#Demi-Human Prey

[aciddrooldeluxe]

I have to make characters. Thinking Abt a pair with a dynamic of like. Prey with complete total control over a pred. For one reason or another, idk yet, either due to money, or like. Maybe they have them captive or something, or maybe it's something fucked up and magic? Or maybe it's just purely through the prey being so recognizable and well known that if they did go missing, the pred would be in some deep shit. Needs some seriously restraint. Maybe a muzzle.

#just tossing ideas around #for myself #out loud #i was thinking they could be something like #idk either furries. with the pred being something huge. like a bear or a lion #and the prey being some sort of rodent or maybe just something little like a fox or a lizard of some sort #but it could also work with demi humans or like #any kind if pred/prey species. maybe even not even species could just be a role thing. #or like a. a gender? #this should probably be its own post but has anyone done that. make a vore gender thing. #fucking vore omegaverse #that would suck sorry #anyways #v.ore #soft vore #v/ore #vo.re #vo/re #vor.e #who knows #u could do all kinds of shit with this

[jpitha]

Hunting

It is unlikely that humans are the only predator species to achieve sapience in the galaxy.

In order to be a successful predator one has to be intelligent enough to learn your prey's movements and be able to think ahead to what they're going to do next but also be flexible enough in your thinking that you can improvise if the situation chances. If you don't have this elasticity, you won't be a very successful predator.

Humans are very successful predators.

****

Greg bent down low and spoke as quietly as he could to the worried Sefigan next to him. "I need you to stay as still as you can. I'm going to go around, and try and surprise the Gren guarding the exit."

The three Sefigans, caught between wanting to obey Greg and staying silent but also trying to communicate that they thought it was suicide to do so started shaking.

"No, no, it'll be fine. I've been watching him. He's not really paying attention." Greg stood silently and put one finger to his lips, then smiled.

Moving much quieter than one would think given his mass, Greg crept away, hunched down just a little to keep motion out of the tops of the bushes they used to hide. The Sefigans watched in horrified fascination as Greg would take a few steps and then freeze, not even breathing while he watched the Gren.

As he walked, he made no noise at all over the soft sand, his feet finding purchase slowly. The Sefigans, a small furry prey species from a rocky mountainous world felt very old fears from the most early parts of their brains while watching him hunt the Gren.

The Gren guard was panning slowly as he guarded the exit, his fur flat, his eyes dull and his mouthparts drooping. If one knew a bit about Gren physiology one could easily see that he was bored and tired. His shift wasn't due to end for another 3 demi-cycles and nothing usually ever happened on this exit.

When Greg was no more than 2 meters away, he reached down and picked up a stone, no larger than a comm badge. He raised his arm and in one silent fluid motion, tossed the stone high and far over his head, to hide its origin. It clattered against the wall on the far side of the pen, opposite to where Greg was standing. The noise and motion caught the Gren's eye and his whole body swung over to where the stone landed.

His back was turned to Greg.

Greg bent his legs low building energy and took two steps and lept onto the Gren's back. His higher mass bowled the taller but much lighter Gren over and the Gren's head hit the stone with a hollow thwack.

Greg jumped up off the Gren and checked him quickly. He was dead. Trotting quickly over to where the Sefigans were still hiding he motioned for them to follow.

Still terrified, they followed this... ambush predator they were scared of and by the time they reached him, he had gotten the comm out of the Gren's pack and was fiddling with a ring that had complicated studs all around it, fitting them against the door until one clicked and the door hissed open.

Minutes later they were all running across the desert to the canal below where they had hoped to cling to the side of a barge and float to the spaceport.

"Human Greg! Human Greg!" The smallest Sefigan called as they jogged down the sandy hill towards the canal.

"What is it Li? Can it wait?"

"That was amazing! I've never seen a human hunt before! Is that how they all do it?"

"Not really? Humans developed as persistence hunters, not ambush hunters, but as you well know, skills can be taught."

"Persistence hunter?"

"Yeah, my ancestors would pick an animal out of a herd and run after it. As long as we didn't overexert ourselves we could just... run until it died."

The three Sefigans looked at each other as they jogged. Greg wasn't breathing heavily as they went towards the canal, but all three of them were nearly at their limit and would need a long time to rest when they were safe.

"Human Greg, you scare us." The tallest Sefigan looked back at the holding compound and then back at Greg. "But, not as much as we were scared of what the Gren would have done to us."

Greg smiled showing his wide, large, white teeth. "In this world, sometimes you need to be scary." He looked at the canal. "Come on, the water isn't too cold, let's get in and swim towards that barge. It's not too far."

#humans are deathworlders #humans are space orcs #humans are space oddities #humans are space capybaras #humans are space australians #humans and aliens #writing #sci fi writing #scifi writing

[cryptidclaw]

Leopardfoot!

Design Notes:

I havent done a design for this gal in AGES ... yet I tried to keep a lot of the ideas from my old one for this one!

I really liked the idea of her having tortie patches that mimic leopard spots which i had used in my old design, so I've done it again!

Character Bio:

Leopardfoot

Lesbian; demi-girl; she/they

Age as of 1st arc's beginning: 11 cycles, 8 moons; ~64 Hyrs

Age as of 1st arc's end: 13 cycles, 6 moons; 72 Hyrs

Title meaning: -foot = a cat who is light on their feet; a cat who is sure of themselves, and is confident in their actions

Warrior -> Elder of Thunder Order

Mother: Swiftbreeze

Father: Adderfang

Siblings: Patchpelt

Ex-Mate: Star Pineheart

Mate: Fogtalon

adoptive/step kit: Mousebite

Kits: Thistleclaw; Night; Mist; Birdflight (biologically Fogtalon and Sparrowpelt's)

Grandkits: Sky, Shimmer, Shine; Star Tigerclaw; Lynxstorm; Sandstorm; Flint; Poppy

Other notable kin: both the Tiger and Fire descendants are her kin, Fire not biologically tho.

Character Summary:

Leopardfoot was born to Adderfang and Swiftbreeze alongside her brother Patchpelt, unlike in canon she is born a few cycles (years) earlier than Bluefrost and Snowstorm.

Leopard grew up with a very heteronormative ideal of what her live should be as an adult, find a good strong tom as a mate, have kits, be the perfect Thunder Order molly. Because of this, when Star Pineheart showed an interest in her a few years into her adulthood, she agreed to become mates with him, he was the leader after all, it would be dumb to say no to such an honor.

Leopardfoot soon had a litter of kits with Pine, Night, Mist and Thistle. Just like in canon Pine ends up abandoning the Order and his family to live with humans and Leopard is left to raise her kits alone. Leopard was devastated by this, especially after Night and Mist passed due to kitten cough. Due to all of this Leopard grew a misplaced hatred for kittypets which she passed on to her son Thistleclaw, and later her grandson Tigerclaw.

After Pineheart left the Order however, Leopard began to get close to Fogtalon with fog helping her out with the kits. The two of them end up having a slowburn romance and end up becoming mates later in life!

Leopard is a sort of step parent to Mousebite and Birdflight was raised with both Fog and Leopard as his moms!

Leopard retired with Fogtalon and as an elder she spent a lot of time with her grandson Tiger, who would often bring her fresh prey and moss and chat with her about the day's happenings.

Leopard had an idea that her son Thistle was kind of an asshole, but she was never told the full truth of his actions that lead to his death. Nobody wanted to hurt her like that, especially since she was now relaxing and retired.

Leopard was devastated when Tiger was banished and for a long while she was in denial about him being evil. she started to act more old and confused after this too.

within the plot, Leopard is able to give the backstories and motives of characters like Tigerclaw to Fire, though she really only tells these things to him after Tiger's banishment when she became more confused.

...

[Image ID: a digital drawing of Leopardfoot from Warrior Cats. She is laying down with her right side showing and she has a slight frown. She is a slender, long furred, black and orange tortoiseshell molly with green eyes. She is mostly black, with orange patches on her shoulders to mid back, paws and cheeks that imitate leopard spots. She has brownish gradient under where her orange patches are, as well as on her tail./ End ID]

#cryptidclaw's warriors au #rise of change #leopardfoot #leopardfoot design #warrior cats #warrior cats design #warriors #warriors au

[a-twistedheartslonging]

PLS, I need more non-human twst au (maybe with male or gn yuu? If I ask kindly, with a cherry on top 🥺🥺🥺) + (you au gave me some ideas, great au, yummy, delicious ate it all up)

Seeing this pleases me greatly, I wasn't expecting to actually get asks from people.

Hmm, should I keep using non-human, or would demi-human be better for this? Just Beasts? 🤔

Anyway, I’m not sure what you want specifically aside from the “male or gn yuu” bit but what's currently been in my head with this...

