#inter: gene

[roimp]

pinterest stalking irl people is so fun expect when they have aesthetic pics uploaded then fuck you

[infiniterichesinalittleroom]

I suppose that all of us have a primitive prompter or commentator within, who from earliest years has been advising us, telling us what the real world is. There is such a commentator in me. I have to prepare the ground for him. From this source come words, phrases, syllables; sometimes only sounds, which I try to interpret, sometimes whole paragraphs, fully punctuated. When E. M. Forster said, “How do I know what I think until I see what I say?” he was perhaps referring to his own prompter. There is that observing instrument in us—in childhood at any rate. At the sight of a man's face, his shoes, the color of light, a woman's mouth or perhaps her ear, one receives a word, a phrase, at times nothing but a nonsense syllable from the primitive commentator. When I say the commentator is primitive, I don't mean that he's crude; God knows he's often fastidious. But he won't talk until the situation's right. And if you prepare the ground for him with too many difficulties underfoot, he won't say anything. I must be terribly given to fraud and deceit because I sometimes have great difficulty preparing a suitable ground. This is why I've had so much trouble with my last two novels. I appealed directly to my prompter. The prompter, however, has to find the occasion perfect—that is to say, truthful, and necessary. If there is any superfluity or inner falsehood in the preparations, he is aware of it. I have to stop. Often I have to begin again, with the first word.

Saul Bellow • Writers At Work: The Paris Review Interviews, Third Series

[mondootani]

House on the Foothills of Mt. Rokko, Chapter 21, “Cold Call”

[thebubblesareevil]

Only the best Kings wear pink! Pt 1

Pt 2

Danny had decided, inter-lair political party meeting briefings were a truly underutilized form of torture that he personally thought should be inflicted upon only the worst kinds of criminals; not your King.

Fright Knight disagreed.

At least he finally let him move around instead of suffering through forced resurrection via boredom (it’s happened before, not a fun meeting). That being said, he would admit to being a little distracted by all the servants rushing around frantically. It had even managed to distract Fright.

No one seemed panicked so clearly it wasn’t an attack, but what….

Danny felt someone staring at him. He covertly nodded to Fright to keep talking as he created an invisible clone to search for his stalker.

He didn’t have to look far, they weren’t hiding very well. Not 20 ft away a young ghost gawked at him from behind a column. She had her glowing blonde hair in 2 braided pigtails and her ragged dress looked like she came from one of the medieval lairs. Danny carefully kneeled down, trying to make himself look small as he tapped her on the shoulder.

The little girl spun around, clearly terrified at being caught. Danny gave her a soft smile.

“Please don’t eat me Mr Ghost King sir!!!” She cried out.

Danny snorted and burst out laughing. His booming laughter echoed though the castle walls causing many of the servants to pause in their search.

“Now why in the realms would you think I’m going to eat you?!” Danny asked though his chuckles. “You wouldn’t be more than a bite full at best.” He poked her sides causing her to giggle.

“Would too! I’m bigger the Sally!” She paused, rethinking her words. “But I’d taste quite foul! I would, I swear!”

Danny grinned turning to Fright Knight. The little ghost squeaked when she saw the Spirit of Halloween and backed into the King causing her to freeze.

Danny gently picked her up, cradling her in one arm. “Did you hear that Fright?! She said she’d taste foul!” He smirked “I suppose there’s only one thing to do then!”

Fright Knight eyed his King a bit warily, still not used to his antics. “Sire?”

Danny grinned, motioning to one of the nervous maids. “We‘ll have to sweeten her up!”

Miette bowed before her King, trying to hide her nervous glances at the girl.

“Miette! Would you be a dear and prepare some sweets and tea in the garden for my honored guest? Fright, will you be joining us?” Danny asked the startled Knight.

“As you wish my Liege, though…might I request some pumpkin pie?” He asked Miette.

The maid blinked at the request.

“Of course Sir Fright.” She answered a bit dazed.

“Wonderful! We’ll meet you in the garden after we swing by Spectre’s quarters.” He grinned down at the frightened ghost. “Every princess must look her best for afternoon tea after all!”

The little girl frowned. “But I’m not a princess?” She said, tilting her head.

“Of course you are! Every little girl is a princess! That’s just a fact of life.” Danny nodded solemnly.

“But we’re not alive?” She pouted “Mummy said so!”

Danny shrugged. “That doesn’t change much, I’m still alive after all so it still counts.” He said finally.

They stopped in front of two massive doors covered in random drawing. Danny knocked on the door. The little ghost shrunk back in Danny’s arms.

The door opened to reveal a young ghost, not much bigger than the one in his arms.

“Hey Ellie!” Danny grinned. “Do you have any princess dresses left or did you set them all on fire?”

Ellie groaned. “Lilac just restocked the closet. You’d think she’d learn by now.”

Danny grinned. “Perfect! Would you mind helping our guest into one of them? She’s joining us for tea!”

Ellie floated up to see the tiny ghost trying to make herself smaller in her dad’s arms.

“Oh? And who are you?” She asked curiously.

“Emma.” She squeaked. Ellie grinned.

“Alright Emma, how do you feel about pink?!”

———

A little while latter you could find the Ghost King: ruler of the infinite realms, Fright Knight: the most feared general of the Kings legion and little Emma: the little princess from 2 Lairs over (only on the 5th of each month); newly decked out in a glowing tiara and the frilliest pink dress Ellie could find (with no singes); all sitting in the Royal gardens in Phantoms keep debating the merits of pink sparkles vs rainbow glitter.

Her mother nearly wept in relief that her daughter was safe, though she was a bit dazed by what she was seeing.

