#teeth itch

[sarenth]

That's Meta

This post was inspired by an ongoing conversation between a TikToker I follow and another I do not. The subject was originally on pop culture deities, pop culture magic, parasites, and chaos magic’s place in the current exploration of these topics. While Phil Hine may have offhandedly commented on exploring working with a fictional god vs one we know from our human myths, this notion has taken…

[drawnandredrawn]

As above, so below

[eggwishing]

More !!! Im really fond of the two stitched looking things on the right. I want to design more of them. I’m feeling super inspired by Kanotynes …..

[jinxedjay]

completely hypothetical sneo design that's more canon-accurate and Robot :) (fluffy rotund sneo is here to stay, don't worry!)

he's basically just a big lanky robotic menace w/ a little bit of fluffy. (those skinny legs are probably why he falls after the strings get snapped LOL) might draw this guy rarely for fun but he was mostly a design exercise!

my addisona once again makes a cameo don't mind them shhhh

[cainhart]

My brief theories on hybrid psychology, biology, lifespan, historical connections to our world, and the possibility of other hybrids in the DMC world aside from the loser twins and Nero.

In Devil May Cry, being a hybrid is not exactly seen as a freak of nature but rather as something disgraceful on the demons' side. The reason for this is quite simple: humans are considered "food" for demons. Human blood is both literally and spiritually a fuel, an essential substance that feeds the demons. The fact that a demon has "disgraced" itself to the point of mating with "food" is a big deal among demons. A lot of Devil May Cry media comment on this—it's even directly said of Sparda that he "turned into a lustful monkey," because, in their eyes, humans are lustful monkeys. Worse, humans die very quickly; they're weak and fragile. You can imagine how much worse it is for demons, where power is everything.

As for humans, there is no canon information about their perspective that I know of. My theory is that some of the "demigods" and mythological figures mentioned in the history of the world are hybrids who were born on Earth before the separation of the two worlds, but that's a topic for another day. As far as we know, the hybrids that are on Earth right now are Dante, Vergil, Nero, and (probably) Matier.

What confuses me more is biology. Humans and demons are different species, even though they were once "one." And even devils differ from each other by looks, too. While Mundus looks like a human man, particularly Zeus, Sparda looks like a bug. Agrosax has both a female and a male body. But it looks like they can alter their looks and DNA enough to have a human-like body by using their demonic magic. And they can have hybrids, hybridity works strangely in humans and animals too.

In Homo sapiens-Neanderthal hybrids, only the female was fertile.

In the animal kingdom, female hybrids are usually fertile unless there is a direct biological problem.

This is a Mule. A hybrid born from a female horse and a male donkey. Female Mule can only breed with male horses. Male Mule are infertile.

This is a Hinny, born from a female donkey and a male horse. Both male and female ones are infertile.

Liger's are both thought to be unfertile, but like Mule's, female Liger's can breed with male lions, creating Liliger. Tigon females are fertile, but males are not. A female Tigon and a male tiger had bred and created Titigon.

The reason for this is Haldane's Rule. When I tried to apply it to demon-human hybrids, I came up with something quite funny: Vergil shouldn't have been able to have a child. The Sparda twins are supposed to be infertile. But if we replace this with demon fuckery, we get at least the following result:

Male hybrid: Can breed with human females. Cannot breed with demon females. Cannot breed with Hybrid females.

Female hybrid: Cannot breed with human males. Can breed with demon males. Cannot breed with Hybrid males. A sad day for people with Vergil/hybrid!Nero's mother OCs because hybrids are unable to breed and produce offspring. Probably. Their partial infertility isn’t the strange part—that’s expected. Hybrids are known to have accelerated healing, incredible strength, agility, speed—the list goes on. These are part of their demonic heritage. But the truly fascinating aspect is how it plays into their biology. The human body can't display even half the strength of hybrids unless adrenaline is involved. If humans could perform such actions, our muscles would tear, our bones would break, and our blood vessels would rupture. Not to mention the risk of brain hemorrhage, blood coming out of the eyes and ears, or even heart attacks. The reason hybrids don’t suffer from these conditions might be due to their superior healing abilities, but even that explanation only scratches the surface. It’s directly related to the fact that they are hybrids.

