#i have to cram all this info in for

[macbethvsromeo]

I just want yall to know that the tkc movie cancellation is a blessing in disguise bc it really should be a 3 season tv series 🥱

[sparkleofstardust]

I HAVE A VERY IMPORTANT EXAM TODAY AAAA

[fluxofthemouth]

Dune Messiah Verse drabble || Also a prologue for a thread! @succubus-lili

Content warning for canon-typical violence & death

-----------

The Grand Arrakeen is one of the capital's better known hotels. It's close enough to the palace to be within reasonable walking distance of just about everything interesting. It's also far enough away to properly have the appearance of a large and impressive building, without the obligation to shrink under the shadow of comparison. The hotel does its part to be gaudy and kitschy, a friendly nod to the pilgrim fever that has perpetually swept up the local culture. You can buy spiritual knickknacks in the gift shop that were manufactured on Giedi Prime. Over an impressive span of 20,000 years, chai has stubbornly persisted as a word for tea, and there's a cafe on the ground level called Chai Hulud. But underneath the hotel's cheerful concessions to the tourist industry, there's a beating heart of sincere effort. A genuine investment in providing a service of value. Many of the hotel's customers come to understand and appreciate this, which is why many of them keep coming back.

Indeed, unlike many of the businesses that have come to thrive in Arrakeen, the Grand Arrakeen is no insincere tourist trap strung up to make money quickly for as little effort as possible. It's the crown jewel of Evangeline Sky, a rising star in the hospitality industry who came to Dune with nothing and now owns more than twenty properties across the planet.

Evangeline is also a seventy-nine year old woman. And according to a story that is consistent across several witnesses, a guest named Brody Angler yanked her cane out of her hands and threw it at her just a few days ago. She and a group of her friends had happened to pass him and one of his traveling companions in a hallway, and she had only asked him to speak more quietly during the late hours. She wasn't badly hurt, but Brody's sudden violence had scared her. And it galled her to see how Brody had laughed and laughed.

The other noteworthy thing about the Grand Arrakeen and other hotels in the family business, the other thing in addition to the undercurrent of sincerity behind their operation, is that sometimes people die there. Not often, but just often enough to get people wondering what the normal number for yearly deaths in hotels is.

Piter de Vries could find that number out pretty quickly. It would be the number of deaths total, minus everybody who died because he wanted them to. Evangeline Sky is an industry giant and a seventy-nine year old woman, and she is also Piter's mother. He isn't really thriving like she is, in this new shape the galaxy and its Empire have taken. Nor was he thriving in the Empire's previous form. But he does own one or two of the hotels, and he does keep himself occupied with an information brokerage. That doesn't actually bring in a lot of money directly, but his efforts are as sincere as Evangeline's, and his clients recognize that just as gratefully. People come to his operation regularly, and he comes to know of many things that happen on the planet. Changing out the man playing at Emperor did not impact a simple truth that Piter knew well in his previous role: information is a kind of currency all on its own. The practice also fuels a hell of a lot of drama, which he then gets to be in the thick of.

When it comes to those unlucky people Piter chooses to target (a complication to his claim of being a retired assassin), most are connected to scandals and secrets he uncovered through his hobby, with many of these deaths contracted explicitly by clients. Unsurprisingly, Evangeline doesn't like bloodshed near the hotels that have become both her life's work and the revenue stream they both depend on. Piter has to be careful and choosy about pursuing targets through family-owned hotels; sometimes showing restraint despite how easy it would be otherwise, sometimes hiding his tracks even from his mother.

The other, smaller category of people Piter wants killed is the category of people who think they get to make trouble for Evangeline.

Piter lives in Carthag these days. He doesn't come out to Arrakeen very often because he knows full well that the Emperor's people are likely to torture and kill him if they happen to recognize him as a former Harkonnen agent. The one who crafted the plan that killed the Emperor's father, even! And the one who personally ordered the Emperor and his mother to be left in the desert for the worms.

(Oh, how those were very different times! And how is one supposed to know that the scrawny teenage son of a disfavored Duke is going to be an emperor someday? Also, in most cases, sending someone out into the desert for the worms has this tendency of actively preventing them from becoming an emperor, or much of anything.)

Evangeline, meanwhile, doesn't end up making it out to Carthag all that often, because she is busy and because of her age. Their relationship can be strained, but it isn't fraught. Piter grins openly as he watches her react to opening the door and finding him there, even as he knows he's in for a kind of scolding: there's surprise, then a tender gladdening, then suspicion and disapproval, then worry. She beckons him in quickly, as if Atreides' people were actively scouring the streets for him. He hugs her and takes his time, soaking in affection.

"If you're here, I suppose Angler is already dead," Evangeline says matter-of-factly as she heads towards the kitchen to make tea. There is affection for him here, but he needs to know that he can get more of it by killing fewer people in her goddamn hotels.

There's been a measure of guilt in Piter's aspect from the start. Now, it flares up prominently, and alongside some cheeky non-repentance, in a different sort of grin. It's not the least unsettling expression a human face has ever made.

"Angler has been dead, Mother," Piter replies, almost as matter-of-factly, but with a keening hope of praise. "Since the moment he made the choice to scare and hurt you. Won't you let yourself be precious to someone?" He taps sand from his boots in the entryway and hangs up his cloak. An attempt to venture further into the house stops cold at a gesture from Evangeline, and he works on shaking the sand from his clothes more thoroughly there in the entryway.

"You know how I feel about bloodshed in my hotels," Evangeline says, disappearing into the kitchen. She notes, and has noted, a spineless proclivity towards obedience in Piter, and she thinks it's pathetic. That doesn't stop her from counting on that same quality to keep him from tracking sand in her living room even though she isn't watching.

These conversations always end at an impasse. If Evangeline presses the point too thoroughly that she disapproves of brutality, they will have to face the squirming truth that he ended up in a school built on a premise of psychological torture, and was taught to be a ruthless killer there, on her watch as a parent. Meanwhile, if Piter presses the point too thoroughly that he loves her and wants to keep her safe, they will have to face another delicate reality. That she struggled through years of poverty on Giedi Prime while he climbed his way to a cushy government career and spent the money getting high.

So they grumble and fuss over tea. They trade little comments that could mean anything and nothing, and they avoid statements that are truthlike enough to really draw blood. They would each like to win the argument, in theory, but they don't know how to, and they slowly come to the unspoken agreement that it isn't urgent anyway. Piter hasn't broken any line of Evangeline's that truly must not be crossed. Underneath the clash of perspectives and the drama of it all, they actually find each other's presence calming. Like recognizing like. They are both dangerous creatures in their own way. They are both generally unsuited to caretaking, too. That's a scab that they can pick at. It's also a shared trait they can find common ground in, however dark. Barbs give way to curiosity, then to jokes and easy smiles as they chat there in the living room, each wearing the deep scars of the other's neglect. Two tigers wearing stripes companionably.

"I hate to bring up Angler again," Evangeline says, finally. "But he didn't suffer, did he?"

