#-less human as a result of losing another limb? | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

voidcat · 2 years

Text

– armed detective agency taking care of you when you're sick

a/n: self indulgent drabble lol... legit wrote this with a fever + headache while tired so there may b typos etc idk

yosano akiko: asseses your situation, pinpoints what it is you're suffering from and gives you the most effective, appropirate medicine, makes sure you rest and stay hydrated. do you need to stay tucked in bed and sweat? she'll make sure of it. do you need help getting up? don't worry she's got it covered, just say whatever you need. she'll order a good old hot chicken broth soup (or something similar to it) with spices and lemon. recovery in record time, probably the quickest and most comfortable you've healed, ever. her medical experience shows through her treatment but she makes sure to check you emotionally and support you.

kunikida doppo: similar to yosano but he fusses over it a bit more... keeping count of which medication you took down to its very second. he'll worry at first but keep his emotions in check in no time and go with a logical approach. anything you want, he will make it, cook it, help you drink or eat it if he must. he might be a bit too stern about use things such as painkillers, antibiotics etc... checking what kind of reaction what medicine might have with the other, spending time to pick the safest option for you.

miyazawa kenji: less fussing and more smiles. it's a mix of natural remedies and a modern approach. so let's say you have a fever, he'll prepare a vinegar soaked washcloth to your forehead, if your throat hurts, he will mix turmeric and honey, brew you tea and prepare a family recipe that'll mix you up in no time! (he might dial up the agency before going with some of his more natural remedies if some of them didn't produce the best of results the last time though)

fukuzawa yukichi: he will be worried at first, but gather himself and making sure you're tucked safely in the confienements of your bed (after a good bath and change of clothes), he will rush out to get what's best for your situation. ask yosano, or the clerk at the pharmacist if needed... he might, lose track of time and return a bit later than planned, only to see you've long fallen asleep though. stay by your side for as long as he can, run his hand over your skin or hair to soothe you whenever you are awake and suffering from a headache, probably end up as a human pillow at some point.

ranpo edogawa: he most likely got sick right before you did... (okay joke aside he'll probably appear as nonchalant but dial up fukuzawa and ask the agency for help, then seat himself next to you in bed snacking as you take whatever medicine, tea or soup they provided you. he is more of a moral support if anything... even though he'll complain the whole time about how your plans for the day together are now ruined and you've left him all alone

dazai osamu: probably the most useless out of them all (along with atsushi) similar to ranpo, he will have someone else do all the work (buying medicine, cooking etc), toss around and be all dramatic when there is no response from you because you've fallen asleep. might go as far as to go all out and act around as if you're dying (that's how he got the agency members over to your place with anything useful they could think of– be it a first aid kit and all) but despite all the dramatics, like fukuzawa, he will stay by your side– you may end up as the human pillow though, or both of you falling asleep on one another and waking up in uncomfortable positions, limbs hurting and all.

nakajima atsushi: spend a good portion of his time worrying and fussing over you for sure. dramatic, but it is all about you. he will call the first person he can think of for help, asking what he should do and shouldn't. he might try to cook something with whatever ingredients he got at hand, it's purely luck whether it'll taste good or not (he might've added in sugar instead of salt, don't make that face now) with the arrival of help, he might stand back and watch, but asking every five minutes or so how you are feeling, is your headache gone, what is it you need, oh wait let me stack up pillows for your back– at the end of the day, he'll exhaust himself as well and fall asleep next to you, making sure your position is comfortable.

436 notes · View notes

sol-consort · 2 months

Note

Another thing I think the other species find confusing about humans; we’re terrified of what we can’t see and silence.

Arguable humans are nearly fearless as a collective, but even we have our limits. yeah something might freak us out but we’ll still do it in spite of whatever fear we may have so long as we can in some way of sense it. But a human thinks they heard someone calling their name from the woods? Saw a shadow in a dark alley? Nope, fuck that, the human is getting tf out of there, they’re not chancing shit. Even a human who isn’t superstitious likely isn’t gonna mess with that. Humans explored the infinite void of space but they refuse to explore the bottom of their own oceans. At least in space we can look out and see a potential threat coming clear as day, we can’t see very well whatever elderitch horror could possibly be lurking deep in our waters and whatever might be down there can stay tf down there

Fear of the unknown.

Aliens who find it confusing on why we insist on lighting up every part of our ships, on why our colony settlements have various streetlights littered everywhere and a couple emergency generators just for the lighting.

Who find it amusing that the first thing we hardwired into our phones was a flashlight no matter the versions or how much it evolved. Each human omnitool has the flashlight set as the quickest shortcut button.

And they get the need to be able to see in darkness, but they don't understand why humans are always the first to get a light the second darkness falls. Why they get more uneasy and freaked out the more they stay in darkness even if they knew they were in a very safe place.

Then they read about it, how our brains attempt to make us spot faces in the dark, which results in various grey shadows' swirling effect. Why our hearing seems to become sharper the second we lose our vision, why we get more jumpy and heart speeds up.

They almost lose their mind when they realise even after first contact, we're still stalling exploring the depths of our homeplanet oceans. How we preferred exploring the frozen hell of the earth poles rather than go beyond where the sunrays' reach stops in the water.

Our brain is very good at spoting faces, too good in fact that false positives are something every human has to live with. When you're falling asleep and the pile of clothes on the chair starts looking like it has limbs, or when you swear you see a face in the corner of your eyes but immediately turn around to find out it was just two dots above a curved line.

Our curiosity also could be a defence mechanism, we try to learn as much as we can about everything because we are terrfied most of the unknown. The possibility of a monster is much more scary than the reality of a monster. Our brain is more than capable of making us view time slower and it does that whenever complete silence and darkness falls.

We always fill the room with some noise. Be it a random song we turn on, a random youtube documentary we decided we're suddenly interested in or even just start talking to ourselves. Anything is preferable over silence because the quieter it gets, the more hyper aware you become of the mush of noises outside that starts sounding like danger closing in. Someone knocking at your door or window, jingling of your doorlock, a squeaky floorboard when you know no one else is home.

The best horrors are built on suspension, the less we know about a monster, the more terryfing it becomes. Nothing is scarier than what our unconscious mind comes up with when we're washing our hair in the shower and have to close our eyes.

99% of humans alive haven't even been in complete silence before, not truly. There was always something in the background, be it nature outside or the humming of electronics inside. Silence reaches a point where we could hear our own blood moving through our ear veins and a prolonged exposure that could lead to mental instability. We're social creatures to a fault that our biggest fears can get reduced to complete isolation.

It's like a switch being flipped. How fast can a human go from 0 to 100 for simply having felt someone's eye on them in the middle of a night while alone in their room.

One of the reasons why the geth ships would be very terrifying for humans, they're dark because they geth don't need light or windows. They're as silent as death itself except for the humming of the machines and generators.

#☆humans

9 notes · View notes

russenoire · 1 year

Text

this is in direct response to this post... made a separate post because i needed some time to compose my thoughts and didn't want to hijack yours, @luciferstit.

so... studio BONES actually made ???% angrier than he was in the manga, and particularly so with reigen.

LOOK AT THIS THING. that chunk of pulverized city shown here is a rock about the size of an eyeball a fist on the page.

given the trauma shigeo has been through -- that reigen has unwittingly and knowingly put him through -- over the years of their acquaintance, i struggle to blame ???%.

too many reigen stans try to handwave shigeo getting paid in pocket change for his exorcism work. (too. fucking. many, and that's another post for another time.) this alone is cruel AF. whether or not the boy is old enough to do this kind of work legally, can do it with relative ease, or even needs the money. it's cruel.

do y'all really not see how paying him less than $3/hr -- when he's too young to advocate properly for his needs and rights -- for labor that occasionally threatens his life and keeps him socially isolated makes things worse? shigeo was eleven when they met.

while reigen undercharging for his services might come from a good place, his kindness (at least with his clients) and his profit motive intersect in a way that is destructive to himself and anyone he employs. shigeo gets caught up in this man's cycle of self-loathing financial self-abuse and suffers direct harm as a result.

i never found this shit funny. apparently ???% doesn't either.

the keiji mogami arc, OMFG. honestly, this needs its own post, but six months of daily torment at the hands of a petty, vengeful spirit who brought his woes upon himself? certain death in minori's body had ???% not resurrected him and returned his soul to its rightful place? starving spirits eat shigeo alive in there. this is harrowing even in the anime, which toned down much of the source material's brutality. (the manga ghosts rip him apart, limb by bloody limb, and chew him to pieces while he's conscious. i can only hope he feels no pain...) reigen put him in this situation too, and ???%'s anger at having to clean up here as well is fully, fully justified. 'mob' might forgive, but ???% is holding him accountable.

when reigen's throwback website ushers in new business, reigen takes it upon himself to use this boy to the fullest. the story treats us to a two or three-day span of time where reigen literally works this boy late into the night, taking on client after client... and dumps the consequences of his irresponsibility straight into shigeo's lap (missing dinner and losing sleep before school the next morning. need i mention the boy is already anemic? this is all kinds of NOT OK).

those clients from hell i wouldn't have entertained the first time they approached? the next time they show up, shigeo spends another long night at their mercy: the aforementioned clients pressure him so hard to abandon his morals that he has a panic attack before reigen finally does the right thing. there isn't enough soba in the world to atone for that.

when shigeo protests reigen's ungodly habit of calling him at the last minute for work yet again after missing out on his friends' birthday celebration... and reigen lashes out at him? tells him

his friends aren't real,

that he needs to abandon them in favor of his poorly-paid exorcism job because reigen alone knows what's best for him?

because he needs reigen in order to help him control his powers stay sane?

this is UGLY but human, and so, so not out of character. anyone who has been in shigeo's place will understand just how poisonous -- and sadly common -- this actually is. these are the same blundering but often effective strategies employed by lonely family members and abusive romantic partners to keep people from rightfully deserting them. the teenager putting his foot down and walking away is arguably ???%'s first conscious emergence in this story... in a very healthy fashion.

keep in mind: their eventual reconciliation and reigen wising up as a mentor, boss and friend for a few months don't absolve literal years of mistreatment. not in the eyes of ???%. ???% wants this man's head on a stick.

if that rock above and ???%'s bloodlust for/indifference to reigen aren't enough of a sign that those insults in the first episode of this series weren't exactly sliding off the boy's back?

that shigeo has been seething for a long, long time over reigen's casual cruelty to him?

i don't know what to tell you.

56 notes · View notes

gayofthefae · 2 years

Text

I strongly believe the final monster referenced in this post to be a thessalhyrdra as this was the monster in the season 1 finale campaign and it is the only monster that has been in a campaign but not in their real world.

*If you don’t want to read this whole long analysis, skip to the last paragraph for a summary or for an even shorter recap, the final underlined sentence

The Duffers said they planned the whole show from the beginning and it was first mentioned in season 1 so if they knew the thessalhydra would be the final boss it makes sense to design all the others with the artistic liberties they did - their mouths tend to resemble that of a thessalhydra more than the source material. The demogorgon in stranger things is more slimy and even the piece in their set is slightly more serpentine but a demogorgon actually bears more resemblance to a sort of two headed baboon.

For reference, the first picture is of a demogorgon and the second a thessalhydra:

Also, a mind flayer is humanoid with a squid face as its form because it takes over its host. To my knowledge, the smoke idea is a creative artistic liberty they took in creating an outside-of-host form but I didn’t provide a picture because it doesn’t resemble that toothy open mouth. The one time it does, though, is in season 3 when it rebuilds its form with organic matter.