“You must be Emma’s mum!” Danny grinned. “We were just finishing up afternoon tea.

Emma jumped from her seat and raced over to her mummy to tell her all about her day.

“I’m so sorry for my daughter’s intrusion, your majesty!” She cried out, fear outweighing shock as she quickly bowed.

“Nonsense!” Danny laughed, looking down at Emma. “You’re welcome here anytime Emma. After all, you never did tell me what happened to you Aunt Agatha.” He smiled “You’ll have to finish your story next time.”

Emma ran up to give Danny a hug, he happily picked her up and held the young ghost.

“Thank you for the tea and cakes Mr ghost king! Can I bring Beatrice next time? She’ll never believe me otherwise!”

Danny chuckled. “The more the merrier, though I suggest you give your mother some proper warning before you run off to strange lairs without permission.”

Emma pouted. “I promise!” She swore as Danny handed her to her mother.

Danny was a little sad to see the little girl go but he had plenty of work to do.

“Sire, shall we continue the briefing?” Fright Knight piped up.

Danny groan, Fright Knight grinned. (He liked his new king)

———

The next month, when the lairs lined up once more Danny was greeted with the grinning Emma, the frightened faces of at least 6 other little ghosts and the nervous form of Emma’s mother.

Danny grinned. “Miette!” He shouted behind him. “Can you bring some more tables to the gardens. It looks like we’re having a proper tea party this time!”

And so began to annual monthly tea party at Phantom’s keep.

(Lilac was so glad to see all the dresses she made put to good use)

[hotvintagepoll]

this is a poll for a movie that doesn't exist.

it is vintage times. the powers that be have decided it is time to remake the classic vampire novel Dracula for the big screen once more. in an amazing show of inter-studio solidarity, all of hollywood's hottest elite are up for the starring roles. they know whoever is cast will greatly impact the quality and tone of the finished production, so they are turning to their wisest voice for guidance.

you are the new casting director for this star-studded epic. choose your players wisely.

Previously cast:

Jonathan Harker—Jimmy Stewart

The Old Woman—Martita Hunt

Count Dracula—Gloria Holden

Mina Murray—Setsuko Hara

Lucy Westenra—Judy Garland

The Three Voluptuous Women—Betty Grable, Marilyn Monroe, and Lauren Bacall

[theriu]

Just reading Genesis and now I’m thinking about how even some Christians argue that Earth can’t literally be 6,000–7,000 years because of all the varieties of animal subspecies, like microevolution doesn’t WORK that fast, it MUST be a metaphor that Creation only took seven days!

But if you’re going by the Bible, it also says people used to live over 900 years? Which def isn’t how we humans work anymore? And all humans and animals today descended from those on the Ark, yet we don’t hear of inter-family marriage being forbidden for a few generations at least, possibly suggesting intensely rich genes pools that hadn’t yet been thinned out enough for closely-related unions to cause genetic deformities?

I’m just saying, we might be assuming a lot to think biology today is anywhere NEAR identical to what may have been goin’ on in the early days.

[dartalias]

One of the reasons i love reading Kyoshi is her inter monalogue and something i love about it is that she knows about agriculture and its just randomly using this knowledge in her head

(And in her pettiness)

Like in the Daofei city they were worriedly explaining to her how sad and bad it is that they are tied up with a gruop called "Autumn flower society" that have "moon peaches" as their simbol, and how dangerous they were

And Kyoshi first thoght was "moon peaches bloom in the spring, idiots, but of corse they wouldn't know that, they're daofei not farmers"

Or the amont of times they go to a new place and the firt thing she does is cassify the soil as good/bad to plant things

Kyoshi herself acknowledge this trait of hers sometimes

Like she is doing a ditch with earthbending and being like "See that Yokoya??? I can plow land too, i could be a great farmer"

Or when shes eating dust being like "its not eating, its testing, spirits why did i have to know that???"

Love my avatar farmer girly with criminal and artistic genes

[thetaxicabber]

Chapter 12 art for Voyagers of Time and Shadow!

This amazing art by @giselsann-opencommissions I'm so excited to continue getting art for this series! If you've read it let me know which scenes you'd like to see! :)

“Look,” Hermione jabs her finger onto the paper laid out on the table. Evie scans the headline.

Next to her Sebastian chokes, eyes widening. “Is this real?”

“Very,” Ron answers grimly and his eyes momentarily dart to Harry.

“Nobody has ever escaped Azkaban,” Sebastian whispers to Evie. “I told you about it…remember?”

Evie does remember. They were in the Undercroft after the Scriptorium, before he taught her any of the Unforgivable Curses. She’d heard about the wizarding prison from Fig in passing, but Sebastian is the one that told her more about it. He said that it was the worst place in the world, guarded by monsters and impossible to escape. He told her if anyone ever caught them using the curses they’d be sent there for life. Most people go mad or even die after arriving. It’s why Evie would rather have died then let Anne or Ominis send Sebastian there after what happened with Solomon. She never would have let him be taken, she'd have fought against all the aurors in the world to protect him and she would have won.

“Someone has,” Hermione lowers her voice till it’s barely a whisper. “Two years ago. But they were innocent. These are all convicted criminals, major supporters of…You-Know-Who.”

The photos are moving across the newspaper, showing mugshots of the escapees. Evie’s eyes lock on the bold name under the second photo. Her heart skips a beat in her chest. The man’s face is disfigured by pocks and the photo is in black and white but she recognizes the shape of his eyes and the set to his jaw. The same bored expression as he shifts back and forth in the frame.

Augustus Rookwood

“He…looks like Victor Rookwood,” Evie whispers and Sebastian glares daggers at the portraits. Evie doesn’t think anyone hates Victor Rookwood more than Sebastian. He's the one that cursed Anne, the one that terrorized the entire country at Ranrok's side, the one that almost killed Evie.

