#the creature cases: reimagined

[sleetskies18]

More The Creature Cases: Reimagined stuff!

The training course

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The training course is split into three sections. Academic, physical and mental. They graduate depending on how long each recruit takes to complete the course. Typically a year, though some can take longer for various reasons.

ACADEMIC

The academic part is peppered in amongst the others. It includes basic classroom stuff such as animal knowledge, pawprint identification, analysis, gear prep, first aid, etc. It also counts as a meeting area for the mentors for the physical and mental parts to collect their respective recruits. Despite the agents' individual mentors, they all share an academic teacher.

PHYSICAL

The physical, as you can guess, is physical training. Climbing, agility, swimming, endurance, jumping, basically any physical thing which could come in handy when it comes to case solving and rescue. The specialised mentors for the physical course also handle the mental course. They're selected to best match with their recruit.

MENTAL

The mental course includes anxiety and anger management, concentration, puzzle-solving, energy management, mental endurance, time management, withstanding pressure and so on and so forth. Occasionally physical training and mental training are done at once. For example endurance and energy management.

How mentors are selected

Mentors are selected based on a few different factors:

1. Their rank

2. Their personality

3. Their skill.

To qualify to be a mentor at all, an agent needs to be an 'experienced agent' or higher.

(For context the ranks go:

Junior Agent/Recruit

New Agent

Novice Agent

Mid-rank Agent

Intermediate Agent

Experienced Agent

Senior Agent

Super Senior Agent

Super Duper Senior (SDS) Agent)

And afterwards, they're judged exclusively on them as a person and in their work. Here's two examples;

1. Sam and Kits mentor was a grizzly bear (whom I can't think of a name for). He was an SDS agent, close to retirement. He had alot of experience with all sorts of personality types, hence being given two incredibly different recruits to teach. His record was near perfect. And with personality, he worked well for both Sam and Kit. He carried himself with an air of sternness and authority, which was used to reign Kit in and push Sam out of his comfort zone. Yet he also was supportive and caring, to make the two feel safe despite it. He was meticulous and thorough with their training, and took the time to make them the best they could be before graduating, even taking the extra month to paitently guide Sam through the swimming tests and exercises.

2. Sam and Kit were selected as Cubbys mentors together for the main reason of neither of them have the ability to teach a recruit on their own. Director scratch initially planned to give each their own apprentice, but quickly realised they're only truly good at teaching one area each. Kit physical and Sam mental. So, she gave Cubby to both of them. Cubby is taught well under the two. Kits laid-back nature and sams 'discipline' keeps her smooth on track. The two had adopted a gentler teaching style then their own mentor, which seems to be working. They're also great teachers of teamwork. Their main goal, like their mentor for them, is to keep Cubby safe and help her become the best agent she can be.

The graduation ceremony

At graduation, it begins with the apprentices and their mentors coming up one by one to receive a speech from the director themselves, and for the mentor to give the new agent their own ID, plus a speech of their own. Followed by a celebration party. If a recruit was set to graduate for a certain time but didn't for one reason or another, like Sam, they were still invited to the party and got to watch their peers.

Once the late-graduater is able to graduate themselves, they get their own mini version of the party, with the same level of importance as the other recruits whom graduated before them (though for Sam he specifically requested his party be smaller than the bigger graduation.)

What happens next?

The new agents go on a few more cases with their mentor(s) before setting off on their first one alone, typically a simple one. The cases slowly increase in difficulty as the new agent grows more experienced

[sauronxgaladriel]

Haladriel Library

Saurondriel/Haladriel Fanfic Recommendations. Some of these stories could fit into multiple categories. If you have any more recommendations feel free to add them!

Marriage

Shadow-Bride by eye_of_a_cat

Bridesprice by FormerlyIR (Irony_Rocks), Irony_Rocks 

Poison & Wine by Coraleeveritas

Galadriel takes longer to discover Sauron's identity

no matter how many skies have fallen by stitchingatthecircuitboard

A man is a god in ruins by eye_of_a_cat

Queen of the Southlands by FormerlyIR

Galadriel Says Yes

The House That Fire Built by Ready_For_The_Laughing_Gas

dig up the bones (but leave the soul alone) by Wyrd_Syster

Gilded by eye_of_a_cat

And white winter, on its knees by eye_of_a_cat

The Trials of Mairon by EllieCarina

Mortal Laws by Helholden

A Portion of Thyself by Frotu

Reforged in the Making by FormerlyIR (Irony_Rocks)

Fabricated by Frotu

Canon Divergence/Reimagining of S1 and onwards

I could be your king by cliffdiving

The Tides of Fate by fireheart321

In Case of Defeat, Break Glass by eastwynds

that i may rise and stand, o'erthrow me by mortaltemples

Five times Halbrand's secret got revealed by eye_of_a_cat

Across That Fine Line by MyrsineMezzo

Instruments of Salvation by Scriberated

a fair form by properhaunt

Autocorrelation by EisforEverything

The Return of the Queen by Nenya Business (Cec_Jo)

A Feast of Starlight by TheLightofArwyn

Supernatural Creature AU

should have known better by Nenya Business (Cec_Jo) (Witch/Demon AU)

Wild Magic by Scriberated (Witch/God)

Storm Tides & Weaving Threads by elssiie (Siren AU)

just a taste by stardustspell (Vampire AU)

Haladriel meet before TROP

Spark, Ignite, Burn by cliffdiving

our souls were made from the stars by silverwing12 (Deleted)

