#vespertilian

[mimble-sparklepudding]

Prompt #13: Check

The saturnine, suave, Hesperos,

Is a most inappropriate boss,

He keeps trying to check,

The side of my neck,

I hope he remembered to floss!

Vespertilian silliness.

[authormarialberg]

#Writober Day 2: Feelin' a little batty

#Writober Day 2: Feelin' a little batty #photography #flashfiction #amwriting #blogtober

Bat on the Blood Moon by Maria L. Berg 2022 R. I. P. XVII Readers Imbibing Peril Peril of the listen! This morning I finished listening to Dante’s Inferno. I think Clive Barker was heavily influenced by this work while making Hellraiser. Tourmaline .’s Halloween Challenge Today’s prompt is “Bats.” I used the same fabric as I did last year, but I turned it into filters to vespertilian…

[godblooded]

“We did just have lunch last week, so I feel like we’ve spent enough social time together for the foreseeable… Ever.” for stark

“bruce, don’t swallow, there’s a load of shit in your mouth.”

your hand makes a little bored flourish and your eyebrows raise. you practically snort about it. he’s always so goddamn dramatic. he doesn’t think he is, but he is. you’ve always known it. you wonder if he realizes that underneath his dreary attitude he’s actually pretty aligned with a teenage girl going through a goth phase. but without stoppage. ever.

“pour me a finger of brandy and sit down. doc make you that— is that a salad made of... edible... flowers?” wildflowers. you’re not asking questions. the massive refrigerator is too bright in the dark, and it’s hard to take in all the lines and angles and curves that make up everything in there. so you squint, and grab a packet of string cheese. a whole packet, “you need a cold one with the boy—s—? boy. singular.”

[clarenecessities]

As my followers may have picked up from my long, spiraling rants, I’ve undertaken a new research project, courtesy of the death grip She-Ra has on my brain. And guess what? It’s finally at Disseminate Information Stage! So I’m going to lay out all of the gods, demigods, and godbeasts of the Masters of the Universe. With sources!

This table is more of a cheat sheet. We’re gonna tackle this god by god, with a section on Actual Lore & a meta section to help you decide how valid you think they are, because frankly some canons are more canon than others.

Asklepia, Benevolent Snake Goddess

Lore: Asklepia is one of two snake goddesses, the benevolent twin sister of Serpentia. We know very little about her abilities, but the Snake Clan (a clan of human warriors) were said to worship her, and they were famed for their architecture and healing. She had the ability to curse and deform people--to what extent is uncertain, but she’s known to have condemned a fallen priest named Ka, whose disfigured likeness now adorns Snake Mountain.

Behind the Scenes: First appearing in the 1987 comic “Il Nero Cristallo Del Potere“, Asklepia remained nameless for over 30 years, until Masters of the Universe Classics (MOTUC) released a few choice bios. For the unfamiliar, MOTUC seeks to reconcile the often contradictory canons into one overarching narrative, which is great in theory, but in practice is kind of like putting ice cream on a hot dog. And calling it a Chilly Dog ® as if that makes it taste better. But I digress. In 2019 they released a bio for the Staff of Ka which finally put a name to the less-evil Snake Goddess, in an obvious nod to Asclepius and the asklepian (that staff+snake icon people put on medical stuff).

Sharella, the Green Goddess and/or “Avatar” of Asklepia

Lore: Contradictory

Long Version: Okay I’ve put avatar in quotes because it is... contentious. Basically, and you’ll see here why I felt the need to make this post instead of relying blindly on the wikis, Sharella was introduced (in the ‘87 licensing guide) as a tribal leader who had joint custody of Gray, the original name of He-Ro’s alter ego, while he was growing up. This was further developed by Emiliano Santalucia’s concept work, wherein she was the leader of the Green Tiger Tribe (GTT) specifically. While the comic concept was not run through licensing & is thus not “canon”, the idea of her leading the GTT persisted. This teeny tiny image of her from Tytus and Megator’s 1987 Italian box art was all we had until 2008, when one of He-Man’s accessories described her as the “warrior woman ally” of Queen Veena, “who had been changed into the immortal green-skinned avatar of the Goddess Asklepia”. In 2009, MOTUC released a figure for The Goddess, apparently forgetting they’d done that shit the year before because the packaging did say “K’yrulla” was her real name. They had to cover it up with a sticker. 

So who’s The Goddess? Way back in the days before Mattel solidified any of the lore around MOTU, there were mini-comics released with the toys. Initially, the Goddess served a similar function to the Sorceress in the cartoon, and was in fact sometimes called the Sorceress. She facilitated He-Man’s transformations, gave him missions, was generally magical and mysterious, etc. If you know who the Sorceress is, and you can picture Teela, but green? That’s about it.

Back to Sharella, though. The Third Ultimate Battleground rolled around in 2015, and for the first time since some packaging in the 80s, we saw Sharella in action! She was shot through the heart with a poison arrow. Yeah. But don’t worry, she received a blood transfusion from Moss Man (who we’ll get to later), and was transformed into the Green Goddess! She’s immortal now. How Asklepia figures in here is sort of unclear, which is weird since this is still part of the MOTUC line, but whatever. Whatever! Queen Grayskull (the aforementioned Veena) received a bio in 2015 as well, which described Sharella as her apprentice who became “The Goddess”.

