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#animal symbiosis is so interesting

eggtheegg · 1 year

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The eye of the storm

Inspired by 'The Tea Conspiracy' fanfic written by @junko222 and @7emptymirrors

#bleach anime #bleach manga #fanart #jūshirō ukitake #mimihagi #tybw #sogyo no kotowari #the whole mimihagi-ukitake symbiosis is so interesting to me #digital art #artists on tumblr #eggdraw

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fuckingrecipes · 14 days

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Wait, which animals raise livestock?

Several species of ants will 'herd' aphids around (a type of plant lice)- even picking them up and putting them back with the group if they wander off. The ants will attack anything that approaches their aphid herds, defending them. The aphids produce a sugary excretion called honeydew, which the ants harvest and eat.

Some ants will even 'milk' the aphids, stroking the aphids with their antennae, to stimulate them to release honeydew. Some aphids have become 'domesticated' by the ants, and depend entirely on their caretaker ants to milk them.

When the host plant is depleted of resources and dies, the ants will pick up their herd of aphids and carry them to a new plant to feed on - a new 'pasture' if you will.

Some ants continue to care for aphids overwinter, when otherwise they'd die. The ants carry aphid eggs into their own nests, and will even go out of their way to destroy the eggs of aphid-predators, like ladybugs.

Microhylids – or narrow-mouthed frogs - have an interesting symbiosis with Tarantulas.

While the spiders could very easily kill and eat the much-tinier frogs, and DO normally prey on small frogs, young spiders instead will use their mouthparts to pick up the microhylid frogs, bring them back to their burrow, and release them unharmed.

The frog benefits from hanging out in/around the burrow of the tarantula, because the tarantula can scare away or eat predators that normally prey on tiny frogs, like snakes, geckos, and mantids. The tarantula gets a babysitter.

Microhylid frogs specialize in eating ants, and ants are one of the major predators of spider eggs. By eating ants, the frogs protect the spider's eggs. The frogs can also lay their eggs in the burrow, and won't be eaten by the spider.

So it's less 'livestock' and more like a housepet - a dog or a cat. You stop coyotes/eagles from hurting your little dog/cat, and in return the dog/cat keeps rats away from your baby.

Damselfish grow algae on rocks and corals. They defend these gardens ferociously, and will attack anything that comes too close - even humans. They spend much of their time weeding the gardens, removing unwanted algaes that might overtake their crop.

The species of algae that they cultivate is weak and and sensitive to growing conditions, and can easily be overgrazed by other herbivores. That particular algae tends to grow poorly in areas where damselfish aren't around to protect and farm it.

Damselfish will ALSO actively protect Mysidium integrum (little shrimp-like crustacians) in their reef farms, despite eating other similarly sized invertebrates. The mysids are filter feeders, who feed on zooplankton and free-floating algae, and their waste fertilizes the algae farms. Many types of zooplankton can feed on the algae crop, and the mysids prevent that.

While Mysids can be found around the world, the only place you'll find swarms of Musidium integrum is on the algae farms that Damselfish cultivate.

Damselfish treat the little mysids like some homesteaders treat ducks. Ducks eat snails and other insect pests on our crops, and their poop fertilizes the land. The ducks can be eaten, but aren't often, since they're more useful for their services than their meat.

There are SEVERAL species of insect and animal which actively farm. They perform fungiculture and horticulture: deliberately growing and harvesting fungus and plants at a large-scale to feed their population.

Leaf-cutter ants and Termites both chew up plant material and then seed it with a specific type of fungus. The fungus grows, and the termites/ants harvest the mushroom as a food source.

Ambrosia beetles burrow into decaying trees, hollow out little farming rooms, and introduce a specific fungii (the ambrosia fungi), which both adults and larval beetles feed on.

Marsh Periwinkles (a type of snail) cultivates fungus on cordgrass. They wound the plant with their scraping tongue, then defecate into the wound so their preferred fungus will infect it and grow there. They let the fungus grow in the wound a bit, and come back later to eat.

#Mutualism #algae farm #fungus farm #ants #aphids #ant farmers #termite farmers #beetle farmers #pet frog

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frostfangalphabitch · 7 months

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Please please please please please straight cis men on youtube (and probably elsewhere) I am begging you to not sexualize Ayre as uwu pure tiny waifu she is SO MUCH MORE INTERESTING THAN THAT! She is a disembodied voice who can interface with electronics! She is totally okay with you killing and actively encourages it! She wants to bring about a true symbiosis between two species! SHE CAN INHABIT AND CONTROL GIANT MECHS! Why why why WHY are you treating her like just another anime girl? Please for once in your life be a little more interesting!

#ac6 #armored core #armored core 6 #mechposting #ayre

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elbdot · 5 hours

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Hi, first of all I love your art and am a huge fan of EAA.

Secondly, I don't know if you play DnD at all but I saw "Field Guide to Floral Dragons" on kickstarter and it reminded me of your art so just wanted to let you know because I thought it was cool.

Again, love your art and am looking forward to future chapters of EAA!

Thank you so much!!! :DD

YES I've seen the Field Guide Kickstarter, at this point it gets shown to me on Instagram EVERY DAY, the algorithm sure knows my interests 😂 It looks like an awesome book and I both LOVE that it's being so well received and at the same time hate that I have such bittersweet feelings about it, because it is exactly what I've been dreaming to publish myself for years and it's just. Frustrating that I'm still exactly where I left off 2 years ago. I'm happy the Kickstarter is such a huge success, it gives me hope people could get just as excited once my Gardendragons get republished again, hopefully in a big way! But a little insecure gremlin-voice inside my head makes me also afraid people will think of me as a copycat, even though my book has been written and illustrated LONG before in 2016 already 😂

Technically I know nothing is truly original, the concept of flower-based dragons is not unique. And I know my Guidebook will be VERY DIFFERENT, especially since my book would not be tied to DnD, it's more about connecting science with fantasy, a gardening book that teaches about insects and flowers THROUGH dragons. All my flower dragons are the size of flowers or smaller and are supposed to live in the real world, with the intention of teaching kids and adults about our native flora and importance of wild bees, as they live in a symbiosis with the dragons. And at the final chapter you get to learn what to plant in your garden to create a habitat for both dragons and bees!

I shouldn't be disencouraged, I shouldn't be envious or sad, just because I haven't found a new publisher or book agent yet, but I just want my Gardendragon books to be translated and republished SO BADLY but haven't made any new contacts yet that could help me reach my goal 😂

I should REALLY work on more illustrations or even animations to at least make my little dragons a bit more known on the internet. I'd love to see them flourish again ;w;

#gardendragons #mod #reply #dragons #field guide to floral dragons #floral dragons

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mbari-blog · 2 years

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youtube

It's here—the ultimate hitchhiker's guide to the deep sea.⁠ 📖✨

The deep sea may seem like a lonely place, but as we explore its depths, we often see animals interacting with each other. One remarkable behavior is when denizens of the deep hitch a ride on one another.

These interactions, known as symbiosis, can be friendly and not-so-friendly. In different types of symbiosis, mutualism is when both animals benefit, while commensalism is when one benefits and the other is neither harmed nor helped. But when a parasite eats its host, it’s definitely not a harmonious alliance.

Whether the animal is hitchhiking to move around, hiding from predators, or just finding a better home, these connections help life in the deep thrive. Just like our lives on land, connections are critical for deep-sea communities. These intrepid neighbors have dynamic relationships that make the deep sea a very interesting place!

