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#I haven't tried drawing dragons since I was like
spacer-case · 14 days
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...and when the last blood-beast comes to rest unto the Earth, what next will arrive to inherit it?
i drew this sci fi piece for my portfolio, but it also turned loosely into a marcoace au because my brain got zoomies
short version: guy on a joyride (coughs ace) accidentally travels to another world filled with mythological-ish creatures, but they're actually all robots mimicking life with no real sentience of their own - except one lone, lonely consciousness (coughs marco) whose mind was digitally preserved before the rest of organic life got wiped out, and has been waiting a long time for a friend
long nerdy version under the cut:
ace's world is a fun and scrappy sci fi future world, with stuff like his hovercraft that syncs to his body's movements too
he was out riding with deuce and got too caught up in the thrill of flying that he went way out of safe bounds (not pictured: deuce panicking) and got swallowed by a giant sky beast
somehow (i haven't thought that hard about it) he appears in marco's world after this - when i first had this idea i was just thinking of a literal reference to the philosophical concept of animals as other worlds/animal alterity, a la Barbara Noske), plus i like the idea of gateways being where you least expect them
anyway yeah he gets isekai'd
enter: marco's world!! this is a land where organic life once thrived, including sentient beings (i haven't decided if they were also humans), but all organic life has long since died out and given way to a new, constructed "ecology"
it's full of seemingly mythological-ish creatures (phoenix, dragon, etc. but all are also warped from what we would imagine)!! but SIKE they are actually robots; cybernetic constructs!!! each one goes through the motions of life for many years until they steadily break down. their parts get recycled and they are remade to spawn from egg-like structures (like the one in the bottom left corner of the drawing)
and who is remaking them? MARCO! aka the last, lone remaining consciousness from the sentient race that died out. his mind was preserved digitally, but by the time he awoke he only remembers snapshots of his original life. he continuously cares for and builds all the robots, and uploads himself into different bodies whenever he wants, but no matter what he tries he can't recreate anything truly alive with its own free will
so he's lonely and sad
basically the whole thing was an exploration of the concept of a man-made mythos! and the boundaries of what defines life, will, sentience, etc. etc.
but when he meets ace - a real, living breathing organic human - it will change his life! because............because...i haven't thought that far
many questions remain...is ace's world a past version of marco's? will he find a way to restore organic life to marco's world? should he even do that? will he find a way back home? will they kiss? ? will marco get a human body?? will i ever make something bigger from this or even turn it back into ocs instead of op characters??? will they wear wigs???? when will they wear wigs????????? who knows!
but for now it is what it is hehe
i doubt anyone read all that, but if you did, thank you for your time....here i reward you with a secret:
below is an early sketch of this illustration, and underneath that, the composition originally came from A FAILED DRAWING OF MARCO!!!
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the brainrot goes deep :')
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lady-lilly-gray · 14 days
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DTIYS by @dragon-spaghetti
haven't been an active fandom artist since like 2012, but I saw this adorable drawing and thought "hey, why not"
also my brain malfunctions whenever it tries to figure out how the fuck to draw husk's wings so accept my redesign of them; or don't. I don't really care
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cadmusfly · 2 months
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Analysing the Quality of Napoleon's Marshals With Silly Data Science
Let's talk numbers and laugh at funny graphs with missing data!
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Other people in this fandom do really lovely detailed information posts, I do weird fanfic, dragon shitposting, body pillow design shitposting and run a stupid Lannes ask rp blog. But! I'm also a programmer with an interest in Numbers, and today we're going to Analyse These Dead Frenchmen with a bunch of screenshots of graphs.
Ethan Arsht published a really interesting article called Napoleon was the Best General Ever, and the Math Proves it., where using data scraped off Wikipedia articles, he creates a statistical model drawing from multiple variables per battle to calculate How Good A General Is At Winning.
Give the article a read, it's great stuff, but if you don't feel like it, he basically applies WAR - "Wins Above Replacement" - which is a value from baseball that measures how many wins a player is worth when compared to a replacement.
So the general's WAR would be how well they compare to a completely average general who replaced them. Yes, as Arsht says, "in other words, I would find the generals’ WAR, in war."
But as he says, this is not a stringent historical analysis and is more of a fun thought experiment. Wikipedia is probably the most comprehensive dataset on this topic that he had access to, but it is Wikipedia the crowdsourced online encyclopedia, so it is going to have holes and inaccuracies. And this was written seven years ago, and the data was collected then, so any updates to these articles since then wouldn't be reflected.
And it's not a perfect model that takes into account everything - it's an approximation, a whole bunch of number crunching. I haven't looked too deeply into how the numbers work exactly, even though I could.
I think that 0 would be "completely and utterly average"? A positive WAR is good, a negative WAR is not. Napoleon is the best general ever at 16.679 WAR, the next highest is Caesar at 7.445 WAR.
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(Link, you can hover over each battle and look at each datapoint!)
But I'm interested in Napoleon's marshals. The 26 men he raised up to military nobility! The dramatic assholes who kept arguing with each other. I'll post links for all of them at the end of this, but I won't be screenshotting each of their WAR graphs, just a few.
I'm not entirely sure how the scraper collected the information about what battles a commander is considered in "charge" of - I tried looking at the provided code repository but I am reminded that data science people bless them are not really good at structuring or publishing code and why are all the html pages just straight up saved in the root folder why are the jupyter notebook outputs just uncleared aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Oh yeah this was scraped from seven years ago so current wikipedia pages won't be reflective of what's on the graphs - so we can assume that this is just grabbing stuff from the "Commanders and leaders" part from each individual battle page and collating them into numbers
Anyway let's look at the iron man himself, Davout, considered to be the best of Napoleon's marshals.
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(Link)
Heh, here we see the first hole in the dataset - Jena-Auerstedt is considered to be one battle, and Napoleon would like you to think that's the case.
Anyway, pretty good! Let's look at Jean Lannes, the lively Gascon
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Oooooh, even better than Davout! Helps he didn't go to Russia. Wait, why is Aspern-Essling dated to before Ratisbon, especially when Lannes died in the former?
Let's look at André Masséna, also known as being pretty cool:
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Damn, neat, though I think there's a lot of omissions here.
Here's Murat:
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Lol Tolentino, I do like how Murat Peaked there a little bit
But we're forgetting a certain redhead, aren't we?
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Ouch. But also Waterloo not appearing there, hmmm.
Anyway let's finish off the screenshots with Napoleon's greatest strategist, Jean-de-Dieu Soult, the man that Wellington called a master of the defensive!
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honestly this is the entire reason why i wanted to write this post
in soult's defense - as a soult defender - he had a pretty shitty army full of conscripts, was isolated, was occasionally pretty bad at adapting tactically to new surprises and had to deal with the english being stubborn fuckers, but he was brilliant in setting things up strategically and forcing the english to catch up through a fighting retreat with a demoralised army, stopping them from closing in on france too
but also the way this graph bullies soult so hard makes me laugh a lot
Anyway, yeah, these graphs are definitely inaccurate and I'm also posting these to see the Napoleonic community on tumblr's reaction to them, but they are a fun way to engage with history!
Just don't take them seriously, and feel free to argue in the tags/comments/reblogs
I could theoretically use this guy's code to rerun this just for the Marshals now - I know my way around some data science code - but I do have a lot on my plate, but it would be a fun experiment!
Marshal WAR Graph Links
Note: So these are under the Wikipedia article names at the time that the web scraper was run seven years ago so some of these names turned out to be different from what they are now and I had to do a bit of digging to fix some
you can definitely tell that the information is incomplete on a lot of these, again i repeat the information was scraped off wikipedia seven years ago
Louis-Nicolas Davout
Jean Lannes
Joachim Murat
Michel Ney
André Masséna
Jean-de-Dieu Soult
Bon-Adrien Jeannot de Moncey (one battle lol)
Jean-Baptiste Jourdan
Charles-Pierre Augereau
Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte aka Charles XIV John of Sweden (Two battles and only Swedish ones I think)
Guillaume Brune
Édouard Mortier (two battles)
Jean-Baptiste Bessières (two battles)
François Christophe de Kellermann (one battle, Valmy)
François Joseph Lefebvre (two battles)
Charles-Victor Perrin (ouch)
Étienne Macdonald
Nicolas Oudinot (lol)
Auguste de Marmont (loll)
Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr
Józef Poniatowski (three battles but hmm. pretty bad but feel like there's too much missing info here)
Emmanuel de Grouchy (two battles, can't make a Where's Grouchy joke)
Marshals Without Graphs Not because they didn't command anything but I couldn't find their graphs on the website or in the code repo
Catherine-Dominique de Pérignon
Jean-Mathieu-Philibert Sérurier
Louis-Gabriel Suchet (wtf? maybe seven years ago the documentation on him was sad)
EDIT: wait i was looking at the notebook (the uh place where the code was being run, to see if i could run the code myself)
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soult is one of the lowest ranked generals overall on this initial list pfftHAHAHhahahahahahahaha
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foodiewithdahoodie · 6 months
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Never Be Yours
Will isn't allowed to be jealous. He should be grateful. People like him should be grateful. Yet... there is a pit in his heart, a hole in his stomach, and a sting in his eyes as he hears Mike talk about El. Watch Mike dance with El. Knows Mike kisses El. He can't be jealous. That's rude of him to be, but...
He's green with envy just like the color of his eyes that he must refrain from rolling too much because his best friend hasn't been stolen from him. Mike isn't wrong for dating El, the superhero, girl wonder, savior of Will's life (including the party's multiple times over). She is a sweet enough person, Will assumes, given the stories Dustin and Lucas tell him when he doesn't actually ask for information about her.
Will has no opinion on El since Mike stows her away in Hopper’s cabin like a secret. None of the others allowed to visit so their makeout time isn't interrupted. He does have an opinion on Mike's switcheroo behavior.
"It's cuz he thought he lost her, dude." Lucas tries to explain as Will stares after Mike biking away fast from school, pedaling to Hopper's, to El.
"I was actually lost, though." He whispers under his breath, and he talks so low already, meaning Lucas didn't hear his gripe.
Dustin failed at comforting also. "Well, we saw her "die" technically when she closed the gate."
"You guys said you saw my dead body pulled from the quarry. What's the difference." Will almost growled, but feigned a cough to mask his displeasure.
What really got him is that if Lucas and Dustin's reasoning was true, then why the hell did Mike act like El was the one who got taken, and not him?! Will "zombie boy" Byers?!
