#how to grasshopper pose

[neurospoicy]

i have a monologue piece due on monday and i wrote the most earth-shaking mind-blowing molecule-dissolving and-a-bunch-of-other-really-extra-adjectives-that-i-can't-bother-naming-all-of-them-because-i-just-can't scene ever while procrastinating my schoolwork and finished the book i was basing it off of, and right now i'm just dilly-dallying like a grasshopper in a strawberry dress in front of my laptop for the past two hours, rendered physically unable to type anything of sane comprehension because all i can imagine is my two friends throwing molotov cocktails at each other in the hunger games

[nephtheless]

Wanted to do more action poses, so here are the Time Buddies having a friendly Capoeira match.

I just love watching capoeira videos. The level of buzzing excitement it creates in me is on par with watching figure skating and parkour. Like, it literally makes me pace from pent up energy.

Physical disability prevents me from doing anything even mildly sporty, so I'm living the dream of being athletic vicariously through drawings ::D

This is literally my first step into poses with so much movement, so I relied HEAVILY on references for this. It's still a little stiff, but I'm quite happy with how these turned out, nevertheless.

Once upon a time I believed using references was a sign of being a "less-than" artist, but I'm seeing more and more that it's just a way to learn and get better at drawing. So, no guilt feelings here!

In my head, Gabby-wabs would bounce around like a grasshopper for like 30 seconds, then drop to the ground and promptly take a nap ^^

[sthilarions]

me, exhausted and out of ideas, pushing the content creation button in my brain: Edwin is a. is a fuckin. grasshopper mouse

Or, well, his daemon is.

Some fun facts about grasshopper mice:

1) They look like normal very cute tiny mice. They are about 3.5-5 inches long and weigh “between eight and twenty pennies”.

2) They have been co-evolving with a particular species of scorpion, one that can kill humans easily, and as a result have a wide array of genetic mutations that make them incredibly resistant to not only that scorpion’s venom but pain in general; there have been some attempts at research into using grasshopper mice’s adaptations as analgesics for humans.

3) Grasshopper mice are obligate carnivores that specialize in eating highly venomous arthropods, including scorpions, a “prehistoric-looking” arachnid, and an extremely venomous centipede, and hunt various other animals as well, up to and including birds and decent-sized snakes; their kill tactics are… rather gruesome.

4) They have a variety of adaptations for carnivory, including stronger skulls to deliver high bite force, long claws to hold struggling prey, and stomachs that are able to withstand the lacerating force of partially-chewed scorpion exoskeletons.

5) They howl at the moon like wolves (and also bark like dogs).

When Edwin’s daemon settled as a mouse, his parents were furious. They demanded he hide Mys, carrying him in a small box from his belt, because at least then he could carry the benefit of the doubt that maybe Mys was something small but more dignified - a scorpion, perhaps, or a small snake. Stigmatized, but not weak.

(Edwin was perfectly happy to do so, as it made it easier to hide that Mys was male.)

(Another fun bonus fact: in Greek, “mys” means both “mouse” and “muscle”.)

Edwin did his own research, and determined that Mys was not a normal house mouse, but very little was known of grasshopper mice, in the 1910s.

In Hell, Mys was able to ride on Edwin’s shoulder, as he ran. And they learned, over time, that Mys could siphon off some of Edwin’s pain, and over even more time they learned how to stop the pain before Edwin even felt it too much. Well - that’s a bit of a misstatement. Hell finds its way around anything you do to evade it, escalating as necessary, experimenting with new tortures. Any relief is only temporary, lasts only until someone notices you’re not screaming hard enough. But, still - in Hell, even momentary relief matters, helps you stay semi-sane, helps you keep hope and drive, and, eventually, Edwin escaped.

He showed Mys to Charles, when they met, as proof that he was harmless, that he wouldn’t hurt Charles. Charles cooed at Mys in a way highly undignified for a 16 year old boy.

By the 90s, there was information out there, about grasshopper mice, when Edwin went looking for it again.

Mys comes in pretty handy, actually, once they know what he is, because it’s amazing how many witches and sorcerers and warlocks and so forth have pet scorpions or snakes or centipedes or spiders, that pose a danger even to ghosts - but not to Mys. Mys darts in and takes their stings and bites without flinching (and, sometimes, when needed, stabs his sharp teeth through their exoskeletons until they’re paralyzed and then finishes them off).

This only makes one big difference, though, in the end.

When they see Esther’s snake, Charles raises his eyebrows. “I think that one might be a bit big, even for you, Mys.” Edwin tilts his head. “There is something we have been practicing. I’d rather not, if we can avoid it, however.”

But after Hell and before Esther would have blown up Jenny’s shop, a crow comes to them to talk to Mys, and Edwin realizes they can’t avoid it.

They march off to Esther’s house, all of them, even Crystal and Niko, as desperately as Edwin tries to get the living humans to stay behind. And when they get there, Edwin kneels by the cupboard, Mys on his hand. “All the energy you gave to me, I return to you. The strength of our soul, Hell-tempered, scorpion-killer, pain-eater, in your form.” His hand falls to the floor as Mys begins to get bigger, and then the rest of him falls, too, limp, as Mys dives through the cupboard door just in time, barely able to still fit through and still growing.

Charles kneels frantically over Edwin, Edwin’s ghostly body limp and unconscious and flickering, as Mys’s howl shakes the house.

And a few days later, Edwin lies in Niko’s bed, despite his protests that ghosts don’t need beds, still a bit too shaky to walk around but he hasn’t flickered since yesterday, and Niko asks if they would like a pink ribbon for Mys’s tail. “Mys is - Mys is male, actually,” Edwin says, and Niko smiles and dives back into her ribbon collection.

“Ooh, I know! How about this green, like your sweater that you wore for Charles?”

And, they all have to agree - including Charles, when he arrives a few minutes later - that the ribbon does suit Mys quite nicely. And Mys preens, and fluffs the bow a bit with his long sharp claws.

[nights-at-crystarium]

Fragments - episodes 36-40 author notes

You can find similar breakdown posts on older episodes in my pinned!

I didn’t need to spend so much screentime on Titania fight, yet it was a fun personal challenge. I’d never written/drawn a cohesive fight scene before. The scripted ingame instances don’t leave much room for imagination, I wanted to stay away from the fourth wall, and make up a more immersive scene. How do you even make it look mildly interesting? You’d think, well, characters will just flail at each other until one of them dies, right?

So yeah the biggest challenge was creating the ebb and flow. What affects Vivi’s actions? Why wouldn’t he just murder Titania like any other opponent, and be done with it? I threw in a generous amount of inner pov (that I previously used very sparingly) and some silly tricks. The stakes are high, yes, it’s a Lightwarden vs WoD encounter, but Titania still retains their playful personality above all else. Vivi's here just to do his job, but he also knows that he's dealing with a fae.

The msq makes Titania stand out among other wardens, I capitalized on that and hc’d that they’re important to Feo Ul, and, by proxy, to Vivi. That instantly provided some emotional stakes, and an answer to why he doesn’t rush to kill them out of the door.

Vivi enters the castle in episode 35, and mostly runs in circles, analyzing his enemy, and even falls victim to illusions. This could’ve been it for him, but I daresay it worried none of us because we’re just at the beginning of a story about this guy, he’s THE guy in this universe not for no reason, he’ll manage.

