#segmented tail is inspired

[alphynix]

Tardisia broedeae was a small arthropod recently discovered in the 308-million-year-old Late Carboniferous Mazon Creek fossil beds in Illinois, USA.

Its anatomy has distinctive features of vicissicaudatans (close relatives of the trilobites), but its presence in Mazon Creek makes it by far the youngest known member of this group – indicating a previously-unknown ghost lineage of around 100 million years, and inspiring its name based on the time-travelling TARDIS in Doctor Who.

About 1.5cm long (~0.6"), Tardisia had an oval segmented body ending in a pair of pointed "tail" appendages. It also appears to have been eyeless, although some vicissicaudatans had eyes on their undersides so this might just be an artifact of preservation.

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References:

McCoy, Victoria E., et al. "A possible vicissicaudatan arthropod from the Late Carboniferous Mazon Creek Lagerstätte." Geological Magazine 162 (2025): e3. https://doi.org/10.1017/S001675682400044X

Wikipedia contributors. “Tardisia” Wikipedia, 15 Jan. 2025, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tardisia

Wikipedia contributors. “Vicissicaudata” Wikipedia, 31 Jan. 2025, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vicissicaudata

[bakawitch]

Inspiration struck, and I decided to draw @gamerknight7310 's entire 2025 Community Box! Then I go sick halfway, and I could only get the portion I wanted done today...

And because I'm me, I decided to make the task even more complicated and imagine a hero for every kwami in the box using my poster child Bellamy as a conduit (I wanted to do weapons too, but I'll finish those later because I was too impatient not to post lol)

Kwami close ups and individual pics below cut:

Since I already had Drayy designed, I decided to start he whole process from them because I wanted all the kwamis to have a similar element that ties them together as kwamis from the same box. And that ended up being a sort of contrasting accent colour, like the blue in Drayy's braids! Jovv got mustard, Currio got brown, Mullch got a pale-ish red, and Ecco got this titanium blue.

Now let's get into each of Bellamy's designs! (For those who know these are all Bellamy Prime.) Faux Fur! The one with the most obvious name! I struggled a bit with how I wanted to do the fox tail on the dress because my original idea was to give her a short fur skirt that looked like a fox tail wrapped around her waist. I threw that idea away pretty quickly since I couldn’t make it look right no matter how hard I tried. I can't remember how I ended up on his open fur trimmed over skirt but I think it works!

Funnily enough, I think Bellamy would hate this miraculous and act like she had some sort of dark horrible power thrust on her. The idea of forced false happiness (how she sees Jovv's power) is something she finds deplorable. She would probably avoid using the power as much as possible and just bash in the villain of the week's head in with the hulla hoop.

Vermoire! Her name comes from ver (worm) + moire (a type of textile). It's probably the weakest design, lol. Gotta be honest, I had no idea what a worm themed hero was supposed to look like other than probably segments. Anyway, I somehow got reminded of those fluffy worms on strings, and I remembered seeing a giant boa scarf version of it somewhere, so I just decided to go with a giant worm scarf XD. Because of the power I also tried to do some kind of raincoat/cape, but I feel like that might have been too much.

We can just say that because of how disgusting Bellamy would find the application of the worm's power, she'd want as much coverage as possible. She would not want that slime anywhere near her, hence the baggy clothes! Assuming it keeps its structure, maybe it minimises how much the clothes stick to her.

Rabbit hole Miku looking mf XD Couturetail is a spin on a cottontail. The thought behind this design was something purposely cutesy but also kind of historic since the bunny's weapon is a pickaxe, and I usually associate that with archaeology. So I decided to go with a sort of commedia dell'arte mask and some vaguely renaissance inspired bodice. I also thought it'd be funny if all users inherited Currio's perpetual blush.

Bellamy would love this miraculous it would probably be one of her favourites from this batch. She gets a useful non gross power and the perfect bludgeoning weapon!

Batillon time! No real meaning to the name other than bat + something cool sounding lol. I wanted to do something sleek and neat looking so when the hyper awareness powers get activated, the user's appearance can go a little feral predator looking. And obviously, vampire influences because duh XD. I wanted to avoid doing a full bat cape, so I just opted for a little capelet. The hair I specifically imagine flaring up into bat wing like shapes whenever hyper awareness gets activated. She's purple because of he vamp influences, plus every box needs a skin colour distorting kwami at least lol.

This miraculous would be a tie with the bunny miraculous when it comes to Bellamy's favourites. She's a bit of a know-it-all, so she would want an advantage like this XD

Last but not least, it's Courbette, named after a dressage movement! Design wise, I really like Dobbin, so I wanted to do something fairly similar and incorporate riding gear for this design, too. I added a harness to the miraculous belt for extra security and to kind of look like some straps you can usually see on horses. The same goes for the shoulder harness. I wanted to keep the sporty look Dobbin had, because I felt like that would make sense for the miraculous that represents strength, so I went with a kind of fancy sleeved leotard to get a gymnast look.

Bellamy would be mostly neutral about this miraculous, I think. She wouldn't hate it, but she wouldn't love it either. It's a bit too brutish for her style. She'd probably be a decent enough user, but I could not see her as it's perma holder XD

Phew, and that's it for now! This was very fun to mess around with, and I'm hoping to get the other part of the box out sooner rather than later but we'll see XD

[chaotic-minds-think-alike]

Guess what time it is…….

CENTIPEDE TIME !!! she’s finally real,,,,,,,, based off Scolopendra hardwickei or the Indian tiger centipede

Before I go about the process I just want to say you guys have been soooo incredible and I love reading your reblogs and I love the idea knowing I’ve inspired a lot of people,,, the project, although it was a lot of work and I’m feeling not so great as of posting this, still motivates me to want to make another.

(Art process below)

This was entirely freehanded! I have a lot of experience working in 3D art settings that this part came easy to me but I started with a flat base shaped in the pose I’d like the creature in. I used one whole piece cut from a shipping box and filled in the gaps with tape; you don’t need a single piece for the base but for structural integrity it helps a lot. As you can see here I also cut the legs separate and glued them on using hot glue. The vertical cross sections are to give an early support for the structure of the creature, think about the frames of aircraft or boats. During this part I used a pen to mark the width and height of the previous section to get a gradual flow of shapes.

This next part I wish I got more documentation on but after the vertical cross sections I used soda boxes for the thinner and flexible cardboard to add contour lines along the length of the creature, gluing them on the cross sections. I did about 2 strips of this on either side to fill in the space and then I continued to use soda boxes to fold and shape the top of the creature, gluing onto the strips rather than the cross sections (this part was a mistake but I quickly adapted, no issues happened but it did make it slightly less secure). I also gave the legs vertical cross sections as well to shape them for the masking tape.

The worst part, taping everything. I used tape to further shape it how I wanted but that meant going over parts several times. I used 2 different widths of tape for this for efficiency but it doesn’t matter. The legs were very loosely taped and if squeezed then they’d lose their shape; I didn’t bother filling them in because I don’t have materials for that and I let the paper mache help support them instead. Tape was also used to fill any holes and gaps left by the cardboard skeleton.

The next phase is paper mache of which I haven’t done since 5th grade… I was not confident in this step. I used mod podge and a brush to smooth down the paper. Because I lacked materials I used fast food napkins instead of newspaper which worked totally fine, it just tended to tear a bit easier. Some areas required me to get hands on and I don’t really like the texture during this stage so that was fun (lie). I didn’t do too many layers, one for the body and 3 for the back and legs but some projects might demand more. I used half of a 16oz bottle of mod podge btw so please get more than you think you need.

Finally, texture hell!!! I did a base coat of white spray paint and painted everything else with acrylic. Start with your lighter colors first before doing darker ones! I originally mixed some yellow and orange for the body and realized it was too bright and so covered it with orange instead. It also wasn’t until later I realized I could’ve been smarter with my paint so I skipped over the segments that were going to be fully black, saving the orange for the rest of the body. I wanted my centipede to stand out and not look 2D color-wise so I also used the red for the head and tail to give gradients and edges to the orange segments and legs, later going back with burgundy to further darken them but not too much. For the black segments I also used a very watered down layer of sky blue to give a fake shine and show the intended structure of the segments. Do not be afraid to use your hands! I used mine to smudge my detail paints like the black fade on the legs and the back shading. To top it all off I sprayed a clear coat and punched two holes in the underside to hang it up, using thumbtacks angled upwards.

[foreficfandom]

Alastor and his relationship with MASCULINITY and VIOLENCE

“When men feel small they are dangerous.” - Nina MacLaughlin, Wake, Siren: Ovid Resung

One repeating characteristics of real life (serial) killers is their toxic masculine sexuality. And from there, we see that toxic maleness seep into how we design and perceive male antagonists.

Hazbin Hotel is trying to break the mold in many ways. It's an inverse of a 'Disney princess fairy tale'. It bring to the forefront the most vulnerable of the queer population. It has its most popular character clearly set up to be a future antagonist ... we just don't know when or why.

In real life, male killers are known for their insecure, pitiful efforts for control and domination, very often stemmed from sexual repression. They target those that they want to violate. They try to ensnare those that they're attracted to. Their violence is intertwined with their masculinity.

Alastor is written to be different. Not just on a meta scale - the creators have gone on record to say that Hazbin Hotel isn't a true crime drama - but I do believe Alastor has very particular hangups about his masculinity that is bleeding through in the form of violence.

