#your time is up // reaper class species

[melodrangea]

I'M BEGGING YOU PLS I NEED KID WITH A READER THAT'S LIKE THE TITULAR CHARACTER FROM KOMI CAN'T COMMUNICATE-- THEY COME OFF AS LIKE A KUUDERE, COOL AND COLLECTED-- BUT SECRETLY THEY'RE A DORK AND SOCIALLY ANXIOUS AND JUST HAVE A LOT OF POWER AND KNOW HOW TO USE IT!! Maybe they wear a cloak and mostly blacks and reds😈😈😈 And maybe instead of using a weapon, they have some unexplainable power source similar to witches that just makes them even /more/ mysterious and cool. Until they start talking to you about how the last of both the carolina parakeets and passenger pigeons died in the exact same cage 4 years apart💀 Maybe the reason they're so quiet is /because/ they're so awkward and weird🥺 They probably silently stare at him all wide eyed and freak him out until he realises that means they just think he's pretty and like looking at him🙏🙏🙏 Anyways sorry for rambling🥺🥺🥺

i have a bunch of asks i’ve still yet to answer (sorry my loves) but this sounded too intriguing and funny not to write right away

what i’m hearing is witch!reader that’s calm on the outside and quirky on the inside

and something about birds :)

so imma just roll with that real quick

———————————————————————————

Kid x Witch!Kuudere! Reader

-now this totally makes sense

-because let’s be honest Kid is basically the exact same way

-cool and collected on the outside, but a total symmetry dork on the inside with a love for architecture

-you first notice Kid during sparring practice at the dwma

-assuming this is post-kishin and witches are more accepted, now you’re in the elite class with Mkf and the others

-you were assigned to face him, Patty and Liz

-you were nervous facing not only three on one, but one of the dwma’s top students

-Kid on the other hand noticed you for your witchy traits

-how the cloak you huddled yourself in flowed like a shroud of feathers, how soft your hair looked and the glittering jewelry you adorned yourself with

-you looked a little out of place but so did he and Kid respected your lack of care, how aloof you seemed to be to the whole scenario

-the spar ended in a close match with Kid winning but that impressed him even more at how close you got

-Kid was used to wiping the floor with every student that crossed his path, he admired how well you held up

-he liked a challenge

-you two danced around each other for a long time, pretending to be calm and calculated until one day the two of you were hanging out, walking down the street towards a cafe you’d heard of

-when Kid spotted a very symmetrical looking pigeon…

-and the facade was all over for the two of you

-Kid immediately went into fanboy mode, praising the bird for its unique coloring and symmetrical feathers

-and you about passenger pigeons and the odd coincidences revolving around the end of the species

it was an interesting time at the cafe, managing to both surprise the other about their hidden hyper fixations

but it honestly just gave the two of you more to talk about

there was the obvious initial embarrassment about your cover being blown but Kid found your wide array of knowledge very attractive

especially since your witchy persona is bird based

and Kid’s hyper-fixation made sense as a grim reaper he had to keep order, and what’s more orderly than symmetry?

and now that the metaphorical veil had been lifted it gave you both the confidence to admit your feelings, knowing that you both finally understood each other

were you the hottest and oddest couple ever? probably.

but did either of you give a single shit? absolutely not

and now Kid can spoil you with shiny objects while you use your magic to make things symmetrical :)

———————————————————————————

man if i had a dollar for every time i said hyperfixation

but if wishes were wings my grammar skills would fly so high they’d burn in the sun

and that’s a wrap my lovelies <3

i hope i did your request justice anon!!

-melodrangea <3

[woltourney]

ROUND 3 / SIDE B / POLL 3

Stelak Ganzthuv (@drtanner) v. Lopu Rhaavuna (@mages-ballad)

Stelak Ganzthuv:

q. What is your WoL name and pronouns? a. Stelak Ganzthuv (he/him)

q. What is your WoL's species? a. Roegadyn

q. What is your WoL's class? Or classes? a. Gunbreaker, Bard

q. What data centre/server are you on, if you want people to find you? a. Crystal/Malboro! Come say hi!

q. Tell us a bit about your WoL! a. Stelak is an amnesiac and can't remember anything about who he was before he arrived in Gridania. He woke up in the back that cart with nothing but a name, the clothes on his back and a robust set of instincts and principles, and while he has no memory of his life before then - if, indeed, he existed at all - he knows he's a whore. That's his literal job, he's a sex worker, he knows how to do that and he's very good at it. He's also picked up playing music suspiciously quickly, so there's a decent chance he might have been a bard previously, too. To Stelak's knowledge, Hydaelyn pretty much just plucked him out of the aether, or from wherever, to be Her hero, and Stelak is a little reluctant in his role but he's keenly aware that he has little choice in the matter; everything will go to shit in a big hurry if he doesn't step up when people need him to step up, and as much as he'd rather be doing other things and really doesn't enjoy the recognition or fame he gets for being the WoL, there's precious little to be done about it. He's doing his best, lmao.

q. Why should YOU win? (Answer IC!) a. "I'm gonna be honest with you, darlin'. I don't mind, I'm just here for a laugh." Stelak pauses, glancing away for a moment, considering. "… Sayin' that, though. Please. I'm very tired." His brow knots as he gives a weary smile. "It would be very nice to get a little appreciation for once."

q. Anything else you wanna add? a. Stelak is available for hire. Just sayin'. 💜

Lopu Rhaavuna:

q. What is your WoL name and pronouns? a. Lopu Rhaavuna, she/her

q. What is your WoL's species? a. Keeper of the Moon Miqo'te

q. What is your WoL's class? Or classes? a. IC-ly her primary jobs are Bard and Dancer. Secondary to that, Sage and Reaper. (Note from submitter: CUL and BOT)

q. What data centre/server are you on, if you want people to find you? a. Mateus [Crystal]

q. Tell us a bit about your WoL! a. I took inspiration for Lopu's character and story from the mahou shoujo genre, with the core elements being that a seemingly-average girl discovers she actually has the capability for magical powers, and uses those to help spread hope and save others. Love is a major theme for Lopu, and its what gives her the strength and motivation to do what she does. Lopu grew up in Gridania, where she left and became the Warrior of Light at age 25. She's always had a deep feeling of wanderlust within her, and the events of the MSQ are what kickstart her into being able to get out and see the world. She's lived her life knowing there had to eventually be more out there for her, and her assumptions are proven right as she takes up the title of the WoL and makes herself known. She's no doubt had her ups and downs, but never once has she regret her journey. Others may call her a hero; but even after all this time she still considers herself just an adventurer that likes to help people. In her free time, Lopu has a few hobbies she likes to indulge in! She's very big on cooking and sharing the food she makes, gardening and growing her own ingredients, hunting, training, running Treasure Maps, and of course hanging out with the Scions. Outside of saving the universe, she's a very sweet and humble woman.

q. Why should YOU win? (Answer IC!) a. "Ah? Um…" Lopu takes a lock of her thick hair to twirl around and play with while she ponders the question. "I think I should win because… It would make me really happy if I did?" She laughs a little, giving a flash of fangs. "Truthfully, I can't really think of a good reason! I guess there is the fact I saved the universe, but I wouldn't want people to feel obliged to put me on a pedestal just for that." "Maybe… If I win, I'll bake a huge celebratory cake to share with everyone! That works, right? People tend to be more motivated to vote if there's food involved, yes?"

q. Anything else you wanna add? a. AS HER CREATOR I SAY VOTE FOR LOPU BECAUSE SHE IS SO CUTE AND HUGGABLE AND SILLYGIRL-CORE AND HAS THICK THIGHS AND I LIKE HER A LOT AND ALSO IF SHE WINS I WILL ACTUALLY DO A GPOSE OF HER AND THE CAKE AND EVERYONE CAN HAVE SOME!!!!! VOTE FOR LOPU #LOPUSWEEP #LOPUSWEEP #LOPUSWEEP #LOPUSWEEP #LOPUSWEEP

[geminiiviolets]

Caspian Lycoris

༉‧₊˚✧ BASIC INFORMATION Age: 500+

Gender: Unknown (they/them pronouns)

Sexuality: Bi

Birthday: February 26 (Pisces)

Species: Fae

Homeland: Briar Valley

Twisted from the Grim Reaper

༉‧₊˚✧ APPEARANCE

Height: 200 cm (6’7’’)

Eye color: White

Hair color: White with streaks of black

Distinctive traits: White marble-like horns, pointed ears

Additional notes/characteristics: Their skin is always very cold to the touch

༉‧₊˚✧ PERSONALITY & BACKSTORY

Description: There are many names that people seem to have for Caspian, but none are their own. “The Cursed One”, “The Blind Horror”, or just simply “that one fae from Terrovania that scares the shit out of me”. But whether they fit any of these labels is up for debate by everyone but themself. In reality, Caspian just wants some friends. Like please give this poor fae some friends, they’re not gonna leech your soul right out of you…or if they do, they’ll give it back.

Flaws: Keeps to themself too much, can be too morbid at times

Fears: The loss of freedom, the loss of hope

Talents: Casting spells, being patient, playing the piano

Family: Father, step-mother, two younger half-siblings

Backstory: Born in Briar Valley to two loving parents, the fae that would later be known as Caspian lived their childhood in relative happiness and stability. However, this was all interrupted one day when a guest arrived, claiming to be a “friend” of their mother. Unbeknownst to Caspian, their mother was once a powerful witch, and this “friend” felt threatened by this power. The guest attempted to put a curse on Caspian’s mother but they missed and accidentally cursed young Caspian instead. This would alter the course of Caspian’s fate for the rest of eternity.

Now this curse was not a regular one, conjured from the depths of Tartarus, Hell, or some other dark dimension, with the intent to drain a person of all of their livelihood and render them unable to be around others. This curse has no specific name but is said to be a “fate worse than death”. However, depending on the person, the curse can mutate and change because it is so powerful, thus also very unpredictable. In Caspian’s case, the curse gave them large horns that look similar to marble, milky white eyes, and drained their skin of color. Corpse-like, one could call it. The curse also gave them a condition called “draining”, which would soon become Caspian’s unique magic.

Caspian’s mother tried to do everything in her power to reverse this and cure her child, but nothing seemed to work. She eventually left on a long journey in attempt to find something that was rumored to cure any ailment, including magical ones, but she never returned. Caspian was left with their father, who was dumbfounded as to what he should do and how to continue raising Caspian. Years flew by and Caspian’s father remarried and had Caspian’s half-siblings. The family slowly grew more and more distant from Caspian, while the rest of the world seemed to do the same thing. Whether it be because of their ghostly appearance, or the rumors that seemed to lurk in every corner about them, Caspian was left quite alone.

༉‧₊˚✧ SCHOOL INFORMATION

Dorm: Terrovania (@terrovaniadorm)

Class: 2-A

Best subject: Ancient Curses

Worst subject: Animal Languages

Club: Not a part of any

༉‧₊˚✧ MISCELLANEOUS

Likes: Genuinely kind people, rainy weather, good handwriting

Dislikes: Greed, fireworks, the smell of roses

Favorite food: Bagels

Least favorite foods: Poultry, lollipops

Hobbies: Sewing, bird-watching, playing the piano

༉‧₊˚✧ THOUGHTS ON OTHER CHARACTERS

Alice (@starry-night-rose): “She’s like the older sister I never had. I really like being around her, and am happy that she’s there for me when I need it.”

Maria (@windbornearchon): “She’s a bit self-centered, but like Alice, she’s been very kind to me in the past. However, if I didn’t know that she drinks non-alcoholic beverages I would have thought she would have died from alcohol poisoning by now”

Vin (@authoruio): “I don’t care if he’s nice on the outside, there’s something about him that makes a chill go up my spine. He doesn’t intimidate me much though, he’s too short for that. Also what is with the trend of people in this dorm drinking so much?”

Idia: “First time I met him was when I accidentally ran into him in the hallway. He said something quickly about a “jumpscare IRL” and then ran away. What that was supposed to me is beyond me.”

Malleus: “I respect him enough, him being the crown prince of my homeland. I have not met him personally, however.”

༉‧₊˚✧ UNIQUE MAGIC

“Empty Your Mind, Drain Thy Soul”

The user of this spell slowly consumes the soul of a living creature, leaving the creature unconscious and in some cases, magicless. The soul can be returned by the user, if they so desire.

Caspian, being a fairly gentle being, has rarely used this spell, only in certain emergencies or when they feel highly threatened. They have almost always returned the soul back.