The reason why Dante and Vergil can fall or jump from great heights (with Vergil literally falling into hell and only fainting, and Dante jumping off a cliff in DMC4) and continue on as if nothing happened is perhaps due to the high ratio of collagen, protein, and hydroxyapatite in their bones. This trait likely begins developing in the womb, as their bodies produce an abundance of osteoblasts. However, it would be nearly impossible for human women to survive such pregnancies. The human body would struggle to provide the immense amount of nutrition a half-demon child requires, leading to either a miscarriage or the mother dying from malnutrition and exhaustion. This could explain why hybrids are so rare.

How Eva carried TWO hybrid babies remains a mystery, but Sparda was likely-no, surely highly active during and after the pregnancy. Otherwise, Eva would not have survived, since there are six hours between Vergil and Dante’s births.

I believe that if a hybrid woman ever became pregnant by a human male or a hybrid male, her pregnancy would be shorter. Since hybrids are not fully human, their bodies function in a way that's almost like Homo sapiens 2.0. Their growth factors would be insane: -Growth hormone would be highly elevated. -their IGF1 would be mutated, leading to significantly increased cell growth and development -mutated CDKs would regulate the cell cycle to promote faster cell division and growth. -placental efficiency would be enhanced, with Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor doubling the blood flow and nutrition supply. The cyncytin genes would also be more active. Anyway, you get the picture. Hybrid women could grow and pack a whole ass baby in about 4 months and call it a day. This process may be even faster in Devil Trigger form, but Hybrids can't hold their DT long enough. What bugs my mind is whether female hybrids would have periods. I think so? But the duration and intensity would likely differ from human women. One day I will write in-depth about female and male hybrid anatomy but for now, this is enough.

Another thing is, assuming hybrids are not easily cut or pierced by mundane weapons, their skin must produce high levels of keratin. Keratin is a protein that gives nails their hardness and forms the outer layer of the skin (epidermis). The calcification—the storage of calcium salts in the skin—must be high. At the same time, neither Dante, Nero, nor Vergil have any scars, acne scars, blackheads, or blemishes. Their skin heals perfectly, restoring itself to its original state. The white blood cells of hybrids must be working like crazy lol. To put it crudely, when they get a cut—or any wound, for that matter the white cells ring alarm bells and rush to close the wound. Blood clotting (hemostasis) begins, then cytokines are released and after that the bleeding stops, what follows is tissue formation (Proliferation). This happens in such a short time that it is hard to believe. At the same time, as I mentioned above, the high collagen and keratin ratios of hybrids also prevent scars. It's really strange.

Another thing is that hybrids have a highly developed sense of smell, hearing and sight. In DMC5, Dante could smell Urizen from quite a distance. And demons, even hybrids, have their own scent. According to Dante, it's not a nice smell. That's my guess, too. I think the sons of Sparda are fire-based demons, considering their devil trigger form (I don't know what to think of Nero because his DT form is very vague and very humanoid. But he still can be a fire-based demon, considering Sparda, Agrosax, and Berial are prolly fire-based demons but none look alike). Therefore, the smell of all three could be like burnt flesh or a sooty, weird grotesque smell which I like the idea of. This is probably the smell of their demon blood mixing with their human blood. The hybrids smell must differ from each other based on their type. We've seen demons from the four elements throughout the series, but I think there could be more concept-based demons, like ‘darkness’ because nobody knows where to put these demons, so they just call them darkness or void… things like that. Even though we humans are the same species, we can give ourselves different names to feel special, so it's not surprising.

Hybrids also have the ability to sense energy. This is something we humans possess as well since we live in an energy field and are always in touch with it, we can feel the energies around us. It’s the same for hybrids, but their ability to transfer and sense energy is far beyond what we can ever achieve. It’s canon that demonic energies can bring a hybrid’s demon side to the surface, calling and provoking it. In Deadly Fortune, when Yamato is fixed/healed by Nero, Dante feels a sudden and all-too-familiar demonic energy that unintentionally triggers his demonic side for a moment. This is Yamato’s call. Dante’s demon side is provoked by her and, inevitably, by Vergil’s energy because I wholeheartedly believe Yamato contains a part of Vergil’s soul. They are inbound.