#MBARI #DeepSea #SeaLife #HitchhikersGuideToTheDeepSea

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pkmnprofloblolly · 1 year

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hello prof ;) i have a question concerning Breloom (as you know half my brain is occupied by all things plant-related). I was wondering where it gets its energy, I've always assumed that most plant pokemon got their energy through photosynthesis but Breloom is a fungus and fungi do not perform photosynthesis. Does it get it from poke-treats like non-plant pokemon, or does it possess chloroplasts which would account for its green color? have a nice day

excellent question!! this is a fun one, i like the subject a lot, and breloom is one of my favorites.

like many grass types, breloom is actually made up of more than one sort of organism! much like how lichen is comprised of a fungus and an algae or cyanobacteria, working together in such a way that their cooperation essentially creates an entirely new organism.

most grass-type pokemon that are animals are indeed symbionts with a sort of plant. these mutualistic relationships are required in the majority of cases- even if you could remove the plant part from an animal pokemon, it wouldn't survive long afterwards. most of the time, the plant and animal tissues are so interwoven that removal would be impossible in the first place- cut off a deerling's flower, for example, and it will bleed. it's not just an animal with a plant growing on it, it's integrated down to the cellular level.

(note that there are also many grass type pokemon that are purely one species of plant- oddish and smoliv, for example. furthermore, there are plant-animal symbionts that aren't grass type- florges, notably, lives in symbiosis with the flowers around its neck and even photosynthesizes, but is actually a pure fairy-type.)

these composite organisms generally rely on both autotrophic and heterotrophic ways of getting food. the plant part will photosynthesize and the animal part will consume other organisms, and both parts will share in the nutrients and energy from these sources.

back to the topic at hand, though, shroomish and breloom! indeed, these pokemon are not at all plants. somewhat like paras and parasect, shroomish and breloom have both an animal and a fungal aspect (though paras and parasect have a particularly unique relationship with their fungi halves). interestingly, shroomish has very little animal-like features before it evolves, with barely any skeletal elements and minimal musculature compared to breloom, which is structured much more like a typical vertebrate, with large masses of fungal tissue being mostly on its head, neck, tailtip, and arms.

the line's green color is indeed something of a coincidence- they do not have any plant component nor do they photysynthesize. instead, it's hypothesized the green coloration is simply for camouflage among the dense forests that this species tends to call its home. while less common than white or orangey mushooms, there are mushrooms with a greenish hue, and similar pigments lend breloom its color.

shroomish and breloom get all their energy by ingesting food. they tend to be detritivores that sometimes supplement with live plants and the occasional insect or small vertebrate. they search forests for decomposing logs and the occasional rotten carcass to scavenge. unlike most other animals (with the exception of ruminants such as miltank, which use symbiotic bacteria and multi-stage digestion to break down tough plant matter), these pokemon are capable of breaking down the tough compounds found in wood and other plant matter like cellulose and lignin. this is thanks to the fungi that are part of them, which produce enzymes in the digestive system capable of slowly breaking down these difficult materials.

fungi make up only a small part of the pokemon family tree when compared to animals and plants, so it's always interesting to look into how they operate differently from their more common cousins. i love this cool mushroom dinosaur

#(HI SAMMY HI THANKS FOR THE QUESTION!! MWAH)#art #pkmn #breloom #shroomish #pkmn irl #pkmn rp

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sepublic · 7 months

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remember back in S2 of the previous Castlevania series, when Carmilla questioned why Dracula didn’t turn Lisa into a vampire? Well after seeing Erzebeth turn Tera, I think the question was finally answered. Assuming that Tera’s agonized state wasn’t due to Erzebeth deliberately making the process as painful as possible, Dracula would’ve put Lisa into a state of pure agony if he had turned her, something that he would have hated himself for even if she agreed to the process. This is of course my opinion.

By the end of the day, I think it really boils down to what Lisa wants (Note S4's emphasis on agency); And Lisa didn't want to become a vampire. Why? I imagine it's because of her compassionate nature; She's a doctor, she wants to heal and help people, and begged Dracula not to take his rage out even on the people murdering her.

So it stands to reason that while Lisa may be interested in the potential of studying and dissecting vampirism and how it works, she's not interested in it, in its current form; It relies upon human blood, and thus death, to sustain itself. We know vampires can survive on animal blood, but based on what Godbrand says about it giving him the runs, it's clearly not ideal, ultimately unhealthy, and in the long run unsustainable.

Which means eventually going back to human blood, and I guess Lisa doesn't want to go through that process. I dunno if the Hippocratic Oath was a thing circulating back then amongst physicians, but I suspect the sentiment was definitely Lisa's whether or not she heard of it. There is a whole discussion to be had about whether humans and vampires can co-exist in mutual symbiosis via carefully regulated donations of blood, but by the end of the day, you get the idea; Lisa doesn't want to hurt people. In addition to probably wanting to hold onto the wonders of being human and whatnot.

#castlevania #castlevania nocturne #castlevania netflix #castlevania spoilers #ask #reply #lisa tepes

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sxnyarostova · 10 months

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symbiosis

do i put this on ao3. anyways this is my velma/roxie fic i hope you enjoy i love them

Roxie Hart reckons that she’s going crazy. Consistently oscillating between this ingenious high and manic low, she never stays in either mood long enough to feel comfortable, to feel like she’s riding the wave of life. Touring’s hard work, something that takes a toll on both the mind and the body– Velma’s words, not hers–, but there’s typically no problem she can’t deal with when she’s got liquor on her hands.

A glass of gin and a splash of icy water on clammy cheeks usually calm her right down: the combination doesn’t help her very much anymore, though. She’s taken this remedy a little too many times, which explains her growing resistance to its calming properties. These days, the only thing that truly ties off the frayed ends of her psyche with a pretty little ribbon is, well… Velma.

Roxie doesn’t love her: it’s become a mantra over these past months spent ducking in and out of hotel after hotel and theatre after theatre. There’s the occasional pharmacist and gin joint as well, but that doesn’t count.

Instead of doing whatever love entails– because how the hell is Roxie supposed to know what love is when she’s never seen it in action?–, they kiss, they fuck, and Velma disappears somewhere between midnight and eleven in the morning, or at whatever ungodly hour Roxie wakes up after a night of debauchery. It’s an understanding they’ve reached, something as sure as the lacquered planks beneath her feet, an aspirin tablet swallowed dry that leaves an indent in her throat long after it's worked its magic. It is not love.

Roxie never did very well in school, but she’s making up for lost time. Touring means that she spends a lot of time in a train carriage with Velma, who smokes, drinks, stretches, and reads magazines: there isn’t exactly a way for Roxie to kindle a conversation when Velma gets all quiet like that, so she’d gotten her hands on a book about animal behaviour, of all things, from a dressing room somewhere in Illinois

It’s interesting, with little tidbits about interspecies relationships. Take predator-prey, for example; it’s one she’d known all about even before she cracked open the dusty tome. It’s kill or get killed in America, after all: a girl has gotta have learned something after she’s fended for herself in this cesspool of a country for this long.

But symbiosis is something she’s never heard of before, and she reckons after a brief skim of the chapter that Velma Kelly excels at whatever this professor is banging on about. Somehow, regardless of how the other is involved in her affairs, Velma Kelly always, always comes out on top; she’s the symbiote, the organism that gains something even if she’s leeching blood, leaving trails of her venom in somebody else’s blood, or spreading diseases left, right and centre.

It’s infuriating, but Roxie finds herself crawling back to Velma’s bed anyway. When you’re desperate for something to curb the restless ticks that haunt your head, you’ll do anything.

(She still remembers the panic that had risen in her throat after that first night, when she’d woken swaddled in sheets, sitting in the most fragrant viper’s nest known to man. Roxie had always known that she was going to spend her days scorching in hellfire– murder didn’t grant you a seat by Jesus– but she wasn’t ready to be indicted into the Devil’s inner circle. Surely there was something wrong and sinful about what she’d done with Velma the night before; surely there were scriptures in the Bible that forbade women from touching like that.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Velma had asked as Roxie scrambled for her robe, which lay in a crumpled heap of velvet on the hotel carpet. Despite her casual tone, an undercurrent of venom lazed beneath Velma’s words. “Were you faking those giggles last night, Roxie Hart? Are you considering leaving vaudeville and busting into Hollywood with your affected little squeals?”

