#i'm under no illusions that they're not
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Hej I am curious: since you have been deleting all your davenzi fics - would you rather that people who downloaded them before delete them, too? I love your fics and they bring me so much joy and comfort but I don’t want to read / keep them if it’s causing you discomfort.
Hey anon,
I didn't delete them I just archived them (kinda like privated them?) for a while. I think I left some up? And I put a couple more up recently after someone asked. But like when I did it I was aware that there would be downloads out there (hell I'm a serial downloader of fics for this reason). the whole thing was an utterly selfish act really, i couldn't bring myself to delete them because I knew one day I'd want to come back and read them, and look through the comments etc. God, if you'd asked me this like a year ago I would've have said yes make it all disappear, as stupid as I know that is. But a little time and space has eased that discomfort and made me realise it wasn't the fics themselves that were upsetting me. So no don't delete them, read them as much as you want. I'm glad they bring you so much comfort, and I'm so happy to be getting back to a place where they do that for me.
#also like they're totally out there#i'm under no illusions that they're not#i guess i wanted distance from it all for a while#it's a long and complex thing that i won't go into because no one cares anymore#and you won't believe the reasons i put some back up after months#it wasn't burnout that made me disappear#but i was certainly burntout#looking back at how much i was writing and how obsessively#and like i had no time back then either#how the fics weren't a complete mess is beyond me#or maybe they were and i'm deluding myself#but they're still important to me#and i couldn't delete them#ask theo
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Some fantasy traveler inventory details (like what they would carry in their bags), based on two of the recent costumes I did.. love finding random little scraps and items and putting them together lol
#it's obvious who's is who's since they match their outfits HOWEVER.. consider if they were switched lol#evil villain looking man carrying around pressed flowers in a cutesy lacy pouch#fantasy costume#what's in my bag#actualyl that would have been funny to make a video. I should make a video#I'm sure someone else has already done this#but like.. lifestyle vlogger type content however I'm dressed in fully costume as some weird elf or something#pulling things out of my bag and showing them to the camera and talking about how they're useful for whatever#but it's all fantasy scenarios and talking like it's very common#'and of course. i know it's a bit cliche#EVERY traveler has one of these. but you know. theyre just useful! thats why everyone has one!' *pulls out a completely unrecognizable item#thats like some weird fantasy world prop and doesn't even explain it because In-world it's normal and wouldnt need to be talked about*#'room tour' video and it's just like 'yeah I sleep on this mat under a bunch of trees uh.. over here by these rocks. at least right now. I#kind of wander around a bit. so'#Like a clothing haul but it's a potions shop haul or something and they ramble about some obscure drama in the potions community and how the#y hard to barter and steal and entire flock of sheep or something just to get one of them. etc. etc.#I could do ones for different characters too like. multiple people from different walks of life showing what they carry around with them.#just like this but more interview sort of vlog format instead of photos#This is where not having much money and not having my own house with land becomes an issue though#I think it would take you out of the illusion if the background was always the same. I can make small sets because there's one blank wall in#a room that it's easy to move all the stuff away from in front of and clear a spot and like hang up fabrics or whatever but still.. hmms#So one of those 'fun idea but dubious about handling the execution' things. also One Of Those Things where without looking it up you're 100%#sure it's already been done and you don't want to look weird since it's vaguely niche. Like if 100 people have done something it's fine but#if only like 3 other people have then you look weird maybe ghhjbj.. or only one other person gods forbid. looks even weirder potentially#Or do people not care about ''copying'' anymore?? idk. I'm not updated with the internet's changing culture. I just have a fear of accidenta#lly doing something like that and then people getting mad even though it's really just that I competely had no idea it had been done because#again.. I live under a rock and am unaware of everything lol. ANYWAY. also would require my face being on video which I don't like. Though I#would be in costume so that helps. I think to be fully comfortable I'd need light modifications to make my face look different. which isn't#hard but is more effort when it has to be translatable in multiple angles. ANYWAY. ghjbhj... Now I think it would be funny actually. maybe#one day. I haven't made any videos (aside from on the gameplay/sims channel) in a long long time actually. hmm'st
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I go into shows with zero expectation that any gay shit will actually happen but I REALLY thought Dee and the waitress were going to fuck in the Ladies Boggs Reboot. Like all the 'horny but there are no MEN on this plane!!'/the Chris Evert scissoring joke + "you're my Chris Evert"/the waitress mistaking Dee for Dennis in a drunken haze etc I really thought the natural conclusion would be them having a truly awful airplane bathroom hookup and probably never speaking of it again, as a gag. BUT ALAS
#I'm under no illusions that they're actually 'going anywhere' with them (besides maybe developing their relationship more now that#the waitress is more 'narratively' connected to Dee than Charlie)#I DO hope they actually do have them interact more (as an extension of giving Dee more to fucking do besides be a punching bag)#I think they should have them move in together at least briefly. It can and should be a trainwreck that's fine#iasip
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"The supposedly sealed memories of a miniature garden"
#dgm#d.gray-man#alma karma#kanda yuu#okay im going to word vomit my concept abt this apologies in advance#anyw ik Wisely gives the opportunity to mind-read/access memories like we see in the 3rd exorcist arc#but i think Road wldve been another interesting choice. i rlly like the concept of dream n its used a lot in that arc#we see a lot fo Kanda's original life within his dreams and illusions which is Road's specialty#just like constructing this false reality idk I've talked abt the idea of Kanda being put to sleep many times before but never properly#inspection style like idk maybe they still look like kids running in this like. perfect place that illusion of the word that Alma read abou#Allen waddling through a lake's worth of lotus with Road instead of the labs!#idk...........some parts are so deep he falls in and those r pockets of memories u know bc i still want that#and the deeper and closer he gets the water gets murky and red#u know bc im cool and love cheesy symbolism#I want Allen to bargain with Alma and Alma to just be like. sweet and charming and laugh it off until Allen gets to the root of the problem#WAIT U KNOW IN LIKE SAILOR MOON WHEN THE SCOUTS DIE (that is not a spoiler i promise) and they're wrapped in thorns?#I wanna draw that w Kanda....deep under the water#but he has to want to wake up from that dream. I'm playing off the fact that Allen had to punch him to snap him outta it#anyway....im done its okay
