#like how many insects are edible

[villainihavedonethymotheronao3]

Gus and King deserve to sit in the woods and tell each other spooky stories and light things on fire and build forts and use illusion magic to create gross imagery to spook each other with. Glyph heated s’mores, hitting each other with sticks, manhunt, games with convoluted backstories, kids stuff.

#the owl house #king clawthorne #gus porter #they are children!! #the youngest people in their social groups! #mattholomule is on thin ice in my book but he can hang #Hunter assigns himself Child Caretaker because he loves to have a job #and Eda foolishly said something along the lines of ‘good now there’s a more responsible boy to watch them’ #but ten minutes later he’s getting baited into doing challenges for penstagram #and telling them creepy pasta he heard during scout training #and showing them cool survival tips #like how many insects are edible #a surprising number! #here he’ll demonstrate #god Willow probably kills at hide and go seek and manhunt and all those feral middle school games #the trees are her coconspirators #Luz and Gus are close runners up #for ruthlessness and innovation (Luz) and trickery (Gus) #but none of them have the forest like willow does #amity sweet girl gets tagged out instantly she is a city child #but she brings the snacks so it’s fine #gus and king are so…. #they are little boys

[headspace-hotel]

I want to make people see how much has been taken away from them.

Did you know that there are dozens of species of fireflies, and some of them light up with a blue glow? Did you know about the moths? There are thousands of them, bright pink and raspberry orange and checkerboard and emerald. They are called things like Black-Etched Prominent, Purple Fairy, Pink-Legged Tiger, Small Mossy Glyph and Black-Bordered Lemon.

Did you know that there are moths that feed on lichens? Did you know about the blue and green bees? The rainbow-colored dogbane beetles? Your streams are supposed to teem with newts, salamanders, crawdads, frogs, and fishes. I want to take you by the hand and show you an animal you've never seen before, and say, "This exists! It's real! It's alive!"

There are secret wildflowers that no website will show you and that no list entitled "native species to attract butterflies!" will name. Every day I'm at work I see a new plant I didn't know existed.

The purple coneflowers and prairie blazing star are a tidepool, a puddle, and there is an ocean out there. There are wildflowers that only grow in a few specific counties in a single state in the United States, there are plants that are evolved specifically to live underneath the drip line of a dolomite cliff or on the border of a glade of exposed limestone bedrock. Did you know that different species of moss grow on the sides of a boulder vs. on top of it?

There are obscure trees you might have never seen—Sourwood, Yellowwood, Overcup Oak, Ninebark, Mountain Stewartia, Striped Maple, American Hophornbeam, Rusty Blackhaw, Kentucky Coffeetree. There are edible fruits you've never even heard of.

And it is so scary and sad that so many people live and work in environments where most of these wondrous living things have been locally extirpated.

There are vast tracts of suburb and town and city and barren pasture where a person could plausibly never learn of the existence of the vast majority of their native plants and animals, where a person might never imagine just how many there are, because they've only ever been exposed to the tiny handful of living things that can survive in a suburb and they have no reason to extrapolate that there are ten thousand more that no one is talking about.

It's like being a fish that has lived its whole life in a bucket, with no way of imagining the ocean. The insects in your field guide are a fraction of those that exist, of all the native plants to your area only a handful can be bought in a nursery.

Welcome to the Earth! It's beautiful! It's full of life! More things are real and beautiful and alive than a single person could imagine!!!

#nature #conservation #ecosystems

[elminx]

Since I have seen a lot of posts about correspondences in witchcraft going around again, I wanted to stop for a minute and talk about how correspondences work and why you might want to make sure that you understand the correspondences you are using in your own craft.

This is likely an oversimplification, but I think that we can break down correspondences into three main categories:

Cultural Correspondences - these are often heavily steeped in the mythology and folklore of a particular region. They are often but not always correspondences of items found in that region. This is where correspondences become the most varied because, despite what you may have read in Those Bad Witchcraft Books, culture is not universal. A great example of this is that most Western cultures associate the color black with Death and Mourning but a lot of non-Western cultures have the same association with the color white. It stands to reason that this type of correspondence will work the best for you if you are sticking as close to the correspondences of the bioregion that you grew up in as possible (1) and that they will be most effective when used magically on somebody else from that bioregion (2).

Material Correspondences - these correspondences are based on the physical properties of the item in question. Some plants are edible, some medicinal, and some poisonous. Things with thorns can hurt you when you touch them. Quartz has high levels of electric conductivity. The idea here is that if Rosemary repels insects, it can be used in a banishment spell to repel that unwanted "insect" from your life. These are, in my opinion, the immutable correspondences - the item you are using will ALWAYS carry its physical characteristics with it into your magic. Spicy peppers will always be Hot and Burning, so-called "Weeds" will always grow tenaciously, and Sugar will always be Sweet. It is worth keeping in mind here that when using plants, the part of the plant may affect whether it carries that correspondence. Sometimes only one part of the plant carries a particular property - consider the difference between the sweet scent of rose petals that we use in love spells versus the sharp thorn that would be better used for protection. 3. Sympathetic Correspondences - The base concept behind sympathy is that two things that are alike in some way share a connection with one another that can be harnessed magically. The more alike that two things are, the deeper the connection. There are many ways that this is used in magic. A lot of herbal correspondences involve sympathy through the Doctrine of Signatures. This is the thought process that anything shaped like an ear can be used to affect ears/hearing magically. The Doctrine of Signatures gets rolled in a little bit with Cultural Correspondences as it is heavily rooted in Western herbalism, but it deserves a mention on its own. Another way that sympathetic magic makes its way into correspondences is the idea that an object from a particular place carries some of the energy of that place which can be harvested for magical intent. You see this in the use of bank dirt in money spells or cemetery dirt in baneful magic. This is also where Holy water, moon water, and stormwater come into play - here we are assuming that something that has been done to the water (being blessed by a priest, charged in the moon, or collected during a storm) carries an inherent energy that can be then transferred to your spell. Depending on your viewpoint, you may or may not agree with the concepts of sympathetic magic.

And that's the whole point of this. Witchcraft, as a whole, isn't the sort of path where you are supposed to proceed based entirely on blind faith. If you're flipping to a certain page in Scott Cunningham's infamous Green Book and finding the first money herb you come across to use in a spell, you are probably doing yourself a disservice. I suggest that you look closer. Not only will the physical correspondence change how your spell manifests (I've written about this before) but you may find that you don't even BELIEVE or AGREE with that correspondence at all. And maybe that's not important to you (but if that's true, why are you even reading this?). But I suggest that it should be. That understanding of a correspondence deepens your connection with the energy of the item you are looking to use. Moreover, exploring it further may give you all sorts of juicy ideas for spellwork to augment that energy.

Do you like my work? You can support me by tipping me on Kofi or purchasing an astrology report written just for you.

#witchblr #words #mine #correspondences #sympathetic magic #folk magic

[screamingatanemptyroom]

Please Fix the Story pt 28- The Higher Realm

New part is up! More with Liam and Bel!

Masterpost linked here

_________________________

A few days passed, and although it couldn’t be said that I grew stronger in this realm, at least I wasn’t any weaker. Every morning Liam would bring me a cup of his blood, and I would drink it silently, pretending not to notice the strange color and taste.

Despite the need for blood to keep me alive, the days were surprisingly fun. Liam and I would go out each morning and explore the forest. We would find more rocks for his collection, and the rare patches of fruits or edible plants that had survived in this life-stealing realm. We spent the time talking, learning about each other.

“You know I actually like this forest quite a bit.” He said one day as we walked, his hands idly picking dying leaves from the branches as we passed by.

The confession caught me off guard. “I thought you called this place your cage.” A cage for a monster, in fact, which Liam is the furthest thing from.

“Well that’s not the forest’s fault! It might seem a bit lifeless and dull at first, but the close you watch it, the more things you can discover!” He grinned, the expression bringing a warmth in my heart. “There’s the stubborn trees and flowers that survive, the occasional crow and insect! Sometimes when I’m fly… when I’m running through the forest, I see so many different types of life I can’t even count them! There’s something new to find every day!”

Soo.…Liam can fly, right? He definitely said fly.

I didn’t say anything to him about it, though. He clearly was hiding something about himself. He was just as clearly extremely bad at keeping secrets. But I never pressed him. I just hoped that when he felt comfortable enough, he would tell me. Watching him laugh and talk about exploring his realm… his cage... and finding the beauty in it made me want to laugh and cry at the same time. What a wonderful person…or whatever it is that he is.

I watched him continue to explore with an excited look, unable to hold back a smile myself.

No matter what Liam really is, nothing could be worse than the company I was keeping in the higher realm. I forcibly turned my thoughts away as they drifted towards Adonis and his betrayal. No use wasting any time or energy on him.

Looking ahead, my eyes widened in shocked delight as a I spotted a familiar object.

“Are those apples?!”

Liam rushed ahead, still much stronger than I was even with his blood, and examined the fruit closely. Finally, he picked one with a broad smile. “It is! I didn’t even know there were any apples in this world! See I told you! Something new every day! Let’s take a break!”

He cleaned off a tree stump and helped me sit down, before leaning on a tree nearby. I pointed at the fruit in his hand, unable to contain my excitement. “Can I have one too?” I had eaten nothing but meat for the past few days, and although Liam’s cooking had improved by leaps and bounds, I was still craving something else.

“Of course, no need to ask!  This one is for you!” Liam pulled a knife from his belt and began peeling the apple. His actions were neat and efficient, with the ease of familiarity. It took only a few moments, and then the freshly peeled fruit was passed over to me.

I held it in my hands, confused. “Liam… How did you know I like peeled apples?”

Liam grabbed another fruit, preparing to peel that one as well. “You told me.” He seemed unconcerned.

“No… I didn’t.” I thought back to our conversations over the past few days. Apples had never come up.

Or had it?

_________________________

“Why the hatred for the apple peel?” The young man seemed genuinely curious from his tone of voice as he handed me a freshly peeled fruit.

_________________________

A brief memory, flashed before my eyes.  

“No… you did… I think.” Liam’s hands paused and his brow furrowed, something deep within his eyes seemed to flicker and grow.

Silence stretched between us.

Unnerved, I tried to stand up. At the quick movement, I felt lightheaded, almost falling to ground. Liam rushed forward, the apple in his hands dropping to the ground, and caught me, hugging me tightly in his arms. His eyes stared into mine, with only a short space between them.

His eyes were so familiar. I could feel it, even if the memory was just out of reach.

My hand brushed his face, tracing his eyes.

“Who are you, Liam?” I whispered. “How did I know you before I met you? How do you remember things about me I’ve never said?”

Liam turned bright red, but his hands tightened around me, refusing to let me fall. “I’m sorry Bel. I don’t know the answers to your questions.” He gently set me back down on the stump.

“I don’t really even know who I am, other than what others have told me. I’m a villain. I’m a monster.”

He picked up the fallen apple from the ground, cleaning it on his shirt.

 “But even if I don’t know much…  I know what you are, Bel.”

I watched his actions, curious. “What am I?”

He smiled, then turned and walked back to the tree to pick more apples to take home.

“You are a treasure.”

I didn’t know what he meant or how to respond to that, so I sat in silence until he came back to help me up. Together we went back to the cave. Back home.

*** Soul transfer 37% complete. ***

_________________________

After the apple incident more days passed. Without Liam’s blood I knew I would be close to death. But together, we had found our own little peace in this barren world. I was happy, happier than I had ever been in the months in the higher realms traveling with Adonis. Our forced, stifling partnership had been my only social interaction for so long, that I had become resigned to it, considered it normal. Now, I was slowly getting used to being around someone who actually listened to me… cared about me. It was frighteningly addictive, this caring. I wouldn’t, I couldn’t go back to the higher realm, even beyond the desire to spite Adonis and his stupid fate.

But as happy as I was, there were lingering concerns:

First, was the knowledge that Adonis would come back. As much as I hoped never to see him again, I knew it was the inevitable outcome. He had sent me here, yes, but not to die. I wasn’t sure yet what his plan was, but I knew it was going to involve his eventual return.

Not being willing to sit around moping about, I quickly began planning about how to “welcome him” when he did. A few mornings I left into the forest on my own to set up the surprise. Liam was a little concerned when he saw me sneaking around, but I persuaded him it would be worth the wait. I let out an evil laugh as I did so, and strangely enough, the sound seem to reassure him.

The laugh also prompted another change in the glowing blue counter that followed me.

*** Soul transfer 49% complete. ***

The counter was the second concern. It had gone up steadily over the time I had been in this realm, with no clear indicator for the source of its growth. I did think that Liam’s presence might be a catalyst given how slowly it had grown over the time I had been in the higher realm, but I couldn’t quite figure out what about him or my interactions with him was driving it upwards.

Even more infuriating, since the counter had hit 49 percent, it once again was stuck and hadn’t moved. I had grown used to it slowly ticking upwards throughout the day, but now 2 days had passed and it didn’t budge. Any experiments to recreate moments that had led to prior growth ended in failure. I found this incredibly frustrating, wishing I could find whoever was responsible for putting this counter in my head and beat them to a pulp. As that didn’t appear to be a viable option, however, I finally decided to ignore it again.

