#the insect with the hooves got me

[thyandrawrites]

I hadn't watched doctor who in years and gosh, I forgot how wacky the aliens were

[bunneclair]

I have something for you guys ….

here are my redesigns of the four known 7 deadly sins from the hellaverse! I’ll go in order explaining.

Here’s Lucifer — the adjustments I made were primarily to his hair and smaller features, such as giving him goat eyes, a snake themed cane, and pulling more classical and biblical inspiration forward. I love a lot of the artistic liberties in the Hellaverse designs but I do think that him being a curly-redhead is a pretty important thing that I hated to see left out of his design. I also gave him hooves and claws because I felt like he was a bit too human compared to the other sins, and wanted to make him stand out a bit more!

Next is Asmodeus! My main focus was to make it more evident which sin he represented — while I love Ozzie’s design, I felt like his color palette could be slightly more representing of the sin of lust, so I shifted toward warmer toned colors such as red and purple, while sacrificing the green and blue. I wanted to bring across more gender-fluidity since lust is something I think it is important to represent through various gendered lenses and so I went for the whole upper-half masculine lower-half feminine thing that you see here with a vest+button up and a long slit skirt! I also wanted to show more heart motifs that appear to be evident in ironically all of lust and its inhabitants besides Ozzie most of the time, and so I curved his tail and head feathers in a way that made heart shapes, and I placed Bull and Ram in a way where they’re more visible and stand out more so as their own little entities since it’s implied they’re separately sentient.

My girl Beelzebub! I LOVE her design, but I do feel like it leans heavier toward hellhound (and fox somewhat) and not enough toward her insect features, so I gave her Bee stripes as well as putting more emphasis and effort into her wings. I kept the multicolored lava lamp hair and belly but made an extra effort to highlight the gold in it to emphasize the honey/bee theme, while also placing this texture in other places such as her paws and inner-ears. I also gave her a honeycomb crown, and more loose-fitting flowy clothing to display her fun and laid-back nature, while referencing her bee themes again by adding a yellow gradient meant to mimic pollen that gets stuck on bees during their pollination process. I also gave her the funky bug eyes :) anddd sorry but I took away the mohawk, it just felt too cluttered for me to draw among other things.

Here’s Mammon! I may be biased but I love his design so much already that it was difficult to change a whole lot. However, I did find things that I wanted to change. For one, you may notice there are hat and no-hat versions of Mammon here, and that’s because I wanted to display the broken imp-like horns I gave him. In biblical mythology, Mammon often disguised himself as someone who was poor or in need so that he would be able to garner profit from pity, and I think that there is no better way to represent that than ripping off his favorite little brand-baby. I edited a lot of the black in his color palette to be gold instead, as well as adding gold to the fingertips of his gloves as a reference to Midas’ touch. I gave him more of a spider-like appearance since according to a lot of the fandom his species is fairly ambiguous, and I made his shirt (or whatever you call that lol) a bit shorter and less cluttered because I often struggled with drawing it. I also attempted to adjust his proportions a bit as I feel like the designs for the fat characters in Helluva and Hazbin often struggle a bit with proportions and it feels important to me to better represent them.

That’s all I got, but I also created my own takes on the sins that haven’t been revealed yet, which may end up being one of my next posts! I’m doing my best to stay active in the art community and this media has given me some motivation and fuel. Any input is welcome as long as we stay positive ❤️

Reminder as well that my commissions are very open!

[thebeeshaveknees]

Uhhhh so I decided my first attempt at a trolls fic would be a rewrite of the whole third movie because I'm Silly and I wanted to put JD x DD as like frenemies but romance but I ended up going heavy on the romance and it made me sad so I'm throwing it to the wolves for judgement

When John Dory had fallen into Delta Dawn's pod yet again, he hadn't expected to wake up with a ladybug on his chest.

He nudged her with his foot to wake her up. "Uh. DD."

She grumbled some alliterate curse at him, but rolled over and also saw the ladybug. "John, on my life if you don't get that vermin out of my bed I'll make you walk to the jailhouse in your underthings."

He picked it up, rolled out of bed and was about to put it on the floor when he got smacked upside the head. "Not on my floors neither', John, it's your woods' bug."

John sighed dramatically, waddling to the window with the bug held at arm's reach. "Could you get the window?"

Dawn opened the window latch and John tipped the insect up trying to fit it through, and he noticed the note. "It's a messenger ladybug?" He showed her the underside with eight squirmy legs and a note tied to it with a string. Dawn cringed but grabbed the note around its spindly legs and JD put it out the window. "Sheriff mail?"

She gave him a short look. "Yes, you snoop, now put on a shirt." She said, sitting herself down on the bed to read the letter.

JD threw on his leather jacket, before peeking over DD's shoulder at the note.

"Nothin' interesting, interloper." She teased, looking up at him. "A troll from Pop Village is missing, I'll up patrols for a little while, but it's already been a month - really, ladybugs for messengers.

Something in John's gut twisted, and he'd been following his gut for two decades without fail. "What's their name?"

She opened the letter again. "Branch. Dark blue hair, teal skin, dull coloured." She read, before looking back up at him.

John Dory froze. He felt his stomach twist in knots. "From Pop Village?"

"You look pale, darlin."

"Did it say anything about his disappearance?"

She put her hand on his shoulder, but went back to reading the letter. "Says he was taken from Pop Village by something, it left a trail to the big folks' road but no farther." She looked at him. "You know the troll?"

"He's my brother." John blurted before he could really think it through, leaning into Delta, eyeing the cardstock in her hand. "My baby brother."

"I'm sorry, darlin." She said very softly, wrapping her arm around his shoulder. "When are you leaving?"

"As soon as the market opens, I need to stock up."

"Any ideas where he could be?"

"Not yet, but it's Bitty, I'm sure I could… Maybe I could ask my other brothers for help."

DD sighed, but put her head on his. "Should I come along, interloper?"

JD let his eyelids droop. "I wish, but it seems a traveler can only ever chase the Dawn."

She snorted. "How on earth did I fall for a poet?" She pulled John further into her side. "Don't go chasing what's waiting for you, cowboy."

"If I didn't, how would I keep you on your hooves, Sheriff?"

She sighed, and both just enjoyed the warmth for a moment. "Be safe, you hear?"

"As safe as I usually am." John replied.

They waited for the market to open, for John to leave, in warm silence.

[shakespearefreak]

Happy (Belated) “Birthday,” Kaya!

Unlike other American Girl dolls, Kaya doesn’t have a confirmed canonical birthday, but it’s usually celebrated on the 15th of August, which was when the series was presented to the Nez Perce people according to the AG Wiki. I wasn’t sure if it would be faithful to her character to celebrate her “birthday” or not, but I still wrapped a gift and made plans; when the official AG Facebook account made a “Happy Birthday” post for her on the 15th, I decided to go through with it. However, I wasn’t feeling great that day, so I put it off until the 16th, when I gave her her gift. I planned to take her to the local Arboretum so she could ride Steps High that same day, but then life got in the way, so the second part of her celebration had to wait until the 17th, when my friend drove us to the Arboretum (which was especially nice of him because he’s the one who isn’t fond of dolls). It was beautiful there, and we had a good time, but by the time we got back home I was sweaty, aching from walking, bug-bitten 🦟 despite my insect repellent (one of them got my eyelid! 😧), and generally too exhausted to type this up, or in fact do much of anything except collapse into bed for the night. 💤 So… I’m a few days late posting, but I figure that’s okay since technically we don’t even know when her real birthday is. 😅

NOTE: I’m again using the Nez Perce spelling for words/phrases in Nimipuutímt, rather than the anglicized phonetic spelling American Girl uses in the books. This time I also decided to include translations after Nez Perce words/phrases in parentheses. I do not speak Nimipuutímt myself, so please forgive (and more importantly, correct!) any errors.

Kaya was surprised to see the deerskin-wrapped package waiting for her on the chair. “Is this for me?”

“Yeah,” Marley confirmed. “I don’t know if your people celebrate birth anniversaries, but we do in my culture, so I wanted to get you something.”

As Kaya sat down with her gift, Tatlo sniffed eagerly at the hide wrapping, almost as if saying, “Hurry up and open it!”

“Oh, it’s beautiful,” Kaya said softly, running her hand gently down the white deerskin. “Qe’ciyéw’yew’! (Thank you!)”

The next day, Kaya donned her new outfit, smoothing out the fringe on the lovely white fabric, and saddled Steps High in preparation for their ride. At the Arboretum, Marley took a photo as the mare, true to her name, made her way across a large fallen tree, placing her hooves carefully but with confidence.