The thessalhydra, which has a “huge, gaping mouth” just like its counterpart stranger things adaptations of some other monsters, also has multiple vulture-like heads branching out from its central mouth. With the demogorgon, they focused on its more serpentine qualities, gave it only one head (maybe to contrast it from the thessalhydra a bit more) and replaced its mouth with that of a thessylhydra. To my knowledge, the petal like mouth is entirely made-up and seems to be more-so an alternate to the thessalyhyrdra’s surrounding heads. (I would honestly say that the demobat’s mouths resemble the original demogorgon’s more)

Speaking of, like the original demogorgon, the thessalhydra is multi-headed. You can also see it has bat-like wings (originally for real world reference, but also adds resemblance to the demobats) and bird-like feet. The thessalhydra, in this context, is essentially a multi-headed dragon with the mouth of a demogorgon that we’ve seen in previous seasons. A cross between Will’s painting and the consistent traits of the other monsters, if you will (aside from Vecna, as a Vecna is wizard turned undead so their form remains fairly human).

The thessalhydra also has a lobster-like claw at the end of its barbed tail which wasn’t so much pertinent to this theory but it did get partially cropped out so I wanted to mention it. Although, the season 3 monster’s toothed, vine like limbs, as well as the vines themselves, could supposedly be argued to resemble this barbed tail. Another miscellaneous note is that the entire upside down has a goo residue, specifically the type that we see come from Will and Barb’s bodies in the season 1 and season 4 volume 1 finales (Will’s resembling a slug, Barb’s being closer to a thick liquid), that have small white pieces that seem to be teeth themselves, like those that coat the inside of the thessalhydra’s mouth as well as the petals of the demogorgon’s.

The demodogs also have tails like the original demogorgon but are less humanoid while the demogorgon of season 1 has no tail but is more humanoid, as is the one in Russia, meaning it is not a result of Henry’s influence but seemingly a part of again to lose this tail and become more humanoid. This is just a note and does not definitively have any relation to the thessalhydra, I just found it interesting given the original demogorgon is both humanoid and has a tail while the two main forms of the demogorgon in Stranger Things exchange these traits.

*To recap, the thessalhydra is the only monster that has been fought in an onscreen D&D campaign but not fought or seen by the characters in real life. Multiple of its traits, primarily its huge, gaping mouth can be found in the other monsters - specifically traits have been changed from the monsters’ original designs/source material. Its wings can be found in the demobats, as well as resembling Will’s painting, and the toothed vines and toothed organic mind flayer’s vine-like limbs could arguably resemble the thessalhydra’s barbed (no pun intended I am so sorry) tail. Its many vulture-like heads were adapted into petal-like lining of the demogorgon’s mouth, something that was also not in the design it is based off of. *Overall, its multiple heads, large size, bat-like wings, bird-like feet, and long tail cause it to resemble a multi-headed dragon like the one seen in Will’s drawing; and its familiar mouth, barbed tail, and bat-like wings cause it to both resemble other monsters we’ve seen who are based in D&D designs that did not previously have these traits and match Nancy’s description in both mouth and size.

edit: this art also made me really consider the demo-bats as smaller examples of this monster/”dragon”

#another theme is that all resembling monsters are hated by my spellcheck #oooh conspiracy #references to thessalhydra resemblence in bold #stranger things #stranger things theory

47 notes · View notes

thelreads · 1 year

Note

Oh! So we are talking about the orkz! ALRIGHT! This is my stuff! Some interesting tidbits that weren't mentioned by the other ask!

-Warhammer 40k having the setting in space, you may wonder: How the green bastards get to be in one planet? It's all int their cycle of reproduction. Orkz are basically fungus, that grow in a underground womb. But not only orkz, their whole species and sub-species grows from the same fungus, like squigs, that are use for food and the gretchin that are use as servants that help to the less ork-iss labors, like building seetlements, taking care of the squigs and to cultivate more fungus.

-An Ork releases spores of this fungus during his live and even more in his death. So with even a little of these spores get to a planet, the fungus that results may made an optimal ecosystem for orkz. Eliminate them is quite hard in combat and even harder to eliminate the fungus, because of the harsh conditions in which can develop, in some of the worse cases, when the volume of orks become huge, it becomes necessary to burn the whole planet.

-The physiology of the orkz is quite interesting because its needed a huge amount of damage to put ONE down. That also means that pain is less than a nuisance to them, includes losing limbs, which can be easily reattach and stich together, to the point that one of the most important Orkz in recent history was beheaded and a Painboy (a Doctor in Ok culture) reattach his head to another body, good as new!

-This means they are highly curious and amused by the reactions of others species to pain. Add that to their love for war and fighting, you got a species that is always a threat to the imperium of man.

-The more they fight. The bigger they get, the more orks follow. But also the smarter they get. A normal Ork gets to 2m. But the biggest Ork ever encounter by human kind was a whooping 10m tall called The Beast and put the imperium in total peril.

-The ork groups are called WAAAGH, in reference to the scream they made while charging to battle. The leader of the WAAGH is the Warboos, which is the biggest ork that other orks follow because their society is based on "the strongest rules", but is not a perfect, looting others is always a constant and the in-fighting too.

-The solely reason they haven't conquer the galaxy is because of their own nature, their love for fighting often creates conflict withing a WAAAGH and their culture of "The strongest rule over the weak" often leads to challenges to the leader that in some cases divide the orks into groups to see who's the strongest. Their lack of self preservation also factors in, the often made charges head on againts the enemy. If the enemy is prepare, this tactic proves fatal for the orkz.

-With all of this i just tell you, i haven't told you the most horrific fact..is that the Orkz are descendants of a race called Kork: 12m beast that had armor and weapons that rival (and surpass) the most sophisticated tecnology of humanity. The belief system that the other ask told about the Orkz is something that the Krok had full knowledge and were able to use it consciously. They had the tecnological knowledge integrated in their DNA, something that the modern Ork has too but lacks the inteligence to understand it.

-Remember when i mentioned that when a Ork wins battles, it becomes bigger? It's believe that if an Ork grows enough, it regress to that earlier state of a Krok. The Beast being the closest example.

Imagine an angry mash of mold that can rip yours limbs out with ease and it's basically impervious to harm. That's basically the orkz.

You literally just described a magical girl.

#TheLreads #inbetween #nonsense #/j

7 notes · View notes

thetopben · 1 year

Note

15. Is it possible to overuse your power? What symptoms do you experience as a result?

Ehhhhh, yes and no. I kept the timer, but I can adjust it if I need to. And I mentioned not too long ago about having to stay in a specific alien form for a few months, that was less the timer and more locking it in.

If I'm in a form for awhile I get phantom limb feelings. When you spend a couple hours having four arms and/or a prehensile tail, sometimes it's hard to shake that feeling off. When I was Bullfrag for so long, and going back to myself, I kept forgetting I wasn't as strong anymore. And flies looked a little more appealing. Probably enjoyed my Grandpa's cooking the most then than any other time 😂

I've met other mes that sort of lose themselves, though. They don't turn bad, they just. Kinda turn into dicks. Hero Time is all the time, so there's no Ben time or Family time. The first future me I met was so caught up in it he literally hadn't been in his own human body in years, he barely slept. Just switching from one alien to another.

But for the most part, it's not too hard to switch back to being in my own headspace.

#hero meme

3 notes · View notes

the-haunted-office · 1 year

Note

✂️ I offer Alice to Sept for some of the death angst, she hasn’t gotten her fair share recently

So, let me make sure I understand this correctly. You don't care whether you live or die… so long as your friends are safe.

[Yes] [NO]

The ruined soul watches from beyond the grave she was never given, through the computer screen, on the other side of it, from a place neither here nor there, in a place that's In Between.

The prompt she has provided to the young woman known as Alice Graves will be the difference between death, and another death. Alice Graves is a ghost, Employee #432 knows this, but so is she, and she's a lot more alive now than she ever was while living. However, it seems one of her ghostly kin has chosen to act like even her death is over, like her life in death means nothing, and so 432 means to teach her a lesson. Even if it's mostly out of spite.

"Yes" has been chosen as the response. And that's all the signal needed.

(The rest is under a cut due to violence and horror and gore!)

As an incorporeal being, it's actually quite difficult to hold one's energies together. It's like pouring water out of a glass. Remove the container, the vessel, and the liquid cannot hold itself together - it runs out everywhere and disburses. A soul without a body is like that, especially a shattered soul without a body. Those can never truly hold their form again, not permanently, and not without a lot of effort on their part.

Bonding with other shattered souls makes holding a form easier, if not imperfect. Some ghosts - like Ghostday - are able to hold a more solid, singular shape through their own means. Ghostday has done this by merging with her own soul from so many timelines, she is able to present her own image.

432, on the other hand, has merged with seventeen other individual shattered souls, none of them her own. Several non-human.

As a result, her form is less human and far more alien in appearance.

Through the computer monitor on which Alice had just signed her death warrant, a face appears.

A human face, at first glance, but that's only until you spend longer than half a second looking at it, and then you realize that it's still human but in such deplorable condition it doesn't look human anymore.

The eyes are missing, first and foremost. In place of the eyes are empty sockets emitting an eerie yellow glow, beaming out like the headlights of a car. The nose is also missing, reduced to the skeletal remains and empty nasal cavity behind where the soft flesh would normally be on display. The teeth are thankfully normal, the ones that remain, anyway. The rest of the mouth is filled with gaps and dangling rotting bits of what surely used to be muscles, ligaments, and other living tissues, all now dead and pulling away from the rest of the structure in a grim parting of ways.

The face seems to grin as it pushes through the surface of the monitor but doesn't shatter it, and more follows.

Attached to the face is a mass of unidentifiable blackish, semi-translucent material, in which can be seen all manner of things grotesque enough to make one lose their most recent meal. Various organs, not attached to anything, are floating around. Teeth. Eyes. They swivel and spin, as if searching, and when they spot Alice they lock onto her, not letting her out of their sight from that moment forward.

Limbs also follow. Many limbs. Several of them not human. At least thirteen human arms pull the rest of the form through the monitor, where the additional limbs all cater to the whole, propping her up and simply towering over Alice. Her head bumps into the ceiling and two pairs of what look like the arms of a backhoe each tipped in dagger-length green claws rip it out of the way in a fury.

Torn and shredded bat-like wings tear themselves out of what is presumably her back, springing open into a ten-foot wingspan, knocking over anything in their path.

And faces. More faces. Some human, some animal. Pushing themselves outwards and staring around, dead-eyed but somehow still alive.

The floor seems to tremble in the presence of what is now 432.

And if Alice isn't trembling yet, she will be shortly once she gets her claws on her.

Which she does immediately.

The backhoe-like arms dive forward, seizing the other ghost by the shoulders and latching on in a grip of iron.

There is no escaping now.

What is apparently the "main" face - the first one that emerged from the monitor - leans in closer to Alice, breathing putrid puffs of decaying air directly into her very normal human face, and what comes out of the mouth is not one voice, but many. Different depths, different tones, different inflections. All speaking over one another with all the harmony of a blender full of screwdrivers while the mouth itself doesn't move.

"Be careful what you wish for, Alice Graves," is the one and only thing the being known as 432 says before pulling Alice apart by the shoulders like a Potato Head doll.

