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What are some ways the species cohabitate? Socially or physically using furniture/tools etc.

ohhh this is a fun question!

cohabitation is something which varies pretty greatly from culture to culture and across species. some species have a pretty long history of cohabitation like harpies and basilisks - their cohabitation habits extends quite far back to where its likely they evolved alongside one another in that relationship for a long time. pareidolia era basilisks and harpies in sweden speak the same language, and in most settlements live alongside one another. ill talk about the crakam harpies/basilisks (an allied group of their settlements across the scandinavian peninsula) to be more specific.

culturally there's still a bit of a distinction and most basilisk groups in crakam settlements have their own distinct culture, and often their own districts, often with their own religious/political representatives (depends on the specific settlement of course) and larger housing structures as there is a bit of a size disparity. it's not strictly segregated, and cultural attitudes about basilisks from the harpies' pov differ from settlement to settlement. its also complicated by the fact that there ARE some crakam settlements that dont have a basilisk community, and independent basilisk communities, and sometimes when these meet the basilisk community is integrated into the crakam settlement, driven by religious factors (the prevailing religion in these populations is the one which involves sekuuti and akestur and which promotes a sort of "both need each other" attitude). this may result in a sort of patronizing attitude from harpies informed by the myth. a sort of "we need eachother, but us harpies have to make sure you basilisks have proper guidance" thing. again this is all kind of vague because i imagine that it really does vary a lot especially because crakam society is kind of decentralized in the grand scheme of things.

NOW ill try to mention another case of cohabitation because i cant just ramble about basilisks/harpies all day... lindwurms have an interesting case of cohab with other sophonts, a cultural custom started among tomtar and troll. lindwurms do not on their own create larger societies because they are not very social animals - at most, they usually live in loose, small groups that just decide to agree to share a territory. but tomtar and troll have for several centuries integrated populations of lindwurms into their communities (especially the larger communities) due to their telepathic ability simplifying communication between species with incompatible language ability (or just languages in general). this was eased by the fact that lindwurms do not raise their hatchlings, so they were easy to kidnap when they were still in their instinct-piloted, "non-sapient" independent hatchling stage. lindwurm treatment does vary (sorry i say this a lot) but lindwurms that have grown up in tomte/troll communities often come from a long line of generations that have lived with them for decades, and are less asocial, although that may partly be just because of cultural factors. there's often a strong social pressure on them to work as translators/diplomats/etc, sometimes this social pressure is even self-imposed by lines of prestigious diplomat lindwurms... not all lindwurms follow it, but there's def some social ostracization that happen for those that try other lines of work.

also ill KEEP YAPPIN cuz this is a nice opportunity to bring it up, but many sophont communities at the point pareidolia is happening aren't exactly built to accomodate every kind of body and it would be sort of hard to anyway since there's a huge size disparity across species, so that in itself makes it kinda hard for, say, a troll, to integrate into harpy society. this is something that became an issue for gullmar as he raised selma, a bäckahäst, in fergrunhemr, a tomte city - the sections of the city that were underground was something that she came to outgrow as she grew into her adult size, and they both had to move to the surface part of the city in order for her to live more comfortably (and most def had to build living accomodations that were still cramped and uncomfortable for her). this is not even mentioning the myriad of social stuff she struggled with growing up there as well, but thats a bit off topic i suppose LOL

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doodle packet

stylization- imagine- animation *dead*

@filurig's and @wind-tied's characters transformed into yucky shapes

How to hold tutorial

Basics

a struggle

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erm hi I just want to tell you I love your fantasy worldbuilding so much it feels so real and so alive and you’ve thought about everything I am shaking you so hard your work is fucking awesome

;_; EEEEEEEE i appreciate this Sooo much ..... honestly theres so much more i must think about in regards to it FJKDSJFS but i hope that over time it keeps accumulating ... whenever i think too hard about how much i need to think about i get overwhelmed... I appreciate u appreciate my toy playing (worldbuilding that is) (is shaken) ..... Jumps around joyously

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so ive been a bit Unsatisfied with my faeries for some time and decided it was about Time i gave them a refresher. as well as a bit of a revisit to their "morph" (called "sikk") system, i cut it down a bit because a few of the roles feel redundant with a sapient species that fashions tools and such. (moar rambles under cut)

colours and everything is highly variable within the species and these are just examples. often colour depends on the specific hive. only sikk's that have more specific colour tendencies are the sissiszj and ulliszj; for the former, they tend to come in "wasp adjacent" colours/patterns regardless of hive, and ulliszj are nevever especially dull in colour.