“I– no!” Roxie mumbled, blindly throwing her arms through their respective sleeves. “I’m fine. I really am fine. Last night was… new, that’s all.” She blinked, brushed a flyaway curl back into place, and offered Velma a blinding smile.

“I thought new things didn’t scare you: always considered you a modern girl.” Velma raised an eyebrow as she stopped in front of the vanity, fingers deftly securing a double string of pearls around her neck. She fixed the clasp before latching her eyes onto Roxie’s ruddy complexion, her bob swishing by her ears like a beaded curtain. “I know what this is. You’re thinking about sinning, ain’t you?”

Roxie hated how Velma seemed to have her entire world and all its inhabitants figured out. Life was nothing but a jigsaw puzzle to Miss Velma Kelly, and every piece she put down always managed to lock into place. “...Well, don’t you ever think about sinning?” Roxie said, fiddling with the sash of her robe. “I don’t know how often you fuck blonde girls who you met in a jail cell, but—”

Velma guffawed. “I stopped repenting when I was twelve, sweetheart. The only compass I’ve got is my heart.” She gave her chest a gentle thump. “Whichever way it aims is where I’ll go, and if it’s pointing in your direction—” she threw her hands up as if to say ‘what the Hell’ “—then that’s where I’m headed ‘til it tells me otherwise.”

“Oh,” Roxie said, brows furrowing. “Well, I– I don’t know. I–”

“Did you enjoy it?”

Roxie nodded, platinum hair bouncing earnestly around her face.

“And did you feel like it was wrong when it happened?”

Despite the condescension in Velma’s tone, Roxie found it in her to respond, shaking her head no.

“I don’t see what the problem is, then,” Velma said, sitting primly atop the vanity. “You see, sex is a little like murder. If you felt justified when you did it, you don’t have to worry your pretty little head off about it.” She held up a flask, glinting silver in the noontime sun. “Care for a little pick-me-up?” )

Roxie wonders if Velma’s a drug of sorts or an exorcist with the blessing of some twisted God who likes helping murderesses stave off their guilty consciences. She’ll be tearing out her hair one moment and laughing the next: as soon as Velma’s teeth meet the lobe of her ear, the crowding voices that haunt Roxie’s head dissipate into nothing but malevolent spirits, melding into the atmosphere.

She sighs, pulling another cigarette from the open box in her robe pocket and slipping it into her mouth. Velma, Roxie muses, needs her for the success of their marquee-lining act: she needs Velma for all the wrong reasons. Roxie uncaps the lipstick on her bureau, gives the base a tiny twist, and begins absentmindedly applying another layer: she doesn’t know why she bothers. Her lips are plump and red enough, and Velma’s practised lips remove any traces left after a night of performing. It’s just therapeutic, she supposes, the feeling of wax sliding across her lips.

“You ready?”

The lipstick in her hand deviates from its trajectory and streaks across her face. “Jesus, Vel,” Roxie hisses, hastily rushing to a mirror and rubbing away the runaway line of red. “You ever learned to knock?”

“What difference would it make? I’d still come in regardless of your response,” Velma shrugs. She grins, pulls out a tissue from a nearby box, and passes it into Roxie’s waiting hands. She is striking in her costume, kitted out in a dark leotard with obsidian garters that blossom against her skin. “Well? Are you ready, kid?”

“Yeah,” Roxie grumbles. She gives her curls one last fluff, readjusts her own pearly pair of stockings, and tosses the tissue into the bin. “But– Velma? Before we go? Can you–?”

Her mind is running circles at the thought of performing. If she thinks long and hard about it, Roxie’s been a performer her whole life. She’s acted for her parents from the age of five and for her prospective beaus from the age of fifteen, doing the former out of fear and the latter out of a deep-seated desire for security. She’d acted when she was on trial, too, and frankly speaking, Roxie’s exhausted.

She needs someone to remind her that she’s Roxie Hart, and the only person who can do that is Velma, with her kisses and brass comments and the behavior that she only displays when she’s around Roxie. Velma Kelly is Roxie’s savior; the lighthouse in the distance, the shore that Roxie longs to find after hours spent in the water. This is symbiosis.

Velma pecks Roxie on the cheek without another word.

#yar #amity writes #chicago the musical #velma kelly #roxie hart #roxie x velma

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antilocaprine · 11 months

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If you're still accepting those fake fic titles, how about "Hey Moon, Please Forget to Fall Down" (Line from an old ass panic at the disco song I like a lot)?

As with any song lyrics, I had to look up the song - and I have heard this before, though it's been a while. I read the lyrics before I listened to it again, and the lyrics are interesting - I get a mythical/fairy tale kind of vibe from them. And then the song itself sounds very summery. That combination makes me think of some kind of faerieland AU Frenrey fic where Gordon stumbles into the fae realm on Midsummer, when the borders between worlds are thin and passage is easier, even accidental. He meets Benrey, another lost soul, who assures Gordon he's not human - but c'mon, he clearly is. Especially compared to the beings who find them almost immediately: Tommy is a bright-shining dandelion spirit, who appears free-floating and almost naively positive, but can also turn on a dime and break through concrete. Coomer is an oak dryad, powerful and sturdy, but kind enough to let anyone rest in the shade of his tree's branches. And Bubby is a fire spirit, living in symbiosis with Coomer's oak woodlands, but liable to flare up into an inferno at any slight.

The other three are acting weird about Benrey attaching himself to Gordon and following him through the fae realm as he tries to get home, but they end up helping (with varying levels of enthusiasm). Eventually, Gordon finds himself standing before the shining ranks of the Summer Court, carrying the spoils of his various quests in a bid to be allowed to return to the mortal realm. The Green Man (who is dressed in midnight blue and has icy blue eyes, so Gordon doesn't get what THAT'S about) passes judgement that Gordon will not be allowed to return - it is no longer Midsummer, and opening a way through would take too much energy. He'll have to wait for a year until next Midsummer. But Gordon knows time passes differently in the fae realm, and a year there could be a century in the mortal realm. Plus he'd be forced to eat or drink if he stayed there for a year, which would mean he's stuck regardless.

Just as Gordon is about to fall into despair, the ground rumbles and the Summer Court straighten and glance about fearfully. The Green Man's eyes flash brighter and he says carefully "...but perhaps...we should consult the Captain...of the Guard..."

And then Benrey steps forward and shrugs. "Yeah, I think he can leave? He's not, uh, he's not supposed to be here, anyway, so...I mean, you're the G-Man, you can do what you want, but, uh, it might not turn out...great. For you."

Then Tommy moves out of the throng to sling an arm around Gordon's shoulders and grins up at the fuming Green Man, who deflates at the sight of his golden-bright son taking the human's side. A prince of the Summer Court should not consort with mortals, but this one didn't have much choice when his granite-soul guard captain took a shine to the lost human. The thing about stone is that it can change, just on a different timescale than plants and animals. And every stone remembers when it was once living magma. Very few stone spirits end up in the fae courts, but when they do, they are unnervingly powerful, with the capability to tear the ground out from under dryads or split the earth beneath a lake, draining it of water and life. As soon as the earth grumbled with the threat of a quake, Benrey was holding the whole of the Summer Court in his hand, as if he'd grown to the size of a mountain and scooped them into his palm.

And then Gordon gets to decide if he wants to go home or stay and ends up accidentally becoming an honorary member of the Summer Court anyway because he's under Benrey's (and Tommy's) protection. The end.

send me a made-up fic title and i’ll tell you what i would write to go with it

#askbox #echoing-interests #ask game #fic title ask game #hlvrai #frenrey #AUs are fun #it's even more fun to think about them when there's no stress to actually write them out #long post

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nerdstorming · 5 months

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I stumbled on something awesome...

Not that!

This:

As I was scavenging streaming sites, I came upon this peculiar animation that I went into with no prior knowledge. And I dare say that's EXACTLY how it's meant to be watched.

You should crash land into this storyline and experience the disorienting environment in ignorant tandem with the characters you'll be stuck with.

