#ecological uncanny

[lostgirl1428]

I got bored in Ecology 😭

#yes im a wildlife biology major #ecology #kurt wagner #nightcrawler #x men comics #marvel #uncanny x men

[arc-misadventures]

There’s Something On Your Face

Another day, another dollar, another poorly written news story.

Jaune Arc may have finally landed his dream job at the, Daily Planet. Being able to tell, and explore various stories that help inform people throughout the world. Being able to see, and hear all sort of things. And, being around some of the most talented reporters in the world. It was his dream come true!

But, good gods the people here were illiterate.

Jaune: Haaa… Good lord…

Nora: What’s wrong, Jaune?

Jaune: This place is filled with some of the most talented news reporters in the country, but they all seemingly pose the writing capabilities of an eight grader! Which isn’t all the surprising considering the country’s falling education system…

Nora: Why, what did they spell wrong?

Jaune: Ruby, was writing a report about the ecological damage, Lex Corp has committed in that gas leak we had the other week. And, she wrote: ‘The effects of the ass leak will have unseen effects…’ Ass leak… Good lord…

Nora: Well… it’s where gas leaks emanate from.

Jaune: …

Jaune: You’ve been hanging around, Yang too much. That… that was just horrible.

Nora: She makes worse puns than that, and you know it.

Jaune: True. Speaking of bad puns, where is, Yang?

Nora: I don’t know, maybe she got an exclusive scoop, and had to go report on it again.

Jaune: Yeah, another exclusive scoop…

Jaune turned to look outside, his mind gazing over the familiar high rise landscape before him as a question that had been plaguing him ran amok. That stopped when he saw a green blur fly past followed by a white figure chasing after it.

Jaune: Oh, looks like, Superwoman’s got a dancing partner. Though I don’t think it’s a good dancing partner.

Nora: Wait, what?!

He said this as nonchalantly, and generally uncaring as possible as he saw his coworkers rush to the window to see what was a abuzz.

Jaune had been at the, Daily Planet well before, Superwoman had arrived. He had reported on her first exploits as a hero saving, Metropolis. Had conducted several personal one on one interviews with her. Hell, he had even been saved by her a few times. So seeing her go about doing superhero things like saving the city from an alien invasion, some villain with a massive ego boner, or simply saving some kids kitten stuck in a tree, he had seen it, and written about dozens of times before. It was time that the new blood reported on such stories. Besides, he would know about it all in the end anyway, when he checked up on their atrocious grammar mistakes anyway.

But, as, Jaune looked through the window to see, Superwoman’s white cape billowing in the wind. Her dazzling smile radiating the sky as he blond locks of hair shined seemingly created a halo of light around her. Making her appear like an angel in the sky. He couldn’t help but ask himself the same question he often found himself ask all the time as of later:

Who was it that wore the mask of, Superwoman?

~~~

: Hey, Jaune!

Jaune’s musing from grading more spelling mistakes, and poor grammar was broken when a warm voice freed him from his stupor. He looked up to see violet eyes hidden behind thick black rimmed glasses with a warm welcoming smile he knew all too well.

Jaune: Oh, hello, Yang. Where have you been?

Yang Xiao Long had been working at the, Daily Planet for a few years now, she was a highly skilled reporter with an uncanny ability to always snag the hottest scoop from under your very nose. She also had this odd habit of suddenly disappearing, and reappearing at will. She could have been fired for this if she didn’t keep on bringing such fantastic news stories though.

But, as he looked upon her, her dorky little smile, and her hair tied in its usual ponytail. He could help but wonder how she would look like if she removed those ugly frames of hers, and wore contacts, it was such a shame to hide such a beautiful dace after all.

Yang: Oh catching this juicy story by the docks!

Jaune: The docks? What were you doing around there?

Yang: Oh… I was… I was just out for a jog. That’s all~!

He could help, but quirk an eyebrow at her rather odd remark. They lived in the same building, the docks were on the other side of town from where they lived. And, she found this supposed juicy story on a jog? That didn’t add up.

Jaune: And, the story?

Yang: How, Lex Corp recently bought it, and how a lot of strange items have been coming through. And, an odd amount of stuff like fruit, and vegetables.

Jaune accepted the paper containing, Yang’s story, and put if with pile of stories he need to review. Her brief synopsis sounded ridiculous, but, Lex Corp was a shady place. He was once been given a bag of peanuts by them, and he would swear on his life that whatever he ate that day wasn’t a real peanut.

Jaune: Okay, I’ll give it a look see when I come to it. Need anything else?

Yang: Nope, that’s all.

Jaune: Okay, now if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to pondering how our education system if failing to teach proper english to people.

Yang: Okay! I’ll be here if you need me.

Jaune watched her, the country girl in the big city seemingly skip her way to her desk to work on what ever new story she had concocted.

She was a nice girl, but she was a little odd. Everyone was a little odd so that wasn’t a huge problem, but their was something especially odd about, Yang. He had several feelings about the girl, he understood, and rationalized them as best he could.

And, yet there was just something he couldn’t pin down about the girl.

~~~

Jaune looked to the clock on the corner of his computer screen, and saw that it had ticked past six o’clock. He looked around the office, and saw that it was only him, and one person left in the office.

He rubbed his eyes as he stood up. He grabbed some paper, and walked over to the last person in the office.

Jaune: Congratulations. You the only person who didn’t piss me off today.

Yang: What?

Yang looked at him confused as he handed her back her news story. She looked at the paper, and the only mark she saw was the stamp that read: ‘Print it.’

Yang: I’m confused.

Jaune: I’ve been reviewing, and fixing everyone’s stories all day, and yours is the only one I didn’t have to fix. To which I thank you.

Yang: Oh, no problem, Jaune! Were there any bad spelling errors you need to fix?

Jaune: Lets see, first off there was, Ruby’s mistake of writing, ‘Ass leak,’ instead of, ‘gas leak.’ Nora got lost on a tangent of talking about pancakes in her story, again. Neptune’s story was supposed to be about the new swimming pool that was built, but he spent most of his time failing to flirt with girls according to, Sun. And, the cherry on top was, Blake’s report on the faunas rights rally. Instead of writing, ‘feline’ she for some reason wrote the worss, ‘peal lime.’

Yang: Pfft-hahahaha!

Yang’s warm laughter was infectious, and brought a smile to his face as he watched her happy smile play across her face.

Jaune: Considering the fact she is a cat faunas she should know what the hell she’s talking about, but nope. Apparently she doesn’t know what she’s talking about.

Yang: ‘Peal lime.’ Ha! That’s a good one.

Jaune: Yeah. So thanks for not giving me more work to do for a change.

Yang: Just doing my job, Jaune. Think nothing of it.

Jaune: It’s always nice to have something to relax to. So let me have this one. Okaaaaaaay…?

Jaune’s words began to slur as his head tipped inquisitively to the side as he looked at, Yang’s face. The action made, Yang nervously fidget as he appeared to be looking for something.

Yang: I-Is there something wrong, Jaune?

Jaune: There’s something on your face. Hold still, I’ll get it.

Yang’s face started to become flushed red as, Jaune leaned down, and moved closer to her face. She started stuttering as his hands came closer to closer, and then the unthinkable happened.

Jaune had pulled off her glasses.

Jaune: Ah ha! I got it, there was a disguise on your face, Yang. Or perhaps I should say… Superwoman~!

And, had swiftly, and effortless unmasked her super hero persona.

Yang: H-How… How did you find out…?

Jaune smiled softly at her as he took a seat in the chair across from her. He handed back her glasses to which she rapidly put back on to hide herself so to speak.

Jaune: I thought you’d put up more of a fight, and deny you were, Superwoman. But, to answer your question, I’ve had several reasons to suspect it was you. The fact that when one of you is present, the other has seemingly disappeared. That you seeming always have the scoop, then Superwoman deals with it before the authorities could possibly deal with it. Before we even have the oppression to publish the story. You seemingly have insane reflexes that no normal human with years of experience could develop. And, i know you have super hearing; how else could you have heard where, Mrs. Schnee’s wedding ring fell. You had her back to her, and it fell upon a carpet, I couldn’t hear that, and yet you did. These are all speculative reasonings though, easily can be construed as drawing conclusions. But, do you really want to know how I knew you were, Superwoman?

Yang: H-How…?

Yang was sacred, for the first time since she had dawned on the cape, she was genuinely scared. She knew, Jaune could be highly analytically minded when he wanted to, and that he had this terrifying habit on picking up on the smallest of details. And, if he seduced her secretly identity just by noticing the small details others would pass over, what else had he discovered about her?

Jaune: Your eyes.

Yang: What…?!

Jaune: Your eyes… People may share the same shade of blue, brown, yellow, what ever colour there is. But, they don’t look that same. I remember staring into those violet eyes for the first time, and being mesmerized by how soft of a warm violet they were. Then, I remember when, Superwoman saved me from that weird, Toy Master fellow, I couldn’t help, but notice how beautiful her eyes were. But, I knew this was the first time I saw them, I couldn’t help but shake the feeling that I’ve seen them before. And, I finally answered that lingering question that plagued the back of my mind. So, does that answer your question, Superwoman?

Yang: …

Yang: I-I’m not in my costume… Y-Yang’s just fine… And, yeah… that answers my question… Well at least some of them, but yeah…

Yang looked away nervously before starting, Jaune down with a worried expression etched across her face.

