#insect or dragon? we just don't know

[virvendir]

Drawtober 2023 - Day 5

Oh... turns out Rhuca wasn't as alone in there as she thought. Let's hope this Dragon-Fly has eaten recently, since Rhuca is kinda snack sized.

[setaripendragon]

So I'm still on this daemon AU kick, and I can't stop thinking.

What are the limits?

It's generally accepted that a daemon is an animal representation of the soul, right? So, you know, we've got birds and mammals and reptiles and insects.

But what about fish?

Obviously there's an issue here of, you know, environment, and if your soul literally can't survive in the air while you literally can't survive in the water, there's a problem.

But, hey, if it's small enough, you could have a little fishbowl for your daemon to live in. Hamster ball, but filled with water, rolling along at your heels. Fishtank on wheels that get tricked out like dudebros soup up their car. And maybe, if you're from a particularly sea-faring culture/lifestyle a water-bound mammal like a dolphin or an orca could make sense. And then there's things like sharks, which have so much symbolism attached to them that it seems a real shame to have to rule them out. (Someone who's particularly driven or ambitious having a daemon that would literally die if it stopped moving is a bit of symbolism I'm going a bit feral for, tbh.)

I think we have to rule out the deep sea creatures, unfortunately. Fishbowls and/or living on a boat wouldn't really solve the problem of pressure, and someone with a blobfish daemon would, uh... be in trouble.

And if we're talking about things that can't survive in the same atmosphere as humans, what about internal parasites? Like flatworms. I think it's safe to say that having your daemon parasitizing your intestine kind of defeats the purpose of having an external manifestation of your soul, but... There are species of flatworm that aren't parasites, so... do we just rule out all flatworms, or are the non-parasitic ones okay?

And speaking of flatworms, what about size? I've read some fun stories that deal with the issues that might come from having, say, an elephant daemon. It's not quite as dramatic as the issues of having an aquatic daemon, but actually, similar adjustments would have to be made to your living situation to cope. But, of course, it could be done and I don't think anyone's trying to rule out animals on account of how big they are, but I think it's safe to say that microscopic daemons are out for the same reason that internal parasites have to be.

There's a nice solid rule I can settle on; a daemon has to be a visible animal.

And, in point of fact, I think it's safe to say it has to be an animal. We can rule out trees and plants and even fungi.

So what about coral?

It's an animal, and if we are allowing for some aquatic daemons, then should coral be an option? Or are its vibes too plant-like to qualify? Do we rule out sessile animals like we ruled out microscopic ones? As much as I find the idea of a coral daemon absolutely hilarious, I am going to come down on the side of animals that are too much like plants are a no.

So a daemon has to be a visible, mobile animal.

But what about the ones that only move very slowly? I don't think we're ruling out sloths, but in the continuing vein of torturing myself considering various aquatic daemons, there's starfish and sea urchins and hell, even most bivalves can move at least a little, right? (Correct me if I'm wrong, I haven't done that research yet.) And there's a lot of fun symbolsim to be had, there, I think.

And what about extinct creatures?

I think it's safe to say that mythical creatures are a no-go, unless this is a 'verse where those animals are real, (oh, boy wouldn't that confuse people in a world like HP where most people think dragons and unicorns aren't real, but people still wander around with dragon and unicorn daemons) so we can ammend our rule to visible, mobile, real animals, but could we go so far as extant?

If yes, that would have interesting world-building implications. Where's the cut-off point? Can we rule out dinosaurs because we don't/didn't have enough information for a daemon to settle into a form that wouldn't be technically mythical? But then, what about animals that go extinct within human history? What about all the people who had mammoth daemons or dodo daemons as those animals were dying out.

Would conservationists study daemon statistics to see if an animal has really gone extinct? Would an animal's extinct status get over-turned when a kid's daemon settled into that form? Honestly, I like this enough that I've convinced myself that, at least barring some very unique circumstances, extinct animals are not allowed.

So, it has to be a visible, mobile, extant animal. That can exist in proximity to humans.

Oh, and should probably add; visible, mobile, extant, and non-sapient.

You can't have a human daemon, or an elf or a dwarf or a fairy daemon even if they exist in that world, and if this is a 'verse with dragons who're more than just exotic magical animals, you can't have a dragon daemon. (Obviously, if your fairies are more like magical bugs than tiny people, then fairies would be a valid daemon.)

...I'm still on the fence about whether a daemon should have to be air-breathing or not. That kind of rule would still leave marine mammals available for the fun world-building of how people adapt to that kind of handicap. (...Do you think people with aquatic daemons would be considered disabled? Oooh, what about people with really big daemons? I mean, presuming such a thing is comparatively rare, people probably wouldn't be building schools with a mind to allowing elephants or giraffes to wander the corridors.)

Disclaimer! This is for my own creative process, and not intended to limit anyone else's creative flair. And, honestly, I'd love to hear other people's takes on what does and doesn't qualify for a daemon.

[mejcinta]

Aegon, Aemond and Their Relationship With Power/Arranged Marriage.

Neither Aegon nor Aemond are opposed to incest because it's the culture they've been birthed into. So, I don't think their reaction to Helaena in episode 7 should be viewed as some kind of evidence of their attitude towards incest, but rather about their their relationship with power, which is what arranged marriages in their feudal society are truly all about.

Aegon's approach to an (arranged) marriage is more romantic in the sense of he thinks having things in common is a requirement. He says about Helaena, his betrothed, "We have nothing in common."

This doesn't necessarily mean he loathes his sister. Yes, he does call her an 'idiot' but I think this also goes to show how young and silly he is, just as Helaena is also young in that moment and still occupied with her girlhood hobby of playing with insects.

Aegon's admission speaks to his self awareness because he notices they can't get along and he wants to spare himself and her as well from any misery. After all their parents are in a loveless arranged marriage and if there is one thing Aegon hungers and yearns for truly, it is love, even though it is quite literally the death of duty.

Additionally, he has spent much of his life being starved of love and feeling rejected by his mom and dad for not meeting their expectations well enough. Needless to say the fear that he is unloved by his family seeps down to his siblings even though they might think otherwise of him. Aegon is repelled by duty, for all he knows about it is pain, not love.

Aegon is not as eager to wield power through marriage. After all he has only suffered being seen merely as a chess piece in the game of thrones, and not as a boy that needs his family to be there for him. Therefore, he is understandably resigned and more disinterested in power because it is being forced on him.

Meanwhile, Aemond has a more duty oriented approach to marriage. He is willing to do whatever it takes to grow powerful and be taken seriously in society, especially seeing as he grew up without the ultimate Targaryen symbol of power: a dragon.

Aemond states about Helaena to Aegon, "She is your future Queen," and proceeds to make a comment about strengthening their Valyrian blood etc. In episode 10 he was also well on his way to cement a marriage alliance with House Baratheon so as to add to their army for the upcoming war. He understands what needs to be done in order to obtain the power he so desires for self validation.

Aemond cares little for love for now because, once again, his family has little of it and he doesn't fully grasp it. And what he mistakes for love is attention which is being heaped on Aegon for being the Golden boy i.e the firstborn son.

Aemond feels invisible to his family because of not being 'Targaryen enough'. That is why he spends much of the season in pursuit of power, claims Vhagar, mocks the Strong boys' bastardy and vents about being a mere second son while Aegon, being the first, doesn't need to work half as hard as Aemond does to be noticed or respected.

In a way, both boys are dead to love because of the neglect prevalent in their family while Helaena is in her own world plagued with dreams of her family's destruction. Aegon numbs his pain and pressures by indulging in vanity while Aemond scrapes away at collecting figurative medal after medal so that he can prove his worth, a perfectionist of sorts.

The boys' reaction to the idea of marriage is more about showing us their state of mind and relationship wih power more than it is about loving or hating Helaena.

[firelxdykatara]

Dragon Age 4 looks amazing, that gameplay trailer had me on the edge of my seat and I cannot fucking wait for the game to drop. Somewhat less enthused for the inevitable wave of fandom discourse that's gonna rear it's ugly head, especially given how BG3 went over, but whatever. (Also I hate that the name changed to 'The Veilguard', not just because 'Dreadwolf' was cool as fuck but the 'the' throws things off. DAV looks better as an acronym than DATV. But whatever whatever no one consulted ME on this, it's fine, I'm fine.)

