#mongolian giant

[applbottmjeens]

adapted my ocs into dnd for a campaign my friend jax is doin but meet laoshang :') hes a half orc who likes horses and will apologize for taking up so much space (he's like 7 feet)

#half orc #dnd character #charcter concept #literally a giant mongolian beef cake #he's just a guy tbh #autistic rizz #dude's just a horse girl

[dean-boese-universe]

Epiosde 105 Do Mongolian Death Worms Watch Forensic Files?

#boa #bright #color #death #desert #electricity #files #forensic #giant #gippsland #gobi #hln #ii #kenya #mongolian #poison #sand #tartan #under #worm

[15-lizards]

hii! what do you think that the Fisher Queens from TWOIAF would wear? they were queens ruling from a moving castle in the middle of a giant inland sea, i just know that the fashion was insane

Fisher Queens one of my many Glup Shittos of the ASOIAF universe 🫶

They lived on what would one day be the Dothraki sea so ✨more Mongolian inspired clothing ✨ But the north of Essos is colder than the rest, and being on water (even in a floating castle) would be quite chilly, so lots of leather and other animal skin/fiber layers with the fancy and pretty stuff on top of that. Headpieces too. Historically, a bad bitch would always wear a fancy headpiece to show off her status I hate you HBO for being lame about headpieces

#asoiaf #asoiaf hair and clothing #central Asian fashion my beloved #the ASOIAF in my head is soooo pretty I wish you guys could see it #*projects my thoughts onto a screen*

[stillflight]

I would like to offer this resource for therians, an extensive list of all of Sir David Attenborough’s nature documentaries that are available on soap2day, and a full list of what species* they each (notably, prominently) feature the natural behaviors of, separated by episode, and omitting species that were only shown dead, juvenile or being predated on. This took me a while (I have been working on it since Prehistoric Planet’s release) because I did in fact have to watch every single series in full in order to list all the species and the episodes are around 50 minutes long, but enjoy.

Long post ahead:

Most of these shows have closed captioning, which is why I’ve picked soap2day. Planet Earth is the only one that doesn’t. I did not include Dynasties and Dynasties II because each episode only features one species.

Thank you to Birch (@ambiguousmutt​) for his help (he watched about half of the episodes) so I didn’t have to do it individually. Credit goes to him as well.

*Sometimes Attenborough doesn’t say the specific species and I was too busy trying to get through the episodes to identify it. In those cases I just put the most specific name I could.

Planet Earth

Episode one (From Pole to Pole): emperor penguin, polar bear, caribou, arctic grey wolf, Amur leopard, six-plumed bird-of-paradise, superb bird-of-paradise, great white shark, African elephant, African buffalo, lechwe, baboon, African wild dog

Episode two (Mountains): gelada, walia ibex, Ethiopian wolf, guanaco, cougar, grizzly bear, markhor, snow leopard, golden eagle, grey wolf, panda, golden snub-nosed monkey, red panda, demoiselle crane

Episode three (Fresh Water): giant salamander, grizzly bear, smooth-coated otter, Nile crocodile, dolphin fish, midge, Amazon river dolphin, dorado, piranha, spectacled caiman, crab-eating macaque, snow goose

Episode four (Caves): wrinkle-lipped free-tailed bat, cockroach, bat hawk, cave swiftlet, yellow-red rat snake, Texas blind salamander

Episode five (Deserts): Bactrian camel, dromedary camel, red kangaroo, fennec fox, guanaco, long-nosed bat, Nubian ibex, flat lizard, lion, African elephant, locust

Episode six (Ice Worlds): snow petrel, Antarctic petrel, south polar skua, humpback whale, emperor penguin, eider, muskox, arctic grey wolf, polar bear, little auk, arctic fox

Episode seven (Great Plains): Mongolian gazelle, red-billed quelea, wildebeest, snow goose, arctic fox, arctic grey wolf, bison, wild ass, Tibetan fox, pygmy hog, African elephant, lion, baboon

Episode eight (Jungles): magnificent bird-of-paradise, spider monkey, howler monkey, siamang gibbon, gliding tree frog, colugo, red crab spider, African elephant, chimpanzee

Episode nine (The Shallow Seas): humpback whale, multiple corals, banded sea krait, trevally, dugong, bottlenose dolphin, Socotra cormorant, salp, comb jelly, sea lion, dusky dolphin, sea urchin, sunflower starfish, short-tailed stingray, great white shark, king penguin, fur seal

Episode ten (Seasonal Forests): Eurasian lynx, moose, crossbill, wolverine, western capercaillie, pine marten, great grey owl, pudu, kodkod, mandarin duck, cicada, red deer, Amur leopard, tiger, mouse lemur

Episode eleven (Ocean Deep): whale shark, oceanic whitetip shark, common dolphin, Cory's shearwater, manta ray, sea spider, vampire squid, spider crab, unnamed deep sea eel, giant isopod, chambered nautilus, Pacific spotted dolphin, mola mola, frigatebird, sailfish, blue whale

Planet Earth II

Episode one (Islands): pygmy three-toed sloth, Komodo dragon, sifaka, marine iguana, Galapagos racer, Buller's albatross, fairy tern, Christmas Island red crab, yellow crazy ant, chinstrap penguin

Episode two (Mountains): Nubian ibex, red fox, golden eagle, grizzly bear, bobcat, flamingo, mountain viscacha rat, snow leopard

Episode three (Jungles): spider monkey, flying lizard, sword-billed hummingbird, river dolphin, jaguar, glass frog, paper wasp, click beetle, red bird of paradise, Wilson's bird of paradise, indri

Episode four (Deserts): lion, Harris's hawk, shrike, locust, sand grouse, pale chanting goshawk, feral mustang, golden mole, desert long-eared bat, darkling beetle, Namaqua chameleon

Episode five (Grasslands): saiga antelope, lion, harvest mouse, carmine bee-eater, Kori bustard, African elephant, serval, Jackson's widowbird, grasscutter ant, compass termite, giant anteater, bison, red fox, arctic grey wolf

Episode six (Cities): langur, peregrine falcon, leopard, European starling, great bowerbird, raccoon, rhesus macaque, spotted hyena, wels catfish

Our Planet

Episode one (One Planet): lesser flamingo, orchid bee, golden-collared manakin, red-capped manakin, blue manakin, cormorant, booby, common dolphin, shearwater, African wild dog, timber wolf

Episode two (Frozen Worlds): gentoo penguin, wandering albatross, narwhal, Pacific walrus, humpback whale, orca, leopard seal, polar bear

Episode three (Jungles): lowland gorilla, forest elephant, black sicklebill, twelve-wired bird-of-paradise, western parotia, mountain treeshrew, Philippine eagle, black spider monkey, leafcutter ant, Sumatra orangutan, velvet worm

Episode four (Coastal Seas): northern fur seal, compass jellyfish, giant trevally, mobula ray, Atlantic stingray, bottlenose dolphin, grey reef shark, whitetip reef shark, sea otter, California sheephead wrasse, Steller's sea lion, bald eagle, humpback whale, Guanay cormorant, Inca tern, Peruvian booby, South American sea lion

Episode five (From Deserts to Grasslands): Socotran cormorant, Arabian leopard, Arabian oryx, African elephant, cheetah, bison, Alcon blue butterfly, saiga, Przewalski's wild horse, tiger

Episode six (The High Seas): blue whale, spinner dolphin, mobula ray, oarfish, anglerfish, bristle worm, giant petrel, black-browed albatross, wandering albatross, bluefin tuna, sea lion, humpback whale

Episode seven (Fresh Water): Australian pelican, torrent duck, grizzly bear, manatee, giant mayfly, common kingfisher, osprey, jaguar, callipterus cichlid, Siamese fighting fish, hippopotamus, lion, African elephant, sandhill crane

Episode eight (Forests): Siberian tiger, bald eagle, rough-skinned newt, great hornbill, African elephant, African wild dog, fossa, gray mouse lemur

A Perfect Planet

Episode one (Volcano): lesser flamingo, marabou stork, Galápagos land iguana, vampire ground finch, Aldabra giant tortoise, North American river otter, coyote, Kamchatka brown bear, wildebeest

Episode two (The Sun): yellow-cheeked gibbon, fig wasp, arctic grey wolf, wood frog, garter snake, arctic fox, Saharan silver ant, golden snub-nosed monkey, sooty shearwater, humpback whales