Not much is known about how long hybrids live, but they do age, as we’ve seen with Dante and Matier. Interestingly, Matier lived long enough to meet Sparda. I think hybrids outlive humans, and an average lifespan of 300 years, like Tieflings. I’ll delve into the biological factors of this separately another time.

In the Devil May Cry anime, there’s an episode about a devil’s sincere love for a human. This kinda confirmed my belief that there MUST be other hybrids besides shit twins, Nero and Matier. People in love sometimes have sex, and if they want to, children are born as a result. However, based on what I mentioned earlier, I’m not sure how healthy the pregnancy would be.

The character themes are the best source for understanding the inner conflict a hybrid experiences. Their demon and human souls and blood clash with each other, fighting to see which will come out as the victor. This is evident even with Nero, which is interesting because he’s only about 15% demon, having a hybrid dad and a human mom. It’s weird because, physically, demon blood is dominant, but according to the lore, the human soul is superior. Nero has so little demon blood that he nearly lacks the demonic smell (Dante in Deadly Fortune and Malphas in Devil May Cry 5 comments about this). He’s more human than the twins—a very domestic boy. His psyche should be stronger than the twins. 

Dante's theme songs, however, are understandable, he is a half-breed, a perfect balance of two opposite sides. We see that these demonic urges are directed toward other demons, but I’m curious about whether hybrids have any violent urges toward humans. They are half-demon, after all. Demons are the predators of humans—Sparda himself ate humans before he awoke to justice. We humans even have cannibalistic urges, thanks to female genome transaction, our time cannibalizing each other has scorched into our brains.  Human blood is not just tasty to demons yet hybrids are not berserkers or lesser demons with zero intelligence. They have a brain and a human heart; I don’t see them openly fantasizing about mauling or eating people. But I’m pretty sure the smell of human blood would be appealing to them. It might be like smelling a barbecue and thinking, “Damn, that smells good.” But maybe it wouldn’t be enticing enough to make them attack or eat people. You wouldn't want to eat an alive cow while it stands there cowly, eating grass. You may even interact with it in a nonaggressive way. That’s how I think hybrids would act towards humans if they were in control. Yeah, IF. Returning to Sparda Kin’s theme songs, the inner conflict of a hybrid makes sense with what I’ve said earlier. When you lose control and your demonic side takes over, you essentially leave part of your human consciousness in the hands of an apex predator. In such moments, you could harm those you love or innocent people, or commit worse acts. In the Bible, Nephilim are said to eat humans. This is, of course, a biased point of view, assuming that Abrahamic religions derive their sources from ancient records. But these Nephilim (hybrids) are not all the same; they are all different from each other and this is proven by science, human hybrids and animal hybrids are always different. It is also said that Nephilim are immortal, but there is no explicit mention that they are truly immortal; they simply die. However, the existence of man-eating Nephilim might suggest that some hybrids would indeed have a desire to eat humans. By the way, Nephilim are directly related to our world and the DMC hybrid concept—giants. Hybrids result from the mating of Annunaki people left on Earth with humans.

And don't even get me started on the creepy similarity between the Annunaki legend and Sparda and Mundus. :l

Well, uhh, that's all. I didn't touch on everything I wanted to touch on, but this post would be too long if I let myself go. Have a good day!

[wlwitchofwhitestone]

I think what's frustrating me the most about what's going on in campaign 3 right now is that the main idea being talked about and given way too much emphasis runs counter to the theme of the m9. If the Nein were about the idea that you can become better no matter what you did or who you were before, the argument set forth and being entertained as a legitimate conflict right now is very "these guys did bad shit a thousand years ago and they should die. Somehow this is good for everyone despite the centuries of good they've done since." Ashton's point was extremely astute that if that's the case, cleanse the entire world motherfucker because we're no better, but the hypocrisy of that was neatly sidestepped (which is at least consistent with Ludinus and fascists of his ilk in general). It's not a real argument, guys. We're not meant to take him seriously.

The gods are the stewards of the only world anyone living has ever known. The fact that they made bad choices that hurt Ludinus and people he knew is a legitimate grievance. The gods are in fact flawed, capable of selfishness, but when confronted with the enormity of the damage they were causing this world, they removed themselves and a whole chunk of their power to seal themselves behind the divine gate. They didn't abandon the world. They didn't withdraw their power and sulk, leaving everyone without their gifts until they begged for a return. They simply care for mortals on the terms of those mortals and ask for nothing not freely given. The people who follow the gods find them worthy of that patronage and Ludinus does not get to erase the choice of everyone else who doesn't agree with him because he's hurt, even if he did have a point (he doesn't).

