#dinosaur correspondence | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

sparkypantaloons · 1 month

Text

Metronomics

Sometimes it's too much, Gotham. Too much putting his body on the line for a city that can't and won't change.

Bruce imagines what his life could have been, what his children's lives could have been, if things had been different.

Sometimes it's too much. Gotham. Too polluted, too populated, to poor...

Morally poor, he should say. The money's never been more than a means to an end for Bruce and he's never cared who has or hasn't got it. Even if he knows that's evidence enough of how out of touch he really is. To not be, and never have been, the levels of desperate so many of his fellow Gothamites have. Are. But he can't change that now. Not after a lifetime of more money than he could ever hope to spend (and God knows he's tried).

And it's not that he thinks poverty equals moral corruptness. Of course not. But God, if it doesn't cause a rot that's hard to escape. An agony deep in the bones, like an atomic bomb. Almost a century since, but still poisoning the ground and the air and the lives where it fell.

It's too much, sometimes. Gotham. Decades of putting his body, his heart, mind on the line for a city that doesn't change and can't change and... Won't.

Part of his Brucie-rich-boy-bit has always been a pretend man of the people. 'Billionaire spotted on Chicago's L-train', a picture of him in $5,000 jeans, throwing a peace sign on the platform at Quincy. 'Bruce Wayne joins the commute on Bangkok's BTS Skytrain' sunburned and sweaty and grinning like a moron. Public transport is easy when you don't need it. The delays, the overcrowding, the cost. All part of the big adventure when you're rich and famous.

He's deliberate in his appearances. Shows up too big to be allowed and always lost. Asking fellow travellers for directions and breaking every unspoken, local rule. Stopping at the bottom of escalators and standing on the right and never having his ticket ready at the barriers... but he's deliberate in his anonymity too.

He's ridden the New York subway and Shanghai's metro and Vienna's U-bahn more times than he can count. Undercover, trailing marks and tailing suspects, slipping past local police and resident gangsters alike. Just another nameless face in the crowd.

But then there's the times he's just there as himself. Times he rides the lines as Bruce. Not the billionaire, not the Bat. Just Bruce. Grey Ghost fan, hates mushrooms, loves dinosaurs. Father, friend, son. Just another traveller amidst the millions. Nobody wanting anything from him, nobody talking to him, nobody even noticing him. It's freedom unlike any he's ever known.

It makes him wonder what his life might have been. If he hadn't been born in the South Wing's master bedroom of Wayne Manor. What his children's lives might have been, if their father had just been a man, and not this man.

Dick for sure, Olympic medallist. There's no doubt. Even without the money and the training and the classes, his boy was destined for greatness. Gold medals and podiums and adoration. Coaching and teaching and leading. And, Bruce fancies, probably the ESPN correspondent for major competitions. Team USA coach. International Olympic Committee. Whatever Dick wanted; in any life there's nothing he couldn't do.

Cass, Bruce likes to think, would have been an architect. If she'd ever been afforded a normal life, ever been given the tender love and care she so deserved as a child. She reads people with ease, drilled into her as it was by Cain; a skill as crucial as its learning was cruel. But given a normal life? Architecture, Bruce is sure. The way she navigates space, the way she uses it and understands it. What better way to make a life than creating in the space she so fully inhabits? Designing structures that change the way people live, challenge how they think. She'd have been glorious.

Tim, on the other hand... Tim. If Bruce thinks about him too long the guilt starts to set in. His brilliant boy, just next door; alone for so long. Bruce was intimately familiar with the experience, though at least he'd had Alfred when he'd been young. If only he'd just paid more attention, he could have— anyway. In another time, one where Bruce rides the subway and to work and Tim doesn't spend the first decade of his life by himself, surely he'd be some fintech billionaire wizz kid by now. He'd have created a Facebook or eBay or Venmo. But better. Kinder. Richer probably than Bruce, now. And he'd still ride the metro next to his old man.

Damian, Bruce's youngest, sweetest boy. Who knows what Damian could have been, in a life where Bruce and Talia kissed each other goodbye every morning and sweet dreams each night. He's a gentle soul, really, fierce as he is. Shows it in his affection for animals. Gives them the tenderness he never had as a child. Who knows what he could have been in a life filled with light instead of shadow. Warmth and love instead of the League's relentless dark. A scientist maybe, or an astronaut. A teacher, a vet, a nurse. Whatever he wanted. A gardener, a piano tuner, a cab driver. Happy, whatever it was. And safe in the knowledge he was loved.

And then... and then, Jason. Bruce thinks of his second son the most, as he rides the rails. Takes the Bakerloo south from Marylebone and the Tanamachi west to Hirano. What Jason could have been, if things had been different. It doesn't seem fair to dwell on it. To imagine the darling, sweet boy who had been Robin as anything but. To disrespect the incredible fucking gift he's already been given of a second chance, by imagining it as any different. So instead he thinks that Jason would still be Robin. Still Red Hood. Still saving people, still putting himself on the line to make the world better. Even if Bruce didn't love the way he did it, he still loved Jason. Gods did he love him. It's too much, sometimes.

Gotham. Sometimes she's too much. But most of the time, most of the time she was everything. His home, his children's home.

To see the sun rise from the east corner of the clocktower with Cass and swing between the crumbling art deco blocks of Coventry, Dick by his side. Racing down her labyrinth of alleyways and side streets with Tim and even negotiating her sewers with Damian. And Jason. Just seeing Jason's face, scowling at him though it usually is, as he waits outside the Collins Street station for Bruce to arrive.

"Your late." He grunts, as Bruce climbs the steps of the subway. He looks at his watch irritably. "If we miss brunch, you're paying."

"Of course," Bruce says, a warm hand on Jason's shoulder as they begin to walk. "Anything for you, chum."

She's too much, sometimes. Gotham. But most of the time? She's exactly where he wants to be

#bruce wayne #batman #gotham #batman fic #batfic #spbfic #batfam #batfamily #jason todd #dick grayson #cassandra cain #damian wayne #tim drake #wayne manor

73 notes · View notes

violetrainbow412-blog · 9 months

Text

Andy [S. R.]

Spencer Reid x fem!reader

Word count: 2.7k

summary: you and Spencer have to learn to deal with grief without losing your marriage in the process.

warnings: grief, death, angst with unhappy ending, separation, divorce, alcoholism, minor details of a murder, two totally different points of view (don't hate Spencer or the reader)

The set of keys jangled in Spencer's hands, who was struggling to open the door without dropping the shopping bags in his other hand. He tried to do the shopping with only healthy and non-hazardous things and lately he had started bringing some of your favorite sweets, hoping this might cheer you up in some way.

