#All of this is only true if I have to remain a human/humanoid character in these scenarios tho!

[kupfergeist]

What loot do you drop?

Interesting question! I've been mulling this over for a while before responding, and have come to the conclusion that the answer varies. First, what kind of game-genre are we taking as a basis here? What kind of creature/character would I be considered as in that genre? Etc Etc So, to make it easy, I'll narrow it down to three answers, Real Life and my two favorite game genres.

Real Life: What kind of stuff would I have on me usually that someone could get from besting me in a fight? I normally carry the necessities on me, my Phone, money, ID, that stuff, but that's boring. So! You would get a pair of octagonal glasses with a golden chain attached to it, complete with little star and moon charms. Furthermore, some citrus bonbons and sugar packets (I carry those since I have a tendency of low blood sugar and need energy boosts from time to time), my favorite lavender ballpoint pen and green mechanical pencil as well as a sketchbook full of character ideas and little scribbles. Maybe my pocket knife if you're lucky, but it's dull and I'm normally too anxious to bring it anywhere.

Survival horror (or just Survival): Okay, this is more interesting, since I think about what I would do in horror and/or survival scenarios about half the time. If I can choose in these type of games, I normally go for stealthy, careful gameplay, stocked up on healing items and foods and I mostly make sure I have a secure base to put most of my stuff. For you, this would mean that I would not carry most of my valuable stuff on me, but I would still have some things worth fighting me for! I wouldn't carry a map, especially not one marking my base since my sense of direction is impeccable for some reason (only in games tho, in real life I can get turned around real quick) The most likely things to have on me would be at least 2 items of healing, 2 food items and 2 light sources. If I have to carry light, I'll forgo the light sources. There would also be weapons that are best for stealth, so most likely some sort of knife or small long range weapon. And, since I am a sucker for them, a fire axe. I just love them, no explanation there.

Story based/RPG (I am thinking specifically Fallout New Vegas here, to be totally honest) Fire Axe, some sort of face obscuring helmet or hood, impractically cool coat and some small weapon like a revolver. I would go into detail here too but honestly, that's just the things I always carry in every single game of this style. I really like gas masks and stuff like that tho, if that helps.

In short, I think I would drop pretty common loot, mostly.

[pearlywritings]

Even scarred one is loved

synopsis: snippets about your partner or you having scars

pairing: Albedo, Ayato, Diluc, Kaeya, Kaveh, Tighnari, Zhongli x reader (separately)

tw: fluff, hurt/comfort, lighning scars, in Albedo’s part Rhinedottir used to be reader’s mentor, dragon features in Zhongli’s, in some parts scars are on the character, in some on reader

word count: 4k+ words in total

a/n: has been lying in my drafts since that summer event with Diluc and Kaeya's letters...

Albedo

The Chief Alchemist’s skin is a porcelain perfection. Milky white, smooth, spotless, flawless. The man can easily be mistaken for a marble statue and put on display in a museum - showing the chilling beauty of his visage. That’s what the body of a homunculus is - impeccability, when even the biggest and deepest of wounds disappear with time, no traces left behind.

You, on the other hand, are anything but. Sure, you are pretty, but the canvas of your body carries a hideous scar, a curse you got as a reminder of getting too close to what had to have stayed unknown. You should blame your mentor, really - if not for Rhinedottir’s deeds, you would’ve lived and died as a normal human.

…or would've become a monster, like everyone else. But here you are, in clear consciousness, with memories, so, you guess, the Gold saving you actually kind of pays off everything else she did.

Doesn’t mean you are proud of it. What it means is a lot of explanation to do if someone sees, and you prefer not to be bothered and reminded of the devastating events of the past, so you try to avoid neck and chest revealing clothes like a plague, no matter how many times Lisa pesters you about it.

When Albedo asks to draw you naked, you are, for the first time in centuries, shocked. Sure, you worked out your relationship, discussed and tried some intimacy, but the notion of having your skin exposed for long, of his eyes lingering on it for minutes, or hours even… It makes you nervous. Under the clothes you wear - a big, tree-like scar reaches its branches to your neck, spreading its trunk all over your chest. Your mentor, a true scientist to her guts, found you in a grave state and decided that it was better to curse the heart, before anything could happen to the brain.

The man’s fingers are gentle, when he pops the buttons of your shirt open and carefully slides the fabric down your shoulders. The dark night on your skin reflects in his cerulean eyes and something sparks in their depths. You should not, but you feel embarrassed and silently bite your lip, when he leans forward to press his cold lips to your collarbone.

“You are so beautiful…” he whispers and your heart - the one you believed was hardened forever before you met your lover - leaps in your chest. “Allow me to show what I see, [...]”

A word of endearment caresses your ear in the sounds of your native language, and at that moment you understand - Rhinedottir succeeded indeed. She did create a humanoid form of life, but it became capable of feeling and understanding feelings like a real human would. It can’t be any other way, not when he is looking at you like this, not when he is leading you to a sofa and makes you feel comfortable, not when his touch against your cheek is reassuring and attempts to chase your worries away, not when he picks a sketchbook, where you know the only pictures existing are of you.

Not when he draws the reminder of your doom like it's indeed the fraction of a starry sky painting your skin.

Ayato

Ever since you saw a long ugly scar across his back, it has been making you restless. The discovery happened when your lover invited you to attend the hot springs with him. It was a new step in your relationship, on the very border of entering its intimate part, and you were excited to accept his offer and remained elated for days before and on the day of. That is until his back was bared to you at some point and you saw it.

Ayato didn’t say anything about it, relaxing in the hot water and busying both of you with a conversation and savoring the finest tea and some sweets (which kept you slightly guarded, until the head of the Kamisato clan didn’t tell you these weren’t cooked by him). With all of that, you had no opportunity to ask him, not that you felt like you could - you are close and in a relationship, but who knows how willing he is to talk about it?

It’s been a week since then, and the sight of the scar occasionally appeared before your eyes. You must’ve gotten quieter and brooding, because Ayaka comments on it, when you pay her company in Inazuma City to do some shopping.

“Y/n, is something worrying you?” You look up from examining embroidered silk and tilt your head in question.

“Why would you think so?”

“Well… I noticed how your thoughts seem to stray away and I wondered if everything is okay. Maybe I can help?”

You hum. Ayaka is his sister and you grew to be good friends. It wouldn’t hurt asking her, right? Surely she must know something about that. And if she doesn’t? What if she knows nothing about the scar, about her brother having been hurt in the past? Ayato cares for her and would like to not expose her to things like that, even if she is a grown up woman and a skillful sword user. You need to be careful.

“Say, Ayaka…” you start, cautiously choosing your words. “Does your brother have a…tattoo on his back?”

“A tattoo?” She looks at you confused. “No he doesn’t, our clan doesn’t have a tradition like that. And I don’t think it’ll fit with the scar.”

Oh, so she does know.

“The scar?”

“Yes, the scar. You know the Kamisato clan had many enemies, and still does, but in the past it was so much worse. There were multiple attempts to,” she pauses, as if searching for the right words, “remove him from the picture… One of them nearly succeeded.”

“Is that so…” Ayaka nods and, hiding her saddened gaze, returns to looking at the fabric, thereby drawing the brief explanation to an end. Suddenly a strong urge to return the Estate fills your heart. To talk. To listen. To offer comfort and caresses if he desires so.

But as Ayaka drags you to the next store on your list, you think that you'll wait. Until he decides he wants to tell you the whole story, until he knows that he can trust you with his life.

Diluc

The room is silent. It is the dead of the night, and even so at least three people are not sleeping at this ungodly hour. You give Adelinde a grateful set of eyes, when she returns to you and your husband's bedroom with a bowl of clean water and several towels, placing all of that on the table near the armchair you've been standing close to.

"Are you sure you don't need my assistance?" She asks you quietly, glancing between you and the half-undressed man slumped on the piece of furniture. This woman is a real treasure, you think. It is true that this is her job, but she's always been doing far more than her responsibilities require. And that’s exactly why you are not going to deprive her from her sleep any longer.

"No, Adelinde, it's fine, I got this. Please, return to your room and have some sleep."

The head maid gives you a nod and then a small bow.

"As you wish. But if you need me, please, don't hesitate to wake me up."

"I hope it won't come to this. Good night and thank you again."

"May this night be kind to you."

And so she is out. With a sigh you glance at the man who remained quiet during the whole ordeal. Diluc knows he is in big trouble. He promised you to be careful, heck, he promised you to cut off his nightly outings, and here he is, exhausted and arm bleeding. He expects you to scold him or to whisper-yell at him, anything that would indicate you are angry with him, but you do none of these things. Instead you grab one of the towels, wet it and start wiping the blood off.

As you do so, you can't help but let your eyes wander all over the skin of his bared upper body. 

Scars.

So many many scars. Big, small, wide and thin, old and fresh… Each told a story and you knew a handful. Yet this time you asked for none, busying yourself with cleaning his wound to treat and bandage it.

"Diluc," his name finally leaves your lips and fiery eyes snap open - he nearly drowsed off.

"Yes?" A croaked sound he is almost embarrassed of.

"Thank you for returning alive."

You do not care that this raid has probably given him a new future scar - all you care is that he came back, that he made it out despite everything.

"But I'd really like you to stop pushing yourself this much. I am grateful you've already lessened your workload and dedicated more of your free time to me, though I want you to become dedicated to yourself too. You do tend to forget about it."

The redhead's heart clenches. He knows he cannot promise you to stop completely, but he can try and get less injured whenever he is out fighting.

After all, there are too many scars already to add new ones to the collection.

Kaeya

Fluttering of crystal fly wings. These little beautiful creatures can be found whenever in Teyvat but the first time the Alberich boy encountered them was in the vineyard of the Dawn Winery. Gleaming in both sun and moon light they felt like little sparks, slowly floating in the air, looking too tempting not to chase after them. And he used to chase after those a lot, smiling and laughing and looking at the bright world like any happy child would.

Your butterfly kisses remind him of crystal flies, caressing his face with a subtle tremble of their wings as they try to fly away. The memories of the past overtake him, making the man feel warm and cozy, as if it's not a candle lit on the bedside drawer of your bedroom, but a tender sun, licking his cheek with its affectionate rays.

Until summer heat is replaced by the blazing fire in his memory and the surging pain in his right eye. The eye you've been delicately touching with your soft lips for the past several minutes. The eyepatch is lying on the sheets near his right hip, right where you put it, after taking it off with your deft fingers. Fingers that delicately cradle his face in their loving hold, not letting him shy away from you, letting you kiss an old scar.

No words are exchanged as you sit in his lap with his palms resting on your sides, digits creasing the material of your nightwear. Kaeya is nervous. You've come to him without any explanation, and before he could climb into your shared bed and hold a blanket up for you to join him, asked to shed the shirt he's always worn to sleep. The man knew what you wanted to see - not the many scars littering his body (they weren't all that surprising to you), but the traces of burns on his back, the ones he hid from you for the longest time, not ready to tell the story, afraid to face the past. He didn't blame the one who gave him those, he could never truly, however the day he got them scarred him much deeper than skin.

Yet he did as you asked, slowly, with stiff fingers, but eventually the fabric was no longer covering his body.

You didn't ask him any questions, you didn't even say a word, as you took his hand and softly spinned him around to face his back. Your kisses could do nothing to the damaged skin, they were long healed naturally, but his inner turmoil of emotions was soothed by your display of affection.

More relaxed and less anxious he didn't protest when you made him sit on the edge of the bed and climbed into his lap. Maybe he did tense a little when you reached behind to untie the string attached to his eyepatch, maybe his fingers grabbed at your clothes a little bit too roughly, but he didn't stop you, until the little piece was off and away from his face and your lips replaced it.

He knows he doesn't deserve you, but Celestia be damned - he doesn't want to ever let you go. The only one he entrusted his heart like this, allowed you to unwrap the carefully built facade and reach to what is real about the man Kaeya Alberich is. And knowing you love him with all these ugly scars littering his skin? Makes him believe you'll still love him after seeing how scarred his heart is.

Kaveh

“Say, would you like to go shopping for our next date?”

The question takes you by surprise as you exit the bathroom of your bedroom you’ve been sharing with the blond architect ever since your relationship got more serious and you offered him to move in with you. The gorgeous man is standing in front of your full-length mirror, his back to you, undoing the numerous clips that keep his hair out of his face daily. The crimson of his eyes flashes, as he meets your stunned gaze in the reflection.

“Why so sudden?” You ask - nervously, he notes, fidgeting with the material of your night clothes.

“I noticed how you always wear overly closed clothes. I thought we could look for something more revealing?”

The way you shudder doesn’t go unnoticed by him, confusion now etched in his facial expression.

“What’s wrong, my flower?” You sigh, lips drawn in a line. He uses such a delicate word to address, but you are anything but.

“Does it bother you? The way I dress, I mean.”

“Hm? No, of course not,” Kaveh shakes his head, turning to face you. “You look pretty in whatever you wear. But you must be uncomfortable, walking around wearing so many layers when it’s scorching outside. Just the other day you were so dazed, I was afraid you’d pass out before we reached home.”

Even now he can’t help but question the rather covering night clothes, especially compared to his bared upper body. He was sure to discuss it before you started sharing the bed, and you never showed discomfort about it, but somehow always avoided the topic of your own choice of night wear.

As he is pondering over the topic in his head again, you chew on your bottom lip. It was foolish of you to think he’d never notice your strange behavior in regard to how you dress, or rather started dressing after getting together with him.

But it’d be unfair to keep your lover in the dark, after he was so open to you, right?

“Hey, lovebird?” Kaveh snaps out of his thoughts, when you call him, settling on the edge of the mattress and patting the place by your side. The blonde immediately joins you, eagerly accepting your hands sliding into his, giving them a reassuring squeeze.

“Does anything bother you?” He beats you to it, making you sigh again, feeling how your heart is wildly thumping against your ribcage.

“Promise you won’t feel differently about me?”

“Never,” the firmness and the speed with which he confirms your statement brings some comfort to your worrying self, giving you strength to proceed.

“You know I used to work closely with matras, yeah?” He nods. “This job isn’t particularly harmless, so I, um,” gulping you search for any indication of - you don’t even know what - in his eyes. Whatever it might be, there is none, only softness hidden behind the ruby gems, pouring in gentle waves, caressing your being, making your heart flutter, and words abruptly leave your mouth.

“I have scars.”

“And?” Your eyes widen, when he cocks his head to the side, looking at you with a clear lack of understanding.

“‘And?’!? Kaveh, come on!” You groan, looking to the side. “I mean look at you! You are absolutely gorgeous, and I know how much you appreciate fine things, which I am not…”

“Is this the reason why you’ve been dressing like this and changing in the bathroom all this time?”

“...yeah…”

“Oh, darling,” a warm smile brightens up his face and he leans forward, kissing your cheek. “First of all, you are not a ‘thing’. Secondly, I am such a fool for not noticing sooner. I assure you, you are already so amazing and I can’t imagine some scars scaring me off. Truth be told, I fell in love that moment I saw you handling that lying bastard to the ground.”

“You mean that day you looked at me with literal hearts in your eyes, scrolls tightly held to your chest and mouth open?” He immediately grows bashful, but the smile gets bigger - you are teasing him, that’s a good sign.

“Yeah, yeah, that. What I am trying to say is that in my eyes you are already wonderful. We can take it slow, but would you trust me and show them one day?”

The way you lean into him burying your face in his neck tells him everything, and yet the blonde is delighted to hear your quiet answer.

“Of course.”

Tighnari

Tighnari curls his tail around your hip tighter when another clap of thunder disturbs the night. His ear twitches, sensitive to the sound which easily shakes him out of sleep, eyes immediately trained on the window to make sure it’s closed.

