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a-twistedheartslonging · 2 months

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PLS, I need more non-human twst au (maybe with male or gn yuu? If I ask kindly, with a cherry on top 🥺🥺🥺) + (you au gave me some ideas, great au, yummy, delicious ate it all up)

Seeing this pleases me greatly, I wasn't expecting to actually get asks from people.

Hmm, should I keep using non-human, or would demi-human be better for this? Just Beasts? 🤔

Anyway, I’m not sure what you want specifically aside from the “male or gn yuu” bit but what's currently been in my head with this...

Nonhumans are in general stronger and have better senses than humans. Faster, stronger, sense of smell, night vision. When your friends are around you might get a startle at night or when the light goes out because of glowing eyes. They are also typically bigger except for the ones related to prey animals. What's small to them could be considered average for us.

Peets, hooves, and talons are common. Some wear special shoes, have you ever seen the hoof boots they have for horses? Imagine that but in an NRC design.

Hormonal schoolboys already get into plenty of fights but adding beasty guys to the mix? You will likely see many scuffles. Particularly over things like snacks, hang-out spots, dominance, and crushes.

Humans are the minority in Twisted Wonderland. The beasties were always better suited for surviving and the humans that remained could get by because of magic. So, you not only being a human but one without magic makes you rare…and vulnerable.

Your scent is different from the other humans here and the guys aren't sure why. Cuz you're from another world? Or lack of magic? Maybe it's just a you thing. Regardless sniffing someone isn't considered exactly rude like it is in our world, so you often get some curious noses pointed your way.

Many find your clawless monkey hands and round ears both weird and cute.

You will get scented by your friends often and need a lent roller for all that fur that’s going to get on your uniform.

A lot don’t care much about gender or sex when it comes to a would-be mate, though there are at least some with a preference. For a lot of them, the usual stuff like strength, personality, and skill are what they look at but something particularly important to many is scent. The fact that yours is unique has gotten you more attention. Careful complementing the scent of one of the guys though cuz you're pretty much saying “I think you're breedable.”

Another thing with the whole gender and sex thing, there are a lot of animals out there that can change their sex, have both sex bits, etc. That also applies to the non-human guys that are based on those animals. So, any genderqueer-ness isn't something they’ll bat an eye at.

Many court the animal way so expect gifts of shiny things, food, and clothing covered in your guy's scent, or a piece of themselves like a feather or scale. Might want to make it clear you don't want anything…that they hunted. Stuffed animals are a lot better than dead ones at your doorstep.

You will be groomed, cuddled, licked, nipped, and bitten by the one you accepted as your mate.

That's all I can think of at the moment but if anyone wants to add or share their ideas/thoughts please do. The interaction makes me happy and helps these thoughts grow and become something more.

Like possible fics. 🤫

(Please tell me what kind of creatures you think the boys would be.)

#nonhuman au #au #twst #twisted wonderland #twst x reader #ask #asks

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funhouse-mirror-barbie · 3 months

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Rating Hazbin Characters based on if I could tell what animal/creature their supposed to be:

Disclaimer: THIS IS NOT MEANT TO BE AN ATTACK ON HH’s CREATOR/ARTISTS.

I really hate that I even have to say that, because art critique is part of engaging with art and design. People shouldn’t have to worry about being bullied or sent threats because they don’t like every single thing about a piece of media. I’m not saying these character designs are “objective bad” or anything like that.

I just realized that I didn’t know most of the designs were apparently based on animals for a long time, or until it was pointed out to me, and wanted to kind of review/examine that.

Ratings below:

ANGEL DUST—Spider—2/5:

I’m giving Angel a 2 because his design does look spider-ish to me, but I had to be told he was a spider to see the spider-elements to his design. I don’t think I would have figured it out unless told, the only time I think I could have figured it out on my own is with the spider web elements in Addict. The spots under his eyes being extra spider eyes kind of makes sense, but I don’t think I would have realized they were supposed to be eyes if I hadn’t been told. They did actually get drawn as eyes briefly when Angel got mad in the show when it came out-so that was actually really nice to see.

ALASTOR—DEER—0.5/5

Literally nothing about this man’s design makes him look like a deer to me. I gave the half point for the teeny tiny antlers at the top of his head, and because I do think his shoe print being a deer hoof pattern is kinda clever. But i should be able to see his antlers easily if they are an important part of his character design and if he’s supposed to be a deer. I also thought he was an OWL for like. 2 or 3 years while the Pilot was being animated b/c of his hair tufts. They looked like a great horned owl’s feather tufts to me.