There was one last thing that kept my time in this realm from being truly happy:

Every night, Liam was forced into a lower realm.

It took me a while to realize it was happening so regularly. I had seen him fall out of the portal when I first arrived, but had heard no similar sounds since. He would say goodnight to me with a bright smile, close the door to my room, and when I woke up in the morning, he had breakfast ready with the same happy demeanor. He never gave any indication that something was wrong, or that he had suffered in any way, and so I continued forward in blissful ignorance.

Until last night.

I had gone to bed, and Liam and wished me goodnight and closed the door like usual. A few minutes later, however, I had a strange feeling that something was wrong. Unable to shake my uneasiness, I stood back up and opened the door. From a different room I could hear the clinking of metal and a muffled grunt of pain. Following the noise, I opened a different door, to a room I hadn’t explored before, not since he had expanded his cave during one of my solo wanderings. As the door swung open, I felt my heart drop.

Liam was in chains.

A glowing portal, similar to the one I had seen him fall from before, hovered before him. Metal chains had extended out from the edges of the portal, wrapping themselves around Liam’s arms and legs. He looked defeated but not surprised by his binding, fighting it uselessly. Slowly the chains started to retract, pulling him into the portal.

“Liam!” I tried to run forward but struggled to move as quickly as I wanted. Liam looked up at my shout, his face shocked for a moment before giving me a sad smile.

“Don’t worry, Bel. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“No!” I cried out, reaching out just as the portal closed around him. My fist slammed on the bare wall that was left behind.

BAM!

I felt uncontrolled rage. The sight of him in chains… his sad resignation… I couldn’t bear it. I thought about Liam calling himself a monster.

BAM! The skin of my hand broke under the force as I slammed it again. Red blood stained my fingers, dripping down onto the ground, the bright red color quickly dulling and turning greyish as the world absorbed the energy from it. For a moment in my mind, I saw the bright gold blood Liam gave me each day, his insistence that it was “normal, human blood.”

There’s still so much I don’t know about him.

I sat on the floor, staring at my bloody hands. I prayed silently, desperately, that his words were correct, and that he would be back in the morning. Until then, I could do nothing but wait.  

It was a long night.

_________________________

After what felt like countless hours, the portal opened up again. Liam dropped down onto the ground onto his back, his hands holding his head, his whole body shaking with pain.  It was too similar to the incident that happened the night I arrived.  

“Liam!” I hugged him tightly, ignoring his shocked yelp as he was yanked into my arms.

“Bel?” He took a deep breath, steadying himself, and then sat next to me on the floor. “Have you been waiting here to whole night?”

“…” I hugged him tighter. Liam hesitated, then slowly wrapped his arms around my shoulders.

“Bel… are you okay?”

I buried my face against his chest. “I was scared.”

“Scared?”

“Scared you weren’t coming back.”

“…” I could feel him freeze in shock at my words, and then a happy chuckle echoed in his chest. “Of course I came back, Bel! You’re here waiting for me. Nothing could stop me from returning to you.”

“What if you found a way to escape this cage? Wouldn’t you take it?”

“Only if I’m bringing you out with me.” One hand slowly rubbed my back as he spoke, a soft, comforting motion. “It’s not really freedom if I’m leaving you behind.”

Finally, after a long while, I backed out of his embrace, ignoring his sad puppy eyes as we moved apart. “What happened tonight? Did you get pulled into a lower realm?”

Liam nodded silently.

“I’ve seen this twice already, on both nights that I left my room. Does this happen to you every night? Have I just been completely clueless and left you to suffer alone?” I felt my eyes fill with tears but held them back.

He panicked, “No it’s not that bad, it’s not every night!” He paused, seeing my silent stare, and slowly admitted. “Okay, so it’s most nights, but still, there’s nothing wrong with you sleeping while I’m in the lower realm. You’re weak from this place sapping your energy, it’s better that you rest so you can do what you want at other times.”

“What about you? How could you be getting enough sleep?”

“Don’t worry, I’m fine!” He waved a hand. “I hibernate every few months for a day or so… I mean…" He blanched. "... I sleep a normal human amount…”

“Right... Liam, I want to go with you next time.” I interrupted his ramblings on normal human sleep. “Don’t do this alone.”

“…” Liam fell silent, looking uncomfortable.

“Don’t worry, I’m used to traveling the lower realms, I can watch your back!”

“No I know. You are extremely capable.”

I met his gaze. “So why do you look so concerned?”

“… I don’t get assigned very good roles to play in these worlds.” His hands wrung together his eyes not meeting my own. “Sometimes weak, sometimes powerful, rarely beautiful, often grotesque.” He hesitated again. “Always evil.”

“Just because you’re assigned the villain role doesn’t make you evil.” I laughed bitterly. “You’ve already seen what the so called ‘hero’ is capable of. I don’t care what character they force you to be. I’ll be there to protect YOU.”

At my words, a smile slowly spread across his face. “Okay then. Let’s go together next time.”

_________________________

The next night, we waited for the portal, hand in hand.

“We’ll have to move quickly once it arrives.”

I nodded in agreement, and then had a thought. “What about the chains?”

“Those only come out if I try to avoid entering the portal.” His voice was calm, but I winced at the memory of him being dragged into the lower realm. It’s okay. I’ll protect him this time.

Before I could say anything further, the portal appeared, hovering in the center of the room.

“Let’s go!” Liam grabbed my hand and rushed forward. I closed my eyes, leapt through the portal, and then in the darkness between worlds immediately lost the sensation of his hand within mine.

“Liam!” I reached out, but I could feel nothing, see nothing, hear only the sound of my own ragged breaths.

And then the darkness cleared.

_________________________

Splash!

Someone threw wine in my face. The smell of alcohol overwhelmed my senses, and I felt the room temperature liquid run down my neck and soak my dress.

What a great way to start off. The sarcastic thought quickly came and went as I sighed,wiping my hand across my face. I could now see that I was in a crowded room of well-dressed strangers. The woman who was the likely wine-throwing culprit, stood in front me with a gloating smirk. She was clutching an empty glass in one hand and a man’s arm in the other. The man with her was watching me with disdain, his expression ruining otherwise classically handsome looks.

“Oops, my mistake.” The woman shrugged and gave a fake laugh. “My hand slipped.”

The man beside her smiled with approval at her action, chuckling at the site of me. “Looks like red is your color.”

Hmm… No idea what kind of story this is, but one thing IS for sure…

I grinned, and punched the woman in her face.

I’m gonna make sure they regret trying to humiliate this lady. I could still feel my character’s deep sadness and sense of betrayal. Whoever these two were, they weren’t good people.

The woman fell backwards from the blow, clutching her face. I watched her fall with a smile, all while speaking in a monotone voice. “Oops, my hand slipped, my bad, teehee.”

Stating the word “teehee” out loud particularly seemed to enrage her, which only encouraged me further.

“El, don’t be childish!” The man snapped, only to break off with a shriek as I kicked out his knee, knocking him to the ground on his back besides the woman.

“Oh no. Look what totally happened by accident.” I continued blandly, while stepping carefully on his crotch. “I’m just so clumsy you see, and it gets so much worse whenever I’m confronted by stupid.”

“You Bit…AHHHH!” The man broke out in another cry as my stiletto came down again.

“Bitahh?” I shrugged. “Haven’t heard that one before. Perhaps you meant, ‘awesome’? I would have also accepted ‘terrifying’.”

He gasped for air, his eyes filled with rage. “Pretend all you like, I’ll never love you!”

I felt a stab of pain in my chest, a holdover from the character I had become, but all they saw from me was a broad grin. “Don’t threaten me with a good time.”

I walked away, leaving a stunned, silent crowd behind me. As I hurried away, a phone in my pocket went off. I grabbed it, pulling up the familiar text.

**** NEW WORLD: Love is Torture ****

This is a dramatic romance story featuring the bright and innocent young Ella and her husband, the rich, handsome, dark and broody Cameron.

“Oh, you got to be kidding me!” I nearly threw my phone. “I’m married?!”

This dark tale of lies and misunderstandings focuses on the forced marriage between the two leads. Cameron, under the false impression that his younger sister was murdered by a rival in business, dedicates his life to revenge. Forcing the man’s daughter, Ella, to marry him to save her father, he spends his energy trying to break her spirit, hoping her pain would hurt the one who killed his family. He insulted her, humiliating her both publicly and privately. He brought his mistresses to public events, encouraging them to bully her as well.

“So Cameron is the villain, right?” I groaned. “Why did you say he was the lead?”

Little did he know that his sister was not dead, but had in fact suffered amnesia and was living quietly in a small town nearby. In fact, Ella was the kind stranger who saved her life. His deep misunderstanding of her, however, causes a large amount of drama as he fights his growing attraction to her.

“Gross.”

The first book was met with mixed reviews, as most of the readers struggled to support such an abusive male lead. As the story continued, and more and more controversy circled around it, the author abandoned the whole series in disgust, leaving the world unstable.

The Author’s regret was not being able to bring a happy ending to the heroine of the story, leaving her trapped in an abusive relationship and facing a dark future. Your mission is to give the heroine a happy ending.

**** DO YOU ACCEPT THIS MISSION? ****

YES?                                           NO?

“…Does the ending have to involve a relationship with Cameron?”

NO.

“Great!” I tapped the "Yes" button with a grin and found a corner to sit down in as I slowly accepted the memories of this poor character.

“Oh dear, this was worse than I thought.” I muttered.

Ella, the poor girl, had been so very innocent. She had no thought but to save her father, whose business had been crushed by the mis-aimed revenge of a madman. After the marriage, she resolved to make the best of the situation, trying to get to know the handsome man who had become her husband.

Her efforts only brought her pain.

Fortunately, he avoided touching her at all costs, which limited any physical abuse. But the constant insults, tearing down her appearance, her talent for art, her speech. Any perceived flaw was trotted out and exposed for all to see, breaking her heart each time. He flaunted his affairs in front of her, shattering her dream of any loving, committed relationship, frequently and vulgarly comparing his conquests to her which only further spiraled her self-confidence.

I frowned as the memories moved forward in my mind. I hate drama romance leads the most.

This party actually marked a turning point in their relationship. After having wine dumped on her by Cameron’s mistress, she had cried and gone upstairs to change. There, a triumphant and intoxicated Cameron had forced her mid-change against a wall, kissing her. He had soon left, disgusted himself for succumbing to his attraction to her, This was the first time they had had physical contact, and from then on Cameron had found himself more and more drawn to Ella, and she felt trapped, unable to refuse his advances, hoping to protect her father.

I leaned over, puking into a trashcan.

Ella’s memories all too clear about her suffering.  After emptying my stomach, I stood back up, wiping my mouth with a shaking hand. I should have crushed his genitals harder. I was so relieved at having derailed the plot.

Now to go derail it further....And then I need to find Liam.

Following Ella’s memories, I went straight to the home she shared with Cameron, only changing my clothes once I was back in my own room with a locked door. Grimly, I put on loose, comfortable clothing, and packed a bag with Ella’s original belongings in it. I ignored the expensive, shiny jewelry on the dresser, leaving behind anything that could be traced to Cameron’s money.

I also made a phone call to one of Ella’s father’s old lawyers, who agreed quickly to bring the requested paperwork to the house within the hour.  

And then, packed, dressed and papers ready to go, I sat on the couch with a hot cup of coffee, and I waited for my hero to arrive.

SLAM!

Cameron rushed into the house, his face red with rage. Seeing me sitting calmly he paused, as if confused, but then stepped closer with his fist raised threateningly.

“I’ll make you regret what you did tonight!”

I smiled. “Actually, unless you want my knee in your crotch and my hot coffee in your face, I suggest you sit down and talk to me like a big boy sociopath.”

“…” He didn’t seem able to process my words, but in his shock he sat down on the chair across from me so I counted it as a win.

“Good job!” I applauded briefly. “Now, onto the important stuff.” I tossed the partially signed paperwork onto the table. “Divorce.”

“No.” His voice was an unrecognizable growl. “You’re mine! You are stuck with me. You have to pay for your father’s sins.”

I sighed. “Okay, Mr. Broody McPsychopath, as much as I’ve NOT enjoyed playing house with you, listening to your abuse, and watching your affairs, I’ve got more important things to do.”

“I AM the most important thing to you! You OWE me!”

I tossed another paper onto the table, this one with a photo and an info sheet. “ I heavily disagree with that statement, however, I also would prefer you not stalking me in a pitiful attempt at misguided revenge. So take a look:”

He picked up the paper. “What is…” His eyes widened in shock as he recognized his sister.

“She’s not dead. I saw a picture of her on your desk today, and recognized her as a person I helped out of a car accident several years ago." I made a reason for my sudden knowledge of the plot with ease. "She had amnesia, and settled in a nearby town. The info is written there.”

“You’re lying.”

“No, I know this is foreign, but what I’m doing is called COMMUNICATION. It’s where we talk clearly about things to avoid stupid and painful misunderstandings.” I pointed at him. “First: you forced this marriage to punish my father, under the foolish impression that he arranged for your sister’s death. Two: Your sister is alive and well, and even a cursory investigation into the car accident will help you find the actual people responsible for the accident. And finally…” I pointed my finger at myself. “I only married you to protect my father, and thus with this misunderstanding resolved would like to be free of you.”