༉‧₊˚✧ TRIVIA

• Caspian’s name is not their given name, but instead a nickname that came about from their white eyes and horns, because Caspian means “white” and of course people from Briar Valley have to be extra when it comes to nicknames. They liked the nickname better than their actual name, so they adopted it many years ago. They can barely remember their original name now.

• Their height surprisingly was not a side effect of the curse, but just them having the tall genes.

• Their voice is surprisingly quite deep and isn’t as light and airy as some people may imagine it to be

[lasttabris]

Haise Sasaki [ Tokyo Ghoul: Re ]

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Name: Haise Sasaki (previously: Ken Kaneki) Canon: Tokyo Ghoul: Red Canon Point: Chapter 45 Age: 23 Species: Half-ghouls/half-Kakujas History: Wikia

Personality:

As Kaneki faced Arima in V14, he had one wish we never found until later: he wanted to die. In fact, he wanted to be loved and to be remembered and then, he wanted to die in style. None of this happened. In fact, Kaneki survived and was brought into the Ghoul prison, Cochlea, where he was kept under control. But Kaneki has no control, not over his life and not over his body, and as such he went mad each second he was locked inside that room. Arima, his reaper, brought reality upon him everytime and though we don't know what happened exactly, we know that from all of this something happened: Kaneki's mind broke into so many tiny pieces that it couldn't be found. He became a blank slate, his memories completely forgotten possibly due to trauma, docile and useful and this is how Haise Sasaki was born.

While the CCG studied his case, they also came up with ideas how to use Haise. According to the testing performed on him, they found him to be very intelligent with great memory capabilities and superb learning abilities, seen from his desire to read and learn. He is extremely empathic, but lacks assertiveness and shows to be very introvert. Above all, they came to realize that Haise craves for parental figure, specifically a mother. Decided to turn him into CCG's newest weapon, they offered him Akira Mado in order to fulfill that role, and Arima Kishou as the father figure. In fact, Haise himself admitted to see them exactly as such: rather than dwelling on the family he has lost along with his memories, he focus on his "father" Arima Kishou and his "mother" Akira Mado. The objective of this make-up family was not only to keep Haise under control by giving him what he craved for, but also for him to mentor a new kind of Ghoul Investigators, the Quinx. The Quinx members are humans with a built-in Quinque (a weapon that is fashioned from a ghoul's kagune) in their bodies, and the four only Quinxs - Urie, Shizaru, Mutsuki and Saiko - form the Quinx Squad, affiliated to Mado Squad and monitored and overseen by Sasaki, who is in turn overseen by both Akira and Arima.

The Quinx is a controversial project, not only because how weird it is to see a human with a kagune (even if it's not like an actual kagune), but also because they have Haise as the monitor. Though he is a diligent worker, at first he seemed to have problems controlling the members of the squad, often being too lenient on them. In fact, Haise seems them as children - his children - and he is very protective of them due to their unusual situation (Saiko calls him "maman"). He often tells them it's better to run if they are facing a stronger opponent, "even if your limbs have been cut off" and he is even protective to the point of allowing his own kagune and mind to run wild if it means to protect them (like it was seen during the battle with the Serpent), and he allows them to talk back (Urie), to slack off (Saiko), to go alone (Shizaru) and doesn't pressure them to better control their incorporated quinque (Mutsuki). Though at first it was incredibly hard for him to keep everything running smoothly, with time the team begun to trust him more (perhaps except Urie) and begun to accept Haise's words - Haise himself grew to become a bit more strict as he was criticized for not being so, and begun to face his underlings head-on. Due to this, the Squad managed to earn their place among the CCG squads and Haise was even promoted from Rank 1 Investigator to First Class Investigator. With Haise's mentorship and protection, they were able to become stronger and much more united. Besides mentoring the "kids", Haise also teaches CCG newest investigators, which only shows further his enjoyment in teaching others, to mentor them, to become their support, as well as acting a bit like a father. All of this is parallels Kaneki's relationship with Hinami.

Though he seems to be overall integrated in the CCG, there are several rules when dealing with Sasaki: he is to be treated as a human, but if his kagune runs wild, he will be seen as the SS ghoul Kaneki once was, and will be exterminated. For this reason, Haise's squad should not see Haise as a ghoul (Urie was specially rude when he found out about Haise's nature), and the same should be applied to all the other investigators but such does not happen: Haise suffers much prejudice and hatred from many Investigators, to the point they refuse his plans of investigation even if they are good plans. However, Haise is very amicable and doesn't seem to mind this; he takes this prejudice without appearing to hold grudges, and often seems friendly even during arguments, trying to reason rather than focusing on his co-workers hatred of him and his nature, and he event shows himself to be very humble even if he has earned many medals from his achievements. Akira has told him his kindness will be the end of him, though he truly seems to forget about the cruel things told to him: he wants to support his friends and co-workers and even when they are crude and rude, he still genuinely cares for them (though they consider it condescending). It's important to notice that while Haise accepts insults when they are directed at him, he usually makes a stand if they are aimed at his "children", and even tries to argue some of the orders given that he sees as dangerous.

The reason he seems to take hits like that is that Haise wants to be human even with "a body like this". In truth, being seen a ghoul seems to upset him greatly and though he hides his true feelings on the matter and smiles, he often avoids any conversation that will lead to talk about him being a ghoul. He is even seen doing "human things" like sitting with other people during meals even if he doesn't eat anything; though this would seem rude for most, to be eating around someone who can't eat anything at all, small things like this make Haise feel human, which is what he truly wants. While Kaneki's greatest fear was to be alone, Haise still fears this a lot and it brings him a lot of despair: he’s still “alone” as a ghoul in the CCG.

Despite being a CCG investigator, Haise doesn't believe in senseless extermination of ghouls and defends that there is no need to harm a ghoul more than necessary. This is frowned upon by many people - including Akira - as he appears to be a ghoul sympathizer, but often he has been vocal about his disapproval of some of the CCG's methods. Strangely enough, though he does not harm an enemy sadistically, most of the CCG compares Haise to Arima: someone who will do whatever he is told to do. Someone who always says "yes". So even if he argues sometimes and even if he doesn't torture ghouls, if he is told to exterminate them, he will - and he has. It's not surprising he is compared to Arima; after all, Haise pretty much imprinted on him. However, this is also related to the fact that Haise believes the moment he goes against the CCG, he will be discarded by them and by his made up family.

Generally speaking, Haise seems to be a continuation of Kaneki before he was captured by Aogiri, as mentioned by Tsukiyama. He loves books - though not the same type as Kaneki did - and he is kind and gentle. However, though he is an introvert because he doesn't speak his mind and lacks assertiveness, Haise is shown to be much more outgoing that Kaneki was. He appears to be constantly surrounded by allies, and seems to love stupid things like puns or silly humor (think dad jokes) and even Shizaru mentioned that though Haise sees the squad as his children, Haise is the most childish one. For example, he gave Mutsuki the nickname "Mucchan" quite out of the blue, and he usually tries to look cool but fails (Mutsuki didn't want to let him down and tried to reassure him he was very cool!). Sasaki seems to be Kaneki reclaiming his human side. He’s caring and compassionate, towards humans and ghouls alike; he values all life and actually finds rather sad that Takatsuki Sen (once his favorite author) shows such despair and hopelessness towards the world in her writing.

It'd be great if I could stop here and tell you that Haise is, despite his Ghoul-related problems, rather normal. He is not. After all, Haise is Kaneki.

It's usual for Haise to have flashbacks and dreams from his previous life. Deja-vús and weird memories that don't belong to him are often seen, and he knows what they mean: they came from his previous life. In truth, Haise thinks he's a parasite living in someone else’s body, though he still wants that body and fights for it. At first, Haise didn't even know the name of the person he was, but from the start Haise always saw someone else inside his mind. He pictured Kaneki as a kakuja monster, a hungry ghoul who wanted to consume him. He constantly heard him telling him he wanted his body back and whenever Haise felt like he was too weak to protect someone, Kaneki would appear and tell him to accept him, which shows Haise to believe Kaneki was not only a monster, but a real powerful one. This is the struggle Haise feels within his mind every time, but it's an artificial conflict he created: there aren't two people inside of him and this Kaneki is but his own view of everything he has forgotten and Kaneki actually changes accordingly to what Haise finally accepts.

Haise knows Kaneki is the past him, but doesn't want to lose what he has built with the CCG, his fake-family and his fake-life. And though he tells himself he is happy living like this and that's actually a lie, he holds on to everything the best he can. As response to it, Haise mind makes Kaneki tell him that Haise indulges in his twisted self-value that he has of himself, but that doesn't really exist and when it fades away, he will be discarded by the CCG. This is something that Haise really fears and Kaneki is often shown poking exactly at Haise's fears as a way for Haise to cling back to his existence harder while he continues to refuse to see the person he forgot he was.

However, he is finally forced to accept his past existed, and he honors the request to look at "Kaneki", the being appears to him as a white-haired child that he feels the need to protect. Just a child, also afraid to disappear and who doesn't want to be erased either - and because of such, he decided he will "save" Kaneki. He will not erase him. Or reject him anymore. And this is when he seems to come up with a "relationship" with this tiny child he sees inside his head; Tiny!kaneki is often seen reading, talking to him, filling up small gaps of memory that are never important enough to bring out all the memories. Haise also decided to search for himself, through records and talking to others about who and what Kaneki Ken was, as a way to see and save Kaneki.

But it's obvious that Haise can't continue to live while he has Kaneki inside. They can't coexist, and the more Haise looks at Kaneki, less "sane" he becomes and he feels like he starts to fade away. Though Kaneki gives Haise this warning, and Haise realizes that means one needs to disappear, he still attempts to know more about Kaneki: yet again, Haise shows us he is a continuation of Kaneki before Aogiri, by being unable to make choices.

Honestly, it's very complicated to look at Haise-Kaneki relationship and we have different interactions in different situations because it's all a response Haise has to his memories and his existence. The Tiny!Kaneki was never a complete representation of Kaneki: He's a representation of his vulnerability, misery, and mistakes. Haise reduced the monster he saw to a child, who is weaker and afraid; he was always a manifestation of his thoughts and fears more than anything else, which Haise shaped as he faced them. The fear of being a ghoul and then the fear of disappearing. But it all comes down to the biggest problem both Kaneki AND Haise manifest: they never choose. He is and always has been Kaneki, but he is pretending to be a different person and creating another persona in his head to keep his memories separated so he can keep acting like he’s a different person from who he used to be - and when those memories come to him, he continues in a limbo of wanting to exist and yet not wanting to forget, instead of just deciding to wake up from that pretend-life or to embrace it completely.

While there is this internal struggle, we see many similarities between Kaneki and Haise. Hinami herself mentions that a lot of things it feels like it's Kaneki talking, like the way he overthinks things. He also still has many of Kaneki's physical twitches: touching his face when he's lying or cracking his knuckles when he senses something dark or that reminds him of a hidden memory. However, even if there are similarities, they still show many difference between each other (like mentioned above) because someone's personality does come from their experiences.