VEE—no I’m not calling her that—MOTH

Pilot: 0/5 // Final Show: 1/5

I wanted to add Pilot Vee b/c other than Charlie her design was probably the one that seems to have changed the most. Pilot Vee gets a 0 sadly b/c, while I actually don’t mind her base design that much, and think she looks good, literally NOTHING about her looks like a moth. Is she even still supposed to be a moth? Asking genuinely b/c that’s what everyone says but if that’s the case I sure as hell couldn’t tell and still can’t.

Show Vee gets 1 point b/c I DO like the design element they brought back from her first ever design where her hair is supposed to mimic a moth’s wings laid back. I thought that was clever and fun. It’s the only thing tho that kind of points towards her being a moth. Again if I’m wrong and she’s not supposed to be a moth lmk but every source I’ve seen says she’s a “moth demon” or that her design was based on a moth.

HUSK—CAT—5/5

I mean just look at him. That’s a fucking cat alright! Only thing I may have docked a point for is the feather tail thing, but tbh it’s still very clear he’s a cat. If someone tells me he’s not supposed to be based on a cat tho I may lose my mind.

NIFFTY—???/5 (???)

Is Niffty supposed to be an animal? No, right? She’s just like. A weird creature/girl. Please tell me Niffty is not supposed to be a certain animal or anything b/c I have NO idea what animal that would be.

VALENTINO—MOTH—0/5

I literally had no idea this guy was supposed to be a moth until his coat turned out to be wings for some reason. Nothing about the coat made it look like wings to me. I thought his “antennae” were just feathers in his hat. Even when his coat became wings I was still very confused and thought for a moment he was supposed to be a butterfly? But no apparently he’s a moth. He’s got extra arms but I didn’t think that was specifically a “bug/moth” thing, b/c so many of the character designs in HH have extra features. I’ll be real I really don’t like anything about Valentino’s design and don’t understand the appeal of him at all. Sorry Val fans :(

KATIE KILLJOY—PRAYING MANTIS—0/5

I’m really sad I have to give out another 0 but like, I had NO idea that Katie was supposed to be a Mantis. I’m not sure if that’s even accurate like maybe that was just a rumor/speculation?? Right? Please let me know b/c I seriously NEVER would have guessed that she’s supposed to be a Praying Mantis. Even in her other form, I would have thought they were trying to imply she’s a spider…why did they give her 4 eyes? I can’t tell if they’re supposed to represent pseudo-pupils or a mantis’ ocelli but I never would have thought of them as that. I just thought she was like. A scary monster white lady/“karen”-type 😭

CHARLIE—PUPPY/PORCELAIN DOLL/LAMB?GOAT? THING???—2.5/5 (?)

So, based on the creator/character designers statements from a podcast, I believe that Charlie is supposed to be a sort of…amalgamation of the above? But honestly I’m not sure. I’m that statement they mentioned she had a lamb or puppy nose, and I think they mentioned before that her heels are supposed to look like hooves? But also the creator made a tweet saying they never intended her design to be a goat, so I don’t really know what she’s supposed to be. I gave Charlie a 2.5 b/c she DOES look like a porcelain doll to me. Or like. A. Clown??? Cause of her cheek marks. Idk. She at least looks like one of the things she’s “supposed” to be according to the creator, and I can see the puppy element with the nose if that’s what was intended. The lower ranking is more because I’ve heard MULTIPLE things about her design elements so I’m not sure what the intention was with her.

I would have bumped her up to a 3 if I knew what she was supposed to be, but b/c it’s been stated that she’s based on several things it’s hard to tell, and I can’t actually tell if that’s still the case.

———

I may do another one of these with some other characters. There are a few in Helluva Boss that I couldn’t really read either but most of those designs make much more sense to me. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

#hazbin critique #hazbin hotel critique #hazbin hotel critical #hazbin hotel criticism #character design #character design convo #funhouse convo #character design critique #character designs #art #animation #media criticism #media critique #media conversation

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nunalastor · 2 months

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Honestly I wouldn't be surprised if there were specific shoe makers tailored to hooves individuals, I mean, hooves seem to be a fairly common thing in Hell. In case you didn't notice, all imps have hooves, Charlie has hooves, and I suspect she gets that from Lucifer. I imagine all of their shoes are tailor-made for hoof support

👀

#hazbin hotel #meta #nunalastor asks

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missedditart · 6 months

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Along with my Lackadaisy hyperfixation I've also become obsessed with under the devils moon by @libras-interactives. I absolutely love their ocs and can't wait to see more of them in the story. I made some fan designs of them and thought it couldn't hurt to share them. I had a lot of thoughts about their designs so anyone who is interested can read about that below. Also, English isn't my first language so please ignore any spelling mistakes and such.