Let me explain:

Alastor's Physical Design = overall masculine score of 8/10

Al has many masculine traits. He's got buck antlers, a padded suit, a towering height, and a full body cane. On many characters, these would all be nods to a male patriarchal figure. Like a southern sugar baron, or a British aristocrat.

The biggest visual hint to Al's masculinity is his antler rack. It grows bigger when he gets bloodthirsty. In the show proper, it's probably a visual cue of a manifesting 'animalistic' side. But it can also mean that Al relates his masculinity with violence.

Antler racks are very culturally masculine. A hunter displaying a huge mounted antler rack is basically just a less crass way of showing off the huge chub of a rival male he's slain.

Alastor having antlers was most certainly one of the few ways of making demonic form look more like his animal inspiration, like Vaggie's segmented white hair, or Vox's hidden gills. Notably, sinner designs with animal traits tend to not prioritize sex dimorphism: Husk doesn't have huge chunky tomcat cheeks. Angel Dust doesn't have spots of shiny iridescence.

There's only one example of clear sex dimorphism can think of: in Helluva Boss, Stella and Andrealphus are clearly female and male peafowl. Andrealphus displays a huge train, while Stella has a less extravagant tail display if any at all. But in that case, they wanted to show something of a species lineage between the two siblings. They had a female peafowl design, so her brother would be the more flamboyant male.

Gun to my head, giving Al antlers probably wasn't "this is MASCULINE SYMBOLISM" and more like a "this is a deer character". The only other 'male' deer trait Alastor uses is an elk bugle. Which is a sexual tool. It's used to attract females and challenge other males. I seriously doubt the creators are implying that Alastor is in rut when he bugles. Like his antlers, it's there for the directing and not the literal.

Al's actual body is also more masculine than it may seem. He's got huge shoulders and a wide chest compared to his hips and legs. These don't get skinnier the more elongated he grows, they get even wider and bigger.

Think the sexual violence of Silent Hill's Pyramid Head, mid-life crisis dad Mr. Incredible, Bluebeard-equse bride killer Barkis from Corpse Bride, Zeus-expy Lord Gwyn from Dark Souls. It's about that inverted triangle figure that speaks to adult maleness. And from there, a common theme emerges - the dark sides of masculinity in the form of murder, assault, infidelity, and abuse of power.

Designs that want to add androgyny sometimes include both a hyper-masculine chest and shoulder PLUS a lithe emphasis on the limbs, like the xenomorph, or 80's rock glam.

Along those same lines, what softens Alastor's masculine silhouette is his shingle bob haircut. I have no idea if this is the intention, but Al's hair (as has been pointed out before) is a very close rendering of the female shingle bob of the roaring '20s, complete with shaved nape. Only his coiffed bangs break the clear comparison.

(Jordan Baker from the 2013 Great Gatsby film had a classic shingle bob. This flapper mainstay was intended to be androgynous and youthful.)

Alastor's beginning (humanized) designs were more 'scene' raccoon-tail hair. As time went on, the length shortened, but the shaggy edge cut remained. Perhaps at some point, the designers took to designing it after the shingle bob, as opposed to the Sasuke chop or Visual Kei rattails, but it's perfectly likely its just the modern evolution of Al's middle school beginnings.

Alastor's Acting Direction = overall masculine score of 2/10

Al's body language took a 400% increase in fruitiness since the pilot. A stage/entertainment persona will always be more flamboyant - and therefore 'less masculine' - but now he's got the limp wrist, the hip checks.

I hypothesize that this change came with Amir's acting. Sometimes the artists reference how the actor gestures during their recordings. Sometimes it's a case of going, "hmm, the body language is kinda understated compared to the VA, let's up the camp".

On a meta level, his effeminacy pairs well with his androgynous appearance ... HOWEVER, androgynous men can have strong feelings about their own manhood. The cross dressing queen of the 1980s expresses his masculinity through sex, not clothing, whilst the closeted stock broker husband does the opposite. An OnlyFans femmeboi has a purely male identity that morphs 'girls clothes' into 'HIS clothes', and his straight weeboo fan goes in the completely opposite direction to trans-spot people based off of length of hair or color of socks.

We don't know how Alastor's 'old fashioned'-ness translates into his relationship with masculinity, but we've picked up some cues: he tips his head to people and offers his arm to a lady. He takes the 'male' lead during partnered dances. He always covers 90% of his body, even in supplemental merch designs.

But he also dressed himself in a nun's habit for fun. He uses flamboyant hand gestures and modern campy slang. Al's been in hell for nearly a century at this point, and his appearance alone would be improper for a man of the 1930's (long hair, no hat).

Plus, people of the past weren't always as conservative as we might think. It's for sure a man living in roaring 20's/great depression-era New Orleans would have had close contact with the local queer crowd. Add onto that his mixed race, you've got a man who spent his living years with as much potential for social equity as the modern audience.

(The 'Pansy Craze' of flapper nightlife referred to drag performers and lgbt+ visibility in both American and European mainstream media. It would remain strong until the Hays Code and rise of Fascism.)

At the same time, the progressives of the past could hold views we'd find very shocking. The pioneering civil rights activist W.E.B. Du Bois was an advocate for government eugenics (which was considered a liberal movement, btw). Susan B. Anthony HATED the idea of the black man voting.

For all we know, Alastor represents the man who loves women, but also the practice of being more competent than the woman. He's there to provide his services 'cause women need him. And on that note, we've one more angle to tackle Al's masculinity:

Alastor's Motives = overall (hypothesized) masculine score of 7/10

There's one Alastor trivia that we pay extra attention to: his reputation as a 'momma's boy'. From there, a lot of us have headcanoned him as being the neglected, illegitimate child from a mixed union. The Jim Crow laws during the turn of the century would have forbidden anybody of the "one drop rule" of marrying a white person. Was his father a white man who abused his illegitimate family?

There was a very, VERY slim chance that a woman of color with a bastard son had disposable income. Alastor was in his early 40's when he died in 1933, which meant he lived through the latter years of the 1800's. The times of horses and dirt roads. You ever played RDR2 and strolled through Saint Denis? Yeah, if mom and Al lived there, it would have been in the shanty shacks of the segregated slums.

(Rockstar made great lengths to condense real-life 1899 New Orleans into the fictional Saint Denis. On the outskirts of the city, populations of color live in neglected neighborhoods.)

We don't know if show canon will ever make a character's living years a plot point. After all, Angel Dust was a full on WW2 vet mobster. Vox was (supposedly) a cult leader. Husk lived through 5 wars and the moon landing. We can see hints of these origins in the show proper, but not a full-on flashback of someone's tragic origin story.

By Alastor's estimated birth date, USA slavery had been outlawed for roughly 40 years, but it was a slow process that involved individual states doing their own thing, and lobbies disrupting the process, A 24-year-old mother in Louisiana wouldn't have been born into the slave trade, but her own parents likely might have been involved.

This is assuming Alastor is mixed Black specifically. We don't know for sure: his creole ethnicity and association with voodoo screams Haitian descended, but perhaps he's First Nations, or SEA, etc. But all nonwhite races suffered during his time. It would have been illegal for him to work in the same building as white people. He couldn't touch the same bibles, or the same watering holes, or the same seats in public transit.

Common work for the financially insecure woman would have been hard labor like a laundress, farm labor, livestock husbandry, scullery maid, and other dirty jobs that had her enter through the back door, out of sight. She might have earned 30-50 cents a day. As attitudes changed for the slightly better, she could have found work as an in-house maid, nanny, seamstress, retail clerk, or a switchboard operator for the new-fangled telephone industry.

During all of that, we have an adolescent Alastor who's starting to find his way. He could have wrangled a spotty education from the nuns at church, which got his foot in the door when it came time to earn a proper payroll. Perhaps he has a military career from WW1 to help cushion things. Perhaps he was able to pass 'white enough' to work directly for the privileged white man.

(Being an Overlord is a dead-ringer to being a slave owner. You become more powerful by the quantity of those you 'own'. The imagery of chains is unmistakable. Having the two black characters - both having Overlord experience - be the ones who bring it to the forefront muddles the waters of Hell's soul economy.)

Vox is a much more blatant visage of toxic masculinity, and he makes an effort to broadcast himself as a sea captain, a pope, and a chef. Lucifer follows the same lines and has himself be a referee, a 'Boss', and another chef role. Alastor, on the other hand, he's the nun and the busboy. His two hired minions become the maid and bartender, while he has a not-particularly-glamorous-but-vital job of facilities maintenance.

Vox and Lucifer - two grandstanding masculine characters - see themselves as the leaders. Alastor in comparison values the hidden labor of domestic staff. Even down to the eggbois. In life, there would have been almost no way a man of color would be the chef, captain, ref, king, boss, whatever. He'd truly be the busboy, the maid, the bartender.

If we're gonna take his mixed heritage at face value, we already have a mess of suppression he had to contend with. Then he gets his demon powers. And suddenly, the hierarchy of race and privilege gets to be toppled. By his hand.

Maybe not as a conscious 'fuck the white man' sort of decision. But instead a 'I worked HARD to get to where I am now, and I'm gonna milk it for all its worth."

("Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.")

The male entitlement of the white man is different from the man of color. But it's still there. My Asian brothers compare themselves to whiteness for sure, but they also compare themselves to their Asian sisters. And there is a certain masculinity entitlement that's implanted within them.

Simply put, men of color see themselves as the main contender to the white man. If they get that slice of pie, they don't see themselves standing next to their women counterparts. They don't see themselves working next to - or under - the white woman. If it was a 'fair' slice of the pie (from their perspective), it's a matter of breaking through the white male barrier in lieu of the man of color. Women are an afterthought.