Nonhumans are in general stronger and have better senses than humans. Faster, stronger, sense of smell, night vision. When your friends are around you might get a startle at night or when the light goes out because of glowing eyes. They are also typically bigger except for the ones related to prey animals. What's small to them could be considered average for us.

Peets, hooves, and talons are common. Some wear special shoes, have you ever seen the hoof boots they have for horses? Imagine that but in an NRC design. 

Hormonal schoolboys already get into plenty of fights but adding beasty guys to the mix? You will likely see many scuffles. Particularly over things like snacks, hang-out spots, dominance, and crushes.

Humans are the minority in Twisted Wonderland. The beasties were always better suited for surviving and the humans that remained could get by because of magic. So, you not only being a human but one without magic makes you rare…and vulnerable.

Your scent is different from the other humans here and the guys aren't sure why. Cuz you're from another world? Or lack of magic? Maybe it's just a you thing. Regardless sniffing someone isn't considered exactly rude like it is in our world, so you often get some curious noses pointed your way.

Many find your clawless monkey hands and round ears both weird and cute.

You will get scented by your friends often and need a lent roller for all that fur that’s going to get on your uniform.

A lot don’t care much about gender or sex when it comes to a would-be mate, though there are at least some with a preference. For a lot of them, the usual stuff like strength, personality, and skill are what they look at but something particularly important to many is scent. The fact that yours is unique has gotten you more attention. Careful complementing the scent of one of the guys though cuz you're pretty much saying “I think you're breedable.”

Another thing with the whole gender and sex thing, there are a lot of animals out there that can change their sex, have both sex bits, etc. That also applies to the non-human guys that are based on those animals. So, any genderqueer-ness isn't something they’ll bat an eye at.

Many court the animal way so expect gifts of shiny things, food, and clothing covered in your guy's scent, or a piece of themselves like a feather or scale. Might want to make it clear you don't want anything…that they hunted. Stuffed animals are a lot better than dead ones at your doorstep.

You will be groomed, cuddled, licked, nipped, and bitten by the one you accepted as your mate.

That's all I can think of at the moment but if anyone wants to add or share their ideas/thoughts please do. The interaction makes me happy and helps these thoughts grow and become something more.

Like possible fics. 🤫

(Please tell me what kind of creatures you think the boys would be.)

#nonhuman au #au #twst #twisted wonderland #twst x reader #ask #asks

[sparrowrye]

Demi Demon || Alastor x Reader, part 23

Synopsis: soulmate AU where you have the same mark on your body as your soulmate, and if your soulmate dies, you die too. Alastor needs to make sure that his soulmate is safe so he can continue his reign - whatever that takes. Though it looks like we have a couple secrets of our own.

Previous part

Part 23: the starting works

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I lowered my head so the sun didn't blind me through the brush. My nose flared as I drew in my prey's scent. They were completely unaware of my presence, unaware that their life was about to end. My claws punctured the soft earth and I leaned back on my haunches.

I sprang.

My bad leg pinched, causing me to land a hair before my prey. They jumped and zipped through the forest with a squeal. I gave chase on all fours until I was in my full dragon form. I weaved through the trees with ease as I ignored the small pains throughout my body. I wasn't fully recovered but that couldn't stop me.

My prey tripped and rolled several paces. I lunged and landed firmly on its head. I stepped back to look at the dead rabbit. It's energy faded from its body and snaked its way through my nose and into my head. I felt ready to keep running.

I laid down and sank my teeth into the soft, fuzzy flesh. The blood pooled in my mouth and oozed down the back of my throat. It wasn't nearly as good as a Demon's blood. It was thinner and had a bitter taste to it. It was like the comparison of eating bone broth to actual soup. It soothed the hunger pains but wasn't actually filling.

It had been a week after my incident. I would wake up in the middle of night craving the blood. I had dreams and nightmares about the killing, even messing with my memories from the ring fights. The nightmares were horribly gruesome and I couldn't believe that my mind was actually producing these images. I was eating limbs and sucking blood until their skin went pale. I was horrified at myself.

I mostly felt the cravings at night or early in the morning after my gruesome dreams. After the second day I was pulling out my hair and trying to suck on my own blood just to stop it. It actually hurt when I didn't have anything. It felt like my veins were being thinned and my muscles would tense until they were rock solid.

Fortunately, in my fit of furry, I had run into the forest and caught a bat between my fangs. Its blood instantly soothed the tense muscles and I felt like I could breathe again. So I made it a habit to go hunting in the mornings for small creatures like rabbits or squirrels. A single creature could suffice the hunger pains for the day until the following morning.

Husker knew what was happening. When I asked him about it, he told me that he didn't have this issue. It was something he knew Alastor had to deal with as well, hence his broadcasts and constant victims.

Another wonderful thing I get to share with him.

I asked Husker to keep my hunting a secret from Alastor. He was always making comments about my 'desires' and I wasn't about to let him know he was actually right. So Husker sat on the porch and waited for me to return every morning.

I swallowed the last of the rabbit and forced myself to feel satisfied, to no avail. I shifted into my Demon form and wiped my lips of the bitter blood. My eyes blinked back to their normal color.

****

Husker and I sat in the library with a radio on the desk. Outside was wet and cold. A rainstorm had come through from the sea and pelted the side of the house relentlessly. It knocked on the library windows, unable to get in. Husker was changing the radio stations every so often.

The broadcast about Demon-kind had aired only a few days ago. Everyone was in an uproar. Vox had used his broadcast to show them the physical difference between Slight magic, Full magic, and Demon magic. Alastor's had been more informative and gave more finite details.

Humans weren't happy. There were countless radio shows and other tv news where the reporters went back and forth about the topic. Some people were angry that they kept the truth hidden for hundreds of years, while others were angry that Demons were showing their true forms around and acting 'above them'. In my opinion, Demons always did that but people just assumed it was a personality trait.

We always kept the radio nearby to listen in. Some cities tried banning Demons and those with Full magic as a whole. Others formed groups to hunt them down but it didn't last very long. Overlords had enough manpower and magic to stop any hunting party, making others less willing to try that tactic again.

Even so, the death rate in this nation skyrocketed. From hunting parties to riots to territory battle to everything, people and Demons alike were getting killed.

This stirred up a lot of political issues too. On this part of the map, towns and cities operated much in the same way and all followed standard protocols for everything - something created long ago before the Great Collapse. Now, rules were being changed left and right without warning and proper justice wasn't so proper anymore.

According to Alastor everything was going as planned. The disruption and confusion left the Humans divided, meaning most of the Demon population was safe.

Most.

I didn't realize how many were dying, or how exactly, until I received a visit from the princess of Hell herself. She, Vaggie, Husker, and Alastor were chatting in the sitting room when I walked down the stairs. She greeted me with a hug and insisted I call her Charlie instead of princess. Fortunately, she was moving so fast that I didn't have to figure out how to return the hug. It still made me uncomfortable.

"Finally, someone who actually cares about Demon-kind," Vaggie remarked, casting a glare in Alastor's direction. He stood with his arms behind his back, like always, and his smile widened at her comment.

"Did something happen?" I asked. I was in my Human form as were Charlie and Vaggie.

"Hell is getting overrun with Demons," Charlie answered, "It was already overpopulated but now there's more and more Demons running back to escape Humans."

"The humans haven't rioted though. Sure some towns are doing it but nothing big," I said.

"It's been fairly decent from what we've heard on the radio," Husker added.

"Not in other places around the world," Vaggie said.

"Across the ocean Humans are coming together and hunting down anyone with Full magic." She looked so pained as she spoke. "Full magic Humans are being killed left and right, and Demons are running back to Hell and making it way overcrowded."

"What's uh...what's...what's your father doing?" I asked, unsure of how I was supposed to refer to him.

"He's locked in his room trying to figure out a way to handle it. Buildings are being built way high up to accommodate more people and some Overlords are straight up just killing anyone who walks in their territory."

"I don't see the problem," Alastor interjected, "Hell's Overlords surely sound like they're doing their part. I know Cannibal Town is doing well."

"That's not the point!" Charlie and I said at the same time, in different tones. Hers was more ecstatic and mine was a growl. Everyone looked between the two of us, just as shocked as we were. Niffty broke the silence as she chased a bug through the sitting room.

"What about the ring fights?" I looked to Husker. "Are those still active or are they killing the champions? They tend to be Full mages."

Husker shrugged. "I know as much as you since we threw out my phone." After my incident, Husker immediately threw his phone into the ocean. We weren't about to risk him getting to me again. Apparently, Vox was trying to use me to force Alastor not to broadcast until after Vox had done his. I discovered this was a petty rivalry.