Episode three (Weather): straw-colored fruit bat, fire ant, Amazonian giant river turtle, desert rain frog, Bactrian camel, Christmas Island red crab, carmine bee-eater, Nile crocodile, African fish eagle, hippopotamus

Episode four (Oceans): common dolphin, marine iguana, flightless cormorant, flamboyant cuttlefish, eider, bottlenose dolphin, lemon shark, manta ray, blacktip reef shark, trevally, rockhopper pengin, Eden's whale

Episode five (Humans): none

Life

Episode one (Challenges of Life): bottlenose dolphins, cheetah, panther chameleon, orca, brown-tufted capuchin, stalk-eyed fly, hippopotamus, Clark's grebe, giant Pacific octopus, strawberry poison-dart frog, leopard seal, orangutan

Episode two (Reptiles and Amphibians): pebble toad, caiman, basilisk, Brazilian pygmy gecko, panther chameleon, Namaqua chameleon, red-sided garter snake, collared iguana, hog-nosed snake, horned lizard, sea krait, African bullfrog, Komodo dragon

Episode three (Mammals): Weddell seal, elephant shrew, aye-aye, caribou, straw-colored fruit bat, lion, spotted hyena, polar bear, brown-nosed coati, meerkat, African elephant, humpback whale

Episode four (Fish): sailfish, flying fish, weedy sea dragon, convict fish, sarcastic fringehead, mudskipper, Hawaiian freshwater goby, hippopotamus, barbel, silvertip shark, clownfish, sea lion, ragged tooth shark, multiple snapper, whale shark

Episode five (Birds): spatuletail hummingbird, lammergeier, red-billed tropicbird, magnificent frigatebird, red knot, horseshoe crab, lesser flamingo, chinstrap penguin, great white pelican, Clark’s grebe, sage grouse, Vogelkop bowerbird

Episode six (Insects): Darwin’s beetle, unnamed damselfly, monarch butterfly, alkali fly, Wilson’s phalarope, oogpister beetle, mongoose, bombardier beetle, honey bee, black bear, Japanese red bug, Dawson’s bee, grass cutter ant

Episode seven (Hunters and Hunted): ibex, short-tailed stoat, brown bear, Ethiopian wolf, California ground squirrel, star-nosed mole, cheetah, red fox, greater bulldog bat, bottlenose dolphin, Bengal tiger, rattlesnake, orca

Episode eight (Creatures of the Deep): Pompeii worm, Humboldt squid, nemertean worm, moon jelly, fried egg jellyfish, spider crab, stingray, cuttlefish, giant Pacific octopus, sunflower sea star, king crab, cleaner shrimp

Episode nine (Plants): monarch butterfly, purple-throated carib hummingbird

Episode ten (Primates): Hamadryas baboon, Japanese macaque, lowland gorilla, spectral tarsier, phayre's leaf monkey, ring-tailed lemur, Sumatra orangutan, chacma baboon, white-faced capuchin, brown-tufted capuchin, western chimpanzee

Blue Planet II

Episode one (One Ocean): bottlenose dolphin, tuskfish, tern, giant trevally, mobula ray, false killer whale, Asian sheepshead wrasse, orca, humpback whale, walrus

Episode two (The Deep): sea toad, Venus’ flower basket, unnamed shrimp, ethereal snailfish, cock-eyed squid, pyrosome, barrel-eyed fish, unnamed siphonophore, yeti crab, Humboldt squid, fangtooth fish, sixgill shark, scabbardfish, zombie worm

Episode three (Coral Reefs): broadclub cuttlefish, coral grouper, day octopus, multiple corals, green turtle, bottlenose dolphin, manta ray, bobbit worm, saddleback clownfish, marbled grouper, grey reef shark

Episode four (Big Blue): spinner dolphin, yellowfin tuna, mobula ray, sailfish, sperm whale, sea turtle, blue shark, great white shark, multiple jellyfish, Portuguese man o' war, whale shark, wandering albatross, shortfin pilot whale

Episode five (Green Seas): Garibaldi, Australian giant cuttlefish, weedy seadragon, common octopus, pyjama shark, sea otter, tiger shark, smooth stingray, zebra mantis shrimp, common dolphin, humpback whale

Episode six (Coasts): Pacific leaping blenny, king penguin, southern elephant seal, Sally Lightfoot crab, Galápagos sea lion, ochre starfish, clingfish, chain moray eel, Atlantic puffin, arctic skua

Episode seven (Our Blue Planet): none

Prehistoric Planet

Episode one (Coasts): Tyrannosaurus rex, Tethydraco, Phosphatodraco,  Tuarangisaurus, Mosasaurus hoffmannii, pycnodont fish, ammonites,  Kaikaifilu

Episode two (Deserts):  Dreadnoughtus, Tarbosaurus, Velociraptor,  Mononykus, Barbaridactylus, Secernosaurus

Episode three (Freshwater): Velociraptor, Tyrannosaurus rex, Deinocheirus, Quetzalcoatlus, Masiakasaurus, Beelzebufo, elasmosaur

Episode four (Ice Worlds): dromaeosaur, hadrosaur, Ornithomimus, Olorotitan, troodontid, Antarctopelta, Pachyrhinosaurus, Nanuqsaurus

Episode five (Forests): Austroposeidon, Triceratops, Carnotaurus, Qianzhousaurus,  Edmontosaurus, Atrociraptor, Anodontosaurus, Therizinosaurus, Telmatosaurus, Hatzegopteryx

The Hunt

Episode one (The Hardest Challenge): African leopard, African wild dog, Parson’s chameleon, nose-horned chameleon, African mantis, Darwin’s bark spider, Nile crocodile, Amur falcon, orca, cheetah

Episode two (Arctic): polar bear, arctic grey wolf, arctic fox, glaucous gull

Episode three (Forests): tiger, American marten, sparrow hawk, Portia spider, tarsier, harpy eagle, chimpanzee, army ant

Episode four (Oceans): blue whale, frigatebird, dorado, sargassum fish, spinner dolphin, Beroe ovata, Chiroteuthis, lionfish, black-browed albatross, sea lion, tuna, copper shark, common dolphin, Bryde's whale

Episode five (Plains): cheetah, caracal, honey badger, termite, bald eagle, lion, Ethiopian wolf, hotrod ant, spoor spider

Episode six (Coasts): bottlenose dolphin, algae octopus, sand bubbler crab, long-tailed macaque, marine otter, grizzly bear, grey wolf, peregrine falcon, orca, humpback whale

Episode seven (Conservation): none

Life In Colour

Episode one (Seeing In Color): Indian peafowl, mandrill, Costa’s hummingbird, magnificent bird-of-paradise, blue moon butterfly, fiddler crab, mantis shrimp, flamingo, poison dart frog

Episode two (Hiding In Color): Bengal tiger, langur, ptarmigan, crab spider, zebra, Cuban painted snail, blue-striped fangblenny, common waxbill, pin-tailed wydah, Augrabies flat lizard

Frozen Planet II

Episode one (Frozen Worlds): emperor penguin, orca, Pallas’s cat, Siberian tiger, grizzly bear, hooded seal, polar bear

Episode two (Frozen Ocean): polar bear, beluga, harp seal, skeleton shrimp, crested auklet, orca

Episode three (Frozen Peaks): high-casqued chameleon, japanese macaque, kea, andean flamingo, giant panda, golden eagle, andean mountain lion

Episode four (Frozen South): king penguin, Antipodean wandering albatross, blue whale, Weddell seal, chinstrap penguin, snow petrel, leopard seal, orca

Episode five (Frozen Lands): grey wolf, arctic fox, Amur leopard, Siberian tiger, painted turtl, Lapland bumblebee, snowy owl, caribou, grizzly bear

Episode six (Our Frozen Planet): none

Africa

Episode one (Kalahari): fork-tailed drongo, ostrich, black rhinoceros, Angolan giraffe, African leopard, armored ground cricket, spider wasp

Episode two (Savannah): Agama lizard, shoebill, bee-eaters and rollers, lesser flamingo, African elephant, crowned eagle, African fish eagle, martial eagle

Episode three (Congo): chimpanzee, central African rock python, Angola banana frog, African skimmer, rockfowl, African elephant

Episode four (Cape): emperor swallowtail, giant kingfish, African penguin, monkey beetle, springbok, yellow-billed kite, pied crow, ghost crab, vundu catfish, Nile crocodile, Bryde’s whale, great white shark, common dolphin

Episode five (Sahara): Grevy’s zebra, naked mole rat, barn swallow, Dromedary camel, dung beetle, crocodile, western yellow wagtail, Saharan silver ant

Episode six (The Future): none

#alterhuman #therian #resources

[ouroboros-hideout]

WIP WHENEVER

@chevvy-yates tagged me for this. Thank you a lot 💚

This will be a huge wall of text aswell, since I am not really of the „visual“ side of creating atm.

