#silly reptile creature main

[justyourfelix]

Silly rage sona go brrrr!!

[tizeline]

Asking some writers/artists I follow:

Is there anything in your fic/comic that you as the author know about, but won't end up in the actual story?

So I have a rather uh disorganized way of telling the story of the TSAU, I jump back and forth in the timeline quite a bit depending on what part of the story I wanna tell. Overall I improvise quite a bit, and because of that I can't be 100% sure what will be depicted in the story and what wont. But I might as well share some little tidbits of lore that are probably not gonna be mentioned in the main story (though they still might who knows lol)

So uh. April and Kendra are exes. Kinda. They were pretty close friends when they were younger and decided to become a couple when they were like 9 or something. This lasted for a grand total of.... 2 days, maybe? Then they had a huge fight about something silly like, I dunno, Kendra hacked April's tamagotchi as a prank and she got mad so they broke up and they've had major beef ever since.

Draxum made Mikey wear some type of artifact or gear that supressed his mystic powers as a kid for his own safety. Mikey started showing an incredible talent for the mystic arts at a very young age. Draxum was excited about this for all of 5 seconds before realizing that Mikey is a VERY small child with NO impulse control and he's definetily gonna turn himself and the rest of the family into glitter unless Draxum finds a way prevent that from happening until Mikey has the chance to develop an understanding of consequences. (He's learned to control his powers well enough to not need them by the time of the main-story, so he no longer wears the supressors)

Donnie's whole villain-act he puts on is partially a coping mechanism. He grew up never knowing anyone like himself (unless you count Splinter, I suppose) so the only times he saw himself represented in anything was characters in comics and shows and such. There were plenty of anthropomorphic reptile characters in the media he consumed, and Donnie clunged to anyone or anything that he could at least somewhat relate to. Problem is, a lot of these anthro reptiles were like.... y'know... villains. It's pretty common for super heroes and stuff to fight evil mutant reptile creatures, and even stories with only anthro characters reptiles tend to be charactarized as more villainous. Granted, turtles specifically usually don't get this treatment, but it still had quite an effect on Donnie as a little kid that most characters similar to him would be viewed as evil, which caused him to internalize that mindset. So turtle tot Donnie basically went like "Yes! This is what I am! A villain in someone else's story! It all makes sense now! This is a healthy mindset to have!" and just kinda embraced the role that human society had given to him because he didn't really know how else to deal. (Things changed after meeting April and he found out that there might actually be humans out there who might treat him like a person and not just a freak of nature! He still plays into the villain-persona, partially for fun and partially as a coping thing, but he doesn't have nearly as a negative view of himself now as he did as a tot)

And last, but certainly not least................ Draxum owns a Lou Jitsu body pillow (PURELY for research-purposes, NO other reason!)

[atlasofthestaars]

[MK X READER] New Era - Chapter .001

Note: Will use events from Mk9-11 + Aftermath. I am changing canon for some characters to fit the story. Changing canon in general for MK1, so at some point I will add in scenes not in the main story and probably will diverge from it in the end. Some character personality changes, not major, but enough to add depth. Slight character dynamic changes (Mostly Lin Kuei, so the trio feel slightly closer as a whole)

Also excuse the small exposition dump that happens through the chapter, it was needed to set up plot points in the future, so in the future we can get to those juicy character interactions easier!

LOVE INTERESTS: Liu Kang, Kung Lao, Raiden, Johnny Cage, Kenshi, Reptile, Scorpion (Kuai Liang), Sub Zero (Bi-Han), Smoke, Shang Tsung, Mileena, Kitana, Ashrah, Havik, Rain

Also on AO3: NEW ERA

part two

FROM THE EYES OF ONE WHO DOESN'T REMEMBER

Memories are fickle things. 

Awakening in the middle of a field, you heard the buzzing of bugs, and the grass beside you moved as a creature scurried past. Your head hurt, and a fog settled in your mind as if it were blocking something. You sat up slowly, noting the moonlight shining down on the area around you.

You looked down at your hands. It was odd, it felt like you were familiar with it, yet at the same time it felt all too foreign to you. You wiggled your toes, feeling the grass brush against them to remind you that they existed. 

Where were you?

Swallowing any dread you felt building up, you stood up wearily. Your body swayed as you got up, almost stumbling into the grass once more. The area around felt devoid of humans, undisturbed nature spreading far. It was beautiful and breathtaking, but it only soothed you for a moment before panic began to seep back in again.

Where were you?

In the distance was a soft light. A flame? Perhaps. You dragged your feet as you walked towards it. You’d rather go discover whatever that was then stick around being lost wherever you had woken up. 

Why were you there in the first place? 

Fear was crawling down your back at the inability to answer the nagging questions within your head. Shaking it off, you continued on. The closer you got, the better you could identify where the flame was from. 

A temple of sorts?

It had a dragon motif from what you could see, and it was constructed mainly from wood and stone. Red shingles, or at least you assumed it was…it was hard to see in the moonlight, lined the rooftops of the temple ahead. The tree leaves even seemed to be red. There were multiple buildings, one being a tall tower, and a few smaller buildings. The flame, which was quite large from what you could see, was lit in a pavilion of sorts.

Your mind throbbed as a vague memory of a temple floating in the sky appeared in your mind. But this wasn’t that same temple. Not at all. Why were you thinking of that?

Soon enough, you found yourself at the entrance of the area, marveling at the architecture and the beauty of the area up close. How wonderful. Eventually, you spotted two figures walking towards you. 

The first thing you noticed was their glowing blue eyes.

Not knowing what to do, you stood there. Although you felt a pit of dread build up in your stomach as they approached, you stood unwavering. You grimaced, not at the sight of them, but at how the figures coming closer seemed to intensify a dull throb that had been building up in the back of your head.

Silly as it was, were they the cause of your headache? Of the fog in your head that seemed to block out any memories you tried to pry from your mind? 

You watched as the two figures, that you could now identify as men, approached. You could read a vague sense of concern on one of their faces, and the other held a sense of shock on his. They walked over a bridge, stopping at the top as if to create a sense of height. You looked up at them, your will not wavering despite the dread that was building in your stomach.

Your headache, why was it hurting so much?

You watched as one of them held out his hands, forming one a fist connecting to his palm. He smiled at you. It felt warm. The other nodded his head in acknowledgement, but you could see the small smile he had as well. You stumbled as your headache turned into a sharp pain, as if someone had just stabbed your head. Gasping, you stumbled forward. 

The man who had been presenting his hands grabbed you to steady you, and you noted the strange sense of familiarity as he did so. His wrapped hands were firm as he helped you right yourself. You looked up into his eyes, and without thinking, a name popped into your head.

“Liu Kang?”

The dread you felt in your stomach turned into fear as the man’s eyes widened, and the vague shock that had been on his face before was now on full display. He glanced over to his companion who held the same look of shock before they both looked down at you, almost accusingly.

“How did you know that?”

That was years ago.

Shortly after the shock had worn off, you had been escorted into the fire temple. They gave you a place to rest for the night, but you could hear the whispers of Liu Kang and Geras as they walked away. What they were discussing, you weren’t certain.

You could hear the concerned tone in their voice loud and clear despite that.

The next morning in what was perhaps the politest interrogation ever, it was revealed that you had a lack of memories.

Kind of.

You had memories, or at least you thought so, but they were all jumbled up in your head. They felt wrong, and foreign and they didn’t match up with what you were seeing. After all, your mind was telling you the man who was interrogating you was Liu Kang…but it was not the same mortal man that popped into your mind. 

You also eventually recognized Geras, which seemed to alarm the two even more, even if they were subtle about it. Eventually, after long deliberation with each other, Liu Kang eventually came up to you and offered you a place to stay at the fire temple due to your lack of memory and residence.

You were relieved to have a place to rest and stay, even if you had a nagging feeling that the offer was a disguised excuse to keep a close eye on you.

You supposed that was fair.

Eventually, the memories you had came back slowly over the years, and you confided in Liu Kang about them. This led to an eventual friendship with the god as you unraveled the strange situation that you were in. The man, though cordial, had been wary at first of you. You thought that was reasonable. A random stranger showing up in rags and recognizing you without introduction?

That was suspicious for certain, you could not blame the fire god for his caution. Especially since he proclaimed himself to be the Protector of Earthrealm, you could have easily been a threat.

Thankfully, you were not. Or at least, he seemed to deem that you were not. Although you had a jumbled mess of mismatching memories, the two of you had concluded that the memories you did have were visions of sorts, of other realities, and that the memories you used to have were gone. 

Visions of other worlds traded for the memories of your past. That’s what he told you, anyways. You had a sinking feeling that wasn’t quite true, and that was the biggest secret you held from Liu Kang. After all, the more memories you regained, the less it felt that they were random visions. 

They felt like a past life…and maybe they were. You weren’t certain yet. You had a nagging feeling there were many memories left to unlock.

The guilt of hiding this doubt, this secret, was immense at first. Ignoring the fact that you were lying to a god, you were concealing doubts from a man who had offered you shelter and food.

Eventually the guilt died down into near nothingness, but there was still a twinge of guilt every time you lied about it.

Aside from that, you rediscovered abilities that you had not realized you had. 

Shapeshifting into animals. You could transform your whole body into creatures, or parts of them. It was a helpful power, you found. You also seemed to have some sort of muscle memory of fighting skills. Lord Liu Kang had once offered to train you, and to both of your surprise, you were quite skilled.

Rusty at first, but it was obvious your body knew how to fight. It was nothing that years, or in all honesty, months could not fix.

Another ability you realized after a few years was how your body did not seem to age. Or at least, not in the same way humans did. At first, the monks seemed to chalk it up to good genetics, complimenting on how you seemed to keep your youth. However, as more years passed, whispers of magic arose.

Concerned with the strange state of your body, you confided in the fire god. Liu Kang suggested that your body was one that lived longer, perhaps of one that was not native to Earth, or Earthrealm as he called it…an edenian, perhaps? He explained the realm of Outworld, and the existence of the realms in general. He had once explained it much before, along with some monks, but not to the historical extent he had given you at that time.

Through these explanations, you remembered Outworld much more clearly, but the memories of Outworld were once again inconsistent with the world he described.

The Outworld you knew had been run by a tyrant before it was passed to an heir that had been overthrown. It was war hungry, and not at all pretty as he described. Liu Kang offered that, perhaps, when the Mortal Kombat tournament rolled around in a few years, you could join him and the champions he would bring to Outworld.

You agreed, of course. Maybe that realm was key to unlocking more memories, and more explanations. Even though you cherished the Fire Temple, a place you had learned to call home, you now had a purpose going forward.

Go to Outworld to seek the rest of your memories.

And now, you were here, enjoying another peaceful morning in the Fire Temple.

Staring out from the pavilion, you inhaled deeply as you took in the sunrise. You could never tire of the beautiful view. Your ears picked up the soft sound of someone walking towards you, and you turned around, already familiar with who it was. 

“Hello, Liu Kang.” You greeted, a smile on your face as you nodded towards the fire god. The fire god sent you a soft smile in return as he walked up to be by your side. Due to your memories of a younger, mortal Liu Kang that had popped up so often at first, you had taken up a nasty habit of addressing him casually. You tried to fix this, but he had permitted you to address him casually in private.

It felt like a strange honor.

He greeted you, your name rolling off his tongue in a familiar way as his hands settled on the railing much like yours were. It was common for the two of you to meet up here at sunrise, to indulge in the simple yet breathtaking view. It was a tradition from years ago.

“Beautiful morning, isn’t it?” Liu Kang inquired, much like he did nearly every morning. He gazed at the horizon with a sense of serenity and peace before his glowing eyes landed on you. With a chuckle you turned your gaze to the horizon he had been staring at previously.

“It is, just like it is every morning.” You mused, watching as the sky lightened, the darkness making way for the pretty light blue hues as a pink and orange color settled over the horizon. Your fingers tapped the wood as you hummed, remembering that something special was happening today. “Today we’re going to the village of Fengjian, correct?” You inquired, a surge of excitement buzzing through you.

You had been around the world here and there over the years to accompany Liu Kang and sometimes even the Lin Kuei, but it had been a while since your last venture. 

“Correct, Madam Bo said two of her trainees were ready for the exam scenario, and today we're going to observe.” Liu Kang said, nodding as he confirmed the plans he had told you about two weeks ago. You noted how he kept his gaze intent on you, as if analyzing your reaction. You could not hold back the smile on your lips.

“Excellent, it’s been forever since I’ve had Madam Bo’s cooking.” You commented, remembering just how delicious the older woman’s cooking was. You were nearly drooling at the thought of it. Not only that, but Madam Bo was someone you valued as well.

Whenever you saw her, you were reminded of a fatherly figure who you hazily remembered who drunk a lot of alcohol. It was odd, but she too must have sensed the connection, as she took you in as if you were a child of her own ever since she met you. You wished you could go out to see her more.

You opened your mouth to speak, but you heard the faintest of footsteps. Reflexively, you transformed your ears into those of bats and craned them around to hone in on the sound. You tilted your head as you focused before you turned to look at Liu Kang, ears turning back to normal.

“I thought the Lin Kuei were to come later?” You inquired, revealing that you were now aware of their presence. You heard some muttering before the three assassins revealed themselves. Sub Zero, Scorpion, and Smoke. Three of the Lin Kuei you had grown closest to during your association with Liu Kang.

“That was the plan, but we decided to meet up earlier to discuss the plan as we shall leave earlier to get in position to observe.” Liu Kang explained. The two of you turned around to face the three. You smiled at the three. Smoke and Scorpion both bowed to the two of you. Sub Zero, notably, did not, but you did notice the slight nod of acknowledgement sent your way.

“Perceptive as always, and I thought we could finally sneak up on you.” Smoke greeted, addressing you as he spoke your name, a light playful tone to his voice. Smoke was always the friendliest of the three, it was a delight to talk to him. He was the most casual. You noted the slightly irritated glare from Sub Zero sent his way.

You surmised that Smoke had managed to convince the two others to also sneak in. You could not tell whether the irritation was from having to partake in such a silly endeavor, or if it was due to the fact that he blamed Smoke for giving the three of them away.

“Maybe another time, Tomas.” You chuckled, covering your mouth as you did so. Despite your words, you were competitive, and you weren’t planning on giving up in the ongoing game that you had both been playing for a while now. “Regardless, it is good to see you all, it’s been a while.” With that, you nodded towards Liu Kang, letting him go over the plan with the trio.

You observed silently as excitement coursed through your veins.

You had a feeling that tonight was going to be something special.

part two

[icedragonlizard]

Let's talk about Ice Dragon

I mean.. this thing is literally my namesake! Let me give it recognition.

I know I frequently post about characters such as Susie, Magolor and Marx, and yet I have "icedragonlizard" as my username which would imply that I should be more all over this big chubby blue dinosaur.

Funny of me to be acting the way I do.

However... despite seldom talking about him, I do love this thing.

I chose this username for two reasons: 1.) to stand out and 2.) while Ice Dragon may not necessarily be my top favorite character in all of Kirby, it is however one of my very favorite designs in the series!

I adore the appearance of this big cute silly thing.

He's big. He's chubby. He's blue. He looks very squishy. I want to hug him even if he'd bite me or turn me into an ice cube. He just straight up looks like a dinosaur, despite having dragon in his name. This is like the perfect sort of kawaii dinosaur design you'd expect in Kirby.

He looks like the substitute decoy from pokemon, LOL.

We don't have much reptiles in Kirby. There's also Landia, of course, which is another dragon. And there are also Galbos, an enemy species with evolved variants such as Galboros. I've noticed the visual similarities that Ice Dragon has to Galbos. May they be related at all?

I think the biggest problem with Ice Dragon is that he... isn't much of a character. He's very under-utilized. As far as I know, all his main appearances are: a boss in Dream Land 2 where he debuted, he's a painting that Adeleine summons in Dream Land 3, 64 and Star Allies (the former two as bosses, the latter as playable), he's a hologram in Planet Robobot, and if I'm not mistaken he also shows up in the clash games. I've never actually played the clash games but I've seen images of him in it.

And the fact he sadly has little recognition in the fandom in general.

He's much less major than other boss characters like Whispy Woods and Kracko. At least those two show up in like almost every game.

He doesn't even have a mask of his likeliness in Merry Magoland!

At least he does appear in the anime, though. I think it was cool the way they handled him, where they gave him a small version and then he just grew really gigantic.