Necessity's Bargain by Scriberated

Though the Gods and the Years Relent, Shall Be by Helholden

determination is the cure (for longing) by downtheroadandupthehill

where the spirit meets the bones by kangaroopaws

people throw rocks at things that shine by ophidion

Pick a star, and follow it home by CloudlySkies124

Hades Persephone Vibes

Beasts of the Hill and Serpents of the Den by Helholden

a dust like thine by mortaltemples

One-Shots

Unsired by shady-swan-jones (sweetleaf), sweetleaf 

the light of his eyes by eastwynds

now dark, now glittering by mortaltemples

In the Shadow of Your Heart by mzladybird

i cannot heave my heart into my mouth by fallofrain

this love is glowing in the dark by Orcas86

we could just kiss, like real people do by justatinycollector 

a millstone around my neck by mortaltemples

the nameless by bimmyou

next time by you_wear_fine_things_well

Pregnancy/Parenthood

Light and Power by chronicallyexhaustedwriter

shining like a fiery beacon by ophidion

A Blessing of Eru by Scriberated

mitosis by Orcas86

Darkness Bound by no_more_doubt

Smut

A Stressed Tiding by FormerlyIR (Irony_Rocks), Irony_Rocks

this love is glowing in the dark by Orcas86

Buried in Bone by Invisible_Hand

Riptide by makeshiftdraco

Perfection by Nenya Business (Cec_Jo)

like magnets work, only drawn to thee by audreystark

To Follow the Light by Thrill_of_hope

A Moment of Honesty by Draconic_Grace

Dream Within a Dream by Nenya Business (Cec_Jo)

bind yourself to me by Nenya Business (Cec_Jo)

Dream Within a Dream by Nenya Business (Cec_Jo)

Lady of the Seas by eye_of_a_cat

Dark/Dead Dove

all your pain will end here by poeticmemory

Land of Enchantment by EisforEverything

perle by emphemeron

Glanduin Kiss by Anonymous

The Cost of Victory by EisforEverything

what you and i have wrought by thefudge

what heart's ease by fallofrain

Sauron as Annatar

hold her head above the water by Orcas86

next time by you_wear_fine_things_well

the light of his eyes by eastwynds 

Contaminate by Frotu

[dailyadventureprompts]

Hello Mr. Dapper! Love this blog and your many reimaginings of classic dnd deities and creatures. I was curious about something: Considering your dislike of purely evil gods and DnDs future focusing on the guy, what are your thoughts on Vecna?

Deity: Vecna, the Whispered One

My task of overhauling d&d’s villanous pantheon was started by a simple critique:  that if god was evil, there still needed to be a reason for people to worship it. To go with one example,  So many of the death gods in d&d want to kill everything that lives, yet they’re still presented as having legions of followers who are happy to die for them in opposition to the party.   You can say “Oh they’re just brainwashed, crazy cultists” but that’s just bad writing and thematically empty, neither of which I want for the sort of games I run. 

Vecna is actually an interesting case study in that he’s an outwardly wicked deity that has a theme which people would actively want to follow:   As a god of secrets, Vecna is the patron of any who will sacrifice anything to learn the answer to their problems, or conversely, the ones desperate to ensure their own secrets will never be known.  The story of Vecna as a mortal mage who attained first lichdom, then godhood is an aspirational one for all those power mad occultists out there, a common enough demographic in the d&d world both as villains and as player characters. 

Cults of Vecna worshippers likewise make sense as the whole point behind the historical practice of mystery cults was that those at the upper levels maintained their power through control of information and access to secret learnings.  You want to learn how to do magic? To speak to the dead? To protect your secrets from being known? Put on this ominous robe, learn the secret handshake, and don’t forget to drop your tithe intto the altar’s collection skull. Think of it like a forbidden knowledge based MLM. 

 Here’s some adventure hooks: 

While many of the whispered one’s acolytes dedicate themselves to discovering to the delving of arcane mysteries, others focus their attention on more worldly secrets. A powerful noblewoman is being blackmailed by a worshipper of Vecna not only for personal enrichment but also as an act of devotion, after he uncovered proof of indiscretions that would ruin her reputation.  While she’s too afraid to go for help herself and risk exposure, a devoted servant has seen her hidden suffering and has contacted the party for aid. 

Barely disguising its fiendish nature, a devil in service to Vecna approaches the party with an offer to reveal the secret intents or weaknesses of their enemies, if only they will deign to meet its terrible price.  While this information could do great good, or even save lives, just how low are the heroes willing to stoop? 

Seeking out the aid of a powerful mage, the party discover the old man on the brink of nervous collapse, having looked to deeply into the void and filled his mind with visions best left unmentioned.  Haunted by nightmares both real and imagined, he needs their help in quieting his mind through the gathering of rare ingredients and the distillation of a potent elixir. The process is not without risk however, are the party willing to help if it means erasing the information they need from his head, to say nothing of potentially lobotomizing the poor wizard? 

Art

[sumerianlanguage]

Silim! This ask is not really about language hope you don't mind. Just today I stumbled on this line :

Source = Gilgamesh by Stephen Grundy (btw have you read it? The author quite detailed on describing Sumerian culture on that book, even though I am not sure how accurate it is)

Anyway, this proverb kinda intrigued me as cat lover because even though Middle East's fondness for cats are commonly known, I have no idea before that Sumerian have certain opinion about cat to make a proverb about it. I am so curious, what does that means? Is that a compliment or an insult? What's the context behind that proverb. Quick Google search gave me nothing, so I hope you can help me to satisfy my curiosity, hehe

Silim! I haven't read Grundy's book, which isn't a direct Gilgamesh translation but more of a "reimagining".

I did, however, find this proverb in the ETCSL proverbs compendium here. The Sumerian is Sua suabishe, ninkilim ning akabishe, which they translate as "A cat for its being a cat; a mongoose for doing what it does." A more literal translation might be "a cat (sua) for its cat-ness, a mongoose (ninkilim) for its doing (aka) its thing (ning)," both clauses using the terminative case -she in a causal sense "for (the purpose of)". Ning aka is a set phrase meaning "deed, activity," basically anything one does. I have no idea why Grundy translates suabi as "its thoughts".

