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deadtime-stories · 1 month

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Dailathi Are F*cked Up (By Human Standards)

AKA: Why Ilsifer And Rhionin Are So Weird

Long reference post.

TLDR: If there’s a kink on AO3, it’s probably a common and normal Dailathi trait.

ORIGINS OF THE DAILATHI

Long ago when the world was new—or at least back when most life was still brewing in the seas—there were gods. And like always happens when there are gods, they made people in their image. The problem with that is sometimes, making people in your image doesn’t work if you have to cut out certain survival mechanisms to get the look right. So, those people died pretty quickly in the great Kentucky Fried Free-For-All that was the early Earth, and the gods delayed their beta launch until a more favorable climate came around.

Except Kartha, who was considered by the rest of the pantheon to be a few lines short of a kilo, probably because she snorted them before presenting the universe with the first of her many works of living Art: the Cambrian Explosion.

Kartha isn’t considered an evil deity in the pantheon so much as a wickedly unpredictable one, the goddess of chaos and bringer of accidental death and dismemberment. Kartha didn’t create people in her image, she created whatever the hell popped into her head after doing copious amounts of the heavenly equivalent of drugs, and she quickly got too bored to stick around and see the results. So while the rest of the gods got together to create humanity as a joint project, Kartha was gluing together spare parts she had to create the deirada.

These were basically surface-dwelling demons. Not the hot kind of demons most of Tumblr wants to bang, but spindly-legged things with lots of sharp teeth and too many eyes and something that kind of looks like fur in places but isn’t. They were also very, very smart, created from whole cloth instead of slowly evolved from already existing animals, which made them more advanced than the early humans they shared a planet with.

As one might imagine, deirada treated early humans the way modern humans treat animals. The main difference was, you could tell when a deirada was into their version of bestiality because crossing a human and a deirada created a hybrid. These hybrids were mostly human in appearance but deirada in diet and behavior. Deirada hated these hybrids because they considered them human, and therefore animals. Humans hated these hybrids because they considered them deirada, and therefore demons.

Deirada kept on banging their human livestock and producing them, though, because…people are like that, I guess.

Eventually, with the help of the other gods, early humans advanced enough to overthrow the deirada and slowly hunt them to extinction. By this time, hybrids had already begun self-exiling from the society that hated them from both ends, creating their own hives and minding their own damn business. They avoided being wiped out simply because humans kind of forgot they existed…until 1606 rolled around and the portals opened, and they realized that as the only Earthlings with magic, they were kind of needed to help get this shit under control.

A NEW SPECIES

Over hundreds of thousands of years of staying away from humans and only reproducing among themselves, the hybrids evolved into their own species and cannot reproduce with humans anymore. They called themselves Dailathi, and settled their hives close enough to human civilization to occasionally go trade, but far enough to be left the fuck alone. They spoke human languages and used human money and followed human technology—it was easier than doing it themselves—but stayed socially separate simply because…well…to Dailathi, humans are freaking weird.

BIOLOGY

Like their demonic forefathers, Dailathi aren’t mammals. They’re hatched from eggs, which are generally laid in clutches of two or three, and the genes controlling their physical appearance have very little to do with the genes controlling their reproductive role. Dailathi have two reproductive sexes: keilir (singular: kael), or “seed”, and teunir (singular: tein), or “water.” Basically, teunir inseminate and keilir give birth.

In modern times, Dailathi have adopted the words “male” and “female” from humans to describe a hive member’s reproductive niche, but do not use “man” and “woman” because they simply don’t fit.

Physical appearance does not correlate with reproductive sex in Dailathi. Traits like breast size, hip size, height, voice pitch, body hair, and hormone balance are as randomly spread as eye color and hair color. Only Dailathi can spot members of the opposite reproductive sex without looking in their pants, by unconscious chemical signaling humans can’t read. Some females look and sound more like human men. Some males look and sound more like human women. Many are a mix of both, and still others surgically and magically change their bodies to better suit their own taste.

Dailathi live, on average, to be about 200 years old. They’re considered “seniors” from about 180 on, and are in their reproductive primes from about 20 years old until about 150 years old.

There are some universal differences between males and females, one main one being that males are omnivores while females are obligate carnivores. Another notable biological factor is that there is naturally only one female born for every twenty to twenty-five males. Dailathi practice harems, with one female having multiple males in their family units.