Writing // Worldbuilding

I'm still writing the next two chapters for my fanfiction, but would rather briefly introduce my other OCs here (yes, Aon isn´t the only one by now). Maybe I can create all of them ingame at some point, depending on how stupid I´ll act with modding etc. when I start. Since things can change quickly in the story while I'm writing, I wouldn't say that everything is 100% set in stone, a lot of it isn't finished yet. But it's a good base. Most of them appear in my „Like Napalm“ fic. Some of them will be in my main GARMR fic aswell. So prepare for half backed character data entries and some rambling.

Gan

Gan Tomobataar, or Iron as he is usually called, is a mysterious man. Many stories surround the Mongolian giant and it always depends on who asks him whether he affirms or denies these tales. It is therefore uncertain which of them are true or fictional and he really enjoys keeping his past in the dark. He is said to have served in an elite military unit. The metal teeth that earned him his iconic nickname are said to have been lost in numerous boxing matches as he tried to turn pro to make a better life for himself and his family, and he is allegedly a descendant of Ginghis Khan (which is probably one of his favorite rumors). One can assume that his closest confidants have more clarity, but none of them would dare say a word about it. Undeniably true is that he has two brothers, of whom he is the second-born. Together with them, he leads one of the largest nomadic clans in eastern Europe and Asia. The Tomobataar nomads are divided into three large families, each led by one of the three brothers. Iron's family stays mainly in Mongolia and Russia, but he would also travel to more distant parts of the Soviet Union for profitable contracts. He doesn't have many vices, but one of them is definitely greed.

By sheer luck, at least that's what he claimed, he picked up Aon on the street when she was trying to flee Moscow on her own. He promised to protect her from the Secret Police and other bounty hunters if she proved to be a useful member of his clan. However, his methods for testing her worth would put the young woman to the test.

Yakov

Yakov always had problems finding his place in the world. He grew up in St. Petersburg, studying or an education other than working in his father's car repair shop were never an option financially, but the young man always yearned for something greater than being stuck in the alleys and streets of his childhood. He decided to join the military when he was old enough, but was discharged immediately after basic training for insubordination and general unsuitability. What remained for him was to work in his father's garage until he died after a long illness. Yakov tried to keep the store running on his own for a while, but he found it difficult to do good business without proper management and eventually had to sell the store. This was followed by a relatively dark period. He saw himself as a failure, was unable to find a new job and drank away the money he had received for the workshop in the bars in his neighborhood. One evening, a man came into his local pub. His car had broken down outside, he wouldn't get any further that night and kept him company for a few hours. The next day, Yakov repaired his car for the man called Gan and left the town with him to live with the Tomobataar nomads.

Gregori

Gregori's mother, a singer from New York, came to the Russian capital for a gig and met a military officer there. The two got together and the result was little Greg. Shortly afterwards, however, the couple fell apart and she took her son back to America, where he spent most of his childhood and youth being raised by babysitters and nannies, while the singer preferred to spend her time on tour or in the recording studio. Gregori at least inherited much of her creativity, starting to make music himself at an early age and drawing a lot. Just what small children do when they need to keep themselves busy.

When he was 16 years old, his mother died of an overdose. As she never bothered to write down a testament or anything similar, her entire fortune goes to her greedy manager, who leaves Gregori penniless.

The boy, who has spent his whole life sheltered without much contact with the outside world, is left with nothing and doesn't know exactly what to do. So he scrapes together the last of his money and buys a ticket to Moscow, where he tries to find his father, but in vain. He quickly goes off the rails, barely speaks a word of Russian, is recruited by a gang and gets exploited. An arms deal with a group of nomads goes wrong, a shootout ensues and Gegori is the only one left of the gang because he hides instead of fighting. Yakov, who was on the other side of the deal, takes pity on him and eventually takes him to his new family where he tries to find his place within the group.

Anna

Anna grew up with the Tomobataar nomads from an early age. Her parents were killed in a botched mission when she was just four years old. Iron, who in a way blamed himself for this, took on a guardianship for her and looked after the little girl like the apple of his eye. As the years passed and Anna grew older, the relationship between her and her foster father changed. He became increasingly demanding, punished misbehavior and put the still young girl under pressure. Aon, who had already earned her place in the clan by this time, could not tolerate this behavior as she herself had grown up under similar circumstances. No one else in the clan interfered with Iron's "parenting methods", which is why she ended up doing it. Anna and Aon then became inseparable and she naturally followed her later when they left the clan along with many others.

Anatoly

Anatoly, or Tolik as Aon calls him, belongs to the Russian working class in Moscow and cannot claim to own much. As a boy, he dreamed of studying mechanical engineering in order to open his own workshop or business. A dream that his father would never have been able to afford in this life. So after school, Tolik started working at his father's scrap yard on the outskirts of Moscow, not an easy job. He regularly drives into the city to pick up old components and scrap metal from SovOil and other big corporations, where he meets Alyona one day. The two strike up a conversation, exchange banter and hit it off straight away, which over time develops into a teenage love story. Aon spends a lot of time with him at the scrapyard, where she can test and improve her skills on old machines and has a place to hide from her hated stepfather. He, in return, benefits from the knowledge she brings with her from university, and his dream of building his own big thing soon becomes her dream too. Together they consider leaving the city at some point and make plans for the future

unnamed_chromed_up_terrifying_SovOil_Secret_Police_agent

Yea well, I don't know yet how to call him. After Aon has fled Moscow, the officers of the normal police force give up the search for her, as it theoretically no longer falls within their area of responsibility. However, since Kristof claims that Aon stole the data he wanted to sell to Petrochem, SovOil is naturally very interested in finding her and the data chip. So they send a Secret Police agent after her, who, together with a small unit, tries to track her down. He actually already had a kind of "Easter Egg" appearance in my other AU. He would have been the agent sitting next to Kurt if he hadn't switched the cards on the table. Funny how differently things can go. Anyway, he doesn't really have much of a backstory other than he used to work for the KGB and is a bloodthirsty hound dog who chases Aon halfway across the country (spoiler: and finds her). If I were to compare him to another character from movies etc, he would probably have the closest vibe to Hans Landa from Inglourious Basterds. The character was very well written, even though I would probably make my namesless_pig a bit younger than him. But since he'll be pumped full of cyberware anyway, it probably doesn't matter much in the end. It's just supposed to be a fucking horrible character and Aon's nightmare.

Robert Walker

Robert is one of the key-characters in my main fanfiction. I haven't thought about him in depth yet, but the general concept is there. He's a British journalist and photographer who wanted to go high by exposing wrongdoings in society. For him, there is nothing more exciting than achieving "fame and notoriety" as a whistleblower. He's not necessarily stupid or doesn't know what he's doing, he's just unlucky. He gets into trouble with the wrong people and upsets the even worse ones, which is why he has to flee the UK and ends up in NC. There he tries to start over and stay out of trouble. However, he soon develops an "unhealthy" obsession with Kurt Hansen. He is incredibly fascinated by him and spends every free minute in Dogtown so that he can perhaps take a photo (or two, or ten) of his idol. At some point, he goes so far as to seek direct contact and wants to interview him. Kurt is flattered at first, but has little desire to reveal information about himself in some strange blog or gossip magazine. But that didn't stop Robert from continuing to stalk him and even trying to become a member of Barghest. At some point, Hansen got too pissed off and gave him the choice of leaving Dogtown or catching a bullet. Robbie chose the second option. After all, he hadn't forbid him to camp outside the gates of Dogtown, had he?

Technically I could tell something about Aon´s mom and her stepfather too, but I don´t have that much yet. So will keep em for the next WIP together with the other OCs for my main fic. There will be three more. A general, a corpo guy and the last is still up for discussion with my brain. Considering somekind of warlord or a netrunner.