It haunted Will worse than his nightmares of the Upside Down. He'd lie in bed, not because he couldn't sleep, but because he saw Mike do everything for El that he used to do for Will. Before she came along, Mike looked at Will and doted on him and made time to hangout. Now, it's like Will isn't even his best friend anymore, just an acquaintance or just a guy he knows.
Lucas and Dustin don't see it as a problem like how Will does. They wouldn't understand. They don't understand. They haven't known Mike as long as Will does. They don't know that Mike is being unusual.
"Lovebirds!" Lucas teases as Mike prepares to speed away from them to his daily kissing meeting with El.
"Grow up!" Mike clicks his tongue, slamming his locker shut. "You're all just mad I got a girlfriend before you."
"Wow, Mike, bighead much?" Dustin jokes.
Will isn't smiling or laughing like the rest of them are. He is livid. He's mad that Mike would ever imply that he's jealous over not having a girlfriend. Will doesn't want to date a girl, kiss a girl, be as foolish for a girl like Mike is being. Will wants his damn best friend back!
He just averts his eyes or else his tongue will get loose, saying things he's not ready to say yet.
"What's Mike been up to?" A loaded question, Joyce doesn't know she stepped on a landmine. "I haven't seen him much 'round lately. He used to stop by all the time."
"Busy with stuff." Will doesn't look up from his drawing, which was supposed to be of Paladin Mike slaying a dragon, but now that his mood is soured Will is going to draw the dragon eating Mike instead.
Joyce fondly smiles, remembering how sweet of a boy Mike is. "Well, tell him to not be a stranger and to visit. I miss seeing him."
You and me both, Will thinks.
His only reprieve from pining hours is the movie theater. He can escape in the world of film for a few lingering moments. Of course, it helps that this is the one thing Mike refuses to skip out on and is willing to ditch El for. Will knows its because Mike loves movies, but for a hot minute, in his hopeful imaginings, he pretends Mike is here as an excuse to be with him. In a dark theater, sharing snacks like couples do, with Lucas and Max a few seats away so it makes Will's time with Mike private. Intimate.
He enjoys this. It's one thing El can't be a part of. One thing that isn't ruined between Mike and him. It's theirs.
"You okay?" Mike asks when Will holds his neck, chill freezing his body. LOOK!, screams his mind, HE STILL CARES!
"You sure?" Mike asks another question and Will's heart is somersaulting from his chest to lodge in his throat. He hasn't checked up on Will since Halloween, that horrid night tarnishing trick or treating with abysmal now memories.
His premature celebration is cut short as Mike woes about El and pleasing her after getting dumped. Will wants to eat glass. Then his tongue turns into a gun, his words are bullets, shots fired as he calls out Mike for being a piss poor best friend in the Wheeler garage. He walks home in the pouring rain realizing he's the problem. As always, like Lonnie said, boys shouldn't be this way. Shouldn't be unhappy that their friends are girl crazy and girl obsessed and girls girls girls. Blah blah blah.
He smashes Castle Byers because like Mike told Lucas earlier - "Grow up". Fine, Will can do it too! Can leave childish whimsy behind. Can give up on ever having a semi-indulgent childhood. He hasn't been a kid since the Mindflayer, since the demogorgon took him, since he learned that he didn't like girls but boys sure were interesting to sneak peaks of.
He's done. He isn't jealous. He's suddenly leaving for California. He's hugging Mike like a lifeline, sobbing buckets. How can this be? How can someone he loves so much hurt him this bad? It's not Mike's fault he'd rather date El.
"Treat her like your sister. She's been through a lot." Joyce dismally advises.
Sister. Savior. I've been through a lot too! - Will thinks.
But El is easy to love. Will hates that. No wonder Lucas, Dustin, Max, his own mother, and Mike adore her. He's pretty sure Jonathan is grateful to her also. Will should be grateful and bow down at her feet. He'd be dead twice over if not for her selflessness. Fuuuuck, El's selfless and Will is selfish. He doesn't want to like her or have an opinion on her. She has simultaneously saved and ruined him. He stares at her letters, letters from Mike, and wants to bang his head in a wall.
Maybe I should've died, he thinks, better than living this torture.
Mike is hers. Mike is hers. Mike is hers.
El is his. El is his. El is his.
Will is no one's. Will is no one's. Will is no one's.
Damn, Mike's only called him a couple of times. They promised they'd talk more. So much for that.
"What're you painting?" El is inquisitive, leaning against his bedroom doorframe, licking a popsicle. It's the kind meant to be shared. She broke it down the middle, split evenly, and is about to hand Will his portion. Will wishes she'd share Mike instead.
"S'nothing." He hastily covers up the canvas as she approaches, trying to sneak a peak.
"Is it for a girl?!" She sounds excited, like fucking finally Will is catching up to his friends and lusting for the opposite sex like a healthy boy should.
Why is everything about dating?!
"Get out." Will says, though he takes the popsicle and offers her an appreciative smile.
"Can I see?" She asks, tilting her head, pleading with puppy dog eyes. Will's immune.
"Nope." He laughs at her pout and they go watch reruns on TV together. Will explaining to her stuff she'd thought Mike would've taught her. Did they really only kiss during their alone time? Will realizes he doesn't care for whatever they did during their alone time.
He secretly paints in the night, before he has to leave for school, on the weekends. He feels that geyser of envy sprout and he immediately grabs his brush and paints to cleanse it from him. If he doesn't he'll be what society already portrays him as. A bitter queer who wants what he can't have from an innocent God's intended couple between a boy and a girl. Mike and El dating is nature taking its course. Will is unnatural and an abomination.
He should quit while he's ahead. Just expect friendship. After all when Jonathan started dating Nancy and Joyce had started hanging out with Hopper last summer they were also caught up in their relationships, no room to focus all on Will. He guesses that's the way the world works. Friendships and sometimes family is not priority when romance is involved.
Gosh, he just wants to experience that. See what it's all about. He can't though. All he yearns for is Mike. But Mike isn't his and Will isn't Mike's.
He's tired of quietly staring at the phone after the mailman dropped off El's letters. She always gets something and Will gets nothing. He can't even complain because he has no right.
Will's heard of the phrase "always a bridesmaid, never the bride" and he feels it can apply to him. He'll forever be just the best friend and never a boyfriend. And he's okay with that if Mike did his part, but so far only Lucas and Dustin call him. Even Max calls him sometimes. More than Mike which is saying something.
He's in his bed wide awake. Eyes stuck on either the ceiling or wall. His painting is almost done. He wants to claw at his skin. He wishes he wasn't in love. He is. He loves so much its suffocating. He didn't know that when he begged for help, for someone to save him, that it'd be his true undoing.
Will isn't allowed to be jealous. He finds out often he isn't allowed to be a lot of things. He can't help that this is how he feels. If he can't have anything else, then at least his feelings should be of his own dominion. Right? Right?! Please, let him have this. Please! He has to have one thing to himself.
"I'll never be yours." Will whispers to nothing in particular, thoughts of Mike Wheeler, heart still skipping a beat.
He thinks death is easier. He only thinks that after Mike doesn't hug him back properly at the airport when he visits for spring break.
Why the fuck did he make that painting? Did he forget they barely talked? He looks better hanging off El. Past him murmurs in his ear. "Stupid."
---
Someone said jealous Will so here he be.
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sirowsky-stories · 6 months
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The Old Prince
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Part 3
Author's Note: I'm truly proud of this one, I love how it came together and I'm so excited to keep going! (I haven't forgotten about Collision, I'm just slightly addicted to Oberyn right now. You're just gonna have to forgive me.)
Description: Oberyn works to uncover the mystery of your survival, but when the time comes to go home, you find yourself conflicted.
Rating: Mature 18+ONLY Warnings: Monster Oberyn Martell x Female Reader, AU fic, eventual romance, obviously Halloween themed, reader cusses, reader gets a nickname, this one is mostly Oberyn's pov and he thinks a bit more old-fashioned. Small time jump. Angst. Word Count: 5740 Author's Masterlist
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   His fingers are deft and practiced as he draws samples of your blood, but the silence between you is awkward, and you’re not sure why.    Maybe because of how shocked he’d been at your embrace earlier. It makes you wonder how long it’s been since he was touched by someone. Even just platonically.    You’d been too distressed to notice your own reaction to him this time, but it had been there once you’d pulled back. The same inexplicable heat.
   “How much do you need?” you ask, mostly just to break the tension.
   “Four vials should do for now,” he replies in a tone much more neutral than what fits with his expression.
   “I’m sorry about… before,” you try, but he doesn’t get the vague reference.
   He looks up and meets your eyes with a silent question in his brows.
   “The hug,” you elaborate, averting your gaze before the two small words have even finished leaving your lips.
   You’re not really ashamed to have needed comfort, that much no one would judge you for after the last twenty-four hours of your life. What bothers you is that you don’t understand why you felt safe to seek it from him.    No matter who (or what) he is, you shouldn’t be this at ease around him, it goes against every grain of reason and common sense. The man is holding you against your will.
   “Don’t apologize to me, young one. I have you at a terrible disadvantage,” he says, and he sounds entirely unamused by his own words.
   “Okay, can you start calling me something other than that, please. No matter how much older than me you might be, it sounds so wrong when someone who looks to be my age calls me that. It makes me feel like a schoolgirl.”
   He looks somewhat perplexed at that.
   “What would you prefer?”
   “I don’t know, just make up a nickname for me that has nothing to do with age.    I’d tell you my real name, but you have enough power over me already.”
   Finishing up the blood-draw and placing a small band aid on the punctured skin, he seems to ponder that, and something about it amuses him.
   “How about Kaivalya? It means freedom,” he suggests, and you raise a brow in scrutiny.
   It’s a mouthful, but kinda beautiful too. Still, if he’s gonna name you something with that implication, he’d better own up to it.
   “I’ll consider that a promise.”
   “As intended,” he agrees, smiling slightly while he inclines his head at you in a little bow.
   Why does that tiny indication that he respects you, make your stomach flutter?
   “Let’s shorten it to Valya or Val, though,” you suggest, trying to kill the highly inappropriate butterflies with bland conversation. “The whole thing is too cumbersome.”
   “Well then, you’re all done for now, Valya. Thank you.”
   “How long do you think it’ll take to analyze it?”
   “That’s hard to say. It all depends on what I find,” he says and then gets up to put three of the vials into a fridge, leaving one for him to get started on right away. “But you have my word that I will keep you informed.    Until then, as I said, you move around the castle at your own risk.”