It did make me start thinking about Solas again and how little nuance the fandom approached him with last time, and it's just funny because like... it's very easy to understand where Solas is coming from. How he sees what he is planning as necessary, as fixing an ancient wrong that he has always meant to put right.

Will people die? Yes, and he thinks that's unfortunate--and, according to him in the trailer, he took the precautions he could to minimize that loss of life as much as possible. But he's not doing any of this with the specific aim to kill people or 'do genocide'--that was never his goal.

He is trying to fix something that he broke countless ages ago.

As he says, 'the veil is a wound'--a wound that he ripped open in the very fabric of space and time, and which he is trying now to heal.

And the thing is, he is ancient. He does not conceive of time the way mortals do, nor the importance and significance of mortal lives. I would like to think that romanced solas vs unromanced will have some affect on the way he goes about things, because falling in love was entirely unexpected and had to alter his views at least a little. Not enough to sway him from his course, but perhaps enough to make him feel the coming losses more keenly than he otherwise would. But even failing that, the connections he made during Inquisition are clearly not nothing to him--Varric is able to draw his attention, keep him distracted, might even have been on the verge of talking him down, we don't know. But as easily as he shattered Bianca, he could've killed Varric to end the threat he posed, and he didn't.

Mortal lives mean something to him now that they didn't when he set out at the beginning of Inquisition to tear down the veil with no regard for the mortal lives he would destroy in the process. And I'm wondering if those very safeguards are what release the big bads when Rook fucks up his ritual and that leads into the rest of the game. But anyway, my point is this: Solas does not look at life the way someone with a mortal lifespan does. He can't! Modern Thedas is the burned out shell of a building that he once set fire to without realizing what the consequences would be--and he is determined to rebuild it, because no matter what life has sprung up in the cracks of the burned out husk, his original fault was destroying the life that had been there to begin with.

People don't tend to overly worry about the insects and birds nests and whatever else they might have to bulldoze through when it comes to tearing down some condemned structure and rebuilding in its place, and that's how Solas views the modern world of Thedas and the lives within it. And I get disagreeing with him and wanting to stop him at any cost, but I don't get assigning maliciousness or bloodthirst to his motivations when there's no reason to believe he sees this as anything less than a tragic necessity.

Then again, I think Anders was right too so, y'know. But one bomb lobbed into the fandom commonroom at a time lmao.

[bogleech]

What are your favourite dragon quest monsters across the entire series?

The first Dragon Quest Monsters game I've ever gotten to play wound up being the first one to leave out exactly the top three I looked forward to getting:

GIANTSLUG/MAULUSC: I'm pickier about slug and snail creatures than you maybe expect but I love the vapid drippy zombie face of the DQ slug. It perfectly captures the appeal of a slug as a monster, a mindless gooey thing that will just eat you without a care. And its classic color scheme is that of a Banana Slug!!

BELZEBUB: I am also picky about fly creatures; usually I want them to have the proboscis present in some way, and the correct number of wings (two). There's something I still love about the toothy mouth of Belzebub however, maybe the way it curls up between the eyes? It just does a good job capturing the feel of a fly's personality I guess.

DARKEYE/EYELASHER: eye creatures can also very easily feel a bit boring to me because I've just seen so, so many of them, but DQ's basic killer eyeball appeals to me a lot with its irregular fungus-like collection of tentacles. The little root branches on "top" are especially cool to me, and sometimes they're the bottom, because they represent where the eyeball attaches to either floors or ceilings! In a few games, they're even encountered as parasites inside bigger monsters!

I used to admire the guidebook to the first two DQ Monsters games as a kid but never had the games themselves, and never got around to any other DQ titles. I just spent my whole life waiting for just the right one where I'd finally get to assemble my three favorites, then finally this new one comes out and has to be the first time these three took a vacation :( But, Dark Prince was at least nice enough to include exactly my next three favorites in the franchise. I went over them already in my DQM Dark Prince post but some people will see this post first so I will have to reintroduce them:

DROHL: droopy flappy membranous mollusk guys, honestly horrible looking in a great way. In 3d games it turns out their helmetlike head spirals in the back like a snail shell! Apparently they're meant to be troll-like beings.

LUNATICK: just a blue fleshy sac thing with gooey antennae, a bunch of tentacles (most of them segmented like worms!) and a little eyeball, perfect, no criticisms, also reminds me of what Berserk considers an "Incubus:"

(Don't worry, Berserk Incubus aren't sex monsters but monsters that give you nightmares and feed on the fear)

TAILEATER/MAD MOLLUSK: I love how pathetic their front face looks, and the whole shape is so pleasantly reminiscent of an abyssal sea cucumber of some kind.

SKULLROO/GUAARDVARK: I didn't even realize this was one of my top favorites until getting it in Dark Prince. It's an unpleasant wrinkly fat aardvark kangaroo thing that just always carries a human skull around. Its profile says they collect them and the one they carry is their favorite! A lot of slightly lower favorites were also left out however, none of these are in Dark Prince but are very high up there to me:

PYURO: what is this thing? I don't know! Different games have categorized it as an insect or a plant. It's a furball with five eyes encircling a butterfly proboscis, two little legs and a big huge ring of flower petals behind it. Very xenobiology.

TONGUELLA: it's kinda like a dumpy, hairless sloth with an aardvark tail with a mushed-in dog face and a giant gross tongue. I guess I just like foul moist beasts. I wish this was a real mammal we had in the world, I bet it'd smell terrible. Feels like a perfect counterpart to Guaardvark.

SLURPERON: it's one tiny pitcher plant with a giant tongue and then it has cool reptilian eyes at the bottom end. So simple and so rad! A fun way to stylize a pitcher plant monster without ripping off Victreebel.

SICKLER: is a little tiny mantis in a robe, like the Tonberry from Final Fantasy but a mantis

RAGIN' CONTAGION: a newer one, a gooey vaporous cyclops ghost that represents disease. In its first appearance as a boss in the series the English localizers decided it should talk like Yosemite Sam. Sure why not!

So I like the new game and it gave me some new favorites like Skellyfish and new appreciation for some others, but oddly it only has my very middle all-time faves

[alessiamalfoyzabini]

Dark Moon | Chapter Three

Pairing | yandere!Jimin x Reader

Word Count | 2,6k

Warnings | +18, Coarse and explicit language, sexual insinuations, humiliation, prostitution, angst, smut noncon, non-consensual touch, forced blowjob (Jimin is not the one forcing her), Jimin is driven by hatred, this is not for minors!

This fanfiction is yandere, if you don't like the genre, don't read and if you are not of age, don't read.

I don't want to hear any complaints in the comments, thank you.

This does not reflect my way of thinking or living at all, it is just a work of fiction, it is like watching a horror movie, many of us love horror movies, but we would never dream of what we see in those movies happening in reality as well.

Simply put, this story was written for entertainment purposes, it should not be seen as a reflection of my values, opinions or morals. I absolutely do not condone such acts.

⤷ Summary | She just wanted to escape her past, take charge of her life and break out of her steel cage, praying in God for a miracle that could change her life for good.

And her prayers were heard, but it was not the Divine that answered her.

That was certainly the devil in the guise of an angel, she thought as those corrupted and empty eyes searched her soul with extreme voracity.

He turned a sweet, false smile on her, before pushing her into the abyss.

➢ Author's Note | The third chapter of Dark Moon has arrived! There will be more and more explicit details in the story that are not suitable for minors, remember this is a yandere story!

Taglist: @katherine-kookie, @dragons-flare, @m00njinnie, @seokjins-luigi, @pjmsneverland, @jimincrystal , @ajkwww, @ungodlyjoon, @hecateslittlewitchling

Taglist is open!

Chapter List - Previous - Next

That day the girl finished arranging her new clothes in the closet, she thought back to Ester, now she understood that such an asshole attitude, even if she still did not share it. She had recently arrived and had in no way tried to attract that bastard's attention, if that woman had lost her place as "favorite" it was certainly not her fault. And if she had to be honest, she found Ester to have horrible taste in men, how could anyone want to belong to that beast? She recalled Jimin's mocking eyes with disgust and thought back to his fingers mercilessly rummaging through her intimacy, a shiver shook her. No, that guy would never even lay a finger on her again, she would rather fight to the death.