Her shoulders don't so much pop out of place as they do tear, severing them from her torso in two very unclean breaks. They're then tossed aside like a couple of sticks snapped off a log before the monstrous arms go in for more, a few of the others joining in. The young woman's body is relieved of her legs next, in the same manner as her arms. All the arms join in for taking care of the rest in between, gouging haphazard shapes and holes out of their chosen canvas.

Any screams and cries from the younger ghost are ignored and do nothing to abate the process.

It's clear from the way 432 makes quick work of disassembling Alice Graves that she's not in it for the pain or pleasure of it, or even out of any kind of necessity like sustenance or survival like the ways of wild beasts, but rather for proving a point.

That she can tear you down in more ways than one.

Before too long all that's left is a mess of what used to be a human, and a mess of what used to be a human. One torn apart and reassembled into something new; the other torn apart and left disassembled upon the floor, desks, walls, and even the ceiling. Walls that were just scrubbed clean of their previous scars and repainted, decorated now with speckles of red and pink and gray, the remains of Alice Graves.

#syntheticsacrifice #cw death #cw gore #cw body horror #cw horror #cw images of horror #cw eyes #cw teeth #cw blood #cw dismemberment #uhhh if you read this and can think of any others please tell me!

2 notes · View notes

unrestedjade · 2 years

Text

Distracting myself from various irl things, and realized I haven't written out the progress for my Star Trek OC obitsus and should do that before I forget what I did.

Plastic nonsense below the cut:

For those unfamiliar, Obitsu is a Japanese plastics company that produces toys under its own brand as well as manufacturing for other companies, such as Parabox.

Anyway, there's not much prep work required for these since they're meant to be customized, but my dumb ass managed to get some indigo from my jeans on one of the torsos and had to stain treat it for a few hours. The hazards of vinyl!

Zit cream and plastic wrap torso burrito, plus heating pad. Jojo helped, too.

This would come back to bite me later, but it all worked out for the best in the end. Word to the wise: this stain removal technique keeps working up to several weeks after you rinse it off! :V

I dyed both bodies the same evening. For whatever reason I've lost the pics of the orange dye bath, but you get the idea.

Hand soup!

One of these big pasta strainer pots works great for dyeing, because if you lose track of a piece you can carefully lift out the strainer and find it. :) Just be careful not to let pieces rest too long on the bottom or they may scorch. Stir!

There's about three different types of plastic in these dolls, and they all absorb dye at different rates and to different degrees. The soft vinyl of the torso and head drink up dye super fast, while the hard plastic limbs and the vinyl for the feet and hands are more resistant. It was something like thirty seconds for the soft vinyl vs 5+ minutes for the harder plastics.

A dark color like this purple makes any discrepancy very obvious as you can see!

If I were to do this again, I think diluting this purple to half strength or even weaker would have better results. I do really like the tone of the hands and feet! Too bad it couldn't all come out that way.

The orange dye bath went similarly, not quite as extreme as it's a warmer, somewhat lighter color. The limbs were also a bit less blotchy as I sanded them after seeing how the purple limbs came out. Imagine it in your mind's eye!

I have very unsteady hands, so painting a face on something this small continues to vex me. Here you can see how dark the soft vinyl was on attempt one:

By this point (a couple days after the dye bath), the torso was also about five shades lighter than this head. Remember how I mentioned stain treatment staying active after the fact? Yeah... :\

The faded color of the torso was actually the vibe I'd originally wanted, though. So instead of redyeing the torso, I soaked the head in some nail polish remover for about a minute instead to lighten it.

Jojo approved!

The second try went much better, so we'll call Tegra's face done now.

While I waited for coats of sealant to dry, I also made her a little necklace. :B

Here you can also see how the dye resistance and odd fading serendipitously(?) led to way better color matching than the purple body.

Take one for Kadan's face. This purple came out so dark it just swallows all color. I should have painted these areas white and then layered the scales and such over it. This is around 5 layers and you can see how toothy the sealant was getting by then. Well, Cardassians are scaly, anyway...

Also her forehead spoon is upside down. I did the exact same damn thing when I repainted her later, too. >:/

Switching gears, you can't have a ferengi with wimpy little human ears. I wanted something non-destructive and poseable. Polymer clay is heavy and stiff, epoxy is stiff and permanent, and I didn't have cosclay or worbla or anything like that to play with. So I dyed an old T shirt and tried making fabric ears.

To give them a frame and a way to attach to the head, I super glued a floral wire armature to a magnet. Using the doll's existing ears as a guide, I glued another set of magnets inside the head, making sure the poles of the magnets were correct.

Ears done and...hmm. Pretty bulky.

Yeah...no. Maybe at a larger scale this method would be alright, but the seams are just too much for something this small.

To be continued!

#adventures in kitbashing #star trek #dolls #ferengi

0 notes

ultraviolet-techno-ecology · 3 years

Text

Excerpt from “Worker’s Councils” by Anton Pannekoek

(The parts I’ve highlighted convey the general idea for those who struggle with longer text post.)

Labor in itself is not repulsive. Labor for the supplying of his needs is a necessity imposed on man by nature. Like all other living beings, man has to exert his forces to provide for his food. Nature has given them bodily organs and mental powers, muscles, nerves and brains, to conform to this necessity. Their wants and their means are harmoniously adapted to one another in the regular living of their life. So labor, as the normal use of their limbs and capacities, is a normal impulse for man and animal alike. In the necessity of providing food and shelter there is, to be sure, an element of constraint. Free spontaneousness in the use of muscles and nerves, all in their turn, in following every whim, in work or play, lies at the bottom of human nature. The constraint of his needs compels man to regular work, to suppression of the impulse of the moment, to exertion of his powers, to patient perseverance and self-restraint. But this self-restraint, necessary as it is for the preservation of oneself, of the family, of the community, affords the satisfaction of vanquishing impediments in himself or the surrounding world, and gives the proud feeling of reaching self-imposed aims. Fixed by its social character, by practice and custom in family, tribe or village, the habit of regular work grows into a new nature itself, into a natural mode of life, a harmonious unity of needs and powers, of duties and disposition. Thus in farming the surrounding nature is transformed into a safe home through a lifelong heavy or placid toil. Thus in every people, each in its individual way, the old handicraft gave to the artisans the joy of applying their skill and fantasy in the making of good and beautiful things for use.

All this has perished since capital became master of labor. In production for the market, for sale, the goods are commodities which besides their utility for the buyer, have exchange-value, embodying the labor implemented; this exchange-value determines the money they bring. Formerly a worker in moderate hours—leaving room for occasional strong exertion—could produce enough for his living. But the profit of capital consists in what the worker can produce in surplus to his living. The more value he produces and the less the value of what he consumes, the larger is the surplus-value seized by capital. Hence his life-necessities are reduced, his standard of life is lowered as much as possible, his hours are increased, the tempo of his work is accelerated. Now labor loses entirely its old character of pleasant use of body and limbs. Now labor turns into a curse and an outrage. And this remains its true character, however mitigated by social laws and by trade-union action, both results of the desperate resistance of the workers against their unbearable degradation. What they may attain is to turn capitalism from a rude abuse into a normal exploitation. Still then labor, being labor under capitalism, keeps its innermost character of inhuman toil: the workers, compelled by the threat of hunger to strain their forces at foreign command, for foreign profit, without genuine interest, in the monotonous fabrication of uninteresting or bad things, driven to the utmost of what the overworked body can sustain, are used up at an early age. Ignorant economists, unacquainted with the nature of capitalism, seeing the strong aversion of the workers from their work, conclude that productive work, by its very nature, is repulsive to man, and must be imposed on unwilling mankind by strong means of constraint.

#Anton Pannekoek #Council Communism #Left Communism #Libertarian Marxism #leftism #socialism #communism #anticapitalism #antiwork

134 notes · View notes

katzkinder · 3 years

Note

(multiple linked image references throughout this post)

Ok, so I loved this post

The part that got me though was when you said “I wonder what type of animal form they take factors into that” - that’s where the gears in my head started turnin’

So I went snooping on each animal counterpart associated with each sin.

1.) SLOTH: are cats sensitive to cold?

So Kuro isn’t JUST a neet that prefers blankets or a kotatsu over the cold… his animal form being a cat does play some part… key word beings some

“Cats are pretty well adapted for cold weather, but when the temperature dips below freezing they are susceptible to hypothermia and frostbite. During periods of cold weather, cats will go looking for a warm place to hunker down. How cold is too cold for indoor cats? Cats prefer warmth but will be okay in rooms hovering between 50-60°F degrees; while their counterparts Lions, in a zoo environment, stay outside in the winter unless the temperature dips below 40°F (in the wild, most lions don’t have to worry about temperatures dropping below 65°F so in most cases 40°F and below is too cold).”

SLOTH SENSATIVE TO COLD? ✅ (yes)

2.) PRIDE: are bats sensitive to cold?

“Bats can't survive freezing temperatures, even when they're hibernating. Any roost bats shelter in for the winter must be at least 45°F or warmer. They also seek out dark, secluded, and sheltered places that can keep them safe from predators. Bats are defenseless while they're hibernating.”

PRIDE SENSATIVE TO COLD? ✅ (yes)

3.) ENVY: are snakes sensitive to cold?

Jeje being a snake is pretty much a given… but it’d be mean to not include him (so no funny ideas outta you, ok Mikuni?)

“What is the coldest temperature a snake can withstand? Snakes usually stay out of cold climates. Because the coldest temperature any snake can thrive in is around 65°F, snakes normally live in the warmer temperate or tropical zones. Below 60°F, snakes become sluggish. Above 95°F, snakes become overheated.”

ENVY SENSATIVE TO COLD? ✅ (yes)

4.) WRATH: are wolves sensitive to cold?

“Wolves don't need to do anything. They're much better adapted to cold weather than we are. Thanks to their winter adaptations, wolves can live in temperatures as low as -40°F. During the coldest nights, a wolf will curl itself into a ball, covering its nose with its tail, which will hold the exhaled warm air over its feet and nose, conserving precious body heat. It will also sleep close to its pack-mates(her Eve) in a unified effort to stay warm.”

WRATH SENSATIVE TO COLD? ♾ (neutral-ish)

5.) GREED: are hedgehogs sensitive to cold?

“Hedgehogs getting cold is a BIG ‘No no’. It slows their metabolism down, leaving them susceptible to infections, dehydration and starvation. It's important to keep your hedgehog in an environment between 72-80°F. Even if it’s not always comfortable for us humans (comfortable for angels? no clue), temperatures lower than 70°F are considered ‘cold’ for hedgehogs and can result in a hibernation attempt, which can be fatal.”

Maybe that’s why Lawless always wears that scarf? Since hedgehogs are severely thermally sensitive then it would make sense…

(Crantz, Gil… please stop the angel from getting any ideas)

GREED SENSITIVE TO COLD? ✅ (yes)

6.) GLUTTONY: are pigs sensitive to cold?

In this case I will refer mostly to Vietnamese Potbellied Pigs because as far as I know, we haven’t actually seen Ildio’s pig form yet - one of the only depictions is Lawless’ stage depictions of the 7 vampire siblings in ep6… and based on his stage depiction of Ildio’s pig form, Viatnamese Vietnamese Miniature Potbellied Pigs seem like they’d be the common type of pig that seems to fit that shape/size.

“The ideal temperature range for a potbelly pig is 65-88°F. Pigs in winter do not need any type of supplemental heat down to at least -20°F. Most potbelly pigs require more feed to maintain heat production and body condition; meaning that housing aside, the more feed/calorie intake, the easier it can be for pigs to regulate their body heat.”