No deep meaning behind "grasshopper", I just thought it's a bizarrely precise descriptor of both Vivi's long legs and dragoon jumps, and it fits the natural theme of the fight.

Vivi didn’t go in unprepared.

This line will be relevant again in like, 5-7 years from now :’>

More under the cut~

He always, always doubts everything, especially when it comes to his level of power. Self-nerfing. A light (heh) case of an impostor syndrome.

Everyone loved the bonk for meme reasons, Vivi simply bought himself some time to cast.

The Rainbow Sparkles of Believing in Yourself! And of something else, perhaps. I’m planting quite a bit of stuff for future, this one should take a mere year or so to pay off.

I hope this pose’s enough of a hint that you shouldn't be taking episode 37 too seriously.

Yes, he used his spear to ~cast~. And took a sailormoon pose. This's his, monoclass dragoon’s, interpretation of what the caster magic’s probably like.

Offscreen, Titania comes to their senses and shrills “so you wanna play rough?!”, Vivi ignores them, concerned with only one thing: did he succeed? How did the test of his custom spell go?

It only worked out because the both of them are idiots.

I like to emphasize that Fragments isn’t about retelling the msq, or big epic battles, but here, where I actually put my heart into it, I feel like I managed to pull off at least one epic beat you’d typically see in an action-focused comic. Super proud of this panel ;w;

This’s a standard panel divider I’ve used multiple times before, but it couldn’t be more visually appropriate here :3c

So, to recap. Vivi asks Titania if they miss the night sky. They do. Vivi brings the night sky to them, and lo, something actually happens. I illustrated this “something” as one of their eyes getting sort of cleansed here. This story suddenly takes a mahou shoujo (shounen, heh) turn, I appreciate that it may cause some eyebrows to raise, but I think it’s okay to take creative liberties like this in a story themed around identity, agency, and believing in yourself. If Titania’s so strong as to retain a tiny bit of their old self, to cohesively partake in a simple convo, then why can’t they return, even if for a brief moment, given the proper assistance.

An appropriate reaction to the wild bs that’s going on. Imagine inventing the tale of WoD in the First, only to witness THIS.

As about Vivi, he can save a soul when he genuinely cares for it. We haven’t seen him do this before. He does it for Feo Ul explicitly, implicitly as a self-reflection. He’s projecting so hard after realizing that Titania looks like him. He wishes for them what he'd wish for himself: to rest, to be treated with care and consideration. They don't only look like him, they're also unfree, tortured by something. Empathy or not, this’s the kindest fight Vivi’s ever fought.

I’m iffy about the canon talents that come with the Echo. You can understand any sentient creature, okay. What happens when you speak, does the other party feel the difference between that soulspeak and their native tongue? Does it feel off? Does it offend? I incorporated my own misgivings into Vivi’s thoughts about his Echo. He doesn't use soulspeak here out of respect and concern that Titania might not react well to it, throwing the entire plan out of the window. Thus he memorized quite a bit of fae words before the fight. This’s his way to mark himself as one of their people, or at least to show that he truly cares.

STAY TUNED FOR EPISODE 41

Vivien Doubter Rell. Also yay first nod!

Embracing his new duty, and possibly giving Titania the hug they deserve.

Look HE’S OKAY. For now. I just thought the hiccup would be a cute way to acknowledge the terrible power he’s just absorbed. The canon cutscene moves on unblinking, but here’s different.

Bracing himself for confrontation. Things might go awry. Or might not. Vivi doesn't know. Worst case scenario: this’s the end of his sweet lil friendship with Feo Ul. Do they like him, or a Titania-lookalike in him?

“Oh bugger...” big pets come with big responsibilities, my dear Feo Ul.

Just to reinforce his fae-ness.

Vivi had full control in this fight. Analyzed the enemy, successfully tested some crazy tricks, managed to have a heart-to-heart that resulted in getting a permission to kill Titania not with violence, but with mercy. So much could’ve gone wrong, but just didn’t. Vivi’s used to this, even if he constantly doubts everything, this’s how it always goes. He’s being flung at tasks with abysmal odds, somehow he emerges victorious.

I just like this panel so much okay.

This arc may feel slow, but it gives depth to Vivi and Feo Ul's relationship, and seeing them together in later episodes will spark even more joy.

Even after a warm moment they’d just shared, Vivi’s still wary. I broke out an analysis of what external influence, pressure to change means to him, please read this post if you missed it. YEAH TAGS AS WELL.

His expression here is an attempt to downplay the anxiety and swing the odds in his favor. What if Feo Ul insists and throws a tantrum? What if he has to become Titania right now, and there’s no way around this? Let’s make puppy eyes just incase, maybe that helps.

One more personal fav panel. There’s SO MUCH in this look. They’re on a threshold, about to become something else on Vivi’s behalf. Because they love him so much. They’ve instantly become friends because they don’t want anything from each other, just the company. Feo Ul’s such a breath of fresh air for Vivi, a new hope in a new world, where he’s (comparatively) a nobody, where people still have the potential to love him for who he is as a person. This’s why our crimson pixie gets so much screentime.

Vivi really said XD

The next few episodes wrap up the Il Mheg arc, and focus on good vibes and celebration. ShB follows a rollercoaster formula where it makes you smile at something nice and sweet only to whack you in the face right after, and I’m trying to do the same :3c

As always, thanks for reading~

[eastwindmlk]

Day 17 of @jilytoberfest is brought to you by exercise and Lily being cheeky. Prompt: “It’s cute when your face gets red like that.” Word count: 384

James was sure that it could not be that difficult! Lily always looked so relaxed when she did the yoga exercises, something that he often admired from his spot on the bed. He’d more than once cheekily suggested that she shouldn’t be afraid to get rid of the loose shirt and joggers she usually wore on the colder mornings.

Today, he was lucky that the sun was shining and it was too warm for the baggy outfit she had donned several mornings in a row now. Still, he made the joke and that is how he ended up in… Sideways Dog? Praying Grasshopper? He could not remember what the pose was called, all he could think of was how he was very much not relaxed.

Lily on the other hand looked fine as she switched her weight from one leg to the other and peeked at him from the gap between. She made it look so easy while he groaned and grunted, dragging his torso to his ankle and not even coming close.

“Just breathe, love,” Lily instructed him and demonstrated yet another, deep breath. Like he didn’t know how to breathe. Actually, maybe she had a point, maybe he had forgotten how to. It sure felt like it.

It wasn’t until they were in corpse pose, flat on the ground, something he managed quite well. “That was fun,” James said breathlessly, too winded to be sarcastic. “You do this for fun? I am starting to wonder if you’re not a bit of a masochist.”

Lily laughed and from the corner of his eye he could see her roll to her side, her fingers sliding up his arm and making him shiver. “Really? That is what makes you think that? I thought the spanking would have made that clear,” she said and James could feel his face get impossibly redder.

James sputtered, wanting to say something to save his dignity but before he could utter a word her lips were on his and his dignity be damned.

When she pulled away, he chased her lips for another fleeing brush before collapsing back onto the mat. “You should try yoga more often,” Lily suggested and he rolled to his side to look at her curiously.

“Why?”

“It’s cute when your face gets red like that.”