Yang: So you know my secret identity… N-Now what…? Are you going to tell the world that, Yang Xiao Long is, Superwoman?

Jaune: No, no I won’t tell anyone.

Yang breathed a sigh of relief that washed away all the fear she had been building up.

Jaune: However, you have to do one thing for me.

And, suddenly all that fear, and dread came rushing back like a tidal wave.

Yang: A-Are you blackmailing me?!

Jaune: Mmm… Kinda, yeah.

Yang was shocked, she saw, Jaune as such a sweet, and caring person, was he really going to blackmail her?!

And, what would he make her do? Steal a vault, break a bridge, kill someone?! What could he possibly…

Jaune: Perchino’s, tomorrow, say five o’clock?

Yang: Eh…?

Yang looked towards this goofballs smiling face as she was utter lost in thought at what he just said. So lost that she honestly took a minute to go from her fear to being blackmailed to realizing what he had just said.

Yang: P-Perchino’s… a-at five…?

Jaune: Does six work better?

Yang: Waitwaitwait! Are you asking me out on a date?!

Jaune: Surprised?

Yang: Honestly, yes. Yes I am… I thought you would tell me to rob a bank for you, or something like that. Not ask me out… o-on a date…

Jaune: Well, if it makes you feel better I’m asking you because I’ve been meaning to for a while now.

Yang: Y-You have?

Jaune: Yeah, it’s just every time I try you’re suddenly gone. But, now I know why. So, since I have you here; Does five, or six o’clock work for you?

Yang: …

Yang: F-Five o’clock…

Jaune: Awesome! Well, it’s late, and I need to get some sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow, Yang. Don’t stay up too late saving the city! Bye.

And, with that, Jaune was gone, leaving a bewildered, Yang behind.

In the space of five minutes, Jaune Arc had turned her world upside down. He unmasked her effortlessly, twice. He had her quaking her her boots when he said he was going to blackmail her into committing a crime. And, he had asked her out on a date instead.

He had asked her out on a date.

Yang was asked out on a date.

Yang: I have a date tomorrow…

Yang: …

Yang: I have a date tomorrow…?

Yang: …

Yang: I have a date tomorrow!~!

Yang squealed in glee as she realized that her crush had asked her out on a date. This was unbelievable, unforgettable, highly unpredictable, highly…

(Shatter!)

Yang’s exuberance was cut short as she saw that several of the offices windows had been shattered from the high pitch her joyous squeal had made. She looked about the office, before looking back at the window in shock.

Yang: …

Yang: Oh shit…

///

I had a thought the other day: It’s called the Kryptonian AU, who says, Jaune has to be the Kryptonian.

#rwby #jaune arc #yang xiao long #blake belladonna #nora valkyrie #ruby rose #willow schnee #jaune x yang #yang x jaune #rwby dragonslayer #neptune vasilias #sun wukong

[thecreaturecodex]

Siktempora, Love

Image by Brian Despain, © Paizo Publishing. Accessed on Archives of Nethys here

[The last of the siktemporas, and the last monster I had in reserve before shit started really going down at work in the last couple of weeks. I've been so busy playing "Guess Which Students Are Nazis" that I haven't gotten a lot of writing done. So I'm hoping for another new monster by Friday, but I make no guarantees.]

Siktempora, Love CR 16 NG Outsider (extraplanar) This creature appears to be two smallish humanoid fused together, with three legs, two arms and two heads. Its heads are featureless except for a hint of blush about the cheeks. The creature wears fine clothing, albeit in an exotic style, and carries a crossbow in each hand.

Love siktemporas are among the most benevolent of this class of temporal outsiders. They are formed by the impressions of great love that imprints on the fabric of the Dimension of Time. Romantic love is usually the catalyst of a love siktempora’s creation, but not exclusively. They are powerful combatants, capable of starting or ending wars, but are compassionate and fight to protect rather than out of aggression. They are also excellent diplomats and counselors, although they have to use their telepathy to communicate rather than speak.

A love siktempora can create crossbow-like structures at will and fire bolts of emotional energy. Those struck by a love siktempora’s emotional bolt, or who raise a hand to strike the creature, are temporarily overwhelmed by a feeling of intense love and peace. Oftentimes, this emotional cue is enough to start negotiations–a common tactic of a love siktempora is to fire its bolts into multiple enemies at once, and then propose an end to hostilities while its foes are still reeling. If negotiations fail, however, a love siktempora will not hesitate to kill to protect what they love. Love siktemporas are capable of enhancing their allies with telepathic music, but cannot themselves benefit from such abilities. Love siktemporas’ abilities do not affect other siktemporas, as the whole lineage is immune to mind-influencing effects, and love siktemporas may seek allies among mortals or celestials if they find themselves in conflict with crueler siktemporas. 

Love Siktempora            CR 16 XP 76,800 NG Medium outsider (extraplanar, good, siktempora) Init +15; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Perception +33

Defense AC 32, touch 26, flat-footed 22 (+9 Dex, +1 dodge, +6 insight, +6 natural) hp 230 (20d10+120); fast healing 20 Fort +13, Ref +19, Will +18 DR 15/evil or orichalcum; Immune disease, mind influencing effects, pain, poison Defensive Abilities deflect aggression (6/day), temporal sense 

Offense Speed 50 ft., air walk Melee 2 claws +24 (1d6+4) Ranged 4 emotional bolts +29 (2d10+9 plus heartsong)  Special Attacks burst of uncanny speed Spell Like Abilities CL 16th, concentration +25 Constant–air walk At will–temporal jaunt

Statistics Str 18, Dex 29, Con 21, Int 18, Wis 23, Cha 28 Base Atk +20; CMB +24; CMD 44 (46 vs. trip) Feats Alertness, Blind-fight, Dodge, Great Fortitude, Improved Critical (emotional bolt), Lingering Performance, Persuasive, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot,Toughness, Whirlwind Attack (B) Skills Acrobatics +29, Diplomacy +36, Intimidate +36, Knowledge (arcana, planes) +27, Perception +33, Perform (sing) +32, Sense Motive +33, Spellcraft +24, Stealth +32 Languages Aklo, telepathy 500 ft. (cannot speak) SQ bardic performance (43 rounds/day, swift action, inspire competence +4, inspire courage +3, inspire greatness, inspire heroics),telepathic singer

Ecology Environment any land or underground (Dimension of Time) Organization solitary or fellowship (2-5) Treasure incidental 

Special Abilities Bardic Performance (Su) A love siktempora can use some bardic performances as a 16th level bard. Its rounds of use per day are as if it were a 16th level bard. A love skitempora cannot use bardic performances except those listed, such as countersong or distraction, unless it takes levels in the bard class. Burst of Uncanny Speed (Su) On the first round of combat, a love siktempora moves as if it were affected by a haste spell. It can use Whirlwind Attack on this first round of combat as a standard action, making one melee attack at its highest base attack bonus against each opponent within reach. Deflect Aggression (Su) As an immediate action when it is the target of any attack, a love siktempora can grant itself a +2 deflection bonus to AC and take 15 less damage from the attack if it does hit. The creature whose attack triggered this ability is affected by the love siktempora’s heartsong ability. A love siktempora can use this ability a number of times per day equal to its Wisdom modifier (6/day for the average specimen). Emotional Bolt (Su) A love siktempora can fire two emotional bolts as an attack action, and four as a full attack action. This does not provoke an attack of opportunity. Treat these as ranged attacks made with a projectile weapon with a range increment of 80 feet. A creature struck by an emotional bolt takes 2d10 points of piercing damage plus the siktempora’s Charisma modifier, and must save against the siktempora’s heartsong. Heartsong (Su) A creature struck by a love siktempora’s emotional bolt, or that triggers its deflect aggression ability, must succeed a DC 27 Will save or be dazed for one round. A creature affected, whether it succeeds or fails the saving throw, is immune to the heartsong of that siktempora until the end of its next turn. This is a mind-influencing emotion effect. The save DC is Charisma based, and includes a -2 racial penalty. Telepathic Singer (Ex) A love siktempora can use its bardic music abilities telepathically. Creatures must have an Intelligence score of 3 or higher to receive a benefit from the love siktempora’s bardic music.  Temporal Jaunt (Sp) As a standard action, a love siktempora can vanish into the time stream, reappearing in another location. This ability functions as dimension door (so a typical love siktempora can jaunt up to 1040 feet), but the siktempora can take other actions that round after reappearing, and the destination must be in a location the siktempora could reach normally by walking. Temporal jaunts are not true teleportation—the siktempora simply travels to a later point in the time stream—so the ability can be used in areas that bar teleportation effects; however, in such areas a siktempora can travel only a distance equal to its speed. Temporal Sense (Ex) A siktempora can sense all the possible futures of the coming seconds. This grants it an insight bonus on its Initiative checks and to its Armor Class equal to its Wisdom bonus (+6 for a typical love siktempora).

#pathfinder 1e #pathfinder rpg #pathfinder 2e #siktempora #love siktempora #outsider

[punkitt-is-here]

Pony creator and pony gmod models share an ecological niche of off model uncanny valley of being close to canon art style but off enough to look gross, and yet being used for years by everyone while gleefully sayiny good enough

nodding sagely. im listening and taking notes

#my posts #asks #anon

[queering-ecology]

"It is imperative to examine ecology without the romanticized notion of nature looming over its discourse. There are numerous instances of environmentalist movements that are primarily focused on preserving this idealized “nature” instead of considering what is actually best for the environment. For example, solar and wind farms are often rejected by communities because they don’t look “natural”. Instead of being concerned about energy preservation, the public is wary that these large industrial farms with “spoil their view.” Morton writes that this “is truly a case of the aesthetics of Nature impeding ecology” (9). It’s because of instances like this that the human race will not be able to truly address the environmental realities of the planet without first eradicating this ideological perception of what is “natural” and “unnatural”. Industrial facilities are a part of the modern society in which we all exist.