Female/female romantic couples will each have their own males in their household for reproductive and childcare purposes. Male/male romantic couples will often still join a female if given the chance (usually as a pair).

Whether sexually involved or not, one female to multiple males, all caring for children with no regard for their biological parentage, is the normal Dailathi family unit. Females do not have to be regularly having sex with males to recruit them into their household, and males do not have to be sexually involved with a female to be considered part of the family they’re recruited into. While it’s most common for all the adults in a household to be having sex with each other, whether they do or not is their own business and literally nobody is going to ask.

PHYSIOLOGY

Normal Dailathi heights range from 4’10” to 5’10, with a build that’s slightly curvier than the human average for the same height. Skin colors echo human tones, but with an either blueish or reddish tint, making some appear pale/sickly and some appear richly tanned to the human eye. Dailathi hair is always bi-colored, with a base of either dark brown or nearly white streaked through with a brighter, less “natural” color. Eyes tend to match the color of the hair streaks.

Dailathi can operate just fine around the clock, but are technically nocturnal and are at their peak at night. Their eyes have a nictitating membrane to protect while still allowing visibility; it’s tinted around the edge and more transparent in the middle, giving the appearance of turning the whites black when it slides in place.

Males appear human in every aspect. Females mostly so, except for sharp canine teeth meant for ripping meat. Females are much physically stronger than males, and much physically stronger than humans.

SOCIAL ROLES

Dailathi don’t have gender roles, because they don’t have the concept of genders. They do not have gendered pronouns. Dailathi have a single set of pronouns that apply to all individuals (sei/sar, with ‘set’ for possessive).

What they do have is a social hierarchy based on reproductive success. Most males will never get anywhere close to a female, let alone reproduce, which is why simply being accepted into a female’s household is the height of Dailathi social success for a male. Keilir raise their male children until their mid-teens, then leave them to their fathers until they’re old enough to strike out on their own, and it’s not common for mothers to help their male children find partners. They do remain close with their female children throughout their lives.

Male children who have sisters are as close to hitting the lottery as it gets. Dailathi siblings tend to be extremely close, regardless of age differences, especially if they’re born from the same clutch. If you have a sister to vouch for you, you’re pretty much guaranteed to end up in a family of your own eventually. Most females found their own early households with their brothers under their wing, then switch and trade with other females until they’ve replaced their siblings with suitable partners.

Females, then, have outsized social status in Dailathi hives. Males will often leave Dailathi strongholds to travel human societies, blending in secretly and building their own wealth and influence. Those lucky enough to find their own fortunes will eventually return to their hive during a mating season, just to try their luck and see if they can catch the eye of a polycule looking for a new addition.

Dailathi are not a matriarchal society, though. Neither females nor males control society, economic and legal power is still equally held by both. Nobody is getting abused or controlled or manipulated simply for being male or female, Dailathi are known to look out for each other regardless of family status. Social status, however, definitely leans toward females and their mates.

NSFW

In addition to the general havoc wreaked by the reproductive ratio imbalance, Dailathi have a fairly narrow mating season, lasting about two weeks in autumn. Consequence-free sex the rest of the year means they like to get freaky, a LOT. I think their patron goddess being one of painful death and spite probably already paints a picture of the kind of things the average Dailathi is into, but when autumn rolls around, things get really dangerous.

The mating season is generally when the makeup of a household changes. Underperforming males get dropped, partners that just aren’t meshing well get swapped, and unaffiliated males will try to shoot their shot. This is also when females who don’t yet have any romantic/sexual partners will be receptive to meeting new males, so participating is generally considered worth the risk.

The very, very great risk.

In addition to being carnivores, Dailathi females are many times stronger than males, physically. They also tend to be bloodlusting around this time, so while a male may get laid, there’s a 50/50 chance of being murdered during/after the deed if a female is just out looking for a fun night and not serious about expanding their harem. Being killed by your Tinder date (and possibly at least partially eaten) is the leading cause of death for healthy Dailathi males.

But, they step into that shark tank voluntarily, knowing the odds, and it’s kind of considered a noble death in their society. Plenty of well-adjusted Dailathi males stay away from the Hunger Games-style shit that goes down on the mating grounds, but you’re always going to have your All Star wannabes.