After a while, they stopped and rested by a tangled cluster of trees. Kaya unpacked her lunch (a bunch of sweet huckleberries, dried salmon, and finger cakes made from ground camas roots) and laid it on a tule mat beside her. Tatlo (who had come along and run alongside the horse) came up, eying the salmon and wagging his tail hopefully. “Qó’c wéeye! (Wait!)” Kaya commanded firmly, holding up her hand, then relented and offered him a strip of the fragrant, savory fish. “Oh, alright, alright!” she laughed. “Kée pe hips! (Let’s eat!)” Tatlo didn’t need to be told twice; he gobbled up the salmon in two bites.

After they ate, Kaya stood up and conscientiously brushed the leaves off her new dress. “Wáaqo’ kíiye kusíix (Let’s go now),” she said, a bit reluctantly; this place was beautiful, but she was aware of Marley’s sweaty, flushed face and tired expression (as well as Marley’s friend’s eagerness to get moving). Besides, the sun was already beginning to droop slowly but steadily towards the horizon, and she was glad she would soon be snuggled into her furs for the night. It had been a good day, but it was time to go home.

THE END

NOTE: I am White. If you are Indigenous and find anything in this post offensive, please let me know and I’ll edit it or take it down!

[bucketsofmonsters]

To Kill the King - Chapter 1

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4

find the full book here

If Everand had to hear one more story he swore to the heavens his knight wouldn’t live to see another morning. Not that that would be any great loss. Mornings on the road were as close to hell as Everand could imagine. Animals had run away with most of their food while Leo was meant to be keeping watch, keeping warm was near impossible, and he was only half sure that they hadn’t gotten lost. His travelling partner wasn’t helping matters.

“Are you listening Everand?” Leo called from atop his horse.

“Yes sir, of course sir.” He was going to strangle him. Everand didn’t even attempt to feign a smile, but of course the knight didn’t turn to look. He rode quietly, trailing behind and barely even trying to focus on what was being said to him.

Leo cleared his throat after Everand’s reassurance. “As I was saying, I have a good feeling about this one. When the world closes a door it opens a window and this is our window. Who needed that door anyways when this window is clearly superior?”

“I would have liked to have the door.” Everand grumbled, pulling back on Lilypad’s reins to ensure he wouldn’t have to ride side by side with Leo. She slowed in perfect synchronization with his request and he gave her a soft pat. 

“What was that lad?”

“Nothing sir, nothing at all.”

“Yes, right. Well, I’ve heard wonderful things about King Richard, better things than I ever heard about that bastard Edgar anyways. So even if this whole banishing situation was something that transpired because of someone, well even then, it isn’t really a negative. In fact, if anything, we should be crediting the party that created this opportunity.”

Everand could not have this conversation again. At this point even the horses must have it memorized. Diverting it hadn’t worked, his new tactic was to try and get him to skip chunks of this discussion so it could be over sooner. “I’ve even heard they have a princess they want to marry off, isn’t that right sir?”

“We’re heading to a better kingdom, one where I can command the respect that I deserve! A kingdom that will properly utilize all of my strengths, one that will allow me to reach new heights. The king even has a daughter. I’ve heard he’s having trouble marrying her off. They say she is as beautiful as… as the springtime, as the moon. There’s rumors that she’s cursed but if she’s as beautiful as they say, perhaps a noble knight could find a way to break it. Things are turning around for me now, Everand, I can feel it.”

So that hadn’t worked. The squire cursed under his breath. He’d have to try a new tactic the next time around. He made a noise that he hoped would be interpreted as vague agreement and returned to ignoring the man. 

As much as Leo had been trying to convince him otherwise with his little speech, they were both in a waking nightmare and it was aggressively Leo’s fault. But of course Everand got pulled into it, that’s how it always worked. Leo did whatever he wanted and Everand suffered the consequences. It had never happened to quite this extent before, but he was anything but surprised. He probably should have guessed that this was where they were headed years ago. Not this new kingdom to which they were travelling blindly, but this level of disaster. 

Leo was probably still talking. He never really stopped, but Everand never found it hard to ignore. Especially out riding like this. Even when he tried to focus it was hard to not get wrapped up in the other noises, the wind blowing through the grass, the buzzing of insects around them, the stamping of the horses’ hooves. Lilypad always stepped more carefully. Her hooves sounded softer and they had more intention behind them. Destrier, on the other hand, was always as loud in his steps as was possible. Not that it was his fault, Leo wouldn’t stop enforcing that behavior in the poor creature. The sounds of the world were far more interesting and pressing than whatever made-up adventure Leo was trying to convince Everand that he went on that Everand had somehow mysteriously missed. 

Everand pulled back on the reins for half a heartbeat, sensing that something had changed. He quickly ushered Lilypad to start again, not wanting him to appear suspicious in case something malicious was watching. And then, all at once, Everand realized that the ambiance of the path around him had shifted. The squire put all of his focus into trying to discern the source of the shift in noise. As they continued onwards, it became increasingly evident that they were approaching a town. He allowed himself to untense and felt a wave of relief run through him. Not only would he soon be free of all the alone time he was getting with Leo, but they would also be able to resupply. He could survive on shortened rations, but the horses wouldn’t understand why they were being fed significantly less and he’d rather not put them through that. 

There were a few more minutes of listening to the bustle of civilization getting closer before Leo broke Everand’s concentration by shouting “Stop!” at the top of his lungs whilst yanking on Destrier’s reins. Everand brought Lilypad to a halt, waiting to see what invaluable advice the knight had to share this time. 

“Do you see that, my lad? Over that next hill? I believe it’s the town surrounding our new king’s distinguished home.”

“I think you might be right. Good eye, sir.”

They rode right by the town, barely a breath from the nearest structure. Everand trusted Lilypad to follow in Destrier’s footsteps, staring for longer than he should have at the buildings as they passed. He didn’t particularly want to go there, he had no great love for civilization in any form. However, it was certainly better than the towering silhouette of stone walls that they were riding towards. They had no plan to get in, no plan if they got turned away, and Everand had no plan for what he was going to do whether or not they were let into the castle. He’d figure it out when they got there. God, he sounded like Leo.

He was jolted back to reality as he realized that they were at the gates of the castle. Leo was already talking to one of the guards stationed at the doors. Everand hoped he hadn’t missed anything too vital and did his best to appear squirely. 

“We seek an audience with the king.”

The guard seemed very confused which wasn’t a great sign. “Who are you two?”

“I am Sir Leo and this is my squire.”

“So you’re a knight of where exactly?”

Uh oh. 

“Well, of here hopefully.”

Everand appreciated the apparent attempt to confuse the guard into letting them see the most important man in the kingdom. Somehow, this did not seem to convince him. Everand figured he’d give it a shot. “Hello, sir, we’ve been sent by King Edgar to serve King Richard, as a sign of peace between the two lands. Sir Leo here was one of his finest knights.”

He prayed that it didn’t contradict anything Leo had already said. It wasn’t the cleanest lie but it was certainly better than whatever his knight was attempting to peddle. The man seemed to be considering it when the guard on the other side of the door decided to join in on the conversation. “I’ve heard tales of Sir Leo, are you really he?”

Leo’s face lit up. “Aye, I am. See, everything is in order.”

The guard they’d been speaking to seemed unsure. “Do you swear it is you, Sir Leo?”

“I do, on my mother’s grave.”

“Well, this is on your head, not mine. You shall have your meeting.” 

[brainyrot]

Fanfic Update? 🙃

I think I'm gonna start preparing the fic on ao3

He underestimated those finger guns, sure it didn't hurt but the impact. Oh, the impact.

Managed to destroy his hand, obviously he can always..get it back. It's ink, who cares. But, it's impressive. Surely not impressive and big enough to destroy or even kill him, but it is something that should be taken off right now. He can't just have these people walk around with such a weapon.

whines and curses of pain of a cup, now running away with a slowly, slowly falling apart limp.

He didn't rip it off in time, but you're gonna need super glue to fix that crack for sure. At least he knows it's not functional anymore.

he just needs to get the other one.

"that was NOT bendy!" She screamed, mostly to herself. "It couldn't be! Have you seen that thing?! if- it just couldn't be! And it talked. It talked!" she was frantic, who knew what was going on in her head.

"whoever that was..we need to keep as far as we can of distance from it."

"Have you seen what he has done to your arm Cuphead? It nearly broke it. We gotta look at the wound now." rather have a brother with two arms and a functioning finger gun than a brother with one arm and no finger gun.