When he entered, he assumed that you were asleep, as always, so he thought of going directly to the kitchen to place the food in the corresponding spaces, thinking that maybe after that he would clean up the place a bit. He never expected to find you sitting in the dining room and both of you were startled to see the opposite. There was half a bottle of wine in front of you, you were puffy-eyed and carefully holding a photo that Spencer recognized perfectly. He noticed that you had lost some weight and you noticed the same characteristic in him, coupled with the marked bags under his eyes that evidenced the lack of rest. But in fairness, he hadn't had a decent night's sleep in a while.

"What are you doing here?"

“I brought groceries,” he reported, though it was obvious. Spencer reached over to the fridge to rearrange things and he noticed that almost all of last week's food were there. The milk was out of date, some of the vegetables were blackened, and there were a couple of bottles of alcohol that he definitely hadn't bought for you but always turned up there. He brought the garbage can closer and began to get rid of the rotten food, replacing it with the contents of the bags. "You have to eat something, there are things in here that you didn't even touch."

“And that's why I insist that you don't bring so much. Don't waste your money”

“It's not about the money. It's about you” he said in a stern voice and when he turned to look at you, he noticed that you weren't even looking at him.

He continued to organize things in the fridge while out of the corner of his eye he watched you take occasional gulps straight from the bottle. Before, it was the task of both of you to put the purchases in the cupboards and it had become a habit, because he liked to make you suffer with the high spaces of the cupboard just to accommodate things himself and take the opportunity to steal a kiss, which you always complained about.

He was so lost in memories that he couldn't understand you when you muttered something and then he asked you to repeat it.

"We promised to take him to Disneyland," you said, your slurred words a clear sign of drunkenness. You were holding a picture of Andy's 6th birthday: he was blowing out the candles while you and Spencer held him on either side, grinning from ear to ear. You had bought some green party hats, Andy's favorite, for the three of you to wear and the cake was a dinosaur, your son's absolute obsession “Somehow he found out they were going to have a Cretaceous world attraction and he was dying to go. We told him that when we had vacations, we would take him and to comfort him we bought him an illustrated book."

He perfectly remembered what you were telling him and a lump formed in his throat. That book was kept carefully on the small shelf in his room, along with the figures that multiple people had given him and with which he loved to play, since neither of you had had the heart to move a single object that was there.

Spencer was silent because he simply didn't know how to respond to what you had just reminded him, but he couldn't help but his stomach turned at the thought of your little boy. Although two months had passed, he hadn't even allowed himself to talk about what happened, and very rarely did he think about your son. Not because he didn't want to do it, but because he felt that if he did, things were going to completely collapse and he wasn't in a position to let that happen, not when he had so many responsibilities to fulfill.

Receiving no response, you tried to drink again, but Spencer didn't take more than a second to cross over to you to take the wine from your hands.

"Stop"

"Give it to me," you defended, standing up to try to take your drink back, but he held it just far enough out of your reach.

"You cannot continue that way"

"That's none of your business"

“Of course it is. You are my wife and I care about you."

Spencer hated the way you looked at him since that night. He felt that you were looking at him with contempt, as if he wasn't even worth your eyes on him, as if you had stopped loving him completely. And now you were looking at him like that while he was holding the alcohol you'd been drowning in for the past few weeks.

"I don't need your pity" you practically spat, standing in front of him, but at a safe distance.

He didn't want to answer anything, for fear of hurting you in some way, so he just went to the sink to start emptying the contents of the bottle. Of course you squealed in offense at what he was doing and just headed for the fridge to get something else to drink, but before you could Spencer got in the way.

"You need help" he murmured, with a tone that reflected nothing more than the desperation he was going through. You looked at him, from below, with the same disdain that completely broke his heart "You are not okay"

"How do you expect me to be okay? I lost my son"

"He was our son," he said, suddenly sounding quite angry. It was so rare for him to get angry, much less when it came to you, but these two months had been too much to bear "Do you think I don't suffer the same as you?"

"No, I honestly don't think so. We never talked about this, Spencer, we just cried profusely at the funeral and then you carried on like nothing happened. All this time you have seemed so calm that I doubt very much that it will affect you”

“You are so wrong. You don't even know what you're talking about. Do you think it's easy for me? I have to go and work in a place where I see murderers and dead bodies all the time so that both of us can eat, pay the mortgage and basically keep our economy afloat because you decided to sink into depression and drink like a barrel without background"

“Oh, do you really want to talk about addiction problems? Because I don't think you're the best fit for that."

"Unlike you, I have not relapsed"

"Okay, then forgive me for being a weak dueling drunk."

“It's not about that, it's about the fact that you don't want anyone to help you. I hired a therapist that you decided not to go to, I have bought you everything you need in recent weeks, I have even stopped sleeping in my own house, all so that you feel calm”

"I never asked you for that, don't justify with it the fact that you wanted to leave"

"Well, maybe I left because every time I come here to check on you, you ignore me and look at me as if it was all my fault"

"Maybe it was"

"What did you say?"

"I said maybe it was" you exclaimed, now a little louder to make sure he heard you. You didn't mean any of that, you really didn't, it was just all the alcohol speaking for you “It was yours and it was my fault that man took our son from us. We should have done more"

“How, Y/N? Please explain to me how you want that, because I honestly don't understand you."

"Well maybe I should have been a better mother, because if I had been I should be dead instead of him" at this point it was useless to try to stop your crying. You were tired, dizzy, and hurt. You just wanted the whole nightmare to end “Spencer that man killed Andy just because you provoked him and you know it perfectly. He wanted revenge on you and decided that the best way to do it was to kidnap an innocent child and then kill him and then simply throw him on the side of the road. He could have hidden the body, but he wanted you to find it. He wanted us both to know that we couldn't question him like that without suffering the consequences."

"And that's why you see me as the cause of all your suffering?" tears had also started to roll down the man's cheeks, who was just as bad at holding them back as you were “Y/N I had to go identify Andy's body. I had to see him in a morgue, bruised and…” suddenly his voice broke completely. He had never told you things because he didn't want to stress you out anymore, but he felt that after everything that was happening there was no point in continuing to protect you “I barely knew it was him. He was completely deformed, I only recognized him by that scar he got on his knee when he fell from the swings and as soon as my fingers passed through it and felt the frozen skin I was completely destroyed. I had… I had to see my little boy in that state just so we both would have peace and yet you dare to say that I don't care."

“If you didn't have that job none of this would have happened to begin with! That has always been the problem, that as a family we had to compete with your work as a profiler”

"So you expected me to give up my life's work overnight?"

"I did. I quit my job to be able to raise our son.”

