Forgive me; my sting

{Helminth Shitpost Blog?  Helminth Shitpost Blog} {Likes/Follows from redacted-metallum} {Also runs voidtongued}

[dracoz0lt]

feralframe diet headcanons

Been thinking about Warframes with biological functions, and what they’d eat if given the chance. Sure, a frame can survive on energy and health restore in dire situations, but let some of these fellas out onto the plains and I bet they’d go buckwild.

Carnivore: Chroma, Khora, Lavos, Nidus Valkyr, Zephyr

Herbivore: Baruuk, Oberon, Rhino, Saryn, Titania, Wukong

Eats bugs: Ivara (and others, mostly out of curiosity)

Souls, I guess?: Nekros, Harrow, Sevagoth

Feeds from the infested somehow: Nidus

Mag recharges via…well, magnets. You can find her by the fridge with your parents’ vacation magnet collection all stuck to her face.

But don’t open the fridge: Frost is napping in there

Plug into wall outlet and charge overnight: Volt

Runs out of the house with a piece of toast in his mouth like a teen who’s late for school in a shounen anime: Gauss

The bones of her enemies: Hildryn

Would prefer to eat a fully prepared meal, like normal, civilized people. Maybe at a restaurant or something: Excalibur, Limbo, Vauban, and plenty of others

i’ve been up since 4 am folks so that’s all i got

[helminthvirus]

I believe I wrote that Nekros is a carrion feeder! Mostly because Ravens.

Maybe they do something like how ravens find wolves and show them where deer are because they want fresh meat?

[dracoz0lt]

i could’ve sworn i saw something about how nidus’ infestation is a different strain than, say, the infestation thriving on deimos. can anyone confirm or deny this, or do we just not know?

if nidus was created to control the infested, i’m guessing that either the original nidus (prime) was a) either extremely OP, or b) infected by a similar strain that doesn’t corrupt its mind - but these are just theories, as far as we know

[theterribletenno]

Okay so the lore on technocyte is stretched pretty fucking thin but there are like five known strains you can find in the origin system.

1. Ancient Orokin technocyte.  It’s literally what all Orokin technology was made of after the Old War.  Literally all Oro tech that survived the Old War is made of semi-organic nanomachines and their byproducts.

2. Helminth Strain.  This is the strain that created Nidus, and possibly (but not assuredly) all other warframes, along with a few less controlled bio-forms like the unique helminth charger.  Helminth is also known to be able to repair and modify all warframes.

3. Tengus’ strain.  Technically unnamed, but Tengus’ experiments are what caused the infested to resurge in the origin system after having been almost eradicated.  Doctor Tengus is the most important NPC that has never appeared in game.

4. Mutalist Strain.  Created by resident shitlord Alad V because he hadn’t made the universe a hard enough place to live yet.  It was Alad’s Mutalist strain that gave the infested their ability to assimilate machine entities like moas and ospreys.

5. The Gray Strain.  This is what took over Deimos.  We have almost no info on this strain except that it is considered distinct from the other strains.  What is apparent about the modern Gray Strain is that it took over an entire planet and has existed long enough to evolve its own self-contained biosphere complete with infested plants, fish, predator-prey relationships, and a pair of Wyrms that battle each other for dominance over the hive mind.

[dracoz0lt]

thanks SO much for this explanation!

[helminthvirus]

troublesome nyx anon's tenno back again with an update dfskjlddf, all good news over here! she made really good friends with excal, we got her external speakers so she's not bothering banshee or umbra anymore, she loves having long psychic convos with revenant and confusing everyone except me, it's great

Excellent! Glad to hear she's adjusted well!

[helminthvirus]

Heyyy so is it normal for Wukong(s?) to just sorta... throw themselves into overly dangerous situations for little to no reason? Because I've got a Wukong Prime, and he's been. VERY determined to fistfight Eidolons since I got him, and I'm not sure why?

The issue here is your definition of dangerous and your Wukong's definition of dangerous may be two different things.

It's similar to how a Harrow using Covenant, a confident Nidus, or even a cocky Rhino won't bother getting out of the way of weapon fire. It simply doesn't register as a threat for them.

So yes, this is normal behavior, but not behavior that should necessarily be encouraged.