Alastor isn't after the Senior Manager promotion or whatever. We're not sure what he's after, but it rings of a bid for freedom. He feels constrained and chained down. His abilities are muzzled. He's likely had a long time of 'earning' his place as a feared Overlord, and now it's threatened.

And look: I get it, liberty is certainly not a gendered aspiration. If anything, it's associated with the downtrodden, not the entitled. But its the situationship of a man suddenly losing his birthright liberation that would make aspirations for freedom drenched in his masculinity.

We see this in ep. Dad Beat Dad specifically. He is seething with contempt the moment Lucifer barges into the hotel doors, and immediately tries to fill the 'paternal' shoes of Charlie's emotional support. Al only calms the fuck down once he gets to monster-munch a large group of hotel invaders, and from then on, he's seemingly not threatened by Lucifer finally making a proper fatherly connection to his daughter.

(A king is the 'father' of his people. As an actual christian angel, he's the divine emperor patriarch of hell. There's something to be said about a man who feels very threatened by this.)

'Cause Alastor's 'father' beef isn't so much for Charlie as it's for the hotel. Lucifer and Alastor battle for the position of 'dad', but more accurately they're battling for the position of 'patriarch'. The Hazbin Hotel is Alastor's labor of love as much as it is Charlie's. It's a position of power he'll fight hard to prove.

There are those who see the sexless man as less masculine. And not just sexless as in 'not sexually active', but also the man who has no relationship to marriage and fatherhood. The boyish, slobbery, depressed Eddie of Silent Hill 2 has no interest in protecting the wandering child character, whilst James (the player character) is stuck in Silent Hill 'cause of dead wife problems and he expresses concern for the child. By the end game, it's the sexless Eddie who packs this huge magnum revolver and initiates some fucked up boss battle in a meat locker full of hanging pig carcasses. A villain of toxic masculinity whose aggression stems from a lack of healthy sexuality.

In a different world, Alastor might also be the sexless masculine disaster. He is not a sexual figure in his wardrobe, or canon sexual orientation (asexual). His relationship with women lack romance, sex, or marriage. He's a cannibal; someone who desecrates flesh.

He DOES have this ... very tentative, spotty, and developing relationship with fatherhood. Not just with Charlie, but also with Niffty (who is 22 compared to Alastor's early 40's). Even singing to the children of Cannibal Town could be a nod to a grown man not being entirely sexless.

True to Hazbin Hotel being dedicated to breaking the mold, Alastor's sexless character instead softens him. We make an abrupt switch from the 'evil deal-making devil man' to 'cute guy has an actual human side his friend pokes fun at' within 10 minutes. This is in stark opposition to the sexless male archtype before this point.

In a world where the sexless masculine monster becomes murderous because of his sexual problems, Alastor is an outlier.

I believe he's still written to have his masculinity linked to his violence, just not through the sexual lens.

Alastor's Overall Masculinity Score = 7/10

Higher than you might have thought? It surprises me, too, but I retain that the current canon Alastor of Season 1 is a very subtle exploration of maleness through violence and a yearning for power. We see it in his bid for freedom - which is actually a self-entitled bid for power. We see it in his mark of ownership of the hotel. We see it in his self-reliance as a man of competence and skill.

The male antagonist of this caliber can go in so many fascinating directions. We want to see him crash and burn, for sure. We want to see that maleness taste a bit of well-earned karma.

[fishyfishyfishtimes]

For polychaete day, here's a previous annelid post but edited to only have the polychaetes, some fun facts for you! :)

Sea mouse!

This luminous polychaete worm lives several thousand meters deep on the ocean floor, and sports these extremely light-reflecting scales! Each one is hollow and lined inside with hexagonal cylinders which reflect nearly 100% of the light that hits them. The sea mouse's quill-scales create the only documented case of a "complete spectrum photonic crystal" in an organism, that is, a nanostructure that alters the light entering them and can create the whole spectrum of light. It is thought that the quill-scales are so light reflective as to deter predators or to make the sea mouse's silhouette harder to see.

Bone-eating worms!

Come on tumblr, you love whalefalls, right? These worms are an important part of the whalefall ecosystem, boring into the bones with acid to feed on them! These peculiar animals lack a stomach and a mouth, instead relying on symbiotic bacteria that break down the bone material, after which they suck up the nutrients with "roots"! The red things you see above are the female worms' gills, as the males are in fact microscopic and live inside the females. These worms are valuable in returning every bit of nutrients back into the biochemical cycle!

Pompeii worm!

This deep sea worm is an extremophile if you've ever seen one, it also inhabits hydrothermal vents. They build a tube around themselves and seemingly shield themselves from the elements inside the tube with the help of a "fluffy" coat of sulfur-eating bacteria. What makes them especially fascinating is that their tail end comes to contact with temperatures of up to 80 °C (176°F) while their gills collect oxygen from the outside water that's only 22 °C (72°F)! 60 degrees Celsius of temperature difference to an animal only 13 cm in length, that's bonkers!

Gossamer worms!

These free-swimming polychaetes produce a yellow bioluminescent glow from the appendages at the sides of their body, which is unusual among animals! Gossamer worms have a unique style of swimming from other polychaetes, as they lack many bristles at the ends of their appendages and also the mesenteries in between each body segment. Still they swim, with great flexibility, speed, and maneuverability! It turns out that they retract and extend each appendage to cause differences in drag, causing a wave to undulate through the whole body, which in turn makes their thrust power even stronger. They might serve as inspiration for aquatic robots in the future!

[passer-ine]

Back on my Razia's Shadow brainrot haha. Thinking about making it into a comic! I'd love to expand the story and characters! These are the designs I have for it so far!

I'm also so so sleepy as I'm writing this, did my best on the alt, but pls let me know if I messed smthn up w it!

Some notes on the designs!

O the Scientist:

I based the halo off of an antique brass solar system model! I also added thin little strands because sewing is a theme w him a lot, and wanted to show that a little. Sort of Loop ISAT inspired for design haha. Also the vibes of those super whacky clay figures. But I also wanted to lean into the scientist part, so he's a walking solar system model lmao. I also cannot not give guys tails. It's an addiction. He never opens his other two eyes.

Barayas the Spider:

I REALLY wanted to balance the vibrant colors of the puppet, while keeping the canon "dinky brownish" look. I'm really happy with it!! I didn't have room to draw pedipalps w out cluttering too much, so they're under his scarf. He gets a silly little evil look. Also, not shown here, but my sister recommended a pattern on his abdomen that looks like a larger face, so I'll have to draw that in the future.

Nidria:

Her colors are late sunset, dusk inspired. I also wanted her design to really contrast Ahrima's in a fun way. All the angels are like dolls, just different kinds. Her wings can fold to look like different kind of skirts. Also, I don't actually know if that's feathered hair, or a feathered hood. Both probably. I like the mystery tbh. She also has a sort of wide feather tail. You can kind of see it. The line patterns on her clothes are stitches.

Ahrima:

His bangs are wings, and can move like them probably. He gives me vibes of those cloth dolls filled with sand. His colors are inspired after a late afternoon/early evening sky. Well, the green is more the trees the sky stands against, but that's still part of the beauty. His torso is made with the same segmented material Nidria has.

Toba the Tura:

Her color is deep midnight to me. Her vibes are inspired by the spirits in Guillermo Del Toro Pinocchio, old marble statues, and a little bit of Ordona from Twilight Princess. Those kind of vibes, you know? Anyways. This design did actually take off from the puppet one, and just shifted over time to this. Also Toba is he/she pronouns to me. The horns are meant to be like a halo, because I love making haloes out of things that are not haloes lmao. Also, I didn't draw it, but I usually give him a staff. She can stand on her hind legs, but it's a little tricky and uncomfortable, so he uses his staff to stand upright. Usually though? She just walks on all fours.

I also forgot to draw Gargul here, there wasn't rly room anyways. So he'll come later. Also, also, these designs don't reflect size. O can hold Ahrima in his hands. With Toba sitting as he is in the drawing, Ahrima and Nidria would probably come up to eye level. Toba's full height is fuckin big. Barayas is large for a spider, but small compared overall to everyone else. He'd be about the size of a small backpack to Ahrima, just enough that he could sit on his back and perch on his shoulder.

[sangjwi]

Merfolk AU for MerMay. Bill and Tilly are based off of betta fish while Nancy and Cricket are based off of iridescent sharks.

The reasons for my design choices are this: for Bill and Tilly, they have canon mermaid designs in "Fill Bill" and "Okay Karaoke". I wanted to take inspiration from these while also basing the looks off of real aquatic creatures. Because Bill and Tilly had very different colors in their canon looks, I thought betta fish would work well, and also be fun to draw. For Nancy and Cricket, I thought a fish that looked like a shark but wasn't a shark would be fitting. Especially due to the episode "Shark Objects" and the reputation of sharks combined with Nancy's checkered past (the fishnet around her tail is also both to balance out the image and a nod to her time spent in prison). I also felt that since betta fish are small freshwater fish, another species that fell into that category would be best, so I chose iridescent sharks.

I tried to factor in the differences between juveniles and adults in their species when designing them, which is why Cricket's fins are semi-transparent and softer than Nancy's, as well as why Nancy and Bill's fins are more weathered. Bill's fins are also much more pronounced than Tilly's both because of his age and because he is male. Also, while Tilly takes after Bill and Cricket takes after Nancy in terms of species, I did have Tilly take after Nancy and Cricket take after Bill for some coloration aspects. The outlines for the upper segments of their tails + their scales are lighter than the main color for Bill and Cricket, and the other way around for Nancy and Tilly.

