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melchinafan · 11 months

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So, I was gathering ak'ab references in the Monster Gallery for potential eventual anthropomorphizing purposes. (They look like moths, so they're prime Mothman inspirations.) But as I turned them about, I had some...cursed, spicy Realizations. *pats ak'ab* This bad bug can fit so many fetishes. Sure, there's tentacles on a whole bunch of stuff in Secret World, but there is just...so much in the design for the ak'ab that can lend to all sorts of shenanigans.

So buckle the fuck up, sweetlings, we're going on a deep dive analyzation of ak'ab anatomy and observing the wild potential for fetishes along the way.

[Image ID: concept art of an ak'ab, a bizarre monster from the game Secret World Legends. It's quadrupedal, but has extra bug-like digits on the sides of its torso. It also has what appear to be bat-like wings, but the membrane connects in the center to a long digit that's sprouting from the center of its back, which results in a single, triangular wing. Its head is large and bulbous, and transitions directly to its shoulders with no neck. It has two pairs of eyes on the front of its head, with a vertically-slit mouth below them that contains two rows of humanoid teeth, and multiple thin tongues extend from it. Below that are another few pairs of eyes, and a large proboscis hanging downward. It has multiple sets of gills in the space between the lower set of eyes and its shoulders, with another set of humanoid teeth inside the gills closest to the eyes.]

I'll open with the general observation that ak'ab are surprisingly mammalian for something that otherwise looks like a fucked-up eldritch moth. By and large, they have a standard recognizable skeletal structure, even in the forelimb sections of the weird wings. Granted, they do also have bonus finger-like "limbs" coming out of their ribs like short insect legs. Plus another large digit on the center of the back, which connects the membranes of what would normally be a pair of wings into a single, triangular wing. And their head is...its own Thing. But they've got fingers/toes on their feet, with black finger/toenails on the digits that don't have claws, and joints generally in the same number and placement you'd expect from a mammal.

But it's not only the apparent arrangement of their bones that's oddly mammalian—indeed, arguably even strikingly humanoid. When I turned the ak'ab model to see what its underside looked like...I found something I would have never noticed in-game. Did you know they have nipples, sweetling? No? Now we know. Together.

[Image ID: a screenshot of the ak'ab model from the Monster Gallery. The camera is angled from below, which makes it possible to see the fact that the monster has a surprisingly humanoid torso, including two pairs of pecs. And, by extension, four nipples, though the set on the left are hidden by the reflective lighting of the model.]

I mean really, all you need to do to anthropomorphize an ak'ab is make it bipedal, slightly less top heavy, and...well, there you go. It's overall surprisingly in line with the cenobite-style shenanigans I might have pulled in an intellectual exercise to try to make a moth using human bits. Besides the nonsense middle wing digit, that part baffles me.

But, with that revelation, several questions are raised. Do ak'ab only have nipples because their form is based on mammalian bodies, nightmare-warped into an otherwise insectoid format? Or do they actually serve some function? Is it possible for an ak'ab to lactate, and if they do, do they carry their wee young around with their rib-digits so they can feed frequently? How cute would that be? Like a mama opossum. If it's not for lactation, nor a holdover from their nightmarish inspiration...well, we know ak'ab can cocoon prey. Is it possible that what appear to be "nipples" are, in fact, spinnerets? In which case, are the rib-digits what manipulate the silk as they wrap their prey? Whatever the case, the mere presence of (presumed) nipples (and/or spinnerets) has potential for oodles of fetish shenanigans, whether they're functional or not.

But let's move on, because boy howdy is that not nearly the end of it. Another obvious potential fetish-feature is the fact that they have five long, thin tongues in their primary mouth. Sure, that mouth has two sets of humanoid teeth in it, but what's that in the face of pseudo-tentacles? Especially when the vertical mouth slit is, well...I mean, real moths do indeed have rather labial mouthparts. But when it's embiggened and fleshy, it's just a bit more blatant, no?

Curiously, the mouth slit (at least the redder flesh of it) continues downward, past four more pairs of eyes, to the underside of its head where it also has a proboscis. This is, presumably, what the ak'ab use for bloodsucking, as suggested in their Bestiary lore/legends. (Which also mentions that they're a hivemind, so. Pretty sure that's also a Thing, as a quick side note.) One might then assume that their rib-digits can also be used to help hold small prey in place while they use their proboscis to drain its blood, and their lower eyes could be used to spot tiny prey on the ground.

