#like transforming centaurs would be really cool

[witchofthesouls]

Mikaela gets to be a dragon! yess she deserves it! Sam "Boy Maguffin Chosen One" Witkey discovers himself be a tanish/goldish Doge Neon.

You're right I wasn't thinking big enough. Sphinxes, Narwhals, tugboats. Propeller Sea planes, submarines, a California condor or albatros, Gryphon, a combine harvester, somebody and their family become a pack of Cybertronian wolves. Some MFer becomes a unicorn. An octopuss. There will be some conventional vehicles but what's a salt truck to a seeker, amirte?

Ratchet’s worried about what is gonna show up next. Earth only animal? Mythological Criter? Vehicle? Land, sea or air based alt mode? No one knows.

Worse Decepticons do long term deep cover too. So more than just Autobot adjacent humans are vulnerable and showing up. Worst inteoduction to Robot fight club is discovering you are now 1, a robot, and 2 part of the fight club by default. On the flip side worst way to have your cover blown is when your cover becomes a pack of mechanical wolves and you have to eject them in the middle of rush hour because frag that.

Agent asshelm can be a Ford Pinto tho. He don't deserve anything cool.

I don't know if Sam would be cyberformed, or at least not at first.

One day I'll sit down and properly tag the specific AUs, but in the verse where Mikaela became a Dragon blessed by TFP visitor Unfathomable!June who once was Megatronus Prime, I would like the explore a reverse of the dynamic where she is the one that needs to deal with the worldview shattering ventures. Among other things. Bayverse is doing the "Earth is Unicron" subplot, and I'm running away with it!

But in this case, Sam had an out. He was able to return to normalcy with additional comforts as a human that the Autobots are very attached to. Mikaela doesn't.

Now, Mikaela not only has to figure out what does it mean to be claimed by a titanic deity on Earth and Cybertron, but navigate the secrets of the Foundation and the rising tensions Elsewhere as many turned their gazes to the Autobots' presence due to a new Dragon after many ages gone. With the additional aspects that TFP!Megatronus and Bayverse!Fallen may have played different roles or something went wrong in the later verse, Mikaela may be meant to be an act of atonement from Megatronus. Unlike him, who's chained, she's able to move freely with his authority.

Mikaela can not go home anymore. Yes, she may have access to her Earth home, but normalcy is now beyond her.

A Dragon!Mikaela and a Sam that's housed the Allspark would need to figure out themselves as individuals and as a couple.

So, going back to it, there should be way more mythical and fantastical transformations, especially with the wild stuff going on across cultures. Like we can have actual merformers here and magical girl sequences.

[cat-in-a-mech-suit]

Transmasculinity Throughout Time: Greek Mythology

This is a relief of Caeneus from Greek Mythology getting beaten into the ground by centaurs with trees. He is one of three trans men in Greek myths that I will be discussing! Not only am I looking at actual historical trans men, but examples of transmasculine figures in myths and stories too. The next one will be FtM crossdressing and transmasculine longings written in Shakespeare - I am still wondering though, what other examples of transmasculinity in fictional myths and stories are out there?

Reiterating, I am not any kind of authority on history and am getting my information from accessible internet resources- if you want a source on something specific, ask - many sources are slightly to very problematic in how they talk about gender and transmasculinity so I prefer to not post them directly but will give them in the comments on request if you want to look into something. For this post, I am just going off of Wikipedia. Anyways, anything I post in Transmasculinity Throughout Time is my own opinions, I will talk casually and formally (I don’t really distinguish formality due to autism), and I will use the pronouns of my best judgement. If you don’t like this series for any reason, cool, don’t interact. If you like it and want to give suggestions, cool. I would like to bring transmasculine histories to light in my own way, and welcome a curious and open minded discussion.

In Greek myths, there are three trans men who are known of: Caeneus, Iphis, and Leucippus. If you read the following about Caeneus, please be aware of the content: specifically, TW for SA. Skip to Iphis and Leucippus after the break if you’d prefer to avoid it.

Caeneus was the child of Elatus and Hippea. He was born a girl, but was transformed into an invulnerable man after being raped by Poseidon. In some accounts, he asked to be transformed to avoid pregnancy. In others, it is simply so he doesn’t suffer the same thing again. This narrative is very interesting to me. Some modern sanism and queerphobia manifests as the idea of transmasculinity, lesbianism, or queerness of any kind as a response to sexual trauma. But Caeneus wasn’t a one dimensional victim turned oppressor. He was the strongest warrior of his day after he was transformed, and became king of the Lapiths. Somehow, he angered the gods, exactly how is unclear - it is suggested that it could have been worshipping or encouraging others to worship a spear instead of the gods. As punishment, they sent centaurs after him.

The most popular story involving Caeneus is actually his battle with the centaurs, not his gender transformation. It was called centauromachy, a battle between Lapiths and centaurs. Because he was invulnerable, none of the centaurs weapons worked on him, and he was difficult to defeat - to kill him, they had to actually bury him in the earth by beating him down with stones and uprooted trees. These centaurs were transphobic too. They said:

“Shall I put up with one like you, O Caeneus?

For you are still a woman in my sight.

Have you forgot your birth or that disgrace

by which you won reward—at what a price

you got the false resemblance to a man?!

Consider both your birth, and what you have

submitted to! Take up a distaff, and

wool basket! Twist your threads with practiced thumb!

Leave warfare to your men!” (Ovid, Metamorphoses).

“Transandrophobia isn’t real” “trans men have no historical presence” Meanwhile greek mythology be like… anyways.. So .. Then.. the centaurs were defeated by him! He was invulnerable. But they could still beat him into the ground with uprooted trees. It is described in Races’ translation of Argonautica, Apollonius of Rhodes: “They rallied against him, but were not strong enough to push him back nor to kill him, so instead, unbroken and unbending, he sank beneath the earth, hammered by the downward force of mighty pine trees.” This makes me think about how transmasculinity is buried in history.. Onto the next myths!

Iphis and Leucippus both have very similar stories. Iphis was born of Ligdus and Telethusa. Ligdus only wanted a son, and said he would only let the child live if it was male. The goddess Isis asked Telethusa to keep the child regardless of how it is born, and promised her aid in the future. Iphis grew up raised as a boy, and was “officially” transformed by Isis before marrying a girl, Ianthe. From Ovid, Metamorphoses:

“Her face seemed of a darker hue, her strength seemed greater, and her features were more stern. Her hair once long, was unadorned and short. There is more vigor in her than she showed in her girl ways. For in the name of truth, Iphis, who was a girl, is now a man!”

Leucippus’ tale is almost the same, he was born of Lamprus and Galatea, Lamprus would only accept a male child, and Galatea concealed Leucippus’ birth sex from her husband, giving him a masculine name and referring to him as her son. Upon puberty, he was changed physically into a man by the goddess Leto. This story actually inspired a male rite of passage in Phaistos dedicated to Leto, and inspired a wedding custom where brides would lie next to an image or statue of Leucippus before weddings. Two customs in an ancient greek city being inspired by a story about a trans man is an important and cool fact methinks.

[slashingdisneypasta]

Hades x Indentured!Fem!Reader || Oneshot

Plot: Where Meg failed, you succeeded. Or, Nessus isn’t good for aftercare, but Hades is. Do you see where I’m going with this? Maybe not? Well you’ll have to read on! XD 

Warnings: Soft aftercare, references to centaur fucking, non-sexual nudity (Though genitalia is not specified), non-sexual body worship, if you're touch starved then you are going to love this-

After Nessus left you in the shallowest part of the river, near to the bank but still a few centimetres deep, your knees digging into the slimy mud beneath the water, you weren’t quite sure how you were going to get home. There was no way you could walk all the way across the forest to your cottage, the aching between your legs would be too much to bear. Maybe you would just ease yourself over to some grass and have a snooze, there- your body would hate you in the morning, but it was already going to from the beating you just received so it wouldn’t really have mattered.

But then, on a soft plain of grass right before your eyes as if he knew exactly where you would be looking, where you were, smoke started to form out of nothing and transformed into the lord of the dead that you know so well. He stands there, intimidating with a curiously unfamiliar look on his face; Eyes flicking quickly over you kneeling in the water, and raises a brow; An unsaid question all-too-obvious on his long face.

Did you do it?

“Ugh… “You just want this whole ordeal to be over. “Yes?... yes- “That’s right, yeah. With more certainty you repeat the word one more time under Hades gaze, nodding- though it is difficult to remember what Nessus had said- “Yes, it’s done. He said tharlt he would join you. He um, just… first he needs you to com- to go see him, tomorrow? Talk details… “You’re finding it difficult to even speak, the thoughts in your head whirring around in what you could only describe as tornado-like- crazy and entirely unhelpful. You just want to sleep… “Now, uh, could you help me up? I- Oh!”

Hades does help you up, tendrils of smoke bleeding out from underneath him and carrying you up into his arms, your muddy knees hung over one of his arms and your arms over his shoulders, but you’re too tired to comment on it. If Hades wants to carry you home then you’re okay with that- you certainly cant walk.

In the pseudo-safety of the arms of this god, which do not actually have a reputation for being safe to consort with, this one in particular having tricked you into selling you soul to him then sent you to that centaur today and had a literally explosive temper, you relax. As odious as you might find Hades, you know he won’t hurt you more. He’s a lot of terrible things but sadist, thankfully isn’t one of them. So, as if your body itself actually knows that too, you let go of his shoulders and cross your arms over uour chest instead, and feel your head drift off to the side, against his chest softly. “… Thank you… “ You say carefully, eyed drifting shut.

“Yeah, don’t worry about it.” The tone in Hades’ voice is half annoyed, but also unconcerned- like he’s trying to find something to be frustrated about here but really he doesn’t mind this. “Let’s get ya home.”