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🤔 traditional gnomish naming conventions originally stemming from gnomes living so closely with nature that they're at much higher risk of encountering The Fey, and were even moreso nearer the dawn of time when the world was more wild and the boundaries between the planes less clear
#gnomes are tricky-- they're very small and neither numerous nor warlike so much of their survival as a people depends on trickiness#the tales of your gods and folk heroes all reinforce the value of being clever and quick and foxy#your people master illusions and they master riddles and they master practical jokes and they master Not Getting Taken Too Seriously#and so when they live elbow-to-elbow with Dreams Made Flesh which can use your True Name to overpower you--#they make a shell game of their true name#and they do it so well and for so long that the game is forgotten and EVERY name becomes a true name-- which is just as powerful#they can afford to drop them like a tail.#you snatch the True Name from my lips but luckily I'm laughing with a second (and third and fourth) smaller True Name under it#now YOU shed a skin you silly serpent! haHA!#gnome stuff#worldbuilding
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after my brother and i moved out and my dad moved in with my stepmom, they got two dogs together. and don't get me wrong, they are adorable.
but i've definitely had a few semi-salty moments observing my dad lavishing more affection on his dogs than he ever did his children lol.
#there is definitely a conversation to be had about treasuring our animal connections sometimes more than our human ones#how it relates to our pets essentially being perpetual children who cannot talk back or hold us accountable#by way of being forever dependent on us#how they forgive easily relative to humans#how they 'love' and 'respect' us when we have not really done anything to earn that beyond feeding them and giving them a home#but at the end of the day they're animals and while the connection may be just as valuable it's not the same as human connection#or our connections to ourselves#are we sometimes trying to make up for our deficits in loving others and ourselves? or others loving us?#i say this as someone who has never not had some kind of pet since i moved out of my no-pets-allowed childhood home#personal#the presence pets has always been soothing to me but i'm not under any illusions that it makes up for my deficits in knowing/loving myself#and other people
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It crossed my mind and maybe it's the 3 am unable to sleep brain talking but, that Hooters promo really ruined any chance I had to be like "yeah these characters are kids". Like, yeah, no. It's... it's weirder to say the cast are teenagers and children for a franchise that is openly tied to a restaurant that's about sex appeal.
Like, for my own sanity, I can't see the vast majority of the cast as teenagers barring the far more blatant ones like Cream. Which, y'know, she wasn't even in Forces so that's a bullet dodged.
#my kingdom ;; ooc#sorry i'm just rambling aloud to the dash because like. yeah no that really shattered the illusion for me entirely#because otherwise i'd have to be cool with things that'd put me on a watchlist which yeah no#that and everything being scrubbed about ages as of late and people only being able to reply with vague answers#of like “they're sonic's age etc” really. makes it seem like they're trying to brush that under the rug without outright saying it#so the cast can retroactively have that ageless vibe. which doesn't work that well when they already at some point made actual ages#it's such a clusterfuck and it's so funny because like. it's not nearly as big of a deal to them as it is to the fandom i'm sure so like#that's never gonna get a definitive answer from the higher-ups whatsoever aksjdbvsajkh#anyways that's all i had to say i'm unable to fall asleep at 3-4 am so you all get mirth rambling to themselves
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that's it i'm quitting ooooooh i wanna quit so fucking bad
#she bork#they're making me switch positions w the other team lead so i'm losing the inbound team (which i hate bc 1. they hate the other team lead b#he sucks and ik they're going to suffer and 2. EYE built that fucking team from the ground up) and also losing my consistent schedule AND#losing my immunity from closing AND losing my extra $1 an hour for my overnight hours so essentially i'm taking a fucking pay cut!!!!!!!!!!#there are no benefits to this and that's it i have decided i'm fucking quitting this holds nothing beneficial or enjoyable to me anymore. i#applied for a remote writing job already so we'll see if they get back to me i have my fingers CROSSED.#lol yes i only applied to one but i'm hoping that if i only throw one dart at this dartboard it's a bullseye. if not i'll keep looking it'l#just take longer obviously bc i'm not quitting without something else lined up. i'm crazy and restless but i'm not an idiot#forgot to mention that i've known this was coming but i was under the illusion it was taking place mid-january but now have just been told#it starts NEXT WEEK. so the schedule i had for the next two weeks?? now incorrect and wrong. god this is going to make moving once we find a#place (again) so much more difficult bc i missed my chance to request time off for january already but w my old 3:30-11 schedule day in and#day out it would be fine to plan around bc it's consistent. now who fucking knows. not to mention the fucking traffic i'll get stuck in#every day going to and coming from work??? again will make moving more difficult bc that'll probably shave like 1.5-2 hours off my time#outside of work. god this sucks this sucks this sucks i hate it it feels like a punishment (even though my boss told me not to think that bc#he knew i would lol) and idk for what???? i feel like they think i'm inept in my current position and idk why. hate this hate this hate this
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the case of docm77 v zombiecleo: a very incomplete summary of events
i, of course, strongly recommend going to doc's video (or bdubs, cleo, joe, or skizz's, once they exist) and watching the whole thing for yourself i could NOT stop laughing. but for those of you who want a vague summary of some stuff that happens in the courtroom:
bdubs is insisting on being called "your highness" as opposed to "your honor".
