#human horde

[demon-of-the-ancient-world]

Hate (affectionate) how it's made so clear from the very beginning of part 1 just how loved Paul is by his family and household. Both his parents, Duncan, Gurney, Thufir, even Dr Yueh all clearly care so deeply for this kid, and we're shown that time and time again.

Cut to the end of part two, and almost every one of those people is gone. The only ones who remain are a weird, came-back-wrong version of Jessica, and Gurney who has gone from mentor to worshipper. Paul goes from someone deeply loved and valued for who he is by a small but caring group of people - to someone followed and worshipped and feared by thousands. They're obsessed with him in a way, as a leader and "messiah", but nobody loves him.

The only one remaining who loves him for who he is is Chani, who leaves him because in the end that love isn't enough to bring who he is back.

[a-horde-of-mews]

Is “left behind” and idiopathic expression in the mew community rather than the more literal interpretation of abandonment then? Because, by all the reactions prior, it sounded like child abandonment was what “left behind” meant.

If it just meant Seymour was left to be raised by a relative so his dad could just party more than parent Seymour, in what sounds to be a sort of shared custody situation, why is being “left behind” such a big deal to the siblings then? Especially since they act like Seymour is the one to blame for some reason?

It sounds more like Pup was young and not ready to be a primary caretaker and decided to leave him in more experienced paws while still popping in from time to time to let him know he’s loved, rather than him abandoning Seymour due to him being unable to “Keep up” like the prior descriptions implied.

And, like, is “keep up” also just an expression for something?

King: Origin is their own lil basket case. He's not exactly the most... Down to earth mew.

Seymour: You make it sound so horrible. I got more fun! Plant made sure of that!

King: I know Sea, but it's not as dour as im making it out to be.

((PS: i think you mean Idiomatic not Idiopathic!))

@wormholewandering @violetjazz25

[trensu]

ETA: now on ao3 as Hawkins Halfway House for Homeless Horrors

ETA2: now with an additional snippet

okay, how's this for an AU

We know that Steve wants to be a dad. Like, his literal life dream is to have a minimum of six children. SIX. who wants that?? crazy people, that's who. but we forgive him his insanity because he's sweet and will actually probably be a really good dad and there's not enough of those in the world.

the downer is that it's the late 90s, he's a (still) single guy in his thirties, and every adoption agency on the planet would rather give their children to a heteronormative couple who don't even want kids than to a single dude who would dedicate his heart and soul to giving his kids a happy healthy home.

He's bemoaning his fate to Robin at a bar they recently discovered. It's a weird little joint, kinda tucked away on the outskirts where Steve could've sworn didn't exist just last week. The patrons were kinda weird too but neither he or Robin could put their finger on why or how. If Steve had been a little less miserable, and Robin a little less caught up in comforting him, they might've noticed how everyone else in the bar kept sneaking curious glances at them or how they somehow always kept most of their features hidden.

They didn't though. Even when they were interrupted by a handsome black gentleman who called himself Jeff. Jeff said that he couldn't help but overhear their dilemma and that he's actually part of an agency that is more open minded about potential foster or adoptive parents. Steve's a little deeper in his cups than he intended, and doesn't question that some random guy in a bar is offering him a chance of having children. Robin is not as far in her cups and finds it a bit suspicious.

She was going to say something about it but Jeff looked her in the eye and said, "Everything is fine. There's no reason to worry. I'm only trying to help."

"You're only trying to help," Robin murmured back blearily. "Everything is fine. Yeah. Yeah, 'm not worried."

Jeff gives Steve his card and tells him he can stop by the very next day if he'd like, since his schedule is open.

The next day, Steve is regretting having gotten so drunk. Not really because of the hangover (though holy shit, he is NOT twenty anymore he needs to stop drinking like one). No. It's because Jeff had just finished giving him a tour of the facility full of rambunctious children in need of a home.

Actually, that had been pretty okay even if the other adults in the facility startled at the sight of him and the children kept ducking into other rooms to hide from him.

No. It's because Jeff had just introduced him to a child named Dustin who sneezed unexpectedly and somehow turned into a kitten.