   “Will the dragon come back?” you ask, only slightly less frightened of the prospect, now that you know that he has some sort of relationship with it.
   “Yes. But not for a while yet.”
   “How do you know?”
   “He brought you here after he had tried to feed on you and failed. And he stayed for a while to find out if you would mutate, after noticing that it had not happened as quickly as it usually does.    But he had still not fed, so he had to hunt again. That’s why you saw him leave the castle.    He was successful this time, though. Which means he’ll be laying low for a while now.”
   “Oh. I didn’t realize that he was the one who’d brought me here. But I guess that makes sense. Dragons fly, after all,” you ponder, and you’re starting to feel quite ambiguous about this beast.
   On the one hand, it tried to eat you, but on the other, it also tried to help you.
   “If something should happen… I mean, if I should start to feel strange or anything, how do I call for help?” you continue after a moment.
   “Scream as loud as you can for as long as you can. If your door is open and you’re facing the stairwell, the sound will travel with the stone.    But I really don’t think that you’re at any risk of that kind of mutation, at this point.”
   “I hope you’re right, and I’m sure you are, I’m just trying to navigate being here. You are keeping me furthest away from absolutely everything, which seems kinda unnecessary.    Wouldn’t it be easier if I just stayed somewhere down here?”
   “I’m not keeping you away from everything, I am trying to keep everything away from you.    You’re safe up there, where the pull from the creatures in the basement cannot possibly reach you, and nothing else is going to find you,” he explains, while he works on taking a first look at your blood through a microscope.
   For a second, you wonder what the hell he means by “nothing else finding you”, but you quickly decide that you don’t wanna think too closely on that.    You get up and start slowly moving towards the door of this makeshift little laboratory of his, somewhere on the second floor of the main body of the castle.
   “Okay, um… Before I go, is there any food?”
   “Of course,” he answers immediately, looking up from the microscope with an apologetic set to his features, as if only just now realizing that you do need food to survive. “The kitchen is at the end of the main hall. That’s the same corridor as the one to my study and the main stairwell you take to get to the tower. Just follow it to the end.    Do you think you can find it?”
   “Yeah, I think so. That’s the one hallway I’m beginning to feel familiar with.”
-=<>=-=<>=-=<>=-
   What he had hoped would only take a few days, remains unsolved even after two weeks. He is not skilled enough in genetics, nor does he have the right equipment to try and find anomalies within your DNA. All he can do is visually analyze your cells and the levels of vitamins and minerals in your blood, hoping to find something deviant, as that might indicate where changes have been, or still is, taking place.    But he has yet to succeed. Thus far, every test has come back normal.
   If not for the extremely rapid healing of the bite, he would not have thought that anything about you had been affected, but clearly, something has been.    By rights he should take your samples to a lab and ask that they run a full diagnostic on it with more advanced technology, but he’s afraid that they might discover something about his own genetics, and the thing within him that is responsible for so much death and suffering.
   He has spent thousands of years trying to avoid humans as much as possible, and to do that, he has had to study their psychology rigorously, so he knows what they would do if they ever learned what he is and what he is capable of.    The few sightings of him that have occurred over the millennia, have generated an entire mythology surrounding dragons, and he would much prefer that it remains nothing but stories.
   Still, to his astonishment, you seem to tolerate him quite a lot better than one might think that a victim of assault and kidnapping might. After that first tumultuous day, you have apparently decided that things could be a lot worse, choosing to focus instead on the fact that you are alive and doing very well, despite the worry of mutation.    You insist that he join you for dinner every evening, to keep yourself from going stir crazy with isolation, and he finds that he is increasingly intrigued by your character.
   You are kind and considerate, but only when you feel that it’s justified. You like to be useful and you’re clearly accustomed to handling yourself and whatever problems you face, but you will ask for help if you come across a task that is too difficult for you.    Pride seems to be something you take only from knowing your own strength, not necessarily needing to show or prove it to anyone else. Which is an attractive trait for anyone to have, but especially someone so attractive in other ways as well.
   The monster that he is, he has always refused to take a partner, for fear that he would end up eating them and then having to live with that regret.    You are the first woman to test his resolve in this matter for at least two thousand years.    Before then, he had still tried to hope that he might not have to live all alone for eternity. A hope that had died for good after he had turned a young woman into a creature like those in the belly of this castle right now, forever poisoning him away from the allure of the fairer sex.
   Or so he had thought.
   There are moments when he is around you, when your gaze seems to shift into something warm and inviting, sparking a heat within his chest the likes of which he has never before known. It sets a blush to his usually so tempered skin and triggers a craving in his blood that has nothing to do with sustenance.    It is a frightening feeling to him, something forbidden and dangerous, so he tries to quell it whenever it awakens, but he knows that you notice it and that it makes you curious.
   Today, he awaits your arrival at the dinner table, ready to finally announce the results of his efforts, but he knows that they are unsatisfactory. He has failed to provide the answers that you seek, that you might need in order to lay these horrible events to rest in your soul, and this shames him.    So, when you walk in, smiling at the sight of him having beaten you to the table once again, he does not reciprocate, and you’re instantly on edge.
   “What’s wrong?” you ask, as you take your seat opposite him at the narrow table, and you look more worried now than he’s seen you be since that first night.
   “I have reached the end of my knowledge in my analysis of your blood. I can’t learn anything more than I already have, which, as you know, is unfortunately not much.    You have my sincerest apologies, dear Valya, but I’m afraid that I have no concrete answers to show for it,” he explains, bowing his head to you in the hopes that you will be forgiving.
   Even though you know nothing of the transformation which he may undergo at will, and which is the worst deception he has yet committed against you, there is still more than enough cause for you to despise him.    But instead, your eyes soften at his words.
   “Maybe that’s good news. Maybe it means that there’s nothing wrong with me,” you shrug, and he wants to say that to his eyes, there is absolutely nothing wrong with any part of you.
   But he refrains. Flattery will not do your impressive character justice, and he has every intention of protecting you from his own misguided heart, no matter the pain it might cause him.    Fifteen days. That is all he has had of you, and yet, you seem to have crept into every carefully concealed crevice of his being, entirely without effort.
   “I’ll bring you back to your home later tonight,” he replies, unable to fully mask the sadness that the thought of the castle once again echoing of emptiness, brings him.
   He is, however, most surprised to look into your eyes and see that same sadness within. Surely, you can’t be sorry to finally be free of this haunted and terrible place.
   “Why tonight?” you question, and even that smallest hint of defiance is enough to make him want to change his mind and ask you to stay.
   “I kidnapped you. And while I’m not proud of this, I wish to remain a free man despite my actions. So, I can’t very well return you in broad daylight, as anyone who sees us might grow suspicious,” he says, the last part being yet another lie.
   The real reason is that he needs the cover of night to conceal the span of his wings, the glimmer of his scales, and the size of his claws and teeth.
   “Right, of course,” you say quietly, turning your gaze back down to your plate, before you remember to add something, and look up once more. “And just to ease your mind, I’m not gonna report you to the police, or anything. You may have kidnapped me, but you haven’t mistreated me in any way.    Quite the opposite, really. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so well cared for.”
   He lets his head fall slightly to the side as he considers your words, but your own resolve seems to falter then, and you return your attention to the dish before you. Either to avoid his gaze, or perhaps the thought that you will likely never see him again once this night is over.    The meal passes in silence and the clock seems to spin so much faster than usual, as though time itself is rushing to end this unnatural coupling.
   “It has been my pleasure to have your company in these weeks, Val. It’s been a long time since I had company for so long.    Aside from the living nightmares of the basement, that is,” he tells you, already dreading the rapidly approaching goodbye.
   “I don’t like to leave knowing that you’ll be all alone here,” you reply, surprising him.
   He wants to say that you may visit him at any time, but he holds his tongue, offering only a grateful smile in return.    Because aside from the fact that you don’t know where the castle is, he also desperately wants you to be free of him. Even if his lonely heart screams entirely different things through the dungeons and catacombs of his being, to which he has condemned all thoughts of romance and passion.
   “We should get ready for your departure,” he says softly, sidestepping your concerns as gracefully as he can, before he rises and steps away from the table, gesturing for you to accompany him.
   You follow without protest, and a part of him wishes that you would rage against the lack of choices you have been afforded. But he is also relieved that you don’t.    There are no possessions to pack, you will leave his house as poor as you entered it, save for the clothes he has given you, so there’s no need to delay.    He brings you back to the lab where he already has a syringe filled and waiting.
   “Please, don’t be alarmed,” he asks when he sees your expression turn wary with the sight of the unknown clear substance behind the needle. “It’s a strong sedative. I’m afraid I cannot let you see the journey back, as this place needs to remain as hidden as it can be.”
   “Oh…” is all you say, but the sadness in your eyes grows deeper with the realization that you will never be able to return.
   You step closer while shrugging of your jacket, the garment returned to you already on your third day here, as he had learned by then that you would not run from the answers you sought.    There is no hesitation or questioning in your frame. You roll up your sleeve, trusting this stranger not to kill you, or cause you harm in other ways, and he wishes so dearly that you had never crossed his path that night, so that he could have been spared this ending.
   “It will only take you a few minutes to fall asleep once the injection is done. But you may start to feel unsteady within seconds, so I suggest you take a seat,” he cautions.
   Defiant on this matter, for reasons which evade his understanding, you remain on your feet, holding out your arm as you wait for the unknown substance to be administered into your blood.    He is not going to fight you, so he merely gives you the injection and then quickly puts the syringe away, preparing to catch you if you should grow dizzy.
   But the moment that he steps closer to you, so that he may reach you should he need to react quickly, you raise your hands to his shoulders, holding him steady as you steal a kiss from his lips.    It’s brief, but not rushed. Your lips are soft and the pressure moderate, but there is curiosity and desire within the touch. A wish, perhaps. Much like the one that burns his own chest and is responsible for how he responds to your affectionate gesture, kissing you in return as soon as your lips have left his.
   Then your legs wobble, and the moment ends. He catches you, pressing you against his upper body to prevent you from falling, as you already struggle to keep your eyes open.    He worries that he might have given you too strong a dose, but he needs you to be completely unaware of the journey back.    Only moments later, you are beginning to doze off, but you stubbornly keep your eyes open for as long as you can, as if trying to commit his features to memory.
   When you go limp in his arms, the image of your seemingly lifeless body on the ground in that forest, flashes before his waking eyes, and all at once, tears are gathering in them.    You should not have suffered such a fate. You should have been spared from ever knowing of these monstrous things, and he can only hope that your paths will never cross again.    He swoops your legs up and carries you outside, the strength of the beast making the burden easy to bear despite the distance.