There's unfortunately just very little to work with or talk about with Ice Dragon. One can try to rectify this with headcanons, which I've tried.

I do have headcanons for him.... it's just not a ton due to how little and minor of a character he is. For one, I headcanon that he's the king of whatever is Popstar's main snowy/arctic area, whether that be Iceberg (from DL2 and DL3) or White Wafers (from RTDL). And I imagine he's friends with King Dedede or at least gets along with him well, since they both serve as kings in their respective lands. Adeleine and the animal friends may know him and get along with him well, too, since the former even has paintings of him that she can summon.

If Ice Dragon was more major than he is... if they made him a more frequent boss and did more with him, I'd be all over it. I'd talk about him a lot more. I'd develop more headcanons for him at that point!

I once thought about that if Forgotten Land was willing to include dinosaur-like creatures during its game, then a primal version of Ice Dragon would've been absolutely perfect for the Winter Horns section.

If they ever do a Kirby game that includes dinosaurs, whether they be the villain faction or something else, then I think Ice Dragon himself or a relative could show up, and the aesthetic of his design could be a great base for other dinosaur creatures that get added in the series.

^ Just an idea, more ideas could be made.

This could be said for a lot of other characters in Kirby, I know, but I think a lot of really cool and awesome stuff could be done with Ice Dragon if HAL were to utilize him as such. I'd love to see it happen.

Oh and by the way, I'm aware that a plushie for Ice Dragon exists... it's from the Roly-Poly Friends merch line, but it's extremely rare to find and also costs a ton of money. It's out of my luxury to get it, sadly.

I would love to see a Sanei plushie of this guy come out at some point. I did say after all that I'd expand on my plushie collection more when they introduce more Sanei plushies later down the road, didn't I? Hahahahaha. Although I have the feeling that may take a while. That's fine. No need to rush. But if an Ice Dragon plush from Sanei comes into existence, I'm going to get it in a heartbeat. It'll be great.

[call-me-double-trouble]

I keep seeing bad takes and negativity about DT, and I have no desire to start beef with people or draw attention to individuals*, but seeing criticisms that are just so awful and lacking in nuance irritates me, so instead, I’m going to start combating it with DT positivity! Keep in mind, I’m not talking about criticisms that are valid, I’m talking about the silly stuff that’s clearly just someone trying to take the moral high ground just because they happen to dislike a character and you’re not allowed to just dislike things anymore, apparently. *(No, I will not be naming names, please don’t seek out or bully anyone. Let’s just celebrate why we love this character and ignore those who can’t enjoy them for one reason or another).

This will be a long post (an essay, it’s a freaking essay) because I want to go in-depth and explain my viewpoints. I’m not going to chastise someone for lack of nuance without practicing it myself.

Today, I will discuss why I think DT is good non-binary representation (not PERFECT, no rep is without flaw—things are allowed to be complicated). Keep in mind also that I am not non-binary myself, but I’m no stranger to the identity, and although I can’t speak on behalf of the community, I’ve seen some of the arguments for and against DT by enbies, and I think I can still add to this conversation.

I see two main arguments pop up most often. One is that since DT is a morally gray criminal that worked for the antagonists, they’re making enbies look like villains. In my opinion, this argument is pretty weak because it hinges on the idea that because one enby character wasn’t a perfect angel, this means all enbies are evil and bad. It stereotypes heavily and is a bad way of thinking—you should never judge a community based on how one person or character acts. I know that some works of fiction, especially in the past, have done this to uphold the discriminatory values of the time, but SPOP was made by queer people, for queer people. Clearly they weren’t trying to stereotype enbies as bad. DT is just an enby who happens to do bad things. Characters should have flaws, and that goes for queer and trans characters, too. It’s okay if you’d prefer an enby character to be firmly on the side of good—everyone has preferences! But DT not fitting yours doesn’t make them inherently bad rep.

The other argument is that since DT is inhuman, it portrays enbies as “other” or insinuates that DT is an enby BECAUSE they’re inhuman and/or a shapeshifter. This argument is stronger than the first, and I totally understand the need for human enby characters (we just need more enbies in fiction, period—more variation means more people sees themselves and less get mad over a character not fitting their exact experience). However, DT is far from the ONLY inhuman character in SPOP (they’re not even the only reptile), and the other inhuman characters of prominence aren’t non-binary, so there’s no link between gender and being inhuman in this world. There’s also no way of telling why DT identifies as non-binary. We have no idea if their shapeshifting played any part in that, either to them or those in charge of designing the character. I don’t think it’s ever implied that it did, especially because their choice to play characters who are men or women doesn’t impact their gender identity, but this point is more up to speculation.

I’d also like to add that plenty of enbies DO identify with inhuman characters. Some people (self included) would rather be an inhuman creature than a boring old human, and DT’s design is SO fun—especially the sideways blink and those adorable ears! (Side tangent, DT was made reptilian to resemble a chameleon because, y’know, shapeshifter. You can also see the influence from their original design. The original DT wore all green and had a long ponytail that, in some depictions, went down to their feet much like current DT’s actual tail).

With those arguments aside, let’s get into what makes DT so great (in my opinion)!

For starters, I’ve seen so many people say that seeing DT made them realize that they themselves were non-binary or validated their gender identity, and I think that’s a beautiful thing! DT may piss off some enbies, but they’re very important to others, and that shouldn’t be taken away just because they’re not everyone’s cup of tea. Obviously not everyone is going to relate to them, but once again, that’s why we just need more rep in general.

Secondly, DT helped people practice using they/them pronouns. I can attest to this myself! At the time, I didn’t have any friends who were non-binary, so I didn’t have a habit of using they/them pronouns except when someone’s gender was unknown. Of course, I supported enbies and their preferred pronouns, but slip-ups happen before you get used to thinking of someone as they/them, even if you’re supportive and accepting. DT, being fictional, is a great way to practice using them to get better at adjusting when you eventually do meet an enby. Not only does it sound completely natural to say, but you also get used to correcting mistakes when you make them. It gave me an immediate, “Wait, no, that’s the wrong pronoun, it’s they,” which came in handy when one of my friends wanted to explore their gender and experiment with they/them pronouns. I know some enbies may be rolling their eyes at this, but for allies, it’s important to build these habits to avoid misgendering someone, especially when you knew them by different pronouns previously. DT also gave me and others practice on correcting someone who made a mistake without making it sound like we were accusing them of doing it on purpose. DT, and other fictional enbies for that matter, are just great in general for getting people and kids used to enbies and the use of they/them pronouns.

Third, DT’s AGAB is a mystery! You can make arguments one way or another (voice points one way, original character and pronouns on storyboard point another), but we can never say for sure because they’re a shapeshifter! Is that their real voice? Who knows! Is that their exact appearance? Who’s to say! What’s in their pants? Anything they want, they’re a shapeshifter! They’re so wonderfully androgynous, too—A+ design. And on that note, I’ve also seen people happy that DT is an enby with LONG hair, since most enby characters have short hair, and it added some much needed variety. Honestly, DT is the epitome of “Everyone finds me hot and that makes everyone gay.” Gay men like them, lesbians like them—hell, even ACES like them! (Side note, my praise of their androgyny is not to put other enbies down, as enbies can look however they want, and that’s very cool and sexy of them. Real enbies don’t have to be androgynous, and not all fictitious enbies need to be, either. But I’ve read that when portraying trans and genderqueer people, especially as an ally, that it’s best not to describe or identify features that may point to an AGAB—even if it is known—as that can be considered disrespectful to their identity and may make real trans and non-binary people feel self-conscious about those traits. It’s a complicated issue, and there are right and wrong ways to go about it when portraying trans characters.)

Fourth, DT is never misgendered by any of the characters—not even by Shadow Weaver! Everyone is shown to treat being non-binary like it’s normal (because it is) and worthy of respect, just like any other gender. I also saw someone say that it shows kids that even if someone is your enemy or you don’t like them, you should still use their preferred pronouns, because you don’t have the right to misgender someone to hurt them.

Fifth, DT is a complex character. They’re not one-note, they’re a person who has their own motivations and drive, their own passions, interesting interactions with other characters that bring out more from the others, good humor, and a complicated relationship with good and bad and the ability to do both (sometimes even simultaneously). DT isn’t a good person, but they’re not entirely a bad one, either. They’re complicated. Their motivation isn’t to do bad things, it’s just to survive, get paid, and cause chaos while doing that. I can go more in-depth in another post, but the point is, they’re interesting, they have depth, and they’re well-written.

Sixth, they’re extremely plot-relevant. They’re very important and impactful to the story. Hardly anything in the fourth season would have been accomplished without them! They kept tension high and raised the stakes, making the story that much more compelling to the audience. Before I got my friends to watch SPOP, I wanted to tell them all about my favorite character, Double Trouble, but couldn’t find a single spoiler-free clip to show them! Seriously, try to find one. I’ll wait. Maybe their introduction, but even then, you’d be taking away the grand reveal that the suave-Scorpia wasn’t Scorpia at all, and it’s more fun to let that be a surprise. They had such a prominent role and have garnered so many fans, and that’s especially wonderful for a non-binary character. They weren’t a background character offhandedly mentioned to be non-binary, they were an important character that stole the show every time they were on screen.

Basically, Double Trouble is just a wonderful, complex character who had a positive impact on lots of enbies and allies. Not everyone likes them, and not everyone has to, but there’s nothing wrong with liking or identifying with them, and they shouldn’t be labeled as inherently bad rep when their existence did so much good for so many viewers. They don’t have to represent everyone to be good rep, and they certainly don’t, but those they DO represent shouldn’t be made to feel as if they’re betraying the non-binary community.

[sam-glade]

Happy WBW! Talk creatures to me. Tell me about those little critters unique to your world your characters see or meet throughout the story.

Hi Wynne!

I really want to talk about the importance of storks in Days of Dusk. It's not a made up creature, I know, but I see them in the books I read so rarely, and they deserve some love.

Just look at these silly birds:

They're ubiquitous in the First and Eastern Princedoms, building their nests on top of trees and high structures, such as chimneys. The nests tend to be built around agricultural areas, where storks feed in the meadows and pastures, on insects, frogs, small reptiles, and all sorts of pests. They're migratory birds, flying south for winter, and returning to the same nests, to which they add another layer each year. The nests are a few hundred kilograms in weight, up to a tonne - so yes, they pose a risk to the structures they're built on because of their weight.

Despite it, storks are well-loved, and seeing a stork in flight for the first time in spring is considered a good omen (both in setting and irl). Disrupting a stork's nest can upset the household spirits and bring minor misfortune.

In Days of Dusk, they appear a lot in passing - dotting the green meadows in the distance, but also when the main trio hides in the dilapidated manor over winter, a stork nest blocking the chimney has to be removed. Fortunately, since the manor had been abandoned for some time, there are no household spirits to upset.

[clarktooncrossing]

Giraffe's Eye View | Prehistoric Planet REVIEW (and Rant+)

Hey there people of today and robots of tomorrow! It is I, Clark, here with a fun fact about myself.

I.

LOVE.

DINOSAURS!

Granted, so does everybody else on the planet, but how can you not? They've been a part of our imagination for so long, an enigma of time we can never fully understand, a chapter of a long forgotten history when titans trekked across the planet, and the inspiration for hundreds of great movies, television shows, video games, comic books, and theme park rides! Ask anyone and they'll tell you the exact moment they fell in love with dinosaurs. For some it was seeing the original Jurassic Park in cinemas back in 1993, shaking in their seats as the T-Rex erupted from its enclosure! For others it was when catching reruns of Walking with Dinosaurs on TV, rooting for Big Al as he desperately tried to survive a harsh world. Maybe Barney stole your heart when you were younger, following him into the Land of Make Believe where he'd remind you that any dream is achievable. Or maybe you're into really obscure crap like Hallmark's made-for-TV movie Dinotopia, the 90s cartoon Denver the Last Dinosaur, Phil Tippet's stop-motion short Prehistoric Beasts, any of the follow ups to Walking with Dinosaur, there's so much dinosaur media out there that it'd take me 65 million years to cover them all! It's why today I'll be covering just one.

I remember how frustrated I was when I first saw trailers for Prehistoric Planet. Not because it didn't look good. On the contrary, it looked incredible! The effects felt like the natural evolution of Walking with Dinosaurs, crafting creatures as realistic as one can make'm. On top of that it featured narration by David Attenborough, the main man behind Planet Earth who can somehow say 'arse' without making it sound silly. Not only was he narrating over footage of breathtaking beasts, he was narrating over a score by Hans Zimmer! Y'know, the guy behind the music of The Lion King? Yeah, that guy! No doubt he was brought over by Jon Favreau, the Iron Man and Elf director turned this show's Executive Producer. If I were to guess, he brought all of the knowledge he accumulated while working in Simba's Pride Lands to the time of ancient reptiles. Unlike that piece of Hakunah Makaka though, I was actually excited for this! So what was the problem?

Apple TV+. This show was exclusive to a platform I didn't have run by a company I barely tolerate. It was bad enough they were hording all the Peanuts specials and Wolfwalkers, but now this? Why did everything I enjoy have to be taken by Steve Job's Apple Store of Doom!? For that matter, why was this service even called Apple TV+? Heck, why does every streaming channel end with a plus now? Disney already annoyed me when they named their service that instead of something more creative like 'The Disney Vault' or 'The Digital World of Disney', now every other company was trying to ride their coattails. Just wait, when we're inevitably charged for going to a public bathroom, they'll call the program Toilet+! In any case, my salvation came via a Pizza Hut gift ad given to me by my family last Christmas. After using the $25 gift card to buy one pizza, the Hut's app offered me a month free trial of Apple TV+. Having a real 'screw it' moment, I elected to try out the free month.

Which is pretty stupid in hindsight considering I got Wolfwalkers and the other two Cartoon Saloon movies on DVD that same Christmas and I already owned Blu-Ray copies of the classic Peanuts Holiday specials. Remember folks, I never said I was smart, I only said I liked dinosaurs. As such, what did I think of this show?

Happy to say; it delivers what the trailers promised. This show is what happens when you mix Walking with Dinosaurs with Planet Earth, Attenborough's narration being a highlight as per usual. He brings a level of class to anything he's commenting on, even a Deinocheirus taking a massive dump. Insert obligatory Jurassic Park joke here.

AND FOR ANYBODY JUMPING AHEAD: NO! THE SHOW ISN'T CRAP. THIS IS JUST FOR A JOKE!

It's also to help illustrate a weird point about this show: they do not shy away from the dino love-making or crap-taking. It's Dinos After Dark! Granted they showed this kind of stuff back on Walking with too, but it was just as disgusting there. Especially since the Deinocheirus eats where he poops. If you're thinking of enjoying a tasty bowl of popcorn while enjoying this, I'd recomend you wait until after Episode 3 aka Freshwater.

Those of you who have seen the Planet Earth series will recognize the naming convention here. Instead of going through the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous to see how dinosaurs evolved over time, this show sticks to the late Cretaceous while showing how far stretched the dinosaurs war. A pack of Secernosaurus struggle to find water in dunes made out of gypsum, we find out the Tyrannosaurs could beat you in a swimming contest, a troupe of triceratops are forced underground, one episode even sees how dinosaurs survived the cold.

I was actually super eager to see this episode, as a friend and I argued over the logistics of over-grown reptiles surviving in a snowy landscape. A quick Google search revealed that these early drafts of birds were indeed warm blooded, so I could totally buy them enduring the cold. Even if they couldn't, it looks freak'n cool! Pun intended, of course.

Really my one complaint about this series is how tame it is. When you watched Walking with Dinosaurs, or really any nature documentary, it's hard to guess what's going to happen. Will the baby antelope escape the hungry lion's claws? Will that one panda find a mate before the season's over? Will future generations have the privilege of ever seeing a rhino again? Most importantly, how did the people holding the camera get these magnificent shots? One cameraman working on Planet Earth had to live in a literal mountain of crap for weeks while filming cockroaches. Thinking about it gives makes my skin crawl. Even then that's nothing compared to the massive undertaking that is filming snow leopards. Not to say I want any people producing this to be in actual danger, but the Walking series at least simulated this aspect by having the creatures interact with the camera. Saliva would coat the lens after a T-Rex roared at it, it'd be knocked over after a adolescent Indricotherium charged at it, that sort of thing. This makes what's happening on screen feel natural. Here it all feels too choreographed and planned. There's no real edge. Still, I'd take this over any of the newer Jurassic Park movies any day. This doesn't make it feel my braincells are being smothered with a pillow before getting repeatedly kicked in their metaphorical crotches.