we START with bdubs explaining he has set up a dramatic five-strike system; if either side gets five strikes (things that upset bdubs lol) he will "uh, not give them the death penalty, but--"
doc immediately tries to use this to take advantage of the system and get cleo strikes.
he instead accidentally immediately murders his own counsel.
it has been like One Minute.
"just in case anyone dies, there's a jury deliberation room under construction, there's a bed in there"
bdubs is paying everyone a diamond block for showing up if they listen to his judgement. help.
"thrust his sword into said swine" so skizz's opening speech is GREAT.
"wow, that was really good. but the camera is over here, so if you could do that again and look into the camera for me--"
"defense, first off, how do you plead?" (doc, grasping for his vague knowledge of american legal dramas) "i plead the fifth. i plead the fifth. uh. right?"
joe, in his opening speech: "this is esteemed around the world as a place where two adults who act like children can come to have their differences settled by you in the most entertaining manner."
HELP. "cleo is bringing to the court not an affair between two adults with an unsettled matter, but an adult and a large baby."
HELP IS JOE'S DEFENSE THAT DOC IS A LARGE BABY AND THEREFORE CAN'T BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR HIS ACTIONS.
joe: "you know, cleo has a lot of communication problems." bdubs, with great feeling: "yikes."
cleo, under her breath: "i'm gonna kill him."
"just a minute i'm setting up my lawyer", ren says, carrying the armor stand he had in the stands with him to the bench and putting false's head on it,
ren: "i cannot recall." bdubs: "YOU CAN'T RECALL WHAT HAPPENED?" ren: "i cannot recall if i cannot recall."
why is skizz doing a foghorn leghorn accent now,
skizz, about doc: "this is proof this man likes to intimidate, that he gets off on it." no one comments on this phrasing.
sorry ren making an armor stand falsesymmetry as his lawyer and companion in the stands is so funny.
"this is more evidence cleo is a poor communicator. she can't control her man--"
joe is very clearly just trying to make everyone in the room mad and it's really funny.
HELP. BDUBS BUILT A HEADS AND TAILS MACHINE TO DECIDE IF THEY'RE GOING TO ALLOW OBJECTIONS.
anyway it rolls tails so it overrules skizz's objection.
skizz's accent and vocabulary just keeps getting more and more exaggerated i think he's going for approximately benoit blanc,
beef: "he forcefully approached us and said he's the guy who wants all the wood." cleo and doc, snorting and giggling at this as one,
i feel like i should note that bdubs has a fireworks crossbow that he's calling his "whip" and hitting people with when they do something he considers wrong.
this leads me to wonder if bdubs thinks whipping is normal in a courtroom...?
i think its really funny that skizz is actively doing like, correct types and moments to do an objection, and it almost sounds like good lawyering, and then IMMEDIATELY bdubs goes "it's time to HEADS AND TAILS!!!" and breaks that illusion completely.
"well, it's heads, objection sustained, strike that from the record." joe: "well then i guess you'll never know what my point was." beat of silence. bdubs: "never mind, let's just add a strike, and you can say it,"
"i don't know how the esophagus entered this situation at all?" "let's pray it didn't. geez." "i was not thinking of doc's esophagus when i built the giant fish for his hourglass." <- this only barely makes more sense in context,
"no further questions your honor." "seriously???"
every time joe calls doc either a baby or a manchild is SO FUNNY. why is this his argument. it's SO FUNNY.
"but he has not proven mens rhea, which you your highness are very familiar with but for the viewers at home is not a gendered form of diarrhea--"
cleo, to doc: "doc are you sure you want to win this one?" doc, in clear and obvious distress: "i'm not sure of anything anymore man i just, i don't know,"
bdubs then interrupts to do the sponsored segment of court.
