#extinct vs extinct for this one!

[exandriacityshowdown]

Round 1 Stage 6 Poll 3

Niirdal-Sarqet, Tal'Dorei: Niirdal-Sarqet is now a ruin, but it is unclear how long this has been the case. It is hidden in the jungles of the Rifenmist Peninsula. The Crown Keepers explored the ruin, and got into a conflict with Myr’atta Niselor here.

Ghor Dranas, Wildemount: Ghor Dranas was a city in the late Age of Arcanum and throughout the Calamity. It was the centre of the Betrayer Gods’ alliance. It was destroyed in the war, and later the city of Rosohna came to be built on the ruins.

image is official art by clara daly/eldritchblep

[rassicas]

QUESTION, how do Inkfish have milk/milk flavoured things if there are no mammals to produce it? And if they synthesized the milk, how would they know that its nutritional? Or that it can be made into cheese/yogurt?

Even if theyre using oats or nuts to make milk substitues, i dont think those can be used to make other dairy products right? Idk im not a biologist

for this ask i thought about just linking the wikipedia pages for plant milk and vegan cheese or the video where i touch on this topic and leaving it at that, but i thought that would come off as too passive aggressive and i dont like that with how often i see this question floating around still i think its worth going into a bit more so i can just link this post in case anyone ever asks again.

“One thing we know about the world of Splatoon is that mammals are basically gone,” said Nogami, seated across from me in a small room behind Nintendo’s booth. “So they don’t eat beef or pork or the meat of mammals.” With Splatoon 2 playing on a screen, Nogami walked his Inkling over to a corner in Inkopolis square where a bright ad played for cereal. A crab chowed down on a bowl of milky carbs. “There’s no mammals, so whatever is being poured over the cereal might not be milk,” Nogami laughed. Hm. Okay. So what do Inklings eat? “Veggies, birds, fish,” said Nogami. “Some bread.” -- What do Squid Kids Eat? Splatoon’s Producer Explains

So the facts are: -Mammals are basically gone (excluding Judds/Grizz) -They drink milk that isn't real milk -There are crops cultivated in the Inkling world The obvious conclusion is that they use plant-based substitutes. there are a few questions that could spawn from this.... Q1: a bunch of stuff went extinct in the splatoon world. what kind of dairy substitutes could they use exactly? A: canonically, inklings have a variety of rice and soy-based products. a few types of nuts are confirmed to exist. they eat coconuts too. you can make milk out of all of these, as well as other dairy products like cheese and yogurt. They're not limited to plants either...

i swear everyone ive shown the left image goes like EWWW THEY EAT INK but like. squid ink is edible in real life. i dont get why this is weird?? nobody said ewww at the squiddymelon which i imagine would absorb ink to change colors like that. the concept that inklings figured out Ink-based dairy products is fucking awesome. anyways Q2: how did they figure this out? A: I think the answer can be found by looking into the history of plant milks in our world. Humans have been making and consuming plant based milks like soy and almond milk for centuries. the consumption of coconut milk goes back millennia. plant based cheeses are not as old, but still go back a hundred or so years. a lot of other dairy substitutes emerged in the past 50 years. Inklings figured out plastics, fish egg energy, and computers, surely at some point in their 2000+ year history, they figured out plant-based milks, cheeses, and yogurts. It's also possible that recipes from the human era survived. maybe they learned about dairy products that way. oh wait isn't there a sunken scroll about human era recipes?

yes There's also a non-zero chance that Judd could've taught the inklings about the human era and their food. The other question i can think of is... Q3: is there any specific mention of a plant based substitute being used instead of a mammalian product in splatoon? A: yes<3

In 2019 there was JP only splatfest, pineapple vs. no pineapple. It's about whether you put pineapple on subuta (japanese sweet and sour pork.) (i dont have strong opinions on pineapple, but the subuta at gyoza no osho. bro it will make me hurt myself and others. literally licking the fucking plate its so yummy. anyways.) Now pigs are extinct. How would pearl and marina have opinions on a pork dish?

「だな！ アタシんちの古い書庫で見つけたレシピで ロブに作ってもらったやつだろ？」 「豚という生き物が 絶滅しちゃってるから 大豆とかで代用した 「酢豚風」でしたけどね���」 Pearl: "That's the recipe you found in the old archives at my place, and Crusty Sean made it for you, right?" Marina: "Yeah, though since those creatures called pigs are extinct, he substituted it for soy and some other things to make a "subuta-style" dish~ "

this is the only thing i have seen that confirms plant-based substitutes being used for mammal meat in splatoon's setting. i learned of this just recently and i was SO happy this was confirmed somewhere<3 I think this gives a lot of weight to the idea that they'd use soy milk and other soy-based dairy products.

[giyuulatte]

i feel like this is a great time to announce that i am a monster movie enthusiast. i LOVE monster and mecha movies!! godzilla, king kong, transformers, pacific rim, kaiju, alien, predator…GIMME IT ALL

[flock-of-cassowaries]

Roman has many roles in the Roy family. Punching bag and peacemaker. His dad’s least-favourite child and most loyal servant.

Perpetually resentful of being in his older brother’s, and yet still said brother’s most consistent advocate.

The one role he’ll never be asked to play: guy who figures out what’s wrong with the printer / computer / cable box.