[katyawriteswhump]

Of mermaids and soulmates 💖

For @steddiebingo prompt, “Mermaid,’ and @stmonstercalendar Mermay week 1 prompt… ‘Mermaid.’ I also plundered the Mermay bingo prompt list for inspiration and used storm, washed ashore, cave and... whump (okay that was going to be in there whatever I wrote, I fear, but the others got me going on this, thanks.)

Rating: M, WC: 3700; Tags: O!Steve, A!Eddie, mermaid Steve, fairytale au, some sexual content, pining, minor angst, hurt/comfort, sick fic, snuggles, fluff, tooth-rotting fluff, very literal happy ever after. Summary: Life was tough for Eddie and his fisherman uncle, Wayne. Then Alpha Eddie goes and makes it tougher, by falling in love with an Omega mermaid called… Steve?!? Read on AO3

The healing herbs are from amazing designs by @moonjelly69 and can be found in posts here and here. Thank you for letting me borrow them. They def leaked through from a far better place.

💖💖💖💖💖💖

Eddie found his Omega the morning after a really nasty-ass storm.

He woke with a gut-churning shudder that told him somebody he cared for was in danger.

Wayne was fine, tho’. He clattered in the cottage kitchen, which pumped out odors of fresh bread and bacon that would be their only meal today. The storm had lost them the profits of a whole night’s catch. Eddie grabbed his jean jacket and nudged past Wayne with a mumbled, “Not hungry,” then straight out onto the shingle shore.

“Eddie? What’s wrong?” called Wayne, from their doorstep.

“Nothing,” said Eddie, attempting a goofy grin and a flippant wave. Only that I’m going out of my mind. Like I do every day.  “Back in a sec.”

Eddie followed his nose, clambering between the debris, tracing that tiny wisp of salted-caramel and seagrass sweetness that threaded its way through the seaweed and brine.

He found Steve hunkered by a rock, curled into a ball. If it hadn’t been for his scent, Eddie might’ve missed him. A veil of wet hair covered his face, and he’d wrapped his arms tight around his shivering bare torso. His beautiful fishtail was folded in, and completely tangled in a segment of ugly orange trawler net.

Eddie absorbed this in a single heartbeat, hurried forward and crouched down. He gently touched the mermaid’s shoulder, who looked up with a very Omega squeak.

“Hey?” said Eddie, “Steve, it’s me, Eddie. You know me?”

“Uh… like we’ve not been fucking for weeks, dipshit?”  Steve’s voice shook with trembles them broke up altogether. “My tail… It’s all tangled up. Please help me?”

Eddie draped his jacket over Steve. “Christ yeah. I owe you one, remember?”

“I’ll always remember,” whispered Steve. Then he slumped forward against Eddie, completely out of it.

Eddie opted not to tell himself this couldn’t be real. Seeing was believing, huh? He lowered Steve’s head down onto soft sand and set about untangling his fishtail. He kept his hands steady—despite his fury—while using his penknife to remove the plastic cutting between Steve’s beautiful multi-color scales and fluttering tailfins. Then he scooped the fairly hefty mermaid into his arms and began his trudge back along the shore.

He was sick with worry.

If Steve hadn’t been hurt, however, he would be howling his joy to that wisp of a daytime moon. Finding his mermaid made a whole lot of sense, as if his whole life clicked suddenly into place. Plus, Steve was even cuter in real life than in his dreams.

He had seen Steve with his waking eyes before, only once.

He’d been fifteen and after endless bugging, Wayne had agreed to let Eddie assist him on the fishing boat. One night, a giant wave had swept Eddie from the deck, and the icy waters gobbled him deep.

He flailed, attempted to pull for the surface. Too late. His lungs burned. Panic blindsided him. In the inky darkness, the bubbles of his breath seeped from him, white light strobed before his eyes, and then…

…the kiss.

Okay, it was a kiss of life. Eddie was in no position to find it hot.

Still, after the first injection of lifesaving air, he noticed the softness of his rescuers’ lips. Then he saw a guy around his age with a floaty lion’s mane of hair, who wrapped a solid arm around him, and pulled for the surface.

The other boy appeared to have a fishtail.

Lack of oxygen sent you loopy, right?

They’d emerged among the choppy waves, yards from where Wayne leaned over the side of the boat, holding a lifebuoy and yelling his head off.

The mer-boy shoved Eddie forward. Wayne grabbed Eddie’s hand, hauling him to safety, while those other arms around him slipped away. “H-help the other k-kid,” gasped Eddie, flopping onto the deck.

Wayne gave him a look. The one that, in his kind-natured uncle, stood in for calling Eddie out for being dumb. From the corner of his eye, Eddie glimpsed a flicker of that fishtail between the foamy white horses, silvered and glittering with all the colors of the rainbow.  “Don’t worry, Eddie. He’ll be okay.”

Wayne believed in mermaids. Merfolk? Whatever the heck they were called. As for Eddie, he wanted to believe. Didn’t stop him wondering if they were both crazy.

A couple of years later, he presented Alpha and dated a few Omegas. None of them rocked his world, until Steve the mermaid—oozing adorable Omega vibes and bitchy as fuck—began starring in Eddie’s dreams. Which were as hot and horny as they were wet and sticky.

Also, heart-achingly real, which was… Yup, crazy.  In his dreams, he was fucking Steve, who for sure seemed to possess some kind of snug Alpha-dick lovin’ hole. But how could he fuck somebody who literally had a fishtail?

And who other than a crazy guy, not only banged mermaids in their dreams, but also snuggled and exchanged pillow talk after? One of Steve’s favorite topics was the songs that Eddie blasted from the boat while he and Wayne worked. He wanted to know everything about them, from the names of the groups to the kinds of instruments they played.

Apparently, Steve really liked Queen: “Don’t get me wrong, Eddie, I dig the thrash metal shouty shit—and ACDC hit some awesome resonances that send the whales cuckoo—but that Freddie dude can really sing.”

Finally, and maybe craziest of all, what kind of mermaid introduced themselves as Steve? Eddie wasn’t sure what sorts of names mermaids should have. It would be nothing as ordinary as Steve, right? Steve also explained that he was a mermaid— “Yeah, a mermaid, like is that a problem, you stupid mouth-breathing land-hugger?” 

He was also an Omega.

Eddie was fine with all of that and had never harbored any doubts about the latter.

At least, in his dreams.

During the day, Eddie had been pretty damn sure he was either going cuckoo as those metal-loving whales… or that his mermaid was totally stalking him.  He regularly caught a wisp of that caramel and sea-grass scent and was damn sure it was Steve, because it usually gave him a semi. There’d also been the mysterious gifts turning up randomly on deck—including a solid silver skull and crossbones ring that must’ve belonged to a pirate boss. Finally, there’d been that time his ghetto blaster skidded overboard. It’d been slid back beneath the ship rail, soggy, useless and with his Black Sabbath cassette ruined.

Hey, it was the thought that counted.

Now, here he was, carrying the guy of his dreams—a limp and senseless mermaid—home to Wayne. Who stood at the door of the cottage and ushered them in with a mumble of, “Ah yeah, makes sense. What a damn shame. I’ll get extra blankets, throw a log on the fire.”

Eddie lay Steve down on his own bed and stared.

Jesus freakin’ Christ!  Was he real? He was real! Steve whimpered desolately, and Eddie snapped his gaping mouth shut to lie down and gently wrap his body around Steve’s.

The mermaid’s torso was somehow soft and Omega and muscular and sturdy—all that swimming, Eddie supposed. Steve whimpered and rolled closer, and Eddie gently enveloped him the best he could, rubbing his cheek against Steve’s ridiculously soft fluffy hair, dropping kisses. Steve’s tail nestled into Eddie’s legs and their bodies notched together as if they were born to snuggle this way.

Eddie’s heart ached and he gulped back totally un-Alpha tears. Had he found Steve only to lose him.

No. He point blank refused that.

Wayne returned with the blankets, and also a first-aid kit and bandages, which he used to carefully clean up and tend to Steve’s tail. When Steve hissed and moaned in his sleep, Eddie pressed the mermaid’s head to his chest and rocked and stroked him.

Eventually, Steve’s trembling subsided. He sighed a few times, snuffling against Eddie’s throat, as if Eddie’s scent might revive him.

Then he slipped into a deep sleep.

“Eddie,” Wayne whispered from the doorway, a short while later. “C’mon, son, you can leave him for a moment. You gotta eat. I saved your breakfast.”

Eddie bit back a snarl. He didn’t want to leave Steve, not for a second, tho’ Wayne talked sense. He reluctantly unwound himself and joined Wayne in the kitchen.

Wayne’s worry was etched deep in every line on his brow.

“What is it?” asked Eddie.

“Listen, his injuries are infected. We need to act fast. I know the right herbs to cure him—thryssil, a sharp leaved water-plant with healing saliva, and blunova, dark blue berries that grow deep in cool sea-water caves. They’re rare and getting rarer. Hard to find these days.”

“We can’t buy something at the chemist?”

Wayne gave him another of those placid looks. “Mermaids are magical, Eddie—he’s a sprite of the ocean’s deepest magic, and the modern world has polluted him. We must find those natural medicines then… Look, you know better than I that he’s an Omega. The herbs alone won’t cut it unless an Alpha nurses him through the worst. And when you save his life, you’ll be bound to him. While he lives, you’ll never be able to mate another Omega. He would perish of rejection and grief.”

