rambling under the cut abt the various paranormal species of where the sun sleeps and why my vampires are definitely different i promise
the vampires: are basically drug addicts lmao; newly-changed vampires are colloquially called Needlers because well...needles, they’re involved in how they feed, on account of not having fangs yet; fledglings (technically Needlers are new-borns) and full vampires (Sires, Dalton has just reached this point and he was initially turned like 50-odd years ago, and his transition was comparatively quick) are actually sensitive to the content of blood and can indeed get fucked up if they accidentally take a sip off an alcoholic without checking first, some of this do that intentionally (again, Dalton)
the shapeshifters: usually call themselves shifters and are sometimes called changelings in a derogatory way (changelings are different but related, like humans are different but related to chimpanzees and bonobos) are born faceless except for a gaping mouth lined with Way Too Many Teeth; they eat people to assimilate their desired physical characteristics but can also assimilate knowledge and memories, it’s usually inexperienced shifters that do this tho (see: Zel acquiring a PhD’s worth of knowledge of philosophy in their quest to get One Blue Eye); shifters are genetically compelled to perfect their physical form, but what this actually would look like nobody knows, the goal post moves all the time
dragons: are shapeshifters but are not shifters; they live in largely nomadic tribes and are native to a continent south of where the main cast of WtSS live; prideful of their scales and claws and therefore fucking terrible at passing as humans, which contributes to their isolation; some dragons really like humans and have kids with them and other dragons don’t like that one bit but will still take the half-human offspring into their tribe bc they’re still family; loyalty to one’s kin is considered the highest virtue in their society