Horokoth, Aspect of the Mother Goddess

Lore: DC went a little batshit (pun intended) with the lore for the Eternity War. Here the Goddess is three combined aspects, “Serpos” (Serpentia) for the Snake Men, Zoar for the human “Eternians”, and a third, invented deity called Horokoth, who represents the Horde. Horokoth is “the coming destroyer. The darkness at the end of days.” and is represented by a bat.

Behind the Scenes: That last link has a clearer picture of her, it just didn’t crop well. Also, I confess I couldn’t bring myself to read Eternity War. As thrilling as the prospect of a cohesive narrative is, if I wanted to see Adora slit her brother’s throat there’s the edgier side of deviantArt to peruse. Therefore I know little of Horokoth outside of a few still images of Hordak. The bat was almost certainly selected for the Horde’s vespertilian emblem.

Hordeous, God-Beast of Horokoth

Lore: A “primordial”, bat-like godbeast of Horokoth, created in response to the god Saz’s feline races. Their face was “forever infused“ on the surface of Horde World by Horde Lord (Hordak and Horde Prime’s father in the MOTUC canon) to grant their family power and immortality.

Behind the Scenes: Yes they’ve used some words wrong, but they’ve got the spirit, right? Hordeous was (allegedly, this is secondhand) an invention of the MOTUC crew in answer to Horokoth. Now, the Horde Supreme bio predates Horokoth’s introduction by about 3 years, but obviously the comics were in production already. There’s an undated sketch of Horokoth Hordak from an undated interview (thanks for nothing you useless website) but in that same gallery there’s an orko sketch labeled 2012 so. We’re good right? That makes sense, timeline-wise. Anyway the comics slam dunked Horde Prime out of existence and combined him with Horde Lord so it’s contradictory anyway. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Serpentia, Malevolent Snake Goddess

Lore: The evil counterpart of Asklepia, Serpentia is the goddess of the Snake Men. The priest Ka of the Snake Clan forsook Asklepia in her favor, destroying Asklepia’s sacred orb and stealing the Serpent Ring (an artefact capable of transforming humans into Snake Men) from the Ophidian Spire with King Hsss. In DC’s triune interpretation of the Goddess, Serpentia (here ‘Serpos’) is blood, passion, and desire. A primal and primordial force appearing to the Snake Men in their own image.

Behind the Scenes: Okay yes I’ve reused the Asklepia pic but in my defense they are twins and this is the easiest one to crop. So here’s the thing about Serpentia: we only got a name for her in 2019. We knew there was a snake goddess, and she was pretty evil, or at least hostile towards mammalian life (see: the source of the pic I chose for her). Where Asklepia references the asklepian, ‘Serpentia’ is a much more heavy-handed snake reference, even though Anguis was right there. Those Masters Mondays came through for us, though, with the shield and staff of Ka, Ssssylph, and of course MOTUC’s Dark Despot Skeletor, which is. something. Though only recently named, Serpentia has been a shadow over Eternia since the Snake Men’s introduction in 1985 (or, depending on how much of the presented backstory you accept, even sooner in the form of Skeletor’s lair, Snake Mountain).

Serpos/Sarcedon, God-Beast of Snake Mountain

Lore: Contradictory, but the gist of it is he’s a very large snake with elemental magic and a grudge, that was turned to stone and became Snake Mountain.

Long Version: Snake Mountain was conceived of towards the end of 1982, but wasn’t revealed to the public until September of 1983, with the debut of the Filmation cartoon. For another year, the snake coiled around its summit was simply a carving, its mouth hollowed out for Skeletor to stand in and loom. But in 1984 the Snake Mountain toy was released, completely discarding the Filmation design in favor of the hewn face of the figure we now call Ka. Instead of a snake carving winding its way up the peak, the Mattel toy featured a ‘striking serpent’, alive and attached to the mountain itself. From there, it was an easy leap to make to ‘this carving comes alive’. So easy, in fact, that they did it twice!

First attempted in 1985 in the newspaper storyline “Vengeance of the Viper King”, the snake was here called Sarcedon, the World Destroyer. At the dawn of time, he was said to crush Eternia within his deadly coils. He burrowed deep into the ground, causing fearsome storms that nearly destroyed the planet. Only a fearless hero (implied to be He-Ro) could defeat and imprison Sarcedon. Using a macguffin called a Mirror of History, He-Man forced Sarcedon to behold his own reflection in a reference to the Medusa myth that kind of missed the point of it being reflective. Sarcedon was sent back in time, Snake Mountain was restored, the good guys win, blah blah blah.