--

Morton writes on dark ecology: “A more honest ecological art would linger in the shadowy world of irony and difference…The ecological thought includes negativity and irony, ugliness and horror.” We must not shield the ugliness inherent in ecology from our view, but rather, acknowledge, or even celebrate it. Oil spills, windmills, landfills and road-kill; these are some examples of dark ecology. If we are thinking in the totality called for by the ecological thought, we need the whole picture.

--

Two of the concepts within the ecological theory are: the mesh and strange stranger. In the broad world, the more we know something, the more ambiguous it becomes and we understand it less. Morton defines the the mesh as the interconnectedness of all living and non-living things. He recognizes that the mesh is jumbled and tangled and is not easily navigable. “It is a vast, sprawling mesh of interconnection without a definite center or edge” (The Ecological Thought 8).

The other tenant of ecotheory is the idea of strange strangers. The idea of “strange strangers” bases its legitimacy on the inner logic of knowledge. It suggests that the more we understand our connection to each and every life-form, the stranger they become to us. --This is just like our relationship with the most seemingly distant and insignificant life form. Much in the spirit of the Uncanny, these “strange strangers” are distantly familiar, yet our understanding of them becomes less clear the more we inspect them and our relationship with them.

#the student theorist #queer ecology #ecotheory #critical ecology #ecofeminism #nature #ecology #strange strangers #mesh #dark ecology #queer theory #environmental politics

[approximateknowledge]

Repiton and turning the uncanny vally upside-down: a rant pretending to be an analysis

Vast Error does a great job at making its main world, Repiton, feel truly broken. but more so than in grand shows of devastation or shambling quasi-undead, it shows in the daily lives of the characters. in the mundane. the familiar.

because here's the thing; it's too familiar. that's the genius of it all.

let's step back a bit; i don't think many non-homestucks read Vast Error. it might not be directly connected to it plot-wise, but it is on framework- and worldbuilding level (and technically also directly via the whole Midnight Crew/ Dead Shufflers intermission overlap). you're supposed to know how things are "supposed" to be.

which brings us to Alternia/Beforus. the place trolls came from in "canon". the place where expectations about what is normal formed. both versions of the world have massive differences, but the one thing they have in common is how absurdly a alive they are. Alternia was a death world, but anything but a dead world.

and what's often overlooked is that the drones and biotech and intertwined systems of automation and symbiosis on both versions of these worlds made them functionally post-scarcity! the enslaved alien races under the Alternian Empire were hatesinks, not labor force. all manual labour is automated and done by drones. drones they co-evolved with. i don't think it's far-fetched to claim trolls functionally *evolved* in a post-scarcity environment!

so what's at the core of troll society?

-unstable intraspecies dynamics that turn violent easily, and are often fatal, which makes some sense considering (see next point).

-a complex eusocial r-selected (<explains the ease of killing from an evolutionary perspective) reproductive strategy with 3 ""sexes""; drones, mother grubs, and trolls.

-technology, society, and ecology/biology form a continuum, much more so than it does for humans. computers are alive, hivestems grow.

and by the time you finish Homestuck, even if you never cared much about worldbuilding in such a way, you pick up on that. maybe not the details, but at least the aesthetic, the vibe of it. and despite how weird much of it is in comparison to the human baseline, your brain adapts.

because you know how people often say this story alters your brain structure? this is one of the ways how. when trolls are involved, it flips over the uncanny valley graph, subjectively speaking.

and the bottom of the valley becomes the peak, and that's where Alternia resides (forgive the horrble drawing, im doing this on my laptop's touchpad)

so where does that leave Repiton? on Repiton, there are no mother grubs or drones. on Repiton technology is dead, made of metal and plastic. on Repiton there's ads. there's shortages. Repiton is more familiar from a human perspective than Alternia or Beforus could ever be. and that's why it feels wrong. because the graph is still flipped.

it's way down in the valley that used to be a peak.

im not entirely sure how much sense i am making here but so be it.

#homestuck #vast error #repiton #alternia #beforus #AK goes insane #approximaterant

[soylent-crocodile]

Rager (Monster)

(Phyrexian Rager by Stephan Martiniere)

(The Phyrexian Rager is definitely an iconic phyrexian creature; first printed in Apocalypse, the finale of Old Phyrexia and of Magic's first long-form story arc, it has received a new printing and new art for the two times Phyrexia has got a facelift; Scars of Mirrodin block and the recent Phyrexian Invasion arc. I felt almost obligated to make statblocks for these. The three different art pieces it has have kept a relatively consistent design, which is great for me because I have multiple iterations of the same idea to draw from.)

CR7 NE Medium Aberration (Phyrexian)

Ragers are the shock troops of Phyrexia, serving on vanguard missions and in the front line of war. That is not to say they’re weak; indeed, a single rager is enough to hold off an average squadron of human soldiers and keep moving. Ragers have a habit of collecting body parts of their enemies- heads, limbs, organs- and returning them to their masters to be used in the creation of new beings for the glory of Phyrexia- most likely, more ragers.

Although a rager is built from a half dozen humanoid corpses, the core- its chest and face- is typically from a single creature, of whom it retains the appearance and a twisted echo of their personality. Ragers typically have around ten limbs- four legs, four clawed arms for damage, and two softer arms for manipulation- but this configuration is not a hard rule, and different combinations occur. Of these, however, almost all consistently make four claw attacks.

The most terrifying thing about this creature isn't its four arms and four legs, each tipped with claws, or the blend of mechanical and biological, but the human head and torso embedded in its own chest, staring right at you.

Misc- CR7 NE Medium Aberration (Phyrexian) HD10 Init:+7 Senses: Perception:+16 Lifesense 60ft   Stats-Str:20(+5) Dex:16(+3) Con:17(+3) Int:11(+0) Wis:16(+3) Cha:17(+3) BAB:+7/+2 Space:5ft Reach:5ft Defense- HP:75(10d8+30) AC:20(+3 Dexterity, +7 Natural) Fort:+8 Ref:+6 Will:+10 CMD:28 (+4 bonus vs trip) Resist: Cold 10, Fire 10, Electricity 10 Immunity: Fear, Acid, Curse, Disease, Poison Special Defenses: Fast Healing 5, Uncanny Dodge, Negative Energy Affinity, Mycosynth Flesh Offense-4 Claw +12(1d6+5 plus Grievous Rend) CMB:+12 Speed:40ft Special Attacks: Rend (2 claws, 1d6+5) Feats- Defensive Combat Training, Great Fortitude, Improved Initiative, Power Attack (-2/+4), Vital Strike Skills- Climb +13, Intimidate +11, Knowledge (local) +8, Perception +16, Stealth +12, Swim +13 Spell-like Abilities-  Fear (DC17), Lesser Animate Dead, Shadow Ball (DC17) 3/day Ecology- Environment- Any Languages- Necril Organization- Solitary, Pack (3-5) Treasure- Half Special Abilities- Grievous Rend (Ex)- A creature hit by two or more of a rager’s claw attacks in a single round must make a DC13 Fortitude save or be nauseated for 1 round by the brutal wounds inflicted. If it was a critical hit, they instead are nauseated for 1d6 rounds. This save is constitution-based. Mycosynth Flesh (Ex)- A phyrexian’s anatomy is both flesh and metal, typically arranged in the most disturbing way possible. As such, it may be targeted or affected by a spell as either an aberration or as a construct, whichever produces a greater effect.

#soylent original #monsters and races #phyrexia project #phyrexia #new phyrexia #mtgblr #mtg #body horror

[pokemonbiologyirlthetabletop]

Absol

Absol (#359)

Absol absol

The following information is only available to Pokémon Rangers of sufficient narrative achievement.

Absols have an uncanny ability to foresee disasters with a combination of heightened senses and incredible intuition. They average in at 3’11 feet tall (1.2 M) in both their normal and their mega forms, and weigh on average 103.6 pounds (47 kg) in their normal state and 108 pounds (49 kg) in their mega form.

Habitat: Absol are found on all continents except Antarctica. They seem to have a particular fondness for alpine forests, especially deep wildernesses far away from human civilization—such as the Frank Church–River of No Return Wilderness.

Life Cycles: Absols reproduce rarely (about once a decade), and when they do, they pair up for the 4-5 years it takes to raise a juvenile Absol into an adult. Typically, they will have one baby at a time, though twins occur on occasion. Their mating rites seem to elude most, but the sparse documentation that exists indicates that Absol Courtship is a complex matter. An Absol will be at least a decade old before it reproduces for the first time. Infant and juvenile mortality rates seem to be exceedingly minimal thanks to the excellent parental care, and Absols are the epitome of a K-selected species in ecological terms.

Behavior: Absols are shy, elusive creatures that hide far away from human civilization. They are, however, incredibly brave, and will warn others of impending doom as is their nature. They are skillful parents in large part because of their ability to foresee disaster. However, they are ultimately pacifists who hate fighting, and only battle if they deem it necessary to uphold peace.

