Imp



Imps are a prevalent species in SocksCraft 2. They vary significantly in appearance and origin, but tend to have at least one of three major characteristics— horns, wings, or a tail— and come from or live in the Nether. Despite the differing physiology, they have one thing in common- a mischievous attitude.

Much in the same way elves or dwarves may vary significantly between different media, there can be several different types of imps, depending on the player. The most common variety in SocksCraft 2 are Elemental imps, with extensive lore created primarily by Len isometrics_ch and Cody gaybandaids; however, not all imps are elemental, and some may be completely unrelated.

Description
Imps are typically considered to be demons and/or fae beings, with their trickful tendencies tending to trigger tremendous terror towards others. Or not. Whatever is funniest. They know all the tricks of both demons and fae; be careful if they ask if they can have your name or something similar. Whether or not they share weaknesses with the fae is unknown.

They also exhibit a strong preference towards warmth. Imps stranded in the Overworld will often complain of being cold and tend to gravitate towards heat sources or warm biomes. It is not an uncommon sight to see a lone imp bathing comfortably in a pool of lava. Alternatively, they are kept alive by places of sin– casinos are a great place to host one or a cabal of imps for a short time.

An imp’s body temperature is very warm compared to a human’s. It is said that lava runs through their veins; this is partially true! Their blood is scalding hot because it needs to hold a lot of heat to effectively transport it throughout the entire body. If an imp’s body temperature is falling, it is dying.

A typical imp’s diet consists of rocks. Or anything that doesn’t kill them. They can drink lava. They’re kind of freaks. While dentition may vary from imp to imp, it does not strictly dictate their diet. However, purely herbivorous, carnivorous, or detritivorous imps are rare. Local flora often accompanies meals (e.g., roots, root vegetables) as well as the occasional mushroom if it has been properly examined. Meat is more commonly consumed by young and feral imps than mature, integrated ones, but it may be present at meals in communities where hunting is more prevalent. It is also hypothesized that imps consume rocks for the same reason that some Overworld animals do- to help with digestion. Alternatively, imps may use them to sharpen their teeth. Or maybe they are just freaks. Who knows?

Appearance
Imps may look vastly different from one another. For example, not all imps feature a satyr-like lower body and cloven hooves; some have human-like legs and feet. Claws may be present, or normal human hands. Skin color also varies, but typically falls within the range of human skin tones. Examples of non-human skin tones tend to lean more towards cooler colors (e.g., green, purple) but warmer skin tones are not unheard of. Features traditionally considered implike (e.g., horns, wings, tail, etc.) are also not a given, but at least one demonic feature must be present AND they must be impish. Clothing is also optional, but many imps wear it.

With regards to implike features, there is no one feature that is more common than the others.

Horns
Horns may be any shape or size, but tend to be straight (conical, pointing straight up, and mounted on the browline), curved (spiral-shaped, pointing forward, and mounted on the temples), or a combination of the two (pointing straight up but with a slight curve, or some other variation). They are more sensitive at the base than at the tips, but it works like fingernails in that there are simply more nerve endings at the base. Breaking a horn does not hurt, but it takes a while to grow back. Younger imps may feature a velvety coating as their horns grow in for the first time.

Wings
Imp wings are usually reminiscent of bat wings, as they tend to be leathery, smallish, and feature distinct phalanges at their tips. Feathered wings are rarer, but not impossible. Some imps without wings may use chicken feathers to mimic these kinds of wings, but this is more common in children. Flight is also possible in winged imps, but it is dependent on the size of the wings relative to the imp’s body. Alternatively (as with all things), it’s dependent on whether or not it would be funny.

Tails
Tails are mounted on the base of the imp’s back, and are usually long, thin, and pointed at the end. However, as with all characteristics, this is not set in stone. Some imps feature no tail at all; some are permanently kinked in a unique pattern (e.g., a heart), or are short or bushy. There is no real function to tails from a survival sense (as they tend not to be strong enough to hang from or support oneself), but they convey emotion and personality. Imps with tails may tangle them together like cats as a sign of affection or bonding.

Birth
Imps are born from extreme amounts of heat, which in turn forms the basis of an imp’s spark. In this stage, an imp is much like a baby turtle; in extraordinary risk for their spark immediately being put out. This risk is present for all types of imps regardless of elemental affiliation, but water imps are especially at risk because of their birthplace. Also like baby turtles, they start moving as soon as they are able to. They do not have anyone to take care of them until they reach maturity, so they must find somewhere safe to settle quickly. From birth to maturity, imps are considered to be more like animals due to being more instinct driven rather than being born into a support network. Rarely are baby imps taken in by a third party; rarer still are baby imps taken in by another imp.

At birth, imps are composed primarily of fire/lava + their element. Throughout an imp’s adolescence, their body begins to resemble that of their elemental affiliation. Earth imps may begin to develop tough plating resembling netherrack on their body to protect from injury and water imps develop gills and flippers to help them navigate the boiling nether seas.