I scratched the back of my neck. "They probably killed any children who showed signs of having Full magic. Or even the police went after some rings and just killed any and all of the fighters. That would be the easy way to go about it."

"There has to be something we can do. Demons and innocent Humans are being killed. All because of us." Charlie put both hands over her chest and looked down. Vaggie put a hand on her shoulder as comfort.

I was surprised to see the princess of Hell acting like this. I was expecting her to be just as bad, if not worse, than the likes of Alastor. Yet here she was worrying over the death of Demons and Humans. It was hard to believe she was heir to throne of Hell.

A thought came to mind. My thought. This could be the perfect opportunity to separate from Alastor, to put my plan into action. It was way earlier than I expected but I wasn't about to pass it up.

"What about...a safe haven? A sanctuary of sorts?" I offered. Everyone's eyes fell on me. Alastor pressed through my shields as his eyes narrowed. "You've already done something similar."

"You mean make another hotel?" she asked.

"More like a city. Take over a city and let the persecuted come to us. There's more space up here to expand."

"And fix the relationship between Humans and Demons since even Full mage Humans are being attacked," Vaggie said.

"Yeah...yeah that could work!" Charlie's eyes lit up and she seemed to radiate sunlight.

"Defending it would be a problem, though," Husker sipped on his alcohol. "It paints a big red target for Humans to team up against."

"That's true." Charlie started to pace.

"Fear is a great tool for controlling people's actions," Alastor said, placing a hand on my shoulder. My fingers fluttered as our energy shot through my body. I plucked his hand off my shoulder as Charlie spoke.

"That's not really what we're trying to do..."

"But it might be necessary at first," Vaggie moved her hand to Charlie's back, "as much as I don't want to agree with him." Alastor's smile widened.

"The Radio and Snake Demon aren't exactly something most people want to piss off," Husker added. My pride swelled a little.

"Would people even want to come if they knew he was involved? Would they be too scared?" I questioned, positioning myself so I could see Alastor fully in view.

"Maybe not if we really push that he won't kill anyone at the Safe Haven," Vaggie crossed her arms as she looked at him.

"I make no such promises," he laughed, "but those in the Safe Haven would be far from the top of my list."

"Where would even have it?" I asked, ignoring him, "What city would we use?"

"We could build it here," Niffty appeared behind me. She twiddled into the middle of the circle and looked up at Charlie. "We have a big ocean behind us and a big forest between here and the closest town. Easily defendable." She spoke so quickly but everyone had managed to catch it.

"She's got a point." Husker took another sip.

"We'd have to actually build it here, though. As opposed to finding a city or even one of the old abandoned ones to use instead. We'd have a framework."

"True, but it might not be nearly as defendable," Vaggie reasoned. "Are those buildings even safe? I've seen all over social media about them collapsing from how old they are. Our buildings would be knew and could stand for much longer."

I opened my mouth to counter it but Charlie beat me to it, "We'll have to work out the logistics later. I need to talk to my dad first."

She and Vaggie went to the cliff and teleported back to Hell, leaving a different scorch mark in the earth. I closed the back door and walked right into Alastor who had been standing behind me.

"What?" I demanded.

"You had a similar plan, already."

My eyes narrowed as I tried to keep my cover. He must've seen my memories when we touched earlier. "And what if I did?" I pushed past him and walked through the library.

His shadow slipped past my feet and he formed in front of me, hands resting on his cane and his body leaning forward. "You still seem to think you belong anywhere but my side."

"I'm not a tool to be used, Alastor." It felt strange using his name like that. "My lifespan just got hundreds of years added onto it. You really think I want to spend all that time with you?" My heart was racing at the confrontation.

"I think you'll find it rather hard to live without me."

I braced for something as I walked past him to the stairs. "Oh yeah? Why's that?"

Without turning, he asked, "How are your cravings?"

I stopped in my tracks. His laugh made me grimace for stopping. Now he knew. Of course he would know. How long did I really think I could hide it?

"Those little animals aren't nearly as fulfilling, are they?" My ears twitched as I heard him walk up behind me. I turned to face him and he stretched a sharp claw towards my chin. "They just don't cut it. Wouldn't you agree?"

"No." I carefully pushed his hand away. "They work just fine."

He chuckled again and straightened up. "It's nothing to be ashamed of, darling. It's merely a diet."

"It's more than just that. And it is something to be ashamed of."

"What is the difference between a Human or Demon to a rabbit or squirrel?" he asked.

I fell silent. I didn't have an answer to her than that Humans and Demons were intelligent, that I had my own morals I was wrestling with already. Adding this just made things worse.

I was staring at the ground when he grabbed my chin and tilted it up towards him. The energy bounced between us again and I could tell he was getting a high from it. "You need only ask, darling, and I will provide you with what you need."

I jerked my head away, severing the contact. "I won't need it." I stormed up the stairs to my room.

"We shall see."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author's Note:

Well well well, here ya go. I have nothing to say except I really liked writing that last part :P

#alastor the radio demon #alastor x reader #hazbin alastor #hazbin hotel #hazbin husk #soulmate au #soulmates #reqs open #hazbin hotel husk

[bluetortoist]

Time to show off some doodles of one of my OCs after binging as much batman series as I could, including BTAS, The Batman 2004, Brave and the Bold, the movies, etc. I fell in love with the Gotham Rogues all over again.

I've already made a few OCs, but to start, this one is Mavis. She is a harpy who imprinted on Penguin at birth and considers him her father. He kept her to be, at first, just as another loyal, powerful pet, but soon came to see her like a daughter to him too. Thus, a bird family in crime.

Last pic was my first ever sketches of chick Mavis and Penguin. You could tell I was still trying to figure out how to draw pengie haha!

Penguins note in full:

Note #5 - "Any news of strange phenomena that could be connected to the child's existence came up short. None of my connections had any clue of where she could have came from. The only hypothesis I could come up with is, admittedly outlandish, but not completely out of the question (Im not blind to some of the inhuman things that happen in this city). I refer to beings called 'harpies' from the mythologies. Stories of bird-like women who lead men of all kinds to their deaths, or who torture the damned souls in the underworld. All utter nonsense, but everytime I look at the child, I cant help but think there is something otherworldly about her."

Below is a bit more stuff about her

Name: Mavis (Unofficial) Cobblepot

Age: About 18-19

Gender: Cis Female

Identifies: Pan/Demi

Race: Harpy

Current Living: Gotham City

Allegiance: Neutral Evil - True Neutral

Powers/Abilites:

• Hypnotic Voice: Uses her singing voice to charm and manipulate the minds of anyone in her range into becoming submissive to her under the delusions of adoration for her.

• Typical features as like that of a bird of prey, keen eyesight 10× more than humans, Flying in silence, Can see in the dark, Heightened hearing. etc

• Strong, sharp, powerful talons for feet that can be used not only for attack, but for stealth capturing people (sometimes it's how she carries Penguin in means of escape).

• She is also efficient in knife combat and close quarter combat (for when shes in a finite space too small to fly around in), Knows how to use a gun, but rarely ever uses or carries one.

History: Oswald found her as an egg under mysterious circumstances, not knowing how she even got here or where she came from. Because she imprinted on him already, he decided to raise her and form her into another, stronger one of his loyal pet birds. However, as much as he tried keeping her under the conditions of a pet, Mavis still ended up seeing him as her father. And eventually Oswald, who denied for the longest, felt the same way as well.

Notes/Quirks: Mavis struggles a bit with human speech due to Harpies having different vocal chords than humans, so she was mute along with saying simple sentences for a good half of her life; she is very intelligent however and understands human language, can read and write very well, excels in math and business skills, just takes time talking./ She molts once a year and lasts over 2-3 weeks; it's very itchy and irritating and makes her grumpy the whole time./ She is a carnivorous bird and her favorite to eat is liver.

#batman #btas #batman: tas #btas oc #batman oc #btas penguin #batman penguin #oswald cobblepot #dc #my ocs

[teal-fiend]

in a world where like demi-humans exist. there's a pred who has specific tastes around the traits that they like their prey to have.

wings, specifically. they will only eat winged prey. feathered, preferably, but webbed is fine too. they don't like insectoid wings, because it reminds them of bugs.

the pred's friends have picked up on this. so whenever they meet someone who might be on the pred's menu, they try to keep a distance, or at least, they make sure not to let the friend groups intersect.

(some friends might have them meet up on purpose, but that's a different story)

sometimes people fuck up though, it happens. Spending time with their pred friend, unaware of what's to come, their new avian friend shows up, unannounced.

a trained observer would notice a hungry or excited glint in the pred's eye when they first see this new friend.