Diet: Opportunistic omnivores, in this context meaning they can be found munching on leaves and berries just as well as they may be found eating a Deerling that they scavenged.

Conservation: Unknown.

Relationship with Humans: Absols are Pokémon of lore and old wives’ tales that describe them as the harbingers of doom. As anyone who plays the games or watches the anime would know, an Absol is actually trying to warn people of impending danger or even help them. Unfortuntately, most folks don’t see it that way, and many cultures and people the world over have believed for generations that Absols are the harbingers of doom was described in folklore.

However, Pokémon Rangers are taught that this is very much not true and in fact they rely on Absol friends to aid them in times of crisis. Many try to educate others about the goodness of Absols, but these efforts regularly fall on uncaring ears.

Many folks don’t even believe Absols actually exist and treat them as cryptids. A fringe minority of Pokémon Activists are working on bettering Absols’ public image, but again, these efforts largely fall on deaf ears.

While Absols are catchable, trainable, and even breedable if you really want to try for that, please be aware that they are incredibly rare and hard to find. There are some trainers that exist out there with Absols of their own, but showing up to a tournament or gym match with one is the real-world equivalent of showing up to a horse show with a kelpie. The overwhelming majority of the time, a trainer with an Absol is also a Pokémon Ranger. Absols do not thrive in captivity so they are not kept in zoos, and the most an Absol will be retained by humans (outside of a mutually agreed partnership) is in wildlife rehabilitation facilities. They are mysterious creatures that few ever meet, with little about them known to science.

Mega Absol imagery has a niche following in the heavy metal scene!

Classification: The exact placement of Absols in the Tree of Life is confounding to many, so it is given its own clade and species name Absol absol. It is the only species of its kind currently known.

#Absol #pokemon #pokemon biology #pokemon biology irl #pokemon irl #pokemon biology irl tabletop #pokemon tabletop #tabletop #tabletop homebrew #homebrew #ttrpg #pokemon gen 3 #gen 3 #gen 3 pokemon

[mangatxt]

it was either you or someone else who left a tag about android serizawa on a post i saw and i have not stopped thinking about him since he has been haunting my every waking second. if it wasn't you feel free to ignore this but if it was i Need to know about him

hey hal! hope you're doing well :D thanks for sending this. yup, that was me. oh boy, am i not Normal about him!

ALSO @crownorclover ain't Normal about him either. they have added so much time and thought to the AU too (hi rob bless u for putting up with me <3)

some backstory: android AU serizawa is actually part of an overall post-apocalyptic AU i had intended to complete for an AU Roulette 2023 prompt. unfortunately, i missed the deadline for that this month because i broke my tailbone. unlucky. but deadlines aside -- i'll still get back to it when i'm healed up enough to sit and write, because i NEED THESE THOUGHTS OUT OF MY HEAD IMMEDIATELY.

i wanted to write a post-apocalyptic AU with an iyashikei/healing/hurtcomfort type of feel. ecological collapse but lo-fi girl vibes. yokohama kaidashi kikou / yokohama shopping log is one of my favorite manga of all time and fits the bill exactly, so i was ecstatic to blend two of my favorite things ever.

for the uninitiated, that manga is written in episodic chapters and follows the day-to-day life of a humanoid android named alpha who is abandoned by her owner to run a seaside cafe in post-apocalyptic japan.

(i got excited so this got looooong. more + images under the cut!)

in episodic chapters, alpha interacts with the small collective of people and androids around her, and the narrative follows how humanity adapts to the reality around them, bands together as an inter-generational community, and still lives meaningfully and intentionally -- even in the absence of hope.

(also. i mean. you see the vision here.)

for the fic, i want to mix a good amount of YKK's overall vibe with MP100 canon. like YKK, the fic will be from the POV of serizawa, an advanced and immortal android running a cafe as the tides rise, the infrastructure crumbles, and the people around him continue to relentlessly age.

at the beginning of the fic, serizawa is on year ten of abandonment by his mysterious owner but still holds out hope that The President will return someday despite waning correspondence. in his daily life, he runs an aging rural seaside cafe that few visit (that is, aside from the insistent kurata tome, who would like serizawa's help finding merfolk and other ocean cryptids). he does not go out of his way to make connections with people whom he knows he will ultimately outlive. more than that, he deliberately isolates himself as much as possible to avoid it entirely and passively observes the world around him. he lives as efficiently as possible in a hazy, numb autopilot with no wasted motion and little room for function outside cafe responsibilities, even at the expense of coming off "uncanny" to potential patrons. he even falls into a cosmetic state of disrepair because he doesn't really see the point of his outer shell when it doesn't impede overall functionality. and while he doesn't know the purpose for his creation -- in general, he remains stubbornly committed to directives from an owner who never intended to return.

meanwhile, infrastructure failure displaces much of the human populace in seasoning city with catastrophic flooding and hazardous conditions. reigen -- injured and separated from mob, ritsu, and ekubo in the ensuing chaos, and completely wracked with guilt for his inability to change things -- follows rumors that the brothers survived on a boat to cuticle city and decides to risk the dangerous moped journey across the inhospitable terrain. he ends up literally crashing near the cafe -- where tome finds him and calls in serizawa for help. serizawa treats reigen's injuries, and, because reigen has nowhere else to go and can't continue his journey with a broken hand, allows reigen to stay at the cafe while he recuperates.

there's an inherent friction between the two of them in the early days of this arrangement. reigen's frustration and self-loathing for the present circumstances make him prickly; serizawa tries his utmost to keep his emotional and physical distance. they wrangle with a lot of human & android differences. initially, the more they learn of each other, the less they understand. serizawa calculates the chance of the kageyamas survival as near zero and thinks reigen is irrational for going as far as he does for a rumor -- wasting what little time he has. reigen scoffs at serizawa's misplaced eternal loyalty to an owner who has surely forgotten him entirely at the expense of enjoying his life.

as time passes and reigen works in the cafe, they start to gain an understanding and eventually, an appreciation for one another. reigen's appearance in the community brings in curious customers, which forces serizawa to open up to the idea that cherishing the small moments and departures from his programmed routine might make more meaning out of his immortal existence.

anyway, that's the gist of it! i don't want to give away the ending, but a couple other things in there that i'll highlight -- moped sharing, weird fish, wire and sensor play, trans reigen and android gender????, gratuitous coffee-making descriptions, found family, fireflies, big shirt / small pants, and seri's usb ports are in his mouth :D

thanks so much for asking about this! <3 it's so fun to talk about. i'm on the mend, so i'm hoping i feel well enough to make progress on this + finish the next sage advice chapter before i completely explode.

#ask #hananono #i'll put this in main tags too why not #mp100 #serirei #android au #fic updates #honestly this is YKK propaganda more than anything tbh >:)

[haveyoureadthispoll]

Roshar is a world of stone and storms. Uncanny tempests of incredible power sweep across the rocky terrain so frequently that they have shaped ecology and civilization alike. Animals hide in shells, trees pull in branches, and grass retracts into the soilless ground. Cities are built only where the topography offers shelter. It has been centuries since the fall of the ten consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor that transform ordinary men into near-invincible warriors. Men trade kingdoms for Shardblades. Wars were fought for them, and won by them. One such war rages on a ruined landscape called the Shattered Plains. There, Kaladin, who traded his medical apprenticeship for a spear to protect his little brother, has been reduced to slavery. In a war that makes no sense, where ten armies fight separately against a single foe, he struggles to save his men and to fathom the leaders who consider them expendable. Brightlord Dalinar Kholin commands one of those other armies. Like his brother, the late king, he is fascinated by an ancient text called The Way of Kings. Troubled by over-powering visions of ancient times and the Knights Radiant, he has begun to doubt his own sanity. Across the ocean, an untried young woman named Shallan seeks to train under an eminent scholar and notorious heretic, Dalinar's niece, Jasnah. Though she genuinely loves learning, Shallan's motives are less than pure. As she plans a daring theft, her research for Jasnah hints at secrets of the Knights Radiant and the true cause of the war. The result of over ten years of planning, writing, and world-building, The Way of Kings is but the opening movement of the Stormlight Archive, a bold masterpiece in the making. Speak again the ancient oaths: Life before death. Strength before weakness. Journey before Destination. and return to men the Shards they once bore. The Knights Radiant must stand again.

#book: the way of kings #author: brandon sanderson #genre: fantasy #year: 2010s

[thecreaturecodex]

Siktempora, Triumph

Image © Paizo Publishing. Accessed at Archives of Nethys here

[The triumph siktempora might be my favorite of that flavor of outsider. Look at how smug he is! What a jerk.]

Siktempora, Triumph CR 14 LN Outsider (extraplanar) This creature resembles a small humanoid with four arms and too many joints in their legs. They wear a robe of gold and various medals and badges. Their face is locked into a triumphant grin, never adjusting or changing expression.

Triumph siktemporas are created on the Dimension of Time as reflections of great emotional satisfaction for a job well done. Anything from winning a war to successfully removing a particularly onerous splinter can theoretically spawn a triumph siktempora. They travel the planes in search of victories, as they see their sense of purpose in always striving to win or die trying. Athletics competitions and pitched battles are natural habitats for a triumph siktempora, but they may also intervene in legal battles or other contests of skill. Triumph siktemporas believe in following the rules of a competition very strictly, and go out of their way to punish cheaters and those who manipulate luck.