However, seeing as Ildio is an ageless vampire with the mother-effing holy grail of metabolisms, we don’t know if his MASSIVE calorie intake, that he doesn’t really gain much/any weight from, will actually help him in cold weather.

GLUTTONY SENSATIVE TO COLD? ♾❔(neutral/unknown where they stand exactly)

7.) LUST: are butterflies sensitive to cold?

Snow Lily’s butterfly appearance is probably one of the most exaggerated of the 8 servamp animal forms. That gorgeous shade of pink and black aside, I couldn’t find any real buttwrfly species with that wing pattern or wings shaped like that. So color and wing pattern aside, I’d say the closest real-world butterfly to Snow Lily would be a variation of Swallowtail Butterfly.

Butterflies are cold-blooded critters, however, generally speaking butterflies won't fly when temperatures are less than 55-60°F.

LUST SENSATIVE TO COLD? ✅ (yes)

8.) MELANCHOLY: are foxes sensitive to cold?

Even though Tsubaki’s two tails seem to be a play of of the legends of Nine Tail Fox, generally speaking based off his other details being black fox with white on the end of his tail(s), he is most likely a Silver Fox; which is a type of Red Fox.

The upper critical temperature of the red fox is probably between 86-89°F. An official temperature range of what is too cold for red foxes is more or less unknown or unofficial at best. The arctic fox is said to be able to tolerate temperatures as low as -72°F but red foxes haven’t occupied the tundra in the past partly because it was too cold; with their longer ears and limbs, they lose heat faster than their arctic cousins. So we know the average red fox can tolerate and survive cold temperatures, but most likely not temperatures like their arctic counterparts live in.

MELANCHOLY SENSATIVE TO COLD? ♾❔❌ (neutral/unknown where they stand exactly/least affected of the bunch)

and after ALL OF THAT…

the most interesting thing is–

when I first got into SERVAMP, I remember being curious where the concept of ‘the different sins transforming into animal forms’ came from. After a little research, I found that there is a history to it! A very detailed account of the origins and representations of them within history. And a small portion discusses the animal depictions of the original 7 deadly sins⬇️

“An allegorical image depicting the human heart subject to the seven deadly sins, each represented by an animal (clockwise: Toad = Avarice [greed]; Snake = Envy; Lion = Wrath; Snail = Sloth; Pig = Gluttony; Goat = Lust why? I have no idea; Peacock = Pride).”

So Jeje and Ildio’s animal forms are the only ones true to the original depictions of their associated sins.

Pride as a peacock does make sense… but I can understand adding the bat into the mix because - vampires.

I get why they’d change Kuro to a cat instead of a snail because I can’t see a snail being threatening at all unless it’s either severely poisonous or Gary… like, supernatural vampire powers or not, Kuro as a snail wouldn’t be very badass.

Why the ever living f*ck would a goat reprint lust? Originally I was going with the possibility that goat could be related to ram, ram represents Aries, Aries is one of the most lustful zodiac personalities… but no, apparently the goat represents the Devil, lust, lubricity and the damned… so that’s fun - I prefer the butterfly thank you very much.

Apparently frogs symbolize greed because it is a greedy creature in desiring to live in both worlds- on the land & in the water… okay I guess?

& lastly even though the Lion role is also occupied by Kuro within the series, I can understand Wrath not maintaining the original Lion role swing as Wrath is female and they probably wanted a male to hold the depiction of Lion so that the could use the lion’s mane, again, to add to the badass factor… regardless I don’t think Wrath as a lioness would have played out the same way… is it sexist when referring to animals? Whatever - that’s a question for another day.

If you’re interested, the full article can be found here

I am so sorry this random rant turned out WAAAAAAAY longer than I originally intended… I always love your analysis and theory posts so I hope you enjoy :)

YOOO ANON, THAT’S AWESOME! I’ll definitely check that article out!

In return, have this!

We know what piggy ‘dio looks like now! :D

Hopefully this will make your research a little easier?

#servamp #kat’s katerwauling #asks #anonymous #servamp analysis #thanks for the ask nonny!!#tumblr didn’t want to publish this so I just gave up and went to mobile #long post

38 notes · View notes

tg-headcanons · 3 years

Note

is there such a thing as a ghoul going feral? Like maybe they're so scared they've completely gone into their instincts or something

That’s a great question, and yes! In some circumstances, ghouls do exhibit feral behavior, though there are different causes and different ways

Like most mammals, ghouls are susceptible to rabies. It’s difficult for them to contract it since their skin is resistant to regular animals, so they only get it from other rabid ghouls. This is a tragic and dangerous predicament as there is no cure for a ghoul who gets bitten and they become a danger to anyone around them, but thankfully it’s extremely rare and only makes up for a tiny percentage of feral ghoul behavior

Extreme fear can also result in wild outburts, though these only last a few minutes at most. When threatened to the point of panic, ghouls will experience a massive adrenaline spike, as well as a sort of dissociative episode. It lets their bodies and instinct take over for awhile, and brush aside the overwhelming fear to survive. In this state, the ghoul is semi or non verbal, very fast, and extremely aggressive. This state usually only last for 15 minutes tops, and if the ghoul gets somewhere dark, enclosed, and quiet, they can make it end faster

Ghouls in the process of becoming a kakuja can seem feral. While the new kakuhou is growing and their body is adapting to it, less blood and Rc is getting to the brain, they’re under extreme stress from the hunger and pain it takes to grow it, and they’re chemically imbalanced. It’s a bad idea for them to be around other people during this time, because they’ll lash out at other ghouls and hunt nearby humans to try to settle the surge of instinct and discomfort they’re experiencing

Starvation can cause it. Hunger can drive people to do terrible things, but a ghoul’s hunger is so much more dangerous. Starvation will slowly rob them of their reason. They tend to eat about half their body weight every other week, if they miss two weeks, they’re hungry. At three weeks, it’s painful, but by a month, they’re starting to lose it. Predatory instinct can drive them to attack, kill, and even take bites of living people. In this state they are able to speak, but are aggressive, paranoid, and lack the restraint to not attack people much stronger than them

Though of all the reasons ghouls can enter a desperate and unreasonable state, a truly feral ghoul is the result of something less expected: touch starvation. Ghouls need to cuddle up, not just for the calming effect of the pheromones produced during it, but because those pheromones keep away a very unpleasant survival instinct. Ghouls who don’t get in a pile with other ghouls for too long slowly start to go feral, their bodies believing them to be isolated from their pack and making up for it by strengthening self preservation instincts.

Usually they cuddle up a few times a week, but once a week is enough. If they go a week without it they become snappy, three weeks and they start getting hungry faster, more sensitive to stimuli, and have a hard time regulating their emotions. After a month or two, the severe symptoms kick in. It starts with random bouts of panic and the dissociative aggression that usually comes with life or death situations. Then there’s nightmares, paranoia and mild auditory hallucinations. Finally it tops off with going fully nonverbal and into a dissociative panic aggression that simply doesn’t end. These people suffering the extremes of touch starvation are the ones even other ghouls will call feral

They’ll attack humans and ghouls or flee from them indiscriminately, they’ll hide in dark spaces and go through the motions of rubbing up against things to claim territory, but they do it subconsciously and other ghouls will only be able to tell from the acrid scent that the ghoul who marked it is feral, not who they are specifically. They are operating purely on instinct, and are only vaguely aware of what they’re doing. Those who’ve been through it recall only bits and pieces of jerky motions and gut wrenching panic

This feral extreme is technically known as Isolative Protective Aggression Syndrome, or IPAS. IPAS is a horrible thing to experience and dangerous to both themselves and others, but is thankfully quickly curable. The problem is that affected ghouls are not self aware, able to communicate, or able to seek help on their own. They need to be helped by others. They’re hard to get ahold of since they tend to either fight brutally or flee into dark enclosed spaces when confronted, but once they’re caught the process can begin

The afflicted ghoul needs to be pinned, usually requiring several ghouls to keep them from lashing with their kagune or limbs, and basically get touch they need. Since they’re so far gone, it can take a few minutes for them to stop thrashing and trying to stab and bite, but once the pheromones are able to break through the adrenaline rush, they stop. It’s heart wrenching to witness, feral ghouls getting brought out of their affliction tend to be a mess of emotions and pain from their awareness returning and finally feeling the full extent of their discomfort and injuries along with their consciousness. It’s accompanied by awful migraines, physical exhaustion, and emotional deregulation, but it’s worth it. It takes a few days of headaches, groggy awareness, and lots of sleep for them to start feeling normal again

The CCG keeps ghouls in custody isolated from one another, so most who’ve been in cochlea more than 3 months are at some level of IPAS. Only the ones given special treatment are allowed in with each other to stay sane, only a couple higher ups actually know about the need for physical touch ghouls have, and deliberately withhold the information from other investigators to keep them seeing ghouls as animals. Why? Well by having so many incarcerated ghouls going feral, they can use it as proof that a ghoul’s real nature is mindless and violent. Most studies on ghouls are invalid since they were performed on isolated people

The story of feral ghouls told by the CCG is shrouded in misinformation to sway the public, and in reality most are only as aggressive as the average human. Like anyone, they just need their necessities met, and when they’re decriminalized and have their rights protected, the number of feral ghouls will drastically decrease

#tokyo ghoul #tokyo ghoul headcanon

38 notes · View notes

vyladromeave · 3 years

Text

SHADOWKNIGHT HEADCANONS MASTERPOST

This is how Shadowknights work in my brain. It just is.

(Warning this is super long. like really long. its literally like 3k+ words im not kidding. i did include a couple pictures to help break up the text though. so. good luck.)

Becoming A Shadowknight

There is only one requirement for a person to become a shadowknight: they have to die. Anyone who dies has the potential to become a shadowknight. Whether they actually become one or not depends entirely on whether they would be of use to the Shadow Lord or not.

The Shadow Lord picks new knights from many factors, such as if they were an important person when they were alive, are already skilled in combat/magick, are generally vengeful, or have unfinished business making them more willing to follow the Shadow Lord’s will of destroying the Overworld and its inhabitants. (For this reason, ghosts have become less common in the Overworld, since many souls who would normally become ghosts when they die are recruited as new Shadow Knights instead.)

Not everyone who dies is able to become a Shadowknight. The Shadow Lord, especially without a physical form, is not strong enough to reach out to all dead souls. Souls that are more vengeful/angry in death are easier for the Shadow Lord to locate, and so are souls of those that die in the Nether. There are also specific rituals that can make it easier for Shadow Lord to reach out to a specific soul, but these are uncommon since they take a lot of time and effort to do successfully. Only very valuable potential Shadowknights get this kind of treatment. (This is what happened to Laurance.)

•

Shadowknights and Immortality

All Shadowknights are immortal, as in immune to aging. They can’t die of natural causes, and because of this they can hypothetically live forever. Some Shadowknights choose to take this to the next level, becoming virtually unkillable. This next stage is referred to as becoming a “full Shadowknight,” and can only be achieved when a Shadowknight kills a specific target.

This target will be different for each Shadowknight. The only requirements of this target are that it has to be someone the Shadowknight cared about during their life, and that the Shadow Lord is the one who picks the final target. (So if you were a guard of a village, even if you cared about someone else more, your target would probably still be the lord you were protecting, since the death of a lord would cause a lot more chaos.)