Far more different thoughts crossed Jimin's mind. He had not thought twice about dumping her in his personal room at the Dark Moon, sending Ester away unceremoniously. He had found the hatred in Y/N's eyes delightful when he had played with her a bit and Ester on the other hand was now an old toy for him. "Is the newcomer already to your liking?" Jimin turned to Jin, they were all gathered at the big table of a high-class restaurant and one hundred percent sure, no one would ever know about their dinner there, the manager was a close friend of Seokjin's. "Actually, I haven't tried it yet," he stretched lazily, crossing his legs, "But it looks interesting." "What about Ester?" asked Taehyung, intrigued, at which Jimin rolled his eyes. "It's not for me anymore, you know how I am, I get tired easily," he replied with a grimace, his friend laughed. "So you won't be offended if I have a ride with her," said a voice ahead, Yoongi was grinning felinely, Jimin raised an eyebrow.

"You've always had a chance to take a ride, even more than one, I remind you that she kept opening her legs for many other men as well," he said sarcastically, Yoongi moved his hand as if to chase away an annoying insect. "You are my friend, I could never touch your stuff without permission." "But last time I found you with your cock in Mirin's throat, or am I mistaken?" asked Taehyung with annoyance, a roar of laughter erupted, Yoongi did not deny it. "Man, it's not my fault that your favorite is among the horniest in the Dark Moon." Taehyung's face at first irritated, relaxed into a wry smile, "Indeed, I chose her for that." Hoseok briefly spat the wine he was sipping onto the table, even Namjoon shook his head with amusement. Seokjin, unlike them, did not take his eyes off Jimin. "And will you allow me to take a ride on your new prey as well?" Jin's question left him unprepared for a few moments, was he okay with it? He wondered, and a strange discomfort in his chest intensified as he reflected on those words. Everyone stared at him waiting for an answer, but the boy was unimpressed, his firm expression unchanged. "She's still one of your girls, Jin," he smiled, "Who am I to forbid you?" The chatter at the table resumed, everyone went back to his own business, and Jimin's smile faded little by little as he continued to think about those words over and over again.

Hanon entered her room without bothering to knock, found her in front of the mirror ready for that night. Y/N had been forced to wear an evening gown with a light fabric, the deep blue color would have suited her, if the dress itself had not had a neckline so deep that it reached her navel. She felt naked, dirty, and the falling straps on her arms did not help the discomfort the girl was feeling. "Oh! You're ready, I thought I'd have a harder time convincing you," she said cheerfully, Y/N lowered her gaze mortified, she still cared too much about her life to risk a deadly ride in the Han River and this demolished her more, another woman with more pride and self-love would have gotten herself killed, she was just a coward. "But..." Hanon squared her with a critical eye, "Something is missing." She joined her in front of the mirror and retrieved from the bag of expensive makeup she had been provided with a lipstick, and not just any lipstick, it was red as sin. "You have to put this on" Hanon chirped not giving her time to retort, she took care of it herself to pass it over lips of the younger girl, "Well, you know...clients like it when you make a mess" Y/N immediately flinched, what little she had managed to swallow at lunch was coming back down her throat.

"How can you talk so easily about such a thing?" she hissed, disgusted by the older woman who seemed more than willing to make her irresistible to those pigs. It was as if she was more than willingly selling her out; she could not bear it. Hanon huffed, closing her lipstick quietly; after all, she had managed to put it on anyway. "I'm sorry, sometimes I forget you're new, I've opened my legs so many times - and not just those - that I consider this to be normal," she pointed around the room, most likely referring to the Dark Moon in general. "I don't want this to become normal for me," Y/N shook her head nervously, but Hanon was unimpressed. "If you want it to become bearable, you're going to have to make it normal, and I don't want to come across as the bitch who has no heart and doesn't understand you, but believe me... I'm the only one right now who wants what's good for you, the others can't stand newbies, and you're not Ester's favorite person right now, maybe you never will be for obvious reasons, so just accept it," she explained harshly, before giving her a key, "Room 508, you will wait there for your first customer and smile, asking him what he wants to start with or if he would like to relax with some soju first."

Y/N sent down a knot in her throat, nodding. "What are the clients like?" she asked, unable to imagine what kind of men she would have to serve with her body. "They are ... clients, there are many kinds with very different positions, the most dangerous ones however are left to us mature, you don't really have to worry about that." After that Hanon escorted her to the room, letting her open it because, as she had said, she had to learn how to best juggle in there without the presence of the older woman. The room in question was average, so it did not have to be a high-ranking client, just wealthy enough, Hanon left her alone and she took to inspecting the room, ran a palm over the soft blankets and with a shuddering sigh lay down on top of them, she had been told that she had to make herself ready on the bed because clients preferred it that way. She waited for the man to arrive, trying to relax the muscles in her face and body; it was true, she was no longer a virgin. But it had always happened in one bleak way, she petrified and afraid, until she had made the decision to take her sister with her and run away, even changing her last name. He wanted to give his sister a better future, and now she had ended up like her older sister, if not worse. She gritted her teeth in guilt, she would never forgive herself and it was only fair, she did not deserve peace.

Jimin arrived at the lobby at that moment, let a girl take off his coat without so much as a glance at her, adjusted his shirt collar, and headed for the elevator. There he met Namjoon, who was going in his exact direction. The man inside the Dark Moon dealt with more boring matters, such as taking customer reservations or arranging meetings with associates, plus he himself took care of the girls' most urgent needs. In a sense, he could be seen as a kind of janitor in there. "Hey, Jimin," he greeted him, Jimin reciprocated with a gesture of his head, "Have you seen your beauty? It's been three days and you haven't told me anything, should I be worried?" he joked, the dark-haired boy raised an eyebrow. "No, I haven't seen her, Seokjin sent me elsewhere," it was true, Jin had filled him full of commitments, but only because he himself had asked him to make him do something, he didn't want to see the girl, there was something that made him stay away from her, a feeling... something that told him that if he saw her one more time, the unthinkable would happen and that scared him, "Why should you worry, anyway?" Namjoon lifted his shoulders, "She has her first client tonight, I wouldn't want to have someone on my hands who doesn't know her business."

That news blocked Jimin from saying anything else, his jaw stiffened and his breathing quickened due to the constantly racing pulse. "Who would this client be?" he asked instead, feigned detachment. Namjoon thought hard about what to say to him, but opted for the truth; he could not lie to him. "Choi Minho, he was looking for entertainment with something new and I proposed her to him, it's just business, Jimin." Namjoon saw Jimin snort through his nose, amused. He didn't like that reaction; when Jimin found something funny - and there was absolutely nothing to laugh at - it meant he was up to something. "Jimin..." he said in a serious tone. "The room number, Namjoon." "Seokjin needs him, he got engaged to a minister's daughter, such a connection is not to be missed, and the waters are calming down." The tension inside the elevator was palpable. Jimin hated Minho. Didn't he wear all those piercings for pure aesthetics, every single piece of metal covered micro scars that still stung the boy, that piece of shit had gone unpunished and now he wanted to fuck with his prey? "Namjoon, look at me," he hissed, "I will not let him or another member of his family find pleasure in here, in my territory, among my comrades, he is polluting my air and I will not tolerate him," he said harshly. The silver-haired boy let a sigh escape, "Seokjin will not be pleased."

"I will talk to Seokjin, I have a few things to say to him on the subject." "... The room is 508, don't make me regret telling you." When the elevator doors opened with a gentle ding, Jimin darted out, moving confidently through the corridors of the brothel, leaving Namjoon to scowl to himself, realizing with a few seconds delay that he had screwed up big time. "Shit." On the other hand, several girls immediately distanced themselves from the young man; Jimin did not enjoy much popularity. If his appearance was that of an angel, his practices had been invented by the devil himself. He looked up counting the room numbers with manic attention, he didn't know what he would do once he got there either, he just knew he didn't want Minho in that place, in that room. With her. 510, 509... 508. Reaching in front of the door he tried to open it, finding it obviously locked. He mentally imprecated, this was not going to take. He would have to get tough sooner than expected, then. He gave the door a mighty kick, followed by a second and then a third, the latter breaking the lock with a dull bang that allowed him to enter. He could have simply asked for a copy of the key, but he did not want to waste further time.

He thus found Minho with the zipper of his pants open, but with his clothes still on, was towering over Y/N, the girl was lying on the bed and staring at him with a blank expression, as if she had surrendered to what was to come. The now-open dress gave a wide view of her naked breasts, as well as showcasing the obvious and fresh bite marks that were now purplish, a motion of disgust invaded Jimin's stomach. "What the fuck do you want, Park Jimin?" asked visibly irritated Minho, who until a few seconds earlier had the clear intention of playing a little with the girl's still untouched mouth. Minho had to admit, Namjoon had given him the gift of a nice treat, but Jimin's presence had never been required. "I don't want anything from you at all," he emphasized, pointing to Y/N who, like an automaton, was watching the pierced man in front of the door almost as if she had not seen him.