[helminthvirus]

(OOC: Just thought I'd let you know I think this whole idea of Warframes as super pets is awesome and it's inspired me to write a fic. Also, will you do other frames in the future, namely Khora? Sorry for hiding on anon, a bit shy, also maybe someday I'll want to actually get in on the rp side of this you seem to have going...)

Ooc: thank you!! I've had a hard time keeping the care sheet thing going just because of spoons and inspiration but I'm always really honored when people like them.

[helminthvirus]

Help my valkyr shuts all the lights off and physically drags me to bed at exactly ten pm every day, regardless of what I'm doing. Once even in the middle of a mission and I still have no idea how she even got there.

Congrats on the sleep schedule

[redacted-metallum]

Election results aren't in yet but like. If you voted for trump know that i hate you personally and also unfollow me and eat shit and die xoxo

[helminthvirus]

So, I was quick to find a Xaku to take care of once it was discovered where they had been hiding- and I'm proud to say that my Xaku has acclimated to the orbiter quite well! (They like to sit in the Transference Chair room and vibe. Void vibes, I guess?) The only problem is that they keep telling my other Warframes "Gender is a lie, set yourself free". While this isn't entirely wrong, it's frightening a few of them. Do you have any pieces of advice to handle this?

Gender was made up by the Corpus to sell more bathrooms

[helminthvirus]

Yes, hello, my Chroma woke up today and seems determined to groom me incessantly and also keep me nearby as some sort of floof when he naps. Is there a way I could lightly convince him to not groom me all the time as i'm pretty sure my hair is saturated with Chroma smell now?

Congratulations on your new parent

[nek-ros]

I mean, i have found nothing about feral warframe documentaries, but the closest thing I can offer is the 'care sheets tag on the helminthvirus blog

oh yeah i forgot about those! would love to draw the whole feral frame documentary idea with those in mind sometime lmao

[helminthvirus]

Hey thats me!

[helminthvirus]

BIG big big question, okay so you remember the troublesome nyx anons, i'm that same tenno's excalibur (ordinary model) and holy shit?? i heard about the heart stopping from my tenno and her very distressed ember after the fact but all of us on the orbiter basically lost power. completely. running on batteries not all of us had, it seemed for a few minutes like we might be straight up dying. and there's a lot of us on this orbiter. any tips on how to recover from this shit?

This is a little beyond me. I was aware of it, but I am not... I was not affected by it in any way. I have no way of understanding, or helping.

My only suggestions are time, and rest.

[helminthvirus]

Question, I know that Nidii and Trinity's aren't supposed to get along, but mine do? My Trinity and Nidus often can be found grooming one another and layout on top of one another. Is this concerning behavior or did I just get lucky?

It’s certainly not something to be concerned about unless one or both is showing sign of sickness.  You may have just gotten lucky!

[helminthvirus]

How to care for Ecalibur Umbra:

...

You don't, he's a person

He can take care of himself

Maybe learn sign language so he can actually talk to you, damn.

Or get one of those magnet poetry things

He wants you to know you're being a shitty roommate (my words, not his. He was nicer about it)

[helminthvirus]

That's just being nice!!

[helminthvirus]

He can get his own therapist!!!

But he would also probably appreciate the gesture...

[helminthvirus]

How to care for Ecalibur Umbra:

...

You don't, he's a person

He can take care of himself

Maybe learn sign language so he can actually talk to you, damn.

Or get one of those magnet poetry things

He wants you to know you're being a shitty roommate (my words, not his. He was nicer about it)

[helminthvirus]

That's just being nice!!

[helminthvirus]

How to care for Ecalibur Umbra:

...

You don't, he's a person

He can take care of himself

Maybe learn sign language so he can actually talk to you, damn.

Or get one of those magnet poetry things

He wants you to know you're being a shitty roommate (my words, not his. He was nicer about it)

[helminthvirus]

How to care for your Nidus:

This is very important: DO NOT BATHE THEM. Nidii (also acceptable: Niduses) are self-cleaning. They have a reputation as a vector for disease, but they spend just as much time grooming themselves as your average Kavat.

If water is provided, your Nidus should use it to bathe themselves when needed. No intervention on the Operator’s part is needed.