Other mentions of mongooses in Sumerian proverbs focus on their stench - though, interestingly, the word ninkilim is generally written with the deity determinative, as 𒀭𒎏𒉾, and its name literally means something like "lord/lady of the small animals". Cats, by contrast, seemed to be associated with versatility or skill (see proverbs 8b16-18).

As to what this proverb means, my best guess is that it's a saying comparable to the English phrases "to each his own", "horses for courses" or "it takes all sorts", i.e. that each creature, skilled or smelly, has its place and does what it does best. But as with most Sumerian proverbs the lack of context means it remains open to interpretation. I hope that answers your question!

[candycandy00]

The League of Villains Halloween Horror Anthology Sign Up

This is the sign up post for the first annual League of Villains Halloween Horror Anthology!

The deadline to sign up for this event is September 30th! Please keep that in mind!

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What it is:

The anthology will be various fanfics and fanart of League of Villains members reimagined as horror creatures/icons/characters, to be posted throughout October of this year. I thought it would be a fun way to get us all in the spooky Halloween mood.

This is an adults-only event! Please do not sign up unless you have your age listed in your bio or pinned post! Minors do not interact!

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Rules:

You can make fanfic or fanart, or both! But each piece must feature a League of Villains member (past or present, but only one per piece) as a horror creature/icon/character, such as a vampire or a masked killer. They have to be the source of the horror, so no zombie fics where the character is fighting zombies. If you pick zombie as your horror creature, the character you pick has to be a zombie.

Multiple people can claim each character, so if we get 30 Dabi fics, so be it. However, only one person can claim each horror icon for the medium you chose. So if someone already signed up for one of the characters as a vampire in a fic, you can’t sign up for a character (even a different one) as a vampire in a fic. You can sign up for a vampire in a fanart, provided no one else has. I will do these on a first come, first serve basis. So the first person to claim a given creature will get it. If a lot of people sign up and I feel like we’re legitimately running out of horror tropes, I might bend this rule a bit. Also! You can be specific to differentiate between creatures. Like an undead pirate is different from a regular zombie, and so on.

Fanfics can be X Reader or not. They can be NSFW/smut, or not. That’s up to you! If you choose Toga as your character, only write/draw SFW pieces for her, as she is a minor. It doesn’t matter if you age her up. You don’t have to make your piece horror, but it’s encouraged. This is a Halloween anthology after all. At the very least, a spooky vibe should be present, even if your piece is overall light hearted. Likewise, you don’t have to set the story on or around Halloween, but it would be nice to have some works that do so.

You can post your piece any time in October. From the first day of the month to the last. Ideally, the pieces will be spread out a bit throughout the month, but I’m not assigning anyone specific days. Just post it whenever you want in October.

If you sign up, but decide to drop out, that’s fine! This is a zero pressure event. You don’t even have to explain why. All I ask is that you send me a message or Ask letting me know so that I can remove you from the sign up list. Someone else might have wanted to write about the creature you chose, but couldn’t because you picked it.

When you post your piece, use the tag #lovhalloweenhorror. Feel free to use the tag before then! Use it to talk about the piece you’re working on, use it to post sketches or previews! Heck, use it even if you just plan to enjoy the fan works! Use it to talk about things you’d like to see/read as a viewer. Anything goes! Let’s build up some excitement!

As works begin to be posted in October, I’ll create a Masterlist post to list all of them in one convenient place. If you post your piece and you don’t see it added to the list within a day or so, send me a message to let me know in case I missed it.

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How to Sign up:

If you’d like to sign up to create a piece for this event, send me an Ask or a direct message with the following information:

Fanart or Fanfic?

Character?

Horror Creature?

That’s it! Please send a separate message for each piece you plan to make.

As people sign up, I’ll list them in this post so everyone can know what’s been claimed. Please be patient with me. I might be slow!

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The List:

Fanfiction:

@missrosegold - Dabi - Demon

@candycandy00 - Shigaraki - Scarecrow

@jabberwocky-92 - Shigaraki - God of Decay

@scary-grace - Shigaraki - Ghost/Wraith

@spicymeatball1992 - Shigaraki - Incubus

@jabberwocky-92 - Dabi - Grim Reaper

@gamergirlghost - Toga - Vampire

@doumadono - Dabi - Merman

@doumadono - Toga - Rusalka

@red-as-mars - Dabi - Charro Negro

@candycandy00 - Mr. Compress - Mad Scientist

Fanart:

@sammystep - Twice - Dr. Frankenstein

@fleetwoodmoth - Dabi - Fire Atronach

@selinearts - Toga - Demon

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Ideas/Inspiration:

If you’re having trouble deciding on a horror creature/icon/character, here’s a list of some to give you some ideas! Obviously, what you pick doesn’t have to come from this list, and in fact I’m looking forward to seeing all the different ideas I never thought of. You can even create your own creature! This is just a list of some possibilities.

Vampire | Werewolf | Demon | Witch/Warlock | Zombie | Ghost/Wraith | Banshee | Masked Killer | Mad Scientist | Scarecrow | Executioner | Butcher | Alien | Cyborg/Android | Witchfinder | Deep Sea Creature | Clown | Cannibal | Mummy

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Feel free to reblog this! Let’s get as many people involved as possible!

[milkyfederation]

A fun exercise I like to do while sketching. Reimagining an original character from Earth (in this case, Néstor) if they were born in various martian cities.

Inspired by Maestra Ryoko Kui's explorations.

In my universe, Martians are my excuse to do fun humanoid designs inspired by live action science fiction. They are not actually aliens, but modified humans.

1️⃣3️⃣5️⃣7️⃣9️⃣

2️⃣4️⃣6️⃣8️⃣🔟

1. Regular old Earthian Néstor.

2. From Martipolis. My first martian design, and my take on the classic green alien with antennae (but horns like a giraffe).