"He suffered terribly," Piter says emotionlessly, into a mostly empty mug.

"Oh," Evangeline says. She raises her eyebrows, pours herself more tea, and offers more to her son. It isn't a disappointed oh.

Piter beams and can't look directly at her as he sets the mug on the coffee table and slides it forward. He's accepted by now that he isn't going to get the style of praise he was hoping for. But here, finally, is the style of praise he''s been waiting for.

[artemisiatridentata]

As an educator it never fails to floor me (and, often, nearly bring me to tears) how kids react and open up when I give them positive feedback. Often it seems like no adult has ever bothered to engage with them and center them in the conversation. Maybe it helps that I still enjoy “childlike” things like drawing and star wars and dinosaurs, but like. still. any time I treat them like the complex, fully-formed human beings that they are, any time I ask questions that get beyond the surface level, their eyes light up and they transform.

Like once on a five-day field program, I complimented a shy, quiet kid’s watercolor painting, told them I liked making art too and asked them more questions about it — what their favorite medium was, if they found watercolors tricky like I do, etc. — and it was like a switch was flipped. They told me all about their art classes and what they liked to make, what techniques they were struggling with, AND we found out we both were interested in herbalism! The kid stuck to me like glue for the rest of the week and kept showing me all the art they were making, as well as asking me all about the edible and medicinal plants in the region. And all it took was me saying something like, “Whoa, that painting is amazing! The detail on the trees is so realistic, and you really captured the texture of the sandstone! I like to paint, too, but rocks are really hard for me. I can never get them to look right. How did you make them look so 3D?” instead of just “wow that’s pretty!”

And that happens over and over. A little boy who didn’t really talk to anyone saw me drawing a mandalorian with sidewalk chalk and the next day he brought a bunch of his drawings of clone wars battle scenes to show me, and after I told him how impressed I was with his creativity and attention to detail, he wouldn’t stop talking to me and asking me how to draw various characters!! Recently I had a long and delightful conversation with an 8 year old about his favorite species in the ceratopsidae family. I’ve had hours-long discussions with teenage boys on the various merits and minutiae of legends vs. canon star wars material and the ways that universe mirrors our real-life sociopolitical landscape. 9 year old girls talk a mile a minute when they find out I like horses and ask them about their favorite breed, and shy 18 year olds suddenly can’t stop smiling and bouncing on their heels when I ask them to tell me more about their favorite music artists and mention that hey, my 25 year old best friend is also into K-pop, just like you!! Who’s your favorite group?? 12 year olds have asked me if they can have more free time instead of a structured lesson and are shocked when I say yes, and then confess to being stressed and sad because they’re already so exhausted and burnt out from the school-homework-extracurriculars grind and they can’t imagine doing it for six more years and then working for decades like their parents. and then they ask if I want to come see the fort they’re building out of fallen branches and maybe help them build it? or would I like to come catch crawdads or build a little snail hotel?

Kids of all ages are dealing with so much stress and negative feedback. They’re often made to feel — whether directly or indirectly, by their parents or teachers or peers or bosses or church elders, etc. — that they’re not doing enough. That they’re lazy and always on their phones and that their interests are frivolous and that they’re too loud or in the way or annoying. Hell, I was made to feel that way when I was their age, and it breaks my heart that many kids are still not getting the positive feedback they need to thrive. So I make a point of giving them the level of respect and autonomy and engagement that I give adults.

The least us adults can do, especially those of us who teach kids or are otherwise around them a lot, is show them through our words and actions that we genuinely value their interests, opinions, and presence in our lives.

consider: teenagers aren’t apathetic about everything they’re just used to you shitting all over whatever they show excitement about

[symphcnii]

Slowly (very slowly) gonna try to start setting up google docs for each muse...

[bravewolfvesperia]

/ Since I mention in my pinned post that this blog has some changes from canon, I'm going to make a rundown post that I'll be linking in my muse info on my blog. My timeline post covers some of this too and has other things canon to my muse that aren't here because they're timeline based and not direct changes based. I'll update this as needed.

Repede had another owner before Yuri got him in the game. I'm combining this with FS. Thus, Repede would have been basically an infant when he and Lambert ended up with the knights. From there he took to Yuri as he did in the FS drama CD so Yuri was primarily in charge of Repede during his stay with the knights, but he and Flynn raised Repede together as is in line with the game. This means they continued raising him together even after Yuri left.

In the JP version of the game, Yuri says he was with the knights for a short time but doesn't specify how long that time was, so I'm completely yeeting the "three months" dub aspect from this blog. I can't reasonably assume he signed up, took the exams, went into training, went from errand boy to battle status, then went on normal missions and left in the span of three months. So as usual, we're following the JP timeline. Generally anything the dub makes up or actively changes from the original context/tone gets yeeted here.

In the FS drama CD, Flynn is extremely repetitive about Yuri quitting the knights and with his nagging. At least with @mistralxsoul and anyone else who prefers it the following way in threads with my muse, we're toning it down because it just feels absolutely batshit to us how bad it is in the drama CD (it's worse than even the movie itself).

Since the timeline for Yuri and Flynn's knighthood conflicts super horrendously between the novel, FS/FS drama CD and the game, I'm mixing all of it together (primarily because I consider the novel more canon than the FS drama CD). Basically (for my muse), they signed their names and didn't take the exams immediately, but when they eventually did it was at least a couple years later, due to Yuri still having his teen appearance when he signed his name to join in the novel. This is because otherwise, if I average my muse's teen age out to be fifteen/sixteen and his age to be about eighteen/nineteen in the knights, it would mean he'd been with the knights (including training, etc) anywhere from 2-4 years if his sign up was immediately after the novel's events. If they were to sign up and join immediately after the novel timeline, it also makes even less sense because Flynn's attitude in FS and his relationship with Yuri (and remember, the FS drama CD comes before the movie's timeline and Flynn was even worse about Yuri's attitude in the CD) would seem like it literally 180'd overnight.

So basically, to avoid all this insanity, a short summarized timeline for my muse would be: they signed up but didn't join right away, Flynn moved away and was gone for a couple years or so after the events of the novel, both of them changed in personality/behavior drastically in that time, they met up at the exams, they went into training, they got sent to Niren's squad, they were more errand boys than actual knights when they were still super fresh newbies and Yuri was extremely annoyed with that, they were actual knights for a while (I'm going to say Yuri was a knight for at least six months or more, especially if I consider the trajectory of Flynn's behavior toward him in the drama CD through the end of FS), the events of FS were not one straight timeline and things happened between the days etc etc, then Yuri left.

Following the game's drama CDs, Yuri hesitated a lot more when Flynn was injured at Zaude. If not for Flynn nudging him to go after Alexei even while wounded, Yuri wouldn't have left him there.