In conclusion, dinosaur lovers will surely love this. The effects will leave you speechless, David Attenborough's voice is a welcomed boost of nostalgia, and the variety of dinosaurs on display should satisfy any paleontology fan. That is assuming this all is accurate, which is getting harder to judge these days. Just wait, come tomorrow some bone-digging bozo is gonna say T-Rex was actually more of a giant woodpecker or somethin'. Until that happens, take a trip back and enjoy watching how life survived this Prehistoric Planet.

By the way, wanna read more rants against streaming services? Then check out my review of Spy x Family to see me complain about Hulu while gushing over how cute Anya forger is. Until then, may the glasses be with you!

NEXT TIME ON GIRAFFE'S EYE VIEW...

[quartzalcoatlart]

Intro Time!

A little about me

Yo, what's poppin? My name is Quartz, my main pronouns are she/her, but you can use whatever else you like, I don't mind. I'm a minor, so uhhh, don't expect any NSFW content from me. I like to do art and stuff! I have a boyfriend and he is awesome!

What is this place?

This blog is mainly for art, so, you will find a lot of that. Mainly just the art that I make. You will find a lot of digital art here. I like to draw anthro characters, creature designs, and uh, whatever else I feel like. I don't just stop at digital art though! I occasionally delve into the land of needle felting. I really want to get into making art dolls. Creating some silly plushies is also included on the contract. I like to sculpt models with clay. I also hope to get into doing commissions for people as well!

What do I like?

Here, have a little list.

Nature!

Amphibians and reptiles

Arthropods

Furbies

Monster Hunter

The Legend of Zelda

Super Mario

Pikmin

Music 🎶

Unappreciated Stuff

Please refrain from asking inappropriate questions.

Again, absolutely no NSFW. I'm simply not chill with it. (And I'm a minor)

Let's not bully anybody here, yeah? Hatred isn't cool. (Let's not bully anyone anywhere in general)

No AI. I very much dislike AI.

Important Things

Commission info---

[eukaryotesrool]

Animal based fiction creatures and design choices therein

Alright, rant time.

(Smaug, the best Hobbit character)

So, I see some kind a debate every now and again on what the creator(s) of a fictional creature (or a version of a prexistent fiction creature, i.e: dragons most commonly.) 'Should' have down when making that creature to be 'realistic', mostly in regards to the real animal counterparts.

I can appreciate pointing out differences between fiction and reality. However, that is rarely a good idea when it becomes. "The writer is wrong because they made [thing] do [thing], when in real life it would have done [thing]."

I shall go over some reasons why.

Firstly! Even when depicting a REAL LIFE ANIMAL such as a cat mean't to be a real life cat, writers are allowed a lot of leeway in the form of 'creative license', most commonly (particularly if the aforementioned cat is the main character) letting the cat speak and think and act in the same way a human would, with unique cultural cat traits added in of course, like maybe an affinity for mice (which would be a use of creative license in of itself, arguably)

Next! The neat thing about a fictional creature, it's fictional! A writer can do basically whatever they want — as long as they don't break their own rules, and the world/creatures/characters mesh and make some level of sense.

For example: Imagine a creature that looks like a fox, is the size of an elephant, spits acid, and has green fur.

If there were a member of that species with blue fur, which would be the problem? That a fictional fox creature has a fur color real foxes don't? Or that a fictional fox creature has a fur color its species is established to not have?

[To be clear: The writer could have a blue fox thingy if they point out that it is a sub species or a genetic anomaly or whatever. Every rule has an exception or two, but make it clear when you're exeptioning]

Finally, a point that applies mostly to the species that got me to rant about this, lizard people!!!

(An argonian gent from Skyrim)

I'm going to assume you all, same as me, know of the breasts vs no breasts lizard people debate. No breasts side arguing "real lizards don't have them", the breasts side arguing "It's a fictional creatures, I demand it have the boob!"

Well! I always thought that debate was silly, frankly, but it was revived in my mind when Baldurs Gate 3 caused some randoms on the internet to debate if a lizard should have a dick because "real lizards have cloacas"

Uh, someone did point out they kinda do have penises IRL, but they're these funky-ass things called hemipenises (male lizards and all other male reptiles of the very large order squamata have variations of that genital), so the debate still counts.

anyway, other than what I've discussed, the big issue here is that these are lizard PEOPLE (people being humans, in this case) they are anthropomorphized or in other words, given human traits.

lizards don't have breasts and have hemipenises, humans have breasts and have penises... so, it all depends on how human vs how lizard the creator(s) wants them to be.

See, aside from the subject matter (though I'm confident everyone knew how silly that was) the silly part of this debate is that it assumed one side had to be right, but it just depends on what any given creator(s) chooses to do.

[pandoramusicbox]

(Third time’s the charm) Earlier this year I was watching some video about dnd (if that had not been figured out yet I play) about it’s history and the earlier editions. And one of these videos shows this bingo as one of stereotypes of “evil races” used in early dnd that they are trying to shift away from. I couldn’t find clear information on who made the original bingo. So what I had the incline to do with the bingo card was to go through some of my different species and groups in music box and see if I got bingo. So: some disclaimers, this was all for silliness and boredom. Each of these creatures is not evil or considered evil by me, but I chose them by either 1. A large population of other cultures or creatures considered them evil in the setting. 2. The three times I have played a dnd homebrew in this setting the players assumed they where evil. (I will note whitch one). Finally for some of these points I needed to squint to put them on the bingo.So, now I’ll be offering insight about each one of these creatures and why I included them. O’ller & O’sten Tretvi & Aletts: a species of sentient creatures with strange markings and long antennae with eyes on them. Only have 3 toes and fingers. And long wip thin tails. They are only found on O’ller and O’sten and an island off the coast of gargoraqi. They are subspecies of eachother and the parent species of the much hated camioon who are disliked for essentially the same reasons. (Reason 1) — uses “dark” magic: most parts of O’ller and O’sten have a rather rigged idea of what magic is and how it can and should be used. So any use of it outside of those bounds is considered “dark” magic, the Aletts and tretvi have inate magic. — evil counterpart to another race: so I had to squint to fit this one, the camioon I mentioned earlier, are by the large empires of O’ller not considered evil in the same way the other species are, the camioon are considered untrustworthy and likely to become dangerous, but not “evil, everyone run and hide, call the city watch” evil like the tretvi. — Barbarians: this is the easiest one to see, the empires consideres them barbaric in all they do and stand for and refuse to acknowledge their city states and mountain monasteries as kingdoms and nations of their own. — hated for a “good” reason: if Nationalism is a good reason I guess you could call it a good reason. The main reason they are feared is because of their magic not being able to fit neatly into the empires world view of magic, and that makes them unpredictable and dangerous. They also have a lot of innate magic. — emotionally unstable: they are possibly relatives of the fairies called Rabbits. And like the other true fairy creatures Rabbits are prone to extreme or dulled emotions, the tretvi are known to have two extremes of emotions at the same time and a lot of them deal with extreme mood swings. This is actually a point of pride for a lot of their cultures as they feel like they can appreciate the world on a wider spectrum than most of the creatures around them. Laquim: my second attempt at making a snake humanoid in this setting, that is not related to my first one. Though snake like they have a bit more in common with other reptiles. (they are loosely based on reptoids are secretly controlling out government along with some other things)  there are three major variations in the species, females; have a human like upper body and a serpentine lower body, males; have a humanoid body but possess a tail, asexed; a humanoid body like the males but have no tail, the majority of thier population is this veriaty of laquim. They are also cold blooded so they are only found in the southern part of O’ller but all of O’sten (Reason 1) — Slavers: this is simple, they keep slaves. The asexed laquim themselves are slaves to some extent. That being said the empires in O’ller also keep slaves so they are not the place to judge. — structured into tribes: very big tribes, these tribes are also different races within the species, they have different scale patterns and some different in who has venom and who dose not. On a political level they function a bit like Greek city states.  Specifically Sparta. — cast system: the three sexes are the main way they divide themselves into casts, males and females in one cast, asexed in another, then after that they devide themselves by unique features, such as specific kinds of venom or more commonly by the precence of frills, hoods or magic gems, and finally by the precence of extra limbs, forked tails, and rarely wings. Those with wings are seen as the destined leaders of the tribes. Among the males and females they are on rather equal footing as there is a predictable way to make female eggs (temperature) but males randomly appear among the asexed eggs (~ 1 in every 10 eggs). — “evil” animal as their symbol: they are snakes, and reptiles, that’s it. Dark Fauths: Aka dark elves, not actually a single species at all. The dark fauth is a term used by the people of O’sten to refer to the many, many different groups that live in the vast cave systems and caverns of the continent. This includes not only grey skinned humans and elv, but also vickor and raquesasha who have found themselves on this continent from mergo.  They live in these dark and mysterious underworld cities so the people around them simply assume the worst. But no city is the same. (Reason 1) — uses “dark” magic: same reason for why the tretvi are disliked, they practice magic outside of the accepted norm and unfamiliar forms of it. Magic by music! What a scandalous concept… that is the main way that mergo teaches magic.— raiders: they live in a bunch of caverns, and though they have most of what they need down there. Either form gathering or farming it themselves or from trade with other groups, they sometimes don’t have what they need, so they will simply go out and take it from the surface societies that put them down there in the first place. This is a rather rare occurrence, but happens frequently enough to where they have gotten a reputation for it. ( I’m not saying it a good thing but it’s also not an a-historical thing. Lots of city states in Greece and Mesopotamia. Vikings, and even feudal Japan to Korea and China) — structured in tribes: this is one where it’s a some of them do some of them don’t, each city state is different, some are structured by a dominant family or clan, others are democratic republics, some groups travel between different cities on a regular bases others do not. Small towns are sometimes referred to as tribes by the cities. —prefer dark/night: they live in caves, and though they may not have liked it at first they are used to it by now, be they recently banished to the underworld or having lived there for generations.  The grey skin I mentioned is actually a magical adaptation, possibly from interbreeding with raqsasha (who have white, black or grey skin) or as a result of eating magical beings and mushrooms found underground. But this gives them a slight natural magic where they will have either luminous patterns and spots, or if they have white hair, allows that to glow. They also have sharper sense of hearing and sight. —coded as POC: yup, this one speaks for itself. I’m not precisely able to pinpoint what POC group they are based on specifically, but the idea of the dark fauth are based on dark elves from dnd, and those guys are coded as POC. So   I assume that I may have accidentally carried that coding over without being aware of it. —barbarians: the surface world cultures think of them as “ inbreed, mad, culturally lacking, innately criminal, backstabbing, cannibalistic, lowlife, underworld barbarians” but just because one culture calls another barbaric dose not mean they are. The surface dwelling people also tend to lump all of thier different cultures and cities into a single thing. They would likely not know the difference between eslik spider cloth and teri kelper cloth if they had the two of them next to each other, but the difference would be obvious to most underworld dwellers. — matriarchal is a sign of being evil: nope, for one thing a lot of the cities are matriarchal but not all of them, some are more egalitarian others are patriarchal. Even though a lot of them are matriarchal it’s not a sign of them being evil, this is one of those, I had to squint to see it fitting. — “evil” animal as symbol: a lot of the cities have heraldic animals that decorate their banners, and a lot of those animals tend to underground animals and creepy crawlies. There’s at least five different cities with a spider of some sort as their symbol, three with centipedes two with millipedes, two with scorpions, four with underground fish, and one that’s a city close to the surface that has bats as their heraldic animal. It’s a simple case of surroundings influencing art. I have a few of these for different continents and creatures as well, and as long as this one is not flaqued I'll post the others. it was an interesting exersice to go into the mindset of cultures in the world to try and figure out their issues with each other. I also suggest to other world-builders to take a look at this bingo card, and if you can see a characteristic you have assigned to a race or a species (or race! especially then) that is “evil”, especially if you yourself consider them evil. and take some time to think about exactly why you have given them these characteristics. 

[melodysilverknight]

Activity 1: Autobiography

My name is (fullname), I'm currently (age) years old and will soon be turning (to be age) this (day/month of birth) of 2020. I am currently living with my maternal grandparents, Mrs. (Maternal grandmother's full name) and Mr. (Maternal grandfather's full name), in (complete current address) along with my, soon to be (to be age) year old, younger brother, ( younger brother's full name). We moved to Batangas 7 years ago but before that we used to live in Quezon City.

We live in (previous address) which intersected with the highway. Our house, or rather apartment, was within distance of the church, marketplace, and the mall, which made a lot of things, especially shopping, very convenient. I lived there with my father, Mr. (Father's full name), my mother, Mrs. (Mother's full name), my paternal grandmothers, (Paternal grandmother's full name) and her sister (Paternal grandmother's name) and, whenever she was around, my paternal aunt, (paternal aunt's name). For the most part of me and my brother's living there, we didn't get to spend too much time with our parents since they both worked, our mother at (occupation), and our father at the (occupation), meaning they were never home a lot and we mostly only got to see them on the weekends, so it was mostly our grandmothers who took care of us and we spent time with, even as toddlers, however, whenever we did get to spend time with them it was always a lot of fun. One of our main family activities back then was to head out to the mall parking lot behind the church in the morning, during those times the parking lot would be close to or completely empty, so we would take the car and head to the parking lot to either jog or play frisbee. There was even one time, while my father was off on his own jogging while me and my mother and brother were playing with the frisbee, I decided I wanted to go and join my father, so I did the most sensible thing I could think of, and ran after him, little did I know, something was going on behind me. Some people had come to the parking lot to jog as well and brought their dog with them, for some reason it got loose and started going after me, my mother and brother noticed and were yelling at me then I noticed my father had already stopped his jog and was gesturing behind me which is when I finally noticed the dog on my tail. I ran for dear life, as much as I loved dogs and still do, at the time I still didn't know how to handle myself around dogs other than the ones we owned so I was scared silly. By the time the dog's owners finally caught it I was already out of breath. While I was taking a breather my folks had a small chat with the dog owners then headed over to me where we talked and eventually ended up laughing about the whole incident. After the jog we would head to the market to do the regular weekend shopping. During this, while mother would finish up her shopping I would partake in my little tradition of buying and eating my casava cake.

One of the other things I did with my family was visiting wildlife institutions. We used to visit Manila zoo and the nature park of the Quezon city branch of the World Wildlife Fund. As you could probably tell I have a thing for animals, they're my passion and I love them with every fiber of my being, from the biggest animal in the world, the Blue whale, to the smallest and most resilient creature in existence, the Tardigrade, and even the one animal that terrifies me completely, the spider, I have never once tired of the creatures of this planet and even to this day they still intrigue me. My love for animals was inspired by Steve Irwin, the man known around the world as the "Crocodile Hunter", he was a world renowned wildlife conservationist from Queensland, Australia and a biologist and zoologist who specialized in reptiles. I've watched Steve work with and save animals all over the world alongside his wife, Terri, and his daughter, Bindi, and because of this they became my life idols and have taught me so many things about animals and the beauty of nature and its creatures. Whenever we would visit the zoo or nature park one of my favorite things to do was to feed the animals, I'd head to the gazelle or impala enclosure with my family and I'd feed them fallen leaves through the metal barriers and whenever I did I felt as if the Irwins were with me and whenever I did I always wondered, is this what it was like for them everyday at Australia zoo, getting to be with those animals everyday of their lives. Me and my father also used to play spotting games at the zoo, whenever we would get to an enclosure that had a water hole or thick brush we would try our best to find the animals in the enclosure, of course my father would always win but it's always fun regardless.