“Mhm… “

When you open your eyes again, minutes later when Hades is setting you down on something unbelievably comfortable- you are not at home. Not your home, at least. Its dark, and stony, and theirs a strong damp smell. This must be the Underworld. Peering about, you cant help but wonder, lord- Did Nessus' enormous dick kill you???

… If it did then you might be better off, you decide after a moment, turning over onto your hip and feeling the silk-like sheets on your cheek. Ahh… the sheets underneath you are cool and smooth, and the mattress somehow moulds quite nicely to your body- offering pressure in all the places that you need it right now; Worn and beaten as it is. A sigh slips out of you that ordinarily you would’ve hidden from Hades at all costs, but right now you can’t seem to mind about.

“Liking that, huh?” Hades asks, as if on cue- but you still don’t mind. In fact his presence may be offering some… comfort… Forcing your eyes open again only slightly, you peak at him standing there above you with an amused look on his face and give a tired huph as you close your eyes once again, the lids far far too heavy to keep open.

“Its nice… “

“Uhuh, right. Now don’t go wondering around- technically you breathers aren’t supposed to be down here. I’ll be right back.”

You barely notice that he’s gone, with your eyes closed and the cloud-like bed comforting you; Only vaguely do you even acknowledge that Nessus did not in fact kill you and you're still alive. With the bed filling in the places you feel lacking and pressing into knots and aches, though, you find you're terribly distracted. How Hades gets up every morning, you have no idea.

When he comes back its with yoghurt and water, which to your surprise doesn’t make you feel sick to look at. In fact, it looks really good, with some little blueberries and oats on top. “Alright babe, sit up.” His hand is on your back, helping you to do so, before lifting the bowl with smoke tendrils to a space in your lap. You run a hand through your messy hair, before taking up the spoon. “Eat up - all of it, - and then we’ll get you cleaned up, eh?"

Carrying a spoonful of the creamy substance up to your mouth, you give Hades a cautious look. What does he mean get you cleaned up??

He gives a sigh and an eyeroll. “There’s a bath down the hall, Pain and Panic hopefully got that covered, and a spare toga. Don’t worry, I won’t go in… “Here, he gives a sudden smirk, bedroom eyes sent your way that you roll your own tired peepers at. “Unless you ya think ya need me.”

.. Instead of snapping at him for that, you just shake your head, avoiding his eyes. “I’ll be okay… “You shrug, eating away at your yoghurt and sipping carefully at the water. Slowly feeling a bit stronger.

Slowly but surely, that smirk on Hades’ face transforms into a frown. “… that old river guardian really took something out of ya today, huh doll?”

After taking in a nice, deep breath- you nod. “Just… tired… “Then, shifting your thighs with a frown, you add; “And achy… “

“Hey,” Wisps made of smoke come up, then, and turn your head so you look at Hades and his concerned frown. “Look," You gaze up to catch Hades rubbing his neck, a look almost like guilt on his face. "… How about we put a clause in our little contract, eh? Lets say... No more pimping you out, eh? Except for when I really need you, that is. I got Meg for stuff like that, anyway. She's always saying she's a big tough girl, or whatever... Pain and Panic make a pretty hot babe, too, ya know?”

Eyes wide and round, you part your lips from the surprised. This teally sounds too good to be true. Why would Hades- “R- Really??”

“No problem. I got you for another 50 years, at least- can’t have you breaking early, right?” ... ah. Well... Right. You're not sure exactly what you were expecting.

You give a sigh, at that, shaking your head free of the smoke. “Well… thank you. That’s… I- I… just- thanks.”

A grin, that’s far more familiar to you then that frown he was wearing, rueful and mischievous, slips across Hades lips. Then he shakes his head. “Sure- sure, whatever. Now finish your snack and c'mon, let's get ya in that bath."

"Yessir," You nod, giving him the little bit of cheek that you can muster, and a tiny salute before returning to your food.

~

As soon as you stood in the 'bathroom' Pain and Panic already vacated quickly, this expansive marble chamber in shades of soul-green and slate-grey, and lay your eyes on the tub - which is really more of a swimming pool actually,- , you realise you might have written off Hades help too fast.

Your legs are barely holding you up, feeling frail and quivery under you. When you twist around too far then the bruises Nessus' fingertips left on you pang, so there's no way you could reach your own back, or even your hair. And your brain hurts at even the thought of trying to reach and rid yourself of your clothes.

Slowly you turn to Hades, leaning on the doorframe with his arms crossed, waiting expectantly. Because he knows- he knows damn well you're in no state to do this for yourself. When your gaze raises to his, his eyebrows go up- waiting for you to ask him.

You give a sigh. "Hades... I- I- ... " A huff, this time. "Is there any way we could do this without you holding it over my head for the rest of my life??"

Hades gives you a smirk. "We can discuss terms at a later date, babe." As he descends upon you he closes the door behind him, and you take in a deep breath- this is definitely going to change your relationship. No going back from this. Hades is going to see you naked!-

His long, sharp fingers are gentle undressing you, picking the seashell clip out of your hair first, as it was more then askew and badly knotted into the locks- he then passes it off to a tendril of smoke below him which carries it off to a surface nearby. Next he goes to the clasp keeping your toga up, watches you wince, sighs and takes it off.

The material of your toga slips quickly to the ground, and you discover immediately that you're more cold in this dark, open space then you are humiliated because you're naked in front of him. Because- Hades doesn't ogle you. Doesn't grimace at the places you aren't fond of, or comment... he is looking, though. Still, you find that you cross your arms out of desire to lessen the chill, rather then to cut off his view.

You're shivering, gazing towards the tub that you'll need help stepping into, and the idea of spreading your legs in any way is terrifying right now, but even so you're about to turn and ask if you can move on now, when-

"Don't hit me for this, wouldja?"

"... Huh?"

Hades swoops down and kisses you. Not on the lips, not anywhere scandalous. Just... your shoulder. Its one of your very tender areas after what happened, being where Nessus tried to bury his teeth, so you let out a surprised gasp- your fingers flying out immediately to grab at the fabric of Hades' toga in order to not fall from the surprise. The feeling of the lord of the dead's mouth grazing the skin, though, feels... good. Your eyes even fall shut, pleasantly surprised at the odd, lovely feeling. And warm- ahhh, he's so warm.

Quickly you open them back up again, though- wide. "What was- oh, Hades!" You let out an actual yelp, when he spreads the warmth down your arm, disconnects your fingers from his toga, and lays a kiss on your wrist- a place where Nessus had gripped and squeezed and yanked.

Your eyes are blown open as wide as moons at him, surprised and loving this. Surprised that you're enjoying this. He flashes a grin back, straightening up over you again while your big round eyes follow; Glued to him. "... So, you wanna hit me now, princess? Go ahead."

You don't say a word, just give a little head shake. No...

"Oh?"

"That felt... nice."

"Hmm... ya think I could get away with it a third time then?" Giving a nod this time, not trusting yourself with words here, you consent. Hades gets the message, though he's surprised; Raising a brow and letting a dirty smirk stretch across his lips. "... really?~"

"Shhh," You raise a finger. Don't ruin it. Go back go back!-

"Alright alright," Hades shakes his head, silently laughing at you- then he goes back to peppering you with kisses everywhere that it hurts. Over your wrists, your upper arms where Nessus grabbed you, your hips... The warmth he leaves he behind has you feeling comfortable in that big freezing room.

When Hades gets on his knees to soothe your sore points, to... worship you... you're even more surprised then before. A god- on his knees- on the ground- for you??? You smell smoke wafting up from him as his hands, long spindly fingers and hot palms, hold your hips still gently while he drags his mouth over the places Nessus pummelled. Pecks turn into open mouthed ministrations, sucking at delicate, bruised skin and making you moan.

All the way down your thighs he leaves kisses, though he never goes anywhere untoward, before moving all the way up to your neck again- the last one he leaves being on your cheek. All the while your hands stay on his shoulders, staring at him. Wondering... what's changed? Why is he being so gentle with you now? Has he always been so damn handsome??

Hades rubs that last one in with his thumb, hand cupping half of your face as you look up him with something new in your eyes.

"... How bout we getcha in that tub now? Get you nice and clean, then you can get back in that bed ya like so much. Catch some Z's."

You let out a relieved sigh, half-laughing. This whole situation is crazy, and you're exhausted, and you might be falling for a God- but damn that bed was nice. And that sounds good.

[cuppajj]

Tell me about Imperious Delirious

LORD IMPERIOUS DELIRIOUS!

As a basic summary, Lord Imperious Delirious (who I'll be calling Imperious from here on out) is a transformers villain who starred in the Transformers in 3-D and Beast Wars Uprising comics. His modern lore is that he's an AI construct made by an advanced civilization, a repository of its information that eventually became sentient. He's not a Cybertronian, but he later has the power to transform like them into a dragon. He goes around the galaxy as a liberator of other enslaved AI constructs, parading himself as a good guy but really he likes playing god. He also has freaky looking fire that can make you hallucinate your worst traumas or nightmares.

More below cut!

So in Beast Wars Uprising, Imperious was born when the civilization Gorlam Prime decided to upload their collective consciousness into one big lunar database. They wanted a place to put all their information though, so they created an AI that would serve as a database of its own for all of its history, knowledge, emotions, feelings, etc. Imperious came to be as a result, and once he had gained sentience, he came to see himself as a god figure among the remaining lifeforms on the planet, but his disdain for being subservient to his creators made him kill the rest of them. He decided that he would search the rest of the galaxy for others like him, AI subservient to organic masters (second-born intellects as he labels AI - he thinks ai is offensive). Although he's probably done a lot of liberating, three constructs he's freed went on to be his close subordinates:

A minotaur-like robot named Bruton, a naga/lamia-like robot named Medusa, and a centaur robot named Psychokhan! Not much to say about them aside from the fact that they're super cool looking. In the Alone Together comic, their backstories are explained by Imperious:

It's what he'd been doing for so long, but one day, Imperious came across the cybertronian race. At first, he thought they were AI just like him, but he came to see them as light-based lifeforms holding robotic shells hostage; basically, he saw their sparks, thought the sparks were inhabiting unwilling robot frames, and as a robot who doesn't like it when robots are enslaved to other lifeforms, Imperious decided that he'd strive to exterminate the entire cybertronian race in retaliation. Very not good of him!!