When Minho had entered the room she had as if immobilized, she had simply done his bidding, he had told her to open the neckline of her dress and she had done so, he had bitten and sucked her skin and she had not said a single word, she was a sad little doll, little doll who would have even sucked his cock if Jimin had not come in by smashing the door with unheard of tranquility.

"Forget it, I paid to spend an evening with her, wait your turn," growled Minho, who could already feel his cock drooping in his pants because of that bastard.

"We also do refunds, you know?" he asked, clearly ironic, before changing his expression altogether, "Get out of here, Choi. You're contaminating my territory, sullying what belongs to me." "And you get out of my way, Park. I will not leave without finishing." The two hurled lightning bolts and thunderbolts from their eyes, then something shone in Jimin's, something the girl could not quite define, standing there motionless and nervously awaiting orders, she gazed fearfully at Jimin's sharp smile, who shifted his eyes to hers. "Did you hear that, cupcake? Get to work, Mr. Choi wants to start with the mouth?" he addressed the last question to the person concerned, who was unimpressed. "I have no problem getting it out in front of you," he hissed, before finally lowering his pants along with his boxers, Y/N felt dead, she would eventually do it. For a moment she had hoped, she had hoped that this monster would save her from such humiliation, but no, if possible he had only made that situation worse, because he would watch her being used as a soulless sleeve. She refused to look toward that pig's loose erection, her eyes were still on Jimin, who in return did not take his gaze off her.

The tense jaw testified to Jimin's true discontent, who felt his blood boil with rage when Minho forcefully grabbed the young woman's hair, forcing her with a stern, violent move to take her full length, Y/N widened her eyes horrified, gasping for air. "Keep still, you little slut! Show your boss how you make me come." Minho used the girl's mouth with unprecedented force, heedless of her shrill cries, his only thought at that moment was to fuck her, proving to Jimin that he could do nothing against him, even on his own turf. Jimin felt the bestial urge to kill the bastard, but another idea took shape. Minho was about to come when he heard the sound of a trigger ringing in the room. The barrel of Jimin's glock was pointed at his side, just waiting for a slight pressure on the trigger to release the lead that would surely take him down.

[argisthebulwark]

I'm a winged insect, you're a funeral pyre

summary: Whether it's a matter of circumstance or personality, you know you're wrong for one another. Even this fact cannot seem to keep you apart. gn reader, no pronouns or y/n used feat: Miraak, Brynjolf warnings: unhealthy relationship dynamics (not abusive). explicit sexual content - minors should not read or interact.

"This cannot continue." Miraak's voice remains stern, though his words are entirely betrayed by the fingers digging into the back of your skull. His hips buck into yours as you wrench open the front of his robes. You seek the skin beneath, carelessly digging past his carefully tied sash. "You say that every time," you remind him, spurned on by long fingers grasping your thigh. Dragging you impossibly closer Miraak grunts, his grip on your hair guiding your lips to his. He tastes of blood, the healing potion you'd forced down his throat tingling against your mouth. "This time I mean it." He lies into your mouth, words dissolving into moans when you bite playfully at his lower lip. "We can do this no longer, Dragonborn." Every time is the last time. Every parting is meant to be final yet you cannot stop the need that pounds through your veins upon every meeting. Promising yourself that it will be the last time you savor Miraak's touch, the wicked pleasure of his sinful lips on your skin. "You will be my demise." Miraak sighs when your legs tangle around his waist. You need him close, desperate to feel every inch of him. "If this truly is our last meeting," your voice sounds too high when his fingers trail down your body, arousal clouding your thoughts. "We should enjoy ourselves." Kissing him feels like breathing, so natural and necessary. Shoving down thoughts of sentimentality you struggle to focus on the moment, the tantalizing way his fingers trace down between your legs. You can never let him know how deeply he has carved himself into your heart. "I will miss the way my name sounds on your tongue, Dragonborn." Gods, he knows exactly what he's doing. Heat shoots through your veins at the kind words, his teeth leaving selfish marks down your chest. "And all the sounds you make just for me." "You don't have to." Embarrassment stings at your throat when you clutch his hand, earnest as you meet his dark gaze. "It doesn't have to end." "Oh, my Dragon." You hardly hear the rest of his words over the blood racing in your ears. You've never felt so exposed, stripped bare under his eyes as he tears you apart with each word. "If only the gods would permit me to love you the way I intended to."

"Stay out of my way." Brynjolf's harsh whisper cuts through peaceful silence of a slumbering home. Undisguised hate simmers in his gaze but you know he won't strike. Despite the blood trickling down his throat he refuses to unsheathe his weapon, choosing only to scoff as he shoves your blade away. "If you let me go first, your job would be a hell of a lot easier." You tease, skipping after Brynjolf while he stalks away. Despite the taunting you're endlessly impressed by the way he moves, the easy gait that doesn't make a sound. Clearly trying to avoid you, Brynjolf crouches before the safe once more. In the dim moonlight you catch the flustered red of his cheeks as he sweeps away his hair. Arousal stirs deep within you at the thought of burying gloved fingers into that hair, exposing his stubbled throat to your teeth. You want to keep Brynjolf teetering on the edge of pain and pleasure, to know how that voice would sound moaning your name and pleading for more under your hold. "Stop lookin' at me like that." He murmurs, fingers so delicately fussing with his lockpicking tools. "Like what?" "Like you're, well." He chuckles as the safe clicks open, eyes dragging over your armor in a way that heats your blood. "Who knows what you're thinkin'. You assassin types ever think about anything other than killing?" Your contract's all but forgotten at the sight of him. Brynjolf's head cocks, that leather armor not hiding a bit of his toned body. Gods, you want to leave him seeing stars. His eyes flutter when you kneel before him, lowering your cowl just enough to reveal your face. Twisting your fingers through his hair elicits the most delicious sound from his throat. All his insults, all those silly little morals are forgotten at the first touch. "We shouldn't." He whispers, the crack in his voice betraying the weak protest. Skilled fingers wander curiously over the seam of your armor as you lean closer, ready to enact all those filthy fantasies from nights alone in a frigid Sanctuary. "I won't tell anyone if you won't." His pulse is erratic when your lips graze over his, so eager for more. "It'll be our little secret."

[hiivedragon]

i'm in such an essay-writing mood right now and i don't even know where to begin. essays are the whole reason why i made this blog in the first place and now i'm just sitting here, paralyzed.

i wanna write about how flight felt for me with our wasp-like wings, how we could hover like hummingbirds. how our wings could both buzz like insects and flap like traditional dragons. i wanna write about the feeling of them sliding underneath our carapace like iridescent blades.

i wanna write about the golden hive-homes, how our young were the pride and joy of our species, our culture, and the food. how easily fitting in felt. how easy everything felt, because we were dragons. we were dragons, hivewings!

and i don't even know how to write it. how do i get this point across? how can i show you the savannah, and the hives above them, and the hunts, and the sounds, and the smells... it's all so impossibly distant. i don't know.