[musiclover2732]

i cannot keep quiet any longer. i just gotta say please it is 2024 we have come so far you guys have gotta learn more about dinosaurs and quite frankly a ton of prehistoric lifeforms beyond the mostly outdated shit in Jurassic Park and other cheap sci-fi films. like i say this as a huge Jurassic fan you have to understand that the movie franchise is based in “rule of cool” what can be a marketable toy and what makes a fun action sequence. paleo nerds: stop arguing about what is and isn’t “accurate” in the films; they are not supposed to be accurate they are supposed to make money your arguments are by nature pointless, redundant, and annoying as hell. non dino nerds: please do not have a movie made 30 years ago be your source of knowledge for real, previously living animals, in the same way you shouldn’t have Jaws be your source for sharks. pirate both seasons(?) of Prehistoric Planet, check out books at your local library, read peer-reviewed scientific articles, visit your local museums and ask questions. if i see one more thing about t. rex being unable to see movement, velociraptor being six feet tall, dilophosaurus having frills and venom, humans loving alongside dinosaurs, or spinosaurus looking like that i am going to lose it. like i know a lot of modern animals have misinformation spread about them and people who study them or just care about them work hard to educate people ig i am just extra passionate as someone who’s spent their whole life being as up to date as possible about not just dinosaurs but an incredibly wide variety of mostly Mesozoic creatures it just hurts to see how many people just don’t know or care about them outside of how cool they look on screen. like there were so many people arguing against the feathers (which doesn’t even apply to most dinosaurs) because it was ruining their childhoods and making dinosaurs uncool when that’s literally just what they looked like, like this isn’t a shitty sequel or reboot this is new information about real life animals you can’t argue against it. they get treated like kaiju that paleontologists are designing rather than animals we’re learning more about.

[player-1]

Been thinking about the Abyssal Tyrants (shocking I know), but I love the implication that the main Tyrants are more of a threat to the Guild while they're basically 10-15 years old before the main story in Extinction. Of course, the Abyssals were still a threat for a variety of reasons and/or paranoia, it's kinda overshooting the fact that they were alive for a very long time; not as long as the Children of Omnicron of course, but still.

But going through the "family timeline" theory again, it's hilarious in hindsight to think that Braccus probably had the time of his life destroying what he can before becoming the hulky bulldozer he is (about 200 years before the main story) but Kroma had to suffer with the idea of wanting to destroy one specific person (ie. Eliza) around the same time and long before their real target was even born, only to get absolutely destroyed by Deena when she finally had the chance to fulfill her mission (also around 20-15 years before the main story so it's common knowledge for the Guild too)...

Long story short the Abyssals had all the time in the world to wonder why they were made/created as they were, just waiting until the time was right for their goals to be fulfilled, until they figure about that they might've been created to be glorified cannon-fodder in the grand scheme of things (even if they would've gone through that existential crisis or not)...Also I refuse to believe that the Abyssals wouldn't have run into each other at some point and figured out that they have nothing better to do but wait to be killed after completing what’s literally their life mission. Maybe they avoid talking with or about each other at Precursor Mountain so it doesn't hurt them anymore than it should (or conflicting goals making them distance themselves despite their origins being the exact same). Also letting Venefelis/Salem figure out that she has "siblings" running around the place would definitely help with their cabin fever, I'm sure of it :)

[badolmen]

Hate scifi-fantasy magic/energy dichotomies where they talk all about balance but use genocide one side or the other to achieve it. Buddy breaking the scale doesn’t make it balanced. What the fuck do you mean the dark ones are all evil? They have an evil ideology? Okay yeah I see where that can be taken as evil but - NO it’s not balance if the only thing left is the light! You’re telling me there’s never been an evil light user? Oh there has? Then why the fuck has there never been good dark users??? (Answer: author doesn’t care about representing balance they just want easily coded good guys and bad guys).

[clea-dessendre]

starfield is very fun, but it continues the modern Bethesda tradition of mixing some truly wild game design choices with some basic ass writing

[libraryspectre]

Yep for whatever reason couples that were a Neanderthal man x sapiens woman had an easier time producing viable offspring than couples who were a Neanderthal woman x sapiens man

So if anything it's where modern humans get their taste for short stocky kings. Like me, so that's nice

Do we have data on whether the earliest modern human x neanderthal crosses were more commonly produced by a neanderthal man and sapiens sapiens woman, or vice versa?

Do we have some neanderthal woman to blame for the species' apparent instinct to see a weirdly long lanky skinny frail man and instantly get the urge to mount him?

[moo-chemia]

So the cumplane runaway au has been in my mind rent free for the past two weeks and so I churn this out so pls excuse the word vomit as I explain what happens in this au.

SQH and SQQ realizes the other is a fellow transmigrator way earlier before the immortal alliance conference (in between the skinner demon arc and the demon invasion arc) probably due to SQH unknowingly outing himself and begins bonding with each other. SQQ brings up the sun moon dew mushroom and neither were planning on getting it until after the conference like canon. That is until they begin seeing how stressed the other is about their respective jobs/narrative roles after some drunk bonding sessions and convince the other to fetch the sun moon dew mushroom tgt and plant it so that they can fake their deaths to avoid doing paperwork and their narrative roles (SQH’s idea) and maybe go monster hunting/sight seeing around the world of PIDW instead (SQQ’s idea).

So during the IAC they fake their deaths just before SQQ has to push LBH into the abyss. SY and SQH wake up 5 years later in their plant bodies and immediately go monster hunting rpg style. They work as rogue cultivators and also trade in any rare monster parts to earn further income. They camp out during the night and huddle for warmth around the fire while reminiscing about their past lives (plural). They visit an abandoned temple for a forgotten goddess only to run into the cult that worships said goddess, causing them to almost be midsommar-ed. They visit a supposedly cursed sea only to run into the sea creature ‘haunting’ it and barely escaping with their lives. They visit lost cities to find supposedly extinct beasts and go bury treasure hunting, etc etc. Cumplane basically tour PIDW and have their best life (mostly) free of stress.