“Purebloods,” Hermione reasons and her lip curls slightly. “Many supremacists inter marry. Not that it matters in regards to magic. But biologically it’s terrible for their genes. Fools.” She shakes her head. "It's why they have such problems. At least that's what I think."

“They do at that,” Sebastian whispers, his face twisted in a grimace. “Ominis was potentially going to marry a third cousin if he couldn’t escape his family. His parents were first cousins. It’s disturbing.”

“How many escaped from the prison?”

“Ten prisoners,” Hermione folds her paper back up and tucks it into her brown leather bag. “All of them old supporters. Death Eaters. It’s bad.”

“So he’s getting his gang back together,” Evie reasons, resting her chin atop her hand. “It’s what I would do if I was an evil overlord. Especially since nobody seems to care that I’ve returned to power. Now is the time to gather power and allies without really anyone to stop him. It's a good way to get the upper hand. Then once power has been consolidated you strike hard and fast.”

“Put a lot of thought into what you’d do if you were evil?” Sebastian breaks the tension with a wry smile.

“Obviously,” Evie rolls her eyes, doing her best to ignore his teasing. “To end a dark wizard…or goblin,” she lowers her voice so only they can hear her. “One must first get ahead of them.”

[staytinyville]

Stay Alive (43)

BTS poly!ot7 x Reader

Magical Creatures AU

Series Masterlist

Warnings: none

A/N NOT BETA. I am back to writing! I was immensely inspired to go back to finishing this story. I am honestly so close you have no idea. There were only like six chapters left but I really said *haitus*. But no more! Also I got the idea to write an ATEEZ story within this world that is going to be a bit darker tbh. Short fic though. Also This story will be cross-posted to my wattpad so be on the lookout on my tumblr for the link. I have yet to put it up but I will!

Also check out this poll to find out who will be the papas of these 5 babies! Stay Alive Father poll

You didn’t really take into account the way all of the boys would act the moment Hobi told them about what his sister had discovered. You knew they would be shocked–anyone would be the moment someone told them that in the future you were going to have 5 children. Honestly though, you didn’t think they would be more in shock than you were. 

“Did she really say 5!? Can jagiya even handle that many?” Taehyung looked at the others with an open mouth, holding Yeontan closely to his chest. 

“Taehyung.” The familiar scolded lightly, acting like a parent who was trying to keep their child from saying anything that came to mind. 

All 8 of you were making your way through the Big Hit building for a meeting with Bang Nim, now that all the boys got to spend time with their families. While they were scared of letting their boys go again, they all knew that there was a mission to complete and others to bring home. It was something they all discussed with their families–all of who understood the boys reasoning for going back. 

“One is going to be mine.” Jin spoke, raising his chin up.

“Ya! How do you know!?” Jungkook gasped, whining over Jin’s statement. 

“As the oldest I deserve—”

“You get nothing!” Jimin pouted at Jin’s reasoning, getting the younger boys to agree with him.

A grin overtook your face as you watched them bicker with the oldest of the group. Yoongi and Hobi laughed at the boys, putting in their own opinions on the matter about how it was going to be one of them who would father a child. 

It was Namjoon who had butted in to calm down all the others. “She's been with all of us–it could be any of ours.”

“Can she even have our kids? She is human.” Yoongi asked, leaving the question to burn on everyone’s mind. 

This started to raise questions within you. It didn’t really cross your mind that the possibility of something happening during the pregnancy would cause problems. You weren’t terrified of the outcome–you knew if things were to go wrong this world had the needed tools and power to help you through it all. But that didn’t mean you still didn’t want to question the idea of it all. 

“Will it affect me? That you guys aren't human?” You asked. 

“I do not believe so.” Hobi answered. “Interracial—or inter-magical— couples are common in our world. However there is no such thing as mixed creatures. It's the mothers genes the baby is born with.” He explained to you.

“They are the ones who carry the baby so naturally it's their genes that get infused into the babies DNA. For example, Jungkook's mother is a wolf but his father is kumiho.” Namjoon continued. 

You turned to the mentioned boy, smiling softly at the aspect of him having fox ears on his head like how Soobin had. 

“They aren't really that different.” You said. 

“They aren't but because eomma was a wolf, I can shift.” Jungkook smiled at you. 

“My parents are full elfs because they are the king and queen. They have rules to follow.” Jin started. 

“Same with mine.” Jimin put in. “There aren't many creatures that come from the water who have the ability to shift into a human, so sirens don’t often intermix.”

“So will our children be human?” You asked. 

“There aren't really many studies on human and creature children. However, for us, I think it would be our genes. Because our magic is much more overpowering than your human nature.” Namjoon said. 

You could understand the logic behind that kind of thinking. You were sure there wasn’t much research on magical creatures having children with humans unless you want to count all those mythological stories about gods having demi children. But even in those kinds of cases they tended to show genes from their godly parents. 

It must have been the same in this case. You just hoped nothing happened to both you and the boys if you were to carry their magical babies. 

“Super sperm.” You snorted. 

“Tokki.” Jungkook scolded playfully. 

As you finally reached your designated meeting place, you noticed your grandfather waiting for you all at the door. You immediately perked up, rushing forward to greet him with a hug. 

“Grandpa.” You smiled, rubbing his back and he gave you a quick hug. 

“How was your trip?” He asked you, looking over all the boys who gleamed with smiles on their faces. 

“It was amazing. Everything here is so beautiful. And it's exactly like back home.” You told him. 

“Magic has that effect.” The old man grinned. 