However, he does view cybertronians with enough reverence to see himself as a liberator for those who are more broken. Case in point the plot of Alone Together: I won't go over everything here, as I encourage you to read the comic or watch the comic dub (it's very good), but it's about Rampage and Transmutate finding themselves on a planet where they encounter Imperious, who by realizing that both of them have some big sad backstories, humors recruiting them to his cause. (He even gives Rampage his name, before this he was just known as Protoform-X)

It doesn't work out quite the way he wanted though, as Transmutate is untrustworthy because of past experiences with someone she thought could help her. Even though Rampage is convinced to stay, she persuades him out of it, and Imperious, having given these cybertronians a chance, decides to toss his calm persuasion aside and force them into submission the way he does best - break their minds using his fire!!

From there, we get to see how he's not only physically powerful, but he's psychologically powerful too: he gives Rampage and Transmutate horrible nightmares that slowly break their minds. Rampage suffers through things related to his experimentation, Transmutate has a sensory overload, and throughout all of it, Imperious is there as a spectator. There's always imagery of him somewhere, that or he's playing one of the roles in the nightmare. It's bill cipher level the way he torments with his victim's minds!

The way he's defeated is a mixture of both Rampage and Transmutate being able to come together with clear and resistant minds, and Transmutate using her power to knock him back (I wonder if they could've gotten out if she didn't have it?). It's basically the power of friendship!

And from there, instead of fighting them for real, Imperious lets them go - that maguffin I mentioned earlier was what he was really interested in, and it's to do with his overall plan to wage war on the Cybertronian race. The maguffin is a reformatting protocol which he uses to enable himself to transform, and he gives himself a dragon alt mode!! There's no picture of his dragon form, but there is of his root. Before and after:

Sadly, Alone Together is the most we've gotten out of Imperious, at least visually. BWU as a whole is mostly novel form, so there aren't any more pictures of what he does - we don't see his dragon form, we don't see how he or the others look while fighting the Maximals, it's very sad! In summary though, BWU ends with him seizing the Grand Mal (big giganto superweapon that could probably kill all cybertronians), but the good guys explode it which kills him too. Hooray!!!

But yeah, that's basically all she wrote with Imperious. It's sad because Imperious's concept is super cool! He's a godlike being who sees himself as a savior to enslaved AI, he's a transformer-like non transformer who's a formidable adversary to Cybertronians, I dunno it's just really cool to have a villain who's not connected to the cybertronian race, the quintessons, unicron, or earth, but who's still a super formidable foe. He has a killer character design too (they didn't have to give him the snatched waist and flowing hair but ALAS)!! I don't think we'll ever get another piece of TF media with him because he's so obscure, but a guy can dream. We can cherish what little we have of him and appreciate him for being one of the most underrated bad guys in Transformers!!

(If you want to know about his Mercy version then I suggest you drop a question in @/emperor-kumquat's inbox, AND if you want to hear about my completely self indulgent IDW incarnation of him then that's another story for another time. We'd be here all day)

I once again recommend checking out the comic, which you can read here, or watching it in dub form, which you can see here!

I hope your curiosity has been satiated anon, thank you for the ask and for enabling me to talk about my new favorite pathetic awful boyo 🫡🫡

[eldritchdraaks]

If you had the choice to turn into a monster what monster would you turn into?

Oooo interesting question. There's a lot of really good monsters out there, lots of potential. Werewolves, mothmen, centaurs, slimes, dragons, demons, living flames...

Let's work this out. I'm going to assume I am suddenly transformed and that nothing else about my life will change to fit with my new form. However, within reason, I may be able to continue life as normal.

Werewolf is out since there's not telling if I'd even keep my wits about me in wolf form, I could be a killing beast, and I don't want to take that risk.

Demon is out since my religious family might try to exorcise me.

Centaur is cool, but the new body shape would take too much getting used to and potentially be too big.

Living Flame is a fire hazard, rip.

That just leaves slime, mothman, and dragon. Dragons are my favorite, and I think I could choose to be an anthro over a full wyvern which would be too big and too much. I'm already kind of a night owl so mothman would fit me. But the sensation of being formless and able to reshape myself as a gelatinous morph whenever I so please...

Gonna go with mothman. I can fly, I'd be cute and fluffy, I'd be associated with the night, I'd have lil feelers and big feetsys and antenna. Dragon is really tempting, but I do worry about seeming demonic and thus getting exorcised/harassed, and as a slime I would lack the benefits of a solid form, like getting wrapped up in a blanket.

[randomnameless]

Would have been cool if they had gone with their original idea of Galerius becoming an evil centaur Unicorn while Alain becomes a Unicorn with his chosen maiden riding him.

I think this would have needed too many rewrites of the plot to go anywhere lol

But now I'm imagining maiden-Mordon riding Unicorn!Alain and I can't ignore it anymore

From what I could understand (and what I put through the GT lens, this artbook has so many stuff I want to understand lol idk where to start!) some ideas from the beta version was about having an unit called "unicorn knight" - whose model was later re-used to make Virginia/Ilenia and Alain - but idk if the main lead - they designed the "prince" unit, that was re-used for Gilbert! - was able to turn in an unicorn, like proto-alain, or if it was from another scrapped draft thing.

They also had ideas about adding monsters on the fields, but dropped it so the only "remains" from this idea are the bones from Drakengard and Baltro's ominous lines.

TBH... I don't know if I would have appreciated this "monster" inclusion given how Fodlan completely botchered it (but then UO seems to have been designed with more care than Fe Fodlan so...) but if they went through the "and Baltro resurrects long dead/forgotten monsters to fight against the party!" it'd have been to reminiscent of a FE game where a Gharnef like resurrects "dragons" to fight/use against the party lol

Galerius' evil centaur thing, like him having a second transformation/phase would have been neat, and yet, I still think painting him as a "red emperor" was, despite the ties to FE, really nice, in the sense that Galerius is Alain's foil and would be a "him" that didn't bother to read to the plot, thus gets fucked by it at the end (Baltro doing Baltro things once again, since it was his idea in the first place to kill an unicorn!).

But then, I suppose if centaur!Galerius and unicorn!Alain were kept in the final product, VW would have found a way to write them in an acceptable plot so, who knows?

[cptn-m]

One Piece chapter 1113 review

Hooray, it's really happening! This is very much a build-up/anticipation chapter most of the way through, but Oda makes a smart choice to drop the first bomb at the end instead of leaving us waiting, so it won't feel like a total copout even if the broadcast is shut down before it's complete. And now that the ball's rolling, the momentum for post-Golden Week is going to be unstoppable.

We start with a gorgeous colour spread full of fun details, perfectly synced to the title of the chapter. I love having Robin as a chessmaster, Jinbe as a rook recalls his time in Big Mom's crew (remember her using that as a rank?) and the designs of the Chopper pawns are all adorable. Weirdly, they're numbered up to 16 (despite there only being seven in the image), which is the total number of pawns on a chessboard, but across both sides. Are there some enemy pawns on the Strawhats' side of the board already? The process video for this one is a treat too. I love that it's not just building up from rough sketches, they show the moment Oda pauses, goes to a new page to just line up the pieces and develop who is going to be what, then even maps out a chessboard and plans out the moves so that no one's in an impossible position for the finished artwork. I love that kind of attention to detail for things absolutely no one would have thought to check otherwise.

"Well, it's been such a short time…" Vegapunk you fricking tease, no it has not. But hey, if the Vegacoffee really stays warm for two months maybe there's something to it.

I expected a brain in a jar for Punk Records, but I was picturing a Mother Brain kind of situation, having it just be Vegapunk's giant misshapen forehead is hilarious. And I love all the tubes and cables in the reveal panel. I keep looking at it and assuming the detached portion of head is the same size as it was in the flashbacks to post-Ohara earlier in the arc, then I look down to Mars and realise its true size. Can you imagine if Vegapunk still had this thing attached to his dome?

Seeing so many locations connected to the Strawhats as the broadcast builds up really makes it feel like the world is drawing a breath for the big news. Oda wants this moment to breathe, as frustrating as it can be as a weekly reader. And hey, is that a Thousand Sunny beast in the Baldimore segment? Franky was busy while he was there.

And man, speaking of the scale issue with Vegapunk's brain, I'm also taken aback by Nusjuro towering over Franky's group. I know the reveal spread for the Elders' yokai forms showed them being enormous, but in my mind, Nusjuro's centaur form somehow ended up proportioned to the human half, not the horse half. The fact that until now he was mostly shown next to the towering Pacifistas definitely didn't help matters. Sanji's blow to his jaw is an extremely cool moment somewhat undercut by Sanji's fixation on Bonney. He doesn't know. I just have to tell myself he doesn't know. But it's still offputting. The depiction of the transformation back to horse mode is unique, with the human parts seeming to burn away, lingering in the background as the hose head snaps at Sanji. His transformation to the centaur mode was depicted as a much more fluid morphing. He also leaves trails of flames as he goes back to human in Oimo and Kashii's grip a page later.

I'm still not a huge fan of these distorted futures. They really stretch the limits of where it feels like the fruit's rules should be. The callback to Luffy's descent through the clouds during the Kaido fight is fun though, I guess.