[just-sp-in-inginthevoid]

New Art? Okay

I'm speedrunning this though

Takemichi:

- four-leaf clovers (his and Hinata's matching necklace; luck)

- cogs (time leap)

- morning glories? (love, innocence, promise?; can't find much about the Japanese symbolism, nextttt)

Mikey:

- manjis (toman, his name, harmony, good fortune)

- red roses (deep love, romance, passion)

- a crown (well, it's Mikey)

Draken:

- two dragons — one can be seen on his sleeve, the other on his pants (wealth, perseverance, wisdom, power, strength. Dragons are protectors as well)

- flowers, don't know which

Mitsuya:

- three petals flowers, don't know which

- owls (good luck, protection against suffering/hardships)

- his and Draken's dragon inside the top part of the outfit (like he hides his dragon tattoo) (meaning: same as ^ for Draken)

- manji (I'm guessing every toman members has them here but there's only Mikey and Mitsuya's inside clothes we can see; harmony, good fortune)

Chifuyu:

- snowflakes, for his name

- irises (purity, fending off evil spirits, hope, faith, loyalty, good news…)

- waves (renewal, cleansing, the flow of life, power/resilience, luck)

Baji:

- forget-me-nots (true love, don't forget me (duh)) not sure if it's actually forget-me-nots tho

- bamboos (leaves) (strength/resilience, flexibility/adaptability, prosperity)

- crosses (don't carry much meaning unlike if it was Taiju – Baji has been drawn wearing a cross necklace more than once and Japan likes the 'Christian aesthetic'. At worst, it could represent his death and the fact he was the first death Takemichi didn't prevent even tho he was there)

Ran:

- orchids, for his name (are seen as expensive and luxurious flowers)

- butterflies, well-known pollinating insects (believed to be human spirits last comming on earth, in the disguise of a butterfly, transformation, resilience, good luck, prosperity, happiness)

- spider web (like his tattoo on his chest) — the web is on the left (from our perspective) while his tattoo is on the right

Rindo:

- Bellflowers, just like his name (love, honesty, gratitude, humility)

- bees; other well-known pollinating insects

- spider web (like his tattoo on his chest) — he only has the right sleeve on where the web is so we can see his side of the tattoo he got (on the left, for us)

Izana:

- peacocks (kindness, care, love. In Buddhism peacocks are tied to Kannon, who is herself tied to compassion and mercy) (Japanese phoenixes are often depicted as the mix of a peacock and a pheasant)

- yin-yang (tenjiku's symbol; balance)

- chrysanthemums: the flower of the Japanese imperial family

Shinichiro:

- cogs (time leap)

- tiger lilies (wealth, confidence, in Buddhism: mercy and compassion)

- chidori (lil bird; longevity, courage, determination, tenacity, perseverance)

- just grass/weed? or not?..

Sanzu:

- lotus (chastity, purity, linked to Buddhism)

- temari (lucky charms)

- knots, Mizuhiki (Japanese tradition) probably

[deadsnothere]

HE WAS AWAKE?!

synopsis - Someone who's to stubborn finally asks for help but also gets a love confession in their "sleep"

Masterlist

request - No

Word Count - 1.1k

Speak Ali! - This was full impulse don't expect anymore out of me- (do expect more out of me) Unless i feel like it. But I might not- Who knows honestly. Please send in request!! I am only accepting Lockwood right now, sorry :(

HE WAS AWAKE?! Pt.2

Lockwood barley asks for help,

And we all know it. He's an idiot who thinks he can do everything alone, no matter what. Me, George, And Lucy are always his anchors, we keep him from doing the stupidest shit, even if that means distracting him in less than ideal ways. Like aggressive flirting, just to let Lucy steal a case file. But we still get it done.

So when Anthony Lockwood himself knocked on my door at 2 in the morning with the most exhausted look on his face, let's just say I was more than concerned.

I was changing out of my ‘work’ shirt to put on an undershirt to fall asleep in. I'd been working on a new flare design all night and the shirt I was originally going to go to bed in had ash and grease all over it. when I heard a knock on the door. There he was my roommate, Employer, and “crush”, Anthony Lockwood. “Ant, what's up?- It's 2:36 in the morning, I was about to get in bed-”

His face screamed tired, his eye bags were deeper than normal and his hands were playing with the seam of his pajama pants pocket, like he does when he's nervous.

“I-” He whispered as if he was hesitant to ask in the first place. ”I can't sleep and I always sleep best when- You're in my room…just-” The way he rubbed the back of his neck, looking down at the ground, told me he was embarrassed. “Can I just sleep in here tonight…?” Anthony looked almost as if he regretted asking, like he should've just walked away instead of knocking on the door; Which he now stood in front of, wide open.

I nodded along with his words, moving away from my door and walking to my bed. “Just close the door after you come in, sleeping with it open-” He finished the sentence with me, already knowing what I was going to say. “-‘gives me anxiety’ I know Ali.”

When he walked into the room slowly, he was looking around at the posters and metal creations that hung from the walls and ceiling. There were things like metal dragons, butterflies with dazzling colors, Firefly's with handcrafted wings and many more insects and mystical creatures. “After we complete big cases I make a little statue and I hang it around the room…It's like reminding myself how far I’ve come.” His eyes landed on me next, I was already sitting on the bed, smiling at him warmly, my eyes closed, head leaned back from exhaustion.

“Come on Ant.” I patted next to me, laying down on my back moving closer to the wall so he had room to lay down to.

His posture says he's confident, like he's not afraid to make a wrong move. But his eyes are different. They look so hesitant, so terrified of how this could look to other people.

After a case went bad yesterday, Barnes called me Anthony's lover. He's been on edge since then, Maybe it hurt a bit when he got so defensive over the fact that I was in fact not his lover. It already hurts when I know he's just a flirty person to get what he wants, that when he flirts with me it doesn't mean I'm special. Now this? At least I know he doesn't like me back, before I went and tried to ask him on a date or something.

I faced towards the wall when he climbed into the bed, pulling the soft blanket over us both. Our routine moved like it did when I went into his room to sleep. His arm hooked under my body and pulled me into his chest, which felt cool with the silk pajama shirt he had on at the moment. Our legs tangled together, his face was pressed into the nape of my neck, and our breathing matched almost perfectly. This felt so normal, so nonchalant. But this is Lockwood we're talking about! He wouldn't do this with just anyone! Would he?

Ok, no he wouldn't- But he just trusts me! We’ve been friends for years, of course he trusts me. It's obvious I’m just a friend to him, and yes maybe it's not a friend thing to cuddle up to your friend while you press your face into their neck…like I said he just trusts me! It's a simple platonic thing to do when you go to a friend you trust for help sleeping!

But it would be so nice if he didn't mean it in a friendly way..For him to hold my hand, and laugh and walk with me to go on a date, Or maybe to cook dinner for our kids or babysitting…That sounds like heaven, an unrealistic heaven. But to be fair I do already basically babysit, but it's always me and George babysitting, not me and lockwood, mainly because we're babysitting him and Lucy during cases but still I can dream.

I turned my head around just enough to see his face, eyes closed, breathing soft, and nose pushed against my neck still. I tried to turn just enough to not wake him up but also be able to see him. I'm really hoping I didn't wake him up, or that he was really asleep, because this next part would be embarrassing if I did.

I placed a hand on his face, kissing the top of his head and running my hand through his hair. “I Love You, Anthony Lockwood. You stupid self-sacrificing idiot.” I turned around all the way and moved up a bit, his face laid on my chest, and my arms wrapped around his head holding him close.

Finally comfortable enough to fall asleep. It's been so long since I got a good sleep in my own bed, maybe the feeling of his hands on my back, pushing me closer to him, really did help me sleep, Maybe it made me feel protected, like I can be vulnerable again, like i'm safe in his ar- “Did you just call me a self-sacrificing idiot?-” SHIT-

thank you for reading to the end of this shit :D i can't promise a part two but hey i'll try.

[maniculum]

Bestiaryposting Results: Tatchgob

This is a weird one, I think, because there are a couple aspects of this entry that fully make sense in the context of what this animal actually is, and others that just make you think, "wait, the medievals thought what about [redacted]?" Not a lot else to add here, and I'm already running unusually late with this tonight, so here's the entry in question:

And below the cut is the art people have produced, in rough chronological order:

@silverhart-makes-art (link to post here) has decided this is an insect, for entirely sensible reasons. The entry says that it flies, but not that it's a bird. It also says that the female reproduces without copulation with the male, and Silverhart helpfully observes that parthenogenesis is a much more common phenomenon in insects than in birds. Specifically, it's a bee, because the Tatchgob is said to be large and slow-flying, and as we all know, a bee's wings are too small to get its fat little body off the ground.* This one is specifically inspired by vulture bees -- bees that do in fact eat carrion as the Tatchgob is implied to do (the entry doesn't actually say it eats the corpses, only that perceives them).** Silverhart further notes that they ended up spending a few hours going down a rabbit hole about vulture bees, a warning from which I failed to learn, as I spent the last half-hour reading arguments about whether "meat honey" is a real thing. Anyway, enough commentary from me, look at the very good drawing of a bee and then read what Silverhart says about it in the linked post.

*Bee Movie reference mine; please don't blame Silverhart for my internet-poisoned sense of humor.

** The Aberdeen Bestiary does actually specify this, but it was buried in the long religious-allegory section after the main description so I missed it when setting this up and didn't include it in the post. Now I wish I had, because it hilariously notes that the [Tatchgob] "is often overtaken by death when it descends to the dead animal from a great height." The drawings we could have had of animals crashing full-force into the ground... actually I'm torn on whether that would be a plus or a minus.