"And I had to stay in mine to be able to give him everything he needed"

“And look at us now. What of that did we do well? We weren't good parents and now I don't even think we're a good couple”

You two knew that this conversation was useless. You always knew Spencer went to superhuman lengths to spend time with your family, and you couldn't blame him for anything. He knew everything you had given up to take care of the housework and raise Andy. And when there were bad days, you were there for each other, but at that very moment you weren’t thinking straight. Your judgment was clouded by the pressing pain that was building up.

“Y/N, why are you doing this to me?” his voice sounded so sincere and wounded, that even with the unconsciousness caused by the alcohol you felt a pull in your heart. Spencer was silent for a moment, a lump in his throat, and when he finally got up the courage he spoke again, “When Andy died I thought… I was devastated. I am devastated. But even with everything I thought that… I thought that I still had you. I thought together we could get through this and now you're telling me you're not even sure this is working. I try to take care of you, but you refuse to eat, you refuse to go to a therapist, you drink and sleep all day and I don't know what else to do."

"I just want you to be here, Spencer."

"I am"

"No, it's not true"

“I am supporting you, I do everything in my power to make sure you are well”

“But I don't want you to take care of me like someone sick, I just want you to be my husband! I just want you to stop pretending nothing is happening, just sit here and cry with me... I don't want you to support me, I want you to love me”

Both of you looked at each other for a second, your vision blurred by accumulated tears.

“Every day I wake up and I am strong just because I love you. You are the one who seems to no longer love me"

How could things work when the two of you offered such different things and needed such different things? Spencer thought you didn't love him anymore, you thought he didn't love you anymore, and neither of you knew what to do about it. You wanted him to be there but not the way he did and that's why you pushed him away. He walked away because he thought you didn't want him with you anymore.

But those were things none of you understood, and probably no one could. Mourning was a complicated, heartbreaking, but above all confusing process.

And, as much as he evaded reality, Spencer knew that it was a matter of time before you two broke up permanently. He knew the statistics; he knew that a large number of couples divorced after the death of a child and the numbers were more decisive than his hopes of maintaining the marriage with you. So, if these were the conversations you guys were having at one of the few times you saw each other, perhaps the threat of disbandment was closer than he imagined.

Suddenly the ringing of your husband's phone rang and you could tell by the look on his face what kind of text it was.

"A case" you guessed bitterly "It's always a case, right?"

A part of you desperately hoped that he would ignore the message, come up to you with an apology, and tell you that he would stay right there with you. But the utopian version your mind created didn't look like the real situation at all, where he just gave you a pained look from behind those teary eyes.

"I promise I'll be back. I'll come and… we can talk about all this when we're calmer. We can try to fix it, things don't have to be that way."

“But that's how they are,” you muttered, shrugging, as another message rang on Spencer's phone.

You wanted to tell him that if he really wanted to make things right with you he'd send the FBI to hell and stay there to talk, but you held back because you simply thought it was useless to do that. You were tired, so you were just going to let it go; you told him to come back whenever he wanted, without much interest in when that would be, and new dizziness hit your head from the decision you had just made.

You didn't push him away when he approached to hold your face, with a softness that surprised you, and he left you a kiss on the forehead, one of those you'd received thousands of but now it felt so strange to share.

The case dragged on into the next day, and the entire time Spencer pondered your words. Maybe he was right about some things, but you are right about others too. Perhaps if you tried to understand each other things could improve and if both of you reached an agreement little by little you would return to being a married couple and not just two people going through the loss of a child. It was worth stopping avoiding the problem and facing it to be able to be not only with you, but also for you.

When he got home, the silence made him think that you were resting, and he still wanted to be able to lie next to you to simply hug you without saying anything. In a matter of a few seconds, so many nights passed through his mind in which he had loved you, in which you had feared and he had protected you, and those in which you had been immensely happy talking for hours until the sun bathed your face. You hadn't shared a decent kiss since Andy's funeral and suddenly the need to taste your lips became urgent, not to satisfy itself but to tell you how much he loved you. He had been an idiot these months, too busy not to break down to realize what was falling around him.

But upon reaching the room and turning on the light, all his hopes were shattered by a half-empty closet, a bed without you and a letter resting on the nightstand.

taglist: @navs-bhat @reidwritings @tricia-shifting14

#spencer reid #spencer reid fanfic #spencer reid x reader #criminal minds #criminal minds fanfic #dr spencer reid #matthew gray gubler #aaron hotchner #derek morgan #jason gideon #JJ #penelope garcía #david rossi #emily prentiss #spencer reid x you #spencer reid angst #heartbreaking angst

153 notes · View notes

meatyarms · 10 months

Text

˗ˏˋᴊᴏᴛᴛɪɴɢ´ˎ˗

ּ Modern Protective Sevika x Gamer gf ּ 1,388

ּ This Sev is imbued by jealousy and built a protective bubble of her own around you the instant ya’ll’s eyes locked through the gym building’s glass walls— missed her grip on the dumbbells she was pressing in that same second and almost lost her head to it, quickly put it away and pulled up her number from her phone all shaky. Sweaty and panting profusely, walked up closer and pressed the screen against the glass for you to record.

ּּ Mouthing ‘call me’ from the other side, and you two became a thing since.

ּ You were foaming at her impressive scales, glossy spherical deltoids embellished both ends of her shoulders adding unfathomable broadness that they closed in on you when you stood before the glass.

ּ Biceps corresponded to her size naturally, it was as if they were excellently moulded into something so rich. You couldn’t believe how perfect of a catch she was, kinda disclosed it when you stumbled on your way to her with a face of utter bewilderment. You both agreed never to mention it again, her less than you.

ּ Would always be the one to come to your place, treats it like her own. Checks out all the systems if they were working properly, kitchen cabinets and fridge if they needed refilling, doors and windows to ensure that they all had secure locks on them.

ּ Who’d iterate to dial her should you need anything at all, replacing all emergency numbers from your head with hers, doesn’t want no stranger wandering in your place. Not while she’s living and breathing.

ּ Will master pipework, roofing, carpentry and whatever else she needs to on the road going over to fix your house issues. And she’d look good doing it.

ּ Flaunting her hard-earned abs and lifting her shirt to wipe off the sweat on her forehead as she takes care of your repair problems, or putting on a flowy tank top that would do more revealing than any typa covering every time she bends down to grab something.

ּ “Could ya get me some water, sweetheart?… baby?”,,

ּ And whatever wooing plan she’s plotting, it’s working like a charm cuz you'd be hypnotized and lost.

ּ “OH uh, yes of course!”,,

ּ You end up gay panicking like hell, not looking her in the eyes when you give her the ok to shower at your place. She just wishes she could see your face during it all but she has to act collected for show.

ּ She’d never let you walk or drive anywhere, not on your own, specially to her place. Would drive you there instead, and like everywhere else, giving you the chauffeur experience. Just as long as you’re safe and in her vicinity where she can keep an eye on you.

