// Xenofiction - Tumblr Posts

they should do an MMO where everyone is a shapeshifter and you can go live with animal herds in the wild if you want for a time but you are never entirely one of them, noting that the wild animal npcs partake in behaviors with or make calls to one another that you may not understand the logic of but can try to learn to repeat the musical cadence of. this is true of even the human npcs, whose musical language is the most intricate and complex to learn of all and who will ostracize you readily if you do not use it properly. other players are not marked as players and there is no chat feature. as an elk you may not know if the wolf chasing you is an npc or another player who does not know the same of you, and there is no chat. maybe the players would develop a sort of musical cadence to identify other shifters. no one would like this game and it would not be fun. but i would like it

The nightly vigil was not made for me

I was here to guide, not to bite

I should’ve just stayed with my family

Now my life is a painful strife

Heavily inspired by the art of Whyn Lewis

Spanish meme bc yes.

*Adapts himself and fucks you (up)*

Original under cut lmao

I GET MEAN WHEN IM NERVOUS LIKE A BAD DOG!!!

I GET MEAN WHEN IM NERVOUS LIKE A BAD DOG!!!!!

Imagine if you were a sheepdog that has to muzzle itself to not bite the sheep that it’s supposed to take care of even if they hurt it. Can you imagine it?? Do you even need to???

Uniiman mount. They are present in almost every region either for travel or silk or both.

Something I forgot to add is their face plate rotates depending on how their body is angled. It's limited in movement but it gives the animal better spacial awareness. They have few eyes spots in their armor too but less sensitive.

More to their biology - while looking like a giant lobster they come from the same "fish" ancestors as Uniima. They belong to a group that kept their 3rd pair of limbs for locomotion, though these limbs are more specilised than the rest (in uniima the 3rd pair is part of their internal organs).

Been keeping this away for long since its a very out of context specific stuff.

These are the Heads - the mostly spiritual leader of the central Foru micro-state collective. Their role is to be a guide for all the leaders (archs) in central Foru and speak for all of them on an international level. They also bless lands and people and generally are well-liked by them. They can make big decisions, but it's ultimately on the archs if they comply (but the pressure is strong).

Every head has a more specialized role, each representing a 'sense' of their one shared soul (hearing, seeing, touch, thought...) and people they are patrons to (the old, the "rich", the leaders, the priests...). Each central Foru micro-state usually has its favorite head that they want to see the most in their community when bringing them news or blessings.

here are closeups

The Heads are the center of a religion practiced in the region. In short - the Heads share one spirit that in ancient times belonged to a priest who misused their power to get to the spirit world and instead became forever stuck in the material world. After many reincarnations, the priest became a wise leader who learned to speak with the spirit world and make final peace between the worlds of spirits and the material.

I would need to go into more religion details to go over that but that can be a separate post. Let's talk about how they get their role.

A 'competition' is held to determine the best leader, most spiritually attuned, most well-thinking, and best-presenting individual. The Heads in position at the time with a few other high-ranking individuals will judge the participants and then make their pick at the choosing ceremony. Luckily there are not too many to choose from, there are many requirements to participate.

However, the one picked isn't one that will become a head, they would be far too old at the time. Instead, they will force their system to make a rare phenomenon happen. This means making more of themselves with cloning (having babies grow out of diploid cells with no need for another person). This is usually achieved when under high amounts of stress and loneliness.

The uniima egg naturally holds 4 larvae but usually only 1-2 develop fully while the rest becomes food for the surviving ones. This clone egg has 4 identical whites (pre-babies) in them that get special care to ensure at least 3 survive. There have been heads with one member before and with 2 and 3, but 4 is a miracle as the bottom corner larva almost never develops enough to hatch. This egg is very lucky.

The identical quadruplets are given to be raised in different environments. These environments will decide what they represent as adults. It will also give them better perspectives of the world, making it easier/more difficult to make big decisions when the time comes.

Additionally, because there are 4 heads this time, a new environment had to be introduced. This environment was that of small communities, minorities, and generally people living in poorer conditions (yes, for the past Heads, war was more important than their people suffering (it's a very central Foru thing)). Unfortunately for The Ear, they are not respected everywhere, and many people assume them to be a fake among their siblings.

You can also see the heads have each their own signature and each Head generation has their own symbol that is recognized outside their writing systems.

Which one of your creatures tastes best when cooked?

I was planning to do a bit more than this but sadly my mind is not doing the thing (the focus). Also- the "tastes the best" here only applies to some people of a single species.

This is a parasitic fruit (it does not aid in reproduction of the plant) you only really see once a year. It's often hard to spot and even harder to harvest at the right time as it's one of the few mobile fruits that changes its host plant regularly. (And when ripe it explodes and rots away very fast.)

However, because of its size, rarity, and traits, it's considered a delicacy. If you were to compare it to human foods, this fruit is fatty, very sweet and the bottom part can taste quite meatlike.

It's best served steamed or 'grilled' with raw eggsseeds. No seasoning added. Don't overcook it or it becomes mushy inside.

Can be made into gourmand alcohol.