The true highlight this week is Saturn's attack on the crew's weakling squad. We get the 'bringing things full circle' reveal that he was the one who spoke to Clover and ordered his death, followed by a truly heart-warming moment of the whole squad forming up around Robin. As someone whose favourite One Piece moment is probably "I want to live" I love these moments where either the crew stands up for her or she affirms her faith in them. And it's a great page besides, with a ton of moments compressed into a single panel, the flurry of attacks and counterattacks developing as your eye moves over the page.

Oda's building up that we're still going to be given a solution to the transponder snail dilemma through Mars and York's continued search. This probably means that we won't hear the full backstory to the reveal on the next page. I'll maintain that even with a decoy in place, I don't trust Vegapunk to have made his deception too extreme. The man has been characterised through this whole arc as naive and perfectionist. He does not have the social skills for a chessmaster manipulation of career politicians and their whole military, and he'd go all in on his first idea come to fruition rather than having numerous redundancies and backups. It would be out of character for him to suddenly be able to bamboozle the whole world, so I do think they'll find the right snail on the island eventually.

And almost to prove this point, Vegapunk refuses to call the World Government and its leaders outright evil, thinking that because he can't understand their final intent there is no call to be made about their actions. That is a lot of benefit of the doubt in my opinion. While I don't disagree that extreme circumstances can justify extreme actions, I've yet to see the circumstances that justify the World Government's multiple genocides. Vegapunk believes that whatever other mystery he hasn't solved yet, it must make the cruelty of these people slot into place and finally make sense. It's a nice thought from a very understanding heart, and it's exactly the kind of thinking that's made it so easy for them to fool him time and time again.

And then the bomb drops. "The world as we know it will to sink into the sea!!" A fitting apocalypse for an ocean-covered world, and just the kind of lategame reveal I'd expect from Oda. Just at a glance, it makes a lot of worldbuilding pull together, from the desirability of the Redline to the strange sinking issues of Long Ring Long Land and Water Seven, the impact of the Mother Flame test on the level of the ocean, and even possibly the height of Wano's walls and the choice to build Zou on Zunesha's back. We know there's a lot that Oda can change on the fly, but I'm ready to fully believe this was one of those things that was planned from the start.

Interesting too is the panel of merfolk at the very end of the chapter. They don't appear to be listening to the broadcast or otherwise connected to the scene at all, but of course they have a symbolic relevance to a flooded world, especially if it turns out a cleansing flood has come and gone already in the past. And let's not forget the plainly significant to this scenario Noah and Poseidon back at Fishman Island.

So we've got one big reveal that sets the course for the remainder of the series already. Anything else Vegapunk manages to get out before being shut down is just gravy. Plus we've got a lot of strawhats in rough situations with some escaping to do. The Egghead climax is so far proving to be worth the wait.

[sunshine-tattoo]

so as cool as the twist about the general and the nowhere king was, I feel like it didn't thematically fit with horse's arc the way they wanted it to.

I think a better backstory for the nowhere king would have been for him to the mysterious woman's steed, like horse was for ryder.

Like horse, he gets trapped in centaurworld with no way out. Perhaps due to the rift's instability that we saw in the song "rift workers".

But unlike horse, he doesn't find a herd who loves him.

Because Wammawink's approach to loving anyone in need is pretty much unheard of, as we saw in the hootenany episode.

So Elk can now speak but he's completely isolated from his person and has no one to help him. The loneliness and hopelessness finally get to him, as they threatened to do to horse.

He eventually is reunited with Woman, but she has moved on from him. As was horse's fear with ryder. She also still sees him as "just an elk" and has married the general. Who in this version is just an ordinary man.

The black goop is a physical manifestation of his jealously and despair and, like in the show, he is slowly transformed.

He attempts to make a new family for himself with this dark magic by "inverting" centaurs. Instead of a human top and an animal body, they are now an animal head on a human body. Thus creating minotaurs.

The rest of the story progresses basically the same way. He wages war against both sides of the rift, hating the centaurs for rejecting him and the humans for looking down on him. He is especially keen on killing the general because of his jealousy. Since jealousy was a major theme in horse's arc that never really got resolved.

Horse sees all of this in mind and grieves for him but also understands that his tragedy doesn't make up for the countless lives he's taken.

She battles with him, inside and out but is outmatched. The nowhere king goes for the final blow, but ryder steps in to save her at the cost of her own life.

The nowhere king realizes that a human really could love an animal as much he had always wanted Woman to love him.

He tells horse that he is ready to rest now and asks if she will grant him the mercy of death.

Horse accepts and ends him peacefully with magic, letting his ashes scatter into both worlds.

Woman is apologetic, but Horse tells her that apologies are for the living. Move on. Do good. But that horse has no desire to ever see her face again.

As for if ryder ends up surviving, both options work for me since they botn present interesting possibilities.

The rest is the same. Horse becomes a shaman. Stabby helps the minotaurs learn gentleness. And there's lots of hope and singing.

[wwjgyd]

various scribbles for a Berserk AU which is mostly just for aesthetics. Something Something about the general vibe of his clothes are actually part of his body? In his everyday form he always has his eyes closed preventing the blood to seep out but also so people can’t tell his eyesockets are actually empty. White flowers, probably peonies growing out from them circling his head a bit like a halo. (I think I had the image of the Jin Sects trait from @ehyde​ ‘s Forms and Transformations AU in mind where the “monstrous” Jin form is like a walking flower garden. Check it out here! The different forms are very interesting and the intro is a chilling tale.)

Su She for scale.

Jin Guangyao gets to be tall because I wanted him to look to other people like a statue of a benevolent god having come to life, maybe he gets some skin discoloration so he looks like a white Jade statue adorned in gold? But it’s also so Su She can conveniently hide under his robes... which is also why Su She gets not to be an apostle as fun as the design might be. Idk what what his form would be but something that would emphasize his devotion to Jin Guangyao, like overgrown with flowers to the point of no longer recognisable. Beautiful and terrifying? Well you know the video game thing when the boss absorbs or uh eats a minion to heal himself/power up? Well yes. That.

The plot wouldn’t be much different but eh Guanyin temple confrontation might take place more outside because that’s Jin Guangyao’s like regular slightly monstrous shape and not his dark apostle form. (That’s the big-ass mermaid I posted idk probably in 2019?) let me just attach it here.(wow it’s actually even still from 2018)

I like the sketch better though.

Who’s the sacrifice? Since it’d follow canon plot Qin Su or Rusong would strike as most obvious choice but I think Jin Guangshan would be interesting because of how it reflects him giving up on the hope he’d ever be truly accepted as a son and it would conveniently line up with him becoming Sect leader.

It’d also fit well with Wen Ruohan being an Apostle(that’s what the other scribbles are) too and the one who told Meng Yao about how to become one including the necessary sacrifice in a “As your mentor I’m just giving you the information, what you make of it, whether you will take this step or not is up to you” I wonder if there’d be more Sect leaders who are apostles since it’d be usually very noticeable and there should be more than just Wen Ruohan and Jin Guangyao so people seeing extra tall Jin Guangyao wouldn’t think it’s a bad thing. Maybe see it more like a sign of being given some kind of divine power since the actual way it works would be secret.

It could also be interesting for Nie Sect if it’s a different type of deal where it’s delayed? Like maybe you are yourself the sacrifice in that case? Apostle Nie Mingjue would of course be horse mons centaur or Qilin themed. No no you know what horsetaur would be extra cool and weird, a hunk of a man but a terrifying horsehead with a luscious mane on those shoulders. Anyway I lost track of what I was saying. Wen Ruohan’s design in my mind needs to be uhhh big and long, like when you enter teh room you just see a tangle of the long snakelike body but can’t even tell where the body starts or ends, but I didn’t wanna go with snake, so he’s basically a very big animated cerebral spine? Something about vibes that are Giratina-like? Idk I still really like centipede or snake form for the aesthetic. Maybe he sheds his flesh for a powered up form? It’s an AU and a crossover so I can make up some rules?

[pumpkinsy0]

Some more dragon and centaur purly au headcanons please and thank you 👍🏻 (Can I get a little more of Soda and Darry and the Shepard siblings too? I’m just a little curious about them)

omg its been a while since i talked about this au i got u rn anon, and for the ppl who havent seen the au or need a refresher, u can find that post right here w that all said and done hold my hand and i shall give u hcs rn

•ok like i said before ponys body is actually string enough that he could like carry curly on his back as like a ride, sooo curly likes flicking ponys horse ear stuff thats ontop of his head bc he thinks its funny how it just reacts to it

•angela and tim r dragons too btw🙏🏽

•OHOH in this au i hc pony to have like idk if u would call it freckles cause its not exactly freckles, but he does have like lil white spots on his face and curly has like rlly small scales on his face that ig act like freckles too but when the sun hits them they kinda shimmer and its just rlly pretty, angela has the same thing goin on🤸🏽‍♀️

•OHOH curly can transform to b like an actual dragon and pony rides on him just bc, but curly is an asshat and likes going rlly fast and doing dives and spins mid flight so pony doesnt rlly do it all that much

•curly has sharp ass teeth all around, ESPECIALLY his fangs and playfully bites pony, its quite literally his love language atp

•BUT U ALSO ASKED FOR MORE DARRY, SODA, ANGELA, AND TIM FOR THIS AU SO HERE U GO

•so gargoyles r usually on too of buildings just chilling right???so i hc that darry likes being on high places out of like natural instinct

•sometimes if he sees pony he fucking leaps down and it scares the shit out of pony, he doesnt even mean to scare him he just does</33

•omg hes like made out of stone, like hes not rlly made outta stone hes still pretty fleshy, its just rlly,,,,resistant ig, his wings r especially hard as hell

•hes protective especially in this au cause yknow some ppl think gargoyles r there to keep off evil spirits from a building or something along those lines

•soda has a fucking fishbowl helmet if he wants to leave the water lol

•im making soda a siren here idc idc he has claws and sharp teeth but tries to b gentle w ppl to nit hurt them w it

•he can do cool tricks in the water guys i swear u have to see it for urself

•sometimes he sings just to sing, he doesnt wanna attract ppl w it sometimes, it just,,,happens

•im just saying the shepards can do that thing where they can exhale smoke and they all do it when they r mad and guys its so cool</333

•tim is like REALLY intimidating like holy shit dude😟

•angela is just flat out hot lol

•tim has a bunch of spikes and that makes him like 10 times more intimidating

•also all the shepards r like rlly tall here like jesus fucking christ 😟

•they’re all like over 5’9

[ordinarytalk]

No wait I still have Opinions about the Nowhere King's backstory and I'm gonna yell about them (spoiler city)

THE NOWHERE KING'S BACKSTORY FUCKIN' SUCKS

Seriously! What the hell! He's just some idiot incel! "Oh boo hoo, she'll never love me unless I remove the parts of myself I hate, so I'm going to do that instead of ACTUALLY TALKING TO HER AND SEEING WHAT SHE FEELS and then I'll TORTURE THE PART OF ME I HATE for no damn reason."