“…” He seemed overwhelmed by the concept of not having misunderstandings. I nodded sympathetically and sipped my coffee, giving him time.

“You won’t leave.”

“Pardon?” I asked, confused.

“You can’t resist me. I’ve felt your eyes following me,” He smirked. “Even if I divorce you, you’ll be back and begging for more within a week.”

“Hmmm… Okay. Let’s totally go with that delusion, and have you sign the divorce papers to prove me wrong.”

He reached out, now overly confident, his pen hovering over the paper. “Are you sure, Princess? This is your last chance to have a claim. After this you’re just like any other woman to me.”

I struggled to keep a straight face. “You mean less to me than the house plant that I killed, and that was made of plastic. I think I’ll take my chances.”

He signed the paper, shaking his head with a smug look and a light chuckle. “Here.” He passed it off, trying to brush my fingers with his but I took the papers with kitchen tongs I had brought instead. No accidental physical contact for gross jerks! ”I’ll see you in a few weeks when you come to beg me to take you back.”

“Sounds good, buddy.” I stood up and waved, taking my signed divorce papers happily. “And don’t forget to leave cookies and milk out for Santa while you’re at it. He’s about as likely to visit you as I am!”

I walked out, with a hearty, evil laugh, the sound familiar and comfortable.

And now… I have a villain to find.

_________________________

I found Ella’s car and drove out of the long private drive from Cameron’s mansion. As I traveled, my phone rang. I quickly answered, whistling cheerfully.

“Ella!” My character’s father’s voice rang out, clearly worried. “What happened? I’ve heard all kind of rumors…”

“Oh hi Dad!” I called out cheerfully. “Great timing! I just lost some weight! A whole load of abusive, nasty annoying dead weight.”

“What?”

“I divorced the dirtbag! Aren’t you proud of me?!”

“YOU DIVORCED CAMERON?! It can’t be official, right?!”

“Already uploaded the signed paperwork to our lawyer! Should be submitted any minute now and I’m a free woman.” I thanked my lucky stars for the unrealistic insta-divorce setting in this world, which was great for generating quick drama that a years-long court heavy process wouldn’t.

“GO BACK AND QUICKLY TELL HIM YOU ARE SORRY!” Ella’s father yelled, panicked. “Hurry, he might still take you back!”

“Oh, dad, I’m so sorry…”

“You should be…”

“I didn’t realize you were in the throes of dementia.” I sighed dramatically. “I guess age catches up with us all! Don’t worry Pops, I know a few great nursing homes where the staff are nice, the colors bright and the food soft and easily consumed without teeth.”

“ELLA!”

“It’s okay!” I interrupted, speaking slowly and loudly. “I’ll take good care of you!”

“Stop being ridiculous!”

“I’m not the one talking nonsense, old man." My tone was now serious. "Cameron is a psychopath, abusive, piece of trash. If you had any mental capacity left, you would be absolutely cheering at the news that your daughter was free of him.”

“What about my business?”

“If you can’t run your business without your daughter’s marriage to protect you, then you are better off leaving the business world and moving to the nursing home. And I’m happy to help you do that.” I paused and then added with emphasis. “Anytime. Just try me.”

I then hung up, betting internally on whether or not he would come to his senses.

_________________________

I headed over to a club on the fringe of the city, called “Fortress.” From my character’s memories, I knew I would find the villain there.

A mysterious club owner who rarely showed his face, the club was a front for his secret criminal organization. His group has clashed several times with Cameron’s, leading to a growing feud between the two men. At the end of the first book, close to the end of Ella’s memories, the villain had kidnapped Ella to try to force Cameron into giving up on a business, only to be shot and killed by Cameron in the rescue attempt.

Most likely, Liam had become the club owner/crime boss villain of the story.

I parked in front of the non-de script club, and knocked on the front door.

A very large muscular man opened the door, a deep scowl on his face. “We’re closed.”

“I’m a friend of the owner.”

“Sure you are, lady.” He tried to close the door, and I shoved my shoe in the way, glad I wore boots.

“Trust me, if you call him, he will definitely want to see me. Just tell him Bel is looking for him.”

With much more convincing, I finally managed to enter the club. TO my dismay, Liam wasn’t there. I sat awkwardly on the couch in the VIP lounge, snacking on peanuts, waiting patiently.

I could here the men in the background arguing.

“How could you bring her here?”

“She says she knows the Boss!”

“I thought the Boss hated women.”

“The Boss hates everyone.”

“True… should I get rid of her? I already called him!”

“I think…”

The door slammed open, and a panting disheveled man in a suit came tumbling in. In one hand he held a large baseball bat, the other clutching a cell phone. I studied the man carefully, taking note of his dark hair, a face covered in scars, including a long diagonal slice across one eye. His eyes however, were a familiar blue.

I jumped up, and threw myself into the man’s arms. “Liam!”

_________________________

After Liam calmed down, we found a quiet place to talk.

“Are you okay?” Liam asked, quietly clutching my hands in his.

“I’m fine.”

He let out a sigh of relief. “I was so worried! When I got here, I saw the story… saw what was going to happen to you at the party… and I rushed over.”

I thought of the baseball bat he was carrying. “What were you planning to do when you got there?”

“Education.” Was his firm answer.

I couldn’t help but laugh at that.

“But when I got there, it was just a bunch of crowds of gossiping people, and a really loud woman who kept screaming about how she was going to kill someone. That’s when I got the call you were here.” His hands squeezed my own. “I’m so relieved you are okay!”

I explained to him my actions so far, which caused him to laugh and congratulate me on my quick divorce.

I added, “Fortunately, I didn’t feel Adonis’s presence in this world.”

“Yeah, he’s been less frequent about coming into the lower realms since pushing you into my realm.”

I thought about that. “Wait, so are you in every lower realm I’ve visited?”

“I don’t know for sure." Liam shrugged. "I get set to a different realm every night.  Sometime Adonis is there, sometimes both of you, plenty of times it’s just been me.”

I had a strange realization as I thought back to the last world I had gone to, the two kingdoms realm. Remembering the familiar feeling I had gotten from the kingdom-destroying beast... “Liam… you wouldn’t happened to have been a large monster before, would you?”

“WHAT?! I have no idea what you are talking about!” He turned pale and panicked at the question, avoiding eye contact.

“Really? In the lower realm where I was the princess? Didn’t you help me take over the world?”

Liam grabbed his chest and let out a sigh of relief, “Oh THAT’s what you meant!” He nodded. “Yes that was me.”

“…” I once again knew I was missing something, but felt too awkward to keep pushing. Instead, I explained to him the mission given to me, to have a happy ending.

Liam offered to hand over all of his underground criminal organization resources to my disposal. “What do you want to do?”

The question caught me off guard. I'm still not used to having someone ask me what I wanted to do, instead of trying to force me to follow a plan or some predetermined fate.

I smiled at him. “I think the best revenge for a woman who was humiliated by her ex-husband to get revenge on her father, and who was sacrificed by said father to save his own business… is to become more rich and powerful than both of them.”

"Sounds good." Liam nodded. "Let's go to work!"

And so, we got to work.

_________________________

I had lived in more than enough lower realms that centered around business, and was fairly comfortable with how to build a company up, (especially in the cheat worlds of romance novels where rich, handsome men who somehow spend zero time on their company abound). With Liam donating some starting capital, I was able to grow a business over the next year that became the talk of the town. Soon I pushed my father’s business into a corner, and began a forced acquisition. His horrified and bewildered expression once he realized it was me in charge of the mysterious rival company, gave me a nice warm feeling inside and prompted another villainous laugh.  

As for Cameron…

He had reunited with his sister, and through the magical medical treatment available in the novel, gotten her memories back. He had tried to contact me twice that I knew of. Once after finding her, and another a week later. I blocked his number and ignored all other attempts. Taking advantage of his distraction, I snatched up a large portion of the big deals from his company, using the memories of Ella and the previous story of this world to be able to pinpoint which ones to target.

I was quickly becoming the richest person in the world, and my mission progress bar was slowly up-trending.

In between becoming a rival CEO to destroy my father and the male lead, I spent the rest of my free time with Liam. It became the norm for us to spend time together every day. We always found time for something, whether it was eating a meal, going for a walk, watching a movie, or just sitting next to each other while we dealt with the paperwork of our respective business empires. We told jokes and laughed, plotted and schemed against the male lead and my insufferably self-righteous father, and overall continued the comfortable existence that we had lived in the woods of Liam’s realm.

One night, we both fell asleep on the couch at “Fortress,” me holding a laptop, him clutching a remote and a bowl of popcorn. The next morning, I woke up and looked over to see his scarred, strange but still familiar face. I had a sudden urge to reach out and touch him. If I had woken up in this world, and the man I had been married to was Liam instead of Cameron… I would have been happy to just stay married.

The realization of that thought hit me hard, and I stood up, confused.

Do I have feelings for Liam?

He was a strange person, much like me. A mysterious existence with too many secrets. One I knew very little about. But he was also kind, gentle and caring person. Someone who I wanted to protect with everything I have, and who I trusted to protect my back no matter what.

Liam woke up, seeing my staring. “What are you looking at. Do I have something on my face?”

“…” I hesitated unsure of what to say, but after taking a deep breath, blurted out:  “Liam… let’s get married!” I looked away, filled with horror once I realized what I had just said, but at the same time, felt no desire to take it back. Why not? What better happy ending for Ella on top of being rich and powerful than being in a nice healthy relationship with someone wonderful?

“…” The silence stretched on. I finally worked up the nerve to look over to Liam only to see wide eyes filled with shock, and a bright red face.

“Bel…” He finally said with an embarrassed look. “Before I give you an answer, I need to tell you something: We talked about your mission in this world, to save and stabilize it… but you never asked about  what MY mission was.”

“You have a mission too?” I asked, distracted and mildly confused as to why this was relevant to my sudden marriage proposal. “What is it?”

“It’s…”

Before he could answer, a man burst into the room. Behind him in the club, the sounds of fighting and shouting could be heard. The man stood before us with a vicious grin, holding out an outstretched arm.

He was holding a gun.

“Cameron what on earth do you think you are doing?!” I shouted, standing up. Liam got up next to me, his hand grabbing mine.

The look in Cameron’s eyes was feral. “I’m saving my wife from this villain!” He snarled, pointing the gun at Liam.

I stepped in front of Liam. “First of all, that’s ex wife to you! Second of all, why would I need saving from Liam?”

“He kidnapped you! I know everything, Ella! He built up a rival corporation to compete with me and your father…”

“No that was me…”

“He even forcibly acquired your father’s company!”

“Still me…”

Cameron kept talking, as if he hadn’t heard me. “And I know that he’s been preventing you from contacting me, or answering my phone calls.”

“No… I blocked you. And I didn’t want to see you.”

“It’s okay!” He smiled at me, but the expression sent chills up my spine. “I’m going to make things right, by getting rid of this snake first.”

I held my arms out. “You’ll have to go through me.”

“Bel.” Liam whispered.

“What is it Liam? I’m kind of busy.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“For what…?” I broke off into a horrified gasp as he stepped around me, distancing himself and moving into a clear line of site from Cameron.

BANG!

Liam fell to the floor.

I saw red.

Grabbing the baseball bat, I swung it as hard as I could at the man’s offending hand.

CRACK!

I felt his wrist break from the blow. He let out a scream of pain, looking up at me with a confused expression. “Why are you doing this, Ella? I’m saving you! I love you!”

I glared at him,  kicked his gun away, and swung the bat again, hitting his chest. He fell to the floor with a grunt.

“Love? You call your madness and selfishness love?”

Crack! I broke his other arm.

“No, you’re just a petulant child, whose mad because he thinks that other kids might play with his toy.” I smiled coldly. “Well guess what?”

I kicked his chest, knocking him onto his back. “I’m not your toy. And just like you don’t really love me, I don’t love you.” I put my foot in “crotch stomping” position.

“And I’ll make you pay for killing the man I lo…”

“Bel!” Liam’s weak voice called out, interrupting my rant. I dropped my bat, causing it to hit Cameron’s face as he let out another groan of pain and rushed to Liam’s side.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

He nodded, showing the clear wound on the muscle of his shoulder. Just a few inches to the left and the bullet would have… I shook my head, and hugged him, trying to avoid the injured arm.

“Why would you step out like that?”

“I tried to tell you... my mission.” He held up a cell phone, and to my surprise, I saw an interface very similar to mine.

100% complete.

**** You have finished the mission! ****

I stared at the words. “Your mission was to get shot?”

His smile was faint and bitter. “That’s the villain’s job. To create conflict and then to get defeated. My ending was liked by the readers. They didn’t want it to change.”

“Is every world like this?” I was horrified.

“Pretty much.” His expression became happier. “But on the bright side, since I’ve been shot, but didn’t die, I can answer your question!” He blushed, but pushed forward with a whisper. “Yes.”

“Yes?” I was confused, and then realized what he was saying, and coughed, trying to cover up my embarrassment. “Well then, I guess we have a wedding to plan.”

“Bel?”

A strange voice called out. I looked over to the bruised and beaten Cameron, who was staring at me with an incredulous look… and with contained rage.

I knew that look.

“Adonis.” I said quietly, positioning myself in front of Liam to protect him. "Welcome to the party."

