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WINTERWATCHER IS CANON IN MY FUCKING SOUL (AND MY AU)

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WINTERWATCHER IS CANON IN MY FUCKING SOUL (AND MY AU)

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T Tar

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Lugia art

I painted the Legendary Lugia 💙 Gen 2 is so nostalgic for me growing up on the gameboy!

By @kanaeink ✨

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Got annoyed at my wyfilwma animatic so now I'm redoing all the backgrounds

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posting this again.

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CW // Potential Eyestrain (saturated colors)

Doodled the silly color horses

(Cyan and Superstitional Realism from Horse Race Tests)

(I based Cyan off the later color for her so she wasn't so hard to look at)

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this was a good idea in theory

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other tribes can learn to read aquatic as well, but only the Rainwing has the capacity to learn how to speak back. to be certified in aquatic, they must take a test at the sea kingdom. it is considered a high educational honor and those proficient in aquatic are respected by many seawings.

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RIP 4Chan, i'll never forget this post that instantly cured my social anxiety upon reading it 🫡

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What's your opinion on Chameleon? (I'm still confused how he learned to read and write when rainwings don't have literature from what I remember, but apparently his handwriting is also horrible.)

Rainwings do indeed not have literature, or a concept of currency or wealth for that matter. But keep in mind that Chameleon was banished from his tribe and spent a significant portion of his life outside the rain forest. Presumably he picked up a rudimentary understanding of how to read while having to live within these new environments.

We don't really know where he went, if I recall correctly--outside of the fact that he eventually wound up in the Sky Kingdom, presumably after Scarlet found him and made him her newest toy.

While thinking about this question, I settled on a personal headcanon that, after he was exiled from the Rain Kingdom, he ended up in the desert at first. Either at the Scorpion Den, or some outlier Sandwing town that went unmentioned in the books (I like to imagine the continent bigger, with a lot of smaller dragon settlements dotted around in every territory in addition to the big ones).

In the desert, unsure of how to subsist in this unfamiliar climate, Chameleon temporarily got roped into the service of some Sandwing merchant who owned the dragon equivalent of a pawn shop/curiosity store. There he was taught enough to be able to read labels and sort merchandise correctly, and figured out the very basics of literacy from that.

As a bonus, this kind of background would also put him into proximity of antique items which might explain how he eventually came into possession of Darkstalker's scroll. It also introduces him to the concept of personal wealth (Sandwings being a particularly mercantile and materialistic tribe) and informs his later obsession with acquiring it. And lastly it tells us how he turned villainous, as being forced to work in retail for long enough will turn even the most patient and virtuous of souls to the brink.

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Moonwatcher + GN color variant.

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erm i reassigned ivy and dove to be brightcloud kits because this branch of the family tree gets rlly out of control when you dont do that lol

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Hi! I’m a big fan of your art and work over all

I’ve been wondering, since I’ve seen you give your thoughts on some other dragons, what are your thoughts on Clay?

On Clay...

Clay. I’ve talked about him for a bit in a previous post somewhere. He is the first protagonist in the entire series and thus serves as our introduction into this world. While he enters the story with his own emotional baggage, he pretty much resolves all of that within the first book and mellows out from then on, fading into the background as a quiet support character.

Because of that it is maybe easy to dismiss Clay as that big guy who talks about food a lot and doesn’t do much else. But I do think he’s a bit more complex than that and is a well-rounded character with things going on in his own right.

CW: Discussion of physical abuse.

Formative Years

Clays early years were molded heavily by his belief that he almost killed Tsunami while she was hatching. He believed this because his guardians, mostly Kestrel, insisted this is what happened. Of course at the end of the first book we learn that this wasn’t the case and that they were just misinformed about how Mudwings work.