[shatteredminds]

Those in the Reaper species classification so far

Note- They don't have to be blood descendents of Coldarder to be a reaper

Coldarder

Aina Caresse Rhaghverala Lokison

Anima Anamosa Rhaghverala Lokison-Sarri

Aurora Yoli Zaishvaerala Novak

Akatosh Eifa Zaishvaerii Deathbleeder

Asuka Aureliana Minukala Lokison

Beatrix Laine Inactuala Lokison

Coraline Eve Urzavaxala Fevold

Caspian Alonso Rhaghverii Lokison

Darrin Dima Uvalashii Alyakhnovich

Dante Butch Zaishvaerii Friis

Hugo Kip Valnicii Friis

Harvey Jedrek Uvalashii Alyakhnovich

Hana Antonetta Valniciala Tähtinen

Helsi Hedwige Zaishvaerala Durchdenwald

Hilmar Styge Zaishvaerii Nørregaard

Icarus Cardinal Rhaghverii Lokison

Jessie Eiralys Zaishvaerala Friis

Jupiter Ulric Lashiaii Friis

Kasper Damek Zaishvaerii Novak

Leonid (Leo) Premsyl Jäger

Loki Hammill Zaishvaerii Seaver

Laima Saulé Zaishvaerala Bloodworth

Lupa Nadeia Zaishvaerala Deathbleeder

Marshall Marcellino Valnicii Jäger

Mishka (Misha) Jersey Jäger

Morana Agrona Rhaghverala Lokison

Nala Mystique Valniciala Friis

Osvald Chane Valnicii Friis

Orion Morningstar Zaishvaerii Deathbleeder

Silvester Theo Valnicii Tähtinen

Saorr Birk Urzavaxii De Angelis

Sora Yeva Zaishvaerala Medved

Sirius Kong Rhaghverii Lokison

Theodoric Anastasius Minukaii Lokison

Uriel Perachia Berunsarii Fevold

Viltautas Onfrio Wolvranii Friis

Viggo Halfden Zaishvaerii Strøm

Vex Soulfire Zaishvaerala Deathbleeder

Ylva Aster Zaishvaerala Årud

[professor-fanalia]

Patient Files - NO. #004

NAME: Pyre GENDER: Male     SPECIES: Houndoom TYPING GROUP: Dark & Fire Type   PATIENT MEDICAL NO. #004   POKEDEX NO. #229

DATE OF ADMISSION: 08. 01. XXXX – New Year DATE OF BITH: - N/A ORIGIN RESIDENCE/TERRITORY: - Johto Wilderness CURRENT RESIDENCE/TERRIRTORY: Rejuven Archipelago – Ammolite Isle

PAST OCCUPATION: N/A CURRANT: - N/A MARITAL STATUS: Mated MATING SPOUSE: - Kanto Ninetales – ‘Cersei’ CHILDREN/BROOD: - 3x Houndour sons, 2x Vulpix daughters

ADMISSION TRAINER ADMITTANCE: - N/A WILD RESCUE: - N/A TRANSFERRED (Abused): - N/A PROFESSOR/RANGER: - Rescued from illegal Fire-Type Smuggling Ring by when he was a Houndour  @ask-pokemonranger-rai​ OTHER: - N/A

STATUS: Temporarily Patient ISLE REGISTER: Ammolite Isle POSSIBILITY OF ADOPTION: - Strictly will only be adopted once pups are older

MENTAL STATE: Stable - *Still a bit cautious around humans, occasional PTSD. PHYSICAL CONDITION: Healthy - *Couple of scars. DIAGNOSIS: Has PTSD symptoms – *Nightmares & Restless sleep has lessened over time, but it’s recommended to take gentle approach just in case of increased weariness. TREATMENT: Regular check-ups and fortnightly Psychotherapy talks.  

Houndooms & Houndour need plenty of exercise and mental stimulation. If raised and loved correctly, they become loyal, intelligent traveling companion who would look intimidating and protect will protect their trainers to the fault. These intelligent, energetic dogs need owners who can provide plenty of exercise, mental stimulation, proper socialization, and solid training to bring out this breed's best traits. In a Houndoom pack, the one with its horns raked sharply back serves a leadership role. They choose their leader by fighting among themselves.

Note: They divvy up their prey evenly among the members of their pack – Professor Fanalia.  

SIDE NOTES: The Houndoom’s history of its eerie howls, people a long time ago thought it was the grim reaper and feared it. Much like Absol they have been given a bad reputation, however this is due to reported cases of Human misunderstanding and territory trespass. – Professor Fanalia

ADDITONAL NOTES: They work extremely well as guard dogs, police, and military dogs, or in fields such as search and rescue, Houndooms need activities that engage them both physically and mentally. Houndooms without something to do are easily bored. Engage your dog in a variety of activities and games, such as fetch or hide-and-seek. Use games to teach your companion basic obedience commands and vary the training to keep your dog's attention focused. It's a good idea to join local dog training classes or a dog training club where you can both train and socialize your Houndoom. – Professor Fanalia.

SCHEDULED MEAL REQUIRMENTS: - Breakfast: Fire-Type Pokemon food drizzled with honey & Tomato berry shavings Lunch: Spicy Sausage Curry – with a Cheri & Kelpsy seasoning Dinner: A veggie and Dry Fire-type formula + bowl of Moomoo milk

*Updated notice – Cersei the Ninetales has helped with easing PTSD symptoms.

[antibioware]

do you have backstories for your me ocs? uvu

BOY DO I!! I'm gonna do the one I'm currently playing bc I have played her the most I think. Maya Shepard is vanguard class with a Colonist + Sole Survivor background

After the loss of her family and everyone she knew on Mindoir she was adopted by a couple of human researchers, good and well meaning people, but not necessarily the best options to deal with a child dealing with the sort of deep trauma she went through, and occasionally unable to reach out to her when she was in need. Their relationship is lukewarm through her teenage years and they eventually grow closer late in her life, when she's already an Alliance soldier. She has a little sister, Rebecka, who is around 16/17 when ME1 starts, who she absolutely adores despite their ups and downs. The squadmates eventually get to know her after Shepard "dies" and some of them (read: Garrus, Ashley, Joker and Liara) keep tabs on Shepard's family's safety and wellbeing after she's gone.

She joins Alliance very much in an attempt to live the concept of "I want to help prevent what happened to me", and goes downward from there. She's a decent biotic, but nothing particular special: she's a better shot than she is a biotic, in fact, which is why she prefers to use her abilities for defensive and strategic purposes.

I feel like one of the reasons she gets really along with Ashley at first is because she feels the most similar to her own experience in life, from family to struggling with aliens due to their personal backgrounds, but while Ashley lets a lot of her issues fester and dictate the way she acts (especially re: how alien species ruined her family's name and her career), Maya is able to rationalize her personal tragedies and use them as a learning experience, which is why she doesn't harbour any deep resentment for batarians. If anything, Maya is much more uncomfortable dealing with Asari, who take part in the ongoing slave trade but are protected by their position in the Council, and thats why it takes her some time to warm up to Liara.

She had bad PTSD over both Mindoir and Akuze but she doesn’t deal with it in a good manner until after the Reaper War.

Despite her becoming a soldier, she has a talent for diplomacy and she's good at understanding others on a deep level. She's very kept together and tends rarely to let down her walls - there used to be a joke among the SR1 crew that she could still be perfectly calm and collected while directly under enemy gunfire.

Shes a plant nerd (her adoptive parents studied mostly xenoflora and ended up influencing her with their love for their job) and a huge closet fan of shitty space soap operas like Fleet and Floatilla.

[preyfm]

☽ [ jordan fisher, he/him, cis male ] ☾ [ micah harris ] has lived in [ mid town appartments ] for [ 7 years ] now. the [ 29 ] year old [ human ] is the [ road co-captain ] for the [ reapers ]. but they also make an honest earning as a [ bartender ] for [ eve’s place ]. truthfully, they remind me of [ gun powder staining your fingers, heatwaves distorting a winding road on the horizon, crimson split knuckles shifting gears ]. whenever it’s their turn to be the getaway driver, they blast [ bad guy by billie eilish ] on full volume. ☼☼ ooc info; chester, 25, they/them, gmt+10.

BASICS

Name: Micah Harris

Born: Gabriel Parish

Gender: Cis Male, he/him

Species: Human

Age: Twenty-nine

Sexuality: Bisexual

Gang: Reapers

Occupation: Bartender at Eve’s Palace

PERSONALITY

Myers-Briggs: ENFP ( “ Campaigner ” )

Zodiac Sign: Aquarius Sun, Leo Moon

Four Temperaments: Sanguine

The Enneagram Types: The Enthusiast

HISTORY

It was set in stone long before the twins were born that they would be Reapers. It was their dad’s wish, and expectation. One that was made very clear the moment they were old enough to understand the weight of the world.

From a young age daily training has taken much free time they could possibly have;  weapons training, languages, hand to hand combat, mechanical training, and logic puzzles, supernatural lore. Even if they weren’t Reapers- they were hunters. Their father would make sure of that.

Some days there were moments, glimmering reliefs of the possibility of being normal just for once. Early morning surfs back in California, ballet classes in the evenings, late nights snuck from his room to parties down the road, stumbling back in the drunken hours of a lowering moon.

Some drills would put the twins trapped in a room together with a rabid supernatural- they’d know blood on their hands for these creatures they had to hate.

Back in California they became prospects for the Reapers the moment they turned 21, but had been around the club a while longer.

With their father a Lieutenant for the LAPD, it was fitting for them to train in the same field. Micah, or Gabriel back then, trained in the academy and became an officer.

He can be notoriously relaxed on the exterior, perhaps a tendency seeming not to take anything too serious until the time matters. Perhaps it was his reckless nature, being drawn to the danger of situations. noun: dumbass.

It was their father who alerted the Reapers in 2015 and led to their fleeing to Skulls, while he stayed back not to raise suspicions. Once they settled the twins under new identities stepped into the new ranking of Road Co-Captains. 

The idea of one ranking up and the other staying behind resulted in laughter, as they declared they’d be doing it together.

While Micah is beyond dedicated to the Reapers, just as he always has been. And constantly proving himself- there’s been an ease to his posture these more recent days far from home. With his father’s disappointed tone ever only carrying from the other end of the phone. 

Always one to bounce back from anything, and it’s easy to think nothing ever gets to the man. He easily found a place bartending at Eve’s Place, but god he gets bored some days. His bike is a good outlet, long rides at night to see what fun can be found the next town over.

His Reaper status is probably known by this point.

[mrallnight57-blog]

The Crystal of Mordokia

Chapter 5

    Jenny left the park and quickly made her way to the East Town Hospital. Once she entered the building, she made her way to the front desk. Before getting there, Jack had sent her a text with the name of the man she needed to see.

   There was no one at the front desk, so Jenny stood there waiting. Her finger nails tapping the desk as she was becoming impatient.

   Jenny watched as a couple entered into the emergency room. The man was spitting up blood. A nurse approached them, asking what Happened, and the woman tried to explain how he fell down some stairs. Jenny thought the story sounded fishy, but she figured it was something the local police could handle.

    Finally someone came to the front desk.

"Can I help you ma'am?"

    Jenny pulled out her badge. "Yes I'm Jenny Ramirez with the FBI. I'm here to speak with a Mr. Dan Spelling."

    The Lady at the desk began typing on her computer. "Alright, it looks like he is in room 108. He just got out of surgery. So he is probably going to be a little loopy after all the anesthetics we gave him. So if you're going in to question him, just keep in mind, he probably not going to be able to remember everything, and anything he says, should probably be taken with a grain of salt."

   "I'll keep that in mind." Jenny left the front desk, and began moving through the hospital, looking for room 108.

   As Jenny walked around the Hospital, she asked a nurse where room 108 was. The nurse pointed down a Hallway and told her it was at the very end on the left. Jenny made her way down the hall, and once she got to the room. She took a deep breath and let it out to prepare herself for what she had to do. Jenny was never much for talking to people, especially strangers, and she hated having to pry information out of them.

    Jenny walked into the hospital room, and saw Dan laying in the bed. His eyes partially opened. Once Dan saw her, he began sitting up. Jenny pulled out her badge. "Jenny Ramirez, FBI. I'm just here to get your statement."

   Dan nodded, and Jenny took a step closer to his bed. "Some of my colleagues have already taken statements from your coworkers. They said some men in hoods broke into your lab, and apparently they were using some kind of hallucination gas, because all of them are claiming to have seen hallucinations."

   Dan put his hand up to try and stop Jenny from talking. Then with a very weak voice tried to correct Jenny. "It... wasn't a...gas."

   Jenny looked at him with confusion. "Excuse me!"

   "It..  wasn't a gas..  it was a man."

    Jenny raised an eyebrow. She figured he must still be feeling the effects of the morphine, or whatever they used on him in the surgery. Jenny thought about maybe coming back later, but she also knew Jack was planning on making a move against the people responsible, later today. So she needed to get as much information out of the man as soon as possible. So that meant she was going to have to listen to everything the man said, and determine which parts where true, and what parts was created from the drugs, he is currently on.

    Jenny thought carefully about her next question. Then she finally decided to indulge a little bit in the man's possibly delusion. "So tell me about this man. What exactly happened?"

    Dan didn't have much strength, but he tried his best to recall what happened. Dan explained how Steve and him, were working on a project. Then the hooded men arrived, and that was when people began seeing the hallucinations. Then Dan began describing the events that led to Steve's death. Tears began running down his cheek.

    Jenny could tell that Dan was pretty close with his friend, and watching him die, had to be the most traumatic moment of his life. Dan was doing his best to describe his killer. How the killer just held his hand up, and said, "Fear." How shortly afterwards, Steve went into cardiac arrest.

    Dan also said that one of the hooded men had called the man Gothic Mirror, and apparently someone by the name Litias had shown him how to use his power. Then he explained that it was about this time, he got stabbed.

    Jenny was writing down everything Dan was saying. Once Dan was finished talking, Jenny looked over at Dan and asked, "Do you know what they were after?"