Following the same drama CDs, it's Raven and Repede who find and look after Yuri when he wakes up after Zaude. That is to say, Repede was already with Raven and lunged when he sniffed out Yuri in his room (super doggo powers). Raven followed Repede in a panic, who ran to Yuri's room upon realizing Yuri was there, and Raven finds Yuri awake but right in the middle of passing back out (the sound is basically Raven's voice being distant with some ringing, so it's from Yuri's point of view that Raven is trying to get him to steady himself but he passes back out). Raven takes care of him from there until he's recovered properly enough to go back. In this time, Rita did investigating and eventually, with the others minus Raven, went to Zopheir after deciding they couldn't dawdle and just wait in their grief. While they're there, Yuri and Raven have headed out after them and show up together and reunite with the rest of the group. Raven has already been updated on what Yuri knows from Duke at this point (Duke saved him as usual, but the drama CD changes come in after that), so the two of them update everyone else.

In the game, there's a skit with Yuri, Flynn and Karol where Yuri mentions "playing in a river", but in the novel, they were actually getting water at the river and the other kids were playing in the river when they got attacked by a monster, fell into the river (Yuri also mentions (I thiiiink in another unrelated skit) that just falling into "a river" was enough to panic him), and Flynn grabbed onto a merman. For my muse, I'm just going with Yuri simplifying the situation to Karol while keeping the novel's event as my muse's canon.

[malachitezmeyka]

I just realised that I know absolutely nothing of the material that could appear on the history exam and it will be physically impossible to memorise a thousand years of history in less than three months

[dappermouth]

What animals do you enjoy drawing the most? Which ones are easiest to draw and which ones are the hardest? Love your art btw!

Good question! I like drawing even-toed ungulates (esp. deer and goats), my brain kind of 'gets' how their faces/bodies work and their features are easy to exaggerate to neat effect.

The easiest animals to draw are housecats (maybe because I've lived with them my whole life and gazed long into their perfect faces).

For me the toughest animals to draw are canines of all kinds. Dogs, foxes, wolves. I put them in my work frequently because I like them and I need to, but it's really hard, every time. Comically difficult for me.

— ok side note but while answering this ask i have just learned that orcas are even-toed ungulates and it has me very fucked up — i didn't know where to cram this info but i can't be alone with it rn

[vorfreudevortex]

apologies

✧.* gojo, geto, nanami, toji, choso, sukuna, yuji, megumi, noritoshi, ino, inumaki, yuta

notes: a somewhat happier resolution and part two of arguments! thank you for reading <3

✧.* check out the fun facts after the attachments for background info about their fights and a look inside my brain hehe!

my masterlist

© vorfreudevortex | all rights reserved. do not copy, translate, repost, or otherwise share my work.

satoru cried in his office when he realized that he blamed you for something that wasn't your fault.

suguru's coworker sat on his lap as part of a weird inside joke everyone else at the school has between the two. he has no idea why he was so defensive to you and he truly wasn't cheating. he was so angry that you would believe he cheated that he started calling you out for the first thing he could think of, wearing revealing tops in public. satoru had to call you 8 times before you picked up and let him explain it to you. he's forcing her to transfer to kyoto so she never has the chance to hurt your relationship again (remember that suguru never left and became a teacher alongside satoru in my aus). the pictures sent to the reader leave out how suguru uncomfortably asked her to get off of him shortly after, since they were around other sorcerers and teachers (as politely as he could).

kento came home with so many flowers for you and he still feels awful.

toji's dumbass freaked tf out when you took home your clothes from his place. he was out drinking and gambling and didn't want to tell you. your relationship is rocky for a while but he hasn't gambled since.

choso is still learning communication skills and cried when he realized that he was being mean to you over nothing.

sukuna is a terrible texter and does NOT communicate his feelings well. this is him being vulnerable af with you because he really does love you and has no idea why he was grabbing another girl's ass at the bar. he tried to chase you down after you threw a drink on him, slapped and yelled at him, and ran out.

yuji completely panicked when a curse attacked him out of nowhere when he was out with you. you can't see them and you were so confused and scared that you couldn't move. he just cares about you so much and couldn't stand the fact that you could've died. he made megumi listen to him cry about how mean he was to you for like 3 straight hours.

megumi has no idea how to deal with his emotions and has never been in a relationship before so he literally thought you guys were broken up LMAO. he's trying really hard for you.

in my au toge can speak, just not direct commands, so he still rarely talks unless necessary. i thought it would be nice to have the reader understand that all of his communication skills are terrible and help him work on them.

noritoshi has a terrible outlook on love and relationships from his upbringing so it took him a minute to understand how awful his words were. he truly does love you and wants to marry you. he lowkey constantly thinks about cutting off the kamo clan so they can't control his life anymore.

ino literally cried to nanami after your argument. he's so used to putting jujutsu responsibilities before his own life and feelings, and struggles with having to take care of something that can't be fixed with his power or strength. nanami also called you and apologized for meddling in your relationship, he realized it was inappropriate but he just really cares about you and ino and wants the best for both of you.

yuta literally didn't even realize how insane and controlling he was being until you called him out. after he took you home, he latched onto you with his head crammed in your lap because he was so upset thinking that you might leave him. he swears to himself that he will kill himself before he treats you like that again, and he never does it again.

i don't like when big argument smaus end with "no biggie i forgive you! <3" so i tried to make sure that the reader either made sure they know they fucked up big time, apologized and talked to them face-to-face, they'd never do it again, or you wouldn't forgive them so easily, etc.

sorry this was so long! but i love knowing the background info and author's thoughts for smaus since they can be kind of limiting in content! i think i'll add background info and fun facts after all my future smaus for those who are interested. as always thank you so much for reading ♡

[misfortunegirl]

ohhh boy I still have soo much to prep for my exam..

done compiling 2 out of 13 exam topics(⁠´⁠-⁠﹏⁠-⁠`⁠；⁠)

[biphbia]

im so tired

[hellenhighwater]

Best study tips?

Oh you don't want that advice from me. My law school professors are still using me as an example of don't do this (unless it works for you (but it won't unless you're crazy.)) I am an undisputed queen of the eleventh hour caffenated cram session, followed by a 90 minute REM cycle and fugue state exam.

I guess the only things I can say, in good conscience, is to give yourself a place to study where that is the ONLY thing you do. I learned really fast that I cannot study at home. I'm too easily distracted. So instead I would study at the lawbrary for as late as it was open, (usually 2 am) and then relocate to a 24 hour diner if I needed to keep going. Even a noisy diner was easier to study in, because there's nothing to do there but eat or whatever work you brought with. I'm not saying that's necessarily going to work for everyone, but having a physical location where Study Happens really helped me maintain focus.

On a similar note, if you're trying to retain huge quantities of information, physically mapping them out can help. Not just with fitting the info together, but in helping your brain network it together in a consistent and recallable way. When I was Bar prepping, I literally covered the walls of my lawbrary study room with outlines and flowcharts of all of the relevant material. And when I needed to recall it, I would find myself at the testing desk, looking up into the empty space where that information was logged, and I would know it.

But honestly studying is just a process of figuring out what works best for you.