When a flash of light rips through the dark clouds that overtook the sky, the man’s pupils narrow in slits out of pure instincts, and he makes a sound of discontent, drawing your body closer to his. Which, as he quickly realizes, wasn't the brightest idea, as you start squirming and groaning. Tighnari curses under his breath, when you yawn and attempt to stretch in his hold, eyelids slowly sliding up, revealing your precious orbs he loves so much, to the curl of his toes.

You owlishly blink, directing your gaze to your lover’s face, then blinking again, trying to get rid of the veil of sleep and make out his features in the dark.

“‘nari…” you rasp, reaching to his cheek, tenderly touching it with just the fingertips. “Why are you still awake, dear?”

The fennec man opens his mouth to give you some excuse, to lure you back to the dreamland, but another burst of electric light and the loud rumble accompanying it cuts him off, forcing his body to stiffen. You crane your neck to look behind you. The understanding quickly dawns on you and, humming, your body moves.

Tighnari’s eyes slightly widen in panic when you sit up, leaving the lock of his arms, letting only his tail rest on your thighs. But even it soon ends up on the mattress when you stand up and wobble to the window. A soft rattle of closing curtains for a moment blocks another clap of thunder, and you returning to his side not a few seconds later soothes his nerves.

“Still hits badly?” You ask softly, reaching for his hand and sliding your fingers between his. He can only nod, dropping his forehead to your shoulder and squeezing his digits around yours.

“I know it’s hard,” you press a sweet kiss to the top of his head, right between his droopy ears, “but I also know you’ll overcome it. And I will be with you all the way.”

“How did you manage?” He finally speaks for the first time through the night and he sounds so tired.

“You mean this?” Even in the darkness he sees how you tug on the hem of your shirt, revealing multiple scars, akin to the tree limbs, tracing the path the electricity took as it traveled through you. That electro-wielding scam really got you in the past, Tighnari knows it took a lot of time for you to recover - both physically and mentally. He was there to see it, as you were sent to the Gandharva Ville for rehabilitation, way before you two started dating.

He nods again, curling his tail around your figure once more.

“Well,” you glance at his shoulder, where under his own shirt, the similar scar is hidden, one that has an even ghastlier story behind it, “truth be spoken? Under your care and with your guidance. You were the one to drag me out of depression and fear, and I am ready to do the same to you.”

The man hugs you tighter, tucking your head under his chin and sighing shakily. He knows eventually the scar will just be a scar, something to match with you and have a story to tell to the stupid rangers and passersby of Avidya Forest for the sake of caution… It’s your willingness that counts though, filling his heart with warmth and making him forget of things surrounding him.

Tonight, despite the foul weather outside, he will be able to sleep. With you by his side.

Zhongli

The life among mortals was peaceful and fulfilling, and the retired Archon enjoys to fullest everything it has to offer. But sometimes he can’t help himself, leaving the house in the city he shares with you, his spouse of many centuries, if not thousands of years. He takes a long stroll to the land of the adepti, where he is always welcome to stay and reside, unbothered if he desires so.

In the mountains, on peaks hidden behind the clouds, the stoic man can allow his control over this mortal form slip, revealing horns, adorned with gold, long tail of earthly color and long fluffy trail of autumn-colored fur on the tip of it, eyes, more reptilian than human like, shining like finest cor lapis, and scales covering some of his skin.

Often you find him on one of the mountain tops, basking in the sunlight and squinting like a content cat would do. Your lover prefers to shed some of his clothes, baring his skin and scales to warm rays, making them shine beautifully - both because it makes him happy and because he knows you can join him, thus the dragon does want to show off to you.

This time you sense him on Mt. Hulao and upon arriving there spot the half-dragon Prime adeptus resting near the lake, having abandoned his long robe (he does change his attire whenever he is out of the city) and resting on his side. Quietly walking closer you see how the tip of his tail lazily grazes the surface of a cool lake nearby and smile. The next moment the water splashes just barely miss you as you jump to the side when the very same tail whips into your direction.

“My love, I see you are playful today,” your husband grins contently, not opening his eyes but retrieving his tail so you could finally come closer and sit with him.

“I am sorry, the gem of my heart. Simply couldn’t help myself,” your presence is welcomed and the gentle touch of your hand against the side of his neck sends pleasant shivers down his spine.

A comfortable silence falls between you two. Zhongli relishes in your loving caresses, while you make sure to glide the tips of your fingers everywhere you spot the scales of who he really is.

In his human body, Zhongli’s skin is flawless. It doesn’t bear any reminder of hardships and war times, when he fought, injured and got his own wounds, but his other self does. You remember the last time you saw him in his full beast glory - while beautiful and shiny, his scaled body was scarred. Like this, in his adeptus form you could witness some of the scars as well, each reminded you of this or that ghastly cut delivered by his enemies and with time healing into nothing but long lines of imperfection. Yet you do not hate them, nor does your husband. They simply tell the stories of the past, and make you both remember that despite any obstacle or danger he faced, he always made it out in the end.

[cocogum]

The Afton kids adoption theory is very dumb. Here’s why.

I never understood the logic behind thinking that William adopted Michael, Elizabeth and the Crying Child for experimenting on them.

Like what makes people think that he took the time of his day to file adoption papers, buy scholarly books, toys, essentials like toothbrushes and clothes and extra food to feed them if the man absolutely despises kids????

People are trying to justify him having kids without putting Mrs. Afton in the picture and that is a load of crap. Just because that woman isn’t around and her name hasn’t been revealed to us, doesn’t mean William adopted three random kids to experiment on them. If he really wanted to experiment on kids without having to go through all the paperwork and human growth process, he would have simply kidnapped three children and kept them in his office. That’s it.

Like, think about it for a second.

The idea of William adopting kids is such a far-fetched theory that it makes William look completely out of character. If he adopted Michael to experiment on him, why would he willingly let him have friends (aka C.C’s bullies) and go outside?

If he adopted Elizabeth to experiment on her, why would he not let her get close to Baby but let other kids get closer?

If he adopted C.C to experiment on him, why would he warn him through the golden Freddy plushie to be wary of his surroundings and promise him that he’ll put him back together?

Also, the idea of the Afton children being humanoid robots (like the Charlie from the Silver Eyes book trilogy) doesn’t make any sense either since we see C.C’s head almost getting crushed to death by Fredbear (before he eventually dies from it), Elizabeth’s whole body getting squashed inside of Baby’s and Michael’s organs and insides getting scooped by Ennard.

But let’s say the Afton children weren’t robots or weren’t being adopted by William to get tested on and used. Let’s say, that William genuinely wanted kids but wasn’t able to get into a relationship with anyone due to him being off-putting (no joke he was described as being a very odd man in the books). If that was true, then how could it have been possible for Michael to have said that the Funtimes mistook him for William if he was only his adoptive son? The Funtimes didn’t know who Michael was at first but once they took a good look at him, they genuinely thought he was his father. If he got adopted by him, then that line of his would have never existed. Since Sister Location confirmed to us that Michael was biologically related to William, that detail also helps us to confirm that C.C is also related to William due to Micheal and C.C having some physical similarities like their iconic brown hair and their skin colour (grown-up Michael’s skin becomes more similar to C.C’s). As for Elizabeth, she has the same accent as her father and oldest brother which confirms that she got her looks from her mother (their accents are very important for this part since they all live in Hurricane Utah so the chances of finding other british accents in the 1980s in that area is very improbable).

The adoption theory is literally one of the worst fnaf theories I have ever heard in the entire community. And that is saying a lot if you’ve been a fan since 2014.

The man simply got married, divorced his wife after the bite of 83 and got to keep his remaining kids due to having won the lawsuit against his wife. (Proof of the lawsuit scene was in the Security Breach retro CDs if you don’t remember) .

It’s as easy as that. William never adopted for experimentations. If he did, his energy and time being wasted on three experiments wouldn’t have made sense if all he wanted from them was remnant. William also never adopted for the faint of heart since his children got his and his wife’s looks. And finally, William never built his children because their deaths proved they were actual humans.

There were no indications, proof or evidence in the games and books that suggested the Afton children were adopted by William. If anything, there were much more to say about the children being biologically related to him rather than the opposite. This theory had way too many plot holes and more questions than answers that it might as well just turn itself into a headcanon for the fans to enjoy.

[kyngsnake]

the viscerally sexual sci-fi movies remain viscerally sexual

[Alien: Romulus spoilers]

Suffice to say I really enjoyed Alien: Romulus. The film had me hooked within the first 10 minutes by introducing a new angle with androids and the way they’re perceived by their human counterparts. To me, regardless of the writer/direction’s intention, Andy is an allegory for the experience of an autistic person who is also a member of a marginalized community. I prefaced this with to me because I have long been obsessed with androids and always associate them with the experience of being on the spectrum.

I found it refreshing to see an autistic-coded android character who didn’t go the route of cold, calculating and robotic. I love Star Trek's Data as much as the next android enjoyer, but that trope often reads to me as perpetuating the idea that autistic people cannot grasp human emotions & depicts low empathy people as sub-human. Andy’s behavior (prior to the module upload anyway) struck me as warm and kind but with a lot of struggle to connect with people or behave the way others around him expect a "normal person" to behave. I do enjoy rep for low empathy folks, but this depiction of an autistic person* (imo, anyway*) felt closer to experiences I can relate to.

I also think the movie handled the autism allegory well in that even people who treated Andy well- that being Rain- infantilize him. It’s only when Andy is more than capable that people stop speaking to him like a child— but at that point, they begin alienating him in a different way. Now Andy is intimidating and can't be trusted. I think that Rain loves him, and I think she means well, but I think that's also true of a lot of people with autistic adults in their lives who they treat like children. It's not often done with malicious intent, but it still happens.

I myself am still trying to come to a full conclusion on how I felt about Andy’s whole arc. I can say that it was the most impactful part of the movie for me. Loved that the whole thing ended on a hopeful note. The green light on his central processor chip almost had me in tears in the theater.

& with that, the end of Romulus was the kicker for me that cemented as my second favorite Alien movie. Visceral, intense horror and fighting for survival, insurmountable odds and claustrophobia-- but by the skin of your fucking teeth, you make it through.

Oh, and the xenomorph parts were great too.

But genuinely, I’m still sitting on how I felt about all of the birth and sexual violence and frequently yonic imagery. I have a lot of thoughts about it but right now it’s all soup. I liked it. I like abstract and visceral eroticism. And deeply unsettling but well-placed allegories for trauma. The way facehuggers keep you breathing remains for whatever reason the most unsettling thing xenomorphs do. Idk what it is, the intense forced belly breathing just gives me the fuckin heebie jeebies.

I guess a lot of people didn't like the hybrid baby design? I thought it was great. Folks are so familiar with the xenomoprh's design at this point, they're more cool than they are scary. And hot depending on who you ask. But the hybrid? The way they fell into a weird uncanny valley with the humanoid face and the splitting humanoid tongue, the ghostly pale skin... I thought it was a smart direction to go for making xenomorphs freaky again.

[kerryweaverlesbian]

Saint of the Smallest Sun

The first time Ambriel came to earth, it was new, and fresh, and innocent. The lesser angels were taken on a tour in proto-humanoid-vessels, before the real humans were awoken. Ambriel had stepped into a pile of rotting fruit with her vessel's bare foot, and decided not to come again if she could help it.

The second time she came to earth, it had had an extra 4.5 billion years in which to rot, and she was forced there. One moment, she was processing information through the incorporeal fibers of her wings, and the next she was bound to a 5 foot circle of space in a human form wearing a pantsuit. She looked from the ring of holy fire surrounding her to the room it was set in; a crumpled bed with a stretched out photograph as  the duvet pattern, a series of posters depicting scenes from the Winchester Gospels, a chunky computer monitor showing a forum comment page, and a young woman kneeling amongst a flurry of papers with a mortar and pestle beside her, the crackle of after-magic still hovering over it. The woman was staring at her, eyes and mouth agape, like one of the fish that the archangel Gabriel kept brandishing at anyone close to him on that first day on earth. Ambriel had only seen it from a distance, but the image had remained in her mind, as everything she learned remained.

Ambriel touched her own cheek gently, and then pinched it hard between her fingers. She winced. This wasn't a vessel. This temporary form must have been crafted by the spell, which suggested that the person who brought her here was either a powerful spellcaster or had an abnormally strong sense of will. She glanced skeptically back at the kneeling woman, who had brought up both hands to cover her mouth and was still just staring at her. Maybe there was a third option.

"Can you let me go?" She tried, careful to speak with her new vocal chords instead of her true voice. It scratched a little, but seemed serviceable. "I have like, a lot to do."

"Mmnnhn," the human said, muffled by her own hands, and then she started and dropped them: "I mean. Michael. Wow! I was expecting - I mean, just based on all the other characters, I thought you'd be, you know, a guy. Not that there's anything wrong with girls - I - I was such a big fan of Jo! You know, after it was clear she wasn't going to be a threat to the brother's relationship. I just think it gets in the way, sometimes, like, the story is about men, why do girls even need to be involved, you know? But I am a feminist! So, yeah, I- I love that you're a woman that's - that's great."

Ambriel squinted at her, deeply confused. What is she talking about? This seemed to fluster the woman, who finally blinked, and rapidly.

"Oh, god. Don't ramble Becky. Be normal. Be normal, Becky. Okay! So..."

The woman - Becky, presumably - lowers her forehead to the floor and links her fingers in front of her in a prayer pose. Her voice trembles when she speaks again:

"Dear...you. I know I'm not important to the story. And I know it's not fated or plotted or anything. But I thought...I have to try, right? That's what Sam would do. Trying against impossible odds is what Supernatural is all about. So, I'm here on behalf of humanity to beg for our lives. Please. Don't do the Apocalypse. It'd be really bad if you did the Apocalypse. Chuck's not the most descriptive writer, but from what I've seen of his notes...yikes. And it's already pretty bad now, just with Lucifer walking the Earth. Just, grab him and duke it out on Mars, or something, if you really have to fight. Please, please, just leave the Earth alone."

"You want me to...cancel the Apocalypse?" Ambriel asked, and Becky desperately nodded. "Oh, I can't do that. So, can you let me out now, or...?"

Read my Becky/Ambriel fic, Saint of the Smallest Sun, on ao3 for more!

[concealeddarkness13]

So...All's Fair is Now a Sci-Fi!

Content warning for mentions of rape and violence and death. Tagging: @ratracechronicler, @maple-writes, @pen-of-roses, @drabbleitout, and @grailfish!

I've been rethinking the plot of All's Fair, thinking about how to change it, to make it feel more manageable and make it better. And I think I've figured it out. Change this story into more of a sci-fi/cyberpunk. I am also merging this story with Irina's story!

Instead of the species ganging up on the humans and putting them into an enclosure, a group of corporations (led by humans and other species) joined together to form an empire that controls the citizens through religion, corporations, and force. A majority of the citizens are relegated to the "undercity" (name pending) where they are exploited and used and have to scrounge for survival.

This empire wants to put all humans and other species under their control, and they are doing a good job of it so far. The only free peoples left are most of the faeries (the Kage aliens from this one but revamped), all of the Venus girdle species, and some groups of humans and Shades who have escaped the empire. Outside of the empire, a lot of the world around it has been destroyed and left a wasteland, so much so that it's hard to travel on your own out there without plenty of supplies. It's why Chess hasn't left the empire herself. But first, let me talk about the species and then how the empire works.

There are three other species besides the humans this time. The Shades are honestly still the same, so I won't go into details there. The faeries rarely ever show their true form, but I imagine it looks similar to the Snakes, with scales, fangs, slit pupils, and tails. They have powers that if their prey is within a certain distance of them, they can give an order, and that prey has to obey it. They can do some devastating things with that power. They drink blood now, but their young are parasites that eat a full humanoid as they grow.