A Shadowknight who has reached this next level of immortality is virtually unkillable. Their physical body can be destroyed, but they will reform in the Nether in a new, identical body if this ever happens. (Their new, reformed body will be identical to the first one that they reform as, not identical to however they currently look. So if they lost a hand as a Shadowknight, died, and reformed, they would reform with their hand back. If they lost a hand before becoming a Shadowknight, they would always reform without that hand.)

This next level of immortality is the expectation for all Shadowknights to achieve, although not many of them do. Shadowknights who do not are often looked down upon, and may have to prove themselves more rigorously than other Full Shadowknights. Shadowknights who are not Full Shadowknights are often referred to as “Premature,” “New,” or “Lesser” Shadowknights.

However, besides being unkillable, becoming a Full Shadowknight has no extra benefits. It is very possible for a “Lesser” Shadowknight to be much more skilled or powerful than a Full Shadowknight, since becoming a Full Shadowknight doesn’t actually increase your strength at all.

A Shadowknight who can reform can still be killed under very specific circumstances. If a Shadowknight’s soul is destroyed, the Shadowknight is killed permanently. This can ONLY be achieved through magical means, and even then can be difficult to achieve.

•

Shadow Souls

Even when a killable Shadowknight dies, they don’t truly leave. When you become a Shadowknight, your soul is permanently bound to the Nether. A Shadowknight whose body has died becomes doomed to roam the Nether as a Shadow Soul for all eternity.

With no body or mind left, Shadow Souls lose themselves quickly. They lose little pieces of themself until there is nothing left but a mindless, vengeful soul. Even the strongest, most collected Shadowknight would lose themself as a Shadow Soul in a matter of days. They have no desires other than wanting to be alive and have a body again.

They have the ability to possess Shadowknights, although usually only ones who are newer or weaker. Most Shadow Souls are imprisoned in the jails of the Shadow Lord’s fortress to keep them from harassing and possessing Shadowknights.

(This possession is what happened to Alexis. A lot of weird, special circumstances had to be met for her to be possessed since she wasn’t (and still isn’t) a Shadow Knight.)

Even without possession, Shadow Souls can feed off the power and emotion of Shadowknights nearby. The most effective way to deal with a Shadow Soul is to use as little magic or power as possible, since they will feed and grow stronger on the excess, and can prevent abilities from being used by feeding off the energy that would be used to activate it. The Shadow Souls that are imprisoned in the Nether’s jails stop imprisoned Shadowknights from being able to use any of their Shadowknight abilities that might help them escape.

•

Consuming a Soul

Although it is done very rarely, a Shadowknight can consume another Shadowknight’s soul. This is INCREDIBLY taboo, since it can permanently kill a Shadowknight who has the ability to reform. This fear of permanent death ensures that any knight who consumes other Shadowknight souls will be killed, or treated as an enemy/exile if they can escape with their life.

Consuming a Shadowknight’s soul can give the Shadowknight a small, temporary boost in power, both magickally and physically. The more souls they consume, the more powerful they can become, and the longer this temporary boost will last.

Most Shadowknights will fight back against being consumed. Shadow Souls are easier targets. Full Shadowknights are much harder to consume since they are much more sentient/mindful/powerful/motivated by the will to reform, and often flee instead of being consumed. Also, their body must be destroyed before their soul can be consumed, which adds an extra step to the already tiring process.

•

Loss of Sentience

Some Shadowknights become nothing more than a puppet for the Shadow Lord, a creature with no thoughts or will of their own. This usually occurs immediately upon being reborn as a Shadowknight due to the trauma of the event, but can also occur over time in Shadowknights who have lost a sense of self or sense of purpose.

Some think that this happens because the soul of the Shadowknight tries to die or move on, but is unable to do so because of how it is bound to the Nether/the Shadowknight’s body. As a result, the knight is left with nothing but a mindless husk of their former self. Ultimately, there is no definite answer as to why this happens, although this is the most popular theory among Shadowknights.

Shadowknights who have lost their sentience can never regain it, presumably because parts of them have already passed on and do not wish to/are not able to return. A Shadowknight without their sentience has eyes that are permanently cloudy-looking and less reflective (like how eyes cloud over on death).

•

A Reformed Body

When a person dies and becomes a Shadowknight, the new body they reform into is not the actual body they died in. The grave of a person who became a Shadowknight would still have a body in it. The body they reform into is a near perfect replica of the one that died, but it doesn’t “feel” the same.

The only exception to this rule is if the Shadowknight died as a child, and their body wasn’t already fully grown. All Shadowknights have fully-grown bodies, regardless of what age they died as. This is simply because a fully-grown body is stronger and more fit to serve as a knight. This can be very disturbing to Shadowknights who died younger, since they have to adapt to a body that they can only vaguely identify as their own. (This is what happened to Vylad.)

•

A Sturdier Body

The body of a Shadowknight is different from the body of a human. All Shadowknights are naturally stronger, fastier, hardier, and heal quicker than the average human. They are literally made for the sole intention of being mass-killing soldiers, so it only makes sense that their new bodies reflect that.

When they heal, no scars are left behind. The only scars a Shadowknight will have are ones they obtained previously, before or on death. The only exceptions to this rule are if they lose a limb/eye/etc. If the Shadowknight is able to reform when they die, then their lost limb/eye/etc. will be back when they reform.

Any scars associated with the Shadowknight’s death might be a bit more prominent than a normal scar. They usually look bright red and angry, almost closer to an open wound.

All Shadowknights are completely immune to fire and heat. They can still feel fire and heat, but it doesn’t harm them. It can be a bit overwhelming to get used to at first, but most Shadowknights have to learn to grow used to it, since the Nether is like, 60% fire and lava. (Shadowknights actually take baths in lava in the Nether to stay clean, since there is no water.) (Also, technically they aren’t immune to fire on the INSIDE. If they like, ate fire, it would hurt pretty bad. Probably not as bad as it would hurt a normal human, but it would still hurt.)

Shadowknights don’t require the same things as humans do to live. A Shadowknight can survive without food, water, or sleep, and can go without these things longer before feeling any negative effects. However, a lack of these things can definitely make them weaker, and more miserable. Seeing as water cannot exist in the Nether, and nothing else naturally lives there, the lack of food and water is pretty agonizing for any Shadowknights stuck there.

Shadowknights aren’t completely exempt from natural human needs. They still need to breathe air, and they still need to keep their blood inside of them.

•

Natural Abilities

When a person becomes a Shadowknight, they gain new abilities. All Shadowknights have the ability to summon Shadow Armor. This armor is an integral part of a Shadowknight, and the form it takes is unique (but similar) for each knight. It’s a bit like porcupine spikes or pufferfish in that many Shadowknights will summon it instinctively when they believe they are in danger. It also summons instinctively while in the Nether. It’s fairly sturdy, but is better at protecting against physical attacks than magickal ones. Destroying the armor won’t hurt a knight, but it can tire them. Armor that is destroyed/damaged can be resummoned, but it takes a bit of time to fix.

All Shadowknights also have the ability to summon a Shadow Weapon. Shadowknights can only form weapons that they are familiar with. They can only form tools that would be used in combat, and can only summon one at a time. (You can’t have your bow and arrows AND a sword AND a shield all summoned at once. Shadow WEAPON. Singular. No plural. Pick One.) They can also change the form of the weapon in between summonings, and in combat. Quickly switching between weapons can take some practice to perfect/get used to. Similarly to the armor, destroying the weapon won’t hurt a knight. It also won’t tire them, since a Shadow Weapon isn’t as much of a “part” of a knight as the armor is. A destroyed/damaged Shadow Weapon can be resummoned, but it takes a bit of time to fix.

All Shadowknights have the ability to sense other Shadowknights by their aura, tell if the Shadowknight is fully immortal or not, and suppress their own Shadowknight aura from being detected/identified. This ability has to be practiced in order to become effective. A knight who neglects this ability may only be able to sense large groups, or only sense a knight that is extremely close by. They also might not be able to suppress their own aura at all. A knight who practices this ability can sense another knight from, at a maximum, 350-ish feet away. They could potentially identify a specific Shadowknight from their aura (and this becomes easier if they have spent a lot of time around this Shadowknight before.) They could also potentially suppress their own aura for hours at a time, with only a little effort. These are extremes, and most Shadowknights don’t perfect these abilities to this extent.

•

Additional Abilities

Some Shadowknights gain new abilities in addition to the ones all Shadowknights gain by default. Oddly enough, Shadowknights who already have a preexisting magickal/witchcraft affinity are less likely to receive one of these abilities. Most gain only one from the following list, but very rarely can gain two. From most to least common, the list is as follows:

•Dimming lights - They can blend in easier into shadows by dimming the light around them. They can also dim or put out lights, or make any light less bright for a short amount of time. (This obviously doesn’t work on stuff like The Sun, but I do think that if you got really good at using this ability, you could maybe make the moon appear dark or the stars disappear for a bit. They wouldn’t ACTUALLY stop shining, it would just appear that they did, if that makes sense?) (Sasha is a notable Shadowknight with this ability.)

•Teleportation - They can only teleport to places they know exist, and they can’t teleport between dimensions. The further the location, and the more people they are teleporting, the more energy, effort, and concentration it takes. Most Shadowknights who can teleport aren’t able to do so while in the middle of combat because it takes too much concentration to do so. Hard to teleport while you are also trying not to get stabbed. Who would guess. (Vylad is a notable Shadowknight with this ability.)

•Shapeshifting - They can change their own appearance into another. If you get really good at using this ability, you could look like someone else entirely. However, normally this ability is just useful for changing clothes/hair color/disguises. Maintaining a shapeshift also takes focus/concentration, and normally can’t be maintained for very long periods of time depending on the complexity of the shapeshift. If you just changed your clothes, you could maintain it for a couple hours. If you look like another person entirely, probably 1-2 hours max. A shapeshift is also hard to maintain in battle for the same reason as teleportation. (Zenix is a notable Shadowknight with this ability.)

•Shadow Manipulation - They can create solid forms out of shadow, and manipulate these forms as they see fit. This is probably the most difficult ability to use, and also the most difficult to master. The larger/more complex this manipulation is, the harder it is to maintain. This ability is different from the Shadow Weapon in that it can’t really be sharp, and can’t form extremely defined/specific shapes. Shadow manipulation lends itself much better to blobs. (Gene is a notable Shadowknight with this ability.)

•

Overwhelming Emotions

Shadowknight’s abilities strengthen when powered by emotion. For any Shadowknights who don’t care about the danger and destruction they cause, this is only a plus. For the rest, it is a curse. The link between emotion and power can be extremely overwhelming, making it much easier to get worked up and much harder to calm down. Death and destruction is a part of a Shadowknight’s nature, making these fits dangerous for anyone who dares to get in the Shadowknight’s way.

Because of this, there are two paths that a Shadowknight must choose between. Either they make the effort to suppress your emotions, cut off friendships, family, and other bonds. Or, they let their emotions control them entirely, weaponizing their existence and becoming a tool of pure chaos. Neither choice is very appealing.

•

Seeing Red

One of the most iconic and identifiable features of a Shadowknight is the eyes. Whenever using any of their abilities, wearing summoned Shadow Armor, or even feeling an emotion that is too strong, a Shadowknight’s eyes will glow red. Depending on the strength of their emotion or intensity of their action, this red can spread from their eyes to the skin around it.