Eddie let the bombshell blast through him.

He got it. It should scare the bejesus out of him. What would happen when he went into rut? Did Steve have heats? Would they ever be able to have pups?

What would be the point of a mate if they couldn’t actually mate?

Yeah, the bombshell blasted through him. In its aftermath Eddie found he was totally ready to take the plunge with Steve, whatever their future may bring.

Screw being ‘bound’ to each other, as if it was something unwanted. He knew in that moment that Steve was his soulmate.

“I get it,” he told Wayne, with a shrug. “I honestly do, and it’s all fine. Where do we look for these herbs?”

They took turns sweeping the shoreline and every cave they knew. Wayne searched for longer. Steve slept more easily when Eddie snuggled him, than when Wayne sat with him, mopping his burning brow and holding his too-pale hand. The Omega’s fever grew worse, and he sniffled weakly, sweating and shuddering. Then the fever broke, and he settled, horribly quiet.

Two days passed, and he still hadn’t woken. His pulse grew thready and faint, his breaths horribly shallow.

When Eddie stroked his face, and begged him to wake, his lashes barely flickered.

His fishtail turned a bruise-like purple, spreading upward from the bandages he kept bleeding through.

“Stay with me, Baby,” whispered Eddie, “Please, Stevie, please?”

A putrid fishy scent began drowning the last shreds of his Omega sweetness, and Eddie sobbed shamelessly.

If Steve died, Eddie would be free to find an Omega he could have pups with. Apart from he wouldn’t. In his heart of hearts, he knew he could never take another mate, and that he’d only ever be happy with Steve. Then, as his tears disintegrated into snarls of vengeance against whoever dumped that nylon net, Wayne burst into the cottage:

“Eddie, I got them.”

Eddie unwound himself from Steve, reluctant but also dead keen to aid his uncle, who looked dog-tired, his wiry frame drooping. They mixed the blunova berries with the thryssil saliva and applied them in a poultice to Steve’s tail. The leftovers went into a cordial for him to sip when he awoke.

Wayne said ‘when,’ not ‘if.’  Eddie clung to that quiet optimism, as he slid back beneath the blankets to snuggle Steve.

The next few hours proved truly magical. Color returned to Steve’s face, and his breathing grew deeper and even. Eddie slid a hand beneath his head and lifted it, trying to coax him into sipping the cordial. At first, Steve barely opened his eyes, but hitched his lip and muttered, “too sleepy, get lost.”

Yeah, that was Eddie’s snarky little mermaid.

When he finally tasted the blunova, tho’, he sucked his lower lip, and whispered, “Yum.”

Soon, Eddie caught a hint of Steve’s sweetness returning. It mingled with the fruity medicines and Eddie’s own Alpha scent, which pumped madly as if trying to form a protective cloud around his Omega.

Finally, Eddie’s tension melted away, and he too drifted off into a deep sleep. When he gradually wandered toward wakefulness, something that felt like warm trickly honey was gliding down his chest.

His eyes flew wide and locked with Steve’s. Who was tucked cosily under his arm, and… Ooookay, yup, taking advantage of that position to lick Eddie’s chest, which was inked with many nautical and totally metal tattoos.

“Hey,” said Steve, jerking back, startled.

“Someone’s feeling better, huh?” Eddie beamed down at Steve, who’d retreated toward Eddie’s armpit, plying Eddie with large curious hazel-brown eyes and a surprisingly bashful smile. “How do I taste?”

“Not gonna lie. Could lick the salt off your skin forever.”  Eddie worshipped Steve’s playful smirk, then the way he swiped his tongue around his soft and super-kissable lips. Steve in turn flitted his attention to Eddie’s mouth. “There’s somewhere I’d like to taste more.”

“I reckon we can arrange that, Babe.”

Eddie hoisted his helplessly beached mermaid up a little, then leaned down for a tinglingly sweet and chaste kiss. Soon, Steve was parting his lips, whining for more. Eddie indulged him, offering a bit of tongue and working the kiss tenderly. As it lingered, he carefully blanketed himself around his Omega.

Eddie already needed Steve, like the air he breathed. They’d make this work. They had to. He ran his hand down Steve’s spine, kneading gently at the seam between his torso and his fishier parts, while Steve’s arm crawled tentatively up around Eddie’s neck.

They settled down beneath the covers for a lengthy sleep-in. Eddie left Steve only to fetch the food Wayne had left. He felt bad that Wayne had gone out fishing alone, and they’d lost several days earnings caring for Steve. His worry for his uncle and how they’d make ends meet, was one of the few things that clouded his happiness.

When Steve awoke, he asked Eddie to take him down to the sea. He was pretty sure it would make him feel better. Eddie wrapped him in fuzzy blankets and carried him to the softest sandiest dunes, where they settled to watch a stellar orange-pink sunset.

Eddie blasted a mixtape out of his new second-hand ghetto blaster, and they chatted like they’d known each other forever. Steve discovered he liked Bowie nearly as much as Freddie. All the same, they both knew they had to talk about serious stuff.

“So, yeah, I’m an Omega,” said Steve.

“I’m super aware of that.” Eddie’s whole body vibrated with Steve’s adorable and very Omega purrs, while Eddie’s hand wandered lower than before to caress the rounded curves of Steve’s hips and mermaid butt. The Omega purred harder for a moment then stopped altogether: “Now you’ve saved my life, you’re bound to me. Like I’ve been bound to you, since I performed those totally awesome heroics and saved yours.”

“Huh?” A sea breeze whistled around them. Eddie made sure no cold air leaked between, while the Omega’s tale made his chest pang.  Since Steve saved Eddie’s life, Steve had been ‘totally, idiotically obsessed’ with him:

“I followed your boat pretty much every day. Then my pack moved on, while I was chasing after you, and I never found them again. I presented Omega a few moons ago. It was scary at first, and I was going out of my mind with loneliness. Till I found I could get into your dreams. Being magical is pretty freakin’ cool, huh?”

“Pretty freakin’ hot. Why didn’t you pop up and say hi?” Eddie stroked the Omega’s hair from where it kept blowing across his face. Then he grinned and crossed his own eyes. “I mean, I kinda knew I had a creepy obsessed fan following the boat.”

Steve curled his lip. “I’m not creepy.”

“You’re creepy-cute?” Eddie cackled and Steve pouted. Damn, that was adorable.

“Look, it’s complicated!” Steve flipped his hand, giggling anyhow. “It’s not like I totally hid but I had to be careful! I mean, you seemed nice, I loved your vibes and the music, and your scent sent me loopy, but I heard stories about you leggy morons. You can be complete a-holes, tho’ after I’d managed to get in your head—”

“Clearly, not a creepy thing to do,” snarked Eddie, rewarded with that pout again.

“After I visited your dreams for a chat—oh, and literally got you off, you’re welcome, a-hole—I was pretty sure we were soulmates. I was psyching myself up to say hello, okay?”

“Okay,” said Eddie, grinning dopily. “Seriously, can you read what I’m thinking now?”

“Only works when we’re apart and you’re asleep, I think. I can guess, tho’.” He rolled his eyes then narrowed them. “Something Alpha-ish, like… you’re conflicted about what to do when you go into rut. You don’t want to ditch me. You also want pups badly. Listen, so do I. Mermaids and humans have been mating for centuries. I think we’ll be okay.”

“Okay.” Eddie could live with that. “Any idea how exactly?”

“No! When they taught sex ed to all the other little mermaids, I was probably off mooning over your sorry ass. When the right time comes, the magic of mother nature will show us a way, I guess. Anyhow, as much as I’d luuurve you to bang my fishy bones for real… I’m, ya know, getting over nearly being dead. My tail’s still kinda numb.”

Eddie could definitely live with waiting. They curled together into a cosy ball of purrs and growls, while night crept slowly across the beach.

Steve grew strong again quickly. After a few days, he came out to sea with Eddie and Wayne and swum alongside their boat. Eddie totally loved watching Steve swim, the swish of that magical tail, and those sexy shoulders and solid biceps, though he was already worrying about Steve getting tangled in their relatively eco-friendly net.

“Do I have to turn vegetarian?” asked Eddie, grimacing at their wriggling haul. “I’m mean, you’re kinda fishy, and now it seems—”

“Don’t sweat it,” said Steve. “It’s only the same as you eating other mammals.”

“I guess.” Eddie still felt uneasy, though fishing was his and Wayne’s livelihood.

“Oh! Almost forgot,” called Steve. “I know where there’s a ton of that sparkly shiny crap you humans get all wet and bothered over.”

After chugging their little boat along a white-water channel between some sabre-tooth rocks, Eddie and Wayne followed Steve into a hidden cave. Wayne streaked his flashlight across a glittering array of gold and silver treasure, literally spilling from a dozen old wooden tea-chests.

“See?” Steve bobbed between the boat and the treasure and tossed up his hands with a splash. “It’s where I found your ring. Figured you might have a use for the rest.”

“Yeah,” said Wayne, sounding choked. “Yeah, I think we might.”

Eddie was choked too—with a profound relief that the uncle he loved might be able to take life easy for the first time ever. For him and Steve, too, the future now seemed limitless, family or not.

The same night, as a full moon rose, Eddie felt it—that stir of heat in his blood that meant he was going into rut. Wayne had gone out to treat his girlfriend to a meal, and Eddie had just carried Steve back to their bed. He’d been looking forward to snuggles, and now…  Ugh!  He was gonna have to sleep by the hearth.  Or not sleep, more likely. By midnight he was gonna be humping the furniture, and he was troubled about what he might do if he totally lost it.