The Guys

Ilsifer is perfectly ordinary and uninteresting by Dailathi standards (except for that possibly being dead thing), but considered transgender by human standards. He doesn’t remember where he’s from, how he got to Seattle, or how he ended up in the Bay, but he knows he’s got parts humans assign “woman” status and he’s got surgical scars from top surgery. His scars are faded enough to be pretty old, and the shape suggests he had it done by human methods rather than Dailathi. He assumes, then, that he grew up in a human city—possibly even Seattle—and does not belong to any particular hive or family group. That in itself is very, very weird, because females do NOT leave Dailathi strongholds.

Also, it’s spring now, but come autumn he’s going to have to leave Seattle for a few weeks…or risk ending up in prison for murder when the wrong person hits on him during the wrong season.

As he’s currently living among humans and within human culture, Ilsifer identifies as a man and uses he/him pronouns.

Rhionin is considered male by both Dailathi reproductive standards and human gender standards. He is on the shorter side, with a higher voice and downier, “femalesque” body hair, but all humans see is a flat chest and a voice somewhat deeper than most women. His hips are wider than the average, but he can either play that up or cover it depending on how he dresses.

As he’s currently living among humans and within human culture, Rhionin identifies as genderfluid with a preference for male. He spends about 75% of the time presenting as a man and using he/him pronouns, and about 25% of the time presenting as a woman and using she/her pronouns.

#my ocs #worldbuilding #oc stuff

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deadtime-stories · 1 month

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Two Terrible People in One Terrible World

I threatened yesterday, now I'm following up. This is my working reference for future OC artwork. These are two of the four characters I recently made up specifically for drawing exercises going forward. Sketches, lil comics, full on Art(tm). I used the Baldur's Gate 3 Character Creation screen and a ton of mods to come up with basic models only. So no, these aren't perfectly as I envisioned. But they're close.

The World: In 1606 AD, the not-even-yet-considered theory of multiple dimensions was proven correct when something happened somewhere to smush another dimension into ours. The result of this astronomical Hulk Smash moment was the connection of our world with another that had completely different laws of physics, i.e., it runs on magic. People being people in every dimension, this started an all out war when the Magicians decided to do a little colonialism of their own.

Fortunately for Earth, the world now dumping wizards and shit into it through permanent portals had a much smaller population, so Earth just had to keep throwing Magic-Missile-fodder into the war until we outlasted them and won. The result, however, was vast swathes of Earth flooded with magic, and very much unlivable for the "civilized" sort.

They still managed to colonize around it though, and do every terrible thing you ever read about in AP History and then some, just on a timeline delayed about 20 years by the war and on a slightly smaller scale.

Present Day: It's 2024, and the world as you know it doesn't exist. Instead of large countries, most of Earth is natural, undeveloped landscape, with big cities dotting the globe where most people live. With its own ley lines supercharged and activated by the war--helped along by intermarriage between Earthlings and Magicians--Earth lineages have begun to develop their own natural magics over the last 400 years. Magic is NOT inborn, it's a skill anyone can learn, but some are more naturally inclined to succeed than others.

Setting: What, in our timeline, is known as the continent of North America, known here as Serathia. South Serathia encompasses what we know as Mexico and the southern half of the US. North Serathia, where these characters are based, encompasses what we know as Canada and the northern half of the US. There are no states, only regions. Laws are set by localities, though most abide by the Continental Accords, which is a basic list of rights and laws that are universal in member cities. Without getting into too much detail, this is based in Seattle City, the equivalent of real-life Seattle. Seattle City, however, is the main part of the larger metropolitan area of Seattle, which encompasses the eastern halves of Snohomish and King counties, the northeastern portion of Pierce County, and all of Kitsap County. There are no other major cities in what we know as Washington, Oregon, Montana, or the southern edges of British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. It's natural land dotted with small towns.

Society: Economically and legally, everyone is equal. Socially, society is divided between Civvies ("civilians"; a leftover term from the post-war rebuild era when "regular" people were not recruited into dangerous work as often because they were squishier than magic users) and Shinies (an originally derogatory term used by non magic users because magic tends to visibly sparkle when in use, and often leaves behind a fine, dust-like residue that leaves careless magicians very shiny indeed). Of course, non-human humanoids have also meandered through the portals over the centuries and settled in, both in cities and in their own enclaves. Not a lot of intermixing goes on there, though...Shinies only make up about 1/4 of the human population, and the other 3/4 can barely be normal about them, don't even ask a human how they feel about Trolls ("Snobby little know-it-alls too pampered to put down their caviar and ruin their manicures with real work," if you really want to know).