A triumph siktempora fights with their fists and feet rather than with teeth or claws or manufactured weapons (although they will engage in weapon duels if challenged). They are fond of combat maneuvers, especially against single targets, and are skilled wrestlers despite their small size. Although their facial expressions rarely change, they can add a thrust of emotional energy to their smug grins that literally harms their opponents psychically. Triumph siktemporas are somewhat disdainful of creatures without naturally rapid healing, like themselves, and often go out of their way to harass anyone healing themselves or others.

A triumph siktempora typically stands about three feet tall, and may be mistaken for halflings or gnomes. They rarely disguise themselves intentionally, unless entering a masquerade or other costume contest.

Triumph Siktempora      CR 14 XP 38,400 LN Small outsider (extraplanar, lawful, siktempora) Init +9; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Perception +25 Aura cheaters never prosper (50 ft., Will DC 23)

Defense AC 29, touch 20, flat-footed 24(+1 size, +1 dodge, +4 Dex, +4 insight, +9 natural) hp 189 (18d10+90); fast healing 15 Fort +16, Ref +15, Will +10 DR 10/good or orichalcum; Immune disease, mind-influencing effects, pain, poison

Offense Speed 60 ft., air walk Melee unarmed strike +27/+22/+17/+12 or +25/+25/+20/+20/+15/+15/+10 (2d6+8) Special Attacks burst of uncanny speed, clinch victory, pugilist training, winning smile Spell-like Abilities CL 14th, concentration +19 Constant—air walk At will—temporal jaunt 1/day—plane shift (self only)

Statistics Str 26, Dex 18, Con 20, Int 19, Wis 19, Cha 21 Base Atk +18; CMB +25 (+27 disarm, grapple, trip); CMD 40 (42 vs. disarm, grapple, trip) Feats Combat Reflexes,Dodge, Improved Disarm, Improved Grapple, Improved Trip, Improved Unarmed Strike (B), Mobility, Power Attack, Step Up, Spring Attack, Whirlwind Attack (B) Skills Acrobatics +21 (+33 when jumping), Climb +29, Diplomacy +23, Heal +22, Intimidate +23, Knowledge (planes) +25, Perception +25, Perform (any one) +26, Sense Motive +25, Swim +29 Languages Aklo (cannot speak); telepathy 300 ft.

Ecology Environment any land (Dimension of Time) Organization solitary, pair or ceremony (3-6) Treasure incidental

Special Abilities Burst of Uncanny Speed (Su) On the first round of combat, a triumph siktempora moves as if it were affected by a haste spell. It can use Whirlwind Attack on this first round of combat as a standard action, making one melee attack or combat maneuver at its highest base attack bonus against each opponent within reach. Cheaters Never Prosper (Su) A creature gaining a luck bonus to any die rolls, or gaining a reroll from luck effects (such as the Luck domain or the fortune hex) within 50 feet of a triumph siktempora must make a DC 23 Will save or be staggered for 1 round. The save DC is Charisma based. Clinch Victory (Su) A triumph siktempora can make an attack of opportunity against any creature taking an action to heal itself, even if that action (like a channel energy or using a wand) does not normally provoke attacks of opportunity. Pugilist Training (Ex) A triumph siktempora gains Improved Unarmed Strike as a bonus feat. It deals damage with its unarmed strikes, and gains access to the flurry of blows ability, as if it were a monk with character levels equal to its Hit Dice. Temporal Jaunt (Sp) As a standard action, a triumph siktempora can vanish into the time stream, reappearing in another location. This ability functions as dimension door (so a typical triumph siktempora can jaunt up to 960 feet), but the siktempora can take other actions that round after reappearing, and the destination must be in a location the siktempora could reach normally by walking. Temporal jaunts are not true teleportation—the siktempora simply travels to a later point in the time stream—so the ability can be used in areas that bar teleportation effects; however, in such areas a siktempora can travel only a distance equal to its speed. Temporal Sense (Ex) A siktempora can sense all the possible futures of the coming seconds. This grants it an insight bonus on its Initiative checks and to its Armor Class equal to its Wisdom bonus (+5 for the typical triumph siktemporas). Winning Smile (Su) As a standard action, a triumph siktempora can flash a smile at an enemy within 15 feet. The creature targeted takes 10d6 points of damage, and all of its attacks deal nonlethal damage against the siktempora for the next round. A successful DC 23 Will save halves the damage and negates the nonlethal damage effect. This is a mind-influencing emotion effect, and the save DC is Charisma based.

#pathfinder 1e #pathfinder rpg #pathfinder 2e #siktempora #triumph siktempora #outsider

[noodleofwriting]

New in Town (Steven Grant)

Summary: Steven finds an unlikely friend when a seasoned wildlife biologist starts working at the natural history museum. When things start to go off the rails in his own life, she becomes the only person he feels safe asking for help.

Warnings: Light cursing, brief sexual tension (no smut this time)

Word Count: 4,100

Author's Notes: This is literally my first time posting fanfiction on anything, so thanks for stopping by! This is pretty much a self-indulgent fic that rides in the uncanny valley between a self-insert and a fanfiction with an OC. The character gets described briefly, but a name is never used, so take it for what you will. This mostly follows the plot of the first couple of episodes with some tweaking. This is kind of meant to be a series, so let me know if you'd be interested in seeing more!

The city of London was more interesting than she had originally expected.

She had always heard all of the romanticism of the historic town, but she had never felt the overwhelming urge to go there. The architecture was old, looming, and yet had an air of life as small coffee shops filled the empty caverns and people bustled in and out of them excitedly. Upon taking a deep breath, though, she scrunched her nose at the hazy, dirty musk that the city had, accentuated by the almost constant rainfall.

She had always loved the rain, though – even craved it. As she walked over to the coffee stand, she didn’t even bother with an umbrella since it was nothing more than a small drizzle over them. Rolling her eyes at the grumpy brits hunched under umbrellas, she gave the woman at the coffee shop a bright smile as she ordered some iced coffee. She walked off with it and took her first sip with a contented hum, not minding the looks she was getting from folks.

Making sure she was still on time, she made her way up the magnificent stairs of the natural history museum with awe. It was an incredible museum, and she smiled knowingly at the banners advertising their immense Egypt exhibition. She smelled how the air changed from the cold and hazy of London to the dry and aged air of the museum as she passed through, noting the warmth going through her body.

She walked up to the security man, who gave her a fairly uninterested smile – that was, before she pulled out her faculty pass to the museum.

He cocked his head. “Faculty? You new?”

“Doing some research with your Zoological collection."

He immediately took notice of her mild American accent, smirking slightly. “Needed some help from across the pond, eh?”

She smiled through the twinge of annoyance that pinged in the back of her head. “Actually, I’m coming over to provide some expertise and help with your Scottish Highlands Cat population that’s struggling,” she held out her hand, “– I mainly work with large carnivore ecology and conservation, but I’ve got a fair amount of experience with smaller mesocarnivores.”

The man gawked slightly as some heat rose into his cheeks, clearly embarrassed. He grabbed her hand limply before scanning her badge and letting her in. She felt his gaze on her back slightly as she meandered through the museum, adjusting her large messenger bag. She had intentionally gotten there early so she could explore the museum in more detail before she began working in the back…

......

Steven’s neck twinged as he shot up his head, trying to shake the exhaustion from his soul. It was deep and dark, pulling down his spine. The hard sandstone bench across from him called with a sinister seduction as he gripped the glass tabletop in front of him, attempting to ground himself.

“Now we don’t need to be falling asleep at work, you bloody moron,” he muttered as he rubbed his palm down his face.

The lack of sleep the past week was catching up to him, hard.   

He sighed, trying to take his mind off of things, running his own trivia game in his head on all of the Egyptian artifacts he could see from the gift shop counter. His gaze bounced desperately from the Osiris and Iris statues to the jackal depictions, around the urns and coffins, recalling in perfect detail everything about them. There was a deep sadness that welled in his heart that this is where he had ended up – behind a gift shop counter instead of out in the collection, telling children about this ancient world and making their eyes go wide in awe.

Maybe one day.

His breath hitched in his throat when he caught the sight of a woman walking through the Egypt collection. She was tall – probably only an inch shorter than he – and long, copper and blonde curls cascaded all around her, like a painting of a Celtic deity. She had a strong Celtic nose and bright blue-green eyes that went over each of the pieces of the Egypt collection with an almost academic interest, full lips parting slightly as she silently worded the descriptions to each of the pieces to herself, even occasionally bringing out a journal and jotting things down. Heat immediately came up behind his cheeks, chiding himself for staring at random women, and yet he couldn’t take his gaze off of her. There was a strange twinge of familiarity that she brought about in him, one that he couldn’t place in his right mind.

As he checked out other visitors, his dark, pooly gaze would bounce back to her intermittently.

Eventually, after what felt like ages, the strange woman came over to the gift shop area of the exhibit. She had a casual, interested look in her eyes as she looked through all of the items relating to the Egyptian goddess Bastet, a smile curving along her full, soft lips. She gingerly folded a journal and book on the cat goddess under her arm before looking over towards the counter. She met her eyes to his and hers brightened, walking over to him.

His heart rate picked up the moment they locked eyes, his Adam’s apple bobbing nervously. There was an otherworldly air to her that had his whole body reacting to her, viscerally, and he couldn’t even pick out exactly what it was about her. There was something to the smooth curves of her body and huge blue-green eyes that had him enraptured.