The pred is exceedingly friendly and attentive, "I don't think we've met before" they shake the newcomer's hand. A beaming, sinless smile.

the mutual friend knows what's going to happen. if not today, then in a week's time, or maybe longer, but it's inevitable, and there's nothing they can do to save their new friend. once the pred has spotted their prey, no one will get in their way.

if someone tries, the pred will always outsmart them, taking whatever slippery, sneaky route possible to catch their prey. Unfortunately, the pred welcomes a challenge

alas, no matter what happens in between, the pred makes certain they will end the story with a full belly, picking feather's from between their teeth.

#digestion #fatal vore #v/ore #tw vore #vore fic #vore digestion #implied digestion #soft vore #v.ore #vore writing #voreblr #observer pov #unwilling prey #willing pred #digestion;

[mostlysignssomeportents]

All the books I reviewed in 2023 (Novels)

Next Tuesday (December 5), I'm at Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, NC, with my new solarpunk novel The Lost Cause, which 350.org's Bill McKibben called "The first great YIMBY novel: perceptive, scientifically sound, and extraordinarily hopeful."

It's that time of year again, when I round up all the books I reviewed for my newsletter in the previous year. I posted 21 reviews last year, covering 31 books (there are two series in there!). I also published three books of my own last year (two novels and one nonfiction). A busy year in books!

Every year, these roundups remind me that I did actually manager to get a lot of reading done, even if the list of extremely good books that I didn't read is much longer than the list of books I did read. I read many of these books while doing physiotherapy for my chronic pain, specifically as audiobooks I listened to on my underwater MP3 player while doing my daily laps at the public pool across the street from my house.

After many years of using generic Chinese waterproof MP3s players – whose quality steadily declined over a decade – I gave up and bought a brand-name player, a Shokz Openswim. So far, I have no complaints. Thanks to reader Abbas Halai for recommending this!

https://shokz.com/products/openswim

I load up this gadget with audiobook MP3s bought from Libro.fm, a fantastic, DRM-free alternative to Audible, which is both a monopolist and a prolific wage-thief with a documented history of stealing from writers:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/07/25/can-you-hear-me-now/#acx-ripoff

All right, enough with the process notes, on to the reviews!

NOVELS

I. Temeraire by Naomi Novik

One of the finest pleasures in life is to discover a complete series of novels as an adult, to devour them right through to the end, and to arrive at that ending to discover that, while you'd have happily inhabited the author's world for many more volumes, you are eminently satisfied with the series' conclusion.

I just had this experience and I am still basking in the warm glow of having had such a thoroughly fulfilling imaginary demi-life for half a year. I'm speaking of the nine volumes in Naomi Novik's Temeraire series, which reimagines the Napoleonic Wars in a world that humans share with enormous, powerful, intelligent dragons.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/08/temeraire/#but-i-am-napoleon

II. Destroyer of Worlds by Matt Ruff

The Destroyer of Worlds is a spectacular followup to Lovecraft Country that revisits the characters, setting, and supernatural dread of the original. Country was structured as a series of linked novellas, each one picking up where the previous left off, with a different focal characters. Destroyer is a much more traditional braided novel, moving swiftly amongst the characters and periodically jumping back in time to the era of American slavery, retelling the story of the settlement of the Great Dismal swamp by escaped slaves.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/21/the-horror-of-white-magic/#anti-lovecraftian

III. Scholomance by Naomi Novik

The wizards of the world live in constant peril from maleficaria – the magic monsters that prey on those born with magic, especially the children. In a state of nature, only one in ten wizard kids reaches adulthood. So the wizarding world built the Scholomance, a fully automated magical secondary school that exists in the void – a dimension beyond our world. The Scholomance is also an extremely dangerous place – three quarters of the wizard children who attend will die before graduation – but it is much safer than life on the outside.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/03/29/hobbeswarts/#the-chosen-one

IV. Tsalmoth by Steven Brust

Longrunning Brust hero Vlad Taltos has been convinced to recount the story of how he and Cawti came to fall in love, and how they planned their marriage. This is quite an adventure – it plays out against the backdrop of a gang-war within the Jhereg organization, with Vlad in severe mortal peril that he can only avoid by uncovering an intricate criminal caper of crosses, double-crosses, smuggling and sorcery. But while Vlad is dodging throwing knives and lethal spells (or not!), what's really going on is that he and Cawti are falling deeply, profoundly, irrevocably in love. The romance that plays out among the blades and magic is more magical still, a grand passion that expresses itself through Nick-and-Nora wordplay and Three Musketeers swordplay.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/27/mannerpunk/#ask-anyone

V. Hopeland by Ian McDonald

Seriously what the fuck is this amazing, uncategorizable, unsummarizable, weird, sprawling, hairball of a novel? How the hell do you research – much less write – a novel this ambitious and wide-ranging? Why did I find myself weeping uncontrollably on a train yesterday as I finished it, literally squeezing my chest over my heart as it broke and sang at the same moment? The stars of Hopeland are members of two ancient, secret societies. There's Raisa Hopeland, who belongs to a globe-spanning, mystical "family," that's one part mutual aid, one part dance music subculture, and one part sorcerer (some Hopelanders are electromancers, making strange, powerful magic with Tesla coils). Amon is a composer and DJ who specializes in making music for very small groups of people – preferably just one person – that is so perfect for them that they are transformed by hearing it.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/30/electromancy/#the-grace

VI. The World Wasn't Ready For You by Justin Key

These are horror stories, though some of them are science fiction too, and more to the point, they're Black horror stories. In his afterword, Key writes about his early fascination with horror, the catharsis he felt in watching nightmares unspool on screen or off the page. And then, he writes, came the dawning recognition that the Black characters in these stories were always there as cannon-fodder, often nameless, usually picked off early. "Black horror" isn't merely parables about racism. In the deft hands of these writers – and now, Key – the stories are horror in which Blackness is a fact, sometimes a central one, and that fact is ever a complication, limiting how the characters move through space, interact with authority, and relate to one another.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/19/justin-c-key/#clarion-west-2015

VII. The Future by Naomi Alderman

A cracking, multi-point-of-view adventure novel about billionaires prepping for the end of the world. Three billionaires, the lords of thinly veiled analogs to Facebook, Google and Amazon, each getting ready in their own way. Stumbling into their midst comes Lai Zhen, a prepper influencer vlogger with millions of followers.

When Zhen becomes romantically entangled with Martha Einkorn, the top aide and chief-of-prepping for one of these billionaires, she finds herself in possession of an AI chatbot that is devoted to protecting a very small number of people from incipient danger. This chatbot determines that Zhen is being stalked by an assassin at a mall in Singapore, and guides her to safety.

The chatbot is a closely held secret among the tech billionaire cabal. It is designed to monitor world events and predict when The Event is imminent, be it disease, war, or other cataclysmic disaster. With the chatbot's predictive powers and its superhuman guidance, the billionaires, their families, and their closest confidantes will be able to slip away before the shit hits the fan, fly by different private jets to one or another luxury bunker, and wait out the apocalypse. Once the fires raging without have died down to embers, the chatbot's billionaire charges will emerge to assume their places as wise and all-powerful leaders of the next human civilization.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/07/preppers-of-the-red-death/#the-event

VIII. Liberty's Daughter by Naomi Kritzer

There's so much sf about "competent men" running their families with entrepreneurial zeal, clarity of vision and a firm confident hand. But there's precious little fiction about how much being raised by a Heinlein dad would *suuuck*. But it would, and in *Liberty's Daughter*, we get a peek inside the nightmare.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/21/podkaynes-dad-was-a-dick/#age-of-consent

Like I said, this has been a good year in books for me, and it included three books of my own:

I. Red Team Blues (novel, Tor Books US, Head of Zeus UK)

Martin Hench is 67 years old, single, and successful in a career stretching back to the beginnings of Silicon Valley. He lives and roams California in a very comfortable fully-furnished touring bus, The Unsalted Hash, that he bought years ago from a fading rock star. He knows his way around good food and fine drink. He likes intelligent women, and they like him back often enough. Martin is a—contain your excitement—self-employed forensic accountant, a veteran of the long guerilla war between people who want to hide money, and people who want to find it. He knows computer hardware and software alike, including the ins and outs of high-end databases and the kinds of spreadsheets that are designed to conceal rather than reveal. He’s as comfortable with social media as people a quarter his age, and he’s a world-level expert on the kind of international money-laundering and shell-company chicanery used by Fortune 500 companies, mid-divorce billionaires, and international drug gangs alike. He also knows the Valley like the back of his hand, all the secret histories of charismatic company founders and Sand Hill Road VCs. Because he was there at all the beginnings. Now he’s been roped into a job that’s more dangerous than anything he’s ever agreed to before—and it will take every ounce of his skill to get out alive.