But is blood the only thing they consume? They do have mouths and omnivorous teeth, after all. Did you ever notice the extra sets of teeth they have in their gills, sweetling? I was so excited when I first spotted them, it's my favorite design detail about ak'ab. I've cooed quite a bit over their gill-teeth, they're so fantastically gnarly, what a disturbing design. So many potential implications. A little silly that it's horizontal sets of teeth in vertical gill-slits, but whatever, they're chittering nightmares. Only...now that I'm thinking about their anatomy, and trying to make sense of it...perhaps, if we assume ak'ab ever eat particularly large prey, the three sets of teeth are each part of functional mouths? And maybe they just. Shove their faces right on into the carcass, while they breathe with the further-back gills. Do the mouths then connect to one large stomach, or do they have separate ones for each mouth?

An extra thought, regarding how they eat (or not). What if some, or all, of their toothed mouths are connected to a different type of digestive organ, and that's what they use to make Broodmarks and such? Between the front mouth and the pair of gill-mouths, there's a number of potential combinations for consumption of animal/plant matter, partial digestion, and regurgitation vs. regular digestion. If that is something they can do, that could be how they source the various gooey structures they create.

In any case, given that the Buzzing also suggested that ak'ab might be "ravenous" and tunnelers, with many strange limbs and bulbous eyes, and now I'm reminding myself of taxxon from Animorphs...they do have fairly loose skin at their bellies. So it's certainly possible they might, when food is plentiful, have their bellies become distended with blood (or flesh, or etc.). Which is an entire list of subtly enabled fetish potential on its own, pretty much just from the design of the belly.

But another thing occurred to me, in realizing that the gill-teeth might be fully functional and not just for nightmarish visions. Something rather more specific, that sort of requires context of ak'ab behavior within the game. You see, stranger who may have wandered in here unfamiliar yet remain reading despite the ache developing in your brain—the ak'ab have a telegraphed charge attack that stuns the player. It's possible to dodge and avoid the stun, but they're quick as sin, and prone to swarming. They're a hive, as you'll recall, and they'll call in close-but-out-of-sight friends if you attack one. So it's easy to get overwhelmed by two or three (or more), and become stun-locked by a group of ak'ab if you wander in the wrong part of the forest. You also run across them quite early in the game, so it could be quite a shock as a newBee. (This is significantly less of an issue now, because their propensity to pull in distant friends is much lower than it used to be, and the telegraph is shown for much longer. But the Old Bees know.)

So you see. There is a not-insignificant number of people who came to instinctively resent ak'ab, and tried to avoid encountering them because of that frustration. And that instinct and spite might linger, despite things being much more manageable now. And so...in my brain, some things clicked, and it made a couple curious connections when I realized ak'ab might have three fully functional mouths. If a few frustrated Bees were inclined to "get back" at an ak'ab for the stun-locking they suffered...well, that could be a spicy monsterfucker fic prompt, right there.

And that's the super cursed, spicy thought that I couldn't just leave stuck in my craw. I had to inflict it (or gift it) to other Secret Worlders.

#tsw #the secret world #swl #secret world legends #ak'ab #ak'ab anatomy and the implications thereof #I accidentally went full (cursed) dissertation again #I am asexual and 'do not go here' as it were #I just have approximate knowledge of many things #I have stared into the middle distance so much today #as thoughts occurred to me and I tried to parse what various features indicate #they're nightmare creatures they don't need to make sense #but it's fun to ponder how they might #gently stretching out my skull with cursed thoughts #enlightenment hurts sweetling #taste and see

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woeworld · 2 years

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Crazy how people will just reject the joy and love of God based on things they want to do. like, bestie, all the joy that was in those things can be found in God without any of the downsides. and even if there were some joy that could not be found in God, even if loving God was supreme torture, God would still be worthy of love, and worth casting away everything for.

#christianity #taste and see

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dwuerch-blog · 1 year

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These are the Moments

It isn’t the money in my wallet or the car I drive or home I live in. It isn’t the TV show that makes me laugh or the movie I see that inspires me. Nothing can compare with the priceless gratitude moments that represent my favorite things. As I was writing this blog after just a couple of days at Epiphany Ranch AND tasting and eating an array of scrumptious food and sights to behold, I recalled…

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#blessings #blog #celebration #christian #dallas cowboys #Epiphany Ranch #favorite things #Gingerbread House #heaven to earth moments #inspiration #memories #moments #pickleball #psalm 34:8 #taste and see #the lord is good #YouTube

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lightfromthelighthouse · 2 years

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Good Morning!☀️

O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. Psalms 34:8

In prior verses David shares how God had heard his prayer and answered him, delivering him out of his troubles. He now invites others to come sample God's grace and mercy: "O taste and see that the Lord is good". In other words, he is saying " Do not just take my word for it. See for yourself".

