#Stollenwurm

[doubtspirit]

Tatzelwurm

[artmctalon]

Stollenwurm Sketch

Something I doodled in Photoshop at the public library earlier this year, loosely based on the Stollenwurm (aka Tatzelwurm) of European folklore.

[blazlngblade]

Another chapter of Seed Story is here! I wanted to ask this poll again!

Vote based on whatever reason!

Whether you like that one's personality, their design, maybe you like their gameplay, even choose based on the animal alone! Whatever your reason, just choose your favourite!

The last time I asked this poll, there was 44votes and Lykaon and Yuetu had tied, but now that ENG CotC has Seed Story and we know all 6 of them, maybe those results will change?

[catschimericalcreations]

Tatzelwurm / Stollenwurm stuffed animal made from repurposed soft toys

Did you know:

With every donation you make at https://ko-fi.com/catschimericalcreations you can unlock one fun fact about any mutated plush beast of your choosing!

[mist-the-wannabe-linguist]

Barborka and Permoník, two Silesian Coalwings

The Silesian Coalwing (wůnglok ślůnski/węglak śląski/slezský uhelák/Schlesischer Kohlvogel) is a small courier-class working breed used by miners in the Upper Silesian Coal Basin (and other mining regions around Central Europe, though many areas prefer the larger Alpine Stollenwurm). Used in mining for as long as there have been coal mines in Silesia, these hardy little dragons were bred from firebreathing ferals who would dig for coal as fuel to incubate their eggs to make up for the lack of local volcanoes, particularly in the Landek area where erosion exposed black coal veins to the surface. For this reason, these dragons are sometimes referred to as "landečak". Other common names are "darkovak", "węglowód", or the affectionate "šlonzoček", "uhelníček", "węglarek" and many others (a common joke is that every mine has its own name for the breed). The English and German names for the breed reference a common occurence when this breed is in flight - since they are almost permanently covered in a layer of coal dust, they leave a slight trail behind them with every wing flap, making it seem almost as if their wings were smoking.

They are a very hardy breed, although small, they possess great physical strength allowing them to pull minecarts and carry coal by air from mines to coal preparation plants. Each unit of miners typically has one Coalwing, harnessed typically by the foreman, and share a bond similar to that of a military dragon and its crew. This is an important factor in mine rescue since this way the unit has a powerful animal particularly motivated to get its miners to safety.

As firebreathers, although rather weak, young dragons of this breed have to be carefully taught to suppress their flame to prevent disasters in case of undetected gas leaks.

They are not the only European breed to seek out coal for egg incubation, but they are one of the few breeds that actively dig underground. Some other breeds have been known to bury their eggs in man-made charcoal piles and kilns, which is presumed to have been the origin of dragon domestication in Europe somewhere during the Iron Age

[eatorfuck]

In the folklore of the Alpine region of south-central Europe, the Tatzelwurm, Stollenwurm, or Stollwurm is a lizard-like creature, often described as having the face of a cat, with a serpent-like body which may be slender or stubby, with four short legs or two forelegs and no hindlegs. The creature is sometimes said to be venomous, or to attack with poisonous breath, and to make a high-pitched or hissing sound.

[demi-shoggoth]

2023 Reading Log, pt. 15

I am behind on my writeups: the last book here I read the week of Thanksgiving!

71. The Body Fantastic by Frank Gonzalez-Crussi. This book made for a surprisingly relevant pivot from Cult of the Dead, as it starts with talking about how Christianity has made a long history from denying and denigrating the flesh. This book is a miscellany of odd medical trivia and historical beliefs about the human body, from wandering wombs to the curative power of saliva. As someone who’s read a lot of medical history books, this one didn’t stand out so much to me, but it would probably be a good starting point for someone looking to learn some of the odder highways and byways of how people have thought about bodies. The author’s sensibilities are philosophical, leaning mystical, and his personality shines through. This is particularly true in matters of food and drink—he feels disgust over eating competitions having gone hungry in his youth, for example.

72. Eight Bears by Gloria Dickie. As the name suggests, this book covers all of the extant bear species, although more from a cultural and conservation perspective than evolution or ecology. The author travels around the world in an attempt to see all of the bears in the wild, or at least in local captivity (such as going to a panda preserve in China). I think the book’s strongest chapters are the ones in South Asia, where she sees how in India, humans and sloth bears are being pressed into conflict through land use, and the waning in visibility but still strong market in bear bile in Vietnam. I was also pretty surprised about the chapter closest to home—how the black bears in Yosemite National Park were outright fed by park management for decades as a tourist attraction before the realization that, wait, getting large strong omnivores used to associating humans with food is a bad decision.