Art

I tried to do something different than a full rendered piece of artwork. I am not yet confinced that I like it. I like, that it was finished really fast lmao but...I dunno.

Aon and Tolik - 2055

But happy that Aon is actually recognizable in the end. During the process she looked so much like So Mi at a point that my brain went: WHO ARE YOU GIRL. But I like the long hair. Will give it back to her in her 2078+ appearance. Not exactly like this, but longer than her normal style.

Not quite sure about Anatoly tho. I mean, he looks like this in my head, but I will reconsidere if he will get some cyberarms. He is poor like a mouse, so probably can´t afford expensive tech like this, but he feels kind of „empty“ without anything.

Congrats and huge thanks if you read this far. Brainrot stronk!

Tagging some ppl aswell. Everyone else is invited too to show off some awesome stuff ofc, no pressure as always!

@blackrevell @olath124 @cyberholic77 @cybervesna @pinkyjulien @theviridianbunny @therealnightcity @wanderingaldecaldo @miss--river @barghestapologist @kdval @streetkid-named-desire @aggravateddurian @androgymess

#wip whenever #worldbuilding #writing stuff #art stuff #oc stuff

[teecupangel]

You know worms are harmless things right? Just there burrowing or something and one day I thought "what if Desmond got turned into a worm?" But! Worm Desmond is small! What can he do to help the Assassin's? And now imagine this! One of his ancestors surrounded by enemies and injured and just when they think it's the end a giant worm the size of a train pops out of the ground and crushes everyone and then the thing is infront of the ancestor and thinks they're gonna die too and then the worm just shrinks down to a typical worm size and just lays there as if nothing happened at all.

It would be cool if Desmond was a Mongolian death worm but I'm fine with anything else

This would be fun because Desmond would see himself as useless and, really, this was the Isus’ cruel joke (maybe even Juno) since he couldn’t do anything with a small wiggly body like his.

Still, he persisted and tried to make his way to his ancestor’s main base of operation, wiggling and eating his way from the place he had woken up in… as a worm. He tried to keep underground to not be seen by both humans and any animals that would like to take a bite of him.

Depending on where he had been transported, he could reunite with his ancestor:

Altaïr: Somewhere in the Kingdom section of the AC1 map. Altaïr had just been on his way to his next mission when he saw crusaders harassing one of the outlying towns that were under Masyaf’s protection. This would still be an arrogant Altaïr and he would call out to them and call them cowards who prey on the weak instead of taking one or two down by surprise first.

Ezio: It would be fun (and angst-y) if Desmond finds Ezio while he’s fleeing from the Borgias after the fall of Monteriggioni. He’s heavily wounded and bleeding and the horse he’s riding on was tired with some of Cesare’s soldiers about to catch up to him.

Ratonhnhaké:ton: Somewhere in the vast frontier. Ratonhnhaké:ton is a hunter so he had been hunting for the homestead when he noticed a group of marching redcoats with what seemed to be ‘prisoners’. He tried to save them but it had been a trap and those prisoners turned out to be redcoats themselves and they managed to hit Ratonhnhaké:ton on the head while he had been trying to protect them.

So Ezio and Ratonhnhaké:ton are in a pinch because of circumstances. Altaïr is in a pitch (which he will adamantly deny) because he’s an arrogant dumbass. So Desmond is panicking because he has no idea how to help, oh god, did this even happen in the past? He meant present! Fuck, time travel tenses are fucking hard.

Focus, Desmond!

In his blind panic, he just charges toward the enemies, hoping to… he has no plan! No hope! Just pure panic and a ‘fuck it, let’s see what I can do once I’m there’.

Then when he’s right on top of the center of the enemies…

He doesn’t know why but he felt his entire body warm up.

Almost too hot but bearable for someone like him.

Then…

He just erupted from the ground with large maw open and just… gobbled the enemy right on top of them while toppling those nearby. Then he quickly returned underground.

And sprang back up to take another enemy.

Like some kind of deadly whack-a-mole… (Whack-a-worm?)

(I know you just wanted him to drop over the enemies but I kinda like the idea of Desmond just straight up eating these poor dudes for some reason. No, there is a reason. I love the Tremors franchise and this ask reminded me of a Graboid. Sorry.)

By the end of it, all the enemies had been swallowed whole and Desmond sprang back up one last time to throw up all of the non-organic matter he had swallowed as well.

Seeing the disgust (and fear) on their ancestors’ face, Desmond let out an almost coo-like sound as he tried to say “yeah, me too, buddy, eeeww” and then poof’ed, he’s his old little worm self once more.

He rolled around the ground and looked up to his ancestor with a “pick me up” like gesture.

When their ancestor just kept staring, Desmond tries a “please?” gesture which he was sure wasn’t really helpful.

But… for some reason… his ancestor picks him up anyway.

Unorganized Notes:

The three can’t explain it but there’s something about the worm that ‘calls’ to them. Like they know that it wasn’t a coincidence that they were saved and spared.

Desmond cannot communicate with his ancestors. Even trying to wrap his worm body in a writing tool proved too hard. Up to you if that changes once they get the Apple.

Altaïr would study Desmond and give him various different ‘food’ to see what he would eat. He records everything in a separate journal with sketches of Desmond. Desmond has made a ‘draw me like one of your French girls’ and a ‘no, no, draw me on this side, this is my good side’ joke so many times even though Altaïr just keeps sighing and gently pushing him to get back to his old pose without understanding why Desmond liked those poses so much whenever he starts sketching him.

Ezio eventually fell unconscious and, when he woke up, he thought it had been a fever dream. Until he sees Desmond had hidden in one of his pouches so that the young woman (who was canonically the model of Mona Lisa according to the Reflection comics btw) wouldn’t see him. Ezio is a bit wary of Desmond because he remembered how Desmond had grown so big all of a sudden but he warms up soon enough when all Desmond did was wrap around his neck and chill while he makes his way to Roma. Desmond has a harder time helping Ezio because the flooring of the streets of Roma means he’s ‘headbutting’ each time he pops up and he does have to throw up the ‘tiles’ or whatever they’re called. Ezio’s recruits usually are wary of him but warm up to him once they see that he’s mostly just harmless if Ezio isn’t fighting. They like to feed him fruits and meat that Ezio starts trying to stop them because Desmond keeps eating them until he bloats up and Ezio feels that it’s bad for Desmond. The moment Leonardo is away from the Borgias, he starts studying Desmond. He had wanted to study Desmond the moment he saw him with Ezio but he couldn’t because of the whole Cesare-as-my-current-art-sugar-daddy situation.

Ratonhnhaké:ton believes Desmond is sentient and a hunter himself so he doesn’t try to coddle him and usually lets him get his own food whenever he goes hunting himself. Desmond doesn’t mind since he can eat dirt anyway but Ratonhnhaké:ton still shares a bit of his hunt with him anyway. Desmond doesn’t understand why though since Ratonhnhaké:ton told him specifically to hunt by himself. Ratonhnhaké:ton doesn’t say it out loud but he always worried that Desmond was not eating as he assumed Desmond is a carnivore that needs to become big to hunt down prey. Nah. Desmond is like most worms, dirt is fine. Ratonhnhaké:ton wasn’t worried about bringing him to the homestead because he trusted his instincts that were telling him Desmond was a friend. He truly believes Desmond is some kind of ‘animal’ that just hasn’t been discovered yet.

All three of them tried to give a name to Desmond and, for some reason, they all come up with the same name even without Desmond’s questionable charade capabilities: Desmond. Altaïr believes the name comes from a dream he once had (Desmond is just “???!!!”), Ezio believes he’s just using a name that had been in his mind a lot since Vatican and Ratonhnhaké:ton is perplexed why he picked such a foreign name but it just seemed right, like he just knew that it was Desmond’s name.

I know some people might be squeamish with worms so I’m going to use the “Keep Reading” function. Below is what the Mongolian Death Worm looks like.