He was soooo hungry for Steve, and also mighty curious about how they were going to procreate. If it was rubbing against Steve’s tail or something, or fertilising eggs? Damn, they’d make it work, but Steve was still slightly fragile.  What if his inner beast took over and he rutted too hard while his Omega still healed?

With his heavy dick aching beneath a pair of loose jogging pants, he peeped around the door to see Steve tucked up in bed. Far from asleep. He was sitting up against the pillows, arms folded, and his head tilted, smirking.

Eddie was in too much of a hurry to ask why. He squeezed tight words from between his clenched teeth. “Listen, Babe, I reckon it’s best if I go spend the night on the beach.”

“It’s cold outside, numbnuts. Also, you reek of sex, and I dig it. You’re gonna come straight over here and get into bed with me.”

There was something in Steve’s wide, hopeful, giggly eyes that Eddie simply couldn’t refuse. Seconds later, he was sliding under the covers, vowing to himself he’d give Steve a quick squeeze and go.

Then he froze.

Steve rolled toward him and hitched the knee of what felt like a pretty darn human leg onto Eddie’s thigh. And between? Steve was already very wet, and a wave of his sweet perfume accompanied a fresh gush of slick. A loud rumble escaped Eddie before he could help himself—a groan of relief mingled with a hungry growl.

“Told you mother nature would provide,” whispered Steve.

Eddie slid a hand down to lightly finger absolutely everything required to satisfy an Alpha in rut. Steve smiled, kinda smug, and wrapped all four of his limbs around Eddie, nuzzling Eddie’s scent gland.

“Is this because of the full moon?” breathed Eddie, nudging his already epic boner between Steve’s spread thighs. If this was only once a month, he’d take it.

“Nope. It’s because I’m ready and you’re ready. I got an idea it’s gonna happen a lot.” Then he turned deadly serious, cupping Eddie’s face. “I love you, Alpha. Please, fill me with our mer-pups?”

“Don’t beg, Sweetheart. I’ve waited my whole life for this. Gonna fill you with our mer-pups and gonna love you all. Love you so much.”

They melded then, like ripples on the water, and as Eddie’s waves crashed into Steve, Steve surged back against him. And they fucked and fucked and fucked.

Eddie and Steve moved to a glittering pink castle by the sea. They raised their pups with the help of Great-uncle Wayne, and they all lived happily ever after.

💕💕💕💕💕

my steddie fic on AO3

[redslug]

As a fan of arthropods and anthromorphs your drawings are a great reference and inspiration for anthro arthropods. Especially with how realistic it is. However something I noticed is that sometimes you place the arthropods' abdomen where a human's abdomen would be, and other times as a separate body part like an actual insect. Is it just an aesthetic thing, an indecisive thing, or something else entirely?

As far as I remember, I only ever put the abdomen behind the character like a tail once, and it was for a commission. I believe the character's name was Mellifera and the separate abdomen is just part of her established design.

Personally, I prefer putting it where a humans abdomen would be

Here's my logic basically. A feral insect has three segments - head, thorax, abdomen. In my anthros all three segments are still there, they're just elaborately fused, a separate abdomen would be a whole fourth segment, and it makes the body plan too complicated for my liking.

Like, I already struggle to put them into chairs with all those wings, a giant bulbous booty would make designing furniture for them a nightmare

[implalazz]

Asked for some yokai fusions on reddit, this is the first batch

L-R: Frostysol, Nonoko, Venyan, Lord Lie-in, Slimatina, Whisbuzz

Some thoughts on these designs under the cut

Yayyyyyy thoughts on these because I like talking, esp about my creative process

Frostysol: I WILL SAY RIGHT NOW I KNOW I FUCKED UP THE KOSODE MASSIVELY, IT DOESN’T HAVE SLEEVES & IT’S TOO BIG….. I literally only had two ideas for this desgin, one was inspired by the yuki onna segment's backgrounds from Kwaidan & the other was inspired by the spirits from Kuro Neko. The eyes in the backgrounds of yuki onna were so striking & I had just watched the movie recently so it was still fresh in my mind. I knew I wanted her to be closer to a real yuki onna rather than just a cute snow girl spirit. And in that regard Kuro Neko helped with that. I guess subconsciously I wanted her to give off vibes of an unsuspecting girl who kills you & turns out to be a yokai. I thought a kosode would make more sense historically than a random cape, but also idk if young girls wore kosode like that or if it was just adult women. Had no ideas how to incorporate pallysol so I just used him for little details. He's more prevalent in the design intentionally than physically

Nonoko: Pretty simple what do I say. Uh I thought I could do a clover for the tail rather than a heart like Bloominoko. Wanted to make him even fatter than he is cuz he's Noko x2, also made his spots clover shaped cuz what's more lucky than a four leafed clover? An eight leafed clover! Or two four leafed clovers..... Also gave him double teeth & some little wing shaped clovers on his head kinda like Dudunsparce. This one didn't have a lot of thought go into it, I just kinda did what felt natural

Venyan: The first thing I thought about was what colour to make the fur & what colour to make the hair. I decided on red hair cuz it would pop more with dark blue fur. Also made his face pattern a part of his hair cuz he doesn’t have enough room on his face for it with Venocts bangs. I wanted him to be kind of a shitty little bastard, a real cat kinda cat. A good mix of their personalities y’know. Didn’t have much going on with this design either other than I didn’t want the scarf to be all bulky with the dragons cuz Jibanyan is very squart, so I moved them to the tails. Also just because that looks cooler. Had a hell of a time drawing them, I have experience drawing dragons but I’ve always been bad at drawing them roaring or snarling, they look okay but not great.

Lord Lie-in: Also had a bit of trouble combining these two, makes sense cuz I put this one off for more than a few weeks. Didn’t wanna give him big spiky saiyan hair so he got some stray hairs in the front. Took his face framing bangs & tied them up cuz I always like that look (They’re two different pieces tied individually then tied together, so there’s two mini ponytails instead of one. Also had to deliberate on the hair colours cuz I knew I wanted him to have white fur. One of my favourites was red hair with light blue ends but I didn’t go with that one cuz his outfit is mostly red. I also DID NOT feel like giving him a whole kimono (mostly for silhouette reasons) so I just gave him Miku-like sleeves. I originally wanted to give him split leg hakama but when looking at reference I remembered “Oh yeah these things have a lot of pleats & the crotch is pretty low so that’s not great for the silhouette I have in mind.” I gave him harem-esque pants & if you look closely at the upper thigh you can see a little slit in the side of them. Underneath his waist plate & top, the pants tie together like hakama do so I guess I got the hakama in a little bit. I didn’t have any room for his arm warmers so I made them into gloves & gave him the kind of socks that I don’t know what they’re called (Catra has them & I think they’re cool). Also gave him tengu cuz they look cooler than whatever Lie-in Heart has going on. Also cuz it makes him more like “Woah what a bold guy/character!!” And don’t ask how the sword fits in that sheath, idk magic or something he’s the king of the yokai he can do whatever he wants

Slimatina (or Frostymander): Again not much going on here it’s pretty simple. Gave the lower body muscles cuz I noticed the lower body of Slimamander kind of looked like a chest & also just cuz that makes it more creepy. I gave the main body/head some hair clips resembling the patterns on the bulbs of the other heads. Also made the openings in the head look more like a woman’s mouth cuz again, makes it creepy, but also I just thought it would fit more with the Frostina part. Also gave the main heads head eyelashes that look like the openings on the other heads. Decided to give her a cape this time cuz I’m not fuckin around with another kosode. I don’t know if it comes off in the piece but I wanted her cape to be flying up like she just summoned a harsh wind. Last thing is I gave her an eye ornament on her obi & a specially tied obijime cuz I saw one tied like that on google & I thought it looked cute

Whisbuzz: YET AGAIN SAY IT WITH ME! NOT! MUCH! GOING! ON!!!!!! Uhh gave him a frown cuz he’s depressed or whatever, made the top of his hood look like Whispers…… ahoge???? Made his wings wispy on the ends. That’s about it. Fun fact before I drew that one I had another one but I scrapped it because it looked too much like a sperm cell :]

[threadwing]

Mermay Day 1: Scorpio ♏

Those born under the sign of Scorpio are said to be very intense, passionate, and often mysterious individuals. In modern astrology, Scorpio is one of the handful of signs ruled by two planets, Mars and Pluto, pictured in the top corners of the background of this piece. However, Scorpio's primary ruling planet is Mars, who's planetary symbol can be seen represented by the circle in the background combined with the mermaid's trident.

Scorpio is most recognizably symbolized by a scorpion, which can be seen alongside the Scorpius constellation in the background of this piece. The mermaid herself is also modeled after a scorpion, with exaggerated sharp ears and a spikey crown to allude to their most prominent features. Her tail is also segmented like a scorpions back, accented with stripes in the shape of it's legs, and curled at the fluke into the shape of a scorpions stinger. Her hair is also raised and curled to mimic their signature tail.

Lastly the colors of this piece were inspired by the deep reds and earthy tones associated with Scorpio, with a dash of cooler blues and purples to allude to the sign's water alignment. As a last minute decision, I decided to try filling out the bottom of the frame with some geranium flowers, which is the flower associated with Scorpio. Floral imagery plays a huge roll in art nouveau, so I think I'm gonna try and add each signs flower to their piece as I go!