"Let's just get somewhere safe and then we can look at it, 'kay mugs?" the cat suggested. But what if it was really bendy? it couldn't be. it was too..it didn't feel like bendy.

The way it talked, it's mannerisms, it's nothing like Bendy's. But at the same time, bendy never acted like himself whenever he had these.. moments.

but how could they help bendy? He was a threat now and approaching was a no go, Cuphead was injured and stuck in an unknown place.

ugh..reminds him of the labyrinth, except that now the main threat was bendy, and not that Sarah kid.

But..was it.. actually him? It's just hard to think it is! maybe it's really some labyrinth situation, just instead of memories it's ink.. mimicking people?

Who knows.

he's thinking of the worst right now.

They don't know where they are going, and the more they go deep in this place, the more ink slowly creeps in until it's nothing but that.

Could it be that the ink is sentient? A parasitic being that slowly consumes everything and everyone? Could explain why those people seemed or..were made of ink. Maybe..maybe bendy is also a victim?

it's possible, a parasitic being, the ink, that takes over your mind. It's a thing between insects, it's possible with this too.

It explains the ink people, the ink that somehow is always here, around, and the aggressiveness.

it makes the person aggressive and submissive to the control of the ink until it consumes them and die.

Maybe it's different with demons? bendy seemed also made of ink but more.. covered. You could see his..eerie smile, part of the bone of his horns and hooves.

could it be that the ink illness is messing with it? Instead of turning into an inky being he's slowly melting? The way the bones, teeth and hooves were showing it seemed like melting.

or..maybe this is all the ink illness. it makes sense, because everyone here at least has some ink on them but it's just stains. Whole for bendy and whoever the rest was, it was like it took over completely.

Maybe only who is ill is affected by this?

"..guys! I think I got it!" the feline stopped.

"Got what? That my hand is gone?" The red cup huffed, sarcastically commenting on his wound.

"No, not yet. Sit down on one of those chairs and we'll fix that. But, I think I figured out something for this place."

"How to get out?" Mugman asked, kind of a stupid question but hey, who doesn't wanna get out.

"No, but,,what if all of this is just the ink illness doing?"

"..what." ridiculous, he thought. Is there a cigarette around?

"Hear me out! the ink seems so alive! Gave you not see it create people from mere puddles?! And the ink people! And bendy! What if these are all ink illness victims that not only have an incurable illness-"

"Yet." Hope, holly may, hope.

"-but now are controlled by this sentient ink making them aggressive like those guys earlier and bendy! We saw him before, he was docile a minute ago and now he's hunting us."

"but it doesn't make any sen-"

"The ink machine!" Mugman thought. "The ink machine was here! what if it's really the ink machine doing? what if it's malfunctioning and that's why instead of curing everyone it's doing..that to them? What if the ink is from the ink machine and whoever is infected is now victim of this weird..mind control in ink Felix says."

"The ink machine is here?"

"it explains a few things..but how do we fix it?"

"I don't know yet but.. let's try and fix that hand of your first."

"I did the best I could but .. it's like if you badly glued something together and it's not holding together at all."

"welp..I guess I'll have to learn how to write with my left hand."

"Don't say that! Holly is gonna fix it!..maybe just, bandaging it tight? Once we're out of here we can find that cream that helps us with the cracks."

"Oh that weird thing? Maybe I can make it."

"Why doesn't the cat gets it out of his silly bag?" cup pointed out.

The feline shrugged. "Honestly I doubt I'll get it out of here, this bag isn't too cooperative."

"Look we'll just bandage it, don't use your hand until we find another way. And..I think we should start finding food and a big enough room to even sit down and relax."

"Yeah, we're just standing around in the open."

"c'mon then, let's go. finish with those bandages."

"I'm doing it,, I'm doing it,, okay, I'm do-"

A hum, a song, a beautiful voice that seemed to belong to an angel.

"we need to hide!"

"Where?!"

"I-i-i don't know- uh-"

A few footsteps, the voice humming was probably wearing heels. It's getting closer.

"...I think I know that vo-" "in here!" a random room, a closet he thinks. There's an axe here, it can be useful.

The voice is getting louder. The humming is getting more addictive as it goes on, he wants to know who is it. He wants to know why does she sounds so familiar.

[soylent-crocodile]

Stag Dragon (Monster)

(model by Safari ltd)

(My partner is really into animal toy collecting; they particularly like dinosaurs, but exposure to Safari has since got me exposed to their dragon line. Which has some genuinely cool, interesting design!

Anyway, a long-term theme you'll see in this blog is Cool Mounts, quadrupedal Large creatures that can be ridden by creatures of various levels. This one, I imagine, is perfect for a druid or ranger in a forest's hour of need.)

CR11 CG Large Dragon (Air)

Dazzling creatures of the forest, stag dragons are rarely seen by humanoids, preferring invisibility or the guise of a fey shape to keep themselves hidden. They are herbivores, browsing on high foliage and fast-growing ferns, although they are deliberately careful not to overgraze in any one tree or spot.

Stag dragons are guardians of the local ecology of their region. They monitor the wellbeing of their undergrowth, of the deer they run with, and the many small creatures from insects to songbirds that live in their home. They tend to allow forage and subsistence hunting, understanding humanoids as part of the ecology, but do not permit civilization's encroach.

In times of crisis, stag dragons are known to take valorous and trustworthy heroes as riders, although this agreement typically lasts as long as the danger.

This beautiful creature is clearly draconic in nature, but its graceful legs and branching horns call to mind a noble stag.

Misc- CR11 CG Large Dragon (Air) HD13 Init:+11 Senses: Perception:+17, Darkvision 60ft, Blindsense 60ft Stats- Str:28(+9) Dex:25(+7) Con:18(+4) Int:15(+2) Wis:16(+3) Cha:20(+5) BAB:+13/+8/+3 Space:10ft Reach:5ft Defense- HP:136(13d12+52) AC:27(-1 Size, +7 Dexterity, +6 Natural, +5 Deflection) Fort:+12 Ref:+15 Will:+13 CMD:40 Resist: Immunity: Acid, Dragon Traits, Slow Weakness: Special Defenses: SR24, DR5/cold iron, Eldritch Grace Offense- Gore +19(3d6+9 plus Illumination), Tail +19(2d6+9), 2 Hooves +17(1d8+5) CMB:+23 Speed:50ft Special Attacks: Breath Weapon (13d6 damage plus illumination, 60ft line, Will DC20 for half, useable every 1d4 rounds) Feats- Multiattack, Improved Initiative, Power Attack (-4/+8), Iron Will, Run, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Sunder Skills- Acrobatics +11, Climb +14, Diplomacy +14, Escape Artist +18, Heal +10, Intimidate +15, Knowledge (geography) +6, Knowledge (local) +6, Knowledge (nature) +11, Perception +17, Sense Motive +17, Stealth +21, Survival +17, Swim +14 Spell-like Abilities-  Freedom of Movement /constant Invisibility, Plant Growth /at-will Greenmist 3/day Special Qualities- Change Shape (A single fey form, Fey Form I) Ecology- Environment- Forests (Temperate) Languages- Common, Draconic, Sylvan, Elvan Organization- Solitary Treasure- None Special Abilities- Breath Weapon- A stag dragon’s breath weapon is a blast of searing light. A creature that fails its save against is blinded for 1 round; all creatures hit are then subject to the stag dragon’s illumination. The breath weapon also destroys all fog it hits, although most magical fogs will return a round after being dispersed. Eldritch Grace- A stag dragon gets a deflection bonus to AC equal to its charisma modifier. Illumination- A creature dealt damage by a stag dragon’s horns or breath weapon must make a DC23 Will save or be illuminated for 1 hour. A creature illuminated this way glows with silvery light; they take a -20 circumstance penalty to Stealth checks against seeing creatures and cannot benefit from concealment, even if invisible.

[dragon-communion]

I'm mildly terrified by how quickly people are reblogging my little monsterfucking rant, but also. I mean I have very correct opinions.

There's some nuance to it, I can see the point of artistic decisions in the game and two tiny paragraphs of me being funny is not the whole of my perspective on anything, but also. I maintain my stance that Radahn is a shitty kemonomimi omen because if Mohg's inclusion in this shitshow was supposed to mean something, if his horns were important and sacred and status symbols, I sure as hell see no evidence of that on Radahn. I get making things pretty for the sake of a new and flawless order, but if Miquella's supposedly apologizing to the Hornsent and taking their culture into account, making things pretty and appealing by removing Mohg/Radahn's horns does not match that message.