   Once out on the courtyard, next to the prancing white horse, so noble and proud, he sets you down and steps away to let the transformation happen. He knows the feeling so well, and yet it never grows any less unsettling.    The dragon and him are one and the same, but the beast has a different mindset. A primal and largely thoughtless existence. It knows what the man knows, and if need be, it will think rationally, but that is not its default manner.
   It is an animal, still. Despite the many centuries of life that it has shared with the human. It feeds, sleeps and repeats the process as needed, nothing more. And as that mindset takes over, Oberyn fades into the background. Conscious and aware but drowned out by the sensory input of the much larger animal and its superior senses.
   However, even the beast is enchanted with you, recognizing your scent at once and having no adverse reaction to it.    Instead, he feels only protective over you. He doesn’t think unless he has to, but his heart is no less sensitive within the body of the beast.
   He gently picks you up in his front paws, cradling you to his chest for warmth, as his body will remain quite hot regardless of the temperature of the air, the fire within always stoked and ready.    Leaning back to rest heavier on his hindlegs, he leaps off the ground. His wings are long, wide and powerful, easily taking up the extra strain as they bear you both into the skies, heading south and away from the snow.
   There was a time when all the heavens belonged to him. When he was the largest, fastest, and strongest creature up there. But no more.    Now, when he flies, he must always keep a watchful eye on men, as they jump from city to city in their metal birds. Airplanes. What a terrifying way to move, locked in a box, thousands of feet above the ground, having to trust the skills of a complete stranger to operate it.    Oberyn will never set foot in such a thing, of that he is most certain.
   There is no such obstacle in your way for this journey, however. Concealed by the night, he lands softly in the still green grass on your backyard, before instantly shifting back to his human form, so that he may fit through the door.    Your scent around this entire place is so strong that he could sense it even from the air above, so there is no question, he’s found the correct address.
   Rounding the little cottage, he finds the front door and shifts you over into his left arm so that he may unlock it.    During dinner eight nights ago, you had asked him about your personal belongings, and he had confessed to taking your keys and the small mobile phone which he had found in your pockets, only the first of which he would be able to return to you.
   The fire in the ballroom, where you had sat to warm yourself on your first morning in the castle, he had set in order to burn that phone, not trusting even the outdated model to not be traceable somehow.    But you had explained that you only had the phone with you for emergencies, as there are many ways to get yourself hurt in the mountains. Beyond that, you do not like to be too reachable, apparently.
   You work in a store which specializes in holiday themes, such as Halloween, Christmas and Easter, which is perhaps why these ordinarily festive seasons appear to have lost their charm for you. You had spoken of them only briefly and with a great sense of emptiness.    Listening to you, he had often felt a great loneliness behind your words. But perhaps not the obvious kind. Something deeper, to do with unfulfilled dreams, maybe.
   It was only when you had spoken of working outdoors, chopping your own wood or tending to your horse or your vegetable garden, that he had seen peacefulness in your frame.    You’re not a typical modern person, drawn to various forms of digital media, preferring instead to work with your hands and be rewarded for your efforts with things that are useful to you. Things you can not only see, but touch and experience in real time.
   He steps inside, finding a quite large and inviting living room directly to his right, decorated to feel warm and somehow intrinsically you. As well as he knows you, at least.    To his left is a small kitchen and straight ahead is a short hallway with two doors on the left. The closest leading to the bath, easily discernable by the smell of scented disinfectants, and the other to your bedroom.
   He can sense a lavender fragrance from your sheets. Not the concentrated fabric softener that most people use, which is filled with chemicals, but something natural and clean. Probably your own concoction, created with lavender grown in your own garden.    It’s a pleasant fragrance to his sensitive nose, as is most of the scents he feels from this house. Your home.
   He brings you to the bedroom and sets you down on top of the covers, noting that your bed is large enough to comfortably accommodate two adults, but then quickly wrenches such thoughts from his mind.    You look peaceful in your unconsciousness. Unlike when he had flown you to the castle. You’d been restless then, twitching and trembling as your body had attempted to adjust to whatever foreign process had been taking place within you.
   Had he known how wonderous you would turn out to be, how tolerant and kind and patient you are, he might not have been so frightened as he had waited by your bedside, dreading having to watch another mutated monster emerge from another innocent soul.    Even if he will never know how you survived, he will forever be grateful to have been given the chance to know you. And… he will greatly miss your company, for however long he may remember you.
   He puts a thick quilt over you and steps back to leave, but then decides that there can be no harm in stealing a kiss of your forehead before he walks out of your life entirely.    Your skin is exactly as warm as it should be, which feels quite cool against his own, since he runs at a much higher base temperature than humans. Your heartrate is steady and strong, your breathing even and deep, so he feels certain you will recover from the sedation without any problems.
   As he walks back through the house, he steps into the living room and over to the fireplace. The autumn chill has found its way into the half-timbered building, and he does not want your first day back to start with you feeling cold.    The heat within the dragon’s chest is still there in his human form, so a little huff of superheated air is all it takes to ignite the dry wood. He waits for another minute, just to be sure it will not go out, and then he slips back out into the night, never to return.
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   You come around slowly, feeling drowsy and heavy at first, in a more than natural way. Your brain is sluggish, leaving every movement feeling like a mountain climb, but your bladder has woken up and is demanding the rest of you do as well, so you climb.    First into sitting, which results in your tumbling forwards out of bed, only just managing not to hit your head against the floor. Then your nerves start to feel more responsive, perhaps with the slight rush of adrenaline at the fear of getting hurt, and you’re able to rise to your feet.
   Every step gives you back a little more control, and by the time you’ve reached the bathroom, you don’t need to hold onto the walls anymore.    Once done in there, you walk over to the kitchen to run the taps for a few minutes, which ends up being the longest minutes of your life because you’re suddenly absolutely fucking parched.
   You down two full glasses and you’re working on filling a third when there’s a knock on the door.    Startled, you nearly drop the glass in the sink, because who’s gonna show up here when it’s barely even light out? Who even knows that you’re back already?    Irrationally hoping that it might be Oberyn, you walk to the door and open it.
   “Good morning, miss,” officer Park of the local police greets you, and you’re momentarily stunned.
   Not that it isn’t your much too desired former captor, but that the police would be the first to come knocking. You haven’t had anything to do with them in your life at all, you’ve always been very well behaved. So, naturally, your mind jumps to the thought of crime, wondering if you could’ve committed any without realizing it.
   “How nice to see you alive and well. We’ve been looking for you for two weeks and then someone reported seeing smoke rising from your chimney this morning,” the officer helpfully explains, easing your worries, but creating new ones at the same time.
   Since you haven’t lit any fire, your gaze is automatically drawn to your right and the brick fireplace at the middle of the far wall, where there is indeed a fading flame.    He must’ve lit it before he left, to make sure that the house wouldn’t be too cold when you woke up, and the thought tugs at something both painful and wonderful within your gut. No one has ever shown you that kind of consideration.
   But you’d expected to have at least a few hours to come up with a plausible story to tell anyone who asks where you’ve been, not being slapped in the face with it the first damned thing after you’ve woken up.    Of course, you have played with an idea or two, loosely, while still at the castle, but not enough to have a solid plan ready and waiting.
   “Yeah, um… I’m sorry that you’ve wasted your resources on me. I fell off my horse in the dark and ended up getting completely lost during the storm. By the time daylight broke on the next day, I couldn’t recognize anything.    Has anyone found my horse, Casper?” you ask, hoping to buy a few seconds to think but also genuinely worried about what happened to him.
   “He came right back here, safe and sound. We found him grazing in the backyard when we came to check on you after you hadn’t showed up for work the next day and no one could reach you. He’s over at the Mackey farm.”
   “Oh, great, thank you so much.”
   “Sure. But I’m a bit confused,” the officer starts, clearly wanting to bring the topic back to you, so you try to stay cool and think fast. “If you’ve been lost in the woods for two weeks, I’d expect to find you in a lesser state.    Honestly, miss… you look fresh enough to have just came from a beauty salon.”
   Shit. You haven’t looked in a mirror, so you have no idea how you might look, but you do know that you definitely don’t look starved or dirty enough to have been living rough for that long.
   “Actually, I was helped by a stranger, if you can believe it,” you say, deciding to weave as much truth as you dare into this lie. “After several days of wandering in the wrong direction, he found me and let me stay with him for a bit. And once I was fully recovered, he brought me back here. It was a long trek, which is why I didn’t get back until the middle of the night.”
   “This guy have a name?” Park challenges, years of experience making him skeptical of such an unbelievable story.
   “No. I mean, I assume he does, but we didn’t exchange names. I just called him the good Samaritan.”
   “He saved your life, and you didn’t ask for his name?” the officer asks, raising his brows in disbelief, but you’re not even really lying about this.
   After all, he’d said that his name is Oberyn, and you don’t think that he made that up, but you also remember him telling you that he doesn’t recall his own mother’s name, so there’s every chance that it’s just a name he’s heard at some point over the years and liked the sound of it enough to take it for himself.    And if he’s as old as you were made to believe, then his identity is highly unlikely to exist in any records anywhere in the world anyway.
   “He’s a recluse and a hermit who’s put himself as far away from people as he can get. Saving me was an inconvenience to him, but he still did it. He didn’t want to tell me his name because he doesn’t want anyone to come looking for him, so please, let him be.”
   You keep your tone a bit sharper for that part, to let the officer know that you have no intention of helping him pursue that lead, and he seems to get the message.
   “Alright, well… so long as you’re sure everything’s okay with you.”
   “Yes, sir. I am very grateful for your efforts, and again, I’m sorry that it was all for nothing, but I’m fine.”
   He nods politely, somewhat gruffly wishing you a good day, and then he leaves.    You close the door, exhaling deeply in relief that you managed not to panic. But then his words about you looking like you could’ve just walked out of a beauty salon pop up in your mind, and you head back to the bathroom.    There were no mirrors in the castle, at least none that you saw, so when you now see your own reflection in the one over your sink, you momentarily lose your breath.
   The wrinkles around your eyes and mouth have smoothed out. In fact, there isn’t a single visible flaw to your skin. And… has the color of your eyes shifted slightly?    Your hair is both shinier and much less damaged overall, and it seems to have changed color. Not drastically, but the tone is fuller, richer, and the shine has a distinct shade of orange, which is far from what it’s ever been close to before.    Even your teeth have been altered. Each one sitting perfectly aligned and each one apparently now flawless in shape and size.