"the tall claims court is brought to you by!" bdubs puts a disc in. 13 starts playing. "shoot that's the spooky record. that's the worst one." he continues with his bamboo shop sponsored segment spiel anyway, with 13 continuing to play,
"i'm not going to ask for money, i'm just asking for a simple injunction against doc. he won't be allowed to use diamonds for redstone anymore." "WHAT??? THERE'S LIMITS TO THIS, OKAY????" "calm down doc, we're not gonna--" "WHAT NO WHAT CALM DOWN???"
"cleo i have to say that's way better than anything skizz said. skizz was talking and all i heard was bla bla bla bla bla but that was real heartfelt. if you're thinking about paying him, maybe don't."
doc: "i want to make peace and love that's all i care about i'm just a humble boutiquer"
"i felt like as her friend i needed to teach her what it feels like to lose something" i love how deranged that is doc keep going
"but it happened and i think i'm insane, right," doc says, then nods at joe.
"yeah this is really good" cleo responds, perfectly happy with the idea of doc declaring himself insane for no good reason,
cleo: "doc is just completely unhinged when people mess with his redstone, and i feel like my punishment would take away that emotional bond."
joe: "objection your honor, my client is unhinged in every context."
i like how this is "make fun of doc" day.
bdubs: "i'm going to deliberate quickly then i'll come back with my judgement." (turns around for like five seconds.) "and i'm back!"
HELP DOC HAS BEEN BANISHED TO A SINGLE BLOCK IN THE SKY WITH A CHEST ON IT FOR TWO WEEKS
THREE IF HE TOUCHES THE GROUND
AIR JAIL...........
bdubs adjourns court. doc, immediately: "WHAT THE HELL JOE??" "i did my best, man :/"
"DO YOU KNOW THE VEINS ON MY NECK ARE ABOUT TO EXPLODE????"
jevin in the background of doc losing his shit just kinda murdering skizzleman for fun,
doc's main objection to the sky island is "BUT I HAVE THINGS TO DO :(((((("
doc ends the video standing here:
in conclusion: yeah this seems like a very fair trial with no ridiculous elements at all. very serious and befitting the sanctity of court. yes. you should watch it for a very serious hermitcraft experience,
#hermitcraft#docm77#joe hills#zombiecleo#skizzleman#bdoubleo100#hermitcraft spoilers#EVERYONE GO WATCH IT ITS SO FUCKING FUNNY
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There's a good reason why I try not to argue publicly with anyone under 18, and it's not that I think they're inherently stupid, it's not that I think their brains are "underdeveloped", it's not that I think they can "do no wrong", it's that I never know how much freedom they actually have to think freely, or how many of their opinions are actually their own. Of course, under-18s *can be* capable of thinking for themselves and developing their own opinions, but (here in the US at least) law and culture put a lot of roadblocks on their ability to do so.
Of course parents and teachers cannot actually control the inner thoughts of the children they wield power over, but they can restrict the information that they have access to, can punish them for saying the wrong things, can cut them off from healthy diverse social groups, and can convince the child their thoughts are being monitored through religion, psychology, and other appeals to higher authority.
Thus if a random teenager says some headass shit in my mentions I have no way of knowing if these are opinions they arrived at on their own, or if they are dogmas forced on them by the people holding food and shelter over their head. If it's the latter, there's nothing to be gained from a public confrontation: people are generally unwilling to change their opinions in a direction that threatens their social support system, and they are especially unwilling to do so at the behest of an internet stranger who cannot offer alternative forms of support. If a teen is genuinely curious about my opinion (that is *if they consent* to a discussion of disagreements) and if I have the mental bandwidth for a potentially emotionally loaded conversation, yeah I'll have it, but I'm not gonna maintain any illusions about my ability to change their mind until they can find a way to live independently.
This is also why my leniency toward the not-yet-adult tends to also extend to the recently-adult. Coming up with a system of beliefs that you're actually willing to stand behind? Shit takes time, and I'm not necessarily gonna expect it of a 20-year-old who may, for all I know, have been living under conditions of near-absolute control up until their 18th birthday. Sure they may be opening their mind in college, or college may be their parents way of keeping them too occupied with busywork to develop new opinions, as they continue to hold financial support over their head. It's around their mid-twenties that I'm willing to go full gloves-off antagonistic with strangers, knowing that they've had a few years of legal and social adulthood under their belt, and that even if they're still financially dependent on their parents it's a different sort of dependence, one where they're given default legal permission to run away from home.
A lot of people are deeply uncomfortable with this line of thinking because if you look too far into the factors that influence young people's thoughts, you eventually have to start asking yourself which forces of dependency are influencing your own beliefs and opinions. Yeah, as an independent adult you may have the option to quit your job, divorce your spouse, ditch your friends, move to another country, but realistically how many of these can you accomplish at the same time? How many do you even want to? And how are all of these forces *in aggregate* setting the acceptable limits of what you're allowed to think and feel? It can be upsetting to think of yourself this way, it can be easier to think of yourself as a true free thinker and children as mindless automatons, but I urge you to think of mentally coercive environments as a continuum rather than a binary. The point is not to free yourself from all influence, but to gain the ability to see yourself as an influenced mind, and to have compassion for those dealing with all the bullshit you don't have to anymore.