3. From Felipolis, the touristic city. Inspired by aliens who just have animal features.

4. From Blauopolis, one of the unhappiest cities in the solar system.

5. This isolationist polis liked white supremacy so much they gave themselves albinism. My take on both space vampires and elves.

6. From Neocropolis, I've already talked about it.

From this point on, these are new designs, I haven't thought about worldbuilding.

7. Love it when an alien is just a guy with stuff glued to his face, + rock-like people.

8. Edgy creature of the night kinda guy.

9. A dude with dangly bits and face tentacles is also peak alien design.

10. Hairless big head guy. Thanks again Aconite @wolfsbaneandthistle for reminding me of the best alien design ever: Coneheads.

If you have any trope suggestion for humanoid "aliens" or a particular polis you'd like to know more about, leave a comment or an ask!

[sepublic]

For reference: You know how the GEverse originally started off as an elaborate Ninjago fanfic that evolved into even more elaborate fanon? Everything to do with the Monster Realm, the Council of Warlocks, the new Monster Fighters; That also started off as fanon for another, much more obscure and shorter-lived Lego theme called Monster Fighters.

It only lasted for one wave and I only got one set (the Werewolf one), but MAN I loved the theme's vibes and aesthetic and played the website's game for a bit, too! I liked it so much that I wrote a 'novelization' for the story that I posted on the Lego message boards, although I never finished it alas.

Stuff like the Magestones? Very blatantly the Moonstones, down to identical designs for all save one of them; Since I was changing a few things to make it more my own now that I embraced it as such, that made me realize I could also change the Moonstones, now Magestones.

And so the red one, once sporting a vampire bat as its symbol and giving the power to control one's minions, was instead reimagined as an homage to the Philosopher's Stone, with a bubbling witch's cauldron. I did this to make it more befitting its wielder Kisonus, though in-universe, the Red Magestone's power of transmutation was used by Varney to alter its symbol to that of a bat, to fit HIS aesthetics. The Red Magestone is strange and special like that.

Since vampires in a lot of media can transform into different creatures, I imagine this is how Varney used the Red Magestone; I think in the GEverse that all vampires can turn into bats, but maybe Varney is special in that he can transform into an entire swarm thanks to the Red Magestone. When Kisonus gets it back, she restores its intended appearance.

But yeah, all that lore about how the current Monster Fighters are technically a next-gen story, and how they follow in the footsteps of their predecessors? That story is the one seen in Lego Monster Fighters, with the vampire villain being named just Lord Vampyre, and his wife nameless; In my fanfic, I named her Lydia E. Vampyre and I intend to keep that.

I haven't figured out and finalized everything yet, so I'm still reusing a lot of the same names and appearances as placeholders. So the group is called the Monster Fighters, and the family that our main protagonist belongs to is known as the Rathbones. I'll figure out eventually a new, legally-distinct surname. The same goes for the other OG Monster Fighters, who are currently identical to their Lego counterparts.

Everything to do with the Council of Warlocks was my idea for a sequel to the Lego Monster Fighters story; Like what if after Lord Vampyre was defeated, there was a new set of villains to claim the Moonstones!!! What if we delved into the mysterious origins of the Moonstones, that sort of thing. This story was always meant to be connected with the larger Ninjago universe, more specifically my fanon version of it, and the same applies now that both stories are independent from their source material.

I probably need to change a bit more about this story in case this somehow ever becomes like, a bigger thing and I don't want a lawsuit from Lego. Monster Fighters is relatively obscure and short-lived though, so I wonder how much I could 'get away with' so to speak. Lego Monster Fighters itself is a mishmash of legally-distinct takes on Universal Monsters after all, and a lot of the elements, individually, aren't too unique. But all together, it's definitely a bit obvious.

But if Resident Evil 8 and Metroid Dread can rip off mechanical monstrosities from Frankenstein's Army and Red Planet without any issue, maybe it's not that big a deal. Most of what I'm borrowing is relegated as backstory anyhow, with the main focus being on a new generation and new, original villains; It's mostly the Magestones that carry over, so I might not be seen as 'worth the effort'. If Lego can avoid a lawsuit from Universal by making their blatant homage barely different enough, maybe I'm also safe, though I don't have an army of lawyers. But then again, everyone's done legally-distinct knock offs of Universal Monsters, so it's the Magestones I'm more worried about haha.

[winwin17]

For the ask game! 10: I've kinda been thinking about reading kotlc, so what's your favorite aspect of the books? just to persuade me yk 👀

also 4? :)

Oh, you should definitely read KOTLC! I will not deny that it has cons as well as pros, but I still think it's pretty captivating.

One of my favorite aspects is probably just the questions that unfold, how the characters figure out what to fight for, determine who's who and where they stand morally or on the spectrum of whether they're an antagonist or supportive of the main character and her goals.

Even if the plot does get a bit lost in the romance subplot about halfway through the series, you will never be at a loss for finding new complexities in various characters and where they fall on the moral scale.

And one more thing I like about the series is how it reimagines most fantasy creatures in ways that I don't think they are typically portrayed. It's quite endearing and amusing!