In the years I had spent living in Quezon city, I attended 2 different elementary schools. For my first grade up to third grade I went to (name of school), a private school then for fourth and fifth grade I attended (name of school) then finally I moved to Batangas where I spent my last year in elementary school at (name of school). Looking back on my more pre-mature school years, I can say for certain now that my school life, in comparison to my private life, was not what I would call the most pleasing experience. Growing I had always been very socially challenged, although I would make the effort to introduce myself and try to make friends with my other classmates, I was never really able to maintain the bonds I had made and just ended up becoming estranged again but worse because I already knew them and they already knew me so I drew and came to the conclusion that even though they knew me, they never approached me, so I won't try to bother them anymore. And so, I kept up with my pattern over and over and over again, I thought it was a good thing, that I just gave them their space, but it wasn't. I ended up more socially awkward and estranged than before, I didn't know how to properly handle myself around people and I just got more and more shy. Things then took a turn for the worst when I started getting bullied, being the already shy character I was was bad enough but getting looked down on and picked on made it several times worse, the feeling of awkwardness I had before was intensified by intimidation and loneliness which made me even more timid. Looking past all the bullying one of the only things about school were the yearly field trips, something not only I, but all of my classmates would look forward to. It was during a field trip I took that I had my first visit to Ocean Adventure a marine facility that rivaled Ocean Park to me at the time,and my first trip to Enchanted Kingdom. My school bullying experience didn't stop until after I had graduated and reached their peak in 5th grade when it was my group's turn to clean the classroom after classes that day and my classmates thought it would be fun to pull a prank on me so they trapped me in the classroom holding the door closed while I tried to get out. Now I know it's been my flaw to take things seriously a bit too much but that was a bad time to pick on me and a poor choice of action, 1: I was shy and timid and didn't know how to respond well to others; 2: the school creeped me out so I wasn't comfortable getting left alone or locked in; and 3: the ones who pulled the prank were my classmates I considered very obnoxious and loud the kind of people who really intimidated me at the time. I went home crying that day, when my folks found out they went to my school with me the next day and complained about it but it never did completely stop.

High school was a turning point in my life, after six whole years of getting bullied and nearly experiencing depression I would finally be able to get away from it all, the city and bullies. At first I was very reluctant to attend junior high school in a school I wasn't all that familiar with but then my folks mentioned there weren't any lower grades in the school so we would all be new to the experience so I agreed to go in the end. My junior high school were all spent attending, what was formerly referred to as, (name of school), it was here that I had made my first real friends. I started my time at my new school in the same way I did at my previous schools, with introductions, but as the days went by I started seeing the pattern again. I honestly thought that things would end up the same, don't get me wrong, I'm happy about the fact that no one bullied me sure but I was still socially awkward, then things changed when I met, them. Halfway through the first quarter I got to know 5 other girls from my class. First was Ms. Berry, she was also a quiet girl in class so I was able to relate with her, she was also cheerful and nice, I even met her at church once, turns out she goes to the same church. Next there was Yshie, she became my bestfriend, she was quiet, stern looking and at first slightly gloomy, but when I got to know her it turns out we had a lot in common. We both had a love for anime and sketching, and turns out our birthdays were really close together mine was on (month and day of birth) and her's was was on the (day of birth). Chuchay was next, now compared to the first two, she was much more outgoing, she was bubbly, hyper, cheerful and overall very musically talented. She was a great singer and could even play guitar, she was awesome, and to tell you the truth, she became one of my music idols along with Taylor Swift, not that she ever knew that. Another musically talented one was Jingjing, let me tell you, those hands of her's did magic on guitar and keyboard. Like Chuchay, she was outgoing and cheerful but much calmer than Chuchay at te time, she used ro play guitar in the classroom whenever we had no classes and my other friends including the next one usually sang along to her accompaniment while I'd stay quiet. Last but not the least there was ate A, she was the most mature out of all of them in my opinion, she was the big sister of the group and had an attitude to match meaning she was sassy, but in a good way. Together the six of us founded our own friends group called (name of friends group), we all did so many things together but the rest of the story will have to be for a different time.

[thatradfailure]

Day 31- Free Day

Whoo boy, the last day of the Ink DeMonth! First off, I’d like to thank everybody who’s liked any of my entries for this month long event. Seeing a silly post get more than 80 notes for this was amazing.

Second off, my entry for today is a master post of all my Bendy and the Ink Machine Alternate Universes. Thank you for reading if you do, I appreciate it! Keep in mind that I don’t dwell deep in the community, so they’re may be AU’s I have that are similar to the AU’s of others. Rest assured, they are not copies.

Shared AU’s - Sanctuary AU: Shared within a Discord server, Joey Drew and Henry Stein have built an animal help center, which is partially a zoo for permanent residents. - Papa Bendy AU: Shared with Mod Lui, Ink Bendy has adopted a few little ink demons and live on the surface with most other ink creatures. Sammy sells melons for a living.

Timeline Related AU’s - Pirate AU: The first iteration of Joey, Bendy, Susie, Henry, and Sammy. Bendy is a small monkey with Joey being the captain of the ship. Susie is a bird siren who keeps look out, Henry is a satyre and Joey’s first mate, and Sammy is a unicorn who’s just another part of the crew. - First Mythical AU: Second iteration of Joey, Bendy, Susie, Henry, and Sammy. First iteration of Norman and Wally. Joey is a magic user who creates Bendy from scratch. Wally is a reptile person and Joey’s apprentice. Henry is still a satyre, he does small errands for Joey (with good pay) and is a soldier for the kingdom they all reside in. Susie is still a siren who came to Joey for a favor, Sammy is still a unicorn who is Susie’s good friend. Norman is a small dragon that digs up gems to sell at markets and a good friend of Wally, Henry, and Joey. - Main AU: Everyone is human except Bendy, who is a small ink creature. Pretty much what I think happened before the Studio fell. - Future AU: Everyone is still human, and Bendy is a robot. They all live in space on a ship under the rule of a robot. Joey longs for the day that they visit Earth.

Monster Related AU’s - First Monster AU: Henry is a vampire, Wally is a werewolf, Susie is a bird siren, Joey is a “swamp creature” (humanoid fish), Norman is a ghoul, Sammy is a spider creature, and Bendy is a human character instead of a demon (still ink). They live underground in fear of humans. -Second Monster AU: They all become monsters at a later date. Joey is a vampire, Norman is a werewolf, Henry is a fire nymph, Wally is a merman-like siren, Sammy is an ink creature, Susie is still to be determined but currently human. Bendy happily exists with them. -Wendigo AU: Joey and Henry got stuck in the woods and ran out of food. When they were found, they were Wendigos. They change into the creatures at night and as Wendigos are very puppy-like. Enjoy food very, very much.

Other Media Related AU’s - Steven Universe AU: Joey is a black diamond and rules over a court of Off Colors. Henry is a green sapphire, Susie a purple sapphire, Norman is a sapphire with a ruby cut, Wally is a peridot with a dent in his gem, Sammy is a rutile gem, Boris is a goshinite, and Bendy and Alice are both black pearls with dents in their gems. - My Little Pony AU- They’re all pastel ponies and Bendy is a baby dragon. - Five Nights At Freddy’s AU: They’re all Funtime animatronics, most of them want to steal your skin except Norman. Norman wants to help you out of there. - Zootopia AU: Joey is a black panther, Henry is a wolf, Susie is a giant golden crowned flying fox, Norman is a grizzly bear, Wally is a lion, and Sammy is a weasel. Bendy is a cat-like creature made of ink.

Alternate Timeline AU’s - Studioless AU: Joey never met Henry in his childhood and went on to become a criminal low life. He later meets Henry and they become friends, with Henry and Linda helping Joey to be a better person. - Blob AU: Bendy is a 2 foot tall little blob that is adorable, Sammy and very few others find him creepy. Henry worked himself to death and still refuses to retire, manifesting at night to help finish animating scenes. - Demon AU: Joey accidentally allowed a demon to take his body. Joey’s soul got banished to a pocket dimension for 1,000 years. Studio falls and the demon in Joey’s body rules over all.  - Another Angel AU: Henry snaps and basically becomes another Alice, however he dwells very deep down in the Studio and has recruited the Butcher Gang with false promises. The Butcher Gang has been partially reconstructed to be more like their cartoon forms. Henry will spare Boris, but Henry strives to one day reach the surface and see Linda again.

Miscellaneous AU’s - Creature AU: All of the characters are strange animal creatures. Not much lore, just one that I enjoy drawing. - Mermaid AU: Another one that I just enjoy drawing. - Family AU: Beasty is a mother figure to the rest of the Bendy’s. Just an AU to draw and mess around with.

[taekwondorkjosh]

Since I liked Godzilla King of the Monsters (G:KotM) so much and have been chatting with moe about it, I want to share my idea for a potential story-line in the Kaiju-verse that I think would be very funny. This may includes spoilers from king of the monsters so like... go see that? please? if you don’t care about them then continue

Okay so in Kong: Skull island, they established these smaller reptile-like kaiju things. Those are going to be the main antagonists of this film, with a big Kaiju, like one of the other ones we saw in G:KotM. 

The movie starts with a pretty cool battle between two guys-in-suits/animatronic kaiju in a city made of miniatures, like the old school godzilla movies. These suits are made from practical effects, puppetry, etc, but are a bit large larger than the usual suits and all controlled by one guy in the suit. We watch these two go at it, its cool but cheesy. One of the kaiju is a sillier, cuter-looking godzilla. We don’t know for sure that its a movie-set until we hear someone say CUT and then it pulls back and all that. 

Godzilla walks around for a bit, does some stuff to warm-up or cool-down, and then the suit opens up and who climbs out? Jack Black. He’s got the energy, he’s got the movement, he’s like, the go to guy for people in suits. He trained under the greats (name drop some of the most famous real world guys-in-suits people, including the original godzilla), and its a dying art, so only very specific people still do it. Lots of meta-commentary about the prolific use of CGI, how much fun you can have doing stuff with live-action and suits/puppetry, etc. The first ten, fifteen minutes of the movie are setting this up, and the very real martial arts experience used and required to be able to perform in these suits. 

We also get some stuff going on with titans and kaiju. Around the world, creatures are getting to unheard of sizes, mutating into more powerful creatures. New weapons are being developed that allow people to fight these weird monsters, but the specialized military unit that are developing, testing, and plan on fighting with these new weapons are running into a problem. The weapons need to be mounted on something bigger and heavier than a typical tank, but nothing is fast enough to avoid being demolished by the creatures. These are faster than the titans. 

So someone comes up with the idea of creating a battle-suit. They model it on godzilla and create a working robot prototype of godzilla. Its like fifty feet tall, its got a full range of motion. However, the people piloting it don’t know what they’re doing. They don’t know how to maneuver something this big. They need a whole crew of people to control everything, but there’s nowhere to put that many people in the suit and controlling it remotely creates some serious lag. 

While they’re trying to figure this out, some monster make themselves known and begin to attack, and they have to scramble to fight this thing.One guy has an idea, and they bring Jack Black on board. He knows all about moving in an animatronic suit. He knows how to track the peripherals (tail, spikes, etc). So they swap out the piloting compartment with something more like that in the suit he’s used to, except instead of special effect triggers like lighted mists or bulbs in his spikes or whatever, its actually weaponry. They send him out, and he gets in it and goes and fights a real monster. He’s doing all the silly godzilla moves in this giant robot godzilla suit that looks more like the new godzilla. Its mostly CGI, but its faster and less ‘animal’ now. Jack Black can talk and taunt the monsters, distracting them with his voice. Lots of comedy potential and cool, practical action effects. Bring back miniature cities but enhanced with CGI so its less obvious, like what they did in Shin Godzilla. The monsters are CGI, for sure, but practical effects can be used as often as possible. I’d also like for, during this fight, them to smash cut to the inventor of the mecha suit, who we’ve never seen the face of. He leans forward into view while Jack Black is fighting and is like “no no he’s doing it all wrong! He’s going to get himself killed” And who is it? its Katsumi Tezuka, one of the two people that were in the original Godzilla suit (Haruo Nakajima is deceased and facial reconstruction cgi or whatever its called would be an insult). 

I don’t really have a PLOT in mind, I just REALLY like this premise, I think its hilarious. I’ll probably add to it in the future. 

[nezzfiction]

ENMY Chapter 90 - Fourth Crusade (Part Two)

Chapter Synopsis: The Kingdom of Vacuo is about to enter its most daunting challenge since its conception. Salem is launching the Fourth Crusade. A war to end some of Remnant’s greatest warriors, including Team ENMY. Assistance from Atlas is on its way, but will the Fleet arrive in time to make a difference?

Only one thing is certain. Whatever happens in Vacuo will echo the events to come for the rest of Remnant.

Series Synopsis: Team RWBY is disbanded, and Yang must find herself new allies. For her, that might very well be yesterday’s enemies. Joining up with the likes of Emerald, Mercury, and Neo, the four will comprise Team Enemy(ENMY).

Links to read the series: Ao3 or FF.net

Or hit the jump below

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The Fourth Crusade (Part Two)

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My life for Ire.

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It was afternoon, but the skies above Vacuo suddenly dimmed to the dark shadowing overcast of night.

The sun faded into obscurity. Instead, the shattered moon took its place. Its size much larger, more closer than any had seen in a very long time.

“Do you remember, Titan?” Salem sneered to her opponent across the sands. “This is the night I laid waste to everything you ever built. The night I brought ruin to everything you ever loved!”

“Yes, I remember. Which is why, I will not allow you to do the same to these Children of Remnant!” Titan declared.

The once golden sands of Vacuo dyed a soft shade of blue and purple. Stars in the sky shimmered with a haunting brightness. The kind astrologers used to foretell a great calamity approaching.

Although the battle between Grimm and the Kingdom’s warriors still waged with savage fervor, a small pause pervaded the battlefield. The phenomenon of the immortals’ duel garnered a hallowed awe by all. And the great pieces of the moon drew ever closer towards the world.

Salem’s curse mimicked the Cataclysm of ages past on a smaller scale. Even so, the damage it would cause would be nothing short of catastrophic.

I will not fail again, Titan told himself.

Those who have entrusted their lives to me will not allow it.

Titan’s body warped into that of a merchant, heavily-obscured by a brown cloak. From his backpack, he drew a few ordinary looking beans.

The man bent down and whispered a quiet incantation to the kernels resting his palm. They sprouted vines to the sound of his voice. He then, curled them into his fist, touched them once to his forehead, before tossing them into the ground a few feet ahead.

Immediately, there was an explosion of green vegetation. Giant beanstalks sprouted from the sand, intertwining into the sky and towards the falling moon. Once it reached its height, the flora branched out like a freshly cast fishing net.

“I must thank you for one thing, if one thing only, Wicked!” the Magic Bean Seller shouted. “You’ve offered me a chance at redemption!”

“You’re still the same fool you always were! Do you truly think yourself capable of changing anything?!”

“I will! I’ve found my calling, as late as it was!”

“Your world will end again!”

“No! You’re wrong! And this isn’t my world! IT IS THEIRS!!!”

Salem poured more of her Magic into the curse, as if to refute Titan’s claim by force. Every negative emotion she could dredge, increased the potency of the Cataclysm’s replication. Likewise, Titan infused his counter curse with the lifeforce saved from previous incarnations. He thought if this was the moment his long life led up to, he would gladly forfeit it all for a glimmer of hope against all hope—an odd against all odds.

The sound of the great collapse racked the continent like a tectonic plate shift. A tidal wave of sand blew everything and everyone in the vicinity off their feet. It was the eternal battle between unstoppable force and immovable object at its grandest.

The beanstalk caught the moon in its grasp, but only momentarily. The force of the falling world continued to descend. Its mass broke away the weaker branches, only leaving the strongest stalks to contend. Pieces of the moon were repelled, while others struck the earth like meteors.

Titan felt a sharp numbness set in. Committing so much of his energy into a single stroke took more than its toll. His mind began to haze at the edges. But still, he maintained his strength.

“I can feel you fading…” Salem narrowed. “Had you fought without spending yourself on that fruitless endeavor, you may have stood a chance. Alas, your sacrifice was all for naught. Stopping Behemoth only delayed the inevitable.”

Out from Salem’s back, the head of a great serpent burst out. Its body wriggled and writhed, trying to shake itself loose from the Witch’s flesh. When it was fully freed, it expanded rapidly in size.

With one pounce, it sunk its teeth into the base of the beanstalk, gnawing away at its roots.

“A pitiful effort your so-called redemption has become,” Salem snickered. “The same old mistakes in a few new ways—like dividing your power among the Maidens. I see the foolish belief you chose to place in these Children was never a lesson you planned to learn from.”

“Do you ever shut up!”

Glynda pointed her riding crop to the beanstalk and began reconstructing some of its fractured pieces.

“If you think we will entrust the Wizard with Vacuo’s safety alone, you are sorely mistaken.”

Minerva conjured the form of a fiery phoenix to do battle with Salem’s serpent. Its flaming talons and beak cut wounds all over the reptile’s scales.

She is right, Titan. You do not stand alone, several voices within the immortal resounded.