Make sure they are well-fed. Nidii are Infested. They are naturally inclined to consume. These destructive habits can be curbed by supplying your Nidus with enough biomass. Raw meat is preferable, but kibble is cheaper and will supply your Nidus’ nutritional needs. Just be careful not to over-feed, most Nidii will eat even when they aren’t hungry and a healthy Nidus naturally looks a bit bony.

Let them hunt! A happy Nidus is a Nidus that can explore all of their natural behaviors. If you can’t provide enough enrichment on your Orbiter, there’s no shame in taking your Nidus to other locations in the system so they can hunt and kill. This includes other Infested, so if there’s personal ethical issues with letting your Nidus kill, Eris is a good location for them to do what they were built to do. Rathuum and the Index are also areas where many Nidus keepers allow their Warframe to behave naturally without much guilt.

Remember: this is a partnership! You want your Nidus to be happy and healthy, and your Nidus wants to work with you! There’s give and take in everything, and while your Nidus may sulk after being told NO, it’s good to set firm boundaries.

It may hurt, but do not feel ashamed if you need to rehome your Nidus. They aren’t an easy Warframe to care for and have more complex needs than a Mag or Excalibur. Some inexperienced Tenno do not realize what caring for a Nidus entails and find that they aren’t capable of properly caring for their frame. There is a narrative of finding “forever homes” for Warframes, but not everyone is capable of caring for every type of Warframe.

If you can’t care for a Nidus, but still want a frame with similar temperament or looks, many experts suggest Inaros, Revenant, or Nekros. Unfortunately, none of which are beginner frames, but may be easier to care for than a Nidus.

If you have personal problems with a carnivorous Warframe, Nidus is not for you. While omnivores, Nidii need meat in their diet, otherwise they will become anemic very easily. Oberon is a naturally herbivorous Warframe that shares some natural behaviors with Nidus.

[helminthvirus]

How to care for your Harrow:

Harrow is one of the more difficult frames to care for.  It is vital to understand their behavior and biology before even attempting to care for one. First and foremost Harrows are what is called a Support Warframe, and without at least one other Warframe present for the Harrow to focus their energy on, they can develop severe anxiety and long-lasting behavioral problems.  Ideally, your Harrow should have a “flock” of 2-3 other Warframes to keep track of - 1 is the bare minimum.

You cannot provide your Harrow a mirror and say that is enough.  All Warframes are extremely intelligent and can pass the mirror test.  Harrows will fixate on mirrors, but it is because they are very clean Warframes and will use them to make sure they aren’t dirty - not because they think there’s another Harrow.

Harrows are omnivorous Warframes who have higher protein requirements than most other Warframes because of the hardened carapace on their backs and shoulders, which is grown to protect the Harrow from some of the impact-focused displays they do.  These are natural behaviors and should be permitted, although they can seem alarming and painful to the inexperienced observer. 

The hardened plates are shed every few months - an average of 2 to 3 for most healthy Harrows.  Underfed Harrows will shed less frequently and may bleed after impact displays because of fractured plates, and overfed Harrows will shed more frequently and develop soft plates and may injure themselves with their impact displays as well.

A healthy Harrow has a good metallic sheen to the plates on their back and a slim waist.  Many Harrows slouch forward and may have health problems later in life as a result, but that is expected and considered standard for the Warframe.

Once mature, your Harrow will likely want to nest so keepers are encouraged to keep chains and cloth for them to access and provide some sort of kennel or box in a dark, cool environment that mimics  Harrows’ natural nesting caves.

Remember: there is no shame in having to rehome your Warframe if you find you cannot care for them.  Harrows are highly social and fit in to any existing dynamics readily.  If you are looking to get a Harrow to fit into an existing group, it is encouraged to look for a rescue Harrow from a shelter.  Because of the demand for them, there are some unethical practices around them.

Harrow is one of the types of Warframe that has a Graxx form.  Graxx Harrows behave similarly to their standard counterpart but have different nesting requirements.  Graxx Harrows will not use chains to nest, and prefer open areas over caves.  Fortunately, Graxx Harrows and Harrows with the Graxx gene are easily identifiable because of the skull pattern on their front, or the ‘hooded’ appearance of their heads.

Graxx Harrows may have worse eyesight because of their hoods, but ultimately the primary difference between Graxx and Standard Harrow is their nesting behaviors.