    Dan remained silent for a minute. It seemed like he was trying to remember. Then Jenny noticed Dan's eyes grow wide, and he started panicking. "The crystal!!! Oh my God!!! They took the crystal!"

    Jenny stared at Dan for a second, before asking. "What crystal?"

   Dan tried to regain his composure. He wasn't sure how to answer that question. Finally he thought it would be best to start from the beginning. "Five years ago a team of archeologists went to Greece. Once there, they went to a small village deep into the mountains."

    Jenny sat down on the edge of Dan's bed, so she could hear him better. Dan looked at her. "How much do you know about Greek mythology?"

   Jenny thought about it for a second. "I took a class in high school. It wasn't a subject I cared much about."

   Dan gave a faint laugh. "Well it wouldn't have helped you much anyways, because what I'm about to tell you, you won't find in Homer's Odyssey."

    Jenny gave a faint smile. "I barely even remember that."

    Dan continued. "Well when the archeologists got to the village. They were told that the mountains they were in was possibly the location of the fabled Mount Olympus, and over two thousand years ago. The people there still believed in the Greek Gods. You know, Zeus, Hermes, Hera, and so forth. You know what I'm talking about right?"

    Jenny was trying to be polite. She didn't care much about stories of ancient gods or even religion for that matter. She just wanted Dan to get to the point. So Jenny gave Dan a slight smile, and said, "Yeah I've seen movies before."

    Dan laughed, then winced in pain. "Yeah, I guess there is alot of movies about Greek mythology." Dan was trying to get back on track. "Anyways... according to legend one day a red woman appeared."

    Jenny interrupted. "Was she wearing a red dress or something?"

    "No!" Dan sat up more. "This woman's skin was red. Locals say she had the body of an angel, but the head of a Lion. Her teeth were like little spikes, and she had a fang like a Saber tooth tiger."

    Jenny was puzzled. "You mean fangs like a saber tooth tiger?"

    "No!" Dan fired back. "I mean fang. On the left side of her mouth."

    At this point, the only thing going through Jenny's head was how much morphine did they give to this guy?

    Dan continued. "The Red Woman told the villagers to never go into the mountain cave. For if they did. It would bring the end of our species. After that, the people there stopped believing in the Greek Gods."

    Jenny raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

    Dan lowered his head. "Because they believed The Red Woman killed them all."

   Jenny sat there wondering what exactly this had to do with the crystal they were working on. "So you're saying they found the crystal in these forbidden caves?"

    "Yes." Dan adjusted himself again, to get more comfortable. "The team that found it and brought it to us. All of them ended up with psychological damage. All of them eventually wounded up in therapy. They all reported having terrible nightmares. Most of them were afraid to go to sleep. All them kept saying death was coming, and one of them even committed suicide.

    Jenny sat there quietly as Dan took a deep breath to compose himself. "The crystal isn't from our world. The Element that it's made from doesn't show up on our periodic table, and anytime someone shows anger around it. It goes very dark, and an orra of death will feel the room. It's as if the soul of the Grim Reaper himself was trapped inside it."

    Jenny was beginning to believe some of what Dan was saying. Dan didn't seem like a crazy person, nor did any of this really sound like something brought on by morphine. It was far to detailed.

    Jenny stood up and looked down at Dan. "Why do you think the men in hoods, took the crystal?"

    Dan looked up at Jenny and starred into her eyes. "There is only one reason to take the crystal. To destroy the world."

[officialpapapump]

Reapers in Space

So I’ve never made a tumblr post before, but I’m writing a different story with the same concept that I have of the Reapers. They’re not the Grim Reaper or anything, just an organization of high level assassins and warriors within the human race. Just an idea I figured I’d share. More to come later! I’m not nearly finished with this particular story. Enjoy!

The planet below had been at siege for 3 months. 3 months, and the cities were already running out of supplies. Hunger was a necessity. Disease was rampant. Death was welcomed as an old friend. The Kiyagu had been a peaceful race up until a few years prior. They were large, their smallest standing at an even 6 units tall. Two legs, four arms, excreting a jelly like substance that hardened with age, until it was nearly impenetrable by adulthood. They started their war by sweeping their way across the outer rim of the known galaxy, taking up empty planets and civilizations before hardly anybody knew what was going on. Now they were here, laying siege to the Mezoons, a birdlike, peaceful race who had never fought a war in their lifetime. They weren’t even a part of the Galactic Alliance, so why the Kiyagu found them worth the time and effort, nobody knew. At least, that’s what Captain Hink thought. Hink was neither Kiyagu nor Mezoon, he was Stantu in origin. What the humans called “octopus” he called normal, though he couldn’t see the uncanny resemblance from his body form and tentacles to that of one of Earth’s underwater creatures. He clicked his beak in frustration. The Kiyagu had blockaded this planet that lay before him with such efficiency that he had lost 3 ships already to their plasma cannons. In every battle plan he had been sent by his superiors, and every plan he himself had come up with, the projected results always ended in his fleet either being repelled or destroyed. The only feasible plan any of them had was to wait for reinforcements and take the blockade by force, but the nearest ships who could actually do anything were thousands of light years away, unable to help the fleet get through any time soon.

Captain Hink turned away from the consoles laid out on the pedestal before him. He couldn’t deal with watching his failure any longer for this cycle, whether it be on the screens in front of him or the view ports beyond those, that made up the far wall of the command center. “Captain!” called an assistant shipmaster. “Incoming hailing, human in origin!” Captain Hink turned back, and said “I’ll take it on screen 2.” He mounted the podium and opened the line. “This is Captain Hink of the Queen Azrael. To who am I speaking to?” There was static across the screen for a moment before the signal cleared and a human face grew into focus. “This is Captain Baldwin of the Halcyon class Shadow’s Regret. We’re here to assist, Captain. Dropping out of slip space now.” One of the largest ships Captain Hink had ever seen dropped out of slip space in his view port. “We have supplies for the planet below, Captain. Have you found a way through their blockade yet?” Captain Baldwin asked. “No” said Hink. “Not a single plan we’ve come up with or received has had any chance of working, and even with a ship that big, I doubt you’ll have much success either.” He saw Baldwin nod on screen. Humans and their silly gestures. He didn’t even know what emotion or meaning that motion was supposed to convey. “Regardless” said Baldwin, “The nearest convoy are months away, meaning we’re all that planet has to rely on. We’ve got to try our best.” “Captain, you are not a military class vessel. There is nothing you can do about that blockade” said Hink. “I think you’ll find our services to be more than enough” he said. “I might have a plan. You ever hear of a human tactic called ‘blockade running?’ I think I might know exactly what to do. I’m officially taking command here, Captain Hink. I hope you don’t mind.” Captain Hink said nothing, for while what Captain Baldwin said was clearly asking permission, it sounded like Hink had no choice in the matter at all. He waved one of his tentacles across the screen, ending the video call. “Let’s see what this human can do” he said. He hated to lose another ship to the blockade, especially one that had fresh supplies. At least his crew could use some fresh food and water, since they weren’t going through the blockade anyways. He pushed a nearby button, and an anti-gravity well appeared around him and started levitating him off the ground. His species couldn’t stand on their tentacles for very long, so they often used these anti-gravity wells to help them keep upright throughout their days of work.

An open communication signal beeped on one of his screens, and he brought it up. It was Captain Baldwin again, but instead of being a one on one video call, it was a broadcast. “This is Captain Theodore Baldwin of the Reaper sanctified Shadow’s Regret. This is an open hailing to all ships and communication devices in system. Attention all Reaper Field Agents, this is a priority one hailing. I repeat, this is a priority one hailing. All Reaper Field Agents in the system are requested by authority of myself, Reaper Adjudicator, to report to armory bay 3 of the Shadow’s Regret for planning of blockade assault. You are required to appear in full combat uniform. Extra weapons and armor will be provided if you do not currently have access to the necessary equipment. We await your arrival.” The screen went dark again. Hink chuckled to himself. “As if there are any Reapers in system. They’re all just space-fairing myth.” 2 of his bridge commanders all of a sudden signed off of their computers and stood up, walking to the doors. Hink said “Where do you two think you’re going? Your shifts aren’t over yet!” Instead of saying anything, they both reached into their collars and pulled out an identical necklace. It was a silver human skull, no larger than the length of a standard human’s thumb from what he could see, and its jaw was open as far as it would go, as if in a perpetual scream. It was the mark of the Reapers, a group Captain Hink had wholeheartedly believed was a lie sailors told in bars to impress potential mates, until now. He was too stunned to say another word, and watched as they strode off the deck. He pulled up the security cameras and tracked them all the way to their quarters, where they went in for a minute or so and then came back out, each carrying what the humans called a duffel bag. They both walked shoulder to shoulder down to hangar bay 4, where they had their pick of vessels to use. He had assumed that they might try using one of the larger, faster vehicles, as humans are attracted to those over others for some reason. Instead, they chose a smaller, lighter craft. They were walking up the ramp when a human security guard came rushing over. Hink couldn’t hear audio, but it was clear to the guard that these men were not supposed to be there. He stopped mid sentence when they both pulled out their skull insignias. He snapped to attention immediately and saluted them both, turned on his heel and walked away. Captain Hink was furious. He could not believe that these two men had simply strode all the way off of his ship. He turned off his screen with disgust. He wanted nothing more to do with these silly “Reapers” on their suicide mission.

[woltourney]

ROUND 3 / SIDE B / POLL 4

Naru (@blucifer08) v. Vastha Mhakaracca (@incense-and-iron / @wanderer-of-light)

Naru:

q. What is your WoL name and pronouns? a. Naru, she/her

q. What is your WoL's species? a. Xaela

q. What is your WoL's class? Or classes? a. Reaper

q. What data centre/server are you on, if you want people to find you? a. N/A

q. Tell us a bit about your WoL! a. Naru became a hero in search of a missing piece of herself! She never felt satisfied in her home of the Steppe. She was an orphan, and although she had an adopted family, she sought out more from beyond the Steppe. She enjoys helping, but I don't think she likes the word 'hero.' In her free time she paints environmental paintings, tries out her bartender friend's drink combinations, and sunbathing :)

q. Why should YOU win? (Answer IC!) a. "Ah… I'm not too sure. I suppose I'll win if fate chooses me. I'll accept failure, no matter how bitter… Though I don't see it as likely."

q. Anything else you wanna add? a. In my canon, she got fully turned into a sin eater and she uses light instead of void powers as a reaper :)

Vastha Mhakaracca:

q. What is your WoL name and pronouns? a. Vastha Mhakaracca [He/They]

q. What is your WoL's species? a. Miqote - Keeper of the Moon

q. What is your WoL's class? Or classes? a. Main classes: Dragoon, Dark Knight, Monk, Reaper, Dancer

q. What data centre/server are you on, if you want people to find you? a. N/A

q. Tell us a bit about your WoL! a. I'm a happy guy! Like to entertain my friends and put a smile on other people's faces. I ended up becoming a hero after following (partly) in my mother's footsteps-- she was a lancer and gave me her old lance when I wanted to leave home to adventure. It kind of broke ages ago… but I still have it! So she shouldn't be too mad about it. Hopefully, heh. Uh, anyway, I enjoy dancing and have tons of experience in managing and entertaining people since my family runs a small inn on the side of some nameless road. As for liking being a hero… it's complicated; as much as I really wish it wasn't that way. It use to be so easy and fun. Simple, even. There was still danger of course, but… I dunno. Fighting five giant ladybugs doesn't really match up in danger levels as the types of things I've been up too as of late [[<-- post EW content]]. Not to mention all the worst parts of having so much on your shoulders, things I really don't want to get into for such a fun event. B-But, don't take it as if I don't want to be a hero!! I can do it, so I want to do it. And it's not a 'If I don't do it, no one will', either. I think there are people who definitely could and would. People who have pulled way more weight through all this than I have. Even so, with all the pain and trouble I've been though, it's worth it at the end of the day. Knowing that I've helped so many people, that I have the power to keep the worst at bay, that I can make a change in the world and have that change try and be something good and positive and kind: that's what makes me like such a dangerous and oftentimes thankless job. Free time? Well, there's: dancing, cooking [[Culinarian is at level 90]], tending to my new island hangout, I've been doing LOTS of sightseeing-- Oh! I LOVE taking pictures and doing photography. Mostly of landscapes, they're just easier for me to work with than people; not to say I don't snap pictures of my friends now and again. What else… Oh! I've been taking up other crafting jobs as well since I have the spare time. It gives me something to keep my hands busy and lets me go out and collect more plants and rocks. I always liked going out to collect random stuff, but some of my older sisters, who I ended up bullied into hiring on as retainers so they could keep tabs on me away from home, got tired of me dumping popotos and iron ingots onto them to figure out how to sell en mass every week. I saw nothing wrong with it, but it really just must be me. Hmm… A lot more stuff about me is kind of personal. While I'm a rather open guy and like to chat, there's even some stuff I don't like talking about too casually or with strangers, sorry! Maybe we can be friends? I'm always open to new friends! Let's talk more sometime, okay?

q. Why should YOU win? (Answer IC!) a. Why should I win? Oh man, I just think it'd be neat! "Vastha Mhakaracca, winner of the…" uh, what was this called again? Oh, right! "winner of the WoLTourney 2023!" Could even put that on my little adventure card thingy just for fun.

q. Anything else you wanna add? a. Some other facts about Vastha he didn't get to cover himself: Transmasc [he/they] and gay (despite all the handsome bachelors in game, he hasn't fallen for more past a short lived crush or two.) He has 4 older sisters, making him the youngest in the family He use to be more meek and shy, which turned to 'all talk no bite', which turned out to now where he's more mellow and friendly but will not hesitate to throw hands if someone starts something He actually likes to do fetch quests because it lets him explore local areas to take more pictures Vastha comes off as a bit of a dunce and a ~stoopid widdle catboi~ to people because he likes to have fun and goof around like he use too (before all the horrors (tm) of being an adventurer). He notices, but doesn't comment on it. He'd rather people keep thinking it and underestimate him so he can prove them wrong through action. And with so much life experience now, he really doesn't care what others think of him anymore; he knows himself and that's all he can control in life. Despite being so giddy and friendly, the man does have some things he dislikes a normal degree, and other things (and people) he hates with the rage of a thousand suns-- which upon mention of will immediately switch his mood to more sour and serious. It's rare to stumble across such topics, thankfully.