[SPOILERS]

This show is basically an adult Sci-fi/horror darkside Studio Ghibli with a dash of the movie Annihilation.

Scavenger's Reign was made for those who not only like a grotesque horror element added to their entertainment but also for those who want to philosophize and draw parallels to our very real nature. It's an ode to planetary organisms that are governed by an unforgiving food chain.

However, on planet Vesta, humans can be found at the very bottom.

[THEIR BOND]

Kamen & the Hollow were by far the most chaotic and dangerous symbiosis that came from their accidental meeting. They were also the most interesting to decipher.

The Hollow is a formidable force. Telepathic and telekinetic, there's no doubt the species are capable of dominating every other life form.

...so why haven't they?

Vesta went mostly undisturbed in its life cycle until the Demeter survivors crash landed. The Hollows had only shared symbiosis (telepathic bonds) with lesser cognitive species that fulfilled their needs. It wasn't until our monster Hollow attempted telepathy with Kamen that it become more...well...human.

Greedy and insatiable, angry and violent, ambitious and selfish, grief...

Kamen's emotions and toxicity was at its most potent and well...you are what you eat, right? Or rather, you are what you share a telepathic bond with. And the deeper their bond grew, the more corrupted our monster hollow became.

[OKAY I'LL SHUT UP]

Dude, there's so much to unpack here, but mainly, I wanted to get my thoughts out on the Hollow & Kamen. Maybe I can do more posts on my favorite moments and creatures.

My ADHD:...nah.

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widthofmytongue · 6 months

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List 5 things that make you happy, then put this in the askbox for the last 10 people who reblogged something from you! get to know your mutuals and followers (ू•‧̫•ू⑅)♡

I have answered this several times before I think, but in order to keep up and spread the positivity, let's gooo.

1) Reconfiguring my outward aesthetic appearance to better reflect my true self. What I will say about having pink hair and wearing a keffiyeh and a jacket covered in queer and Jewish and leftist badges and carrying a trade union bag is that young people of colour with non-British accents smile at me and are comfortable approaching me to ask directions and stuff. Having spent the 2010s presenting as a white male hipster nerd, no one really approached me, and I did receive occasional comments that I looked like a middle class twat (usually from people who were more middle class and definitely more twat-ish than me). Returning to my roots as a visibly queer, Jewish, commie punk puts the right people at ease.

2) Working from bed. This is obviously not about working, especially as I don't think the work I'm actually paid to do is super meaningful, but the freedom to WFH (work from home!) three days a week is amazing. Awhile ago I watched the LOTR trilogy while running reports and updating spreadsheets.

3) Making delicious food for myself and eating it in massive quantities. During lockdown I got into the habit of living almost exclusively on ready meals, and aside from some (amazing restaurant-quality) omelettes, I only recently got back to cooking for myself. Also turns out that a lot of the food I think of as staples are very Jewish? I guess I kinda knew that, but like goyische potato salad sounds boring af y'all are missing out.

4) Deviant sex. I'm not sure I want to elaborate on this too much, but I am very glad of my engagement in d/s and how strongly I lean into T4T stuff.

5) Gotta say my animal buddies again. A couple of my avian neighbours were recently moulting, and when they grew their feathers back, they looked like dinosaurs armoured with spines. So cool. Also my feline housemates train me to do things in the dumbest but sweetest forms of symbiosis.

I'm gonna keep going.

6) Stimulating conversation on deep and complex topics. I've had lots of interesting and invigorating interactions lately with people on tumblr and in person about Palestine, Jewish values and identity, community organisation, gender, King Crimson, John Carpenter, Star Trek, London, the intersection of poststructuralism and historiography, and of course postcolonialism.

7) Union work. As mentioned above, I do not think the work I get paid for is especially meaningful. What I do think is meaningful is being a hard leftist (and yes, also queer, Jewish, immigrant, neurodiverse, erstwhile lumpenproletarian) voice in my professional environment. I think it's both important for me to represent union members, uniting their concerns with systemic initiatives, and also to provide a more outright Marxist approach on my union branch's Executive Committee.

@derdra @gucci-shinigami @comm1e-dyke @thottacelli @jewishdumbass @verticalceiling @deanorino161 @thewindstealsyourvoice @lizardbytheriver @xocomilxolo @oh-youprettythings @anyone else reading this who fancies taking part.

#original #ask

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7serendipities · 1 year

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Dryads and Wood-Wives: A Question of Categorization

I got an interesting question on tumblr last week, and while I’m not going to copy the entire thing over here, nor my entire rambling response, I thought it brought up two important worldview questions that might illuminate my practice a bit for ya’ll, and may help out others who are new to walking the path of a fairy witch.

The first question was, basically: is a Germanic wood-wife the same thing as a Greek dryad? Are these just two names for the same exact thing? On the surface, it does sort of seem that way; they’re described in very similar terms. But one of the trickiest things about the realms of Fairy (and one that I think is the hardest for people to wrap their heads around) is that we can’t cleanly separate fairies into specific species. There’s a lot of evidence in the Scottish Witch Trial manuscripts that the difference between a devil and an imp and a fairy and an elf was pretty much a difference of attitude, and that the same being might be called two or more of these terms even by the same person.(1) And there’s plenty of folkloric evidence that these beings can change their appearance, or at least deceive our senses. So we just can’t quantify and identify them as we do with animals and plants, and just because they seem similar doesn’t necessarily mean they are the same.

On top of that, we have to add the complexities of culture - both ours and theirs. I think it’s reasonable to say that some of the Fair Folk seem to have a sort of symbiotic relationship with nearby humans, to the point that there’s some cultural bleed between the two groups.(2) So it would make sense to me that the dryads would have more Greek sensibilities and prefer offerings of common Greek foodstuffs, whereas wood-wives would have more Germanic sensibilities and prefer more common Germanic foodstuffs - and that seems to be born out in the folklore about what to offer and how to give it. So it doesn’t make sense to me to try and force a pattern on that - there’s no way to reduce them all, to the point where you can say “all feminine forest spirits should be offered [some kind of food]”. I think it’s better to just not worry about whether wood-wives and dryads are the same “species” and instead of highlighting the similarities, learn about the differences, so that you don’t accidentally offend anyone.(3) When I encounter new beings in the landscape, either Over Here, or Over There, as I’m going about my business, one of the things I ask is what they call themselves - not their Name or even name, but what type of a being they want me to know them as. They are usually willing to either show or tell me enough that I can at least figure out what paradigm will work best in my interactions with them, and I then move forward treating them as the folklore surrounding that being suggests that I should.(4)

That brings me to the second question: do fairy beings travel to places other than where their original folklore is from? I think they do. I think it would be strange to think that only humans travel across our world, when plants and animals have done their best to migrate (with and without our help) as well. I also think that the symbiosis I spoke about in the last section plays a roll, but this time on a more macro scale. I’ve heard stories of brownies and nisser traveling with their families on boats to the Americas, and there are stories of fairy beings being “chased out” of certain areas (often by Christian priests). I don’t think it’s a stretch to think that some of them might’ve come that way to the Americas or Australia or wherever. Personally, I’ve met a lot of fairy beings who, when I ask them what type of being they are, identify themselves as something from European folklore. Near where I live, it’s been mainly beings known from Celtic or British or Germanic cultural folklore, and I think that makes sense given the colonial history of this area. (I’ve met some indigenous otherworldly beings as well, but they’re usually fairly shy, and so far none of them are specifically symbiotic to the indigenous cultures of that side of my family, but I’m nowhere near the traditional homelands, either.) I wouldn’t be super surprised, either, to find beings from Central American or Islamic or Korean folklore nearby, either, considering the current demographics of the area, but I also can’t say that I would necessarily recognize them if I did, as I’m not as well versed in those. Generally though, I think it’s not impossible to find beings from any culture that is currently represented in your area or has ever lived there, because these beings are usually believed to be both powerful and long-lived, and it’s therefore a good idea to just learn as much as you can about anyone you might encounter.