There was a rousing cry, and the legions of Vacuo’s warriors rallied to fight the Grimm once more. Waves of projectiles launched into the hordes of Salem’s army. A portion of the gunfire concentrated on the Witch’s serpent.

Never alone.

Part of Titan’s body phased out with a violent ripple. While the main maintained the beanstalk, a previous host wearing a silly-looking fez and bowtie stumbled clumsily onto the ground before popping back up.

“Ugh! Which one am I?” he began touching his face. “Nose, hair, FINGERS! Still got them! Yes! Excellent! You! The angry one with the eyebrows!”

“Excuse me?!” Glynda gasped.

“Yes! The thing you’re doing! The timey wimey!”

“The what?!”

“It could use more wimey! I’d do it myself but we need to conserve as much energy as possible, and this—“the man pulled out what appeared to be a sonic screwdriver from his tweed jacket. “—does not work on wood. But what it can do…! Whoopsie daisy!”

The man pointed it at Glynda’s wand, and she suddenly felt her spell refine and focus. Her time reversal spell accelerated the repairs of the beanstalk to match the speed of its destruction.

“‘Oh, he’s cool. He did a cool thing’. You’re making the ‘he did a cool thing’ face, by the way,” the man gloated.

“How…?! Who are you?!”

“I’ve gone by many names. Different body, different name. If I remember correctly, this one was…Doctor?”

“Doctor? Dr. Who?”

“Never get tired of hearing that one.”

.

X  X X  X  X

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“Damn it! What the hell is that old lady thinking?!” Yang shouted her frustrations.

“Your godmother’s always been short a few screws. But this is worse, even by her standards,” Raven clenched her teeth. “Still, we can’t lose our composure. We both saw the vision. They should be able to hold out a little longer before the prediction comes to pass.”

Although her mother’s words were reassuring, there was an almost imperceptible quiver to her bottom lip. Yang could read the worry all over her face. An anxiety that threatened to swallow her if she didn’t constantly temper it.

“We’ll save her, mom. We’ll save Temujin.” She took Raven’s hand in hers.

“Yes, of course,” her mother sighed. “The question is how.”

“Can you slice us open a portal?”

Raven was about to say yes, when something held her tongue. There was a visible resistance to her movement. Invisible strings no one could see.

“Damn it!” she cursed. “It would count as direct interference against Salem! I can’t do it without breaking the contract!”

Yang tapped her in-ear communicator.

“Hey, operator. Did you get that?”

“Yeah,” Emerald answered. “Heard it all…!”

“How’s Neo?”

“Your wifey’s running on fumes like the rest of us. If you’re asking her to fast-track you back to the city, it ain’t happening right now. Just stay put, I called you guys an uber driver, who happened to be close by.”

“How are you and Merc?”

“We’ve got our hands full …!”

Yang heard gunfire in the background, as well as the random cries of bestial creatures.

“Em? What’s going on there?”

“Grimm. Lots of ‘em…! Trying to come through the crack Behemoth left in the wall. Also, some of its giant ass baby larvae are still around. Annoying fuckers.”

“How bad is it?”

“Let’s just say, we also got word parts of Salem’s armies are breaking off from the North and South to come here. So, uh, just a few shades shy of complete shitstorm.”

“And you need to hold there until more of Vacuo’s military makes it back. There’s no way you can help Temujin?”

“Not without letting Grimm overrun the city.”

“…Do you need me?”

“You won’t hear me say no, but... Your ride’s there.”

Just then, Yang and Raven spotted a light-traveling aircraft in the distance. In little to no time, its wing thrusters kicked up a wave of dust, as it came to a hover at the cliff’s edge.

The sidedoors opened to show Ilia.

“There better be a damn good reason I’m playing chauffeur in the middle of a fucking war, or you’re not getting on this boat.”

Yang only gave her a dead stare.

“Blake and Temujin.”

“…...Get on the fucking boat.”

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X  X  X  X  X

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Nai had never waged battle like this before.

The Grimm were intricately coordinated, their movements vastly complex. Whatever weakness certain species possessed were annoyingly paired with another species that could more or less compliment it.

There was an organization and strategy to the monsters Nai never thought possible. Not the Crusaders, not even his own people could achieve this level of coordination. It was a most formidable army, if it could be called that. A legion of darkness which surpassed imagination.

Who could control such a force of nature?

But the man already knew who. The one called, Bean. He would have gone after the enemy’s commander himself if he could pinpoint where the boy was. But as Nai stared out into the endless hordes of glowing red eyes, he knew such an idea was impossible.

We’ve managed to stall them somehow and Behemoth has been slain.

Better not to test our fortunes.

Retreat should be the priority.

The moment he finished the thought, a Moredread cleaved through the soldier beside him. It turned its attention the Khan’s way. The sword interlaced into the Grimm’s muscle fiber raised high once more.

Nai reacted immediately. He was well-versed in dealing with the Moredread. While they were fortified in a dark parody of medieval-like armor and literally armed with a claymore, they were not without weakness. The non-sword arm was a particular safe-zone to move to.

But as Nai strafed to the Moredread’s weakside, a scorpion’s tail almost stung him on approach. It was there, he noticed a baby Deathstalker wrapped around the knight’s gauntlet. With its top carapace facing outward and pincers snapping, it looked like some macabre shield.

Just then, a line of Moredread bearing Deathstalkers of their own, charged the front lines. They “shield bashed” the Vacuo vanguard, followed by a downward strike with their swords on any who lived through the first blow.  And just like that, the Kingdom’s battalions staggered.

This isn’t good.

The rhythm of our army is being disrupted.

As if drowning their fears with rage, a Faunus warrior gave a mad cry before rushing the Grimm’s shield wall. His squadmates followed, trying to pry a break in the formation. But with uncanny unison, the Grimm gave way to a small concave and decimated the squadron in two short blows. The line reformed like a watery surface.

“FALL BACK! TO THE CHASM!” Nai ordered immediately.

War drums and horns resounded. The battalions showed signs of wanting to continue, but eventually gave in to their leader’s instructions.

To stop the Grimm from pursuing, a small flock of airships flew overhead. Some were taken down by the flying Grimm in the process, but those remaining deployed bombs to cover their allies’ withdrawal.

Exploding Dust dotted the space separating Vacuo’s military and the Grimm. The monsters ignored their baser instincts by not pursuing mindlessly into the fire. In fact, holding their position until the conflagration dissipated somewhat.

Damn!

Not even the barest of losses given.

“Pan! Assist the retreat!” Nai passed additional orders.

“You’ve got it!” shouted a lively response.

The former Headmaster of Signal Academy pulled ahead of the battalions and activated his Gravity Semblance.

Ahead, separating the army from the city walls was a wide chasm. Nai had chosen this location for the battle specifically for that reason. It was one of the only natural obstructions protecting the city and the perfect place to cover a retreat.

As Vacuo’s army approached, gold lights enveloped them like tiny fireflies. Their steps became weightless, as they jumped the fifty-meter gap with ease. Pan’s Semblance, with the assistance of a godmother device, allowed the battalions to defy gravity and leap to safety.

Once they were all across, their ranged units set up coverfire for the aerial.

Now, we only need to worry about the Grimm in the sky for the moment, Nai thought.

It will take hours for the main host to maneuver the chasm.

…

In a safe distance away, Bean watched the progression of events from the view points of Grimm he was linked to.

Stratagem is well-adapted.

General Nai’s ability requires reassessment.

However.

The Grimm around the boy rushed past, making their own way to hit the city, but he paid them no mind. He only looked down at the flute held in his hands with a troubled gaze.

It was a disturbing little artifact. The instrument was dyed in a bold ebony finish. Varnished bone crusted the lip and finger holes. The cursed pipe was once a Nightmare Class Grimm classified as Hamelin. But after Salem’s experiments, she converted the Grimm’s original form into an object. A feat Bean found the Witch was all too familiar with.

Regardless, the boy pressed the recorder to his lips. A devilish melody was born as soon as he breathed life into it. The kind of music that enticed those who heard it to move and follow against their wills.

…

In that moment, Nai watched an eeriness pervade the other side of the trench. He wasn’t sure at first, but he thought he saw the sands moving.

Then the bright red eyes of the Grimm became clear. They were much smaller and quicker than the ones of Bean’s standing army. It was like a flood of glimmering rubies skittering across the ground. And like a flood, the bodies collected into a river.

The tiny Grimm latched onto each other, forming an extension into the chasm. Some of them fell into the abyss, while more continued to squirm into the construction connecting one side to the other. Nai could barely make out their figures now.

They were Ratten, a rat-type of Grimm. Usually nothing more than pests individually, but they did carry the potential to swarm and plague if left unchecked. But Nai couldn’t have known they would be used in this way, much less an army capacity.

“Take them out!” he ordered, snapping his soldiers out of their stupor.

Rows of guns were brandished in new formation, barrels leveled at an even angle. The concerted rings of Dust rounds being loaded into firing chambers traveled down the ranks. The shooters opened fire for a sparse two seconds, before great booms impacted across the way. Thunderous crashes fell among their numbers.

On the backs of giant rabbit Grimm, Moredread knights struck down at the crouching shooters. A circle of blood and death reaped in their unexpected surroundings. And before the Vacuo military could react, the Moredread’s mounts leapt to another section.

All the while, the Ratten finished the first of their bridges. The tiny scourge rushed Vacuo’s warriors immediately—engulfing, consuming, until there was nothing left but barebones and trace amounts of flesh.

Nai himself, was being blanketed by the critters. They bit into his poisonous body, and died, but took pieces of him with them. They were especially dangerous for the rest of his battalions. The Ratten’s small bodies made them difficult to hit, and when they did manage to find purchase, the Grimm’s large numbers easily made the deficit for any one killed.

Nai never doubted the courage of Vacuo’s people when they met adversity. No matter the situation, he knew their warriors would fight to their deaths. Armies lived and died by their morale, and his battalions would only fall with spirits high.

Still, he prayed silently that this would not be the end.

“Is there nothing left we can do?”

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X  X X  X  X

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“Are you quite finished?” Salem scowled at her opponents.

The Witch didn’t have the same level of strategery Bean had, or the same room to maneuver, but her Grimm still displayed an uncanny coordination. The dark army was beginning to best the warriors of Vacuo in the Southern theater.

Titan recognized the way the scales were tipping. Their side was also aware of the dire situation playing out on the Northern front, as well as the impending hordes bent towards the city’s West Wall.

“I will be fine on my own!” the Magic Bean Seller yelled to his comrades.

The immortal’s appearance shifted to a man with jade-white, taoist robes. A feathered fan materialized in his hand, and he brought it up with a heavy motion.

The beanstalk entered a deadlock with the moon, while its roots solidified its foundation. A great many stone formations rose from the sand, extending across the battle line. The rock curved and split, trapping Grimm attempting to get through. When the construction finished, a stone sentinel maze separated the two armies.

“…Alright, I’ll give you that. Very impressive,” the Doctor said slightly perturbed, while putting away his screwdriver. “Used up a lot of our incarnations’ energies in that, but I suppose it couldn’t be helped.”

He then, turned to Glynda and Minerva.

“We’ll hold off Wicked here. In the meantime, you should order your lot to reinforce the Western Wall. Oh, but the two of you have somewhere else to be…”

The man raised his brow to something behind them.

When they turned, they saw a mysterious green police box.

“Don’t worry, there’s enough room—”

“It’s bigger on the inside.”

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X  X X  X  X

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Another of their airships spun and crashed into a smoldering wreckage in the sand. The Grimm under it were smashed into nothing but ash. When the pilot exited the cockpit, he let out a fierce scream, fighting the monsters swarming him before succumbing to their endless claws and bites.

Nai was barely keeping the battalions together. He managed to pass orders between fending off the Ratten and the mounted Moredread, but it was obvious where the battle was headed. His people were quickly being overtaken.

There was a feeling of inevitably donning on him and his army. They could not outrun Bean’s Grimm, not by air or ground. It was becoming all too likely their forces would not only be routed, but wiped out entirely.

As Nai banished the thought for the umpteenth time, an odd undulating whir caught his attention. In the empty space where the sound came from, a rectangular object faded into existence. From the green box, two women stepped out.

With riding crop and wand in hand, they simultaneously cast a thunderous cloud over the whole area. The wide-range spell hailed ice and lightning across the swarms of Grimm. A counter to the numerous, but fragile bodies of the Ratten.

“Go!” Minerva shouted to Nai. “Gather our people back behind the walls and enact siege defenses!”

Nai nodded, and resumed ushering his armies to the city.

As she watched her fellow Khan retreat, Minerva couldn’t help but wonder.

Where is Temujin in all this?

She said she wouldn’t join us in the South, but she isn’t here either?

I know she didn’t take part in Behemoth’s extermination.

You senile buffoon.

“What in the hell are you thinking?!

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X  X X  X  X

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“Temujin, I’m so sorry,” Blake apologized with tears in her eyes.

“Hmph. What are you apologizing for, while swinging your sword in my face?!” Temujin snapped, as she used her cane to deflect another one of Blake’s blows.

The previously quiet throne room of the Hanging Gardens had turned into a private arena.

Temujin herself, faced her former proteges in Adam and Blake. The two always worked well together, their movements combined always produced a high-paced lethality. An aspect Raven and Temujin fostered themselves, to their current regret.

Adam dashed forward at an opening, but abruptly crashed to the ground. His body convulsed as he gasped with pain.

“Kill…ME…!”

His body was being torn apart by Temujin’s territorial Semblance, but only short of fatal. On the other hand, Blake moved freely to attack. The weakness of Temujin’s Semblance was exposed to them earlier, as it could not target more than one opponent at any given moment.

“KILL ME!” Adam coughed blood.

“Peh! Don’t give me orders, you brat!” Temujin scolded. “I don’t need to kill you or Blake in order to stop you. Don’t underestimate me!”

The elder Faunus stabbed her cane through Blake’s clone, before throwing an Aura-enhanced dart into Blake’s thigh when she reappeared. But the wound quickly healed with unnatural speed, forcing the dart out onto the floor. A dark mist billowed from the regenerated cut in the flesh.

“You have to kill us, Temujin,” Blake pleaded. “We can’t resist Salem’s control. There’s no other way!”

“No, I’m sure there is,” the elder disagreed easily.

“You’ll die if this keeps up! You can’t handle both of us at the same time!”

“Don’t be stupid. You two won’t be the end of me.”

Temujin glowered from the pair to the Rakis siblings fighting Camlann a certain distance away.

Seeing how they neglected Blake and Adam completely, it’s obvious what they saw in their vision.

So, I am to meet my end at the hands of Camlann, am I?

Temujin discerned the situation with an appraising glare. The siblings were obviously trying to keep the Grimm and her separate. She could imagine how it would likely play out. Death at the hands of her “supposed” mortal nemesis.

Rather fitting if the Grimm truly is the reincarnation of the Crusaders’ ill will.

Mouse, Knives, Summer.

I’ve carried on through so many misdeeds without so much as any care or regret.

My ego made weapons of my people to break against my enemies.

I can no longer fight properly, even as I send more lives to their early graves.

I cannot stand beside them at their final moments.

An old fool with a missing eye and leg.

There’s only so much until someone as stubborn as me gets the message.

It is no longer in me to fight the wheels of fate…

…

Camlann, king of the Moredread Grimm barreled down on the Rakis siblings like a warbound locomotive. Its stature was comparable to an Ursa, but its strength and arsenal were beyond any measure. With its grossly swollen sword and shield, it charged Mouse and Knives relentlessly like a mad bulldozer.

The siblings were small and light. Their blades vibrated with a magnetic hum, as they shrieked them across the Grimm’s armor. Usually their daggers could cut through the toughest bone, but it was not so in this case.

Knives and Mouse crisscrossed against its shield a second time. The sound of countless strikes could be heard, further evidenced by the sparks scattered from the friction. Camlann’s aegis was formed of the densest material layered over. And despite that, the Grimm dragged and swung it around as if it weighed nothing.

The flat boulder of the shield almost caught Knives with its edge, but the girl slipped just underneath it. She purposely baited the attack, dodged, and then brandished her karambit all along Camlann’s unprotected arm. But all the good it did, but cut shallow grooves into the Grimm’s armor.

The claymore came chasing after her, but Knives made her escape like a ghost, almost floating out of its range.

Mouse couldn’t stop but marvel at his younger sister’s movements. He was sure Knives’ consciousness was still in there, but Summer’s co-possession curbed her unnecessary tendencies. There was an experienced hand guiding his sister’s fighting style, as well as an unnerving agility that wasn’t present before.