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865847/red-team-blues

II. The Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of Computation (nonfiction, Verso)

We can – we must – dismantle the tech platforms. We must to seize the means of computation by forcing Silicon Valley to do the thing it fears most: interoperate. Interoperability will tear down the walls between technologies, allowing users to leave platforms, remix their media, and reconfigure their devices without corporate permission. Interoperability is the only route to the rapid and enduring annihilation of the platforms. The Internet Con is the disassembly manual we need to take back our internet.

https://www.versobooks.com/products/3035-the-internet-con

III. The Lost Cause (novel, Tor Books US, Head of Zeus UK)

For young Americans a generation from now, climate change isn't controversial. It's just an overwhelming fact of life. And so are the great efforts to contain and mitigate it. Entire cities are being moved inland from the rising seas. Vast clean-energy projects are springing up everywhere. Disaster relief, the mitigation of floods and superstorms, has become a skill for which tens of millions of people are trained every year. The effort is global. It employs everyone who wants to work. Even when national politics oscillates back to right-wing leaders, the momentum is too great; these vast programs cannot be stopped in their tracks.

But there are still those Americans, mostly elderly, who cling to their red baseball caps, their grievances, their huge vehicles, their anger. To their "alternative" news sources that reassure them that their resentment is right and pure and that "climate change" is just a giant scam. And they're your grandfather, your uncle, your great-aunt. And they're not going anywhere. And they’re armed to the teeth. The Lost Cause asks: What do we do about people who cling to the belief that their own children are the enemy? When, in fact, they're often the elders that we love?

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865939/the-lost-cause

I wrote nine books during lockdown, and there's plenty more to come. The next one is The Bezzle, a followup to Red Team Blues, which comes out in February:

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865878/thebezzle

While you're waiting for that one, I hope the reviews above will help you connect with some excellent books. If you want more of my reviews, here's my annual roundup from 2022:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/12/01/bookishness/#2022-in-review

Here's my book reviews from 2021:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/12/08/required-ish-reading/#bibliography

And here's my book reviews from 2020:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/12/08/required-reading/#recommended-reading

It's EFF's Power Up Your Donation Week: this week, donations to the Electronic Frontier Foundation are matched 1:1, meaning your money goes twice as far. I've worked with EFF for 22 years now and I have always been - and remain - a major donor, because I've seen firsthand how effective, responsible and brilliant this organization is. Please join me in helping EFF continue its work!

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/12/01/bookmaker/#2023-in-review

#pluralistic #books #reviews #science fiction #gift guide #graphic novels #2023 in review #novels

[hootsimedes]

"¿Why would such a beautiful and majestic creature want to spend time with a poor and ragged elf like me?"

"Noble elf, if I have to live one more day, let it be listening to your magnificent melodies."

Inspired thanks to this post by @mickmundy 🥰

It's not easy for Ludwius to be the last black unicorn alive and free on the continent, his head costs twice the price of a kingdom and he is stalked at all times by thousands of bounty hunters. However, he's not that easy to catch, his cunning and years of experience has allowed him to overcome those who want to hunt him. He has no mercy and will exterminate anyone who dares threaten him.

Mun-Dee Wildarrow is one with nature, his vast knowledge of his surroundings and refined vision make him one of the best hunters, there's no prey that can escape his arrows. However, his respect for the mother nature and his humble upbringing have led him down the path of serenity and his taste for music. He likes to play songs during his free time near the forest.

Someday, the destiny of these two creatures will unify and they will discover that music and tranquility is all they need in their lives.

Beyond vampires and mermaids (which I like too!) the idea of a forest elf Sniper and a demi-human unicorn Medic who can transform into a full horse is a dynamic I love!

Sniper being the only hunter Medic trusts and Sniper wanting to protect Medic from the other hunters! And between them enjoying each other's company making music together in the depths of the forest where Sniper lives (⁠ ⁠ꈍ⁠ᴗ⁠ꈍ⁠)

Idk, maybe not original, but I love the idea of these two talking about nature, making music, and walking (maybe riding?) in the warm forest at midnight, with fireflies flying around and crickets singing along with cicadas, while the frogs croak from the ponds...

So relaxing 😌❤️

#tf2 #tf2 fanart #tf2 sniper #tf2 medic #bushmedicine #bush medicine #sniper x medic #medic x sniper #bushmed #ship #magic creatures #elf #unicorn

[alexanderlightweight]

I am IN LOVE with dragon Alec and snow leopard Magnus 🙈 They are so cuddly and so cute and adorable. I’d love to please see kinda jealous Alec when he meets Chairman….or maybe Alec realising his feelings for Magnus? (sexual or not, I think I saw he was demi somewhere?). Thank you! This mini fic is such a treat <3

i'm glad you love it so much! i also am loving writing it so i'm happy to write more! i love all my verses, mind you, but there is just something about character who can shift into animals that i just love. i also love predator/prey vibes as well so they tie in well together.

also i love exploring the difference in instincts etc.

(i write demi-alec into pretty much anything. it's actually the walls of adoration, claws of desperation. i mentioned he's 'super-demi' in that verse (kind of like i'm always ace but sometimes i'm super-ace - @saeths says this makes sense and agrees that this happens w/me frequently).

but yeah it's probably going to take Magnus to make a move because Alec is like just going to follow his lead and will probably wake up naked and curled up with Magnus at some point - and this will have been happening for weeks at this point - and realize he's incredibly sexually interested in Magnus. before that, he just wanted to have sex cause he enjoyed the intimacy of it and adores Magnus and thinks he's beautiful and likes being as close to him as possible and he also loves being able to help magnus feel good.

Magnus before Alec realizes he's sexually attracted to magnus: sleeping with alexander is amazing

magnus after alec realizes he's sexually attracted to magnus: sleeping with alexander is amazing but neither of us are going to be able to keep this pace

... yeah i started rambling again. oops. (saeth teases me because i wrote 'just one more sentence in one of my ask answers' and then proceeded to write paragraphs more)

but anyways, i hope you enjoy

<3 lumine

ps - ask your ace friends if they know if love game by lady gaga is a sex song. if they say no??? wdym??? they're super ace. -@saeths

-

It’s the screaming the alerts Magnus to a problem.

Well, the yowling really.

He looks up from his book and over to see if whatever cat fight on his balcony is happening has upset Alexander, except his boy is no longer there.

Magnus snaps the book shut with a scowl, because he’s Magnus Fucking Bane and yet he can’t even corral his own fucking dragon long enough to read a chapter.

If Alexander has once again slipped away to the roof, Magnus will be tempted to destroy the damn thing. Or, more likely, turn his entire loft into a garden so that Alexander won’t ever need to leave wherever Magnus is.

Before he can hunt down his dragon however, he has to deal with the still screaming cats.

Or at least, that is the plan until there is a sudden roar, the kind that makes even Magnus’ spine tingle with the promise of a powerful predator.

Magnus waits for a moment and then he sighs, pinching his nose before he walks around the balcony to the other side, where the cats are.

Or… where the cats should be.

Alexander is sitting, looking smug and caracal sized as he preens, watching the alley below.  Magnus steps close and looks over, staring at the ten or so cats fleeing his building.

“Was that really necessary?” Magnus asks, intending it to be a tease and he’s given an affronted, irritated scowl. It’s adorable on Alexander in such a small form but Magnus winces mentally, because apparently it was necessary.

Alexander doesn’t normally look at him so seriously.

“They were encroaching.” Alexander bites out, shifting to human form, his scowl looking even more like a pout as he crosses his arms over his chest and leans against the railing. “Trespassing.”

Magnus would love to point out that Alexander was also originally a trespasser, but since he’s still trying to slowly figure out how to keep Alexander close, he chooses not to.

“They’re stray cats, treasure.” Magnus murmurs, because he’s noticed that Alexander enjoys specific terms of endearment.

Things that reference power, riches, hoards… all the things’ dragons adore.

“They’re vermin.” Alexander sulks, giving Magnus a petulant look, “they’ve been shedding all over you.”

Magnus pauses as he suddenly has a better understanding of the problem and it sends a thrill through him, at the idea that Alexander is jealous of all things.

“You’re absolutely correct,” Magnus snaps his fingers as he speaks, ignoring Alexander’s suddenly skeptical glower. “Absolute vermin, pests.” And then, because he knows exactly how to distract him, he adds, “do you know, darling? I think they might not be here for the milk, perhaps they’re actually after the koi.”