73. The Delusions of Crowds by William J. Bernstein. This is an odd one. It poses itself essentially as a sequel to Charles Mackay’s Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, a book about mass hysteria and fads from the 1840s. It narrows down Mackay’s wide scope to two major domains—economic bubbles and millenialist religion, and then progresses in a roughly chronological order. The problems are two fold. One, the narrative never really draws much linkage between these two types of “delusions of crowds”, leaving the book feeling disjointed. Second, the author assumes a lot about the reader’s background in economics (possibly because he’s an economist himself), so the explanations of the exact financial chicanery involved in the various bubbles are not always fully comprehensible. I wanted to like this book a lot more than I actually did.

74. Spirit Beings in European Folklore 2 by Benjamin Adamah. The second of four volumes, this covers primarily north-central and north-east Europe. Germany, Finland and the Netherlands get the most attention. The monsters contained within include a lot of house and field spirits, as well as many variations of alps and other sleep paralysis monsters. Again, what monsters the author decides fall into his category of “spirit beings” and which ones don’t is somewhat arbitrary. Tatzelwurms and stollenwurms, for example, are listed, even when more traditional dragons are not. I also think that the author needs to be more careful with their word choice, and/or spend more time studying folklore as a whole. For example, the book talks about the spoukhoas, a ghostly hare from the Netherlands. It talks about the spoukhoas as being a “were-hare”, despite the only lycanthrope-like trait in the entry being its vulnerability to silver… which is not universal to werewolves, and only became inexorably linked to werewolves due to Hollywood. No references to being a person at all!

75. Saurian: A Field Guide to Hell Creek by Tom Parker, Chris Mansa and RJ Palmer. This is an art book, tied into the Saurian video game in which you play as a dinosaur. As such, the book takes an in depth look at the habitat represented by the game, and discusses the flora and fauna of the late Maastrichian South Dakota. The book is, of course, gorgeous. Both in terms of the dinosaur reconstructions and the landscapes, this makes a wonderful coffee table book. This might sound like an odd complain for a coffee table book based on a video game, but I do wish it had a bibliography. The book talks a lot about specific diets and habitat preferences of the animals within, and I want to have some sort of a guide to sorting out what’s supported by evidence, and what’s creative license.

[that-spider-witch]

Mythological animals that I think should be used for Arknights character designs

I posted this on Reddit, might as well post it here too.

Arknights has a lot of myth-inspired characters already beside the obvious dragons, angels and devils: We have Pegasi (the Nearl family), Griffins (Archetto). Hippogryph (Hellagur), Phoenixes (Fiammetta), Kukulkán (Ho'olheyak), Cerberus (Ceobe), Typhon (well... Typhon)... you get the picture. 

So... why not add some more mythical animal-inspired designs? Here are some that I think would be awesome to have in the game.

Cadejo:

What they are: The Cadejo (Spanish pronunciation: [kaˈðexo]) is a supernatural spirit that appears as a dog-shaped creature with blue eyes when it's calm and red eyes when it's attacking. It roams isolated roads at night, according to Central American folklore of indigenous origin. In some variations of the myth, there is a good white cadejo and an evil black cadejo. Both are spirits that appear at night to travelers: the white cadejo protects them from harm and danger during their journey, while the black cadejo (sometimes an incarnation of the devil) tries to kill them.

What I think would be cool: A Perro Dollkeeper that switches between "white" and "black" mode in battle, giving some really nice flavor to the "doll" mechanic. Bonus point if HG goes the Archetto/Ho'olheyak route and give them Sarkaz or Caprinae horns while still having them be of Perro race, as lots of Cadejo artwork represents them with goat horns and/or hooves in line with the whole devil aspect of the legend.

Kamaitachi:

What they are: Kamaitachi (鎌鼬) is a Japanese yōkai often told about in the Kōshin'etsu region. They appear riding on dust devils and they cut people using the nails on both their hands that are like sickles. One would receive a sharp, painless wound. The name is a combination of the words "itachi" meaning weasel, and "kama" meaning sickle. In the Musashi region and Kanagawa Prefecture, they are called "kamakaze" (鎌風, "wind sickle"), and in the Shizuoka Prefecture they are called "akuzen-kaze" (悪旋風, "evil whirlwind"). 

What I think would be cool: Seriously, why do we not have an Anaty operator based on these guys yet? Why wasn't Shirayuki one? It is not like Arknights has not based characters on yōkai before (Suzuran and Utage immediately come to mind), so where's our sickle weasel at?

Tatzelwurm:

What they are: In the folklore of the Alpine region of south-central Europe, the Tatzelwurm, Stollenwurm, or Stollwurm is a lizard-like creature, often described as having the face of a cat, with a serpent-like body which may be slender or stubby, with four short legs or two forelegs and no hindlegs. The creature is sometimes said to be venomous, or to attack with poisonous breath, and to make a high-pitched or hissing sound. Anecdotes describing encounters with the creature or briefly described lore about them can be found in several areas of Europe, including the Austrian, Bavarian, French, Italian and Swiss Alps. It has several other regional names, including Bergstutz, Springwurm, Praatzelwurm, and in French, arassas.