(Sidenote: How the hell did he marry the princess? He canonically stated she never knew he was the elktaur until well after they were married. Did he just show up to the castle one day like "Hello there fellow two-legged humans, I am also a human and I have no home and no job or money! Can I marry the princess, pwease?")

Okay, okay, and I would be willing to forgive all that, but then the next part is what really gets me. The elk runs away, right? He gets the magic whatsit and decides to "make his own family" and makes the first minotaurs. Okay, I got it. It's immoral, but he's already done some mad science, I can see it happening.

Then he takes his "new family" and mind-controls them to make them kill cities full of people.

WHAT.

Why? How?! How did he even get the ability to mind-control them?! WHYYY is he murdering strangers now?! To get back at his other half? He could just attack the General straight on if he wanted that! And if these minotaurs are his "new family," why would that entail enslaving their fuckin brains and then eating some of them?! Dumb! Dumb!!! Fucking dumb!!! Get thee back to an editor's desk!!!!!!

Also, the Nowhere King looks Like That because of magic radiation. That's all. No other reason. Could've literally remained an elk with no difference to the plot.

FUCKING. DUMB.

The Nowhere King is such a cool concept. Look at him! Look at that character design! And it was just...wasted. On another stupid dumb idiot painfully heteronormative story about some fuckin' incel obsessed with a woman and NoW hE hAs To KiLl PeOpLe To FeEl BeTtEr AbOuT hImSeLf.

Y'know what my original theory was on the Nowhere King? Both Seasons 1 and 2 have these recurring themes of people being absorbed or subsumed into a greater whole. The Taurnado absorbing the souls of those it captures, the Whaletaur eating people, Horse herself physically becoming part of Centaurworld, the creatures being combined to make minotaurs, the season-long arc about forming the various tribes of Centaurworld into one people, it's a clear theme. I thought the Nowhere King was composed of thousands of creatures from both worlds. Both King and Kingdom in one being. A being who, after the great tragedy of his creation, now can only exist Nowhere. I thought maybe the Nowhere King was created by the unnamed centaur in the stone carving and the purple-haired woman in some previous attempt to bring the two worlds together, some well-meaning mistake that created horrific tragedy.

But! Even though that idea was nixed, there were still other cool ideas for the Nowhere King's backstory! There was one moment in the final episode where I got really, really excited. The elk had just repeatedly told Horse that he and Horse were more alike than she thought, and then we saw that scene of the purple-haired lady helping the elk escape and telling him to run. The scene was played ambiguously, and it wasn't clear if the woman was saving the elk or abandoning him. And right then, I was completely awestruck at a realization, because I was suddenly sure that the elk and woman's relationship was steed and rider.

The parallels! The tragedy! The twist that I didn't see coming! Imagine the Rider that Horse had been fighting and searching and working for suddenly betraying her! Imagine the emotional impact that this backstory would have on Horse! You could even fit in the tragic-transformation aspect of the canon backstory, by having the heartbroken steed try desperately to transform himself into a centaur or human, so he could be with his rider!

But no. No, we get Chad the Dumbass, who will spend decades on a murder spree if he can't smooch a hot purple babe. Booooooo.

Okay, got that rant outta my system.

Other season 2 thoughts:

- Distinctly fewer bangers than season 1. I think the best song was Becky Apples or the Comfortable Doug cowboy song

- There was also a less even mix of cutesy goofery and horror. You either got all fluff or all drama, and you mostly didn't get the drama till the end.

- I love Stabby the 43 year old baby. I love Stabby so much.

- I still do not like Ched. There is no reason he is such a jerk. His backstory did not explain why he is such a jerk. He's just a huge jerk for no reason.

- Why didn't the purple-haired lady get the Centaurworld treatment? Rider got it after only like...a week. That lady was there for years.

- I thought the Centaurworld creatures being turned into minomonsters was going to be more of a plot point after that one dramatic reveal in episode 6. But nope, you get one creepy centaurworld minomonster and that's it.

- The purple-haired woman being the Beartaur's horrible roommate was amazing and I just wanted an entire episode of them bickering over whose turn it was to wash the dishes

- I Did Not Like The Birds Much

- For a hot second at the very end I thought that maybe Horse and Rider were going to get fused into a centaur to save Rider's life, and I was like "is this a heartwarming or horrific ending? I can't tell."

- I don't know, I just feel like Season 2 dropped the ball from Season 1 a bit. There were some good parts, but nothing that was really breathtaking like the Taurnado, the Whaletaur, or the Nowhere King's reveal.

[revengerevisited]

So I’ve been kinda dancing around my original story idea for a little while, and I got this idea in my head of ‘what if I release chapter 1 and then get feedback without telling anyone what the story is about first so it’s more of a surprise?’ But honestly? I’m realizing since I already released a preview-of-a-preview for chapter 1, and it might be a little while until I finish chapter 1, plus I honestly kinda feel like I’d rather work on sketches of my character designs than write at the moment, I might as well go ahead and tell you guys. X’3

So! I watched a couple anime recently both centered around the premise of... monster girls! These being Monster Musume and Monster Girl Doctor, but then I noticed there’s also Interviews with Monster Girls, A Centaur’s Life, and the infamous Interspecies Reviewers, and I asked myself... Monster girls are pretty popular right now, yeah? But where’s all the monster boys?! And that’s how I got the idea! I re-watched some of my favorite anime based on Otome Games, Kamigami no Asobi and Uta no Prince Sama for inspiration as well, and a few ones I hadn’t seen before like Dance with Devils and Magic-kyun Renaissance for inspiration as well.

So now I’ve got my premise that I shared earlier: This is the story of Millie, a young woman down on her luck who happens to live in a world where monsters aren’t just real, but commonplace. She started working as a maid in a mansion-turned-art-school whose students are a group of very attractive monster boys. The twist is that these aren’t just any monster boys; they belong to various rare and exotic species with deadly reputations...

Note that character and place names are technically place-holders for now and may change if I come up with better ones. Now, I don’t wanna spoil anything story-wise, but I think I can introduce my setting and some of the characters that you’re gonna meet. The story is set in a modern setting, though it’s vague if it’s actually Earth or just some generic world similar to it, as I try to avoid referencing real-world places or events. This is a world where humans and monsters live together after a Great Interspecies War happened in the past, but tensions have mostly relaxed by the time the story takes place. The war could be thought of as the equivalent of our own World War One, one in which there was a truce decided after many years of stalemate fighting.

The city everything takes place in is tentatively named Dullahan, and was built directly after the war to commemorate peace between human and monster kind. It’s considered an artistic cultural center, and it’s got a lot of interesting entertainment places to go to, arcades, theaters, aquariums, etc, that the characters can have a lot of different shenanigans in. The other main setting is the Beaufort Academy of the Arts, which was actually a mansion that was converted into a small private school. This is where all the characters live, and our main character Millie works as a maid there.

Before I go into the characters, I should start with the various monster species. There are 12 species, divided into 2 groups: common monsters and exotic monsters. The common monsters are centaurs, harpies, lamias (snake people), kobolds (dog people), ogres, and merrows (mermaids). These species are all pretty standard, and will be mostly background characters and npcs. The main characters, and love interests for Millie, will be of the exotic variety: arachnes (spider people), sirens (deep-sea mermaids), mandrakes (plant people), dragons, manticores (with a liontaur body-type), and scyllas (octopus people).

So what differentiates a common monster from an exotic one? Well, while the Interspecies War was between humans and monsters in general, some monsters were already at least partially integrated into human society, and the rest followed soon after the war ended. These monsters were almost as common as humans, and either herbivorous or omnivorous, with the exception of the carnivorous lamias who prefer to eat eggs over anything else. On the other hand, the so-called ‘exotic’ species were not only much more rare, but they had a very different food preference... one which earned them the now derogatory nickname... man-eaters.

Naturally, most ‘man-eaters’ weren’t exactly welcomed into human --nor common monster-- society with open arms, not that most of them wanted to. For the most part, species as powerful and dangerous as them didn’t want to play nice with those they had once --and in some cases still do-- regard as prey, and so hid away into the furthest reaches of the world. Which of course makes them perfect material for all our leading men and Millie’s various love-interests!! Oh yes, while all of these monster boys are perfectly civilized --well, for the most part-- they still belong to species that many both human and monster alike continue to fear to this day. While they aren’t exactly fish out of water (well, except for the siren) there’s still plenty of awkward misunderstandings and interesting scenarios that can be played out.