If you really want to push the idea of Radahn as, for example, a guardian lion, give that man some monster feet. Fangs. Dramatic horns. Claws? When Horah Loux fought us you could see the wind around his fingers like short claws. Heck, attack my heart directly and give him horse hooves. Something.

It's part of why I'm mad about conventionally attractive Miquella too. The Hornsent value the Crucible, it seems like. Miquella's insect coded (what is UP with those cocoons???) so I would imagine that any attempt he made to get closer to a Crucible-blessed state would involve either insects, flowers, or both. We see Malenia as a full goddess and she had the most creative wings I've ever seen. We see Miquella's direct other half, Trina, and she's got flower body horror going on. Miquella has two ghost arms that make him look like a cosplay of Ranni, and I still don't really understand how that works because he already abandoned his flesh. It's in Mohgwyn. Where'd he get more and why does he have to rip it off. Marika's not a ghost, she's made out of clay or something. And Malenia's very textually made of flesh. What's going on???

It rips me out of my immersion to try to rationalize how he has flesh when he's already dead. I don't like that.

[samurai-skittle-squad]

A little story snippet from the DnD AU, which I think will be somewhat similar to the events of the TV series. Kotone is also there, of course.

He woke up in a cold sweat, his body aching as he breathed. Cool fingertips brushed his hair away from his face and he could faintly hear a gentle voice soothing him.

“Be still, sir, be still.”

“Who are you?” He managed to choke out, a sharp pain piercing through his ribs as he spoke. Through his hazy vision he could make out the shape of a petite young woman with wild, wavy white hair that was carefully removing his armor.

“Don't-” he started to say but the pain in his chest hurt so much that it cut his breath and made him cough until he tasted copper.

“If you struggle you'll make it worse. I'm not going to hurt you and I'm certainly not robbing you. Someone like me has little need for metal armor.” Carefully she set aside the plate she removed and he could feel a damp chill along his side. “Oh…that's worse than I expected. Shh, now…I've got this.” 

He held as still as he could as she pulled away the chainmail and linen shirt underneath. A wince flickered across her features. Both his shirt and her hands were coated with blood. 

Suddenly, he remembered the fight on the cliff, the bite of the werewolf's steel, his fall, and the lives of two of his friends which were certainly in danger. The woman by his side tried to soothe him as she touched a warm, damp cloth to his wound. The water smelled medicinal and the touch of it made his wound sting something fierce.

“I found you washed down the stream, bleeding onto the shore and dragged you to the grove myself.” She stated matter of factly. “Fell from the falls, did you? You would hardly be the first and certainly not the last. Still I do wonder, how is it that you come to be wounded like this? Some kind of battle out here? Bandits don't come out this far from civilization. And certainly not here where the veil is so thin.”

He blinked, trying to clear his blurry vision. His head was pounding, likely because of the fall. In spite of it, his vision cleared and he got a better look at his savior.

She was a satyr, which was a surprise- the fur on her legs was as white as her hair and she wore a loose fitting robe which had been dyed a dusky purple and decorated with flowers, and the shiny little shells and wings of insects. Rather than a set of two horns like his own, she had a singular, pearlescent one. She was almost like a unicorn.

“You're a satyr.” He whispered. “What are you doing here?”

“What am I doing here?” The woman laughed as she held out her hands at his now clean wound. A soft light, like sunlight glowing through leaves came from her palms, unfamiliar words were whispered into the breeze as she cast a healing spell. Once the spell was finished, she sighed heavily. “I live here. I am a druid and this is my grove. You are the one who does not belong here, sir knight. Who are you anyway? Horns and hooves aside, you are no satyr.”

Could he trust her? She had brought him to her grove and tended to his wounds. It had to be a risk for her too, to bring an armed stranger into her home. At the very least, her spell had lessened his pain and mostly closed his wound. 

“Seiji, paladin of ancients. I am not a satyr, but a tiefling.” 

“A tiefling?” Her eyebrows knit together in thought. “A tiefling has…fiend ancestry, right?” 

The word ‘fiend’ pierced his heart like a knife. It seemed there was no escaping the judgment of strangers no matter where he went

“Do you see a fiend before you?” Contempt tainted his words. The satyr looked surprised, then sad suddenly.

“Forgive me, I didn't mean to offend you. I am Kotone of Silverscales.” She replied softly, as she continued removing his armor now that his wound was less dire. “I have not met a tiefling before. Your ancestry does not bother me in the least. However, your intention for this forest does trouble me. Why were you out here?”

“I went to the mountain to find a friend. He isn't really able…to protect himself right now and an enemy of ours was looking for him. Our enemy may have taken an acquaintance of ours hostage as well. I must rescue her as soon as I am able…”

“Ohh, a lady friend?”

“No, as I said, an acquaintance.” He couldn't help but squirm with discomfort. “A tavern keeper who's been caught up in our battle.”

“I see.” The druid replied with a laugh. “No need to get defensive, I'm just making small talk. Can you sit up?”

He struggled to sit upright, but managed. 

“Yes…it still hurts though.” 

“Of course it does.” Kotone scoffed. “You fell off a cliff and your side was sliced open. Hold still another moment, I'm going to try a stronger spell.”

Again words in that unfamiliar language poured out from her and her hands glowed with a silvery-white light. She reached toward him tentatively, and he let her touch his face with both hands. All at once, a soothing wave of warmth rushed through him.  When he opened his eyes she was smiling at him in a way that made him feel a bit strange.

“What?”

“How do you feel?”

“The pain is gone. That's some strong magic you have.” He touched the place where his wound had been and felt only a tender scar. “You have my gratitude.”

“I'll treasure it.” She gave him a coy wink. “I would advise you to rest a while but something tells me you have other plans.”

For the first time since he had awoken, he began to take in his surroundings. If this truly was a druid grove, it was a humble one. She had laid him on a thin cot covered in furs in the corner of a tiny hut that was as much outdoors as it was indoors. Even the windows were little more than holes dressed with light, tattered fabric for curtains. Perhaps she was alone here, a satyr druid in mundane forest surroundings, the only one of her kind for miles and miles.

“I must find my friends, and make sure the tavern keep hasn't been harmed by that brute.”

“Say, this brute of yours wouldn't happen to be a lycanthrope, would he?”

Well that was a surprise.

“And if he is?” He cautiously scanned the hut for his sword and spied it leaning against the wall by the door.

“You always this on edge?” She chuckled, before narrowing her dark eyes. “Truth is, a werewolf has been running wild in this forest, killing for sport. I think he's just a cowardly dog that hurts the weak to feel strong. I want him out, before the balance is further disrupted ”

“I see…then you have been affected by this too.”

“And what is ‘this’ exactly?” 

He fell silent. Was it a good idea to draw her deeper into this mess? The satyr had started a kettle over her cook fire and set about skewering mushrooms and vegetables on sticks.

“I wouldn't want to get you more involved.”

She began roasting the food against the fire, turning each one to cook them evenly. 

“A little late for that, don't you think? I was involved as soon as that werewolf came here.”

“He is but one of many. I don't want to put another innocent woman in danger.”

“Innocent woman?” She scoffed. “Please, sir knight, I'm hardly some damsel in distress. I've fought bandits and parlayed with hags. I just need to know where to find the beast.”

“No.”

The kettle whistled and one of the mushrooms caught fire, she put it out with a wave. 

“Do you like mushrooms?”

“I suppose.”

In spite of his insistence she not get involved, she continued casually preparing her meal. 

“Forgive me, I don't eat meat. How do you feel about dandelion tea?”

“Don't change the subject.” He replied sternly.

Kotone laughed and put dried dandelion into two wooden cups before adding the hot water. 

“I don't need your permission, you know. You can tell me that you don't want me involved if you want, but I will follow you anyway. I only ask to be polite.”

“It's dangerous-”

“Sure it is, but I can handle myself. Tea?”

She offered him a streaming wooden cup held in her delicate pale hand. Gentle hands that never held a sword, he thought, but perhaps he just didn't know much about the ways of druids. Seiji took the cup from her and carefully sipped it. Dandelion tea was a bit more bitter than he was used to. 

“Vegetables for you too?” She offered him a skewer and he took it gratefully.

“Forgive me, I do appreciate your kindness.”

“Think nothing of it. It's what I do, though usually my patients are animals.” She laughed again. “Though a man is a kind of animal too. I suppose I should treat you the same.”

He ate and drank in silence, occasionally stealing glances at her as she finished cooking and put out the fire. After she tidied her few utensils, the satyr turned to him.

