#thinking I was done

[scalefeathers]

Arcane Daemon AU:

Character: Sevika Dæmon’s name: Rustam / 'Rust' Dæmon’s form: Spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta)

As a consequence of being so vertical (and so dangerous a place to live), Zaunite daemons tend to be nimble and agile, if only so they can keep up with their humans as they parkour across the rooftops. If your daemon can't do that, then when backed into a corner you've got no choice but to fight. A Zaunite with a daemon who can't fly, climb, or hide, therefore, is clearly not someone to be fucked with.

And with a bite force of over 1100 psi, spotted hyenas are one of the most not-to-be-fucked-with critters around. In fact, the only animal in their environment that's arguable even more not-to-be-fucked-with is the African lion, which makes it all the more tragic that Ambessa and Sevika never got to interact in season 2.

Hyenas are social animals, but compared to other animals that live in groups, their dynamics are more competitive than cooperative. Likewise, Sevika, though a team player rather than a lone wolf, generally prefers to assert her dominance rather than seek consensus.

Speaking of dominance, hyena clans are matriarchal, with females being larger and more dominant than males, which seems fitting for Sevika being the bossest-ass bitch in Zaun.

In fact, due to their larger size, aggressive behavior, and some unconventional sexual anatomy, female hyenas have often been mistaken for males, and the species in general has long been associated with hermaphroditism and gender deviance (as well as just deviance in general). And while she isn't exactly butch, cigar-chomping, hard-drinking, hard-brawling, whiskey-drinking, brothel-patronizing, Clint-Eastwood-ass poncho-wearing Sevika is (in my opinion) the most masc-coded female character in the show.

That said, Rust is a male hyena, which are less dominant than the females; and while she can (and eventually does) have the skills to be a leader, we see over and over that Sevika would rather follow a strong leader than have to be one herself: first with Vander, then with Silco. She only steps up into a leadership position in season 2 because there's literally no one else who wants the job.

Despite her serious demeanor, Sevika has bit of a wild streak, as displayed by her fondness for gambling and the savage joy with which she fights. If a person's daemon represents their true self, an expression of the parts of themselves they usually keep under wraps, then it makes sense to me that Sevika's daemon should be one associated with chaos, violence, and wild, hysterical laughter.

(That said, hyenas are not nearly as vicious or scary as their reputation might lead one to think, and I believe that's true of Sevika as well.)

Though the fur of wild hyenas is quite short and sparse, hyenas taken to live in colder climates do grow thicker coats. Since Zaun is a lot more temperate than the Serengeti, I decided Rust is likewise a bit of a fluffy boi.

Although their fur is normally short, spotted hyenas still sport their distinctive mohawk ridge along their spine, which seemed fitting considering Sevika's punk-rock glow-up in season 2.

Like Sevika, Rust also has some scars from the hextech explosion (although he was able to keep all his limbs). Also, like Sevika, his eyes glow whenever she injects Shimmer.

Although they resemble canines, hyenas are actually more closely related to cats than to dogs--and as it turns out, they're even more closely related to mongooses. Since I consider Sevika to be a pretty clear narrative foil for Vi (especially in season 1) you can imagine how this realization delighted me, since I had already decided long ago what Vi's daemon was.

Rust's name is also tied in with Vi's daemon, whose name is Setanta, i.e. the childhood name of Cu Chulainn, the Irish folk hero. Rustam, or Rostam, is the name of a Persian folk hero whose legend shares several features with Cu Chulainn's. Coincidence? Quite possibly! But I thought it was neat anyway. And I wanted to continue the trend I'd established of Zaunite daemons having names that could be shortened to one-syllable, thematically-appropriate words (Set, Rig, Sin, Rust).

[tawnysoup]

Found my fav Slay the Princess route recently. Dragon my beloved. Your horrifying beak mouth was an impossible-to-refuse lip syncing challenge 💖

Shoutouts to @blacktabbygames for making such a cool game!

[kiryuing]

[demaparbat-hp]

That infamous prison escape.

[beaft]

my mum forbade me to say anything to my dad about the top surgery thing, and it's just hit me how funny it would be if i got it done and didn't tell him and just waited for him to notice. i mean, what's he gonna say? "didn't you used to have tits?"

[starrysharks]

ghanaian miku

[badolmen]

WARNING 18+

19

[lazylittledragon]

some domestic shadowlachs <33

[humming-fly]

I love how Gerald was trying to keep Shadow from spoiling anything about the future meanwhile literally everything Shadow says and does around Maria is the biggest death flag ever

[bellwethers]

Tough.

[datcravat]

tetotetotetotetotetotetotetotetotetotetoteto!!!!!

[callmesel]

This is how I imagine Telemachus in the Penelope warrior au

[ciderjacks]

losing part of you

[lavender-rroses]

this is the vibe i think

[queenpotatothegreat]

Fuck it we bawl (starts sobbing uncontrollably)