the whole "adult faeries can switch morph" thing is still true with the exception of the queen morph requiring a number of faeries to imbue a grub/pupae with certain anda-infused pheromones. an adult faerie can "remetamorphse" into a queen if given that infusion, HOWEVER they cannot pupate again to reverse it as the queen lacks the ability to metamorphose into other sikks. when a queen dies, there's usually a specifically selected group of potential progeny that have been raised since grubhood with "queen's education", where a successor will be picked. while a queen is dead, the group of consorts she had will usually handle things until the new queen is fully metamorphised.

also i decide Neow that these things are ominvorous. generalist faeries still have proboscises more adept at suckin nectar (longer, thinner), but the other morphs have more piercing proboscis, akin to fruit eating/blood sucking lepidopterans

also i imagine that while there's a strong adherence to hierarchy, even moreso than humans tend to be naturally, there are still variance and probably some schisms intra faerie politically that question that order. i can imagine there's some hives that try to limit the queen's power politically and have a view of the queen's duties as more like everyone elses'; an important job in the hive. just that it doesn't necessitate that she have such tremendous decisionmaking power for everyone.

and also just more funny ramblings i thought about them earlier and ig ill put here...

as you can gather because of their reproductive method their interpersonal relationships put much emphasis and importance on strong platonic bonds and romance is quite an alien thing to them culturally. even the way many other species see sexuality is pretty odd to them: sex is, in most hives, a purely pragmatic job some people do. i think there are some faeries that interact a lot with non-faeries that are intrigued and curious about non-faerie ideas of sexuality and/or the concept of romance. queerness in faeries would basically be any interest or sense of resonance with the non-faerie ideas of gender/sex at all. and while it is niche there are def some faeries who are queer, but i still think the way they would identify with sexuality would differ from most other sophonts in the Pareidoliaverse

Also just a fun size comp

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Heyo! I’ve been following you for roughly a month now, and was intrigued in what program and brushes you use?

brushes i use!

as for the program, i use clip studio paint pro :)

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For a headcanon, I’d like to imagine that since Folke is shy, that he likes to whittle or give things that reminds him of his friends, since sometimes it easier than outwardly saying and or giving physical affection.

8/10 !!!

This one is very real hehe, folke definitely lets people important to him inform his art (whittling). i dont think its always 100% intentional, in some cases he's just drawn to subjects that remind him of friends that he has. sometimes though it is more direct "indirect" types of portraits of people. i think folke really likes attributing animal characteristics to others, probably because he finds animals very fascinating in the first place... and it's not out of the question he gifts them to his "subjects" hehe. only a few points of inaccuracy cuz contrary to what u might think folke is actually pretty physically affectionate and touchy! it's just mostly limited to close friends/family where he is like that hihi.

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ar ar ar

Me when i see the delightful rose chafer

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for the ask meme thing hihi let’s do this again…..i headcanon that selma has kakorrhaphiophobia (or just. fear of failure) and is sensitive yet strong when protecting her humans. erm

Oohhh, interestingg... i would say for accuracy this is maybe around 3/10 !

ill say more than just the number tho cuz i see dis as an opportunity to ramble about my blorbo. Evil smile.

pondering if she has a fear of failure i came to the conclusion that honestly, she, herself, feels used to failure. Points though because she doesnt WANT to be a failure, but i wouldn't say she has a phobia of it, if that makes sense... she is determined to persist despite all of the ways in which she feels like she is a "failed" person. it is something that weighs heavily on her though, but she feels more "defeated" but is carried by her determination to survive and persist despite it.

The second one ... she is def strong, both mentally and physically, but also, not especially sensitive... emotionally, she's a bit clumsy and not super empathetic in the literal sense... she isn't good at reading and adjusting to how she should handle other people's emotions, not very emotionally intelligent in other words. Even if she def tries her best to support those who she cares about! And also im not sure if it was a typo but the plural in humans make it a little less accurate, because folke is def an exception and the One human she wants to protect, she is not a big fan of humanity in general x)

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🌺 Tell me a preconeption/headcanon you have for one of my characters... 🌺

And I’ll rate how accurate it is on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being way off and 10 being basically canon!