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Regarding Donna Beneviento and her characterisation in the fandom, I think it's important to note that she really isn't the shy awkward adorable blushing mess that everyone depicts her as being.
This got long but I did a mildly extensive read on her character under the break! :)
Here are the notes I took a screencap of, written by Mother Miranda, which talks about the suitability of Donna being a vessel for Eva:
There's the evidence you need that she is severely mentally ill, so babying her just feels... wrong anyway, all things considered.
Note - "and has divided her Cadou among her dolls in order to control them from a distance." While I'm on my 3rd replay of re8 I still don't fully get how the Cadou works, but what I think is essentially happening is Donna is literally splitting off parts of herself and putting them in her dolls.
The main one being Angie, of course.
I always used to consider Angie a separate character entirely but she's linked deeply to Donna on a very personal level. Considering what she's like and what all the other dolls are like - loud, funny, sarcastic, rude, etc - and how Donna is literally the one directly controlling Angie (that's the only way she moves lol, because Donna is carrying her places. Which is also why, when you kill Angie, the illusion melts away to reveal that you've actually killed Donna), I think it's safe to say that's what her actual personality is like.
Also, her only spoken line of dialogue? Please listen to it. For those who are hard of hearing, like me, she says: "don't leave... I can't let you."
Bearing in mind the way she speaks? Her tone? She sounds confident imo. Determined. And perhaps even a little angry at Ethan for thinking he can escape her.
Just a last addition as well, can I say that her abilities as one of the Four Lourds is genuinely evil? Everyone else has physical intimidation - Alcina has her height and her claws and mutation, Heisenberg has his ability to control magnetic fields and metal, and Moreau can mutate into that huge fish-with-legs thing that vomits something akin to acid? Oh yeah and he can swallow you whole too.
Donna, on the other hand, doesn't have physical intimidation like that. She only has the threat of psychological damage (which makes sense considering she's severely mentally unwell). When Ethan goes through her gardens and has to solve the puzzles in the house, she makes him hallucinate about his wife whom he thinks is dead, and about his baby who is somewhere in this unknown country with a bunch of mutants who only have bad intentions.
It's even worse in the Shadows of Rose DLC imo. As Rose, Donna makes her hallucinate the bullies from back home, being called a freak and a weirdo, made to relive the worst moments of her life. And the puzzles too? Hell. Having to actually recreate the scenes of her bullying with wooden fucking dolls. I remember feeling really sorry for Rose while playing through that part.
And yet Donna is still "the uwu baby" because what? I don't know. People love to declaw female villains just because they're attractive (looking at Lady Dimitrescu here). They love to reduce the characters down to their looks and not consider their actual lore or background or the role they play in the franchise (looking at Leon especially...)
Which, ya know, of course people are allowed their headcanons for characters and Donna doesn't get enough screentime to really have her personality even thought of, let alone to be made canon. But I think it's fair to say that Angie and Donna are basically one and the same because they're literally the same Cadou.
This is a quick reminder that you are, of course, allowed to disagree with me. Everyone has their own opinions and that's fine. If you would like to politely debate about this in my comments or in my DMs, or even in my asks, then you're more than welcome to! Please remember debating and arguing are two different things though.
If it really irks you that bad then please scroll, it's not hard. If you don't want to do that then feel free to block me - the button is free of charge after all and should be used more to cultivate your feed to your liking.
#resident evil#resident evil village#resident evil 8#re village#re8#donna beneviento#resident evil donna#re8 donna
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im sure its been said already but as the election draws near more and more liberals will come out of the woodwork to shame people with a conscience to give away their vote to the democrats for free. i'm already seeing posts saying "why aren't people more concerned about a trump presidency?" you want to know why? it's because people already know he's bad. everyone already knows what he is and what he's done and what he'll do. there's nothing to discuss. he's a racist despotic worm of a man. there's nothing else to say.
biden is currently president. the genocide is happening under his watch. he's the one funding isra*l and arming them; he's sidestepped congress more than once to give them weapons. by oct. 27, the biden administration already knew that "Israel was regularly bombing buildings without solid intelligence that they were legitimate military targets." the state department/biden have engaged in atrocity propaganda, cast doubt on the legitimacy of the death toll recorded by the gaza health ministry, and so on. the united states is currently in the process of trying to pin the "war in gaza" on netanyahu (see sen. schumer's speech) after months of backing blatant genocide as a means to act as if they're "doing something" about the genocide (Instead of, say, threatening to cut off all aid to israel with the condition that all hostilities in gaza, the west bank, and occupied jerusalem are halted immediately and permanently, allowing palestinians freedom to travel, allowing aid into gaza, etc etc etc.)
the long and short of it is that liberals view their own lives as being worth more than palestinians'. that's it. they'll vote for another 4 years of the guy ushering in genocide and supporting apartheid + settler colonialism because he isn't outright attacking them (despite various laws and rulings happening both at the supreme court level and at the local level all over the country that will endanger people). they'll settle for the illusion of safety and security and shame anyone with a conscience and accuse them of "supporting the republicans" when in an actual democracy you would be able to use your vote as leverage to extract concessions from those who want to be elected. that's how it's supposed to fucking work.
democrats are not owed people's vote. if biden loses, it will be biden's fault; it will be his campaign's fault; it will be the democrats' fault. trump is bad; the republicans are bad. we already know this. this is not an endorsement of either. but if democrats are too cowardly and feckless and servile to the motivations of the american empire and never do anything for their constituents then why the fuck should anyone vote for them. you want to get mad at someone, why don't you do something useful and stop worrying about team-sports with a purely selfish basis and start hounding the people in power who are supposed to serve you, the voter.