[starr-fall-knight-rise]

Humans are Space Orcs “Take a Piece”

Got in the mood to write this little piece tonight, and decided to dedicate it to all the first responders out there.  Listened to Sam Tinnesz “Hold Me Up” to get in the zone for this one. Good song, would recommend.

This story is the reason for the Galactic Assembly’s choice to pass the following addendum;

Section 1 All businesses employing human workers must provide on sight psychological services

Section 2 The intentional psychological abuse of a human will be considered a class A intergalactic felony.

Despite the outcome of this story, recent ill-will towards humans from “Previous Rioting” was remarkably lessened. Galactic leaders are in discussions about reopening talks with LFIL representatives as intergalactic opinion towards humans has markedly improved.

We weren’t expecting this….

The planet was stable 7 billion years, and not a tremor, not…. Not a shiver, and yet here we were, brought to our knees.

It is relatively unknown for planets to have an unstable crust. As far as we know the human homeworld is the only habitable planet were they routinely deal with a shifting exterior. Over thousands of years they have developed technologies to mitigate those effects until nothing but the greatest disaster can even so much as level a city block.

Of course we were not so prepared, for thousands of years the pressure had been building up upon a weakening fault line, until one day, the ground could take no more. We weren’t aware of the signs, and we didn’t have the instruments necessary to detect the slowly weakening rock below us.

The cataclysm happened in the late evening, one moment there was nothing but the early morning buzz of commerce, and the next it seemed the world was ripping itself in half. There was the first massive jolt sending thousands to their knees, cracking support structures, ripping through roads, derailing transportation, and sending screams upwards to paint the sky with its terror. Thousands died in that initial tremor, but then it only built, the ground began to rattle and shake as if the world was determined to rattle itself to pieces; those that had managed to survive the first moment were brained by their own household appliances, thrown to the ground, buried under rubble. I couldn’t hear them crying so much as feel it in my soul as I stuck frozen to the street below.

I watched as the buildings above me, thousands of feet high came crashing to the ground as if in slow motion. Windows shattered outwards sending glass into the sky shattering the light into a prism of color. Metal bent and snapped, the noise was horrific and rending. The entire world was screaming. Bodies fell from buildings silhouetted against the sky in their last moments of panic. Shrapnel roared up from the crashing buildings, I watched as a wave of running bodies were pulverized under a mass of falling stone, just engulfed by steel and stone and glass. Debris roared around me in spirals and explosions, it cut into my skin and shredded my clothing, my fur, my ears.

I was blinded by my own blood, I couldn’t even scream as the dust set in. It rolled upwards from the collapsing buildings in a column of jet black smoke and dust that blotted out the sky and plunged the world around me into perpetual darkness. I couldn’t hear anything, I couldn’t see anything, but I could feel the pain feel the class as it cut into my belly, my hands and knees. I cried out for help but was choked by the dust.

….

I couldn’t have known it at the time, but there were those coming for us. The Galactic Assembly sent sixteen ships to our aid. Three ships made it in the first hour while I crawled through the shattered glass choking on the air as I stumbled. Humans have a long history of disaster on their planet, they have people especially there to deal with this. Their name speaks for itself “The First Responder.”  They can be deployed for anything, fire, crime, natural disaster. Generally they are fearlessly brave, aggressively reckless and mentally steely.

I was beginning to lose hope stumbling through the darkness trodding on broken glass. I could see nothing hear nothing, and then there it was a light cutting through the mist, particles of dust split through the beaming luminance, and I was blinded eyes burning. That’s when I saw it appear from the smoke, a single eye illuminated in the darkness behind goggles, a sturdy helmet and a gas mask. Its creamy white efface was already coated in a layer of ash and dust, but the white of its eyes was the single brightest thing in my vision.

It reach out grabbing me in a tight grip so painfully strong, but so…. Comforting. I didn’t hear its words of encouragement as it lifted me off my feet pressing a mask over my face and urging me to breathe. And then it carried me, it carried me through the smoke and the ash and the debris as my blood soaked into its clothing. I was carried for what felt like miles through the devastation unable to see as the human had covered my eyes to protect them. We broke from the smoke slowly to the burning glow of overhead floodlights all in slow motion for me as thousands of bodies passed by us.

Hundreds of humans pressed through the smoke dragging, and carrying bodies lifeless through the ash to place them in neat sheet-covered rows. Large sheets….. Small sheets.

The human that carried me ran towards the center of the square where a large white tent had been erected. A small figure worked at the center of this carnage many limbs working at double speed back to back with a dark haired human hair flying and swaying about its creamy ash-covered face. Other inhuman figures worked around us emerging from the smoke carrying up to five bodies against their massive bulk. I was placed on my back upon one of those ominous white sheets, and then the human turned with a wave to the tent workers, and plunged back into the smoke.

There were more bodies under the sheets than there were under the tent.

In my state of half consciousness, I watched them for hours. I watched them as the dust slowly dissipated into a thick fog. I watched as they plunged into the darkness, and I watched as some of them never returned. They staggered as they came in from the smoke sometimes without the burden of bodies. When that was no longer an option I watched as they brought strange creatures with them, with large ears, big eyes and sharp teeth. I watched the cameras on the front of their suits, on the monitors from where I lay, as they shuffled their way through the fog with inexplicable movement of a creature who had senses beyond our own.

I watched them find body after body, the bent, the lifeless, and the disassembled. I watched them stop to congratulate the four legged creatures…. Despite finding nothing but death. They hid in the rubble when the congratulations no longer worked, tricking the creatures into thinking their work wasn’t for naught, and yet they kept going back with frantic urgency every time. When members of the GA came they urged the search to cease, but the humans rejected the idea, sometimes violently, plunging back into the chaos.

The first thing I heard when my hearing returned, was the weeping.

I had never heard a human cry.

As far as I know they are the only species that represent the emotion of sorrow so openly.

It was a horrible, heart wrenching sound pulsing and gasping like the call of a dying animal… and they were doing it for us…..for those they didn’t even know, and for their own who never returned from the smoke. Their calls rose up into the sky in a haunting chorus painting the sky’s canvas with sorrow where cries of terror had once painted it with fear.

I watched them through fading eyes as they heard signs of life, noises form inside a devastated building at the heart of the carnage, watched as for hours they fought against rock and stone timing themselves against the reaper. I watched the masked humans run from the smoke carrying small bodies, one lifeless the other barely breathing coated in black ash like a death shroud. They did not immediately turn to the fog his time, they had worked too hard on this one….. a child, not even their own species.

They stood in a wide circle crying out as the tent team worked rapidly, aggressively against the clock…..

It wasn’t enough….

The relinquished its heat to the air as the sky was just beginning to lighten. The dark haired human stepped back sitting itself on the ground with a thousand yard stare. The rescuers rent the sky with their screams. Some dropped to the ground, pounding the earth with their knees, others stood still against the lightening sky.

One turned in a wide circle marching back towards the smoke before being intercepted. I couldn’t make out the strange roaring noises, but watched as the human lunged at the two figures aggressively pushing at them before turning in a sharp circle sinking down until it sat back on its heels amidst the rubble. The figures watched on in silence as the human tore the mask from its face nearly blackened with ash. Trails of diamonds rolled down its face cutting paths through the dust over its chin and down its neck. Despite having only one eye, it still wept from both. Teeth peered gritted through the whites of ash as that same cutting noise broke from its throat. It tore a glove from its hand pressing the now freed hand over its mouth.

It rocked forward hunched under the weight of…… our pain…. Brought to its knees weakened every time we gave in to the darkness as if pieces of itself were being torn away.

How interesting…. I always used to think humanity could not be broken, was indestructible. How funny that I would find their weakness here. How you can’t hurt them with your chains, your blades or your weapons, but you can stagger them to their knees by the weight of your own pain.

We aren’t humans, we aren’t indestructible, and I think that took them off guard.

Somewhere, in the darkness, a fading voice pleaded, begged with a last breath to hear the humans sing, and despite the cracking and the fading and the sobs, it was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard, a sadness for us, for me.

It was the last thing I ever heard as I faded away, not alone but accompanied by the scraps of themselves the humans sent with me.

It may be easier to break a bone but when you break a heart, you take a piece with you.

[ghostxofxartemis]

Prologue of my Fanfic Complete.

I’m just too excited, I want to share. I’m hoping to get an invitation to Archives tomorrow to post the First chapter, as I just completed it. But I don’t want to give too much right away! But here’s my complete prologue! 

Author’s notes: Hi everyone, welcome to my first fanfiction for Mass Effect, my all time favourite game! My canon Shepard, is default Shepard, Earth Born, War Hero, infiltrator class, paragon with a few renegade options, like kicking the merc out the window in Ilium and killing Kai Leng with that renegade button quick for Thane. Chose to destroy the reapers, and survived. He also romanced Ashley, and I wanted to delve into their story a bit more. However, most of the story will revolve around their daughter, 25 years later. I believe Shepard’s story is done. But that doesn’t mean that another Shepard can’t come and continue his legacy. Everyone survived except for Mordin while dispancering the genophage cure, Thane while chasing Kai Leng, Legion and EDI. However, EDI will be back (I can’t kill her off completely!) 

Another note, I always preferred to write in first person. I know it technically goes against all rules of writing, but I will be switching from John Shepard’s and Alex Shepard’s Point of view.

Also still brainstorming Titles.

Prologue

“The war is over. The Reapers have been defeated. 

Against all odds, and in the face of the greatest threat this galaxy has ever known, we survived. 

We suffered many losses. The relays are severely damaged, but we won. 

This victory belongs to each of us... every man, woman, and child. Every civilization, on every world. Now, as we take our first steps toward restoring what we lost, we must remember what it took to win. This wasn't a victory by a single fleet, a single army, or even a single species.

If this war has taught us anything, it is that we are at our strongest when we work together. And if we can put down our grievances long enough to stop something as powerful as the Reapers, imagine what we can achieve now that they are defeated. 

It will take time, but we can rebuild everything that was destroyed.

Our homes, our worlds, our fleets and defenses. All of this - and more. 

Together, we can build a future greater than any one of us could imagine.

A future paid for by the sacrifices of those who fought and died alongside us.

A future that many will never see. 

And while we still have many challenges ahead of us... We can face them together. 

And we will honor those who died to give us that future.”