ּ “Morning baby 💞”, “When do you wanna come over today?🥰🥰”,,

ּ You’d be the only change she’d have had in a long time. Where she used to go from home to gym and vice versa, now she’d be speeding to your doorstep at any notification from you.

ּ “Open door🚪”,,

ּ This one’s old fashioned, would much rather like her daily engagements to be physical and face-to-face than virtual, isn’t quite acquainted with new technology. The phone resides in her pockets all day and is only pulled out if she needed to contact someone, it’d be for occasional convenience and not something she spends more than two minutes on at a time.

ּ Always texts you in the simplest form possible, with the least combination of words needed to get a point across. Hasn’t stopped using the ‘little drawings’ once you introduced them to her, definitely adds more life to her brief responses.

ּ “Want 🥤?”, “Want diner dinosaur ndj,. ?hel,p,. 🍽️🍲 ?”,,

ּ Not as dexterous on the keyboard as she is with gym equipment, her fingers wouldn’t know where to go and ends up typing using solely her index while she holds the phone up with the other hand.

ּ And when she first saw your whole gaming set? Oof, she really thought it was a goddamn Time Machine or something.

ּ “All that.. to play games?”, “Sure you’re not sending a rocket to space with that?”,,

ּ Who’d sit in the back and watch you play with people, eyes transfixed on the large screens you’re so immersed in, squinting heedfully. Why? Well, she heard a male voice through your speakers.

ּ Didn’t take it too well, would always be hostile in situations like this. Suspicion would arise but not with you, with the men.

ּ “Room? Why is he inviting you to a disc lord room?”, “Okay, well, does he know that you have a girlfriend in your actual room right now? I mean, shouldn’t I meet this guy first??”,,

ּ She can’t grasp how easily people would be doling out their trust in the online world, and when she watches you endlessly ramble and play with new ‘friends’ every single day it builds up a more aggressive outburst which she blows over in the gym later on.

ּ Or sometimes, a dark little place under your busy desk. She’d make it impossible for you to talk to your so called ‘game friends’ with her tongue twisting deep in your cunt, forcing you to go on mute mode or just end the call altogether.

ּ One of the reasons you no longer open up the cam when she’s around— always. The idea of those guy friends taking more than an ounce of your attention riles her up.

ּ Often times she’d be in a mood and just fucks you with her mouth right in the middle of a darn convo. You’d see her drop to her knees then start crawling from your periphery and your hands dart on her head, retaining her from getting into that little space.

ּ She’d easily clasp your wrists together and use them to push your seated body steering the swivel chair however she wants, her free hand pulls your pants down and you to her then she pops her head in.

ּ You’re not about to fight her and mess up your image in front of everyone when she straight up chair-fucks you- her idea of fighting you back- but you sure as hell won’t be spilling your dumb grumbles all over this server either. You simply retreat.

ּ “Uhh- *whispers* fuck Sev* guys, I’m gonna.. have to end the cal- ‘eres uh another call I gotta ma-“ *end call*,,

ּ Would instantly emerge from the shadows like a frikkin’ lurker and fuck you wild.

ּ Grabs you by your knees and lifts your legs over her shoulders, you’d completely sink into the chair’s seat and your feet buckle around her neck holding you steady alone. All the while she’s unbuttoning her trousers uncovering a long bulge fastened to her crotch— She’s been wanting it since she first opened her eyes that day, hours of random voices on the other line calling out your name was the trigger point.

ּ Feeling angry and deserted, she shoves the whole thing in giving your cunt not a moment of prep. Your organs brutally invaded, forced to make way for the toy while being clamped together in the most unhealthy position imaginable.

ּ “C’mon baby, let em’ hear how fucked up you are by my dick”, “D’you want it, princess? Huh? Tell em’, tell em’ how much you want it.”,,

ּ No one’s listening, but she takes thrill from pretending otherwise, to picture your foe ‘friends’ being ditched by you cuz of her is extremely pleasurable to Sev. In the heat of the moment, you play along with it too.

ּ “Fuck a- I- I want it fffff.. plEASE..”,,

ּ Just as you feel your spinal cord dislocating in her thrusts, sturdy arms creep around your back picking you up and throwing you on the bed. The night would’ve only begun from there, finishes with you stammering her name to your dreams.

ּ She’d get an overpowering pump of superiority when your lips quiver doing their best to call for her even though you’re dead beat, unsure of what you know anymore. It makes her entire week.

ּ “Yeah.. that’s right.. I’m right here, baby.”, “Only one you need.”,,

ּ There may be a conflict in the usage and understanding of technology between the pair of you, but this baby wouldn’t let something so trivial prevent her from safeguarding you. Be it from the physical world or one through a screen, she’ll watch out for you always.

,,,

ּ Tried to make this as accurate as I can with my infinitesimal knowledge of gaming and Discord. Could've made her tech savvy but I thought this was more realistic for a middle-aged here & now, plus it's cute!

ּ Thanks for reading! ♡♡ Any & all support is appreciated, asks about whichever one of my Sevikas are welcome ( ˊᵕˋ )

#sugar mommy vibes with this one #б（＞ε＜）∂#protectivegamergf!sevika #modern!sevika #arcane sevika #sevika #sevika arcane #sevika fanfic #sevika imagine #sevika smut #sevika x reader #sevika x you #lesbian brainrot #lesbian #saphhic #wlw smut #wlw #happy pride 🌈#MeatysJottings

247 notes · View notes

oldschoolfrp · 1 year

Text

Regarding purple dragons, wyrms, and worms (and sea monsters):

We can find D&D's five chromatic dragon types all the way back in 1971 in the "Fantasy Supplement" appendix of Chainmail by Gary Gygax and Jeff Perren (above). Their main rules are for fire-breathing red dragons, but they suggest variant rules for blue and white dragons and briefly describe the traits of the black and green.

Included among these dragons is the purple dragon, aka mottled dragon, described as "a rare, flightless worm with a venomous sting in its tail." This use of "worm" seems to have the Old English meaning of wurm/wyrm as a reptile, serpent, or dragon, rather than as an earthworm.

Three years later Dungeons & Dragons Volume 2: Monsters & Treasure (1974) gives specific rules for all five chromatic dragons and adds the gold dragon as the only lawful dragon. It also clearly shows and describes the purple worm as a separate monster with the general form we know today, an oversized earthworm that can swallow an ogre whole:

The "Sea Monsters" entry that immediately follows mentions the purple worm in comparison, but has no corresponding stats on the Monster Reference Table. The specifics are left up to DMs to research and decide for themselves. What I take from that entry is that a sea monster might use the purple worm's stats and the same rules for swallowing prey, but could take any shape or other stats the DM chooses.