[rad-roche]

do you have any mod recommendations? other than romanceable nick lol

exposing my mod list is a real 'please don't tell anyone how i live' moment because it, top to bottom, is all just pretty little outfits for gloria, furniture, or very small changes to nick that i like. gameplay? story additions? those sound interesting, i wonder what those are like. my toxic video game trait, consistent across absolutely everything, is i can play a 5fps mess if it means i get to snap pretty pictures

now of those categories...

SAD WOMAN DRESSUP GAME FEATURING AN RPG OR WHATEVER:

Caliente's Beautiful Bodies: you know it you love it, and there's a nevernude option should you desire. i always forget what i have installed, so i made sure to get the nude one so i could nod appreciatively when a modded outfit failed to load. it's my present to me. got rained on? had an argument? never fear. glussy is here.

Apocalypse Attire

Commonwealth Cuts

Dave's Poses

Looksmenu

Mirrored Vanilla Scars

Eyes of Beauty

Photo Mode (even if you have absolutely no interest in the cc stuff, this thing is a godsend if you ever want to take screenshots)

Cigarette In Mouth

Handmaiden - the outfit in that picture. comes in other colours, too!

Concealed Armors

HOUSE FLIPPER: IS IT STILL MIDMOD IF IT'S THE FUTURE

Creative Family mods. you can't install these like you would the rest, so pay close attention to the instructions, but the quality on these is unmatched. creative clutter, do it yourshelf, modular kitchen, they're all really, really good if you like decorating player homes.

Building Budget Extender

Dino's Decorations

Global Stash

Just Some Rugs

MadKea (this thing adds 500+ items so if your computer has a hard time with fo4, give this one a skip unless you don't mind waiting an age for menus to load)

PlaceEverywhere

Reversed Workshop Highlight (gets rid of that annoying green glow! godsend!)

Workshop Plus (completely reworks workshop; lets you clone items, save layouts to layers, float around buildable spaces, undo/redo. it's hard to overemphasise the usefulness of this if you plan to build)

SO THERE'S THIS SENIOR CITIZEN

Companion Accuracy Boost

Companions Go Home

Alternative Synth Eyes

Nick Valentine Robot Voice (it makes nick sound as if he's talking through a speaker. it's subtle, but i really dig it)

Valentine's Revolver

Valentine Jaw Sync

Settler and Companion Dialogue Overhaul (makes npcs seem more 'aware' and much less likely to make repetitive comments)

Delay Nick's Quest (only allows Long Time Coming to trigger after you complete Gilded Grasshopper; a lot of his location-based dialogue remains open instead of him defaulting to brooding about the tapes and that long, hard quest)

I'll respect your wishes and not mentioned critically acclaimed Fallout 4 mod Romancable Nick Valentine, which can be found here. I will, instead, mention this adorable one where you can marry him, which I assume is keeping in the spirit of you specifically asking me not to mention them. Now go forth and play your wildly overambitious otome game

[raayllum]

One thing I noted watching The Dragon Prince is that the intro splits the same continent in half with the elves/humans so they started with the same amount of magical animals/plants each. There’s still some magical animals the human side but their presence is far, far reduced comparatively so do you think that’s specifically because of dark magic harvesting leading to more “normal” to our eyes species dominating?

I’m fairly surprised there isn’t a visibly established livestock industry’s for magic animals too (that way say your lunar moths can be renewably hatched each year, or a sheep population equivalent kept etc).

You seem very immersed in much of the lore so thought it’d be fun to at least pose as a query.

I think there's a few different things here to consider (that we'll probably never get a definitive answer on) but this is my best guess + what we do know about how dark magic operates:

Both regular animals and magical creatures can be used for dark magic. We know this because we've seen human blood be used in a couple of spells, Claudia puts grasshopper goop in Soren's mouth (2x08), and then later uses the deer in its entirety to undo Soren's paralysis.

That said, it does seem that magical creatures are more potent and preferred for dark magic spells. This makes sense - while you can use the life essence of anyone/anything for dark magic, creatures with magic inside them (any arcanum) are inevitably going to have more to "squeeze out" than a non magical creature would.

With that in mind, I think canon gives us a few answers and subtextual clues.

The most important one is something Viren refers to 2x05 (which has haunted me ever since), in which he cites that, "After centuries of fighting amongst ourselves, the five human kingdoms finally found balance, an era of peace." The Book 2 novelization gives a little more information about this period on conflict, explaining that "The first summit of the Pentarchy had been held centuries ago, and it had brought an end to the Mage Wars and created the modern order of the human kingdoms" (Ch17).

We don't know, of course, if this is precisely the same period of time. Maybe by helping to imprison Aaravos (and presumably disposing of the last king of Katolis), the Orphan Queen likewise helped put an end to the mage wars. Maybe she only came on the scene centuries after the mage wars! Who knows. "Held centuries ago" could mean three, which matches up with the Orphan Queen / Aaravos imprisonment timeline (and no more mister startouch elf preying on mages) or it could go back closer to 700-800 years. We'll just have to wait and see if we ever get more details!

Regardless, the Mage Wars and the fact they were likely fuelled by dark magic, since it was humans fighting amongst themselves, might answer why we see so few (known) magical creatures in the Human Kingdoms other than maybe glow toads: mages went after the most potent magical ingredients during the fighting, and reduced those numbers to virtually nonexistent or extinct.

I would imagine before the Mage Wars / even before Xadia split, maybe, more magical creatures were held and domesticated as livestalk. (Elves certainly do keep some animals as pets, such as Janai's flying hot cat, though I'd expect something like a Moonstrider to maybe have evolved as a sort of hunting companion.) However, humans on the eastern side and elves on the western side were likely forced to abandon any farms / communities they had in regards to animal care when the Exile / Schism happened. Information and resources might've been lost, as animals on one side of the continent were likely different compared to others, although some humans (who already lived in the west) and some elves (who already lived in the east) wouldn't have had to have moved.

That said, I think the simplest and shortest answer is just that there's not a lot of mages within TDP's world. For each group of people, we see a lot more warriors or diplomats than mages and they don't seem to regularly be employed in the military of kingdom we've seen, Sunfire or Pentarchy troops or otherwise. We can also guess that in the Pentarchy due to the specificity of the ingredients needed, sometimes, that Katolis by virtue of being closest to the Border would be primed to have the most dark mages and dark mage traffic / travellers (although I've HC'd that Evenere due to its isolation has a fair bit of lingering magic more than say Del Bar or Duren). But due to the amount of knowledge and ingredients required to seemingly do most dark magic spells, as well as the toll it takes on the body, I think it makes sense that most people wouldn't have the interest, access, or ability to pursue that kind of path when there's plenty of others that are less gruelling / easier

Magic is everywhere, and small pieces of magic (like Ruthari's moon opals) are everywhere, but outside of the specific skillsets of each primal (Moonshadow illusion spells and forgery, maybe cooking, forgery and healing for Sunfire elves) it doesn't seem like magic is something they readily depend on for food or livestock in their day to day lives. And if that's not the case for the majority in Xadia (only used in times of crisis, etc), I can see that need plummeting in the Human Kingdoms simply because it takes a lot more time/energy to maintain than might be necessarily utilized because of the low demand

This was all long winded speculation and hopefully mostly coherent. If you're interested in more deep dive worldbuilding thoughts I'd really recommend some of @kradogsrats stuff as it's great and a lot more eloquent / all encompassing tbh

[opheliajupiter99]

MLP Broodmother Virus: Discord's Den

Scavenging around the outskirts of Ponyville were a small trio of survivors; Toe Tapper, Roseluck, and Apple Fritter. Toe Tapper, the last remaining Pony Tones member, was the leader, having survived through a combination of luck and laying low - there were some bonuses to being unremarkable, he supposed.