Also, the whole ‘sprout from the ground to devour people’ thing that derailed this ask is because of the Graboid. It’s not an actual worm but it would be fun if Desmond looks like a white Mongolian Death Worm but his big form is more similar to the albino Graboid (which is meant to look more like a Mongolian Death Worm than the usual Graboid):

#desmond as a worm au #desmond as a graboid au #maybe? #sorrryyy #if anything #please try watching the tremors franchise #they’re really fun movies #assassin's creed #desmond miles #ask and answer #altaïr ibn la'ahad #ezio auditore #ratonhnhaké:ton #connor kenway #fic idea: assassin's creed #teecup writes/has a plot

[yeolchendae]

➳ Pairing: Chanyeol-centric ft. Jongin

➳ Genre: Dark Fantasy | Fairytale

➳ Warnings & Possible Triggers: Violence | Societal injustice

➳ Summary: Chanyeol has a secret talent and Kai is going to exploit it to change his fate.

➳ Word Count: 3.2K

➳ A/N: This story draws inspiration from a few historical inequities & injustices, if parts of it comes across as offensive, please feel free to message me privately. Quite a few of the terms were taken from or inspired by Russian, Mongolian, Kazakh & Korean, so if anything looks familiar…hooray!

All characters belong to fictional ethnic groups.

Many moons ago, there existed a small empire of three kingdoms nestled in the heart of a great forest. Through it ran a river which flowed into the sea. At the center of the forest resided the king and his noblemen in the Kingdom of Goros. Enclosed by a steep wall, one could not enter it except through a gate fortified on each side by stone giants.

Two kingdoms lay beyond the gates: Mongor occupied the perimeter surrounding the Outer Wall and Khizan the trees by the riverside. The Mongori were a people who lived by the sword and girded themselves with coin belts and circlets. The Khizani produced musicians and woodworkers with whom none could compare.

In an attempt to usurp the hermit kingdoms, Goros sowed seeds of discord. The King and his men drew up an alliance with the Mongori and forged a campaign that would draw a line between this new alliance and the people of Khizan. It was at this time that the Khizani earned a name that would taint them for centuries to come: Zvartaan, meaning ‘great monster’.

With the waters poisoned and men turned to beasts, there remained only one thing crucial to the purification of Khizan: bloodshed.

It is said that the approaching of a Mongori can be discerned by the sound of his coins, but on the Eve of a Thousand Tears, they stalked the blackwood forest, silent as thieves. A hundred Khizani perished by their swords and those who remained fled in the houseboats they crafted for sport. They sailed to the place where the river meets the sea and there they dwelt in a cave until at last a messenger, playing three melodious notes, deemed it safe to return.

But as the legends tell it, not all would return to Khizan. Those who did not are called, to this day, “the Lost Generation”.

The Khizani on land returned to a new order under which they were forced to submit: the Empire of Trikhan. They rebuilt humble dwellings using the wood of their houseboats. They reasoned that when all became well, they would craft them again, but with so many of their brethren lost, the knowledge to craft the boats would eventually pass from them too.

As the years went by, they came into conflict again with the Mongori, until the emperor from Goros brought an end to the hostility. A treaty was drawn up and the three kingdoms were ordered to fight no more. Centuries of violent conflict would be reduced to a blot on the scroll of history.

To this day, both sides remain scarred, but an echo from the past stirs the leaves:

Mongor cries with his brothers, but the tears of Khizan are scattered to the four winds. The heel of Goros crushes them both. This is the way of the Trikhan.

Chanyeol belongs to a guild of merchants recruited from Khizan, the descendants of a long tradition of music and craftsmanship. Although proud of this heritage, he is forced to cut his hair and tuck away his jewelry in order to find work. No one will hire Khizani who do not fit the imperial standard. He and all outsiders working in Goros are branded like cattle. Mongori receive a mallet, announcing proudly their workmanship, but Chanyeol’s wrist bears a word.

One fateful day, merchants arrive from an island far across the sea. They anchor ships adorned with precious stones, and present themselves handsomely dressed. Their trade in Goros proves detrimental for the guild. Chanyeol and the other men are denied entry due to the surplus of foreign goods in the market. Goros sneers at their tables and wicker baskets. Even the metalwork of Mongor is overlooked.

The kingdom grows bewitched by the merchants’ garments. They are unlike any they’ve ever seen, bearing the scales of a creature known as the Mulkus.

“Your Majesty, do hear us! It is a most magnificent fish, one that has evaded death for centuries. Its habitat is a cave guarded by monstrous sirens! We have found that the wearer of these scales will be invincible even in battle…” they say to the restless emperor.

Intrigued by their claims, the King of Goros sets course even in his dreams. No one in three kingdoms has ventured out to the open sea for centuries. The Khizani had been seamen in the time of his ancestors, but the knowledge is lost to them now. They are little more than squatters in his nearly perfect empire.

The Trikhan needs a capable navy and he will gather the strongest men to build it.

With the Guild being out of work, Chanyeol turns to hunting for sustenance and tinkering with his life-long project: a houseboat to sail uncharted waters. The others tease him to no end, calling him Khizan’s Noah. They crowd around watching him craft a boat they are certain will never reach the ocean. Sailing, which had once come easily to them, has been forgotten, after all. The sea is an unforgiving mistress. Many years ago she swallowed their people. They cannot suffer another loss so great.

In the privacy of his houseboat, Chanyeol plays the songs of his forefathers on a flute he keeps hidden in a crate.

Of the many injustices done to the people of Khizan, the confiscation of their flutes has been their greatest silencer. Following the Eve of a Thousand Tears, a rumour took weed that Khizani music possessed the ability to bewitch and curse.

Every last instrument was destroyed, save one. The flute is a wooden relic from the days of his forefathers, bound with leather talismans and carved with the tree that birthed Khizan and all of humanity.

Chanyeol no longer believes in the magic of his ancestors, but he believes there is power in music. When he plays the flute, the wind dances to The Song of Khyvel, trees bow in reverence, and even skittish fawns draw near.

He plays and the forest sings.

When at last the foreign merchants depart from Goros, the guild is welcomed through its gates once more. The men learn of the newfound craze for the Mulkus scales. The exorbitantly rich wear garments composed of them and those less-so wear them in the form of hair pins and jewelry. They also come to know of a decree calling able-bodied men to join the kingdom’s first sea voyage in over a century.

The guild heads to the recruitment grounds to try their luck, but some, including Chanyeol are barred from enlistment as there is a strict policy that only men and women from Goros & Mongor may join.

Chanyeol’s short hair and clothing give the illusion that he is not a barbarian, but his wrist reveals his true identity. Mongori have their mallet and Khizani the word Zvartaan.

The men who fail to be recruited return home, dejected. Chanyeol, angry and disappointed by his fate, turns to the unfinished work of his houseboat. He tries to fix a broken pane and abandons it frustratedly. He searches for his flute as it seems to have gone missing, but discovers instead a squatter who has been hiding in his boat.

“My flute, where have you hidden it, thief?” Chanyeol demands.

“I haven’t hidden anything. I’m merely holding it for you. I have a proposition that will benefit us both,” he replies slyly.

“I won't make deals with a criminal. Give me my flute.”

“No, not a criminal. Kai. I work in Goros as a messenger, a Knight Shadow, if that means anything to you” the man says. Shaking his sleeve, he allows the flute to drop into his waiting hand and then tosses it to Chanyeol, who eyes the flute warily.

Knight Shadows are traitorous. They sell the secrets of Khizan and Mongor. They’ve always made their bed with the enemy. Their clothing is black and they keep their hair long and tied back. Half of their faces are covered by a veil and their bodies are free of markings.

Behind every kingdom’s downfall is one of these sneaky messengers, but Kai does not appear ashamed of his occupation. His veil is lowered. Chanyeol can make out dark skin and sharp eyes lined with kohl. He speaks like a viper, striking up a deal that he will help Chanyeol finish building the boat and keep the secret of his flute, if he is allowed to stay.

Chanyeol agrees. Dangerous men pay Kai to tell them secrets. He is a shadow with lanterns for eyes, a man who does not exist and cannot ever exist. Unlike Chanyeol, he will always remain safe.

In the days that follow, Chanyeol works in the houseboat, foregoing meals and even putting aside his carpentry. Kai, who works only after sunset, bears witness to the futile, exhaustive work. His concern mounting, Kai lays out an elaborate scheme.

Forging a correspondence to the King of Goros, he details the existence of a Khizani sorcerer, the last of his kind, who can charm even sea monsters with his flute. He delivers it to the king himself, a dangerous stunt for one to pull without a summons.