Gasp. My lungs filled with air, I felt pain, everywhere. In all my years in my career, all those shots I’ve endured couldn’t compare to this. All I saw was rubble. Did it work? Did the crucible fire? Or did I just imagine that? “Shepard!” “Shepard, where are you?! Come on Commander?!” “Shepard?!” I recognized those voices. Samara, Jack, Miranda? But they were on the other side of the battlefield. I tried to move, but movement shot pain all over my body again and I saw stars in my vision. I was on the verge of slipping in unconsciousness. I knew if I did, I may never wake up again. All my medigel was dispensed during the final push, I had to stay awake until someone found me at least. Then they can take care of the rest. I tried again, slowly this time, I moved my head around, looking for something that could alert them where I am. I shot the tube didn’t I? Back at the crucible? Think Shepard, your pistol must be around! With great effort I started to feel around me, God this rubble is heavy!  There! I felt the pistol. I aimed in the sky and prayed there were still a couple shots left in the thermal clip. I squeeze the trigger. Bam Bam. Two shots that's it, I hear the empty click. They should have heard that, they must be closed otherwise I wouldn’t have heard them. 

“Get down!” “They’re not shooting at us.” “It’s Shepard!” 

“Shepard, stay with me, we got you, we’ll get you medic” Miranda’s face appeared in my vision as she spoke, her omnitool bright orange, I started to feel light headed but my pain was slowly diminishing, for now. How much medigel did she give me?! Oh, why does it matter, she knows what she is doing, she put me back together after all!  “MEDIC, OVER HERE! IT’S SHEPARD!” I heard Jack yell, before my vision went black. 

“Stay with me Shepard!” Miranda again, I was on a gurney, they were running with the medics, Miranda had her omnitool at the ready. Looked like she was scanning the damage, her face, didn’t look right...worried? “Miranda…Ashley?” I tried to reach for her. “Shh, save your energy. Just stay with me okay, you’ll be okay! The Normandy made it out on time, you did it Shepard” I didn’t know whether she was telling the truth about me making it, but it didn’t matter, all that mattered was that Ashley and my crew...my friends, were safe. All went dark. 

I woke up again, who knows how long I have been out, and heard beeping noise around me. I searched my surroundings, and noticed a heart rate monitor, tubes in my arms. I’m in a hospital, still alive, well at least I think so? Miranda’s face appeared in my vision, as well as someone else, don’t know who they are though. “Hey Shepard, you got some broken ribs, your left arm is broken, we’re keeping you under a coma for you to recover faster. But you’re going to make a full recovery.” I heard Miranda say to me before she turned around to the other man in the room and said “give him a dose, a bigger one this time, trust me he’ll be fine.” I couldn’t help but chuckle and I saw Miranda’s lip quirk up, I knew she got the same sense of deja vu: the first time I woke up in the Cerberus lab when she rebuilt me. But I knew I was going to be fine, after all Miranda would know best. All went dark again.

I woke up again, and I heard some rustling beside me, and I hand touched mine. “Hey Hero-Man, glad to see you finally awake.” I didn’t need to see who it was, because I would recognize her voice anywhere. A smile spread on my face, I never felt so much joy in my lifetime. Ashley was okay, and she was here beside me! I turned to face her, and tried to speak, but it almost felt like I had no voice. “Shh, shh, you’ve been out a while, just take it slow Skipper.” I had to say this though, and I squeezed her hand, cleared my throat, and with pure will I muttered a raspy “I love you,” she smiled and said “I know” and I fell asleep again. 

The next time I woke up, I felt much better. I couldn’t say how much time had passed, I figured maybe about a few days. Next to me Ashley had fallen asleep, she had her head on the bed all the while sitting in the chair she pulled up. I gently ran my fingers in her hair, and I felt her stir under my touch. “Hey pretty lady” I whispered, “Hey” she said back at me as she slowly lifted her head off the bed “You’re awake”. “Just woke up myself. How long have I been out?” I asked her. “Hmm, just about a month now, Miranda’s been looking after you until we could get the Normandy fully functioning again and back into orbit. We got back to Earth as soon as we could and got here. Dr. Chawkas took over your care after that” she replied. A month?! I took a moment to process that, I thought I had been out a few days, but a month?!  I was in shock. Normandy fully functioning? What the hell happened?! “Ash...what happened? After I got to the crucible? What happened?” I reached for her hand and squeezed it. I needed to know what happened after everything went dark. “The crucible shot red beams of light, and all synthetic, the Geth, Edi, even the Reapers, they all went dead. The Normandy was hit, we sustained a bit of damage before hitting the relay, we landed on an uncharted world. The crew worked all together to get the Normandy back up. Took us about 3 days, and then 2 weeks to get back to earth. But you did it Shepard - you destroyed the Reapers, the war is done. But there’s one more thing… Admiral Anderson..” she started saying, I nodded my head “I know, I was with him.” “I’m so sorry Skipper” for the first time ever, I saw a tear run down Ashley’s cheek. Throughout everything, Kaidan’s death, even when she was in the hospital and waiting for news on her family, Ashley Williams never cried, and here she was shedding a tear. I took my free hand and placed it behind her neck and brought her forehead to my lips and planted a kiss, and I held her there. She pulled away, and whipped her tears, “I should get Dr. Chawkas, I’ll be right back,” she stood up and walked out the door to get Dr. Chawkas, and I leaned back into the bed and sighed. I felt relieved that the Reapers were truly destroyed. But cords pulled on my heart. Edi had truly died. I was supposed to be dead. I had hoped that the catalyst had lied, but it hadn’t. Now Joker had lost the love of his life. 

I heard the door whoosh open again and turned my head in it’s direction, Dr. Chawkas looked at me, a smile spreading ear to ear, and behind her was Miranda. I could see Ashley talking to Admiral Hackett and James leaning up against the wall. I guess I could expect a huge welcoming party after speaking to Dr. Chawkas and Miranda. I was pretty sure there were others there that I couldn’t see. “Glad to see you awake Commander. You’re looking a lot better. I’m just going to run some scans here. I have to say, I’m impressed with Miranda’s medical skills, it was touch and go there for a while” she was saying as she lit up her omni-tool to do her scans. 

“Well, if anyone would know my body inside and out, it would be her, it wouldn’t be the first time either” I chuckle, and heard Dr. Chawkas chuckle as well, while I swear, Miranda’s cheeks turned beet red. “I suppose you're right. Scans look commander, you’re healing well. You should be good to go to physical therapy in a few days. But first we should probably get you some food,” she cocked her head in the direction of my stomach, as it made a growl, I swear everyone in the next system heard. “I’ll go get you something to eat, in the meantime Admiral Hackett would like to speak to you,” she turned on her heels and made her way out the door only to stop to speak quickly to Admiral Hackett “he’s all good Admiral, ready to see you” she nodded and Hackett give her a nod back “thank you Dr.” and made his way towards me. “Shepard, I don’t still don’t know how you pulled that off. That wasn’t short of any miracle” he reached out with a hand and I took in my own to give him a hand shake. “I don’t really know what really happened myself, tell you the truth Admiral” I replied. He pulled his hand back and clasped them behind his back, taking on his usual casual stance. “Tell me what you remember.” 

“I don’t know where to start Admiral. I reached the beam, and landed somewhere in the Citadel. Somewhere I’ve never been before. They were collecting human remains, and looked like they were gathering them to make another Reaper, maybe. I don’t know.” I pause to sigh and bring my thumb and forefinger to pinch the bridge of my nose for a moment, deep in thought. When I pulled my hand away again, I recollected myself to continue my debrief. “I made my way to the control panel, and Anderson had already reached it. He was trying to open to the Citadel arms. But the Illusive man was controlling him, stopping him from accessing the controls.” Hackett made a noise that sounded like a hmm. “So he managed to learn how to control humans, and not just husks?” he asked. “Yeah...thought he was implanted with reaper technology. He managed to get control over me as well. I tried to pull him out of his revelry, but he made me shoot Anderson, before he pulled the trigger on himself.” I sighed at the memory. I felt guilty, and it must have shown in my expression, for Hackett immediately interjected “It wasn’t your fault Shepard,” “It doesn’t make it any easier, sir”.

It must have taken me about a good 10 mins to explain everything, from the catalyst to the destruction of the Reapers. Hackett had agreed that taking control of  the Reapers would have been too much of a risk, what if down the line I would have become indoctrinated and started up another war? Rewriting human DNA is unethical. Destruction was the only way to go, even at a great cost. Peace between synthetic and humans is possible, as I had managed to prove to the galaxy with brokering peace between the geth and the Quarians. 

Hackett thanked me for the briefing and wished me a speedy recovery. I knew I would be out for a bit, but thanks to my cybernetics, it wouldn’t be as long as a normal person. Something I was grateful for, to be honest, even after everything that just happened, I still wasn’t ready to retire. 

After Hackett left, Ashley came back in followed by James, Traynor Carrying a vase full of “get well flowers”, Garrus, Liara and Cortez. “I brought you some flowers Commander, I’m glad you’re doing better commander, everyone has been worried about you” Traynor said as she placed the vase on the bedside table. “Thanks Traynor.” 

“Just couldn’t help yourself from destroying the reapers with a bang, uh Loco?” James chuckled, I just rolled my eyes at him and shook my head. No doubt I’ve just earned myself more “Loco” points. “S’cuse me” Dr. Chawkas was shimmying herself between the crew with a tray of food in her hands, and when she reached me she handed the tray and I reached out and grabbed it and placed it on my lab. I scrutinized what was on the tray, military rations albeit not being the best and tastiest of food, certainly looked more appetizing than the clump of goo that was sitting in front of me. I looked up at Dr. Chakwas, eyebrows raised in a quizzical look “what is this supposed to be?” She shrugged and her expression  turned sympathetic, no doubt not wanting to be stuck with this goo and feeling horrible about handing it over to me. “It’s supposed to be oatmeal. Something soft but not too solid yet, have to slowly introduce food into your system. You’ve been out a while Commander.” 

I picked up the spoon, scoop up a spoonful, only to purposely drop through the goo back into the plate. “I think I lost my appetite” I grumbled. “We’ll leave you to it commander” Traynor gave a sympathetic look  towards my way before gesturing to the others to do the same. Miranda lingered behind a bit “I’m glad your back Commander” and turned towards the door to follow the others out. Only Ashley remained behind. I moved myself a little closer to the edge of the bed and pat the empty spot beside me for her to sit down next to me. She was more than happy to oblige, her smile spreading across her face. She lay down and leaned her hand on my shoulder. “I know it’s not appetizing, John, but you should eat” she said. I sighed, “I know, I just didn’t want to make faces in front of everyone” I replied, and she snorted. I sighed again and took another spoonful and slowly, the food made its way down to my stomach.

The few weeks I spent in the hospital and physical therapy had been slow and excruciating. Not in the sense that my body hurt, it was mostly all healed up at this point, thanks to my upgrades. But it was the fact I was stuck there and hadn’t gotten the all clear yet to get back into the field. Ashley thought I was crazy, that I had more than earned some shore leave. But I wasn’t one to just sit around and do nothing.

I also had ceremonies to attend. I had been given more awards for my part in the war. The Normandy crew had been granted the Galactic Unit Citation for their part in helping win me this war. I had been awarded my second Star of Terra, along with the Star of Sur’Kesh, Silver Dagger, and Nova Cluster. My recognition in this war had gone with plenty of notice. 

Eventually I was given the all clear to head back and command The Normandy again. Hackett wanted the Normandy's help in patrolling  the system, making sure no one went rogue. With the government in chaos, and the Alliance in scramble right now. And with all the repairs that needed to be done to the mass relays, he wanted to make sure no pirates or mercs decided to attack anyone at random. The Normandy was to escort fleets to other systems so that we can start making the repairs on the mass relays ASAP. I was more than happy to comply. 

The welcoming I received was heartwarming. Everyone was glad to see me up on my feet again. New armor had been sent to the armory to replace the one that had been scorched in the final push. Walking up the ramp I plot our first trip to Arcturus Stream for our first escort. “You got it, Commander” was Joker’s voice coming through the speakers. I couldn’t help but smiled as I turned around and headed to the elevator up to my cabin. It was good to be back on the Normandy, and quite frankly, I was looking forward to a night alone with Ashley. 

[korkro]

Mass Effect Asks

Gonna go ahead and just answer all of these as well because I want to lol

1: Favorite background and psych profile?

earthborn/ruthless

2: Favorite class?

adept

3: Favorite ME1 mission?

probably Virmire

4: Favorite ME2 mission?

Horizon

5: Favorite ME3 mission?

i guess Priority: Tuchanka. i don’t have a lot of favorite things in general lol

6: Favorite ME1 squad?

Kaidan and Wrex, baby!

7: Favorite ME2 squad?

Thane and...Garrus? maybe?

8: Favorite ME3 squad?

Kaidan and Edi

9: What squad member do you bring along the most? 

Kaidan of course

10: What squad member do you bring along the least?

Ashley

11: Are there any squad members you just don’t like?