Okay, for question #4! Something quirky I do - probably 90% of the time I will announce whatever I'm smelling if I happen to smell something that stands out to me. So whether that's something normal like, "I smell cleaning products," or something more odd like, "I smell grass!" or "It smells like a trumpet case in here," or "It kinda smells like a combo of carrots and eggnog," - I will look around suspiciously and announce what I smell. 😄

[hydrxnessa]

ah this mightt seem dumb but… what is the senverse exactly? 😅

you might want to refer to this post, but to summarise:

senVerse is simply the name of any AUs I make of certain medias! currently there's only a senVerse AU for Doors but that might change in the future :3 it's just my own reimagination of doors, that's all. all the entities you know and love, think of them but creature-fied!

also fun fact it's capitalised as 'senVerse' cus i am a computing student and traditionally in programming we name variables/attributes via the Camel Case - if the variable consists of multiple words, the first word will always be lowercase and the following will be capitalised i.e. firstName, lastName, dateOfBirth etc. (there is of course other cases like Pascal Case and Snake Case but for some reason i've taken a sweet liking to Camel Case. i've made it my whole personality.)

it's why you'll generally see my handle as hydraNessa around :3

[maxusmaximum]

My thoughts on Silent Hill 2 remake

I’ve seen a lot of posts talking about Bloober Team and James himself and the more that I watch the trailers and look at the screenshots, I’ve come to realize that we haven’t even seen some of the other characters yet.

One thing that I think makes Silent Hill 2 so incredibly fascinating is its characters and how they emphasize the theme of the story so well. They go through such mental turmoil and we come to learn a lot about them. In many of the cases, what we learn about these characters is never outright said to us and these implications of these characters is what tells us their stories. These implications not only hammer in the theme of the story, but they also set the atmosphere and tone of the game. Descriptions on items like Angela’s knife and how James doesn’t “plan on using this as a weapon” giving us clues on not only Angela as a character, but James. Specifically his In Water ending.

Eddie’s story having hints throughout the entire game, including how and why he came to Silent Hill in the first place. The van cutscene at the beginning of the game and the van that’s shown in the playable first scene. His vomit scene and then the famous pizza scene in greater context when paired up with his dialogue about his physical appearance. His dialogue alone clues us in on his warped reality and mental state. In fact, Angela also has dialogue that clues us in on how the town of Silent Hill doesn’t look the same for both James and her. Once again, big world building and story implications.

The voice acting differences I don’t think will be too bad? However, of course, I will always prefer the original dream like delivery of lines. In the original, I think the line delivery actually adds more to the atmosphere and story if you like to pick apart every little detail ever, intentional or not. It gives the player even more insight into the characters we’re perceiving. Things like the tone shifts and hesitancy in Angela’s lines and the way that Eddie’s voice gives us the vibe that he’s playing dumb with us at times. James’ own dialogue in the first is a pretty damn good way to hammer in his head space, especially in the beginning and how that changes in the second half of the game. He feels so detached from himself, saying things like “I guess I don’t really care what happens to me”.

My point is, changing something in Silent Hill 2 can negatively affect how the story is perceived. Dialogue changes because of possible sanitization or just forgetting something entirely can negatively effect how nicely wrapped this game is. The interactive experience players have with it and how it effects the ending of their game.

We all know Bloober doesn’t have the greatest credibility when it comes to mental health matters in a video game but on the bright side, there are original members of the Silent Hill team working with them on the game. Plus, this isn’t like they’re making a brand new game with all new story. They are working with something that quite literally gives you all the pieces to recreate a gorgeous remake. I know some others are upset at the lighting and the super detailed graphics because they believe it takes away from the horror of the game, and yeah, I mean to an extent I agree. However I actually really like the intense graphics and it’s realness. It’s fresh, I love seeing how the world is reimagined in this way. It makes me feel like I can really be there, that Silent Hill is even more tangible of a place. I think the scares can still be pulled off in the graphics and polished environments that we’ve seen, and actually in some ways can enhance the terror. Art director and creature designer Masahiro Ito is working closely with the team from what I’ve read! This is amazing! This shows how graphic and even more intentional the designs for these monsters can be now! We’ve seen something really exciting, but pretty small as a detail. The ring indent on James’ finger. With detailed graphics, they’ll actually be able to add details that we weren’t able to get in the original. I’m so beyond excited for this alone!

I’m trying to genuinely have hope with the game because I love it so intensely, I don’t think it’ll be too bad. I love reading what other people have to say about it though, it’s just so interesting. What are your thoughts? Maybe things you’re excited for?

[sleetskies18]

So, I mentioned that in TCCR cities and towns n such are replaced with counties and didn't elaborate, so, here's a few of the biggest (or most important to the plot) ones!

(Fair disclaimer I do not speak any language fluently outside of English, so any place names will be in English, but if you'd like, you can imagine that they are in the native language of that specific area!)

---

Amazonian County

The amazon rainforest is one big county, with diverse wildlife. Each section (forest floor, understory, canopy, emergent) is considered its own town. The Amazonian County is best known for its culture and tourism, and the residents are often more than happy to greet any passerby with a warm smile.

NOTABLE PLACES:

- Riverside Academy (SCHOOL)

- Flora Clinic (HOSPITAL)

- The Happy Howler Resort

- Treetop Hotel

- Amazon Police Force (APF) station

- Keiatur Falls (LANDMARK)

- Amazon River (LANDMARK)

- Fresh Water Fire Brigade Station

- Amazon Jail (JAILHOUSE)

- Canopy Cuisine (RESTAURANT)

- Amazonian Postal Office

- Palm market

South/North Chomolungma (Sagarmāthā to nepali/sanskrit speakers)

South/North Chomolungma/Sagarmāthā (known as south/North everest to non-locals) are two closely connected halves which encapsulate the whole of Mt. Everest. To the south is Nepals side, and to the North is Tibets/Chinas side. Both counties are best known for their mountain and care for mountaineers. The home counties of Agent Sam Snow. (In different points of his life)

NOTEABLE PLACES

- Everest Base Camps

- Mountain's Medical Centre (LAYS ON THE BORDER. DOCTORS/MEDICS TEND TO MOVE ABOUT OUTSIDE OF THE CENTRE ALOT)

- The Himalayan SAR base (SEARCH AND RESCUE TEAM BASED IN THE FIRST BASE CAMP)