Foru flora fruit reproduction - for context: The fruit of Foru trees is alive. Small flying animals, sometimes difficult to see with a naked eye, spread 'pollen' (sometimes also spores/seeds) of plants and later some of them attach themselves to a new plant. There they begin injecting the plant with signals that make it start feeding them. As the small organism matures it loses its eyes, legs and stops producing wastes. The plant, now connected firmly to the animal grows it's seeds inside the animal, using it as protection and 'incubator' of those seeds. In the meanwhile the fruit also gets fertilized and produces eggs in its top layer. While it depends on species, most often a ripe fruit dies and opens its back to release hundreds of small frying creatures. The remaining fruit might get eaten by another animal or fall on a comfy spot where seeds can start growing.

These designs might not be final. Still working out Foru flora.

I just stumbled upon your blog and I think your creatures are so interesting!!

Could you talk a little more about the sexual dimorphism of your bipedal species (Is "Slomen" the right name?), and what the "crop pouch" the females have is that you mentioned in a recent post? And also how the reproductive process works with the "meat egg"? Do the males have an "umbilical cord" like appendage to nurture the meat egg? How does that work?

Okay so.

Sexes/gender

Slomen have two sexes. The females are stereotypically the men of their society and males are stereotypically women. Some cultures have more accepted genders than others. Slomen also apply this inverted human-gender system to animals.

To make reading easier I will use masc and fem for the sexes.

On average, fem slomen are lighter with smaller muscles. They are very noticeable for having big display feathers on their back arms. Few cultures see them as sexual and thus hide them/cut feathers - only allowing fresh parents (they can be used to carry smaller children or the megg) to show them.

Fem slomen also have big air sacks on their chest. These are mostly for personal expression and can be used to signal things like status. With some training, the sloman can also use it in speech. "Lady talk" has many different meanings and uses among cultures.

Deeper within the sack is a food storage organ reduced to only be used during early childcare.

Also, fem often have brighter colors, though limited to browns to yellows with sometimes black or white.

Masc slomen are slightly bigger. They lack long arm feathers and developed air sacks.

On the right side (usually) is a small slit. This is where the "meat egg" leaves the body when fertilized or discarded. If fertilized, the masc sloman's bigger back arms hold it to the body (but cloth "backpacks" are also used).

The megg and other

Sloman are a little complicated when it comes to reproduction. The dedicated organs are in their short necks with transfer happening in their mouth. For most of the year, these organs are hard to feel but at the end of winter, they become active. Until late middle spring to the beginning of summer slomen are more interested in partnering (with many attached traditions). Most cultures have a matriarchal family with one fem (in one generation/partnership) and multiple mascs (who are often not expected to stay for long).

The one fem shares her drops (bigger multicellular seed) with her partners. After a few days the masc slomen have visibly swollen neck side. After that, the meat egg drops out of their neck opening. First, the umbilical stays short, staying close. When its size starts approaching 10cm, it falls to the shoulders and then its growth continues consistently. After all the organs are either used up or reorganized for the baby's shape - right size and weight, it separates from the internal megg wall. The umbilical slowly dies off and the parent stops producing soup.

After a few more days, the baby eats its way out of the remaining megg wall.

By that time the fem sloman already has the "crop pouch" full. Babies use their giant curved tooth to pierce the pouch skin. It heals fast but it takes time to get used to. The pouch content is a lot like the masc sloman's soup.

The unfertilized megg is actually capable of growth even without fertilization as it's a separate haploid organism (just like the drop). But it's rare and unwanted.

Slomen don't have the easiest time reproducing and since it happens basically once a year with a bunch of possible complications, they find large multi-generational families very important. Everyone helps a little with the wave of children. Also yes, twins can happen but it's usually lethal for at least one.

I know this hasn't been very detailed but I hope it explains a bit. I didn't want to go deep into reproduction in case it would be too icky. At some point I will show general vertebrate reproduction (on the sloman continent), with some Kula context likely.

The Kadez is a medium-sized river chelicerate, living in particularly pure, well-oxygenated streams. It tolerates very cold temperatures and as such is often found in mountain streams. They turn over pebbles with their legs in search of small invertebrates, roe, and other small prey to eat. It is quite an active creature, and in areas where they are abundant, they'll often come up onto land for other food sources. That said, they are quite skittish, and surprisingly fast -especially underwater-, so it isn't always easy to approach them.

The bibby is one of the largest species in the nudel family. Adaptable and resourceful, they can be found in a variety of environments, provided enough humidity. Primarily a grazing animal, they also have a fondness for fallen fruits. Their large fangs are mostly used for defense or to pierce the tough skin of some of the fruits found in their natural habitat.

[1] [tba]

Fox against the Gods

When you curse the Gods,

When you scream at the sky asking why,

How could they be so cruel as this?

Remember the fox in the farmyard.

Think of the fox that knows nothing but survive,

Think of all its instinct, all its hunger…

Think of this simple minded thing from a world so different to ours,

And understand:

The fox sees the farmyard, but doesn’t, because how could it understand the curling, hulking, dead structures.

