I am a SUCKER for Bug Fables and Hollow Knight (the. Cookie theme for my blog does not show that. Hrm.) but istg when I found out that crossover content for them exists I ATE LIKE A FIVE STAR DINNER.
Also… we know about that Surface town in Silksong. On the surface. Now I used to headcanon that the Desolate Wastes were accessible by the Forsaken Lands… but I have a better idea. Instead of Team Snakemouth stumbling in Hallownest…
Let’s say they got a request to find something in the outskirts of the Forsaken Lands. They get lost, and just keep walking, and walking, and walking… until they arrive at an empty town. The Nameless Town.
Team Snakemouth is now in Pharloom.
Eh? EH? SEE THE VISION???
Now… there are many other ways they could get there, but them arriving there just feels really cool. :)
I CANNOT DRAW RIGHT NOW, BUT THE MINUTE I CAN THIS AU WILL BE MY WHOLE CONSCIENCE
The succession contest as one giant conditional vow was already all but confirmed, but the framing of Kurapika's monologue during his nen class exposed a pretty big blind spot I'd been having.
(the Black Whale is just one big Seed Urn)
So, the nen-fueled power of the succession contest comes from accumulated risk. We know that. But up until now, I'd perceived the risk in question to be the obvious: death. Makes sense! But in chapter 411, Kurapika proposes that the real source of power isn't just each individual risking their life, but rather the system itself being designed with a loophole: you don't need to participate at all. There is seemingly no manipulative pseudo-coercion ability happening here, because Choice and Free Will are a necessity. If the forces-that-be could take away that choice and guarantee an outcome, there would be no risk. No risk=no power.
So it stand to reason, as Kurapika posits, that if enough people were to abstain, the whole contest would fall apart, and the dynasty itself would crumble. It makes sense; this is a system designed to propagate itself, therefore the sacrifice of an individual (well. many individuals) is not enough to let it run. It needs to gamble on its own existence. All that is to say: in order for the monarchy to stay in power, it relies on the unquestioning participation of its subjects.
"It's the ritual itself that's in a vulnerable position!"
Which brings me to my second point: in preparation for this chapter, I re-read 400-410 earlier today as a quick refresher--aka the negotiation game. And it struck me that the choice Borksen is contending with is a similar one: Morena offers her the "Yes" and "No" cards, one meaning power, the other meaning death. The only card that allows her to win is the "X" card: forfeiture. In Morena's rulebook, you beat the game by refusing to play.
When Borksen asks her why she would even include the "X" card in the first place, Morena explains the concept of nen limitations and vows being a shortcut to massive power. Then she stresses, once more, the power of choice. Borksen had read the writing on the wall from the beginning, and correctly assumed that the odds are stacked against her. But even when backing her into a corner, Morena genuinely does seem to value Borksen making the choice of her own volition (hence her disappointment abt the cheating), and I would wager that this sentiment stems from Morena's own experience with helplessness and suppression. So she makes the negotiation game in the image of the system that created her, and engineers an escape route. This is both a pragmatic choice (more risk = more power) and a philosophical one.
Morena understands the game she's playing.
Now, if we extend the negotiation game metaphor to the succession contest as a whole, you could say the "Yes" card is ascension to the throne and the "No" card is death at the hands of your siblings. Which leaves the X as the only true win condition.
Forfeiture is a refusal to participate. Without participation, there is no power. And without power, the system crumbles.
[Sponsored by @glarnboudin. Bone is a comic series that I remember reading and loving in undergraduate. And the "Stupid Stupid Rat Creatures" were my favorite characters. They pivot from menacing to comical and back on a dime, and have a very distinctive look. Their culture (or lack of it) has some very interesting world building implications, and they're one of the better riffs on the "evil minion species" in fantasy literature that doesn't go for wholesale deconstruction. However, they don't have much in the way of distinctive abilities in the comic. So I had to do some work to ensure that they were mechanically interesting.
A word about the name. In Bone, they are only known as "rat creatures", which says some alarming things if rats are sapient and seven feet tall. The name I went with was suggested by @abominationimperatrix. It's an Eastern European rat-ogre, but information on it in English is super sparse, to the point where different sources disagree whether it's Romanian or Romani.]
Shobolon
CR 2 NE Monstrous Humanoid
This shaggy, bulky humanoid has wide red eyes and a wide mouth full of sharp teeth. Its ears rise to a sharp point, and it walks on its knuckles.
Shobolons are voracious monsters that tend to live in large numbers. They are larger, stronger and slightly dimmer relatives of ratfolk, although the two species rarely interact on friendly terms. Their endonym is rarely spoken—most people just refer to shobolons as “rat-creatures”. Shobolons are omnivorous, but greatly prefer meat, and they don’t particularly care if their meat comes from sapient sources. They tend to fight from ambush, using their skill at climbing, swimming and squeezing into tight spaces to attack from unusual angles. They are fond of using the Intimidate skill to demoralize their foes, screeching hideously before moving to set up flanking positions or retreat from a losing battle.
Most shobolons engage in dramatic body modification. Their long scaly tails are docked shortly after birth (shobolon legends tell of these tails being used as handles by a wrestling demigod who humiliated them in the past), and their ears are cropped upon reaching adulthood in order to grant them a more threatening appearance. Shobolons do not have names of their own unless granted by a member of another species, or by their rulers as a reward for meritorious service. Despite their foolishness and lack of material culture, shobolons tend to be erudite, and like using long words in order to sound smarter (“hello, small mammal” is a common greeting/threat). Shobolons tend towards religion, and different hordes often venerate different gods or powerful fiends. Shobolons universally fear and hate dragons.