@strangelyflesh (link to post here) has made the reasonable call that a large flying animal may as well be a dragon-thing, so here's a bird-like dragon for you. Delightful facial expression on this one. Honestly everything about that head is very charming, actually. The linked post mentions that they "reproduce like those fucked up little geckos" and I am struggling against the temptation to fall down another rabbit hole, so I'm just going to move on.

@cheapsweets (link to post here) drew a bird, but decided to focus in on the fact that it's too large to fly quickly. It's broadly based on a bustard, which is apparently the world's heaviest flying bird (learn something new every day) but is shaped and posed specifically to evoke the silhouette of an aircraft, specifically the infamous Spruce Goose. (Cover the head with your hand, you'll see it.) Extremely clever, in my opinion. For more details on the design decisions, see the linked post. One more thing before we move on, though... check out that thing on the far right of the image, down in the sea. I think that's one of these critters:

Okay, now we're moving to the next one.

@coolest-capybara (link to post here) continues to outdo herself with the stylized medieval drawings. This one is definitely a creative choice -- Capybara notes that they would have been inclined to draw a dragon for this one, except we already had the dragon entry a while back. So she decided this was a komodo dragon that can glide on skin flaps like a flying squirrel. Excellent, love it, very interesting coloration also.

Capybara also raises the interesting question of whether the bestiary writer ever considered what male Tatchgobs might be for, if they aren't involved in the reproductive process. I suppose evolution is a fickle mistress, especially when the person describing your animals doesn't know what evolution even is. They don't seem to have an allegorical purpose either (there's like half a page railing against hypothetical people who fully accept that a [Tatchgob] can give virgin birth but deny that Mary could, which I guess is the point of that detail, but the male Tatchgob goes unmentioned). Anyway, the monk would probably just say they exist because God wanted them to or something... actually I'm not sure how aware they were of the possibility of species that didn't come in two sexes. Anyway, moving on.

@pomrania (link to post here) also thought large flying thing -> dragon, but decided to make theirs more fishlike. See, fish engage in external fertilization, and what are the odds of a pre-modern observer just missing the fact that the male is involved? Assuming they're not on board the "spontaneous generation" wagon. I really like this design, also; gliding on these fin-like structures is especially cool. And yes, according to the linked post, the fact that it shares a color palette with the ace flag is fully intentional. Ace icon Tatchgob.

@strixcattus (link to post here) has drawn a good bird -- serrated beak a solid choice -- but as with many of their posts, the real gold is in the text. See, Strixcattus gave us another carrion-eating bird some months ago, and they've decided this one is a related species. That's right, meet Wutugald tatchgob, the Brown or Lesser Wutugald. Which also explains why this one has that yellow thing above its beak there. Love the connection being drawn to previous entries. (Strixcattus's original Wutugald post can be found here.) As usual, you are strongly, strongly encouraged to go read the descriptions Strixcattus includes with their animals. You should then go check their brief follow-up to the Tatchgob here.

Now, to the Aberdeen Bestiary.

That's right, it's the eagle again! I wasn't expecting a repeat, but you have to admit it's clearly the same bird. The illustration for "eagle", in case you don't remember, looks like this:

Virtually identical except for the coloration of the wing feathers.

Okay, yeah, there are no duplicate entries, I just had to point out the fact that they look exactly the same. This one is the vulture, which apparently also doesn't reach far enough north for our illustrator to be familiar with it.

(A quick check through Wikipedia indicates to me that the various vulture species whose ranges include Europe tend to stick to the southern parts. None of them seem to reach the British Isles, which is where this manuscript originates.)

Anyway, something I find interesting about this is that vultures are another animal that modern people often think of as sinister, creepy, or just gross, but the bestiary is actually really positive about them. There's even one part where they get to be a Christ symbol, which honestly I have to share. It starts with that "dying by descending from a great height" bit I quoted earlier:

The fact is, if a vulture, in flight, sees a corpse, it sets itself down to feed on it, and is often overtaken by death when it descends to the dead animal from a great height. It is right, therefore, that Christ, who was God's mediator and our redeemer, should be signified by the name 'vulture'. While remaining in the heights of his divinity, like the vulture flying on high, he saw the corpse of our mortality below and descended from heaven to the earth beneath; he deigned, indeed, to become man for our sake; and when he sought man, the living thing that had no life, he who in himself had eternal life, met his death at our hands.

That's right, the whole Jesus thing was the allegorical equivalent of diving towards a corpse and accidentally smashing into the ground. Really puts the New Testament in a different light.

There's also a part where vultures foretell death. But not foretell for our benefit, mind: the example given is that vultures have learned to recognize what an army is and follow it because they know there will be food. So they're foretelling for their own purposes, and if we happen to notice and draw any conclusions, that's just a side effect.

One more quote from the Aberdeen Bestiary, and then we're done.

For who looks at the eyes of the vulture, that is, at what lies behind men's thoughts?

... that's a reference people get, right? anyway, it's late, good night.

[exhausted-archivist]

Lets Talk About Nugs

Okay so I'm on the nug train of thought here now that we have Dalish eating nugs in dao. So some fun facts about nugs and what we know about them.

They're found both subterranean and on the surface. Their codices describe how they originate from subterranean areas (the Deep Roads) but also inhabit the surface despite having skin so thin it often sunburns. This is reinforced in how we see them running around topside all over Inquisition in Haven, the Emerald Grove, and just everywhere. The common nug is so common on the surface, Kirkwall carried out the Battle of the Squealing Plains (aka nug war) because they were deemed a noxious vermin thought to carry the blight (they don't).

Dwarves (surface and Orzammar), Fereldans, Orlesians, and Dalish eat them. An Orlesian might, but one also runs the risk of eating a noblewomans pet by accident and it is insinuated that is part of why they aren't so common on the Orlesian table.

Nugs eat everything from insects (with roof beetles being a favorite), worms, mushrooms, anything they can find on the cavern floor or in your pantry, and even limestone and metals. They're described as a voracious omnivore and their diet really shows it.

They're cousins to the Greater Nuggalope and may be related to the tusket.

Their main natural predators include deepstalkers and giant spiders underground and just about every carnivore topside.

Outside of food their stomach, skin, and fat are used for a variety of craftable items.

They use their pointed snouts for digging, are nearly blind, and are hairless.

Despite being called "small", their dao depiction makes them the size of a medium dog and is echoed by the Inquisition models where nugs are roughly 21" / 54 cm at the shoulder. A medium-sized dog has the height of 16-22" / 41-56 cm at the shoulder.

They are prolific breeding animals despite the high predation rates and being described as poorly adapted for non-temperate environments.

As I work on my food project as well as the Thedas bestiary I was trying to decide the role that they fill and honestly, they seem to fill the same role one would expect a pig, vulture, or the like to fill. Cleaning up the various scraps left around the Deep Roads and being rather opportunistic in whether they'll deviate from their insect diet to plant material. We have no mention of them eating meat, so I wouldn't think they were opportunistic carnivores either.

And while this may seem obvious, I've been seeing a lot of similarities to naked-mole rats. Not counting the skin or the shared subterranean home. But from the fact that the game seems to insinuate that they are at least highly resistant to the blight; perhaps like High Dragons. Much like naked mole rats have unusual longevity and are resistant to many age related disease as well as cancer. Couple that with the fact that nugs seem to live in groups; we see this in the cave system in Crestwood, and the existence of the nug king and his court.

[nibwhipdragon]

god, dear fucking god, the monster hunter movie was worse than humanly possible

WHY IS THE US MILITARY HERE?! WHY IS IT AN ISEKAI PLOT? WHY DOES THE HUNTER NOT KNOW WHAT CHOCOLATE IS?

if they wanted a monster to fight the military at least use a Bazelgeuse cause it's right up their alley

I'm putting this all under a cut because I ranted much more than I anticipated. All my thoughts on this stupid film are under the cut.

Anon this sounds like you've watched the film for the first time and. Man I am So Sorry. It was worse than what I expected it to be and my expectations were already at rock bottom. They used Gore in the advertising but it was only used as sequel bait??? Nasty. And there was gonna be a scene where it and Rathalos would fight in a shopping center or smth and MAN. That would've made the film a little bit enjoyable. The tiniest bit.