“Your Majesty, I have seen him with my very eyes. If he can bewitch the mighty wolf, can he not tame a siren, perhaps tame the Mulkus you seek? Surely he would be an asset to your voyage…” He says to the King.

The king listens. He ponders. He dismisses the crafty Knight Shadow. He dreams once again of a sea voyage, this time, with a flutist at the helm.

One night as Chanyeol is playing his flute by the river, soldiers from Goros arrive to capture him. Kai follows behind in the shadows.

The carpenter is given a room of his own in the palace, servants, and a spread of fare that he has only dreamt of tasting. The soldiers do not speak to him. The maidservants eye him curiously but cower when he approaches. They exchange glances when his marked wrist hangs below the sleeve of the traditional robes of Goros.

How vulgar, they whisper, one to another, but their glimmering eyes follow him even to chambers.

- - - - - - - - - -

As Chanyeol turns in for the night, Kai peels himself from the shadows to make an appearance.

“Fit for a king, don’t you think?” He says, perching at the foot of the bed. He gathers a fistful of the silk sheets wistfully.

“I am rather skeptical of your claims of Shadow Knighthood,” Chanyeol says with a scowl, “you seem much better suited for trespassing.”

Kai greets him with a half-waisted bow. He opens his mouth to chastise the carpenter for being an ungrateful lout, but he decides not to mention that it was his plan that brought them to Goros in the first place.

Chanyeol seems to be in higher spirits, so he requests a song from the carpenter, the one that calls the birds.

For the first time, Kai sleeps peacefully within the walls of Goros.

 A fortnight passes before the king summons Chanyeol. 

“I must say, Boy, you are unlike anything I’ve seen and heard of your kind. You Khizani are but a handful in my empire and, yet, there is always some trouble with you lot, is there not? But, you, my Boy, you are exquisite! Tall, well-kempt, finely dressed. Pray tell, what is your name?”

Chanyeol’s teeth are closed, his tongue is pressed to the roof of his mouth in anticipation. His name in the ancient tongue means “flowering cherry” but in Goros, he is a beast. 

“Loey,” he replies quietly, “Your Majesty, my name is Loey.”

”A fine name, yes, very much unlike those of your brothers, I’m sure. You Khizani have rather difficult names…”

Chanyeol keeps his head lowered and behaves as he has been instructed by Kai. He accepts every chalice and sweetmeat that comes his way. The King takes such a liking to him that he is offered a position in the army, should the scale voyage prove successful with his aid. 

His instructions are to play without ceasing, upon command. According to the king, his music will be their most powerful weapon. As a man of integrity, Chanyeol wants to mention that he does not believe the flute is magic but he remembers Kai’s words to agree to everything the king says. 

“To contradict and suggest anything other than what His Majesty says is akin to treason. Do not be a fool.” 

Chanyeol is not a fool. The word Zvartaan echoes in his chest but he clears his throat, speaks delicately, and steps lightly. 

Later, Chanyeol is given a soldier’s uniform and his arm is tattooed with symbols of Goros. His hair is cut very short on the sides, lending the illusion of a shadow of hair and left longer at the top, a style customary to the King’s Army. 

Kai trains him to speak as though he has never set foot outside of Goros, and with each passing day, more of his vernacular is suppressed. Chanyeol hears the same words every day: “You are the King’s Man. Do not let them put you down.” 

A month after his arrival to Goros, the naval ship, Krasdalya, sets sail. Chanyeol is treated with reverence but it angers him to see Mongori recruits in poor conditions onboard. During the voyage, he makes use of his status to advocate for their better treatment, an action that greatly astounds the army men. 

Some whisper, saying that the flute player is a man of strange thought and dangerous ideas. Kai, disguised as a crewman, whispers back in Chanyeol’s favour, snuffing out the hearsay. 

The Krasdalya drops anchor three days into their voyage, near the grotto spoken of by the foreign merchants.

Chanyeol is ordered to play and he does so nervously. 

  At first, the waters lay still, so he decides to play a musical trick his grandfather taught him: he plays the inverse of a melody he composed to lead birds away from a tree infested with poisonous moss. 

The melody is haunting and peculiar. Kai’s ears twitch at the arrangement. His heart knows the song. He wonders why Chanyeol is playing the notes in such a peculiar arrangement. 

 The men on board listen in awe. None imagined they would hear a Khizani musician in this lifetime. 

Suddenly, a soldier cries out “SIREN, OFF THE PORT BOW.” 

At first there is one and then another appears, and again, another. Within minutes, a small pod rises from the deep, beautiful in all shades: two with skin navy as the night sky and others boasting skins of alabaster, coral, and brown. 

Kai tears into the hem of his garment. Cutting small pieces of it with a knife he crumples them to place in his ears and pushes his way through the crowd of spellbound men in search of Chanyeol.

 His unspoken duty is to protect the naïve carpenter. He reaches out to insert the remaining pieces of cloth into Chanyeol’s ears but the Lieutenant Captain barks at him to stand back. They have already seen to it that the flutist is unable to hear the sirens. 

Chanyeol whips around, bewildered by the sudden commotion, but Kai positions his hands in front of his face as though he is playing a flute. 

Keep playing, he mouths and Chanyeol obeys.

The sirens begin to harmonise with the flute but Kai and Chanyeol hear only the muffled sound of their voices. Men below clamber up to the main deck, and one after another, they plunge into the depths below. The king’s men look on idly, their ears full of harvested cotton. 

When the men who jump ship do not break the surface, Chanyeol’s song begins to waver. The soldiers at his back harpoon a siren that draws close to the ship and reel her in, cold and dead. Her coloured skin goes grey as soon as she is lowered into the ship. 

She bears no tail or fins. Her hair is ankle-length and coloured black. 

“Lieutenant! We’ve reeled in a woman! She’s got no tail!”

  “Those are just their tricks. Do not be fooled by this!” the Lieutenant bellows, delivering a light kick to the siren’s calf, “ beastly little thing. Almost as pretty as a Khizani girl,” he murmurs to himself. 

Chanyeol grows lightheaded at the sight of the maiden. Trembling, he stumbles backward only to be caught and pulled to his feet by Kai. 

The siren begin their descent as soon as the music stops and a soldier from behind draws his sword, holding it up to Chanyeol’s neck. 

“PLAY, ZVATAARKA!” 

Kai attempts to push the brute away but the man turns his blade, impaling him with it first and then pushing him overboard. 

With the cloud of blood permeating the waters, the pod swims toward Kai. 

From below, he shouts for Chanyeol, who removes some of the cotton from his ear.

 “Hyung! Hyung, help me!” 

Hyung. 

It’s an old term, practically obsolete these days. Khizani once had so many to mark kinship. Something stirs in Chanyeol. He picks up his flute and plays again, this time the inverse of two songs, a medley, one that his grandfather warned him was very difficult to learn as it was a special song used in times of great peril, by valiant warriors. 

Chanyeol has never believed the songs could move a single thing in heaven nor on earth. He simply loves music.  

The maidens watch him with their piercing eyes, but one keeps her gaze on Kai. She swims toward him and though he flails and attempts to swim away, she drags him under water. Chanyeol’s heart stops cold but he is relieved to see moments later that the siren slides his body onto the cave rock of the grotto. She then turns to Chanyeol and holds out both arms as if to beckon him to her. He removes the other cloth from his ear and hears his flute song being sung back to him, clearly now. 

The siren song does not have the same effect on him as it did the drowned men. This creature, centuries old, is calling him into the water, but not by magic. This is music. He speaks this language and so does she. They are conversing with one another and she is the first to understand him. 

Chanyeol realises, then, that answering the siren’s call is something he must do. 

Hanging the flute around his neck by one of its leather cords, he climbs onto the bowsprit of the ship despite the cries of men behind him. 

“YOU’LL DROWN, BOY. ONLY A MADMAN WOULD JUMP INTO THE ARMS OF THAT MONSTER.”

Chanyeol has never been afraid of monsters. A zvartaan like himself can tame anything. 

Moments later, he jumps into the sea. Cold and dark, the water embraces him. She cares not that he is a monster. She is the mother of everything. All around him, he sees lights glowing: ghosts, shapes and  shadows. His ancestors are all around him. 

The siren reaches out to him and her arms feel like those of an old friend. Cradling his face, she presses her lips to his forehead and he hears the gentle notes of a song that rocks him to sleep. 