The fox creeps into the coup, and it leaps, and eats, and sings its joy to whatever insane creature had procured a thousand nights of meals for it.

The fox flees the farmer and it’s gun, this angry monster with mad works that defy nature, avoids traps, cruelty like they’ve never seen.

The fox tells their offspring of the wonders of an unknown provider, tells them to howl thanks.

The fox tells their offspring to fear the beast that walks on two legs, tells them it is not predator, but a monster that will steal them with its dangerous hands.

The fox says these things in the same,

breath, never realizing its the same hands that breeds the hens, the same hands that pull the trigger.

The fox will see the monster and ask why, ask how.

But, it will also love that same monster for its gentle works of miracle.

So when you curse the Gods,

When curse inconceivable things,

Remember the fox.

And curse yourself.

The Extremophile server

The extremophile server

The extremophile server

Th.

Join for more updates about my gay little novel. I also have the first three chapters available to read for free on there, with more to come!

Extremophile is my illustrated Modern fantasy/Xenofiction novel about a pair of star crossed lizards and the two extremely dysfunctional women they have to coax into doing their bidding. It is a coming of age story about people who are over being alive, a romance between the grotesquely unlovable and a story about power told by those without any.

Server is 18 plus, rules include “don’t be a huge dick,” among other things

—

My strength was of no concern. I found myself on top her chest. I climbed until her eyes were beneath me. Two fragile lumps of gelatine. One wrong comment and I’d pop them like ripe grapes. My tusks rested a tiny distance from her pupil. My claws forced her lids to stay open. I hinted panic. I found pleasure in anger.

“I won’t let you look at me without respect,” I shouted. Her gaze flickered. I pressed down. My legs were light, my whole body trembled. She could shove me off and kill me. But she didn’t. Somewhere in her primitive synapsid brain a survival instinct had kicked in. Something paralysed her.

I paralysed her.

—

Small sketch I made inbetween editing chapters. Riina and Serva are getting along just wonderfully.

Quick gay little doodle of my favorite faux aristocrat

Great. I behaved like a mindless animal. Then again humans had instincts too, and my situation had been particularly dire the past few days. Surely she would be understanding. It was best to not overthink. I held a fortune of rose quartz over her head. My insurance.

She coaxed me onto a glass table. I took refuge in her shadow, trying to keep my pulse down. This was it. No crevices. A huge wall of nothingness ahead. Anything could dive down and catch me. Anything could jump from the shadows.

Laila lit a candle. A small, domesticated fire.

“Are you sure this is fine? It’s so open out here,” I asked. I stared into the flickering flame. The buzz of crickets struggled to fill the silence. “Nothing is going to hurt you, you can come closer if you’d like,” she said. I leaned against her hand, covering at least my back. She remained calm. My eyes slowly adjusted to darkness.

Our surroundings were a void. A mass of trees beneath us, so domineering and ubiquitous that it was as if they were a single entity. Above a certain threshold everything ceased.

“When you look up there is nothing,” I said.

“Are you talking about the sky?”

At last! My heart is complete again!

I had such a blast working on this. It is everything I ever dreamed of for an animated film of this story. I always imagined the film that never came to be. The rights had been bought by now defunct FILMATION back in 1981, but for reasons I do not know of, it never materialized. Granted, rights are often bought for books in the anticipation of a film getting made, but they never happen. That is a lot more common than we think. I imagine it was much the same for this film, so I doubt it went into pre-production or anything before it ceased to be. It's a shame, as I would've loved to have seen this film as a kid alongside Fox and the Hound, Watership Down, Secret of NIMH, Balto and American Tail. I think I would've had a childhood crush on Bracken. Or maybe Rune... I was a weird kid who often attached herself to strange characters, which still follows me today.

Anyway, it was fun to visualize how a VHS cover would've looked like had that film been made, complete with frayed edges and general wear and tear to show its age and how loved it was in someone's home.

And yes, the U rating was completely intentional, both for laughs and face-palming irony. It cannot be an '80s animated film without a good dose of traumatic imagery/themes somehow sneaking past the radar. I like to think the person in charge of rating this "film" fell asleep at the desk or didn't even watch it and just slapped the U rating on there. Because, all animal stories are for children, right?

As previously mentioned, I look to capture various major scenes in the book in this Don Bluth '80s film style in the near future. I just need to warm up to this style before then and compile a list of the scenes from beginning to end. And maybe make a few model sheets to ensure the characters are on-model between scenes.

Thank you for looking.

Duncton Wood © author William Horwood

Art by Me [HT art | 2024]

PLEASE PUT IN THE TAGS WHAT GENRES YOU READ AND WHAT FORMATS YOU BUY

If you read primarily ebook or audio please pick whichever one you like whenever you do collect physical media. I know we're all busy and I plan to produce all the formats eventually I'm just collecting my own market research here.

Examples in case you're not familiar with these terms!

My copy of Unseelie has a dust jacket. The cover art is printed onto the protective sleeve but the book itself is plain blue.

My Wingfeather set is Case Laminate. The cover art is printed directly onto the binding which is tougher and glossier and can have foil or other effects.

Bindings vary by publisher but here's these two just for reference.