Alexander — who is incredibly protective of the magical fish who provide him snacks — turns back, glaring at the now empty alley below and he’s hissing.

Magnus wasn’t aware the human body was capable of making noises like that and he reminds himself to brew some good tea with honey.

“At least you’d never harm my koi,” Magnus teases, because he adores his little trespassing dragon. Alexander barely hears him, too focused on the street below. Magnus watches him for a minute and then sighs, reaching out to rest a hand on his shoulder. “Come treasure, back inside.”

Alexander doesn’t turn, even though the soothing tone Magnus uses normally works to coax him. He shakes his head, still glaring with slightly glowing eyes at the street below.

“Alexander—” Magnus purrs as he presses a little closer, pressing the warmth of his body against his boy, “the fire is on. Come with me.”

“I’m staying here, to make sure whatever you did works.” Alexander looks stubbornly apologetic, and Magnus doesn’t even let the doubt bother him, too shocked to care.

“You are not staying out here all night, watching to make sure the cats don’t come back.”

“They’re after the koi, Magnus.” Alexander looks as if he’s ready to turn back into dragon form and go hunt them down and Magnus reminds himself — once again — to never underestimate a dragon’s devotion to their snacks.

“Alexander, they’re not going to come back. I fixed the tear that let them in.” Magnus doesn’t realize he’s said something wrong until Alexander turns, looking absolutely shocked.

“You were purposefully letting them in?” Alexander seems almost betrayed and a little horrified and he’s giving Magnus a look that Magnus isn’t sure he likes.

“You left a hole in your home, in your lairs defenses, on purpose?”

Magnus swallows because he’s very aware right now that Alexander is judging him and it’s not a feeling he finds he enjoys.  Normally, the judgment of others slides off of his back, but he finds he feels rather helpless in this moment. Magnus is powerful enough that he doesn’t have to worry about such a little thing, but Alexander is looking at him with something that borders on mistrust.

It’s with a sinking feeling that Magnus remembers how ardently and viciously dragons protect their hoards. To have such an opening, purposefully no less, in the heart of Magnus’ lair must seem like the worst kind of incompetence.

—

Alec is fuming and not only because the little vermin stealing into his hoard’s home have been leaving their disgusting scent about.

Magnus is clearly unaware of how amazing and valuable he is. 

If he had any idea, he wouldn’t leave any possible way into his lair, especially not purposefully.

It’s one thing for Alec to slip past Magnus’ amazing, beautiful and intricate wards — he’s traipsed through Idris enough times to bask in Lake Lynn to be assured that he’s never met a ward he can’t cross — but for vermin?

Magnus is leaving himself open to all sorts of danger and he doesn’t even seem to realize it.

You don’t leave treasures up to chance. You protect them, viciously, devotedly, obsessively.

You give your treasures all of yourself to hoard them and you leave nothing to fate.

Alec has seen how well guarded the things Magnus values are.

Out of all the treasures in his house, the one most in danger from such a flaw would be Magnus himself.  Which means that Magnus doesn’t value himself the way Alec knows he deserves and should be.

It’s almost heartbreaking and Alec can’t help the soft croon that leaves his throat.

How is he ever going to be able to let Magnus leave his side, when he can’t trust Magnus to protect himself above all else.

#lumine writes #writing wednesday #writing wednesdays #the taste of his magic #alec lightwood #malec #magnus bane #shadowhunters #shadowhunters au #my fics #my fanfics #my ficlets

[jpitha]

Voiding The Warranty

Lauren was running back and forth across the ship, searching for something.

After a demi-cycle of this, Captain Shimmering Heat finally called her over her personal comm. "Lauren? What is it you're doing? You are running around like we're under attack from a Gren Warfinder and yet we're just cruising."

Lauren looked up and toggled her comm. "Sorry Captain, I'm looking for my toolkit, I could have sworn I left it in Engineering but it's not there."

Captain Shimmer made a noise over the comm that translated to something near to surprise and amused resignation. Lauren wasn't their first human. "Why do you have your own toolkit Lauren? What's wrong with my tools?"

"Oh Captain Shimmer, I know that you provide the crew with everything they need to keep this ship running smoothly. My tools are a little different."

"Different? You're telling me human tools are different?"

Lauren rummaged around in a closet until she found was she was looking for. "Ah. Found it. Why was it in the cleaning closet? Oh well, no matter. Come on down to the engine room Captain Shimmer if you want to see what I'm working on."

A few millicycles later, Captain Shimmering Heat came into the engine room. They tended to stay out of the engine room. It's not that they weren't allowed to be there - they were the Captain after all, technically the ship was theirs for the duration of the contract - it's more that... they weren't... allowed to be there. As they passed through the pressure door, a few people in the engine room looked up and frowned. Lauren saw them though and waved. "Come in Captain Shimmer! Come here!"

Seeing that Lauren invited them, everyone put their head down and went back to their work. Shimmer came over, their claws clattering quietly on the deck plates. As they approached, they didn't see Lauren, but they rounded a corner and came across a stack of equipment in pieces with Lauren under it. Their feathers rippled in worry. "Lauren! Are you all right?"

"I'm fine Captain." Lauren's muffled voice came from much deeper inside the machinery than Shimmer thought possible. "In fact, I'm better than fine!"

"Oh? Why is that?"

Lauren slid out from under the machinery. It turned out she was on a small, flat wheeled plank. It rattled as she slid herself out. Sitting up, she wiped... something from her hands with a rag tucked into her pants. "Because, I figured it out!"

Shimmer's face feathers began to slowly puff out, making their face look larger than normal. It was an ancient predator/prey response, meant to frighten attackers millions of years ago. "Figured what out?"

"This whole trip, I've been feeling like the engines have been sluggish. I know using FlashWarp isn't as fast as a Flip drive, but I figured it wouldn't be that bad. But, it sure seems like we're moving even slower than normal!"

Captain Shimmer opened their beak to deny it and then stopped. Actually... things did seem like they were going slower than they should. "Okay Lauren. I did feel like our last two warps were slower than they should have been. We were only a cycle behind though, so I wasn't worried. What did you find?"

Lauren stood. She was about one head taller than the captain and had a tendency to loom. One of the braver crewmates told her about it though and she now made an effort to take a half step back when she spoke. "I found all sorts of things! First I didn't know what I was looking at, so I went back and got the design docs and-"

"Wait, you opened up the engines without knowing what you were doing?"

Lauren waves her hand dismissively. "It's fine, it's fine. I didn't touch anything... important... that time. Anyway, I dug up the design docs and noticed - hey Captain, when was the last time you had the engines overhauled? I think they're way overdue."

Lauren had a habit of jumping from topic to topic as what she called her 'train of thought' brought her from point to point. She was able to keep on tasks for the most part, but if she came across an interesting or 'fun' problem, it was all Shimmer could do but hang on while she bounced around. "Uh, I don't think it's been done since I was issued the Star Leaf. Why? How often should it be done?"

Lauren's eyes went wide. "Way more often than that. According to these-" She swung a pad around and Shimmer caught a glimpse of engine diagrams "-a clean cycle is supposed to be run after every kilocycle and a full teardown every five kilocycles. How long have you been captain?"

"Uh... eight kilocycles."

"We're way overdue then. That might explain some of what I found. Hmm" Lauren looked off into the middle distance. Shimmer was used to this too, and usually gave her a few moments to come out of her reverie on her own before they gently prodded them. "Uh, Lauren?"

"Oh? Captain Shimmer! Right right, the mods!"

"The what?"

"Mods! I modded the engine. Since it's been so long since we've had an overhaul and it gets completely taken apart, I figured it was fine to do some light warranty voiding and see if I can claw back some performance."

"Warranty... Voiding?"

Lauren nodded, then looked at Shimmer's confused expression. "Uh, Human Thing I guess. When we sell machinery to each other usually it comes with a Warranty. Something that says that for X days or X amount of use, if it breaks prematurely we'll either replace it or pay to fix it, provided-" She raises a finger "-we don't mess with it ourselves first. They don't want to fix it for free if we were the ones who broke it."

Shimmer's tailfeathers ruffle, a nod. "Okay, I understand, but wh-"

"Oh, it's a joke mostly. I have a feeling that only engine techs get in where I was, I was pretty far inside. I spent the last few demicycles reading up on FlashWarp theory and I think that I can get a few more kilolights out of your performance. In fact, I just finished so we can try it out!"

Shimmering Heat looks helplessly at the pile of tools and access panels on the floor. "But you said that you needed your toolkit?"

"Oh yeah, needed my voltmeter. I found it though, and was able to verify the current."