The film REALLY didn't need to be an isekai. If the director wanted to make his wife the protag (again. Why does he do this all the time. Give someone else a chance will you) why couldn't she have been a hunter? Either learning the ropes a la Legends of The Guild (a much better mh film you should watch if you haven't already) OR already a top tier hunter investigating an odd phenomenon. Not. That.

And the way the guns were useless on the Diablos??? (Why were the monsters so oddly big too) Hello. Bowguns. Ballistae. Barrel bombs. Gunlance. They could at least do SOME damage.

Also the hunter not knowing what chocolate is is INSANE. They have donuts canonically. They have coke canonically*. Is chocolate really that far of a stretch??? It's sugar and cocoa beans and milk. Not that hard to make and they sure have a lot of jungles so it's not like they can't find any cocoa beans.

IN MHW THEY LITERALLY HAVE CHOCOLATE COVERED APPLES AND DONUTS. COME ON. It's like the director just treated the entire world as this sort of primitive place, rather than a place that's just different to ours. They're quite technologically advanced: They have airships, sandships, the dragonator and dragonrazer, and massive boats that can have up to 3 dragonators at a time on it. Steam trains*² too. All highly complex mechanisms. Yes they all seem to run on steam pressure but honestly? I don't think they'd plunder oil from the earth the way we do, so it makes sense. And all the knowledge on all these monsters and how they work and stuff? That's certainly not primitive. Also how did the Admiral know English. No I'm not taking that stupid timeloop paradox quest that used to be in MHW as canon. Because What Is That.

WHY DOES THE ADMIRAL LOOK LIKE THAT, ACTUALLY?

Like cmon man. I can barely even see a resemblance. $60mil budget is actually fairly small for a film but COULD YOU NOT HAVE SPENT MORE OF THAT ON THE ADMIRAL'S DESIGN??? There was barely even any monster action in the film it was just Artemis and the hunter fighting. Surely the CGI didn't cost that much.

OK I went onto Wikipedia for that info and it led me to find out the director is British. Having a moment of silence to mourn the fact this scourge came from my home country.

Moving on. The insect glaive was shown at the end of the film. No kinsect. My brother in Christ THE KINSECT IS LIKE HALF THE WEAPON. IT'S IN THE NAME.

Another nitpick but the desert is so ridiculously empty I'm convinced the director doesn't know what a desert looks like (I know he wouldn't have been a concept artist. But he both and directed and wrote so I assume he has quite a bit of control over the other parts of the film's creation).

Like cmon. Sure some parts of deserts are quite empty, like the Sahara, but I doubt a big monster like Diablos is going to be chilling in a place with no shade and no cacti. It can go underground to avoid the heat when traversing but in no way would it hang about as much as it did in the film. No reason to there are more optimal environments for it within the desert. At least make the background visually appealing on basis of it being a film. Can't the sand at LEAST be orange-yellow?

Also Bazelgeuse bombing them in the film would've been hilarious to me I wish that happened

Anyways. Go watch Legends of The Guild. Purify yourself. Great animated film that expands on pre-existing characters and also gave us the great indication that the games seem to take place in chronological order. I love you Legends of The Guild

* As one of the meal items in one of the games, I can't remember. Coke is cinnamon and vanilla flavoured so it isn't too outlandish for them to have it as a drink imo

*² The felynes in Elgado use a mini one near the dango food place thingy. Sure it's small but the fact it exist makes the concept of large ones used for transport and the like not too far-fetched

[mysticstarlightduck]

Personality Through Quotes

Thanks for the tag @kaylinalexanderbooks!!! (here)

MY QUOTE IS: A quote about a weird habit they/someone else has.

YOUR QUOTE IS: A quote about your character's feelings about their world's government

Corah - "Hmm. Sometimes I tend to wake up in the middle of the night to stare at the stars. I don't know why, but it's very calming. I like to count out all the constellation Dad has taught me about and the tales about each one, and then I try to make up new ones until the stories get more and more chaotic and outlandish with each new one and then I go back to sleep."

Arammys - "I would say my weird habit is that, from time to time, I try making up stories in my mind, to replace the memories I don't have, and its come to the point that that habit's more like an intrusive thought rather than anything else and it concerns me. Like, I'll see someone on the street and immediatelly start imagining a whole backstory for how we might've met before and how they're my former best friend turned rival turned acquaintance - and the next thing I know I forgot what I was doing - But I'm normal, right? That's totally normal, right?"

Eidan - "I collect stuff! Genuinely. There's no real pattern to it and I don't really remember why I started. It's not an obsession or anything, just a hobby to distract me from stuff that might upset me. I'll just be walking down the riverbed and be like 'ooh that's a neat shell' and pick it up and add it to The Collection. I'll walk through the market and see a silk ribbon necklace on sale and I'll buy it and guess what, add it to The Collection. Anything that really stands out to me in some way makes it to my collection - but I have to really, really like the thing in order for it to be chosen. My collection of assorted knick knacks is as random as it is carefully curated. (smiles, actually proud of his collection)"

Nimwen - "Oh, neat! Not my weird habit, but my brother's - when he is upset he starts counting in Syllen, which is a local dialect from the city where we were born which nobody - except scholars and really really specific groups of people - really uses anymore. He also worries a lot and used to talk in his sleep - not anything concerning, just gibberish, but enough to wake me up every five minutes until I got used to it."

Rin - "People say I'm weird because I eat bugs and rodents. I don't think that's weird - they don't think it's weird for birds to eat those things, and my species is basically just a humanoid bird (okay, I'm an avian fey to be precise). Insects and rodents are a natural part of my diet, and people are the ones who need to stop being so sensitive to everything I do. Hey, is that a cricket?"

Tomasa - "Oh, my turn, my turn! I like to sing at the top of my lungs while bathing, even if I am admiteddly a bit off key I am having fun. I also like to go to taverns where no one knows anything about me and try to challenge the biggest dude in the place to a drinking contest! The look on their faces when I win is always priceless."

Masen - "Does using the bardic talents I hoped to one day be famous for to steal from my audience because I've had to become a thief instead count as a weird habit? That's not a rhetoric question, does it? I really wanna know, dude!"

Kyran - "I'm not really the kind of person who has 'weird habits', but if you really want to know... some of my inventions aren't exactly that legal, and they do have a tendency to... explode? But only on occasion, and sometimes to my favor, but you didn't hear it from me and you don't have any proof to tell anyone you heard this."

Maryon - "I like climbing to the roof of the towers of the castles - it's a beautiful and breathtaking view. I can see my whole city from there, covered in beautiful snow and blue ice, and the mountains of Tirawen are a small dot on the horizon. Occasionally, I'll see the outline of a dragon flying in the distance! I don't think it's a 'weird' habit, but it is certainly a risky one. I sometimes do this for fun, other times to escape from my duties when I want some peace and quite, haha"

Florynce - "I talk to the trees - and they whisper back at me! So do the flowers and the rocks and the rivers and the birds, and all of the forest! It says my blood runs through it."

Leora - "Don't tell anyone, or my reputation as the fearless underground leader might be at risk. But I still have my childhood plush toy and I can only sleep if I have it on my bed. It brings me comfort in a way little else does."

Elias - "Ooh, I have one hell of a list of weird quirks curated and stored straight from my brothers' childhood - Masen used to sleepwalk, until he one day he hit a wall and woke everyone in the house but not himself, Kyran one time got into an argument with an old lady at the market because they couldn't decide whether or not the scarf a vendor was selling was lilac or purple and turns out it was neither because it was pink, Masen used to cry whenever he heard a sad story involving dogs, Kyran said he hated the sea but turns out he didn't want to admit he was scared of sea monsters - want me to keep going? Because I can."

Tagging (gently, no pressure):@steh-lar-uh-nuhs @inky-duchess @late-to-the-fandom, @eccaiia @willtheweaver @littleladymab @cabbojage @lassiesandiego @little-peril-stories @oh-no-another-idea @thepeculiarbird @rickie-the-storyteller @crowandmoonwriting @steh-lar-uh-nuhs @gummybugg @forthesanityofstorytellers @doublegoblin @aalinaaaaaa @starlit-hopes-and-dreams @elshells @clairelsonao3 @anyablackwood @tabswrites @illarian-rambling and OPEN TAG

[lizz-crimson]

MK Characters Intro Banter With Monster Hunter Reader! [Part 3]

My PlayStation 5 (along with most of my physical switch games, two vr headsets, all physical ps games, and 3ds) got stolen a little over a month ago and I haven't been able to play monster hunter nor mk, so I am absolutely rotting at the brain with the two. So here's more interactions between a monster hunter and mk11 characters. Cri

Tags/warnings: Talk of hunting monsters, Monster Hunter terms, gender neutral reader, monsters,

Characters: Baraka, Fujin, Jade, Kotal

Part 1 Part 2

Baraka

Baraka: "What is this beast you've brought to my tribe?"