Meanwhile, if we rewind back to the IAC just after SY and SQH faked their deaths, SQH’s body is obvs now soulless and dead but the system forces SJ’s soul back into his og body and LBH still gets pushed into the abyss anyways opps. In the aftermath, SJ explains what happened with SY!SQQ and how basically SY and SQH are transmigrators and their whole situation from what SJ understands. SJ was a ghost all this time after the system forced his soul outta his body and he was lowkey haunting SY but SJ wasn’t always conscious, he probs only saw what was happening with SY!SQQ half of the time bc of the system. Cue Cang Qiong trying to track down one temporary SQQ and their logistics peak lord bc CQM is kinda burning down without him (and also to make sure both are ok)

Meanwhile, LBH speeds through the abyss and plans on taking over Huan Hua like canon and through some protagonist IQ bullshit that I’ve yet to come up with (probably through a grieving MBJ who's kinda been going crazy in the northern desert?) he realizes that SQQ is SJ but not his shizun, and he learns that CQM knows both SY and SQH are still alive and are trying to find them. LBH abandons his plot on taking over Huan Hua to team up with MBJ to find their two not so dead peak lords. 

Cue CQM vs the demon lords racing one another to find cumplane first for 6-7 years. 

Now back to cumplane. The two are enjoying their adventures together for a year or two after waking up in their plant bodies when they run into LBH and MBJ arguing with LQG in a village they’re travelling through. Cumplane realizes both the demon lords and CQM are trying to find them for some reason and panics when they overheard that SQQ is somehow still alive even though SY is right there and panics harder when they realize OG SQQ is back. Cumplane runs for their lives thinking they're fugitives now because their previous sect and the two demon lords are there to kill them/arrest them for impersonating a peak lord.

This is all I got for this au so far lol, this is still a wip so some things might change

[kedreeva]

In case you haven't heard yet, Colossal, the biotech company that earlier this year showed off their "woolly mouse," has announced that they de-extincted "dire wolves." I put this in quotes, because just like with the mice, they didn't truly bring them back (nothing can actually do that, yet) or even really make them.

What they actually did was kind of neat; they copied genes sequenced from dire wolf DNA and inserted them into the grey wolf genome (replacing grey wolf DNA, as they said gray wolves shared a significant percentage of their genome (which isn't saying a TON considering how much the human and chimp genome have in common without being nearly the same animals, but it's better than taking, say, a turtle's genome or something else super unrelated), to create a wolf with genes that dire wolves had.

And while that's not really the same thing as building a dire wolf completely from scratch, so to speak, and it's not really "cloning" them either, it's still pretty cool science, and just like with the woolly mouse, the work (ie, altering/editing multiple genes at once from sequenced DNA of deceased individuals) COULD apply to conservation of actual species (for example, having the ability to widen the genome of remaining breeding individuals of an endangered species, with DNA from deceased individuals). I'm not sure if it IS applying to other species right now (at least not through this company, despite their stated claims to want to), but it is one of their stated goals and it would work.

Also, they're pretty cute

As they were born in October 2024, they now have their own 2,000 acre reserve where Colossal is monitoring them closely. There are two males and one female, but as they've stated they do not have plans to breed them, I'm not sure where the female is being kept in relation to the males, but I suspect she's the solo-wolf pictured, vs the pics of the pair.

Anyway, that's all happening.

[writingwithcolor]

Naming International POC Characters: Do Your Research.

This post is part of a double feature for the same ask. First check out Mod Colette's answer to OP's original question at: A Careful Balance: Portraying a Black Character's Relationship with their Hair. Below are notes on character naming from Mod Rina.

~ ~ ~

@writingraccoon said:

My character is black in a dungeons and dragons-like fantasy world. His name is Kazuki Haile (pronounced hay-lee), and his mother is this world's equivalent of Japanese, which is where his first name is from, while his father is this world's equivalent of Ethiopian, which is where his last name is from. He looks much more like his father, and has hair type 4a. [...]

Hold on a sec.

Haile (pronounced hay-lee), [...] [H]is father is this world’s equivalent of Ethiopian, which is where his last name is from. 

OP, where did you get this name? Behindthename.com, perhaps?

Note how it says, “Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. Check marks indicate the level to which a name has been verified.” Do you see any check marks, OP? 

What language is this, by the way? If we only count official languages, Ethiopia has 5: Afar, Amharic, Oromo, Somali, & Tigrinya. If we count everything native to that region? Over 90 languages. And I haven't even mentioned the dormant/extinct ones. Do you know which language this name comes from? Have you determined Kazuki’s father’s ethnic group, religion, and language(s)? Do you know just how ethnically diverse Ethiopia is? 

~ ~ ~

To All Looking for Character Names on the Internet:

Skip the name aggregators and baby name lists. They often do not cite their sources, even if they’re pulling from credible ones, and often copy each other. 

If you still wish to use a name website, find a second source that isn’t a name website. 

Find at least one real life individual, living or dead, who has this given name or surname. Try Wikipedia’s lists of notable individuals under "List of [ethnicity] people." You can even try searching Facebook! Pay attention to when these people were born for chronological accuracy/believability. 

Make sure you know the language the name comes from, and the ethnicity/culture/religion it’s associated with. 

Make sure you understand the naming practices of that culture—how many names, where they come from, name order, and other conventions. 

Make sure you have the correct pronunciation of the name. Don’t always trust Wikipedia or American pronunciation guides on Youtube. Try to find a native speaker or language lesson source, or review the phonology & orthography and parse out the string one phoneme at a time. 

Suggestions for web sources:

Wikipedia! Look for: “List of [language] [masculine/feminine] given names,” “List of most common [language] family names,” “List of most common surnames in [continent],” and "List of [ethnicity] people."  

Census data! Harder to find due to language barriers & what governments make public, but these can really nail period accuracy. This may sound obvious, but look at the year of the character's birth, not the year your story takes place. 