Malwina

Malwina's design was really fun, also the first one I did. She is described as having black fur and hair and orange eyes. I knew if I wasn't careful she could end up looking like Ivy, so I made her hair color brighter than her fur color and also made her hair curly/wavy. I also emphasized the eyes as they're often pointed out in the text as big and pumpkin-like. I wanted her to look curious but maybe a little unsettling if she stares at you too long. I also gave her soft shapes and rounded years since she is very friendly albeit a bit pushy.

Máire

for Máire just mostly followed the description we get of her, calico, auburn hair and green eyes. The thing I had to think about for this drawing is what kind of clothing she would wear. I went between thinking she would prefer something stylish or something comfy. I'm not an expert on 1920s fashion so I mostly looked at old clothing catalogs to get a feel for the clothes she could wear. I settled on something more in between a comfy shirt with a stylish skirt. I based the tarot cards in her hand on Pamela Colman Smith’s designs. Also since she is wearing a shirt I couldn't show off the heart fur pattern on her chest but it's definitely there.

Sylvester

Sylvester doesn't have a very striking design but that's the point. For his facial structure i took some inspiration from Asa Sweet and Bobby Bastion from the comic but I also tried to make him stand out on his own. Other than that I kept close to the text, gray suit and graying fur. I was tempted to give him a colorful gaudy tie, maybe something his wife insisted he should wear. To make him more interesting but again he was supposed to be drab and unassuming. So I decided against it. (I still headcanon that his wife gives him gaudy ties and insists he wear them and he cant say no to her.)

Flynn

Flynn was the one I had the most ideas for but also the one I'm the least happy with the result of but might as well share it. We haven't gotten many physical descriptions of him and what we get is somewhat vague. I also haven't played all the backstories so there might be something there that I've missed. But from what we do get he is often described as odd eyed and two faced, this gives me the impression he has a chimera pattern. We haven't been given any specific color so I chose what I thought fit best. black and bluish gray to make him cold and dark looking, i gave him green as an accent color. I probably went a bit heavy on the devil shape language but it's fun so… I also wanted to color the tip of his shoes white or gray to make them look like goat hooves but they ended up looking too much like bowling shoes so I decided against it. He still has a hoof-like pattern on his shoes which probably isn't very historically accurate for 1920s men's shoes haha. And lastly his cane is only described as black and ivory but nothing specific on the shape. I figured giving it some interesting motif would be fun so I went with a snake. specifically a black mamba witch don't look dangerous until you get too close or they open their mouth. I'm sure a fitting metaphor could be made from that. My design for him will probably change if we get new info about him later in the story but so far this is how i imagine him.

#art #my art #lackadaisy #Under the devils moon #interactive fiction #fanart

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nekosabina · 2 months

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Sooo, lately, I have seen a few Hoof Trim Videos on TikTok, especially from Nate the hoof guy. And those got me thinking. We do have a few characters in Hazbin Hotel/Helluva Boss who have hooves. Mostly the imps but also Charlie and Alastor are seen with hooves.

I know Alastor has shoes on, and it could just be drawn on his shoes, but there is also a canon merch mouse pat that shows Alastor with hooves.

So I was wondering, do they need trims for their hooves? Are there professional hoof trimers in hell? I imagine it would be just like in reality that their hooves need regular trims just like nails, but it's hard to do yourself. Also just like in the videos I've watched, there could be issues like defects or something stuck in them, that has to be professionally treated.

Most videos I've seen are about cow hooves and I think most hooves in the show are goat-like hooves or for Alastor deer hooves, so I don't know if the procedures would be the same, but it's still fun to imagine the character going to a trimmer.

Since I'm a sucker for Alastor whump and I think he is someone who wouldn't admit he needs help, even if he is in obvious discomfort, I got a specific scenario stuck in my head. He wears shoes most of the time but his hooves still get defects from time to time. And sometimes he does walk around without his shoes, especially if no one is around to see him, or maybe just when around Rosie, because it actually is good to feel his feet on the bare ground in between.