[pomefioredove]

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ so, you've been isekai'd into a romance novel...

type of post: blurbs characters: trey, vil, lilia additional info: romantic, reader is gender neutral, reader is not specified to be yuu, kissing in vil's part, lilia's is a little suggestive, I can't help myself, not proofread author's note: I've wanted to do an isekai thing for a while, and I do love a good plot twist ;3

So, you've been isekai'd into a romance novel.

The only way to get home? You have to play the part of the protagonist until the novel ends.

There's just one problem, though: you're not into the love interest.

Not at all.

What's worse: you're starting to fall for a side character.

➼ His Best Friend

You started dozing off while your friend was helping you write an essay.

It was for one of those old romance novels about rich people in the English countryside, and you couldn't stand it. You knew you were going to fail when you fell asleep in your chair, thinking that you'd just cram the next day, except...

...Instead of your room, you wake up on a picturesque hill, inside the book you'd been studying.

You hear someone shouting, and you stand. There's a boy coming towards you, yelling a name you don't-

Oh, oh no.

That's the protagonist's name. Which means that can only be-

"There you are!" Riddle Rosehearts, the love interest of the novel, storms up to you.

"Your friends have been worried sick, you know! We've been looking everywhere! You've embarrassed me in front of the entire county!"

You blink, trying to remember what your friend had told you about this book:

The shouting boy, Riddle, is the love interest. Your love interest.

But it doesn't start out the way- in the beginning, he and the protagonist cannot stand each other. He's hotheaded, strict, and has no interest in love. Over the course of the book, the protagonist teaches him to let go and enjoy life, and blah blah blah...

...Yeah, you have no interest in doing any of that. "Enemies to lovers" isn't really your cup of tea.

But if it's the only way out... you can pretend.

"I... fell asleep," you say. This only seems to make Riddle more frustrated.

"You will come back at once, and apologize to my house and to my guests. Else it'll be off with your head!"

He turns and begins marching back to the estate. You roll your eyes and follow him. You're going to have to put up with this for months?

Well... maybe not.

He leads you through the back door, not wanting to "upset the guests any further", and tells you to wait for him in the kitchen.

Great. Just great.

You watch Riddle straighten his tie and walk into the parlor to speak with the guests, prim and proper as ever. Eye roll.

The door opens- not the door to the parlor, but the one you'd just come from. You turn with a curious look.

"Oh!" another boy says. "I apologize, I wasn't... expecting anyone."

After a moment, it hits you- this is the love interest's sensible childhood friend, so unimportant in the plot that he was cut from the movie adaptation entirely.

You raise an eyebrow. "No, it's alright. Beats getting yelled at,"

He blinks, confused by your wording, and then smiles. You know you shouldn't be thinking these things, but it's sort of cute. What was his name, again?

"Ah... I suppose Riddle found you, then?"

"You suppose correctly,"

"Heh," he crosses his arms. "I apologize on his behalf. He was just... worried."

Wonderful. This is the part where he tells the protagonist about the love interest's sad backstory, isn't it?

"I don't really want to talk about him right now," you say. "Honestly, I'd rather hear more about you."

His smile falters, and he seems a little... well, taken aback. As if no one has ever asked him about himself.

"I... I suppose we haven't been properly introduced, have we?" he mutters, adjusting his glasses in nervous habit. You remember reading that. It was cute.

"My name is Trey Clover. My family owns the bakery in town, but I'm afraid it's not as glamorous as this."

He means the Rosehearts' manor. You could care less about that.

"You bake?"

"...I do," Trey says. "You eat?"

It's a stupid joke, but it makes you smile.

You nod, and he goes back outside, returning with a basket.

"These are for the guests..." he says, taking a pastry out of the basket. "...But they won't notice if one is missing."

You accept the treat. "Rulebreaker, are you?"

Trey's face flushes, but he laughs it off.

"Certainly not. Rule-breaking is a dangerous pastime in this household,"

And yet, he did it for you.

You smile back.

Suddenly, Riddle's temper isn't going to be the only difficult thing about playing this part...

➼ His Rival

With a movie adaptation on the way and a permanent spot on the bestseller's list, you had great expectations for this little book.

You'd heard nothing but praise. Even your family members had recommended it to you, saying that it was right up your alley, and they thought you'd love it.

So, finally, you buy the book (which is WAY too expensive), make yourself a warm drink, get cozy in bed, and...

And... it's terrible. It's completely unrealistic! It's downright boring!

Disappointed, you put it down, turn off the light, and try to sleep it off.

Try to, because you wake up disgruntled and groggy, and not in your bed. In fact, you're not in a bed at all.

"There you are!" a voice comes from above you.

You look to see a short, panicked lavender-haired boy. "Where have you been?! You're on in five!"

You rub your eyes. "Huh?"

"Didja hit your head or 'somethin? If we don't get you back on stage, my boss is gonna-"

"Going to what, Epel?" a colder, stronger voice carries across the hall. You both turn to see a meticulously dressed man with a stern look on him, and not a single hair out of place.

...Shit. You know where you are.

This is the romance book you'd been reading!

"S-sorry, Mr. Schoenheit," Epel says. "But it's their fault! They're the one who ran off!"

"I know that," Vil Schoenheit, the antagonist of the story, says. He narrows his eyes. "I'm not surprised our little potato has already quit. Couldn't handle the pressure, hm?"

You blink- oh, no.

You're the protagonist- the normal, nobody student who was ~randomly~ chosen to be the lead in a romantic drama, even though they've never acted a day in their lives.

"I-I just-"

"Enough of that," Vil says sternly. "Now, get up. These costumes aren't cheap, and you're dirtying yours on the floor."

He escorts you out of the hall and back onto set, Epel not far behind.

"Places!" someone shouts, and Epel nudges you into position on the sound stage.

"Remember, you don't say anything in this scene," he whispers, covering his headset mic. "Just look like you're in love. And make the kiss believable!"

Your eyes widen. "The WH-"

"Quiet on set!" the director yells, and Epel hurries away. "Action!"

You stand, dumbfounded, as the doors fly open and the book's love interest, actor Neige Leblanche, runs on set. His outfit is simple but glamorous, his eyes wide with emotion, his dark hair lightly tousled.

Horrifically, he's wearing a generous amount of lip gloss. So are you.

"My love!" he cries out, running up the steps toward you. You watch in horror as he gets closer and throws his arms around you, and just as you're about to have the dramatic, impassioned kiss the book has been leading you to, you push him off.

The director stares. Neige's eyes widen. Epel smacks his forehead.

The rest of the set is silent.

Finally, you feel a cool hand wrapping around your wrist, and suddenly, you're outside again.

"Have you lost your mind?" Vil hisses, his grip on you tightening. "You are making a fool out of all of us. You're an embarrassment to this production, and you should have never even..."

He stops, mid-rant, when he sees your eyes watering.

"...Don't you dare make me feel sorry for you,"

You sniffle, and he sighs. He pulls out a handkerchief and dabs at your eyes, careful not to smudge the stage makeup.