Forums and Reddit. No really. Multicultural couples and expats will often ask around for what to name their children. There’s also r/namenerds, where so many folks have shared names in their language that they now have “International Name Threads.” These are all great first-hand sources for name connotations—what’s trendy vs. old-fashioned, preppy vs. nerdy, or classic vs. overused vs. obscure. 

~ ~ ~

Luckily for OP, I got very curious and did some research. More on Ethiopian & Eritrean naming, plus mixed/intercultural naming and my recommendations for this character, under the cut. It's really interesting, I promise!

Ethiopian and Eritrean Naming Practices

Haile (IPA: /həjlə/ roughly “hy-luh.” Both a & e are /ə/, a central “uh” sound) is a phrase meaning “power of” in Ge’ez, sometimes known as Classical Ethiopic, which is an extinct/dormant Semitic language that is now used as a liturgical language in Ethiopian churches (think of how Latin & Sanskrit are used today). So it's a religious name, and was likely popularized by the regnal name of the last emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie (“Power of the Trinity”). Ironically, for these reasons it is about as nationalistically “Ethiopian” as a name can get.

Haile is one of the most common “surnames” ever in Ethiopia and Eritrea. Why was that in quotes? Because Ethiopians and Eritreans don’t have surnames. Historically, when they needed to distinguish themselves from others with the same given name, they affixed their father’s given name, and then sometimes their grandfather’s. In modern Ethiopia and Eritrea, their given name is followed by a parent’s (usually father’s) name. First-generation diaspora abroad may solidify this name into a legal “surname” which is then consistently passed down to subsequent generations.

Intercultural Marriages and Naming

This means that Kazuki’s parents will have to figure out if there will be a “surname” going forward, and who it applies to. Your easiest and most likely option is that Kazuki’s dad would have chosen to make his second name (Kazuki’s grandpa’s name) the legal “surname.” The mom would have taken this name upon marriage, and Kazuki would inherit it also. Either moving abroad or the circumstances of the intercultural marriage would have motivated this. Thus “Haile” would be grandpa’s name, and Kazuki wouldn’t be taking his “surname” from his dad. This prevents the mom & Kazuki from having different “surnames.” But you will have to understand and explain where the names came from and the decisions dad made to get there. Otherwise, this will ring culturally hollow and indicate a lack of research.

Typically intercultural parents try to

come up with a first name that is pronounceable in both languages,

go with a name that is the dominant language of where they live, or

compromise and pick one parent’s language, depending on the circumstances.

Option 1 and possibly 3 requires figuring out which language is the father’s first language. Unfortunately, because of the aforementioned national ubiquity of Haile, you will have to start from scratch here and figure out his ethnic group, religion (most are Ethiopian Orthodox and some Sunni Muslim), and language(s). 

But then again, writing these characters knowledgeably and respectfully also requires figuring out that information anyway.

~ ~ ~

Names and naming practices are so, so diverse. Do research into the culture and language before picking a name, and never go with only one source.

~ Mod Rina

[dogtoling]

OK. . . seems i missed the whole 'chickens are controversial in splatoon' thing. . . why?

To put it short there's evidence both for and against them existing, and this is without me actually looking anything up so i might be missing something.

cases for chickens being extant: there's been chickens present in SOME form in several splatfests, they're not mammals so they're not NECESSARILY extinct, despite being domesticated animals and thus being unlikely to survive it doesn't mean it'd be IMPOSSIBLE because pigeons and other relatively human-dependent birds still survive in Splatoon, and of course there are many instances of Eggs being a staple in inkling culinary culture. egg is everywhere

cases for chickens being extinct: we only actually See chickens (or chicken, as in food) in splatfest art and splatfest dialogue which isn't (or at least definitely wasn't until Splatoon 3) canon-compliant at all. We havent actually seen chickens in-universe to my knowledge, nor had them mentioned outside splatfest. probably the biggest nail in the coffin is that there IS a chicken statue in Splatsville, and typically when there are big animal statues in the cities those are statues depicting extinct animals. this is something from an interview that touched on the crane and tortoise statues in Inkopolis Square; which also confirms that it wasn't JUST MAMMALS that suffered and went extinct, it was also other miscellaneous land animals and even random birds which I think me and initially a lot of other people thought were just. Fine and safe. But if a random bird like a crane can be extinct now then chickens are absolutely not safe just because they're not mammals. although eggs are in like every food it's not really been confirmed in any way that those are CHICKEN eggs (although that is the most likely), they could as well be farming domesticated pigeons or something

So really it's a big case of no real confirmation they DO exist, but also no real confirmation they DON'T exist, but also the only context we see them in-universe is in a context where every other animal depicted there IS extinct and it's like a lore thing. So the existence of eggs is a big hint TOWARDS them existing but could easily mean nothing whereas the other one is more in line with proving they do not exist. it is a very uncertain situation for the chicken

HOWEVER!!!!!! there is hope for the chicken. splatfests in Splatoon 3 have had more in-universe accurate themes and dialogue so far (meaning they dont randomly make up shit like "marina's landlord is a narwhal" and "inklings eat red meat" or whatever the fuck in that sea food vs mountain food one we didnt even have that one it was regional). SO THIS MEANS! in the next splatfest we Could get a somewhat stable answer to if chickens exist or not. of course the other 2 options are extinct animals whereas the chicken is 50/50. i'm HOPING the dialogue touches upon this fact and doesn't just talk about all of those like they just Exist. basically we are very close to some kind of progress on this issue that would be Somewhat credible because while splatfest dialogue has never been a credible source in the past, it has been WAY better in S3

TL;DR we just don't know. Chickens are a mystery

[my-plot-thots]