The Venus girdles are very similar to their original iteration as adults, but as young, they are small enough to infect an insect and eat its brain, which they then use the zombie insect to go to a human or other species and inject their young. Which that young will eat the humanoid's brain first and then slowly eat the rest of the insides until the young bursts out of the corpse fully formed. Their "hair" as an adult is how they eat a humanoid's soul (don't have to eat a full soul, and they usually don't), which also causes a feeling of euphoria in the humanoid. All of the species honestly generally target humans because humans don't have magic (unsure if that's true or not), so they're not as dangerous.

The empire has the wealthy corporation owners or other aristocrats who live extravagantly in the skyscrapers that look down on the undercity. A lot of the humans, especially the wealthy ones, are deeply connected to the Celestial religion, which states that the Celestials left humanity because humans were too violent, so it preaches peace and condemning and ignoring those who don't follow that peace. Which this religion will be a big deal in this story, with the Celestials just being more plot-important in general. There are cops to enforce the empire's will, but what most people fear are the soldiers. Victims of the cyborg experiments which are now fully endorsed by the empire who were taken at young ages, and a chip was put into their brain which allows their overseers to control them. Controlled and brainwashed soldiers who are used to "cleanse" the undercity and to fight the species and humans who are trying to remain free. The magic is still about the same. Naivi is trying to find a way to make the magic less harmful to the victims. I think now it's time to talk about the characters.

So, of course, the first person I must talk about Chess. I still want to keep most of her trauma and how she sees the world because I love the character she's become, and I don't want to take that from her. Her original name was Ezra Vesperia. Her parents were murdered when she was 10, and the government immediately took her to become a victim of the experiments. Aeflin took special interest in her because she was strong and angry and fought back against the species' powers even before she got the chip that made her immune to that. I will talk about Aeflin's plans in her paragraph, but Aeflin still wants to use Chess as her special weapon. Chess was sent out to fight the species (probably did get sent to "cleanse" the undercity as well at one point), and when she was 20, the Venus girdles sent a swarm of their young to the soldiers, and Chess got infected, but one of her friends in her squad (Torryn, I think) used his lightning magic to try and kill the young in Chess, but the young had already ate through the chip, and when the lightning hit her and killed the young, it hurt her as well, causing her to have a seizure. The overseers decided to just abandon her as defective, but a Shade decided to heal her and take away all her memories. Which he then sent her to Ashont who did the things that he did to her in the original before dumping her in the undercity the next morning. The residents hate her and fear her and call her a monster, because her prosthetics are a symbol of the very empire that hurts them. And she is hurt and abused and doesn't really trust anyone. There are a few people who try to help her, and she does meet Vortex and help him and make friends with him, but mostly it's just people either trying to use her or hurt her. And it's the only life she knows now. She will meet Creed somehow in this story. And she will meet Naivi and still have the rivals to lovers with her. And I'm thinking that the rebellion against the empire decides to use her as the image of the rebellion without her permission, and she has to deal with that as well as Aeflin trying to find her again once she learns that Chess is still alive. (I promise the rest of these character paragraphs won't be so long, lol)

Vesper is the daughter of some nobles, and her faith is extremely important to her. With Maisa's advice, she has come to believe that leaving behind the people of the undercity will be the only way to become the peaceful humans the Celestials want, so she makes speeches about that, about focusing on peace over trying to help anyone who has been hurt by violence. She believes that when the Celestials come back, they will heal all the pain and strife. She will learn better and become a more active advocate who condemns the passivity of what she had been preaching. There is a certain reason why Maisa has shown interest in her.

Thorne was born of two soldiers, and when the overseers learned that his mother was pregnant, they killed her and cut him out to kill in front of his father, but someone decided to let him live, and he grew up dumped in the undercity (not sure how that all happened, but we'll figure it out). He despises the empire and thinks it should be all burned down. He met Jude when he was stealing from Jude's parents' mansion, and they have been friends ever since. They are part of the rebellion, and they are known as the demon twins.

Creed is a "project" that a noble couple took into their home to prove that the citizens of the undercity totally have opportunities. He has proceeded to be the biggest nuisance, but if they drop him, they disprove their "project". He'll probably meet Chess at a bar, but I don't think they knew each other before she lost her memories. He is also half-Shade.

Killian is a hurt Celestial who has come to the surface of the world to help where he can, since he can't fight and protect the planet anymore. He is a tattoo artist who gathers information, and some days, he goes outside the empire to talk with Primary's seed and plant plants and trees where he can to help heal the earth. He knows too much and can't meddle too much, but he'll do what he can.

Irina is the daughter of the CEOs of an android company. She has always shown empathy towards androids, and she ran away when her parents became too much. She ran away with her beloved dog, Briar, but Briar got an illness and was going to die too young, so Irina paid for an android dog that looked exactly like Briar and would have her memories. She paid fully for her, but the company decided after a few months that they needed to take Briar back, and Irina has been on the run ever since. At some point, she will become infected with a Venus girdle young, but she'll talk to the young and try to see if they can coexist. This infection will cause one of her eyes to turn gold (part of one of Chess's eyes is gold too).

Vortex is an android made by Irina's parents' company. He was first made as a pleasure android for the wealthy, but he was abused and hurt and raped, and when he finally fought back, the company took him back and punished him and rebranded him as a hunter for the people stealing from the company (like Irina is considered). I will say that the day that he fought back, he does meet Chess and becomes friends with her, and they remain friends. He'll make sure to tell the other androids that Chess is really nice if they need someone. When he learns that Irina isn't abusing Briar, and that she did pay fully for Briar, he finds loopholes in his orders that allow him to not capture Briar.

Maisa is one of the leaders of the empire, but he prefers to work in the shadows, so no one knows that he is a leader. He was around when the Celestials were still on this world, and he hates them. The Celestials showed special treatment towards the humans, so he wants to use human suffering and death to convince them to come back so he can kill them and prove that the empire is better than the so-called gods. He took special interest in Vesper because she is actually half-Celestial, but he took her powers secretly, so she doesn't have them anymore. He gave the contained powers to...

Aeflin! Everyone's favorite bubbly scientist who is such an asshole is still here. She wants to be able to dissect a Celestial, and she will do anything to let that happen. She knows how to fix the prosthetics to give the victims good magic, but she will only do that for her weapon once she has absolute control over her. And she chose Chess for the job. She's been planning on having Chess receive the half-Celestial powers and receive her overpowered fire magic so she can go fight a Celestial, under Aeflin's control, of course. She doesn't care about the politics of it all, she's just excited to finally dissect a Celestial.

And last, but not least. Naivi. She is a half-faerie. Her mother was taken by a faerie and taken to their city and treated as a pet and raped and is still stuck there. She doesn't even really know what's going on. Naivi saw the truth and the horror of how the faeries were treating humans, and she ran away and joined the empire because she believes that only by being under the empire's rule and laws will humans be safe from the other species. So, she enthusiastically works on the prosthetics experiments to bring everyone fighting against the empire under their control. She despises the free species and thinks that they just want to be able to abuse humans any way they want. She does think that the victims of the experiments are volunteers who want to be here, and she doesn't know about the controlling chips, and she would be horrified if she knew, but she has a lot of learning and growing before she'll be able to be lovers with Chess. It'll be fun!

And I think that's about it! The aesthetic is a little more cyberpunk too. I think Chess will wear a muzzle sometimes, either of her own choice or because the cops catch her and put one on her. And she still has her long, green, curly hair, but she'll have an undercut to one side. And that's all I can think of for right now! Thanks for reading!

[thecreaturecodex]

Daisy Moonblossom

"Ice Queen" © Xavier Collette. Accessed at his gallery here

[This is going to be the last of the PCs from the Rise of the Runelords game I post; I'm going to move onto other campaigns, like Curse of the Crimson Throne, Legacy of Fire, and Council of Thieves. Daisy Moonblossom was a very fun character, with her quotes like, "you would be happy if you thought less" and "I didn't think it would kill him; I only thought it would torture him forever!". She told me later that she didn't want to play a healer, she wanted to play a fighter, and so decided to be kind of a brat about it when it was decided by the group that it was "her turn". Everyone loved it anyway. So much so that the same player played her surly goth little sister, Belladonna, in Curse of the Crimson Throne, and the Moonblossom clan has been a recurring name drop in my games, and spawned multiple PCs and NPCs in the games run by @canwefixitnoitsfucked. Here's the original art for Daisy, done by one of the other players in that game:

Art © Heather F., accessed here

Because of the whole "don't really want to heal" thing, a warpriest was the perfect choice for converting Daisy from D&D 3.5 to Pathfinder 1e. The Icicle Crown was a personal addition to Rise of the Runelords. The art for Lamatar Bayden was so cool, it seemed a shame that he was just a wight (especially up against a 9th level party). So I gave him an artifact, and then Daisy got it, and she got to go from "magical girl inspired" to "full on transformation sequence". The original version used various spells from Spell Compendium, so has been updated for Pathfinder applicability.]

Daisy Moonblossom CR 14 CN Humanoid (cold, human) This woman is short, muscular and beautiful, her arms bearing delicate Varisian tattoos. She appears to be made of ice, with inhumanly pale skin and hair, with a crown of icicles growing out of her brow. She carries an enormous mace in the shape of a rose, and wears the holy symbol of Desna prominently around her neck and on her clothing.

Daisy Moonblossom was born lucky. Although never very smart and with a penchant for solving her problems with violence, she was both charming and perceptive, and was a natural to enter the priesthood of Desna. There, she received training as a warpriest, a traveling crusader to bring dreams and joy to those who needed them, and a pummeling to those who deserved it. And she was able to do all of those things, joining up with a team of adventurers to defend Sandpoint from first a goblin incursion, and then a ghoulish serial killer. Aldern Foxglove, the Skinsaw Man, became obsessed with Daisy. Perhaps this is because she reminded him of his murdered wife, or perhaps because he detected her bloodthirsty streak. Appropriately, she was the one who freed the revenant of his wife, and then bashed Foxglove’s skull in.

On Hook Mountain, Daisy made two discoveries that would change her life. First was the friendship of the star monarch Roramoru, who happily serves her as a mount and confidante to this day. The second was the Icicle Crown, a lost artifact made by the White Witches of Irrisen in centuries past, sitting on the brow of the wight Lamatar Bayden. Daisy didn’t realize its true magical potential when she put it on, thinking it would just protect her against the cold, but it transformed her into a being of elemental ice. As a divine caster, Daisy can use remove curse to take off the crown and resume her human appearance when she needs to, but does so less and less these days.

Rather than explore the dungeons of Runeforge and take the fight to Runelord Karzoug, Daisy chose to remain behind at Jorgenfist to learn more about her Varisian heritage and to help rally an army of giants against Karzoug’s influence. Daisy is considered by many of the giants of the Kodar Mountains to be somewhere between a guardian angel and a bogey, as she will gladly aid giants who play nice and slay those who don’t. The legends that have built around Ice Princess Daisy vary from clan to clan. Some giants claim she is an unusually beautiful cold rider, or maybe a miniature frost giant, or possibly a divine agent of Desna herself. Daisy is happy to keep them guessing.

Although she is a talented healer, Daisy Moonblossom would rather inflict damage than cure it. She usually spends a round or two casting enhancing spells on herself, then wades into melee. If enemies keep their distance, she pelts them with ranged spells cast from the Icicle Crown, or simply uses air walk to close the gap. Daisy isn’t a very skilled combat rider, so although she does use Roramoru’s support, the star monarch typically drops Daisy off rather than carry her into the fray. 

Icicle Crown (minor artifact) When not worn by a creature (occupying the head slot), this appears to be a delicate silver tiara studded with diamonds and sapphires. When put on, it transforms into ice, and transforms the wearer as well, affecting her as per an ice body spell for as long as the crown is worn. The Icicle Crown allows the wearer to cast the following spells with charges, as if it were a staff: Snowball (1 charge) Frigid Touch (1 charge) Wall of Ice (2 charges) Cone of Cold (2 charges) Icy Prison (2 charges) The Icicle Crown has 10 charges, and regains 1d4 charges a day. If its last charge is expended, the Icicle Crown falls off of the wearer’s head and becomes dormant for 30 days. This is the only way to remove the Icicle Crown without the use of remove curse or a similar effect, or the death of its wearer. CL 13th; Weight 4 lbs.

Daisy Moonblossom    CR 14 XP 38,400 Human warpriest of Desna 14 CN Medium humanoid (cold, human) Init +5; Senses Perception +7 Defense AC 21, touch 11, flat-footed 20(+1 Dex, +10 armor) hp 136 (14d8+70) Fort +14, Ref +6, Will +13 Immune ability score damage, blindness, critical hits, deafness, disease, drowning, electricity, poison, stunning Defensive Abilities ice body Offense Speed 20 ft. (30 ft. unarmored), burrow 20 ft. (ice only) Melee +1 spell-storing heavy mace +16/+11 (1d10+7) or slam +13 (1d6+3 plus 1 cold) Ranged starknife +11 (1d10+3/x3) Special Attacks channel energy (positive, 5d6, based on fervor), sacred weapon (+3, 14 rounds/day) Spells CL 14th (CL 15th for conjuration), concentration +17 (+21 casting defensively) 5th—flame strike (DC 18), righteous might 4th—air walk, blessing of fervor, divine power, neutralize poison (DC 18) 3rd—communal resist energy, inflict serious wounds (DC 16), magic vestment (cast), prayer, sacred bond 2nd—align weapon, bull’s strength, inflict moderate wounds (DC 15), lesser restoration, owl’s wisdom, spiritual weapon 1st—bless, divine favor (x2), remove fear, shield of faith (x2) 0th—create water, guidance, light, resistance, stabilize Spontaneous casting—cure spells Spell-like Abilities CL 14th, concentration +17 (+21 casting defensively) 3/day—acid splash Statistics Str 16, Dex 12, Con 18, Int 8, Wis 16, Cha 16 Base Atk +10; CMB +13; CMD 24 Feats Combat Casting,Dazzling Display (B), Greater Weapon Focus (heavy mace) (B), Improved Initiative, Selective Channel, Shatter Defenses (B), Skill Focus (Intimidate), Spell Focus (conjuration), Trailblazing Channel, Toughness, Varisian Tattoo (conjuration), Weapon Focus (heavy mace) (B), Weapon Specialization (heavy mace) (B) Skills Diplomacy +9, Heal +9, Intimidate +24, Knowledge (local) +3, Knowledge (religion) +6, Linguistics +1, Perception +7, Ride +6, Sense Motive +9 Languages Celestial, Common, Giant, Varisian SQ blessings (10/day, freedom’s shout, liberation, lucky presence, unlucky enemy),fervor (10/day, 5d6),legendary, no breath, sacred armor (+3, 14 minutes/day) Gear 38,400 gp, +1 spell storing heavy mace, starsong mail, Icicle Crown, belt of physical prowess (Str, Con), rod of extend spell, cloak of resistance +1, scroll of speak with dead, wand of cure light wounds (20 charges), 4 starknives, 500 gp worth of diamond dust, 2 gold bracelets (for sacred bond), 2 flasks holy water,15 gp Special Abilities Legendary (Ex) Daisy is built on 25 point buy. In addition to her NPC equipment, she possesses an artifact, the Icicle Crown. These advantages increase her CR by +1.

[dailycharacteroption]

Pop Culture Builds 12: The Hunter (Bloodborne)

Ah yes, Bloodborne, one of many difficult “Soulsborne”-style games in which the horrors you encounter are brutally powerful and quick, and only with great care and skill can they be overcome… but you will still die a lot, and each death is canon thanks to some weird mystical circumstance that causes you to come back.

Bloodborne in particular is notable for being the “werewolf” one until suddenly it’s the eldritch horror one, but we’ll leave it at that to preserve the mystique for those who haven’t played it or watched it be played yet.