“Why are you here? Did you get dragged through the villain’s portal?” He shook his head. “Even if you try to escape, you can’t. I’m your only salvation. Only the hero can save the princess from the monster.”

“I think you and I have very different definitions of the word ‘monster’.” My phone chirped and I looked down to see a notification that the latest deal had gone through, officially making me the richest and most powerful person in this small world. Between that, and an upcoming happy wedding… I waited a moment, and sure enough:

100% complete.

**** You have finished the mission! ****

My mission was complete as well.

Adonis try to scramble to his feet. “Wait, Bel, what have you done?”

“Fixed the world again. Without you. The usual.” I tilted my head, staring at him with a cold smile. “Don’t try to come after me again, Adonis. You won’t like what will happen to you.”

“Bel!”

The portal opened, swallowing Liam and I both.

“BEL! I AM COMING FOR YOU!”

I waved cheerfully, and Liam flipped him off as we disappeared.

“YOU HEAR ME?! I AM COMING FOR YOU!”

We were back in the villain’s realm. Immediately I felt tired, as the drain of the world set back in. I leaned against Liam shoulder, which was fortunately no longer injured and gave him a grin.

“So… when’s the wedding?

*** Soul transfer 59% complete. ***

Liam stared at me, shocked. But before he could answer, he stopped in his tracks, and seemed to sense something. “As much as I would love nothing more than to talk about this, Bel, we’ll have to save it for another time.”

“What’s going on?”

His serious gaze met my own. “Adonis is here.”

#writing #PFTS #fantasy #romance #violence #hope you like it #next part will have more about Liam

[ironychan]

Today's explorations brought us a couple of new birds. The first one was only today on a technicality, because it was a very wee hour indeed when Valdez let herself into our tent and woke me up to tell me there was a really weird animal outside and she knew I'd want to see it. Kibwana refused to get up, but Reynolds and I followed her to an old log, where we found this:

It looks something like a cross between a crane, a grey owl, and an anteater. It and its fluffier offspring were crouched by the log, tilting their heads back and forth to listen, and then they'd lick out with long tongues to catch insects. They didn't seem to need to open their beaks to do this, and I'm not actually sure they could open - I never saw them do so. If the adult needed to pull more of the log apart, it would use the four-inch blunt talon on the end of each otherwise useless wing.

Reynolds says the way the feathers fan out around each eye is actually an adaptation for hearing - it funnels sound into the ears like a radio dish. The adult bird was clearly aware of us and looked directly at us several times, but since we weren't coming any closer it didn't seem bothered as long as we didn't make any sudden movements. Eventually it got its fill of ants and wandered off.

We asked Valdez what she was doing so far from our campsite in the middle of the night. She said she wanted to get further from the fire (which we leave smoldering so the wildlife won't get too nosy) in order to look at the stars. Apparently she's been mapping them. She's even invented several constellations based on tools and animals. I guess we all have our little keep-sane projects.

She was telling me more about it around lunchtime, while the two of us were scrounging for edible plant material, when we got today's second bird. This one was a bastard.

It was very tiny, mostly black on top with an ochre-coloured underside patterned with black v's, and a white mark on the back of its neck. It was also very round with tiny feet and absolutely adorable. I couldn't believe how lucky I was when it landed on my arm and put its beak right up against my skin. I figured it was licking up sweat for salt or something. I was wrong.

After a second or two I realized a bead of blood was forming where it touched me, and when I took a closer look I saw that it actually had a very long, needle-like upper beak that had gone right into my skin without me even feeling it, and a very short lower beak that it opened to let its little tongue lap up the blood. I'm sure I took this in for just a split second, but it felt like I stared at for an hour, unable to move. The image is burned into my retinas. I keep seeing it when I close my eyes.

I hollered and shook it off me, and it flew away. Boonmee put some alcohol on the puncture and told me to watch it carefully for signs of infection. Other than that there's not a lot I can do but wait and see how many diseases the little bugger gave me.

We took several suggestions for the name of the vampire bird, but seem to have settled on Reynolds', which was White-Naped Syrinx. 'Syrinx' is a character from Greek mythology and also the root word from which we get 'syringe'. It is also apparently the word for a bird's voice box. This would be much more interesting to me if I didn't have a hole in my arm.

Somebody suggested calling the anteater bird an owlvark, but Vandebeek said 'aardvark' means 'earth pig' in Dutch, so a more accurate name would be 'aarduil'. When somebody writes a bestiary for this future, we now know what the first page will be.

#the last humans #speculative evolution #aarduil #white-naped syrinx #mariposa valdez #peter przybylski #yes the aarduil is inspired by my friend the mononykus #dunno why i picked this up again i guess i just wanted to draw creeshurs

[path-of-grass-and-leaves]

Localizing A Magical Journal

When I was starting out, every book I read on the subject of witchcraft seemed to contain a long list of crystals and imported herbs. Many of these were not easily accessible and didn't fit into my personal practice. Magic came easier to me and became significantly more meaningful after I started localizing my practice.

It has also made writing my magical journal that much easier. Even after over a decade of practice, I still found the task of writing a grimoire to be a daunting one. Adding more local and personal elements to my practice has helped me to organize my journal, making the act of actually writing in it much less strenuous.

If you're looking to localize your grimoire and don't know how to get started, here are a few ideas:

Sections for Native and Invasive Plants

This section can include folklore, culinary uses, medicinal uses, cultivation, a planting calendar, which animals/insects they attract, and a personal correspondence list. I would write one chapter for invasive plants and another for native ones. Additionally, you could add a section for garden crops if desired. I would also add notes on toxicity to humans and pets.

Why work with invasive plants? Because they're abundant! Foraging them helps reduce their population and we get the benefit of a new plant to use in our practice. In fact, mugwort, a popular herb among the occult community, is an invasive plant where I live.

Local Animal Symbolism Section

I organize my animal symbolism section by mammals, reptiles, birds, amphibians, and fish. These chapters can include folklore, physical characteristics, behavior, habitat, diet, and correspondences/symbolism.

Entries can be made more personal by observing animals and recording experiences (just no hand feeding or interacting). I also like to include different forms of veneration. This can be spiritual in nature, like leaving offerings, or mundane, like installing a nesting box for birds.

A chapter on bugs and insects is also a good idea. This could be helpful if you keep an outdoor garden and want to record information on common pests and pollinators.

Local Stones and Crystals

One of the least ethical occult practices, in my opinion, is the use of crystals. The rising popularity of crystals is the cause of a lot of suffering. Does that rose quartz really promote love when it was sourced through child labor? It's important to know where your crystals come from and how they are harvested.

One way to localize your stone and crystal collection is to research which are specific to your area and where to find them. For example, there are certain rivers in my area that contain agate, jasper, and quartz. If you can't go out and search for them yourself, finding an ethical distributor to purchase from is more than sufficient.

Entries can include their composition, how they are formed, what they are used for, and personal correspondences.

Family Recipies and Local Edible Plants

I imagine that having a recipe section would be very important to a practitioner who performs most of their workings in the kitchen. I love to cook, but it rarely makes its way into my practice unless I'm preparing an offering of some sort. Either way, I think that having even a small section of culinary recipes can be beneficial, because it adds a personal element to a grimoire.

I would include your favorite recipes, family recipes, and even dishes that can be made from locally foraged plants. Correspondences can also be noted for each dish and recipes can be specific to certain deities, holidays, or workings.

Urban Legends and Local Superstitions

Urban legends and local ghost stories can be a fun addition to any personal grimoire. You can research the origins of these stories, read the personal experiences of others, and record them in your journal. You can also visit places associated with urban legends (only if it's safe and legal to do so) and record your own experiences.

Another way of localizing your grimoire is to research common superstitions in your area and where they come from, or record your own family superstitions.

Local Spirits and Places of Importance

For spirit workers, research local spirits and entities, their associations, appearance, and origins. In addition to this, write individual entries on spirits that you work with personally. I would include their assumed appearance, location, personality, how to call them, preferred offerings, and areas of strength/weakness. You can also add a section on thoughtforms, if you use them in your practice.

It's also important to think about which local areas are significant to you personally. Is it a river? A clearing in the woods? A hiking trail? Your own backyard? Make a list of areas that inspire you. How can you get there? What grows there? What kind of animals live there? Are there spirits? Would you perform specific workings in these areas?

#witchcraft #grimoire #book of shadows #witchcraft community #local witchcraft #witch tips

[hundrkottr]

When does a trait become an animal trait, and not a human one?

This is a conversation I had with a really good friend of mine in the community. And i thought it would be a good topic to discuss! This is purely how I personally differentiate a human trait from an animal one. You are welcome to think differently and share your own opinions on the matter!

//When I mention humans, I also consider close human ancestors.//

So... how does a trait differentiate between being human or animal? Well, that all depends on the extent OF that trait, desire or behaviour.

For example, humans can experience the desire to eat meat, vegetation, insects, eggs, fish and other foods. Raw OR cooked. So. When does that desire extend towards animals? Well, if you desire to eat meat, straight from the animal with your mouth. Bones, guts, skin, flesh, and all. Then that would definitely be more animal than human. Its not necessarily the lack of utensils or rawness of the meat. But rather how, where and what you eat from the animal. Humans don't typically desire to kill the animal with their barehands/mouths and then devour each part straight from the carcass. Perhaps our ancestors from MILLIONS AND MILLIONS of years ago. But not a typical human being alone.

As for vegetation, if you desire to graze on grass, chew twigs and bark, or eat leaves all day, it would more likely be animal than human. Humans may eat or drink wheatgrass, they may desire vegetables raw and fresh from the garden, or edible and tasty plants out in nature. Vegatables and edible plants could be questionable and hard to distinguish. But there is still an extent that is crossed when it comes to knowing if its human or animal.

Hunting is done by humans and animals. But animals are the only ones who would do so with their teeth and claws. Rather than guns, knives, or even hands, like human would. Hunting depends especially on HOW you desire to hunt. Thats what'll help you distinguish the difference.

Climbing trees could be for both. But only animals would desire to make nests on them, or scratch the bark with their claws, or swing from branch to branch... sure apes, a close enough species to humans, do this. And some could argue humans want to as well. It all depends on the collection of behaviours that make up your identity.

Another example could be living in a den. Many humans lived in small den-like homes throughout history. You've got igloos, huts, tents, tepees, wigwams, roundhouses. All small dwellings that could explain the desire to live in small spaces. But it becomes an animal trait if you desire to have nothing more than a dirt den in the roots of trees, or tunnels beneath the earth. No bed, no kitchen, no blankets, no shelves, no nothing.

So, in short, if you need to know if a behaviour, trait or urge is animal or human, ask yourself these questions below;

• How far does this behaviour extend? Does it go past what a human would typically experience?

• How do I wish to do this action? Is it more like a human, or an animal?

• How do humans/animals experience this behaviour differently?

• Did ancestors of humans do this? (As it can be residual instinct that early humans have, thats been carried throughout our evolution. In the same way domestic dogs still experience wolf instinct, or cats like their feline ancestors.)

• And if a behaviour is as human as it is animal, you can confirm which it is, if it goes along with a variety of other animal traits. Basically, looking at all the traits collectively to see if it fits with the rest.

If you have anything to add, feel free to do so! 🌿

#alterhuman #otherkin #therian #therians #therianthrope #therianthropy #coyote therian #bear therian #wolf therian

[archetypal-archivist]

Notes for Outer Wilds World-Building

-head canon heavy, but grounded in reason I think-

Healthcare: Lots of treating symptoms but not a ton of fixing the thing that caused the initial problem as the Hearthian body is remarkably sturdy and when self-healing can't take care of it, it would take some advanced healthcare to fix it (ex. punctured lung, strong infection). And that's not always something the Hearthians have, as why would they put a ton of effort into advanced pharmaceuticals like penicillin and invasive internal surgeries when it's so rare that someone gets hurt to that point and doesn't immediately die from it in a matter of days? I picture most medicine is herbal in nature, plant-derived and highly concentrated if necessary, such as opioids/morphine for pain that can be taken by injection until you get home and can patch yourself up. Bandages and bed rest and going off of what's taught to you (with a dose of improvising) are key to Hearthian healthcare. For the Hearthians, it's less unwillingness to help in cases of disability and more not being sure how, as the tech to do so would need to be jury-rigged or made from scratch. How well this helps varies as some things like missing limbs and damaged hearing can be accounted for but things like malfunctioning kidneys can't. Ironically, diabetes would spell bad news for a Hearthian.