“So what will you do now?”

Absently his hand drifted to the scar again. “I've no time to rest. What direction are the falls in?”

[sammy-saola]

Wwway ahead of ya, me and a couple other anons have had the water…the laz water that is.

I got…shrimp vision, snails immortal and blue is blue!

-✨

Nice, I can exhale radiation strong enough to sunburn other, my eyes glow in the dark, and insects follow me (and it’s not just the ones at home)

ants follow my lead like I’m their queen, wasps let me hold them, and bees land on me

I also regrew my horns, and when I tried to trim them back, it healed pretty quick (took a day)

gotta trim my hooves more often though

[danwhobrowses]

One Piece Chapter 1090 - Initial Thoughts

Confusion

That was certainly the thoughts that arose upon hearing news of spoilers in a week that's meant to be a break. Honestly I thought it was fakes, attempts to stir fans unaware with falsities.

But lo, they do look very real. If they do become fake expect me to delete this one but the panels, the colour, it all seems to track. Of course TCB hasn't translated it yet so I've had to go back to my older sources, so the context may not be as good.

Spoilers for the Chapter, maybe? Still tentative, but support the Official Release of course

A very rare Kuro return...in the cover page, I do still wonder about the East Blue guys; Kuro, Morgan, Krieg, Gin, not Arlong though don't really give a crap about the shahaha man

We haven't recapped what happened yet, but we've picked up where we left off

Luffy's out with his regular introductions across the Den Den Mushi, which is kinda alarming with the Gorosei on the other side

He confirms to be allied with Vegapunk and uses York's safety to barter the fleet backing off

Embodying evil lads have you considered why humanitarian genius Dr. Vegapunk is allying with a Yonko against the World Government right now?

Ooooh Kizaru's not the only ones listening in, Morgans is too, which means Vivi's getting the scoop...Wapol's also there

The Gorosei engage in Monkey D. Luffy for the first time, asking about their numbers

Luffy goes to answer with 'including the injured' but Robin (identified by the Gorosei) shuts off comms

WHO HURT OUR ROBIN!?

Robin, bandaged around her bare chest, reminds Luffy not to give the enemy information

Through spoiler-talk I couldn't avoid a post saying that Robin was 'uncharacteristic' with people hoping that Devon had already swapped with Robin but this didn't seem uncharacteristic at all

Plus Luffy was hoping that giving them all the info would make the Marines back off, which Usopp points out is not likely

Saturn's already plotting though; they need to keep York, Punk Records and the lab for the Mother Flame (changed back to Flame by Stephen...who still won't fix Zoro/Zolo)

Vice Admiral Doberman does make a case for Lucci and the CP agents, which Saturn affirms is an option and he's just prioritizing the worst case scenario

Aaaaand there it is 'Humans are like insects, they will always reproduce'

Back to York, who uses her communication with the Gorosei to try and threaten the Straw Hats against harming her, only to be smacked by Nami

No seriously who hurt my queen, my wife, my light of the Revolutionaries? I will break them, they will wish they were never drawn

Of course Robin's baby boy Chopper is tending to her so she's in good hands, hooves, hand-hooves

Ah Kaku is also recovering, lamenting taking 2 of the Seraphim

Guessing that means S-Hawk and another (maybe S-Snake) went after Team Atlas/Chopper/Robin, meaning Kaku and Zoro must've engaged against the two since they were following S-Hawk, causing Robin to get hurt

Lilith also mourns Shaka, Pythagoras and the still-alive Edison

For all that aggression Lilith did care, even for Shaka

Lucci's reviewing the situation, which Kaku notices...sus

Usopp contacts with Underground, with the CP agents

They're living it up, dining for the first time in months, they've gone the way the G5 have with the Straw Hats

The Seraphim are also down there, with the CP agents, but trapped in bubbles

The bubbles are reinforced with the same stuff in the Mark 3 Pacifista, with some sea prism energy too

The Seraphim don't look too roughed up, though Snake and Hawk look additionally perturbed

Franky also thanks S-Snake for depetrifying them, which Vegapunk was curious about

Turns out that S-Snake carries the same weakness for Luffy, which Jinbe points out also having seen it first hand

Vegapunk does wonder about the Lineage Factor playing in, I guess he only got Boa's blood after Marineford

Atlas has gotten systems up and running, but the dome remains up, because York locked it in a password she kept from the Records

Stussy is also still here, reviewing the problem with the giant fleet, so she and the Stella look to Nami

The log hasn't reset, but they can still move to the ones active, they set their sights on one of them, which Stella confirms to be Elbaf

Visible shock from Luffy and Usopp, and surprise from Robin too, which leads to singing

Since they cannot escape from the coast, they must leave through the back, but there's still the matter of the fleet and the shield

The VegaForce can fly the Sunny but only out to Egghead's borders, but Franky reassures Vegapunk that they can Coup de Burst the rest of the way

As a result, Atlas, Edison and Stella plan to hack past York's password

With Lilith in charge of the VegaForce, she, Bonney, Luffy and Franky are off to the Sunny

Lilith seems excited, but Bonney and Luffy will miss the food

Bonney praises Sanji though, I wonder if something happened with her and him in the night to make her see him in a high regard

Luffy mentions she's cheerier now though, having given up on killing Vegapunk, since she was crying last night (almost a parallel to Morgans saying the same to Vivi)

Ah sneaky cat, Lucci has been contacting the Navy, that's why he was muttering before, he's given them the whole report

Kizaru and Saturn still feel confident that Luffy's cornered though, though I also feel like they're overestimating the crew

Saturn asks if Kizaru can bypass the shield, since he is light, Kizaru can but notes Sentomaru is down below

Interesting stuff though, even though Saturn suggests ignoring him, Kizaru refuses, he has his own ethics there and he refuses to ignore someone fighting for their duty

He does also pragmatically note that the fleet will be attacked by the Sea Beasts and Mark 3s

But Lucci already found the lab where the Mother Flame is made, which is concerning, York may not be needed at all

The Vice Admirals ready themselves, planning to assault the sea beasts first with intent to free the CP agents

Kizaru makes the move, and Sentomaru is braced for it

The pacifista are ordered to sink the fleet, so down below's gonna turn into a mini-warzone

And Sentomaru and Kizaru clash, the former's Ryou-based ultimate defense vs Kizaru's lightspeed kick

The impact shines bright underneath the labophase, and Luffy senses Kizaru's presence

It's a good chapter even if it is fake.

Taking the impression that it's not because it likely isn't, we do seem to be developing on an exit strategy from Egghead, whether that means direct confrontation with Kizaru remains to be seen.

On the one hand, Kizaru vs Luffy or vs another of the Monster Trio is considered to be the fight of the arc, but maybe it isn't the case? There's still that Blackbeard ship to consider after all. Plus with Saturn coming all the way here we have to expect some physical activity from him. It's not entirely clear how it will go, Oda likely baited a lot of fans with the nine Vice Admirals on the fleet but with Robin injured she may not be as handy in a fight right now. Lucci is still on their side too, and I would guess he plans to strike Stussy at the most opportune moment.

I think I'm most worried about this lab, because you can't make more Mother Flames without more catastrophic consequences. The Gorosei outrank Vegapunk when it comes to the Seraphim so they'd still have them on-hand too. I wonder if the Straw Hats, Vegapunk and Bonney can simply leave Egghead with all that there, plus all that cool tech they could use to upgrade Usopp and Franky, knowing that the Gorosei still get what they want. So we might be in for more delay from leaving, we are expecting an incident to occur after all. I also can't shake some Sabaody energy in this chapter, they say 'we're going to Elbaf' but now Kizaru's here, it's very much like 'we're going to Fishman Island' but now Kizaru's here...it took so long to get to Fishman island and it's taken so long to get to Elbaf XD Still excited though, doubt Shanks will still be there but you could get more Kid and maybe even Big Mom, maybe even Law because Bepo has to surface somewhere.

I am still hoping we track back to what happened the previous day, for the fights and for the Kuma memories, I still also hope Franky gets some shine before leaving the island of his hero. Also I need to put whoever hurt Robin on my list.

But yeah it's a weird spot, since my brain still says 'we're in a break, where did this chapter come from? It must be fake' but it also says 'it looks too much like other chapters to be fake, right down to the grain' so it's messing with my head a little. Either way we'll know next Friday, which means we're getting a week with no official chapter either way.

[hrokkall]

Leshy for the ask game?

HELL YEAH I got requests for all four Scrybes let’s go.