The player character, known as The Hunter is of variable origin, though the one thing that seems to remain true is that they came to the cursed city of Yharnam in search of the Paleblood, which is not adequately explained what that is. However, they seek it to “Transcend the Hunt”. Which is also unclear, though theories range from ending the nightmare over the city to transcending their humanity in some way.

Either way, the Hunter wields a firearm and powerful melee weapons that are able to switch between modes based on what the situation requires, often a smaller, more agile mode and a heavier one designed to deal heavy damage to massive, dangerous foes.

Of course, the Hunter is not limited to these weapons, and can collect many strange eldritch and magical items throughout their travels.

For the purposes of this build, we’ll be mostly ignoring the origins and focus on a build revolving around the blunderbuss and saw cleaver, as that weapon combination is what is used in most of the game’s promotional materials.

 Ostensibly, the hunter is human, and you can certainly play them as such. However, after consuming so much tainted blood they are occasionally able to transform into a more feral state. So perhaps beastkin (either standard or werewolf-kin)? It’s really up to you.

For the class, it took me a bit to consider, but I think the hunter works best as a slayer with no archetype. They are, after all, skilled at reading monstrous foes to better avoid their attacks and strike for their weaknesses, after all. And they are quite adept at finding all sorts of horrors lurking here and there.

As far as talents go, Blood Reader is good for getting an idea of how much hp a foe has left, Bleeding Attack (via rogue talent) is perfect for racking up damage, Firearm Training (via rogue talent) for proficiency with your gun, as is Combat Training. Meanwhile, advanced talents that prove useful to the build include Assassinate, Deadly Sneak, Evasion, Hunter’s Surprise, and Swallow’s Reversal.

In terms of feats, Improved Critical is useful, but what is truly critical to the build is the Improved Feint line, bolstering their ability to create openings in their foes’s defenses to get that sneak damage off. Definitely also pick up Dodge and Mobility. Also consider taking Two-Weapon fighting if you want to fight with gun and blade together.

The trickiest thing with this build was figuring out how to do the weapons and other equipment, but I think I’ve come up with an elegant solution. The hunter blunderbuss sadly cannot be a true blunderbuss due to it being one-handed, but dragon pistol is a decent replacement, particularly when supported with enchantments. The saw cleaver was more difficult, but I settled on the weapon having a unique enchantment similar to a lesser form of the transformative ability, able to shift between two forms. The first I based on a drow razor, though any light or one-handed weapon with a larger than normal crit range is good, preferably with a bane enchantments against humanoids (shapechanger) or monstrous humanoids. Meanwhile, the alternate form I based on a dwarven waraxe, though any weapon with a big damage dice and crit multiplier is good, and works best loaded with the keen enchantment and a generally high bonus.

Beyond this and their armors (which favor lighter garb to maintain mobility), the Hunter collects a lot of magical and mundane items in their travels to harm foes, protect themselves from harm, and the like. As such, take every opportunity to pick up weird wondrous items they can pull out in various situations, be they directly emulate any of their canonical “Hunter’s Tools” or not.

But perhaps you want to emulate another one of the hunter weapons? Certainly the Hunter Pistol can easily just be your choice of pistol, but the trick weapons remain, well, tricky. The threaded cane would probably be a mace and whip sword or scorpion whip, for example, whereas the kirkhammer would be a silver longsword that can turn into an earth breaker, and so on.

Beyond that, perhaps slayer doesn’t suit you? You can easily play an inquisitor or occultist instead, using the spells and magical abilities of those classes as a reflavored stand-in for Hunter’s Tools.

With their powerful shapeshifting weapons, many players will instantly recognize the inspiration for this build, but I think it has plenty of merit beyond that.

[that-flux]

A Prologue for a Prologue

I like to write, as one does, and I've been writing this particular fictional world for a rather long time (since my childhood). It has gone through iterations and iterations with new lore added onto it each time. I'm mentioning this, because this project is something I don't think I'll be able to write in a satisfying way, beyond my own worldbuilding efforts. It's a bit of a complex thing, so I'll try to break it down to be digestible. That being said, there is a lot of lore, and I don't think I can quite accurately emphasize that "lot". lmao. To begin, I'll start at how it began in writing. I grew up loving authurian myths and that had the biggest impression on me growing up. The stories of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round table really set the mood in these early versions. However, I had another big inspiration at the time, which was Dragon Ball. As funny as that might come across, the earliest version of this story sprouted at a fusion of the fantastical transformations and alien world(s) of Dragon Ball with the classic structure of Arthurian Myth. This first iteration was not one I actually wrote, as it was a story I told to others and remained only in an oral format. This was true of the second iteration, which was wildly different from the first. To summarize the plot of the first iteration, it was about an orphan boy named Moner, a dragnir of a fiery world. Now Moner was homeless and had to fend for himself the best way he could. The orphan boy got himself in trouble at some point, but he was saved by a knight named Montoly. Montoly the rescues the boy for plot reasons and trains Moner to be his squire, which begins the core adoptive father and son arc of this story. Montoly then wisks Moner away from the city and takes him on a journey, training the boy to be a knight. All the while the two are running from enemies. At some point, Montoly reveals to Moner that his father was a knight and one of his closest friends. More relevant, Montoly also reveals that the enemy that's chasing them was also the same enemy that killed his father. Montoly explains to the boy that they'll need this special sword mcguffin to take down the enemy and they head to this active volcano, where the sword is hidden. Once at that funny volcano and specifically a lava pool, Moner crosses the gap with his wings (dragnir are winged dragonic humanoids, more human than dragon as they are only partially covered in scales. They have funny emotive eyes, wings and a tail) and claims the mcguffin sword. As mentor tropes usually go, Montoly is then slain defending Moner and letting him have a chance to escape. It's around this time that Moner lays low as a sort of ronin or drifer, wandering the world while keeping tabs on the enemy. He also encounters the sword mcguffin's power, which in later iterations is called "Dragon Posessions." (which transforms his hair to a fiery red and eyes to a burning white) This mcguffin power-up, basically relies on Moner borrowing the powers of a dragon that was sealed inside of the sword. Anywho, drifter Moner eventually tracks down the villain and defeats him. The final battle sort of happens in two stages: the first in a swordfight and the second stage basically having them transform into giant dragons to deck it out. The story then ends with Moner being either coronated as king or officially knighted as a knight of that country. I do not remember which. There was also an inclusion of Moner's child/squire in this ending scene, who becomes an important character in future iterations. So that was Iteration 1. It sets a lot of foundation for Iteration 3 and onwards. Iteration 2 plays the least into the future iterations, only establishing the idea that dragnirs aren't the only sapien things on their world and that dragnirs in particular have their own culture.

Iteration 3 and onwards is far more unified in its approach, as well as increasing the scope of this world by several degrees of power. The world is now named Meravtha, which has a more rich history and geographic map. Moner is now named Monare Tomoroph Drovagrin, his father named Moroph. He is no longer unaware of his father's knightly status and instead was at the scene when the villain (now named Meval) slays his father in front of his eyes, leaving Monare to die in a burning building. (however Monare survives) Montoly then rushes to the burned rubble, only finding Moroph's body and Monare hidden under some stares. Montoly then sends Monare to his grandfather, sending the child to the village that his father (Moroph) came from. Montoly's reasoning, a child would get in the way of the investigation of his father's murder. After a couple years of investigating, Montoly would learn that Meval (a usurping knight of the kingdom) was the murderer, and that he and his faction are trying to track down Monare to kill the witness. Monare during all of this, was learning about the culture that his dad came from and befriending other kids at the village. This then sparks the squire and knight relationship between Montoly and Monare, as the two journey together while Montoly teaches Monare to be a knight. The plot remains to roughly to the same story beat, with them journeying to escape Meval's grasp and hunting the mcguffin sword (now named Brystworl). Brystworl in this iteration is funny, as sealed inside the sword of winds, is what is called a dragonorl. Dragonorl are giant dragon-like creatures that the people of this world would call "Guardians" which are basically demigod-like enties and the "department manager" at the larger scope. Meaphael is this dragonorl's name, and he is the caring protector of Meravtha that was sealed away becaused he was cursed by his brother Malicine. (Malicine was unhappy that he ruled the realm of the dead and was jealous of Meaphael, so he cursed Meaphael to get rid of him and take over Meravtha.) Continuing the plot, they find Brystworl inside an underground temple/ruins and Montoly dies again with Monare escaping. 1/2

[niqhtlord01]

Humans are Weird: D&D Part 3

( Please come see me on my new patreon and support me for early access to stories and personal story requests :D https://www.patreon.com/NiqhtLord Every bit helps) Human Barbarian: I roll to decapitate the shop keeper. Alien DM: Is there a reason you keep on decapitating LITERALLY everyone you meet? Barbarian: My character can’t die unless he falls in battle. Alien DM: But they aren’t battles if you kill them in one blow. Barbarian: True, but my guy has been around for hundreds of years and now just kills people for fun. Alien DM: *Looks at other party members* Is this normal? Wizard: Honestly it’s pretty tame for a barbarian. Rogue: At least he’s not the bard that became a necromancer. Alien: What happened with them? Wizard: They became a necromancer just so they could woo the woman that killed herself after talking to him. Alien: *Looks at Necromancer* Really? Necromancer: I was very proud of my seduction streak and I wasn’t about to let death break it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alien: Why do you always pick humanoid characters? Alien: Why not team up with something that is as large as a bear? Thief: We used to have a Loxodon fighter in the party, didn’t end well. Alien: What happened? Monk: We got trapped in a room flooding with water and only one way out. Warlock: The Loxodon insisted on going first through the doorway because they were afraid of water, but then became wedged in the tiny frame and couldn’t get free. Alien: How did you escape? Monk: We didn’t; we all drowned to death. Alien: If you all died then how are you here talking with me? Thief: Let’s just say we owe a man of questionable magic practices a lot of money. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Warrior: Wizard, cast fireball on my sword! Alien Wizard: Why? Warrior: So it will catch on fire and do fire damage as well! DM: I’ll allow it. Alien Wizard: Okay. *rolls a nat 20* DM: Your fireball impacts the sword dead on and melts it instantly. Warrior: What? DM: What do you think happens to cheap metal after it’s been super-heated? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DM: As you sift through the remains of the now fallen lich lord you come across his most powerful weapon. Alien players: *getting excited* DM: A cursed blade slaked in the blood of a thousand thousand victims, each one adding their strength to whomever wields this mighty blade; the most powerful weapon you have ever come across. Alien players: *Really excited now* Alien warrior: Does it have a name? DM: *Nods* It is called……the Bunny Fluffer. Alien warrior: What? You can’t be serious. DM: I did say it was a curse blade. Alien: How can a blade called the “Bunny Fluffer” be cursed?!? DM: Every time you use it in battle you must loudly announce that you are attacking with the bunny fluffer. Alien warrior: You monster! That’s so evi- Alien warrior: *Now realizing why it is cursed* ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Human: If I feed a Locathah sushi, am I committing a hate crime or unknowingly making them a cannibal? Alien DM: WTF man?!?!? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Human DM: You find yourself in a very suspicious village. Alien: You can’t just label an entire town as suspicious. Human: Roll a perception check then. Alien: *Rolls 20* Human DM: You see the town square barren save for a giant stone slab at the very center, the surface of it covered in strange red glyphs that seem to bleed the longer you stare at it. Human DM: The towns people all full length cloaks that hide their appearance with hoods so deep you cannot make out a single detail of their faces. They speak no words nor make a sound as they shift and to and fro between the buildings. Human DM: You stare up at the sky and see it thick with grey clouds that appear to bulge and retract randomly as if they are holding something within. Alien: Alright, alright, we get it. Alien: No need to be so on the nose about it. Human: You walked passed a mass murder drenched in blood because one of you saw the bar tenders dog run outside and wanted to go pet it. Human DM: I take no chances now. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alien DM: You find yourself locked in the mansion, the body of the host laying across the ballroom floor as all the guests and staff look on. Alien DM: Any one of them could be the killer. Human Warlock: I say we lock all the doors and burn the house down. Human Paladin: What? Human Rogue: That’s a bit extreme. Warlock: Listen, I’ll cast a spell that will make anyone with a guilt free conscious fire resistant. Warlock: That way when the house is on fire only the killer will catch fire and everyone else would be safe. Rogue: I guess that might work…. Paladin: Still… Warlock: Look, I’ll even stay inside to prove how trust worthy it is while you all wait outside and bar the doors. Paladin: Very well. *some time later after the mansion burned down* *Party sees only the warlock remaining among the ashes* Paladin: Impossible! Paladin: They couldn’t all have been the killer! Warlock: True, but their minds were not guilt free so I’m afraid they caught fire. Rogue: So you knowingly just had us kill an entire mansion’s worth of people. Paladin: How are you still alive?! Warlock: Simple; I did not feel the slightest bit guilty about it. Warlock: *Proceeds to remove an artifact that collects the souls of the recently deceased* ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alien DM: Pick your characters. Human: I am a Halfling necromancer. Human 2: I am an elf necromancer. Human 3: I am a human necromancer. Alien: Seriously?! Alien: Does no one want to be something else? Human 4: I am an orc shaman. Alien: Well thank y- Human 4: That dabbles in necromancy. Alien: Gods damnit! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Human DM: And with that you have finally slain the great dragon Human DM: The town of Scabersburgs will forever be in your debt. Alien Wizard: That was a stupid encounter, let’s end it here. *Human DM makes note as the group leaves for the night* *Next week’s encounter* Human DM: You return to find the town of Scaversburg in the grips of a deadly plague. Human DM: The town’s folk are being driven mad as over the last few days many of them have begun growing scales across their body, talons where their fingers once were, and some have even begun sprouting lizard like wings and tails. Human DM: As they see you all return to the village their collective shouts of anger roar across the town as the entire city springs forth to hunt you down. Alien Wizard: Wait what!? Alien Wizard: I call bullshit; how could this suddenly happen?! Human DM: Well, if you had waited long enough to hear the dragons dying words he placed a powerful curse on his blood that any who should drink of it shall become as he once was. Alien Wizard: That’s still bullshit! Alien Wizard: No way the villagers would just walk up to a dead dragon and drink its blood. Human DM: Unless because you failed to dispose of the body the blood seeped into the ground and mixed with the towns water supply, thus contaminating everyone. *Group angrily looks at Wizard that encouraged them to leave early* Human DM: Roll for initiative. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alien DM: As you make camp deep within the frost mountains of Galgieth you find that your provisions bag has torn open and you have no food to eat. Alien DM: Unless you act quickly you will starve to death. Wizard: I got this. Wizard: *Turns to barbarian* Wizard: Cut off my left arm. Barbarian: Done! *rolls a nat 20* Alien DM: *Confused* You chop off the left arm of your wizard, the limb falling lifelessly to the ground as spouts of blood pour out. Wizard: I cast regeneration to regrow my severed limb. *Rolls a nat 20* Alien DM: *Still confused* Your left arm grows back as if it was never gone. Wizard: I put my severed limb over the open fire to cook. Alien DM: You want to turn your party into cannibals? Rogue: Wouldn’t be the first time.

[shirophantomvox]

Analyzing Kars' Character

Hello everyone! FYI I am not ignoring your requests. I have tried for a week to get them finished and I keep losing motivation. Then I had the brilliant idea of writing something else about an interesting topic and then I’ll be able to finish a few requests! Today’s post is another character analysis. This is still a multi-fandom blog; you will see content related to other shows besides Voltron. Today’s character analysis is on Kars, the 10,000-year-old vampire. That’s funny. He, Allura, and Coran are the same age!