"Um," Steve said. Jeff sighed.

"Dustin hasn't gotten back control over his shapeshifting since his mother's passing, but I assure you he's been improving."

"...shapeshifting," Steve said, numbly.

"Yes. Dustin tends to go for cat shapes, like his mother did." Jeff bends down to pick up the loudly mewing tabby kitten. "We've managed to get him to shift mostly into a domestic shorthair, rather than a cougar cub."

"That's great," Steve squeaked as he tried to tamp down the growing hysteria in him. "Really, really great. Y'know what, Jeff, this whole thing's been great but I think I'm still kind of drunk so I'm just gonna go--"

"No, wait," Jeff says, quickly placing the Dustin kitten on his shoulder before reaching out to grab Steve by the elbow. "Please. Look, you seem like a good guy. I did a quick scan of you and everything, and I really think if you'd take a moment to sit down and--"

"JEFFORD BILLANY JONES."

Jeff's shoulders hunched, nearly dislodging Dustin from his shoulder. He sighed again and turned to face the man storming towards him and Steve.

"Eddy, you know none of that is my name."

"I'll call you whatever I want since for some unfathomable reason, you've brought a human into my sanctuary. Why is there a human in my home, Jeffamy."

"Eddy, let me explain."

"It's Eddie in front of the human," Eddie said.

Steve's brain was experiencing some sort of malfunction because Jeff had been calling this man Eddie, except if he concentrated, the way Jeff said Eddie and the way Eddie had said Eddie sounded very very different except it hadn't because they both sounded like Eddie except for how Jeff's Eddie sounded different from, the same as, different, just like--

A pair of ringed fingers snapped aggressively in front of his face, startling Steve from an impending aneurysm.

"You. Who are you, who sent you, what do you want."

Steve stuttered something incoherent. He's pretty sure he's had a mental break from reality. There was some sort of sentient black sludge creeping across the tiled floor, wrapping a tendril around Jeff's leg.

"What is that?" Steve squawked. Jeff beamed at him.

"Oh, this is El! She's a Monster Under the Bed. She hasn't decided on a form yet, but that's okay, we love her just as she is."

"Jeff," Eddie snapped. Jeff looked at Eddie stubbornly.

"You told me we needed all hands on deck."

"How dare you, I'd never stoop to using boat metaphors."

"Don't distract me with blatant lies. Eddy, you said we needed help. You said you'd take anyone at this point."

Steve has not been able to stop staring at the sludge creature (El?). He's beginning to realize that he can't quite remember what Jeff looked like, or any of the adults they had seen. He's noticing that some of the children that have been scampering about had looked off. Like the boy with the bowl-cut they had passed by earlier who had looked...frosty around the edges. Or the girl he thought had had red feathers in her hair but is now suspecting the feathers were something more than decorative.

Ringed fingers snap in front of his face again. Steve finally focused on the man named Eddie who was actually named Eddie which was different from Eddie somehow. Now that he's able to shove away the confusion that is this man's name, he's struck by the fact that Eddie was quite possibly the most gorgeous man Steve's ever seen. He had wide, dark eyes that made Steve think of seabeds in the deepest of waters. His hair was a riot of dark brown curls that for some reason brought to mind swirling schools of fish.

"Answer my questions," Eddie demanded. Steve blinked and, with some difficulty, remembered the previous interrogation.

"Uh, I'm Steve. Jeff invited me because I want to be a dad."

Eddie barked out a laugh.

"Oh, is that right? In that case, welcome to Hawkins' Halfway House for Homeless Horrors! I'm sure Jeff would love to finish introducing you to the rest of our children. Have you met Mike? He's a ghoul! Or Lucas! He's a werewolf and his dream is to become a basketball star. They both have very sharp teeth so watch out for their tantrums."

Jeff scowls at Eddie before turning back to Steve. Steve was starting to feel faint and he was no longer sure if he regretted drinking the night before or regretted not drinking more.

"Steve, it's okay. Eddy is making it sound scarier than it actually is. You said you wanted to be a dad, and we need foster parents that can help these kids learn how to blend in with humans. That's what the halfway house is for, but there's only so much they can learn while living in sanctuary. We need a way to have them experience the human world more directly while still keeping them safe, and I think you're the solution we've been looking for. What do you think?"