Favorite thing about them: I absolutely love his character as a whole. He’s a villain (and remains that way for most—if not all—of the game) but he’s still so likable just because everyone can see his genuine passion for the game he’s created. Everything he did, everything he created, every puzzle box and squeaking floorboard and hidden secret was all for the player. Inscryption the game loves the player so much—it loves them enough to trawl through the blight it’s built upon just to have even the slightest chance of looking them in the eyes and Leshy is such a good representation of that theme.

Least favorite thing about them: Again not going to say anything related to torturing the other Scrybes (even if he thought that they would eventually come around and see that it was an honor). Instead I’ll say I wish he had a full 3D model. I know it’s because he’s too damn tall but all of the other Scrybes have one (including Grimora, who is nearly the same height and has to clip through the floor to fit in that scene) but I would love to actually know what his legs look like instead of speculating based on the unclear 2D sprite. Granted I’d probably draw him with hooves anyway because it’s fun but still I’d love if he had a full body that I could import into blender to just rotate around for fun.

Favorite line: I’m not going to pick any bits from the finale because every single one of those lines hit hard, instead I’ll pick this segment

brOTP: I already talked about Leshy and Kaycee on the Kaycee post and I’m going to try and not repeat myself too much here. So instead I’ll say I like the relationship Leshy has with his subordinates just because it’s so different from the other Scrybes’ interactions with their own underlings. Magnificus and P03’s underlings both revere their Scrybe above all else, Grimora’s all live under the same roof and are therefore likely pretty close with her, but Leshy? All of his woodsmen seem like they were just… people who lived in his forest who he decided to converse with. They’re loyal to him, sure—everyone but the Woodcarver (who isn’t one of his underlings) is 100% okay with him using their visage and controlling them for the boss fights—but in a very different way. Loyal in a way of “I live in the forest with you and the forest decided to extend a hand to me in return” rather than loyal in a “put me in the torture chamber, boss!” way. I don’t know it’s just like they’re casual friends with any reverence (or lack thereof, in the Woodcarver’s case) formed organically rather than vehemently feeling like they owe anything, intentionally or not.

OTP: Trying not to repeat myself too much so I WON’T put all four Scrybes as the world’s worst polycule here. I’m pretty sure everyone here already knows that’s my #1 favorite Inscryption ship (and probably the only one tbh because I’m not really into shipping). Instead I’ll talk about Leshy and the other three Scrybes individually (keeping it short because otherwise, like usual, we’d be here a while)

Leshy x Grimora: Classic life and death motif combo. You can’t really go wrong here. Plus, if you go by sheer quantity (and quality imo) in act 1, Insect cards are by far the most abundant, implying they may be Leshy’s favorites (plus the insect that crawls across the table that Leshy occasionally stops to observe). So making Grimora into an insect card seems to show a certain level of fondness—or respect, at very least. We already know from canon that a combined blood/bones system works very well, as do beast and death cards in act 2. Plus the mental image of Grimora bringing back animals that Leshy had gotten particularly attached to by lovingly carving their epitaphs and watching as the now-skeletal rat excitedly greets his friend again is cute.

Leshy x Magnificus: This one is a little bit funny to me just because they have no hybrid cards together and Leshy goes out of his way to gouge Magnificus’s eye out. So needless to say the divorce was messy. But in a pre-old_data sense, their dynamic would probably center around their mutual love of creation. Though their own preferences clash, they’re both huge fans of having a single unified aesthetic. They don’t want each other’s card systems near the other, but the storycrafting would be fantastic. Similarly, I don’t think a magic/blood campaign would work very well without a ton of shoehorning (it would have to be something similar to the red hart wherein the # of sacrifices made that turn power up a ruby mox card) but the visuals would be nice.

Leshy x P03: This one is equally funny to me because they’re opposites in every way possible and yet they really have a lot more in common than either of them would appreciate in canon proper. I’m personally a fan of the “overgrown technology” type aesthetic (see: co-op) so from that level I can appreciate it, but also the level of hilarity that these two would bring is incredible. Learning about the semi-canonical divorce between the robot and the forest deity was a punch in the face, but the semi-canonical marriage that it implies? The two of them going in dates in either the middle of the woods (wherein P03 complains the whole time until it spots a bird mimicking the whirring of its fans) or at the factory (wherein Leshy spends the whole time asking if they can go down to the shore because he’d love to capture that thing he swore he saw poke its head out above the waves). It would be a disaster and yet the fact that they made it work speaks volumes. I’ve already talked about a blood-energy system with co-op so I’ll skip over that part but yeah I like these two.

So anyway the four of them together are a lethal combo needless to say. It doesn’t work and yet it does and then the moment it starts to work they realize they can play god and then start fistfighting each other about it. So that’s fun.

nOTP: Again, not a fan of Leshy and Kaycee in a romantic context.

Random headcanon: I didn’t get to show it in my last drawing of him (partially because it got covered up with fur) but he has tarsal spurs on the back of his leg like an insect would. What these are used for? Good question… Seeing as in insects they’re usually on the forelegs for digging or cleaning, they’re probably just vestigial on Leshy.

Unpopular opinion: Act 1 isn’t my favorite. It’s good, for sure, but I hate when people reduce Inscryption to just act 1 and then ignore the rest of the game. Maybe that’s just because I’ve been drawing art for this game and picking apart the lore for around a year now but the other acts deserve more of a spotlight too.

Song I associate with them: Can I put Lord Huron’s entire Strange Trails album here? I won’t, I’ll narrow it down to Meet Me in the Woods (though you should listen to the whole album if you want a whole album of Leshy songs. Just saying). Other than that, Dear Dictator by Saint Motel and Solar Waltz by Cosmo Sheldrake are both pretty good options.

As a bonus, I’ll put Time in a Bottle by Jim Croce—the song he references in the Finale as he plays his last game.

Favorite picture of them: It only appears for a couple of seconds but I really like his “Deathcard”

[brandstifter-sys]

Fear

Roman (Ao3)

Word Count: 838

Characters: Roman, Virgil

Rating: T

Warnings: Spider!Virgil, fear

Roman is lost in the Imagination and he made a big mistake.

---

He was not lost.

Roman couldn't get lost in his own forest!

He was simply confused because it was nightfall.

The wind was a whisper, gently rustling his hair and the trees. He could hear the underbrush crunching softly under his boots.

This was his forest.

Wasn't it?

He had already come across an old barn that wasn't his. He had to free that poor filly, alone and cold and hungry. Her mother was nowhere to be found.

She wasn't his horse. He knew all of his creatures. She couldn't belong to Remus, not when she was too skittish to attack. But she had to be his, didn't she?

This wasn't Remus' forest, was it? He preferred seascapes. He wouldn't bother with a temperate forest.

Then where was he?

A chill ran down his spine.

Roman was lost in a part of the Imagination he'd never seen. He was lost in the dark, surrounded by the unknown, under the full moon.

It was too quiet.

Roman shivered when he realized that. There were no bats fluttering overhead, no insects buzzing between the trees. No creatures scurrying underfoot.

All he could hear was his shallow breathing and his racing heart as he pressed forward.

The darkness seemed to swallow him, disorienting him further. He could barely see his hand in front of him.

The solitude was maddening. And yet…

He could have sworn there were eyes on him, watching him. Sizing him up.

Only a predator stalking its prey would be silent like this. He was not alone.

A deafening screech erupted from the forest, not far behind him.

His hair stood on end.

Thundering hooves drew nearer. Crackling rang through the trees. It was coming for him.

He ran.

The thicket tore at his attire, ripping the regal white and gold. His pulse pounded in his throat.

He had to get away. He didn't care if it meant begging his brother for sanctuary. Whatever was out there was coming for him and he had no idea what to expect if the beast caught him.

He was nearing a clearing.

Sweet sanctuary!

He could force the creature into the open. He would have the advantage! He could defend himself instead of fleeing like a coward.

But as he reached for his sword, his foot got caught in a root.

His life flashed before his eyes as he fell.

Crack

Roman cowered on the ground and covered his head. That was a whip. The beast had a rider!

He could feel the rush of air as they jumped over him.

He dared to look up.

There were two pitch black horses in the meadow, one he recognized as the filly he freed. She was galloping around her mother, both of them oozing wispy shadows. Their eyes were glowing purple and the grass around them withered.

His breath hitched at the sound of skittering and low chirping.

The horse was running from something else!

He could see the spidery shadow looming over him. Not like this! Not a creature like this!

Roman screamed and squeezed his eyes shut when cold claws duh into his sleeves. He didn't care if he was crying—he didn't want to die! He thrashed and kicked to get away as he was yanked upward. There was no escape.