Shobolon Rulers
Shobolons are very long lived, and display indeterminate growth. One that lives for hundreds of years and feeds well may grow to immense size and power. This growth is somewhat disproportionate, as their arms do not grow to scale with the rest of their bodies. A shobolon ruler often uses titles like King or Queen, regardless of how many shobolons they rule over. Such creatures are Large in size with 12 racial HD. A shobolon ruler has improved grab and swallow whole with its bite attack, gains frightful presence as a special attack and has undersized weapons as an SQ. A shobolon ruler is at least a CR 8 creature—many of them have levels in fighter or cleric beyond their racial HD.
Shobolon CR 2
XP 600
NE Medium monstrous humanoid (ratfolk)
Init +5; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, Perception +4
Defense
AC 14, touch 11, flat-footed 13 (+1 Dex, +3 natural)
hp 19 (3d10+3)
Fort +2, Ref +4, Will +2
Defensive Abilities tight fit
Offense
Speed 30 ft.
Melee 2 claws +4 (1d4+1), bite +4 (1d6+1)
Special Attacks startle
Statistics
Str 13, Dex 12, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 9, Cha 10
Base Atk +3; CMB +4; CMD 15
Feats Improved Initiative,Skill Focus (Intimidate)
Skills Climb +10, Escape Artist +7, Intimidate +8, Perception +4, Stealth +6, Swim +10; Racial Modifiers +4 Climb, +4 Escape Artist, +4 Swim
Languages Common
Ecology
Environment temperate forests and hills
Organization solitary, pair, troop (3-8), army (9-24 plus 1 2nd-4th level fighter per 20 individuals) or horde (25-200 plus 1 2nd-4th level fighter per 20 individuals and 1 ruler)
Treasure standard
Special Abilities
Startle (Ex) A shobolon can make an Intimidate check to demoralize an opponent as a move action. An opponent intimidated by a shobolon cannot make attacks of opportunity as long as it suffers from a fear effect.
Tight Fit (Ex) A shobolon suffers only half the usual penalty to Armor Class and attack rolls when squeezing. Two shobolons can fit in the same space and fight without penalty.
I'm currently reading Bone and it's so good I literally can't put it down and read til three in the morning. Since I read using voices in me head for characters I thought I'd share them (also fancast for an animated series idk?)
It took me a bit to get Fone Bone's voice. As usual with the main character, I keep switching between voices. At first I had GF's Dipper Pines but then I switched to Mickey fuckin' Mouse until it got too silly with how dark the plot got so I finally decided on Danny Pudi. Specifically his Huey Duck from the Ducktales reboot.
Smiley was an instalock. He EXUDES Goofy energy. Just by the backcover alone I gave him Goofy's voice and it fits perfectly. He WILL WAAAHAAAOOOOEY unironically. 10/10
Phoncible P. Bone my boy. My chadded king. The one who bears the star. At first I gave him Danny Devito's voice seeing how he is a small, crafty asshole. Kind of like his part in Jewel of the Nile. Then it transformed into Gilbert Gottfried for a little bit, but from the great cow race unward I stuck with Grunkle Stan. Their basically the same character. Jerk with a heart of gold, but that heart of gold is suppressed by their love FOR gold. World is literally ending and this guy is more busy with the currency they'll be using
Thorn. 10/10 gal, I get why Fone (and by extension Jeff Smith I see you dog) likes her so much. At first I had Wendy Corduroy's voice for her, but it made me pepper her dialogue with several 'dude's which didn't work after the reveal so I switched to Kimmy Kim Possible.
I have a generic tough grandma lady voice in my head for cool grandmas, but can't for the life of me remember who that actually is? So just putting Betty for Gran'ma Ben here lol.
Love Lucius so much. The man has the world on his shoulders and has to deal with Phoney. I can see most people giving him a gruff, tough guy voice, but I can hear the Red Forman dumbass whenever he has to deal with Phoney.
Another Instalock. His lazy demeanor alongside his lazy smile, made me think of JCA's Ratso. Clancy Brown's dopey voice fits him well and can go more baritone whenever he kicks ass.
No explanation needed. I do have a need for Quiche now.
I clocked The Hooded One as having Jeffrey Combs' haunting voice as TNBA's Scarecrow. Knowing the reveal it should change, but for I dont know his haunty whisper is etched in my brain.
I like deep voices sue me! I think the beast, but more growly fits Kingdok really well. No other explanation.
Another no-brainer. They both carry themselves the same way. Haughty, yet with that dangerous feral edge.
compilation of a robot-rouge design I put together for a comm client, blastermath, being pretty much a remake of an older mecha rouge I did a long time ago.
I made her normal first (featured last) but was told to make her Bigger. I was more than happy to
I wish I was a female tiger because then if I was talking to someone and I was getting off topic I could say “but I tigress,” and then kill and eat them because I am a tiger
Okay someone please tell me who knows: *what* personal pronouns were the characters using in the Japanese translation of Animorphs? I have to know!
We settled on, if we had to guess:
Visser Three: Absolutely using ore-sama when he's showboating, most likely ore to his own men, and most likely jibun to the Council of Thirteen if the plot ever got that far
Jake: Most likely using boku; He's thirteen when the plot starts
Rachel: Either using atashi or atai depending on context
Cassie: Most likely watashi, actually
Marco: Depends heavily on context, most likely switching between ore and boku
Visser One: 100 percent using atashi
Tobias: Probably mostly boku, but watashi is also likely, since he's a little skittish, if not exactly polite
Elfangor: Probably watashi when he meets the kids
Guesses are based on this helpful guide: https://legendsoflocalization.com/articles/personal-pronouns-in-japanese/
But it's just a guess. Does anyone know?!
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