That was the last of it until the MYP cartoon in 2004. Serpos as a name was actually first invoked by Mer-Man in a 1982 minicomic, but like it probably wasn’t about the snake. Anyway in the MYP cartoon the Snake Men get this thing called the Medallion of Serpos that lets them un-petrify the snake around Snake Mountain, grow two more heads, and unleash his godly wrath. He breathes fire, trashes Eternos, beats up He-Man, then turns his attention on Castle Grayskull to consume the Orb of Power (containing the strength and wisdom of the Elders, who had first trapped him in stone). He-Man cuts off Serpos’s extra heads with a sword upgrade, the Elders are somehow magically restored to life, and they re-petrify him. Snake Mountain is restored, the good guys win, blah blah blah.

Zoar, the Fighting Falcon

Lore: Contradictory, but it sure is a bird!

Long Version: While Sharella’s backstory is fraught because of the comics couldn’t decide what they wanted her to be, Zoar was similarly tangled up by the toyline. Initially male, he went through several color schemes, some prettier than others. Though there was a vague association with the Sorceress before the cartoon (recall that pre-Filmation, the Sorceress was just the Goddess), Filmation made them literally inseperable by designating Zoar as the Sorceress’s falcon form, to which she was confined when leaving Castle Grayskull.

Some of the comics and Golden books showed Zoar as being flipping enormous & ridden into battle as a steed by Teela and Man-at-Arms. Pre-Filmation, Zoar was always referred to as male, but post-Filmation, always female, as an incarnation of the Sorceress.

The Eternity Wars comics describe Zoar as the third aspect of the Goddess, the ‘Great Preserver’ whose light would shine through the universe for eternity. They pull off a sort of tripartite priestess thing where it’s Serpos/Zoar/Horokoth represented by Teela-Na (the Sorceress)/Teela/Evil-Lyn.

MOTUC, of course, had to reconcile all of these contradictory canons. How’d they do it? “In the folklore of Eternia, the golden falcon symbolized the godhead Zoar, a powerful deity of Preternia. As a god, Zoar could appear in both male and female guises and while the blue-tipped female falcon was associated with the Sorceress of Grayskull, the golden falcon represented Zoar's masculine nature.” So Zoar is genderfluid now, and the Sorceress is merely borrowing their form when transforming into a falcon. This bio also established that Zoar had anointed the first Sorceress, Veena (Queen Grayskull), which explains why she has wings for no apparent reason.

Also it’s not offically MOTUC but the scultors of the line, Four Horsemen, made a single anthro Zoar for Power-Con 2013. In case you need that for some reason.

Glorybird, Emissary of Zoar

Lore: Many millennia ago, there were three siblings, who were very poor and mistreated by their stepmother, but had hearts filled with kindness and love. Zoar, recognizing their resilience and desire to help people, sent an emissary named Glorybird. Glorybird bestowed upon each sibling a divine gift, but as they used their new powers to fight for good, their stepmother revealed herself to be a Celestial Witch & attempted to sacrifice them to Zoar’s “greatest enemy”, Horokoth.  

Backstory: Okay, so the Star Sisters (and Glorybird) were in exactly one episode of She-Ra, primarily to set them up as new toy designs. While prototypes were made for these, the figures weren’t actually produced until MOTUC released figures for them in 2012. Though they were referenced in Princess Prom, and we saw a brief cameo in a background, Glorybird was absent until the introduction of the Star Siblings in Season Five.

That’s right! This bird is a god, and there’s nothing you can do about it.

Saz, God of All Felines

Lore: One of the “Gods of the Multiverse” (he is the only member named explicitly), Saz was a blue-furred, feline deity responsible for the creation of all cats, humanoid or otherwise. He transformed himself into an enormous cat-beast to defeat Serpos and Hordeous, whose progenitors created them in envy of his children. Though Serpos was defeated, Hordeous escaped into the cosmos, and Saz himself vanished mysteriously.

Behind the Scenes: “By the whiskers of Saz!” is a fun pseudo-swear made by various cat races throughout MOTU, first in He-Man’s “The Cat and the Spider” and later in She-Ra’s “Magicats”. That was the only real mention of him until... okay, so MOTUC bios aren’t always attached to the product. Starting in 2018, they did this thing called Masters Mondays where they put unposted bios on the org forums. So while we’ve had the sword since 2010, we didn’t get the background on it until March of 2020. And then a couple weeks later, the Cat Mask of Catra bio referred to him as a “mystical being” instead of a god, but the mask was from 2011 so. He may not have been a god yet. It really depends on when the bios were actually written.

Saz wielded a blade probably best described as a falchion, whose quillon & langet formed a vaguely triangular shape around a deep red gem. I want to be clear that while it looks totally rad, this sword would be very impractical and have poor structural integrity were it not made by a literal god. Do not make swords like this. Also it’s almost certainly riffing on the Sword of Omens from Thundercats (affectionate).

Sabe-Or, Son of Saz

Lore: A green-furred, orange-striped paladin, Sabe-Or is one of the only named Ancients. He inherited his father’s blade upon Saz’s mysterious disappearance, and lived for centuries more. Upon his death, he transferred his “heroic essence” into a group of Eternian tigers, forever transforming them into the Green Tiger Tribe, whence both Granger (steed of King Grayskull), and Cringer, steed of Prince Adam.