"You're going to ruin someone's hard work like that, you know," he murmurs. "Now, what are you crying about? Isn't this what you want?"

You shake your head. You must look absolutely miserable, because he isn't even a little mad anymore.

"...You're ridiculous," he mutters, tucking the handkerchief away with a faint smile. "But I can't say I blame you. I wouldn't want to kiss him, either."

You take a deep breath, and then return his smile. How can someone so sweet be a villain?

Vil lets the moment linger. His eyes dart to the stage doors behind you, then back to you, and then he holds your chin between his pointer finger and his thumb, and then he kisses you.

It doesn't last for long, but it's enough to leave you dazed when he pulls away.

"...Your lip gloss is smudged," he comments, and then he walks back to set without another word.

...Perhaps this book is more interesting than you'd thought.

➼ His Father

When your friend started gushing about this new dark romance book she finished, you thought she was just reading a bunch of tropes off a page.

Fae court? Handsome, mysterious, brooding princes? A tall, dark, possessive love interest? Sure.

You promise you'll try it, and she takes that as a "yes", leaving the book on your desk. It goes untouched.

You wake up in a dark forest. For a moment, you think you're still dreaming- until a thorn pricks your finger, drawing blood, and you realize this is very, very real.

You can see a medieval castle off in the distance, and to your horror, you realize where you are.

"No... this isn't happening..." you mutter to yourself.

"What isn't happening?"

You jump at the sudden noise, and turn on your heels to see someone behind you. How you missed him, you're not sure. He's pale, his hair is striped pink, and his eyes are almost glowing.

"Not from here, are you?" he says with a smile. "You must be tired. Come, Lord Malleus' home is always open to guests."

This is the weirdest stranger danger situation you've ever been in. This small gentleman has fangs.

He chuckles. "Don't let appearances fool you. We're quite hospitable!"

You think about it- you could stay in the forest, and die of a slow and agonizing death, either by starvation or mauling, or you could play the part, return to the castle, fall in love with the tall love interest, and have his babies.

...Honestly, hypothermia doesn't sound too bad.

But you also know that the book has to end eventually. And when it does, you'll get spit out. Maybe.

You're in the mood for taking chances.

The castle is just as grand and old as your friend had described it. The food is just as strange, the court just as intimidating.

Strangely, though, she never mentioned any short, pink-haired fae, apparently named Lilia Vanrouge.

"Enjoying the view, are you?" he asks, having caught you staring.

You quickly look back at your own plate. "It's just, um... well... I was wondering about your relationship to the prince,"

He winks, as if to say "nice save".

"He's... well, a foster son, of sorts. Think of it however you'd please,"

"Are you comfortable?" the prince in question asks, his eyes showing genuine concern.

You shrug. "...I guess so,"

"How does one get so lost they end up in Briar Valley, anyway?" one of his knights, Silver, asks in a soft tone.

"AND HOW CAN WE BE SURE THEY AREN'T AN ASSASSIN SENT TO HARM OUR LIEGE?!" the other, Sebek, says in a less-soft tone.

"Oh, nonsense," Lilia says. "Malleus likes them. Don't you, Malleus?"

The prince nods. Oh, brother.

"How nice. Perhaps you two should rendezvous after dinner? To get to know each other better, hm?"

You stare down Lilia, practically begging him to shut up. You want to shake him and shout "Stop trying to set me up with your weird kid!!!!!"

Sebek looks appalled at the very idea. "BUT- MASTER LILIA- THEY CANNOT BE TRUSTED! I CANNOT ALLOW THIS!"

Thank you, Sebek!!! you think.

"Yeah, um... you know, I'm kind of tired, so..." you say. "Maybe tomorrow? Or next week? Or, um, whenever. You know."

Sebek visibly relaxes at that, and Silver raises an eyebrow.

"Of course," Malleus says. "I will have the finest room arranged for you at once."

And he did. This world may be stuck in ye olde medieval fantasy times, but man, what money can't buy...

As you look around the exquisite room, you hear a knock at the door.

Lilia comes in without waiting for an answer. "Enjoying the room, I hope?"

You sigh.

"Did Malleus send you?"

He chuckles, and takes a seat on your bed. "I am his keeper, he is not mine. I just wanted to see how you were faring,"

"I'm fine," you turn back to the wall, pretending to look at a tapestry. The sight of him on your bed is... distracting, to say the least.

"Hm..." Lilia hums. "...I would like to apologize for overstepping at dinner. I did not mean to imply anything. We're rather isolated here, and Malleus has been lonely..."

It makes sense, of course. He's only looking out for his... strange, sort-of son. Still...

"And you're not?" you ask.

Lilia doesn't have a response for that. You turn around to gauge his expression, and he's smiling.

"Khee hee. You're a clever little thing. If I didn't know any better, I would think you were flirting,"

Now, it's your turn to not respond. He's caught you, and he knows it.

Your heart beats with something like excitement as he stands and closes the door.

"But I suppose I have all night to figure it out,"

[rad1og1rl]

“Studying” With Jason Todd

Slumped over at your desk, in your messy dorm, your boyfriend Jason found you. You wish you were asleep. But you have an exam tomorrow, and if there’s one thing you’ve never learned, it’s that cramming is not a valid form of studying.

Can you really blame yourself ? It’s your second semester of your freshman year. You’ll learn eventually. Just not today. As you scribble away at your notes , glancing at the video for reference, you don’t notice the stealthy footsteps of your boyfriend. You’ve got headphones on and you’re in the zone, something which Jason realizes as he approaches your hunched form.

He taps lightly on your shoulder , announcing himself quietly as to not disturb you. At the interruption , you pause the video and place your headphones on the cluttered desk, turning to face him. He grins boyishly , and offers a hot cup of cocoa.

“Oh, Jaybird, thank you.. I didn’t realize you’d be stopping by tonight,” You say, graciously accepting the cup and lightly tugging his shirt, which he obliges by leaning down to meet you for a quick peck.

“I didn’t originally plan to, but someone didn’t answer my texts or calls.” He says, giving you a pointed look.

You grin sheepishly and set the cup on the desk. “Sorry… I think my phones been on Do Not Disturb. I’ve been studying for this exam for hours…. I’m really worried I’m gonna fail.” You admit, pouting slightly. Jason quirks a brow and glances at the video on your laptop, the open textbook, and various notes. He then sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose.

“Alright, I get it. I didn’t like chem either. But that’s no excuse to make me worry the way you did. I know you didn’t mean to.” He says, then glances back at you. “But I also know you’ll do fine. You’ve been at this all day. Take a break. Go to sleep. You’re smart. And you studied before this, so you’ll be fine.” You smile and nod, turning off the laptop and shutting the textbook, pushing the notebooks and scattered papers to the side.

“I hope you’re right, Jay.” You sigh, standing up and pushing in the desk chair. You lean against your leather-clad boyfriend, and he embraces you tightly. He pushes you to the bed and you sat down, and he handed you the cup before sitting next to you.