I hope you enjoyed this piece and the thought behind the design, make sure to check out my ko-fi shop for stickers and a free downloadable phone background!

[vikcacao]

Dude you gotta stop giving me such good answers because my brain chews them up and starts BOUNCING OFF THE WALLS sob

Also my bad for not sending these earlier I have had them ready since like Monday but…. School😔

Kakabfkskxbxhdh okay okay ALBINO GOJO!? THATS SO COOL!!!! How does his albinism affect him? Like does he have trouble seeing? Or like regulating his body temperature? Do Arctic mermaids have more fatty tissue to fend off the cold, like seals do?

YOUR RELIGION STUFF IS SO INSANE!! I love that you thought sm about it. Do mermaids have creation myths? Do mermaid myths vary region to region? Do epics and songs exist about figures in their mythology/religion? This might sound a little insane but do story archetypes exist in mermaid culture? Actually, how big is oral story telling in their cultures ( assuming they don’t have a written language)?

If a juvenile mermaid is orphaned, do other pod members take in the orphans? Are orphans viewed positively or negatively? If an entire pod died besides a juvenile, would another unrelated pod take them in? (Kinda morbid but I wanna know everything lol)

The fact that mermaids view planes as a variant of birds is so funny to me, like “oh, there goes the southwest bird, how majestic.” (Since planes sometimes crash do they just think some birds are rolling around with legendary loot? And do they prey on waterfowl?) I feel like it’s not that hard to sneak up on them.

TIGER SHARK YUUJI!!!!! I lowkey forgot he exists but do you have a ref sheet for him? I would very much like to draw him :]

Does Megumi have any piercings? Do mermaids have a third eyelid? What do mermaid maps/calendars look like? Do they follow a different month schedule than humans? (How do they count years, now that I think of it?) Do they have events that surround the eclipse or blood moons? I’m going feral about those mermaids and the moon things sorryyyy

Anyway I think that’s all I have rn !!! Thank youuuu :33 (ps, I have a piano lesson Wednesday wish me luck lmfaooo cause I may be slightly slacking on my practice)

ahhhhhhhh yayyyyyy lol

this is gonna take me a hot second to answer, sorry if this takes like a day lmao. each sorta segment is gonna be numbered bc i'm lazy <3

1 ----------

Gojo is albino, and yeah it affects his vision and his skin. That's why he hangs out (and married) deep sea mermaids, since they live in darker parts of water they don't rely so much on sight, and the sun is less intense.

artic mermaids commonly are much bigger and have shorter tails than other races of mermaids. Gojo is around double the size of Megumi, but in terms of length they're actually around the same. Bigger bodies means more tissue, and my little doodle of Gojo made him pretty thick, too lol.

the bigger bodies thing is inspired from the fact (?) that large marine animals live in the Antarctic. I learned this a while ago, so take it with a grain of salt on how true that is. But still, artic mermaids are on average the largest race of merfolk

2 ----------

Yes, myths and stories vary depending on region, but the characterization of the god/goddesses remains relatively consistent. and yeah, stories/myths/epic all exist, as well as story architypes.

there are creation myths, like merfolk kind being hatched from pearl the goddess of the ocean created/birthed. Or that the goddesses of the ocean and moon came together with two halves (one marine and one "human") to create the first mermaid. The most common theme is that the goddess of the ocean is sorta like the mother of mermaid kind lol

oral story telling is a big thing, most stories are told via word of mouth. BUT merfolks do have written languages, many of them since the written language changes alongside the verbal language. Very important stories get written down, but it's a time-consuming labor of love since it requires lots and lots of carving and safe keeping of the tablet (do avoid erosion lol)

3 ----------

HOLY SHIT ORPHANS ARE LOWKEY SO IMPORTANT TO THIS FIC LMFAO, since Megumi is an orphan.

when orphaned, the child loses their surname and instead it gets replaced by their birth regions word for orphan, where Megumi is the word is "Fushiguro"

yes it's very common for the first pod an orphan stumbles upon to take in the child, if the pod can't care for the child in the long term, then they will protect them until they find a suitable pod.

orphans are deemed really important actually, especially if they're foreign. When they come of courting age, they'll leave their birth region and travel as far as they possibly can to court and mate with distant mermaids. They help with genetic diversity, which is why they move so far away (to prevent accidental incest).

orphans are the only group of merfolk to travel such large distances solo, but it's customary for pods to temporarily allow adult/traveling orphans to rest/eat with them so they survive the journey.

i'm so glad I got a question about orphans ngl, since orphan culture in mermaids is one of the few universals (and like I said, really important to Megumi's character)

since the purpose of an orphan's move is to prevent incest, Megumi getting with Yuuji is allowed since there is no way in hell they're related. They're different species lmfaooo

4 ----------

Birds are a part of mermaid diets, mainly surface mermaids since they live near the surface (duh lmao).

I can see deep sea mermaids actually being kinda scared of birds, since plane crashes rest against the ocean floor and that would kinda freak out the mermaids that live there lol

5 ----------

I'll reblog this with mermaid Yuuji's ref sheet and colors soon !!!! I don't have them rn, so give me like an hour (I'm writing this between classes and don't have my ipad atm lol)

6 ----------

Megumi has no piercings, but yeah mermaids do have third eyelids.

they don't really have maps, since it would take too long to carve them. They just memorize underwater currents like people memorize roads and shit lol

mermaid Calanders are pretty much 100% dependent on the stars. Months are counted depending on which constellations are visible, and so they also have a way to count years when they constellations cycle. I haven't look too much into calanders, but I assume the months are different from human months bc of the star thing lol

((I guess that would mean multiple mermaid months could happen at the same time ???? Like when multiple constellations are visible that means it's multiple months/seasons. If that makes sense lol. ))

((idk how constellations work.....))

Yes, they have events around blood moons and weird celestial shit lol. Mainly lots of story telling and special actions like taking a day of rest or hunting for the full day. Stuff like that. They're more common among surface mermaids since they're the ones who commonly see and are affected by the sun and moon lol

thank you for asking so many questions !!!!!! and good luck on your piano lmao

when I played an instrument (clarinet lol) I never practiced. I was also very bad. My reed was always flat lmfao

[zeke-fanfucs]

Hallo, pleasure to meet you, I tried to look for a rules post, but I couldn't find one so I'm just going with what I can here.

If you do know this character or what game she is from , cool! But it is up to you, if you want to do the request.

Anyways, I always wondered what it would be like if Karmor was turned into a rat thiren like Jane Doe from Zenless Zone Zero, or if he was like Jane Doe in a way, intellectually gifted, a master of disguise, and quite versatile, as well as a phenomenal fighter, since being a rat thiren comes with its perks.

Keep in mind that doing this request is all up to you and I won't be upset if you don't want to do it, I was just curious on what your take on this would be.

(Also, if you need more reference on how she fights, either look up her trailers- but be warned, its quite...animated...or just look up her gameplay)

Thank you!

Hola, so this was super interesting! I haven’t played ZZZ in a while. So it’s fine read about it. Mm, I took a while making something different.

To make simple, Karmor wasn’t founded by Hipswitch. Instead he ran and hid, learning about what the hell is happening. He still is mute? But needing credits to get basic things, he turn to thieving. So he become a little rat boy.

🐀 Karmor as a Rat Thiren (Jane Doe-Inspired)

Name Concept: Still Karmor, but with an alias like “Echo”, “Spindle”, or “Hollowtail” used in certain circles. I like Spindle, just cause he’s a little rat thing

⸻

✨ Core Traits Boosted by Rat Thiren Physiology:

• Master of Disguise

Rat thirens are naturally adaptable—Karmor takes it to the next level.

He can slip into any crowd, alter his scent, heighten his reflexes, even mimic voices or brief body shapes if needed. But not just to spy—he vanishes from history like a rumor.

• Intellectual Prodigy

Jane Doe levels of “You didn’t even notice I hacked your tech and rewrote your neural imprint while smiling.”

Karmor could build weapons from scrap and pick apart an interdimensional lock with a screwdriver and a shoelace. He’s got that “I read your diary and your encryption in five minutes” kind of IQ.

• Combat Specialist

From claws to hand-to-hand to using literal junkyard debris as precision projectiles. He’s quick, twitchy, ghostlike.

Combine his rat-thiren agility with his canon time-glitching powers, and now you’ve got a fighter who moves like he’s desyncing from the universe. It’s horrifying. It’s hot.

⸻

👁‍🗨 Aesthetic Updates:

Design:

• Subtle, angular rat ears; usually covered by a hood or modded helmet.

• Tail: sleek, dexterous, possibly mechanical or wrapped in old time-threading bandages.

• Wears layered clothing designed for movement and disguise—can shift into different silhouettes.

• He’s got a face people remember… wrong. No one can sketch him right.

• Signature Weapon:

Dual knives that shift form, or a segmented staff that twists like a broken second hand on a watch. Possibly integrates his tail in combat, like prehensile weapon moment.

⸻

🧠 Behavior & Personality Vibes:

• Quiet genius. Doesn’t speak unless absolutely necessary—and when he does, it’s in a whisper that sounds like déjà vu.

• Emotionally intelligent but cagey—trusts few, but protects like a rabid feral cat if you’re one of his people.

• Makes a hundred backup plans and then abandons them to follow his gut.

• Will absolutely scam your squad out of their rations with a single card trick then leave you wondering if you ever had rations to begin with.

⸻

🌀 Time-Bending Rat Shenanigans:

• Can pause time for brief bursts when cornered—his tail leaves an afterimage trail.