So! Let’s have a quick run-down of the characters, keep in mind that none of these names are final and could change later on. First there’s Millie, a hardworking young woman who’s had a recent streak of bad luck. Through a misunderstanding she gets hired as a maid in a mansion-turned-art-school. She’s very sweet and tries her best to help others, but she’s not as innocent as she appears; she’ll understand your innuendos just fine, even if she doesn’t really say any herself! Next is Richard and Lara Beaufort, a husband and wife who run the school. Richard is rather laid-back, yet he’s also a master of all kinds of art, painting, sculpture, photography, dancing, singing, you name it! Lara is his arachne wife, a rather boisterous woman who owns a high-class fashion company. The secret to her clothing’s success?? Arachne silk, of course! The school was her idea, a way to help better integrate exotic species into society. Will her mission succeed? Only time can tell.

Richard and Lara have a son named Simon, our first love interest and a human-arachne hybrid who takes almost entirely after his mother in the looks-department (hybrids tend to look like one species or the other, rather than a mix of both). He’s a bit withdrawn due to dealing with bullying as a kid; most people --human and monster alike-- are afraid of his spider-like appearance, so he doesn’t get out much-- to the point his parents worry about him being a shut-in for life! He’s also a gamer boy, and has a secret soft side for gothic poetry, although he doesn’t want to join his parents’ art classes. He actually disapproves of his mother’s exotic species integration plan, as from what he’s experienced he feels it’s a waste of time.

Simon’s best friend and Millie’s second love interest is Louis, a mandrake who lives in the woods behind the manor. Louis is extremely shy and more than a bit lonely, even more so than Simon, and he doesn’t speak very often out of fear that the sound of his voice will hurt others around him. Mandrake screams can induce insanity or even kill those that hear them, hence his fear. Being part plant, Louis has mild shape-shifting abilities and is able to transform between child and young adult forms at will, although he’s actually the oldest of the group. He also isn’t a student at the art school, although he has an interest in floristry.

Now for our actual students! Forrest is a manticore, which in this world means he has a body similar to that of a centaur, but with the lower half of a lion instead of a horse, and a scorpion-like tail tipped with a deadly venomous stinger. Despite his species’s name literally meaning ‘man-eater’, Forrest is extremely friendly and cheerful, and is very sporty too. His passion is photography, and he also loves eating food-- any sort of meat dish is fine by him! He’s also a fan of fantasy tabletop roleplaying games, and will often make references comparing them to everyday life; he always plays the knight who saves the princess!

Anthony is a childhood ‘friend’ of Forrest’s, though he’s loathe to admit it. Highly intelligent and highly snobbish, Anthony fancies himself an intellectual-- and he’s not exactly wrong. Being a dragon, he likes to hoard things-- in his case, knowledge. Anthony loves to read, and is most often found in the library. His skill is in drawing and painting, and all his paintings’ invariably morose subject matter worry Millie. Still, this haughty dragon could definitely learn to loosen up a little, and be a little more kind; perhaps his stay at the academy --and his interactions with Millie-- will open his mind to appreciating the feelings of others. He does, at the very least, greatly respect Master Beaufort as a master of the arts.

The other two students are denizens of the sea, and have been friends for a very long time. Emil is a scylla, and like all scyllas he’s a little eccentric, and just can’t seem to keep his tentacles to himself! While Forrest is obsessed with eating, Emil’s true calling is cooking, and he loves making all kinds of dishes, especially anything seafood and/or foreign. Emil also is highly appreciative of women’s fashion, and absolutely adores everything to come from Madam Beaufort’s clothing brand-- so much so that he actually wears them himself! His pretty-boy looks and penchant for wearing women’s clothing actually has Millie mistake him for a girl at first, though he’s very much unafraid to show her his romantic side, or at least what he interprets as romantic... 

Keeping Emil’s pervy antics in check is our sixth and final monster boy, Oswald! As a siren, Oswald spent most of his life in the sea, and still has a lot to learn about humanity. He’s a pretty cool guy but gets a bit embarrassed about his species’s troublesome past as the cause of many shipwrecks at sea, and would prefer to not discuss it. His passion is rock music, and his main instrument is the guitar. He also loves to sing, but refrains from doing so due to the hypnotic effect it has on other species. His lack of legs, tentacles, or a snake-like tail means that like other merrows and sirens he requires a wheelchair to move around on land, and often feels frustrated that he can’t show off how adept he is at traversing water. He’s also easy to embarrass and obsessed with not allowing anything to ‘ruin’ his manly image, including allowing Millie (a girl!) to help carry him around.

So there you have it, all my monster boys! I left out a few things, as those would be major spoilers, but those are my ideas for the characters for now! I’ll try to draw and post some sketches of their designs later. Hopefully I haven’t forgotten anything, but this won’t be the last time I talk about monster boys. Any questions or comments would be very much appreciated! Nsfw questions are allowed (all the boys wear pants for a reason, after all), though I’m currently not sure if this series will be 16+ or 18+, if you catch my meaning. Lemme know how interested you are in this story, or if you’re not interested please let me know that too! 

[mystech-master]

My FGO Servant ideas/Servants I'd expect

These are some Servant ideas that I have had since I've already asked what you guys want.

I know that the Servant has to be someone that people know for the most part, since almost every Servant is someone that everyone knows with a few exceptions.

Some spoilers for other Fate works bellow

Saber

Yagyu Jubei, the One-Eyed Samurai. I feel like his NP will be some kind of Mystic Eye under his eyepatch or something. But if they want to go super Bullshut, I could imagine him being a Pseudo-Servant of Yvette L Lehrman.

Archer

Tchaikovsky, composer of 1812 Overture. The Orchestral song featuring CANNONS! I have already made a Reddit post about it here. I am trying not to just shove people in Caster

Angelica Ainsworth, holder of the Gilgamesh Class Card in Prisma Illya. I wonder how Archer/Caster Gil would react to her, or even Enkidu. I mean we know Kid Gil isn't fond of her.

Lancer

Arachne, the Spider-Woman Weaver. Her Lance would simply be an enlarged sewing needle. She'd either be a sort of Spider- Centaur, or the Spider-Legs would be coming out of her legs. For some extra shit, she might be merged with the Japanese Spider-Yokai Jorogumo, or just reference it similar to how Galatea referenced the tsukumogami. Also, her being a woman made into a monster by Athena, Medusa might gain a new friend.

Sigma,>! Maiya Hisau's son from Fate/Strange Fake. Apparently the True Lancer of the True and False Holy Grail War!<. I really just want him in to see how he'd interact with the EMIYA family. ~~Someone give Shirou/EMIYA some guy friends!~~ Of course, we'll need to wait a long time for strange fate to finish to get him since the author doesn't like using f/sf characters for anything else atm.

Loki, god of mischief. Maybe being half-Jotunn can be a good enough justification to keep him as himself and not need to be a Pseudo. I like OSP's interpretation of a "genderfluid benevolent but mischievous Hearth Spirit who protects the home and family". Genderfluid would open up for one of Fate's many genderbends they love doing, but if they kept him male and make his character about all the kids he has, then imagine...Loki, who is a god of mischief and a dad.........Loki making dad jokes. Although I feel like they might go with the female Loki one since Fate loves Genderbends and IDk if Japan has an equivalent to dad jokes. The reason he'd be a Lancer is the spear of Mistletoe he gave to Höðr which then resulted in Baldr's death which is treated as the precursor to Ragnarok.

Rider

Jiraiya, the Gallant Ninja. It was either this, with him riding his summonable Toad (I mostly think of this video), Assassin b/c Ninja, Caster b/c of reasons covered in the video linked before and some similar videos by the same guy, and Saber with the Nakirimaru, or "wave cutting sword," used to exorcise the Snake Spirit from Orochimaru. I went with Rider so the Rock-Paper-Scissors match of Frog-Slug-Snake matches the classes of Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru respectively.

Caster

Tsunade, the Slug Maiden. The reason is mentioned above in Jiraiya's segment.

TOHSAKA, Rin as a Counter Guardian. The closest we'll get to actual Rin on her own with no other god(dess) inhabiting her body as a servant. NP would be the Jeweled Sword Zelretch. Also, imagine Ishtar seeing the older Rin (her vessel)'s more developed body and getting pissed.

Orpheus, the musical son of Apollo. Considering one big part of his story was being so bummed about his wife dying that his music just depressed everyone, even the gods, with his bad vibes, I could imagine them making him into sort of an emo guitar player or some shit. But if that is too lame then giving his Lyre some Siren Song-esque powers might be something since during his adventures with the Argonauts, since when the sirens began to sing he "played music that was louder and more beautiful, drowning out the Sirens' bewitching songs."

Assassin

Not too sure on the spirit, hopefully a Death God, but I want a Pseudo-Servant of Kairi Sisigou. I mean a Necromancer Mercenary, TELL ME that doesn't fit. Also the possible fun interactions he can have with Mordred again, and her family and new friends.

I mentioned above, Orochimaru, with him being a Pseudo-Servant in Souichirou Kuzuki. I just needed a snake-themed servant to put him in because I know everyone wants him as a pesudo so Medea can have her husband.

Berserker

Kriemhild, wife of Siegfried. Either this or Avenger. Berserker would be the most fitting for my idea, but Avenger would also fit and most likely have cooler animations I bet. As the wiki says about her personality: "Kriemhild held a "deep‐rooted and blind love" for Siegfried, such that it's described as "passionate love that repays the murder of one’s loved one with twice the payback." Siegfried's death, rather than assuage the feud with Brunhild, caused Kriemhild to "burn with the flames of revenge."' NP being a more demonic/dark version of Balmung. I wanted her to be a sort of obsessive wife and mother to Siegfried and Sieg (I like to imagine them having a mentor-student to father-son dynamic), the family dynamics between the three would be fun to imagine.

Lycaon, the wolf king. He once tested Zeus' omniscience by serving him the roasted flesh of Lycaon's own son Nyctimus, in order to see whether Zeus was truly all-knowing. In return for these gruesome deeds, Zeus transformed Lycaon into a wolf. He'd be a pseudo for Svin Glascheit. I just needed a wolf spirit to put Svin in. I mean everyone already is imagining Berserker-Jack the Ripper using Flat as a vessel.