“Trust me. You’ve got this. And I’m tired of seeing my baby stressed over this.” He says, peeling off his leather jacket and tossing it on the chair in front of the desk. He kicks off his boots and makes himself comfortable on your bed, while you sip the hot beverage quietly beside him.

“How was it tonight ? … Out there, I mean. On patrol.” You murmur , still clutching the paper cup with both hands as you stare off into space, post-cram haze and lack of sleep hitting you full force. Jason glances at you as he’s leaned back and propped up on his elbows, eyeing your dazed state.

“Same old. Few goons here n’ there… kicked their ass, got the info, then went to that café you like on 33rd Street and picked up that cocoa. Figured you’d appreciate it…” Jason says, thoughtfully. “I always do. You’re the best.” You say, smiling and finishing the drink, setting the empty cup on your bedside table. “And to think… you even got me something when you were upset with me?” You ask, crawling up further on the twin bed and lying on your side, waiting for him to join you.

Jason catches on and mimics you, lying down to face you with one arm under his head and the other resting between the both of you. “You’re right , I should only get stuff for good partners that pick up their phone.” He says, half-joking. You roll your eyes at his playfulness and reach one hand to his between your bodies, and lightly trace the rugged scarring littering the rough hand.

“I know you’re kind of joking … but I really am sorry I didn’t answer. I know that it really makes you worry.” You say, tiredly. Jason sighs and brings a hand up to pet your hair, placing it on the crown of your head and pushing your face towards his own for another kiss. “Just… try not to do it again. Please.” He huffs, stroking your cheek with the hand he trailed down from your hair to face. You snuggle closer to him and reach behind you onto the bedside table, blindly searching for your remote . Upon finding it, you shut off your lamp and set it behind you once more, cuddling into Jason’s broad chest once darkness settles over the two of you.

“I love you, Jay.”

“I love you too,” He says, kissing your forehead. “Now please , go to sleep. You’ll do fine on that exam.”

[comicaurora]

Sorry to drop a hella irl-political question on your mostly webcomic blog, but have you/any of the OSP gang heard of/been participating in the week-long strike for palestine that's been (presumably) all over tumblr/the internet?

For some background info: Following the attack on Oct. 7th by the hamas militant group (a terrorist org. Or resistance group, depending who you ask), the state of israel (which is practically a mass colonial settlement on Palestinian land since '48) has taken the attack as an excuse to indiscriminately bomb the homes of thousands if not millions of homes while forcebly displacing almost all of the ~2.3 million people crammed in the gaza strip with no escape.

'Israel' has also tightened it's blockade on the strip of land such that a growing majority of people there are experiencing catastrophic starvation, disease from sewage-infested drinking water (as water aid is too scarce). Soon even deaths by preventable causes such as diabetes will occur since insulin pens for children have been blocked from entering by israel, who controls gaza's borders, water, power, food supplies, and shoreline. Civilians in Gaza are very frequently and indiscriminately killed often in places they were told were safe zones to evacuate to. It's agreed upon by both experts and laymen worldwide that what is happening (and has BEEN happening before Oct.7th) is nothing short of genocide.

In the occupied Palestinian west bank, where there is no hamas whatsoever to use as an excuse, Palestinians are still arrested without a fair trial for years, abused, prevented from using certain roads, shot, and often straight-up have their houses stolen by armed or military-backed israeli settlers (many of whom have no ancestral connection to the land at all) in a system often compared to or outright stated to be apartheid.

Very recently, a journalist in Gaza by the name of Bisan Owda called for a strike from January 21st to January 28th. The conditions of the strike can be paraphrased as:

Cease all unnecessary purchases or payments, avoid generating ad revenue when possible

Do not go to work or school if you can possibly avoid it

Pay for things only in cash if you must

Use social media exclusively to flood the internet with palestinian voices and resources about the ongoing genocide against the palestinian people

Attend protests if you can

Be visible.

It's the 26th now, but joining late would be far better than to not join at all and stay silent.

I figured I'd ask since since OSP has covered various topics about history and/or politics and we're kinda watching some awful history unfolding, the kind of history where neutrality doesn't really work and a side needs to be taken.

Opinions? (Sorry if I'm coming across as condescending! I just really want my favorite blogs to be aware and take a stance rather than being silent hhhghf)

Okay, here's my answer.

OSP has been supporting calls for a ceasefire for months, and we were fundraising in direct support of it via Doctors Without Borders all through November and December. Total, we raised over $30,000. If we include the UNICEF fundraiser we ran on the Spider-Man streams, the total is over $40,000.

During our charity livestreams, we have made our positions clear – we support a ceasefire, Israel is perpetuating settler-colonialist violence and has been for decades, Hamas is a terrorist organization that endangers Israelis and Palestinians alike, the innocent people of both Palestine and Israel deserve safety and peace. We concluded that the best thing we could do under the circumstances was empower those who are in a real position to actually help by providing funding for their work. We believe this is significantly more beneficial than adding Another Angry Internet Post to the pile of insular outrage on Internet Land. Fundraising for the organizations with boots on the ground feels like it does a lot more good than being loud online for the benefit of other online people.

This is not the first time I've heard reference to the strike, but it is the first time I've seen the parameters of the strike laid out, which to me indicates that it wasn't spread as widely or effectively as it could've been.

I understand and appreciate why you sent this ask, but your premise worries me. I know this may surprise and startle us denizens of the internet, but being extremely loud on the internet is not the only or the most effective form of activism, and people not being extremely loud on the internet with every account they have is not the same thing as silent complicity in war crimes, and people acting like those two things are the same thing has been unbelievably frustrating to watch.

If we act like everything is a binary moral choice between "scream your loudest, most angry opinions online every time you feel angry about them" and "not doing that is literally the same thing as participating in genocide", we are creating a very strong pressure to flood the internet with our angriest, most unformed thoughts, lest we be branded as complicit in war crimes. Social media sites live and die on engagement, hence why twitter has rapidly trended towards doomscrolling and encouraging inflammatory clickbait - angry shouty people are traffic and traffic is money. The cynical part of me is utterly unsurprised that social media encourages the idea that the only true form of activism is being loud on social media.

It sounds like you had the feeling that sending me this ask was weird and a boundary overstep, and you were correct. My platform is not world-changing or in any way politically powerful beyond our ability to create charity fundraisers for causes we believe in, and we are doing what we can to help in the tiny ways that we can from halfway across the world, from a position of absolutely zero political weight beyond emailing our representatives. You are just asking me to also shout about it online loudly enough that I measure up to an artificial loudness metric, because my existing shouting was not already loud or omnipresent enough.

You are not entitled to know every thought in my head or every action I take in my life. I am not online to perform outrage and live up to an arbitrary moral standard of Shouting Enough. I am especially not online on my fantasy webcomic blog to do those things. Please understand that what you see of me is what I choose to share, and I am under no obligation, moral or otherwise, to share more.

[b1asho]

Oougghhhh I'm BACK, FINALLY !!