"You let Shelly out," a deep, layered voice rumbled and the claws tightened around his arms, "You could have killed her!"

The prince stilled and dared open his watery eyes.

He regretted that choice. Glistening green fangs, two fuzzy appendages on either side of them. Six dark eyes glaring at him. Roman sobbed and struggled against the being holding him.

"Keep struggling. It won't work."

Roman swallowed the bile building in his throat and forced himself to breathe.

"Unhand me, fiend!"

"You haven't called me that in a while, Princey."

Princey

Roman paused and looked at that face again. He knew those human eyes. He knew that sidebang. He glanced at his arms. He knew that hoodie.

"Virgil? What on earth are you doing here? If you wanted to visit me you could at least send a calling card instead of this!"

"This isn't your side. You're in my corner."

"What do you need a corner for?"

"The nightmares. I take care of them," Virgil droned before his voice dropped and folded in on itself, "And if you mess with them again, I will personally make you regret it."

"I won't! It was an honest mistake!" Roman sobbed, "Please!"

Virgil lowered him to his feet and hid his spider parts.

"Take a few and pull yourself together. I'll give you a ride home," he sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"A—A ride?"

"Silverstein will be a lot more docile now that she found Shelly. I know you can ride a horse."

Roman looked past him at the mare, frolicking in the withering grass with her filly. Bolts of lightning ran down her coat. That was his ticket home. He could handle another hour of sheer terror. Right?

[constantvariations]

I would have answered this in the post, but I have serious anxiety about answering things on the internet, so I’m on anon. Sorry.

But to answer your question about worldbuilding in RWBY, I’d firstly look into the Maidens. Why not have each Maiden use different elemental powers instead of whatever mishmash the writers thought were cool? Why not have the Maidens related to the trait the Relics stand for in some way, such as already having whatever trait as a prerequisite for gaining the powers (like being a nerd for Spring/knowledge, being an artsy type for Winter/creation, etc), or gaining the trait later (the real-world equivalent of having higher than average Offense stats for Summer/destruction, or faster reflexes (maybe?) for Fall/Choice)? I had always assumed that the Maidens were Ozma’s daughters and they had inherited his ability to reincarnate in some cruel twist of fate, so finding out they were inadvertently made just to be barrier maidens is a little disappointing to me, but it still would have been interesting if it was explored more. Like, the idea of your life being entirely uprooted because of powers most people don’t even know exist, and being mostly at the mercy of two different forces, well-intentioned or otherwise, could work so well. As it is, they are just Macguffin Carriers who open the relic doors and have about a 50% chance of being murdered by Cinder.

Secondly, the SEWs. Where do they come from, the God of Light or one of Ozma’s reincarnations? Can you be a SEW and a Maiden? Or a SEW and an Oz? Can you be all three? I know there is genocide involved, but are there really no other SEWs besides Ruby, Summer, Maria and Snuffles the Hound? Were they always Salem’s target, or did she take a while to realize that they were a threat to the Grimm? Do the powers always manifest as torches for eyes or can you do other stuff with Silver Eyes? Can the glow in the dark? Can they augment your Semblance? Are there short- and long-term effects of using the Silver Eyes? What is a typical childhood like with these eyes? What is an adulthood with them? Do they camouflage themselves by being a different color until first use? Is there a general distrust with people with these traits, or do people just flat out not know unless they’re in Oz’s or Salem’s circles? There is so little information about the Silver Eyes and it’s confusing.

Lastly, the Faunus (designs, the concept itself is already a whole different kettle of fish). It was already kind of uncomfortable making them stand ins for racial minorities, but why is it such a binary with Faunus traits? Why only make it one trait? Why not go all out with designs? The writers clearly don’t have an answer for how the Faunus came about after Humanity 1.0 was wiped out, so why not just include them in the beginning, drive home the point about how irrational and unrealistic racism is? And the heroic Faunus tend to have “cute” or “non-threatening” traits like tails and ears, but the villainous Faunus tend to have horns and stingers and such, even in the Fables, which is…something I would change. I also want more variety in traits. I want Faunus with rectangular pupils like goats. I want to know if fur/wool counts as a trait, or if it would be classified as hypertrichosis. I want to see hinged fangs, fins, gills, insect legs, hooves, chelicerae, all that neat weird stuff. If you’re going to have a half animal race, you might as well go all out.

No need to apologize, anon! I've been on tumblr for years and it wasn't until I got into rwby that I got over my own posting anxiety lol. And with that one shithead harassing rwdesters on anon rn, I understand completely why you'd want to protect yourself

The maidens absolutely need to be revamped, and I highkey agree abt giving them specific elemental powers that relate to their actual seasons. It's so weird how crwby said all the maidens have the exact same powers but Cinder only uses fire for weapons and flight, Raven only ever used ice for weapons, Fria just used ice, Penny... didn't do anything w the powers iirc, and Amber only got enough time to do some lightning and flight (seemed to be Wind powered tho so she's the most diverse in just 3 minutes lmao)

I've always loved the idea of the relics being linked to the maidens! For a while I legit thought that was the case bc Raven knew things she couldn't possibly have known (Yang being in trouble on the train, all her ominous ramblings abt Ozpin) that I thought passive aquiring of knowledge was a side affect of being the spring maiden. (I am boo boo the fool.) But having to have some specific traits or gaining boosts to already existing stats would be a cool thing to explore!

Ngl I really love the idea of incredible powers getting dropped on some random guy and the Everything that would stem from that, but I don't think it should've been in rwby's lore. If Ozcarnations need to keep track of the maidens bc they're a) very powerful and therefore dangerous, and b) keys to his magic doors (that his cane isn't a skeleton key for wtf Oz), then why the fuck would he gift his magic so that the powers would be passed on in such a messy, chaotic way? It don't add up, bruv

The show heavily implied that SEWs are a God of Light creation, but... how? Did he come back specifically to create them? Were they a throwaway to Oz in an effort to give him allies? Was it a petty project to piss off Salem? We just don't know (and probably never will). There are wayyyyy too many questions surrounding their entire existence, and their current endangered status, and I doubt crwby will answer any of them satisfactorily

I don't think there's anything stating that a person can't be a combination of SEW, maiden, and Ozcarnation. There'd be some problematic aspects regarding the fact that a woman would be forced to lug around an old man's soul in her head, so maybe it's best to leave the men to themselves on that front. Not to mention being all three would be far too much going on for a single character

Yknow, I've never thought abt the eyelights being anything but big beams of deus ex, but considering eyes are the windows to the soul, there should be smth a little... more. In their first appearance they start out looking like angel wings (rad as FUCK), so maybe they could manifest as some Soul Symbolism before going nova on grimm ass

As for consequences, yes. Absolutely. Hands down there needs to be more than a happy thoughts montage to use the damn thing (fucking patronus knock off) and there needs to be a drawback for using such an incredibly OP ability

I saw someone suggest that using the Silver Eyes would slowly deteriorate your vision, which I think would be a way more interesting thing to explore for Maria's character. Maybe she thought exposure to grimm was the real cause behind her onset blindness and wanted some distance. Maybe she knew the truth and felt guilty abt choosing herself over her duty, thus her decision to go MIA. Maybe she lost someone so dear she couldn't feel strongly enough to activate the power. Anything over the "i got scared after losing my eyes so i hid" thing that... doesn't really go anywhere

I'm def a fan of redesigning the faunus. The one animal trait thing came as a fault bc that's all Poser would allow, but good writers could've found a way to explain that while adding more traits in Maya (like Sten's lack of horns in DA:O). It might still have to be limited to a humanoid frame a la Mass Effect, but it could still work. It'd be really cool to see more animal features (fucking YES to animal eyes) and maybe even behaviors from faunus. I mean, the entire concept could basically be the wolfman variant of werewolves but w a variety of animals (or omegaverse traits if you're into that lol)

Crwby may not have an answer for how faunus came around, but I noticed they arrived at the same time as Dust, so in my (maybe someday) rewrite they're linked

[ficto-willo]

Bit of a story time. I have pieced together an important part of my (past) life and needed to speed write to remember. This is something I am okay with sharing.

Story is below the cut.

- 𝐓𝐰𝐲𝐥𝐚 𝐁.

When I was younger, I never had many friends. Any friends I did have were practically forced to exist near me since I was closed off and liked strange things that were even too weird for fellow monsters. Even with my fellow boogey monsters I felt like an outcast, I didn’t look like everyone else, I looked too different to just be a boogey monster.

