#irving traveller

[lurking-lilibeth]

They stay for lunch, and overall, the family gathering goes really well. Both Tina and Isaiah are going through a mild cold, but luckily no one catches is.

Nathan: I don't like that cough of yours, son. You should have some comfort soup when you get home.

[lethesbeastie]

I showed a few parts of this larger ref while responding to asks yesterday, so might as well post the whole thing akfhskfhskf

Version without texture overlay + character design thoughts and lore under the cut!

I'm gonna start this off by saying that I am not a biologist and that my attempts at speculative biology are operating by "rule of cool" in some parts of this design.

Wraith's design is largely based on cephalopods, with mimic octopus, bobtail squid, and cuttlefish playing a key role as design inspirations. My goal for their design in this form was to keep their anatomy and physiology as close to the typical structure of cephalopods as possible without sacrificing the necessary physical features that would allow them to adapt to life outside of the water. I wanted them to look alien, but still endearing, and to emphasize the fact that they are very much still a child despite their size and strangeness.

A quick note on some terms from the flavor text on the image:

Buccal mass: mouthparts of a cephalopod, including the beak and the musculature that allows it to open and close

Mantle: the main body of a cephalopod that protects and contains all of its major organs

Flavor text:

Arms Vs. Tentacles: on cephalopods, Arms refer to appendages which have suckers along the entire length of the limbs underside, while Tentalces only have suckers at the club-like end

1. Blue of blood shows through in membranes/thinner areas of flesh

2. Primary mouth/buccal mass

3. External gills

4. Siphon

5. Ridges flare when threatened

6. Tentacles and rear arm merge, acts as counterweight to aid in bipedal locomotion

7. Lower anterior arms merge to form legs; lack of proper bones means bipedal locomotion is unsteady

8. Upper arms adapted hands to better manipulate objects

9. The two rear-most appendages are proper tentacles, and are capable of manipulating objects almost as effectively as main hands

10. Two mouths, one form consumption, one for speech*

- 10A. Secondary mouth hidden by barbles, chitin** structure within resembles a fused set of teeth. This mouth can be used to eat, but there's a high risk of choking

- 10B. Resting position of beak in primary mouth, retracted into buccal mass

- 10C. Extended position of beak in primary mouth; capable of breaking down mollusk shells and biting through bone

11. Natural posture when unfurled

12. Defensive stance

13. The skin covering the mantel forms a cavity into which the head can partially withdraw

14. Capable of spitting ink from secondary mouth when in distress

15. Eyes are large with highly reflective pupils; excellent dark vision

16. Nictitating membrane rises to protect the eye when biting, may also rise when distressed

17. Retractable claws inside suckers

Extra design lore and speculative biology:

18. Blood is a deep blue, appears black under water, and turns clear as it dries. Texture is thick and viscous

** in the image I wrote keratin, but research has shown me that a squids beak is actually made of chitin rather than keratin! Keratin may still be present, but it's not the main polymer in the makeup of the beak structure. I know this is a silly fun character design, but I try to remain somewhat accurate with how I engage the biological aspects, so I wanted to correct my mistake

At the current moment of this design, Wraith is 11 years old, and stands at 5 ft 4 in [168 cm] when using their legs. They measure 6 ft [183 cm] long from head to tail when unfurled/in the water. Their height and size relative to their age is above average compared to humans, but is more or less in line with the normal growth rate for deep sea tritons, which are the largest of the triton variants. Their height out of the water is limited by their physiology; Wraith lacks proper bones, so maintaining an upright form requires a lot more effort and energy. They rely heavily on mobility aids (rollator, cane, wheelchair) if they'll be walking or standing for long periods of time in their true form.

The changeling magic that enables their shape-shifting provides a level of structural stability to their body when in disguise that makes life outside of the water easier, but they still require more rest and breaks from standing than other able-bodied children of their own age. The form that provides the most stability is their "default" triton disguise, which they've carefully tailored to be as comfortable as possible so they can have a more active lifestyle. Smaller disguise forms are easier to manage, as the compression of their body makes those forms more stable to hold. Their triton disguise form measures out to only 3 ft 5 in [103 cm] tall which is much easier for them to maintain out of the water.