Mermay plot

Not me thinking about a merpeople plot for my favorite boys. One with a Selkie Shang Qinghua with his cute fuzzy and chubby body of a harp seal that never fully grew out of his white baby fur/coloring because he rarely stays in his mer form long enough and has long ago learned to adapt to blending in with humans because life is dangerous for his kind from what he understands of ocean politics, and selkies are nearly extinct because they are not trusted by human or mer for having one fin in the water and one foot on land. Due to most of their kind having died during a war between mer and human where their people tried to mediate and were cut down by both men and mer, (which was how he ended up washed up on land as a child during a bloody confrontation)

Shang Qinghua had long ago chosen to hide his fur and live as a human. After much struggle to adapt to land, he eventually became the accountant in charge of an entire ship and crew’s documents and money as well as keeps rigorous track of cargo and who comes and goes as well as scheduling. It’s tiring work, but it pays well and allows him to stay close to the ocean, while not risking going in it and being murdered like many of his people were before he assimilated to human life. And what human would expect a Selkie to join a military ship. He keeps his fur securely locked away so no one will ever know, and those who see it assume he hunted it and that it was a normal seal fur.

Of course, life can’t be too easy, and when there is an aquatic attack and the captain of the ship is dragged under water by a terrifying mer that looks suspiciously like the young first mate that fell overboard during a pirate attack/vicious storm several years back. The ship is damaged and Shang Qinghua decides to make a run for it and hopefully escape to live another day. Between freezing to death in the arctic waters as a human, and risking the wrath of the mer if they catch him, he decides he may be able to be pitiful enough to beg for their mercy.

Of course, he was not prepared to slip off the back of the ship with his fur where nobody is looking at the moment, only to land in the water directly in front of a HUGE, hulking, terrifyingly vicious looking killer whale mer. With long sharp claws and rows of deadly teeth, the body parts of crew members that had attempted to escape floating in the water shrouded in a mist of blood and gore.

Seal vs Orca. He knows how that will end.

Meanwhile Mobei Jun sees a thought to be extinct arctic Selkie drop off a ship and right in front of him. Small. Adorable. Eyes wide and terrified. Fur white, though it looks pink because of the mist of blood in the water. It’s probably so scared because it was kept by those disgusting humans. Perhaps they were keeping it to sell it, or kill if for its fur, or something equally terrible for a creature long thought lost and were highly regarded by the arctic mer, even if the regular selkies were not by the rest of the seas.

And it tries to swim away. The poor, adorable, addled creature. It’s clearly confused and in shock.

[sketchywasteland]

swap AU designs for v1, v2, and gabriel (or variel, vadriel, and g-3, respectively). these are redraws of the ones i made in this post.

me yapping about the AU below but be warned it contains spoilers for the game up to fraud

Variel (v1)

variel and vadriel are messengers of god, with vadriel writing and reciting god's messages while variel reinforced them.

variel and vadriel were brothers the first few years of their lives, but gradually grew apart as people kept comparing them. variel didn't know how to close the rift, so became resigned to it.

unlike gabriel and vadriel, variel was able to see the hypocrisy of what god said vs what god did and eventually became disillusioned with both god and heaven. when god left heaven, it saw an opportunity to leave as well and flew into hell. hell greeted it with open arms.

variel ripped off vadriel's arm when vadriel hunted it down and tried to drag it back to heaven.

currently, variel is deep in hell, fighting and killing anything hell throws in front of it. so far, hell is entertained, but not for long.

Vadriel (v2)

the definition of nice, but not kind. he becomes kinder throughout the story, though

HUGE jealousy issues, with resentment to boot. when variel was still in heaven, most angels preferred variel to vadriel since variel was considered the "dependable" one. the resentment grew when variel became disillusioned with heaven and refused to do its work, dumping it on vadriel's shoulders. and, of course, it grew into hatred when variel abandoned its post and ripped off vadriel's arm.

vadriel noticed humans exploring hell and booted them out, preventing hell from gaining access to the machines and indirectly saving humanity from extinction. he replaces the cerberi at the gates of hell.

he is absolutely furious when g-3 beats him in battle. not because he's concerned about the humans getting further into hell, but because an object managed to defeat him, and that's humiliating to his already-fragile ego.

G-3 (gabriel)

he was made to guard and repair earthmovers rather than invade them like v1. now that the Great War is over, he's considered an icon of peace and tasked with helping humanity and boosting morale.

after vadriel booted humans out of hell and all other machines failed to defeat him, g-3 was eventually brought into hell to kick the crap out of him. unfortunately, that got the attention of hell, and now g-3 is not allowed to leave.

g-3 doesn't see himself as a person at first, but after he's left to his own devices, he starts thinking more and more about himself, his creators, and what he saw during the war.

g-3 acts as a catalyst for pretty much everyone to become better people, including himself.

[kiame-sama]

Humans Are Extinct (Yandere!TWST x Fem!Reader) Monster AU pt 52

(Grim needs help to put on the Diasomnia uniform due to the many belts and clasps that need to be fiddled with. Lilia designed the uniform and ensured that it was long enough to cover Grim's paws in an attempt to make it cuter on the kit.)