You: "A diablos! I was hoping it's meat and hide could prove useful to you."

Baraka: "Your generosity will be remembered."

You: "Ready to go blade-to-blade, Baraka?"

Baraka: "Pray that yours do not snap."

You: "Trust me, they won't."

Baraka: "You are as savage as my tarkatans."

You: "You need to be when fighting monsters."

Baraka: "Kitana was wise to ask for your aid."

You: "You keep those whetstones, I have plenty."

Baraka: "You'd simply give them away?"

You: "Think of them as a gift. Hunter to hunter."

Fujin

Fujin: "A fine hunter you make."

You: "Thank you, Lord Fujin."

Fujin: "But can you face a fellow warrior?"

You: "Nice sword, Fujin!"

Fujin: "Knowing you, you have a bigger one."

You: "All right, you got me!"

Fujin: "And to think you'd need assistance with that dragon."

You: "Kushala Daora are as much masters of wind as you are."

Fujin: "And yet you took it down all on your own."

You: "Alright, let's kick some ass today!"

Fujin: "You are awfully confident this morning."

You: "I have divine blessing level five!"

Jade

Jade: "Your tenacity against these beasts is admirable."

You: "I'm just doing my job like any other hunter."

Jade: "If only others had your drive."

You: "Your outfit is both pretty and practical, Jade!"

Jade: "I cannot say that same for you."

You: "Heh, I do look kinda goofy, don't I?"

Jade: "That is a large bug at your side."

You: "This is my kinsect! He works alongside my insect glaive."

Jade: "Perhaps you could demonstrate?"

You: "Jade, make yourself scarce now!"

Jade: "By the gods, what is that creature?"

You: "A lunastra, I'll deal with her!"

Kotal

Kotal: "Stay you weapon, hunter!"

You: "Whoa, sorry! Thought you were a monster!"

Kotal: "Were you not taught to look before you leap?"

You: "Want to come hunting with me, Kotal?"

Kotal: "Jade warned me of the monsters you faced with her."

You: "What? You a pussy cat or something?"

Kotal: "Kitana was right, that greatsword is too large for you."

You: "It really isn't! See?"

Kotal: "The fact you can use it is astonishing."

You: "Come Kotal, tonight we feast!"

Kotal: "Those are very large fish.."

You: "I bring you jyuratodus fresh from the swamps!"

---

Monster collage as always!

[pepperochau]

hello everyone and good afternoon, my name is pepperochau and i am here to talk to you today about the one, the only, the futher mucker itself: dudunsparce. this will be a bit of the read, so follow the cut to see the rest!

majestic, is it not? personally i was not the biggest fan when it was revealed, but it has grown on me since then.

now, there is at current a very strong, loud refrain in the pokemon fandom that dudunsparce is a joke, and was always meant to be a joke. they say "people have wanted an epic dragon evolution for twenty years, and gamefreak has trolled them"; "dudunsparce is supposed to be a bad/lame/dumb design because it's a joke".

however! i disagree. i have been a lifelong fan of dunsparce, ever since i was a young malformed guttersnipe who thought it was a mythical pokemon, and i can safely say i've never wanted it to become a dragon. however, i also have never viewed it as a joke pokemon. so to hear people write off the design of dudunsparce as simply "a joke" has frustrated me to no end. so to you, reader, i would like to provide an explanation for why dudunsparce is what it is—a mess.

so, let's start at the beginning of the line with dunsparce.

many people will look at dunsparce's name and their mind immediately goes to dunce, sparce. and, fair enough, as it does look a bit dopey doesn't it? Other languages also give it names meaning "dumb" or "oafish" like the German Dummisel and the French Isolourdo respectively. now, I cant speak on how strong brand consistency was back in Gen 2, so maybe they were just aping off the same perception most English speakers had of the name. or it is possible that TPCi had always intended this interpretation. who is to say.

but there is a more obvious, widely overlooked aspect of its name: Dun. as in a subadult version of an insect, traditionally used when describing mayflies.

IN FACT this is such an underacknowledged aspect of its name that even on Bulbapedia, one of the most important secondary sources of information on pokemon next to serebii, i was hard pressed to find any mention of it at any point earlier than 2022, in an article revision that SIMILARLY went unnoted and uncommented on.

future editions of this article maintain both definitions of the word "dun".

but with this aspect of its name in mind, you'll notice that the rather un-tsuchinoko-like aspects of its design become more coherent, like its near-useless bug wings and stripey back. because its not just a snake with a fat tummy, but a fat bumblebee as well! wow!!! so cool!!!!!

now that this preamble is out of the way, we can finally move onto the mon of the hour: dudunsparce

pokedex entries for dudunsparce's 3-segment form mention that "the number of segments a Dudunsparce’s body has is determined by the Pokémon’s genes." at first glance it feels like a bit of a lore cop out for a formchange with no effect on gameplay. but remember how dunsparce has some partial insect inspiration? with this in mind, dudunsparce reveals itself to be, first and foremost, a reference to the Drosophila fruit fly's bithorax mutation:

as you can see, sometimes the genes for the termination of the thorax are copied accidentally, resulting in a copied thorax in the afflicted insect! and with "dun" meaning a subadult insect, we can reconceptualize dudunsparce from a simple joke, to a pokemon species whose inherent genetic mutations have kept it from reaching its true adult form! it even has the stripey butt that a fruit fly has!! so cool!!! a bit sad though, don't you think?

but there are still yet unexplored depths to the design of dudunsparce. for example: why does dudunsparce have a two-layered drill tail? why is there a random spiral on its first segment? well, allow me to introduce you to yet another muckerfuther: the cuélebre.

now i know what you may be thinking: this looks nothing like dudunsparce. and certainly, the resemblance is minimal. but allow me to share with you some mythological information about the cuélebre:

The cuélebre is a multi-winged serpent from Cantabrian and Asturian folklore, both of which are regions of modern-day spain.

The cuélebre's impervious scales grow thicker with age

The cuelebre's only weak spot is its throat

The cuelebre lives in deep caves

The cuelebre retreats to Mar Cuajada in old age, a place with diamonds covering the bottom

sound familiar? it should, because you will notice that dudunsparce mirrors all of these traits almost to a T:

Paldea is based on Spain, and Dudunsparce is a fat snake with multiple wings; or, a winged serpent.

Dudunsparce has much bulkier defensive stats than its preevolution Dunsparce (125/80/75 compared to 100/70/65), and has an extra hard "cap" layer on its tail

There is a seemingly random spiral pattern on the underside of Dudunsparce's first segment, or on its throat, regardless of form

Dudunsparce is mentioned by the pokedex to make sprawling nests in the bedrock, and is only find in the wild in Area Zero

The lowest point of Area Zero is covered in large, diamantine crystals

and for the people who still want dudunsparce to be a "joke": the cuélebre isn't even a very impressive dragon in itself: it hoards treasure and fairy women, and if you encounter it on the night of Midsummer, then you can kill it by tricking it into eating a bread or cake that's full of pins or hot irons. the worst thing it does in folklore that i can find is that it floods a town once because they weren't able to give it its daily cow head. the cuélebre is a nuisance first, and a (sort of) dragon second.

now, i don't want to be raining on people's fun, so i'll take a moment to take my lumps: i wasn't able to find very much information on the cuélebre, so there's a strong chance i am misrepresenting the creature here. aso, people are allowed to view dudunsparce as just a joke pokemon, and to like it as sich, and that's fine! i'm not here to tell you how to engage with your hobbies!

but, when i see that being the only reason that people give for liking the design? when i see that being given as the only reason given for why it looks the way it does? when i see pokemon videos on youtube that quickly bring up and then dismiss dudunsparce as a joke as if that was the only reason behind its design at all, without any kind of additional explanation or exploration of the design? it gets a bit frustrating, and tiresome. i mean hell, i maybe spent about three hours total in researching for this post, and i can confidently say that's far more time than all poketubers have spent on it combined.

the short of it os, that there is always more to be uncovered with fictional material. even with something so seemingly simple as a fat, goofy snake.