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just a silly thing, i wanted to make some more outfits for her

selma's clothing style is pretty different from other ehrumnen, because she grew up in fergrun culture and therefore also is pretty used to more extensive clothing that doesn't really take into account the whole "shapeshifting" thing... first outfit however is the most flexible and can be shrugged off pretty easily and "reassembled" for her quadruped form.

however bcs she works/trains as a hunter, and ehrumnen hunters traditionally see hunting as a bit of an art form one does in the quadruped form, she tends to opt for her more flexible clothes on working days. But she still is more comforted by her somewhat tomte-style dresses

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This may seem random, and I apologize that it is. But I’m deeply invested in your blorbos story and just love how you have layed out the perfect setting. I wanted to ask where you find inspiration and if you have any collections such as boards on Pinterest or mood boards. :)

THANK YOUU (all these sweet anons popping up um hi!?!?) ... as for inspiration to be honest, i am not a pinterest User in the sense that i dont have an account, but i do like browsing people's pinterest collections and such specifically on historical fashion and/or clothes patterns etc. but i don't actually have a moodboard of any kind myself, pareidolia is definitely a kind of... half formed mass in my head that i slowly materialise when i can gather the energy to do so LOL.

but this question feels kind of general about inspiration sources for the setting itself, and i can list off things that have inspired it or that i like browsing to get a better idea of it, since pareidolia is both fantasy and like... slightly alternative history historical fiction, LOL. some of these will sadly be exclusively in swedish though but im sure there are some swedish Understanders in my followers who might like:

nationalmuseum - swedish museum of art and design, i like browsing the online archive for cool art. also you can switch language to english if you need so yay! you can filter based on technique and time period as well which is nice, but not every work has a digital picture sadly. some nice artists i recommend looking up there:

anders zorn, anna nordlander, carl larsson, august malmström

visor, folktro, sägner och en svartkonstbok by eva wigström - this is very niche and i dont take super direct inspo from it always, and it's also untranslated and old-ish swedish, but for the Swedish Understanders really cool documentation of different folk tales, folklore and rhymes from skåne!

fotografihistoria - another swedish page but tbh u can just browse it for the images. i like browisng this for character design inspiration honestly especially for human characters. basically an archive of photography/photographers from the 1800s-1930s, with a lot of portrait photography! some pages are more abt the photographers themselves but theres a fair amount of nice portraits of ppl there too.

in general for things that touch the more historical side of things aesthetically i try to look through digital archives like the aforementioned and things like alvin-portal.org, stockholmskällan, riksarkivet, others i cant remember atm... FKJDSKJFSDF. honestly making a moodboard is kind of a good idea because ive yet to visualise a lot of stuff...

this kind of became a rambling session but i find this stuff really cool so yippee :D

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probably an odd "ask," but i just want to let you know that i've been a long-time fan (i think i first found ur stuff through a MAP in 2016?), and i've really liked seeing how your OCs have changed over time. you've been a big inspiration of mine for a while now!

Watching the world grow and evolve bit by bit has been really fun and at this point i'm in deep... i love hearing about the stories, characters, and worlds youve done, pareidolia in particular. ur characters are very interesting and i like how you have a lot of 'scientific' thoughts on how their abilities work. it's cool! your art style is instantly recognizable, as is the setting, and i love it lots.

ok have a good day!! bye!!!

AHHH Oh my goshh THIS IS ALSO WILD TO ME bless you for sticking so long but also i am sorry you have seen my cringe through thick and thin. KJFDSKJFSD but it means so much, thank you... it's crazy to find out how long ppl have followed me for. funnily enough i found out that one of my classmates in my uni when i first started like 2 yrs ago actually watched some of the videos i made on youtube as a kid and i was like Oh my gawd how did this happen FKJDJKFSD

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I’d like you know every so often I get plagued by your little universe and all the cool guys in it and check your accounts for more updates and fun facts

I will not be the same thanks to you sharing stories and ideas and I think that’s neat

Hope you have a good one

;_; THIS IS SO SWEET... im always surprised when i hear people actually like, think about my world and characters outside of like, my immediate circle if that makes sense... i always feel like i've got to be the only one who cares about my little guys... So you feeling such is incredible to me. Beautimous... and i appreciate it a lot!