“Mouse, I need you to follow my lead,” Summer said. “Use your short-term Precognition to match with me.”

“Do you have a plan? As this rate, we can’t defeat Camlann. The prediction is going to come true!”

“We don’t need to beat it, just stop it long enough for the others to get here.”

“And in the instance, they do make it in time. What could they possibly do?”

“Hm,” her sister flashed him an aged smile in a youthful face. “If there’s anyone who can defy the future, it’s them. It’s why I brought them here in the first place.”

“…I don’t have any choice but to believe that, don’t I?”

“Nope!”

And with that, Knives launched herself at Camlann once more, trailed closely by her brother.

…

Temujin watched the Rakis siblings’ fight from afar. She deciphered their intentions as clear as day. She also saw that they might die trying to save her.

Can’t have that.

Temujin locked her cane against Blake’s two swords. There was an obvious conflict in her opponent’s body. Blake was clearly trying to resist Salem’s influence. The strength of her and Adam’s attacks were only half, if it was that much. But it was still enough to keep Temujin in check.

“How do the contracts work, hm?” she asked, paying little mind they were crossing weapons. “It seems Raven has more leeway in her actions.”

“I can’t tell you…!” Blake struggled to reply.

“So long as she acts within the confines of her set conditions, she seems to be able to move freely. Are the contracts you and Adam hold by different in some way?”

“Adam and I broke our contracts…! This is the price of defying the Witch…!”

“Ah. Interesting. So the price of breaking your contracts is complete obedience? How faithful are you to her orders?”

“We don’t have a choice…! Our bodies are acting on their own…! That’s why you have to kill us!!!”

“I’m getting tired of hearing you say that. Back to the matter before, how faithful are you to her orders. What were they? Something along the lines of ‘do everything it takes to end Temujin’s life’?”

Blake scrunched her face, all but conveying the answer.

“I see,” Temujin nodded. “Well, then. What if I were to tell you the Rakis siblings foresaw the means of my demise? And it was Camlann who accomplished the deed. Not you or Adam.”

Blake blinked with confusion, before her consciousness shifted in and out of awareness.

“No!” she tried to shake her senses clear. “It’s a lie!”

“It’s not a lie. The best way to end my life is to let Camlann do it.”

“STOP IT!”

“In order to accomplish that, you should get Mouse and Knives out of the way.”

“WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT?!”

As angry as Blake was, Temujin felt the remaining strength fade from the girl’s swords. She stepped back in disbelief, making no impression of restarting the duel. Her actions completely outside her control.

“NO!” Blake shouted, trying to will her body forward.

But nothing came of it.

Temujin observed the phenomena a while longer, before confirming her suspicions.

Hm, I see their orders are a little easy to manipulate.

Just as well, I suppose.

Salem will get what she wants in the end.

Temujin let down her guard and released the territory binding Adam.

The young man got uneasily to his feet, wearing the same pained expression as Blake. Both showed a sorrowed disbelief at what Temujin was making them do.

“I’m sorry, Blake, Adam,” she said to the two in turn. “I am truly sorry it came to this.”

Against their wills, Blake and Adam set off for the other side of the throne room. The two joined the fight with the Rakis siblings.

“I am sorry.”

.

X  X X  X  X

.

As Yang, Raven, and Ilia rode the airship to the city, they could see the harrowing situations unfolding from a distance.

There were Grimm pouring over the dunes to the North. Minerva, Glynda, and Nai were retreating with their armies and securing siege defense at the Northern Wall.

Titan was holding back Salem and her forces in the South. The retreating Vacuo army was setting up their own siege defense, while sending reinforcements to the Western Wall. And it was there, the three’s airship flew just overhead.

The burning carcass of Behemoth was still in the process of dissolving into the wind. Fiery wreckage dotted the break in the wall and a little into the city. Grimm were swarming through the gap, which fighters on the inside were making use of as a funnel. Though, even with the tactic in place, there were so many of the monsters filing through, the defending forces risked being overrun at any moment.

And there were more Grimm on the way.

Yang felt her stomach lurch as she tapped into her comms.

“Hey, Em! You there?!”

“Oh. That you idiots, up high?” Emerald’s radio crackled more than earlier. “How’s the view?”

“There’s more Grimm closing on the gap!”

“So, we figured.”

Below, they saw a herd of Boarbatusk Grimm roll into a spinning ball, and ram into the wall repeatedly. More of the structure collapsed at the impact. The break in the wall crumbled further.

“Emerald!!!”

“Yeah…! *Hkrgh!* Fuck! We saw…!”

Immediately, Yang saw three figures move to counteract the new influx of Grimm. They maneuvered to prevent the Boarbatusk from causing further damage. But as effective as they proved, their enemies were repeatedly surrounding them.

“EM!!! HEY!!!”

“Don’t worry about us! Just get to Temujin!”

“But what about you guys?!”

“We’ll hold the choke…! Get your ass over there already!”

“Emerald…”

“Don’t worry. Worst comes to worst, we’ll make a run for it…! We’re good at that, remember?”

“…Make sure you do.”

“Obviously…!”

Yang pretended not to notice how tired Emerald really sounded. She then, heard a few taps on the radio, which could only be from Neo.

“I love you too, babe. Let me know if I need to double back,” she replied. “I can’t lose you.”

“I know. I will,” Mercury interrupted.

“Haha…!” Yang chuckled. “Don’t die out there, Merc. Still need to open that weapons shop.”

“Yeah, which reminds me. We are getting paid for this gig, right? Make sure Temujin stays alive long enough to pay our reward?”

“You got it, bud.”

Yang waited a moment, before she turned her gaze from her team to the Hanging Gardens ahead.

She had been holding it out, but the deep sinking feeling in her chest was starting to give way. There was no telling when the Grimm would finally break through the West as easily as it could be from the North or South. The girl tightened her fist and felt Aura strain at her summons. She barely had anything left in the tank after Operation Gun Dog, Behemoth, and subduing Inna.

Yang long learned to never stop fighting until the very end, and in no way was her spirit dampened. But the truth was becoming clearer that today may be their day of days. If it was, she wondered if Cinder and Weiss would order Team ENMY’s retreat before then. She wondered if they would obey it if it came down.

Can we still win this?

Yang stared to the back of the cockpit, where Raven absentmindedly tapped the hilt of her sword with impatience.

No, we have to.

I don’t know how, but we will.

I don’t care how bad it looks or what future Mouse and Knives saw.

I can’t let things end this way.

I won’t!

As if reading Yang’s thoughts, Raven noticed her stare and nodded solemnly.

No.

I’m not the only one who won’t let things just end this way.

.

X  X X  X  X

.

Back at Atlas HQ, the Queen regents and Board of Directors watched the increasing direness of Vacuo’s situation with widened eyes.

“How far out are the reinforcement Fleet?” Cinder asked for the update.

“Fifteen hours ma’am,” the adjutant replied. “Three hours for the light transport sortie.”

The officer neglected to tell her it was probably the fifth time she asked in the last half hour. She could see the Black Queen was barely keeping herself from shouting the orders.

At that moment, a small blip ringed on her tablet.

“Ma’am…” the officer called uncertainly.

“What is it?”

“The light transport, Swordfish is requesting permission to proceed ahead of the group.”

“Patch them through.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

With a few key commands, the adjutant secured a line to the team onboard the Swordfish vessel.

“Hey, head honchos!” Coco Adel’s image flared on the projection. “Give Team CFVY the go already. With this ship, we should be able to make it within the hour.”

“Your team is tasked primarily with Team ENMY’s extraction, NOT as a reinforcement element,” Cinder snarled.

“Yeah, but you haven’t given them the order to tail it yet. So, what’s the fuss in letting us get there early and waiting?”

“And if they needed emergency evacuating, but you were neutralized while ‘waiting’. What, then?”

“We can still do our job and help Vacuo.”

“You’re only one team.”

“Weiss! I’ll cut my commission in half if you let us go right now!” Coco shouted.

Cinder turned to her fellow Queen, who had her eyes closed in deep thought. When she opened them, the girl glared right at Coco’s hologram, as if they were speaking in person.

“Nothing reckless! Your primary objective is to assist Team ENMY. Understood?”

“Loud and clear!” Coco whooped.

Weiss looked to the teammates behind her. The image was fuzzy, but she could see Velvet, Yatsuhashi, and Fox show signs of relief. It may have been her imagination, but she might have seen Velvet mouth a small thank you.

“Be careful, Team CFVY,” Weiss cautioned.

“Roger. Team CFVY out,” Coco confirmed.

The White Queen breathed a troubled sigh, intentionally avoiding Cinder’s gaze. Rather than waiting, she extended the first words.

“I think there was a fifty-fifty chance Team CFVY was going to disobey orders, and fly ahead.”

“I would have put the odds closer to eighty-twenty,” Cinder smiled.

Just then, a number of blips came in requesting communications.

“What is this?” Weiss muttered.

“M-ma’ams,” the adjutant started with a small hitch in her voice. “T-they’re requests to sortie ahead. All light transports are saying they are ready and willing to burn their fuel reserves to arrive at Vacuo ahead of schedule. The same requests are being made of General Ironwood and Captain Trafalgar of the main fleet.”

Weiss was struck silent for a moment.

“……If they do that, they won’t have enough Dust for the journey back should the worst happen.”

“They know, ma’am,” the officer nodded, trying to keep a straight face. “They’re aware and requesting permission.”

Weiss looked to Cinder for an explanation, but was only met with the same confusion. The officer then, patched the main projection into what the reinforcement Fleet was viewing.

They were images of Vacuo’s people fighting relentlessly against the Grimm, as they were being torn apart. Many raged, many cried, and they fought harder for the ally who fell mere moments ago, only a few feet away. There wasn’t a single warrior on the battlefield that wasn’t covered in wounds.

Another soldier fell. Her partner took their weapon and slew the Grimm with it. And then, they also died.

What precious few airships Vacuo possessed, dropped like flies. The pilots, who knew their deaths were imminent, made sure to steer their crafts so they would land among the enemy. Any survivors of the crash fought, while missing their limbs.

Emerald, Neo, and Mercury could be seen battling despite their exhaustion. They were surrounded and outnumbered, but held themselves to keeping the choke in the Wall under control. Nothing but the sheerest of wills moved them now. Blood stained their figures head to toe.

“Emerald…!” Cinder bit her lip.

She was ready to pick up the communicator and order their retreat. There was never a time she was closer to doing it than now.

…

Yet, she couldn’t bring herself—and she wasn’t all too sure why.

“Cinder.”

The Black Queen felt Weiss’ hand hold hers. The cool touch alleviated the pain she didn’t notice from her nails digging into her palm.

“They’ll be fine. Help is on the way,” Weiss told her.

“…I know.”

“They won’t fight alone.”

“No…”

“…They won’t.”

.

X  X X  X  X

.

Before Mouse could understand what was happening, dark mist clouded his sight. There was a violent vacuum that dragged his body across what felt like a world over. And then, his feet hit solid ground, sliding upon landing.

“No! What?!”

As he spun to take in his new surroundings, he recognized that he was somewhere in Vacuo’s bazaars. Empty stalls and vacant roads were all he could see. The residents and workers had long been evacuated to the bunkers.

His sight eventually settled on a large shadowy cat with smoke billowing its body. Mouse understood what had happened. Blake had warped him away from the throne room.

“NO!” he cried.

“I’m sorry,” a girl’s soft voice could barely be heard.

And then, Blake’s figure vanished with a puff.

…

Summer was at her wit’s end fighting Adam and Camlann at the same time. Using a body that wasn’t hers had its limits. She was also unable to access her Semblance.

As she dodged within a millimeter of having her head cut off by Camlann and her forehead sliced open by Adam, she made a hasty jump back. Summer touched a hand to her hair, and found it a few locks short.

No.

I’m cutting it too close.

If this wasn’t hard enough, if I get hurt once, Knives will wake up.

I’ll lose possession immediately.

As Knives curled her hands in frustration, she heard a voice come from the other side of the throne room.

“Summer!” Temujin yelled. “Stop risking her life!”

“And maybe you should stop trying to give up yours!”

“This is no joke! I will never forgive you if any harm comes to her! Do you hear me?!”

Even though it was Knives’ body, Temujin could see the outline of Summer’s appearance behind her. An older woman, with an overpowering presence despite a gentle nature. A calm determination that reminded her too much of Shepherd.

“You can’t just be brave for yourself, Temujin,” Summer said. “I used to think I was responsible for other’s lives too. But Raven, your daughter, taught me people’s lives are their own.” The woman smiled sadly. “And it’s always their lives to risk.  You have to have the courage to see it through on their behalf too.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about! This will be meaningless if I lose her. She and Mouse must lead our people.”

“It’s you who doesn’t understand. I’m pushing her body beyond what it’s capable of. Knives is asleep, but I can hear her. She’s screaming, begging me to fight harder—to push harder.”

“…”

“You may have given up, but she hasn’t. I want to grant her wish to its end.”

“Oh, you’re granting wishes now?”

A cloud of dark billowing mass exploded from the empty space and Blake emerged forth. The light in her eyes was glazed and distant. Her face was vacant of emotion, yet something seethed below the tone.

“Salem. Long time no see,” Knives greeted.

“Summer Rose.”

“Still have the spare time to chat, even while fighting Titan?”

“Please, the Old One possesses all the threat of a bothersome mosquito. In fact, I believe the only true adversary I have left in this pathetic remnant is the one standing before me.”

“Wow. Flattered, but I’m not really here,” Summer chuckled.

Blake went silent for a short moment.

“…How did you do it?”

“You’ll have to be more specific,” Summer grinned.

“I should have known. Raven couldn’t have broken the first contract on her own. You helped her. How?”

The little girl stared blankly back, before shrugging. As if to imply she still had no idea what the other was talking about.

“Hmph,” Salem scoffed. “I doubt you could perform that feat now. This isn’t your body.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Shall we test it?”

“I’m game, if you’re game, Sally.”

Blake glared with an intensity like she could burn a hole through her. But Knives only smiled back with the sort of fierce defiance only a child could have before a deity. It was a duel daring the other to make the first move. A decision to call Summer’s bluff, or concede.

“…Hm. I believe our fated moment will arrive soon enough,” Salem grinned. “A time where we won’t be communicating through proxies, but a meeting face-to-face.”

“I’ll be waiting,” Summer answered.

“Hmph.”

The Witch moved her gaze from Knives to someone past her.

“I believe this is the first time we’ve been formally introduced. I am—”

“I know who you are!” Temujin hacked a large spit to the side. “You’re some dusty, ancient cunt, who wants to be forever young by possessing younger people.”

…

…

…

The figure of Knives bent over, clutching her stomach in pain. Summer was trying to stifle her uncontrollable laughter, but was failing. Abrupt snorts escaped through the hands and they would not stop.

“I knew I’d find you insufferable,” Salem scowled.

“And I knew you’d be a boring, pretend-goth, edgelord!”

“…”

More painful cries from Knives echoed the silent throne room.

…

“You like that?!” Temujin glowered. “Ilia taught me that one. I have no idea what it means, but it felt right. And it felt good.”

“Are those truly the last words you wish to part your life with?” Salem asked.

“I have a few more. There’s a list somewhere.” The elder woman started patting her clothes. “Must’ve misplaced it. Had some other good ringers for you.”

“Enough.”

In that moment, three things happened at once. At the Witch’s command, Camlann charged Temujin with his claymore thrust towards her head. The blow was stopped by Summer, who barely caught the sword between two daggers. But her strength alone would have been easily overwhelmed. The only thing that kept her from dying was Temujin activating her Semblance.

The Grimm knight groaned with an unearthly bellow through the slits of its mouthguard. Its surrounding environment worked to kill it, but as testament to its strength, it did not collapse like so many others. Camlann had more than a hardiness found in many of its class. Its entire entity was birthed by the malice held towards Temujin. The final breath of countless Crusaders, who cursed the Great Khan’s name.

In a sense, Camlann was the pinnacle of what a Grimm was.

Even in the face of Temujin and Summer’s combined strength, the monster made one heavy step forward after another. And with that single repeated motion, strained everything Temujin and Summer had.

While the contest of wills proceeded, Blake paid the scene with a light applause.

“A valiant effort. Almost poetic.”

““…!””