Anyway, say hello to the Drecu (Dorest and Rox), one of the two species in the genus of sophonts known as the Cerest (the other guys are coming up next, they're taller and considerably more violent than the average bug lizard) Here's the info I couldn't cram into the image:

This group is called Drecu, whereas the other type is called Sundyne (Seru is the name for Sundyne royalty/their idea of the best life form)

Dorest and Rox are both under the Drecu classification, and are more closely related to their common ancestor than the Sundyne.

They have very different appearances, but they are unisex, with each individual having the capabilities of insemination and gestation.

Their dimorphism is based on what tasks they do in the colony, essentially splitting them between “”worker”” and “”soldier”” rather than male and female.

Rox are considerably larger, have thicker shells and scales, mildly venomous quills on their arms and back, and have a large thumb claw on their hands to aid in grappling and slicing.

The venom is released once the quill is detatched, as the separation causes a muscle around the sac at the quills base to spasm and send it out the tip.

It has little to no irritating effect on non-Cerest, but if one of their own is barbed it will cause localized numbness and pain/swelling elsewhere as the venom takes effect. Several quills in rapid succession has been known to be debilitating for Dorest.

They have more sensitive hearing gained through the large discs on their forehead that catch vibrations in the air. Their eyesight is worse, however, with two of their eyes being small and fixed on their forehead, mostly motion-based. Their mandibles are larger, sharper, and they sacrifice space for an ear canal in favor of more room for muscles to make the jaws as powerful as possible. When closed, the mandibles fold around the upper and lower beak to give the illusion of cheeks. Their palps fill in the gap between the bigger mandible and upper jaw, and are used to manipulate food. they also have two ‘teeth’ near the back of their mouth and throat that they vibrate their palps against and snap to speak (combined with another structure in their throat that sort of acts like vocal cords thatvtheybuse to make larger sounds).

The teeth also help them break apart hard foods like bone and other organisms exoskeleton.

Due to their larger body size/space for eggs, tendency to stay within their territory rather than forage elsewhere daily, and ability to defend themselves, Rox are often the ones who gets the eggs transferred to them for brief gestation.

Dorest are smaller, with longer legs and tail. They have stamina and speed, but aren’t really that strong, instead relying on their numbers to get things done. Their mandibles are weaker smaller, and duller but their palps are more developed and dexterous, and cover their mouth opening entirely. They speak in the same way as Rox, but they sound more high pitched.

It is unknown how naturally all of these very extremely different traits evolved since they have a storied history of genetic manipulation and experimentation on their populace (and a storied history if deleting that history from history)

Anyways as you can imagine their sex and gender can get pretty complicated. Due to how their units were originally structured (with social power coming from reproductive rights and number of children) and resulting current social reinforcement/emphasis on role division into the D and R binary , they dont actually recognize a 'neutral' or 'dual' identity despite being physically that way (similarly, trying to switch between or out of your literally assigned bio type and/or role is a big no) this is largely due to their newer Sundyne leaders, who Aren't unisex and want to put their version of the binary on everything.

For them, sex is who tops and who bottoms. They can't self fertilize but both have eggs n sperm, and would naturally both uhh transfer that, but instead their role decides who does what with what,for both population control and to conform to aforementioned mf binary that dont naturally have. Only one incubates at a time, pretty much. Dorest are usually the one who inseminates, giving the eggs over for a time, but they care for offspring once the eggs are laid/ hatch so the Rox is free again to go about their business.

The two have a power dynamic, of course. Dorest are seen as the givers, while are seen as takers, in a more powerful position. Idk I'll have to do a whole separate thing on it later.

They have a specific pronoun for each role in the unit (which can further be split into their individual rank/occupation)

For example, in the absence of a Rox, a Dorest could take up the matriarch/arch pronouns and start acting like one, and vice versa (though this is not taken seriously at All by their peers, and is even illegal in most cases)

Both have antennae that help them send and receive pheremone signals that also play into their communication. These signals typically convey more basic emotions and needs, but can have a very strong effect on the individual (for example, an extreme 'hurt' or 'scared' signal from another Drecu causes similar anxiety and stress to those around them, and may even trigger an attack response towards the source.) Their scales and areas under their shell are also full of chromatophores that they can color in specific areas and patterns to convey some words or emotions. Their eyes can pick up colors that ours can’t, so often these colors changes look very minute to us (or more muted than they actually are). The unique verbal and nonverbal signals they use make their languages hard to speak or even understand, since they can “say” something to you that you can’t see or smell. They have these nonvocal modes of communication because their vocal ability is pretty limited overall. When they do vocally speak, it sounds like a human but with a voice filter (and with lots more clicking and less resonation. They almost sound like robots with their voice coming from a broken speaker)

All Cerest go through several distinct life stages after hatching, beginning as small defenseless grub things. Once they accumulate enough stored fat, they sprout spindly blueprints of their legs and arms and start to move around more independently (these limbs and tail extensions will pretty much become their bones later) They will then continue to store energy until they go through a full metamorphosis .

The prepupa will become more active, running around to align the new limb sprouts it has and to start sucking up the rest of their organs into what was their throax region. At a certain time, they will join other prepupa in a communal chamber and incase themself into a chrysalis made from a layer of skin they grow around themselves.

They'll use their previous exoskeleton/limbs/ etc to form the more complex adult lattices of endo/exo skeleton and skin/muscles/organs that will allow them to grow larger and walk upright. This is also when their brain grows more and settles in, allowing for more complex thought.

When in the chrysalis, adults around them will ‘choose’ whether they will grow into a Dorest or Rox by introducing certain chemicals through the spiracles. This decision can be influenced by a variety of factors, including the politics of the family unit.

Once they emerge, they will grow more like a reptile/crab by shedding and molting parts of their scales and shell (often aided by hot water because they’re so big. Whether their ancestors were water based is unknown, since they have removed or altered their own evolutionary history so much that no one really knows).

Speaking of that, their adult body support system is a bit convoluted (thanks to them evolving from a purely exoskeletal species that nature never intended to get all that big)

Thankfully, it's a lot less heavy than it should because of its composition of lightweight and durable carbons (with some calcium carbonate thrown in there too).

They have plates that range from hard and thick to thin and flexible that make up a segmented outer shell that is present over all their body.

It is what they molt and is primarily used for muscle attachment in their limbs, but it mostly just covers the rest of their body elsewhere.

This is because they also have a disconnected internal tube and chamber system mainly in their head, tail, neck, and torso for more places for their muscles to attach to while maintaining that bipedal stance and organ placement.

They don’t/can’t replenish these through a molting process, and instead they’re maintained from the inside more like our bones.

The rest of their body grows and shrinks around them (though limited by the outer shell on top). Gaining fat or muscle on the arms and limbs has a limit due to the shell, but on the torso they can more easily do so thanks to a third main structural layer they have:

In between the shell and the internal structures, they have a thin skin/scales layer, which can be seen best joining the gaps between the hardest and most prominent parts of their outer shell as it covers the thinner plates underneath (some places on their abdomen, the underside of their tail, the front of their neck, and several places on their face. )

This is derived from the chrysalis layer that they grew, and when they emerge it softens and wraps them.