Eventually, he actually gets a bad defect and something even gets stuck in there, but he ignores it at first. At some point, he starts to feel pressure in his hoof and it's harder to walk without some discomfort. Discomfort turns into pain and he starts to lame while walking. He is careful to not let anyone notice and even goes so far as to teleport everywhere even if it is just a few steps, just so he doesn't have to walk in front of others. But the rest of the hotel does figure out what's going on. When questioning him about it he just shrugs it off, but they, especially Charlie are not happy with that at all. During some activity, she somehow gets him to walk around and notices his lameness. She privately confronts him about it and assures him there is nothing to be ashamed of, after all, she has hooves too, and experiences issues like that herself as well. She offers to call her personal hoof trimer, Nate, but he refuses at first, saying he can take care of it himself. After some arguing, she convinces him to agree, if she promises to keep this a secret.

Imagine Alastors annoyance if the hoof trimmer tells him to lie on his stomach so the heel is on top because it's easier for him to work on the hoof. At first, he regrets agreeing to it, but as soon as he feels the pressure in his foot leaving he is instantly relieved. But then the trimmer puts a block on the other claw and puts a big wrap on, and Alastor is annoyed again because he realizes even if Charlie doesn't tell anyone this will be hard to hide. However the trimmer explains, that it won't be able to heal otherwise and he will come back to check on it in a few weeks. Alastor is not happy about that news, but goes along with it anyway, since he is at least not showing lameness anymore.

Now I'm also wondering what other kinds of ailments demons with animal forms could get, that are specific to the animal they are representing?

#hazbin hotel #helluva boss #hoof trimming #alastor #charlie morningstar #alastor hazbin hotel #alastor whump #nate the hoof guy

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bigalockwood · 4 months

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August and Rousseau

I’ve outed myself as the #resident horse expert (thanks @youngroyalsconfession for the title I’m genuinely elated bc I’ve never gotten my own online moniker lmao) and I think it’s time that I contributed some more unasked for and useless horse knowledge to the YR discussion. This has been sitting in my drafts for ages and since I don’t see myself finding any time to research this further in the next few weeks, I thought I might as well post it before season 3 drops. Plenty of posts have been made about how the August-Rousseau situation could play out, and I don’t want to talk about those theories today, because I have anything to add right now.

As has been pointed out many times, horses are expensive, at least in western, industrialized countries. They used to be a necessity for most people, because they were a mode of transport, used to harvest food etc. This is still true in many parts of the world, but not Western and Northern Europe. There, horses have become a luxury, and are usually notoriously expensive, especially if you can’t keep them on your own grounds and produce your own hay. And even then- vet bills are painful to look at, and there are plenty of other costs, too. So, August most definitely won’t be able to pay for the monthly expenses that come with having a horse, at least not if he gets no financial aid by the court or doesn’t sell some of his assets. And even then, I’m not sure what they would say when they learn that they are financing a horse of all things (especially since August has zero interest in or knowledge of horses). In the following you can find a rough overview of just how expensive owning a horse is. Keep in mind, these numbers are generalized. I’m not from Sweden, but another European country, and even if I were, prices fluctuate a lot depending on the success of harvest, proximity to large cities, services offered by the stable, etc.… But maybe it can give those of you less familiar with horses a better idea of just how fucked August actually is.

Stable: this variable is already very hard to judge. You can find fairly cheap barns, but you usually have to do at least part of the work yourself, too (just imagine August mucking out Rousseau’s stall lmao). Feed is often included in the price, doesn’t cover any special needs, though (hay is included, but anything else you have to buy yourself). However, Hillerska is a prestigious school. They have a groom (our beloved Marcus) to take care of everything the owners don’t want to do (mucking out, feeding, taking horses out to the pastures and then back inside). You can find yourself with anywhere between 200- 600 Euros per month, depending on the services offered. Knowing what we do about Hillerska, you can expect the cost to be at the higher end.

The farrier should come every six to eight weeks and, again, costs depend on what work needs to be done. It can be anywhere between 50 Euro (bare hoof, only need to be trimmed) to close to 200 Euro (horse shoes for all four hooves). As long as Rousseau isn’t being exercised he’ll most likely only need a trim.

Insurance depends greatly on your horse and its value (it’s hinted that he is valuable in the show) but generally costs between 50 to 150 Euro per month where I’m from.

Vet costs (assuming your horse is healthy and you only need to get the recommended vaccinations and check-up’s as well as anthelmintics) will usually be around 400 Euros a year and can go way up, depending on whether your horse has any special needs. Rousseau seems to be healthy, so we’ll assume he only needs the bare minimum.