Behind the Scenes: So “Battle Cat Man” is a concept that’s existed since they decided to make their hero ride a wicked tiger into battle. If you show a kid a superhero, and a supertiger, apparently the natural inclination of most children in the 80s was to combine the two. There are so many custom action figures. So, so many. Sabe-Or is visually a clear reference to this concept, and canonically seems to be the closest we’re going to get outside of the Thundercats crossover, unless you count Cowarros from 4H’s Mythic Legions line (I do, because it means Purrrplor is also canon and I fucking love calling him that).

Moss Man, Ancient Eternian Nature God

Lore: An ally of King Grayskull, Moss Man was something of an Eternian cryptid in the centuries leading up to He-Man Times. He has control over all plant life, the ability to meld with plants, and apparently can imbue sentience to said plants.

Behind the Scenes: Moss Man wasn’t featured in many episodes, because he’s a little... incredibly over-powered. He’s literally Bigfoot from 5000 years ago with magic powers. And like, since I don’t think the writers appreciate how long 5000 years is, you know what happened 5000 years ago? Stonehenge. This bitch is Stonehenge-old. But sure, you can trace a direct line of descent from his contemporary. smh. Anyway according to MOTUC his real name is Kreann’Ot N’Norosh so make of that what you will. Also his toys were pine-scented. I just love that.

Evil Seed, Rebellious Creation of Moss Man

Lore: Created by Moss Man to help fight in the Great Wars, Evil Seed betrayed his master and turned to evil (who could have foreseen this...), finding joy in corrupting all forms of plant life for his own amusement. Moss Man imprisoned him in enchanted chains, keeping him restrained for many millennia.

Behind the Scenes: According to MOTUC, his real name is Sero Malustro, clumsy New Latin for “(to) plant evil-burnt“. Why his name is New Latin and Moss Man’s is... whatever that is, I have no idea. As you can see from the image I included, he originally had an artichoke head, which was upgraded for the Mike Young Productions (MYP) cartoon. Personally I think the artichoke rules.

Volcana, the Fire Goddess

Lore: Canonically, she’s a fire goddess, and the mother of the Volcano Magus. Together, they are a rising force that seeks to conquer Etheria in the wake of Hordak’s defeat.

Backstory: Volcana has taken a long a twisted journey, but was first revealed to fans at Power-Con 2016 in a panel revealing previously unseen concepts and characters. After the first wave of She-Ra toys, a second wave was planned with a snow focus, to bring more attention the Filmation-neglected Frosta. This began with the introduction of a fire villain, an “evil lady that glows with heat” who would attempt to melt Castle Chill. That concept actually refers to a character named Amber (not Ember, as one might assume) who was reworked into a benevolent counterpart, Volcana’s twin sister.

Volcana was later fleshed out to be a Fire Goddess with flame-red hair, x-ray vision, and arms sculpted with flames. Her cape flew up with flame detail that rose up to control the volcano (of Volcanica, a proposed toyset that seems to have been reworked into the Crystal Falls). She was emphasized by Mattel to not start fires, which, honestly, is probably why they scrapped the character. He-Man couldn’t use his sword as a sword; a woman made of fire was basically doomed.

Now, though, we’re several decades in and lines made for collecters that are largely in their 30s and 40s can say whatever they want! So she’s canon, even if Amber isn’t. Yes there’s only one mention of her. Amber technically was mentioned in an unproduced episode titled “Amber Waves of Flame”, but as it was unproduced, it’s noncanonical.

Volcano Magus, Sinister Son of Volcana

Lore: Living within a dormant volcano, the Volcano Magus of the German audio plays was the source of most of Catra’s power and all of her evil intent. He supplied her with magic for spells and schemes with which to assail the Crystal Castle, but neither she nor Clawdeen were aware of the dark influence he held over them.

In the MOTUC canon, he’s specified as the son of Volcana, a demigod from the “Region of Volcanoes” who craved the nature magic of the Whispering Woods. When he learned the Twiggets were inextricably linked to that magic, he used his powers to petrify the former Rebels (this was after the Horde's defeat) and kidnap three Twiggets to drain the magic from their souls. Twiggets, for the uninitiated, are like purple tree-elf things. According to MOTUC, Razz is a Twigget, though the ‘real’ name they assigned her doesn’t fit their naming convention. She is purple, I guess.

Kowl, who avoided petrification, read Razz's spellbooks to find a way to save his friends, and learned of an Entrapment Gem that she hid in a shoe, for some reason. He confronted the Volcano Magus, spoke in the ancient tongue of the First Ones, and sucked him into the Gem.

Backstory: Admittedly this stuff is second hand, as I don’t speak German & they only have transcriptions/translations for the He-Man tapes anyway, but if anybody can find me an audio file I will do my best to verify. The MOTUC stuff at least I can confirm 100% because it’s from 2019 & I do speak English, for better or worse.