- Mt Everest/Chomolungma/Sagarmāthā (LANDMARK)

- Northern/Southern Police Force stations

- ColdPaws Resort (HOTEL/TOURIST RESORT)

- Summiter Rememberance Ground (MEMORIAL SITE)

- South Side Educational Institution (SCHOOL ON SOUTH)

- North Side Educational institution (SCHOOL ON NORTH)

(side note but the two schools are highly competitive with eachother)

San Joaquin Valley

Located in California, USA, San Joaquin Valley is a...well, Valley. An agricultural community, most residents make a living from farming, trading or market work. San Joaquin Valley residents are known for their creativity and resourcefulness, they know every trick in the book to beat the heat! The home county of Agent Kit Casey

NOTEABLE PLACES

- San Joaquin River (LANDMARK)

- Various family owned farms

- Tule fog market

- CliffRock Institute (SCHOOL)

- Valley Police Force (VPF) Station

- Lazy River Waterpark (TOURIST ATTRACTION)

- San Joaquin Hospital

- Millerton Lake (LANDMARK)

- Burrow and Co building. (HOMEBUILDERS, WORKPLACE OF KITS MOTHER)

Saharan County

The Sahara desert. You know what it is. Hottest desert in the world. The residents of the desert are known for being often reclusive, not that they want to. The heat is often just too harsh. It's the perfect holiday destination for any nocturnal goers, when the temperature drops and the residents burst alive!

NOTEABLE PLACES

- Moonlit Retreat (NOCTURNAL RESORT)

- Sunray Infirmary (HOSPITAL)

- Sahara Fire Protection Centre

- the nile river (LANDMARK)

- Desert Police Station

- Oasis Hotel

- Fig Tree Marketplace

Serengeti County

The serengeti County is the biggest grasslands County in Africa. Its a vast, quite beautiful County. Its residents can be Hardy, but they do mean well. This county is best known for its beauty and diversity. The markets here are the biggest on earth, and trading of materials is common. The serengeti County is one of the only ones to have an established monarchy, in the form of the Acacia lion Pride

NOTEABLE PLACES

- Watering Hole Club

- The Spectacled School (GORDYS SCHOOL. EXCEPT ALL SORTS OF ANIMALS GO)

- Royal Rock (HOME TO THE ACACIA LION PRIDE)

- Grasslands Clinic (HOSPITAL)

- Serengeti Police Force (SPF) station

- The Floodplanes (TRADING HUB/MARKET)

- The great 6 Rivers (LANDMARKS. INCLUDES THE MARA, GRUMETI, NIARONYA, NANYUKI, MBALAGETI AND SERONERA RIVERS)

- Crocodile Lake/Potamus Pond (TOWNS)

- Grazer Town

[sauronxgaladriel]

In case anyone's searching for haladriel fic recommendations I made a fic rec list a while back that I frequently update with new recs! If you have any recommendations not listed let me know 😏

Categories:

Marriage

Galadriel takes longer to discover Sauron's identity

Galadriel Says Yes

Canon Divergence/Reimagining of S1 and onwards

Supernatural Creatures AU

Haladriel Meets Before TROP

Hades/Persephone Vibes

One-Shots

Pregnancy/Parenthood

Smut

Dark/Dead Dove

Sauron as Annatar

[dailyadventureprompts]

Monsters Reimagined: Thri-Kreen

D&D lore has never been kind to human/animal hybrid characters, especially to those who resemble animals stereotyped as being “evil”, such as gnolls or lizardfolk. This goes double for Thri-kreen the game’s default bugpeople, who etither get no lore at all, or get a few paragraphs describing how they don’t have emotions or personalities and see most other humanoids merely as food.

That’s the personality of a monster species, not a player option, and that general flatness of concept is expressed by almost every piece of thri-kreen art: depicting them mostly naked in a barren landscape brandishing a weapon at something.

While there’s a few seeds of interesting worldbuilding in the different versions of the Thri-Kreen , I’ve found the best way to make them conceptually rich is to continue my trend of combining two lackluster bits of canon into something distinctive, in this case, the mostly forgotten race of creatures known as dromites, who share the Thri-Kreen’s traits of being insectoid and psionic, but have a lot more interesting notes about their culture, Here’s What I’ve come up with:

The “Kreen” evolved on a distant world as a singular psionic hivemind, functioning much in the way you’d expect any colony of insects might save their ability to learn and retain information was far greater than that of any simple arthropod. Developing knowledge of engineering and magic that let them spread across the planes, they eventually suffered some kind of disaster that caused their hivemind to dissolve, leaving the “Thri-Kreen” as free willed individuals for the first time, where as before they were merely fragments of a consciousness that spanned planets.  The chaos was immediate, as if each organ and cell of a single body suddenly gained awareness, forcing the fragments of what was arguably a single world spanning organism to begin constructing cultures and civilizations from scratch.

While in the many millennia since the end of their hivemind have seen the Mantises take numerous different paths, the concept of “wholeness” is a reoccurring theme. The name “Thri-Kreen” literally means “un-whole”, referencing their psionic bond with one another, and hearkening back to their undiminished “Kreen” or “whole” state of the distant past. This search for wholeness leads the Thri-Kreen to live in small, closely bonded groups where each individual may be in contact with every other individual, much in the same way that creatures in cold climates will stick together to share bodyheat. While it’s not unsusual for smaller groups to break off from a larger one, absolute isolation is considered to be a terrible state for a Thri-Kreen.

Outsiders who come into contract with the Mantisfolk would describe them as a strange mix of dependant and standoffish: offering help without ever being asked but challenging every opinion ever voiced. This is because unlike most mortals, who tend to become resistant when their opinions are challenged, Thri-Kreen seek group consensus above all and when faced with a crisis will begin checking their ideas against others to throw their weight behind the best option possible. This leads to Thri-Kreen settlements being largely non-hierarchical, through prone to sudden political swings.