Oh damn it, he thought, keep it together.

Not only was he overwhelmingly embarrassed that he had been staring at her for so long, but now the poor woman was going to come over and interact with the blushy, stuttering, anxiety-ridden mess that he was.

When she came over, he gulped and sucked up as much of his nervousness as he could, giving her a pleasant smile. “’Ello there, miss. Find something you liked?”

“I did, actually,” her calm energy flowed from her, making his heart beat more but his body calm slightly, “I love the collection you guys have here – it’s nothing like what we have in Denver, you know.”

He was so focused on not making a fool of himself that it took him a moment to even notice her accent. Glancing down at her chest to avoid her eyes, he saw the visiting faculty badge on her heart. His anxiety stepped aside for a moment as genuine curiosity came to the forefront of his mind.

“Visiting faculty,” he spoke aloud as he read, coming back up to meet her gaze. “What for?”

She laughed a little bit, which was so sweet it sounded like velvet in his ears. “I’m actually working with your guises’ zoological collection, specifically the Scottish Highlands Cat.”

He cocked his head in slight confusion. “You mean the dead ones in the back?”

A knowing smile came across her face. “Weird, I know. What’s so incredible about museum specimens is that they can still have viable genetic information even after a hundred years -- did you know that? – so that we can understand what the genetic diversity of a population looked like all the way back then. Using that, we can understand how it’s changed over time and, specifically with the Scottish Highlands Cat, understand how much of their current genetic diversity is from hybridized domestic cat genes.”

His mouth was slightly agape with all of the detailed jargon that just spilled out of her mouth like poetry. He understood about five words in the entire thing, but he wanted nothing more than to hear her keep talking.

“Sorry,” she chuckled, “that was probably more confusing than helpful."

He shook his head quickly, reaching his arm out towards her “No! Er- well, it was- but you explained it really well, I think.”

Back to the blushing idiot, stumbling over himself trying to not offend her. Instead of getting annoyed like he thought she would, however, she smiled at him sweetly.

“Well, thank you,” was that a bit of a blush on her cheeks? “What about you?”

Steven raced through his head trying to figure out what part of the conversation he had missed where that question made any sense, quickly starting to panic.

“I, uh… what do you mean?” The thought of her being able to see him blush made him blush even harder. God, he just wanted to crawl in a hole and leave his body completely-

“What has you working at the museum?”

Oh.

“It’s probably the Egyptology stuff, innit?” He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, looking around at all of the Egyptian artifacts surrounding them. “I’ve loved just about all of it since I was a lil’ kid, always wanted to know more about it. It just fascinated me in a way that nothing else does – the gods, the societies, how people interacted with their gods through burials, all of it.”

Realizing he started rambling, he looked back at her. She was watching him intently, nodding at his words.

“That’s exactly how I am with wildlife ecology and evolution, conservation – all of it. I can’t imagine doing anything else with my life, you know?”

He knew exactly what she meant. So much so that he was subconsciously leaning over on the counter, bringing their faces closer. He opened his mouth when the voice of his boss rang through the large, cavernous hall they were in. 

"Back to work, Grant!" The voice was piercing and rough, ruining the mood of the whole room. Steven chucked in embarrassment, looking past her shoulder and seeing several people waiting to get checked out behind her.

"S-so sorry, but it looks like I need to…" he looked back at her, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly.

The woman flicked her wrist in dismissal, smiling. "Don't worry about it! I'm sorry for taking up your working time."

She turned to walk off, but she felt a warm hand grab her hand. She turned in surprise to see Steven had come around the counter and was facing her directly now, a dark curl still in motion on his forehead. His eyes were wide with an almost desperate pooly-ness.

"I, uh… how long will you be working here, love?'

Now it was her turn to blush lightly.

"I'll be around for a while, I'm assuming I'll see you?"

His hand was warm and callused around hers. "Y-yeah, I'll be here."

"I'm looking forward to it, then."

With that, she finally made her way to the back of the museum, where only volunteers and faculty were allowed. Steven's dark gaze followed her all the way until she disappeared behind the mysterious door to the zoology lab. He wondered if he could sneak in there…

…..

Turns out she wasn't just being polite with the intent to see him again – she had actually started coming around to his counter regularly to chat. After the first couple of times, she came up and bluntly asked if she was annoying him, always coming around like this – which he almost too eagerly shot down, reassuring her that it was wonderful to have her come around and talk with him. As much as Steven would want to crawl into a hole if she ever knew, he was honestly just relishing in awe at the fact that someone, especially such a warm, thoughtful person as she, seemed to truly notice him. He had gotten so accustomed to people just moving their gazes past him on the bus, or having a glazed-over look as they politely interacted with him at the gift shop counter, that he didn't know what to do with himself when she would come around. Practically every time she would walk away he was sure that he had made a fool of himself, that she would be weirded out and not come back, but she did.

Over the two weeks since they had met, they had developed a slight routine of her coming before her work in the back began to say hi, ask how things were, and he would get to learn a little bit more about the incredibly complicated work that she was doing, all the while she would catch glimpses into the irreducibly wonderful and intriguing world of Egyptology.

That's why, when he didn't come into work for two days, she felt the absence deeply. The first day, she had cast the counter a wary glance, but shrugged it off, figuring that he had taken the day off or slept in. The second day, though… a feeling began to spill into her gut that had her shaking her leg under her desk the whole time she was at the museum. There was anxiety gnawing at her gut, telling her something was wrong. There was a deeper part of her still that was terrified for the worst and wanted to take off looking for him. She chided herself slightly for being so nervous about Steven, but she knew more about his situation than she wanted to let on. 

In the darkness of her apartment, she spoke to herself clearly. 

"You don't think something's happened?"

Almost as soon as she had said the words, she could feel a presence arrive behind her. She didn't bother to turn around when a warm, feminine, deep voice came over her ethereally. 

"Khonshu has yet to inform me of anything serious. I haven't heard from him at all, though."

She signed, putting her hand on the top of her knee in an attempt to keep it from jumping so badly. 

"Do you know where he is? Should I go after him?"

"Your time to intervene in that way isn't upon us yet," a tall, dark, feline form curled around her bed serendipitously, a long tail of deep velvet curling behind in its wake. She saw the air warp around Bastet slightly, as it always did when she appeared to her. A sign of her otherworldly aura, how she was something curling its tendrils in her head rather than something of the world she knew. "It'll impact your relationship greatly. As I understand, Steven is not aware of his avatar nature."

She signed, looking over to the god. "Right," she muttered, shaking her head at the absurdity of it all. "It was cruel of Khonshu to choose someone that fragile to begin with, don't you think? I didn't know how bad it was."

A long, slow blink behind long eyelashes. "It certainly wouldn't hold with the council. Then again, neither would I".

"What do you mean?"

What she could interpret as a sigh came from the presence, though nothing presented itself as such aside from her shift in aura. "Lesser gods were not intended to take avatars – according to them, it wasn't worth the potential trouble it would cause. Hence why Ammit presents such a troubling situation."

The response raised more questions than answers, but she knew better than to bombard Bastet with buts and whys. Much to the mysterious nature of all Felidae, Bastet was a creature of few words. As she understood, it was exceptionally unusual that she had been selected as her avatar to begin with. Gift horse and all that.

The goddess walked up and placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to look up. The many gold and lapis adornments on her head and neck shone brilliantly in the moonlight, the mysterious, otherworldly pools of her eyes focusing on the biologist. She interpreted an almost playful look in her eyes

"I can tell you've grown attached to him, my dear."

The biologist blushed slightly, avoiding the gaze of the goddess looking above her like a parent. "He’s pretty cute."

"I sense that Steven will need a warm, stable spirit by his side for the days to come – someone who can protect him and help in understanding the new reality that will be presented to him. You know I would not have called you to him if I did not think you would be crucial to this."

Her words were sobering. She nodded, feeling the intense, velvety energy coursing through her from the goddess's hand. 

"I understand."

"Also…" the playful lilt returned to Bastet's voice, "you have yet to take advantage of the pleasure aspect of my power… it is a gift you can seize at any time, without judgement."

She shifted uncomfortably under the intense gaze. "I know… I just want it to be me who they are attracted to, not the power you give me. It feels manipulative."

The grip on her shoulder tightened slightly. "You are a deeply sensual spirit to begin with. All my power does is accentuate what's already there – and from what I've seen, he's already… quite enthralled with you."

The biologist's gaze shot up to the deity, her response bordering desperation. "You think?"

A smile – or the curl of her feline mouth that she knew was her version of a smile. "If you were to pursue him, I sense he wouldn't resist. You need to be cautious, though. He's a complicated, broken man. You have to be prepared before you take that step."

She nodded thoughtfully. The biologist wished that things were different – that their introduction could have been natural, in a world without Egyptian deities to twist the strings of fate together. There had been several lingering moments in their conversations where she had wanted to blurt out who she was, the true reason why she had randomly taken a chance to come out to the British Isles and undergo the research she was, at the museum she was. Her heart swelled at the adorable, nervous man – his mop of dark hair, the curve of his upper lip, his huge, pooly dark eyes. She also loved his personality, how he would lose himself and leave his anxiety behind while he explained complicated historical concepts to her, all the while he would stare at her in awe and intrigue while she would excitedly teach him about her world and all of the wonderful aspects of nature that she had fallen head over heels for. It was the first time in her life that she had experienced someone that was just as enthralled with her as she was with him; someone who she could see herself spending late nights and early mornings with.