Based on what he definitely needs to buy/pay for, the annual cost would be somewhere between 3400 and 12.400 Euro. Which is a super rough estimate and doesn’t even cover any extra expenses (Rousseau most certainly doesn’t only eat hay but also other feed specifically for sport horses). A horse can easily cost up to 21.400 Euro per year. August saves some money because he doesn’t take any training sessions and thus doesn’t need to pay for a trainer. He could also lend Rousseau to the school and let other students ride him; a deal like that would reduce how much he needs to pay for the monthly care of Rousseau.

But either way: August has to pay between 295 and 1800 Euro per month. If he wasn’t struggling financially, he probably wouldn’t even notice such a “small” expense. As it is, he can’t even pay his own tuition. There’s no way he’ll be able to pay for a horse.

(Would also like to, again, state that this is extremely generalized; I just wanted to highlight how much a horse usually costs).

#young royals #august horn #rousseau #yr #young royals analysis #sorry for this weirdly specific niche topic?#talking shit for the hell of it

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ikibli · 11 days

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Non-Human Design 2: Leg Morphology

Digitigrade vs Plantigrade vs Unguligrade

The difference is easy. Digitigrade organisms walk on their toes and sometimes the ball of their foot. Plantigrade organisms walk on the sole of their foot. Unguligrade animals walk on their nails(hooves).

The joints in a digitigrade leg are arranged differently- what many people think of as a dog's knee is actually their ankle, sticking out backwards.

Left to right: Plantigrade leg, digitigrade leg, unguligrade leg. (Phalanges are highlighted in yellow, nails in brown, metatarsals in purple and tarsals in red.)

Advantages and Disadvantages

The main advantage of digitigrade and unguligrade legs is that they allow for more speed, more shock absorption and quieter footsteps. However, they are less stable and more extreme postures may make kicking impossible.

Plantigrade legs are stabler and better able to bear weight than digitigrade or unguligrade legs, but slower. They also make it easier to not fall over when kicking, especially for bipeds.

Non-Plantigrade Bipeds

There are two ways you could do a digitigrade or unguligrade biped.

The classic design is to just push the top of the lower leg backwards, shorten the leg bones and lengthen the foot bones. This ends up with a backwards "knee" and the foot and thigh in roughly the same positions as a human standing on tiptoe. Exactly how far the ankle joint sticks out is variable, though the thigh usually tilts backwards on the more extreme versions.

The foot may be a paw or hoof, or more like a bird's.

Theropod dinosaurs are also digitigrade bipeds- you can just tilt the torso horizontally and add a mostly-rigid tail for balance, with the legs roughly centered between the head and tailtip.

Note that many human positions are impossible or strange-looking for non-plantigrade bipeds unless they have extra joints. They can bend their legs at "mid-thigh" in addition to the hip, but can't bend their "ankles".

They can't sit with their legs crossed or bent, only with their legs fully extended. Kneeling is possible, but it would either basically be a squat with their buttocks resting on the top of their ankle joints, or bending at the mid-thigh, lower legs flat on the ground with the balls of the feet in the air.

Kneeling and sitting would still be strange-looking if they have extra joints, but less so. However, those extra joints offer up all sorts of possibilities for weird positions, especially lying down on their front- with a hinge joint between the metatarsals and tarsals, they could rest the balls of their feet on their buttocks while keeping their shins and thighs parallel to each other and the spine. A condyloid joint in the same place would allow rotating the lower thigh, "shin" and foot independently from each other.

Fashion

Of course, clothing has to be designed specifically for non-human anatomy.

The simplest solution is to simply not have them wear footwear. Of course, footwear is always useful and stylish, not to mention mandatory for full-body clothing like spacesuits.

Socks work pretty well, maybe with holes for claws on the toes. So do high heels, ankle braces and leg warmers.

Knee-high boots also work well with little adaptation- basically just remove the heel from a high-heeled version. (Or keep it and make it longer.)

Shoes that only cover up to the ankle on a human would basically be dog booties, with one or more straps holding a flexible tube onto the foot and lower leg. Hoof boots also exist, and are used on horses.

Pants would work as normal, but they'd need to be roomier and have a seam behind the ankle if they go past the ankle at all.

Toe-claws and hooves could probably be painted with nail polish or manicured.

#nonhuman design #xenofiction #design tips #writing tips

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eggsnatcheskneecaps · 9 months

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Does...Caprico have hooves

I mean ik in canon he has shitty shoes but To You does him have hoove ?