#exo fanfiction #chanyeol #pcy #kai #jongin #kim jongin #dark fairytale #writers of tumblr #kpop fanfic #exo #park chanyeol #exo kai #exo chanyeol #my writing

[palaeonecromancy]

Happy Fossil Friday!

Who: Therizinosaurus cheloniformis

name meaning: "Scythe Lizard" "Turtle Formed"

pronunciation: Ther-i-zine-oh-sore-us kell-on-i-form-iss

What: A large, probably herbivorous theropod

When: Late Cretaceous

Where: Nemegt Formation in the Gobi Desert in Mongolia

Fun fact!: An original description of Therizinosaurus the material was thought to have belonged to a gigantic turtle with huge three foot long claws. This original material was found among much Mongolian turtle material, however reexamination of the specimen showed that it was actually a part of a very interesting dinosaur instead.

Why are they cool?: As one of the few theropods with proposed herbivorous habits, it is an excellent example of convergent evolution (def: the independent evolution of features that appear reminiscent of features that appear in multiple organisms that have no common ancestry, e.g. wings in bats and birds).

The arms of Therizinosaurus have been notably compared to herbivorous mammals such as the Giant Ground Sloth and proposed to employ similar feeding styles of retrieving vegetation for consumption as well as digging for roots in the earth.

Image Credits: (Left: A representative of the Therizinosaurid group not of Therizinosaurus proper - Nothronychus from the Natural History Museum in Utah. Photo taken by M. Rhodes (2019) Right: TheStompingLand.com)

#therizinosaurus #theropod #palaeontology #paleontology #fossil friday #fossils #paleo #cretaceous #gobi desert #mongolia #desert #giant sloth #herbivore

[catbatart]

Now that my conventions are slowing down, I wanted to post these! 

My Cryptids in July original watercolor pieces are up for sale! They are 5x7″ pieces matted in black 8x10″ mats! My plan is to upload more original pieces in the future!

These guys are listed in two batches-  Batch A and  Batch B

The available pieces are listed below the cut! 

Skunk Ape Ropen Lone Mountain Pine Devil Mongolian Death Worm Montauk Monster Dobharchu Loveland Frogman Boo Hag Lagarfljot Worm Bunyip Shunka Warakin Ningen Molkele Mbembe Texas Giant Bird Jersey Devil Nessie Hoop Snake Black Eyed Kids El Chupacabra Menehune

#cryptid art #cryptids #jersey devil #nessie #loch ness monster #black eyed children #chupacabra #watercolor #traditional art

[photofinder]

Cryptid of the Week: Mongolian Death Worm

All in all, it's a giant worm that lives in the Gobi desert. Some accounts give it acid or venom that it uses to hunt its prey-- humans and livestock-- and some accounts even give it powers of electroshock. Its size seems to differ depending on the account.

If something about this seems familiar-- well. Tremors and Dune have their own versions of the Mongolian Death Worm, and the Krayt Dragons from Star Wars seem pretty similar, too (not to mention the Alaskan Bull Worm from Spongebob).

In recent years many have tried to find proof that this monster exists, some speculating that it might be a worm lizard or the Tartar Sand Boa. Still, whether it's real or not, there hasn't been hard proof of its existence.

As the X-Files puts it... the truth is out there

#cryptid of the week #cryptids #Mongolian death worm #tremors #dune #star wars

[welcometololaland]

Hello Lola my dear, I have seen your unhinged ask in my box and will be answering it soon, but in the mean time I thought I'd uno reverse you and ask some of the normal asks for you, too. Please feel free to answer any or all or none at all, whatever speaks to you.

17. Assign each of your fics (or selection of them) a cryptid.

21. If you were starving and had to feast on one of your fics to survive, which fic would it be?

an uno reverse! how very dare! thank you, sara!

17. I don't actually have that many fics, but i will assign my 7 most recent with terrible explanations:

a. the rainbow fish (tarlos) - a yeti because i simply couldn't ignore it (wrote this fic so fast, loved every minute).

b. double, double, acting trouble (firstprince) - a british big cat because the concept is so outlandish it can't be real.

c. ALTA (tarlos) - the mongolian death worm because it invaded my brain and caused me so many issues but i couldn't get rid of it. like a bad animorphs book.

d. cursed is a state of mind (firstprince) - mothman. it's sinister, and it's cursed and no one in their right mind would want to give a giant, evil bird caffeine.

e. (un)professional services (tarlos) - bigfoot, for the same reason as (a) - could not look away, could not stop writing.

f. catch and release (firstprince) - a champy, because its a teeny tiny monster in a lake (and this fic is about rowing).

g. oh baby i'm a fool for you (tarlos) - i mean...i think this one is obvious. the loch ness monster because this fic was about as cursed as the whole concept of resume and imprinting.

21. I'd be chowing down on ALTA, purely because it's the biggest and it would help me survive the longest.

#cursed ask #lolaland answers #cha-melodius #double double acting trouble #rainbow fish #ALTA #cursed is a state of mind #(un)professional services #catch and release #oh baby i'm a fool for you

[disgruntledexplainer]

Things not to do if you do not want your civilization or ideology to be snuffed out:

invade russia or afghanistan. Unless you are Mongolia.

murder a mongolian ambassador

declare that you will wipe out or even just out-live the Jewish people or the Catholic Church. (trying to stamp out Islam or Buddhism will also fail spectacularly, but not necessarily spectacularly enough to end your civilization)

rely on mercenaries or foreign aid in place of a standing army.

use all your trees to erect giant stone heads representing your leaders.

commit human sacrifice on all of your neighbors so much that they naturally jump to rallying around a bunch of gun-wielding ruffians from across the sea the moment the opportunity presents itself despite the risks.

try to enact communism. unless you are china.

bomb the US. unless you are al-qaeda or the taliban, but even then doing so will make your life miserable for about 10 years.

exist at the same time as the Sea Peoples. sorry mate, there's nothing you can do.

edit: BTW I can actually explain most of these. except for the last one, since information about the sea peoples is rather scant. give me a number and i'll give you an explanation.

#history #history memes

[the-de-vil-affairs]

Things that would make sense Tuesday 003:

003. Language. In all honesty, the Isle isn't likely to speak the same language as Auradon, you have several different languages all being forced into close quarters together, and they wouldn't have had translators, or magic able to assist them in communication. We could probably expect to see some sort of hybrid / monstrosity of a language develop amongst the adults that the children would become fluid in.

But at the very least Engish would not have been the ruling voice. We have Fairytales that are Germanic, French, and English. We also have several Islanders, Mongolian, Celtic, Spanish, Arabic, Cantonese, Latin, Greek, and Atlantian. We'd have the languages of the Fae, Drakonic, Goblin, Giants, Creole, and what ever else. And that's not touching on body language, hand signs, or any other contect. Including writen. Could you imagine going into runes?

Now taking all that into account. I think it would be safe to assume the descendants would know their parent's first language [mother + father], The standard form on the Isle (whatever that might be), and they could also be taught Auradonian English to an extent, because cross them not, the kids better be able to read Auradon maps if they ever got off.

Stardust + Chaos

#Things that would make sense Tuesday #isle of the lost #plotting #disney descendants #stardust + chaos #003. Langauges

[labete-du-gevaudan]

7 for the cryptozoology questions

7. Is there a cryptid that you're genuinely scared of?

The Mongolian Death Worm will always scare me no matter how interesting I find it. Giant blood red worm that can spit acid and discharge electricity? No thank you!

#wen answers asks

[legend-collection]

Erlking

In European folklore and myth, the Erlking is a sinister elf who lingers in the woods. He stalks children who stay in the woods for too long, and kills them by a single touch.

Pic by Sammycat17 on deviantart

The name "Erlking" is a name used in German Romanticism for the figure of a spirit or "king of the fairies". It is usually assumed that the name is a derivation from the ellekonge (older elverkonge, i.e. "Elf-king") in Danish folklore. The name is first used by Johann Gottfried Herder in his ballad "Erlkönigs Tochter" (1778), an adaptation of the Danish Hr. Oluf han rider (1739), and was taken up by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in his poem "Erlkönig" (1782), which was set to music by Schubert, among others. Goethe added a new meaning, as "Erl" does not mean "elf", but "black alder" - the poem about the Erlenkönig is set in the area of an alder quarry in the Saale valley in Thuringia. In English translations of Goethe's poem, the name is sometimes rendered as Erl-king.