Ashley

12: Favorite non-combatant?

reading these questions makes me realize how long it’s been since i’ve played ME. do Steve and Sam count? Cal loves his gAy Team

13: Who did your first Shepard leave behind on Virmire?

it’s always Ashley lol

14: Who did your most recent Shepard romance?

Kaidan

15: Anderson or Udina, for council member?

i think i usually pick Udina

16: Favorite species?

krogan and geth

17: Favorite loyalty mission?

i don’t have a particular favorite but Cal would probably enjoy Grunt’s the most

18: Favorite weapon?

biotics! Cal relies very heavily on them

19: What power(s) do you use most frequently?

warp is my go to

20: Favorite DLC?

well, i’ve never played ME2′s dlc so from the others i will say Citadel for the amusing factor and extra homosexual scenes with Kaidan but i really like Leviathan

21: Favorite non-Normandy character?

Bakara

22: Favorite multiplayer class/character?

i’ve never played enough multiplayer to even remember my options

23: What enemy do you really like fighting?

none in particular stand out to me tbh

24: What enemy do you really hate fighting?

reapers lol. but also geth snipers in the first game

25: What mission do you dread every time you get there?

speaking of reapers, Priority: Rannoch. i’m already hating the thought of doing it in the remaster

26: Who do you wish was available as a romance option?

KAIDAN IN ME1. Thane. bioware fucking hates gay men :)

also Wrex

27: How many Shepards do you have?

as far as the Shepard goes, just Cal. but considering Ryan is the original Shepard where Cal gets his last name from, i suppose he counts too lol

28: What’s the most hilarious thing that’s happened to you while playing (a glitch, a mission that went haywire, etc)?

uhh, nothing really

29: If you primarily play Paragon or Renegade, is there a dialogue/interrupt/action of the opposite alignment you always take?

i have thoughts about the way renegade and paragon are written in regards to crew interactions but i always have to take a bunch of paragon points during Feros because Cal doesn’t kill those people needlessly. also giving Legion to Cerberus nets renegade points but i sure as fuck am not doing that

30: Share a headcanon about one of your Shepards HC:

I dunno what that HC means but Cal straight up quit the Alliance after Torfan and worked as a dancer in a gay club. his first language is Spanish but he’s equally fluent in English and knows a lot of Chinese (he can get by very well in another language too but i do not remember what it is now oops). and he retires from all spectre and military bullshit for good after the reaper war and does porn instead lmao

[theexleynatureblog]

Veganism for Conservation

Wikipedia defines veganism as “ the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products, particularly in diet, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan.”

This is different than vegetarianism, which is a non-meat diet. Vegetarians still use animal products like eggs and dairy, while veganism does not. Some people that practice veganism extend the philosophy to their clothing, not wearing leather, and sometimes even wool. 

A lot of us have probably interacted with vegans on the internet in posts such as this:

Personally, my interactions with people who practice veganism have been limited to glimpsing internet brawls like this. Because of this, vegans get a bad name. I’m sure Christians can relate: that one wild-eyed priest going on about how homophobia is a sin. He may speak for all Christians, but he cannot represent them.

My point of this is, going into this post, please approach veganism or vegetarianism with an open mind. This post is not hating on vegans, and it is not trying to convert anyone to veganism. By pointing out the strengths and weaknesses of vegan and non-vegan philosophies, I hope to increase understanding.

Where Veganism Succeeds

When it comes to images like this, vegans and vegetarians are sometimes the first to call out animal cruelty. This is not without substance. This PDF article from the University of Kentucky covers some of the issues very well. The main issue is Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO) or “factory farms”.  The ultimate goals of the factories are ‘cheap food’. Animals are kept in confined spaces, and given antibiotics and growth hormones to counteract the spread of diseases and parasites (in some cases it doesn’t work). Ironically, some of these drugs are outlaws in the UK, due to the adverse human health effects. Factory farms are a monopolized industry free of heavy regulations of other large-scale operations. Though the FDA and USDA oversee inspections and health regulations, it only helps so much. The Animal Welfare Act of 1966 does not extend to farm animals.

A common response is “Shut down farms!” But it’s not as simple as that.  The next article covers the Pro’s and con’s of farming. Farms are run different in different places of the world, and always full of contradictions. Livestock can improve the health of prairie grasslands, but also overgraze them. Animal manure can improve soil health and pollute rivers. While places like America need less meat, poor families in Cambodia may need more protein in their diet. I whole-heartedly support shutting down CAFO’s, but farming in general. Small-scale family farms are a great example of farming with ecosystem and animal health in mind.

One problem with holding animals indoors - even if you feed them well, make them comfortable, keep them from getting sick - is lack of mental stimulation. No species on Earth processes the world the same way. Cows don’t think they same way humans do, but they are living animals designed to do certain things.  A video I watched last year for my animal behavior class (If I could find the video, I’d add it) followed a group of hens brought from a factory farm to a new free-range home. A series of experiment were set up to observe their behavior. When presented with building materials, the hens proceeded to build a nest - even though a nest was already made for them by the caregivers. Animals have inherent behaviors that they will carry out if giving the opportunity. This may not have any impact on the health/quality of the meat or products, but it can give the animals mental exercise and therefor reduce stress.

Recent years have brought in increased in what is dubbed the “locavores.” Locavores is basically a person who eats locally, or within a 100mile radius. They may buy more produce from farmers markets, or get their meat from hunting and fishing locally. (Minnesota has a bag limit of 5 whitetail deer. A successful hunter could stock up food for their family for an entire year without ever buying meat from a grocery store!). Food handling, processing, and transportation takes up a lot of our yearly energy costs, not to mention food shipped from another country is going to be more expensive, and sometimes, less fresh.

The Locavores Movement wasn’t exactly pushed by vegans, but I’m going to include it here because it’s a win for everyone. After WWII, agriculture was becoming more commercialized. Big, industrial farms with lots of land and machinery was out-competing small family farms. Later on, the 60′s and 70′s sparked a ‘back to the land’ movement (a big time for environmental policies). It encouraged relationships between communities and local farmers. Though many small family farms are still financially struggling, the Locavores movement is increasing, as people are becoming more aware of where their food is coming from and their dietary health.

Where Veganism Fall’s Short

Animal anthropomorphization - defined as ‘ the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities’. Giving animals human-like appearances such as walking on two legs, fingers, eyebrows, and having them think and act like humans. This is present in any Disney cartoon regarding animals. Bambi is the most famous, and even created what is known as “Bambi Syndrome”, a belief based on the movie that paints nature as a garden of Eden with no natural predators - which is grossly inaccurate.

Anthropomorphization is not inherently bad, I enjoy watching Disney cartoons and sometimes its fun to imagine animals acting like people. However, there are people who seem to believe than animals really do process the world exactly like people do, and their interactions with the environment and other animals are similar to human - situations. Ex: a bunny rabbit and a deer chase each other around - they must be best friends! People forget that for wild animals, even suburban wild, is a constant struggle for survival. Humans partook in this once to, but now we have grocery stores and houses. We take for granted our ability to get food every day, and go home to a warm night’s rest. Animals don’t have that. Wild animals are focused 24/7 on survival - where to get food, are there any dangers around, ect. Once an animal has gained enough resources to survive day to day, then they can focus on reproduction. After that, in some cases, the focus is on rearing young. And then the cycle is repeated.

 The biggest argument comes down to the idea of death. Vegans argue that the act of killing animals is immortal because animals fear death just as humans do. This is true: the fear of death is present in all species. It is an important driver for evolution. Organisms are constantly coming up with new ways to avoid death caused by changes in the environment.

But death is still a really important thing.

Death is something that has to happen, because that is how nutrient cycling works. One organism collects material from the environment until it stops, and those nutrients are redistributed to other organisms. The longer an organism lives, the longer it holds onto those nutrients instead of redistributing them. 

The argument that ‘all animals want to live’ is obvious and does not address the fact that death is a natural and important part of our world - just as important as life. Why do humans make such a big fuss about it? Because we have the time and the resources to do so.

Giraffes don’t have time to sit around and contemplate life and death - they’re busy living. They’re busy foraging and migrating and kicking lions in the head. We have to remember the human experience of the world is unique to us - we are the only species that exploited resources so efficiently, we had the time and energy to build Society. Every word and concept in our mind is a imaginary construct, or translated from what we’ve seen in nature. This includes death - a natural process we witness and created an abstract essence around that both increases and diminishes our fears of the inevitable. (Sorry to readers experiencing existential crisis’ - hang in there, take your time. This really is mind-bending stuff when you think about it). Death didn’t have a name until humans created one. We created stories of Grim Reapers and Angels and Demons. We see shadows out of the corner of our eyes and call them ghosts.

But, do we have a right to cause the death of other organisms? Well, in nature, what is a ‘right’? Does the gazelle or the leopard have a greater right to live? My arguments may see really heartless and objective, but I am a biology student, so I have to look at this from an ecological perspective. Why do we look at the animal world through a tight lens of human understanding when we now have to tools to see more? How can we assign human concepts to a world that exists beyond our understanding?

One of emotions we have created do to the development of society is ‘guilt’. Its possible this emotion exists in other animals too, such as a mother who couldn’t protect their young. Guilt has evolutionary advantages of strengthening social bonds, and inciting a change of behavior. But humans are unique in that we extend this guilt beyond our immediate families to multiple other species. Pet owners may experience this when they accidentally step on their pet’s paw. 

This philosophy of including other species in our perception of the world is amazing, and very important. Aldo Leopold, a professor of ecology at the University of Wisconsin, wrote in A Sand County Almanac that extending human ethics to the land and its animals was essential for conservation. We need more people involved in biology and environmentalism, but we need them to have a proper understanding of life and death processes of other animals.

Wild animals deal with death much more often than humans do, and not in the same way. An article from Stat News claims half of Americans now die at home in hospice care. I can’t hypothesize numbers, but its same to say that a lot of people, especially in rich countries, get a ‘gentle’ death - in bed, surrounded by family members, eased with pain medications. Animals don’t get that. The quickest, non - human way for animals to die is by being kill by something else. Lions tend to bite the jugular of prey to asphyxiate it. The animal is dead by the time the lions start eating it, but it did not die quickly and peacefully. It’s last moments were being chased by lions, having lions dig their claws and teeth into its body to knock it down. It will take at least a full minute or two to suffocate the animal before it dies. Imagine the last thing you see is a lion biting into your neck - that’s terrifying!

Some deaths are quicker - think of birds picking up ants or insects, quickly crushing them in their beats or swallowing them whole. The thing is, as mammals, we can’t really relate to insects on an emotional level, so that example doesn’t get us far...

Non-predatory causes of death are disease, parasites, starvation, injuries, and old age. Older animals are at risk for all of these combined. A wolf with a broken leg may be fed by the pack for a while, but eventually have to be left behind and starve to death. There are no gentle deaths in the animal kingdom.

Ironically, the fastest and least painful death animal can experience from humans are euthanasia, and a gunshot (as long as the shot is lethal). Euthanasia is common for pets and livestock by first putting them to sleep, and then injecting them with a lethal drug they cannot feel. Its the closest thing to a human dying in a hospital bed. 

Gunshots have the potential to be the least painful and the most painful - depending on the skill of the hunter. A ethical shot to the heart or brain means that the animal will be dead before it even feels the bullet enter its body. That sounds a lot nicer than being chased or ripped apart by wolves, or stumbling around, infected by CWD.

Shortcomings of Non-Vegan Philosophies

Hunters and anglers don’t have all fail-proof ideas either. When it comes to conservation, America tends to prioritize animals useful for human consumption - as in, harvesting or observing. “Game” animals, like deer, elk, grouse, and waterfowl, have most of the public’s attention and protection. “Non” game animals like reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates, are overlooked and at greatest risk for extinction due to lack of funding. 

Americans in general, eat too much meat. A quick Google search pulled up multiple articles that said the same thing. These articles are not pushing vegan/vegetarian philosophies, they are approaching the problem from a healthy diet standard. This article from Popular Science covers the American heritage around meat and animals that dates back to colonial times. In medieval Europe, many of the large game animals like stag and bison were gone due to overhunting, and the remaining wild lands were reversed for nobility sport hunting. Important predators like wolves and bear were also removed due to fears and superstition, so, the ecosystems of Europe were...a mess. When settlers came to America, they discovered a land of bounty, and developed a ‘take whatever you want’ philosophy that led to the extinction of the passenger pigeon, and near extinction of the bison and turkey. We eventually realized our mistake and worked up some protection, but still have a ways to go. 

Is Veganism helping conservation?