When I ask fairy-like otherworldly beings(5) what kind of a being they are, I’m not looking to categorize them, to check them off in a field guide, or to decide what “species” they belong to - I’m trying to gain context. How they present themselves tells me a little about their expectations, their likes and dislikes, and their sensibilities. And then I’ll use that information, and offer Dryads clean water, diluted wine, and olive oil, and offer wood-wives bread or other things made of grain, and perhaps a bit of milk. I’m a witch looking to create relationships, not a scientist trying to answer questions that might just be unanswerable.

See Emma Wilby’s Cunningfolk and Familiar Spirits (Sussex Academic Press, 2005), and Seo Helrune (www.seohelrune.com) has talked about the same in the Nordic sphere, with alfe vs jotnar, in some of their classes.

“Symbiotic” here not necessarily meaning “mutualistic” (benefitting both parties) on a micro scale. I think it’s likely that it’s mutualistic on a macro scale of our two populations, but on a micro scale yeah some humans definitely get fucked over, more along the lines of commensalism or straight-up predation.

Really, learning as much as you can in order to avoid giving accidental offence is probably my #1 Fairy Witchcraft rule.

To an extent: there’s plenty of folklore that says “don’t ever fucking talk to these omg just leave quickly and pretend you didn’t see them”. That’s fairly wise for those wishing not to end up in deep water with the Fair Folk but as I’m already fully submerged, I don’t always look away - I trust that my bargains and roles and allies will keep me safe in most normal situations, and I don’t try to mess around with things above my pay grade. A lot of my discernment has been just figuring out what is and is not within my pay grade, and while I might not rush inside and barricade the door if I see a kelpie, I’m not likely to touch it or try to banish it, either. To quote Morgan Daimler, “I like my liver on the inside.”

There’s some disagreement about whether “fairy” includes non-European folkloric otherworldly beings, and more about whether it should, so just to be clear, when I use “fairy” I do mean it in the more general “folkloric otherworldly being” sense. But I try to use “fairy-like” when I’m explicitly talking about non-European folkloric otherworldly beings, out of respect for people in their source cultures who might not feel like the word “fairy” is appropriate. Some of that, I find, is because of a misunderstanding of what a “fairy” is, based on popculture, though - I had a long discussion with a Persian friend about fairies and djinn where at the end we basically decided both terms covered the same basic category, but she originally had thought all fairies were small Tinkerbell types which did not seem at all like her understanding of djinn!

#fairy witchcraft #witchcraft #fair folk #fae #spiritwork

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briarborealisart · 1 year

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long post: tl;dr, a lot of welcome home art has wally w/ wide pupils connected directly to home's large eyes --- so idk if anyone else has pointed this out, but a friend and i were looking thru the secret page with the scripts and we were looking at this gif where it flashes through everyone's eyes right

and obv wally's eyes are getting bigger and bigger each time the sequence repeats, until all we can see are his eyes and his pupils take up nearly the entire thing

well, in the gif, after wally's eyes are lingered on, home's eyes flash up on screen next

except for right after wally's final huge eyes

then we see home's windows - empty

we also see, at this secret link w/ a gif of wally's eyes superimposed over home's, that the gif ends again w/ wally's eyes having huge pupils and being put directly over where home's eyes would be

obv most of the time wally's pupils are a normal size, but sometimes they grow larger, as seen in this post by welcome home creator partycoffin where wally is eating a little meal with his eyes

not sure what all of this means! however! i do think it's interesting that wally w/ larger pupils is clearly linked to home and home's design, even to the point where wally w/ large pupils eclipses/replaces home's eyes. there's clearly a link between these two. it's also interesting to me that the concept animation of wally eating has his pupils expand. if we assume that the larger pupils are connected to home, it makes me curious what it means that his pupils grow after he consumes something.

i don't have any real solid theory - it's a little too early for that - but im curious to see what people think! personally i think this might lend credence to the whole "home is possessing wally" thing, or it might imply more of a working-together symbiosis between the two :) might be something else, too! its definitely sinister tho haha

#welcome home arg #wally darling #home welcome home #welcome home arg theory #welcome home theory #welcome home observation #welcome home arg observation #scopophobia #arg #welcome home #welcome home discussion #please someone talk to me about this im so excited #long post

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suffering-and-happy-about-it · 1 year

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The Great North (All the Things She Said, Part 2.)

Description: After a rather unlucky coincidence, Lord Asriel is left alone on his supposed expedition to meet the king of Lapland. Thanks to Thorold's advances, he's lucky enough to get an assistant sent over from the University of Oxford.

Part Summary: Whatever you imagined North to be like, its actual appearance didn't match your expectations and wasn't as thrilling. On the other hand, it was thrilling to see the first armoured bear in your life - except he hadn't had his armour and started drinking heavily.

Word Counter: 5.3 K

A/N: To be frank, I'd like to tie the story into the concept of the cannon while not specifically writing anything that would change it - so, Iorek already rampaged Trollesund and killed his predecessor and by that logic, he's already bending the steel for people of Trollesund. The witches also are connected to Lanselius at this point. So, why not mention it, huh?

By the way, I was then questioning myself as far as the logic goes and while it's not technically a rightful expedition I think there still would need to be official documents and results written down.

Tagging: @emmyspov

Series master list: h e r e | Series playlist: h e r e

As you walked through the city of Trollesund, watching people being busy, fully captivated by their work and duties, your head was pretty much fully emptied out. The travel itself wasn't bad - the college paid you a ticket for a zeppelin and a first-class ticket to a ship setting out of Northern Brytain. By that point, you've been on the road for a week and each of them, you've captured in your journal. For each of your expeditions, there was a journal; this one was thicker than the rest of your journals and also vestured in a leather cover. As soon as you landed in Svalbard, the omnipresent cold hit your face, crawling deep into your bone marrow. And you had to add that you were wearing a proper coat, a warm hat, and boots padded with the finest, warmest fur. None of that helped. And you haven't even set out to venture to Asriel's observatory which was located at least two days' worth of travel from Trollesund... Without counting the time you'd use for resting.

"I already hate it here, " Joy mumbled, obediently running next to your foot. She was very curious about the town since it differed from everything you had experienced in Brytain. Everything in this town looked so dishevelled, old, and worn out, showing obvious signs of usage; all of the oil and dirt had its magic, you needed to admit. The people of Trollesund might've not been the richest, but everything they made was sturdy and steady.

"You're such a grouch, come on. We're on an adventure." "We're far from home and everything is so wild and cold here. How can you be so optimistic, Y/N?" "Because we, my dear, will see all of the northern fauna in its natural habitat. There are so few studies originating in taking interest in this rare ecosystem and the bio-cultural symbiosis between animals, armoured bears, and humans. We're gonna make the top ten for sure!" - You answered with a broad smile, trying to remind yourself of all of the great prospects that were ahead of you, waiting for you to explore them. The... Another part of the negotiations, the 'Golden boy part', was something you were trying to forget about for as long as you could. "May I remind you that I still am a coyote, Y/N, an animal that is supposed to live in warm American prairies and deserts? I'm not a snow fox, you know?" "And may I remind you that as long as I'm fed and warm, you're feeling that way too? What's gotten into you, Joy? Haven't seen you like this for a long time."

This time, the coyote looked up to you with its gentle golden eyes, her expression being overshadowed with worries and fear. Not hesitating, you dropped to your knee and looked your daemon deep into her eyes. What Joy needed to hear couldn't be said out loud. "Listen, Joy, Dr Carne has sworn on the law of scholastic sanctuary that this will forever remain a secret. And he never intended for anything but good to happen to us. This man wouldn’t cross us and he wouldn’t give out heads to the Magisterium for free. You have nothing to be scared of, we are safe and fine and we'll have an amazing adventure out here.”