Roseluck was the last of her own as well, the other two of the Flower Trio having died in ways she refused to elaborate on, the mere mention of them enough to well up tears in her eyes. Apple Fritter was the luckiest in this regard, as she'd been out of Ponyville for much of its starting downfall, attending a pie-eating contest in Appleloosa, only having arrived recently after her concern for her extended family finally pushed her into leaving the relative safety of said city, which as far as she knew was so far mostly untouched by the virus.

They had been camped deep in especially overgrown portions of the woods, hiding from the Copycats, their manes filthy and hooves nearly raw from constant travelling, when suddenly, all three of them were teleported away. Within seconds, they found themselves in a vast, cavernous area, with thick sludge clinging to the rocky walls, which for some reason was bright yellow in color, and smelled of a flower meadow.

"Is everypony okay?" Toe Tapper said as soft as he could manage while still being audible, the two mares slowly rising onto their hooves and looking around. Roseluck's nose twitched at the scent, her eyes darting around, confused by the mismatched aroma. "How did we get here?" She said softly in return.

As the two's gazes darted around them, Apple Fritter's gaze turned skyward, towards the cavern's ceiling, her eyes quickly widening. "G-Guys..." She muttered, turning their gazes upward as well. Upon the ceiling were cocoons, made of the same yellow sludge that coated the walls and floors, that squirmed and twitched on occasion. A shiver went down their spines, Roseluck's hooves shaking as her pupils turned to pinpricks.

"No...no, no, no, no..." She whimpered out, Toe Tapper approaching to put a hoof very carefully upon her shoulder. "It's okay, it's okay...we're gonna get out of here." He said softly.

"Oh, I'm afraid not!" Boomed out a familiarly psychotic and playful voice. In an instant, Discord appeared above the trio, making the already panicking Roseluck shriek in terror, falling to the ground and covering her face with her hooves. Toe Tapper blinked, squinting in confusion. "Discord?" He said hesitantly. He hadn't been seen in months, since the very start of the outbreak. That couldn't really be him - could it?

"The one and only!" He said, striking a pose, spotlights materializing from nowhere to shine their rays down upon him. Apple Fritter gulped, eyes briefly darting to the ceiling before looking to Discord. "...W-Where are we?" She managed after a moment, getting a hearty laugh from the Draconequus, which echoed off the walls like the beat of a wardrum.

"Oh, my dear, you're in the most magical place -out- of Equestria!" He said with another laugh, as the trio began to hear the distant rumble of chittering limbs, Toe Tapper moving to hold Roseluck as she entered a full-blown panic attack at the sound. "You're in my beloved little Fluttershy's home away from home! And I'm terribly sorry, my friends, but she -is- quite hungry.."

Toe Tapper and Apple Fritter's eyes widened in horror, the sound growing louder as Celestia knows how many insectoid shapes moved through the shadows, clacking against the walls and ceilings as they closed in on the trio. Before they knew it, they were surrounded by Copycats - a wider variety of them then they expected.

There were the spindly yellow Copycats, shrouded in soft pink to match their Pegasus host, as they expected from Discord's declaration - but to their further horror, there were also more...animal-like Copycats among them. Some were small and white, with grasshopper-like rear legs and long, rabbit-like ears, some were huge, brick walls of fat and muscle in deep shades of brown, along with variations of nearly every other animal they could name.

They were helpless; even if there were more of them, even if they had more magic - heck, even if they had an Alicorn - they were nothing but lambs to the slaughter. With Discord working against them, nothing they could do could save them.

[sepublic]

Editaurus

         Meet Editaurus! She wields the Green Magestone, which imbues bolts of emerald lightning that can bring things to life, creating all manner of constructs. In particular, Editaurus uses this Magestone, which she has artfully incorporated into her body like many of her materials and ingredients, to create her chimeras.

         Editaurus once started off dirt-poor, with a struggling father. They worked together in a landfill, working with the refuse of society. But one man’s trash is another man’s treasure; There was quite a lot of dead meat and other biomass. Some bones and flesh, muscles and organs still decently intact. And Editaurus was always fascinated with anatomy. She devoured books that went into the makeup of all manner of flora and fauna, and she marveled at the artistry and efficiency of their forms.

         At first she stitched together parts to create skeletal art pieces; Then hodgepodge taxidermy. But it was only a matter of time before Ed became a Chimera Caster, and a prodigal one at that. With just a few discarded bits from a nearby butcher, she could create a living, breathing Chimera that obeyed her will.

         Editaurus used her chimeras to aid in her and her father’s work, making things much easier for the latter; On Ed’s end, they became much more difficult, but in a way thrilling and challenging. Now she began to experiment with lifeforms, combining different aspects and aesthetics to create beautiful and twisted creations.

         She garnered community attention, and picked up multiple jobs creating chimeras. From there, Editaurus became a rags to riches story, becoming a famed artist and celebrity. She started her own studio, moving out from her town, while sending money to her father who was able to retire in peace elsewhere.

         With various suppliers at her beck and call, Editaurus had all of the ingredients she needed to craft complex recipes, which she stored in her living cookbook. Many of the things in her studio were also chimeras; She became a master of life, often debuting her latest chimeras on the runway, posing them for magazines and photoshoots. Editaurus eventually modeled herself, and turned her magic onto herself, modifying her body as she replaced it with different parts. She too became a chimera.

         Her face? A repurposed, upside down squid; The tentacles as hair, the tip of the squid as her chin. An eye has been grafted on. Bat wings adorn both sides of her head, and grant Editaurus the hearing of these creatures. Her torso is a bee abdomen, with lungs at the front of her chest. Ed’s right arm is composed of large, writhing nematodes; The left is a raptor, with a modified spider replacing her left hand.

         This spider-hand can sprout webs that Editaurus uses to stitch together chimeras with near-invisible threads, thus leaving the marks of being artificial gone; This makes her chimeras seem seamless, more real, and this is part of Editaurus’ goal; To create creatures that feel like they could exist on their own. Chimeras indistinguishable from natural flora and fauna. And considering how bizarre the Monster Realm’s life can be, this is not difficult.

         Her skirt is a lizard’s frill and shrunken head; One leg is a goat’s to rapidly kick with, the other a grasshopper’s to leap. Little fins on her ankles can flutter like a hummingbird’s to grant flight. Four branches are angled and move like spider limbs on Editaurus’ back, allowing her to photosynthesize; They are wreathed in webs.

         Being a celebrity, Editaurus was among the first of the Warlocks to be found by Majikus. There was discussion, and a bit of dispute regarding who would lead; Ed was impressed by Maj’s vision, but had plenty of constructive criticism to offer. Despite her eccentricities, Majikus was able to negotiate Editaurus’ loyalty and a lower place beneath her, but Ed will often suggest a dispute in leadership.