Magni, son of Thor. Do I even need to explain who I am using as a vessel for this Spirit?

Avenger

Pandora, the all-endowed first woman. At first, I was unsure about her class. Yes, the whole thing of Pandora's Box was made as a punishment for Prometheus stealing fire (I wonder how Fate would interpret this with the whole Age of Gods vs Age of Man thing), but as the wiki says "She was given knowledge by the gods that she had to wait until humanity perished so that she can finally open the box and release the world's true potential. Because of her immortality, Pandora suffered greatly as people unreasonably tried to kill the undying mud doll whenever they discovered she wasn't human. After so many years of suffering, Pandora began questioning on why she had to go through this for humans."

Captain Ahab, Captain of the Pequod. >!Implied to be one of Watcher's Shadows in fate/strange fake, so the reason he'd be unavailable is stated above!<. His NP would be his prosthetic leg made out of whalebone, which may give him some aquatic abilities. Or it might be the harpoon that he got tangled in which resulted in his death.

MoonCancer

Tsukuyomi, the Shinto Moon God. Using Hakuno Kishinami as a vessel. I mean combining the Admin authority from the EXTELLA's Regalia which grants him kingship of the Moon Cell with Tsukuyomi's moon god authority would be pretty cool. I know a lot of people want a Dioscuri situation where we get both male and female Hakunos but I feel like it'd be one or the other. Of course, this is only if Hakuno NEEDS a god in him. I partially Headcanon that the reason BB made Jinako a MoonCancer was as a test run for when she does it to Hakuno.

Alter Ego

Ergo, The Man Who Devoured God. From The Adventures of Lord El-Melloi. " Because of the method of creation he has several gods within him after devouring their flesh. All three gods within him, one of which is Sun Wukong, have the shared themes of "water gods" and "hands"." Having 3 gods fits man other Alter Egos haveing 3 gods in them (Sakura Five, Ashiya Douman, and Sitonai).

>!U-Olga Marie, the Alien God. The Best chance we get of having Olga back. Similar reason for being summoned as Kiara.!<

Lemme know what you guys think of my ideas and if you'd add anything to them.

[jjadegreen]

ITS SPOOKY SEASON BABY !!!

And that means making spooky aus for no reason other than fun<3

In summary- jjba part 1-6 but there’s no stands/Hamon and they all exist at the same time AND everyone is a spooky monster!!! I included as many characters as I could but it’s quite easy to run out of creatures, so bear with me on a few of them. Also the joestar bloodline is just gonna all be George Joestars kids because I said so!

Also, this is all really dumb but it’s just for fun so it’s ok💕

*minor TW for mentions of death!!! Nothing graphic but I’d rather be safe

Jonathan: Frankenstein

Not exactly like the traditional Frankenstein’s monster but whatever!!

Used to be a regular kid until he died in his 20s along with Erina :(

His father, who is still alive here, doctors the hell out of his dead son and boom. Franken-son.

Most body parts are his but he lost some in his death... so like, one of his legs is just some random guys.

He is still very Jonathan... a sweet boy... beloved.

He loves flowers and plants and such!

Married to Erina!!!

Joseph: werewolf

Tbh I just feel like werewolves give off himbo energy

Ran into some spooky woods next to the Joestar mansion as a kid and came home with a wolf bite and a cool new form

The exact same as regular Joseph but with more dog attributes

Our boy will chew on a bone if he finds one. He will chase tennis balls like his life depends on it.

Him and Caesar are rivals but the kind of rivals who fight on the weekdays and watch shitty romcoms together on weekends

Jotaro: merman

Ocean man....... take me by the hand...... lead me to the land.......

Ok but in all seriousness. You know why Jotaro is a merman. Silly little ocean man.

Edgy bastard but he will go entirely soft if you bring out a sea creature

I have 0 idea how he became this. He probably pissed off an ocean witch or something and she made him a merman

H20: just add water type transformation. If he touches water, BOOM now he has a tail

He does not let that stop him

Kakyoin is his best buddy!! He also hangs out w/ Polneraff and Avdol

Jolyne: witch

Jolyne is just a lesbian witch. Is that too much to want

Idk anything about witches so I dunno!!! Maybe she just like. Decided to be a witch. I think there are real witches and I don’t want to disrespect anyone

Although she is the Halloween-y, pointy hat, black robe witch. She makes potions and stuff.

She has diverted her potion experience into cooking

She makes THE BEST fucking pastries

Josuke: werewolf (like father like son)

Even tho Joseph is not his dad here they give off similar energies

Joseph bit him while they were arguing and boom boom werewolf

In a band!!! With oku, koichi and yukako!!

Rohan is their manager

Best friends with Okuyasu and Koichi

He will cry if he doesn’t eat for 4 hours

Giorno: vampire

Vampire for obvious reasons

He’s technically everyone’s nephew because he’s DIOs son (who is biologically a joestar here)

He’s not in the mafia! He just hangs out with the bucci gang!

Despite having the ability to make it seem like he knows what’s going on, he never does

Never

Pudding cups are banned from the mansion because he will devour them in just a few seconds

Vegan, but will never pass up drinking the blood from someone he hates

You guys know I’d never stop at just the jojos

Erina: Frankensteins bride!

Died with Jonathan and was brought back the same way as him

Baker!!!

Very close with Speedwagon

Speedwagon: former ghost hunter

Our man was a ghost hunter until actually meeting a ghost (probably Reimi) and deciding that maybe he could just be a normal man instead

He lives with the joestars because he’s really close with Jonathan and Erina

He and Will were a ghost/vampire hunting duo

Will Zeppeli: former vampire hunter (who is now a vampire lol)

Once Speedwagon decided to just be friends with all the monsters he followed

Caesar: vampire

Don’t ask why caesar is a vampire even though that’s DIOs thing. Caesar gives off vampire energy.

He acts like he hates Joseph but believe me they are in love

Him and Suzie Q are the most powerful friendship you could imagine

Suzie Q: fairy!

Just a little fairy girl! That is it!

Badass bitch. Probably uses her tiny size to steal from everyone

Smokey: literally a normal dude

Caesar was going to suck his blood but decided that Smokey was too nice for that date

The joestars of course got attached to him immediately

Kakyoin: Tree Nymph

TREE MAN!!! TREE MAN!!!

His hair noodle is a branch that grows a cherry

Iggy: Cerberus type dog

Jotaros pet dog!!!

Absolute bastard

Avdol: Phoenix

Fire bird. Self explanatory.

Polnareff: centaur

Yes he still has the stupid hair. Would he be polnareff without it?

Avdol simp

Koichi: shapeshifter

He’s a shapeshifter because I said so even tho it makes no sense!!!

He does so many favours for everyone

In a band w/ oku, Josuke + yukako

Okuyasu: zombie

Why a zombie? Because Okuyasu has no brain

He’s a simple man. You put food in front of him and he eats it on sight

In a band w/ koichi, Josuke + yukako

Yukako: siren

I just feel like a long haired pretty woman gives off siren vibes

In a band!!! You have heard it three times you know the drill

Rohan: can transform into a dragon??? I guess???

I’m gonna be honest I’m just running out of ideas

Band manager

Tonio: can transform into a caladrius

@c-c-cherry told me this is some kinda healing bird??? I’m choosing to trust her don’t betray me Cherry

Reimi: ghost, obviously

No notes needed you get it. She’s a ghost

Mista: gargoyle

Stinky man!!! Stinky stone man!!! Never showers because he’s a stone man!!!

Bruno: angel<3

He’s already a perfect angel in the show why would I need to change that!!

Bruabba is canon He is married to Abbacchio

Abbacchio: demon

Goth demon man to contrast Bruno’s infinite light

He is married to Bruno because bruabba is real

Narancia: ghost

I’m literally just imagining narancia pulling so many stupid pranks as a ghost which is the whole reason I chose this for him

Fugo: reaper

Imagine like. Edgy son of the grim reaper who doesn’t want to be a reaper so he runs off and becomes friends with a wacky group of creatures. That’s fugo baby!

Trish: imp

Im almost out of ideas

Probably half human? Diavolo would definitely be an imp as well

——————————————————————————

This was very bad but fun

Thank u Cherry for being my emotional support while I tried to come up with so many different monsters

Also yes!! Some of them aren’t exactly monsters but I am just a little creature who doesn’t want to spent a week looking for the perfect monsters for every character

Love you all mwah mwah

[loominggaia]

Fanfiction: New York (part 8)

Anon uploaded part 8 of their New York fanfic! You can read the other parts under the fanfic tag.

Posted under the cut:

The morning arrived, the crew waking up as Zeffer went to sleep. Day three of their hunt for Evan had officially began and the crew was beginning to realize this was gonna be harder then they thought. First off this city was HUGE!!! This New York place being much, much larger then any city they have ever been to before so their was a lot of places to search. The second thing and one they didn’t wanna think about is what if Evan wasn’t here? What would they do then? No. He had to be here.

The crew was gonna be here awhile, a long while they could tell and where gonna need food, supplies, a place to sleep that wasn’t some rat infested abandoned building. But in order to get any of that they where gonna one thing, money. They where not broke but may as well have been, GP was next to useless here so they where gonna need some of this earth money to get by. Zeffer told them before going to sleep he found somebody who could solve their id issue but it was gonna cost them big time.

But their was one thing above getting cash or finding Evan the whole crew was in desperate need of right now, a bath! Being unwashed for two days and sleeping in a old building filled with rodents had the crew smelling rather foul. Elska found a pond nearby during her search yesterday they could use and while they didn’t have any soap on them it was still better then nothing. It was decided that the Elska, Alaine and Jeimos would bath first, lukus and Issac after and Zeffer whenever he woke up.