Maturity
Imps are considered fully mature when they develop sapience (e.g., like how a human baby develops sapience). Many imps integrate themselves into a network of other imps as a sort of family, and continue to travel with them as long as they are not cast out. There are no initiation rituals of any sort; mature imps seem content to walk up to any network, introduce themselves, and start hanging around. Imps that are cast out of a network (generally due to their inherently impish nature) resume wandering as if they had never joined the network at all until they encounter a new one.

Imps that do not integrate themselves into a network are considered feral. Feral imps retain the animalistic nature they had at birth and are engulfed wholly by their element. They also delve more into their impish tendencies, as they are more intentionally devious and curious to a detrimental degree. Like cats towards prey animals vs. cats towards people. Imps that integrate into a network may also behave in a more animal-like manner, but this varies from imp to imp. There’s like a sliding scale of “feral” to “integrated”. Some lean more towards “feral” despite integration, and others display no animal tendencies at all when integrated. Additionally, imps that wander for too long can become feral despite having once been integrated into a network. This takes a long time, but it can happen.

Death
The lifespan of an imp surpasses that of humans by quite a large amount. It is not uncommon for imps to live for hundreds and hundreds of years! However, all imps must eventually die. Their body temperature begins to drop, in a process colloquially known as “cooling down”, and they must remain close to or directly next to a heat source to continue living. After some time, it reaches a point that not even a full-body soak in lava helps them effectively retain heat. At this point, they die, with their spark having fully extinguished itself.

Sharing Sparks
Imps can share their spark in the case of dire emergency. This is at the expense of the imp’s lifespan and health, however, as sharing a spark involves conferring a great amount of heat from one imp to another being. It also depends on what kind of being the spark is being shared with.

For imp-to-imp transfer, there are fewer consequences with regards to shortened lifespan, as it is much like lighting a candle with another candle.

For imp-to-[anything else] transfer, it is incredibly dangerous and risky. In rare cases, it may lead to the being with the spark fragment becoming a half-imp. Half-imps develop implike features such as horns, wings, a resistance to fire, and a compulsive desire to be near heat.

Imps may hibernate for a period after sharing a spark to conserve the heat they’ve just taken from. It’s a grueling process, after all!

Society & Customs
Imps are typically solitary creatures, their devious nature and tendency to play tricks on just about anyone they come across has a history of pushing away any sort of company they may find themselves with. Though, some imps are integrated into small societies, and can learn how to behave themselves on occasion. But their impish nature will always surface, one way or another. Most imps who travel or live in groups find themselves surrounded by other Imps. They are non-territorial, and usually just hang out. Imps love to sit around in lava, and will invite you to join them. Please say yes.

Headbutting is also a custom for imps that have horns, as they enjoy clacking them together. Headbutts are often playful or affectionate (e.g., play-fighting, comfort) and are rarely used as a show of aggression.

Occasionally, horns do break. While this does not hurt the imp, the horns may be saved as a quick way of making jewelry (such as pieces that require colored bone) or as a trophy of sorts to commemorate whatever deed it was that broke the horn. Alternatively, it can be used as a show of superiority if the holder of the horn is not the same imp who broke it. It depends on the context, but gifting another imp a piece of broken horn is polite or affectionate; wearing a piece of jewelry made from another imp’s horn (e.g., a horn cap) that was taken is rude and distasteful, and may communicate a dislike towards that imp.

Communal Living
Imps, although being solitary, do occasionally find themselves integrating into communities; however their living customs vastly differ from the norm. Most imps that settle into communities tend to distance themselves often literally, with most imp homes being documented near the edges of town centers. This might also be due to the fact that even when imps join a community, they still tend to wander about; often for extended periods of time. This behavior of an imp wandering about from place to place but ultimately returning to a specific living area is often called "floating".

In the case of imp-run communities, responsibility for upkeep would predominantly be shared with individual management being shifted around as imps come and go. Non-Imps have a penchant for mistaking imp run towns and cities as abandoned/semi-abandoned towns, when in reality they merely have imps journeying for extended periods.

Jewelry
Some imps choose to adorn themselves with jewelry scavenged or created from materials in the Nether. This behavior is most often seen among imps that wear clothing, but it is not exclusive to them. The most common kinds of jewelry are worn on the ears or as horn accessories. Other types, such as necklaces/bangles, bracelets/armbands, or other conventional types of piercings (e.g., septum or nostril) are not uncommon, but are dependent on the imp’s anatomy.

Golden jewelry is the most common (and most popular) due to its prevalence in the nether, its shine, and its malleability. This is where most chained jewelry comes from, such as necklaces, bracelets, or intricate designs. Gold may also be plated with various earth minerals derived from netherrack to yield different colors. Such colors often tend towards the warmer side of the color spectrum, such as reds and oranges, but can be any color. Alternatively, lighter colors can be supplied by bone jewelry, as it tends to be a warm white color. Bone is typically used for larger pieces, such as curved jewelry or gauges, and is harvested from the broken or shed tusks of juvenile/adult hoglins.