Neither Temujin or Summer could muster a comeback. Stressful breaths escaped them in short, stuttering heaves. Sweat coated their skin with increasing fatigue.

“This is exactly reflective of our so-called War. You cannot possibly win, yet you struggle nonetheless. Allow me to enlighten you on a little fact, Temujin.”

“…”

“I know full well what your death will bring. The Faunus will cry with outrage. They may even fight my Grimm back for a time. I very much expect it.”

“…”

“But hold no illusions with you, when you make your journey into the afterlife. Vacuo’s time is over. Its end is not just a certainty, but an eventuality.”

“…I’ll…! Kill…! You…!”

“Tsk tsk. Offer your life to the masses as much as you like—”

“For there will be no victory in strength.”

.

X  X X  X  X

.

Emerald was reaching her breaking point.

Her Semblance was stressed to its absolute limits. There were too many minds, too many senses she was coordinating at once. She was constantly flirting with the threshold of a complete brain meltdown. But at the sign of five Vacuo soldiers watching a new break in the Wall form, she pushed her Enchantments harder.

Emerald tried to separate her physical perception from her mental, but she couldn’t shut out the cluster headaches that formed. Her nose was bleeding, practically able to hear the little droplets touch the ground. She inadvertently shuffled her feet, because she almost lost conscious along with her balance. Her shoe knocked slightly against one of the four Godmothers she burned through.

The Western Wall was crawling with Grimm. Its Dust lining worn through the endless tidal waves of creatures sacrificing their bodies against it. The turrets, which used to be the main deterrent, had long been destroyed. And more Grimm climbed over the ramparts with each passing second.

Still, the warriors of Vacuo defended the choke point. Mercury and the other aerial units took down countless of their flying counterparts. Neo was reduced to using the bare minimum to slay the Grimm with the other foot soldiers. Nothing but her physical agility and swordsmanship to commit, but hundreds of their foes fell nonetheless by it.

Emerald felt a stray bone projectile cut her cheek, and almost slipped her mental link. The warriors she coordinated with, sensed it and immediately went to shield her. No care given to their pre-existing wounds.

It was a desperate battle. A miracle in itself they were somehow managing with the forces they had. News over the comm channels told them the North was facing a similar assault, but without the gap in their Wall.

“Em, you need a break!” Mercury told her.

“And who’s going to make this work if I don’t?”

“This fight isn’t going to end any time soon. We’ll need you for the rest of it.”

“Yeah, except Bean’s putting his focus here. I can tell by how the Grimm are moving. If he’s masterminding these fuckers, the only way we hold him off is I keep masterminding our guys back!”

“We can brute force it till you catch a breath.”

“…Oh, hallelujah. Guess I’ll be getting that break after all. You and Neo get your asses back here too.”

Mercury didn’t have to ask why Emerald had a sudden change of mind. About a dozen Atlesian light crafts answered the question for him. One particularly silver-nosed ship, the first to arrive, rained a relentless barrage of machine gun fire from above.

Androids were deployed all around the funnel area, providing support to Vacuo’s warriors and Team ENMY.

After the Grimm’s waves were subdued somewhat, Emerald noticed a lessened coordination. Bean diverted his attentions back to the North theater, as soon as Atlas reinforcements arrived.

“Fffffuck…!” Emerald retracted her mental links and staggered back a few steps. “About freakin’ time these guys showed up.”

Behind her, the Swordfish landed. From its passenger doors, a team of familiar faces stepped out.

“Hey, Emmy~♪ Been a while, huh?” Coco waved. “Do we get a thank you for pulling your ass out of the fire?”

“If I remember right, we should be square from some shit back in Atlas.”

“Nah, you’re remembering wrong. I’ll send you an invoice for our services later.”

“Asshole.”

“Come on. You know you can’t let money stand between good friends.”

“That’s exactly something I would do, and is that what we are?”

As Team CFVY approached, Mercury and Neo joined Emerald. The two teams crossed, and a number of high-fives were exchanged.

“Tag, you’re in,” Emerald groaned.

“Take a knee, kiddo. You’ll owe me,” Coco grinned.

“You guys got energy drinks in that thing?” Mercury pointed to the Swordfish.

“I would not drink it. They taste awful,” Yatsuhashi replied.

“The worst tasting ones are the best ones.”

“That is…completely untrue.”

“Thanks so much for your hard work, you guys,” Velvet said with heartfelt gratitude.

Neo smiled tiredly, and gave her a light pat on the butt.

“Ah!”

Go get ‘em.

“Er, yes. We will!”

Trading places with ENMY, Team CFVY went into the siege defense with a furious motivation. Meanwhile, Emerald and the rest of her crew collapsed into the Swordfish’s interior.

They knew their break would only last half an hour at most. The main Atlesian Fleet was still far away. What reinforcements arrived would not hold out until then by themselves.

Mercury knocked over a nearby cooler, and started draining energy drinks into his open mouth.

“Dude…” Emerald could only comment.

“Don’t judge. You want one?”

“No.” She eyed a thermos with her name on it, along with the price of five-thousand lien written jokingly at the end. “Coco’s special ice coffee. Good shit.”

Neo rummaged through the cooler and found a few ice cream bars set aside for her. It appeared Velvet had left a thank you note next to it as well.

As their team took their long-deserved break, they practically inhaled what they considered their late lunch. Too tired to eat, but forced whatever they could into their stomachs. They watched from a safe distance as the Wall remained a desperate battlefield, ready to jump in at any moment.

There was no talk. They couldn’t afford to. And their thoughts of Yang were obvious, and didn’t need voicing.

It was everything they could do to recover and then will themselves back into the fray.

Half an hour. A time that passed all too quickly, and at the same time, not fast enough. They would not rejoin the fight if they had a choice. No one in their right mind would.

But what they wanted was not what the world needed. Vacuo needed its warriors. Remnant needed its Enemy.

Mercury chucked another empty can into the street, before he began chugging a new one midstride. Emerald stretched her neck and pressed her knuckles to her temples. Neo moved silently, without any excess motion.

She bade one look in the direction of the Hanging Gardens. Even if it was brief, catching a glimpse of Yang was enough to lift her spirits.

“Oh, there ain’t no rest for the wicked,” Emerald sang.

“Money don’t grow on trees.

I got bills to pay, I got mouths to feed.

There ain’t nothin’ in this world for free.

Oh no, I can’t slow down, I can’t hold back.”

“Though you know, I wish I could.”

.

X  X X  X  X

.

“No, there ain’t no wish for the Wicked. Until we close our eyes for good~”

Salem murmured the last part of the song, while watching the events swirl around her. The landscape around them drifted in and out without rhyme or reason. A world at a crossroads of all the available paths fate could turn.

She stared at the multiple incarnations of Titan littering the ground. Each with bated breath, trying to stay conscious after their lengthy fight, which eventually brought them to the Never Realm.

Salem waved her hand and summoned the events happening around Vacuo like multiple memories playing out.

Her army in the South resumed its march after dragging Titan out of the physical plane. Vacuo’s Northern Wall was facing heavy siege from the Grimm under Bean’s command. And now, more of her forces were being committed to the crack in the West.

“And, so falls the great and mighty titan,” she said with sarcastic flair.

“I’ve lived long enough,” the Old Ones responded in unison.

“I wasn’t speaking of you. I was referring to Vacuo and…” With another wave of her hand, Hanging Garden’s throne room surrounded them. “…her.”

Camlann was advancing ever so slowly. Summer mustered every strength she could to stop the blow from reaching Temujin, and Temujin was doing all she could to save Knives.

“This is the part where you would normally run. So, why haven’t you?”

Titan’s bodies felt the Witch’s curse quicken in their blood streams.

“…You truly mean to die.”

“Hah…! You sound almost disappointed with my defeat!” the Old One spat back. “I thought you would be delighted.”

“Oh, I am. I just assumed there were still a few more vain attempts in you before the end. Some last-ditch efforts, but alas—I once again find myself overestimating my age-old adversary. As if my impression of you could be any lower.”

“This fight has been over for me…long before Vacuo.”

“Indeed,” she sighed. “Look at them all, Titan. So small. Their very conceptual awareness is flawed.”

“Is it? I rather think it is the opposite.”

“This world is at an end. It’s been at its end for a while, before they were even born. Remnant is a ghost, a flawed byproduct of a figment that was never meant to be. You know this better than anyone.”

“What I know is wrong.”

“You still believe?”

Salem made the images spin like a twisted carousel. Every life lost in real time flashed before their eyes. Bodies going cold, the souls leaving their vessels, the last beat of their hearts before their final breath extinguished.

“They are entertaining little creatures. So weak, but very much entertaining,” the Witch admitted.

“Yes, they are. As weak as possible, but also as strong as when it requires. Never too much, never too little. Just right,” the Wizard rasped.

Salem cocked her head with suspicion. A paranoia flitted her expression, before she shook it away.

“No, this is enough. In Oberon’s memory, in your brother’s memory, I thought I could hold one decent conversation with you before you died. But true to form, you speak of nothing but foolish drivel.”

“Feeling lonely? The only immortal left will be Masa.”

“I’m sure I’ll find a way to cope with your loss.”

““Hahaha!”” an echoing cacophony of the reincarnations laughed.

In the midst of the immortals’ banter, one reincarnation separated Qrow from the others. The two had fled the battlefield ahead of time, and masked their presence.

“It’s about time you made your exit, Qrow.”

“What are you talking about, Oz? This isn’t the deal.”

“The rest of us will manage on our own. Your task is far from over.”

Ozpin took Qrow’s hand, and pressed something into it. The veteran Huntsman turned it over, examining it with intense curiosity.

It was a gold knight chess piece. A familiar artifact Qrow had seen once before. Something he spotted in the corner of Team RWBY’s dorm back at Beacon. Apparently, they had been used as Relics in their entrance exam.

“You know, I’ve granted so many wishes over the years,” part of Ozpin and part of Titan mused. “This may be the first time I’ve entrusted another with my own.”

“Titan…” Qrow could only mutter.

“Please, bring this to Yang Xiao Long. This is my final request.”

“……What is it?”

“Hm.”

Ozpin put a hand to his chin and chuckled lightly.

“I believe your niece referred to it once as,”

“A cute little pony.”

…

…

The reincarnations all paused in their laughter. They sensed Qrow leave the Never Realm, making for the Hanging Gardens in his shapeshifted form. Their Relic firmly in his possession.

“I’m a bit tired,” Titan sighed. “But I think I do have one more ‘vain attempt’ in me,” he smirked at Salem.

The Wizard arranged quick transportation for Taiyang Xiao Long with his last bit of influence on the physical world.

And with that, I have fulfilled the wish Summer made to me, which I refused so long ago.

If only I had tried to grant it from the beginning, maybe I wouldn’t have pushed her away.

Too late for that now, I suppose.

Together, the reincarnations of the Old One rose to their feet. A reverent green light encompassed them all. Their expressions steeled with a hallowed resolve.

“SO, THE END COMES!”

The swarm of past lives attacked the Witch like an army bent on its own destruction.

And the death of the Immortal Titan came to pass.

.

X  X X  X  X

.

Blake blinked.

Her pupils dilated and readjusted, while in the throne room. She opened and closed her hand to test her reflexes. The sensation of the possession was now completely different.

Ah, so he destroyed the vessel with that last move.

Vain attempt, indeed.

Merely accelerated my transference to this one.

The Witch gave a low, rolling laugh.

Before her, was still the stalemate between Temujin, Summer, and Camlann. Adam was the only one to really notice the change in Blake.

Salem could barely control herself. She couldn’t stop laughing. Her shoulders shuddered and her cheeks were starting to feel sore. And then, she noticed something odd, which put an end to her fit.

Light tears trickled down her face.

…

…

…Am I actually mourning that old fool?

I hated him.

And, still.

“I’ve had enough of this,” the Witch growled. “I am growing tired as well…old friend.”

She bit her lip, and was overcome with emotions she hadn’t felt in centuries.

“We will find our peace. You, your brother, and I. Not in this lifetime…”

“…but the next.”

.

X  X X  X  X

.

“You’ve done enough, Summer!” Temujin shouted at the small back defending her. “Take Knives, and leave!”

“I won’t!” Summer refused. “I have promises to keep…!”

“You need to let whatever needs to happen, happen. You said yourself, other people’s lives are to do with as they please.”

“That’s only true for people still willing to fight! You resigned to your fate, so it doesn’t count…!”

Temujin could feel her Semblance waning, while she argued with Summer. There would soon be nothing to stop Camlann from running Knives through, and herself after. She wondered what else she could say to plead the woman into leaving. She wondered if it was possible at all.

“Summer…please. Take Knives and go.”

“The answer is still no,” Summer shook her head vehemently. “Nope!”

“You’re so foolish. I’ll never forgive you.”

“Nope! The stupid thing would be to leave you here on your own. And that’s a mistake I’ve already made…!”

“…”

“Nope! We can still do the right thing!”

Knives and Summer’s eyes shone with a twinkling silver. A vision of the future was deviating from its set course. The memory shaped and aligned to something Summer once saw in a dream. Yang and Raven were close. Qrow was on his way. Taiyang was exiting a green police box outside.

“They’re going to be here soon, Temujin. If you want to give up after this, that’s fine because I might actually join you. But not before my team’s had their turn!”

“…What are you talking about?”

Summer’s mischievous grin grew from ear to ear.

“STRQ Team’s last mission!”

[evolutionsvoid]

The Lou Carcolh, or also known as Snail Dragons, are another prime example of how "dragons" are not an actual official family of creatures. As I have stated in previous entries, the term "dragon" is used for labeling or describing large, intimidating creatures that terrify locals and cause issues. The species that are indeed giant, reptilian monsters are referred to as "true dragons," as the regular dragons can refer to a conglomerate of species that vary wildly in anatomy, class and many other things. Grinning Dragons, Bone Dragons, Arctic Dragons and Snail Dragons all carry the label "dragon," but are so incredibly different from one another that even trying to link them together is silly. I mean, just in those four is a mollusk, a reptile, an insect and a mammal. Quite different indeed! Anyways, I bring this up because this entry is about the Lou Carcolh, which many like to call Snail Dragons. The Lou Carcolh live in temperate climates, setting up their homes in caves, tunnels, crevasses and other rocky structures. They are solitary creatures, only coming together during mating season. A Lou Carcolh prefers rocky terrain and a place that is either damp or receives a decent amount of rain. As a species, the Lou Carcolh do not need much to get by. They do not require a complex nest, nor a massive territory for hunting. Instead, they like to find a nice, rocky place to hide and then wait there for prey to come by. 