Thri-Kreen are mostly genderless, through groups looking to expand ( or larger enclaves looking to maintain their population) will yearly elect “queens” and “consorts” for the reponsibility of producing young.  Most other species mistake these individuals as leaders of the Thri-Kreen, when really their job is to fuck for days to months at a time.   Smaller, nomadic groups of Mantisfolk gather together to have these sorts of elections, and the young are divided equally to be raised by the different packmembers as they enter their pupation stage.

 The umberhulks that populate the underdark and slave pens of the cruel neogi bear an uncomfortable resemblance to present day Thri-Kreen, hearkening to the fact that while many of their kind found new beginnings across the astral sea after the dissolution of their singularity, many others found terrible ends. Likewise, the clockwork horrors that swarm across spelljammer ships and junkworlds communicate in a codified form of the Thri-Keen language, hinting at the existence of what might be an extinct conclave of mantisfolk engineers, or a hidden coterie of insectoid artificers intent on recreating their kind’s previous numbers in metal.

[candycandy00]

The League of Villains Halloween Horror Anthology Sign Up

This is the sign up post for the first annual League of Villains Halloween Horror Anthology!

The deadline to sign up for this event is September 30th! Please keep that in mind!

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What it is:

The anthology will be various fanfics and fanart of League of Villains members reimagined as horror creatures/icons/characters, to be posted throughout October of this year. I thought it would be a fun way to get us all in the spooky Halloween mood.

This is an adults-only event! Please do not sign up unless you have your age listed in your bio or pinned post! Minors do not interact!

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Rules:

You can make fanfic or fanart, or both! But each piece must feature a League of Villains member (past or present, but only one per piece) as a horror creature/icon/character, such as a vampire or a masked killer. They have to be the source of the horror, so no zombie fics where the character is fighting zombies. If you pick zombie as your horror creature, the character you pick has to be a zombie.

Multiple people can claim each character, so if we get 30 Dabi fics, so be it. However, only one person can claim each horror icon for the medium you chose. So if someone already signed up for one of the characters as a vampire in a fic, you can’t sign up for a character (even a different one) as a vampire in a fic. You can sign up for a vampire in a fanart, provided no one else has. I will do these on a first come, first serve basis. So the first person to claim a given creature will get it. If a lot of people sign up and I feel like we’re legitimately running out of horror tropes, I might bend this rule a bit. Also! You can be specific to differentiate between creatures. Like an undead pirate is different from a regular zombie, and so on.

Fanfics can be X Reader or not. They can be NSFW/smut, or not. That’s up to you! If you choose Toga as your character, only write/draw SFW pieces for her, as she is a minor. It doesn’t matter if you age her up. You don’t have to make your piece horror, but it’s encouraged. This is a Halloween anthology after all. At the very least, a spooky vibe should be present, even if your piece is overall light hearted. Likewise, you don’t have to set the story on or around Halloween, but it would be nice to have some works that do so.

You can post your piece any time in October. From the first day of the month to the last. Ideally, the pieces will be spread out a bit throughout the month, but I’m not assigning anyone specific days. Just post it whenever you want in October.

If you sign up, but decide to drop out, that’s fine! This is a zero pressure event. You don’t even have to explain why. All I ask is that you send me a message or Ask letting me know so that I can remove you from the sign up list. Someone else might have wanted to write about the creature you chose, but couldn’t because you picked it.

When you post your piece, use the tag #lovhalloweenhorror. Feel free to use the tag before then! Use it to talk about the piece you’re working on, use it to post sketches or previews! Heck, use it even if you just plan to enjoy the fan works! Use it to talk about things you’d like to see/read as a viewer. Anything goes! Let’s build up some excitement!

As works begin to be posted in October, I’ll create a Masterlist post to list all of them in one convenient place. If you post your piece and you don’t see it added to the list within a day or so, send me a message to let me know in case I missed it.

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How to Sign up:

If you’d like to sign up to create a piece for this event, send me an Ask or a direct message with the following information:

Fanart or Fanfic?

Character?

Horror Creature?

That’s it! Please send a separate message for each piece you plan to make.

As people sign up, I’ll list them in this post so everyone can know what’s been claimed. Please be patient with me. I might be slow!

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The List:

Fanfiction:

@missrosegold - Dabi - Demon

@candycandy00 - Shigaraki - Scarecrow

@jabberwocky-92 - Shigaraki - God of Decay

@scary-grace - Shigaraki - Ghost/Wraith

@spicymeatball1992 - Shigaraki - Incubus

@jabberwocky-92 - Dabi - Grim Reaper

@gamergirlghost - Toga - Vampire

@doumadono - Dabi - Merman

@doumadono - Toga - Rusalka

Fanart:

@sammystep - Twice - Dr. Frankenstein

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Ideas/Inspiration:

If you’re having trouble deciding on a horror creature/icon/character, here’s a list of some to give you some ideas! Obviously, what you pick doesn’t have to come from this list, and in fact I’m looking forward to seeing all the different ideas I never thought of. You can even create your own creature! This is just a list of some possibilities.

Vampire | Werewolf | Demon | Witch/Warlock | Zombie | Ghost/Wraith | Banshee | Masked Killer | Mad Scientist | Scarecrow | Executioner | Butcher | Alien | Cyborg/Android | Witchfinder | Deep Sea Creature | Clown | Cannibal | Mummy

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Feel free to reblog this! Let’s get as many people involved as possible!

[murderthecrowreforged]

Welcome to the Pinned Post!

A very warm welcome to bloggers far and wide. Familiar and unfamiliar. This Page will be an official page for all things solely related to < Murder The Crow Reforged >

Please note that this particular post will be updated constantly with links provided. Functioning as [The Masterlist] in case if you are ever lost. We hope you enjoy your stay and as always...