Oak, the Jackal God

Lore: Oak was the terrible Jackal God worshiped by the denizens of Zhar, an ancient civilization that once existed in a remote, forested region of Eternia. Long ago, Oak was imprisoned within a statue which could be found within the Temple of the Jackal. When Skeletor removed the statue from the temple, Oak broke free of the enchantment which imprisoned him and wreaked havoc on Eternia. Although the Jackal God was immensely powerful, he could be weakened by the elements of nature and was ultimately foiled by a rainstorm conjured by the combined powers of He-Man's sword and the magic of the temple's guardian priest.

Backstory: I have lifted this from a He-Man guide word for word as I cannot for the life of me find a copy of the Brazilian Editora Abril comic he came from, O Templo Do Chacal (1986). The description is like, suspiciously similar to the plot of the He-Man episode The Cat and the Spider, except the Grimalkin was never described as a god. The rest of it--statue, Skeletor, storm defeat--plays out almost the same. True pity I can’t find the original source, but I do trust this guidebook. You may be interested in Ceres from the UK comics--another dog-slash-statue who frankly might as well be a god himself, but as he’s not called one in canon he’s not going on the list.

The Bitter Rose Goddess

Lore: As Man-at-Arms told the legend, “Every day, a woman climbed Rose Mountain to look for her husband to return from the war. Alas, he never came back. Her tears poured from her cheek and entered the ground. One day she disappeared, but where she stood was a single, solitary rose. It’s the only thing that grows on Rose Mountain.”

The Insect People, who lived at the base of Rose Mountain, believed that the Bitter Rose is all that held the mountain together (and when it was picked, they were proved right). After the flower was restored, it transformed into the Bitter Rose Goddess herself, who explained that she had been a prisoner of her love's sorrow, so bitter that she refused to allow anything else to grow on Rose Mountain. She blessed the surrounding area, blanketing the jagged peaks with roses, and disappeared.

Backstory: She’s kind of... barely a god. She showed up in one episode and no other media & has objectively less power than like, every single demon they ever brought in. I almost didn’t put her on this list.

Mask-Ra, Goddess of Masks

Lore: A goddess who created the magical Masks of Power.

Backstory: Mask-Ra was first mentioned in 2019 and like, look, I’m gonna be real. I don’t respect her. She’s an invention of MOTUC (unless they were drawing on this concept art of Maska-Ra, which I doubt bc he was a Man-E-Faces precursor) and they retconned her into having created Catra’s mask, which is kind of redundant given the entire episode Magicats. This mask did not need two bios. There are no other mentions of her in any canon.

Potential other Masks of Power: The Deemos and Tyrella masks from the He-Man episode “Masks of Power”, lizard and canine masks from the mini-comic “Masks of Power”, Lord Masque’s Demon Mask from the He-Man episode “House of Shokoti, Part 1″, and whatever the hell Red Shadow has going on.

Procrustus, Giant Guardian of Magic

Lore: During the creation of the various dimensions (5 in MOTUC canon but demonstratably higher everywhere else), the gods installed the four-armed, immortal giant Procrustus to guard their secrets at the heart of Eternia. There lay the Starseed, from which the entire dimension was created. It still held immeasurable power, and could be used to conquer entire universes. Hordak, in an attempt to access the Starseed, cracked Eternia in two with the Spell of Separation. Though he was (mostly) thwarted, from then on Procrustus was forced to hold the two halves of Eternia together from within, lest the planet break apart and the Starseed be exposed.

Backstory: First appearing in the mini-comic “The Magic Stealer!”, Procrustus is a lot more tangible than most gods. We know where he is, at all times, and he seems confined to one size. His powers appear to be largely physical, as he had to burrow out of the ground to investigate in the mini-comic instead of teleporting or like, magicking the dirt away. This was his only appearance until MOTUC released a figure for him in 2012. He also showed up in the Subternia map the next year, holding Eternia together.

Standor, Cosmic Creator of Power

Lore: “Before time began, the great Gods of the multiverse convened in the Hall of Power to create all that was and all that will ever be. Head architect of this great task was Standor. A cosmic being of unlimited imagination, Standor helped lead his fellow deities by fueling their energies with raw creative force.”

Backstory: Released for Comikaze 2013 to celebrate the partnership of Mattel and Pow! Entertainment, Standor is literally just Stan Lee But a God. The prototype was called Standar--idk why they changed it, but I think it’s because it’s too easy to confuse with “Standard”. They made a bio for his sunglasses. I don’t want to talk about it.

Bash-Or, Slain Mystic God-Beast

Lore: Very little is known of Bash-Or, the Ram. His last remnant was sealed within the Ram Stone by the ancient sorceror kings of Zalesia, imbuing it with his divine power to overcome any barrier, magical or otherwise.

Backstory: Bash-Or was revealed in the bio for the Ram Stone, September of 2020, but his spirit (previously referred to as ‘the Spirit of the Ram Stone’) was twice utilized by Skeletor in the MYP cartoon, to great effect, before the stone was destroyed.

[trashpandahh]

I’m baaaaaack! And with a bang💥 I decided to make my own Pokémon! Vesper - Vespertilio - Vespertilian he’s an ice/dark type and final evolution turns to ice/dragon!