Crystal jewelry such as quartz is less common, and can come in raw or polished varieties. Raw quartz jewelry is prized for the natural formations of the crystal, whereas polished quartz is often saved as a gemstone or when clear parts are needed. It is not unusual for a necklace to be made of a thin golden chain with a piece of natural quartz in the middle. If an imp wants to be more subtle with their jewelry, clear quartz rings, gauges, and other ear jewelry is available. This is rare due to the time-intensive nature of gemstone grinding and the skill it requires- not to mention requisite equipment (and patience).

Netherite jewelry is exceedingly rare, but highly valuable. It is not used for statement pieces, but as an accessory to flaunt the imp’s scavenging skills. Any netherite scavenged is a feat in and of itself and has a place in any imp’s repertoire- as a matter of fact, netherite with golden streaks goes well with raw quartz- but the most prized variant is a pure, matte black gemstone. Alternatively, it is exchanged as a sign of affection, as its value confers a degree of respect, admiration, and dedication between imps.

For the water-inclined, coral jewelry is valued as highly as netherite. However, this is not because of its rarity, but its fragility. Quality coral jewelry is vivid, polished, and can be intricately carved with any number of designs or into various shapes. The most common varieties of coral jewelry (of which an imp may not get to witness the entirety of in their lifetime) are red, yellow, blue, purple, and pink. Blue, purple, and pink are prioritized for underwater use due to the way light filters out warm colors underwater. Red and yellow are prioritized for land use as their color shines the most in that environment. Wearing a coral necklace or bracelet is said to connect aquatic imps to the ocean no matter where they are, and such pieces are revered both for their value and the sense of comfort it brings. Fire imps may implode...?

With regards to accessories, imps with straight horns may choose to wear horn accessories that wrap around the base of their horns or connect the two horns together. Alternatively, they may wear caps (typically made of gold or bone) on the tips of their horns, though this is uncommon as they are prone to falling off. Some imps choose to drill a hole through the tips of the horns to install a post to keep the caps on if they like the look very much. Those with curved horns may opt for a simple ring around the horn or drill into the horn directly to install hoops or studs, as chains may get caught on surroundings since they hang down more. Piercings at the tip of the horn are akin to earlobe piercings, as they are not painful due to the keratinous nature of the horn. Piercings close to the base of the horn are rarer, as there are more nerve endings present.

Earrings are the most common kind of piercings. The amount of piercings does not denote any kind of social rank, but instead serves as a testament to the age and/or Coolness Level of the imp. Alternatively, the amount of jewelry worn can communicate something about its wearer. For example, having a lot of ostentatious, flashy jewelry tells onlookers that this imp is a successful scavenger and/or doesn’t like to share anything. Those with a few bold pieces (e.g., a large gold neck covering and golden armbands) portrays an aura of confidence, power, or otherwise self-assuredness. It depends on the context and the outward personality of the imp, though. That said, it is fairly standard to see imps with simple golden studs in their earlobes, if not more.

Language
There are several languages that imps commonly speak.

Nitherian
Nitherian (or Traditional Nitherian) is typically used by older imps. Some formal schools teach the language.

Doumòian
Doumòian (or Simplified Nitherian) is used by younger or feral imps. There are distinct dialects, such as the one used by water imps.

Common
Common is the language that all players in Sockscraft 2 speak because it would be really annoying otherwise.

Elemental Attribution
Some imps may have an elemental attribution based on where their spark formed. • Air/Cloud

• * Typically found in basalt deltas or places with prominent ash clouds.

• * Subtypes: Pyroclastic

• Earth

• * Born deep underground, next to ore deposits.

• * Subtypes: Magma, Metal

• Ender

• * ???

• Flora/Fauna

• * Born in heavily wooded areas, such as very dense Crimson or Warped Forests.

• * Subtypes: Bee

• Fire/Lava

• * Requires extreme heat to be born, typically from a pool of lava or fire. These imps are the warmest of all subtypes, due to the nature of their birth.

• * Subtypes: Smoke

• Lightning/Storm

• * Born from lightning strikes.

• Stardrop

• * Imps born from Ancient Debris/Meteors fallen to [???]. Commonly more arcane in aspect, they are natural astronavigators.

• Water

• * Born from underwater heat vents. High risk of immediately being put out at birth, as they are instantly submerged.

• * Subtypes: Kelp, Steam

Known Imps
• Bandaids

• Basalt

• Bog

• Carpet

• Elysys

• Elysium

• ISO

• Reverse

• Sievert

• Sophia

Half-imps
• Blair Rattle

• Buttercup

• Cyd

• Lottie Moon