These large mollusks are ambush predators, catching prey that walk by their dens. When they wish to hunt, a Lou Carcolh will slowly crawl its way to a hidden spot. Some hide in the darkness in caves, some cling to sides of cliffs and crevasses, while some may even bury themselves in vegetation to hide their mass. Once properly hidden, they will snake their extremely long tendrils out into the open, hiding them in the foliage or blending them in with the rock around them. They will set their trap on trails and other places that show sign of activity and passage. There, their tangled net will lay, waiting for some poor sap to come trundling by. When prey steps amongst their tendrils, they will rise up and snare the creature in their sticky embrace. The tentacles of a Lou Carcolh have a natural adhesive and stiff hairs that allow them to trap smaller prey or properly hold larger, thrashing animals. When a victim is tangled in their grip, the Lou Carcolh will reel them back into their hiding place. The tendrils will bring them to their mouth, where they will inject them with paralyzing venom from their fangs. When prey is immobilized, the Lou Carcolh will seize them in their mouths and begin the slow process of feeding. Lacking powerful jaws for cutting and chewing, the Snail Dragons instead use a saw-toothed radula that takes up their entire lower jaw to slowly rasp away flesh. The backwards facing teeth help keep the victim in place and tear away at them as the Lou Carcolh works its jaw back and forth. Needless to say, being eaten by a Lou Carcolh is a long and painful process, as the victim is usually still alive. The venom only paralyzes your muscles, so it does not kill you instantly. Death will only come through asphyxiation or blood loss, and neither are all that great. The Lou Carcolh will continue to rasp away at its prey until it has broken down enough of them to swallow whole. After prey is consumed, they shall rest and digest for some time, before setting out their trap again. The trapping tendrils of a Lou Carcolh also aid in getting water, as there are small vessels that run throughout the tentacle. When thirsty, they will send their tendrils out to find puddles and pools. The appendages will submerge themselves and siphon water to the main body far away. That way Snail Dragons don't need to go out in the open to get a drink! Due to their large size and slow lifestyle, the Lou Carcolh can live for quite a long time. Some stories have claimed that certain specimens have been centuries old, growing to a size and strength that is impossible to slay. I have heard some tales that there are a few mountains out there that are notorious for causing travelers and climbers to vanish. They believe that a massive Lou Carcolh lives within the rock, sending out mile long tendrils to catch any who are foolish enough to climb its peak. Some even say that the mountain itself is there shell!   When it comes to reproduction, Snail Dragons are a bit different compared to other "dragons." The Lou Carcolh are hermaphroditic, possessing reproductive organs of each gender. This works to their advantage, as these creatures are quite slow when it comes to travel. When mating season occurs, the Lou Carcolh travel to find pheromone trails left by others in hopes of finding a mate. Since they are slow, this searching can take weeks until they find another of their kind. With that, you don't want the issue where you put all this time and effort only to find that you have tracked down an incompatible mate. Being hermaphrodites, any individual they find can do the job! So when two Snail Dragons come together, they do their courtship and then one (or both) of them fires a "love dart" into the other. These hardened, sharp "darts" are filled with sperm, and are how one Lou Carcolh fertilizes the other. They are located in the same region where the fangs are, developing prior to the mating season. When the time comes, the two shall do their dance and try to strike the other with this "dart." Whoever winds up getting embedded with this structure will be fertilized, allowing them to bear and lay eggs. In some cases, both wind up getting darted, so they both play the egg-laying role. Once the ritual is over, they part ways and head back to their hunting ground. The eggs will be laid beneath the soil and abandoned. The young that hatch will have to fend for themselves. Due to their large size and odd appearance, the Lou Carcolh are quite famous creatures to the locals. Certain rocky formations are named after them, especially if they look like a snail shell. There is a local vine that is called "carcolh tongue" due to its hairy, wandering tendrils that lay upon the ground. They are usually one of the first suspected when someone goes out to rocky areas and vanish, and many warn one another that "the carcolh will catch you!" The origins of the Lou Carcolh is also a popular tale in the region. The story goes that there was a time, long ago, when the dragons ruled the skies. The massive beasts were so plentiful, that they would blot out the sun for days on end. After years of darkness and destruction, one man decided to finally bring the monsters down. He donned his armor and crafted a great, mighty bow. With arrows the size of lances, he shot the dragons from the sky, causing them to plummet from the sky and splatter amongst the rocks. The dragons tried to slay him, but his abilities with his bow could not be beaten. Others took up weapons like his and they worked to clear the skies of these large creatures. During this massacre, there was a group of dragons who brought themselves to the ground, terrified of the lethal arrows. Seeking to avoid their own demise, they tore the wings from their backs and bound themselves forever to the earth. In time, they slowly became the Lou Carcolh, hiding in caves in fear of this mythical warrior. It is a fun story, but one that carries the same cliche every human tale has. For some reason, humans really like to act like they are the creators or cause of every living thing in this world. Every origin story centers around their actions. It's kind of weird. It's like how there are a large chunk of people out there that think that all of dryad kind was created by a lonely Mycomancer! It's ridiculous! (And it's also a tale I would not read to your saplings, because YIKES!)   Another thing that makes the Lou Carcolh infamous to the region is their "love darts." The large stinger-like reproductive organs are things people have a hard time understanding, and they also create some bizarre scenarios. There was a time, a while back, when people thought that the Lou Carcolh abducted virgins and used their "love darts" to impregnate them with their larvae (That is also another thing that shows up in a lot of human tales: monsters doing naughty things to others. Makes you wonder who comes up with this stuff.). It was also seen as the ultimate sign of humiliation for those who hunted the Carcolh. Since the "love dart" is situated in the mouth, those who get near its fangs or struggle in its grip may accidentally set it off. It has been said that those warriors who have accidentally been shot with this dart during battles usually wander off into the woods, never to be seen again. They apparently were too ashamed to show their faces ever again. The other thing their "love darts" are famous for is outsiders not realizing what they are. Days after the mating process, the "love darts" are pushed out of the body and discarded on the ground. Travelers have stumbled across these strange things and see them as potential weapons. They are barbed, dagger-sized and lightweight, so a little modification would turn them into a decent knife. These travelers would then show up in town and show off their new blade, which would cause every citizen to nearly die of laughter. The terms and names they call these people who wield them are not appropriate, and I cannot write them in here but trust me when I say they are quite colorful and descriptive. It has become a gag for certain locals to craft weapons out of "love darts" and sell them to ignorant travelers, so that they can chuckle behind their backs. They just love the idea of oblivious people walking around with these, thinking they are legitimate weapons and unaware of their origin. Funny enough, I actually do own one of these dart-knives, but I was aware of it when I bought it. I have always thought they were quite interesting and I always wanted to own one. In order to avoid the embarrassment, I told the man who was selling them that I knew what they were but wanted to buy one regardless. I told him that I had "always wanted one" in which he replied to me with a "oh yeah I bet you do," which resulted in a broken nose and a free knife. Despite the comments during the purchasing process, I quite like the blade and it is quite nifty. Though I must warn those who ever think of owning one, make sure you pay attention to which knife you are using for any task you do. When I was staying with some colleagues one time and it was my turn to serve dinner. When it came to cutting up the roasted chicken, I used the knife I had on hand to carve. It took me a second to realize why they were looking at me with such disgusted, horrified looks. Needless to say, no one ate the chicken that night. Chlora Myron Dryad Natural Historian ------------------------------------------------------------ A mythical creature that is a fusion of a snail and a snake?! Where has that been all my life?!     And yowzas that last paragraph was not intended when I first started writing this, but it was way too funny for me to pass up. Sorry there, folks.

[shmosnet2]

What Is Cryptozoology and How Do You Become a Cryptozoologist?

What Is Cryptozoology and How Do You Become a Cryptozoologist?

With interests in science, nature, history and the paranormal, Luther explores topics from a unique and sometimes controversial perspective.

Legends of strange creatures have been with us since the beginning of time. Cryptozoologists study these animals, and sort of out fact from fiction. | Source What Is Cryptozoology? The word cryptozoology means literally the "study of hidden animals”, those which some people believe are out there but science has yet to officially acknowledge. Think of Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster. You know, those creatures that make your friends smile, nod and slowly move away from you whenever you bring them up in conversation. These mystery creatures (the animals, not your friends) are known as cryptids. Cryptozoology has unfortunately earned a reputation with the mainstream public as a kooky diversion, practiced by the same guys who contact UFOs using modified CB radios while wearing hats made from tin foil. However, the good cryptozoologists are more about science than silliness, and have hatched some compelling theories over the years to explain sightings of unusual animals. But even the best cryptozoologists have a lot working against them. A serious biologist or zoologist who spends their time and money in the pursuit of some mythical creature is risking career suicide. There is little grant money to be had for a researcher who decides to take a year away from teaching at the University and treks off to the Himalayas in hopes of meeting a Yeti. Along with financial struggles and losing the respect of your mainstream peers comes the frustration of limited results for your efforts. Progress moves slowly in cryptozoology, and new discoveries and evidence are hard to come by. A researcher may spend a lifetime searching in vain. So why do they do it? What makes these people tick? And do they ever really come up with any evidence aside from footprints and blurry pictures? What Do Cryptozoologists Study? If cryptozoology is the study of unknown animals than one could argue that by going into your backyard and turning up rocks in the hopes of finding some undiscovered bug you are indeed a cryptozoologist. You’re searching for unknown animals, and it’s a lot less expensive and time consuming than a month-long trip to Africa. In fact, there are likely thousands if not millions of undiscovered insect species in the world, most of them in deep jungles. So why aren’t more cryptozoologists creeping around in the rainforest with a magnifying glass? It’s not so simple. There is no debate that there are countless undiscovered animals in the world. However, there is a great deal of debate regarding the remaining species of large fauna yet to be discovered. Cryptozoology is about finding the big animals, those creatures that many of us believe can’t possibly have gone undiscovered for so long. Some are so bizarre that there must be a supernatural component to their existence. Some are believed to be real animals, yet to be discovered by science. Others are creatures that we know once roamed the Earth, but science tells us they went extinct long ago. Some say there are fascinating prehistoric beasts still lurking in far corners of the world, even living dinosaurs. This is the part that separates cryptozoology from mainstream science. Logically, it makes little sense for many of these creatures to have eluded human detection, and we often dismiss the idea of their existence as borderline absurd. Still, many of us are intrigued. Wouldn’t it be interesting if some of these fantastic tales of bizarre animals proved to be true? And that’s what makes a cryptozoologist get out of bed in the morning. We’re all interested in the possibility of the unknown, but they get out there and look for it. How to Become a Cryptozoologist If you’re considering a career in cryptozoology it’s probably a good idea to take a step back and think things through. While there are a handful of researchers who make a living writing books, lecturing and even hosting TV shows or radio programs, for most cryptozoologists it is a labor of love. That’s an artistic way of saying you probably aren’t going to make much money doing it. In fact, you’ll spend a lot of money in the process. That doesn't mean cryptozoology isn’t a worthwhile pursuit, but you do need to be realistic about it. There are no real qualifications to becoming a cryptozoologist, no degree programs and no governing body. You simply need to have an interest, and get out and do it. However, it is important to note that earning the respect of your peers (other serious researchers) will serve as a kind of credentialing process. There are all kinds of monster hunters out there, and those who give cryptozoology a bad name are no help to the emerging science. If you believe you want to pursue cryptozoology in your spare time, or even see if you can somehow make a career out of it, it’s a good idea to look at comparable mainstream sciences as your main area of study. You may go to school and earn a degree in anthropology, zoology, marine biology or some other natural science, with the eventual goal of become a professor. Teachers get lots of time off, and at least you’d have a glimmer of hope for snagging some grant money for your studies. Or you may wish to pursue another totally unrelated field. Cryptozoolgists come from every profession, and have taken many diverse paths. You may wish to choose something where you can make tons of money to fund your yearly expeditions in search of the Megalodon shark! What Would You Do? You're looking out your kitchen window into your backyard one morning and you spot Bigfoot! You get a clear view, and you're sure it is him. You even snap a couple of pictures. What do you do next? Where It All Began No doubt humans have been telling tall tales about strange animals since the invention of language, but what we think of as modern cryptozoology is likely only a bit older than a century. In 1892 a Dutch zoologist named Anthonie Cornelis Oudemans published the manuscript called The Great Sea Serpent. Here, Oudemans contends that sighting of sea serpents may be attributed to an as-yet-unknown species of giant, elongated seal. Oudemans was a respected scientist, the director of the Dutch Royal Zoological Gardens, but few took his book seriously. And they still haven’t found the giant seal. Explorer and researcher Bernard Heuvelmans is another notable figure in early cryptozoology. In 1955 Heuvelmans published On theTrack of Unknown Animals, a book that earned him the title of Father of Cryptozoology . Heuvelmans’s book laid out a detailed account of cryptids from around the world, and inspired many a young mind to take up their pursuit. Nowadays, you can hardly click on the television without coming across a show on cryptozoology. Finding Bigfoot, which airs on Animal Planet, is perhaps the most noteworthy. Destination Truth (Syfy Channel), and Beast Hunter (National Geographic Channel) are other shows which have delved heavily into the search for unknown creatures. So if all these people are out there looking why don’t we have crystal-clear photos of a smiling Sasquatch with his arm around a researcher by now? What exactly are these people looking for, and what are the chances of finding it?

Oudemans's search for the legendary sea serpent led him to suggest sightings were due to a strange, rare seal. | Source Strange and Elusive Creatures Below you'll read about a few of the more famous creatures in the world of cryptozoology. None of these animals have been proven my mainstream science, but nevertheless there is plenty of anecdotal evidence to suggest they are out there. As a cryptozoologist you may specialize in the study of one or more of these creatures. Bigfoot He’s the star of the cryptozoology world, known to deftly elude researchers but then reveal himself to anyone with a camera incapable of shooting a clear picture. Called Sasquatch in the Pacific Northwest, Skunk Ape in the South and Yeti in the Himalayas, Bigfoot is believed to be a species of undiscovered ape, possibly evolved from the extinct Gigantopithecus Blacki. Sightings date back to Native American times, and in modern days Bigfoot is spotted in just about every inch of the United States and Canada, so it seems your chances of spotting him are better than they are for most creatures on this list. Amazing Evidence from the Show "Finding Bigfoot" Loch Ness Monster Second only to the big, hairy guy listed above, Nessie is said to inhabit Loch Ness of Scotland. It’s a huge lake and extremely deep. The lake is connected to the ocean by waterways, leading some to believe Nessie could be a sea creature of some kind, or at least travel that route to and from the ocean. Furthering that theory is the debate of whether or not Loch Ness contains the food necessary to support a population of such large creatures. Like other lake monsters such as Ogo Pogo and Champ, Nessie is thought by some to be a Plesiosaur, a species of aquatic reptile long gone extinct. Orang Pendek Translated to “Short Person” in Indonesian, Orang Pendek is a small, hairy, bipedal humanoid creature spotted in the jungles of Sumatra. Like a tiny Bigfoot, Orang Pendek may be an undiscovered species of ape or other primitive hominid. But it may also share a much closer relation to humans. The discovery of the bones of a species of small, prehistoric human dubbed Homo floresiensis on the Indonesian island of Flores sparked the theory that Orang Pendek may be a related species, hidden in the jungles and rarely seen. Mapinguari It’s a giant beast that terrorizes locals in the South American jungles, with a mouth on its stomach, backward-facing feet, huge claws and a horrible stench. It might sounds crazy, but some researchers think the Mapinguari may be a species of giant ground sloth thought to have gone extinct thousands of years ago. Megatherium was a species of massive sloth that some researchers think may have existed as recently as 15,000 years ago. Could it be that this beasty that terrorizes natives in the jungle is actually a living Megatherium? Until somebody finds one, we just don’t know. Megalodon Shark Thousands of years ago a massive shark over 50 feet in length stalked the world’s oceans and some say it is still around. Like a monstrous great white it fed on marine mammals, in this case enormous whales and other large creatures. It was called Carcharodon Megalodon, and it was the apex predator of its day and the largest carnivore ever to exist on this planet. While modern science says it went extinct thousands of years in the past, some say Meg is still around today, lurking deep in the ocean. Strange creatures once thought extinct have resurfaced before, and we still have a huge percentage of the ocean left to explore. Could Megalodon still be out there? Mokele Mbembe Is it possible that there are isolated places in the world where dinosaurs still exist, undocumented by modern science and lost to history? Mokele Mbembe is a beast known to local tribes in the African Congo. It is described as having the body of an elephant with a long neck and small head. To some brave researchers, this sounds like a sauropod dinosaur. But Mokele Mbeme isn’t the only dino still plodding around in Africa. Several different types of creatures have been spotted in and around the Congo River basin, leading some researchers to think a small remnant population of dinosaurs may well exist in Africa. It makes absolutely no sense based on what we know of the history of the planet, but there is no denying that people are spotting strange things in Africa, and they describe them as dinosaurs.

Could some dinosaurs have survived extinction and still live today? | Source Do You Believe in Strange Creatures? “Do you believe” is really the wrong question to ask in cryptozoology. Because we’re talking about animals that may be real, belief is irrelevant. Science can and should bear out the existence of these creatures over time, if they exist. Any interest in exploring unknown cryptids should spur from the facts available, not some mystical belief in the wonders of the universe. Most of these creatures, by way of sightings and other evidence, merit at least some level of scientific investigation. We’ve all heard the old cliché about the remaining unexplored parts of our globe, and what a shame it would be to ignore our curiosity for amazing discoveries. It would be an incredible thing to validate a legend. Or would it? What if a population of Bigfoot were discovered and documented by mainstream science? True, it would amaze and shock the world, and the name of the researcher who found them would go down in history. But what next? Do we put them in a zoo? Dissect and analyze them? While we all would like to see the mysteries of the world revealed? Would the final result of such a discovery be worth it? Perhaps some mysteries are better left alone. No matter what is eventually discovered, it’s hard to imagine that mankind’s of the unknown will ever be satisfied. There will never be a shortage of stories of strange creatures or people willing to go out and look for them. There will always be a place in the world for Cryptozoology . Is Finding Bigfoot a Good Idea? What would happen if a population of Sasquatch were discovered?

https://ift.tt/3236d23 . Foreign Articles November 01, 2019 at 01:33PM