, which is what Krang Prime does in the movie.

So, if the turtles were created using krang blood, that would explain their strength, especially against the likes of the krang. But if the krang blood has mutating like abilities, is it possible, the “fountain” of emperyum in the hidden city is what second handedly, created the Yokai as a whole?

The Krang wouldn’t be directly responsible for this, giving them no real connection in terms of hive mind, but does seem to fit under their umbrella of abilities.

But it would mean that the boys, and all those mutated, would technically be considered Yokai. Even Splinter. Doesn’t change the dynamics between that of humans, Yokai, and mutants seeing as that history may have been lost but it is interesting to think about.

Side line: is it ever explicitly said that Todd is a mutant? Could he have just been a Yokai all along? It would explain why his payments were behind, and why he lived in the woods.

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Thanks for reading! Likes and reblogs appreciated!

More theories: The Shredder; Krang Will Rise

[wannabemasterofwindintraining]

Can you draw my lca oc Hero with Allen pls

It's ok if you don't want tho ik people find oc x canon cringe😭

Bestie you saw me posting oc x canon before it's not less cringe cause it has lore be free make those fictional men kiss

[explodingstarlight]

okay, I need to ask. is Nova a ninja turtle?? if not, why does he wear a mask?

OOO great q! No, Nova isn't a ninja turtle. He's not technically biologically related to the Hamato bros nor has he had any formal ninja training. Closest they can get is street brawling and parkour.

But! He does have a mask for a very important reason:

✨ Earrings! ✨

Nova thought they were super cool and the little clinking noise they make when they tap against each other itches the brain just right

[skinandscales-if]

In relation to the ask about shapeshifting.. similarly like some people can’t spit fire, are there people who have issues shifting back and forth? Or maybe can’t shift into their dragon form at all?

ehehehe :) you hit the question dead on, huh?

Not for the general populace, no. Dragon features will always show in an individual no matter what, even if it’s subtle, and some shifters have some issue figuring things out at a young age, but shifting comes pretty naturally for everyone. Individual struggle varies, of course.

For a rare few however, they are born with a mutation that makes them unable to shift between these two forms, born with traits equal amounts human and dragon. These few are known as Evershifted, and though this particular form is very uncommon, I’d keep an eye out 👀 the city is large and there’s plenty of colorful people to meet

[hellishgayliath]

Hellii Hellooo

Ignore my previous message, my keyboard was being STUPID and submitted it-

Anyway- 1) Does Pico know or understand the concept of a 'date'? 2) If yes, do Pico & Bao go on dates? 3) & if yes again, are they rare or common occasions?

I witness ALL MOON👀👀👀

lmao hoi anyways

I'd think so yes! I'd consider Pico being the one to ask out Bao, cuz where he grew up the animals he'd see when it came to courting each other they make their point very upfront, so if he takes interest in someone he's just gonna go for it. Plus he sees his uncles Warren and Hypno all the time and can already tell how smitten they are with other, he's no stranger to that.

Also yesssss!! I haven't drawn anything yet for them cuz I wanna draw their first meeting with each other first and foremost before I do sweetsy stuff (whenever that comes to pass)

Okay Date stuff or more like outings tho. I think Bao would enjoy taking Pico out around the Hidden City, showing him all of his favourite spots, catching in the sights etc. Pico would love it, but he still is basically a farmboy, so I think he could only handle being in large crowds and the overwhelming bustling city for so long and stick by Bao's side so they don't get separated once the wonder wears off. Bao would take this into account and try to think of areas where it's less noisy and crazy. On Pico's end of setting up dates, he'd invite him out to the forest, maybe spend some time with the dogs, go on picnics or hikes/walks. It's a good break for Bao too since he's busy running the tea shop all the time and could go for some peace and relaxation once in a while.

3. Hmmmmmmm I'd say they'd happened pretty frequently :3

[legofiction]

I want to put the teen Harl family photo up on here to I really liked how it turned out

Also freckles !!!

[hollow-port]

One of my main inspirations for Hollow Port as a city was indeed Rapture from Bioshock.

I’ve always craved a game or environment kinda like rapture, where we get to explore this vintage city of decopunk and fantasy elements. Just like... if Rapture at its peak was like a setting in Dungeons and Dragons. A mixture of these fantasy and sci-fi elements to create a gaslight fantasy paradise for the player to explore.

Then I thought to myself, “Vic, you're a content creator. Make it yourself.” Sooo that’s what I did!

[puppy-the-mask]

So I've been cooking up some alternate outfit ideas for my Lmk sona and this is what they'd look like if they were with the Demon Bull Family! The idea is basically they'd be something of a court musician but it's mainly just a title.