Overview

I watched JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures about a month ago when I became frustrated that there were only 4 seasons of Hunter x Hunter on Netflix. Remember the scene in the election arc when the citizens were casting their votes for chairperson and Hisoka walked up with his arms forming an “S”? Many people were posing the question of it being a “JoJo’s” reference and for the life of me, I never understood what they were talking about. Finally, I watched the show for the first time and by season 2 I could understand what they were saying.

I have to admit that by the second episode I was bored because the nature of season one took place in the 1800s England and nothing exciting happened. Though I worked my way through a few more episodes. I noticed a creepy stone mask on the way and how it never fell unless blood was splattered on it. I concluded the mask was going to play the role of an antagonist or help the antagonist succeed. Although this post is about Kars, I would like to take a moment and say that Jonathan’s death was very heart wrenching and it made me angry. Jonathan was unnecessarily nice to Dio and living in a privileged bubble lead to his demise. Jonathan was stronger than Dio and he should have kicked his ass once and for all. Have you noticed that after Joseph’s father, all JoJo’s (at least until season 5) could beat the antagonist in the show?

Anyway, the mask is a key tool in the bizarre adventures that each protagonist experiences.

Kars is a 10,000-year-old vampire that designed the Stone Mask and is essentially responsible for the horrific events that have happened throughout history. Dio being turned into a merciless vampire and his minions resulted from the Stone Mask. After discovering that he and his people could not be out in the sun, he concluded he needed the Red Stone of Aja to complete his transformation. Lisa-Lisa, a 50-year-old human woman, has possession of the stone given by her foster father Straizo. Kars, along with the 3 remaining Pilar Men (Wamuu, Esidsi, and Santana, can only survive in the sun if they two wear the mask with the Red Stone of Aja. After awakening, it is quite clear that Kars is on a mission to retrieve the stone and will destroy anything in his way. He was the only one wanting to live a life outside of the darkness. This was the driving force of creating so many Stone Masks and later discovering the need for the Red Stone of Aja. Kars understood the mask would only work on him partially because of his larger skull size, aka body manipulation. This created an increase in hunger. The Pillar Men did not like this at all and sought to eliminate him so he could not ruin the flow of nature. Kars retaliated; he murdered 99% of his people only leaving his friend Esidsi, and two children known as Santana and Wamuu.

Kars’ character is very interesting. A dog was about to have its life ended because of drunk drivers. I don’t know if this struck a nerve in his soul, but Kars nearly cut off the driver’s head, causing them to crash their car and the puppy was saved. After being defeated by Joseph the first time, he landed at the end of a snowy cliff, making sure he did not land on a few daisies. Given these unique interactions with nature and secondary species, Kars has some vendetta against humans. What did they do to him or his people for him to care only about flowers and animals but want to wipe out Harmon users? He insists that Lisa-Lisa drink poison instead of fighting her. Fighting women is something he and Wamuu don’t take pleasure in doing. When I heard this for the first time, I didn’t know if that was something to be proud of or if he was being misogynistic (you know the stereotypical view society has about women). Even if he genuinely did not want to lay a finger on Lisa-Lisa or any woman, his intentions are very questionable. He mimics politeness. If Kars offered to pay for dinner or a drink, run. Just run because if you don’t, you’ll probably be turned into a vampire or be eaten alive.

This is off topic but I wanted to pose this scenario. After watching Battle Tendency for the 10th time, I always like to bring out the “soft” side in villains. Being a sucker for Fluff isn’t helpful. I know that’s defeating the purpose of villains and antagonists, but I can’t help and wonder how it would show in Kars. As I’ve previously stated, Kars seems to care for animals and plants more than humans...so there’s a soft spot somewhere in there. I had a rather amusing and odd thought involving Kars and Lisa-Lisa. Since Lisa-Lisa is the leader over Caesar and Joseph and Kars is the leader over the remain few Pillar Men, I can’t help but wonder how they’d react to each other. When Lisa-Lisa is ordered by Kars to stay at their hideout while Joseph retrieved the Stone, I know she didn’t stand there like a statue for nearly 12 hours. I imagine Kars offering a drink, water, or juice just to get her talking. I mean, she has to warm up to him or it’s going to be a horrible 12 hours. Then he’ll try to engage in conversation and will only try to flirt with her to see how she responds. He may make a comment about how clear her skin is, how perfect her makeup stays intact, or how her legs look better than his (well, duh, you’re 9,950 years older than her!). This way, he can exploit anything he deems as a weakness, but she is a smart woman. She would reveal nothing about her that could be used against her. As OOC as this seems, it could be something he’d do. Remember, he mimics politeness; he has a trick up his sleeve. Although that may be true, at the back of his mind, he really admires how young and enchanting she looks.

Although Esidsi, Wamuu, and Santana are Pillar Men, they are ancient humanoid superhuman beings who lived on the American continent. They have supernatural abilities that leave them invincible while the sun is down. They look similar to humans, but they are much bigger and muscular. Among the 3 remaining Pillar Men, I seem to gravitate to Kars than the others. Before you judge me, I’ll explain. Kars, like many male characters in this anime and others, has a unique character design. Contrary to popular belief, I like Kars better in his head wrap or while he is wearing his hat and cape. That outfit reminds me of a ghost/monster from the remastered Scooby-Doo series in the 70s. The one thing in particular that stood out to me was his eye shadow and mascara. The earrings didn’t surprise me as every time I draw my male characters, they automatically get a pair of earrings. While being physically fit, he can make ANYTHING look excellent!

Just like any villain, Kars and Joseph are equally arrogant and can exploit their opponent’s weaknesses against them. Making jokes about Lisa-Lisa while she is unconscious nearly sets him over the edge and while Kars thinks he has defeated Joseph, he is launched into space.

Last but not least, I noticed how the first two protagonists form an unusual bond with their enemies. As many of you have seen, Dio calls Jonathan JoJo but does not acknowledge Joseph or Jotaro in the same way. He does twice towards Jotaro but not after that. Kars refers to Joseph as JoJo and I have to believe that even if he knew his real name, he’d still refer to him as JoJo. Wamuu stated that fighting Jospeh was worth his time as he did not waste it and fight fairly. Throughout their battles, they somehow remind me of childish games with the name-calling and all. I wish Kars was not a “onetime” villain. I wish he could roll over to the next season. This is a preference, as I hate seasonal villains, like Chrollo Lucilfer or anyone similar.

If you’ve made it this far, thank you for reading!

[puff-poff]

The Culture of the Demon World

One part of The Promised Neverland that I always wanted to learn more about was the demons and their culture. Demons are a whole new race with their own language, religions, traditions, food, and history, and I want to learn more about their society. So, I decided to do a bit of research on a few specific aspects of the demon world. After writing everything down and connecting the pieces while trying to remain true to canon, I finally have something clear enough to share with you all.

Without further ado, I present to you my analysis of demon culture.

Part One: Clothing Just like in real life, the clothing demons wear depends on their social status and wealth. The middle and lower-class demons wear loose, flowing clothes with wide collars and sleeves. They most likely do this just in case they aren’t able to eat human meat and maintain their form; baggy clothes won’t tear if the demons start to degenerate. This is why the wealthy demons wear tighter clothing. Tight-fitting outfits show that you can afford plenty of human meat and that you aren’t worried about degenerating.

Many demons, both poor and rich, wear long, layered clothing, but it’s hard to tell if this is a societal standard or a byproduct of cold weather. Almost all of the demons we see are wearing long-sleeved tops and ankle-length bottoms, as well as a jacket, shawl, cape, or scarf. However, the feet and hands are almost always uncovered.

A major part of demon clothing is, of course, their masks. This extra page explains the styles and functionality of the Goldy Pond demon’s masks:

Like the rest of their clothing, wealth plays a part in demon’s masks as well. Detailed masks with large horns, like Luce’s, are worn by rich demons who want to flaunt their wealth, while lower-class demons wear simple, paneled masks with short horns. Demons who want a more functional mask might choose one without horns so they don’t get in their way. The aristocrat demons also have a unifying feature between their territory’s masks to differentiate themselves from the leaders of other territories. Whether or not your mask shows your mouth appears to be a personal preference since Legravalima, Mujika, Sonju, Awla, and Mawla all have uncovered mouths despite the character’s drastic differences.

Another detail I would like to point out is the material of the masks. Most demon masks are likely made of a material similar to clay, but there are a few demons with special masks that appear to be made out of something else. Nous and Nouma, for example, have athletic masks coated with shiny material that’s probably similar to polyester. However, it was Legravalima and Sonju’s masks that interested me the most. Legravalima’s mask is smooth, glossy, and seemingly made out of metal. A metallic mask is likely a sign of royal status and immense wealth. This explains why Sonju had a metallic mask as a child, and why he doesn’t have one now. When he was a prince, Sonju wore a shiny mask with a design similar to Legravalima’s. After running away with Mujika, he grew out of his mask and now wears a clay one of the same design.

This might just be the art style of the series changing over time, but I also find it interesting that Sonju’s mask suddenly becomes glossy in chapter 156 during the battle at the royal capital. It’s his first time stepping foot in the palace since he ran away, and it’s as if his mask is suggesting that returning to the palace has given Sonju his royal status back.

Part Two: Architecture In many ways, the architecture in the demon world reminds me of places like the Sant Francesc Church in Spain and Royal Ontario Museum in Canada. As time goes on, old buildings are expanded and improved with modern additions to accommodate the changing world. This can be seen in the paradise hideout, where a newer building was constructed next to the original settlement.

The old, traditional demon buildings are made of clay and other types of stones. They don’t appear to have many windows, and the few windows they do have are holes without window panes. Many of the older buildings were carved out of mountains or trees, or at least rest atop a mountain with steps carved into the side. This traditional style of demon architecture is similar to old Pueblo architecture and adobe homes.

The newer demon architecture likely came into style sometime before Goldy Pond was built, seeing as Goldy Pond has buildings similar to those in modern demon villages. It resembles the European Tudor style with its grid window panes, timber frames, and sloped roofs. The walls were probably made using the wattle and daub technique and painted white or cream. Some of the buildings have stone foundations, but unlike the old style of architecture, the stones are laid like bricks. Buildings made using the new style of architecture also have shutters, awnings, and Juliet balconies.

This picture of the royal capital’s streets perfectly shows the mixing of the old and new architectural styles:

Here, you can see the original clay buildings with the balconies, awnings, and wooden frames of the new style added on. The buildings in the foreground have open windows while the ones further back have grid panes. One of the structures on the right is built in the style of the older demon homes, but it uses modern stone bricks and balconies. This blend of architecture helps show the development of the demon society through the years.

Part Three: Food Human meat is the most important food in demon culture since it’s what keeps the majority of demons from degenerating. I won’t be talking a lot about the farms and human meat in this post since it’s already been explored by the manga and people smarter than me. If you want to read more about demons and human meat, I recommend this post by the-silliest-idiot and this translation of the fanbook, particularly the Q&A sections.

As explained in the manga, the appearance of demons changes depending on the type of meat they eat. The aristocrat demons eat human meat, Parvus eats monkey meat, and the demon horse Sonju rides eats horse meat. As explained in the fanbook, humanoid demons will lose their human appearance if they don’t eat human meat, but monkey demons like Parvus can retain their appearance for a while. To keep themselves from degenerating or changing forms, humanoid demons don’t eat a lot of meat other than the human meat from the farms. When the demons do eat other meats, they eat bugs, fish, and birds, probably because those animals are difficult to change into.

While it’s unclear if demons eat the plants in the forest, we know that there are plenty of edible berries, nuts, fungi, and other plants that the human escapees eat during their travels. Demons also have a variety of fruits, vegetables, and nuts that they grow and harvest. In just these two panels, we can see that the demons have their own versions of pears, hazelnuts, pineapples, kiwi, and mangos (the mangos seem to be popular in the royal capital).

All demons, regardless of wealth or social status, appear to have equal access to all food except human meat. Lower-class demons get low-quality meat, but the same berries and nuts being sold at street markets are present in the Tifari offering.

Part Four: Language Unfortunately, I’m not smart enough to decode the old demon language. In the words of the fanbook, “Sugita created demon god's name, but every other text from the demon language that appeared afterward was Posuka's creation.” The language was made up by Posuka, and I’m not sure if there’s enough dialogue to translate a full alphabet. The old demon language looks like a combination of Japanese and Enochian, but that’s all I can gather from it. It’s also unclear if the language has a written form. 

However, the old demon language isn’t used anymore. The language died out for two major reasons; a general lack of knowledge and to separate language from the old faith. The aristocratic demons know the language well enough, but we don’t see many commoner demons speaking it. The modern demon society writes in English, as shown by the signs at Goldy Pond, and it’s likely that they also speak English despite the story being written in Japanese. There's also a chance that the demons speak Old English since the promise was forged during medieval times. If this is true, then the aristocrats and heads of the farms could have a more modern accent because they often talk to people from the human world.

Part Five: The Arts Sadly, we don't know much about art in the demon world. The promise was made around the 11th century, so art in the demon world is likely reflective of that time. I can only assume they have their own literature, art movements, and music, but it's mostly speculation. One thing I noticed is that the demon world has a lot of embroideries, whether it be on the edges of a cape or banners inside the palace. This fits with my theory of medieval Europe-inspired art and languages. During medieval times, top layer garments such as coats and cloaks were commonly embroidered along the hemline and cuffs. This kind of embroidered clothing is worn by many demons throughout the series.

Banners, tapestries, and flags were also commonly created by artists during medieval times. Lines of flags are seen throughout the demon world, and a few buildings in the capital have banners hanging outside. The palace has a few banners of its own, though they're fancier than the ones in the capital streets.

Damask fabric is another example of demon artistry being influenced by medieval Europe. Damask is a reversible fabric created by weaving. The royal demons seem to have jumped on the damask train before the promise was sealed because it can be found in many places throughout the palace. Most notably, Legravalima's dress is partially made of damask, though the silhouette is very different from that of a medieval damask evening gown. Damask was commonly used to make curtains as well, like the ones draped around the Tifari offering.

We don’t know much about literature in the demon world. The books we see were written in the human world and sent to the farms, but surely the demons have their own books and stories. Seeing as the rest of the arts in the demon world were inspired by medieval Europe, I can only assume that their books, fables, and plays are as well. Much of medieval literature was based on religion and chivalry. There were also many fables and myths derived from old stories and religious texts. Demon children probably read many stories about the Evil Blooded, the runaway prince, and heroic knights who protect the demons from harm. There likely are many stories written in the old demon language as well. Similar to Latin and Old English in the Middle Ages, the old demon language was probably the main written language until the 11th century, when the demons began using English as a primary language.

I imagine that Anglo Saxon, Byzantine, and Norman (ha get it) art heavily inspired art in the demon world. The palace is likely covered in tapestries and murals depicting historic events. Metal and tilework were probably once a major part of demon artistry, but the practices died out over time. Instead, many demon artists practice painting and embroidery. Pieces of art in the demon world would be very vibrant and colorful, especially the works displayed in the palace.

When it comes to music in the demon world, there isn’t much to go off of. We know that the farms have access to instruments and sheet music because of Leslie and Nat. Barbara also sings a Japanese children’s song in chapter 113. Unfortunately, we don’t get much information about music in the demon world outside of the farms. I assume that demons primarily play string instruments and piano because of their long fingers. They also have more fingers than humans, meaning they can make a variety of chords that humans can’t. More fingers also allow demons to add more strings to their instruments. Even though it’s possible that demons have their own special instruments, we know that they also have human instruments like cellos, trumpets, and pianos.

Conclusion: There’s a lot more I wish I could talk about (mainly the elements of culture), but I’m stopping for now so this doesn’t get any longer. Feel free to correct me or add on anything I missed. If you made it this far, thank you for reading this incredibly long analysis of demon culture and I hope you have a great day.