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how does shapeshifting work for bäckahästar?

ok i have had Vague idea in my mind of how it works and ill present something that most definitely doesnt make that much sense but its fantasy and silly lalala and how i approximate it to work....

bäckahästar have a type of system comprised of a bunch of node-like organs in their body which contain a type of liquid that resembles a less extreme version of the basilisk shapeshifting liquid... it does not completely "take apart" tissue, but instead, makes whatever its pumped into more "malleable". this nodular system is connected to other tissue vascularly (is that the word...) including the bones and organs etc. normally no exchange is made between this system and the tissues but during a transformation, the liquid is pumped into most tissues in varying amounts; more = more malleable and reserved for tissues that undergo the largest changes.

the bones ofc undergo very heavy changes but it is partially alleviated by being slightly "segmented" (it's very subtle in its regular state, not like actual CRACK cracks but just slight lines in the bone) so that there is some control over how much the skeleton is "melted" and reshaped... i imagine there are smaller muscles that aren't pumped with as much liquid that are normally not in use but during the transformation are used to help shape the body into the target form.

ofc, because the faun form is a bit smaller in mass than the base form, that extra mass, still liquid, is returned into the "shifting system", and transported to the dark gray organ in the first diagram. there, it is converted into energy (fat) stored in a fatty lump near said organ. usually going from faun > bäckahäst requires more energy and as such that process burns fat from that organ (and often a little more, but not as much as the basilisk shapeshifting process does).

now you could imagine this process is Very Painful and it would be, but like basilisks, bäckahästar has evolved a way to deal with that as well. during a shift, a hormone is produced that triggers heightened anda production by the brain, which temporarily obscures most sensation from the shifter. but it's still a bit uncomfortable even if not painful...

they are also fully conscious during the shift and it takes about a minute, so it is much faster as well... but can be a bit disorienting!

(edited to add: seagoats have a similar system, älgfrodar have vestigial nodes left, but they don't produce liquid)

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alau'vek and alau'kirau, two siblings from the largest crakam/rau-kaksen settlement of the nordics, Naksam. alau'vek currently resides in sartrill as a sort of healer specialising in fashioning things such as mobility aids or general physical rehabilitation for both crakam/rau-kaksen, and most noteworthy for the latter, specialises on aiding individuals using different body plans than just the expected "default" basilisk body, which is relatively unusual in rau-kaksen medicine. alau'kirau is still a teenager and remains in naksam with their parents, but comes to visit alau'vek occasionally due to her Insatiable Curiosity about the world (and slight jealousy of alau'vek)

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the parent and the kids for @garblegarden

critter of @wind-tied

birt of @featheredcritter

the tall neighbour of @gallusgalluss

the janitor of @snippit-crickit

And don't mind this one @filurig @wind-tied

This ain't all my final ones, as before I didn't post all. Just the ones I think look the best tbh

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🌈, ⚠️, 📓 for närsi!

🌈 - Do you associate any colors with them?

mustard yellow, saturated turqoiseish blues, orange.. (maybe obvious but HAHA)

⚠️ - If this oc came with a warning sign, what would it be?

"caution when prying about their business. Unless ur itching for a verbal lashing!"

📓 - Do you associate any quotes or lyrics with this oc?

this one was interesting to think about because i had not pondered quote or song assigning her yet.... but i then realised. Atlantic Road by Legss. Very närsicore when i think about it

^^ first few stanzas feel very relevant to her distaste of like... "shielding" people from the grim realities of the world. she thinks that coddling, softness and compromise is out of the question and this includes the treatment of those who have seen the Horrors like she has if that makes sense. she has a very ruthless view of how humans should be viewed by kraksi/crakam society and is therefore internally very opposed to kraksi/crakam that have a more nuanced view of humanity, she sees it as dangerous naivety. then the "ive been thinking, we are just not compatible..." line (etc) is more directed at her feelings towards ronja. Those friends in their context are her human friends of course... ronja's interest in exploring the nuances of humanity causes a rift in their relationship due to whats mentioned above.

this is also kind of a fun line because of the flower reference. LOL (the artist flowers.... despite working with/for them her moral opposition to their mission of course implants a natural suspicion in her)

The vibes here are also very närsi-like. again with the whole distaste of "softness", of looking at things in a more careful manner. the dog here could be juhani i suppose. LOL... to her, he is barely even worthy of being called a person; he's the antithesis of righteousness.