Religion: Here there be gods. Serathia, like much of the world, is polytheistic and follows a pantheon, most likely because those gods do really exist and do fuck around with mortals on the regular. In both the sexual and the "being a problem" sense of the term.

Name: Ilsifer. Likely self-named, as he currently doesn't remember who he is. No last name, he can't remember it and doesn't need one at the moment. Age: Idk. Neither does he. At least 35, though.

Carcass hauled from Elliot Bay a few weeks ago by the Coast Guard

Died, but got better

Probably(?) came back fine

Suspiciously familiar with what human flesh tastes like.

Somehow still knows about the world, just nothing about himself. People just nod in understanding when he says this. Pissing off a god and getting body-slammed into the bay is the general consensus

Gray-ish, pallid kind of complexion, almost like he's still dead

No heartbeat, btw. Doesn't feel that's important enough to ever bring up

Trans guy. Sort of.

Appears human, but is Dailathi. Dailathi are fucked up enough to need their own post; suffice to say, it's actually not suspicious that a Dailathi would know what human flesh tastes like. They do not out themselves or identify themselves to other species

Currently staying in a hostel in the Barrows, a seedy bay-side neighborhood that mostly comes alive at night

Also working under the table in the Barrows as a bouncer at Vespertine, a normal-looking burger joint that has a "speakeasy" in the basement where folks come to to indulge in illegal magical substances, and occasionally trade illegal artifacts in secret

Is 5'6". Does not care if anyone mentions this fact, since he's physically capable of lifting up to 600lbs without breaking a sweat

Nobody knows he can lift up to 600 lbs. That's Dailathi shit, we keep it on the down-low. He's just known as the mini firecracker who will break your fucking jaw if you get too pushy

Voice is far deeper than you expect when looking at him, scares a LOT of handsy dudes who think he's a cute girl

Name: Rhionin Winterbrooke Age: 157

Born and raised in Sacramento, a Dailathi stronghold humans tend to stay very far away from

Youngest of seven. Raised by mother and her six mates at the time, all of whom are his "actual father" because that's how his people do it

Has one sister, which is not abnormal but is rare. Also a huge stroke of luck. Not getting into it here..."male" and "female" go right out the window as soon as you take a half-decent closer glance at Dailathi

Left Sacramento at the age of 20 to learn a trade in Seattle. Also to stay alive. Unlike the omnivore boys, Dailathi girlies are obligate carnivores and...uh...literal man-eaters

Became a clerk to a private bookseller

Eventually got uncomfortably noticed by one of his boss' regular customers, a warlock named Cristophe

Eventually disappeared without a trace. Turns out, he also died. He did not get better.

He's still salty about it.

Has spent the last 130 years or so as a Servhant, a type of undead bound to Warlocks

Sometimes mistaken for Incubi or Succubi because they feed on blood but also absorb people's life force. Folks trade bits of their soul to Servhants for an unspeakably good orgasm followed by a really wicked high

Servhants filter those soul bits to the Warlock binding them; it lets the Warlock trade other people's soul energy to their patrons for power instead of their own

So Warlocks with more Servhants can trade more soul energy and get more powerful, creating more Servhants, etc.

This is all very illegal btw since Servhants are basically peeps you murder and bind to you as slaves. Bit unethical

Is one of five Servhants bound to Cristophe these days, basically spends his time getting whored out at Halcyon, an expensive private nightclub in the Barrows, owned by Cristophe

Very much a human trafficking victim, but also the insufferable type of guy you'd want to punch in the face. Two facts can and do coexist

Lives at Cristophe's private estate in Medina

Is only 5'8", DOES care if you mention it

Not that it matters, but can lift about 800lbs. This is NOT a Dailathi thing, they are as weak as regular human men, this is a Servhant thing

Follows Tethalyss, a goddess of death (generally of the slow, tortuous, painful kind), wrath, and spite, who is the patron deity of the Dailathi

#oc #original character #worldbuilding #long post #writeblr

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