   “The bite…” you whisper to yourself.
   The mutation which had turned those creatures in the basement into the worst things ever concocted for a horror story, seems to have turned you into the perfect version of yourself.    Just like Oberyn has looked to your eyes, ever since you first saw him.    Oh, god… Does that mean you’re becoming whatever he is? But no, that makes no sense, it was the dragon that bit you, not Oberyn.
   For a moment, the room disappears, as your brain is suddenly laying a puzzle you didn’t even know existed, and a series of images are displayed before your eyes.    The green coat, exactly the same color as the scales. The golden embroideries on the cuffs and lapels, in the exact same shape as a classically depicted serpentine dragon.    And when he’d talked about humans, he’d used the words “them” and “you” instead of “us”. He’d even said that he was tethered to the dragon…
   You droop to the floor as the unthinkable becomes an inescapable truth, gasping for air while you try to find rationalizations, anything that could make it explainable in some other way, but it all fits too well to be coincidence.    You probably put these pieces together even from the start, but chose not to see them because you liked him. Because he was sweet and kind.
   But he’s a monster. A viper lurking in the dark.    It was all a lie.
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Part 4
Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed it! If you wish to be notified when this story is updated, follow @sirowsky-stories and turn on notifications, or just ask nicely, and I'll tag you.
@joelswritingmistress @pedrostories
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redeyeingirs · 4 months
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The announcement
Hi. I'm here to announce what I think is a pretty big job that I finally got up the courage to do. This is my first experience in creating works of this format.
Wormhole is a comic book that tells one of the many alternative universes with dp with elements of mysticism, horror and, of course, drakes live in this universe instead of people.
⚠From the warnings⚠: my work will contain elements of body horror, themes of death, possibly suicides, blood, perhaps straight guro. This is not what the work focuses on, but elements of the graphic representation of these topics may be present.
I present the cover of my comic book ^-^
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I was inspired and started drawing my comic based on my random dragon au of Danny Phantom. So far, there is no system by which I would plan to release this creation of mine, in the end, I think it depends on my and your interest, anyway.
The comic will be released in 2024. I think that the publication will take place on several pages.
Later, I will create a separate post, which I will make pinned to collect all links to outgoing pages and chapters on it. I haven't decided exactly yet, but most likely there will be separate posts for individual chapters, since I plan to draw my own episodic covers for the chapters as well. You can follow if you're interested, but I'm just a poor student who has a lot of work to do, so don't expect a lot of quick updates.
A few of my sketches and some kind of spoilers on the topic when I wasn't sure if I was going to do a comic yet, hehe 👀
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In fact, I tried not to spoilerize the designs of some of the characters here, hehe.
And, of course, chibi draco Phantom:
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English is not my first language (if it is not already obvious from my excellent grammar), so @dragondancer403 kindly volunteered to help me with character dialogues and various entries, thank you 💜
🪐 Also write to me if you want me to draw character cards as well 🪐
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mooncalfe-art · 9 months
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Weird question, please bear with me.
So I was in the turtle group chat talking about different methods of turtle shell repair, as one does, and then I remembered Donnie's Terrible, Rotten, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day and his metal shell.
Seeing as a turtle's shell IS their spine and a significant portion of their ribcage, does Donnie now also have a prosthetic metal spine and ribs? and all the Important Stuff that's in the spinal column - the nerves and the fluids and the like... I'm not really asking for you to explain the Deep Biology of mutant turtle skeletal structures, but I AM asking what is up with their spines - are the fused, separate, some secret third thing? inquiring minds want to know.
I think about this same thing every so often, haha. Most artists (even Peter and Kevin back in the day) draw the Turtles with a flexible plastron unlike real turtles, which you can either chalk up to artistic license and cartooning, or you can take it more literally to mean that the Turtles have a more human-type skeleton and their plastron and shell are more spongy sort of armor plating rather than bone like real-life turtles. If I was the only one working on TMNT I'd probably delve more into the biology of it and have it at the outset that the carapace is part of their skeleton and is rigid like real turtles, but it's impossible to set that kind of thing up in a series with a ton of people working on it and expect it to remain the same across the board, so I usually just don't worry about it. I'm also kind of boxed in a bit by Donatello losing his shell and, thanks to the ooze, somehow receiving a new one that Fugitoid I guess just sticks onto Don's back and he's good to go. There's a panel in that particular issue (I forget which one it was) where Don is about to be operated on and he's lying on his back on the medical bed, but I always wondered what's under his shell, then? If he has no shell I'm guessing it was a huge exposed wound, and if so why is he lying ON the giant gaping wound?! Haha. And then it's like if the Turtles' carapace is flexible in IDW TMNT, that must mean it's NOT part of their skeletal system and in that case why would Don even need a new shell? Clearly thinking too deeply about it, haha.
In any case, since I took over as writer, I've tried to go by those rules that Tom set up as much as I can, like when I had Don's old broken shell (which Tom never accounted for, where did it go after Fugitoid removed it??? So I decided to draw the old shell having been tossed into a dumpster, lol) be attached to Venus, like if the surgeon has a healing agent like ooze or the Dragon scales the way Fugitoid and Dr. Barlow did, it seems like they can just graft components (whether organic or inorganic) onto anyone however they like regardless of what the internal mutant biology is. In Venus's flashback in my Alliance #4 issue, I did draw her spinal column visible when the shell is being grafted on though, sort of as a nod to the skeletal system thing but not explicitly solidifying the biology of it.
Another way I think about it is that mutants haven't undergone any sort of evolution as a species, their biology doesn't have to "make sense" or be useful in a natural selection evolutionary way. The mutagen kinda removes all the specialized traits from an animal, so the Turtles' carapaces have lost whatever traits gave rise to regular turtles' shells over millions of years. Mutants are outside the evolutionary process, so the Turtles' shells don't have to be biologically useful or advantageous or even really have anything in common with normal turtles. The mutagen reconfigures an animal into humanoid form and it'll recode their DNA to any extent to acheive that end result, so maybe it built the Turtles' a new skeletal system and their shells are purely vestigial.
I feel like I'm getting way too deep here and it only makes it more confusing, lol. So to answer your question, if I had to pick one of the options you listed, I would pick "secret third thing." ;)
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slushiecookie · 4 months
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I barely draw furries but I was proud of this sketch so here's my fursona! ^^
As the name suggests, he's technically a Glowball form, but only if she tries really hard to transform into Glowmoth and isn't lazy, as furry anatomy is a lot different than Hallmark magic snowball anatomy 👍
He's snarky, cheeky, and likes to make clever remarks, and because he's a Glowball form, he exists in my object OC world, and since he's a Glowball form, he causes chaos 😊
He's a mix of a lot of things I like, cats, crustaceans, arachnids, insects (moths specifically), snakes, and, of course, dragons lol
The first pic is a sketch I did for fun, as I haven't done painter-like shading in a long time :D
Then there's his (very messy and slightly rushed) ref sheet, and the second and first ever drawings of the guy! I hope y'all like him lol ^^'
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starmonsterrr · 6 months
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Introducing: Undertale self-insert #102480125 (Version 1.0)
HELLO HELLO SO I KNOW I HAVE TO CATCH UP WITH INKTOBERTALE BUT SHUSH I NEED TO INTRODUCE IO'S "CREATOR" COUNTERPART!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If you haven't already read the introduction post of my primary Undertale 'sona' i advice you to do so. here's the link to it
DRRRRRRRRRUMMMROLLLLLLL
NOTE: THE REF NEEDS TO BE UPDATED
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THIS THANG TOOK LIKE FOREVER TO FIGURE OUT BUT NOW I AM FREE FROM THE PAIN
Now it's time to explain the physics of this hhh
Aurum doesn't live inside the UTMV, but rather, exists as a creator for it, and lives in the fandom itself. That "fandom" location functions as a realm that allows for creativity from beings living in our world to brew and develop further to then take form in the UTMV itself, and is also where Creators can interact with eachother, no matter the distance.
Aurum cannot interact directly with the UTMV, but, due to being a Creator, is able to craft things and characters that live within it.
To do this, she requires a quill that it takes with itself wherever it goes. It functions as an outlet for her creative abilities.
I've also been thinking of the possibility of its soul being that quill, due to how tightly Aurum is connected to her creativity, but it might take me a bit to figure out the specifics for that.
In addition to creativity, Aurum is also able to spectate the works of other Creators, and of course, interact with said fellow Creators, but it can take her a bit to get out of it's shell.
Aurum tends to add quite an amount of detail to its work. While it has tried various artistic outlets, the one in which she excels the most is drawing, animation and writing, especially the earlier 2, as those are the hobbies it has been practicing since it has memory.
It also happens to be quite the extra-clever being. (extra clever earthbound spirit ghost in the form-)
It struggles with issues from a past fandom she used to mostly create for, and is trying to recover by 'pushing away shame', as it would word it. It also appears to have a particular dislike of what is known as cringe culture.
That scarf it wears? Just as the ref sheet says, it provides safety, but it also helps somewhat at covering up her neck scar that comes from a far older thing that happened. The scar may sometimes bleed when Aurum feels unsafe or as if it has 'slipped up creatively'.
Some bonus trivia:
Aurum's blood is gold! I made it like that because i myself have RH Null blood, which is also known as the....golden blood type.
It's design is inspired by the silver fox because I just recently found out it is one of my kintypes. And also because i have a tendency to represent myself online as a fox.
And the 'draconic' stuff? Dragon kintype, though that is covered by Io.
Speaking of, Aurum is the being that puppeteers Io.
INK FANGIRL INK FANGIRL INK FANGIRL
To add on the thing from above, this thing collects Ink images to survive.
probably has a little room full of simpy stuff
it's like a dragon hoard maybe
Aurum is meant to be in the autistic spectrum, as i myself am autistic!
I got the name Aurum from "Au", which is the periodic table of elements's symbol for gold. And y'know.... AUs! Aurum is a Creator! Doesn't that tie together nicely?
Yes, the scarf that it's wearing is a recreation of Ink's scarf.
Aurum first started as an arctic fox but then started getting covered in ink over time from drawing and drawing and drawing a lot, so it's basically identical to an actual silver fox.
Aurum sometimes stands on 2 legs, usually when interacting with other Creators.