[dajokahhh]

@delusionland​ sent:  “  am i dramatic?  yes.  is it justified?  also yes.  ” from bruce! 

“That’s the spirit!” He chortled, more than amused by the revelation. He always knew that he and the other had more in common than Bruce would ever admit. Drama and theatrics were Joker’s bread and butter, and he quite admired the performances of vespertilian masculinity that he got to watch regularly from Batman. If his suspicions were right, he could coax a similar act out of Bruce.

“Don’t hold back, then! What do you want to be most? What speaks to you, Bruce Wayne?"

[postersbykeith]

[lauracybert]

Vespertilian glow Lights spooky souls https://www.instagram.com/p/Bpk5MrwglLZ/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1jdtq3h735w5h

[readingvocabulary]

Robert Graves

tourbillion

upas

meum tuum

sooterkin - fabled creature

vespertilian - bat-like

nacre - mother of pearl

hippocamp - half-horse half-fish from Greek mythology

verisimilar - having the appearance of truth

felloe - wheel’s circular rim

mandalot - a lecherous and erotic kiss

russet - dark brown color with a reddish-orange tinge, an equal mix of orange and purple

apostrophize - address an exclamatory passage in a speech or poem to (someone or something)

[loveanimalstory-blog]

Bats, too, love the city life

At a sprawling 1700 acres Washington, D.C.'s Rock Creek Park may be a classic big city park. Surrounded by apartments, offices, and infrastructure, it is a mixture of trees, trails, and pockets of nature that desire wilderness. it's also home to bats. Many cities—from the District of Columbia to any City to Los Angeles—are home to flying mammals from the genus Chiroptera, better referred to as bats. Though concrete canyons might sound vastly different from a comfortable cave, bats can thrive in cities. “For the foremost part we do still have the good urban habitat,” says Lindsay Rohrbaugh Wildlife Biologist with D.C. Department of Energy and Environment, pointing to parks like Rock Creek or DuPont National Arboretum in D.C. as places where bats have access to a protected natural setting. “And tons of the common bats, like big brown bats, have adapted to what they have—people are finding them in their homes roosting,” Rohrbaugh says. Rohrbaugh has studied the bat presence in D.C. for several years. The department's interest within the animals began when white-nose syndrome, a mycosis introduced to us from Europe in 2006, began to decimate bat populations across the country. Since then, quite six million bats have died across the US and Canada. And while D.C. has also seen a decline in its bat populations, the town still has isolated pockets of bat species just like the Northern vespertilian bat that are about extirpated from nearby states. “There are places in Virginia and Maryland that do not see them anymore,” says Rohrbaugh. “So, why are they here in the city? Maybe there's someplace that they are going where they are not being impacted by the white-nose.” Rohrbaugh is trying to seek out out, using techniques like mist-netting and acoustic surveys. Mist nets help trap bats, allowing researchers to band them, and perform noninvasive tests. Acoustic surveys let biologists count the amount and kinds of bats that fly by a location by recording their echolocation calls; different species of bats have different calls. Computer software can analyze the recordings for frequency and bat type. That said, her research is restricted by the very fact that before white-nose syndrome emerged nobody was really studying city’s bats, so we don’t really skill many bats there are compared to the past. Rohrbaugh's only clue of what percentage bats were in D.C. was one study that only covered a part of the town. And it’s a drag that’s not just limited to D.C. or other urban centers—many areas didn’t do comprehensive surveys of their bat populations before white-nose syndrome struck in 2006. “Before, people probably didn't see the importance of urban bats because bats were plentiful then and that we weren’t concerned about them,” says Rohrbaugh. “A lot of funding goes towards things we’re concerned about studying. If the species isn't declining, nobody cares about it.” Of course, as white-nose syndrome illustrates, there's a drag thereupon funding cycle. Without basic research and an honest understanding of what a traditional ecosystem seems like it makes it that much harder to assess things when something goes wrong. Still, as bats numbers decline, projects just like the Urban Bat Project are educating people about the importance of bats, even in urban settings. Bats can help control insect populations and pollinate plants. Now, a growing number of individuals are beginning to build bat houses, which give bats an area to roost during the day and lift their young. Cities like D.C. are starting to arrange bat walks where people leave around dusk to ascertain the nocturnal animals fly out from where they're roosting during the day. They're also starting to pant bat gardens with the kinds of native plants that attract pollinators like bats who feast on insects. If you would like to hitch in on the sport, the Organization for Bat Conservation has recommendations on building your own bat garden. In the meantime, researchers like Rohrbaugh will keep an eye fixed on these flying city-dwellers. “This may be a terrible disease that has impacted bats suddenly,” cautions Rohrbaugh. “We have an extended thanks to going before we've all of the answers and there are tons more work to be done. Even in cities.”