"But... the mess?" Shimmer's voice sounded resigned.

Laurent looked back and seemed to see it for the first time. "Oh, we'll leave it like that and run it with the covers off. If it works, I can button it up."

"And if it doesn't work?" Shimmer feared Lauren's reply, but found themselves unable to stop.

Lauren looked at Shimmer and was about to answer and saw them practically shaking. "Oh Captain. I wouldn't do anything to risk the ship or the crew. Worse comes to worst, it won't do anything. As I see it, there are three options for what will happen. One, nothing. That's pretty unlikely, but still possible. Two, it'll work the same as before. That's the most likely to be honest. In that case, I'll revert the changes and button it up. Three, it'll work better! We'll be able to make up lost time and get to our destination faster. Come on, let's try it out."

Captain Shimmer knew they were within their rights to order Lauren to put the engines back the way they were and continue on with their mission. Captain Shimmer also knew about how humans tend to have 'an idea' and suddenly they have their Flip drives, or they do something that makes no sense and then they run their gravity generators as thrusters. He knew all this an signed on a few humans anyway.

"Admit it." They tell themselves. "You hoped that this was going to happen. It's why you hired humans and let them have more or less free rein over the ship. You wanted them to tinker. If they make real improvements, you can submit them to the Coalition and if they're adopted you get a yearly bonus."

Shimmering Heat remembers their childhood. They were one of many nestmates. Their familial unit worked hard to provide, but there were many cycles where they went hungry. If the human's work paid off, they would get a bonus and be able to help his nestmates who still had trouble.

More importantly, they would be remembered.

"Okay Lauren. Let's try it out."

Shimmer lead Lauren up to the Command Room and bade her sit in a spare seat. Captain fluffed themselves and sait in the command chair. Here. Here is where things felt more certain, more sure. "Helm, plot a warp to Station 754, best speed."

"Yes, Captain Shimmer. Plotting. Please wait while the navacomputer works."

"You know Captain, I bet we-" Lauren starts.

"One thing at a time Lauren. I know about humans and their propensity to make computers faster."

Lauren wisely keeps quiet.

A short time later, the navigator calls out that a navigation solution has been found. Captain Shimmer turns back one more time to look at Lauren. She sticks both of her hands forward, fingers curled up except her inner, shorter thicker digit, which are pointed straight up. Sighing, Shimmer turns back to Helm. "Warp."

What happens next did actually make it into the history books, though not quite for the reasons that Captain Shimmer wanted.

Star Leaf leapt forward through the rainbow colored, prismatic gate that opened in front of them, and they warped. In much less time than anticipated, they exited the warp. Captain Shimmer, surprised at the lurch, looks around. "Sensors! Where are we? Engineering! How is the engines?"

The helmsperson looks up, shaken. Their fur fully bristled in fear. "Captain... we're at Station 754."

"What?" Of all the outcomes that Captain Shimmering Heat could have anticipated, that was not one of them.

"Confirmed. Station 754 has opened a channel and is asking how we got here so fast."

The comms clicked. "Uh, Captain. This is Engineering.... You should come and see this."

Captain Shimmer turns to leave. They look to call Lauren with them, and her seat is empty. Figuring that she went ahead, they leave the Command Room. They make their way across the ship in a daze, as everyone aboard looks out the windows in amazement or fear as they realize that they have made five cycles of travel in a millicycle.

Chief Ham'itar is standing at the pressure door as Shimmer approaches. His polished, lacquered claws slide in and out of their hands, a stress reaction. "You.. you have to see this."

He leads Shimmer towards the engine that Lauren was working on and...

It's beautiful.

The entire engine is covered in the prismatic light of a FlashWarp field. It's just... sitting there, glowing, pulsing slowly.

Shimmering Heat looks at Ham'itar and says nothing.

"No, that's not normal captain. Well, okay, when we execute a particularly good FlashWarp, some old engineers say that the engines glow with a prismatic light, but only for an instant, less than the swipe of a membrane. No time at all. This-" He points a laquered claw at it accusingly "-this is Not Normal."

"Is it dangerous?"

"Long term? No idea. Currently? Doesn't seem to be. Everything I can throw at the engine says it's perfectly fine. Better than perfect actually."

"Where's Lauren? I want to ask her about this."

"Who?"

Shimmer slowly looks away from the engines and stares at Ham'itar, all their feathers completely fluffed out. "Lauren Ingram, our human Engineer. We took her on back at that Orbital around Lemmin."

Ham'itar shakes their head, their fur moving with a slight delay to their head. "We don't have anyone like that aboard, Captain. We looked into taking on a couple humans on Lemmin, but I didn't like the look of any of them, we passed on them all. Besides, I wouldn't let anyone tinker with the engines enough to make this happen.

Shimmer involuntarily backs away from the engines, towards the door. "Captain?" Ham'itar looks at Shimmer curiously as they turn and run full speed out of the engine room.

#humans are deathworlders #humans are space orcs #sci fi writing #humans are space oddities #humans and aliens #humans are space capybaras #humans are space australians #jpitha #writing #FlashWarp

[us-the-voices-and-more-voices-2]

I have been thinking way too much about vampires and stuff recently.

like, you gotta understand I have a fascination deep in my brain to unravel and crochet these ideas.

What are fucking vampire social groups like?

how do they reproduce? bc I don’t think they reproduce sexually it’s more of a parasitism a weird genetic symbiotic relationship thing.

is vampirism a type of virus or is it like some sort mobile genetic mutation, are vampires only “born” when another vampire bites with intent to make another vampire?

Is like the vampire that bites you, your mother in some form?

do vampires have a sort of matriarchal hierarchy (regardless of gender or sex when they were bitten) where the oldest or the vampire with the most “children” is at the top?

because of their long lives, do vampires work on a different type of age system? Are newly turned vampires considered newborns and 200-300 year olds like teens???

(Since vampires can live to be thousands of years old)

Can 2 vampires reproduce sexually bc their biogly is similar? Or do they use their fangs to like inject/impregnate unsuspecting hosts with like fertilised eggs?

Do vampires have weird ass courtships??

Do vampires nurse new vampires with their own blood when prey is scarce???

how do vampires with broken fangs or malformed fangs feed??

is hybridisation a normal thing with vampires? Are Demi and half vampires considered strange or unnatural?

are their different colours variations of vampires or vampires with different adaptations that make their assimilation easier?

do vampires work with mimicry or are they ambush predators?

do they work closely with humans in a noninvasive way to feed and nourish themselves while also keeping their humans safe from other diseases and creatures?

are human vampire relationships considered taboo?

do vampires have holidays and if so what sort of events or life changes do they celebrate?

Do vampires and humans get along well because vampires can filter out infection and disease from the sick while also getting a feed?

Are vampires considered healers of some type with how they can save the near dead by turning them?

do vampires dress modestly? What types of vampire religions are there?

What’s the vampire creation myth?

are their different vampire ethnicities depending on what type of vampire bites you?

Can you be a sunlight burns vampire or a I can happily enjoy the sun vampire depending on where the vampire that bit you was from?

Is having bigger fangs seen as hot in vampires because that means they can take on bigger prey and get a better feed?

Do vampires have social and personal stomachs for storing food?

do born vampires have different feelings around vampire customs and traditions then turned vampires?

can vampires see in infrared?

do vampires have a slow metabolism?

can vampires go into a state of suspended animation when food is scarce?

Vampires turn 20-60 somethings, because they think humans of that age are babies.

Idk that’s all I got

#-pop #writing stuff #writing #writers on tumblr #writeblr #vampur4e #vampires #vampirism #fangs #gothic horror #the undead #dark fantasy #I need more

[scaley-moonsun]

Scales & Celestials Au (MoonDrop)

Name: MoonDrop

Nicknames: Moony, Moon, Moondew (From Shiloh), Monsoon, mon-mon

Gender: Male (duh :P)

Species: Nightmare Wyvern

Height: 9'9ft (In Anthro Bi-pedal Form), 15ft as a full Wyvern

Sexuality: Demi-Romantic / Demi-Sexual

Relations: Sundrop - Brother Figure , Eclipse - Older Brother Figure, Shiloh - human friend, Monty - Acquaintences with Caution, Chica - Acquaintances, Roxy - Tolerable, DJ Music Man - Friend, Freddy - Can tolerate....kinda, Bonnie - has respect for but not friends yet, Foxy - There is a lot of tension but for unknown reasons so frenemies for now?