         Still, she is no backstabbing schemer, just someone very proud and confident; She was often belittled and seen as weird and lowly due to her social class and interests. So Editaurus had to believe in herself to survive and then succeed. And she can be quite the visionary, and offer some decent advice; But she can also suffer from tunnel vision as a result, not unlike Majikus. She believes all of the different aspects of the Monster Realm, its populations and species, can all come together like one massive chimera; Erm, not a literal one. Well, maybe…

         Unsurprisingly, Editaurus helps in calculating how to fuse the Magestones back together. Her own, the Green Magestone, has been used to up the production rate of her chimeras tenfold; Majikus finds them vital to creating an army that can help them take over the Monster Realm. Editaurus agrees, but gripes over this quantity over quality approach that Majikus insists upon; She is well aware that there is a quality to quantity in and of itself, but even so. She feels her vision is being compromised for factory production and standardization, when her chimeras were always meant to be an art form, an expression.

         Editaurus’ studio is covered in many webs, which she uses to wrap up and store the various ingredients she has; Others are kept in cauldrons. She can sprout webs from her back and summon ingredients upon them, from which to pluck from her ‘wings’ and craft into a chimera on the fly. Editaurus can switch out ingredients in her own body on a dime, and has experimented with many looks and forms for different environments and purposes.

         Editaurus wields other spells such as electrocution, using web threads to conduct her bolts; This can be used to jumpstart her chimeras or even allies, and her ingredients and understanding of anatomy make Ed a skilled healer. Infamously, she can charge her right hand’s Magestone to literally slap the life back into a person.

         Editaurus is in charge of chimera production; They act a major portion of the Warlocks’ armies, like Viracious’ undead being considered expendable from traditional conscripts. This makes the Warlocks more popular amongst subjects, who have to risk less in serving them. Ed’s creations are quite intelligent for chimeras, being able to wield weaponry; Editaurus can salvage brain chunks from dead warriors and use them to program her chimeras with their memories, knowledge, and skills. This can make some chimeras even more difficult to distinguish from sapients, which calls into question what is even the line between them…?

         If she isn’t imbuing life into that which has already lived and feasible of living again –ingredients too decayed are only for Viracious to control, not Editaurus- then she can imbue life into nonliving things such as the earth, water, even fire. This is the power of the Green Magestone, and she can mix this up with more traditional chimeras; These constructs, due to not being made of organic matter and functioning organs, do not have the staying power of proper chimeras and thus tend to fall apart beyond Editaurus’ range. This is another strength to her chimeras; Their longevity and ability to operate far from their creator. Being the sole source of a massive army, Editaurus’ eccentricities and pride often have to be humored for the cause’s sake. But she is also legitimately admired for her artistry and skill, too.

[blubushie]

The Spanish Dancer sea slug, native to Indo-Pacific Ocean and the Red Sea. It can grow up to 25cm, though some reports from the Dead Sea clock it in at 40cm. It is a luxuriant red colour with an orange-yellow underbelly and a splotchy red line cutting across it. A specimen measuring ~90cm in width was found on Australia's west coast (Hey, that's where you live!). 'Pangolin' originates from the Malay word for 'roller', which is 'penggulung'; this is because it curls up into a ball and uses its hard scales as a shield when threatened. All eight species of pangolin are under some kind of threat and are protected under national and international laws, two of the eight are critically endangered (do NOT try to make these the centrepiece of your project, they're elusive and endangered). Puffins can flap their wings ~400 times a minute and can fly 88km an hour (!?). Their beaks also change seasonally-- they are a dull grey in the winter and become their more iconic orange in spring, most likely to attract mates. Black-footed cats are considered the most deadly species of wild cat with (a cute little face to die for) a hunting success rate of 60%, compared to a lion's rate of 25%, which is lower than that of a domestic cat's, 32%. The black-footed cat's rate is second only to African wild dogs at 85%. The plant genus Rafflesia, known as the Corpse Flower is capable of Horizontal Gene Transfer, a behaviour documented in bacteria that has only recently been discovered in plants. Rafflesia is a parasitic plant that steals genetic material from its host and nearby plants, merging it into its own genetic code and using its proteins to sustain itself. Once it is grown, the flower continues its parasitic behaviour and emits a foul stench likened to corpses, used to attract pollinators like carrion flies. Humans have been unable to cultivate Rafflesia because the method with which its seeds germinate, let alone infect a host is still unclear. Ant-mimicking spiders have evolved to resembles ants, complete with their extra set of legs disguised as antennae. Most ant-mimicking spiders have unique abdomen and body structures that resemble an ant without any closer inspection, but many have more nuanced methods of deception. Some species can even mimick ant pheromones and behaviour, a huge crux in how ants identify each other, making it easier to invade ants and prey upon them. The Hercules Beetle is one of the largest flying insects measuring up to 7 inches long, when including their horn, and almost 2 inches wide. The horsehair worm is a parasite that preys on grasshoppers, crickets, and some beetles and are found in water or wet areas. They are, simply, a worm capable of squirming in and out of intricate knots and formations, a capability which makes multiple worms of great lengths capable of taking over one host (there's videos out there of researchers tying them into knots of increasing complexity and tightness, fascinating stuff!). After the laid eggs have hatched, the worm forms a protective cyst around itself and waits to be consumed by a suitable host. The cyst them dissolves and allows the worm to eat itself out of the digestive system and feast on its host's innards (I love parasites...). Once it has taken its fill, it has matured and it exits the host to lay its eggs and repeat the process. Horsehair worms pose no threat to humans or animals outside of its host pool, so their presence simply indicates and abundance of or dead crickets in the area.

The oarfish is also nicknamed the 'Doomsday Fish' due to its presence being a sign of destruction to come-- 20 oarfish allegedly washed up on Japan's shores just before the Japan 2011 earthquake. Whatever the case, oarfish reside deep underwater, in the Twilight Zone, so seeing them at all is strange. They are long, ribbon-like fish with bulging eyes and red spines that swim vertically through the waters, using its shimmering skin to camoflague itself by blending into the dark and the rare patch of light. Sand vipers have their located located on top of their heads to better see out of the sand they bury themselves in for hunting purposes. This is also why a suitable substrate is important if you want to care for them. They also require more open space than hiding spots in their enclosure, unike other species of snake. Sand vipers also prefer higher temperatures and require basking in temperatures of around or even greater than 40 degrees Celsius (I've always wanted a pet snake). Peregrine falcons can dive down towards their prey at a speed of 320km/h and quickly strike their neck with their talons, killing their prey in the fraction of a second. This has been caught on video, and in many of them there is only a quick, black blur before the prey drops like a stone onto the ground, suddenly lifeless (eerie and impressive!). Ragdoll cats were first bred by Ann Baker in the 1960s. They have a large, weighty build with long, think fur. They often have blue eyes though they are born mostly white, their unique markings darken over time to a deep brown. The horror game Outlast was modelled after the Richardson Hotel in Buffalo, New York, which had previously been an insane asylum. You'd go into an insane asylum if you weren't a coward (joking). Axolotls (like from Minecraft) are salamanders that, unlike most salamander species, never transition to land. They remain aquatic into adulthood. They are native to only one area, Lake Xochimilco, Lake Chalco, and its surrounding smaller bodies, located in the Valley of Mexico (it also has a relative that resembles a wyrm dragon, very similar sans legs and larger, but I couldn't remember the name <\3). The Megasoma elephas (Elephant Beetle) has been used in a Pentagon-sponsored university program where electrodes were inserted into elephant beetle pupae, allowing for some remote control of the adult beetle's flying behaviour (developing technology, I guess...). Habitat destruction and the use of the male adult's head as jewelery charms have contributed to its decreasing population, though they are not considered endangered. The emerald cockroach wasp paralyzes cockroaches using its venom then drags the body to its burrow. There, while the cockroach is still living, the wasp lays its eggs directly under the cockroach. The entrance will be blocked off to prevent early escape. Once the eggs hatch, the larvae feast on the cockroach's bodily fluids, then its non-vital organs, keeping the still-alive bug kicking it for as long as possible, then, the growing wasps eat the rest of the cockroach, thus putting an end to its miserable life, and emerge through the cockroach's chest, splitting it in half, then dig out of the burrow to repeat the cycle (I love parasites...).