He then adds that the blessed man (or woman, boy or girl) is the one whose trust is in the Lord. In other words, "You will like the taste, you will be blessed by what you find, your trust will be well placed.

Take David up on his invitation. O taste and see that the Lord is good!

#taste and see #try God for yourself

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bookkats · 3 months

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Lent, Lord Teach me to Pray, Communion Prayers

Communion Prayer: God you come to us in so many ways, in our gathering together in your name you promise to be particularly present. You promise to be present in the beginnings and endings of things—in transitions, when things are ephemeral and hard. And yet again, you promise to be particularly present in the bread and the cup, so that we might taste and see that you are good. Send your Holy…

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#breath prayer #communion #Holy Spirit Prayer #Jesus Christ #lent #prayer #Sermon Series #taste and see

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swoopyswish · 2 years

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i love when random tumblr users find my blog and go through it liking and reblogging everything in a frenzy, it feels like i’ve been cultivating a nice backyard with a lovely birdbath and feeder and i’ve glanced out the window to see a bird going absolutely wild with it

#it's happening right now and if you see this i love you #everyone who does this has good taste!#mine

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rebekah-beene · 5 months

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Turkey Day Taste

It’s getting close to the big turkey day. I think we all assume everybody eats the same side dishes along with a huge turkey and dressing. Turns out there are an awful lot of people who don’t care for turkey. And not everyone has the traditional sweet potato concoctions and green bean casseroles. Favorite foods are based on personal taste along with “well that’s just what we always have��. Oh…

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#God loves you and He&039;s for you #God&039;s Word #Jesus #oh beloved #Rebekah Beene #recipe #taste and see

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ericsuddoth · 1 year

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Narvik - Taste and See

I’m not one to try new foods, except for desserts. You could lace a spare tire with powder sugar and call it a new donut and I would probably try it. However, when I travel, I try to branch outside my norms of chicken strips and hamburgers and try some of the local cuisine. Sometimes I am rewarded and other times I’m looking for a McDonalds later in the evening (Chur, Switzerland after a fondue…

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#Dream Big #Faith #inspiration #Jesus #life is good #Norway #purpose #Sweden #taste and see #Travel

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youcanthandelthetruth · 2 months

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Common interior design mistakes: having a crummy house. Try having high ceilings with big windows, this will make your space feel airy amd inviting! Lots of extra rooms give you places to store things and reduce clutter in your living space. Consider having a view of the city skyline or perhaps the ocean, this will give your home a peaceful and sophisticated mood. Easy tips that anyone can follow!

#sorry but every time i see a comparison and its unimpressive house vs literal beach villa...#there is a reason one looks nicer. i dont think personal taste is actually making the biggest difference here.

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beanghostprincess · 3 months

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"Kuina's death is ridiculous" yes! That's the point! You do realize that falling down the stairs is a way of showing Zoro how fragile human lives are, right? You are aware that the point of Kuina's character is the unfairness of the world towards women in comparison to the privileges men have, like living in itself and fulfilling their dreams, right? You know that Kuina's death is "ridiculous and dumb" because it's meant to show that even the strongest person Zoro knew could die from something so little, right? You understand that the value Zoro gives to life is fucking immense, right? Right?? You realize Zoro can't seek revenge because nobody took her away from him and now the only thing he can do is become the world's greatest swordsman to avenge her death, right? You get that Zoro's character is an atheist because he doesn't believe in anyone and he can only rely on himself when it comes to Kuina's sudden death, right? You are aware that sometimes people die in the simplest of ways and that doesn't make them weak because death doesn't discriminate, right? You know that all of these things are what make Zoro's character so interesting and important, right? Right??? You know, right?

Well, of course you fucking don't because if you knew you wouldn't be saying her death is ridiculous <3

#if i see somebody else complaining about this i am going to throw hands i swear to god #sorry i just saw a bad take in here and i couldn't stay quiet #it's the most basic thing about zoro's character why are people complaining #'his backstory is boring' well i think YOU are boring and also don't have good taste #i am a zoro defender for life and his backstory with kuina is amazing shutupshutup #stop trying to find a weird dark theory abt her death. you won't find anything. that's just it. she died.#she fell down the stairs and died and it's a great story let kuina rest in peace #one piece #roronoa zoro #shimotsuki kuina

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