“Come—I think there are things we need to go over.” He suddenly sighed, giving the boys all a nod of his head as he led all of you into the meeting room. 

“Ah!” Bang Nim clapped, coming to stand from his chair. 

There were a few other people in the room including Sejin who gave a bow of his head. 

“It's good to see you all. You look so much more lively than when you came on the first day.” Bang grinned, patting Jungkook on the back as he was closer. 

“We are happy to be back home.” Namjoon spoke up. “Especially with our mate.”

“You have them wrapped around your pinkie.” Bang laughed, giving you a hug which you returned. 

As he pulled back, his face suddenly took a somber look. His lips were pursed as he started to speak in a serious tone. “I have discussed some things with your grandfather and we have decided it's best to tell you all the truth.” 

“What truth?” Jin asked. 

“The reason I put a spell on (Y/N)—and why you were all kidnapped.” Bang spoke slowly. 

“What?” You said out loud, looking over at your grandfather.

“As much as I know you'll blame yourself for everything just know it was all in the past and it has led us here. To the boys finding you and bringing you back here.” Bang suddenly started.

He turned to your grandfather, allowing him the room to speak. “(G/N).”

The old man took in a deep sigh before looking at you directly. “When you were a little girl you would always go out and explore the mountains near our home.”

“Yes, I remember that.” You interrupted. 

“You had a friend who was your age.” He took a pause, swallowing thickly as he thought about what to say. “A little girl who had been our neighbor for the longest time. Her name was Nabi.”

Yoongi looked over at Hoseok when he heard the name, raising his eyebrows at the boy. 

“That's the name she kept saying.” Hobi spoke up, looking at Yoongi who nodded as he remembered the time in the hospital room.

The name kept repeating over and over in your head, but you started to feel frustrated as you couldn’t remember the girl who your grandfather claimed was a close friend of yours. You could remember all of your elementary school friends–even the ones from kinder. But the girl who was named Nabi did not make an appearance. 

“I—I don't remember her though.” Your lips trembled, trying hard to find an answer but you couldn’t.

“Because I erased her memory.” Bang answered for your grandfather. 

“Was she from our world?” Yoongi asked.

“No.” Bang told him. “She was human, like (Y/N). It was you and her who found the portal to our world. The ones who were found by Hanseol.”

“Hanseol?” Jin questioned. 

“When you and Nabi crossed over Hanseol was the one to discover you both.” Bang turned to you. “You don't remember it because I had erased that memory as well. 

Bang suddenly took a pause, sighing as he felt his next words heavy on his tongue. “Hanseol, he—he was experimenting on you and Nabi by the time I reached you both. It was too late though.”

“Too late? Too late for what?” You quickly asked, head snapping between your grandfather and Bang Nim. 

“Nabi—She didn't make it. Hanseol had done too much to her.” Bang quietly answered. 

It was the revelation that left not only you stunned but the other boys as well. Hoseok looked over at Yoongi again, his breath turning shallow as he realized what his sister was talking about. Yoongi had been the only to know about Nabi because of Hobi and now finding out that she had died in his world no less, made him worried about you. 

“Then what about me!? How come I survived? Why didn't she?” You shouted. 

“You were barely holding on. There was a lot my people had to do to save you.” Bang didn’t seem phased by your shouting but he still spoke softly to you. 

“And my memory? Why take it?” Tears started to fall from your eyes, causing Taehyung to pull you into his arms, nudging his head into your neck. 

“I told him to.”

You whipped your head over to your grandfather, sniffling at his words. “Why would you do that?”

“You were a child (Y/N). On the verge of dying because some magical creature had been experimenting on you. That poor girl was already gone. I couldn't lose you.” Your grandfather had tears welling in his eyes as he remembered how you looked the day he had found you. 

You tried to stop your crying, realizing that things must have been tough for your grandparents at the time. You felt hurt that they never thought to tell you about something like that but you figured they didn’t want to worry you. You knew that whatever it was that man had done to you things were not going to be easy to swallow. 

“If you saved (Y/N) then how did Hanseol cross to her world?” Namjoon changed the subject. 

“He found out about the portal. We weren't able to catch him at that time so he got away.” Bang answered.

If Hanseol was the one to have found you and Nabi that must have meant it was your fault he found the portal to begin with. 

“It was my fault he took the boys and everyone else?” Your nose twitched again, more tears wanting to fall. 

“No.” Bang immediately tried to soothe you. “It wasn't. You weren't the one who told him to do it.”

“But I was the one who discovered the portal.” You stressed. 

“Beloved, please don't think that.” Jin smoothed his fingers through your hair. 

“We could never blame you for anything like that, Princess.” Yoongi calmly told you. 

“You were the one who came to save us.” Hobi moved to face you, standing in front. 

“It was no coincidence that you did. Someone was out there helping you find Bangtan.” Bang suddenly spoke after hearing what Hobi said. 

“Who?” You asked.

“Nabi.” Hobi spoke up after a pause, figuring it all out. 

“Nabi?” Jimin raised a brow.

“Jiwoo said there was someone following you around. I was never able to fully use that ability because of my studies being cut off but she was obviously.” Hoseok told you, reminding you about what his sister had told you. 

“Nabi is still attached to your soul because of the magic that was in our world.” Hobi began to explain. “The souls of our dead need to have proper rituals or else they will be stuck here. Nabi didn't get that here so she's been with you the whole time.”

“You think she was the one who sent (Y/N) to us?” Jungkook asked quietly, reaching a hand out to you.

“She could have been.” Bang answered. 

“You have us all here now.” Namjoon told you. 

He turned to Bang Nim with a determined look. “What will we have to do to save everyone?”