He thinks, for some reason, that his actions won't result in the same kind of harm on a global scale and completely ignores the damage he has already wrought in the name of a higher purpose because that's what the gods did and they're no better than him. But they are, dipshit. They are better than you. There are people in the world they may not be better than, salient point, but you're not one of them.

And after the light and love that was the core of the Nein - the very thing that shaped Essek into the campaign 3 NPC that he is - it feels extremely disingenuous for "do the gods deserve their power now that you've seen them at their worst" to be perceived as an actual, legitimate conflict in the endgame and a talking point in the Fandom. Especially when the Hells have already been pretty clear that they're not looking to be judge, jury, and executioner of the gods. This is not the central conflict of campaign 3, it's one dumbass's weird motivation to be a villain that needs to be stopped and the fact that it keeps coming up as anything approaching credible is a condemnation of the purity culture mindset in online spaces today.

[seirxi]

I’m trying SO hard to not have the most catastrophic diabolical earth shattering koitsuki relapse right now. I’m protecting you all from my feral mouth foaming ugly old man yaoi thoughts and it’s the hardest battle I’ve ever had to fight

[vault21]

Soldier, I don’t make threats.  I make guarantees.  So let’s not do this.     General Shepherd sends his regards.

[actual-changeling]

listen i love snake crowley so much and it's perfect in so many ways but i cannot stop thinking about crowley as a black cat.

he still sprawls and inconveniences everyone trying to walk past him even when sitting on a chair. obviously he has the same eyes—his eyes—that glint like a sky full of stars in the dark. a tiny, pink, distantly heart-shaped spot on his otherwise dark nose. short, sleek fur that is soft and shimmers in the sun, and his claws are sharp as anything and a pearling white.

crowley keeps his tattoo, more or less, but instead of a snake it's the tail of a little cat that likes to lounge on top of his ear.

he loves sunbathing in the bookshop or finding small spaces on the shelves to squish himself into, and if you think he cannot scare away customers as a cat—he absolutely can. someone tries to buy a book and next thing they know a cat that really should not be that big is threatening to sink their claws into their hand and growling loud enough to feel it in your chest. (it's also easier to follow aziraphale around outside as a cat, it draws significantly less attention than a big snake slithering on the sidewalk)

sometimes he hangs around aziraphale's neck like a shawl and his angel has to make sure he balances him out at all times or he will get four paws clinging to him and digging their claws into his clothes so he doesn't fall. but he also gets crowley curling up in his lap while he reads, one hand holding the book, the other lazily stroking and petting him.

when he loses control a little while in human form he purrs (usually around aziraphale and boy is that embarrassing) or hisses, gets incredibly sharp nails, fangs, etc. he always walks super quietly and aziraphale threatens to put a bell on him when one time he unintentionally sneaks up on him and makes him spill his cocoa.

just. ngk. crowley as a cat relaxing on aziraphale's lap and pressing his head into his hand just to spontaneously switch back and suddenly there's a demon demanding attention and gently nuzzling into his neck.

[feralcorpses]

*SHAKES YOU VIOLENTLY*

I WILL GIVE YOU 13 SOULS (not mine) IF YOU DRAW MY RAREPAIR SCOTT/SCAR

PLEASE

Cw/Tw: Slight Body Horror (Exposed gum/teeth)

HAND EM OVER!

Poor Scar he only wanted to scam Scott :/

No idea what their dynamic is but hope this is good for you ^^

(This would’ve been done yesterday but I yapped to my friend for like 6 hours and then it was like 3 in the morning soooo, also what’s their duo name?)