•

The Nether

The Nether is the home of all Shadowknights, although not by choice. The Nether was never meant to be inhabited by anyone, which is clear from the lack of food, water, and habitable land present there. However, since the Shadow Lord is trapped in the Nether and not strong enough to leave, the Shadowknights he creates are bound to the Nether in strange ways. Shadowknights feel a natural draw to return to the Nether whenever they are away, and in extreme cases can even feel ill if they are gone for long periods of time. This urge is called The Calling. With time and practice, this urge can be suppressed, though it never completely fades.

On the other hand, Shadowknights are somewhat stronger in the Nether, both magickally and physically. Fighting a Shadowknight on home turf is generally a bad idea, and it’s best to fight them in the Overworld instead.

•

Lost and Altered Memories

Although it isn’t inherently a part of becoming a Shadowknight, many knights find themselves without their memories from when they were alive, or unknowingly have had parts of their memories changed. This has become much more common among more recent Shadowknights. (Vylad and Zenix are some of the last notable Shadowknights to not have their memories altered.) This is largely because of Gene, the Shadow Lord’s most trusted knight. His magicks let him manipulate the memories of others, and the Shadow Lord encourages him to use his abilities to create a more willing army. Many knights who might’ve originally questioned the Shadow Lord and his goals have their memories altered so that they are more willing to follow the Shadow Lord, and kill in his name. (Sasha is a notable Shadowknight who this applies to.)

•

Thank you for reading!

Feel free to use any of these ideas in your own MCD fan-content, and if you have anything you would like to ask about/clarify, feel free to send me an ask or message!

#Minecraft Diaries #aphmau fanart #shadowknight #shadow knight #aphmau #Shad the destroyer #mcd #shadow lord #shadow soul #mcd meta #wrote like 90% on various nights at 2 am so if something makes literally no sense please let me know so i can fix it #injury tw #scar tw #body horror tw #<for the shadow souls bcs those things are terrifying. let me know if anything else should b tagged #long post #aikidoart

171 notes · View notes

quazartranslates · 3 years

Text

Welcome to the Nightmare Game II - CH46

**This is an edited machine translation. For more information, please [click here]**

[<<< Previous Chapter | Table of Contents | Next Chapter >>>]

-----

Chapter 46: Star Death Reality Show (XXIX)

All of the blood in Qi Leren’s body had solidified, and every cell was screaming silently, "No, don't, don't be it"! But this useless prayer could not help their current dangerous situation.

The sound from the vent became clearer and clearer, and it came out through the metal shutters. Qi Leren suddenly woke up from the stiffness that was like being thrown into a freezer, pointed to the door, and shouted, "Open the door! Fast!"

Dr. Lu was closest to the door, and rushed to open it. As a result, as soon as he raised his leg, his left foot stumbled over his right foot, and he fell hard on his face. Du Yue reacted quickly and rushed to the door to unlock it urgently. However, Leviathan had opened the metal shutter in the vent, and its tentacles wrapped in tinfoil stretched out from the black tunnel.

Qi Leren fired three shots at the tentacles. Two shots missed and one shot hit, but like last time, with an ordinary gun’s offensive power, it was impossible to break through the octopus’s shell.

The monster fell down from above like a pool of mud and expanded to a size larger than before. Its mass had exceeded that of a human, and after it fell, those branching tentacles spread across the ground like dead roots, motionless.

Qi Leren retreated slowly, glancing out of the corner of his eye at the door. Dr. Lu was struggling to get up from the ground while Du Yue was sweating as he struggled to unlock the door, because it had been Qi Leren who had locked the door just now, and Du Yue was unfamiliar with this type of lock.

No, I can't get out yet. I have to stall for time... But it would be difficult to stall by fighting. The best way is...

Qi Leren shouted: "Du Yue, use your skill!"

By the time the two rookies reacted, Qi Leren had been chased by the octopus and didn’t hesitate to jump into the vent!

"Stop, don’t move! There’s a kind of charge up!" Du Yue quickly launched this bug-like skill card [Protagonist Halo]!

[Protagonist Halo: When you use this skill card, you instantly become the center of attention, the protagonist of the story, and the fearless saviour! You, with the frightening aura of a king, can easily move people’s hearts, but you can always keep your last breath when you are beaten by a powerful enemy, because the enemy can’t help but explain his motives and modus operandi to you (although there may not be enough time). This skill lasts for one minute, with a cooldown time of three hours. During the start of the skill, persuasiveness increases by 20% and some people’s IQ decreases by 20%. You will not die if attacked. After all, you are the protagonist of this one minute.]

With He Yi’s brain, Leviathan was like any boss who had been faced with the lead character. It had forgotten who it was, where it was, and what it was going to do. It just stood there and listened to this guy who was 1.9 meters tall and 18 years old and could barely act as the teen protagonist. He shouted at it with a cracking voice, and sincerely advised it to abide by human laws and surrender itself quickly.

Ah, there was an invisible and intangible mysterious aura on this human being, which made everyone who saw him believe that this was the legendary protagonist! Although it was very angry, it still had to listen to the protagonist's words!

If it wasn't for its lack of vocal cords, it would probably explain its criminal motives and criminal record. Qi Leren took this opportunity to rush to the door, grabbing Dr. Lu with one hand and unlocking it nervously with the other.

This lock should be like this, wrong, so like this, wrong, how is it unlocked?

Under the Protagonist Halo, Qi Leren, whose IQ had plummeted by 20%, went crazy. It took half a minute to unlock the door and kick Dr. Lu out: "Run!"

Dr. Lu clutched his kicked ass and ran away in three steps.

The most delicious one had escaped the danger. Now there were less than 20 seconds left. Qi Leren shouldered the rocket launcher up off the ground and grabbed Du Yue to drag him out. Watching the "protagonist" run away, the monster finally woke up from the unexplained state of wonder, and the huge mouthparts hidden beneath its tentacles let out a sharp cry, rushing to catch up!

This speed was too fast! Qi Leren kicked Du Yue out with another foot, braced himself against the door, and aimed the rocket launcher at Leviathan, but it was too late. The monster had already jumped in front of him, and its tentacles suddenly stretched. He was dragged to the ground by his feet!

As soon as Qi Leren's hands loosened, the rocket launcher on his shoulder immediately smashed down and landed on his instep, causing a tingle of pain, and his left arm was swallowed by Leviathan's sharp-toothed maw!

"Qianbei!" Du Yue cried, looking back to pull Qi Leren out.

At this time, it was too late to save, and even if he loaded the file, he couldn't go back to the time before his left hand was injured. However, Qi Leren still saved. He felt the pain as if his arm was stuck in a meat grinder, everything below his elbow being ground by countless tiny teeth.

But this was also an opportunity. Qi Leren, who almost fainted in pain, used his quick wits, and a miniature bomb from his item bar appeared directly in his left hand—that is, in the belly of the octopus. Only six minutes were left before his privacy time ran out!

This explosion was even more devastating because it happened directly in Leviathan's body! This terrible explosion made the inside of its body turn inside out, and the brain hidden in it was more fragile than any internal organs. After the explosion, the human brain was useless.

Qi Leren's situation was not much better. The heat and impact of the explosion came out of Leviathan's mouthparts towards him, slamming him against the wall and breaking his neck. He died on the spot and was resurrected at the save point.

Du Yue, who witnessed the death of his senior, was still dumbfounded. Qi Leren had already judged the current situation—he couldn't continue to play! To say nothing of his left hand that was basically wasted, he would die in a few minutes if he didn’t stop the bleeding. Leviathan, though badly hurt, obviously did not lose its fighting power, and even became more violent!

At the moment when Qi Leren resurrected, it had already become like a giant spinning top, spinning wildly on the ground and rushing towards them!

Qi Leren, who suffered from the pain, relied entirely on willpower and kicked Du Yue out the door with one foot. After he slipped out of the door, he threw it closed. The sound of heavy objects hitting the door sounded behind him. Leviathan's bloated and heavy body hit the door directly, but it didn't open the door.

Because its brain had been destroyed in the explosion just now.

One destroyed hand, but he lowered the enemy’s IQ. This round was not a loss!

Damn, you shouldn't have forgotten to shoot He Yi's head before, otherwise, how could you play so badly?!

Because of the severe pain from the intense trauma just now, Qi Leren's right hand covered the elbow of his left arm. The part below the elbow has landed in Leviathan's stomach. The blood was spraying out like a broken faucet, reaching half a metre away. The ground was as horrible as a murder scene!

Du Yue looked at Qi Leren at a loss: "Qianbei, your hand is gone! What should we do! It's bleeding!"

Qi Leren glanced at his privacy time of only five minutes. He gritted his teeth and forced himself to stay awake. If he passed out now, with Du Yue's rookie first aid knowledge, he might really fall to the fate of bleeding to death. At this crucial moment, I have to rely on myself. Qi Leren took out the first-aid supplies that Chen Baiqi had once enthusiastically recommended from his item bar, and gritted his teeth: "Help me hold it."

Du Yue held his arm and listened to the thumping sound behind him. He helped Qi Leren to tie the rubber hose with trepidation. Qi Leren pulled hard and tied it around the middle position of his upper arm. The wound finally stopped bleeding crazily, but it still couldn't be stopped altogether.

Qi Leren remembered that Chen Baiqi had once said that if no measures were taken within three minutes, this kind of limb injury was basically equivalent to signing a death certificate. If there is no teammate who can treat it, take a soldering iron or flamethrower and burn it against the wound. Only when the blood vessels cauterize to necrosis would it stop the massive bleeding.

"Go, Dr. Lu certainly didn't go far, and time is running out," Qi Leren said, suffering from dizziness and severe pain, and hurried in the direction Dr. Lu had run away. Along the way, he was still thinking. He had had a fight with the big boss, and was injured and dying. He also ran away with the protagonist. It was like a life mentor of the leading role who was going to croak.

Bah, it's so unlucky!

Before running far, Qi Leren heard Dr. Lu’s voice: "You ran too far!"

Qi Leren and Du Yue stopped, looked intently, and Dr. Lu, who had opened the [Free WIFI] skill card, was squatted in the corner without any presence, shouting at them. Looking at Qi Leren's injury, he was shocked: "What's wrong with you, don't move, don't move, I'll give you quick first aid! Oh come on, this injury is too heavy!"

"There’s still four minutes left," Qi Leren reported the time, in too much pain to speak.

Dr. Lu immediately used "Doctor’s Orders". In the milky light, the continuously bleeding wound miraculously stopped. Although the amputated limb could not grow back, the wound healed quickly and new skin covered it. It was completely healed.

Dr. Lu was also shocked: "This effect is too good... Am I so powerful? Am I really a genius nurse?"

Du Yue said faintly on the side: "You’ve never had such a good effect in treating my injuries..."

"No, no, no, this must be because your IQ is not enough to affect the performance of 'Doctor’s Orders'. The skill card says that the more impressive the patient is, the better!" Dr. Lu said convincingly.

"But your treatment for others isn’t this good," Du Yue refused to accept it and refused to admit it was an IQ problem.

"Right, why is that?" Dr. Lu was also confused.

Just then, the pain that made him feel close to blacking out finally faded away. Qi Leren untied the rubber hose which left a bruise on his arm. He stared at the healed amputated limb on his elbow for more than ten seconds, and then he came back from the state of high tension just now.

Although he had died before, thanks to S/L Data, he has always completed the tasks with intact hands and feet every time, and this was the first time that he has lost a hand directly. He thought he would be disgracefully frightened, but because of these two rookies, he looked much calmer.

"Don't worry, there are people in the Twilight Township who can do limb regeneration. I know them. If you go back and pay a few survival days, you can grow it back." When Dr. Lu saw Qi Leren staring at the amputated hand, he thought he was sad, so he comforted him.