"I think I need to sit down," Steve said thinly. Eddie snorted derisively. Steve was slightly offended but honestly everything was a bit too much right now and he really would like to sit down for a moment just to process. Because monsters are real, apparently, and some of them need parents. Which was terrifying to think about but also not so much? Because all kids were little monsters some of the time right? If Steve could have a moment to get his bearings...

"This was a terrible idea, Jeffathan."

"I think it was a great idea, actually. I really think this could work."

"No. I forbid it. Don't do this again."

Then there was a sweet and beautiful humming. It made the edges of Steve's mind go fuzzy and soft. He blinked slowly and looked for the source of the sound. Eddie stared at him intently and when he spoke, his voice was like music.

"Steve," Eddie said. "Steve, do you want to make me happy?"

Steve nodded dumbly. He wanted that more than anything in the whole world. He wanted to make Eddie smile. He wanted Eddie to never stop singing.

"It would make me very happy if you went home and forgot everything you saw here today," Eddie continued.

Steve made a sad sound. He didn't want to forget. He didn't want to forget beautiful, gorgeous Eddie and this place that could make his dream come true.

"Please, Steve," Eddie's lyrical voice took on an aching mournful tone. "If you don't, you'll break my heart. I'll never be happy again."

The sadness in the song made Steve feel like the world was ending. Eddie couldn't be sad! Steve would rather die than make Eddie sad!

"I forget," Steve mumbled through the fog in his mind. "And you'll be happy?"

"So happy. I'd be the happiest man alive if you do that one little thing for me, my sweet Steve."

Steve nods again. "Okay."

"Good boy," Eddie croons. Steve felt like he swallowed the sun at those words. He followed Eddie as Eddie guided him through the halfway house. Eddie hummed his lovely song the entire way.

"Go home and forget," Eddie sang one last time as he helped Steve get behind the wheel of his car.

"Yeah," Steve replied dreamily and drove away.

--

The telephone rang shrilly through his apartment. Steve stumbled out of bed and picked up, only fumbling it a little bit.

"H'llo?"

"Steve, what the hell, I've been trying to get a hold of you all day! Where have you been?" Robin's voice rang out, making Steve flinch. He scrubbed his free hand over his face tiredly.

"Home? I just woke up," Steve said. It was weird that he was fully dressed, he thought dazedly, but it wouldn't be the first time he's passed out drunk in his street clothes. Was he wearing this shirt yesterday? He could've sworn he'd worn the navy one.

"What? Just now? It's like five in the evening!"

"Huh. That'd explain the weird dream," Steve mumbled.

"Was it the one where you get seduced by a giant squid? Because I don't need to know more about your weird tentacle fetish."

"I don't have a tentacle fetish! I had the dream ONE time, and I wasn't being seduced, I was getting drowned and it was terrifying!"

"To-may-to, to-mah-to."

"Whatever, this one was weirder anyway."

"I find that hard to believe but now I'm morbidly curious. Hit me with it."

"...I don't remember."

"There goes my entertainment for the evening."

"Was there a reason you called, Robin?"

"Yes! I met this girl named Chrissy and I swear Steve, she's the most beautiful woman I've ever seen..."

Beautiful. Steve had the faint impression of dark eyes and silver rings, but it was quickly washed away like a child's sandcastle in the tide under the onslaught of Robin's ramblings. As he listened to his best friend, he couldn't help but feel there was something he'd forgotten. There was something he'd been planning on doing today, wasn't there...?

...oh, well. If it was really important, he'd remember eventually.

[proxis-shattered-expectations]

Oh.My.Creator! This is so freaking cute!! Man Ulthane is in such bliss, to be surrounded by these adorable little Earth Gremlins! I love this!!

Inktober day 5 - Horde

Ulthane gets taken out by a horde of humans, can't stop laughing even though he's meant to be dead.

[merriclo]

i love the idea that Wild is a big brother to basically all of the kids in his Hyrule. it’s such a good heacanon that i never see utilized.