Yes and no. It has it strong and weak points. The strongest, like I said, being pointing out the flaws of factory farms. However, the belief that replacing animal products with plant/synthetic materials will help the planet is troublesome.

The picture is one that comes up when Googling ‘soil degradation’. The land is so dry, it is cracked. The vegetation looks dead and dying, and the soil color itself is a light sandy brown - lacking the deeper shades that indicate the presence of organic material, essential for soil organisms and plant growth. Soil degradation is a problem all around the world, appearing in various forms. It’s leading cause is poor management of agricultural fields. A vegan lifestyle means greater dependence on these farms, but there is never any mention of this problem.

Vegan or not, as an American, I believe it is in our best interest to eat less meat - not totally get rid of it, but have more balanced diets. Soil degradation is a problem for everyone. Luckily, soil scientists are at work discovering new ways to put nutrients back into the soil and lock them in, increasing the health of the soil ecosystem. The plants and animals that depend on it (including us) will be healthier, and some of these techniques can even take greenhouse gasses out of the atmosphere. The Soil Conference at Gustavo's Adolphus College brought in some of these speakers. Video are available on YouTube, and posted to my blog.

A trademark of veganism is refusing authentic leather. It is replaced by synthetic and plant based materials called ‘pleather’, ‘faux leather’ and ‘vegan leather’. 

Some sites say these terms are interchangeable, but some say they’re each a little different. Leafy Souls defines ‘pleather’ as leather made from plastic. This is a big problem, because plastic materials, when washed, release micro plastics into waterways. The major problem is these plastics aren’t as easily identifiable are water bottles washed ashore on the beach. Not a lot is yet known about these pollutants, but we have found them everywhere - including inside our bodies.

Luckily, not all vegan leather products are made of plastics. Alternatives have been made from plants, leaves, cork, and even stone!

The big argument against leather and fur products is - it is cruel to kill animals just for there skins. And I actually agree with this. I was never one to buy into the fashion industry, and personally, I think it’s a little outdated, and pointless. 

The process of factory made leather from cowhide is a bit disturbing. The manufacturing of leather is contributing so some major environmental issues like the release of greenhouse gasses and water pollution. Some questionable chemicals are also used to treat the leather. 

The good news is livestock are not being killed solely for their skin. The cattle sent to slaughter are the same cattle that we get most commercial leather from. Of course, this doesn’t really comfort anyone heartbroken over the commercialized treatment of animals.

Leather manufacturing is also being linked to child labor and poor warehouse conditions. It’s a common American business practice to send labor production oversees to places labor is cheaper - cheaper because workers are paid less for longer hours in poor conditions. The leather industry is not alone in doing this. How we change this? Boy-coting certain products is one way, but some of these companies have monopolies on products. A book by a Michigan State University professor discusses the growing monopolization of food products.

How do we solve problems like this? I don’t know, but something this complex needs a just - as complex solution that may take years to undo. 

Fur

Minnesota got its early start as a center for fur-trading between Canadian pioneers and native tribes. Unfortunely, the luxury that was fur turned the market extremely competitive. Since nature is not built for capitalism and competitive markets and commercialism, the fur bearer populations of the state took a dive. (Luckily, all have now recovered).

Fur markets were as bad as market hunting in terms of conservation, but unlike the latter, fur trapping is as persistent as ever today. Thanks to protections and regulations, trapping is able to persist at nearly the same capacity as it was in the 1800′s without threatening a population. (Also, there are significantly less people partaking in trapping).

Personally, I do not care for killing animals solely for the fur or leather. I would prefer to trap animals that also provide food - like rabbits. My believes are that if you kill an animal, you use as much as you can from it - meat, skin, and maybe even some of the bones. Its a way to pay respect by making sure the animal didn’t die for no reason.

Like leather, fur has synthetic replacements. However, I could not find as much environmental information. The main material for faux fur is acrylics, which are basically plastics that do not degrade when released into the environment. It is another source of micro plastics. 

Manufactured fur, like real leather, is treated with chemicals like formaldehyde to keep from degrading. Naturally, after discovering this, I Googled health affects of wearing real fur. Problem 1: I couldn’t find a trustworthy website. The websites that came up were strongly anti-fur. I wanted to find information from a neutral website, like a college university article. Problem 2: I could not find anything. I expected to find articles about odd rashes or allergic reactions, but there was non. Instead, I re-discovered an article I used in a previous post about vaccines. Vaccines actually use doses of formaldehyde in them. It’s a scary substance, because we automatically think about it in the process of embalming bodies, but the truth is, it has many practical uses that are safe to human health. Any substance can be harmful or helpful, it all depends on the dosage and chemical makeup. I was reminded that formaldehyde isn’t as scary as everyone makes it out to be. It is actually naturally produced in our bodies, and it probably doesn’t have any adverse effects to being added on our clothes.

Another problem arises when questioning the affects of formaldehyde in the environment. When we wash our clothes, dirt and chemicals end up in our water systems, including micro plastics and formaldehyde. The usual dosages of the chemical is to small to cause us individuals adverse health affects, but the story can change when dumped in large qualities. Our tendency to dump large amounts of waste into confined areas is not natural - animals tend to discharge (biodegradable) waste evenly across a habitat, or at least in quantities than can be broken down. The way humans discard waste in large quantities means that basically anything - including caffeine from our coffee consumption - can have adverse environmental effects. So, the problem of releasing formaldehyde is not on the chemical itself, but more on our system of waste treatment and pollution in general.

Conclusion

I am overwhelmingly tired of the vegan vs non-vegan argument. The more I see people pointing their fingers at each other, the less I want to partake in either one of their ideologies. Great minds think alike but fools seldom differ.

I believe it all comes down to balance. No matter how we exploit resources, there is going to be a downside. Vegan or non-vegan, there is an up and down to every choice. We have to work together and find a middle ground.

If we completely stopped using animals today, there would be changes. CO2 emissions would drop a little, but they may change sources. The same amount of people would need the same amount of food, and 1/3 of that food would come from a different source. There may be more habitat loss from increases agriculture farms, and come communities may became protein-deficient.

If the opposite were to happen, and we increases animal products, there would also be adverse effects. To feed those animals would also require more agricultural land. Factory emissions could rise, along with health effects of too much red meat, like increased cholesterol. 

The fact of the matter is, we all kill animals, directly and indirectly, simply by taking up space. The things that make you you - the proteins and carbons and lipids and nutrients - came from another organism. The fact that you have them now means something else is denied them. The cars we drive, the fields we plow, the pollutants we throw out, those are all killing animals as I type this. It sucks. I absolutely hate it. It has happened for the past millions of years, but right now, we are doing it at a faster rate than anything before us.

I cannot fully support veganism in regards to animal ethics, due to the tendency of anthropomorphization and biological misinformation. But I due support the legitimate environmental concerns, and I think a lot more people need to understand them as well.

[greedy-fox]

Halloween Recommendations!!

Thought tis the season to be creepy, if y’all are are interested ranged animes to watch. I have placed these animes from PG-13 to the Horror Level

Interviews With Monster Girls

Let’s start with a happy go anime for this Halloween season, and I will start by talking about “ Interviews with Monster Girls.” 

This anime is actually an adorable comedy which follows the premise that all mythical creatures (aka demi-humans) are real and they are living peacefully within society. Our main character Tetsuo Takahashi, is a biology teacher at Shibasaki High School, with a big interest in learning the biology of demi-human.  

With the bar set low on his part since demi-humans are a pretty rare species, he unexpectedly meets a Vampire, Dulhan and a Yuki-Ona (Snow woman) as his female students, there is also the fact that one of his co-workers is a Succubus. 

In my opinion this is a good one to watch because of how cute the characters are, and also how considerate the biology teacher is to his demi-human students

Bloody Blockade Battlefront

Is another supernatural comedy, the story is set in a world where a version of ‘Hell’ (and the demonic creatures that come with it) decided to come up and live in New York. Now the area is closed from the rest of the world and considered its own country called ‘Jerusalem's Lot.’ To keep the inhabitants in check, an organization called ‘Libra’ that is filled with their own supernatural beings. 

A freelance photographer called Leonardo Watch lives in in said  ‘Jerusalem's Lot.’ But before he made that change, a demon gave Leo the ‘All-seeing Eyes of the Gods’ while his sister goes blind. After much research and a stroke of coincidental luck since that incident since that incident, Leo was finally able to join ‘Libra’ and finally use his eyes while finding a cure for his sister.

This is one of the funniest animes that I have watched. Artwork is beautiful and the storyline is great.

Soul Eater

Is a supernatural fantasy anime. The setting is Death Meister Academy in Death City run the head honcho Lord Death (aka the Grim Reaper). 

The school teaches the student how to become better shinigami in order to defeat any evil spirits and their biggest enemy are witches. The student are split into ‘Weapons’ who are humans that have the supernatural abilities to transform into weapons and ‘Meisters’ their human counterparts that are able to use the transformations at their best possible outcome. 

Our main character are team members Maka and her scythe Soul, Black Star and his katana Tsubaki, last but not least Death the Kid and his twin guns Liz and Patty.

Note: Highly Recommend reading this story line as a manga rather than watching it as an anime. Reason is because the main story line cuts off mid way through the series and ends in a completely different way. 

Highschool of the Dead

The story follows a group of Japanese highschool student and their nurse as they survive an unexpected Zombie apocalypse. Along the way they meet both friends and foes and pick up both a child and a dog. 

While all of this is happening, they toward a neighborhood that might be a safe haven for them, while kicking zombie ass along the way. 

Tokyo Ghoul

Is a story about ghouls, humans, and a human who unexpectedly became half ghoul. The setting is Tokyo, Japan; and there monster living within the human population called ghouls. Even though they look human they look and act human they aren’t because they live off of eating human flesh for sustenance. 

Ken Kaneki is your average male high-schooler who unluckily fell in love and victim to one of Tokyo’s most notorious ghoul criminals Rize Kamishiro aka the ‘Binge Eater.’ As what seemed to be a normal date, ends with him running for his life from her and they both fall victim to unsecured metal beams at a nearby constructions site. Just when Kaneki thought he was dead, he wakes up in  hospital bed where his the doctor tells him that he miraculously survived the accident. But as time goes by while he still a patient and after he get discharged Kaneki realizes that there is something very different about his body and was shocked to realize that he is half ghoul. Thankfully he was able to find allies within the coffee shop he frequents.

This anime is on point one of the best things I have watched. The main character goes through a lot of character developments and regressions. There are about four seasons overall and I loved every single one of them.

Devils Line

Is a vampire romance- drama. Set in a world where vampires live among humans in hiding. But they don’t really require human blood to survive. Instead they drink blood when they are about to go on a rampage. 

Our main character is university student Yuuki Anzai and she meets Taira Tsukasa a vampire-human hybrid whom she saves before he went berserk. The two then unexpectedly get closer and start to grow some feelings for each other. But Yuuki is worried that she is a liability to Taira. 

I honestly really liked this anime for it great art work and honest storyline. (Reminds me of Twilight but better) If it catches your and you really like it this is a manga adaptation that you can read after watching the series.

Parasyte: The Maxim

An action horror series where aliens that are called ‘parasyte’s’ have descended into earth orbit and take on the human brain and make them into living hosts. 

Good news is that our main character Shinichi Izumi did not have his brain taken over. Bad news is that the alien instead took over his right arm and is calling himself Migi throughout the series.

 That not all, there are other evil and much stronger ‘parasyte’s’ that have taken over human bodies. Now Izumi and Migi are caught up in multiple fight they just can't lose or it might mean the end of the human race itself.

Another great anime. I personally read the whole thing and it was great the characters go through a lot fighting and there come literal life and death situations happening.

Another

Probably one of the creepiest horror-thriller animes on the decade. The show follows  student by the name Kouichi Sakakibara transfers into 3-3 of Yomiyama North Middle school which rumored to be a cursed classroom. The rumors tells of a female honor student that dies tragically 26 years ago. As she was loved by all the student, class 3-3 decided to keep on believing that she was alive until they graduated.  😖😖😖😖😖

Suspicious and afraid of the classroom atmosphere Koichi ends up befriending Mei Misaki (who he is also very wary of). As the story unfold most of his classmates start dying one by one. Now Kouichi afraid that the curse is real and he might be the next target. 

Will be able to survive this torture and be able to graduate from middle school or will the curse kill him off 

I really believe that this story is creepy beyond compare. I honestly have not watched it myself but based on the opening and what I remember when I saw the trailer, I had nightmares for a month.

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This is all I have for this year be ready for more the next!