[Animal Fact Anon. Uh, are you a hunter trying to starve me out into the open? Because you're driving me wild! Happy Valentines day, xoxo, I'm not actually hitting on you.]

1. Horsehair worms freak me out

2. I've seen an oarfish when I was at sea! It was dead though :(

3. On the topic of the relative to axolotls "sans legs", were you maybe thinking of caecilians?

4. Oml I love parasitic wasps!! My favourites are spider wasps :]

Thank you for the facts animal anon!! Happy Valentine's Day!!! <3

[cryingoflot49]

Book Review

The Man In the High Castle by Philip K. Dick

In Philip K. Dick’s The Man In rhe High Castle, Nabusuke Tagomi is a Japanese businessman in San Francisco whose consciousness has been changed by the events leading up to a day when he buys a piece of jewelry from an antique store. After contemplating his life while sitting in a park, he walks to the road to hire a pedecab. He is unable to see one even though other people can see them in abundance. He also notices a concrete highway ramp that he has never seen before; when he asks a stranger about it, the man explains that everybody has hated it for a long time because it is so ugly. Tagomi suddenly becomes aware of something that everybody else had known about. But there is nothing wrong with Tagomi. He is like everyone else in that we don’t see everything that is objectively present to us because we aren’t making a conscious effort to see everything. Our perceptions of the objective world come to us in pieces and fragments. We see things that others don’t and they see things that we don’t. Thus this novel poses the question of how we can form a solid moral foundation to guide our actions when our perceptions of reality are haphazard at best.

The story is an alternative history taking place after World War II, examining what American would be like if Germany and Japan had won the war. The USA has been divided into four new countries. The West Coast is part of Japan, the Northeast is part of Nazi Germany, the middle states are what is left of America, and the Southeast is left to rot as a neo-Confederate backwater. Racist hierarchies have been ratified into law and the strictly hierarchical Japanese culture has become the norm on the West coast.

Like Mr. Kurtz in Heart of Darkness, The Man In the High Castle, Hawthorne Abendsen, does not appear until the end. He is the author of a book called The Grasshopper Lies Heavy which is an alternative account of World War II in which he describes what would have happened if America had won the war. So, yes, Philip K. Dick wrote an alternative history novel that revolves around a fictional alternative history novel within the plot. This book is all the rage because most people are familiar with it whether they have read it or not. The irony is that the characters who haven’t read it think they know what happens in the book and they are invariably wrong. This is a brilliant framing device that works on the premise that readers will know how World War II ended before reading Dick’s novel. It takes your mind off into several directions at once and then demands that the reader sort out the mess. This is not literature for shallow people who like being spoonfed entertainment.

But getting back to Mr. Tagomi, the businessman acts as a liaison between two secrets agents, one a Japanese official and the other a German working for the anti-Nazi resistance who has learned that the Nazis have plans to betray their Japanese allies in a catastrophic way. The Nazis are on to the German agent and send some thugs out to kill him in the presence of Tagomi.

The Nazis are also on to a craftsman and businessman named Frank Frink. He runs a fledgling jewelry business with a partner and it is the products they make and sell that act as a link between most of the major characters in the novel. The Nazis want to execute Frink because they think he is an enemy of the state and part of a Jewish plot to dominate the world. In reality, Frink just wants to run a successful business so he can impress his ex-wife and get her to come back to him.

Thus the plot threads are individually easy to follow, but there isn’t one thread that stands out above all the others so saying that there is a plot supported by subplots is a mischaracterization. Even though all the story lines are clearly articulated and the characters mostly cross paths with each other, it is the equal weighting of all the elements that makes the book a bit frustrating to read.

So Frink passes through the life of a store owner named Childan, a dealer in Americana and antiques. Frink comes into the store to alert Childan that some pistols he has in stock are not authentic relics from the Civil War, but are, in fact, forgeries manufactured by a company that Frink once worked for. Frink, the honest businessman, appears to be motivated to sabotage the counterfeit market. Later Childan buys a stock of Frink’s jewelry and sells a uniquely shaped pin to Mr. Tagomi, the same pin that the Japanese man meditates on in the park when his life gets disrupted. Frink’s jewelry is another clever narrative device as the introduction of his products into the collectibles market causes everyone who comes into contact with them to re-evaluate their lives.

Childan carries two important philosophical themes in the narrative. One confronts the meaning of monetary values as well as the value of objects in geenral and the other examines the subjective moral ambiguity a person faces when thrown into an existentially uncomfortable position. Childan and Tagomi play off of each other because they both experience a crisis in their subjective orientation to the world. The former of Childan’s two themes happens when he learns about the counterfeit guns in his store. If a customer believes that a pistol is an authentic artifact from the Civil War, does it matter if that is not the reality? And why would a similar gun made at the same time but not used in the Civil War be of lesser value? The truth is that the value of the item is in the mind of whoever owns it or wants it. The guns have no inherent value of their own and that estimation of their value may be based on illusion, fantasy, lies, or ignorance. So how is it possible to form a moral judgment on how to sell an item when its valuation is based on an inaccurate perception of what it truly is? Philip K. Dick poses this question without answering it.

The latter dilemma involving Childan addresses the issue of maintaining a sense of self-worth in a humiliating situation. When Childan goes to visit some clients, a Japanese couple who are enamored with Americana, he feels as though their attempts to embrace American culture are superficial and patronizing. Even worse, they latch onto aspects of American culture that he despises like jazz. Childan’s problem is that, being American means having lost the war to Japan and Germany so Childan feels ashamed of some things that are authentically unique to America, especially in regards to people who aren’t white. Instead he admires German classical music and opera in an attempt to identify with the Nazis who defeated America. He sees them as being culturally superior because of their victory. The problem isn’t that Childan has any inhrent sympathy for fascism or Nazism; since he lives on the west coast and is subjected to the rigid hierarchies of Japan that have been imposed on California, a small business owner like himself is relegated to a mid-level social status with the wealthier and more powerful Japanese people over him. Because of this he feels humiliated after losing the status he held before the war. In an attempt to compensate for his humiliation, he embraces the cause of fascism in an act of bad faith. He suffers from the dilemma of finding refuge in any available port during a storm. That post just happens to be the Germans. In this way, Dick isn’t justifying Nazism. He is explaining why a confused individual might embrace it under uncomfortable circumstances like during the visit he makes to his Japanese customers’ apartment.