What I think would be cool: ...okay, I will be honest, I just find the idea of a lizard or serpent-tailed catgirl or catboy really cute (Bonus points if they have cute venomous little fangs). Yes, the idea of putting serpent tails were you wouldn't expect to find them has already been used for both Utage and Ho'olheyak, but not only are both of those examples also based on mythology (The Nue for Utage, Kukulkan/Quetzalcoatl for Ho'olheyak), but their designs also seem to be decently popular with the fandom, so why not repeat the formula?

Simurgh:

What they are: The simurgh (/sɪˈmɜːrɡ/; Persian: سیمرغ, also spelled simorgh, simorg, simurg, simoorg, simorq or simourv) is a benevolent, mythical bird in Persian mythology and literature. The Simurgh is depicted in Iranian art as a winged creature in the shape of a bird, gigantic enough to carry off an elephant or a whale. It appears as a peacock with the head of a dog and the claws of a lion – sometimes, however, also with a human face.

What I think would be cool: As with the Tatzelwurm, I just want to see what HG could design based on this. There's no doubt in my mind that such a character would have to be a Liberi, just like Ho'olheyak, Archetto and Hellagur before it. I want HG to give us what initially seems like a new Perro or Lupo waifu, fluffy wolf/dog ears and tail, with just a easily missable peacock feather on her hair to foreshadow her true inspiration... and then when the character actually comes out they reveal her as a Liberi seemingly out of nowhere, big majestic Simurgh on her E2 art background, all Lupoknights players utterly jebaited. Let's keep this trend of weird Liberi going, please!

[draconesmundi]

Are there any dragons that have gone extinct in recent history? I feel like a large carnivorous dragon or some species of glitterdrake must have gone away at some point.

On a whim I made Zburător a recently extinct dragon; a wolf-headed dragon, cousin of the stollenwurm (which is currently a cat headed dragon but this design is pending). (By 'cat headed' and 'wolf headed' I mean 'crocodylomorph with frills wattles and barbels to look mammalian)

For a while I had mushussu as a recently extinct and very mysterious domesticated dragon, but I might make it an extant dragon because I've already written a bio and drawn the art and made the little map.

I haven't made too many recently extinct dragons tbh hmmm

[stollenwurm-writes]

“Who do you see when you look at me, Riku?”  Roxas asks bluntly. The sharpness of his tone cuts off any further protest Riku might attempt. He’s not letting this go. He’s getting his answer. Riku falls silent, looks down at the sand. There’s a moment where he says nothing, where Roxas’s stomach coils painfully on itself, clenching into knot after knot until it collects in his gut like a boulder. And then Riku raises his eyes to meet Roxas’s and looks at him. Really looks at him with an intensity that nearly makes him look away. “I see you, Roxas.” There’s no waver or hesitation in Riku’s voice. No hint of doubt or uncertainty.  “But I remind you of him.” It’s not a question. 

Riku and Roxas one-shot is complete!

[paper-is-paper]

Might I also add as a recommendation something behind us, something ahead of us by stollenwurm. It’s another wonderful post-canon sunflower fic about healing, and demonstrates all the intriguing complexities of their relationship in such a nuanced way. Plus, I love the writing style.

sunnflower content + rant 🌻

first of all, ao3 !! i really just wanted some good, nontoxic sunflower fanfiction because both sunny & basil deserve to be happy after the shit they've gone through! also, i wanted to feel better because BASIL IS CLEARLY HEAD OVER HEELS FOR SUNNY AND HE DOESNT KNOW IT (video by nerdy arty) hdjvhdjvhdn he JUST LIKE ME FR!!

ive categorized them by AU / canoncompliant with additional tags! completed fics are marked with 🌻, long fics (5k+ words) are marked with 💡

canon compliant:

Culinary Conversations by ShardOfHope💡

A Mug of Sundrops in a Wave of Sadness by karma_kalanchoe💡

The First Day of the Rest of Your Life by smiles2m

Suddenly, Sunny by diagnosed_shitposter

Bloom Later by witheredahlia💡

Catch a Glimmer of Your Star by UdonPuddle 🌻💡

au / mari lives:

Secondhand Sequitir by Soppypup💡🌻

He's Impossible by HowardR💡

to bask in your warmth by im_clo💡🌻

Flower Language by mirror_to_the_past💡

hmestwbf by ME (yes yours truly)

next up is yt animatics because uhhh idk i really like watching homo idiots!! i have 🕹️ that indicates the video depicts some omori plot involving spoilers for the game (the accident, angst, etc) or covers the entire game happening.

