So, I Had These Sitting In My Gallery And Decided To Share What They Were Related To :D

So, I had these sitting in my gallery and decided to share what they were related to :D

Here's the link to the original Picrew and the artist who made it.

So, this is related to my story titled Kingdom of Bumalia (if you wanna know more check this out!) where all of the inhabitants are kind of anthropomorphic.

The main groups are Birds, Insects, sea mammals and land mammals.

Birds are only royals so they don't have "common" forms. There's only three living birds in my story anyways and they're all related to the royal family.

Next are insects. There're more of them, but it's still common for there to only be royals. In this case, there's only one main insect and that's the cousin of the next-in-line (1st pic).

Common traits: Narrow green eyes, wings, [which the picrew didn't have :( ], dark hair, and royals.

Next is Aquatics and they're common folk along with everyone else below this point.

Usually aquatics are gentle and carefree with the traits that all their hair is blonde and their eyea blue due to being underwater most the time.

They can exist on land, but they usually don't have normal legs looking like these mfs for the most part.

These were some of the common folk I made.

Common traits: curly, bleached blonde hair and blue eyes. They usually have dry skin from being on the surface for too long.

For land mammals, these are pretty much the low class citizens who work coin bag to coin bag.

There's a lot of land mammals in the story, but with the options I had, I couldn't make them exactly to my liking. So, I made these guys who came out perfectly!

Common traits: having nothing in common. Most land mammals look different from species to species. Unlike every other species where everything is uniform.

It makes me happy to see this as someone who writes a TON of fantasy. I think another way to look at this is to say that you can't be racist to a dog and to apply that to your story. Most people feel it's inhumane to put a human in a cage, but not a dog.

The best way that I avoid this is to think how are my species related. One really specific example is a story where my characters are suppose to be "born by typical human means, but because of when they were born they ended up with special powers lol." I call these guys blood borns and always refer to them as a different species.

I've never even considered referring to them as a race because they're too different from "normal" humans in my story to be considered one.

Funnily enough, because of that, that story isn't my metaphor for racism despite having a plot close to it. The one that is has all the creatures under the same species, but they have differences between them and are put in a caste system referred to as 'classes' that order their importance and the whole plot is that their system is flawed assuming that [superior race] x [anyone else] isn't a true blood. When the caste system simply states that anyone who has two of the same blood type is a true blood.

I just think it's easier for people to use races because in our own world that's how it's used. We treat different "races" as whole other beings, which is really ridiculous.

Fantasy """races"""

We should stop calling fantasy races that. Normalize calling them "species" or "kinds" or "kin", or just anything other than "race".

A "race" is a matter of non-meaningful differences like skincolor and maybe average penis length. There is no evidence that different races are more intelligent etc which can't be explained by differences in opportunity or culture.

A """race""" is not living four times as long, and also they can read people's minds, and they are an anthropomorphic cat, and get +1 to DC saving throws against fire because why not, and have completely different origins to other """races""", also they're genetically predisposed to mindless lawful neutral rampages. That's something else.

High elves and dark elves and wood elves could probably be considered races of each other (if all any stat differences are due to culture or magic, not blood). But not in relation to humans.

I'm just saying; when Tolkien established the concept of fantasy races the word "race" meant something very different than it does now. Not to accuse Tolkien of anything, I have no idea what his stance on that matter was, but still.

Having an entire intelligent species that is inherently evil is one thing, but calling that a """race""", and especially if it gets used as a metaphor for actual races or racism, is another entirely.

The metaphor doesn't work because in real life all races are the same in ability (except for shit like +1 to cow juice digestion or -15 to not combusting in the sun like a vampire).

But racists don't know that or choose not to, they believe some races are better than others and there's a genocide-or-be-replaced situation when there just isn't. Racists often hurt their own race if it means hurting a different race because they believe it's that or their race will cease to exist, like how you might sacrifice a bunch of Gondorians to defeat Mordor, but since that isn't going to happen in real life they are actually just hurting themselves and others for no reason.