- Last Update: 11 April 2024 -

Character Profile

Jamie Ann Robyn [LINK!]

Sadie Mac Lir [LINK!]

Hector James Dagger [LINK!]

Support Characters

Anis Rusli [LINK!]

Timothy Brian Anderson [LINK]

Vox of the Red [LINK!]

Yazmin/ Yazamanyhands [LINK!]

Creatures of The Core

The Hoodlites: Reimagined! [LINK!]

The Omnibeasts: Revived! [LINK!]

The Wilfies: Reloaded! [LINK]

The Salkites: Reformed! [LINK]

Powers and Weapons

The Burning Core: Explored! [LINK!]

The STAB System: Reforged! [LINK!]

Elegance of The Switch Blade [LINK!]

The No-Evilz Condition [LINK!]

Might of The Power Gauntlet [LINK!]

Wonder of The Betapod [LINK!]

[treesap-blogs]

Review for “A Blade So Black” by L.L. McKinney

Hello, Tumblrians! I thought I’d end up publishing my reviews in order of the date I finished them, but that’d mean I have several months of reviews to catch up on and…that’s as exhausting as it sounds.

So here, a book I just finished! While on that dreaded trip I was telling you guys about, too. No BDB, I just really like to add to my StoryGraph TBR with books that make it onto queer reading list posts, and the sequel (“A Dream So Dark”) was one I kept finding.

And I like retellings too, so there’s that.

A Blade So Black follows seventeen year-old Alice Kingston, meant to be a monster-fighting Buffy-esque interpretation of the titular character from the Alice In Wonderland story(as this is a retelling). Besides keeping gnarly creatures in the dream realm known as Wonderland at bay, she has to juggle her problems in real-life Atlanta—think a slipping GPA, best friends and coping with the ever-present grief following one year since the death of her father. But when a nasty encounter means that her mentor (and possible love interest) Addison Hatta gets poisoned, she has to go find the antidote deeper within Wonderland than she’s ever gone, before she can literally lose her head.

As you can see, it has an interesting premise! I like the darker reimagining of this story—although I know that’s been done before, famously with the American McGee’s Alice video game series(rest in peace, Asylum). Alice In Wonderland is a favorite of mine too, as a kid with a wild and vivid imagination (and a tendency to daydream) I loved the weird and nonsensical nature of it. And I haven’t watched Buffy before, but I liked the promise of it emanating a similar vibe! However, the execution of this was…so-so.

Firstly, because we didn’t spend as much time in Wonderland as I’d hoped (Allison got exiled, so there’s only so far you can go really), the worldbuilding was mainly through exposition and not in a more organic way. That got pretty tedious, such as in the case of an entire chapter showing Maddi explaining mirror images of the three queens of Wonderland. Combined with it taking a while for the plot to kick off (Allison didn’t get poisoned until halfway through), the actual structure of the plot didn’t feel solid. I have heard in that regard though, the second book is stronger, and I hope it delivers! A Blade So Black is L.L. McKinney’s debut novel, hence some of the hiccups in storytelling and pacing (and she likely has a better understanding of the story’s structure in the second book because now she has some experience to go off of).

Most of the aforementioned plot revolves around a MacGuffin, too. I’ve never been a fan of those, although I don’t think anyone is considering the term’s existence, and it basically made up the plot for when the Black Knight didn’t have nearly enough on-page time. (Not that I’m really complaining though, I had a visceral reaction to the “pet names” he’d use on Alice! Creep. Miss me with that “kitten” shit, I thought Discord didn’t exist here.) (the creepiness was intentional though, he was never paired with Alice thank god)

Secondly, I didn’t like the romance! Alice juggles a lot of crushes, as teens who get crushes do, and that’s perfectly normal and okay, but it results in this weird pseudo-love triangle existing? Like, she almost kisses Chess, but then spends the entire book thinking about Hatta. At least pick somebody, damnit! (And she had a crush on Xelon, the knight from the white queen’s kingdom, which I thought would culminate to something but nope. Xelon got paired with the princess. Which wasn’t totally surprising, I’ll admit, but I just wish they had more time together. They were kinda cute.) But also, Hatta and Alice have a mentor-student dynamic (which seemed to be weirder to a Goodreads reviewer who was also a Buffy fan and made some connections with the characters in the show?). While they’re the same age appearance-wise, Wonderlandians are semi-immortal, and I don’t know how the aging process works at all for them so it…makes this a little weird? It can’t be just me thinking that.

Anyhow! So what are some things I did like about it, though? Well. I did like Alice’s balance of badassry and vulnerability. She definitely struggled with the latter, but she had some solid moments of dealing with her own grief surrounding her father’s death, and throughout it showed her struggling with the pressure and stress of her circumstances. Not many black female protagonists get to have that in a novel, or in any media, really! I appreciated that detail.

I wish the side characters could’ve been more developed. Being that the plot only kicked off halfway through, a third in was when most of them were introduced, so the time we had with them was limited towards the end. I really wanted to enjoy the Wonderland group’s antics and adventures, even if the cast fell under certain archetypes. But alas :(

The real-life and Wonderland stuff felt a little unbalanced in their time, too. There were important social justice issues brought up in the real-life parts(racism, police brutality), although they were only touched on and the story never went in-depth about them. Wonderland also felt pretty empty a lot of the time, mostly due to it literally being just that because of Hatta’s confines to travel within, but another part the worldbuilding. 

It wasn’t a bad read, but I was still left with mixed feelings on it. 

Book rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars. Finished 06/06/23.

(Book content/trigger warnings: Violence+blood, grief, death of a parent(off-page), racism and police brutality(mentioned), child death(mentioned), mild body horror.)

-Paz, signing off!