#i think i already said this and frankly idc#uspol#📁.zip#to me personally it's abhorrent and vile to tell palestinians 'biden is facilitating the murder of your people culture and history but you#still have to vote for him!!1' like how is that not unbelievably callous and ghoulish#frankly speaking. a lot of this 'you should be concerned about trump' is going to turn into#blaming palestinians and arabs and muslims and anyone remotely with a conscience for biden's loss#instead of doing something productive like pushing for people in power to do something they'll nitpick and belittle#and tell palestinians + arabs and muslims + everyone who understands that genocide is bad that they SHOULD#settle for a decrepit genocidal monstrous freak who is CURRENTLY facilitating genocide because#it makes THEM feel better and they aren't personally threatened (yet) by the guy currently in power#any and all 'you're not taking trump seriously' comments should be met with extreme skepticism#because i promise i PROMISE that the vast majority of people unhappy with biden are not going to turn around and vote for trump#and if they do? well guess what THAT'S BIDEN'S FAULT! nevermind the vote uncommitted campaign that was very successful and#will be replicated in the near future. but liberals only care about asthetics and superficial and not#about real material change which is why they'll dress up their callousness and racism in a 'you hate gay people if you dont vote for biden'#like this country is already going to shit we are rapidly descending into fascism and i dont see biden doing anything to even remotely#challenge it do you???? once agian. NOT an endorsement of the republican party but my GOD when the 'lesser evil'#is DOING the evil or normalizing the evil then you cannot settle for 'the lesser'! end of story.
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I'm just going to establish that the large boy is Mattheus and the willowy halloween gremlin is Kassian. sO. THERES A FACT.... Kassian has ghostly powers, including a limited ability to phase through objects. He can't phase mundane clothing on his back or other people. He phases through walls so often he forgets which doors are "pull" or "push". Theres typically a bit of confusion when he HAS to use one. MORE FACTS UNDER CUT!
Mattheus' super strength developed as a child and it was a difficult thing for him to control. He accidentally broke a bone in one of his brothers hands when playing and he felt so awful he wore oven mitts on his hands for a week, as if it would lessen the effects of his strength
Mattheus loves olives and Kassian loathes them entirely, so whenever offered some he'll give them to Mattheus. Kassian will finish whatever sweets Mattheus can' if the sweets are too rich.
Kassian has unnecessarily swoopy cursive for handwriting. Mattheus has very sharp and scratchy, large print. (His "S"'s all look like lightning bolts. It's very cute.)
Mattheus is the tallest person in his family. He's 6'5" (almost 200 cm) the second tallest is his brother, Torin at 5'7 (abt 173cm) by a few cm. Mattheus towers over everyone in his family.
Kassian is allergic to the entire season of Spring. Pollen is constantly assaulting his sinuses, he gets eaten alive by bugs, and he swears the springtime sun gives him hives. (it doesn't, he's being drama queen)
Neither of them get much of an opportunity to do artsy hobbies, but Mattheus is fairly skilled in pottery and ceramics, and kassian likes drawing flowers and dabbles in candle-making.
they're both monster-hunting partners that specialize in exterminating a very particular kind of monster. Kassian is a mage that specializes in dark and illusion magic where Mattheus is a fighter that specializes in two-handed heavy weapons. They're very good at it.
Yes, they've done the thing where Mattheus does pushups and Kassian sits on his back.
Kassian is very open with his expressions, (he's my muse for intense expression drawing) and body-language. He's very theatrical, but he's easily embarrassed and quick to shrink in on himself. Mattheus is outwardly very stoic but is actually very passionate and softhearted.
Mattheus is what people in their world call a "young god". It's a very demigod inspired concept, where god-like traits are given to humans via gods/guardians as a sort of "blessing" if a particular family was favored by a divine being, or if the human themself was favored. Mattheus (and his sis Mainara) was blessed by two sibling gods because they favored his mother's side (long story, but in short they both had the hots for his grandmother) to which his parents were like..."uh thanks i guess??"
Kassian is the kind of person who doesn't give pencils back/puts empty containers of food back in the pantry when he's done. Mattheus drinks milk out of the carton and sneezes unnecessarily loud. Both can cook, but they both wait til they have no clothes left to do laundry.
The way they fight relies on a sort of linking of mind and energy (the closest I can think of is "drift compatibility") in a way that grounds the other as sort of an anchor. It balances Kass's sensitivity to spiritual noise and Mattheus's grounded and focused nature.
Kassian easily picks up on hidden magical frequencies mattheus can't, and Mattheus's senses are heightened to "real world" sounds and smells Kassian can't detect. Mattheus is a good strategist/planner/tracker and Kassian can slither into places to scout.