Kimi woke up in her flat to the sound of her alarm, it was a work day and she had to get ready. Getting out of bed she got herself ready, the events of yesterday still fresh in her mind. Her meeting with those two foreign cosplayers had been all she could think about, it’s a real shame she couldn’t get a phone number or social media from either. She really wanted to see them again, especially that cute Alaine girl, and ask whether they found their friend or not.

Alaine, Elska and Jeimos made their way to the lake. Them stripping off their sweaty armor and hopping into the cool waters, hoping to soak off all dirt and filth. As Alaine plunged into the water she fully expected to feel the familiar sensation of changing into her aquatic form, the flash and light and feeling of her legs fusing into a tail. But as Alaine got her hair wet something strange happened, or should we say didn’t happen.

Alaine felt nothing? No flash of light, no leg fusion, not a single thing? She looked down in confusion to see she was still in her terrian form, a sinking feeling that something was wrong took over. She dipped the back of her head in deeper into the water, being sure to get all her hair soaked. Nothing. Her confusion turned more panicked, why was she not transforming? In one final test she dove under the water, fully submerging into the lake.

As Alaine dove under the water she waited for something, anything to happen but nothing did. Her tail and more pressingly her gills never emerged. For the first time since she was a child Alaine found herself holding her breath, unable to breath underwater. Her lungs burned and called for air, she frantically swam up to the surface desperate for air. Jeimos and Elska where at the shore washing themselves, not paying attention to Alaine diving. She was mermaid so they didn’t need to worry.

That illusion was burst as Alaines head busted up from the waters surface, violently coughing and gasping for air. That got the pairs attention as they made their way to Alaine, pulling her close to the shore. That’s when they noticed she wasn’t in aquatic form, but why? She was completely submerged a minute ago how does she still have her legs? Something wasn’t right and Jeimos had an idea on what it is, these thoughts having plagued them since they first arrived on earth.

Kimi made her commute to work, the trip being the same as every other day. Traffic, blaring horns, drivers screaming at each other from their car windows, same as every other day. Pulling into the hospitals parking lot a nagging thought crossed her mind, it being about the cosplayers missing friend. While she’s never seen a Mr. Evan Atlas as a patient that doesn’t mean someone else hasn’t. Just out of curiosity she’d ask around to see if anyone has a patient by that name.

After rescuing Alaine from near drowning they where now on the shore, Alaine visibly shaking and freaked out. She told them what happened and was asking why she hadn’t changed? Something was clearly wrong with her as this has never happened before. Jeimos told the two they had a theory but wanted to wait to tell the whole crew, it was something they all might want to hear. Drying off and getting dressed they made their way back to base.

“What do you mean theirs no magic”! The crew asked in unison. Jeimos clarifies to them that for the whole duration of their stay they have not sensed a single bite of magic here at all. At first they believed it was just due to being in an iron rich city but after seeing what happened to Alaine they now knew it was something else entirely. This earth place, it had no magic energy flowing through it unlike Gaia. To demonstrate Jeimos tried to cast a pyromancy spell.

Jeimos could cast the spell but instead of a huge jet of flames only tiny sparks came out. Even this alone took a lot out of Jeimos who staggered and started coughing. They explained that the lack of magic could explain why Alaine didn’t change into her aquatic form or why they didn’t find werewolf Evan their first night, theirs not enough magic surrounding them to fuel their change. This didn’t bode well for Jeimos and Zeffer, both being Fey and for Zeffer a vampire and thus reliant on magic.

The crew stopped their, they didn’t want to think about it. They didn’t want to think of what might happen to Jeimos or Zeffer if they stay too long or if they can even get home. The only thing they knew no whas they needed to amp up their search, find Evan and leave earth even faster. The crew split again to continue the search, back to the groups they had yesterday. Alaine was feeling rather stressed and anxious about this mornings events and needed to blow off some steam.

Alaine had a devilish idea on how to both blow off steam and get some quick cash. She turned to lukus and asked him if he felt like helping her do a little ‘hunting’. At the hospital the day was going by same as any other, new patients in various conditions flooding in, doctors and nurses rushes between rooms, patients or their families arguing with doctors over their diagnosis, the usual. Kimi was asking some of her coworkers if they have seen this Evan fellow with most saying no.

Still determined to see if this Evan guy passed threw here she decided to use her lunch to ask if they had a patient record for a Mr. Evan Atlas. If not then her suspicions could be put to rest. Lunch arrived and kimi did just that and reviewed patient records looking for any Evans. After going threw about 5 different names she found it! And what she found was a dead ringer for who those two cosplayers where talking about. Tall, beefy, blonde, missing a leg. It all checked out.

Kimi was also shocked to figure out this was the “Gaia guy” she was hearing about. Evan was in the over end of the hospital and currently in the psychiatric ward, a place she’s early ever stationed. While not directly seeing him her and her crew on this end did hear through word of mouth about a patient that had to be baker acted due to their delusions. Claiming himself to be a werewolf from some fantasy land where mermaids, centaurs and vampires are real.

Evan was sitting in his room, watching tv and eating bland hospital food like he had been doing for weeks. More reports of what people are now calling the “prosperity park centaur” have come flooding in, some teenagers claiming to have been attacked by it and even some blurry photos got taken. It frustrated Evan to no end, knowing his crew was here to rescue him yet having no way of letting them know he’s here. He heard the door to his room and say a nurse walk in.

Evan was confused? Nurses normally didn’t show up to clean for Atleast another 10 minutes? And he didn’t recognize this nurse either. She introduced herself as Kimi Wong and gave him some shocking news, she’d actually spoken to his friends! She actually spoke to Alaine and Lukus, also confirmed that Jeimos and Issac where on earth as well.

He was then disappointed to find out they where not in the hospital to see him, nor did this Kimi girl have a way of contacting them again. She apologized and told Evan the next time she sees them she will tell them where he is. While not exactly what he was looking for it help give Evan hope that he might soon get out of this miserable place and get back home.

*

This story just gets more and more interesting as it goes. Come in Kimi, I believe in you! Interesting to see the fae characters getting weaker without magic, I never even considered that myself. Can’t wait to see the next part. TO BE CONTINUED...?

[redwoodrroad]

13, 17 and 28 for the headcanon asks!

thank you so much!! these were a LOT of fun, you wrote great questions!

13. Please. PLEASE explain how you think Mesmers work. (I have already heard so many unique takes and I want to hear more)

mesmers are so cool 😍 we all notice how in the game they have the butterfly thing going, so logistically i think it’s a type of illusion and conjuring magic compressed into little holograms that themselves can mimic any color or shape. there’s also different types of conjuration here, right, clones that mimic exact appearance but also phantasms that mimic shape but not color. i’d almost think that clones are a half-step above phantasms in terms of both the mesmer’s ability to make a believable illusion And the conjured shape’s ability to morph into the shapes and colors needed. different people seem to have different headcanons for the base shape that is conjured, if not butterflies, so i think mesmers could conceivably use any base conjuration and build upwards from that, it just takes skill, concentration, and training

there are also things other than clones that mesmers make, right, like portals and Jenna’s massive city-wide shield…. these i think are on one hand really condensed conjurations like clones that have been made physical or, in the case of the portal :) wormholes

mesmers are doing wormholes :)

17. With both rifles and bows existing next to each other, what technology do rifles use? Flintlocks? Do they have magazines? Breach- or frontloaders?

different strokes for different folks tbh! i know that sounds like a cop-out but i think that makes the tech really fun! taking even the most basic weapon skins from different capitols, different cultures here have clearly developed very unique weapons that, to us as the players, are clearly just different meshes fit onto one type of weapon, but IN the universe i’m sure they all operate very differently! charr culture is very weapon-advanced, so they’re constantly establishing new and efficient ways to carry, hold, load, fire, and later clean weapons, especially guns. humans have had a long history of fighting centaur and charr, both of whom run very fast so it’s likely Easier to shoot at them than try to catch up, and over time the tech advances for them as well. norns build weapons for hunting, so they pack a punch but they also must be quick and silent. asura are invested in their own innovation, and they experiment with arcane magic and alternatives. sylvari are very new and take inspiration from other cultures while developing weapons based on what they believe is most important.

and think about other cultures like skritt and largos and our funny bird friends and hylek—different cultures develop weapons differently based on what is needed, so i’m sure that some of them are front-loading, some of them have magazines, and some of them have crazy additions that seem like they’re WAY MORE DANGEROUS FOR YOU TO USE LOL and that’s ! pretty neat!

28. Norn transformations. Can they choose which animal they transform into? How long does it stay. Does it change their behavior and perception? Is it only the four great spirits or could we get bunny Norn?

so i think it’s another training thing and very concentration-based. you can train and meditate under the watch of individual spirits, and maybe it’s also a matter of being blessed by those spirits or by shamans of the same branch in order to get transformation perks. i think it stays for as long as you can hold the concentration for it, although i feel like generally it’s a power that takes a lot of effort and stamina, and i think it does change perceptions! i think since all animals have perceptions that would extend past our own, it would be easy to pick up on scents, sounds, sometimes sight, and i think that while turning into an animal doesn’t automatically change your behavior, your new perception of the world may cause you to react to things maybe differently due to heightened senses and maybe a little panic. it probably takes a lot of concentration and practice to not be overwhelmed by the new influx of senses.

that said, yes to bunny Norn. i think it likely takes more meditation and expert shaman help to transform into representations of other spirits, and even then it may not work (i’m sure shamans in-game might say you NEED the spirit’s blessing to transform, and if a spirit is gone or missing, it just won’t happen) but i think some really determined norns could make it happen because i do think it’s primarily a concentration-based transformation / druid magic.

thank you for asking!! these were really fun, i’d love to do more 🥰