• Disappears from reality mid-sentence sometimes.

• Can literally “rewind” a mistake in battle but at a physical cost—his body glitches with clawmarks from timelines that don’t exist anymore.

⸻

Bonus Goofy Detail:

• He eats like a GOBLIN in secret. Snacks? He hoards them in weird places. You’ll find a single protein bar inside a gun’s ammo slot, a granola wedge taped under a table, a glowing cube he insists is “edible if you don’t look at it.”

• Hipswitch (when they run into each other) once watched him eat an entire bag of chips in 4 seconds and hasn’t recovered.

[herrenxenoberg]

Fandorm Showcase #27 - Fantasia

The rest of the Season 3 showcase will be a bit slow since I have to redesign the previously made fandorms before I get to post them. But trust me, I will get them done with the amount of free time I can get from my working weeks.

Introducing the melodious and dramatic dorm inspired by Fantasia...

Umbralis (Umbra = Latin for Shadow; Choralis = Latin for choral or orchestral)

This dorm is considered one of the most sacred and forbidden dorms according to the school's system, due to the fact it is formed under the inspiration of the mighty abyssal tyrant who has conquered Bald Mountain and has struck fear into those who have heard the story. The dorm members who were sorted into this dorm are rumored to have souls as black as the night sky, morals as corrupted as a blackened heart similar to the abyssal tyrant in legend, or so the rumor goes...

In actuality, this dorm focuses on mostly musical prowess and grace, using magic to create melodious symphonies and rhythms that captivate the world, diving into the history of classical music. Although students in this dorm are magically powerful, they choose to experience life at its fullest without their intense aura ruining the sensation.

"A dorm founded on the Abyssal Tyrant's spirit of finesse. Students in this dorm are skilled in all matters of magic, but they are kind-hearted souls who only wanted the simpler things in life."

Requirements and Traits:

Knowledgeable in all matters of magic (even the forbidden ones)

Well-versed in classical music and symphonic melodies

Have a sense for theatrics as well as a sophisticated front

What I did with the housewarden fit is that the coat tails would be magically link to the neural system, making them a second pair of wings depending on the preference, since the housewarden is a devil/fae. The wings can also fold into itself to form a cloak of sorts for the aesthetics. They also are required to wear a mask over their eyes as a symbol of respecting other's "well-beings".

Character Roster:

Do not be afraid, grace the powerful and graceful housewarden of Umbralis...

Samael Morbidus (Twisted off Chernabog)

A looming figure of eerie elegance, Samael Morbidus commands an undeniable presence wherever he goes. His piercing gaze, shadowy aura, and ethereal wings make even the bravest shudder in his wake. Whispers of superstition follow him—some say he is a bringer of nightmares, others believe he can summon spirits with a mere thought. However, despite his unsettling appearance, Samael is not the embodiment of malice many assume him to be.

In truth, he is deeply insightful and possesses an endless curiosity about the world around him. He observes everything with an almost detached fascination, intrigued by emotions, human nature, and the mysteries of magic. Samael enjoys philosophical discussions and often contemplates the balance between light and darkness, life and death. Though he mostly speaks through telepathy, his words carry weight, revealing a sharp mind and a poetic soul.

While he does not intentionally try to frighten others, he has long accepted that his mere existence unsettles people. He sometimes uses this to his advantage, making dramatic entrances or staring in silence just to see how others react. However, those who take the time to understand him will find a surprisingly gentle yet enigmatic individual, one who values knowledge and seeks meaning beyond surface-level interactions.

Notable Members:

Yisreal Mystium (Sophomore) - A relic of an age long past, a spell given form, forever seeking purpose in a world that may no longer require him. Though his demeanor is usually calm and refined, Yisreal has moments of playful mischief, a remnant of the enchantments that once made him a mere accessory to magical performances. (Twisted off Yen Sid's The Sorcerer's Hat from The Sorcerer's Apprentice segment)

Heaos Clamor (Junior) - A being of passion and poise, a living storm wrapped in an elegant facade, forever striding between chaos and control. He despises being underestimated and takes any challenge to his pride seriously, his sharp wit capable of cutting just as deep as his actions. (Twisted off Zeus and the Centaurs from the Pastoral Symphony segment)

Cragg Impact (???) - A cosmic anomaly, an ancient force given form, forever existing between the past, present, and an unknowable future. Despite his bizarre nature, Cragg is not malicious. He does not seek to harm, but his sheer power makes him unpredictable. (Twisted off The Rite of Spring segment, the concept of extinction and a meteor)

Next Up: Winnie The Pooh

[cheesycatz]

The Apple's Worm

(Spamton AU reference sheet) 1 2

Text ver and close ups below

- The last living member of the BIGSHOT computer worm species, this version of Spamton hides within the depths of Cyber City and its Trash Zone, skittish yet aggressive. He spitefully waits for the opportunity to restore his parasitoid species to its formal glory.

- He primarily walks on all twelves. He moves in short bursts, and can stay perfectly still. His body is rarely completely straight.

- He's 16 ft (~490 cm) long from nose to tail

- Spamton acts animalistic and unpredictable, as he grew up alone from both regular darkners and his own species. He feels uncomfortable about his own natural instincts.

- He bristles his fur and makes a rattlesnake-like hiss as a threat, and will attack if provoked.

- Spamton enjoys and feels much safer on ceilings, on walls, and in darkness.

- Despite living in the Trash Zone, Spamton still keeps himself clean, rubbing his legs together and rubbing his nose like a fly.

- As an invertebrate with no bones, Spamton's body is incredibly flexible.

- Still not beating the cat allegations

- Spamton is an opportunistic hunter who enjoys Cyber City's abundance of maice. He uses his extendable proboscis to impale prey and drink their souls.

-----

Wormton's design hasn't changed that much, as I mostly added onto existing lore with very few retcons. Though, I think I lean more into the insectoid elements nowadays. The longer segmented nose, compound eyes, and thinner limbs he has now definitely make him less like to be mistaken for a weird sergal. He's meant to look alien, but in a "weird animal from some far branching ancient linage that somehow survived several mass extinction events and has no other close relatives" way rather than an extraterrestrial way. His biology occasionally mimics the mammalian ideas we're used to, but they're always off. He has fur, but it's part of an exoskeleton. He has lungs, but they're 24 or so tiny pockets rather than two. He has eyelids, but they're actually nictitating membranes. He has a heart, but it's a set of five arches with no pulse. He has teeth, but they're detached parts of his mandibles that can move freely. And, uh, so on. God I love fictional biology

Despite being the size of an adult crocodile, Wormton acts more like a tiny spider. His twitchy movements and short bursts of movement are based on how bugs move, but they also fit the "Spamton" side of him. His behaviors are inspired by a variety of animals, but I'd say that spiders, wasps, and cats are the main ones. Additionally, a lot of his behaviors are based on the invasive species aspect of his design. These things are not at the top of the food chain. Their average life expectancy barely crosses 6 months. They'd rather hide than fight. Yet, they somehow become the most dangerous thing alive the moment they're brought to the surface web, spreading faster than lice in an elementary school. But, no matter how much of an advantage they have, they still hide and don't trust anything but themselves. God I love fictional ecology

Overall, I could talk for way too long about Wormton and malworms (his species). The only thing holding me back from massive info dumps is the fact that I want to actually finish the Wormton fic in a reasonable amount of time, whatever that ends up being. I fear I am quickly passing my estimated final length of 150k words and I might have 30% or more still left to write

[emiplayzmc]

"The Red Means I Love You"

BEHOLD! My design for an I-LOVE-YOU computer worm for the universe of Deltarune Chapter 2! I actually had a fun time making this little beast, it's based off of a pork tapeworm (whose larvae causes afflictions to the brain that inspired one of the uses for these ILOVEYOU worms)! More information on this species that I spent far too much time on under the cut!

~~ILOVEYOUs used to be far more common in Cyber City, but the development of better anti-virus technology has largely made their populations die off. They have a commensal relationship with ViroViroKuns, gaining hosts via whoever a ViroViroKun decides to infect, and the ViroViro being unaffected.

~~The virus would spread via magic attacks from either their host or a ViroViroKun, and would slowly feed on their host's energy. Not many deaths have been caused by these viruses, but if left for long enough they can do major damage to a host's systems. Symptoms of an infection include glitches that get more severe as time progresses, headaches, a common state of confusion, and blackouts where the uninfected don't remember gaps of time - these gaps of time are usually filled by the parasite attempting to make the host spread the virus.

~~Larvae are far more dangerous than mature worms, and they do most infections. A larvae is classified as a worm that has less than 6 heart segments on its body (not including the base of the tail), and they start with two or three hearts, gaining one every 3 months and living up to 5-6 years. Once matured, they gain a fully functional head and mouth, but their effectiveness lowers substantially.

~~The adults do, however, still have a use, although not a legal one. With the diluted effects of their infection, the worm itself can be destroyed and used in love potions. There's still a demand for love potions to this day in Cyber City among its residents, although they were made illegal.

~~Symptoms of a love potion have some similar effects to the more intense infection of the larvae. These include small blackout periods when not in proximity to whoever the love potion is supposed to work on, minor glitches from time to time, and headaches, combined with the usual lovey-dovey-ness and eagerness to please commonly seen in any love potion. Users can become addicted to using them on their chosen target, and if the infected's systems are suddenly drained of the potion, their minds are normally very paranoid and clingy for up to a year after the potion effects have worm off.