Edit: Added the version without her armor <3

I don't have a concrete story but the initial idea was that cas was friends with swk in the brotherhood days and stuck with dbk after everyone else got sealed away and the whole consumption incident went down since she had nowhere else to go (and conveniently was the only lady around that he could ask for relationship advice when courting Iron Fan). They didn't expect Cas to live this long, only really expecting to have her around through her natural lifespan but they noticed she wasn't aging so now she gets to be their babysitter for date nights! Through the years she's been something of an aunt/sister figure and has become fiercely loyal to the family despite having no desire to take over the world. Redson built her electric bass and the armor she wears over her gems, the Bass has 2 extra buttons on it- the fire button spews fire out of the pipes and the Bull button unsheathes her sword from the neck of the instrument since she can't exactly walk around with a sword on her hip so easy these days. She travels with a heavy metal band across the continent- i like to imagine her intro episode has the crew excited about a big band coming to the city and while they wait they run into redson and annoy him cause he's bragging about getting exclusive vip passes to the show. The crew would expect someone mean from the music and the from the rest of the family but Cas is super welcoming and nice when the crew sneak backstage to bother redson some more XD

[hamatoredraphael]

I have no idea what's going on but it sounds bad

I wish you and your bros the best of luck

(She gives the anon a sharp-toothed grin before going back to smashing the guards around, sending three of them flying with a single hit)

[honeyedapples]

i’ve recently been looking at the minecraft wiki and like. the original concepts for the warden are horrifying. i always thought that what we have now is kinda cute but like, the concepts of the hollowed and the stalker??? nightmare inducing! mojang really just wanted to turn this cutesy block game into a horror game with the deep dark. instead of making us afraid of cave noises, they wanted to make US the cave noises

[alphabetically-incorrect]

its so messy but brain went brrr

Jesse really didn't know what they were getting into when they took the job at Pandora's Apothecary. besides the customers blurting out the grossest of medical issues that they really didn't want to know completely unprompted, there was having to know an impossible amount of information about a seemingly endless array of herbs, chemicals, and magic potions. of course, they also carried poisons, as in small doses they can be used to treat issues.

Jesse has long since given up trying to figure out some of the customers, especially the ones who seemed sketchy. just fill what they need, ring them up, and send them out the door with that fake cheery customer service smile. just don't read the police reports and deny ever seeing anything if they came knocking. but there was one, who had become a sort of infamous regular, that had them both intrigued and deeply concerned.

the first time he had come in had been with someone else. Jesse was immediately alert as humans were not a common sight in the hidden city. his kappa friend haggled annoyingly about uranium (no they did not carry that, go find a crystal shop jerkwad). the human wandered around the shop, eyeing different plants both dried and potted. they hadn't ended up buying anything then, but Jesse didn't miss the human lingering a little too long around the poisonous plants.

a few days later he came in by himself, he poked around a bit again before coming up to the counter and pointing out a potted plant with brilliant pink flowers used as the display. "uh, how much of those can I get?" he asked a little sheepishly.

Jesse blinked at him before launching into one of their scripted replies about how the shop sales worked. he left after having purchased their largest offered size, a half pound bag of the dried flowers. Jesse knew better than to ask, things involving those flowers never ended well and to be honest they were a little nervous about even having them for sale. but the store owner insisted that the deceivingly pretty petals were helpful in alchemy.

when he returned about a week later for another bag was the start of Jesse's cat-killing curiosity. a little went a long way with using those things, so how many enemies did this guy need to kill? or perhaps, they reminded themself as he left with an impossibly sweet thank you wave, he was just a young alchemist apprentice? they knew better to ask, or maybe it was the mystery that helped boost their boring rotation of yokai coming in to ask for the newest fad "heathy" herb or tell them their medical problems.

it became a routine, every Wednesday they'd make sure to pre-bag up 8ozs of the majorly deadly if ingested flowers and tie it up with the dumb little ribbon the shop used. he'd come in around lunch and pay, and sometimes they would catch him in a little chat. he seemed nice enough and Jesse got little sprinkled flashes of what his life was like. uranium wanting kappa asshole was his uncle, technically, and one of four of them. he liked hockey, grew up in some war torn country he didn't give the name of, his name was Casey Junior, and his favorite color was torquoise.

nearly six months later, and he missed a week. Jesse has jumped up every time the little bell on the shop door jingled, and the later it got in the day the more worried they got. Casey Junior had only ever come outside the hour of noon twice before and he had always apologized as if it was a crime to keep them waiting with his regular order. when closing time came, Jesse stared down his usual bag of toxic pink flowers with a nauseated feeling. had something happened to him? he was sweeter than sugar but Jesse could tell he was no stranger to violence. but what could they do? they weren't exactly friends and didn't know any of his either, none of his kappa "uncles" had shown up with him again. Jesse had no way of contacting him, trying to ask for someone's number was always awkward and everyone always took it like they were trying to flirt with them.

