The Edge of the Woods

Adriel | 27 | They/Them | Writing, worldbuilding, art, and character blog. Occasional Simmer. CC credits under Navigation!

[qu3ercus]

psychological horror: ❌

mycological horror: ✔️

[confusedcultist]

That used to be a person believe it or not, though what remains can hardly be called as such. Yes the spores have a way of changing things, the earth, plants, animals and people all alike. Do not believe yourself special little hunter, though you only see the mold when it fruits the hyphae root long before that. A corpse hunting a corpse, fitting no? One more turn of the Ouroboros of rot and rebirth.

[secondbeatsongs]

fuck it

behold my latest creation

yaoi paddle charcuterie board

[probablybadrpgideas]

Weird bullshit meta monster powers.

Makes everyone swap characters with the other players

Translates your character sheet into another system to fuck with you, the more damage it does the worse the system.

It does no damage IC but when you fail a saving throw the GM roundhouse kicks you in the face

Forcibly makes your dice diagetic

Replaces a random word on your character sheet with "dog" every time it hits you

Is the monster causing the scheduling errors in your games. Try and stop it when you haven't found a shared evening in 2 months!

Hides in board games like monopoly so when you pass Go it does you 2d10 slashing damage

Makes your GM less good at GMing, that's their excuse and they're sticking with it

Personally insults you OOC

The GM is actually their PC in this game of Humans and HOAs

Actually a made up monster being improvised by a nerd in-universe and if you hit it the in-game GM cries and the game ends

[qu3ercus]

I am a simple creature with simple needs

[riskofpain]

Thoughts on the Catharsis of Whump

I know this does not apply to everyone, but I think a LOT about how whump (and kink, even; sexual or non sexual) can be such a strong allegory for dealing with and processing trauma.

I've been dealing with emotional CPTSD for as long as I can remember, and that shit is COMPLICATED. It doesn't have a logical basis to it. You just feel like shit, you're scared and lash out and you can't find a reason, because there's not one inciting event, it's the amalgam of every little thing that's happened over time.

Emotions don't always make sense. You can tell yourself all you want that you're safe, that it's just your anxiety, that the absolute worst thing that could happen right now probably isn't all that bad. But it doesn't matter, your body reacts accordingly.

But you know what does make sense, more often than not? Pain. Physical, tangible pain.

I have a much harder time writing strictly emotionally hard-hitting scenes because they are so close to my own experience that things get...really foggy. When you're triggered by something, you can't always apply logic, because your instinct just reacts. It's trying to keep you safe, of course, but that doesn't always mean the danger is real enough to warrant such a response.

Being hurt, emotionally or physically, is often accompanied by a feeling of vulnerability, which is...really scary to a lot of people, and rightfully so--to be vulnerable is to not have control of your situation, leaving you open to harm. But when most of the pain you have experienced is so rooted in something as vague and ambiguous as emotion, it can be hard to pinpoint why something feels like a threat, especially if you think very concretely like I do. To take that core feeling of vulnerability and apply it to something that makes more sense, like an injury or illness, makes that feeling more concrete in a way that is much easier to explore--and by shifting the focus off of ourselves to a fictional character that we can project on to, it doesn't feel quite as daunting.

As a whole, I think roleplay and fictional narratives have the potential to be extremely effective avenues of processing complex trauma, if used in the right way. It's not an effective tool for everyone, nor am I trying to advocate some sort of DIY-trauma-therapy (there are a lot of complex factors that go into that, as well as background knowledge and safety measures that must be established), but I think it's pretty neat, and at the very least worth further research.

So, are we just sadomasochists in terms of fictional characters? Maybe sometimes. But for me, I feel like it's really no different from engaging in play therapy.

[qu3ercus]

some weird lil fey guys I drew the other day

[qu3ercus]

oh, they will NOT stop talking about you! it’s rare that they trust tangible beings to begin with, but ever since they went they will not stop asking to go back to the clinic. 

it would be adorable if it weren’t for the increasing amount of human teeth they have been hoarding on the false pretense that they are losing them as an excuse to return. people are starting to ask questions, and I’m running out of answers. 

everyone knows fey don’t have teeth. so silly.

[qu3ercus]

you have encountered

[DERELICTION DAN]

how will you proceed?

[qu3ercus]

some weird lil fey guys I drew the other day

[qu3ercus]

Wrendle the Wretched would like to make sure you're drinking enough water :)

[qu3ercus]

trying to loosen up my art style so I started trying to design creatures inspired by silhouettes of things I see in the woods. this was a hollow tree in Hoh Rainforest, it didn't turn out how I initially pictured it, but I'm trying not to get too caught up on details/making it exactly like the reference in favor of letting my art do its own thing

[qu3ercus]

sometimes your anxiety forgets that you're allowed to just feel shitty without it preceding a catastrophe

[qu3ercus]

anyway happy pride I am Still obsessed with these dumbasses

[qu3ercus]

smooth, axel.

[qu3ercus]

overall, they had a pretty good time, but mostly the camping trip just reaffirmed for Katra that she "still can't take these dumb motherfuckers anywhere"

[qu3ercus]

"ffs can you guys stop being relentlessly gay for five seconds I'm trying to enjoy my time in the jacuzzi"

[qu3ercus]

just some funky lil dudes.,

[qu3ercus]

I have been very much into drawing Creatures lately and I really like how this turned out