Series Masterlist

@h3arteyes4mingi , @fangirling-all-the-way-tbh , @rinkund, @rln-byg , @singukieee ,  @hoshi-is-ult-bbg , @ldysmfrst , @juju-227592 , @alienchickenpoop , @dreamerwasfound , @afangirl91 , @psiphidragon , @puppyminnnie , @shyloh-the-cornsnake , @ollyoxenfrees , @whynotlarene , @beeltsumu , @cryingpages , @milopenne , @belikejk , @thatonedemigodfromseoul , @woozixo,

[atlas-nsfw]

Minotaurs

Masterlist and taglist below the cut.

Physical description

Minotaurs are large, bipedal creatures with bovine features. They are covered completely in fur, which comes in a variety of textures, lengths, and colors. Depending on the genetics of the herd, which tend to be homogenous, minotaurs can grow anywhere between 7 and 10 feet tall. The fur helps them withstand the elements but some herds wear decoration. Flowers and brightly colored feathers are popular choices.

Social

Minotaurs live in communities of up to fifty called herds. These herds usually follow linear hierarchies with an elder matriarch and the largest bull at the top. Most herds are predominately female, as young bulls in a single generation often choose to live nomadically before settling with herds of their own though this has changed with the fertility crisis.

Minotaur herds are self-sufficient and don't see much benefit to engaging with other species. In fact, their most notable inter-species relationships are hostile. They compete with centaurs for many resources and predatory creatures like werewolves, gnolls, and even orcs can prove threats.

Minotaur herds usually take good care of their humans, particularly those who give birth. This is because minotaurs naturally respect mothers and the matriarch will often take special care of the humans in the herd, determining their matches. The bull of the herd will often claim a human's first calf but will concede the need to diversify a gene pool. Humans who can impregnate are still treated well though, even if they might illicit jealousy from the bull of the herd. Minotaurs prefer to hoard their humans.

Environment

Minotaurs settle in temperate climates in clearings near woods. Oftentimes, they will cut down a large section of forest to create a clearing where they will use the lumber to build a barn-like lodge. These lodges have individual "stalls" for couples, parents and children, siblings, and individuals. The lodge opens on both long ends and the center walkway is wide enough to accommodate a communal table for dinners which can be put up during the day for space to work.

Procreation

Minotaurs reproduce sexually by inserting a penis into a vagina to deliver genetic material. Minotaur babies need roughly nine months of gestation in a womb, sometimes more. They are typically over 15 lbs when born and need milk for the first few months.

Masterlist

Husk x Reader (Minotaur bull x gender neutral afab!reader)

Taglist: @leitor-sonolento, @kittycatkandies , @ren-lives-here , @tiredsleepyhead

Part of the Monster Ark verse.

Relied on this document for some lore-building.

[harukamitsuki]

Ur soooo right abt Lance I think he just became the fandom’s darling because people saw inklings of insecurity and home sickness and zeroed in. He’s whump bait, but like without the more complicated issues tied into Shiro, Allura, and Keith’s problems. Prime projection material.

He has potential and I appreciate fandom’s ability to see that in him, but you’re so right that people have completely forgotten who he is in canon. He *could* have been better, but he wasn’t and it’s frustrating that people have lost sight of that because I think it would genuinely produce more interesting takes on his character and role in the story. As someone who genuinely wants him to be a better character it makes me want to eat dry wall.

Lance, first and foremost, is the everyday man. That's why he's so popular. He is far from a piloting prodigy, flirts with every pretty girl, funny and exaggerative, has a generic weapon like a rifle, is the first paladin to find his Lion, and has the most basic interal conflict there can be. Which is why everyone loves him.

Shiro? Shiro is confirmed gay, was hailed as the most promising pilot pre-canon, was officially the youngest man sent into space, but also had an illness for canon forgot about it, had major PTSD that left him unable to move in most cases, considered himself broken if his hallucinations said anything, and literally died. He's good leader matieral, able to handle a group of four wildly differing teenagers and only really let his emotions plan his course of action once (when Allura was kidnapped). This man is insanely skilled but also insanely traumatised.

Keith? Keith beat all of the records Shiro set and was known as a genius in the field, only held back by his defense mechanisms and rushing on ahead. He was abandoned by his mother when he was a toddle, then his father died implicitly before his eyes, he was then an orphan where he was probably passed around from family to family, ot feeding into his adandonment issues. He gained a friend in Shiro, the first person to reach out to him, and then lost him a few years later. He finally gets Shiro back, only for more shit to happen. He finds out his mom was Galra, and becomes sorry that he even existed because of this. Nobody on Voltron actually felt like his friend with Pidge constantly calling him a loner right after he lost Shiro, Hunk poking fun at his Galra genes, and Lance playing up this one-sidedly rivalry and taking everything he does as an attack on his person. He loses Shiro again and has to constantly give him up for the sake of Voltron and the universe. The only time he can focus on himself is when Shiro is back and he distants himself for the team's sake and they just let him go. He's so affected by grief before the story starts and it doesn't give him a break. Even so, he's so kind and genuine about everything. He becomes the Black Paladin, not because he had no choice. Maybe at first, but he grows into that role and becomes a great leader.

Pidge? Pidge is a prodigy and a genius, able to hack firm and software from alien planets. She can fly a jet just from reading instruction manuels and have little to no trouble. At the same time, lost her brother and father all at once. When she finally got some clue as to what happened to them, she was kicked out and banned from the Garrison. She disguised as a boy and snuck in, abandoning her dream of becoming a fighter pilot because navigation would teach her more about scanning space for extraterrestrial communication and lifeforms. When she finally has the chance to find her family, she has to constantly give them and clues she may find up because Volton and the universe come first.