Hmmmm. I'd say he could have a hoof design for his prosthetic leg. Maybe he's got multiple designs. But otherwise I think his. Actual. Meat leg is a normal leg, although he could also make some specific boots that could incorporate into a design like that (not the white shitty shoes they gave him. What were they thinking-)

#ask #lunanitic-moon #caprico #shining nikki #sn

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snowyh2o · 3 months

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So, since tumblr refuses to let me post polls on mobile, here’s my question in text form:

What deer species specifically do you think Alastor is or is based off of? And why is it an Elk—

(And let me know why!)

Why I think he’s more Elk than other deer:

He makes Elk noises

His hoof print shoes resemble Elk prints, not deer prints

His antlers grow out to the side, forwards or backwards, but are generally straight and don’t curve back the other way

His antlers are generally shown with one long main antler and spikes coming off of it, and no extra spikes on the spikes when they’re big

His ears are pointed and triangular shaped, not rounded

We never see his tail (Elk tails are very small compared to their body size, he’d definitely be able to fit/hide them under a pair of pants no problem

He could also just be a mosaic of different deers. For instance, his tiny antlers when he’s not being big and scary resemble Pronghorn horns. During the battle with Adam, his antlers have multiple branches like a cross between a Mule Deer, an Elk and a Caribou. It’d be really funny for big bad radio demon to have a very fluffy tail like White-Tailed Deer.

#hazbin hotel #Alastor #Alastor hazbin hotel #deer

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riveroracle · 1 year

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Krampus: The Dark Shadow of Winter

By: Christina McCarthy

While many figures in pagan & witch folklore are shrouded in layers of mystery, some stand out as a little stranger than the others. The more I dig to uncover the true nature of Krampus, the more an ethereal snowy mist seems to gather, further obscuring him into the realm of whimsical Yuletide mythology. Perhaps this is how he’s come to inhabit such a unique place in the psyche of modern people around the world.

There is debate about how & when the Krampus legend came into being. Some say he’s a sort of pre-Christian deity, the son of Hel, Norse goddess of the Underworld, but evidence for this theory is nonexistent and appears to be a very modern addition to Krampus lore. Other sources say his festival in Germany and throughout Alpine Europe started only a few hundred years ago, a now faded older tradition from pre-Christian Germanic paganism adopted into its modern form by the Catholic church to subdue pagan influences around midwinter. Some classic depictions include chains, to show the power of the Christian god over the “devil”.

This famous depiction shows his one cloven hoof and one clawed bear foot.

Images like these, often featuring poems and season's greetings, come from Krampuskarten, or Krampus cards, often whimsical and humorous greeting & post cards which were exchanged around the holidays, starting in the 19th century. He is often depicted mischievously pursuing beautiful women in a Cupid-like fashion, punishing and chasing weeping children, and accompanying St. Nicholas.

His name appears to come from a combination of a Middle German word, “kralle”, meaning “claw”, and a Bavarian word “krampn” meaning dead, shriveled, or lifeless, connecting him with death mysteries. He is depicted as an often hairy, black or brown, therianthropic beast, part man, part goat, with cloven hooves, reminiscent of the satyrs of Greek mythology. He's also commonly shown with sharp fangs, a red lolling tongue, large bulging eyes, and a single clawed bear foot. There are other regional variations of this spirit, with similar features & mythic function - Knecht Rubrecht and Belsnickel in Germany, Schmutzli in Switzerland, Bartel in Austria, Zwarte Piet or "Black Pete" farther west, and many other midwinter demons. There's even a feminine version - the goddess Perchta lives on today through a similar tradition, Perchtenlauf, where the "ugly" and "beautiful" Perchte or Percht, her hoard of Krampus-like spirits, stage a mock battle in the streets as perhaps a symbolic battle between death and life occurring at midwinter. Some consider this to be a precursor to modern Krampuslauf celebrations, yet the Perchta tradition continues to exist alongside Krampus today.

The widespread prevalence of such similar traditions gives rise to the theory of a class of spirits like Krampus whose names and specific lore vary by local region.

This map shows Alpine Europe - the highlighted area shows the location of the Alps, but of course the Krampus tradition stretches beyond the exact borders shown.