Supplement I: Greyhawk by Gygax & Kuntz (1976) adds the other metallic dragons, their Platinum King, and a Chromatic Queen of evil dragons.

Supplement II: Blackmoor by Arneson (1976) introduces many new aquatic monsters, including the first official elasmosaurus, mosasaurus, and plesiosaurus, and the "Mashers: Coral eaters, harmless unless frightened, if so is just like 20 hit dice Purple worm."

The 1977 AD&D Monster Manual names the opposing king and queen dragons as Bahamut and Tiamat. It includes the masher, now described as a large worm-like fish with poisonous spines, reduced to 8 hit dice from 20, and no longer compared to the purple worm. The MM also brings back the "mottled" name, formerly a synonym for the purple dragon in Chainmail, now an aquatic variant of the purple worm that almost feels like a replacement for the original masher and possibly recalls the OD&D sea monsters:

The same book also includes other sea monster options like a giant sea snake as a variant of "Snake, Giant," the new dragon turtle, and the return of the elasmosaurus, mosasaurus, and plesiosaurus listed under "Dinosaurs."

The 2e Monstrous Compendium II (1989) gives the mottled worm the same brief mention as an aquatic variant purple worm, then I believe it passes from official D&D rules in later editions.

The purple worm remains one of the iconic creatures of the game, now far removed from its draconic origins.

#D&D #Dungeons & Dragons #dragons #dragon #purple worm #gaming history #Chainmail #OD&D #AD&D #Dungeons & Dragons Volume 2: Monsters & Treasure #Supplement I: Greyhawk #Volume 2: Monsters & Treasure #Monsters & Treasure #dnd #Dungeons and Dragons #TSR

254 notes · View notes

thisismeracing · 4 months

Note

bono!reader head-canons (cont.) (for real this time)

was a hair ribbons and barrettes girl when she was younger. and for race weekends she would have color corresponding hair accessories to match the team’s colors. In recent memory it’s been a lot silver, white, and teal for merc, but there was a time when it was all neon yellow for brawn

in the same vein i think that a lot of male team members learned how to style and braid hair because of bon. she likes to have her hair somewhat out of her face so it doesn't get in the way of seeing the cars out on track or when pouring over data with her small eyes. it was a regular occurrence that if bon came running at someone with a hair tie that they most likely would know how to so the style she wanted, and if they didn’t know how to another would know because they had done it previously for this small girl their little village is raising

calls bono papa. i have no reasoning for this one except i just think it fits

has bangs with longer tendrils on either side that curve inwards a bit while the middle bits are cut shorter and blend in with the tendrils and the bangs are styled in a way where there is a middle part (i hope you get what i mean with what i’ve typed out, if ya cant envision it email me i will draw you a diagram cause anons cant have pics for some god forsaken reason)

got bribed by rival teams drivers with candy and a promise of having their helmet if she wore their team’s merch and cheered for them during the race

when visiting other garages it would be very common for brawn/merc team members to just up and pick their girl up off the ground, throw her over their shoulder, and run back to their garage all whilst she’s giggling away as she’s being stolen back

hid in the crook of many a team members neck when she was being carried by them and they got stopped for a quick interview

she’s allowed on radio to congratulate when the team’s drivers have done a good job/have won the race after they have crossed the checkered flag

has helped designed many a helmet for certain drivers (lew, michael, seb, jense) lew being the one she has done the most for

i think kimi would be the one she would go to when she needed quiet from the chaos and loudness that being in and around f1 brings. she would just show up to where he was and he silently made space for her to just vibe and be beside him, because he knows that’s what she needs. he welcomes her presence any time she needs him and it builds a very strong connection between the two that continues on into bon’s adulthood

☕

prev ask

Agree with everything, and I think I got the hair you were going for.

She’s allowed on radio to congratulate when the team’s drivers have done a good job/have won the race after they have crossed the checkered flag // KGJSDKGJSDKG THIS IS SO PURE <3<3

Adding the ones I've sent you on e-mail hehe

- she loves lego stuff;

- has an obsession w the solar system (nerdyyy, we love it);

- secretly thinks dinosaurs are the coolest, she’ll rant about it for hours if you let her;

- had a Spiderman fever month, and spent the whole month going to the paddock wearing the Marvel costume;

- used to glue her stickers on cars when people weren't looking. one time seb raced with an ariel sticker and some hearts on his car;

- shes probably allergic to cats but loves them anyways.

#☕ anon #bonnington!reader #millies inbox #ms47 #mick schumacher #f1 x reader #thots

57 notes · View notes

mesozoicmarket · 2 months

Text

A dinosaur tooth of an indeterminate theropod from the Itat Formation in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. Although labeled as Kileskus aristotocus, the odd absence of a mesial carinae suggest it may not be proceratosaurid, or even tyrannosauroid. Unfortunately there are not many papers published on isolated teeth from these Middle Jurassic deposits, and this particular morphology does not seem to correspond to any known clade.

42 notes · View notes

frc-ambaradan · 2 years

Text

See this man?

His name is Piero Angela.

Some say he's the italian David Attemborough.

I say David Attemborough is the british Piero Angela.

He's a journalist. Tv host. Science journalist. Jazz pianist.

He was born in Turin in 1928 and, it is worth noting, his father Carlo has been awarded the Medal of the "Righteous among the Nations".

Last year Piero Angela celebrated 70 years (don't know if you heard me right: 70 YEARS!!) of non-stop collaboration with italian national TV and radio broadcaster RAI. Hell, when he started working for RAI it was still a radio only broadcaster... tv didn't even exist in Italy yet.

He's been anchorman, reporter, war correspondent... but what's most famous for is QUARK.

The scientific TV program that turned the air of Bach's Orchestral Suite no. 3 in D major into "The Quark Music"! That's right. No one in Italy knows what's the air of Bach's suite n.3 in D major is, but goddammit, everyone knows the "Quark Music"!

That's because the man himself, the program and its intro are such a huge part in the life of every italian, even of those who are not interested in science. Piero Angela and his angelic intro are one of the pillars of italian modern culture!

Proof to that, another pillar of italian culture, Topolino, celebrated Angela's 90th birthday in 2018 with a story, an interview and a very cool cover! Here's to you Peter Quarky:

Why am I telling you all this?

Because Piero Angela passed away today, aged 93. But not before having written a really touching letter (like a boss!) thanking everyone who worked with him and all the common people who let him bring knowledge and science into their home with his very savoy care and kindness.

Right now for me is like loosing a very dear member of the family... you know, an odd granpa fixated with dinosaurs, planets and bacteria (I've still the complete collection of vhs he made on the dinosaurs and the one on the solar system) and I just wanted everyone to know about him, his impressive career and simply what a cool and kind person he was. A gentleman of old days.

To the stars, Piero... to the stars!