Food: They don't have birds on Timber Hearth or else we'd see a lot more primitive wings for flying, so that means the animal life differs from earth. Lots of bugs and amphibians and fish, but very few mammals if any as fur is weird to the Hearthians. Hearthians are likely omnivores, given their history, but no trapping of land animals beyond insects. I imagine mostly teams of gatherers picking food from known locations and being careful about how much they take, and maybe some "controlled burnings" to clear out unwanted brush and give room to grow for the plants they actually want. The burnings may be more of an accident but the effect is the same regardless. Berries, nuts (especially pine nuts), cattail tubers and pith, water reed shoots, edible wild greens, and bread made from the flour of ground up tubers/acorns/pine nuts is common. This is supplemented by fish, the fat of which (Google candle fish) and the gelatin formed by boiling their bones are also used in many things. Marshmallows are made the old way, from mallow roots and sugar cane. Snow covered in sap or molasses is a treat, made more common with the invention of rockets that let you grab snow and fly it back to the village before it melts. Chera (borrowed from the fandom) is a tough, fibrous fruit that is sort of bready and is used much like apples are as a thickener in bread and eaten as mash on its own. Pickling, smoking, and canning are very common in Hearthian culture and are key ways of preserving food for when certain key gathered plants are out of season. During the insect mating season when the flies are out in full force, people will smack the clouds of bugs with sap-covered sheets of metal, scrape the bugs off, and grill them up into patties like burgers. This time of year is all hands on deck and not everyone likes eating fly patties but as food, it's incredibly nutritious and ground up flies are sometimes added to food that is lacking. Cooking is communal for the bulk of it, with a town cook pot and storehouse being open to the public to pull from, but if you want to eat beyond standard hours or mass-produced fare, you're on your own and you best hope you know how to cook over a wood fire stove. Filling the communal food pot is often a job foisted on hatchlings and the elders supervise. Specialty foods like sap wine are a trade item or are saved for celebrations and traditions.

Travel: Hearthians don't have wheeled carts as getting things into their crater via wheeled cart would be difficult at best. Instead they'll drag chopped down trees where they need to go via sleds or float them on the rivers or lower them into the crater with elevators. Anything else they'll carry down personally. To get around the planet, Hearthians just walk and if it takes more than a day, they camp along the way. Now that ships are a thing however, travel has shrunk the world by a lot- not that it does the average Hearthian much good. The ships are dangerous, prone to causing fires if one tries to land on Timber Hearth proper as rockets plus grass equals bad. A skilled pilot can pick a decent landing spot that's damp or barren enough to not be a problem, but it's usually so far from where you want to go that it's better to walk anyway. Said average Hearthians also do not like dealing with g-forces or potential death. Those are the only reasons why it's not normal for astronauts to ferry average Hearthians around like a taxi service or to take materials from point A to point B across the planet. None of this matters on the Attlerock however, as there's nothing to catch fire there, so ships will haul stuff up there all the time at Esker and Hornfels' behest. Rocket fuel is made from flammable gases pumped up from underground by the mining equipment as waste. It used to be released into the atmosphere to keep the miners from suffocating or exploding (a problem, sometimes those spouts would catch alight) but Slate had the bright idea of storing it in tanks under pressure. They already had pressurized air for the miners at the deepest depths to breathe where air was hard to come by, why couldn't they bottle up the waste gases to dispose of more safely? Like burning it elsewhere?

Clothing: Fabric is made from the fibers of a linen-like plant called flush, names for the purplish hue at the base of the reed's stem. The weavers' house is filled with Hearthians whose job it is to separate the fibers out and spin them into thread. From there, the weaver in charge of the loom will dye the thread with plant-based dyes and use a flying loom to quickly weave bolts of fabric. It takes a LOT of thread to make fabric but thanks to the weavers' bugging Slate into making them into a machine running off water power, the thread-making time has been cut down significantly. However, the whole process still takes a while so most Hearthians only own a few pieces of clothing and they're expected to patch it, hand-me-down it, and wash it until it is literally in rags before they get more. Hatchlings get the worst of it, they get pretty much nothing but hand-me-down clothes as they outgrow things too fast for unique outfits for each of them. Scarves, hats, and handkerchiefs are an exception and are often the only piece of clothing a hatchling has that survives to adulthood, which makes them all the more precious. Dresses- which take more fabric- and anything patterned or multicolored is a sign of indulgence/finery or a very nice gift and is such relegated to fancy clothes for fine events. Shoes are made of fish leather or treated fabric strips wrapped around a wood sole and structure and then sewn in place.

Economy: Hearthians run on a trade economy, with every person expected to contribute in some way. You are always guaranteed food from the communal cook pot and shelter in either a house of your own or on someone else's couch/floor, but beyond that you get side-eyed if you ask for things too often without offering something in return. Fortunately, Hearthians have a strong oral tradition and a very relaxed (boring) lifestyle so most are happy to trade gossip and stories for basic amenities. Building houses, weaving fabric, gathering food, working in the mines, and watching the hatchlings and tasks like those are ones that are never required for people to do, you can walk off and take a break whenever. However, it's seen as poor taste to do that for more than a few days at a time without cause because if you aren't working, you're letting your fellow Hearthians down. If you can't do big work for health reasons or lack of skill, you're expected to pick up small work like knitting, patching things up, cooking at the communal food pot, etc. What most hatchlings end up doing is they either find a passion and just continue with it into a proper "job" that helps the village in some way, they get an apprenticeship, or they get picked up by an adult and pretty much conscripted in order to "keep them out of trouble." Fire watch and astronaut and jobs like it are jobs of high prestige and are very demanding in the body, and as such run as apprenticeships with Gossan and Tektite selecting who they want to teach from those that come up to them and ask to learn. Such jobs don't do much to physically help the village (beyond bringing back space relics but those aren't always useful to the village at large) but they do bring in a ton of interesting stories and those are prime currency for the Hearthians.

Life Cycle: Hearthians are hermaphrodites that breed like fish do- during certain times of year, Hearthians may feel the urge to slip down to the river and release sperm and eggs into the water. Couples can go together, but most don't make much of it, seeing them as temporary dalliances or choosing to put up with being a little hot and itchy for a few days, refusing to go, and then the season is done for them for the year. The sperm and eggs mingle in warm underground pools and incubate there until they get hard and heavy enough to be picked up by the current. Due to how the waters of Timber Hearth run, the eggs more or less end up being carried to the same place every year where Hearthians in charge of raising hatchlings go to pick them up. The eggs are candled to check for life, then swaddled and placed into cribs to hatch. Hatchlings are raised in batches together in the Hatchling House, with sick ones quarantined in a back room to keep the rest from getting ill (so things like measles don't wipe out a whole generation). Hatchlings are fed mash until their baby teeth fall out, then they are fed real food like fish with bones in it. They only are named when the caretaker is sure that they will survive their first month or three of life, then they are introduced to the village by that name. They are allowed to go outside for the first time once they can walk and talk a little bit, an occasion marked by giving them shoes. After that, a hatchling may leave the Hatchling House to live on their own once they have a place to stay lined up, work, and they either can drink sap wine (which hatchlings don't have the enzymes to digest) or meet a certain height. As Hearthians age, the ears droop more, the skin pales, and the body starts failing. Past a certain age a Hearthian just kinda stops healing, as if all their sturdiness is limited to their younger years, and if they survive past even that, then their mind begins to go. Deaths are grieved and the dead buried with song and music being played with a space being left in the song for the deceased to "play a solo" and the rest of the band picking up after as a reminder that life goes on. In a few rare cases, hatchlings can imprint on an adult and vice versa, which gives rise to more "standard" parent child bonds and frequently, apprenticeships.

Calendar: The Hearthian planet does have seasons, sort of, but mostly a "hot and dry" vs "cool and wet" divide. No snow, their winters are just slightly more rain than usual and their summers are slightly warmer and with a chance for thunderstorms. However, there are still holidays involved with the changing of the seasons, mostly tied to when food is more or less available and when the solstices are. The alignment of the planets is also celebrated but that's a more recent celebration that popped up and it intensified into a major holiday only when the observatory got built with its ability to lock down alignments to exact dates. Breeding season is an informal holiday, being a few days in Spring and Autumn where sap wine is plentiful and people are expected to take some time off from work to relax. Hearthian formal holidays involve getting everyone in the village to sing, dance, and play music together around a bonfire. Stories and sap wine flow thick and fast and the best storytellers and musicians are treated to the best food and treats. Musicians will sometimes "duel" for funsies to see who is better at improvising and technical skills, to the joy of the crowd. Informal celebrations, like when an astronaut launches for the first time or one comes home or a batch of hatchlings are given a name on their name day lead to similar events, just scaled down some with only non-busy people attending. However, Hearthians love a good party so many will make time for such gatherings if they can.

#outer wilds #world building #my writing

[kagender]

I wonder What is Keronian Cusine like? And would keronians as a whole like earth foods?

ohhh nonny keronian cuisine is definitely something i need to go into deep deep thoughts about! i would say its not as developed as id like it to be, id love to draw out specific dishes and stuff.

the complicated fun of the cuisine of space faring species us the fact that they almost definitely brought over, or took inspiration from the foods of other planets, if demeed edible for a keronian. like how in america several dishes from other countries got modified into more "americanized" forms, as we as humans all have different ways of preparing our food to out tastes, which can also vary from region to region... this opens up the world of dishes from other countries within keron itself as well LOL. i need to think about that too!

but im running my mouth off. in my interpretations keronian diets started off as primarily insect-based, with fruit/plants as the secondary component (i know that there arent actually any herbivorous frogs on our earth, but since these guys are aliens i do loove playing around with their biology haha :-)) and then meat being thrown in a bit later on. kerons love for insects still goes strong - you can find them candied/carmalized, fried or breaded for more of the crunch factor, spiced or sweetened, however you like, larvae toasted or boiled (you can get a glimpse of one in my girodoro pmv - its a little lightly sweet tasting guy usually eaten at campfires. gross marshmallows for us humans) limbs of particularly large insects being sold as snacks (one of keroros disappointments when coming to earth was finding out just how small the average insect is there. i have a doodle somewhere. pekopon has fallen...) and insides being grinded up to a nice cream and such. thats a tadpole food mainly, but i dont see why grown keronians cant eat it!

you can imagine that being combined with fruit (well. vegetables too. the two blend together in my head due to the nature of being a Thing From Plant That You Eat) a plenty, i think plenty of bugs are fed with them before being prepared (iirc thats a thing that we do, people give their feeder insects vegetables for a more nutritous meal for their pet later on... its called gut loading!), which reminds me that i imagine zeroro being fed the healthiest, top-quality and absolutely fully sanitized and parasite-free bugs as a kid. hes got a rich as fuck family they couldve hired a private farm for all i know. its funny to think about. but coming back to plant stuff, i imagine juices and teas would be a hit as well, there is a doodle i posted a while (...about a year) ago that shows a tea made from glowing leaves from another glowing plant post that i made. the ziv stuff goes deep im sorry. ya think it stains tongues like those ice pops they sold back in the day? makes you think....

fruit alone just opens up so much for the world of baking. i dont like fruit in my pastries, but i definitely respect the grind. we put that stuff in everything in so many forms its kinda wild. just imagine all the cutesy designs that could be made for them...

in the anime, they are very much shown to like and eat earth foods, in fact i dont think a lot of alien food shows up other than like, these weird food monsters, burei cola aka kid friendly alcohol, the keron figs from kero zero (love them...) and the yumyum bars from a chibi kero episode that are like, just chocolate bars i believe? i could throw in some funny quirk to them myself i think....

i do recall them eating foods that are oretty much 1:1 to earths in chibikero? the lame side us that no one on the staff really thought about designing any cool space stuff for them to eat, but the cool side is that it can imply some importing from earth. ya think thete are some sellers who just casually work with aliens or is it a weird process of an alien disguising as human -> getting the foods -> getting them to their planet? i like to lean more towards the former since the earth in keroro gunso just really seems to have a bunch of weird connections to aliens outside of the main cast. most of them are from the past (the pyramids where sababa rests, all the kiruru ruins, the unknown human and keronian from the saburo and kururu episode where they fight the sound guy, and i think the kappa the ghost girl knew is implied to be a keronian... but i havent really watched those episodes) but i definitely dont doubt that they still have connections in the modern times. its a lot of fun to think about when it comes to interplanetary trade.

i always had just a biiit of beef with how keronians just settle in with earth foods and other things so casually, i really wish they were a bit more like irkens where plenty things that are ordinary to use pose harm to them. but also kg doesnt have the same gross aspect as iz does so i can understand why they didnt do that. no keroro getting horrid burns from baloney for me....

but oh my god i ran my mouth off. tdlr; i need to draw more frog food, which is mostly bugs, also yes they eat earth stuff and earth import sounds cool

#keroroposting #the keron and earth connections make me go craaaazy #im still ironing it out but i dedinitely think keron had more control over earth in the past #and the current invasion is them trying to regain it back #keron time

[endzithefangirl]

Taming the Mandalorian

Authors note: Okay so, first post. Big fanfiction fan, started out on Wattpad when I was 13, so this is an upgrade.

Summary: You are traveling with the Mandalorian as a Force sensitive babysitter for Grogu. The Mandalorian is very closed off in the beggining, with a few rare moments of affection. You have a talent for making even the most dangrous of beasts relax under your touch. Will you be able to tame the Mandalorian beast the same way?

Warnings: An obligatory English isn't my first language, being chased by a wild animal, biting, mentions of hunting, no mention of gender so I guess it's x gn!reader;

Word count: 4k

Traveling with the Mandalorian wasn't easy. If it was, everyone would do it. Ever since the Mandalorian took you with him, it's been.... Interesting, to say the least. You are technically here because you're with the force and you need to help Grogu. On the other hand.... You think Mando likes the fact that you clean and organize the crest, take care of him when he's hurt and make sure he eats well. He would never admit it though. Mando has been alone for many years, and his soldier mentality and stoic personality have made him used to the practical and almost un-empathetic life. That was... Until you came along.