Was it strange to be so in love with a man she had barely known for two weeks?

......

Approaching the museum the next day, her heart sank. Still an empty counter. Still no Steven.

The grimy fingernails of dread crept up the back of her neck, forming a pit in her stomach. The gargantuan halls of the museum closed in on her as she made her way to the zoology lab, head down, hair falling in her face. She felt the comforting presence of Bastet nearby, but even her energy was tinged with worry.

She had just laid her fingers on the handle to the lab door when she heard a commotion in the main hall. Her anxious mind dictated that she turn around and see what was happening, turning and moving cautiously into the main collections hall.

There Steven was, taking a box of stuffed animals abashedly from Donna.

He looked like shit. His hair was tangled and tinged with dirt, and she saw deep, exhausting bags under his eyes. Wrinkled clothes cling to his body, his olive skin with scratches and dirt cascading over it. 

When he first locked eyes with her, he saw the deep, unrelenting tiredness that seeped into his irises. But when he looked at her, his eyebrows raised and a smile crept on his features – almost one of relief, she thought.

When she came up to him, she could immediately smell the stress sweat and grime coming from him, but she couldn't care in the least. He looked to the left and right of her anxiously before leaning in and whispering to her. 

"Meet me in the back tonight, yeah? Inventory?"

She didn't know if he intended for that to imply what it did, but she immediately felt the ache in her low belly from his words. His voice was breathy and tired, but with the sweet lightness of his accent that curled its way through her oh so pleasantly. 

"Uh…" she shook her head like she was trying to force her self-indulgent thoughts out of her head. "Sorry. Inventory?" Her look changed to one of worry. "Where have you been? You look like shit – are you okay?"

Slight exasperation tinged his movements as he sat down the box hurriedly and grabbed her shoulders, making her raise an eyebrow at the sudden boldness he was showing.

"Look," Steven's gaze bore into hers, scratched jaw set with tension. "I know we've only known each other for a small bit (was this going where she thought it was?) but I feel as though I can trust you. I don't know why, but I do." Her heart swelled at how sincere he was being.

"I've had some really weird… dreams… recently, and they're messing with my sleep a bit. This is a really weird favor, but… I'm wondering if I could talk them through with you?"

He paused for a second, trying to gauge her reaction. The facade of boldness he had put on was shed quickly in favor of the true anxiety he felt. Her face showed concern, but he thought he saw a deep, caring note in her.

"I know it's weird, but… you're really smart, and you're just about the only person I know who wouldn't treat me like a right loon, you know?"

A smirk played on her features and she brought a hand to her face in a ponderous fashion. Steven’s eyes followed the way her thumb barely graced the bottom of her full lips.

"Well, I wouldn't think it would be bad to be compared to a loon myself," a small, playful smile made its way to her lips, "they're actually pretty badass birds."

She chuckled at the utterly confused look on his face, making him blush. She put her hand on his shoulder and smiled more genuinely.

"I’ll have to inform you more about loons sometime. Anyway – I wouldn't mind at all, Steven. If anything, I'm flattered that you would come to me.”

Her haze flickered to Steven’s throat as his Adam’s apple bobbed nervously. She wasn’t thinking as her lip came under her teeth, the soft pink flesh being held back by a canine. Steven mentally slapped himself for looking.

Their eyes flickered up to each other, and Steven hummed nervously, reaching a hand to the back of his neck. 

“So that’s a yes?”

“Yeah – though I feel somewhat obligated to remind you that I’m an animal behaviorist, not a human one… I have been told I’m a good listener for both, however.”

A small ‘right’ came out of Steven’s mouth and trailed off into the air, which he swore was getting warmer for some reason. He held her gaze for a few moments longer, occasionally stealing a glance at her lips and face. There was a piece of his mind that chided him for opening up to her, knowing what usually happened when he would try to be genuine with women. To not approach them like a stiff board, with the facade of normalcy that they all seemed to be comfortable with. Even just asking her if she would sit and listen to him made him feel open, raw and exposed, almost as if she could watch his heart pound in his chest and take it at any moment.

Simultaneously, he caught waves of calm energy that came from her. She hadn’t reacted like he had expected at all – where he was grimacing in anticipation of rejection, he was met with humor and sincerity. It was as if every time he messed up she cocooned him in warmth and mirth, comfort, safety. He felt safe with her – like no matter what happened, he wouldn’t freak her out or make her leave. She was solid, beautiful, wise, and warm. There was almost a supernatural aspect to her being, like she had a power beyond her years. 

As she bid him adieu and walked back to her lab, that wave of familiarity came back to him – it was coated in dust and archaic energy, and as he saw the Bastet notebook she was carrying clutched in her fingers, it connected with the familiarity in such a strange fashion – a flash of lightning – that he didn't know what to do with. 

“She’s literally like a goddess, in’ she?” He murmured to himself. Given how weird things were getting, it didn’t even come off as too strange to him. If anything, it caused a heat to enter his belly that he shook his head over, picking up the plush Bastet toys and taking them back to the gift shop counter. 

......

A/N: Thank you for reading! Feedback would be awesome, but be nice lol. Let me know if you'd be interested in me posting more in the future.

#jake lockley x reader #steven grant x reader #moon knight #marvel #steven grant #marc spector #moon knight imagine #marc speckor x reader #moon boys #marvel imagine #marvel fanfiction #steven grant x you #steven grant imagine #khonshu #jake lockley #moon knight series #moonknight

[gtenvs3000w24]

08: Amazing things in nature - my favourite animal!

Hi everyone! Since this week’s prompt is to talk about the most amazing thing we know in nature, I thought I’d talk about my favourite animal, the spotted hyena! Although you can’t see these animals in Canada unless you go to a zoo, they’re super cool to learn about!

Source: Joel Sartore, https://www.joelsartore.com/search/hyena/

Spotted hyenas, with their unique appearance and intriguing behaviours, stand out as some of Africa's most interesting creatures. From their distinctive laughs to their complex social structures, these animals never fail to spark curiosity. Did you know that despite their appearance, they're actually more related to cats than they are to dogs?

Their robust build with distinctive spots gives them an unmistakable presence. But what truly sets them apart is their extremely complex and unique social dynamics. In the world of spotted hyenas, it's the females who reign supreme. These matriarchs, larger and more dominant than their male counterparts, lead their clans with a ton of strength. 

As for their vocalizations, the noises hyenas make are fascinating due to their versatility and complexity, ranging from spine-chilling laughs to a wide array of grunts, whoops, and growls. These vocalizations play a crucial role in communication within their clans, conveying information about social status and territory. Their vocalizations even convey their identities to eachother as each hyena has its own distinct “whooping” sound, just like how each of us have our own distinct fingerprints!

But it's not just their looks and noises that make spotted hyenas fascinating, it's their smarts too. These creatures are surprisingly amazing hunters. Working together, they employ tactics that enable them to take down prey much larger than themselves, largely due to the fact that their jaws are 10x stronger than a pitbull’s! And when it comes to meals, they eat pretty much everything since they have special enzymes in their stomach that can fully digest the stongest of materials like bone and venom. From insects to venomous snakes, spotted hyenas will have a go at anything, contributing to the delicate balance of their ecosystems as both predators and scavengers. 

Despite their remarkable qualities, spotted hyenas don’t have the best reputation, and are made the villains in many stories. This is probably due to their eerie vocalizations, their knack for scavenging, or even their uncanny ability to consume everything, bones included. Throughout history, they've been linked to death and the supernatural in African folklore, adding an air of mystery to their already mysterious presence. And then there's the competition with humans for resources, a rivalry that has often led to misunderstandings and conflicts. 

Despite this, efforts are underway to set the record straight and give spotted hyenas the credit they deserve. Scientists are delving into their behaviour, ecology, and importance in ecosystems, shedding light on their true nature and advocating for their conservation. These animals are not just symbols of fear, they're integral parts of Africa's rich tapestry of life. 

Overall, spotted hyenas are not just predators of the night, they're the charismatic characters of the African plains, adding complexity to the ecosystems they’re part of. With their playful antics and fierce determination, they've earned their place as one of Africa's most iconic animals!

Law, J. (2004). Crocuta crocuta Spotted Hyena. Animal Diversity Web. Retrieved March 11, 2024, from https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Crocuta_crocuta/

[taviokapudding]

Ima speak my truth but it means we have to get into speculative and spoiler heavy territory so if you aren’t fully up to date with Genshin Impact and have played every Lantern Rite, every archon quest to far, & seen every Fatui trailer up to January 2023 - shit isn’t going to make sense, Alright? Cool

So a theory is going around that Sandron and Guizhong could be the same person because their character designs are uncanny. In my humble opinion the devs absolutely could make it canon but it would be a while before they address it.

But also lemme speak why the theory could make every weird thing about Liyue connect better beyond just Sandrone and Guizhong looking too twin like; also I want to throw it out there that unlike everyone else who assumes it’s reincarnation like Nahida or Scaramouche - I believe Guizhong is Sandrone is more akin to Qiqi being alive or Albedo’s relationship to Durin. Reincarnation is basically a deus ex machina right now so I know everyone wants it to be the reason but there’s so much about Khaenri’ah’s alchemy that we don’t know. Okay? Cool.