Piero Angela plays "As time goes by" in the program "Che Tempo Che Fa" in 2018.

#piero angela #bye bye piero #see you on the other side #quark #super quark #rai #science journalism #science #topolino magazine #mickey mouse #italian tv #italian celebs #johann sebastian bach #bach suite n.3 in D major #jazz #jazz pianist #as time goes by

673 notes · View notes

a-dinosaur-a-day · 10 months

Note

Is there a known reason or possible explanation/s for why the Carnotaurs and other abelisaurs evolved even shorter arms than T-Rex's?

So, the muscles in the neck area, as a rule, get really buff when theropods become large predators - it happened in Abelisaurs, it happened in Allosauroids, it happened in Megalosaurs, it happened in Tyrannosaurs. This is because, as the animal gets bigger, it tends to interact with prey and the environment more with its mouth and jaws than with its arms, because the mouth and jaws are more powerful and efficient. The musculature in the neck region directly conflicts with musculature in the upper arm for space, as they are next to each other. As such, as the muscles in the neck grow, the muscles in the arm shrink. This leads to a corresponding shrink of the arms in these large predators. In each line, if they had continued to evolve, they may have lost their arms a la Moas.

Abelisaurs, however, kept their tiny arms, and what's weird, is that the arm is attached to a completely 360 degree rotational socket, unlike the sockets the rest of us have at the arm. As such, they were able to wiggle and move them a LOT. This leads researchers to think that they were used, specifically, for display.

Remember everyone: every single dinosaur, every single one, is a variation of the peafowl.

They live in *style*.

#display structures #dinosaurs #abelisaurs #tyrannosaurs #birds

777 notes · View notes

alphynix · 1 year

Text

It Came From The Trash Heap (We Don't Talk About Kholumolumo)

A wastebasket taxon is what happens when species can't be easily classified and instead get hurled into a "catch-all" category.

…But that's not the only kind of taxonomic tangle that can befall a new discovery.

When a scientific name is assigned to a new species, but it isn't given a corresponding formal description and type specimen, it becomes a nomen nudum – a "naked name". Without a proper description and assigned holotype the name isn't valid, and the new species isn't technically accepted by the wider scientific community.

This has even happened to some surprisingly famous names. In the 1920s Velociraptor mongoliensis was briefly given the nomen nudum "Ovoraptor djadochtari" before getting its much more familiar name when it was officially described. Meanwhile the giant pterosaur Quetzalcoatlus northropi was stuck as a nomen nudum for decades, only finally getting a proper published description in 2021.

And there's another particular long-standing nomen nudum that became mildly infamous – "Thotobolosaurus", the "trash heap lizard".

Discovered next to a literal trash pile in the village of Maphutseng in Lesotho, a few scattered and broken bones of this "prosauropod" sauropodomorph dinosaur were first found in 1930. But it wasn't until the mid-1950s that a more extensive bonebed began to be unearthed at the site, and over the next decade over 1000 fossil fragments were collected.

In the mid-1960s the remains were initially classified as belonging to Euskelosaurus browni (which is now considered to be a wastebasket taxon), but just a few years later in 1970 the "Maphutseng Beast" was re-evaluated as a species new to science. It was referred to as "Thotobolosaurus mabeatae" – based on the local name of the discovery site, "Thotobolo ea ‘Ma-Beata" (trash heap of Beata’s mother) – but this name was never actually formally published.

Despite "Thotobolosaurus" being an undescribed nomen nudum it nonetheless went on to be repeatedly referenced in scientific literature over the next few decades, and appeared in several popular dinosaur books (even as recently as 2020!).

In the mid-1990s it was alternatively named "Kholumolumosaurus ellenbergerorum" in a Ph.D. dissertation, with this name derived from the kholumolumo, a reptilian creature in Sotho mythology, and the Ellenberger brothers who worked on the site. But this also didn't count as a formal publication and instead became a second nomen nudum for the species.

Eventually, 90 years after the first bones were found and 50 years after the debut of the name "Thotobolosaurus", this long-neglected sauropodomorph was finally given a proper published full anatomical description in 2020.

And it also got a third name, this time officially valid, based on the second one from the 1990s: Kholumolumo ellenbergerorum.

For something associated with trash for so long, Kholumolumo is actually now one of the most completely-known prosauropods. At least five different individuals were present in the collected fossil material, possibly as many as ten, and between them most of the full skeleton is represented – with the exception of the skulls, which are only known from a couple of small fragments.

We now know Kholumolumo was rather heavily-built, with chunky limb bones and unusually short shinbones. It would have been one of the biggest animals around in the Late Triassic (~210 million years ago), measuring at least 9m long (~30') and weighing around 1.7 tonnes (1.9 US tons), but despite its size it seems to have still been bipedal.

Due to the highly disarticulated nature of the bones the fossil site may have been a "bone accumulation area", a place where dismembered bits and pieces of different carcasses were regularly carried to be eaten by a predator or scavenger – essentially a trash heap, fittingly enough. A couple of "rauisuchian" teeth have actually been found among the remains, which might indicate what was chomping on these particular Kholumolumo.

———

Nix Illustration | Tumblr | Twitter | Patreon

#it came from the wastebasket #nomen nudum #taxonomy #kholumolumo #thotobolosaurus #prosauropod #massopoda #sauropodomorpha #dinosaur #paleontology #art #science illustration #paleoart #palaeoblr

290 notes · View notes

nixariel · 5 months

Text

Timelines and Carmen Sandiego: To Steal Or Not To Steal

...or, can I make the interactive special play nicely with canon? Meant as a companion to my previous timeline; please note that this is centred around the 'perfect' route where Carmen manages to save both her ground crew and the stolen items. For an overview of how to access all eight endings, I would highly recommend this excellent schematic.

Shanghai (stated in dialogue as approx 1 year after Carmen started stealing from V.I.L.E.; "which part of the last year")

· "Notorious V.I.L.E. stronghold" is in Lujiazui district of Shanghai; location roughly corresponds to the Jin Mao Tower based on position relative to the Shanghai Tower and the Shanghai World Financial Center · Carmen can enter from the air by ziplining across from the Shanghai Tower or from the ground via the elevator shaft · Walks into conspicuously-open vault to learn her ground crew has been kidnapped; if she does not cooperate, the faculty will use Dr. Bellum's mindwiping device to turn Ivy and Zack into V.I.L.E. operatives ◦ As per bad ending 1, Coach Brunt had bet Professor Maelstrom a steak dinner that Carmen would refuse V.I.L.E.'s deal point-blank · Curiously, a 10-19 licence plate is visible on a passing car during Player's intro of the target; in the main series, this number seems to be used exclusively for A.C.M.E. vehicles

Xi'an (roughly 2h direct flight time from Shanghai to Xi'an)