Also I was gonna do more reqs today but I’m meeting up with some friends so not sure if I’ll get a chance to sorry BUT they will be done at some point I promise

[paradoxbeta]

was looks to the moon born with the tooth gap or did she get that from somewhere and just kept it

that is a really good question actually because

id never thought about that before, i just went "hee hoo toof gap pretty" one day while drawing her and never gave it a second thought. i think she was just created that way because she has it in all of the pre-collapse artwork i have of her. that or she got it via fidgeting by putting her tongue between her front teeth because i used to do that when i was bored and i know that doing that enough times can move things around. but that would imply the iterators (from moons time at least) have fleshy/manipulatable gums which wouldnt be a very sensical design choice because all that really does is invite the possibility of teeth becoming crooked or coming loose. ((to be fair, i do already have a handful of other crooked-teeth iterators: srs's snaggletooth comes to mind first but my early sliver of straw design also had brace-like metal over her teeth, and im toying with the look of misaligned or broken teeth for some iterator ocs.)) but then if lttm wasn't able to do it herself, then i would have find a reason why the ancients would have made her this way when iterator puppets are designed to be palatable and straight teeth tends to be the most safe/neutral choice. so my closest guess is that either the alignment of teeth isn't as big a deal in ancient culture (which would make sense, im sure body modification extends to doing funky dental stuff) and/or she was made with a tooth gap for the same reason i made her with a tooth gap: because it looks nice and makes her feel more like a person and less like a flawless corporate computer interface, which is easier to talk to. however even though it should not be possible i really like the idea of lttms tooth gap being something she somehow did herself because it kind of gives it personality. auuugh *enters the torture nexus*

[paradoxolotl]

Sometimes I have to ask people “do you really want to make that deal with me” because they forget their joking challenge will be met in a way they did not expect and I remember when people don’t follow through on their bargains

[helianskies]

Fic authors self rec!♡

When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love❤

ahhhhh, thank you anon! have a cookie! 🍪 now i believe it's been a while since i last did something like this, so let's have a nose!

(another version of this ask has been answered here!)

i had a lot of fics to go through and decided to exclude my three long-fics to focus on my stand-alone works. so, in no particular order:

Let Me Go — mature, engspa — quite possibly my fave fic i've written from an antonio character study and historical engspa perspective.

“Am I allowed to ask why I am here? Your letter was a little bit… vague on the matter.”

“Yet you still followed it here,” Antonio replied, his smile returning.

“And you were not surprised to see me,” Arthur concurred, albeit, not entirely happily.

“For a simple reason,” the other claimed.

“Oh?”

“I believed you would come. And so you have.”

Holiday — teen+, turkspa — my second favourite antonio character study fic, with a somewhat more modern setting and duo.

It took a little while to sort out papers, but eventually, Mr Mateo Romero Vázquez, a man from some inconsequential town out in Castilla-La Mancha, was driving his little grey car out of the airport carpark and in the direction of the EO16.

His destination was Sarti, a coastal town with beautiful views out across the Aegean sea. A vast blue horizon. A chance to forget.

Fortuna — explicit, engspa — you have no idea what this fic and au mean to me. oh my word. the insanity i feel. the potential. oooh.

“It’s been a few days since we saw you here last,” someone greeted him.

It shamefully wasn’t the bartender, who was caught up further down the line, but instead, a new neighbour. A neighbour who preferred to stand. A neighbour wearing a very nice suit and an expensive wristwatch.

Arthur straightened himself up as he sat in the man’s shadow. Then he glanced at his neighbour, and said, “Miss me?”

“Hardly,” replied Abel with a light scoff.

Encounter — explicit, engport — this fic lives in my head rent-free and i have never looked at lavender soap the same way since. just fyi.

As the world's worst blind date hits rock bottom, Gabriel seeks refuge and privacy in the grotty bathroom of a pub so he can plot his escape. Little does he know that, once the door is locked, there's someone waiting for him who's willing to give him a good time.

Damnatio — explicit, romespa — the start of an obsession, i will admit. though perhaps i should call it a guilty pleasure these days!

The hands that touch him used to be hands that scared him. He used to think that they would maim, hit, bruise, beat—but all they do, it turns out, is hold, caress, stroke, and squeeze in a way so unholy that it feels divine.

[bloodredsoul]

I’m addicted, like a drug, something instinctual beneath the skin I can’t control. I need another taste, just one sip, a small bite, I’m begging you

I’m so pathetic for this terrible addiction of mine, but you know what it is I desire, I may just eat you alive ~

[millennium-queen]

Hate being a human being who knows how to read sometimes

[beevean]

I feel like an emptied cup but I'm not sure what I was emptied of.