Map source: https://alpshiking.swisshikingvacations.com/where-are-the-alps/

Regardless of his origin, today Krampus strikes a cheerful holiday fright into the hearts of children and adults alike. It’s said that he punishes the children on St. Nick’s naughty list, whipping them with a bundle of birch switches called a "ruten bundle" or sometimes a whip, or kidnapping them in a sack or basket on the eve of St. Nick’s feast day. The punishment is said to fit the crime - the lightest sentence being handed a single birch stick, as if a reminder of which path to choose, and the naughtiest children being dragged to hell or even drowned or eaten by Krampus! Instead of the Christmas Devil's lumps of coal and harsh sentences, good children would find little gifts filling their shoes from the jovial Saint Nicholas, who is often depicted dressed as a bishop with a golden ceremonial staff as pictured above. Sources below have more information about St. Nick if you want to learn more about the minor saint we now call Santa Claus!

In Germanic Europe, holiday festivities in December are first heralded by Krampusnacht, meaning “Krampus Night”, and Krampuslauf, the “Krampus Run”, where revelers dress up in extensive costumes with furs, masks, and horns to run the streets and terrify the townsfolk, inspiring Yuletide nightmares of the Christmas Devil.

This practice may have connection to the pervasive European myth of the Wild Hunt, where dark forces - often depicted as a hunter on horseback and his hounds, among other dark pagan imagery - parade through the skies around midwinter, carrying the souls of mortals over wintery skies to the afterlife. Both Krampuslauf and the Wild Hunt may partly be reminiscent of an ancient cleansing ritual where disguised townsfolk would run the streets, ringing bells and perhaps rattling Krampus's chains, acting as a hellish hoard to scare away unwelcome spirits. To extend the conjecture even farther, some draw a link from Krampus to the witches' horned god, due to his similarity to "wild man" therianthropic figures such as Pan, Cernunnos, and Herne.

Once the children have been sufficiently frightened into another year of their best behavior, the Krampuses traditionally drink alcohol in celebration. The drink of choice, for this after party and for offerings to Krampus, is schnapps. The Krampuslauf tradition is believed to be around 500 years old, and while many attempts to quell these celebrations have been enacted by oppressive forces, from the Catholic church throughout several centuries, to the Christian Social Party of Austria with their famous propaganda pamphlet titled "Krampus Is an Evil Man", to the Nazi Party, the Krampus run is alive and growing today.

From a Krampus celebration in Austria.

One of the most famous festivals takes place in Munich, Germany. Among their famous Christmas marketplace, filled with glittering lights and symbols of Catholic advent, caroling, traditional treats, and the glow of a modern city, Krampuses can be found running around giving folks a chilling holiday scare, reminding them of a time gone by when the fear of winter’s darkness kept everyone warm and safe inside their homes on the eve of December 5th.

Krampus in a getaway car! We often think of a tradition like this as distant history, so seeing a depiction made during a period of industrialization is a little mind bending!

I personally believe the modern resurgence of Krampus is related to a collective yearning, whether conscious or unconscious, to honor the darkness of the season. What’s become a heavily Christianized (and commercialized) “holiday season” of constant flashing lights and warm familial celebrations, was once more widely regarded as a time of death, darkness, and difficulty. In the depth of winter, when resources and warmth were scarce & daily life was focused on enduring the season, celebrations of the sun were an ode to survival and hope that life would return to the earth again. Krampus represents this inescapable reality of the darkness and hopelessness we experience when the sun is at its weakest, when all the earth holds its breath, silently praying for deliverance from night’s bitter shadows.

Sources:

Note: I'm loosely using Chicago style format, unless there isn't enough information to bother, in which case I will usually just post the link.

🕯️Bustamonte, S. (2018) Krampus Spaß, The Wild Hunt: Pagan News and Perspectives. Available at: https://wildhunt.org/2018/12/the-murky-origin-of-the-krampus.html.

This was an especially rich resource! It contained a lot of detailed information that I’ve never heard before, but most of the new content presented, I was able to verify by looking at other sources. It also lists a book source that seems interesting - books aren’t foolproof, their information should still be verified, but a website listing a printed source is a good sign the information is likely to be correct!

🕯️Krampus. https://brickthology.com/category/banishing/

This was an interesting resource with a wealth of information, which was not sourced and the author seemed to be a random unidentified person, so I still cross referenced the information. This person seemed to have a good working knowledge of the cultural traditions which may be from personal experience, and that kind of information is important in research about regional folklore.

🕯️ https://www.britannica.com/topic/Krampus

🕯️https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Nicholas

For most projects, I use simple pages like these as a starting point for a quick summary of basic information. Brittanica has been around a long time, and I know the information on their site is usually accurate. I still cross-verify the information to make sure there aren’t any inconsistencies.

🕯️Christmas Market at Marienplatz: The Magic of the Christmas Season. Simply Munich. Available at: https://www.munich.travel/en/pois/markets-festivals/christmas-market-marienplatz.