“You’re really this calm about… Well, everything? This man is studying Dust, Y/N, he’s not conducting just some ordinary environmental expedition, you do realize that?” “I’m calm because I have faith in Carne and Asriel. Do you really assume that with the danger that this expedition holds, he’d just take the papers, travel all the way to London, and then wave them in front of the Cardinal’s face to flip him off? Think about the time we’ve been editing his article about Space and time… Remember how much he managed to reveal with this paper alone? His vocabulary and sentence structure, the way he's able to express his opinions or to explain the basics to a person who had never heard of such things... We both know he’s a genius.” “A genius with no sense of self-preservation or an ounce of reason in his mind. This is dangerously close to tiptoeing with insanity, Y/N, and you’ve taken part in this voluntarily.” - Before you could say anything else to Joy, both of you looked at a well-built man who had just approached you. He had a big smile, a fuzzy beard and warm, dark eyes. Since you had a raising suspicion that the man was at least somewhat nice, you smiled right back at him, standing up with the journal in your palm.

“Are you alright, lassie? Couldn’t miss the way you're standing in the middle of the street if I tried to.” “Ah, yes, thank you for asking. Joy, my daemon, is feeling a little bit unsettled because she can sense a huge animal wandering about.” - Even if the man hadn’t ever seen you, based on your blabbering alone he must’ve realized you’re coming up with everything on the spot. Not an ounce of truth in anything you’ve been saying. - “We’ve travelled here all the way from Oxford, you see? I’m an animal and environmental researcher and we’ve travelled here for our newest study, the bio-cultural system of Svalbard. Joy has been just rather unnerved by the presence of Panselbjørns on the island, just as I’ve been.”

“Oi, based on the way you’re talking alone I’m sure you’re a scholar, eh? And your daemon isn’t wrong if that's what you think, lassie. We have a bear living in this town." - The man explained rather proudly as he stepped closer to you, his deamon taking the form of a hound sitting beside him while staring at you with dark eyes. "A bear working for humans?" - The question was filled with genuine confusion on your part. You haven't seen an armoured bear in person before. Still, what you've gathered from all of the literature and official documents concerning negotiations with said bears, these sentient creatures were taking a strong liking in their pride. Proud as all bloody hell; so proud they'd rather die than humiliate themselves in such a way.

The Panselbjørne were majestic bears awaking respect within every living soul that had bumped into them, solitary sentient creatures that bowed to no man. They didn't answer to anyone but their king and even this bond was supposed to be quite loose. So how the hell did an armoured bear get into the city in the first place? "How did an armoured bear get in here? I suppose he hadn't just walked in asking about work applications, had he?" "Lassie it was a bloody massacre. The bear came here one day and started attacking the folk while destroying the city. It was horrible, young lady. After we took off his armour, he vouched to help the folk repair what he broke. He's not a bad bear, our Iorek." "Iorek Byrnison you mean?" - As you looked over to Joy, you'd swear that you had already read this name somewhere. It was a very old and very official document regarding the succession of the Svalbardian throne. Who had written it down and how precisely this document got into the college's possession was beyond you, but it was there. - "I've heard of him. Would it be possible to speak with him? For the... Research purposes, of course."

"It would be wiser not to interruprt him during the day, lassie. Then, it would be smart to ask the bear himself if he'd like to chat with you, I'm not the one to tell you. But if I were you, I'd try asking the folk working with him how much he'd drink. That might help you with talking to him." Drinking? A Panselbjørn drinking spirits? Again, Joy's eyes scanned the man in front of you. This situation seemed somewhat tricky, to begin with; a prideful creature working in a human town, drinking alcohol? No. That was not at all what Panselbjørne were supposed to be like. - "Thank you, sir, I'll ask around about Iorek around Trollesund."

"I thought you'll be staying about?" - The man wondered, raising one of his eyebrows while watching you as if something was wrong. "Never said that. I'll soon join a colleague of mine in his laboratory far up north. The innkeeper told me you can see the auroras clearer there than anywhere else in the whole world." - You answered, stepping away from the man to nonchalantly suggest that you'll be ending the conversation with him. Your sledge was about to prepare, that was one thing, and you wanted to look around for the Iorek you've been told about. "Aye, I know who you're talking about. We've seen the lad here once or twice, dressed very expansively with the behaviour of a butcher's dog. Haven't met someone with a more punchable face 'til then." "That sounds... Precisely like Lord Asriel. Let me apologise for his behaviour if he had been causing any trouble. It won't happen again. Well, I'll have to..."

"Careful for the witches, lassie. They have their contacts in here." - The man said instead of saying goodbye, turning right on his heels, leaving you in the middle of the road. After watching his back disappear in the distance, you've decided to sit down and start writing your first entry in the journal. The first one was making enough sense - Iorek (An armoured bear working for humans? Drinking Spirits? - Need to attempt to talk to Iorek for the sake of research... Fine, it's just curiosity.) - while your last one was simply - WITCHES??? HERE??? - with three lines highlighting the words.

Obviously, just like every other kid living in Brytain, you've been familiar with the entire concept of witches even though you haven't seen them with your own eyes. These women were supposedly enchantingly beautiful and free-spirited, who were enough to madden one's mind. Unlike the bears, they weren't in your research field and the stories about them were mere rumours rather than actual, historically reliable sources. So while you heard of the concept, you couldn't tell how much of said concept is based in reality. After finishing writing down your notes, you decided to pick yourself up and stroll through Trollesund - it wasn't for long, but you still had around thirty minutes to capture a glimpse of the mysterious Iorek.

As you made your way through the settlement, everything seemed to be in order; which, in translation meant that there were no bears in sight. That was until you came about a big, fenced property from where great slams of pure force could be heard; a huge gate made out of the thickest iron plates you’ve seen was held together by an overly-sized chain, locked together with a massive lock.

“Do you think Iorek is there?” - Joy muttered with curiosity, trying to catch a glimpse of anything under the gate, yet the small crack wasn’t enough for her to get a good look at the scenery. As you formed an answer, another of the forceful slams rang through the air, followed by a painful, horrifying roar which undeniably belonged to a bear. Blood started to freeze in your veins as you listened to the sound of unsaid rage and pain. - “I think he is. Let’s look around for an entrance, he might be hurt.”

As you asked Joy to run around the perimeter, you let the journal fall into your bag before circling around the other side of the property. The walls were made out of various steel plates, some of which were thicker than your thigh, and the spots that were only fenced by wires were blocked off properly. “Here! Here!” - Joy cried out as you saw her tail disappearing into an easily missable hole in the fencing - you could see a woman turning at you, obviously telling you not to go there just as you slipped in, holding your breath so you could squeeze through the tight space. As you pushed further in, you could feel your coat catching on various wires and small pieces of scrapped materials. The curious it’s got the better of you, didn’t it? Because just as you stumbled in, literally falling on your palms covered in leather gloves, you saw Joy cowering in fear; her golden eyes were open wide, he tail low between her back legs as she walked away from anything that was standing right in front of you. The presence of Iorek hit almost all of your senses at once.

First, there was the stench of his breath and the volume of it; the smell of spirits and meat the bear was feasting on after his shifts had ended wrapped around your nose, making you gag inaudibly. Then, there was the size of his enormous paws; one swing would knock you unconscious, and the second would either rip your head off or slice your throat open effortlessly. Only after that, you gathered enough courage to look at the bear hovering over your head - he was furrowing at you, his eyes watching you with anger as if you were the one holding him inside of the gates. His fangs were sticking out of his mouth as he hung it open, trying to figure out what to do, and his scarred muzzle crinkled in a confused expression. Iorek. As you prepared for your head to be chewed on, the bear simply snickered with anger and turned away from you. - “My workshop is forbidden to people and their daemons. Leave now, I do not require company and neither do I want it.”