Mattheus loves all animals but especially dogs. Big dogs. Kassian is a little skittish and hesitant around living things smaller than him, but typically likes quiet animals like cats and rabbits. Big animals love HIM though and he's been knocked over by many a large dog/creature
Kassian is 25 (December 24th) Mattheus is 23 (August 30th) [he often gets "you're a lot younger than you look" I think if you get to know him a little bit and the first impression of his height & strong features fade, you kind of see he still has a boyishness to his face]
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— ˚₊‧⁺˖ THE LIGHTNING ON TRACK | THE STRATEGY CALL
fandom. formula one & mcu
about. in which the stark racing f1 team talks about the 2025 strategy and beyond
content warnings. written in 3rd person
word count. 1.4k words
notes. with this chapter i wanted to involve a bit of politics and 'realistically' explain why stark racing won't immediately win a wdc (because with the whole set up, it would be possible). f1 are politics and no matter how many drivers say cash is king, connections have sometimes more worth
"welcome, everyone. thank you for tuning in", greets tony with a big smile on his face, spreading his arms as if going in for a hug.
"as you can see, i'm not currently with any departement, i'm doing the finishing touches in my own lab back in new york... since i don't want to drag anyone here to the US for meetings, we will proceed like this until january next year."
"now, i know it will be annoying with dragging your equipement with you and it's also unsafe, since you know... data secrets bla bla- so, in the next few days, each stark racing employee will receive the so called 'tactical intelligence glasses', which you can see me wearing. it's voice activated and can only be used by the one who sets it up, which will be you!" while speaking, tony fiddles with a pencil in his hand and starts walking around in his lab, showcasting it to every viewer.
"to cut things short, you'll receive a tutorial on how to use these glasses and set them up once you receive them. if you ever lose them, don't worry, we can track them. destroying them is pretty hard, but please don't try to make it a challange... our plan is to use them not only during meetings but also during the race, to keep our data from the cameras. with netflix, paparazzi and other cameras from the news, it's easy to steal data that shouldn't be accessible."
"alright then", he ends his ramblings with a clap, "we're going over the interesting part now. let's talk strategy..."
y/n let's her father's voice wash over her, her own glasses perched on her nose and feeding her constant information. in front of her are two holograms, projected by the hologram table in the meeting room she's currently in. the standing figure of her father and the presentation he's currently rattling off, all of it in a glowing blue.
next to her sits kevin, her future teammate, exhausted from the long 24 season but still paying attention. the rest of the room is filled with their team, the race engineers and trainers- each of them having their own glasses on.
to outsiders it looks like they're clowns, but it's a common sight in stark industries. decades ahead of the general public, stark stands for the future. of course they're trying to push it to the outer world, selling hologrammic equipement to both the industry but also private customers, but it's a slow progress.
the marketing team of SI hopes with their public use of the glasses and other devices they'll attract more customers, leaving the age of apple and samsung behind and instead welcoming the age of holograms. powered by starkanium, the production of phones, tablets, computers- anything really, is much cheaper and enviroment friendly than what's currently dominating the market.
shaking her head, y/n focuses on the presentation again. of course she knows it by heart already, she helped writing it, brooding over the strategy with the team ever since the team got announced.
"... the plan is to finish between 5th-3rd on the construction championship. not higher, not lower. we don't want to place higher, because this is our testing season. we will be practically sandbagging from the beginning, not revealing our true power for 2026."
yes... the construction championship. it will bring in money, not that they would need it, but it will justify the expenses they're going to make during the season to prepare for their second one. y/n is under no illusion, if they want, they could go all out and snag at least p2, if not p1. maybe she would even get her world championship- only then for everyone to say she won because she's driving a stark machine and not because of her own skill.
it sounds arrogant, she knows. but y/n believes, no, she doesn't only believe, she knows, she is one of the best in the whole world. if she can go against her father in an iron man suit, who can be only piloted by less than ten people in the world... winning in an f1 car is nothing.
but they've already made enemies for not waiting until 2026 like audi, 'enemies', who have much more pull within the motorsport world than them, simply because they're already established. christian horner is one, followed by toto wolff, the iconic red racing team not far behind.
with they're entry, they didn't make friends on the paddock, so for their first season... they can't be too good. or else their future seasons will be ruined.
it's stupid, to think like this, to think so far ahead, to think of others, in a sport where winning is everything. but it's not. cash and connections influence everything you do, how far you succeed. they have plenty of money, but are practically poor in connections. heck, even haas is better established than them.
they won't be, not after they're done after their first season. they will show the world, what stark racing is truly made of. and y/n will prove, that a woman can win.
"-bought data packs from previous seasons, dating back a whole decade, from mercedes and aston martin. cost a pretty penny, but data is everything. not to mention, after the big leak that happend in the middle of the season, we managed to grab enough data on all teams to calculate 3523 outcomes to this season. points, standings, anything." kevin wheezes at the number, which is followed by several data sheets. he gapes at the calculations, which predict another world championship for max 2064 times. all from the data they managed to collect.