To us, this may all seem absolutely ridiculous. We look at Clay and see this obvious gentle giant without a malicious bone in his body angsting about being a blood-crazed monster. But for Clay himself, this was a very real, very horrifying situation. Suspend your disbelief for a moment. His entire childhood was marred by the crushing guilt of almost having murdered his surrogate sister at birth, and he couldn’t remember why he did it. He understood nothing about this situation, and didn’t know if this secret violent side could even resurface one day. Basic things like going to sleep would become terrifying; he may have laid awake, wondering whether his body might act on its own as soon as he fell unconscious. Just like back then, when it acted before he could even form coherent thoughts. The fear of losing control to the monster and waking up on top of a loved one’s mangled body was always there.

This perception of himself as a violent killer was at odds with his social nature as a Mudwing. He loved his surrogate siblings with the same intensity that any Mudwing would love their own, and thus he hated the part of himself that threatened them. As a direct response to this dissonant view, Clay developed a desire to protect them. If he willed himself to shield them from getting hurt with all of his strength, he would never be able to harm them again. This was his way of coping with the fear.

It is pretty apparent from the text that at least Kestrel was physically abusive towards them. Dune was possibly too, Webs I don’t think so, but he also didn’t do anything to stop it. As Clay grew older I think he began to recognize the patterns. He would start deliberately acting in ways so that most of Kestrel’s ire would be redirected towards himself instead of the others. This is why all the Dragonets of Destiny have such deep respect for Clay; they remember him always standing between them and Kestrel, even as he ended up with more and more scars for it.

Luckily, he is able to reconnect with his Mudwing heritage at the end of book 1 and learns that he never was that blood-crazed murderer the guardians insisted he was. But even so, the scars and memories would never fully fade, and he’d never lose sight of the need to protect his loved ones.

Personality and Interests

Clay’s love of food and eating is well-established, to the point where it sometimes seems like it is his only character trait from book 2 onwards. This is normal; he’s got a big body and I assume the self-regenerative properties inherent to Mudwings burn a lot of calories, so he needs to eat a lot to refuel them. I think there’s a bit more to him still though.

Clay is at his happiest when he can either prevent someone else’s pain, or take it away. Conversely he becomes distressed when he sees someone suffering. I believe he is incredibly earnest and built close to water. He cries easily, though never in response to his own pain or suffering. He feels positive emotions very strongly and can get overwhelmed that way, especially when he sees his loved ones happy. When he cries, he does so openly and without shame. It is very unsatisfying to tease him because he will usually just take what people say to him at face value and thus make them feel bad.

He’s also very physically affectionate and huggy.

People who meet Clay often get the impression that he is book dumb, or just stupid in general. This is not the case, as Clay does have a capacity for learning even complex subject matter. I just think he struggles with subjects he can’t see a practical application for, or aren’t relevant to things he wants to do. He has little interest in memorizing ancient figures or learning how to measure the sides of a triangle

When Glory fights Deathbringer in book 3, she makes mention of a “dragon anatomy class” which I assume was taught by Webs. Clay, as much as he struggled with history and numbers, excelled at this particular class because its insight could be used to keep people safe. As such, whenever the need for it arises, Clay is usually quick to act as the group’s primary healer/medical advisor.

(Excerpts from WoF graphic novels 2 and 3, censored for blood.)

This notion is further supported by the fact that, once they all become teachers at the Jade Mountain Academy, Clay is the one to lead an anatomy class, just like the one he attended before.

In conclusion

Clay is pretty much everyone’s big brother. While he isn’t as eccentric and colorful as the people he is surrounded by, his earnestness and general benevolence make him the backbone of the Dragonets of Destiny. Whenever anyone has a deeply-rooted, serious problem they are hesitant to bring up with others, Clay will usually be the first person considered as a confidant. Tsunami and Starflight know he would never judge or shame them no matter how ridiculous the thing they approach him with. Glory trusts him with her emotions whenever her stoic facade cracks. And Sunny has an incredibly strong bond with him.

I think that makes him pretty cool, even if he doesn’t really have much to do anymore once he overcomes his personal demons. I’m happy that he gets to be happy in the end.

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Circe (wolfythewitch design) and some fuckass lil evil guy🫩

Context is that me and my friend are absolute gooners for Circe but im also a gooner for Smoked Cheese Cookie so I just....drawn them together....idk