I believe that's all i can think of right now, now off i go to catch up with Inktobertale. I may also do asks for Aurum when i take breaks! (AND I JUST REMEMBERED I MADE A SIDE BLOG TO RP AS IO HHHHH I GOTTA GET IT READY)
Later on i'll make a masterpost with the links to both Io and Aurum's posts
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genopaint · 9 days
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This should be Week 9 of Daily Dragons! Apologies for the delay on updating this but I've been incredibly busy and stressed due to moving. And while things haven't settled down per say I am no longer on a time limit to move out so hopefully I can have the ball rolling on the daily dragon challenge a little better!
As always you can follow me on twitter where they’re posted daily
And read more info on each of them below the cut
Daily Dragon #56 - Fygar
Another cute, arcade dragon! Fygar was always one I was gonna do eventually, and I didn't have a huge oomph to draw tonight so I figured this was a perfect opportunity for a simple one! Tried to do a new take on it inspired by a few different designs :)
i know ive been posting these all so late into the evening, apologies, im all over the place lately lmao also, am i nuts or didn't there used to be grey fygar? i couldn't find ANY sprites of them so I guess I made it up. Oh well
Daily Dragon #57 - Percipitar
A mollusc-like dragon that swims through rivers and ponds, slurping up water to bulk up its pouches, then turns that water into clouds for fighting and hunting! Their shell is very hard, but the yellow flesh is VERY soft and gooey.
Since the last few were all redraws / fanart, I really wanted to make a brand new one today! Originally this was gonna be a poison mist spewing dragon, but I couldn't decide on a color/effect for the poison. And I eventually thought just regular water and mist powers were a little more interesting because we've already had a few poisonous dragons or dragons that spew stuff that has effects on enemies. Note to self, stop making dragons that produce some kind of toxic or mist???
Just for fun and some background because I have it here, this is the unfinished version of the picture when I was making it poisonous instead. I changed it at the last possible moment lol
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Daily Dragon #58 - Mega Charizard Z
"Its head splits into 3 to become a menacing Hydra. While its brain power is divided in this form, its fire power becomes multiplied!" Not sure what type I'd make it? Maybe Fire/Fairy or Fire/Electric or something idk
Also I already have ideas on how I would maybe tackle this design a little differently so, maybe we'll see Mega Charizard Z 2 in the future
Daily Dragon #59 - Feral Cave Dragon
My brother found some ANCIENT art of mine in an old book tonight, so of course I had to redraw all the characters on it!
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This is, as I'm sure you can tell, an old bookmark! From back when I used to read... Horrifying times! My brother said he found it in a book I was reading around 2011 or so?
Daily Dragon #60 - Dragon Girl Green
This fun little dragon is February's most popular dragon as decided by vote!! That means she gets new art! Soaring through the sky and flying by some migrating birds! Seems like she's having a magical day~
My personal favorite from February? There were a LOT of dragons I actually really liked. But ultimately I'm just really smitten with Percipitar! Been a rough month! March is gonna be rough too but we will get through it! Thank you all so much for your continued support!
That means there's like... 305 days left? 306 cause of leap year??? Roughly 300
In case you're curious about the votes:
Dragon Girl Green - 6 votes Three Frilled Clovradon - 1 vote Percipitar - 2 votes Howl Gravwyrm - 1 vote Shellizard - 2 votes Succubusaur - 1 vote Shelldrogon - 1 vote Dragostein - 1 vote Floofizard - 1 vote Neck Lizard - 1 vote
Daily Dragon #61 - Rawrnosaur
A large, feral dragon with some odd properties. It has chameleon-like eyes, salamander-like skin, gecko-like tail, and a long lizard-like tongue. They're often found in places with more humid climates and eat tons of food constantly!
This is yet another redraw of an INCREDIBLY old monster of mine! This one is even older than the Feral Cave Dragon (which I found out is from 2011-ish) as this would've probably been before I was even in Kindergarten. Crazy stuff!
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The original was found while we were helping my grandma clean her house, which is cute. Some things never change, I've been a reptile fan for life! I'm actually SO happy with how this redesign came out. I might have to go through and color it in later!
Daily Dragon #62 - Mountain Dragon
This dragon lives high on mountain tops, where it makes its lair. It rarely comes down to ground level, only occasionally to find shiny things to add to its horde or when food on the mountain becomes scarce. As such, they're a bit rare.
Been having a stressful week, so I haven't been having a lot of original ideas for dragons. So this is another redraw. This dragon from 2023 was just called "random dragon" in my files. So there wasn't much to work with aha
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x0majestea0x · 1 year
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Finally got around to redoing the art for my Sara's pegasus mech, 404-TBA. And then I forgot to post it, lol. Just in time for LL10 though!
It's been a year since our campaign started as well, woohoo! I started on a new reference for my pc as well but I've been so busy lately I haven't gotten too far.
She also has a sisyphus-class NHP named Teeba (after the mech ofc, she/they/it) who likes to get a little silly. Teeba's digital appearance is above the mech, I drew that back in november though. I plan on making a proper ref for them eventually.
I hadn't realized how unoriginal the design felt before I redid it and I feel a lot more confident and less copycat-like with this one now. I had never designed let alone drawn a mech before when I first made it so I think I took a lot from other people and I'm not very proud of it tbh.
I know it shares quite a bit of common tropes I see with a lot of other pegasus frames but I'm hoooping this one stands out enough on its own. I tried to lean a lot harder into a dragon than a standard lizard too. This one fits my original vision a lot better and I'm so happy with it. The metal plating has a scale texture!
Also, notes! I love describing how it moves during combat. It's such a freak. I've thought a LOT about how this thing functions, and I didn't even draw all of it here I wanted to add the autoguns but I got too tired lol Fortunately for me, though, a majority of its attacks are tech ones.
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sunnylands-world · 1 year
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≪ Sunny's navigation ⪼
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✍ as the writer of everything on this page you do not have my permission to take my ideas, repost them on other sites, translation them or copy them. [Read the rules for more]
Hello readers and mutuals, if you don't know already I go by sunny and welcome to my blog!
My account for questions and prompts is: sunnylandsworldwithwords
And feel free to ask me anything writing related there
Feedback: tell me what you think of my writing! I love to improve in certain areas.[be nice though]
⪻ About me ⪼
Hobbies for sunny: I like to write, read and make edits. Some of my other hobbies include dancing, singing, drawing, and sometimes painting or hanging out with family.
Age: 18
My favorite colors are: blue, Green, peach orange, white, sunset yellow, lavender, beige, and other pastel colors
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First house: Hufflepuff
Second: ravenclaw
Patronus: dog
Wand: Yew with a Core of Dragon Heartstring
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[I recommend reading this if you read my fics or would like to request]
First off thank you for coming to my page. I appreciate your reads, comments, reblogs and requests and any support for that matter.
If your okay with it tell me your thoughts I ask that you do it kindly, I'm a easy cry baby. ♡
My fandoms include: Harry Potter, Stranger Things, Marvel, The walking dead, and others. I also write for celebrities too! So basically multi-fandom but I am know best for my draco content.
My writing style can be more poetry like so that's a warning!
I do not write relationships between underage readers or characters! No one will be in a relationship with a character under 18
I write Draco in different universes or whatever it's called 😂
I occasionally do stepcest fics the reader is always 18 and up, so don't be sick and say she's younger or I'll block you. if this bothers you, you can block me, don't bother interacting with me about it.
The only time the reader, character or both are underage in my fanfiction is to describe highschool [17,16 but this more for Hogwarts] other than that they are ALWAYS 18!
Feel free to interact with me through my inbox, we should definitely fangirl together!!
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I write fluff, angst, and smut
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Things I haven't tried writing yet and may or may not be comfortable with include: writing about sleeping with people on their period [the thought of it just doesn't feel right but I may write it], harm to my favs mental health or suicide unless it's for the plot. I may add to this over time
You can leave as many requests as you like however, I cannot promise I'll write them right away as some requests are more complex and may take longer to write.
[this doesn't mean I won't get to it!]
⪻ Ship's ⪼
Ships I think are okay but am too jealous of or don't like include: Eddie Munson + Steve Harrington, Hermione + Draco, Harry + Draco, and other Harry Potter ships that give me the icks, Eddie + Chrissy, and more [either they bother me or the possessiveness in me to have them all to myself is making me hate it and I can admit that 😌]
I do not hate others or comment my opinion on said ships. what you like is your choice, I will not try and change your mind.
However, I may write polyamorous relationships with said ship's but I won't have it be like them being together more so they are both with the reader.
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aceofstars16 · 3 months
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7 for Stan, 12 for Ford, 1 for Mabel, 2 for Dipper; 9 for Chara, 10 for Berlyne, 18 for Apen, 6 for Idony; and then (let's hope a quick scroll got character names for Jade Torch right) 14 for Lune, 13 for Gabryl, 24 for Kennyth, and 4 for Soni, please?
It took me a while to get to this but I will attempt to reply now!
And so many fun fandoms! I'm tagging @dragonanne since there are Jade Torch characters here hehe
Stan: 7. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you like?
Hmmm, I'm not sure if it's 100% a *fandom* thing but like, I really do love all of the protective Stan things, especially when he's protecting Ford. Gotta love protective siblings! 👏
Ford: 12. What's a headcanon you have for this character?
Oooo, there are probably a LOT, but one that's I've been wanting to write about is the headcanon that Ford tries to get Stan to like...be healthier after the show. Like, exercise more, eat healthier, all of that. Of course, Stan is annoyed by it, but it's because Ford knows they already lost so much time with his brother and he wants to have as much time with him as possible 🥹
Mabel: 1. Why do you like or dislike this character?
Mabel! I mean, there are so many reasons to like her tbh. I think for me, I really just love her energy and excitement for life. She's just so fun, and she also makes me laugh so much, maybe even more than any of the other characters 😂
Dipper: 2. Favorite canon thing about this character?
Oh canon thing...I mean, you gotta love his care for Mabel. Just that sibling love and support makes me so happy! And his nerdiness of course, gotta love an excited nerd haha
Chara: 9. Could you be roommates with this character?
Oh man...I...genuinely do not know tbh...I feel like maybe? I've really only shared a room with my sister and as I've gotten older I've had a harder time sharing sleeping spaces with anyone beside family so...???
Berlyne: 10. Could you be best friends with this character?
Oooo...I'd like to think so? I mean, I think we definitely have differences in personality, but I feel like I could understand her enough to be friends at least?
Apen: 18. How about a relationship they have in canon with another character that you admire?