The irrationality of racism is crucial for all allegories of it because it's more likely to convince evil people to not be racist than the moral argument.

If in your setting """races""" are as different as they often are in fantasy, you have created a world where replacement theory can actually happen and where there could be some strictly practical arguments for racist policies like paternalism or even genocide which aren't completely imaginary.

Speciesism is also an interesting and valuable concept to explore, since unlike racism it may be practical but still unmoral (being distrusting of or genociding Tolkien or 40k orcs is still genocide but, like, they're orcs. Mindflayers even more so, they can literally only exist by parasitizing and torturing other intelligent species, it's the lesser of two evils). But sometimes speciesism might not be practical either. There is never a reason to discriminate against hobbits, they're just perfect little guys. They just wanna hang out and maybe sell cheap produce, without them the price of turnips will skyrocket! But speciesism should definitely be kept separate from race.

The words we use change how we think to some extent. Especially when in so many settings the "human" ""race"" is invariably Just White People™, then people will start thinking of all non-white races with the same brain pathways we use to conceptualize Orcs and Klingons. They become part of the same "other" as POC, which probably isn't going to improve the othering situation.

I've seen friends of mine (not racists) slip up and say "Humans" when they actually just mean "Europeans" in the context of talking about actual IRL history which is a mistake writers should probably stop priming our brains to make.

Could you imagine if all our crime media did the same thing and made people associate criminals with people of color??? oh wait

Some of my favorite words and phrases to describe a character in pain

coiling (up in a ball, in on themselves, against something, etc)

panting (there’s a slew of adjectives you can put after this, my favorites are shakily, weakly, etc)

keeling over (synonyms are words like collapsing, which is equally as good but overused in media)

trembling/shivering (additional adjectives could be violently, uncontrollably, etc)

sobbing (weeping is a synonym but i’ve never liked that word. also love using sob by itself, as a noun, like “he let out a quiet sob”)

whimpering (love hitting the wips with this word when a character is weak, especially when the pain is subsiding. also love using it for nightmares/attacks and things like that)

clinging (to someone or something, maybe even to themselves or their own clothes)

writhing/thrashing (maybe someone’s holding them down, or maybe they’re in bed alone)

crying (not actual tears. cry as in a shrill, sudden shout)

dazed (usually after the pain has subsided, or when adrenaline is still flowing)

wincing (probably overused but i love this word. synonym could be grimacing)

doubling-over (kinda close to keeling over but they don’t actually hit the ground, just kinda fold in on themselves)

heaving (i like to use it for describing the way someone’s breathing, ex. “heaving breaths” but can also be used for the nasty stuff like dry heaving or vomiting)

gasping/sucking/drawing in a breath (or any other words and phrases that mean a sharp intake of breath, that shite is gold)

murmuring/muttering/whispering (or other quiet forms of speaking after enduring intense pain)

hiccuping/spluttering/sniffling (words that generally imply crying without saying crying. the word crying is used so much it kinda loses its appeal, that’s why i like to mix other words like these in)

stuttering (or other general terms that show an impaired ability to speak — when someone’s in intense pain, it gets hard to talk)

staggering/stumbling (there is a difference between pain that makes you not want to stand, and pain that makes it impossible to stand. explore that!)

recoiling/shrinking away (from either the threat or someone trying to help)

pleading/begging (again, to the threat, someone trying to help, or just begging the pain to stop)

Feel free to add your favorites or most used in the comments/reblogs!

Many of my stories are just this...

Ghosts?

“It happened again…” The figment said as he watched the girl lie on her bed repeating the same words over and over to herself, she was holding herself while rocking and spoke:

"I know… I know… I know it’ll be alright… it’ll go back to normal.” She nearly chanted that as she held back tears, her voice was shaking and he knew she’d soon fall asleep. Her problems wouldn’t be fixed however, he knew they wouldn’t after the years and years of the same thing happening. The girl then took a deep breath and sat up locking eyes with the figment. It was time to go. He would leave her for now, but would come back when this happened again.