Let’s talk about the inconsistency of Liyue that makes his theory hold weight

I think it’s odd that Guizhong so revered by all yet, unlike the goddess of salt (Havria), lacks a very obvious burial site or tomb- we’re shown many ruins and implied burial sites but we don’t have a whole archon quest to go visit her grave. There’s a ton of guesses as to where she lies but it’s genuinely not clear if she’s underneath a certain ruin. And when Cloud Retainer takes Ganyu, Paimon, and the traveler to the Guili Plains, it’s odd that she doesn’t show us a tomb- Paimon even hints at how odd it is they’re standing in the middle of the Plains rather than at the ruins of Guizhong’s former home.

Furthermore we are shown what happened in the aftermath of what happens to adepti and fantastical beings when they die, they leave permanent changes to the environment and sometimes wipe out all nearby humans and animals too (shout out to Inazuma & Sumeru giving us better examples of the devastation and the tombs that were left behind to honor those who fell). Only the glass lilies being gone doesn’t seem right for the literal goddess of dust, who would have left behind a human sized pile of dust at a minimum

Why is the Guili Plains or a zone of Liyue not absolutely devastated by massive environmental dust akin to the Dust Bowl of the southern United States? I live in an area where the aftermath of that devastation of soil makes growing flower and food plants very difficult is still roughly 100 ish years later.

Yeah we know part of the reason why Liyue harbor was created as due to the massive floods that occurred after her passing, but it’s implied that had to do more with the sealing of Osial & Beisht. And even then that doesn’t make sense because their deep sea cage distance from the now Guili Plains would mean that the devastation wouldn’t have been so astronomical to that zone. It’s weird that the adepti never made a spot to seal Guizhong off & prevent the huge ecological changes like the salt dunes left behind.

What’s even odder is there isn’t a spot where glaze lilies still sprout because Guizhong’s remains keep them thriving without need to be cared and her home is in ruins or something akin to. There should be a place that is full of dust piles, which has been slowly trickling out into the environment and affecting the local area. It should be desolate, lonely, & surrounded by pillars of rock to prevent the excess energy left behind.

This lantern rite also confirms that not everyone who could checkup on Guizhong’s grave doesn’t genuinely do so out of mourning & we know that not only do the Fatui have never given a fuck to respect anybody but the head of everything is a Khaenri’ahn with too much knowledge of the world.

Could Sandrone be a manipulated reincarnation with massive memory loss? Is she good at creating “dolls” as a side effect of misremembering being an adepti? Is she why the Fatui know how to access and manipulate the Irminsul without archon intervention (Scaramouche implies that btw)? Is that why Kazuha found the abandoned & broken yet magical floral zither (that suspiciously has Guizhong’s decorative influences) during his time in Liyue but none of the adepti ( especially Ping) have gone after him or confronted the traveler for theft? Is that why Havria has a massive grave & sealed tomb that conveniently Rex Lapis can show others how unlock which is suspiciously & strategically close to the defense zone Xiao lives in by Guili Plains? Is that why Zhongli asks the traveler to pay attention to the stories of the world after low key implying things can get manipulated and then we are told he descended to Liyue? Also is that why we have no idea what Havria even looks like yet are shown Guizhong’s appearance in life & suspiciously similar statue like death state?

It doesn’t matter how, it more matter why does Zhongli spend time giving a shit about Havria (to the point it feels like there may have been romantic undertones) when it’s really obvious nobody else seems to miss her or care in the same way & the few humans that do have a completely different understanding? And if she was a true incarnation or just a smart human with no other major intentions, why is Sandrone using her dolls for medical equipment purposes when Dottore’s cloning existed without Scaramouche’s existence coming into play?

God I hate timey wimey shit & repetitive use of character models to cut time on labor and costs because Sandrone could easily be Guizhong’s reincarnation or a homunculus like Albedo, or kept alive by the Cryo Archon intentionally in a Qiqi like state. Something is inconsistent &, if it was intentional, it happens right as Guizhong dies or supposedly died.

#mun post #Genshin Impact spoilers #Guizhong #Guizhong theory #sandrone #genshin impact

[sheltiechicago]

“Transcendental Moment,” Cluj-Napoca, Romania. 

Surreal Interactions and Enigmatic Narratives Unfold in Vibrant Murals by WAONE

Enigmatic characters sprout blossoms from their torsos, wear instruments for hats, or hitch a ride on a tiger’s back in the surreal murals of Ukrainian artist Vladimir Manzhos, a.k.a. WAONE. Drawing inspiration from religious iconography, history, and botany, his mysterious narratives often touch on themes of ecological apocalypse, cosmology, and duality. Uncanny interactions between people and an array of objects like plants, books, and anthropomorphized objects portray fantastical creatures or seismic events.

All images © WAONE

“Statics and Dynamics of the Plant Kingdom,” Fort de France, Martinique island

“Tectonic Shift,” Paris, France, in collaboration with Back to School Project

“Curious Botanist,” Versailles, France

#waone aka vladimir manzhos #artist #art #surrealism #narratives #murals #street art #ukrainian artist #cluj-napoca #romania #fort de france #martinique island #paris #france #versailles

[firstginger]

Hello! I hope this essay of a question isn't too long, but boy is it oddly specific.

So my friends had me tell them the things I remind them of (I offhandedly mentioned I keep a Google doc of the things everyone likes or has the same vibes of for gift inspiration when their birthdays roll around. They all emediatly wanted to know their Google doc info.) And each of them realized I associate them with certain animals (totally not because those would definetly be their daemons in another life, surely not. *frantically hides notes*) and they started making their own lists. And unanimously they all gave me the same animal: a hare. Specifically the punchy and uncanny kind, like a jackrabbit.

Slight confusion on my part as I'd always figured I'd be something a little more aggressive or mischievous like a coyote. Having taken the daemon quiz a fair few times, I usually end up getting either a jackal or a cacomistle. A jackrabbit doesn't seem too far out if my wheelhouse, but I'd never considered it.

I guess what I'm asking is, would you be willing to elaborate on why my friends might be getting jackrabbit vibes from me? Is there something I can't see that they are seeing? Like, I'm not upset about it I'm just very confused lol. Just if you have the time, no pressure. Thanks in advance though, I really love your personality quizzes <3

oh what a fun question! i think this goes back to how in the daemon community there's two types of forms: analytical forms and pullman (or symbolic) forms. analytical forms are the type that are most commonly used in online form finding. they take the animal's ecology and "translate" that into human behavior — so from that perspective, your daemon would be an animal that is rather similar to you in how they go through life. in comparison, the pullman form is based on how daemons were originally portrayed in the book. this is form finding based on an animal's associations or the cultural beliefs associated with that animal — in the case of the book's canon, this was largely western european, though modern daemon pullman analyses try to take all cultural associations with the animal into consideration.

a jackrabbit is a great example. someone with a jackrabbit analytical form is going to be introverted, sensitive, competitive, obsessive, somewhat cliquish, and anxious for starters. jackrabbits are rabbits — they're skittish prey animals. compare this to the jackal who's also introverted and close-bonding but is going to have behavior in line with a scavenger, and the cacomistle who's introverted and solitary and has behavior in line with a generalist forager. a large part of analytical analysis is understanding how these behaviors can be attributed to a human and that's where some of the subjectivity in form finding comes in. still, i think there can be some objectivity in, for example, comparing a pack animal to a solitary animal or a prey animal to a scavenger animal. are you someone who's socially cooperative and dependent or someone who's independently-minded? are you someone who's anxious and routine-forming or someone who's bold and spontaneous?

but your friends' observations have an interesting point, in that we often associate the jackrabbit with traits like cunning, luck, speed, and ambition (though rarely productive ambition). the jackrabbit's reputation goes back to different native american and indigenous associations with the hare: many tribes have stories regarding the hare as a light-hearted, clever trickster figure who is often also a teacher to mankind or otherwise a sort of relatable underdog outsmarting predators (see ableegumooch of mi'kmaq folklore, moskim the rabbit of lenape folklore, and the trickster rabbit figure of the cherokee, creek, and other tribes). other tellings of a hare protagonist such as br'er rabbit, aesop's tortoise and the hare, and bugs bunny help cement the stereotype of a long-eared rabbit/hare/jackrabbit as someone who's wily and clever, though can sometimes bite off more than they can chew or otherwise screw themselves over... but ultimately are survivalists who will always return another day. someone with a jackrabbit pullman form is more likely to be someone who's cunning, quick-thinking, curious, insightful, self-assured, and prone to spontaneity if something interests them. punchy and uncanny does describe them well, but these associations are quite different from a skittish prey animal!

the jackrabbit also has other non-personality associations your friends might be picking up on as well. the jackrabbit is a staple of the american desert and great basin, so if you're from those regions, it may invite comparison. if you're a runner or talk quick or are otherwise speedy it may remind others of a jackrabbit as well. and then of course i'm sure many of us are familiar with friends pinning us as an animal we like or own... the number of times i've been associated with horses because i rode them (and collect art of them...) is so high, though i don't think my personality or vibe is particularly horse-ish at all!

i think my ideal would be having a form that fits me in both regards: an animal whose behavior is similar to mine, but also something my friends would peg me as. i feel like we need an association of daemians who are happy to be super specific about the vibes we give off — i feel like my normal friends will compare me to something like a dog, and then i'll get weird about comparing them a black-casqued hornbill or a chital deer haha.

hope this helped answer your question!

#personal #daemonism #form finding