it hung over them for the rest of the week, through the weekend, and right up until mid-morning of the next Wednesday. they had paused mid-scoop of the dried flowers to have an internal debate. the half pound from before that Casey Junior hadn't picked up had gone to a severe looking goat yokai that made Jesse all kinds of nervous. would he come today? they didn't want to not have it ready for him, but we're unsure if they were jumping the gun to assume he wouldn't show again. Jesse nearly dropped the scoop at the sound of the door bell jingling and they rushed to the counter to greet the customer.

it was none other than Casey Junior himself. Jesse couldn't stop the grin from splitting their face, "you're here!" he was ever apologetic, but Jesse just shook their head and moved back to the scales, "hush hush, you're early so I wasn't finished making your bag up."

he entertained them with the story of what had prevented him from coming for his routine pickup. something with never having experienced snow before. Casey Junior paid in exact change, and bounced on the balls of his feet as Jesse handed him the bag. continuing his tale of constructing an elaborate snow block base for what seemed like the most intense game of capture the flag with snowballs. with their back turned to tidy up the scale Jesse didn't see him casually open the bag and turned just in time to to witness Casey shove an entire handful of the dried flowers into his mouth.

the scale weights scattered on the floor, the sound completely drowned out by the shriek that ripped its way out of Jesse's throat. lurching forward, they grabbed the front of Casey's shirt with both hands and yanked him nearly clean over the counter. "spit those out right now! are you insane?"

Casey dropped the bag, hands flying to where Jesse held his shirt and then did... something for sure. Jesse didn't really know what he did, there was a lot of sudden movement and then they were on the floor on the other side of the counter gasping for breath as a horrified Casey hovered over them. "sorry, I'm sorry! it's a reflex. are you okay?"

"are you?" Jesse wheezed, "have you been eating those? how are you not dead? a handful of flowers will kill a full grown yokai in 15 minutes."

Casey looked extremely sheepish, "ah well, I've... built up immunity?"

Jesse sat up and eyed him, "you're serious."

Casey nodded and Jesse could only gape at him as he helped them stand and picked up the bag of dried poisonous flowers that were apparently a little treat for him. it had luckily just landed on the counter and not spilled. "I kinda grew up eating them in small doses as a snack. I didn't even know they were poisonous until I came here." he shrugged, cinching the bag shut, "I eat them like chips."

"you're a maniac, Casey Junior."

Part 6!

He just wanted some snacks haha

Part 1

I wasn't going to draw this, but then this ask came up hehe

[fogaminghub]

🚀🗺️ Are you ready to unravel the secrets of Marvel's Spider-Man 2? Dive into our guide on the elusive Upper West Side Symbiote Nest! Swing through the city, engage in epic battles, and discover hidden treasures. 🕸️✨

[dndsettingsinfo]

Miargo's Fine Goods (+Hidden Shop) by MapXilla

[explodingstarlight]

soooooo we never got to see that much of the societal complexities or internal power structures of the Hidden City in Rise and i was thinking it would be interesting to explore (i have a LOT of headcanons).

if I were to make a comic that also explores it,,,?? 👀

[lassieposting]

Been thinkin about Astarion + vampire biology so have some headcanons and the bits of game lore they're based on

Dialogue establishes that Cazador has been successfully passing himself off as a regular noble for centuries, and Astarion confirms that while he's considered a bit reclusive, he does mingle with the upper class of Baldur's Gate and has a property specifically for hosting fancy events.

Vampires are camouflage predators, whose primary hunting strategy is to blend in with their prey until the perfect time to strike. Their ecological niche is not a particularly safe or stable one - they live hidden in plain sight, usually in sizeable cities, for easy access to prey, but they know that if they are discovered they will be rooted out and killed or driven away. They are rarely able to get away with attacking in public, where city guards might rush to the aid of a screaming victim - they have to isolate their target before killing it. The ability to blend in, to be overlooked by their target, until it is too late is essential.

Cazador is, as far as we know, the only true vampire in Baldur's Gate

This is because true vampires are aggressively territorial. Like most apex predators, they eat a lot, and need substantial territories to support them - even moreso if they have a partner or spawns. Ascendant!Astarion would need to hold onto the entire city, as Cazador did, to be able to feed himself and Tav without raising suspicion.

True vampires are relatively rare, but there are more of them than there are cities, so it's not uncommon for one to set up in an occupied city and try to oust the sitting resident. The challenger usually believes himself to be as strong or stronger than the current tenant: these territorial disputes usually end in at least one death, so they're not to be entered into lightly.