[pabsterthelobster]

Legends of the Pepsi Patrollers

So here's a stupid post. So you know Pepsiman, the Japanese mascot for Pepsi back in the 90s? He's not the only one of his kind. So to start off the summer, I decided to make a post focusing on a collection of characters that are connected to Pepsiman. Warning: low quality images.

Pepsiman

The legendary thirst-quencher himself. A humanoid entity composed of a sentient metal developed by NASA, Pepsiman dedicates himself to quenching the thirsts of everyone in need of refreshment with the refreshing taste of Pepsi. He was originally spotted wearing a red stripe across his person before assuming the half-blue design that is commonly known to the public.

Despite his addiction to sugary soda, Pepsiman is extremely well and fit, being a known athlete with a top speed greater than that of most humans. He is also known to be quite the combatant, having participated in the high-intensity Fighting Vipers tournament back in the day. His only true weakness seems to be his accident-prone nature, as in his quest to deliver refreshment to those in need, he tends to get himself injured in a number of comical means.

Pepsiman often does not speak, with the only noise he typically makes being a sound similar to the opening of a can of Pepsi. However, it is known that he is fluent in both English and Japanese, as when he speaks the latter, he is noted to have a heavy American accent. He was popular amongst people around the US, despite his clumsy nature, and would looked upon as a true hero.

(Diet) Pepsiwoman

Seemingly a female counterpart to the original Pepsiman, the being known as Pepsiwoman is not as documented as her male counterpart. What little IS known about her is that she, like Pepsiman, is addicted to the soda and promotes it to whoever is in need of refreshment. She seems to have a preference towards the soft drink's Diet variant.

Her most notable sighting occurred when she, wearing a lemon-shaped balaclava, delivered some then-new Diet Pepsi Twist to thirsty passers-by, who initially mistook her for her male counterpart (who had similarly promoted regular Pepsi Twist whilst wearing a balaclava beforehand).

Pepsi Convoy/Pepsi Prime

In the year 2005, Galvatron was tossed towards Earth by Rodimus Prime, mostly burning up in the Earth's atmosphere, though the little that remained of the Decepticon leader and envoy of Unicron made impact with the city of Tokyo, causing a great casualty and distrust in all forms of Cybertronian life.

NASA, wishing to ensure further relations between humanity and Cybertron, tasked with helping with relief efforts. To help with this, the Autobots were given a deposit of sentient metal in order to assist with efforts. This metal would then merge with a currently unidentified member of the Autobots and would end up assuming a form similar to that of the late Autobot leader, Optimus Prime.

Much like the two smaller metallic humanoids that preceded him, the 'bot soon to be known as "Pepsi Convoy" gained an interest in Pepsi products, and with his trusty "Bottle Station" in literal tow, he would dedicate his efforts by refreshing the Japanese populace with Pepsi. His whereabouts after the deployment of the anti-electron field that drove off all other Cybertronians are unknown.

(The First) PepsiMan

Preceding the metallic hero by a year, PepsiMan (note the camelcasing) was seen active in Mexico for a short while before seemingly disappearing from public view. Much like his successor, PepsiMan was well-known among the Mexican population as a sort of celebrity, having attended numerous parties with the people of the country. This could be due to his surprising resemblance to a then-famous stand-up comedian at the time.

Unlike his successors, PepsiMan was seemingly NOT composed of sentient metal, being an otherwise regular man with an interest in the beverage. Despite this, he possessed great power, including super strength and the power of flight. Whether or not the Pepsi itself had anything to do with these abilities is unknown.

[mybg3notebook]

Gale Extensive analysis

Disclaimer Game Version: All these analyses were written up to the game version v4.1.104.3536  (Early access). . As long as new content is added, and as long as I have free time for that, I will try to keep updating this information. Written in May 2021.

The majority of sources used for this article are in the game itself (this includes my Gale-solo playthroughs as well as a combination of the videos by munmomuu and selphie1999), and the dev’s notes provided by pjenn. Gale as origin is not taken into account since it’s not finished and has little Gale-related content. There will be little datamining content as well since pjenn said the game contained almost no gale-related notes (only in theWeave and in the Revelation scene).

The itemised list will show some instances of approval or disapproval as they are seen in the game. To make the reading of this article easier and shorter, you can skip them since they are basically the proof I use to sustain the introductory concept of each block. 

We can infer a lot of Gale by analysing what he approves and disapproves of. Sometimes, we can even lightly infer some information from his neutral reactions, but let’s be honest: this way of analysing a char is pretty poor since it leaves everything to speculation. Neutral reactions can only be analysed by contrasting the same situation in other contexts, and seeing what other options Gale approves or disapproves of. With these considerations in mind, we can proceed to describe this character.

Disclaimer: this is a meta with my personal interpretation of the character, sticking as much as possible to the facts and leaving little to “desires” or “projections” of what I want him to be. If I do so, I will state it explicitly in the text for the sake of analysis honesty. I want to be clear about what is canon (facts shown in bg3 EA), from what’s personal interpretation with little proof.

Also, this list is extensive, gathering as much as I could in my many playthroughs, but I’m sure it’s not absolutely complete. Some details may have escaped me, but honestly, I believe that any new approval will be easily fit in these blocks once the pattern has been seen.

Understanding Gale by enumerating his reactions and approvals

What we can do is combine what we know and make our deductions.

---Gale

[[1]] The most notorious aspect we see about his approval is that Gale supports all actions that prevent, via persuasion, intimidation, or deception, the unnecessary violence and bloodshed. His attitude can be summarized as “the means (as long as they don’t kill gratuitously) hardly matter if the end is worthy”. He will always prefer diplomatic and persuasive approaches, but he can be flexible when his main objective is to avoid unnecessary bloodshed. 

He approves of using intimidation, deception, or persuasion against Gimblebock, in the ruins of the Jergal Temple. 

He approves of intimidation or deception against the tieflings that have Lae’zel in a cage.

Gale approves of diffusing the tension between Zevlor and Aradin, using intimidation or persuasion. He keeps neutral if Tav uses violence to knock out one of the two. Once more, this shows he prefers any verbal approach before heading into physical violence.

He approves of dealing with Nettie without bloodshed after she poisoned Tav. Gale even has an extra comment on the matter praising such an approach since he says he would have not been able to do it himself. This is also the first time we see a glimpse of his support for the philosophy of “giving people their own medicine”. However, it's a comment made in the heat of the moment. He ends up praising a peaceful resolution of the situation.

He approves of saving Lae’Zel’s life when she attacks Tav in the camp. This can be done via deception, persuasion or knowledge [medicine] as long as it spares Lae’Zel’s life when she is feeling the first symptoms of the transformation.

He approves of any means that allow a peaceful entrance to the Blighted Village.

Gale approves of using persuasion/intimidation/deception against the goblins to avoid combat with all of them and to save the deep gnome tied to the windmill.

Gale approves of paying for Oskar’s freedom or using persuasion/intimidation, and then setting him free.

He approves of intimidating Spike (the goblin who is torturing Liam) to cooperate with you.

Gale approves of persuasion/intimidation options to pretend to be a True Soul in front of Dror Ragzlin, avoiding combat with him and all his goblin lackeys.

Gale approves of the persuasive approach with the githyanki patrol, promising to help them to find this weapon they are looking for. It’s clear that any other approach will end up in a fight and therefore, bloodshed. 

He also approves if you tell Lae’Zel to deal with her brethren while “playing along”. Again, the goal is to avoid fighting/bloodshed. 

He approves of intimidating Karlach, saying that “I heard you are dangerous, so I am”. Since Karlach is aiming at the group, he approves of diffusing the imminent violence.

In similar fashion, Gale approves of intimidating Rugan, once he presents himself as Zhentarim, to give you the chest. This can be interpreted as a way to prevent further violence from a Zhentarim. Since there is no approval when you use persuasion to have the chest, one is more inclined to think this approval is about danger-control than curiosity. Or it’s just a bug.

[[2]] As it was said before, we can assume that diplomatic approaches are the best ones in his opinion. They not only have a positive effect in the short term but also are means that may guarantee useful resources for the future: 

Gale approves of ensuring an encounter with Lorroakan in Baldur’s Gate via Rolan, establishing diplomatic relationships with what could potentially be a powerful useful ally.

Gale approves of promising to rescue the Duke Ravengard in the Moonrise, one of the most important figures in Baldur’s Gate.

Gale approves of managing a peaceful entrance to the Myconid colony. He highlights in a comment afterwards how useful it could be to have the Myconid as allies.

[[3]] Gale certainly is a great protector of life. Gale is against killing people just for fun, whether they are innocent or not. He will defend and respect the life of innocents without question, but he even will defend the life of dubious characters. 

Gale approves of helping the tieflings to get rid of Lae’Zel because “she is dangerous to innocent people ''. We can see here that like any human, he has his own (reasonable) biases about Githyanki, considering them dangerous. Only after meeting Lae’Zel he recognises a good ally with the possibility of access to a cure to their tadpole problem.

He approves of convincing Rolan to stay in the Grove and defend it. This can be interpreted as gathering resources to reduce the bloodshed and therefore, the loss of life when facing the goblin attack. After all, Gale believes that “a wizard is a mighty weapon to have in your arsenal”

He approves of stepping in front of Arka whose crossbow is aimed at the caged goblin Sazza. Due to the anecdote he shares after, we know explicitly that his approval is due to the prevention of murder. 

In his anecdote on the Yawning Portal, we know he prevented murder of three humanoids: a dragonborn, a drow, and a cleric of Cyric. The last two are highly morally dubious due to lore reasons, reinforcing this concept that Gale protects life whether they are innocent or not. 

He approves of inviting Wyll to their camp and team. He is a fighter and a good resource to add in order to protect the team’s life. 

He also approves of helping Zevlor when he comments about the Blade of Frontier’s plan of killing the goblin leaders.

He approves of helping the tiefling called Guex to improve his technique with the sword. More chances for him not to lose his own life. 

Approves of helping Auntie Ethel when she's confronted by Mayrina’s brothers when Tav’s perception check fails. This is because neither Tav nor Gale perceived her as a Hag until the brothers called her such.

Gale approves saving Mayrina from the hag’s clutches. If Tav deals with the Hag, accepting her power and saving Mayrina, Gale will remain neutral (he is displeased with sparing the hag, but it’s nullified with the fact that Tav ended up rescuing Mayrina.) He will disapprove of giving Mayrina to the hag and accepting her powers instead. He is always approving of saving Mayrina’s life and killing the Hag, saving more potential innocents in the future. He explicitly says that hags should be extinct due to their malice.

He approves of avoiding a fight by convincing the man to let the party pass into the Zhentarim hideout.

He approves of saving Rugan’s life in the hideout. This reinforces again the concept that Gale values life including the morally dubious ones’.

Gale approves of saving Benryn’s life, the man screaming during the fire in the inn at Waukeen’s Rest.

Gale approves of accepting to rescue the Duke Ravengard, and probably saving his life.

Gale approves of saving the deep gnome in the windmill without asking compensation, just for the sake of saving his life. 

Gale approves of attacking the goblins that are throwing stones to the caged bear. (He does it whether he knows that bear is Halsin or not)

Gale approves when Tav shields their memory and denies the access of the location of the grove to Minthara.

Gale approves of killing Minthara, the greatest danger for the tieflings and all lives in the Grove.

Gale approves of killing the Duergar slavers Gekh Coal and his company. 

He approves of killing the dying hyena which is giving birth to a gnoll. This is a way to protect innocent lives in the long term.

He approves of using the tadpole against Flind, commanding her to devour the other gnolls. Gale approves again if Tav orders her to kill herself. 

He approves of helping Baelen from escaping the trap of poisonous inflammable flowers he is surrounded in the Underdark.

[[4]] He dislikes greed and likes offering help without asking for a reward, just for the sake of helping.

Gale approves of helping Zevlor with the refugee situation.

Gale approves of incorporating Wyll in the group and of helping to get rid of the problems of the grove. 

Gale approves helping Alfira in composing her song.

Gale approves of saving the tiefling kid Mirkon from the harpies.

Gale encourages Tav and approves of meddling into Mayrina's troubles when they see her being mistreated by the Hag. 

He disapproves of asking for compensation after saving the deep gnome at the windmill. Gale approves of saving him and telling him “you owe me nothing”. 

[[5 ]] He has a consistent approval of treating kids in a compassionate and forgiving way. There is a line he says after Arabella’s scene that sums up his position with kids (and adults too): “She was not innocent, but that doesn’t mean she is guilty.”

Gale disapproves of not interfering in Meli’s situation, the tiefling child who stole Barth’s medallion. Using intimidation against Barth at this moment doesn’t give approval penalties. Not doing anything does. 

When Tav’s perception prevents them from being pickpocketed by one of Mattis' associates, the child immediately starts crying. Gale Approves of telling this child “Relax. I won’t get angry. You didn’t manage to steal anything from me”.

He approves of telling Arabella's parents that the druids overreacted. This approval is explicitly explained later by gale: one should be more kind and forgiving with the transgressions of youth. Here there is a bit of self-projection of Gale on the situation.

He approves of saving Arabella with active persuasion/intimidation. He disapproves of not doing anything during the tense situation with Teela. 

He approves of choosing the option “Only a monster would threaten/kill a child” when speaking with Kagha the first time.

Gale approves of helping Mirkon. He disapproves of scaring him.

Gale approves of telling “I’m sorry for your loss” to a goblin kid whose parents were killed by the adventurer they are kicking. 

[[6]] He is an animal lover in general, so treating animals in a good way will always earn his approval. 

We know he has a cat. When he was a child, he used to have a Tressym (winged cat).

He approves of convincing Scratch of joining the camp via speak with animals.

Gale approves of petting Scratch.

Gale approves of leaving the cave of the Owlbear mother and her cub without combat. Or he approves if Tav can speak with animals and convinces her not to kill them. 

After killing the owlbear mother, Gale approves of sparing the owlbear cub’s life.

Gale approves of convincing the goblin Krolla to hand over the Owlbear cub. Paying for it will not earn his approval. 

Gale approves of feeding the owlbear cub at the camp. However, Gale will state that it's a dangerous pet. Gale approves of feeding the owl afterwards, offering a funny phrase that may be more meaningful for his character: “The hand that feeds is the hand that’s loved, now he wont leave your side”. I personally found it funny since he is the char that Tav is feeding with artefacts.

Gale approves of petting the owlbear.

Gale approves of attempting to heal the Owlbear cub in camp.

He disapproves of shooing the Owlbear cub.

Gale approves of freeing the spiders in the goblin camp. This can be interpreted as well as a tactical advantage for the battle.

Gale disapproves of suggesting to the goblins to use sharp stones at the caged bear so they can inflict more damage. He also disapproves again if Tav joins them in throwing stones.

He approves of helping the bear to attack the goblins. (This happens whether Gale knows that the bear is Halsin or not)

Gale approves of leaving flowers at the grave of the dog Myrna in the Underdark.

[[7]] Therefore it is only natural to see that he disaproves of animal cruelty

He disapproves of kicking and killing the squirrel Timber when entering the Grove.

He disapproves of prodding to death the bird that Nettie was healing

He disapproves of killing the owlbear cub once the mother was killed.

Gale disapproves of suggesting the goblin kids to use sharp stones to hurt the caged bear.

He disapproves of Tav throwing stones at the bear.

Gale disapproves of attacking the owlbear cub once it went to the camp.

[[8]] Since life is valuable for him in general, he will always disapprove of gratuitous killing, murder, and bloodshed. In short, he disapproves of unnecessary death.

Gale disapproves of asking the fishermen to hand over their values. This situation ends up in bloodshed.

He disapproves of joining Lae'Zel against the Tieflings that had her caged.

Gale disapproves of not helping Zevlor, knowing the tieflings will be massacred by the goblins.