[ao3feed-klance]

Starlight on the Empty Horizon

read it on AO3 at http://ift.tt/2w5EtgY

by Resamille

Galra (n): a vespertilian-feline hybrid species credited with the ongoing reign of the galaxies. See: monster Related terms: Zarkon (n): the ruler of the Galran Empire. Read: That one asshole. Half-breed (n): a being of half-Galran and half-foreign descent known for a trend in co-dominant genes, providing the half-breed with the ability to control the prevalence of Galran phenotypes. Read: Toys of a vicious darkness; the playthings of mad scientists; breeding experiments to save a dying, fragile race. Conditioned into submission through twisted methods, brought to their knees until they only utter the Empire's name through broken lips, marked from the beginning for who they are and what they will become: servants and slaves, or bodies, if they're lucky.

Keith would know. He's seen the prisons. He doesn't want to go back.

And yet here he is: trapped, tortured, and terrified. The mission is over; they messed up. At least he has Lance, right?

Words: 4892, Chapters: 1/19, Language: English

Fandoms: Voltron: Legendary Defender

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Categories: M/M

Characters: Keith (Voltron), Lance (Voltron), Shiro (Voltron), Pidge | Katie Holt, Hunk (Voltron), Coran (Voltron), Allura (Voltron)

Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)

Additional Tags: Torture, Galra Keith, Blind Keith, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Panic Attacks, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Body Modification, Mind Meld, Hurt/Comfort, Praise Kink, Exhibitionism, background shallura - Freeform, past/mentioned shatt, Gender-Neutral Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Voltron General Big Bang 2017, Eventual Smut, I think. I do not know the "eventual" criteria

read it on AO3 at http://ift.tt/2w5EtgY

[voltronbang]

Starlight on the Empty Horizon

author:  Resamille artist: N/A betas: honglographology and dwreed ship: Keith/Lance rating: Explicit warnings: - graphic depictions of violence - explicit sexual content - torture - panic attacks - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

summary: Galra (n): a vespertilian-feline hybrid species credited with the ongoing reign of the galaxies. See: monster

Related terms:

Zarkon (n): the ruler of the Galran Empire. Read: That one asshole.

Half-breed (n): a being of half-Galran and half-foreign descent known for a trend in co-dominant genes, providing the half-breed with the ability to control the prevalence of Galran phenotypes.

Read: Toys of a vicious darkness; the playthings of mad scientists; breeding experiments to save a dying, fragile race. Conditioned into submission through twisted methods, brought to their knees until they only utter the Empire’s name through broken lips, marked from the beginning for who they are and what they will become: servants and slaves, or bodies, if they’re lucky.

Keith would know. He’s seen the prisons. He doesn’t want to go back.

And yet here he is: trapped, tortured, and terrified.

The mission is over; they messed up.

At least he has Lance, right?

link to fic

[authormarialberg]

Vespertilian Versimilitude

After posting my OctPoWriMo poem today, I happened upon #tshalloweenchallenge. Since I missed Pumpkin and monster, here’s my pumpkin that has a parasitic monster (again): It might already be a zombie vampire. Watch Out! A colony of bats in the window by Maria L. Berg 2021 Today’s prompt Bats reminded me of a poem I wrote during NaPoWriMo 2018 called “Be Forewarned: Expect Vespertilian…

[godblooded]

He's kissing her suddenly. It's soft and desperate and hungry all at once. The cowl is off, greasepaint smeared in dark circles beneath his eyes, hair matted with sweat. There's a shallow cut on his cheek that hasn't quite stopped bleeding, but he hardly seems to notice; breathless as he is. His massive, gloved hands engulf her waist when he pulls her close and his mouth shifts to the edge of her jaw. (for Alana)

he is a beast. maybe you do not know the difference. you have always just wanted to find the most comfort there, your head in the mouth of the wolf and you so willing. but what of the wolf that so easily falls to the other? what of the wolf who sees his mate, only smaller, your head in his jaws and your eyes insistently daring him. he won’t snap your neck because he’s weak, and maybe that’s okay. —the thought intrudes from a strange place, but you brush it down and away.

he is the kindest beast you have ever known. he is the gentlest monster that has ever touched you. his callouses were the first that did not strike you. his mouth was the first that did not bite you. he is your protector in more respects than you can explain. and even in the great grip of his hands it you are safe, safe, safe. even in his massive touch like bat’s wings you are still very much out of danger.

he is hungry, the way that hungry is a man who has clutched for the desperate sunlight and stumbled, but having solid sunlight is enough to keep him holding. he is a man grasping love, and it is reaching back.

you don’t need to speak. you need only to be one another, both together and separately, and those factors will serve as communication. they always do. you are only one another’s languages.

[ao3feed-galrakeith]

Starlight on the Empty Horizon

by Resamille

Galra (n): a vespertilian-feline hybrid species credited with the ongoing reign of the galaxies. See: monster Related terms: Zarkon (n): the ruler of the Galran Empire. Read: That one asshole. Half-breed (n): a being of half-Galran and half-foreign descent known for a trend in co-dominant genes, providing the half-breed with the ability to control the prevalence of Galran phenotypes. Read: Toys of a vicious darkness; the playthings of mad scientists; breeding experiments to save a dying, fragile race. Conditioned into submission through twisted methods, brought to their knees until they only utter the Empire's name through broken lips, marked from the beginning for who they are and what they will become: servants and slaves, or bodies, if they're lucky.