Warnings: yandere, multiple yanderes, platonic and romantic yanderes, platonic yandere vs romantic yandere, inky related problems, glimpses into the past, heavy subject matter

~~~~

Dropping into the scene you did was as disorienting as being teleported suddenly into it. The walls were creaking and groaning in strain from the intense winds outside, rain pelted the building and almost cracked several windows. Outside the sky was a sickening black and green as the trees barely seemed capable of staying rooted due to the weather.

You had been dropped into this scene with little understanding of who it was that was close to Overblot, but that was quickly answered. The elder Shinigami was burning an intense red, the color abnormal on the typically placid male as his flames seemed to engulf his upper half. It was more than slightly unnerving to see the male so angered as he had been a consistently calm and patient soul whenever you interacted with him. Even his black wings were engulfed in fire that crackled and let off an intense heat.

Across from him- and more than likely the cause of this anger- was Malleus. Malleus' face was almost engulfed in black scales, his lips pulled back in a toothsome mockery of a sneer as a deep reptilian hiss rumbled from his chest. His tail slammed on the flooring and splintered several floorboards from the force of his strength. The Dragon's electric green eyes smoldered in their sockets as he let out another guttural snarl.

Both looked ready to attack at a moments notice.

You saw Alexandros using his wings and figure to shield Lilia as the two huddled close, buffeted by the sheer strength of the two males. If this was allowed to continue, one or both would Overblot and Sage Island would be destroyed in the wake of their battle. Though you could potentially stop an Overblot, you knew you had very little chance of being able to stop an Overblotted Malleus or Hades.

What could possibly snap them out of this anger? What even caused them to be so furious with one another?

It didn't really matter at the moment. What mattered was saving every innocent life on Sage Island, even if the cost could potentially be deeper than you anticipated. It always seemed to be.

As you moved to get between the two, Papa Hades was acutely aware of your presence on what was quickly becoming a battlefield. Instead of rage, fear filled his eyes as he realized the very real danger you were in. Where the elder could have soundly subdued the Dragon on his own with limited casualties, you could very easily be one of those casualties now that you were present.

An inky substance was starting to form around Malleus' eyes and mouth, his entire body pulsing with anger as it began to slowly infest his veins. It seemed to blind the Dragon that pulsed with dark energy. As more inky blot began to leak from his mouth and eyes, a sickening feeling settled in your gut. The goal was to stop the Overblot and the storm without death taking any of these volatile beasts.

A faint sensation tugged at the back of your mind, an odd feeling overcoming your body as if every ounce of fear had been turned off. There was a kind of settled numbness seemed to float around you as you faced the Dragon that held his head in agony. Malleus was being consumed by his fears and anxieties manifested into reality.

Outside the storm raged and the entire world seemed to scream in anguish for Malleus. He wasn't the only one who would suffer from his Overblot and you couldn't allow that. You were in the best position to calm him without anyone dying.

You had managed it so far, and if it worked for Vil...

It felt like sound had turned off around you as you approached Malleus, the Dragon staring up at you with blackened eyes and agony on his face. Part of your hyper aware mind understood that there was an intense threat to your continued existence the closer you got to him. A smaller part of you understood that it was likely Malleus who stepped out of line with Papa Hades, but it was also Malleus who would kill others before calming. There was a kind of resignation to the way you approached the Dragon, knowing what you had to do and why.

You didn't even hear the others calling your name as floorboard ripped up around you in what felt like slow motion.

As your arms wrapped around the Dragon, you could feel him tense and writhe for a moment. The ink around his eyes seemed to lessen for only a moment before pulsing further through his veins. There was no other option you could see now, as your proximity alone was not enough to calm the Dragon.

He seemed to be fighting himself in an effort to regain control but he was losing the battle. Perhaps, with your direct intervention or sacrifice, you could stop this before it became a tragedy.

Just as it was with Vil, the moment your lips touched Malleus' there was an overwhelming flood of blot into your mouth and eyes. It was painful as the blot eagerly pushed past your tongue to take residence deeper within your body and flood your very being with the dark ichor. Even as your figure writhed out of your control, you could feel your body going limp in the arms of the Dragon. The last thing you saw as darkness consumed your vision was a pair of horrified green eyes.

~•§•~

Malleus was wrenched from the suffocating shadows back into his proper state of mind. Like breaching the surface of a frozen lake, he was left gasping for air yet unable to take in a breath. A metallic tasting ink was bubbling up from his lungs and from his mouth with near agonizing pain as the world fell back into place around him.

The wind slowed to a stop as the storm died down almost instantly, leaving him to try and piece together his frazzled and fractured mind. What had been enemies abound faded away into the worse for wear dorm he knew as belonging to you.

Several things occurred to his brain in rapid fire. The first that he realized was that your scent surrounded and engulfed him the same way a warming blanket would surround and soothe a swaddled babe. Your scent alone sending sobering awareness through the great beast.

The Second thing he realized was the fact that you were in his arms with your lips pressed against his. Despite the joy leaping in his heart, that happiness turned to fear when he realized the blot was escaping his body into your own. He tried to stop it with little success, your body going limp in his grasp as your eyes glazed over in a pitch black film.

He had seen you absorb blot from Alistair, and he felt that same fear as your body convulsed and struggled against the blot racing beneath your skin. Dark spiderwebs of blot skittering across your flesh, visible even beneath your skin due to the deep pigmentation. Panic settled in his gut as a choking sound came from your soft body, laying like a marionette cut free from the strings that bind it.

A broken doll in the shape of the only creature he felt he could love.

~•§•~

You tumbled through the disquieting and somewhat familiar darkness, disoriented as you spin through shadows and plummet in an ocean abyss. The vague sensation of cold scales or perhaps clammy skin against your own flesh darted through the shadows. All light had been blotted out and you couldn't even tell which way was up or down. Even as the shadows caressed your free-falling body, a part of you wanted to fight the darkness surrounding you.