He disapproves of telling Rolan to leave the grove before the arrival of the goblins. Without this wizard the tieflings have more chances of failing at the resistance. 

He disapproves of helping the goblin Sazza to escape. This will guarantee that Minthara knows the location of the Grove.

He disapproves of telling Zevlor that Tav won’t help the Blade of Frontiers against the imminent massacre of the tieflings.

He disapproves of not doing anything to help Arabella 

He disapproves of Tav ignoring his need for artefacts because “there is more at stake than his own meager life alone”. He disapproves of this decision that puts many innocents in danger, but he keeps appealing to Tav’s good side, encouraging them to do the “right thing”. 

He also disapproves of killing Crusher when he is begging for his life after the “pungent poetic justice” of kissing Tav’s feet.

Gale disapproves of killing Rugan in the Zhentarim hideout when Zarys orders to.

Gale disapproves of killing Ellyka, the tiefling who was watching the githyanki patrol from a distance. 

He disapproves of opening the gate for the goblin raiders.

Gale disapproves of joining the goblins in massacring the tieflings. During the party he will attempt to leave the group. Only a high persuasion or insight roll will keep him in the group. It requires a DC 15.

Gale disapproves of helping Glut to destroy Spaw, the peaceful leader of the current Myconid colony. Doing this will end up in the massacre of the Myconid.

He disapproves of abandoning Baelan surrounded by poisonous inflammable flowers in the Underdark.

[[9]] He doesn’t like gratuitous humiliation or torture of any kind, whether psychological or physical. Once more, it’s shown that he disapproves gestures of cruelty and unprovoked violence. 

Gale disapproves of telling Elegis (tiefling on the gates of the grove) that she is pathetic for fearing the goblins.

He disapproves of pocketing the ring when Mattis (tiefling kid) asks you to choose heads or tails.

He disapproves of using intimidation against Pardima, threatening her to break her neck (she is the tiefling who is paralysed inside the small building). 

He disapproves of smashing Alfira’s lute

He disapproves of telling Kagha that Arabella’s death was “quite a show”. This is related to Astarion’s concept of “fun” that Gale will bring into conversation subtly in an option during Mayrina’s quest.

Gale disapproves of psychologically torturing Lorin (wood elf trapped in Ethel’s house).

When Tav kills Connor, Gale will lament about the tragedy of the couple. He is sad for the story of lovers being over due to the whim of a hag.

Gale disapproves if after reviving Connor, Tav decides to keep him as a combat pet.

In the post before the Goblin camp, Gale disapproves of Tav smearing dung on their face. Gale has a sense of confidence and pride that he prefers to see in Tav as well. He is neutral if Tav throws dung against the goblin guards. On one side he probably approves of Tav’s pride transpired in that rebel action, but on the other hand, he doesn’t approve of provoking the goblins, since in the beginning of the scene he warned Tav that they come by the dozen, implying that they likely will be outnumbered.

He disapproves of obeying Crusher and kissing his foot, or licking it as a prank. 

Gale disproves of volunteering to torture Liam inside the defiled temple of Selune.

Gale disapproves of siding with the Goblins in general. Once done, in the party, he disapproves of telling him to stop whining after the massacre when he is sharing his regret of having participated in it. He answers "You really are heartless".

(Datamining) In the Duergar encampment, Gale disapproves of killing the slave gnomes under the command of the True Soul Nere.

[[10]] Despite showing some signs that he may support some bias commonly spread in Faerun, he keeps open minded and quite self-critical about his own slips on different races.

During the meeting he uses the Rashemi group as a synonym for lack of intelligence. I personally see this as a foreshadowing detail of future frictions with Minsc.

He approves killing Lae’Zel in the cage if Tav supports the fact that she is dangerous to innocent people. This situation may suggest that Gale considers most Githyanki as dangerous (acceptable conception lore wise)

When talking with Aaron (the halfling merchant of the grove), Gale disapproves of saying that the tieflings can deal with their problems because they have devil powers. 

Despite goblinoid races being despised by most people in Faerun, Gale recognises their powers, culture, magic, and ability to bond and love.

He is a human of Waterdeep, his human-centric vision slips in his line (with a non-human Tav): “Now more than ever, it's important to recall what makes us human. Well- you know what I mean.” He immediately noticed it and acknowledged it. 

[[11]]He is against slavery:

Gale disapproves if Tav pays Oskar’s freedom to get him as a slave. He approves of leaving him free by any means: paying for him, intimidation, or persuasion.

Gale disapproves of helping Gekh Coal (Duergar) to find the slave gnome who stole the boots in the Underdark.

Gale disapproves of handing over Astarion to Gandrel. This action can be interpreted as a way to not support slavery (because the story of Cazador), even though a better interpretation is related to Gale’s abandonment issues (see bellow).

(Datamining) In the Duergar encampment, Gale approves of helping Beldron in using the explosives to get free of the Duergar slavers.

[[12]] There are several elements related to acceptance, forgiveness, compassion, kindness and acknowledging of mistakes deeply entangled in his character. Gale wants these values for himself as well as for others. Examples of this can be seen in the following approvals:

[[12a]] Acceptance: of his persona, which means respecting his privacy, boundaries, and needs 

[Privacy/Boundaries] He disapproves of every use of the tadpole on him. He has been more than clear from the first moment about his privacy and secrets, promising that he will eventually share, given the circumstances (he clearly leaves open the possibility of trusting in Tav and never denies having secrets). This behaviour of him is also understood later not as a whim but as part of his abandonment issues: he explicitly says several times that “some truths are more difficult to share than others”. We need to remember that his secret is directly entangled with Mystra, her abandonment, and the mistake of the orb. See the post about "Gale Hypotheses- Part 1", section: "Abandonment Issues" for further interpretation.

[Privacy/Boundaries] During the scene of the stew, he disapproves of using the tadpole again. He attempts to leave the group for the breach of trust. A persuasive or insightful comment will keep him in the group, excusing the natural mistrust in Tav (Gale will always respond better to reasoning and negotiations than anything else). Once more, Gale forgives Tav’s intrusion.

[Privacy/Boundaries] During the death protocol, he approves of telling him that he can keep his secrets until he is ready to share them, despite the many questions that the whole event arose. 

[Privacy/Boundaries] During the scene of Loss, he approves of letting the topic of the loss rest. However, at this point, even if Tav keeps pushing, Gale will approve and will share a bit more about his folly with Mystra. 

[Needs] He approves of Tav with each artefact he receives. This can be understood as an action of caring for Gale and his life as well as for preventing the death of innocents.

[Acceptance] Accepting to share the experience of the Weave with him is key in his relationships with Tav. Magic equals Weave, and Magic is his life, so he is sharing in that moment a strongly meaningful part of him with Tav. Acceptance of the event is a direct acceptance of Gale as a person for a future deep friendship or romance.

[Acceptance] If Tav is a Wizard or a Cleric of Mystra, Gale approves the praise options: "I quite agree. There is no greater deity than Mystra" and “Praise be that Mystryl was reborn as Mystra.” Despite the abandonment, Gale still remains a great devotee of her, and accepting her is an indirect way to accept a big part of his own life.

[Acceptance] He approves even more if this acceptance has romantic connotations (this means, options of kiss/holding hands in the Weave or “more than friends” during Loss).

[Acceptance] When Tav resurrects Gale, he doesn’t approve the resurrection per se, but the “welcome back” comment, implying that he values the action a bit more when Tav is glad for his own persona to be back.

[Forgiveness] He will approve acceptance of his own persona and forgiveness of his secrecy after the party.

[[12b]] Forgiveness for others: He approves of forgiving kids [5] or all those adults who show honest regret by their past mistakes. This can be understood as a projection.

When Tav first meets Gale, he states he is a reserved person. He disapproves of the use of the tadpole even though he understands the drive of curiosity. He forgives Tav who acknowledged their mistake. 

Gale approves of telling Arabella’s parents that the Druids overreacted, that Arabella “is just a child”. Once Arabella is saved, Gale will explicitly emphasise later about forgiving the transgressions of youth.

After finding evidence that Kagha is working with Shadow Druids, Gale approves of exposing her while making her see her own mistakes. A path to redemption is granted with this action, and this resounds deeply in Gale. 

Gale himself wishes Mystra’s forgiveness for the mistake done in his youth. Despite wishing for it, he is quite resigned to never receiving it. 

If Tav uses the parasite powers a third time despite having agreed with the rest of the group not to, Gale will approve a sincere apology, as long as Tav acknowledges the mistake. He will answer that he knows about weaknesses and will recommend to stay stronger from that moment on. He forgives and passes no judgement, understanding Tav’s mistakes due to his own experience (to be fair: all companions with the exception of Astarion forgive this slip into the powers of the tadpole).

Taking Silvanus' idol may potentially end up in killing the druids. If this is the case, Gale will be affected by this tragedy since it was a lot of unnecessary death he doesn't like [1,3,8], and shares the burden that those deaths caused him since he suggested taking the idol as last resort, expecting to save more lives due to his bomb-condition. We see that he wants to survive and protect others from the orb, but not “at whatever cost”. He reflects with a heavy heart “at what cost” a greater evil was prevented. He speaks about “what’s wrong is wrong”, implying with all this scene that forgiveness, in this case, may be not possible. 

He approves of being forgiven/supported in his friendship/romance despite the mistake of holding the information of the orb and Mystra. At this point it is strange that Tav has not realised all of this alone, unless the player had a bug that prevented them from seeing Gale’s scenes. (Gale’s scenes suffer the lowest priority in the triggering list).

When Gale explicitly apologies in the morning after, he approves of telling him “It's fine. In the end I'm glad you told me.” The other options have no approval penalties. Once more it’s seen that a compassionate, forgiving attitude increases his approval. This can be seen as a direct result of his traumatic and constant present fear for abandonment (Check the post of "Gale Hypotheses- Part 1", section: "Abandonment Issues").

[[12c]] Compassion and kindness: He approves of most actions based on compassion and kindness (on him or others) and disapproves quick judgement on others when the whole story related to them is not completely known.

Gale disapproves of telling Arabella's parents that the situation is their fault. This can be interpreted as a quick judgement when they still did not listen to the other side.

After saving Arabella, Gale has a special comment related to the “transgressions of the youth”, about mistakes, and about innocence and guilt.

In Waukeen’s rest, Gale is neutral about keeping the dowry as a payment, but he approves of giving it to Benryn (the man rescued from the fire who found his wife dead). This could be considered a gesture of compassion.

He approves of most compassionate options when he is speaking of Mystra during the scene of Loss. It doesn’t matter if Tav doesn’t understand the whole situation; he always appreciates receiving support. 

Instead, he disapproves if Tav considers arrogance as the cause for his pain and loss (later we will know his folly was not because of arrogance but because of young love/devotion). He doesn’t approve judgement in this instance (since the whole story has not been said yet) but he will not disapprove Tav’s judgements later during the scene of the Revelation, where he receives the most aggressive words without approval penalties. 

Curiously, during the goblin party, he explicitly says that these two aspects of his persona (compassion and kindness) are affected by the shadow within (the orb) and the shadow without (the revealed Evil-Tav).

[[13]] Gale is a man of the City who indulges in the fine pleasures that urban life and some degree of privilege can offer. This is quite reasonable in terms of lore, since he is from Waterdeep, where humans hold the political and social power, plus his wizard profession. Wizards tend to come (even though it’s not exclusive) from high income families or from nobility since wizardry studies are quite expensive: 

He comments about the hardness of the wilderness.

He missed the civilisation: soft beds, home cooked meals, minstrels, and scented baths.

Gale approves of giving Oskar (the slave painter in the Zhentarim hideout) 200 gold to fight the “discomforts of the road”. He is the only companion who approves this action.

Gale disapproves of participating in the pain ritual with Abdirak. I personally prefer to interpret it in relation to his dislike for evil entities, but it can be also interpreted as a statement: pain “is not his cup of tea”.

In the same way, during the Weave, he disapproves of the image of being kicked in the gut.I know this should be common sense: if someone kicks you, you disapprove. The detail I see here is that, judging by his reaction, it seems to hurt him more than the image of the severed head. Maybe he has an extra sensibility to pain as the result of living with the orb stuck in his chest. The orb seems to be an ever present fear/pain (one can assume pain due to the extreme facial gesticulation in Gale when the process of absorption happens)

[[14]] He may disapprove of worshipping dubious or evil gods. This seems coherent since Mystra is a neutral good entity.

Gale disapproves of participating in the pain ritual with Abdirak. He explicitly says that pain is not “his cup of tea”, but it’s possible to interpret this scene as a disapproval to worshiping evil gods. Loviatar is one whose followers offer pain to celebrate her. In all options of this dialogue Abdirak explicitly says this is a ritual to offer pain to Loviatar, so it can be understood as a form of worshipping her in the moment. 

Gale disapproves if Tav accepts to be a Chosen of Booal.

He approves of Tav claiming that they don’t need of Booal’s powers, “I'll just kill you and claim it for myself”

When Shadowheart confesses being a worshipper of Shar, Gale will share a comment that displays his discomfort.

Gale approves of purging the evil in the dying hyena when a good-aligned Cleric blesses them.

[[15]] Gale is a scholar, and therefore, quite an open-minded char, who advocates for unconventional ways to solve problems:

He approves of considering the Creche solution for their tadpole’s problem, incorporating a githyanki to their group.

Gale approves of considering Gut the Priestess as another option. 

Despite his years studying The Arts, he is not judgemental or dismissive to Warlock/Cleric/Paladin Tavs who acquired the ability to cast magic thanks to the gift granted by superior entities.

Gale approves of saying “Then fix it, or die at my hand” to Raphael, quite an aggressive option for his usual style.

Gale suggests outsmarting Raphael; his logic is reasonable: these tadpoles are powerful and unusual, and Raphael probably wants them instead of their souls. If he is right, a good deal can be established. He knows that cambion’s deals tend to be unfair but he wants to exploit the fallible (human) side of Raphael for their benefit.

He is neutral when accepting the solution offered by the Hag. He probably doesn’t disapprove completely because, like a good scholar, he is waiting for the empirical result. He knows beforehand that Hags are twisted and evil entities that hardly could give them a good deal. In this case, he is not even proposing to outsmart her. 

Gale approves of giving the wand of control of Connor to Mayrina so she can find a solution in Baldur’s Gate. Despite this is an unconventional way to fix this situation, I personally feel there is a bug around, since his following comment is more consistent with a disapproval.

[[16]] He doesn’t like rushed decisions without thinking about all the possibilities. He encourages logical and reasonable discussions, free of biases or misconceptions as a scholar does. This aspect can be also understood as a reflection of his own past mistakes. Taking the orb after Mystra’s abandonment was a rushed decision of his youth which made him pay a big price.

During Raphael’s scene, he disapproves of the option “I’ll do anything to get rid of the tadpole”. That fast answer would only cause troubles.

He approves during Raphael’s scene the option that allows reflection: “I need to think this over.”

He encourages Tav to not discard the option of looking for the priestess Gut so quickly. He knows how magic is called among the goblinoid races and how much they value healing for being a culture of war.

Although he disapproves of the intrusion into his mind with the tadpole during the scene of the stew, reasonable arguments using persuasion/insight can be enough to prevent him from leaving the party. He reinforces the idea that he “may have spoken in haste” and he has reconsidered to stay despite Tav’s transgressions.

[[17]] He usually disapproves of using unknown magic in an irresponsible or careless way. This can be interpreted as a way to prevent mistakes similar to the one he did with the orb.

Gale disapproves of Tav reading the book of necromancy or giving it to Astarion. The reader will have access to the “forbidden knowledge” tag. Gale thinks himself more adequate for it since he is wiser than before, his experience with the orb book has taught him a great deal. He approves of giving the book to him.