Hunk? Hunk is just as much of a genius as Pidge, even if the writers forget, with him able to spot foul play on an alien ship easily. He's so kind and loving yet fierce with his protection and so strong when defending his friends. He keeps spirits high with his warming attitude, even if he's the most home sick of them all. He acts the most realistically to become a child soldier. Still, even when he's terrified, he pushes on so that people like Shay can find out what freedom is. Feel it for themselves. When they go back to Earth, Hunk is the only one who has to fight to get his parents back and earn his happy ending. He suffers throughout the series, but he's always looking at the greener side.

Allura and Coran? They lost their families and thejr entire species before canon ever began. They lost so much and have nothing but revenge fueling them. They have to deal with the fact that they slept through the massacre of the Altean species and woke up far too late. They have to deal with inexperienced humans who have no real attachment to the war. They have to deal with the fact that they are the last of the Alteans. And when it's finally revealed that there are more survivors, they have to deal with the fact that they're being farmed by Lotor/Honerva for their quintessence. Allura was so depressed in season eight after falling for Lotor then being used so thoroughly by him. Coran never got to say goodbye to Allura before she died. Despite this, they still fight with all they have, making sure nobody has to face the loss they've felt.

Lance? Um. He's insecure about his place in the team? I guess Veronica nearly died but she didn't so whatever... He did spend a lot of his time in the Garrison being compared to Keith... But he also spent time he could've used to better his skills to sneak out and flirt with girls or hit the arcade. Um... I guess...

Um. Yeah.

See, I always wonder how people see such angst potential in Lance, or even see him as an angsty character in general. They act as though he's suffered the most in canon when, in reality, he hasn't. He has the most generic troubles and, I guess, it's more relatable that way? People don't have to struggle to relate to PTSD or abandonment issues or identity issues or child soldiers or losing your entire species.

Insecurity? That's easy because everyone feels insecure.

Which is why Lance is so popular.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying this isn't valid. It sucks to feel insecure and doubt your every move. The only difference is how common Lance's issues are compared to everyone else. Because Lance is generic as hell, people love to vent through him.

Lance has a stable friendship group, is constantly given everything he wants, and even manages to destroy what has been the canon ship over decades (Kallura). He invented a rivalry with Keith, who didn't even know who he was when they met. Because of that, people either ship them for the 'rivals to lovers' trope or hate Keith and act as though Keith was bullying him. Shiro doesn't take Lance's side often because Lance's ideas are dangerous or reckless. He still tries to let him down gently, making logical arguments (see: Shiro explaining that Red is fire-resistant so Keith has to go to the BOM HQ). Oh, but he's not on Lance's side so the fandom decides he's an awful leader. As if they know what a good leader is. They think a good leader is someone who gets distracted by a pretty girl and blames everyone but himself.

The only thing not given to Lance on a silver platter is Black. Thank God. But because he wasn't given Black when he was given everything else, fandom decides that DreamWorks hates Lance and decides to argue that Lance was always destined to be the Black Paladin. Ignoring how Black's colour scheme was LITERALLY ON KEITH'S CLOTHES.

So. Yeah. He definitely has potential before DreamWorks just started rewarding him for breathing. The insecurity he has could have been a good way to develop his character. He could have become someone outside of Keith or Shiro's shadow. He didn't need a love interest to prosper, as proven by the fact that he never prospered in canon.

His potential was there, just ignored because the writers were allergic to complex characters, even to the smallest degree.

(They should have gotten the writers for Race to the Edge to do Voltron ugh)

[spacespeckspod]

SPACE SPECKS Cast Announcements!

We definitely didn't steal these documents from the city. Don't even worry about it.

Lumi Oakes @lumoakes as Coral Johansen

Rawlyx @rawlyx as Gene Kelsey

Quills @quillsandpaper as Nora Elsinger

Finch Smallsies @smallsies as Sawyer Shepherd

Cat @adragoncat as Sparrow Winters

All character art was made by Rawlyx! You can read more about our (inter)stellar cast on our website. We'll be seeing y'all in the city very soon 🪐

[inthelittlewood]

Hey Martyn! So, I got into your lore because of Grian's Life Series, and now I'm just trying to find some stuff out. Anyways, I understand most of it, though I do have a couple questions.

What actually are LOOT shards/crystals? I know that they're soke aort of corruption in games of sorta, but how do they get there, how to they affect the game, and also how to disable them. It's just something I'm wondering about since I know you have to find the one piece, of treasure, but how does it actually help?

What are CHEST agents? I know that they're something almost as evil as Cruppy, which is really saying something, but what actually are they?

Are there any extra lore bits in Rats SMP that you can't get anywhere else? I just wanna know if I should grit my teeth and watch it sometime, when I'm done catching up on the VODs of Pirates (can't make it to streams for personal reasons, alas).

If you've come up with it, is there any way that the Watchers lore from the Life Series ties into the datastream hopper lore? Those two just seem a little incompatible to me - hopping the datastream, being captured by mysterious godlike entities... Or are they just two separate universes?

Do you plan on posting the New Life streams on your vods channel?

Who in Pirates is p!Martyn closest to in each faction, overall?

Also, I think you may have mentioned it on stream, but did you take the faction quiz and if so, which faction did you get? I kid you not, when I took it I got Kestrels all three times (with changing the answers to stuff that I would still do, but different than first time, I mean). Had to change it up just to see all the different faction descriptions...

Ok, I think that's it. Sorry if I have bad formatting btw, I'm typing this out on phone. Thank you for taking the time to read my questions! Absolutely love your work and lore, while at the same time having the humour some don't. Keep on doing an amazing job. Hope you find your one piece, of treasure.