"Is it expensive?" As a poor player who has consumed a lot of survival days in the process of competing with Su He, this was what Qi Leren is most concerned about.

"It's okay, I remember it was just over a hundred days," Dr. Lu said.

Qi Leren, who had only seventeen days to live, didn't want to speak.

Du Yue was not rich either. He said gloomily, "That’s a lot, I only have thirty days..."

There was no harm without comparison, and Qi Leren suddenly felt that he was impoverished...

"It’s nothing, if you don’t have enough, I’ll pay for you. I usually charge for treating others. Healers are quite scarce, so I’ve earned a lot. Right now I have about two hundred survival days!" Dr. Lu said generously.

More than two hundred days… More than two hundred days… More than two hundred days…

Du Yue would be silent when hearing this number, and Qi Leren would cry when hearing it.

-----

Editor’s Notes: For anyone (me) who has forgotten the exact details, here’s the description for Doctor’s Orders:

[Doctor’s Orders] (Non-Binding Skill Card): The ability to work miracles comes with a price – a price for your patients. There will be no mercy given to those who do not deserve. Allows the holder to heal all who meet the following requirements: attractive, not a Virgo and an IQ over 100. The number of requirements met will determine the effectiveness of the treatment. Skill cooldown: 2 hours. (translated by Sigma)

-----

[<<< Previous Chapter | Table of Contents | Next Chapter >>>]

21 notes · View notes

yellowmagicalgirl · 3 years

Text

Seklos and Gaylen, They Were Cagemates! Chapter 4: How Falling Starts

Krel and Douxie talk, and Krel is faced with a moral dilemma. Kubritz tries an experiment of her own.

I’d like to thank everyone who reblogged the previous chapter; your continued support is really helpful and appreciated.

AO3

FFN

Spoiler/Trigger Warning: offscreen medical torture, weighing of lives, past offscreen character death, past child neglect/malnutrition, beatings, and something I'm not too sure how to warn for but the third scene parallels the ultimate portal as well as Merlin's stabbing.

Krel was already sore before he got thrown into the cage and his face slammed against the glass. How strong was it, to take the force of his body like that?

Krel groaned as he pushed himself into a slightly more comfortable sitting position and winced as the cuts on his skin brushed against the various surfaces of the cage and the gown. He thought he had been uncomfortable before they had cut into him, due to how he wasn’t used to and didn’t like having so much skin exposed, but this was even worse. He ached and itched wherever the scientists who worked here had cut into his skin. Some cuts had been slices across the surface, and other cuts had been punctured holes. The punctures had hurt even worse than the slices at the time. Krel had ended up screaming until he had been slapped and gagged. Now, they were all similar levels of pain spread across his body.

“You okay?” the wizard asked. Krel glared at him. What sort of question was that? They were literally being tortured.

“What do you think?” Then again, the wizard looked human, so it was entirely possible that the scientists had gone easier on him than they had on Krel. “Are you?”

“No, and you’re right. It was a stupid question,” the wizard said forlornly before he turned away from Krel. By doing so, he gave Krel a better view of his face.

Maybe it was the lighting, or maybe Krel wasn’t good at identifying human injuries, but it looked like the wizard was hurt. Bruised, probably, given the blotches on his face. Aside from the bruises, his skin seemed to blend in more with the white gown than it had been before the scientists had taken him away. If he was getting any sort of special treatment for looking human, it wasn’t that much.

It was quiet as the wizard curled on himself. Good. Krel had time to think about how he and the wizard would escape, assuming Aja didn’t come for Krel first.

No. That wasn’t the plan. Krel was only supposed to plan for his own escape. Not that he should need to plan for his own escape, not when Aja and Zadra were coming for him.

Was it cruel to leave the wizard behind to be tortured and beaten? Yes. Yes it was.

Was it something Krel could and would do if it meant his own escape?

The wizard had yet to prove that he wasn’t an idiot, or at least only the average amount of idiocy as everyone else on this mudball. But could Krel leave him behind?

Maybe. Probably. Especially if Krel and the wizard weren’t together when Aja finally came and rescued Krel.

Krel didn’t like how uncertain that answer was in his head.

Would Krel leave the wizard behind? Well, if Aja and Zadra came for him, he couldn’t risk losing time and potentially his sister too just trying to save the wizard.

But what if Aja didn’t come for him, and he had to escape on his own? (Which was nonsense, of course Aja would come for him. She had to. She was his sister. He would do the same for her, just his plan would involve more stealth and less fighting.) He didn’t want to answer that to himself and thus admit the level of uncertainty.

The wizard’s shoulders shook slightly as he made a small, wet, gasping noise. Krel sighed.

“I’m Krel, by the way.”

The wizard turned back to Krel. Tears shone on his cheeks under the green lights of his cage, but he gave Krel a dazzling smile, nonetheless. In a wet voice he said, “I’m Hisirdoux, but everyone calls me Douxie.”

Colonel Kubritz rubbed her temples. She could already feel a headache coming on; the new specimens were infuriating. Oh, it was interesting to study them. It was good to have taken back one of the ones who had broken in, and she hoped that by capturing him his friends would come back for him and the rest of them could be captured as well, but she had received so many complaints ever since they had gotten the two of them.

Apparently, the two new specimens kept having conversations. That had been the frequent complaint. Often, the specimens didn’t have conversations, but they also didn’t often have multiple new specimens at the same time. They’d get one specimen at a time, and it would call out for help, but it would eventually lose hope. And then, it’d be quiet. If it didn’t lose hope on its own, then the soldiers and scientists were instructed to beat it into submission.

That was the other half of Kubritz’s frustration. What didn’t her men understand about using force to silent the specimens? They understood it when the specimens fought back – she had gone over the reports on these two. They had been beaten into submission. But talking in their cages, together, and her men suddenly forgot all their training and indoctrination.

Kubritz groaned. Stuart had been this frustrating as well, so it only made sense that his captured ally was following in his footsteps.

The last wizard they’d captured had been similarly frustrating. He’d been a man in his thirties who had had the audacity to be working as an elementary school teacher in southern Nevada. He’d been caught creating bubbles out of nothing to entertain his students.

He had claimed to be a US citizen, that he deserved better. He was beaten and told that only humans could be citizens. It took a long time for him to learn that lesson.

He’d call out for help, and he was beaten. He stopped calling out for help.

He’d try to help and soothe all the aliens near him. He was beaten for it. Eventually he finally shut up, though that may have been the fact that the aliens refused to respond to him.

And a week after he stopped fighting back, his magic faded down to a faint trickle when he was allowed access to it. Kubritz had been the one to talk to him about it.

“Magic is emotion,” he had said to her in such a hollow voice that it still felt mocking years later, “and you’ve made me apathetic.”

His body was disposed of a week later. Even in death, he’d held onto his secrets; not even his corpse showed signs of what the differences between wizards and humans were.

Hopefully the new specimen would show more promise than just being a nuisance, showing no results and talking to the other nuisance.

She sat up straight as an idea came to her.

“Magic is emotion?” she said to herself. “Well, I bet I can use this emotional connection to my advantage.”

Despite all the centuries that had passed, gruel didn’t change. That was what they had been given to eat – a single bowl of gruel for each of them. Douxie was pretty sure that the rats that Archie used to catch for him to eat would have been more nourishing given how small the bowls were. Still, Douxie was thankful to finally eat.

“Fligshaag,” Krel said from his cage. Douxie looks over to see him making a face. Ah, so he finally stopped poking at his food and started eating it. “I knew this was going to taste bad, but that bad?”

The taste of gruel hadn’t really changed over the centuries, though Douxie hadn’t tasted much of it given how quickly he had eaten his. “At least it’s not moldy. Or at least it didn’t look that way,” Douxie said to him. Some of the personnel walked towards them; most of them had their hands behind their backs., and a woman dressed in green trailed behind them.

Krel gave him a concerned look. “What’s ‘moldy’?”

Douxie didn’t get a chance to reply before one of the personnel grabbed Krel, kicking over his gruel. “I was going to eat that, you klebso!” he yelled.

Krel was thrown to the ground with a grunt. The one who had thrown him stepped back. As Krel tried to push himself to a kneeling position, the other personnel surrounded him in a near-perfect circle. The only gap was a perfect window between Krel and Douxie. Outside this window Douxie noticed that the personnel were holding metal batons.

No.

Oh, no.

As Douxie raised his voice to warn Krel, they brought their batons down to strike him.

Krel cried out in pain and curled in on himself, tucking his limbs up to cover his chest, seeming not to care about the other parts of his body.

“Stop!” Douxie cried out, slamming one of his fists into the glass of his cage. “You’re hurting him!”

They continued beating Krel.

“What do you sick bastards even want?” Douxie slammed his other hand against the glass. “Stop it!”

Douxie saw the lights in the cuffs around his wrists dim until they were nonexistent, but he didn’t register them. All he wanted for them to stop hurting Krel. He wanted for himself and Krel to be free from the pain and torture the soldiers were inflicting on them. He wanted them to be free and safe and away from here.

One of the batons struck near Krel’s eye.

“STOP!” Douxie yelled, his voice louder than what his vocal cords could normally produce. He barely had time to see his eyes turn blue in his reflection in the glass before it shattered as a wave of blue magic burst outwards and broke the glass. It left Krel unharmed, but glass hit the soldiers and magic knocked all but the furthest of them over. Arcane symbols – the same symbols that adorned his bracer – maintained circular orbits around Douxie.

Krel stretched out from his position and looked up at Douxie in awe. Douxie gazed back at him and gave him a gentle smile as Douxie began to rise to his feet. He felt powerful, like no one could hurt him or anyone he cared about again. He and Krel would walk out of here, and Douxie would protect them both.

The one standing soldier put his foot on Krel’s throat (and why hadn’t Krel protected his throat; he had protected his chest but not his throat). Something twisted and broke within Douxie, and another wave of anger and magic rose out from him. As it exited him, though, something felt wrong, and he felt pain course throughout his entire body. He cried out as he fell to his hands and knees, and as this second wave of magic reached the symbols they warped. They moved faster and broke their orbits into random paths. The symbols themselves changed to be unrecognizable, occasionally merging or breaking.

Douxie heard cracking beneath him and wrenched his eyes away from Krel to his hands. Painful glowing pale blue cracks were forming on his fingers. In one of the larger shards of glass he saw those same cracks begin to crawl across his jaw and radiate outwards from his eyes.

Oh. He had used too much magic.

So, this is what dying felt like. Pain, and breaking promises he had never understood how someone could ever break.

He wasn’t going to make it out of here alive.

All he could do now was make sure that Krel would.

Douxie grit his teeth as he pushed himself back to his knees. With a shout he stretched his hands out in front of him.

He intended a gout of pure flame to hit the soldier in the neck. Instead, a wave of force threw the soldier back several feet, sending them thudding into the wall next to the woman.

“Run,” Douxie rasped to Krel. His voice was still unnaturally loud, but he couldn’t bring himself to raise it above a whisper. Anything else would break him beyond recognition. He had to hold it together just long enough for Krel to escape. Then he could give in to the maelstrom of dark magic and whatever path it went down, and hopefully it would be a quick and painless death.

Krel turned and began to run but stopped in his tracks when he saw the woman.

She grabbed two things from her pockets. With one device, she began to tase Krel. Even as his head began to feel heavy, Douxie readied another blast of magic to stop her.