You and Mando are in a forest, on a planet in the Outer Rim. You are looking for food. It was supposed to be short mission... Mando gets the bounty and you go home, but it turned into a giant night long stake out in the forest. You managed to find some edible berries and mushrooms, hoping that that will give you enough energy to stay up for the night. You don't usually come on missions, but this time Mando needed back-up, and whilst you aren't a warrior or bounty hunter, you could still use a blaster well enough to protect yourself. So, with Grogu on the ship and you and Mando stuck in a forest, the adventures began.

"It's getting dark... We won't have energy tomorrow if just eat berries and mushrooms..." You tell Mando as you walk through the deep forest.

“You say this like it’s my responsibility that we have food.” Mando turns his back to you, looking towards the ridge above the forest before speaking. “We could hunt, we could forage, or we could starve. It’s not my choice…”

"I already found the berries and mushrooms! I can live off that.... It's you who insisted that's not enough" You say, pointing out that fact that the food you found wasn't enough for him.

“How do you think this works?” Mando turns in your direction, his arms crossed on his chest. The forest sits silent around you, not even insects or small rodents scurrying about.

The fire behind you continues to crackle. “I insist that berries, while helpful, are not enough for a long period of time. We can eat all the berries we want but at some point we’ll need protein.”

"Well, you find protein then." You start defensively "I found food my food!"

Mando lets out a heavy sigh and mumbles “Fine.” Mando turns back towards the ridge above the forest, looking for a sign of game nearby. He kneels down to inspect the tracks in the dirt.

“They’re large, definitely not the footprints of a Rodian or a Noghri but they’re also smaller than a Trandoshan or a Wookiee. Ronto, probably”. Mando gets back to his feet, brushing the  dirt off his knee. “Follow me, I found some tracks leading down the hill.” He takes off through the forest, you close on his heels as you both move towards the game. He slows to a stop, crouching behind a small bush as a Ronto comes into view. The Ronto eats peacefully, unaware of your proximity.

"What's that?" You ask, not recognizing the species.

“A Ronto.” Mando answered. The creature has a long neck that extends high above the bush Mando and you hide behind. Its small ears are folded back against its head. The Ronto pauses as it chews on a root, and Mando raises his blaster, lining up his shot. You feel a sting in your gut. You never actually saw an animal get shot an hunted... It was almost a pity to shoot this poor Ronto, peacefully eating in its forest. You couldn’t let Mando kill it. Would you starve? Maybe. But... You couldn’t stand to watch it die. "No! Don't shoot it!"

“Why not?” He asks, turning his head towards you, eyes still focused on the beast ahead “I have to eat!”

"Don't kill the poor animal for your own needs! Especially not in its own house!" You know that what your saying is strange, but a part of you just can't watch Mando kill an innocent animal.

Mando sighs, looking at you while the Ronto continues to chew it’s root, unaware of the impending doom that awaits it. “Would you rather we starve to death here in the middle of nowhere?”

"Yes.."You say as you walk up to the Ronto. The Ronto looks at you, its eyes following the strange being that’s intruding on its territory to eat. It drops the root, its ears perking up as a warning. Mando turns, looking at you. “Please… come back.” You pet the Ronto, looking straight at Mando. If you could see Mandos face, you guarantee that you would be able to see his eyes roll. The Ronto lets out a low rumble, its tail wagging as it sniffs at the strange sensation of touch before resting its head on your legs.

“This is a horrible idea…” Mando says with a sigh. To him, this is ridiculous.. Why aren't you letting him kill an animal for food? Mando rolls his eyes, looking down at the creature as it continues to wag its tail. “You’re ridiculous.” The Ronto lets out a low grumbly sound, looking up at you with large, unblinking eyes. You pet the Ronto for a while whilst Din is looking at you annoyed. The Ronto lays down on its belly, rolling over on its side and exposing its large, fluffy stomach. It lets out a low rumble, letting you know it wants its stomach rubbed.

You rub his stomach. This animal is starting to grow on you... He's kind of cute... "And to think you wanted to kill this cute little thing...."

“Cute?” Mando looks at you and the beast before you. The Ronto closes its eyes, clearly enjoying the sensation from the petting.“I don’t see anything cute here, just food.” Mando laughs as

the Ronto nuzzles its head deeper into your hands, its large nostrils snuffling at the air. “How can you find a huge, smelly creature like this cute?” The Ronto lets out a loud grumble,

its ears perking up as it pushes its head against your thigh. “It’s not cute....” Din says, watching as the Ronto continues to push its large head deeper into your hands. “It’s not a pet, it’s food.”

The Ronto stands up and happily runs into the forest, as if looking for something

“What the-“ Mando takes a step towards the Ronto and watches as it chases off through the trees. “Get back here! You’re still my food!”

"No!"You say as you make Din's blaster fly into my hand. Mando groans as you use the force to take his blaster from him. “You can’t be serious right now!” he says, watching as the Ronto continues to chase after some imagined destination. "How can you just.... kill that?"

“It’s just a Ronto.” Mando turns and watches as the hairy creature continues to chase after its imaginary goal. It’s not the cutest thing he’s seen, that honor belongs to Grogu, but it’s also not the worst thing he’s ever seen. “Rontos are food, plain and simple.”

You hand the blaster back to Mando. In that moment, the Ronto runs back, a nest of sorts in its mouth. The Ronto puts the nest with eggs in front of us and then lies on its back again, as if to want more pets. You look at the large eggs. They're almost the size of your hea... "Are these your babies?" You ask the Ronto as you pet it. "Do they lay eggs?" you ask Mando.

“Rontos typically give birth to live young. These are probably un-fertalized eggs of some other animal. Rontos eat eggs.” He looks at the nest, the white and brown eggs sitting like treasure. "Did you bring us food?" You ask the Ronto as you pet it more

"Here, eat these for protein" you tell Mando handing him the unfertilized eggs. Mando takes the eggs and looks at them in his hand. He looks at you, eyes wide of the prospect of eating eggs brought to him by a ronto he wanted to hunt.

...

The Ronto falls asleep next to the fire a few meters away from you. The three large eggs boiling in a large bucket. You smirk at Mando. Mando doesn’t say anything, still trying to grasp the fact that he was given eggs and asked to make something of them. He looks at you then the Ronto, then back at you before sitting down a few feet away from the small fire. “These things should cook rather quickly.”

"See? Karma is real"

“What does karma have to do with you giving me the Ronto’s eggs to prepare?”

"If you shoot at the Ronto maybe it would have ran away, or maybe it was sick and then inedible. But, I befriended the Ronto and I got guaranteed food"

Mnado watches the Ronto sleep next to the fire, its eyes closed.“Maybe you were right about not killing it.” The fire crackles, the water in the bucket beginning to boil, the unfertilized eggs beginning to cook.

"I'll name him Bert"

“Name… the Ronto… Bert?” Mando reaches down into the bucket, pulling out two of the eggs before placing them on plates. “That’s the name you chose?”

"What's wrong with it?" You say defending your name choice.

“Whatever call it whatever you want since we’re not going to see it anyway.” Mando takes another bite out of the egg, his eyes still on the sleeping Ronto. You notice that he has yet to touch his second egg. Mando  puts his plate onto a rock nearby, the two of you sitting around the fire as you stare at the eggs and the small nest, the Ronto still fast asleep next to the fire. “He’s still sleeping?” Mando asks, looking over at you.

"Yeah. He's cute when he sleeps."

“He’s cute?” Mando looks over at the nest, as if he’s never once thought of the animal as cute, even in its sleeping form. “Never once would I have guessed you’d call a Ronto cute.”

"I think all Animals are cute"

“So… you think the womprats are cute?”

"I can't know if I've never seen them"

“I’m telling you, they aren’t cute.” Mando pauses, looking over at you to see your reaction.

"What do you think is cute?"

Mando thinks for a moment “Grogu…” He looks over at you, waiting for a response.

"Of course he is.... He's the cutest... Our little baby..." You say. You remeber the first time you met the little green creature... He really is abnouxiously cute...

“He is the cutest. He’s also the one that steals your food, throws tantrums, plays with dangerous objects, and nearly burns down the Crest multiple times. But yes, he’s the cutest little green being in this galaxy.” Mando says. His response catches you off guard. Mando never openly talked about his love for his adopted green son. Well, Mando never talked openly about anything.. "You aren't as heartless as people think you are" you tell him with a chuckle.

“People think I’m heartless?” Mando turns to look at you, his expression softening slightly as the realization dawns on him. “I thought people thought I was just a mean Mandalorian.”

"I think to them that's a synonym"

“I suppose it is,” he says, thinking for a moment. “I have heart, you know.”

"Oh I know" you say. You remember the small moments of affection he shows... The way he lets Grogu play with the ball in the cockpit, the way he actually laughs at Grogu when he does something funny... He even showed his affectionate side to you, praising your work on cleaning the ship and the food you try to cook him. And the faint skin-to-skin touches when you were patching up his wound... the way her tanked you afterwards... So soft, so... gentle. Nothing like what he is usually…

“You do?” Mando looks over at you, a glimmer of curiosity in his voice as he waits for your response.

"The way you take care of Grogu.... You love him more than you admit it" You don't mention the moments between you two.. It's best not to, you think.

“I… admit, I do love him. More than I’ve ever admitted before.”

"I'd probably try to pet Rancors too" You say into the air as you look at Bert the Ronto sleeping. The wild animal you tamed with a few pets and kindness...

“And what do you think would happen if you tried to pet a Rancor?” Mando stares at you, waiting for your answer. “It’s the size of a large ship. I don’t think it would be interested in cuddles.” Mando looks over at you, his expression turning towards one of concern. “I hope you wouldn’t actually try to pet a rancor, would you? It is a dangerous predator after all.”

"Maybe it's the most dangerous looking things that are the most kind hearted" You say. You weren't only referring to the Rancor....

“There is no amount of kindness in a Rancor. Trust me, I’ve had to deal with them plenty.” Mando looks around the small clearing, still waiting for the Ronto to wake up. But he also looks more curious now, as if he’s starting to question your idea that animals are nice.

...

A few weeks later you two landed on Tatooine. You visited Peli first. As you and Mando- well, you and Din... The Mandalorian has recently told you his real name... As you and Din stand there waiting for Peli, we see a womp rat in her trash. "That's a womprat" Din tells me. Din stares at the womprat, as if waiting for you to say something about it, or do something about it. “Yeah, that’s a womprat alright. It’s in the name.” He pauses for a moment as he tries to understand your intentions. “Are you going to pet it?”

That thing was ugly. It was hairy in all the wrong ways; it looked like something from your worst nightmares. But you were too proud to go back on your promise that you would try to pet a womprat. "Yes! It's not as ugly as you described it!" You say you approach the ugly beast. You slowly approach the womprat and pet it slowly. At least the feeling of petting it isn't too bad.

You hear Din sigh

“If it bites your fingers, please don’t complain to me.” Din looks away, as if he already knows that the womprat will bite you, and he knows the pain and consequences that will come from it. The womprat still isn’t bothered by your presence, as you move even closer to pet it.

*Nom*

You hear a bite, and a small squeak coming from the rat. Your finger is in the womprats’s mouth, and although it only seems to be playing, its sharp teeth are still biting down on your finger. Din looks over at you, and although his expression is still one of concern, you notice that he was right. The womprat looks up at you and squeaks, still holding your finger in its mouth with a bit of force. You pet the womprat with your non bitten hand. Now, you could leave the creature and admit Din was right. But you're not going to do that. You were not going to give him the satisfaction of being right. "He's just playing!" You say.

“I did warn you!” Din looks over at you, his expression changing toward one of mild amusement. “That looks like it hurts though, it was a little bite. What are you going to do now?”

"I don't care!" You proudly say as you pull your finger away. There is only a bit of blood This seems to make the womprat like you as he turns on his back and lets you pet it.

Din watches you pet the womprat, his expression still changing from amusement to confusion as the rat seems to be… enjoying it. “Is it… purring?” The rat squeaks again, this time it sounds like he’s… enjoying being pet. “Huh, I guess those teeth aren’t just meant for biting…” Din watches you pet the womprat, his mouth turning into a smile. “Seems like you’re right, it’s actually quite friendly.”

“You going to bring him along with us then?” Din asked slightly concerned by what you will answer.

"No. I know you're not an... Animal lover" You answer. You could see Dins body language relax.

“You know me pretty well then… I’m pretty used to being with people who love animals, but have never met someone who loves every animal.” He turns back to you. “You’re really committed to your idea that all animals are friendly, aren’t you?”

"All animals are friendly, until proven otherwise!"

...

Later that day, we went to this guy. He was supposed to bring Din to a fellow bounty hunter on Tatooine. The guy had a Rancor, that got loose. Din was right. It was a giant beast, it looked like a giant scaly, hairless lizard thing. Not very cute, definetly. Din was more cautious this time. He kept you behind him, you can't guarantee safety with a Rancor. Din stands still, his eyes locked onto the Rancor in front of him. His hands hover slightly close to his blasters in case the creature gets aggressive. He doesn’t say a word, but he stares at you out of the corner of his eye, wondering what you’ll do given that it is both dangerous and also an animal. The Rancor started running towards you... Din pulls your arm and you start running. Mid run we separated, and when Din turned around, he didn't see you. But he saw the Rancor standing still.