Eventually even my pretend friends left me, they had better things to do, meanwhile I wanted to study flora and fauna, specifically insects. I had the entire boogey woods to myself, except there was somebody who dared enter the boogey woods. A hybrid monster, named Avea, though back then she went by another name.

I had never met a monster like Avea, not only was she not a boogey monster like who I was used to, but she was different compared to most monsters. Her parents were a harpy and a centaur, together they were scientists who did research together. This is when I found out Avea lived in this huge mansion outside of the woods, though she wasn’t interested in her parents’ scientific studies. She was a free spirit, one who mainly wanted to run.

I became close friends with Avea. She taught me about different monsters and showed me it’s okay to be different and unique. Though she also brought to my attention that I wasn’t exactly just a boogey monster. She told me she could tell a hybrid when she saw one, and that I was a prime example. My tail, splotching, and hooved feet were give aways that I had been too naive to realize without the help of Avea.

This lead to me confronting my dad as a teenager, questioning about why I wasn’t like other boogey monsters and who my mother was. I just wanted answers, but like with most things, Avea had a drive and pushed me to go farther, causing me to actually snap at my dad and bring up all the things he has done and how wrong he’s always been. Then the event happened and I never talked to him again.

I stayed friends with Avea but I was different, I had unlocked something about myself that I wasn’t ready for.

When older, I saw Avea less and less for she was traveling often while I stuck to my woods. She’d come to visit and we’d share stories. But then while Avea was away for some time I met a vampire on the run named Elissa.

Me and Elissa is a whole other story but eventually she decided to move in with me and my soon-to-be forever roommate.

I was overjoyed to introduce Elissa to Avea, knowing the two have some similar interests and high energy, but I would be poorly mistaken. At the time I couldn’t tell (since I know Avea can’t hide it) that Avea was entirely jealous of Elissa and wanted me all to herself. I thought with time she’d grow to like Elissa, but it only got worse. Right when it seemed Avea would accept and get along with Elissa, Avea happened to be there for a certain moment which set her way back.

Ultimately I tried to reason with Avea but she was too motivated to get what she wanted and to disregard others’ wants. I hadn’t rode on her centaur back since I was much younger, but that day she lifted me on and was ready to take off…

Elissa stopped her, thank goodness, but that was the moment I saw Avea cry for the first time… With the stomp of her hoof she sprinted away. And that was the last I saw of her.

[britishassistant]

Trick or Treat? (I'd be fascinated with whatever you want to share!)

Aah, thank you so much!! Happy Halloween!!

And for your treat…well, here’s a crossover between Hannibal and the Magnus Archives that’s been sitting in my notes for years now. Hope I got the characterization right!

Warnings for character death, Hannibal-typical mindfuckery, and Flesh-typical ideation of cannibalism.

The forest around Wolf Trap is dark and deep.

Will can hear the crunch of hooves nearby, stepping delicately over packed leaves and loam.

But…something’s off.

The forest is too quiet. Even at night, there should be insects and movement, the song of birds of prey feasting in the dark.

There is a silence. Too deep, too thick for it to be normal.

The silence of a predator stalking.

Prepared to strike—!

The forest bursts into noise. The crunch of claws over leaves. The patter of darting hooves. The snarls and snaps of toothy maws.

Abigail, eyes wide and wet and frightened as they stare down at him, stifling sobs.

The Ravenstag bolts.

Teeth lunge, snap.

Bring it down.

The meat is left unfeasted on, to fester, to rot.

Will Graham wakes up on a sofa.

It is not his sofa. He could never own anything as plush and luxurious as this, firm packed goose down supporting him even as it cradles his weary body.

He’s at Dr. Lecter’s then. But how? The last he can remember, he was at Wolf Trap—

There’s the smell of something burning.

Will pushes himself up, hobbles over to the kitchen.

Four dinner plates, stacked neatly on the countertop.

Forks, not nearly so neatly posed, scattered as they are. Silverware drawer still slightly ajar.

There are the trimmings and trappings of a meal. Root vegetables, sliced wafer thin. A dirty bowl, smeared with the remains of oil and herbs and spices. A hunk of unidentifiable meat, waiting on a chopping board and glistening pink with its own juices and marinades.

Another, larger joint going black in the pan.

Will switches off the heat.

Something prickles down his spine that Will can’t name. Doesn’t want to name.

“Doctor?” He calls. “Dr. Lecter?”

Something crunches underfoot.

There’s broken glass on the floor.

Will follows the trail to one of the windows

Dr. Hannibal Lecter is lying in his foyer, the front door wide open. His eyes are wide, mouth gently parted.

No need to check him for a pulse, part of Will thinks hysterically.

Not when his throat’s been so violently savaged only the vulnerable vertebrae and cartilage of his spine still attach the head to the rest of the body.

Hannibal leans against the filing cabinet, full of easy grace.

“Tell me, Will.” He asks quietly, gently. “Why do you think that I was killed?”

Will exhales, shaky.

You aren’t supposed to talk to hallucinations.

Julia Montauk does not look like she has the right to be Hannibal Lecter’s killer.

A tall woman who somehow manages to make the orange jumpsuit she’s wearing look scruffy. Running the edge of one filthy nail under the other, trying to scrape out the black remains of god knows what. A rangy tenseness to her frame, a false show of casualness that betrays her eagerness to strike.

Will feels bile boiling in his stomach at the sight of her.

“You can hear it too, can’t you?” She leans forwards, eyes blown wide. “The call to chase down those bastards that think they’re top dog. To make ‘em quiver, make ‘em scared, make ‘em run. To Hunt.”

For a moment, Will feels a sharp cold across his face. An itch in his trigger finger. The specter of Garret Jacob Hobbs stares out from her face.

Hannibal’s hand comes down on his shoulder with all the force of a slammed door.

Will’s stomach roils in protest.

“Those who have suffered abuse in childhood oft-times find themselves trapped in relationships with a new predator during their adult lives.” Hannibal tilts his head. “Why do you think that is?”

Will shoots him a glare. “…This better not be a weird form of victim blaming.”

A flicker of a frown passes over Hannibal’s face. Recrimination. “Will. Being obtuse does not become you.”

Will raises his hands in mock surrender, then pauses to think about it.

“…Those who prey on others look for insecurities. Vulnerabilities.” He says slowly. “Chinks in armor that they can twist themselves into. Survivors have those because they’ve been through more battles than most.“

Hannibal nods, a pleased smile spreading over his face. “And often lack the proverbial blacksmith who would reinforce said armor for the battle with the next dragon. How could any wyrm resist such an opportunity?”

“So, what?” Will busies himself drying Buster, trying to ground himself in the scent of wet dog and the feeling of damp fur. “You’re saying that these…these things and their ‘avatars’ are coming for me because I’ve had the misfortune of surviving one of them?”

“Hyenas pride themselves on stealing from those greater than them.” Hannibal stands, walks across to examine the bookcase behind Will. “Many of the entities, the Hunt and the Eye among them, delight in tormenting those who have escaped greater threats than they.”

Will gives an absent nod as he chews his lip, wholly unprepared for Hannibal to continue, “Or those who serve them.”

He stops.

Buster lets out a whine, nudging his nose against Will’s shoulder.

“Wait.” He twists, stares up at Hannibal. “You aren’t saying. You, you weren’t—?”

Hannibal smiles, indulgent and proud.

“No.” Will insists. Denies. Pleads. “No, you’re. You’re a hallucination. You’re in my head.”

“And it took so long to put myself there.” Hannibal purrs, stride slow and purposeful as he stalks towards Will. “So many meals, only the choicest morsels for someone as dear as you. To whet your appetite. To feed the impulses I saw could free you. To know you as intimately as I wished you could know me.”

He kneels as Will rears back, hands slippery with sweat. “And you, my dear Will, you ate so well for me. You partook.”

His hands are warm as they cup Will’s face. Too warm. Much too warm for what should only be a hallucination, a ghost, a memory—!

“For my Flesh is food indeed and my blood is drink indeed.” Will quotes, without quite knowing why. Without letting himself understand why.

This close he can see every wrinkle in Hannibal’s face that crinkles with delight, with undisguised affection. “I wish we had more time. More chances to prepare you, to nourish you before we were set upon by scavengers. But you will not be alone, Will. I will never let you go hungry.”

The scents of Hannibal’s dinner table fill the small house. A communion, for the two of them alone.

Saliva bursts in his mouth.

“Let me be your armor, dear Will.” Hannibal whispers. “And we shall feast on any who presume you to be prey.”