The shadows themselves seemed to last longer than prior as did your time in the darkness, adrift in a sea of giant beasts that you couldn't even see swimming around you. There was a kind of life to the darkness, as of every creature who had Overblotted had been added to this ocean of shadows and consciousness. Eventually a shape seemed to be swimming towards you from the darkness, wide jaws opening as it approached before you were unceremoniously dropped into a scene.

Away from the shadowed ocean of blot, your eyes managed to focus on the world around you as it slowly stopped spinning. Items and objects fell into place as you heard the soft sound of crying. With nothing else to do and no way to escape the visions of the past, you decided to seek out the source of the sound.

Sitting alone at a long table was a young and cherub-faced Dragon who was crying into his hands. His chubby and short tail curled up over his stomach as the young child sobbed. Standing in the shadows, refusing to comfort the child was an array of adults in masks. The masks themselves looking like twisted and grinning beasts as they watched the young Dragon cry his little heart out.

"I'm sorry, Malleus, Queen Malefica is in talks with the neighboring countries about-"

"I want Grammy! Where is Grammy?"

"She's busy, young prince-"

"Where is Lily? I want my Lily!"

The child only cried harder as ice began to form, the guards trying to flee only to be frozen in place as the ice crawled up their legs and rooted them to the ground. You could see your breath as you shivered, trying to not slip on the iced stones beneath your feet and approach the child. Though the guards could not react to your presence due to the ice engulfing them, the little Dragon was acutely aware of your approach.

He lifted his little face, his tears making his black hair stick to his rounded cheeks as he sniffled and whimpered. His chubby little hands curled into tight fists as he whimpered. As if he knew you meant comfort and safety, the cherub Dragon climbed down from his tall chair and tottered over to you with his hands held up.

Though you knew Fae aged differently and he was likely far older than he looked, it felt like the young toddler before you couldn't have been a day over four. You scooped up the child into your arms as he cuddled into you, resting his pudgy cheek against your shoulder as he whimpered. The whines slowly quieted to soft coos as the young Dragon cuddled into your hold.

Slowly, the ice began to recede from the multitude of guards as little Malleus calmed down. Holding him allowed you a better look at the Dragon, his limbs round and soft as they held onto you tightly. Even his tail was short and rounded with baby fat, barely able to curl around your arm. How long as he been relegated to being alone? Surely Lilia or his grandmother didn't leave him to his own devices from this tender young age?

As the Dragon in your arms began to purr, light faded back into darkness as a new scene met your eyes.

You stood in what looked like a throne room, a little Malleus still as small as the first vision was sobbing as he desperately reached out his arms. He was held in the grasp of a woman you have seen before back when the representatives came to check on your wellbeing. It was Malleus' great-grandmother Maleficent.

Despite how she held the squirming Dragon toddler, Malleus was clearly unhappy and thoroughly upset.

"Lily!"

The Dragon screamed his little voice out as you looked where his chubby hand was reaching. Lilia stood there, his hair longer than it had been with faded red highlights instead of the usual pink you had grown used to. The Bat Fae looked pained as if his heart were being pulled out of his chest as several guards seemed to be pushing him back and away.

"No! My Lily! Come back, Lily! COME BACK!"

Both Fae that you had come to care for were being ripped away from one another, the cries of the infant pulling at your heart and clearly pulling at Lilia's heart. They both seemed to want to be together yet were being pulled apart despite how much they wanted to be reunited.

As Lilia was pushed away and out of the throne room, Maleficent was trying to soothe the sobbing Dragon. Malleus was clearly upset, the rolling thunder around the castle shaking the foundation as the child screamed his heart out. What you couldn't understand was why they were forcing Lilia away. What had the Bat possibly done to deserve such treatment?

"LILY! LILY COME BACK!"

"Hush, Malleus. We cannot allow someone who abandoned Maleanor to be with you. Even if it was to bring your egg to safety, he should have known better than to leave her behind. We can't risk your safety, even for a Hoard member."

Malleus was inconsolable, sobbing and whimpering as he continued to reach for where Lilia had been. As you turned to try and see if you could find the Bat Fae, the world shifted again.

Now you were standing in what appeared to be that first dining hall, sparsely decorated for what was shaping up to be a somber party. An impossibly large cake sat on the long table, every seat empty excepting for three. At the head of the table was Maleficent, a patient smile on her lips as she spoke softly to a still very young Malleus to her left. To the right of her was another woman who looked quiet similar to Malleus and Maleficent. Odds are, she was his grandmother Malefica, who he spoke of fondly.

Little Malleus did not look happy, even as a large slice of cake was set in front of him. If anything, he looked downcast and almost miserable as he regarded the countless empty seats. It seemed the two women also noticed the little Dragon's less than joyful mood at the innumerable unoccupied spaces. It seemed to only be a reminder of how alone he really was.

"Come, Malleus, enjoy. The castle Baker certainly outdid himself this time. He is quite the valuable find given his skill in confectionary work."

"... Is Lilia not coming?"

This made Maleficent's smile fall, a pitying look in her eyes as she glanced at her daughter before back to Malleus.

"Malleus, you know Lilia isn't allowed to be here. But we're here and there should be no interruptions, so we can spend all night with you."

This didn't seem to cheer the Dragon up as tears filled his eyes. Clearly, he was only upset by her words and not comforted. It seemed like every time you saw little Malleus, he was alone or was having someone he cared about taken away from him. No wonder the Dragon was so territorial about the few Hoard members he actually had given his intense isolation from such a young age.

"... May I be excused?"

"... Are you sure? You've barely even touched your cake."

"... Why have a cake if there is no one to share it with?"

The air turned cold once more, making you shiver from the icy wind that seemed to seep into your bones. Truly, the Dragon seemed crestfallen and looked like he was about to cry again. Even as he curled up in his seat, it was clear that no monetary gifts or sweet treats could perk the Dragon back up from the sorrow he drowned in.

The scenes seemed to shift more rapidly now, countless images and moments of Malleus all alone as he slowly grew in isolation.