According to Jacob Grimm, the term originates with a Scandinavian (Danish) word, ellekonge "king of the elves", or for a female spirit elverkongens datter "the elven king's daughter", who is responsible for ensnaring human beings to satisfy her desire, jealousy or lust for revenge. The New Oxford American Dictionary follows this explanation, describing the Erlking as "a bearded giant or goblin who lures little children to the land of death", mistranslated by Herder as Erlkönig in the late 18th century from ellerkonge. The correct German word would have been Elbkönig or Elbenkönig, afterwards used under the modified form of Elfenkönig by Christoph Martin Wieland in his 1780 poem Oberon.

Alternative suggestions have also been made; in 1836, Halling suggested a connection with a Turkic and Mongolian god of death or psychopomp, known as Erlik Chan.

Johann Gottfried von Herder introduced this character into German literature in "Erlkönigs Tochter", a ballad published in his 1778 volume Stimmen der Völker in Liedern. It was based on the Danish folk ballad "Hr. Oluf han rider" "Sir Oluf he rides" published in the 1739 Danske Kæmpeviser. Herder undertook a free translation where he translated the Danish elvermø ("elf maid") as Erlkönigs Tochter; according to Danish legend old burial mounds are the residence of the elverkonge, dialectically elle(r)konge, the latter has later been misunderstood in Denmark by some antiquarians as "alder king", cf Danish elletræ "alder tree". It has generally been assumed that the mistranslation was the result of error, but it has also been suggested (Herder does actually also refer to elves in his translation) that he was imaginatively trying to identify the malevolent sprite of the original tale with a woodland old man (hence the alder king).

The story portrays Sir Oluf riding to his marriage but being entranced by the music of the elves. An elf maiden, in Herder's translation the Elverkonge's daughter, appears and invites him to dance with her. He refuses and spurns her offers of gifts and gold. Angered, she strikes him and sends him on his way, deathly pale. The following morning, on the day of his wedding, his bride finds him lying dead under his scarlet cloak.

Although inspired by Herder's ballad, Goethe departed significantly from both Herder's rendering of the Erlking and the Scandinavian original. The antagonist in Goethe's "Der Erlkönig" is the Erlking himself rather than his daughter. The Erlkönig appears to a young boy in a feverish delirium - his father, however, identifies the apparition as a simple streak of fog. Goethe's Erlking differs in other ways as well: his version preys on children, rather than adults of the opposite sex, and the Erlking's motives are never made clear. Goethe's Erlking is much more akin to the Germanic portrayal of elves and valkyries – a force of death rather than simply a magical spirit.

In Angela Carter's short story "The Erl-King", contained within the 1979 collection The Bloody Chamber, the female protagonist encounters a male forest spirit. Though she becomes aware of his malicious intentions, she is torn between her desire for him and her desire for freedom. In the end, she forms a plan to kill him in order to escape his power.

Charles Kinbote, the narrator of Vladimir Nabokov's 1962 novel, Pale Fire, alludes to "alderkings". One allusion is in his commentary to line 275 of fellow character John Shade's eponymous poem. In the case of this commentary, the word invokes homosexual ancestors of the last king of Zembla, Kinbote's ostensible homeland. The novel contains at least one other reference by Kinbote to alderkings.

In Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files, there is a character called the Erlking, modeled after the leader of the Wild Hunt, Herne the Hunter.

In the author John Connolly's short story collection Nocturnes (2004), there is a character known as the Erlking who attempts to abduct the protagonist.

The New Yorker's "20 Under 40" issue of July 5, 2010 included the short story "The Erlking" by Sarah Shun-lien Bynum.

A version of the Erl-King is mentioned in Zoe Gilbert's Mischief Acts, implied to be a figure related to Herne the Hunter.

In Andrzej Sapkowski's The Witcher saga, the highest leader of the Folk of the Alder elves, Auberon Muircetach, is also known as the Alder King. In the story, he maintains thematic ties to kidnapping: the Wild Hunt, known for abducting humans, is subordinate to him, and he orchestrates the imprisonment of Cirilla.

#Erlking #europe

[fatehbaz]

This is the first English translation of Jangar, the heroic epic of the Kalmyk nomads [...]. A tribute to [...] the mythical country Bumba, Jangar reflects the hopes and aspirations of the Kalmyk people as well as their centuries-long struggle for their cultural existence. Saglar (Saga) Bougdaeva was born and raised in Kalmykia. Central to Bougdaeva’s work as a scholar of the Eurasian studies is a commitment to identifying and preserving the nomadic oral and written heritage of the Great Eurasian Steppe. Before receiving a PhD in Sociology from Yale University, Bougdaeva studied Mongolian-Tibetan-Mandarin linguistics at Saint Petersburg State University. [...]

I grew up in the Republic of Kalmykia, a Mongolic-speaking region on the Volga River and Caspian Sea. In ancient and medieval times, Kalmyks were called Oirads. From the nomadic perspective, this location was the most western post of the Eurasian steppe road. [...]

If we think beyond the recent modernist and nationalist [...] terms and expand our time frame, Kalmykia is located at the point where west meets east and east meets west. [...] Oirad nomads easily crossed manmade borders not only geographically, but also conceptually and linguistically. All their aesthetic creations were valuable for that capability of polyglossia. They absorbed a myriad of influences without losing their own nomadic core, forming a multi-cultural buffer zone along the Eurasian steppe.

There are many perspectives on this particular region and field, but what is missing are the voices of the nomads themselves. [...]

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It is widely assumed that nomads were neither aesthetically developed nor literate. I disagree with that position. When I read Jangar, I heard nomadic voices of heroic humans, horses, birds, half-human giants, and semi-gods. I found my comfort in nomadic shelters [...]. I visited nomadic cities, bazaars and public plazas for meetings and festivals [...]. I travelled through the roads with planted poplar trees that connected seventy khanates [...]. Clearly the social worlds of nomads were very different from what is generally known about them. [...]

What we know about the vast territories and populations across the Eurasian steppe road, from the wall of Beijing to the wall of Berlin, is in the hands of the Russian government. Our knowledge about existing polities is scarce, and our knowledge about destroyed nomadic polities is even more threatened.

There is a link between literature and political freedom. [...]

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Jangar is a meditative imagination. As in dreams, there is not a strong sense of time. In the absence of time, movement is captured in relation to memorable events, such as a compelling call for a heroic act. In reading Jangar, our mind merges with a hero, who is a moving point in space; they become a hero while navigating the Eurasian steppe road. Along this road, which stretches between the Mingi (Caucasus) and the Ganga (Ganges), the epic pinpoints the Altai Mountains as the original homeland of the Oirad-Kalmyks. [...]

Jangar is very much about feelings and sensibilities. My favorite feeling from the book is the sense of freedom of global travels, from east to west and back again. This archaic language allows us to become witnesses to the global movement along the Great Steppe Road. The quintessential elements of this exciting global flow of people were groundwater well (ulgen) stops, “tea and sleep” (chai-honna) stops, diners (khotan), soup kitchens (sholun) for monks and the poor, horse-exchange and postal stations (yam), watchtowers and storm shelters (bolzatin boro), golden and silver bridges over rivers, and jade gates marking the entrances and exits of khanates. [...]

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Jangar was expressed by heart and memory. Treasures of nomadic art and literature were expressed in ways that made sense to nomadic cultures but are unexpected for a modern reader. For example, if you decide to live in a mobile home called ger, it makes more sense to leave wall paintings behind and bring exquisite carpet art, which you can roll out and find more value in its utility.

Similarly, if treasures of “literature” are not written with black ink on white paper, but express an exquisite aesthetic of creative narration, shouldn’t we celebrate it based on its brightness and not its format?

Today, the problem with our definition of literature is its focus on written works. It means we often throw out whatever is outside of that frame. Jangar is only one of many examples of what we have almost lost.

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Words of: Saglar Bougdaeva. “Q&A with Saglar Bougdaeva, translator of Jangar.” UC Press Blog (University of California Press). 5 March 2023. [Bold emphasis and some paragraph breaks/contractions added by me. The first paragraph in this post was published as a sort of introduction along with the article, and I’ve italicized to distinguish it from Bougdaeva’s responses and identify them as the words of UC Press Blog interviewers/editors.]

#ecology #landscape #colonial #imperial