· First task is the theft of a terracotta warrior for Brunt; Carmen goes to a "fresh dig site" where more statues have recently been found · Exact date unknown but apparently a Tuesday; "it's either dress-up Tuesday for the security staff or..." · Tigress has been sent as V.I.L.E.'s handler-slash-back-up for Carmen; leaving her in the pit reveals she has a fear of insects but helping her enables the later 'imperfect good' ending of saving Zack and Ivy while V.I.L.E. keeps the statue · Carmen gets her first check-in with the siblings, then is offered the choice of going to either Hell Creek, Montana, to retrieve a T. rex bone for Dr. Bellum or Monte Carlo, Monaco, to steal one hundred tins of Beluga caviar for Countess Cleo

· If trying to establish a 'canon' narrative for the special, Cleo's caper would make the most sense as the next theft; Carmen has managed one heist for V.I.L.E. but now struggles with the implications of needing to do it again, and to a charity no less. Mime Bomb is also present more to monitor Carmen than to help, much like Tigress, and Julia does not mention a stolen dinosaur bone despite bringing up the missing terracotta warrior during her brief conversation with Carmen. Going from one plainclothes agent in Monte Carlo (or presumably only one; no recognizably-A.C.M.E. faces in the crowd and Julia reaches for her pen rather than an earpiece if tricked into going to the roof) to three officially-dressed agents in Montana also seems like a more appropriate escalation of A.C.M.E.'s efforts to catch Carmen than the reverse.

Monte Carlo (roughly 11h direct flight time from Xi'an to Monte Carlo)

· Exterior of the hotel hosting the charity dinner appears somewhat similar to the Hotel Metropole Monte-Carlo · Debut of 'Scarlett Santarosa' as an alias; Player's startled "who??" upon hearing it suggests that this may not have been entirely planned · Declining the diplomat's offer to dance leads to Carmen expressing a preference for tango over the waltz; accepting it shows her losing focus/drifting into a daydream partway through, which may be a sign that having to rush through back-to-back capers is starting to wear on her · Evidently A.C.M.E. has received intel that V.I.L.E. may be targeting the caviar, Julia assigned to investigate and/or thwart; she seems much more comfortable blending in with upper-class society than pretending to be a fashion model in Milan · Julia also much more overt with her willingness to extend Carmen the benefit of the doubt; that she's carrying around a champagne glass full of some unspecified sparkling liquid is probably pure coincidence ;)

· Carmen acknowledges having "joined forces with Jules before"—a phrasing that suggests something more like their collaboration in Milan than simply leaving the recovered Magna Cartas on a train seat; trusting Julia is necessary to achieve the 'perfect' route ending · The successful grab 'n' dash route leads to Carmen landing on a bridge-like structure with some similarities to the Fontvieille Shopping Centre; the unsuccessful stash 'n' sneak option has her walking down what is almost certainly the Rue de Millo in La Condamine

Terminal 5 of Heathrow Airport (roughly 2h direct flight time from Monte Carlo to Heathrow)

· Before continuing on to the third heist, Carmen demands another check-in with Ivy and Zack; comparing the amount of light coming through their cell window at different times of day allows her to deduce that they are being held somewhere with 24/7 sunlight · Player confirms that this would currently be the North rather than South Pole; midnight sun in the Arctic goes from late March to late September

· Choosing to attempt a rescue instead of continuing with the third heist reveals that Tigress has been stationed at the Arctic facility, presumably to oversee the guarding of Carmen's ground crew; unclear how/if she is involved in their transfer to Île d'Oléron for the ending of the 'perfect' route ◦ The diner from the post-Arctic bad ending is located in none other than San Diego, suggesting that this is after Team Red purchases the Carmen Brand Outerwear warehouse (and is quite possibly the Best Sneaky Detail in this entire special asdfghj XDD)

Hell Creek (roughly 9.5h direct flight time plus 3.5h drive time from Heathrow to Hell Creek State Park)

· Carmen more resigned than upset at the thought of stealing the T. rex bone for Bellum; would be in keeping with having managed to get through two heists for V.I.L.E. already · Archaeologist from Morocco can be seen entering one of the tents at the excavation site (a.k.a. the OTHER contender for Best Sneaky Detail XD)

· Even considering something as risky as trying to catch and break into a plane while it's taking off may be another sign of strain/fatigue affecting Carmen; this would also fit with Montana being her third caper in a row · Research lab is approximately 200 miles away (and is attached to an amusement park like the discount version of a Michael Crichton novel, there's even a Tyrannosaurus head over the main entrance, this is ABSOLUTELY intentional XDD) · Bellum expected her to have snagged the bone within mere hours of landing in Montana ("been in Montana for an entire afternoon"); pushing Carmen to complete the thefts as quickly as possible is likely part of keeping her too busy to out-think V.I.L.E.'s trap · Carmen is offered the choice of El Topo or Le Chevre for assistance; El Topo will show up having helpfully researched potential exit routes while Le Chevre drops a pinecone on her head and calls her "the bossy one in [their] class" · Compared to El Topo, Le Chevre also distinctly under-impressed by the quality of A.C.M.E.'s suits · El Topo's knowledge of the tunnels underneath the combo museum/amusement park leads to a quick and A.C.M.E.-baffling disappearance after nabbing the bone; picking Le Chevre, on the other hand, leads to the very serious A.C.M.E. agents very seriously commandeering a dinosaur-themed roller coaster train in order to chase Carmen along said roller coaster's track until she manages a daringly acrobatic escape that ends with her hang-gliding off into the night (yes I have a favourite operative how can you tell)

· As an alternative to a straight reconciliation with show-canon, might I suggest that riding a literal roller coaster in order to chase Carmen Sandiego through an amusement park in the middle of the night sounds suspiciously like someone trying to prank a newly-reinstated Devineaux? ;)

Terminal 5 of Heathrow Airport (unknown drive time plus roughly 9.5h direct flight time from Montana to Heathrow)

· After she returns to the airport, the faculty sends Carmen an e-ticket for a ferry to the Île d'Oléron; she is to bring the dinosaur bone and caviar tins there to exchange for her ground crew · Somehow Julia has managed to track Carmen to Heathrow, unclear if A.C.M.E. aware; her attempt to tail the thief is quickly noticed and Carmen uses the opportunity to ask for her help

Île d'Oléron (roughly 75 min direct flight time from Heathrow to La Rochelle; ferry to the island takes another hour)

· Paperstar watching from the Phare de Chassiron; as per the final bad ending, V.I.L.E. plans to have Lady Dokuso and the Cleaners ambush Carmen after she disembarks