As it dries, it dies everywhere except the edges/gaps of the outer shell, where it stays somewhat vascularized as it attaches to the edges while the outer shell is still hardening .

This layer allows for fat storage under it and prevents everything from slipping out when they molt in areas where the outer shell isn’t actually attached to anything/ is not fully encapsulating on its own.

they shed this every so often after a new one grows from underneath to replenish it since the blood flow isn’t great. Molting becomes very infrequent after pupation, usually only happening perhaps 2-3 times (maybe 4 for Rox) in their teenage years until they stop growing. There isn't a particular age for this, since some can experience spurts later on or conversely were intentionally malnourished to stay s certain size, which is common among their under classes.

On that note, molting only happens as an adult due to extreme changes in size (for example, moving up to a reproductive position can cause an increase in size from the hormones, particularly in Rox, which can trigger a molt of the outer shell to make room.)

The population tends to be more Dorest than Rox, though this balance often shifts during wartime as more offspring are converted to Rox.

Their society is divided into distinct layers, but on a basic family unit level there is usually a lead Rox, their harem of Dorest, and then their children, following am almost eusocial strcutre.

Often, there can also be subservient Rox that are non-reproductive and serve a more grunt/foot soldier role.

Units are interconnected, and eventually become a part of larger caste divisions based on their labor skills. This happened over a long period of time, since they're naturally very competitive with each other and mixing units without specific conditions being met can end badly.

These divisions are shown through clothing and ear piercings that display the symbol that corresponds to their status, but they also etch the symbol onto their forehead. This is a permanent alteration to their scale color, and is usually done in black since all Drecu are ultimately under a Sundyne no matter their own rank.

Drecu are omnivorous, though both types tend to lean towards meat due to their higher calorie needs (Rox and gravid Dorest especially, for muscle and egg building.)

They don’t chew their food and just swallow it in chunks.

Their antenna house their sense of taste as well as smell, so they can pretty much choose to not taste anything they eat by covering them or not touching them to their food.

Culturally, they are conditioned to prefer processed food (that is easy to make and distribute among their often large populations) their cuisine more focused more on meeting basic needs than being enjoyable or helping them thrive (like a lot of dog foods XD ) along with pretty much everything else (from education to housing)

Food/nutrition access is stratified by caste, so along with their other clothing and tattoo signifiers you can also tell who’s more important based on if they have glossier scales and brighter colors.

Ill get into this more below in the section on their blood chemistry, but they have a silly little expensive metabolism makes food a very effective tool for leaders to keep under classes subservient, since it’s pretty easy to control people who rely on you to keep them functioning, and their thoughts also tend to slow to a crawl without the necessary energy.

Resource control also gives a distinct physical difference between classes, like I mentioned a second ago with the colors and shell size/quality.

Their tails, for example, are made from the hardened tube remnants of the segments of their abdomen chamber when they were larva and prepupa.

With enough nutrients throughout their teenage molts, it will spread out those 4 main internal segments with the outer shell and more muscle into a longer or thicker tail.

Without, it will be shorter and thinner since the segments themselves are smaller and closer together (in some cases staying the same length as their prepupa size since they need it closer for their more limited muscle and shell to hold onto.)

The smaller tails alongside their paler colors also gives under classes a more child-like and therefore disreputable and subservient look, furthering the divide.

Housing and other basic needs are naturally borderline impossible to access unless you're a part of a functioning unit, and if not, good luck. There are no individuals in the colony, a downside as well as one of heir strengths.

They are somewhat able to regulate their body temperature through shivering, their own metabolic heat, and their hair-like filaments on their head, but are more susceptible to temperature change since they can’t store fat well as adults due to their shell. Their horns are mostly for display and general head protection, and are pretty hollow.

Dorest hands have two main digits that operate in a pincer motion, and while the other 4 are separate they are smaller and in an opposable thumb-like position , aiding with holding things and other manipulation (kind of like if your whole hand was just your index and middle finger and 4 thumbs).

Their claws are nonretractable and closer to nails. As for their feet, they’re just hooves made from the fused toes.

Rox also have the two pincer digits, but their other fingers have fused into a larger “thumb” tipped with a thick claw that they use for fighting. Their other claws are much smaller and also nonretractable. Their foot has 2 hoofed digits and one with a dull claw for kicking (like if a cassowary was also a deer. And red.)

Their blood uses two iron-based carriers: chlorocruorin in transport cells and hemerythrin that floats free in the bloodstream, which respectively gives their blood a green and/or purple color.

As their ancestors got bigger and evolved an active respiratory and circulatory system as opposed do just having spiracles/air sacs, they also started using a secondary blood chemistry to support their original, single one.

The hemerythrin works across a general range of temperatures and oxygen concentrations, widening the range of environments they can live in, but despite the cooperative binding with each other it’s very inefficient.

Thus, it takes a lot of effort and resources for them to use it, part of the reason behind their relentless expansion into new territory for new food sources etc (their body functions like metabolism will slow down and speed up accordingly, and they’re able to strip pretty much every bit of energy form the stuff they eat due to a highly effective digestive system, but due to the limited ability to store fats for later and difficulty in breaking down their own muscles for energy without collapsing their whole skeleton, them coping with scarcity essentially means going into a coma.)

Despite this, it comes with the added benefit of giving them better and faster cell regeneration and healing (through the Bohr effect and because of its potency as an immune effector), as well as immunity to carbon monoxide poisoning (due to its low affinity for that molecule, which is helpful since chlorocruorin has a high affinity for it, which helps prevent excess buildup. They also convert any access CO into material for their shells and scales. ) and nitrogen stress/decompression sickness (again, low affinity etc).

The chlorocruorin helps them in the cooler and low oxygen environments where they originated, and in mitigating the resource cost of relying more on hemerythrin while still benefitting from it.

It also needs support from the hemerythrin when anywhere too hot (where there are more resources, and where the heat helps them with sustained activity/not wasting resources on body heat, and gives them freedom to live anywhere in the wide temp range on their original planet ).

So, they are perfectly fine in cold environments and environments where humans would be fainting from too little oxygen, but could run into problems if things get too hot (as opposed to Kixeli, who have problems when things get too cold even though their blood pigment works better at cooler temperatures, because they’re entirely exothermic and evolved more reliance on the ever-present heat on their home planet for making their body functions more efficient)

As far as interactions with other species goes, it's not that great. They believe that the universe's rock tumbler of events smoothed them out into the perfect organisms, and they've chosen to make that everyone elses problem.

(Using their wormhole technology and greater foothold in space/the being-a-sentient-species game in general, they created a system-spanning empire that originally contacted and 'uplifted' the other species I've shared so far) (by uplifted i mean subjugated btw) (however, this was done under the leadership of the only other species with a worse track record, their cousins, the Sundyne.)

I'm doing them next, followed by the last species !! Who knows when that will happen, but it will.

Yippee!!