I had some prior knowledge that one of the most popular Krampus Runs takes place in Munich, so I sought out an official Munich website to get their version of the information. What I found was context surrounding Krampus, seating him firmly in modern German customs, and that helps bring mythology to life.

🕯️Krampus, the Christmas Devil of Alpine Europe. The German Way & More. Available at: https://www.german-way.com/krampus-the-christmas-devil-of-alpine-europe/.

I didn’t strictly use this source in this blog post, but I found it to be a credible source that goes further into detail about regional Krampus traditions, containing photos, videos, and further links on related topics. I like to provide sources like this in my bibliographies for people to learn more than what I wanted to cover in the post.

🕯️Perchtenlaufen. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perchtenlaufen

That's right, this is a wikipedia link! Sure, wikipedia can be unreliable. As long as you're checking the information with other sources, there's nothing wrong with using it as a starting point to break into information you're not familiar with.

All photos with sources not listed are under public domain.

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skip-phony · 1 year

Photo

By popular vote here is Dr. Scranton, his sanity recorder Red, and SCP 3001 in general.

I like the design a lot but don't really know how to do all the glowing and holograms bits. But this get it across

Headcanons are in the Keep Reading section

I’m segmenting this into two sections one for Scranton himself and another for Red. As for the 3001 reality itself I may make another post about it specifically but I think it is quite self evident what goes on there.

Dr. Robert Scranton

Unicorn, as I can’t help it. I wanting him to be able to make a small ball of light at the tip of his horn. Like how many drawings of SCP 3001 use a red dot to indicate the whole event.

His horn is multi tones with his fur color and some reds.

Because of mlps weird destiny/fate trait, most of his design is around red popping out of a darkness refers back to SCP 3001

His cutie mark however is for the creation of reality anchors.

First character to have horse shoes on this side blog

While in SCP 3001 he became really emaciated. In the drawing he’s not because I want a nicer reference drawing if I draw him again.

He got near just skin and bones near the end.

Didn’t send off his ring with his severed hoof as it is on his horn. Drawing doesn't have this though.

He did finally figure out how to get back. So he’s back working on anchors at the main Site.

Still doesn’t have a hand, or like last two joints of his leg, so he got a prosthetic arm to help. Also has a recorder, Kant counter, and anchor in the prosthetic.

It uses magic to make the hoof. Hold up weight up pretty good.

He got back via reality bender. Learning how to in the conditions was both helpful, with so low hume levels, and detrimental, he was floating in nothingness going mad.

Even though his is technically a reality bender he has no idea how to do any of it outside of adding it to a teleport spell and that normal level of humes fuck up even the few things he knows how to do.

Clef begrudgingly has to teach Scranton how to not unintentionally reality bend.

Scranton is really into the teaching so he can have the prospective of how reality benders function and how they can hide their abilities or even reverse them.

Also would need to go through the occasional evaluation, so more Clef interactions

Just know he still loves his wife

Tail didn't use to be this long it got warped from SCP 3001

Red (Recording Device Panel)

So Scranton may have personified his companion a lot

Wilson ball-ed it

After a while Scranton started to uses his magic to manifest a pony in the light given off to make himself feel a little bit less lonely.

Got made to be an alicorn as a way to fell more at ease and to the fact that it was the only object with light and was the only thing that didn't warp out of existence yet so lording over the reality itself

Also thing might have become slightly sentient.

Sentient not sapient.

No one has an idea if it can keep things in memory, understands languages, or even has opinions on stuff.

Red just like looking at objects and people and seems to sense noise and when send noise comes from a pony.

He does seem to understand that “Red” refers to themselves.

Some research think this, while the rest just think Scranton’s magic also got recorder as he started to reality bend. Which is half true.

Dr. Anna Lang kept the recorder as it wasn't a bloody severed hoof sent back by her husband. That hoof is probably a wet specimen somewhere, I’ll be honest.

She had noticed the weird anomalous effect in the recorder before Scranton came back fully. But didn't know what to do with it.

Now back Scranton keeps Red on his person as a comfort item.

He will talk to it in the middle of the day. Everyone just looks at him with confused to why, but ultimately thinks nothing of it as everyone else in the Foundation is just as weird. This might be on the tame end of weird quirks.

#scp #mlp #SCP Pony AU #Dr Scranton #SCP 3001 #headcanons #unicorn #alicorn #hologram #cutie mark #scp doctors #cw severed limb mentions #cw starving mentions

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