It's funny cause I had one gut reaction, then it changed...I think I might have to go with him and Bay? Like, even when Apen was little, he didn't antagonize Bay, and he seemed genuinely concerned about him. And even as he got older, he has never hated Bay (and Bay's care and concern (or maybe some guilt?) for Apen in Gallitan is just...😭)
Idony: 6. What's something you have in common with this character?
Oh hmmm...I mean, I feel like she cares a lot about people and I relate to that quite a bit 🥲
Lune: 14. Assign a fashion aesthetic to this character.
Haha this is funny because I just saw a modern drawing of her, so I'm thinking of that now lol. I feel like...green tank tops with maybe a leather jacket and black pants (probably some more stretchy material so she can fight in them haha)
Gabryl: 13. What's an emoji, an emoticon and/or any symbol that reminds you of this character or you think the character would use a lot?
Oooo...honestly...I'm thinking the 🥲 Just...for me, I love him but I also get emo about him...but also like...in a good way? If he used emojis....eh...maybe just the generic smile? :)
Kenneth: 24. What other character from another fandom of yours that reminds you of them?
I had a hard time with this haha...but I feel like I just settled on a mix of Kai from Lunar Chronicles and Gilan from Ranger's Apprentice? (though Gabryl reminders me of Kai too haha)
Soni: 4. If you could put this character in any other media, be it a book, a movie, anything, what would you put them in?
....is it bad I want to say my book idea that I haven't written yet? It has dragons and it would be fun if Soni could interact with my dragons haha 😂
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thegayhimbo · 7 months
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Stranger Things and Dungeons and Dragons Review
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WARNING: The following review contains MAJOR SPOILERS from this comic and Season 4 of Stranger Things!
If you haven't yet, be sure to check out my other Stranger Things Reviews:
Stranger Things Six
Stranger Things Halloween Special
Stranger Things The Other Side
Stranger Things Zombie Boys
Stranger Things The Bully
Stranger Things Winter Special
Stranger Things Tomb of Ybwen
Stranger Things Into The Fire
Stranger Things Science Camp
Stranger Things "The Game Master" and "Erica's Quest"
Synopsis: Taking place before and during seasons 1-3, this comic chronicles the origins of The Party, their discovery of D&D, how the game impacted their lives, and how their shared love for fantasy and adventure allowed them to bond.
Observations:
Fantasy has always been appealing to me since I was a kid: The idea of creating worlds with your own characters, creatures, mythology, and story. The idea of universes out there more extraordinary and unique compared to the one we live in. The idea your imagination can bring some semblance of peace and security to your life. I know this and have lived through it. Even 27 years later, despite becoming more cynical and jaded through trauma and bitter experiences, I will always understand those who use fantasy to confront the harshness of the real world. It's why Mike's words hit home for me when he's telling the bookstore owner about why he's interested in D&D and wants to spend money on it:
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"It really is like a war. We just want to fight on our own terms." Isn't that how we all feel at times? Some days, you're trying to survive the chaos of life, while other days involve you making choices between what is right and what is easy. Some days, everything is a shit-show, and you're trying to find something to keep you motivated. Some days, you have to deal with truly vile people and accept that they exist whether you like it or not. We all fight battles of some kind. We all have different ways of coping with how cold and indifferent reality can be. We all crave some sense of control in our lives.
For Mike and his friends, D&D provided that. Not only did it allow them to process their world easier, but it also gave them a sense of liberation from how oppressive the (as Eddie would put it) "forced conformity" of their society is. It's their world, and it's where they are the masters of their own destinies.
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Now I'll admit I never really got into D&D. Both my brother and my college roommates tried to rope me into the game, and at the time I didn't have the patience for it. However, I do understand its appeal, and respect how it's a game for both kids and adults that forms friendships and can be a fun, shared experience for everyone. Stranger Things and Dungeons & Dragons is not only a story of how D&D influenced each member of the Party, but also a love letter to both the show and the game itself.
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The artwork for this comic is incredible and some of the best I've seen so far. I love the drawings of the various D&D campaigns and the creative designs for the creatures the group encounters during their travels.
I also love how each campaign either draws upon the Party's experiences from school and their daily lives, or from the trauma they've endured since their encounters with the horrors of the Upside Down:
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That last part is significant because at one point in the comic, Mike seriously questions whether or not D&D has any real meaning for him or his friends following his first meeting with the Demogorgon and the revelation that monsters exist:
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Just like in the short story "The Game Master," Nancy is the one who comforts Mike during his crisis. She helps him realize that even though things can't go back to the way they were after everything that's happened, he still has his friends, and what made D&D valuable to them in the first place (aside from it being a means of dealing with the world around them) is that it brought and kept them together as companions.
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Nancy recognizes the value D&D has to Mike. It's why she dressed up as an Elf for his Elder Tree Campaign all those years ago, and it's why she still encourages him despite his doubts.
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(Side Note: I've always enjoyed the sibling dynamic Nancy and Mike have, and I'm praying season 5 includes more interactions between the two of them).
Speaking of which, this comic does a great job cementing the importance of D&D to Mike and Will's relationship. Mike is the one who introduced Will to D&D and even coined the nickname "Will the Wise" for him:
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On top of that, in a deeply heartwarming moment, Mike goes out of his way to craft a specific campaign for Will following Will's rescue from the Upside Down. He knows Will is struggling and scared due to what happened to him, and works to help Will feel better and regain his confidence by giving him the opportunity to be a hero again. As Mike explains to Nancy:
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This even extends to Mike handing over the role of Dungeon Master to Will by the time Max and El join The Party:
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I know it's pretty common these days in the fandom to bash Mike for being insensitive and oblivious, but moments like these demonstrate he is capable of putting thought and effort into helping and encouraging his friends and loved ones. A big reason Will is passionate about D&D is because Mike inspired Will to embrace his talent and imagination. Will isn't likely to ever forget that.
Another aspect I enjoyed was getting to see how Mike, Will, and Lucas met Dustin. Back in season 1, Dustin remarks that he didn't become friends with them until around 4th grade, and the comic elaborates more on the circumstances of their meeting:
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Turns out D&D appealed to Dustin's love for math and probabilities. There's also how he expressed interest in the game and didn't belittle it like Mike's other classmates did. Dustin is a curious person after all, and is more interested in figuring out how something works instead of dismissing it like other people do when they can't understand it.
Finally, there's Lucas's interest in D&D. At the beginning of the comic, when he and Mike are hiding from Troy and James, they go into a bookstore where they see the owner has created a display of The Battle of Waterloo, which is something that impresses Lucas:
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There is the possibility I'm reading too much into this, but Lucas's comment about his dad's service in Vietnam and his refusal to talk about it makes me wonder if Lucas's interest in D&D isn't just because of the fantasy-adventure elements, but because it's his way of trying to understand what his dad went through during the war. The game has those battles between good and evil, as well as teaching people about making tough choices and relying on your companions when the going gets tough. Lucas is smart enough to piece things together, and even if his dad was reluctant to talk about Vietnam, he may have figured out aspects of that war based on what he was taught in school and whatever small details he could have picked up from his family.
Mike talks about how D&D for him is about fighting a war on his own terms, and the same goes for Lucas.
But it goes beyond that: D&D gave the boys memories to cherish, and the means to not feel alone while growing up:
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Something else I want to discuss are the dates presented in the comic:
I don't know what information (if any) that Jody Houser or Dark Horse Comics were given about season 4 when this comic was written (which came out in late 2020/early 2021), but I find it to be a pretty big coincidence that the date Mike and Lucas discover D&D for the first time is on September 8th, 1980, which is exactly one year after the Massacre at Hawkins Lab took place and El banished Henry/One/Vecna to the Upside Down.
We also find out Mike's birthday is on April 7th, 1971. Granted, this is what the comic presents as his birthday, so I don't know if it's his actual birthday on the show. Regardless, it's still a cool detail.
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And this was the gift Mike's friends gave him on his 10th birthday:
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Finally, there's the last D&D campaign the Party plays in 1985 before El and Will leave Hawkins for Lenora. On the surface, there are callbacks to season 2, with Will's character in the game getting taken over by an evil entity (similar to how he was possessed by the Mind Flayer) and the Party having to work together to save him:
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The big difference is while Will was able to be rescued in season 2, his character dies tragically in the game:
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Again, I'm not saying the comic creators have any foreknowledge of what's going to occur in the final season, but I've been firm in believing that one or more main characters will end up dead before season 5 is over. I did a post a while back speculating that Mike was marked for death (and giving my reasoning for why), but I also wonder if it could also be Will, especially because of Vecna's creepy interest in him. There's a connection between the two of them the show hasn't fully explained yet, and (as I talked about in my review of Stranger Things The Other Side), I've seen fans on social media note the parallels between Vecna and Will and speculate on the idea of Will possibly turning evil in the last season. I'm skeptical of that happening (mostly because of the backlash the Duffer Brothers would face for it), but I do question what Will's fate will be in the final season. For what it's worth, Ross Duffer mentioned in an interview that Will's arc in season 5 will tie the whole series together, so make of that what you're able to.
There's also the final battle:
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I remember the vision Vecna shows Nancy in season 4: A dark cloud spreading over Hawkins. Downtown on fire. Dead soldiers. A creature with a giant gaping mouth. An army of monsters invading. The death of her family (including Mike). Most of this is likely foreshadowing for what's to come. Just like the Party faces down an army of demons in their final game, they will also be facing down Vecna's army of monsters in the final season.
But in spite of how bad circumstances get, the one thing I trust is the Party will still have each other to rely on. I will be sad to see them all of them go once the show is over.
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Overall, a solid comic and one of my personal favorites. I highly recommend it.
Coming Soon: Stranger Things Kamchatka Review
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More pregnant Yuanzhi pleeease 🙏
Maybe a family fic? With Shangjue taking care of the older kids?
Thanks
Tags: Mpreg, Family Planning, Established Relationship, Cousin Incest, Doting Shangjue, Pregnant Yuanzhi, Light Angst, Family Feels, Fluff
--
Shangjue doesn't hesitate to swoop in to take one of the twins from Yuanzhi's arms while Lao Da, their eldest boy, stalls their third daughter from barrelling into Yuanzhi's knees. Er Jie, their second daughter, deftly intercepts the other twin and catches her second brother from tripping when he tries to sidestep the escaped twin from Shangjue's arms.
"Good teamwork," Yuanzhi laughs, looking mildly impressed. Arching in, Shangjue kisses his cheek, wrapping an arm around his waist and rubbing his hand over the apex of his pregnant belly.
"I've missed you today," Shangjue says, nuzzling against his temple.