Before he could make it halfway back to his shop, he began to grunt in displeasure; this time, it was nothing more than mere pain. By looking at the ground, you were quick to deduce what the origin of said pain could've been. There was a small, almost unnoticeable blood trail left behind the animal as it slowly moved forward. "You're injured." - Your tone was quiet and rather gentle in order not to upset or challenge the bear. You still had an awful lot of work to do and you needed to get to the observatory, quite frankly, alive. - "Humans are annoying and I know that, but I'm here to help. I won't pray, I promise Iorek." - Your knowledge of his name caught his attention; he turned his head right back at you and looked at you closer. You, in the meantime, walked over to a crate to sit down on, opening your bag; as you struggled to find any cloth, you simply took your coat off and pulled your cashmere sweatshirt down in order to have at least something to operate with.

"I haven't seen you around before... And yet, you know my name. Who are you?" - The bear asked you with suspicion, looking you up and down. - "It is in your best interest not to lie because bears won't fall for such deception." "Lucky me, I wasn't about to lie anyway." - With a smile, you put your coat back on and sat down, patting your knees. Iorek, even though you tried to be as calm and gentle as possible, was still on the edge over whether he could trust. - "Let me start with the basics, then - my name is Y/N and... It might come off as a surprise, but I'm a doctor of animal studies, operating at the University of Oxford in Brytain, Iorek. No malicious intent in sight so, please, stop being stubborn and let me help you. This bloody sweater cost me a whole fortune."

With a prolonged sigh, the bear sat down in front of you, putting his palm on your new, stylish warmers. You've maybe bought a whole new wardrobe just because you wanted to dress nicely in Asriel's presence; he might've been a private, strange person who had no self-preservation instinct, yes, but you wanted to match his style in this regard. You wanted to feel equal to him. "You differ from the people of Trollesund, miss Y/N, your heart seems to be filled with kindness. They are cruel and cold, holding me inside these gates without mercy, let me out when the sun sets behind the horizon. None of them would've helped me. I won't forget this gesture." "Why do you think that is? Why do you think they wouldn't help?" - While chit-chatting with the bear, you started to pull the bit of metal out of his paw. Iorek twitched a few times, closing his eyes in pain. As you watched it slip out, you grabbed one of the fabrics to cover it, searching for a small bottle of spirit in your bag. Also, Iorek's compliment about the kindness in your heart made you smile blatantly, but you assumed Iorek knew that he is the cause of the said smile. - "I don't have proper disinfection so this has to do. Desperate times, am I right? It will sting... A lot."

Normally, you weren't too big on drinking - but the innkeeper told you that it can save your life in the Northern wilderness. So you've bought a few mini-bottles to have on hand and right at that moment, it paid off. "I don't have to think about their reasoning..." - At this moment, he howled in great pain as you poured the spirit into the wound, covering it with another piece of fabric immediately. - "What you see around is my punishment for all the harm I've caused to the folk of Trollesund. The night it happened... I wasn't myself, Y/N, I was a beast torn from the chain. I couldn't compose myself no matter how much I tried. I've spilt blood, destroyed properties and brought night terrors."

"If I may, you don't strike me as this sort of... Of a bear. I don't know you, by all means, but you seem to be wise and astute. Just as I seem to be kind." "Back then, I've long forgotten who I once was. I've been exiled from my homeland and my friend, Lee Scoresby, wasn't nearby - I shouldn't have accepted the spirits the locals offered me to forget my wrongdoings because when I did... I have been deceived and stripped of my armour - which is the biggest shame that a Panserbjørn can imagine." "I know I've promised not to pray and I hope you won't understand my boldness as an attempt at deceiving you..." - You mumbled while patching the paw together, making sure the improvised bandage will be comfortable to walk around and work with. - "But what happened before you accepted the..." - The rest of your question couldn't be finished because of the metal gate opening loudly with folk pouring in, led by the man you'd met earlier.

"Las, this is not a place you should be at. It's dangerous." "No, it's not, trust me. This sentient, conscious animal needed help and as an animal researcher, it was my duty to assist. Iorek is not to be at fault." - With that, you stood up and patter the side of his enormous paw, letting him know that your job is done. - "I'll leave this workshop at once." - Looking away from the few newcomers, you turned your head to Iorek. - "When I'll come back to Trollesund for supplies, would you spare some time for me? Please?" "I will, Ms Y/N, doctor of the University of Oxford. It was an honour to meet you." "Pleasure was on my side, Iorek."

"You see, we could call for Sysselman to arrest you at once." - One of the ladies who were accompanying the gentleman, and who was yelling at you before, hissed in your direction. Now, you were standing outside the workshop and listening to repeating enormous slams coming from there. Iorek was back at work. "Yes. You definitely could." "You're lucky we're in a good mood..." - She muttered, letting you scoff under your breath. Not even Joy was able to hide the grin on her face. "Good mood, sure." - Joy's voice rang inside your head as you walked among them, not listening to the rest of what she had to say. - "They're just scared because they don't want to get tangled up in a diplomatic dispute with Jordan, as simple as that, Y/N. Sometimes it's fun, having some sense of authority." "Just don't let it mingle with your mind too much. I wouldn't stand listening to hours of your self-praising dialogue." "Oh shush, Y/N."

Not long after being forced out of Iorek's workshop, more like forced-labour tiny space for a bear that was far too intelligent and big for it, your sledge was ready to set off on a journey through the Great Northern wilderness. On your journey, being accompanied by a local hunter, you've taken two photograms (one belonged to a waste, endless snow plain with the sun setting on the horizon and the second belonged to a pair of snow foxes who were staring at you and Joy with pure interest) and made countless journal entries to describe the excitement that filled you up. The pages were filled with plain reflections and observations, occasionally you also drew a sketch, trying to capture the essence of the place inside your mind.

To be frank, the further you were from any signs of civilization, the darker the nights got and the colder the climate was - snow usually came late at night or very early in the morning, but that wasn't anything Samuel couldn't handle. The reindeer pushing the sledges with all your belongings was well-tamed and calm, even though the biggest snow storms you had to push through. On a late evening of the second day, you stopped yourself for a second to look at a majestic cliff covered in snow that was frozen solid.

Your cheeks were on fire, stinging with each blow of the ice-cold wind, you've been dressed with God knows how many layers of clothing just to be able to use your limbs and keep warm. Samuel made you both a strong herbal tea mixed with some of the spirits to keep your bloodstream bumping that hot fluid into your body, so you unfastened the staple off your belt to take a sip out of the thermos while taking in the sight. On the very edge of the cliff, probably built into the rock, there was the observatory you've heard all about. The lights were on, almost welcoming and inviting. It wasn't excessive but it wasn't too small either, the outer walls made out of, presumably, insulating panels to keep the place warm. So far, the place itself didn't appear to be too bad.

"Almost there, miss. I'll get you inside in about an hour before another snowstorm hits us. How are those cheeks of yours doing, huh?" - The hunter asked with a scoff, poking fun at you. Sure, you should've expected the North to be very cold (that's why you bought so many warm clothes in the end), but you didn't expect your mimic muscles to stiffen up in a rather uncomfortable smile which you weren't able to shake off for the most part of today's morning. Now, you scoffed at the question, but you'd been crying seven hours ago since the spasm hurt really bad. You had to close your eyes and push your face above a fire for the muscles to finally relax. "Much better now, Samuel, you're a wizard. Now I'm better off knowing I'll need to pack a face mask with me." "Don't call me that. Don't want the Magisterium coming after me." "Oh, don't worry." - You answered in a similarly amused tone of voice. - "Your secret is definitely safe with me."