Even as Lilia began to appear more often, the damage was already done. There was a kind of resigned sorrow to Malleus as the years scrolled by. The child seemed to never quite perk up, a placid and distant expression etched into his face as countless birthdays rolled by with next to no one to share them with.

Eventually, the rapid scenes slowed before coming to a halt with you standing in front of a forested cottage. Lilia stood watching over a pair of familiar boys as they tumbled through the grass and fought one another playfully. Standing over the smaller Fae's shoulder- as if intentionally isolating himself- was Malleus. He looked similar to how he did as you knew him, that stoic expression burned into his face and a kind of dullness to his eyes.

"... It seems Sebek and Silver are growing well."

"Of course! Now they both have a buddy to scrap with, they should shape up to be excellent young men."

"... A buddy..?"

"Hm? Did you say something, Malleus?"

"No. Nothing at all."

The Dragon looked almost jealously at the pair, watching the small Raiju leap at the Cervitaur and tackle him into the grass. Both erupted with laughter as they continued their rough housing, Silver clearly much faster than Sebek. Perhaps Malleus was jealous because these young children had what he was denied as a child; a friend.

He watched the pair play, seeming to long for the same kind of connection yet unable to truly relate to the younglings that tumbled and giggled. It made you begin to wonder what kind of life Malleus really had. Sure, his physical needs were always met and he was always kept safe as he grew up, but his emotional needs seemed to have fallen to the wayside.

The Dragon grew up and lived a lonely life, longing for the emotional connection of a friend yet always denied such social bonds. The scene began to melt away into yet another vision of the past, this time a familiar building looming around you. What you saw in this vision confused you, as you stared at the very familiar nest in front of you.

Malleus was there and he finally wasn't alone for once. Instead of the lonely Dragon, Malleus was sitting in the nest he constructed for you, an affectionate smile curling his lips as he slowly pet the shape he was seated next to. You recognized yourself slowly, feeling an odd out of body experience as you watched the Dragon pet your sleeping cheek.

"I don't have to be alone anymore... I will protect you from everyone, and no one will be allowed to take you. My Treasure... You will know a fruitful life of plenty and never need to long for more... My precious Crown Jewel... My glorious little Hoard member. My (Y/n). They will never be able to take you from me... I never have to be alone again."

The Dragon smiled as he leaned down, planting a feather soft kiss to your forehead before the scene slowly spun away from you like a light fading out. It felt like you had been watching the depressing anthology of Malleus' life for years, the sheer number of lonely birthdays added up well beyond several hundred as you felt a sinking feeling in your gut. He was already territorial and possessive simply based off of his instincts, but a lifetime of being deprived of friendship from those he wanted most left the Dragon struggling with every level of emotion.

Your affection was his crutch and he needed anything you could give him. From the fleeting hugs to the gentle head-pats, even to the way he got to hold you while he slept at night. The Dragon had no cuddle companions beyond those that were brought into his Hoard through association other than you. Much like a dog with a treasured stuffed animal, he couldn't emotionally understand the concept of losing you for any reason.

You wondered if he would even understand your life expectancy compared to his own.

As someone who never was allowed to experience uncomfortable emotions due to his extreme effect on the world around him, he was not only emotionally repressed, he was stunted. Never able to experience the natural highs and lows of life, Malleus has been crippling his own emotions for the sake of others his entire life. Even with Lilia returning to his side later on, the early trauma of Lilia being taken away was devastating to Malleus. It must have only fed his instinctual anxiety of others taking away those he loved.

Based off of how much he struggled to relate to others at the school, it was apparent that he would only continue to struggle in life. If it weren't for your own addictive qualities he may have needed years to warm up to you fully. Your aura stabilized the worst of his moods and kept the Dragon pacified, giving him something soft and comforting to cling to.

This was becoming too much for you to bear. Silently hoping and begging the Human Ghosts to find the right mirror and set you free. If you became any more enmeshed with the Dragon or any of the elites in this school you would have an even harder time escaping them. The concept of returning home was seeming so distant to you now as you watched the Dragon purr contently in the darkness of your room.

~•§•~

No one was willing to approach the stressed Dragon, the black scales of the winged beast shined in the low light of the room. The elder Shinigami standing next to Ortho to monitor the soft Human from a distance. Despite the immense intake of powerful blot, you seemed to almost be in a trance of sleep. Hours passed as you lay silently in a deep sleep, your body laying up against the large Dragon's stomach as he whimpered a soft mournful song.

Not even Lilia could approach to console the stressed force of nature. Though Hades had been certain of his own victory against the Dragon, he also knew there would be inevitable and unavoidable deaths. Your proximity to the Dragon kept Hades at bay, knowing the volatile Fae could become overwhelmed at any moment. The beast's wrong doings would come to light, but now was not the time.

The storm had died down from a hurricane, but now a frost began to settle in around the building as the clouds turned cold and the winds picked up a chill. Despite the bite of frost, you were kept toasty and comfortable thanks to the Dragon guarding your body. Malleus was whining gently to you as he fought against the dark thoughts that invaded his mind.

How could he have endangered you like that? Would you look at him in fear or would you let him try to explain himself? Would you wake up?

He didn't know how much blot you could handle but he just hated the fact he hurt you at all.

Azul steamed quietly in his seat on the far side of the room, Kalim refusing to settle as the two dorm leaders stared at you in worry. What had started off as a good evening for the pair of Housewardens quickly fell apart into a worrying state of limbo waiting for you to wake. Kalim felt responsible for your state and believed he should have gone with you when he first granted your wish.

The pair weren't the only ones who showed up to visit and wait for your awakening, most of your guards doing the same. They all knew something was wrong thanks to your collar pinging them and the impact of the hurricane that had hit Sage Island so quickly and fiercely. Though they also knew that challenging Malleus was a fool's errand and so they waited at a distance.

All of them waiting for their most precious soul to wake up from the seemingly endless nightmares.