Gale disapproves of accepting the brand of the Absolute. In the moment Tav accepts it, they learn that it has a unique magical effect that only True Souls can notice. Gale suspects this magic may cause mind control on goblins. "Charged with magic? Perhaps that explains the ease with which these goblins submit to True souls."

He approves of being cautious with the powers of the tadpole once they start seeing that its usage has physical and psychological (dreams) effects. 

He disapproves of using the tadpoles after seeing a dangerous pattern with the dreams.

[[18]] He approves of poetic justice, and he seems to follow the philosophy of “give others their own medicine” when he is attacked or harassed.

Gale approves of dealing with the situation with Nettie without bloodshed. However, Gale states that having been him, he would have handled it in a different way, recognising that he may have forced Nettie to pay with the same coin. “A taste of her own medicine is what she deserves.”

Gale encourages and approves of reinforcing a “pungent poetic justice”, making Crusher kiss Tav’s foot. 

Gale approves of helping the Myconid in killing the Duergars. “Wicked killers deserve wicked ends”

[[19]] He supports or at least doesn’t easily judge acts of self-preservation, but not at any cost. This follows his line “one respects life by fighting for it, and one respects death by fearing it”

Gale disapproves of keeping Astarion in the party after the bite scene. This happens if you use two options: “you can leave option” or “he won't hurt us”. Keeping Astarion is a danger in his eyes.

Gale approves of convincing/deceiving Lae’Zel not to kill the party during the night of apparent transformation into mind flayers. If those rolls fail and Tav kills Lae’Zel, Gale will remain neutral in the forced action that they had to take due to self-preservation. He describes the situation as “brutal” and shows pity and sadness for the tragedy. Then he asks Tav how they are doing with the experience: he is sympathising with Tav, not judging them.

Gale approves of dealing with Nettie without bloodshed but he states that he would have fought in order to preserve his own life.

When Tav speaks to Kagha after Arabella’s death, Gale keeps neutral to the comment “You protected your own without hesitation - my compliments.” However, Gale would only approve expressions related to calling out Kagha. Gale can understand the self-preservation sentiments, but his line is drawn when life is taken gratuitously.

Gale approves of pretending to be a True Soul in front of Dror Ragzlin and avoiding a fight when they are outnumbered.

He approves of being cautious with the powers of the tadpole once they start showing that they can endanger their own lives.

He suggests stealing the idol of Silvanus as a way to keep his condition in check (which is more than just self-preservation due to the massive destruction it may cause). If Tav killed the druids to obtain it, Gale shows regret. He embodies the sense of survival, but not at any cost. He suffers with the consequences, but he also endures them since they are the lesser evil. He prefers to cause the least harm possible if there is no choice in avoiding to hurt a side. 

This can be better seen during the goblin party. The only arguments that Tav can use to convince Gale to stay in the team are those related to self-preservation: “We make each other survive” and “You don't stand a chance alone”, both statements that Gale can accept only after a high DC 15, but always regretting his need and the excess of blood.

[[20]] Gale’s secrecy about Mystra and the orb have a clear source: he has serious abandonment issues that can be easily seen in his most apparent “strange” approvals/disapprovals:

Gale disapproves of handing over Astarion to Gangrel, even though he dislikes and mistrusts keeping Astarion as part of the group during the bite scene. This is quite surprising since Astarion is seen by Gale as a danger.

Gale approves twice defending Astarion against Gangrel. If Astarion is not in the group, the first approval happens when Tav recognises that Astarion is part of their companions/friends (therefore, they care about them). The second approval is when Tav reinforces their loyalty to Astarion insisting that they won’t give his location. Although Gale will explicitly question if this decision was right, he secretly approved it (meta-knowledge that only the player sees). We can interpret this as Gale seeing in Tav a person who will never abandon someone they care for, even if that person endangers them. 

During the scene of Revelation, Gale approves of not being abandoned/pushed away by Tav despite his “secrecy”.

This post was written in May 2021. → For more Gale: Analysis Series Index

[maxwell-grant]

As you are an avowed fan of Monster Fiction, might I please ask your opinions on the Creature from the Black Lagoon? (I'm especially interested in your thoughts on this subject, given that 'Gill Man' seems to be a resident of Brazil).

I have incredibly strong feelings about humanoid fish monsters, the sea and it's creatures have been a definitive part of my life for as long as I can remember, and the classic Gill Man is definitely among my favorite monsters. I would argue he's got the best design out of all the classic Universal monsters by far, and the first thing that needs to be stated about Gill Man is where exactly the concept's coming from. Because yes, it's got it's roots on pulp fish monsters and rumors about fantasy creatures in the Amazon, I remember growing up hearing so many jokes about Americans thinking of Brazil and the Amazon being full of dinosaurs and monsters that I used to think of it as fact (if only that was the worst stereotype out there), but we gotta talk specifically about the Gill Man's designer: Millicent Patrick.

Patrick remains the only woman to have ever designed monsters for Universal, having also designed the Metaluna Mutants from This Island Earth and the ectoplasmic visitors from It Came From Outer Space. As you'd expect, although initially the studio was happy to promote her as "The Beauty that Created the Beast", her credit was robbed from her for fifty years after her boss Bud Westmore fired her out of jealousy and took credit for her creation, something that only came to light recently and was never rectified in her lifetime. It's a damn shame she never got credit for it in her lifetime, as even the movie itself and the Gill-Man, despite their impact, have languished in obscurity for decades until recently

A lot of joyless snobs derided The Shape of Water as a revisionist film "trying to be subversive", ignorant as usual not just of what the story was trying to tell, not just of the great passion behind Del Toro's vision (because if any current big filmmaker "gets" monsters, it's Del Toro), but also of the fact that the Gill Man was always framed from a romantic lens, even in the original film that ends with his demise. All the Gill Man wants is to be left alone, and when that doesn't work, to admire Julie Adams' beauty. Humans invaded it's home, poisoned it's water, drugged it, shot at it, and put it down. Where as most other Universal monsters are framed as invasive menaces trespassing on human society, the Gill Man had the situation flipped right from the start. He's an ancient, lost beast with a dwindling habitat who wants to find company and stay away from the rest of the world that's forced him out, avoiding humanity until it has no choice but to lash out against beings that won't leave him alone and won't allow him any sort of positive interaction. It's humanity that's the invasive menace in the Gill Man's story.

The monster was undeniably a victim, and despite the movie's advertisement stating it's “raging with pent-up passions" and playing up the fear of sexually threatening monsters, even at the end when he kidnaps her, he doesn’t maul her or threaten to assault her; he just places her on a pedestal in the center of his home, where he can admire her without being hunted for it. Much of the Gill-Man's more recent popularity as a romantic or heroic figure starts to click when you read Millicent's story and the thought process behind the design

At Disney, Mildred worked as a color animator on “Fantasia,” contributing to four sequences, including the legendary “Night on Bald Mountain,” where she created gorgeous color pastel animation for the demonic Chernabog - “the most magical Disney character” for O’Meara and generations of monster lovers.

She claimed to be Disney’s first female animator — probably not true, but close enough — and further embroidered her background by saying she was an Italian baroness. She certainly looked the part, as one can see in a promotional film and photos from her time at Disney — strikingly beautiful, with long black hair and a regal air.

"I spent six weeks with the Gill-Man," she explained, a fond note perceptile in her voice. "He changed his shape three times before he was able to win the approval of the executives who always have the last word on Hollywood monsters. The shape he's in now, I think he's cute. But that's because I worked with him so long. He's expected to scare other people."

"These creatures grow on a sketchboard in front of me, but sometimes, after I've seen them come to life in the finished movie version, I'm as startled as the film audience is expected to be," she said.

In a low-cut, tight-fitting black crepe dress, worn under a white lace coat, with flashing necklace, earrings and bracelets, Miss Patrick looked a lot more like a fashion illustration herself than a creator of bizarre monsters. Unmarried, she admits to no current romance.

"Why should I bother with the Hollywood wolves," she murmured. "I'm happy with my monsters".

So right from the start we establish that the Gill Man as a concept always had a different bent to it than the other classic monsters, which may be part of the reason why it didn't catch on quite the same way. Simultaneously the oldest monster among Universal, as a prehistoric creature predating mankind, as well as the newest, since all the others were largely based on Gothic traditions, folklore and taken from literature where as the Gill Man was created for the film and went on to became a stock monster archetype.

The thing about culture is that nothing is ever really invented wholesale, even when it's specifically the first instance of something. Genres don't get invented, characters don't get invented, it all flows from a long, long line of varying curves and paths as it mutates and liquifies and then solidifies into archetypes and genres and forms. The Gill Man solidified the humanoid fish monster as a monster archetype, but even past Lovecraft's Deep Ones, there is a long, long history of fish-human hybrids present across worldwide folklore.

(Pictured left to right: Boto, Negro d'agua, Cobra Norato, Iara)

It' also an interesting coincidence that the Gill Man comes from the Amazon specifically because legends of merfolk, mermaids and mermonsters are extremely common in Brazilian folklore, and several of them actually have a specifically romantic or sexual aspect to them that are less common on other regions. The amazon river dolphin (Boto) is associated with one of our most popular folk tales, which states that the Boto transforms into a handsome, well-dressed man (or woman since it's a shapeshifter) who goes into town, seduces and impregnates women, and then returns to the river in the morning as a dolphin again. It was an indigenous myth that has sadly become tainted as it's become known as a scapegoat for infidelity and rape, although it's hardly the myth's fault that abusers used it as a cover-up, and it was NOT invented for this purpose, which is sadly what a lot of people assume. It was an indigenous myth corrupted by colonialists, and it's also led to a lot of river dolphins being killed either as payback or so people could harvest their body parts as amulets.

Iara is another of our most popular myths, enough to warrant a separate post, and she's based on the European mermaids whose legends were carried over by the Portuguese, although she's been taken in different directions based on the pre-existing mermaid legends that were already in place, such as the Ipupiara, a merman who was said to kill trespassers on indigenous land, and even those it liked by hugging them too hard. There's Red Beard, a naked redhead man who's said to try to hug and kiss any and all women that approach his location (although he never takes it farther than that, the records seem pretty specific on that for some reason), there's the Norato snake, one of our many Giant Snake myths, this one said to be a giant water snake that would shift between snake and human form. As a giant snake, it would help the passage of ships and defend people from dangerous creatures, including it's own sister, and in it's human male form, it was said to be extremely charming, even seductive to man and woman alike, forever trying to find a way to be a human forever. There's more I'm not going into but, point being, it's enough to constitute a pattern, and it's a pattern that aligns with the Gill Man's own pop culture appeal, even if not intentionally.

So I guess if there's a takeaway from this post is, 1: All you Undyne/Sidon fuckers out there owe at least some tribute to the Gill Man and Millicent Patrick, although Brazilians were way, way ahead of the curve on this one, and 2: Guillermo Del Toro is right about everything.

[ladder-discourse]

Long post ahoy, I finally felt like writing it so here it is: A list of the characters who THUS FAR have been assigned established 'canon' monster types in Turnabout Moonlight. PLUS, I wrote up a SECOND list at the bottom which includes all the different monsters that are established to exist in the setting, including brief descriptions of each. I'll probably come back and edit shit on here as I think of things...

Characters

Phoenix Wright: Dragon (partial ancestry; spends the first 26 years or so of his life just looking like a regular-ass human until he manages to awaken deeper abilities.)

Gregory Edgeworth: Human. First became aware of supernatural community through his former spouse; remained involved in magical affairs to fight on behalf of supernatural entities bc of his son.

Miles Edgeworth: Werewolf (born with lycanthropy, inherited from his other parent)

Larry Butz: Caprid (TM goat person; formerly listed as just a regular human whose family was cursed to have persistently terrible luck.)

Dick Gumshoe: Troll

Misty, Maya and Mia Fey: Vulpid

Morgan and Pearl Fey: Vulpid

Dahlia Hawthorne and Iris: Human-Vulpid

Bikini: Vulpid

Manfred von Karma: Human sorcerer; a very highly regarded Rich Douche and bureaucrat in the judicial system which helps govern human-supernatural societal relations.

Franziska von Karma: Lycanthropy-cursed human. (haven't decided quite yet at what point along the timeline she gets turned, but she spends a good chunk of her life living as a regular human sorcerer type like her dad.)

Klavier Gavin: Faerie

Kristoph Gavin: Faerie

Zak and Valant Gramarye: Catfolk

Magnifi and Thalassa Gramarye: Catfolk; bloodline carries enhanced abilities of magical perception.

Trucy Wright: Catfolk; possesses enhanced abilities of perception.

Jove Justice: Lycanthropy-cursed human

Apollo Justice: Werewolf/Catfolk hybrid (born a werewolf, inherited the condition from Jove; unaware of his hybrid status for most of his life. Possesses enhanced abilities of perception inherited from his mother's side, powers boosted by bracelet that helps focus the ability.)

Metis and Athena Cykes: Dragons

Juniper Woods: Cervid (TM deer person; formerly had her listed as a dryad.)

Simon and Aura Blackquill: Half-demons. Aura is physically more visibly demonic than Simon is, as Simon appears almost perfectly human, even without a disguise. Simon is also an accomplished sorcerer and member of the magical bureaucracy.

Taka: Magically enhanced hawk; Simon's familiar.

Byrne Faraday: Harpy (crow type)

Kay Faraday: Harpy (crow type)

Shi-Long Lang: Werewolf (the Lang clan is a very old and and well established werewolf family in Zheng Fa)

Callisto Yew: Faerie

Ema and Lana Skye: Demons ???

The Judge: A telepathic otherworldly being of unknown origin, whose physical form is utterly imperceptible. He still acts exactly the same as in canon and, SOMEHOW, still has grandkids that he's really eager to tell you about.

Deigo Armando/Godot: Sphinx or Manticore (I still haven't settled on which he is, or if he's somehow both)

Sebastian Debeste: Sphinx (tentative)

MONSTER TYPES

Main types:

Dragons: Exceedingly rare and mysterious; as far as anyone is aware no true "pure blooded" dragons exist anymore, and any dragon representation among the cast is limited to what are technically human/dragon hybrids. Draconic abilities are not well understood as they are not only rare but also wildly variable in nature. The only consistently shared trait seems to be that all people with draconic heritage are immune to curses and most magical types of poison.

Vulpid: Humanoid foxes. Tend to be highly proficient in one or more types of magic, transfiguration magic being the most commonly expressed. The Fey clan long ago learned to combine their natural transfiguration magic with their sensitivity to the spiritual afterlife, developing a technique that allows them to channel the souls of the dead into their own bodies.

Werewolves: Humanoid canines (duh). Their arcane biology is exceedingly bizarre and has highly aggressive curse-like properties which can infect/overwrite most other types of magic; because of this, there are both people who are naturally born werewolves, and humanoids who have been infected with 'lycanthropy' and turned into werewolves later in life.

Catfolk: Humanoid felines. Tend to have a strong affinity for illusion magic. It's rumored that some catfolk families are so attuned to that type of magic that they can naturally see through most magical illusions, and even sense if a person is being untruthful.

Faeries: Magical humanoids with some insect-like physiology, who hail from a parallel plane. They have a strong affinity for casting illusion type magic that exceeds even the abilities of most catfolk, moving beyond merely tricking the eye and into fooling the other senses as well. Contact with iron causes them physical harm.

Other monster types established (in need of further development)

Cervid: Humanoid deer. Tend to have a strong affinity for plant magic.

Harpies: Avian humanoids.

Caprid: Humanoid goats.

Trolls: Usually very large, tusked, have big floppy ears and a long tufty tail, eat rocks for sustenance. Nothing else decided about them really decided yet. Possibly turn to rock in the sunlight?

Demons: ...They exist. I haven't really decided what their deal is.