Of course his mind went to the worst. Din’s heart sunk when he saw the Rancor charging right towards you. The creature was massive. He immediately pulled you to safety, and when he saw you get separated after the creature stopped, he started to run back in the opposite direction, looking for you. “Where are you?! Are you alright?!?” As he turned around, he noticed the Rancor, almost in a passive state… Could it actually be friendly?

"HEY DIN!"You yell with a smile from the top of the Rancor. You're riding a Rancor. You aren’t sure how it happened. One moment you were running from an angry Rancor, the next you’re on top of a calm Rancor. Din stares at the scene, almost expecting to wake up from a dream. He runs over to you in a state of both confusion and surprise, turning towards you. “You…?” Din can't even form words... This is the last thing he expected...

"You wanna ride it too?" You say as you pull the Rancor down so Din can get on it. Din stares at you, unsure whether you’re seriously offering or just joking around. He looks over at the Rancor, which seems completely unbothered by his presence. “You’re joking, right?” Din stares at you, not knowing how to respond. He looks over at the Rancor again, and after a moment, he decides to take you up on your offer. “Ok, sure.”

He slowly climbs onto the rancor, his voice still filled with skepticism and confusion. Din sits behind you and wraps his arms around you for support. You're glad he's sitting behind you, because you blush from the sudden contact you two have. You still aren't used to this... affection from Din.

“Is this safe?” Din looks up at you, his expression changing towards one of more curiosity as he sees how easily you’ve tamed the Rancor. Din also clings to you, not wanting to fall off of the Rancor. He stares at you in both confusion and wonder, as he asks… “You’re actually taking us on this creature to Mos Pelgo?"

"You and the Rancor have a lot in common" You say after a while. You can tell your comment made Din confused.

“Me and this… thing? How exactly do I and the Rancor have anything in common?” Din starts to laugh, unable to understand your reasoning.

"You both look tough, and you both like to touch me" You say looking at how tightly Din is holding onto you, the same way the Rancor relaxed after you touched him.

Din stares at you for a moment as he starts to realize what you’re insinuating, and then he starts to laugh. ”Is this what I’ve looked like to other people all these years?” Din asked  “That’s not true…” But his voice is slightly half-hearted, and you can tell that’s he’s slowly realizing that maybe he is a bit anti-social and difficult to deal with. He tightens his grip  on you, almost unintentionally, and he seems to realize it now. “Oh… ok… yeah fine. I am somewhat antisocial, I guess.” He lets out a long sigh.

You move your hand away and pet the Rancor instead. Din stares at your hand and the Rancor for a moment, as if deep in thought. “…wait… don’t tell me the Rancor likes being pet too!” He slowly raises himself up on his elbow and looks at the Rancor, with a look of both confusion and surprise in his eyes. “Huh? How many animals do you think are friendly? Is everything friendly?”

"Of course. I can tame anything...."

Din chuckles and shakes his head. “Right… you can tame anything huh?”

"I already tamed the untamable best...." You say.

“The Sandcrawler?” Din laughs even harder. “Is this some kind of joke? Or… are you actually serious?” Din stares at you, waiting to see how you’ll respond to this.

"No.... A Mandalorian"

Din goes silent at your words. Are you joking? Are you insulting him? What does that mean? Does it mean what he think it means? Do you... “Oh… you’re serious. You’ve tamed a Mandalorian.

Just how did you manage to do that?” Din says, trying to be cautious with his words. He doesn’t understand fully what you mean. Din still seems to be laughing, but he’s also clearly getting more and more curious about your answers.

"A Mandalorian is holding a me tightly. He is enjoying the food I cook him, the jokes I make and even the way I patched him up when he was hurt. I'd say I tamed the Mandalorian beast pretty well" You say cautiously. You have to stop your voice from trembling. Are you confessing to Din that you enjoy his rare affection? Is he understanding what you're saying, or is he seeing this as an insult? Is this going to make a difference? Is the rare affection going to stop? You don't want it to stop. You want him to continue laughing at your jokes, and the secret, gentle touches that almost feel wrong, but feel so right?

Din stares at you, and his expression changes towards one of amusement again. “So you’re saying I’ve been tamed by you?” He stares at you for a moment, as if trying to come to terms with that idea.

"Yes. You are the greatest of the beasts I've tamed." You say cautiously.

Din is silent for a moment, his face turning towards a blush again. He laughs again a bit nervously, and you see him try to tighten his grasp on you. He relaxes behind you, holding you closer and tighter on the Rancor. You hear him sigh, but not in an angry or sad way, in a way like he's almost relived...

“I’m tamed” Din’s face is now bright red, and you can tell now that you got to him. “You happy now?”

You relax into his touch now. He isn't mad, he isn't upset. He enjoys your company, your comments, your touches... The two of you sit there, enjoying the ride on the Rancor. You sit there in comfortable silence, relaxing into each others touch. You've tamed the Mandalorian. You made him show a side he doesn’t show to anyone else. Could that mean this is a start of something?

#din djarin #din djarin x reader #din darjin fanfiction #the mandalorian x reader #the mandalorian #fanfiction #the mandalorian fanfiction #star wars

[leggerefiore]

Tussock

cw: slither wing ingo and emmet, pokehybrid au, poly (ingo x reader, Emmet x reader), essentially bug cavemen, just little scenarios

-----

They were fascinating.

It had been apparent since you first spotted them before you, but it was just reinforced as they tidied up their nest. Their insect-like eyes were focused on making it as comfortable for you as they could. The fact they were ancient Volcarona hybrids who were brought here to this specific crater by a mad scientist was astounding and almost sounded fictional.

Well, had the woman herself not tried to attack you in a panic of your unexpected intrusion into her 'paradise'. The twin moths were protecting you in an instant. The one had taken up a more aggressive role guarding you instantly. Emmet, you later learnt the professor had named, alongside his counterpart's name to be Ingo. She sighed at this all, pinching the bridge of her nose. Without further argument, her aggression faded.

Professor Sada explained to you that these hybrids were older than even most fossil pokemon, which was quite a terrifying discovery. She seemed curious about how they had sought out a human for themselves, but shrugged it off as behaviour that simply evaded her current understanding. She simply warned you there was no way to escape unless the Slither Wing hybrids decided to attempt escape again, and that you were free to use the research stations as needed. With that, she left off with a strange dragon-like creature that was completely unfamiliar with you.

The idea that the professor brought these ancient pokemon to current day left you in a silent amazement. There were so many questions that crossed your mind to ask them, but one huge barricade prevented that. Ingo and Emmet lacked any proper modern language communication. Anything more complicated than their names, yes, no and help was impossible for them to grasp. While Ingo had taken to trying to learn your language, it had made little progress with no common ground to meet on.

Yet… They were still interesting. Wings that served no purpose as they failed to pick the hybrids weight off the ground, fluff that covered their body to help conserve precious heat, a tail that assisted in balance. Their anatomy left you curious. It was fascinating to spend time pondering how they evolved into modern Volcarona hybrids. How did hybrids even vary back in the day? Were humans as wary and cruel towards them as they are today, or had that developed alongside societies? Many questions, yet no way to get answers.

You sighed as the nest was easily restructured by them before climbing inside it. It was a small den-like area hidden in a crevice in the rocks. It was levelled so rain did not come in and flood the area. You curled up under the blankets that had been taken from the stations. Ingo crawled over and curled around you. Soft clicks and hums came from him as the warmth from his body soaked into yours.

Emmet had clearly wandered off, likely to go hunting, leaving you alone with the softer of the two. Settling in more, you yawned. Your phone had long since died, and time became impossible to track outside of entire days. From the paper also borrowed from the research station, you had realised that it had been a few months now. Life was easier down here than it ever had been above ground, horribly. There were no unfulfilling jobs to work, taxes, or anything that brought endless stress on the surface.

It was a pleasant change, the crater. Turning on your other side, you nuzzled your face into the endless fuzz on Ingo's body, which resulted in a purr-like noise and him moving closer. The heat which burned within Volcarona's bodies were endlessly apparent in them. You yawned again and finally drifted off on the moth hybrid's arms.

~

You were awakened later by Emmet's return and his dumping of both berries and assorted insects that were edible by the twins. It was definitely hard to get your proper diet down here, but you could tell the twins were trying their best. Ingo shook awake, too, and crept away towards the mess of food to pick out a meal he felt worthy. You sighed as Emmet hummed sweetly and crept over to you, where he laid a perfect liechi Berry. His grin was sweet, and it was obvious he obtained it just for you.

Softly, you ate it, but found yourself intrigued as he returned to the mess of insects. It was clear they were not eating the mass of them from the very beginning, but only desiring their body fluids, just as they only drank the juice of the berries. You bit into the sweet, yet oddly spicy fruit and wondered if modern Volcarona were the same. You had never seen them eat anything but berries, but it was entirely possible they engaged with the same behaviour as their ancestors. Sighing, you finished your fruit and pondered exploring the area more thoroughly for any more foods to properly fill your diet.

When you tried to leave, however, loud growls and whines came from the Slither Wings as they pulled you back into the nest. You then remained in Emmet's lap as he continued his devouring of the food he had hunted.

~

You jumped when you heard your name spoken. Ingo just tilted his head and repeated it again. His ability in learning modern language was going better than you had ever expected. Certain sounds were easier for him to make than others, but he clearly adored learning your name. He said it quite often. It was made you scared every time.

“Yes, Ingo?” you turned to him with a tilt of your head. His smile was awkward as he softly walked towards you and embraced you. His soft hums and purrs were sweet as he, mindful of his sharp antennae, nuzzled his face into your neck. You hugged him back with a soft sigh.

“Luh-v yuu,” he replied and pecked kisses around your cheeks. You smiled and laughed.

“I love you, too,” you responded before pressing your own kiss to his lips.

~

It was nice to explore the mysterious crater, but your chaperone seemed a bit more hesitant than preferred. Emmet clearly hated you being too far from their nest. Maybe it was related to how terrifying it must be having been ripped from their time to modern day. While the crater remained almost completely untouched by humanity, it was not so easy to adjust with modern pokemon.

Even if something as passive as a Flabébé approached, his fur puffed up, and he let out a growl. You would pat him and tell him to calm down, but he clearly could not feel at ease in his new locations. You wondered if Sada felt it even a bit cruel to rip these pokemon from the past and force them into the present. Petting Emmet's head, you sat down under a tree and gazed up at the sky. He sat closely beside you and hummed.

“Do… you understand me?” you asked. He nodded, letting out a soft trill. A sigh came from you. “Do you miss your home? Are you upset the professor brought you here?” you continued. He again nodded and let out a soft whine. Your heart broke at his noises. You brought him in for an embrace as he suddenly burst into tears. “Hey, sorry Emmy…” you cooed.

You were then lifted up and rushed back to his nest.

The best, broken reason for this was Emmet's terror over losing you. He had come to love you too much that he had almost entirely accepted his place in this strange world. Soft trills and coos came from him as he nuzzled his cheek to yours. You smiled and hugged him close.

#ingo x reader #emmet x reader #ingo x reader x emmet #ingo/reader #emmet/reader #ingo/reader/emmet #pokehybrid au

[katiestory]

1. Smells and Tastes

As promised here are my notes from a biologically-accurate monster-building perspective on Chapter 1 of An Immense World by Ed Yong. Once I have worked my way through the book I will see if I can condense further into a quick reference sheet.

Smell (olfaction) and taste (gustation) are grouped together as both are senses based on identifying chemicals, but they serve different purposes.

Smell (Olfaction)

What is it?

Sensor neurons identify odorant molecules that can provide detailed information about the environment and other living organisms in the area. It is closely tied to learning and memory.

How is it used in nature?

Finding and identifying other organisms, like mates and prey. Chemicals can provide a detailed portrait and identifier of an individual including health and reproductive readiness, when the organism was here, and what direction they moved. 

Communication—especially in colonies like ants or bees. Pheromone signals send specific messages like alarm, attack, prey, and marking the dead. 

Navigation by scent-scape. Landscapes that appear featureless to human eyes carry trails and wayposts in the form of chemical plumes.

Who has it?

All organisms have some form of chemical reception, but it may be of particular importance to:

species that need a way to navigate and can form maps in memory

species that need to lay down a specific trail and retrace it

social species that identify each other by scent

colony/swarm species that use pheromones to signal and organize 

species that track injured prey

species that need to accurately select prey before an energy intensive hunt/feed effort

What does it look like?

Visible chemical sensing organs include nostrils, (forked) tongues, and antennae, which are typically “paired” for stereo (direction sensitive) perception. The specific shape of the sensing organ can affect the passage of air to create a continuous experience of scent.

Species also have different methods of deliberately leaving scent through feces, urine, scent rubbing and pheromone excretions from specialized glands.

What is the experience like?

Smell may be decoupled from breathing and perceived as a continuous experience. Or the sense can be accessed on demand as ants do when making physical contact to smell with their antennae. Perception enhances with proximity and intensity of odorant flow over the sensor nerves.