Keith would know. He's seen the prisons. He doesn't want to go back.

And yet here he is: trapped, tortured, and terrified. The mission is over; they messed up. At least he has Lance, right?

Words: 4892, Chapters: 1/19, Language: English

Fandoms: Voltron: Legendary Defender

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Categories: M/M

Characters: Keith (Voltron), Lance (Voltron), Shiro (Voltron), Pidge | Katie Holt, Hunk (Voltron), Coran (Voltron), Allura (Voltron)

Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)

Additional Tags: Torture, Galra Keith, Blind Keith, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Panic Attacks, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Body Modification, Mind Meld, Hurt/Comfort, Praise Kink, Exhibitionism, background shallura - Freeform, past/mentioned shatt, Gender-Neutral Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Voltron General Big Bang 2017, Eventual Smut, I think. I do not know the "eventual" criteria

from AO3 works tagged 'Voltron: Legendary Defender' http://ift.tt/2w5EtgY via IFTTT

[klancebb2017-blog]

Excerpts and Summaries Questions

Just to clear some stuff up!

So are summaries synopsis-style or ao3 teaser-style? This is up to you! It should be noted though that the idea is to get artists interested in your work, so you might want to go for teaser-style to build up some intrigue.

So, I kinda figure one of the easiest ways to get this cleared up is to give an example. So this is the summary I submitted for the general voltron bang:

Galra (n): a vespertilian-feline hybrid species credited with the ongoing reign of the galaxies. See: monster Related terms: Zarkon (n): the ruler of the Galran Empire. Read: That one asshole. Half-breed (n): a being of half-Galran and half-foreign descent known for a trend in co-dominant genes, providing the half-breed with the ability to control the prevalence of Galran phenotypes. Read: Toys of a vicious darkness; the playthings of mad scientists; breeding experiments to save a dying, fragile race. Conditioned into submission through twisted methods, brought to their knees until they only utter the Empire's name through broken lips, marked from the beginning for who they are and what they will become: servants and slaves, or bodies, if they're lucky. Keith would know. He's seen the prisons. He doesn't want to go back. And yet here he is: trapped, tortured, and terrified. The mission is over; they messed up. At least he has Lance, right?

And here is the excerpt I used:

“Keith, I—” Lance starts, and then cuts himself off. When he doesn't finish, Keith presses, “Lance?” “Nothing,” he replies curtly, but Keith hears the shudder in his breath that gives him away. “I—just... It's nothing. You've been through enough today.” “I don't understand,” Keith says, turning and feeling his way across the bed until he makes contact with Lance's hip. He draws the blue paladin in closer. “Lance, what's wrong?” Lance molds against him, tangling their legs and automatically arching until they press in one single long seam, chest to chest and hip to hip. Keith feels the breath catch in Lance's lungs in a small hiccup, barely audible. “I-it's nothing. I'll be fine.” “You don't have to be okay all the time,” Keith whispers. “I have to be strong—I have to help you,” Lance gasps out, one arm looping over Keith and pulling them almost painfully close together. “You need me. I'll be okay.” Keith traces a soothing circle onto Lance's hip. “I do need you,” he admits. “But I want you to be happy, Lance.” Lance's deep breath pushes against Keith, and he feels every tremor that shakes through the other's body. “I'm so scared,” he gasps out. “Red, and then Shiro—I love you, Keith. I can't lose you. It's terrifying.”

What I intended for with these pieces was to make my piece as enticing as possible. Build up the suspense and mystery. It’s not a requirement, but it’s the route I took, and I’m pretty sure most people would choose to showcase their work similarly because they want to get people interested. Note that the definitions of my summary are just stylistic. Y’all don’t have to actually do the same format or anything. Just an example.

Anyway, on the other hand, the tags I used for this fic are exceedingly spoilery. Keith goes blind 15k words in, and that’s still tagged. There’s some body modification stuff that doesn’t happen until something like 80k words in, and that’s tagged too. Basically any event that I knew was going to be written when I was submitting claims got tagged, because even if no one knows the scenario, they at least know it’s coming at some point.

Furthermore, @flat-san provided us some refs from another bang. This: https://hxhbb17.tumblr.com/post/156789313967/hxhbb17-things-to-include-in-your-summary is another good summary example, though again, we don’t have strict rules about whether it can be synopsis or teaser, and all other things like pairings, etc. are separate questions on the form, so you won’t have to worry about that for your summary.

Here are some more examples: https://shalnarkonice.tumblr.com/post/139148616473/here-are-the-summaries-the-askbox-is-now I’ll admit I didn’t read through all of those, but a good portion of them are good references. Some of them, however, are excerpts, which is fine if you really want an excerpt for your summary, but since we’ve split them into two requirements (aka, you’re submitting both), we’d prefer an actual summary and excerpt rather than two excerpts.

Hope this helps a bit.

- Sesa