Astarion is very obviously a vampire: his fangs are visible, as are his bite scars; he's so pale multiple people comment on it; his eyes are red, etc.

Astarion is not a healthy vampire.

This is a man who has been kept on the knife's edge of starvation and tortured regularly for 200 years, and to another vampire, that would be clear from the state of him: Astarion is a camouflage predator who is so malnourished he is no longer able to blend in.

Tav will get an up-close look at his transformation over the course of the game and during the years afterwards: the more healthy and well-fed Astarion becomes, as his body catches up on its immense energy deficit and begins to recover, the better he will be able to mimic a living elf. His skin will be able to bleed, or blush, or bruise, none of which he's capable of while actively starving. Hia fangs will retract until he needs them, not invisible but less obvious - having them out all the time is a response to severe deprivation; he's so hungry his body can't risk losing prey to the split second it takes Cazador to snatch a rat back, so he's permanently in bite mode, hyperaware, ready to strike. Some body functions will come online that he didn't even know he had, the ones that are supposed to help him blend in - his eyes will start producing pigment to look darker, less scarlet and more burgundy, to be more easily mistaken for brown; his lungs will make him breathe automatically even though he doesn't need it, he'll start being able to eat normal food without getting sick again, though he still won't get any nourishment from it; he'll heal faster. He'll even be able to get drunk, though he'll burn through it very quickly. As it stands, all those extra systems have been shut down by his starving body - they're useful, but nonessential, and he needs every single bit of energy funnelled into just keeping him alive and functional.

There is probably an intentional bit of psychological warfare against the spawns on Cazador's part here - him starving them strips them of their natural defences, and every time he makes them leave the mansion to hunt, they have to do so knowing that they're poorly hidden and vulnerable. But it's established that true vampires treating their spawn poorly or outright abusing them is A Thing, so it's not the only reason - he sees them as property rather than people, he keeps them weak so they won't plot against him, he's acting out his own trauma from Vellioth on them, he just wants to - but it does feed into it.

Astarion can, at one point, identify old blood as belonging to the player character. He also gets excited at another point if an enemy character runs away, stating, "Now it's a hunt."

He says that "even stale, [he'd] recognise that bouquet anywhere." This confirms a few things for us:

He has a vastly superior sense of smell capable of identifying individuals by scent and - since he can tell who the blood belongs to even after some time has passed - following scent trails.

This confirms that although city-dwelling vampires may primarily hunt via luring a victim to a secondary location before killing it, they still have the "stalk down and chase" predator instinct. Since Astarion can't lure wildlife anywhere, this is almost certainly how he's been hunting to supplement his diet when he's not using the player as his personal caprisun.

The fact that he can scent out prey before killing it means he has this ability all the time - he can smell blood while it's still safely inside the owner's body.

So scent is probably relevant to how vampires process the world. The more time each companion spends with him, the more he gets used to their scent, starts associating it more with safety and camaraderie than with a potential meal, and so he becomes more relaxed around them. As he learns to link the player's scent with love and comfort and trust, the more likely he is to retreat to their tent over his own when he's injured or afraid or having a trauma moment. When he's fond of someone, something of theirs will go conveniently missing - he's moving their scent into his little safe space, it's comforting for him. He can tell when his lover is hurt or aroused or frightened - though not which of the three applies - from a distance, because his sense of smell can pick up the spike of adrenaline rushing into their bloodstream.

But that also means that he can never feel like he's got any distance from Cazador while he's living in the mansion - even if the man isn't in the same room, the entire place reeks of him, and it makes Astarion feel like Cazador is breathing down his neck all the same. Ascendant Astarion would have a really, really hard time sticking it out in that mansion with stale Eau de Cazador all over the place. It means that he's put instantly on edge by the faint scent of one of his siblings as he walks through the lower city - when seven vicious, territorial apex predators are confined to a single small dormitory, several hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, fights are going to be nasty and frequent, and although Cazador wouldn't allow them to kill each other, considering how many of his siblings refer to him as weak or a runt, Astarion probably didn't win them very often. So. Having a highkey advanced sense of smell is a mixed bag.

[leisi-lilacdreams]

obsessed with the background lore of En Passant by @alicat54c and @amevello-blue where leo and don are high ranking respected members of the hidden city and have taken on the job of protectors of it

basically generals

the fic isn't about that (it's also a sequel so please read both 🙏) it's about child weapons and sudden dads figuring out a new normal with lots of cute family stuff but the "blink and you'll miss it" little tidbit of lore got me in a chokehold OTL

zoomed in details under cut