His ghostly figure left the house and flew to the abandoned apartment where all ghosts in this area remained. Getting inside, there was a man.

“You’re back.” He simply said.

“Yeah, I figured I wasn’t going to be long.”

“So were you right?” Reluctantly, he nodded. “Lucas, perhaps we should consider taking her life now.”

“I told you I didn’t want to do that.”

“But you’re not supposed to be dead, and it seems as if she either will be or should be.”

“You don’t know half of the situation with her…” Lucas paused, “She’s always trying to stay strong, even now she was telling herself things would go back to normal. That’s how hard she’s fighting.” The man stared at him, “So if invalidate her hard work then we should stay dead.”

“It seems you’re growing attached to her, Lucas.”

“You know, Spencer, maybe I am. I don’t have an issue with staying dead if it means I get to remain with her.”

“But even if you say she should be dead.” “I know what I said before, but… I don’t want to see it all end like this. She deserves to be happy and it’s not my place to just sit here and take that from her.” Lucas then left the lobby and went to his apartment room. Going through the door and getting to the bed, he went to the window staring in the direction of her home. He hoped she’d be alright until the morning. Things like this never got easier, neither for him nor the person handling it.

Courage from Love

The night seemed as if it would stay uneventful, but right as it hit midnight, Cassie's phone went off. Knowing the only person who'd be calling her, she went and answered it with an eager smile on her face.

"Hey, what's up Haku?"

"I honestly wish it was nothing." His voice was irate, not very much so, but it was noticeable to Cassie who was more than used to his soft spoken tone.

"What's up? You sound upset."

"Sorry if I do. It's just so stupid. No one wanted to go back to the dorms to get this… thing they bought—I think it's some kind of drink—so I eventually offered to go get it for them."

Cassie sighed slightly. "Sometimes you're too nice for your own good."

"Tell me about it." He sighed. "I just thought to call you for some company."

Cassie smiled and sat up in her bed as she listened to Kohaku talk. As she did so, a resolution to this dilemma occured to her.

"Hey, maybe… I could just get it for you instead."

"Really? You don't mind?"

"No, I'm cool doing it for you."

He let out a relieved sigh. "Honestly, it'd mean a lot if you could."

Cassie then got up. "Where is it?"

"It's one door from my dorm. I'll just meet you halfway, so tell me when you get to my dorm."

"Alright, let me get changed real quick."

Cassie got up and went to her closet, however, it dawned on her that she'd be going outside on one of the busiest days on campus. Everyone was having parties, going out, or hanging out and she'd have to go past them all.

Worried about appearing strange amongst all the night owls dressed up, she decided to dress as she would during the day and found a decent enough outfit to go out in.

She picked up her phone and headed for her door.

"Oh, by the way, I think what they want is pretty heavy, so take your backpack."

"How'd they forget something like that?"

"I could take a guess."

Cassie giggled at Kohaku's more than annoyed voice, but she went for her spare backpack, the one she took on exam days when she didn't need to carry around five notebooks. It was styled like a bear, so she held it in her arms while leaving her room.

It didn't take Cassie very long to get to Kohaku's dorm.

"Okay, I'm here."

"Alright, they said the door should still be open, it's two doors from my dorm." Cassie followed his direction and went to open the door. It was unlocked, but unfortunately for her, a group of students were inside.

Cassie froze for a second and someone looked back seeing her.

"What are you doing here?"

"Did someone invite her?"

Cassie tried to speak, but nothing came out. A few in the room snickered at the frozen appearance of the girl before them.

Someone then said, "come on, what are you here for?"

Their impatience wasn't lost on Cassie and she just gave a small shrug.

"I'm getting something for a friend."

"Cassie?" Kohaku's voice on the phone snapped her attention back. "It should be on the floor near the bed."

Cassie looked there and found what Kohaku was referring to, she quickly went over and retrieved the bottle. She said nothing else and scurried out of the room. Some annoyed sighs followed her closing the door and Cassie just hurried out as quickly as she could.