· All real-world ferries to Île d'Oléron look to be from La Rochelle; closest actual stop would be Saint-Denis-d'Oléron, approximately 4 km away, as the coastline near the lighthouse is too shallow to permit a commercial dock · Carmen has Julia take her place on the ferry and swims to the island instead, finds Zack and Ivy in the V.I.L.E. aircraft hangar there · Paperstar notices Julia's glasses and alerts the guards, interrupting their escape · Zack figures out how to fly a helicopter in a hurry and Carmen references Casablanca ("here's looking at you, crew"); terracotta warrior conveniently found to be already stowed/never unloaded in back

Julia's apartment, presumably still in Poitiers

· All stolen items deposited neatly outside Julia's door, complete with a bouquet of roses; we do not see who rings the doorbell · One possible explanation for the opening and closing scenes of Ivy and Zack during the post-ending bonus music video is that they indeed managed to break out of their cell at least once while Carmen was busy with V.I.L.E.'s capers, even if they were then recaptured before they could find a way off the Arctic base; certainly their parts of the song are referenced in-episode during both the post-Xi'an check-in and the post-Arctic bad ending

Special vs. Canon

In terms of trying to fit the special with the rest of the show, both Carmen's dialogue ("which part of the last year", see estimated date for Boston caper in previous timeline) and the Arctic midnight sun reference suggest a late spring/early summer time frame, meaning roughly April to June-ish depending on how strict we want to be with the definition of a year. Shadow-san's absence from the faculty and from the special in general, plus the fact that the remaining members appear to be in some transitional location—as per the industrial metal-panel backgrounds during most of their calls to Carmen, rather than anything resembling either the Canary Islands school or the Outer Hebrides castle—isn't as definitive, but would at least be in keeping with a post-explosion (March-ish) pre-move-to-Scotland (October) placement.

There is also Julia's readiness to trust Carmen's intentions in Monte Carlo, combined with Carmen's "joined forces with Jules before" line, which would suggest that this is before Player Trojan-horses the A.C.M.E. database but after the Milan caper. Given the notable absence of any reference to Stockholm, this might further suggest a point after both that mishap and the failed Botswana collaboration because Carmen's willingness to reach out for A.C.M.E.'s help with the diamond mine could be seen as forgiveness for chasing her off a tower in Sweden—and with that attitude of letting bygones be bygones, Julia might consider doubling down on her faith in Carmen to be a more convincing apology than dragging up bad history.

With how quickly things go from Brunt dropping the Wolfebomb to Carmen salvaging the mainframe hard drive to her demanding answers from Shadow-san, it would be very difficult for the special to take place then regardless of how conveniently it would excuse the ninja's absence. However, there is an unspecified amount of time between that confrontation and Carmen showing up at Chief's usual coffee shop in Seattle—and since Carmen wouldn't have confirmed Shadow-san's truthfulness yet, he'd most likely still be benched in San Diego (nor would the faculty expect to see him with her given their belief in having driven a wedge between the two). Chase, at this point, would also have been retrieved from the island and fired by Interpol but not yet reactivated as an A.C.M.E. agent.

Although not a perfect reconciliation—that Carmen would be willing to put a hold on finding answers about her father's death in order to raid a random V.I.L.E. vault in Shanghai is... questionable, to say the least—the most plausible canon setting for the special would therefore seem to be after the reveal of how Shadow-san became a faculty member but before Team Red comes up with a plan for how to hack A.C.M.E.'s database.

As always, this is the work of only one person. If there's something missing or incorrect, let me know and I'm happy to update. Otherwise, I have a CS 2019 trivia tag for the things that didn't quite fit in either timeline, as well as the odd headcanon that does a little more reading-between-the-lines. ;) Have fun.

END

20 notes · View notes

sam-glade · 6 months

Note

Sam. SAM.

What would it take for dragons to evolve in our world? *props chin in hands*

*cracks knuckles*

Ok, preface: I'm not a biologist, these are my conclusions from a discussion with one. I also specifically wanted dragons with four legs and two wings, not wyverns.

Tl;dr: it would require an astonishing number of highly unlikely coincidences that would affect the rest of the world's fauna, from evolving at a very specific period a long time ago, through surviving multiple extinction events, to having a food source that would make them thrive.

The number of pairs of limbs in vertebrates (especially looking at land mammals, reptiles, birds, and amphibians) correspond to the number of segments in their bodies, which is something that evolved very early on - even before reptiles were a thing, way before dinosaurs. And once vertebrates evolved with two segments, they got stuck with them.

Note that we've got plenty of e.g. anthropods with varying number of legs (spiders, insects, centipedes), but they 1. Have much simpler bodies, without the spine (vertebral column), and with an exoskeleton instead 2. They evolved before vertebrates.

So for dragons with six limbs to exist, there should be another branch of evolution with animals with three-segmented bodies. That branch would have split off just as vertebrates were appearing, but before the number of segments was set - that's a very narrow window. It would be in the early Paleozoic era (500mln years ago).

Then it would split further, into a bunch of diverse creatures. We wouldn't have ended up just with dragons, but with a large variety of six-limbed species, most of them likely without wings. Basically, think of the variety of four-limbed animals we have, from mice, to ostriches, to elephants, and then come up with a comparable amount for six limbs. And sure most of the 6-limbed creatures could have gone extinct, but they needed to exist at some point, for one genus or family (of dragons) to survive to our day.

The more complicated the body is, the more specialised it is, so once the environment changes (climate, food sources, etc.) it's more likely to go extinct - think mammoths, or sauropods, like brontosaurus. We're after large flying dragons especially, which is an incredibly specialised build - they would have to have a plentiful source of food that couldn't be tapped into by simpler means. I mean, on one hand they have to eat a lot to keep their large bodies running (and flying requires a lot of energy), on the other it would have to be a food source that necessitates flying and large size. For example, if they could just graze on the ground, they wouldn't need wings, so individuals with weak or small wings wouldn't die off and would pass on their small wings genes to their offspring.

So what are they eating?

Finally, given the usual reptile-like depictions of dragons, their evolution would have had to mirror the four-limbed creatures closely, which is another unlikely coincidence, though possible (e.g. at a first glance whales look like fish despite being mammals. I think dragons could have a comparable level of similarity to reptiles?).

On the flip side, competition between six-limbed and four-limbed species would possibly alter how many of each would evolve. Perhaps we'd end up without some of the species that exist now, but with more wild six-limbed critters?

Anyway, wyverns would have been much more likely to evolve.

PS. Slight digression: It has occurred to me that wings could be used to attract mates and not be functional (like deer's antlers), but we want flying dragons, right?

#this is all hypothetical #but please comment if I got anything wrong😅#dragons #evolution #worldbuilding #it was part of a (now abandoned) idea for The Fulcrum #where my birdfolk had arms; legs; and wings #but it got too complicated #so I stick to 2 pairs of limbs

24 notes · View notes