Odorants lay over the landscape in trails, plumes, and markers that can form mental maps. Smell therefore provides critical location information; where the organism is in their known world, and who else is nearby.

And with ants, the instructions received by pheromone communication take precedence over all other inputs:

“When the biologist E. O. Wilson daubed oleic acid onto the bodies of living ants, their sisters treated them as corpses and carried them to the colony’s garbage piles. It didn’t matter that the ant was alive and visibly kicking. What mattered was that it smelled dead.” (page 31)

Taste (Gustation)

What is it?

A simple categorization by salt, sweet, bitter, sour, and umami that is used to identify whether something is edible through an instinctual (unlearned) reaction.

How is it used in nature?

It is used to identify food—or in the case of parasites, egg laying sites—typically by physical contact.

Who has it?

Most animals, including insects and birds.

Herbivores have an enhanced sense of bitterness to distinguish plants.

Carnivores and many birds lack sense of sweet.

Animals that are less likely to taste:

feed infrequently

identify their prey by scent before engaging in hunting/feeding

swallow prey whole

What would it look like externally?

Taste receptors are not visible and can be located anywhere: If the organism feeds by putting food in their mouth, taste receptors on the tongue are common. If they make contact with food by standing on it, the legs, feet, may contain taste receptors. In parasites, the ovipositor has a taste receptor. If they hunt in a medium like air or water they may be covered in taste receptors.

What would it feel like?

Depending on the placement of taste receptors, it can be a simple yuck test when making contact with food, or if taste buds are everywhere, an omnidirectional ability to identify edible food. Flies also use taste to identify bacterial growth on their body and clean it off.

#writeblr #speculative biology #speculative evolution #writing #science #biology #fantasy #umwelt

[loominggaia]

What are the grossest or most controversial dishes each of the Great Kingdoms has?

This is difficult to answer because there are usually many different cultures operating within each Great Kingdom, and each culture has different cuisine. Also, many of these dishes are shared between multiple kingdoms and cultures.

For example, the nasty troll cuisine I talked about in another post is not specific to any one kingdom, but can be found in several of them.

That said, I can talk about some controversial foods that are most commonly eaten in different kingdoms (though they may not be exclusive to them or even originate from them).

Folkvar: Brodfesk - also called "cheese 'n chovies", it's raw fish slathered in blue cheese on a piece of bread. Many Folkvarans also eat raw blubber, especially from marine animals.

Matuzu: Sugar-coated locusts and other insects. Setsiki brain soup. Matuzans eat a lot of animal brains and livers in general, sometimes raw. In some Matuzan cultures, men eat the genitals of powerful animals because they believe it increases their sexual prowess.

Lamai: Gruju - a drink made from blended maggots. The Lamaish eat a lot of reptiles and amphibians, such as snakes, turtles, lizards, and frogs. They also eat a lot of wild fungus, some of which has psychedelic effects.

Yerim-Mor: There aren't many offensive dishes in Morite culture. The nasty part is how they're prepared. Because this kingdom is so poor, sanitation usually takes a back seat, so food is washed in unclean water, left unrefrigerated, and cut with dirty utensils. Most Morites have adapted to all this bacteria, but it makes foreigners sick.

Zareen: Just about everything on the traditional Zareenite menu is loaded with questionable chemicals, harmful fillers, heavy metals, and god-knows-what-else. While everything is prepared in sanitized factory settings, the ingredients are so over-processed that you're basically eating plastic. There are Zareenite dishes that cannot legally be called "food", and are instead labeled "edible products".

Evangeline: Bloodbread - This dish originated from underfed slaves in Kelvingyard. These slaves make a crude flour from dried weeds, dirt, and blood, which they baked into a bread-like biscuit in the sun. The blood was usually from vermin like rats or insect, but sometimes it is harvested from their fellow slaves who were too weak to defend themselves. Needless to say, this stuff is hella nasty and only eaten in life-or-death scenarios.

Mogdir: If eating bugs and bug byproducts sounds gross to you, you will not like Mogdiri cuisine because it's very bug-based. One of the most popular foods is a cheese made from fermented caterpillar silk. They also eat raw grubs and giant roasted caterpillars.

Etios: Minotaur breast milk is a popular beverage for all ages in Etios Nation. Many Etiosi also eat animal marrow straight from the bone, then dry the bones in the sun for a few weeks before grinding it into bonemeal. This bonemeal is used in cooking other things.

Seelie: Speaking of bonemeal, the ancient Seelie were known to grind up the bones of their enemies and use that bonemeal to bake cookies. Cannibalism in general was pretty hot in this kingdom for a very long time. It's illegal today, but it's still happening in some dark pockets of Seelie society.

Unseelie: Where to start? Basically everything on the Unseelie menu is weird and nasty. Stray dog meat, roasted vermin, blood wine, pickled squid...just take your pick.

Damijana: Has the same problem as Zareenite cuisine, where most food available is overly-processed into what is basically plastic with vitamins sprayed onto it after the fact. By far the nastiest thing though, is a dish called "gutter roast". The poorest Damijani catch wild rats in the city and roast them. Though this is one of the least-processed dishes in Damijana, these rats are often riddled with disease, their guts are full of trash, and there is weird chemicals in their blood from the polluted environment.

Aquaria: Aquarians will see the grossest, slimiest, most alien-looking marine critter wriggling across the sea floor and think to themselves, "Mmm, looks like dinner! :D"

*

Questions/Comments?

Lore Masterpost

Read the Series

#ask #askcuisine #askculture

[faeboybug]

I guess I need a pinned post!

Hi, I'm Bug. I'm 24, autistic, and nonbinary.

This is my main blog, but I have many side blogs. So I may like and follow from here and reblog from elsewhere.

This blog is dedicated to my love of plants, bugs, animals, and nature in general.

More below the cut, including a mini rant disparaging cottagecore as a concept ;p

Some interests and covered topics include:

● solarpunk

● companion planting crops

● native plant yards (this blog hates grass lawns)

● foraging

● mushrooms (as food & art not recreation)

● wild and native edible plants

● vulture culture, animal specimens, etc

● climate change activism (mostly I try to keep political stuff on a separate blog but politics and loving and protecting the earth are intrinsically linked)

● indigenous & native people's rights (including hunting rights, and land back / sovereignty)

● bugs!!!

● debunking myths and fear mongering around 'scary' animals and insects (this is a pro-sharks, snakes, and spiders blog!)

● animal rights? (I'm not sure how much this'll come up. But fuck factory farming.)

DNI: terfs, tradwives, white supremacists, militant evangelical vegans

I will block you ^-^

Some more about me unrelated to the blog

I'm AuDHD, vegan, disabled, otherkin, I play videogames, I have 5 cats, a small garden and a few indoor plants. I'm currently indulging in my crochet special interest.

And lastly a rant about cottagecore

Cottagecore aesthetics are based on a colonialist escapist fantasy of 'untamed' land. We cannot escape what we owe others and the earth by ~disappearing into the woods~ and running away from the responsibility we have to eachother. Politically cottagecore and similar ideas are distasteful at best and outright racist at worst. I acknowledge my blog often runs adjacent to or directly in line with cottagecore blogs. Cottagecore accounts are free to interact with my blog but you will probably find yourself uncomfortable with my more political posts. I invite you to sit with that discomfort. If your aesthetic posts, your comfort fantasy, never once involve a disabled person or person of color? That's a really uncomfortable place to find yourself if you don't consider yourself a racist, or ableist. We all carry the prejudices of our societies inside ourselves, it's your responsibility to do the work to unpack that and become better and kinder. Your escapist fantasies should in no way mirror white supremacist & eugenics fantasies if you yourself are not one. Do better and be kinder ❤️

Related but not as serious, but the romanticization of hard manual labor is pretty funny. Obviously you can romanticize your real life if you so wish. But people who have never worked on a farm, tended crops, or maintained a home fawning over a glamorized version of that lifestyle is silly to see. Farming is hard work, caring for land is hard work. I'm not trying to gatekeep, God knows I can't be a farmer. Just think about how much work goes into those homes and the food and plants you see in these aesthetic pictures. You'll come to appreciate them a lot more I think.

#earthcore #dirtcore #bug aesthetic #insectcore #bugcore #mushroomcore #mushrooms #wild plants #plants #bugs #solarpunk #about me #land back

[nehetari-of-szarekhan]

Hello, I’ve have question regarding the anatomical differences between a necrontyr and a human. How similar are the two species internally? If I remember correctly in a previous post you mentioned that a necrontyrs possesses additional olfactory receptors beneath their eyes. How many other organs or features does a necrontyr possesses that a human does not?

The anatomical differences between Nehetari and Peter Turbo would be pretty drastic due to Mr. Turbo being a primarch, a gene-forged Demi-god, and thus would be filled with all kinds of weird gobbledygook organs of functions unknown.

Hello, this is the Mun here:

Necrontyr internals are not as different from a human's as you may think (almost startlingly similar). They were warm-blooded creatures that produced milk to feed offspring that they gave birth to live. They had a mouth and digestive tract similar to humans, a complete circulatory system, a hormone-based reproductive system, an advanced nervous system centered around a brain, a calcium based skeletal structure... ...you get the idea.

However, this is where the similarities start to divert. As you know, their homeworld was what the modern day Imperium would have classified as a Death World. Like if Catachan, Krieg, and Baal all got together and had an even more radiation blasted, moistureless baby. Much of the Necrontyr anatomy was shaped by their homeworld and the fauna (and scarce flora) that inhabited it.

For example - Necrontyr blood contains a natural antifreeze and temperature-regulating compound that prevents them from freezing to death, even in sub-zero desert nights (they sort of half-freeze then thaw out in the morning). It also helps prevent overheating during the day. This is essential because they do not have sweat glands (water is too precious); instead of sweating they pant sort of like dogs do on Earth, or if it's really hot they can go into a low-activity state where their body slows down to produce less heat.

Another survival trait of the Necrontyr is in their vocal folds: they are capable of a much broader range of sound production than humans. Nehetari herself can mimick just about any sound she hears, from the sound of a bolter report to the tiny, near-inaudible sounds that come from the waves of energy traveling through deep space. It is believed this evolved during the ancient days of their race, when being able to mimick the sound of an oncoming rockslide or a bigger, angrier sand strider was one of the only things that could save you from becoming something's meal.

On the topic of meals, the Necrontyr digestive system is designed to process large amounts of meat and fat quickly. This, paired with their naturally razor-sharp teeth, seem to suggest that the ancestors of the Necrontyr were originally carnivores, which slowly turned omnivorous over time. Meat was more plentiful than edible plant life on their homeworld (lots and lots of insects). The reason why Nehetari hates sweet food is partly caused by this naturally low-carb diet - the Necrontyr body can quickly become overwhelmed when too much sugar enters their bloodstream, as they cannot regulate it properly.

And lastly (for now at least): it's not an internal trait per-se, but it's not an apparent one either. Necrontyr feet can grip almost was well as their hands do, but what's more, they actually change their shape instinctively (or intentionally, if they so chose) depending on what surface they're standing on. From the top, and when standing on a hard, flat surface, the Necrontyr foot looks almost identical to a human's save for stubby claws instead nails. However, from the bottom, Necrontyr feet look almost like that of a gecko. Those many folds can shift, unfold, and re-arrange themselves. When standing on a soft and unsteady surface like sand, the sole of the foot spreads out and becomes more flexible, making movement easier and more stable. When standing on a rocky or uneven surface, they grip it with their toes, and the folds form a sort of dry-adhesion bond to the surface, allowing them to better cling on. They can't walk up 90-degree or perfectly flat surfaces, but they are absolutely stellar climbers. (It was a good thing Necrontyr got so used to being on flat surfaces as they became more advanced. Else, they would have spent the first thousand years or so as Necrons constantly falling off shit. The pads did not accompany them into their metal bodies).

I have many other headcanons for Necrontyr specific biology, but these are my favorites so far.

#Nehetari #Necrontyr #necrons #necrontyr headcanons #oc shenanigans #none of this is canon #i just think it's fun #necrontyr biology #i love their little flexi-foot pads

[headspace-hotel]

I love your blog! it's awesome. I wanted to ask why do you know so much about nature stuff, and how can I learn more? I want to do something in the environmental science field after my bachelor's degree (currently doing Economics, want to switch to ecology or something similar). any advice?

So i volunteer at a local nature center and i've been having lots of stimulating conversations with people who know way more than I do, long story short.

I strongly recommend volunteering honestly. Those places ALWAYS need more help and more passionate people who care. It was super easy for me to get connected.

I've also been doing a lot of gardening in my back yard and have spent a few months figuring out how to grow plants through trial and error.

The internet is a kinda terrible place to learn about gardening, any outdoor area has something to teach you though. Learn to identify some plants (legitimately plant identification apps are awesome tools, don't take them at their word but having a specific name to google will help you narrow down possibilities) and pay attention to them. Notice them when you come across them and say hi (not necessarily ALOUD, though I say hi to plants aloud...). Where do they like to grow? What else do they like to grow with? What insects and birds visit them...?

Do not demean even the most common weed! They are important and brave little guys. You would be stunned how many of them are useful, medicinal and/or edible.

Demean the invasive plants, though. Those guys are douchebags.

I'm headed to the library tomorrow, I will tell y'all what I find...