[dionte-goethe]

Happy Birthday Jiang Cheng~

We've got 26 characters admiring(?) Jiang Cheng, from the expected to the unusual.

I would have added more and fully rendered the color if I had the time for it, but lining/flat coloring 26 frames was already pushing me to the brink of slamming my head against the desk. I did have a lot of fun with all the different designs though.

Let me know if people want to see the individual frames, uh, it would probably take a couple of posts.

[thunderboltfire]

I took part in a discussion on the humanisation of 'evil' creatures and in the process I've made this little alignment chart of fantasy creatures to illustrate my point, which is that the removal of an entity from human motivations makes it easier to characterise it more as a fantastical embodiment or a symbol of something, than as a fully fleshed out character.

Familliar-strange axis is how understandable is a creature in its behavior and motivations, how similar to humans in a sense of having understandable feelings, ambitions, motivations and instincts. Is it completely beyond comprehension, just a guy, or something in the middle?

Positive-negative axis relates to how is the creature characterised by the narrative, which may be irrelevant to the entity's personal sense of morality (or lack thereof).

Idk how useful it is, but I think it might be helpful to conceptualise the role some fantasy minions, goons or magical helpers play in a story, and whether or not their characterisation as such is intended. Or You could just doodle on it. Have fun!

[soli-nepenthe]

Beyond Cloudfall spoilery thought:

Anyone think about how dragon Sylus was more "human", not just in his half-appearance, but also, despite the bloody history he had to witness with his kin and what he suffered through (those 108 murder attempts) he was the most human-like? And if his soul was indeed a garden of blooming red datura blossoms, even if it was an illusory dream, it was a depiction of a peaceful paradise? That was his soul's inner beauty and purity...a curious thing to have for a "monster".

[eeriedragone]

welcome home is making me want to be more colourful 🐛🦋

Uncropped version:

[e-vay]

What would Dimond Cinder and Boon look like as human?

Here they are, Human!Cinder, Human!Boon and Human!Diamond

For older Cinder, I used Dacre Montgomery for inspiration. He’s handsome and has a strong look to him, but there’s also a beautiful sadness to his eyes.

For older Boon, I was inspired by Shawn Mendes and Nolan Gould. They have really slender faces but strong jaws and fabulous smiles.

For older Diamond, I used Kiki Wong as inspiration. She has strong features and she’s drop-dead gorgeous and super metal!

[antispopausandstuff]

on the surface, i think it's cute that Adora doesn't know how to do acting. but, beyond that, it makes perfect sense to me.

people poke it 'cause she's a "dumb jock" ( *stares at you violently* ), but it reminds me a lot of myself. it comes off as her being socially anxious, not liking to be in the literal spotlight, and forgetting the script or becoming stiff out of a mix of perfectionism and self-doubt.

i imagine, in the Horde, the only thing that Adora was "allowed" to lie about was anything relating to her well-being, and everything else was off the table, even if it was incredibly small. so, i feel that acting would be strange to her, because it feels like she's lying, even if she really isn't ( such as when she greets Angella ).

that, and, i feel, aside from likely not being a fan of the spotlight, she might feel guilty for having it ( due to Catra's behavior towards her whenever she got praised for pretty much anything ), so she's subconsciously occupied by not only her own doubts, but Catra's.

Adora definitely gives me Katniss vibes, where her best acting would be when she's actually in the emotion already and she can't force it or her mind to start prioritizing it.

so, yeah, you'd probably have to put her on an actual battlefield in order for her to give a passionate speech ^^;.

it's kinda funny how one trait can say so much about a character, yet could've said more if you, y'know, cared about that character.

[flippingfrogg]

You cant make me draw a background. T4T human entrapdak for this first pride piece

Happy Pride!!

[a-horde-of-mews]

Seymour, how would you describe King?

Seymour: Look atcha, all smug. You sure are happy with your decision there.

King: No idea what you mean.

[transmechanicus]

Blankie time we share body warmth and the bad dreams bounce back and crash into a wall and die <3

Blankie time💙🖤

[kazan-ne-ding-dong]

[rotisseries]

true crime stans and apocalypse preppers. same type of person to me