Then Childan agrees to sell Frink and his partner’s jewelry on commission from his store. As the jewelry begins to circulate among the other characters in the book, their perceptions of reality begin to change.

Finally, Frink’s wife Julianna goes on a trip through Colorado to find Abendsen, the author of The Grasshopper Lies Heavy. Simply put, she is on a mission to alert him because she learns the Nazis have hatched a plot to assassinate him. The Nazis in this book are reckless, treacherous backstabbers on a path to self-destruction and possibly the annihilation of the world in their quest for power.

One final narrative device worth considering is the presence of the I Ching, the ancient Taoist book of vaguely worded verses that act as an oracle for all the characters in the story. In a world characterized by uncertainty and unpredictability, they turn to it as a means of guidance. Really it acts as a literary chorus to move the plot along like the witches in Macbeth. It also serves as an explanatory device when there is nothing better to rely on which is a weakness in this book. For example, when Julianna meets up with Abendsen, they consult the I Ching to answer a question of importance to the story. They receive an answer but we are expected to accept it as true because the oracle says it us true and no further explanation is given. It seems that Dick had no further explanation to offer so he just used the I Ching as a means of filling in the gap, rendering the meaning of its answer pointless. This is a form of narrative cheating and something that makes the ending almost irrelevant.

In the end, for a novel with so much to unpack and so many significant ideas, it could have been better. The pacing is slow and laborious. The characters all have flat affects. The plot lines become tangled in ways that make the result look like the end of a frayed rope rather than a cohesive work of writing. The pieces of the story just don’t hang together very well. It is an awkward book written by a young writer whose genius would come out in his later works of fiction.

The Man In the High Castle is certainly worth reading. It presents the abstract concept of what it means to live in a world where morality can never be certain since it based on faulty perceptions of reality. All the main characters exemplify this problem in the way they make choices while navigating through the world. In the end, there is no solution to this problem of certainty other than doing what they think is right even though they risk making costly mistakes in the end. It isn’t one of Philip K. Dick’s best works, but it is still good enough to read at least once. Just be patient as you read.

[hype-old-posts]

this is gonna be a bit of a vent, but i just gotta let it out

yknow how if a puppy or a kitten is lost near your house, you'll usually do what you can to help it out? you'll leave out food or contact someone who can care for it or if you're lucky enough even keep it

but if you find a bug (native, not invasive) like a moth or a beetle or a grasshopper, you'll usually kill it, right?

if you find a wild animal (again, native, not invasive) roaming around where you live, you'll want to have someone capture it or even kill it, right?

who gave us the right to do this? why are we as humans destroying the world around us bit by bit?

you didn't kill it for food, you didn't kill it for safety. you killed it because you didn't understand it.

did you know that there's only one species of snake that is dangerous to humans where I live? and yet I've seen one getting stabbed for simply stumbling into a rural house

did you know here only two species of spiders actually do pose a threat to humans? and yet every time someone sees one, they scream and want it dead immediately

did you know bees, even honeybees (that are considered somewhat an invasive species where i live) are so important to our surroundings that without them we'd go hungry? and yet everyone is only worried they might get stung instead

who gave us the right to take their lives? they might not be intelligent, but you can't prove they don't have consciousness. how would you like if your life was suddenly ended, for no other reason than because someone didn't like you? or was erroneously afraid of a threat you didn't pose?

it's stupid, honestly. if it were humans it'd be murder, but since it's just bugs, just pests, who'll miss them?

i will, even if no one else will. I'll mourn them for being misunderstood.

[illuminaryart]

Sketch for an ink and watercolor commission. This is too big in every dimension for my specs, current sketch has the bird's feet tucked in a little more, hind wing pulled down a bit, and the body and tail more parallel with the frame. This gave me enough room to move my grasshopper over to the left a bit, fully filling the space. The current pose is more of a chase than a hopping up from the grass like I'd intended, and maybe not quite species-appropriate -- bluebirds aren't known for the chase. My goal was to show off the bird's coloration without being austere about it. Bluebirds are often drawn perching nobly on things and I wanted to portray a little more of a scramble. May have to tweak things a bit more -- I do like the jump shown here a little better than what's currently on the table but I'm not sure how to fit it without changing the specs, which will likely increase the price to frame it by a lot. It could fit decently in a 7x7 square as-is.

[anonymoosen]

SCREAMING AND SQUEALING AND SQUAWKING AND KDKING MY FEET RN AHHDHSHDJSJJ IVE BEEN LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS MY WHOLE LIFE SCREEEEEEEEE IM JUST GONNA SAY- THANK U SO MUCH FOR ALWAYS TRYING UR BEST TO UPLOAD ON TIME! LIKE THIS WHOLE THING WLD TAKE ME A SHMILLION YEARS TO DO- ANYWAY, REACTION TIMEMEMEEMEEE- (IM PUTTING A READ MORE CUZ ITS SO LONG AND CRAZY HELP-)

(U DONT HAVE TO READ IT- ITS JUST ME SPILLING ALL MY CRAZY FANGIRLING NOISES FOR THIS COMIC DISJJDJ)

*ZIMHALES* THEY. ARE. SO. GAY. KDKSKKSKS IM SCREAMING LIKE STAHPPPP THEYRE TOO PRECIOUS FOR ME AND THEYRE SUCH ADORABLE BABIESSSS RAAAAHHHH THE LIL HEART ON THE WAFFLES LIKE- STAHPPP I LOVE THAT DETAIL SO MUCHHH IT RLLY SHOWS HOW IN LOVE DIB IS DKSKKDKSMD THEIR BLUSHING FACES NEVER EVER GET OLD TO ME

LIKEKEKE THE EXPRESSIONS ON THEIR FACES WITH THE SWEAT DROPS ARE SO CUTE AND ACCURATE FOR HOW SOME PPL FEEL NERVOUS AROUND THEIR CRUSHES- DIB IS AVOIDING EYE CONTACT FROM ZIMMY BOI AND THATS AN ADORABLE DETAIL!! AND LIKE I LOVE ZIMS EYES SO FRIGGIN MUCH THEYRE SO BEAUTIFUL AND SHINY DJSMSMS ALSO I LOVE HOW SORTA COMFUSED ZIM LOOKS WHEN DIB PASSES THE WAFFLES TO HIM LIKE- HES LIKE “WHYS HE DOING THIS?? *CONFUSED GAY NOISES*”

DIB IS SUCH BF MATERIAL FOR CONSIDERING ZIMS “ALLERGY”-

AND ALSO TOMATO DIB MY BELOVED RAAAHHHHH HES SUCH A CUTE NERVOUS DORKY BOIII!!