Yuanzhi hums, leaning into him for a kiss to his lips which starts out closed mouth but with a teasing dip of Shangjue's tongue, quickly devolves into little breathy moans swallowed between the tangle of sighs and happy giggles.
"Someone call for Da Jie. A'die and A'niang are being sticky again."
Shangjue chuckles, pulling back to peck at the tip of Yuanzhi's nose. "Furen, look. Your children are bullying us again. Such unfilial behaviour."
"Why are they my children only when they misbehave?" Yuanzhi says, eyes sparkling with amusement. "You're the one who put them in me."
"That, I most certainly did," Shangjue beams, unrepentantly smug as he looks Yuanzhi up and down, delighting in the way his didi blushes. He steals another kiss before sliding their hands together. "Alright?" He asks.
"Nothing I haven't gone through before," Yuanzhi replies, allowing himself to be pulled back into Shangjue's arms, and carefully guided up the path.
Shangjue knows his Yuanzhi better than most; knows the things he doesn't want to say in front of the children.
Lao Da is turning 18 and will soon assume more responsibilities under Shangjue's guidance. He's poised to be the heir to the Jue lineage and his parents couldn't be prouder. Their eldest daughter is in the back hill undergoing the Trial of the Three Realms and once she has returned, she will formally be recognised as the heiress of the Zhi lineage.
They'd been happy to be parents of two, but then came their second daughter, and in quick succession, their second son, their third daughter, and after an eight-year break, their dragon and phoenix pair of twins. And now Yuanzhi is pregnant again.
Shangjue spies the way Yuanzhi winces and quickly moves to ease him into a chair in their family hall.
Since their fourth child was born, Yuanzhi has been experiencing more aches and pains. No matter how many treatments Elder Yue had devised, those had remained. Shangjue tries as best he can, but Yuanzhi is determined to work and carry out his duties as Lord of the Zhi lineage, though he has agreed to dispense with his usual proclivities of testing poisons himself.
"Er Lang, Xiao Er, take the younger ones to their nannies. Lao Da, could you..."
"Prepare some cooling soup for A'niang? Yeah, no problem."
Shangjue waits until they've been left alone before taking Yuanzhi's hand. "This is the last one." It's less a promise and more of a plea.
Yuanzhi had taken the responsibility of bearing children for their family seriously, gritting and quietly carrying the discomforts on his own because Shangjue had been called away by his duties far too often than he'd like to be. For this pregnancy, he'd put his foot down about waiting on Yuanzhi hand and foot. Ziyu had been more than happy to allow him that leave.
"You know I can't get enough of you, Ge," Yuanzhi smiles, breezily shrugging even as the clear signs of exhaustion cling to him. "Let's not make promises we cannot keep."
"No," Shangjue sternly insists. "No more."
Yuanzhi blinks, looking down at the table. He tries to draw his hand back, only for Shangjue to shuffle closer, pulling their joined hands to his lips, tenderly kissing the back of Yuanzhi's hand.
"Yuanzhi, please, no more. Not because I don't love our children, you know I do," Shangjue starts, willing him to understand. "But because you are and will always be my priority. I never married you to become a broodmare and I most certainly am not going to sit by if I can help it. My precious one, I can't lose you."
Yuanzhi looks away, pale face pinched. "I..."
"You promised to grow old with me," Shangjue whispers. "And I still have the world to show you." Wrapping his arms around Yuanzhi, he holds him tight, mindful of his pregnant belly. "When the children are old enough in a few years, I want to take you to roam the jianghu. Take you wonder by wonder. Just you and I."
Shangjue sees the moment Yuanzhi settles on a decision because his face clears, and he sighs, leaning his head on Shangjue's shoulder.
"Do you think Elder Yue will have a solution for us?" Yuanzhi asks. Reaching over to press a hand to Shangjue's lower belly, he huffs, "I'm not giving your dick up if you were about to suggest that."
"I would never," Shangjue laughs, breathless with relief. Kissing the crown of Yuanzhi's head, he silently thanks the Heavens. "Between you and Elder Yue, I'm pretty sure we will have the solution in no time."
"Let's wait until we weaned the baby?"
"Anything my furen wants, this dutiful husband will provide."
They sit together in a harmonious quiet. Then Yuanzhi says, softly as if he isn't expecting to be heard. "I think I would miss being pregnant. Seems like such a long time since I wasn't big-bellied and ready to pop."
"I know you enjoy your pregnancies. But..." He trails off, letting what isn't said hang in the air between them.
The birth of the twins had been dangerous. Shangjue had almost lost Yuanzhi twice in the delivery and he'd been so anaemic, he had to stay in the clinic for the entirety of his confinement just to recover. Shangjue loves his children; loves being a father to them, raising them, and takes great joy in being an involved part of their lives. He could not have been given a greater gift in life than this family he has built with his Yuanzhi.
But Yuanzhi's well-being is his biggest priority. Some could say that it is only priority.
A gentle kiss to the corner of his lips pulls him out of his thoughts and he looks over to Yuanzhi's smiling face.
"I love you," He murmurs, stroking Yuanzhi's cheek. "Heavens above, how did I ever get so lucky in this life to be able to adore you?"
The pretty pink that colours Yuanzhi's cheeks will never not be his favourite colour. Dropping a kiss on his brow, Shangjue goes back to embracing his furen.
Once their family is settled, he will take his Yuanzhi out to see the world. They'll just pack up and go, and no one will tell them no, or say they're only dreaming.
For his entire life, he'd put the interests of the Gong family first. Yuanzhi had once told him that he was the roots of the Gong family. Well, sometimes, roots can grow above ground too, and sit right out there in the sunlight with the rest of the tree it supports.
Shangjue cannot wait.
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Fic Friday
You know the drill. ;)
Rating: E (canon-typical violence, explicit content, check the tags)
Genre: Romance, action, adventure, drama
Pairing: Dahlia Wintersnow (OC Dragonborn)/Ulfric Stormcloak
Link to AO3: An Invincible Summer
Snippet:
More than once she had thought of teaching him some of the more useful things she knows about the thu'um, but there was just never a good moment for her to do so. In particular, it would make her sleep better at night if she could at least teach him the first in the series of the ethereal Shouts. While she can see him being reluctant to use it, at least it would give him something with which to protect himself.
Perhaps, it is selfish, but she'd like to keep him around for as long as possible.
"Come here Ulfric." Dahlia turns from her inspection of the walls, having found nothing of interest there, and motions for him to join her in sitting on the cave's mostly-dry floor.
He cocks a brow at her but does as she asks. "Should I call you master now?"
"Only if you would like." She quips with a smile. "Focus, Ulfric. I want to teach you something important."
"While I appreciate the gesture, it's been quite a while since I have tried meditation, and either way, it would take me months if not years to master any new Shouts, love."
"That's because you haven't tried to learn from the Dragonborn. I am no hermit on the top of a far-off mountain. I am, in some ways, a dragon, and this is my native language. Perhaps, you'll even find that you like my teachings more than those boring old men."
She knows what he is doing in trying to warn her off of teaching him anything, but she will not have it. If she has the power to give him the gift of protection, she will not hesitate to give it.
"Then, I suppose I am ready and willing to try, Master Dahlia." Ulfric smiles at her as she recasts her magelight in order to keep the space lit.
Dahlia doesn't look at him. She already knows that looking at him will distract her from her focus. "Breathe in and out, Ulfric, just as Arngeir taught you. Focus on somewhere that keeps you calm--connects you with the ground beneath you as you relax your muscles."
He inhales deeply through his nose, pushing steady breaths out past his lips as he concentrates on anything on Nirn that could possibly keep him calm at a time like this--where he can feel his wife's knees so close that they barely graze his own. Her body soft and warm next to him. His hand in hers as they sit next to each other in comfortable silence. In and out. Air fills and empties from his lungs as he thinks of his wife. The first place he truly felt accepted and understood. The first person he can truly feel at peace with. His new home.
Sooner than he thought, he finds himself in a state of calm as his thoughts drift to her, bringing him an easy kind of tranquility he has not been able to feel in years.
"Good," Dahlia whispers quietly. "Now, I want you to focus only on that as you relax your muscles. Think of it as if you were untethering yourself from your body as it fades away. Your entire focus is on your sense of self--your spirit."
His sense of self? Who even is he anymore? He thinks about disconnecting himself from the sensations of his body underneath him as he instead focuses on her voice as she coaches him through this strange new meditation.
When he was on High Hrothgar as a boy, Arngeir would only tell him a word of power, and he would focus on untangling the meaning of the word in translations as he contemplated it. This was back in a time when he was still young and full of hope, a time before the burdens of the Great War and what came with it. A time before his anger and self-righteousness had gotten a hold of him and caused him to act to violently. Is that what makes him him? He shakes his head. It has to be more than that. The things he has been through--he shivers as he remembers and abruptly pushes thoughts of that damnable elf woman aside. Instead he draws on another memory. It may be that he is angry, but it is well-placed. Perhaps then, it is his determination and love for Skyrim which makes him who he is. His passions have always run deeply.
Despite the fact that he puts on this façade of unmovable temper, he feels and deeply. Sure, it may be that he wants to be the High King, as he thinks he could do a much better job of it, but it is all based on wanting what is best for his home--and for his family. Dahlia casually floats through his mind again as he thinks of her.
"You're thinking too much, Ulfric." His wife's voice calls out to him.
Of course, she would know him better than that.
He feels her body shift as she leans forward to whisper in his ear. "Everything you were just thinking about? Let go. Feim. Let it fade away as you float through the cosmic rivers of the universe. None of that matters. You are unburdened by your troubles and your sorrows. Feim. The only responsibility you hold is to yourself." She reaches out to place a hand on his chest.
Feim.
He feels the thu'um rumble from her lips and down his chest as he understands the meaning. Vaguely, he tastes the freedom of the word--the lightness of it as he focuses only on his breath and on her. He no longer feels the scratching of the dirt underneath his body, no longer hears the rain pouring down outside. Then, he carefully forms his lips around the sounds he heard from Dahlia.
Feim.
He lets go as his own thu'um looses as nothing more than a whisper in the cave.
And then there is nothing. He feels nothing.
Ulfric sighs heavily. He has failed in his wife's lesson just as he suspected he would.
However, as he looks down at himself, he sees that his body has become translucent. Curiously, he wiggles the ghostly fingers of his right hand as he tries to reach out and tap Dahlia on the knee to show her he was successful.
Only his fingertips pass right through her.
Oh.
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