"I got it…"

"Was someone in there?" He asked.

"Uh, yeah, I guess some people were having a party." Cassie left the male dorms. "But, where are you?"

"By the courtyard."

"Okay…"

Cassie couldn't help but think about the partygoers in the room. She hoped they would just ignore her, but a part of her couldn't help and think that they were laughing at her, getting enjoyment out of the encounter after she left.

Her walk down the sidewalk slowed and her very invasive thoughts came to the surface, making her gaze drop further and her mind run miles around the last few minutes. Every which way that could have happened went through her head and she almost wanted to revert time to do it again.

Cassie made it to the courtyard and found Kohaku waving her down.

He jogged over to her and while he had a smile on his face, it faded when he saw Cassie.

"Hey… what's wrong?"

She looked at him. "Nothing, it's just something stupid."

He pursed his lips. "Cassie, you're tearing up." He reached and grabbed a hold of her face in his palms.

They were cold against her skin, but his gentle touch was enough to mitigate that. Cassie's frown only got deeper and eventually she spoke.

"They just… I just think I bothered them. I'm sorry for making you worry over something like that."

Kohaku took a sharp breath. He gave Cassie a bitter smile and pulled her in for a hug.

"You're so cute… Cassie, you're making me wanna just stay with you for the night."

Cassie shrunk in his hug, but nuzzled against him as she always did. "No, you should go and have fun."

He pulled back and locked eyes with her. "No seriously, stay right here." He took the bottle from her bag and jogged off.

Cassie watched him drop the bottle off to someone. He spoke for a second and immediately turned back to Cassie where he rejoined her. Kohaku reached for her hand and turned them back in the direction of the dorms.

"Kohaku, no seriously, go and hang out with your friends."

"Does it seem like I was even enjoying that?"

She pouted. "No, but-"

"So don't worry about it. I'd rather help you not think about those jerks anyways."

Kohaku's hand was cold, but feeling it against her palm made her warm up, slowly that warmth crept to her face and her mouth turned up in a smile.

"Some day, your friends are gonna hate me because you always dip on them for me."

He chuckled. "No one would hate such a cute girl. Really, why'd you dress like that just to go out for a second?"

They stopped and looked at one another. "I'm… cute?"

Kohaku's face grew red as she looked up at him. He scratched behind his head and started to walk again.

"Well, I just think you could have dressed in any kind of way, really."

Cassie smiled at his embarrassment and happily walked beside him; knowing even if she was nervous and anxious, it didn't matter once they were together.

So, a while ago I figured out that video games can kind of answer what kind of struggles you face in your actual life.

When I realized this, I was playing Hatsune Miku and noticed I'm decent at most the hard and extreme songs, but I refuse to play them unless I can get a perfect chain on them. It's so bad, that even Cantarella's extreme and extra-extreme is unplayed despite me being able to play both of them. Like, I can learn pretty much all the songs, but if there's even one part I can't play, I won't play it at all.

That told me, just like in real life, I'm scared of failure even if I'll do 99% well on it. If it's not 100% (perfect) then I will just leave it until I rot and die.

I really hate that I'm like this.

But, on a less painful note, I also noticed that in games like The Legend of Zelda, I'm cheap as hell and will wait until the very last second before spending my rupees. Aka, in the older games, I would wait until my counter was max before buying potions or upgrades of items.

In the later games, I would avoid spending at all until I got the wallet upgrades and even then scarcely would I spend my money.

I think what that is relates more to me being perpetually broke irl. I'm scarce with my money because I know I should keep as much as I can for... whatever I may need.

Also, a not so good bonus is that I will play through most the Zelda games without potions or other healing items (like I usually play hero mode first if I can). Even in games where I have a potion in my inventory, I just won't use it when Link's health is low rip me in A Link To The Past. I think that means even irl I will destroy myself before even thinking about asking for help, which is obviously a terrible way to live :)