[king-wens-king]

time travel in severance

in severance there is time travel. just not the way you expect it.

when helly completes her first day in the severed floor , exiting it and immediately re-entering, time has thrown her forwards about 48 hours - she just doesn't feel it.

when mark calls in sick, he travels forward a day, and misses hellys first refinement - he just wasn't there to see it.

When the refiners come back right after the otc, theyre told its been 5 months, but truthfully it's really only been a few days - they just don't know it.

When helly comes back right after the otc, her lungs on fire from an alien wet cold and heart heavy with truth, its been weeks of her friends assuming she was by their side all along - she just hasn't been told yet.

and what is time for a severed person? when your entire existence thus far has only been a mere 107 hours, are you even capable of comprehending the instances that will pass you?

in being one half of a person, the present is stolen from you and you're at the whim of being thrust into a future against your will. your colleagues will have conversations or life-altering devastations and you will have to do the delicate work of playing catch-up, when just a few minutes ago you were all laughing about taping sticky notes on each others foreheads.

There might even be instances you and your friends are all running on the same moment, keeping pace on the same clocks. But there is always the chance that your other half chooses not to let you out then one day (?) you won't fit together anymore. you're all jumbled puzzles pieces, broken, jabbing elbows and cutting each other trying to be whole again.

and you'll never get those moments back. they're gone forever and all you can do is walk back into your department, take a breath, and fulfill your purpose.

hours, a whole day, and, in respect their half-lives, a severed person can skip forward lifetimes, exiting one moment and skipping past entire instances that enter brutally into the next.

there is time travel in severance. just not the way you want it.

[saints-who-never-existed]

Genuinely considering spending my weekend poring over old maps of Edinburgh. I know the city really well in the present day and many parts of it haven't changed much at all over the centuries.

I do want more concrete information on the state of it in the early 19th Century though, in order to write a deeply stupid wee drabble of Irving and Goodsir crossing paths there.

Just picture it with me!

Straitlaced, evangelical Irving somehow finding himself in the Goodsir brothers' bachelor pad/menagerie at Lothian Street. Just standing there in disbelief, vein pulsing neurotically in his forehead while Goodsir's busy with some bat-shit experiment and is offhandedly like "Go ahead and feed my pet fuckin' tortoise, won't you? There's a good man!"

[tomoleary]

George Washington Hood (1869-1949) "So He Jumped Out of Bed and Went Strolling About the House" Tales From Washington Irving's Traveler: The Bold Dragon (1930) Source

[the-worms-in-your-bones]

I am once again going down the rabbit hole of trying to figure out the ages of the Gallifrey characters

[midwestaesthetics]

Sleepy Hollow, New York, USA. Home of the Headless Horseman...

[nickysfacts]

Headless Horseman is a analogy on history:

no matter what he will never die and will always continue to haunt those still alive!

🐴🎃

[stoportotouch]

solved the edward little problem that i was having.

[rabbitcruiser]

The Golden Gate Bridge opened to pedestrian traffic on May 27, 1937, creating a vital link between San Francisco and Marin County, California.

The Golden Gate Bridge opened to vehicular traffic on May 28, 1937.

[lurking-lilibeth]

Isaiah and Tina come to visit, and they bring the kids, Irving and Tamara. Mary and Nathan are beyond happy to see their grandchildren.

Elissa and Tina find some things in common right away.

[have-you-read-this-short-fiction]

[opens-up-4-nobody]

Listen. Probably my favorite thing about The Terror is that because the story is one planned out season, the arcs and parallel scenes are set up so cleanly and nicely that it echos.

[hahahax30]

A Spaniard: *breathes*

Washington Irving: the manly, crude Spanish intake of breath is a direct heritage bestowed upon this people with birdless land by the Moors; it is but an element interwoven in their nature that tethers them to the savage Africa

[the-worms-in-your-bones]

Okay, so like how old do we think all of the main gallifrey characters are