Have an ice day!

That's something I want to unveil in the next lore drop, so I'm really sorry to say SoonTM but this lore doesn't have all that many secrets atm

2. C.H.E.S.T agents work are avatars controlled by human operators working for C.H.E.S.T and its evil underbelly. They're a known and trusted public computing corporation but the public doesn't know the full extent of their goals and resources

3. I try to be pretty concise and unavoidable when I do my lore stuff, so you should be able to find the Rats segments in this playlist with ease: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3MFbfp1zo8dooC57HqfbizRoc07PdlFQ

4. Maaaaaaybe, people have noticed some parallels / links and all shall be revealed one day for sure, even if I'm like gonna quit doing videos and streaming, I'd just lore dump whatever isn't revealed so it's out there ha

5. A lot of my New Life streams are me just doing the grindy parts of the SMP and with the server being somewhat inactive I want to save the crossover / collab content for the videos - I'm not sure people would flock to a 3 hour vod of me painfully and slowly building an outpost or hollowing out a mountain to make a factory ya know?

6. Kestrels - probably Sausage, with Oli as a close second. Herons - Owen or Water. Owen has an inquisitive gene like Martyn and Water likes all things musical. Nightingales - Ros is so different to Martyn that it makes for some wholesome and chaotic interations, you never know which you'll get. Kites - Bek is basically the only one he's interacted with, he had a little banter on the seas with Kuervo but it was brief

7. I did! I surprisingly got Kestrel, or I guess, not surprisingly huh?

[fulcrumredeemed]

@ontheticktick

[2026, XX Xonth: The Activation of the Interplanar Travel Device, (I.T.D.) @ XX:15pm: Before Activation]

The Homo superior, a subspecies to the Homo sapien species, sometimes called Homo sapien superior or more simply put a Human being with super human abilities through the activation of the X-gene usually by some event that put the individual in danger, caused a great amount of stress, or trauma. Some mutations were subtle, while others were fully visible to the public. Which wouldn't be an issue if it were not for the virulent, hateful, bigoted people who were anti-mutant. Always someone to hate. Always someone to other, or exclude. They keep breeding these hate filled ideas of one group being superior to another, that someone who is not blonde haired and blue-eyed is lesser or defective in someway and the further someone gets from looking like that blonde hair and blue-eyes, the more defective they are. Creating this nasty little social hierarchal system of who is important, not based on their actual worth, or what they can bring to the table, but they are judged by their appearance and their genetics. Some of Ahsoka's mutations were very noticeable, having horns and tendrils in place of her hair, along with an organ that works to sense sounds and vibrations and turn them into sight, or at the very least knowledge. While others were less noticeable, like her also having the abilities of Apathy, Astral Premonition, Aura Reading, Ecological Empathy, Emotional Detection, Empathy, Empathic Mimicry, Inter-dimensional travel, Pathokinesis, Power Mimicry, Precognition, Telekinesis, and Telepathy. Now we are going to be focusing on the [Inter-dimensional travel] of Ahsoka Tano's list of mutations. It's the one mutation that the monks of Kamar Taj couldn't help her fully control, but where the monks failed, a chance encounter with a kind soul. His name was Forge, he was a kind mutant with a very unique mutation, and one that Ahsoka still didn't fully understand, yet. The Native American mutant knew how to make anything that his mind could conceive, and boy could it image and dream a lot. It was the X-men, Forge, that made Ahsoka's [I.T.D.] to help her better control her [Inter-dimensional travel], or at the very least allowed her the ability to chose when she goes traversing the multiverse. Now the thing is, once she had this [I.T.D.] it didn't just give her control to chose when to go or stay but it allowed her to go to a place that was in between worlds. The World Between Worlds, as is were.  Ahsoka adjusted the [I.T.D.] that was fastened to the back of her left, forearm, near her wrist. A touch screen the size of a cellphone, strapped with a matte black mesh cloth sleeve between her arm and a gunmetal black metal clasp with two fang like restraints that wrap around the mesh cloth and Ahsoka's arm, latching the [I.T.D.] into place on the back of her forearm. The screen lite up Ahsoka's face as she tapped the screen of the [I.T.D.] causing it to wake up. A very Sci-Fi humming sound began winding up, coming from the device on her arm. Pointing her arm at the nearby blank wall with her hand balled into a fist and her wrist angled so that Ahsoka's fist was pointing downward and out of the way of the device. Ahsoka tapped a digital button on the screen and then slid the indicator button to the right. A bright light aqua-blue light with neon-green flecks periodically swirled around within the aqua-blue hologram-looking light that is now projected on the blank wall. The light swirled and formed into a very, large triangle with a ring of, what appears to be carvings of wolves, that moved around the ring in a circle, with the appearance of the wolves running as they moved around the ring. Within the ring of wolves, is two concentric rings, that was the frame for the event horizon of the portal to the World Between Worlds.  Ahsoka Stepped Into the Portal.

[World Between Worlds.......................] [.........................ERROR..........................] [Dreamscape: Wade Wilson.................] [.........................ERROr..........................] [World Between Worlds: Dreamscape: ] [.......Enter_Addendum_Wade_Wilson]

Something was wrong.

Was that an error code on the event horizon of the portal, right before she walked in? The tunnel within the portal seemed different as well, crimson red rectangluar streaks flashed in various places all around Ahsoka, within the tunnel walls. That was not normal at all. The tunnel broke, flecked and flashed as though it was a glitch in a program on a computer screen. Ahsoka was thrown out, of the recieving end of the portal that she opened, into a seemingly endless expanse, with only but a few transparent and translucent pathways and walkways criscrossing through the expanse, other doorways and portals dotted along the celestial roads, in the World Between Worlds. 