As you pushed closer and closer to the observatory, the night was getting bleakly cold; you had high snow boots on with a pair of woollen socks inside, but you couldn't feel your feet for at least ten minutes by that point. As usual, both your daemons hid under the fabric holding all of your stuff in place so they wouldn't freeze to death. Thankfully, the doorstep was just a small bit away now, not even ten minutes of a painfully slow pace. "Are you sure you're supposed to be here? Doesn’t add up to me!" - Samuel called out all of a sudden, trying to shout over the strong wind howling in your ears. - "I know I shouldn't stick my nose into your scholar business, but... You seem nice and I do mean it in the best way possible." "I'm pretty positive I am, Sam, this is my home for the next four months. Shame I won't be able to take morning strolls under the morning sun!" "Well, technically you can but you’ll need to dress properly and take a cup of hot coffee! But that's beside the point! I'm talking about that scholar who's living here! Asriel IDon’tRememberHisLastName!" "What about him? Has he been acting up around you? Was he rude?" "You see, you're nice and he's... How should I put it delicately?" "I know what he's like, don't worry! I've already worked with him previously. And to answer your question, I'm totally in the right place. Only Golden boy would choose this place to in voluntarily."

“Golden boy?” - Samuel repeated with an amused expression creeping all over his face. - "I like that. I like that a lot. I’m just worried because sometimes he doesn’t seem to have an ounce of reason. Asriel is smart, smarter than all the folk in Trollesund with me included, but he has the look of a madman.” “Really? Either I’m blind or he never looked at me that way. I’d never suspect that, to be honest with you!” “Or never look at you in that way, probably. As I said, you’re a nice person to be around.” “Samuel thank you for the kind words but stop complimenting me. All the blood will flow into my cheeks and instead of pushing my face above a fire, I’ll have to push my head into a sink full of boiling hot water.” - And with that, you’ve both stopped at the summit, standing right below the entrance. The storm was getting worse, the wind now picking on both intensity and cold.

As Samuel helped you carry all your bags and replenishments of supplies, you started to look for your copy of the keys that had been sent to you by Thorold; you managed to open the door wide, putting it all into an entrance hall before saying your goodbye to Samuel, wishing him farewell as you watched him pushing back through the snow, his reindeer never leaving his side. The night was just getting worse and as you watched him disappearing into the void of darkness, you hoped he'd make it back home alright. It was hard to tell if it was the journey’s toil that had left its mark on you or if it was the numb feeling in all of your limbs, but you’d never been in a warmer and nicer place than Adriel’s observatory. It was visible at the first glance that he doesn’t bother with cleaning too much; the place wasn’t wreaked by strange smells or dirt visible by the eye, but pure chaos had overtaken every surface visible on the first floor. It was dimly lit, feeling almost overly secretive and intimate, but you’ve been able to recognize the kitchen and a door cracked open, leading into the bathroom.

As you walked further into the building and took off your gloves, hat and the hood of your coat, the feeling of a burning, almost painful sensation overwhelmed you; your limbs remembered that they were indeed still attached to your body upon regaining sense. It felt strange… To have all five fingers again. The sudden warmth difference also wore you out instantly. Now that you were in safety, you were ready to sleep through a whole day's worth of time. You could’ve been standing in one place for around five minutes, just taking in the interior of the place and regaining control over your body when you noticed fuss coming to you from the upper floor; Asriel wasn’t seen for a few moments as he made his way to the stairway, pulling the sleeves of his sweater up to his elbows.

It was unclear who Asriel was expecting to appear on the doorstep... Yet simply the way Asriel stopped in his tracks to look at you with disbelief made you realize that you certainly weren't who he'd been awaiting. He froze in place, still holding the hem of his sleeve between his fingers while watching you awkwardly smile at him, even raising your numb hand to wave his way; Stelmaria was accompanying him, tilting her head to her shoulder as she let her eyes ponder over you and Joy.

Asriel still looked the way you remembered him - and mind you, it was a few good years since you’d had the time to look at him properly, without any sense of rush. When he was around Jordan, which wasn't too often, you'd pass each other in the hall while walking to entirely different parts of the college - once in a time. The man was clearly in good condition (given the circumstances outside, he had to be in the best shape possible), letting his clothes delicately outline his frame; his sweater was tucked into cosy pants that highlighted his hipbone as well as emphasized the width of his shoulders. The features on Adriel’s face had grown a little deeper, worried, and the wrinkles were standing out more than you remembered - but that could be easily explained due to the dim lighting of the observatory. Sure, his hair was quite overgrown and wavy, but that could be understood due to the absence of any professional barber. If someone would ask you if there was a feature which remained just the way you recalled it, it was his eyes - the shape and intense blue checked out perfectly, just like the intensity with which he was watching you.

It was still there. Throughout the years you’ve spent building your own academic career, you managed to persuade yourself that this must've been a fabrication of your mind, something that would make you feel better about spending your evenings in utter silence disturbed only by the music coming from the gramophone located in the back of his office. Now, standing in front of him as you returned his look, it clearly wasn’t just a delusion. The lingering sensation in his stare, unsaid words you wished to hear. Thoughts locked in the fortress built out of cold logic and knowledge, topics that were never brought up even though you’d both enjoy talking about them; you’d maybe even laughed, who knew?

Before you could say anything out loud, just as you opened your lips to greet him and send regards from Dr Carne, Asriel outran you by a long shot. As he made his way down the stairs, you could hear him breathing out loud as if you had just upset him somehow. Then, he spoke; in a tone that sent chills down your spine and made you shiver. First, there was the frown and second, there was the thunder taking the form of his voice. - “What on Earth are you doing here, Ms Y/L/N?”

#lord asriel x fem!reader #lord asriel #asriel belaqua x fem!reader #asriel belaqua #his dark materials (2019 2022)#his dark materials imagine #his dark materials hbo #his dark materials #hdm #iorek byrnison #IT'S IOREK #WOOOO #i do love this bear and I would die for him without a doubt in my mind #he's the mvp of movie/show no doubt about it

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ultramagicalternate · 5 months

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Shadow + Haze

Relevant Posts: Shadow, ANTIMagic Haze

Master Post

Hey, remember when I uploaded that lore post about ANTIMagic Haze and said he can merge with people? You don't? Well go read it then. This is an example of Haze fusing with some strong/crazy enough to not only maintain control, but also influence the form they take. In my case, I'm the latter...

Here is the context for the impending the lore: UMAE - ULTRAMagic Shadow...Again (New stuff added) + ULTRAMagic Alternate Lore 8 - ANTIMagic Haze

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ANTIMagic Haze is a tricky entity to keep track of. Given his bizarre existence, he easily escapes containment. The Liger Brigade's attempt ended when Haze possessed one of the guards guarding his containment cell. Thankfully, Haze would be drawn to Will/ULTRAMagic Shadow (a special agent of the Liger Brigade). The two would form a friendship that would lead to Haze sticking around Will. This was a relief for the brigade and M.A.I.G. as now they could keep an eye on Haze. Then Dr. Reynard Woodall (lead scientist of M.A.I.G.) put forth an unsettling idea: If Haze exists, then what's stopping other entities like him from existing? They got lucky with Haze because he made himself easy to detect. His ilk would be even harder to find than typical ANTIMagic Mages.

Will seems to be amongst a type of people that are able to influence Haze when symbiosis is formed. In Will's case, it may be due to his autism. That's not to downplay his personality. Will and Haze's form seems to be influenced by media from Will's childhood. In particular the media appears to be western superhero comics, western action cartoons, and Japanese anime. Haze's aberrant magic also appears to be altered, but still aligns with what his magic is supposed to be. Will can control the red material, altering its shape and properties to whatever he needs. Another ability is Soul Fire. This ghastly, red flame is incredibly corrosive and capable of damaging even a soul through prolonged contact.

It has been an interesting time ever since Will and Haze became friends. On one hand, The Liger Brigade and M.A.I.G. have learned a lot about Haze. On the other hand, Will neglects his magic in favor of Haze. The latter is definitely concerning members of the ULTRAMagic Guild. Will and Haze have a normal relationship, one you would expect amongst friends. The two enjoy working with each other and appear to get along well. Of course, this does lead to Will overestimating his shared abilities and getting into trouble. Haze can only do so much. Fortunately his Devil partners (Faustus, Mira, and Cliff) have been working with the two so that Will can at least use his necromancy while merged with Haze.

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