"insane, right?", y/n whispers to kevin, who turns his head to her. his wide eyes make her snicker.
"welcome to stark racing, mate. just you wait until JARVIS and FRIDAY start feeding in new numbers and information." a muttered 'holy shit' is the only answer she gets and y/n has to snicker again. toto wolff once said something about formula one being war planning... well, he should know that stark industries and it's most brilliant minds know everything about war. be it on the market, by income or an actual alien invasion.
"we want to achieve at least one win, be it in a proper race or sprint, three podiums per driver and at least two fastest laps. and it will be possible", her father continues, pointing at a hologram of their car. it spins lazily in a circle, showing off it's aeorodynamic curves.
"this car is faster than the rb19, goes on par with the rb20. we don't know the upgrades from red bull, but another year and we can pretty much predict their stats for 2026. newey is predictable, all his upgrades point towards the perfection of the car, he focuses on what to make better and not invent something completely new. and if he does, he takes ages to prove it's better than what they had before. newey is brilliant, but he's no stark." there it is again, the facts of their rivals, taken apart and put back together to summerize their data in a few simple words.
"so, our motto for this season is testing, collecting data and improving for the next season. we're sandbagging, we're restricting ourselves. so if we ever do bad... we all know we could do much better. the engineering team will send first comparisons between the SR-1 and SR-2 out next week, y/n has already tested both cars in the sim, so we will have some data to read off."
"so, with that, we're pretty much done. thank you everyone for listening, i know for some it's very early right now, so if you have to read over the spark notes- JARVIS has put a summary of the most important information together, you'll receive the mail right after this converence. thank you again and welcome to stark racing, everyone!" claps fill the room and y/n takes off her glasses. it's exhausting to play mindgames like this, to calculate the desired outcome, but it will all come together.
hopefully, with her as a world champion, with the bold stark name on her back.
taglist. @lilypadlover , @adorablezhui , @peqch-pie , @keyz-writes , @obsidianjewel , @aimixx , @themercyverse , @lem-hhn , @akiraquote , @kiiyoooo , @nichmeddar , @nothingfuninthislife , @minkyungseokie , @fionaschicken , @lyrasconstellation , @spideybv28 , @keii134 , @starssfall , @tpwkstiles, @fangirl-dot-com , @nichmeddar , @lady-laura-speaks , @nikfigueiredo , @hinamesgigantica , @brakingboundaries , @almostjollypizza , @yoremins , @raizelchrysanderoctavius , @celesteblack08 , @watermelon-sugars-things , @lighttsoutlewis , @radiantdanvers , @vellicora, @sterredem , @hiireadstuff , @jolixtreesunn , @mypage-myfandoms , @nelly187 @greeneyesandsunshine , @fulla02 , @welovediaaxx , @whyamireadingthis , @67-angelofthelordme-67 , @blueberry64857959 , @winchesterwife27 , @six-call , @skywalker1dream , @mellowarcadefun , @cherry-piee , @peterholland04 , @motorsportloverf1 , @renarots , @msbyjackal , @woozarts , @leclucklerc , @yl90
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DO YOU WANT TO JOIN THE SERIES TAGLIST? please leave a comment on this post or send a non anonymous ask!
ARKHAM MAID 2024
#f1 fic#f1 fanfic#f1 female driver#fem!driver#female driver#f1 x reader#f1 x female reader#kevin magnussen x reader#tony stark x reader#— ˚₊‧⁺˖ lightning on track#— ˚₊‧⁺˖ creations
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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!!
#alien species#original species#spec evo#worldbuilding#drawing#speculative biology#xenobiology#Cerest
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Honestly I'm always struck by just how much the lighthouse fuckery and everything about it tells us about Ed, it's such efficient and clever writing!
He's absolutely fucking brilliant, a real genius - Ed is able to count down to the fog's appearance with a margin of error of seconds, and has obviously been keeping count of the date in his head. He's also very obviously a very intuitive and clever sailor and is excellent at playing with multiple moving parts to organize a solution
Despite being so fucking smart, Ed actually gives up VERY easily. He's used to success coming the first time, perfectly, every time, and when his one brilliant plan doesn't work, he's shocked and gives up immediately.
Ed cares SO MUCH about the people depending on him. Like the first thing he says after he realizes is to tell everyone he's sorry. The weight of being a captain and having everyone trusting him for a solution is really getting to him
The striking thing about his plan is that his mistake was small but crucial, and it would've been easily corrected if he'd been open about it from the start. But he was looking forward to the big reveal! He likes the illusion of mystery and infallibility! (and, honestly, can't blame him for not telling anyone - when he tries to talk to Izzy about the clouds early on, Izzy fails to get that it's important and just starts nagging at him.)
When he's pressuring Stede to show him what being Blackbeard is like, he's being a bit harsh (I get the sense it's a very cathartic moment for him, to have just one person experience what it's like to be him for even a few minutes), but, crucially, he's doing that under the impression that there is no real danger because he thinks he's already solved it. When he realizes they're actually in trouble, Ed immediately takes full responsibility and does not expect anyone to help him come up with a plan - he's so used to handling things entirely on his own
It's just so good. I love it.
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