Placing one knee up, and pushing upward from that knee with the coresponding arm to help help stand up. Shaky and wobbly. Weak. Ahsoka placed her hand over her eyes, closing them in the process, taking a deep breath in through her nostrils and out though her mouth. Trying to get her eyes to refocus her eyes, hopefully making it so that her vision was no longer blurry. Shaking her head, to maybe knock some of those cobwebs out of her head. As Ahsoka opened her eyes, something felt off.......

but she wasn't sure what it was. 

[eldritch-spouse]

Ooo, questions!!! I know you mentioned that Gallon is more of a loose slime, so what does a more...solid(?) slime look like? N how would a half slime half other creature (monster or human) look :O?

I also read that one of Vorticia's kids has a Wrath dad, n I was curious how having demon parents from different rings work? Does the rank of each parent influence which sin is more prevalent, or is it just kinda a toss up?

Gallon is a pretty loose slime, yes. If you want an example of a more solid slime, look no further than Pinter, his own dad.

Pinter is a lot more defined as you can see. More than humanoid, he's pretty decently gelatinous and doesn't drip around himself like Gallon, only in certain spots.

A hybrid between another species and a slime varies according to genetics. Sometimes, they can create ectoplasm monsters, like Fasma, who tend to be a lot more consistent and sometimes feature a series of strange abilities science can't quite yet explain.

Vorago's dad was wrathful, Berle's dad was lustful.

I think I've spoken about this in more detail, but I can do it again really quickly.

It's not the Ring that matters here, it's the type of demon. More than that, it's the genetics of said demon parents.

Recall the situation with Katia and the triplets, if you will. Katia is a mid-ranking sloth demon and the triplets' father was a wrath demon, likely mid-rank too. In spite of this, only one of Katia's kids is wrathful, and she has no slothful child to her name. That's where genetics and pure chance comes into play. In spite of being their respective types, both these parents had genes that corresponded to other types of demons, and since the rank between them was equal, it was only a matter of chance.

Were the chances of the kid being wrathful or slothful higher? Certainly. But there were still chances for them to be other types, and that's what happened with Obie and Mervin.

Yes, the rank of a parent influences the outcome of the child's type. Meaning, essentially, a high-ranker's genes are more dominant, therefore if you had an imp glutton and a high-ranking prideful demon, the chances of the kid being prideful are quite high in this case. They could also turn out to be another type in the prideful demon's genes, but that's a little less likely in these inter-rank cases.

Now, when you add a demonlord into the equation, recall what I said in this ask.

Demon types are inherited only in specific scenarios, particularly when:

A) Only one of the parents is a demon;

B) One of the parents is an Icon;

Demonlords are overpoweringly dominant when it comes to their genetic material's influence on the outcome of their children.

All of Vorticia's children are gluttons.

There are little tells here and there that may reveal the types of their fathers (they were usually all high-ranking males), but they could never have been another type other than their demonlord mother's.

[transmechanicus]

Mankind is incapable of sorcery. This is not a value judgement or an act of prideful gatekeeping, but a statement of fact. On levels genetic, morphologic, and cognitive mankind is constrained in ways that prevent their inherent biological application of magic. They lack crucial genes shielding them from the potent radiation of extradimensional forces. Their joints are too restrictive, their number of limbs too few. The spectrum of their senses is far too narrow, and rare is the human mind that can comprehend the complex underlying theorems required to do more than poorly imitate the might of sorcerers of other species. Many a human fool has sought to grasp at magic and has been twisted by bone breaking, gut wrenching gravitic forces as their flesh burns and bleeds from within.

The motions of witches and spellcasters are not entirely an act of control, but also rather the expression of self distorting and intractable forces being exerted in exchange for miracles manifested by complexity of one’s mind. This lesson was slow in taking for humans, but it was one they overcame with typical determination.

First was the creation of the psycho-frame, a device that could divert the locus of magical catalysis to an artificial point, allowing humans to cast magic through more resilient and adaptable proxy constructs. Following several centuries later was mankind’s first artificial witch, an AI synthesis of machine learning and simulated replicas of human brains.

This latter creation revolutionized human control of magic, allowing its use on a significantly expanded and coordinated scale, as well as its study and analysis by their symbiotic machine organisms for the first time. It was not long after that humans began utilizing magic as their primary means of FTL, being less resource intensive than the temporally compressed accelerators they used prior. Now every interstellar ship had a meadow of proxy sorcerers on its bow, exerting the will of a God Machine at the vessels heart, tearing open reality to carry mankind to vistas far and grand.

There upon those distant horizons they found such beauty, but in far greater frequency horrors beyond count. Beings evolved from their first fusing of cells in parts of the galaxy saturated by dimensional bleed and convinced of their cultural and biological supremacy as masters of witch physics. Cities arranged upon worlds for the conduction of sacrificial spells by entire planetary populations. Planetary bodies were torn asunder from systems away, and the flow of time upon stars and their orbits was twisted to send human populated worlds towards disaster at the will of alien cult magi. Moon sized inter-system super predators blasted lightning and neuron burning insanity at any human ship that dared enter their conception of territory, hunting mankind’s vessels like fish in a vast black sea.

There was no counter to such things, not that could be mustered quickly or reliably. Ship designs were altered from the colossal Void Arks carrying entire cities of military, governmental, and civilian crew, to stripped down Witness Frigates run only by a Demigod class AI and a brave few humans to accompany them in mankind’s efforts to chart the stars. Only when a system was thoroughly explored and catalogued directly would any further Arks be sent. So into the black were sent thousands of unblinking mechanical eyes and beating hearts.

What do you think they found?