Personality: Moondrop can be considered as...very cold..ish. It's not that he DOESN'T want to be close to people, but due to his history with people growing up. He is more so cold and bitter to those who he meets, coming off very blunt and asshole like without a care of his own actions even if it affects others, but if he cares about you. Due to his apathetic feelings at times, sometimes its hard to tell how he wants to act around someone he TRULY cares about, so it really shows in his body language if you pay close attention

Some Facts About Moon:

When He performs magic, he takes energy from the moon itself to draw his arcana so that he could do a task depending on how much energy he draws. If he draws too much, it causes him to become very sluggish and sleepy but very snappy around those he isn't close to. His eyes also has a foggy shine over them, if he has used up too much energy

If it isn't guiding children back to safety, overly protecting Sun or Shiloh, he is usually found at a closed off lake that has bioluminescent water, to chill there and watch over any baby animal while he sings them his wyvern lullabies

Despite being a Wyvern, his most favorite food is basically cooked animal skin with the meat of his prey, he doesn't mind raw food, especially because of the blood, but he can get by with cooked if you add some human blood to it

Due to being a nightmare Wyvern, he can cause those he comes into proximity with nightmares after forcing them to sleep with a hypnotic gaze. But he never uses it, because unless he is in an area where those he cares about is not around to be harmed by it, he doesn't wanna risk causing anyone he loves suffering nightmares

Also due to being a Nighmare Wyvern, he has the same abilities that a dream demon has for example going into their dreams only if he touches their forehead, interacting with the dreams outside of the realm, and can also give people good dreams if he wishes as well

#sun and moon fnaf #sun and moon as a dragon #dragons au #dragons #fnaf moon #fnaf ruin #fnaf security breach #fnaf #fnaf sb #fnaf daycare attendant #fnaf eclipse #wyvern #wyvern moon #sundrop #moondrop

[aurelim]

Echo

The Siren

❝What is it? What do you want now?❞ ❝Ugh, Poseidon above, why do I love you?? You are such a idiot! Lovable, but an idiot all the same.❞

Age: ???

Race: Siren

Gender: Nonbinary

Pronouns: They/them

Physical Appearance: Echo has the wings and feet of a large bird. Their wings are brown and soft to the touch, and in addition to wings they also have arms. Skin is dark tanned and they have short black hair. Their most distinguished physical trait are their bright yellow eyes with slitted pupils. It's hard not to notice them. Height presumed short. Echo does not have a human appearance.

Trope(s): Oblivious to love, unrequited love, last to know, insecure

Echo has been helping your family with hunts for the past eight months, but despite this they have never talked about themself before. While you do not know much about them, you do know that they keep push away at any personal questions with a cold response. Echo acts as a spotter, looking out for ships and helping with luring humans off those ships during said hunts. They have really sharp eyes, able to see thousands of miles ahead.

Beyond the cold defense mechanisms is a sensitive siren who is afraid of getting close to others. They consider themself ugly—an abomination of a half-winged half-human creature. Nowhere is safe for them; not even a tree can protect them from the wrath of humans. Echo feels so much insecurity about everything and so they don't trust easily at all in case someone betrays them. That does not stop them from helping your family out, though.

You first met them during the worst hunt of your life. You were spotted by humans and our brother was injured in the process. Echo swooped in with a distraction, and you and your family were able to make a quick escape. In thanks for their service, your parents allowed them to join you on your future hunts in case trouble like that occurs again. In return, they would get a portion of the energy you collected.

Echo remains silent for the most part, speaking with a sharp tongue when they must. Siren wings are impossible to hear, so you never know if Echo is trailing behind you. Besides the faint noise of cutting air, their presence can remain largely unknown.

A trait they likely gained in their years alone; before they met you.

Fun Facts About Echo:

Your official unofficial guardian "spirit"

"Ancient guardian spirit" as K likes to call them

Echo is demisexual, so it will take them a very long time for them to realize they have feelings for you. Demi overall

This is why Echo's romantic route has the most slowburn. They likely won't realize it until the last second

tired. just tired.

Sirens sleep though! They get sleep, but Echo gets very little since they suffer from frequent nightmares and insomnia

Stonecold to a lot of things. This includes murder and puppy eyes

Their yellow eyes glow when they sing. It allures their prey and creates a cloud of confusion, allowing them to sweep in before their victim realizes what's coming next

Echo left their nest when [REDACTED]. They were alone for six years by themself before meeting your family

Has tried human food before when they managed to get a chance. Would eat fish and fruit, but vegetables are the ban of their existence. Do not even try to put it in front of them

Loves humming a tune about a depressed man whose lover was lost at sea, presumably dead. Awfully sad, but it is their favorite

Nervous tick of theirs is when their feathers ruffle up. Same tick if they are pissed. So really you never know if they are nervous or ticked off

Faster than any existing birds. Yes, this means Echo is faster than the peregrine falcon (who can reach up to 240 miles per hour). While sirens are fast, Echo is faster than most. Much faster

You will want to keep your eyes on this RO for...many reasons.

#As the Ocean Lures #atol #atol ros #ch: echo #echo #2/4 #ro info #atol ro info

[zcrayas]

Variety of trait related headcanons

heat-resistance. When others are sweating to cool down in heat, Rya doesn't sweat. She can't sweat. She is at home at the volcano. She can grab burning coals, hand you a torch while holding the burning end... shocking everyone around her. Bath in scalding water... heck she could walk through fire and lava and the only things suffering would be her clothes. So naturally, she would take off her clothes. Man-serpents are like that. Fire-proof. cold-blooded. When others feel bit of chill, Rya doesn't shiver, she just starts to slow down, feel drowsy, and eventually hibernate. She would have to dress more layers than others even in decent temperatures, just to keep the warmth in.

shedding. She seems to have reached physical maturity considering she is height of the other man-serpents, so she wouldn't be growing too much (unless her relation to demi-god would have her grow even bigger!). She sheds her skin about 2 to 4 times a year. When she was younger, it used to be far more frequent.

illusion. Animals seem to sense her true form, prey animals fleeing from her - also the illusion can be broken by certain incantations! She is not immune to those. So, if muse can sense illusions, has high intuition or can break them - it is possible. Her bad posture reflects a bit who she truly is, but it also resembles what she would look like if she was pure human.

habits. Rya was taught to live like a human. Lady Tanith raised her from very young age to a noble household. She understands humans by speech, expressions and mannerisms, she speaks human languages. She would know how to behave at a royal court and what spoons and forks are used at which order. However, there is balancing between instincts and learnt habits. She is a serpent. She can swallow crab a whole - she can hunt prey when her instincts kick in - some things cannot disappear.

pacifist. She is not a fighter, nor ever was taught to be one. Lady Tanith raised her sheltered and withheld details of her work and secrets. Rya's kind nature and positive view towards the World made her focus on teaching her daughter to be a lady. Hopefully one day to represent the family of the great lord, perhaps marry... However she thought the girl would handle the truth later and carry her work in future, no one knows, she probably had no plan either. At least Rya was given tasks to lure champions in, to be fed to the great serpent.

Still, Rya would protect in need - especially if her friend requires that. She is strong, and can inflict poison with the twin fangs. But mostly, she is very docile, rather fleeing or covering under attack. And my, she is very agile when it comes to fleeing!

#♕*.headcanon #|| thought about these through roleplays #|| I just love the whole she is uncanny to be human haha

[insidiousncss]

( charles michael davis / unknown / they / him ) — it’s been a while since we’ve seen angelo in the shadow world. the archangel resides in new york and reminds us of inability to accept no as an answer, cynicism black as the coffee drunk, and dark interiors and exterior reminiscent of its owner. rumor has it that they might have a connection to no one but only time will tell where their loyalties really lie. until then, only one thing is certain : the descent into hell will be easy for the chameleon.

𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙨

name : angelo . alias / nickname(s) : none . age : unknown . gender + pronouns : demi man , he / they . orientation : bisexual , biromantic . species : archangel . allegiance : himself, none.

𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙

creation unknown, unwilling to go in search of their origins. for time longer than they would prefer, he served faithful under his father. when others became issue in the eyes of his father, angelo remained faithful. he sought the issue, sought to solve them for him. the cost to themself not thought of, the unwavering of loyalty that ignored feelings of unease. as siblings disappeared he remained the steadfast in following orders. order that when they bucked against it, the disobedience so unexpected in the manner of it.

not often did they bother with the humans his father created, other beings his siblings had, yes, but never those that lived upon the earth that fell prey to destruction. the irony of him to do the same. to sire a child that was hidden, immediately, their mother dying in childbirth. little could be done for them to stay close while still in direct servitude to their father, this they knew. they have paid another to become the caregiver for their son, keeping tabs from afar until they grew older and was needed.

#dih.intro #( 𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐋𝐎 ) * ― biography. #death tw #childbirth tw