The cuffs on his wrists flared a bright and toxic green, and all Douxie knew then was darkness.

A/N: So, for the record, I'm pretty sure the show didn't make a distinction between the two but I'm making a distinction between shadow magic and dark magic. Shadow magic is based in darkness, illusion, and transportation through the Shadow Realm. Dark magic is magic that is powered by a life force, and is generally only used by those who are desperate (and feed their own life force to their magic) or cruel and power hungry (and feed other's lives to their magic). While the two shadowmancers in the show have used dark magic (Claire in desperation, Morgana in callousness towards life), it is possible to use shadowmancy without using dark magic, it's just a little more difficult than with non-shadow magic given the nature of the Shadow Realm. And, like shown here, it's possible to use entirely light-based magic like Douxie does and still use dark magic.

#krel tarron #hisirdoux casperan #krexie #colonel kubritz #area 49b #tales of arcadia #3below #trollhunters #toawizards #death tw #torture tw #medical torture #dark magic #my writing #and they were cagemates #seklos and gaylen they were cagemates!

26 notes · View notes

shi-chimera · 3 years

Text

Balan Wonderworld headcanons have been rattling around in my head for a while now so I'm just gonna plop them here. Enjoy, don't enjoy, whatever.

◇General◇

-The Balan Theater is MASSIVE and works much like the door in Howl's Moving Castle. Anyone can access it from a number of dilapidated old buildings if they know which ones to look for.

-The theater has at least two dozen rooms, a large restaurant style kitchen, a full bar, and a massive library with window seats, a day bed, and roughly five thousand books at any given time. The books change out at random because the library has a mind of its own.

-Other rooms include Balan and Lance's bedrooms (they live in the theater), Balan's office, and some guest rooms and lounge/living room type spaces. Some of the rooms have flippable floors and sliding walls to convert them into smaller or different rooms.

-The building also has a small rear courtyard with a single, ENORMOUS tree in it. There are also some small flowerbeds and in one corner by the building is a dumpster.

-The theater's porch lights indicate if an exterior door (i.e. an entrance) is active or not. If the lights are on, the doors are open!

♡Balan♡

-Balan feeds off positive emotions and energy. It's part of why he entertains people. Smiling people are happy and happy people keep him going.

-The most extra person you can find, and has a fixation with his appearance. The smallest stain or speck of dirt, loose thread, etc. and he LOSES HIS MIND. He WILL throw an absolute drama queen level spectacle. Everything he does is over the top.

-High energy, so much so that he tends to fidget, pace, or other wise be in constant motion to burn it all off. He's also ambidexterous, but favors his left so you're likely to see him writing paperwork or lifting things with his left hand more often.

-Is an excellent chef and will cook you the most delicious meal you've ever eaten.

-Balan enjoys tea (in a traditional cup and saucer, Earl Grey in particular), but enjoys it more with cookies. If you bring him tea, make yourself a cup too because he will insist you also have one. He will also probably share a cookie with you. Save yourself a headache and just take it. He considers anything he gives you a gift and if you decline or throw it away he will be very upset and assume you don't like him anymore. You can, however, throw away napkins and the like, of course.

-NEVER drops the smile if he can at all help it. He can and will be in emotional distress and you'd never know unless you knew what to look for. Subtle eye movements and shifts in his posture reveal his mood. Will drum his fingers in specific patterns to calm himself down depending on how he's feeling, though you'll almost never see them.

-He only takes off his hat around people he trusts wholely with every fiber of his being. Lance is one of the few. He's quite pretty underneath, with finely swirling gold patterns all over him similar to Lance and a golden heart shape on his forehead (also like Lance).

-He likes wine, especially red wine. He has a high alcohol tolerance. Can and WILL drink you under the table. He gets extra flirty when he's properly drunk, and if you can get him talking he'll definitely lose track of how much he's had. He can phase objects through one another, so you'll frequently see him fill his glass by tipping it against a bottle.

-Likes to play around with a vaudeville hook and will hook Lance out of the ether if they try to phase out of a conversation or if he expressly needs something from them.

-He's HUGE and all the furniture in the theater is sized for humans, and I do mean ALL OF IT, so his lanky ass looks ridiculous sitting on any kind of furniture. There is one exception to this and that is his bed.

-Speaking of, his room is huge and decked out in a red/white/gold/navy color scheme (hmm, I wonder why?). It has wall panels. He has a walk in closet filled to the brim and a large vanity with a mirror edged in lights. It's also MESSY. Piles of clothes, random objects, makeup all over the vanity. The bed is a 3/4 circle, and it wasn't his idea. Lance actually had it put in while Balan was distracted.

-Why did Lance get Balan a new bed? Well, Balan USED TO sleep in a human sized bed, and he sleeps like he's dead. As such, he can and did fall out of bed every night without fail, usually taking a nightstand or other large object out on the way down and not waking up at all. The crashing sounds kept waking Lance up and they had enough of that.

-Threw a hissyfit when Lance got him the new bed without permission. Sleeps splayed out in the "starfish" position, usually tangled up in the sheets like they came alive and tried to strangle him. One or more limbs will usually be hanging over the side, including his head. Doesn't fall out of the new bed NEARLY as often.

-If you fall asleep in the theater, expect to wake up in that bed. He will insist you sleep in comfort, and the bed is big enough for five people so you aren't inconveniencing him in any way by laying in it. He can sleep across from you on the other side, and will sleep still as a statue if you're there.

-Has little to no concept of gender as a whole. He has no biological gender and can be whatever he wants as he feels fit. Accepts any and all pronouns. As such, he doesn't assign gender stereotypes to ANYTHING (clothes, people, objects of any kind) and doesn't understand most human created gender related norms.

-Will frequently call people Darling. If he likes you, will sometimes call you Dear. I.e. "Lance, darling, why are you always like this? Just SMILE!" and "Look at that smile, dear girl! Positively RADIANT!"

-For the LOVE OF GOD, PLEASE LOVE HIM. There is NEVER such a thing as too much affection as far as Balan is concerned. He will PINE for it. Hug him, lean on him, ask him to hold your hand or carry you around. Something, anything! He WANTS as much attention as possible and will come at you like he's more touch starved than Lance. He has ZERO concept of personal space. He will toss you in the air (he will also always catch you, calm down), hold your face, pat you on the head, flat out glomp you, the whole shebang. Unless you clearly state otherwise, he will be all over you ALL THE TIME.

-Rarely if ever gets TRULY upset, and if he does the cracks will start to show. He will pace and rapidly teleport when stressed out, and will sometimes summon doubles without realizing. The doubles can't talk, and mainly just act as stand-ins in shows.

-Always puts the visitors first and will cancel a show if he feels someone is in danger, emotional distress, etc.

-His eyes glow in the dark, and the pupils get narrower instead of smaller (kinda like a cat). His dreads are also prehensile (they can be moved at will) and he has a set of four back tendrils like Lance. He never shows them unless absolutely neccessary or for intimidation. They're curled up like little nubbins on his back, under his clothes. They're extremely sensitive and are actually feelers that let him read the energy in a room so he can react accordingly.

-He DOES have casual clothes, usually semiformal (button up shirts, suit vests, etc.) and will pull his dreads back out of his face when his hat is off.

-He enjoys witty banter, and will have a "banter battle" with anyone willing, Lance unwillingly included. Annoying Lance is actually one of his favorite pasttimes. He's kinda a lil shit sometimes.

-Is literally millenia old and has been hanging around doing this showbiz thing for ages, just in different ways. Picked up the theater thing when it was immensely popular around Shakespeare's time. He's actually older than Lance, and despite his largely immature attitude, he's actually more emotionally stable.

☆Lance☆

-Angsty lil cinnamon bun.

-Absolutely starved for affection of any kind (Balan doesn't count), and very lonely. Will immediately doubt you/deny/contradict you if you compliment them. Will squirm and make desperation "THEY'RE TOUCHING ME. WHAT DO I DO? I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO. BALAN HALP." noises if you show them physical affection. Will also blush profousely.

-Plays the villain role in all the shows, and as a result almost no one likes or acknowledges them. As a whole they tend to be antisocial with very clear touch boundaries (Balan does NOT CARE). Very quiet and serious, and only speaks when absolutely necessary.

-Will NOT sugarcoat things (unless they like you, then expect sugarcoating of unimportant/trivial things). Less than stellar at the whole "emotional comfort" thing. If they like you, will hold you if you ask (especially if you're visibly upset).

-Feeds on negative emotions, meaning they have a more constant energy supply than Balan (though Balan is physically and power-wise stronger). Tends to be emotionally unstable and will get easily fed up/throw a small tantrum when they've had enough. Generally low energy and sleeps/naps often.

-Strictly They/Them pronouns. Also lacks a biological gender like Balan and can be anything they feel like being. Understands human created gender stereotypes and social norms.

-Prefers more feminine clothing. You're more likely to see casual clothes with Lance. They rarely care about other people's opinions on the matter. They prefer comfy, truly casual clothing made of soft cloth. Will always be wearing heels of some kind, though, and usually a scarf. Hair will be pulled back, typically in a messy bun or something similar.

-Does all the repairs and maintinence for the theater, including costume repair (especially if Balan's costume needs it, he will weep LOUDLY until Lance fixes the issue). Not uncommon to see them with their head in a ceiling fixing wiring, etc.

-Will absolutely melt if you stroke/run your fingers through their hair. They find it soothing, and if you pull them to you they'll fall asleep on your lap, against your shoulder, etc.

-Back tendrils are PAINFULLY sensitive, please don't touch without permission.

-Is a terrible cook in all things except desserts and sweets. They excell at all sugary treat making. Also an excellent bartender with a wide knowledge of cocktails.

-Absolute lightweight. Will get drunk off two shots, and is a weepy drunk. Tends to steer clear of drinking alcohol as a result. Enjoys Shirley Temple drinks, and can tie cherry stems into shapes with their tongue. Will cut you off if they think you've had enough booze.

-Impeccable and neat room filled with crystals, candles, incense, and lots of glow in the dark things. Their room has a purple and dark theme with small gold accents and is in general a small room with one window on the left side. Modestly sized canopy bed with plain bedding. Expect to never see this room unless they really adore you. They will know if you've so much as touched the doorknob and they WILL show up immediately to shoo you away.

-Tends to phase through the floor in a puddle of shadows, especially when trying to avoid a conversation. Will flail desperately if Balan pulls them back with his vaudeville hook.

-Lance is a light sleeper and any small sound will usually wake them up. Balan leaves them constantly sleep deprived. Sleeps curled up in a ball with their face snuggled into the comforter.

-If they find you asleep in the theater, they won't move you, but you're likely to wake up with pillows under your head and hips and a blanket tucked over you. They will also fall asleep anywhere and everywhere so if you're drowsy they'll steer you to the best napping spots (the daybed in the library is one of their favorites).

-Will throw stuff at Balan, watch your head.

-Has two sets of upper fangs, one right after the other and the second set is smaller than the first set, and one set of bottom fangs. Will rarely if ever smile, and is hesitant to be happy around you if they like you. NO ONE likes them, and if YOU like them you're the only one so they don't want to scare you off.

-They are remarkably gentle (despite being constantly cast as the villain), and tend to move more gracefully than Balan. Excellent at the Waltz and Tango, though they don't dance often.

-Eyes ALSO glow in the dark, and the pupils are slitted like a cat. They get huge and round if something catches Lance's attention.

#balan wonderworld #headcanon #balan headcanons

57 notes · View notes