BONNIE. U MADE THE GIRLS LOOK SO FRIGGIN PRETTY AND COOL AND PRECIOUS AT THE SAME TIME LIKE DKEJEJJEMS THEYRE SO FRIGGIN COOL KSWKKSSKSK I LOVE LOVE LOVEEEEE GAZ’S HAIR SO MUCH LIKE I THINK UR GAZ DESIGN MIGHT BE ONE OF MY MOST FAVOURITES IF NOT THEEEE MOST FAVOURED ONE EVER

AND ALSO TAKKKK AHDHSHJS SHES SO ELEGANT AND COOL AND ADORABLE STILL WEARING THE CAT HOODIE PAJAMA AHSJSJJSJSMS I LOVE THIS SO MUCH- HER EYE SHAPE AND SHARP EYE LASHES ARE ALWAYS SO COOL TO ME

JDJSJSJSJS HAHAHAHA HE DIEDED I LOVE THIS SO MUCH- U ADD SO MANY DETAILS TO UR COMICS AND ART ITS SO ADMIRABLE!! THE DEATH POSE IS SO CUTE AND FUNNY HERE HEEHEE

TSUNDERE GRASSHOPPER MOMENTTTT #9929283828282!! JDJSJSJSJSMS OKAY SRSLY THO I LOVE HOW TAK WOULDNT ADMIT THAT SHE HAS GROWN FOND OF THE MEMBRANES AND MAYBEEEE EVEN ZIM AND OF COURSE, GREW POSSIBLE FEELINGS FOR GAZ! THIS IS SUCH A WHOLESOME AND PRECIOUS COMIC AHHDHSJDJSJD (OTHER THAN THE FACT THAT THE ROBOT DIEDED- IM STILL CURIOUS ABT THAT!!)

AND OF COURSE, WE HAVE THE MEMBRANE SIBLINGS BEING GAY AND MESMERISED BY THEIR ALIEN CRUSHES JDJSJDJ THIS IS SO CUTEEEEE- THEY DEFINITELY WLD BOND OVER THEIR SHARED INTERESTS FOR THEIR CRUSHES IN THE FUTURE!!

ANYWAY AHDHSHSJ THEYRE SO PRECIOUSSS- AGAIN, I LOVE THE BLUSHY FACES SO MUCH- AND HOW GAZ OPENS AND WIDENS HER EYES AT THIS LIKE-

AND ALSO ZIM AND TAK BEING FERAL IS SO CUTE AND FUNNY DHSJDJEJJD

PART 25 pages 112 - 115

Next pages ->

<- Previous pages

☆First pages☆

COMIC SERIES

Ko-Fi ❤️

[sebaelis]

General Information

name: sebastian michaelis real name: ???? birthday: october 31 age: ???? gender: intersex

sexuality: pansexual height: 186cm (6'1") race: demon

Personality

sebastian is quite the devoted demon to his master; ciel phantomhive. he carries out every single one of his master's orders without a fail whilst ensure everything, including the phantomhive household runs smoothly as it is his duties as the head butler. he doesn't sleep as his kind deems it as a luxury and often spends his night fulfilling his duties. he can sometimes be critical of his master and how he treats his workers, but once admitted that he is not averse to the butler lifestyle despite the concomitant daily troubles.

his butler facade is objectively flawless. he unfailingly obeys orders, accomplishes tasks with ease and grace and he is courteous. nevertheless, he is in actuality a callous and sadistic demon. he is ruthless when attacking others on his master's orders and occasionally puts him in nonfatal danger for the sake of his own amusement. he usually behaves in cavalier fashion when it appears that his master is in danger, as he is confident in his ability to rescue him. but he may express concern when the situation grows precarious, such as when certain beings posed a considerable threat to his master's life. sebastian is cunning and morally bankrupt as he has no qualms about lying, cheating and seducing others to gain the upper hand. he strictly adheres to his demon aesthetics and principles, one of which is not entering into multiple contracts, for he views such as inelegant. his paramount goal is to claim his master's soul.

sebastian is fascinated with humans and how seemingly insatiable they are, for they are willing to "drag others down to get what they want, even in death". in general, he regards them as "difficult creatures". additionally, he has great and mutual distaste for grim reapers. he also views money as "rubbish" and "materialistic". he is fluent in french and latin, enough to teach the latter. he is also proficient in deutsch (german) and east franconian, a dialect in southern germany. moreover, he profoundly adores cats and once kept at least thirteen hidden in his wardrobe to prevent ciel from finding out.

Other

he views humans as grasshoppers

sebastian's regular schedule is as follows: 5:50 A.M. - Getting up, getting dressed 6:00 A.M. - Preparing the master's breakfast, ironing the newspapers, instructing the staff 8:30 A.M. - Waking up the master with "Early Morning Tea," assisting with the morning toilet, serving breakfast 9:30 A.M. - The master's breakfast 10:30 A.M. - Start of the master's daily plan (work, learning, etc.), polishing the silverware, beginning lunch preparations 12:30 A.M. - The master's lunch 2:00 P.M. - Preparations for the afternoon tea 3:30 P.M. - The master's afternoon tea 6:00 P.M. - Preparations for dinner 8:00 P.M. - The master's dinner 9:00 P.M. - Cleaning up the dinner leftovers, polishing the silverware 10:00 P.M. - The master's evening toilette (bathing, getting changed) 11:00 P.M. - Putting him to bed 12:00 A.M. - Locking the rooms, extinguishing the chimney fire, etc., preparations for breakfast 2:00 A.M. - End of work

yana toboso (the mangaka) has kept sebastian's age a secret.

[shmowder]

SCREAM oh nooo I'm not ready 😱 I am going to remain incarcerated 😱 Patience, grasshopper!! Do you know how many screenshots I took of her in two different hairstyles this past week, cycling through countless poses, only to arrive at the conclusion she should actually be using hairstyle #3, which happens to be the first one I used when I first made her Sim, rendering all the work I did in between pointless?? There is such a thing as too many choices!

Depending on her expression and also her hairstyle (which makes her look different enough that it matters to me) I want to make her primary traits different things. Earlier I was like ykw my OC will not be shy and tender for once she will be snobby and ill-tempered and ambitious - then I look at other pictures and realize she is a sweet little lamb after all. As if a person cannot contain multitudes.

It's really reassuring to hear that OCs don't have to be consistent or set in stone. I barely know where to begin but your questions will give me some guidance. If I don't make it by the time your submissions close I can always send them in an ask. Yes I am a victim of overthinking, why do you ask? Also, that's really cool about Sol! It makes perfect sense that some of her inspiration came from the sun.

Ohh that last line about your inquisitor. Nice. I like that you're not afraid of creating characters that aren't stereotypically good or likeable.

At the very least I will send pictures! In due time. For now, a little preview (that does not include any of the three hairstyles that caused me so much agony). Plague doctor's assistant, leech handler extraordinaire. I'm thinking she gets sent to ToG for whatever reason and has to prove herself as THE plague doctor. I may be in danger of making her too much like Daniil but I simply don't know atm; anyway:

While I was reading your ask, I thought "no way she actually looks like a sweet little lamb–how could someone in a plague doctor mask look anything but menacing?" Then I unhid the image to view it and-

Oh my god, she is a sweet little lamb, ouch my heart. Her cute little peak, the polite stance, that wonderful hat. I adore her, i would kill for her–please ask me to kill for her. I will. She is already THE best doctor in town in my heart. Move aside Vurakh and Dickovsky! I need my leeches treatment!

Don't worry about making her too much like Dankovsky. Just claim that Daniil is the one actually copying her. Plus, Yulia is already the agreed upon Daniil copy, and she is well beloved by the fandom–hell she might surpass him in popularity with lesbians.