OMORI MV - Eine Kleine by Bear🕹️

Try Again by eggsoupery🕹️

OMORI MV - Love Me by white_tulips_

Nonsense Speaker by Nerdy Arty🕹️

in defense of sunflower: (major omori spoilers here cw!!)

why are people antagonizing them this badly? seriously i don't get it. they were children when the accident happened and gameplay shows that both of them got shittons of trauma

"what the hell were you guys thinking when you decided to ship two mentally unstable teenagers that participated in the same manslaughter??"

it was an accident. looking at the incident, i firmly believe it was very seriously fucked up, and they weren't in the right state of mind when it happened. consider the situation, the person you love most in the world is gone forever. in this situation, sunny completely closes in on himself and creates headspace. basil on the other hand sees sunny (his childhood best friend and the one he describes as 'perfect' and puts on a pedestal) completely having a mental breakdown. basil panics, not knowing what to do, because both of the people he idolize is gone - mari is dead, a part of sunny died with her. obviously he has a mental breakdown figuring out what to do, too?

obviously we should also consider basil's mental state at this point - pure speculation here, but basil, due to his feminine gender expression, would have been a victim of bullying, and the gang would have been his first friends. and basil photographs things he cherishes. that would mean he sees himself losing his friends when mari dies because sunny is most likely gonna be legally convicted of manslaughter right? in his disoriented, panicked mind, he wanted to protect sunny, the friend he most likely did have feelings for but was unable to admit them due to already being bullied, (that's just my hc dw) and did something that is super fucked up — he did more harm than good, but i believe he was just trying to fix everything back the way it was. we're absolutely going to talk about why Basil knows how to tie a noose, which adds to my point — basil might already have been mentally unwell (no doubt taking more shit from life than one is supposed to) BEFORE he met his friends, and he was desperately trying to salvage what little happiness he had left.

i cannot deny that sunnflower has full potential of being a very unhealthy and toxic relationship, but i might add that the true + secret ending has both Somethings disappear, implying that both of them are capable of healing. thats why i ship them manyyearsafter-canon or AU, bc therapy can fix shit ive seen it myself

ill end this little rant by a comment from j0kerclash on reddit:

Pairing them together is the implication that they are able to completely heal from their trauma, the actual dynamics of their relationship isn't toxic, it was the circumstances of their interactions combined with the context of the event itself. Sunny and Basil aren't permanently fucked up, I'd say it's quite harmful to imply that people are forever broken and can never truly recover. Considering the choices in the game are about confronting, accepting, and moving on from guilt and trauma, the best scenario for both Sunny and Basil, is if they were truly able to let go and not become triggers for each other, which is illustrated by them being unaffected by the potential toxicity of their past.

sorry for the rant! here are some links also defending the ship

if you enjoyed, i also have another sunflower headcannon post

from diagnosed_shitposter

idfk how to link the original text im sorry

this

[briefbestiary]

A dragon-like serpentine creature said to roam the Alps. It is primarily known for its feline face and generally venomous and poisonous attributes.

[catschimericalcreations]

Tatzelwurm Plush Doll made from Upcycled Stuffed Animals by Cat's Chimerical Creations

Did you know:

With every donation you make at https://ko-fi.com/catschimericalcreations you can unlock one fun fact about any repurposed Beanie Baby hybrid plush beast of your choosing!

[mist-the-wannabe-linguist]

Some of the known dragons of Switzerland in the year 1797. Starting from the left is Titania of the Bellinzona Covert, Salientes, the notorious captain-less courier, and their daughter Corvalis, surpassing both her parents and many middleweights in height while remaining a lightweight herself. At her feet is the Roi-de-Vitesse Agrippa of the Geneva Covert, and above them both towers Atrocitas, until recently Switzerland's largest dragon, staring down the young Genevieve, the country's first heavyweight. Between them stands Halcyon, the elderly Pêcheur-Couronné, and to the right is Piscatrix, his frequent swimming companion in Lake Geneva, and Diligens the Stollenwurm, not quite sure how to get his long tail out of the way. Not pictured are the couriers Blavaint and Biancaneve, middleweights Minax and Türst, and lightweights Deinos, Carissimus, Ravenna, Ingeniosa, Caelestis, and Agrippa's parents Velox and Avicella.

[doubtspirit]

Tatzelwurm

In Alpine folklore, the Tatzelwurm or Stollenwurm, Stollwurm is a lizard-like creature, often described as having the face of a cat, with a serpent-like body which may be slender or stubby, with four short legs or two forelegs.

[venacoeurva]

Tatzelwurms are underappreciated imo so here's some domesticated more catlike ones

-Please do not reupload, edit, or use without proper credit or linking back. Ask first please.-