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After so many years of getting hate anons the thing that actually pisses me off about them these days is how low effort they are.

Like you’re not a real hater. None of you. You’ve got no receipts, you’ve got no personalized insults, you’ve got nothing more clever than slurs to throw at me. Like not only are you assholes but you’re uncreative. Boring. Uninspired. Sloppy.

Not only are you small minded enough to be a bully on the internet but you can’t even come up with something more clever than kys. I’m not a suicidal 12 year old ten miles deep in the closet, alright. I’m a grownass man who’s been called a tranny in person and online since before your pea brain ass was in high school. Step up your game. Show me something I haven’t seen before. If you’re gonna be evil at least have some brains about it.

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The notes are broken. This is what tumblr is all about apparently.

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The scorpion den is punk

walk with me... ↓

The big idea

First, let’s walk through punk: what is it? Cambridge Dictionary defines punk as “a style or culture popular among young people... expressing opposition to authority through shocking behavior, clothes, and hair.” Contrary to popular belief, it's more than fashion and music: it’s a longstanding subculture which has existed since the 1970s. While looking for more definitions of punk, I found that a lot of people were saying different things - some say punk originated as an anti-racist subculture, while others say it was anti-authoritarian first. Either way, most people seem to agree that punk is loudly against injustice of any kind.

But how does this tie into the scorpion den?

First, it's important to consider what the scorpion den is by the time we are introduced to it: a crowded sandy city populated mostly by outcasts, deserters and veterans of the sandwing succession war. Most dragons of the scorpion den (outside of the talons of power and kind of outclaws) are not wealthy by any means, with a general stance against war and authorities like the sand kingdom. So, perfect breeding grounds for a punk revolution. The ideals of the scorpion den align very strongly with the ideals of punk, and It would be very easy for punk culture to manifest alongside its subculture cousins like riot grrl and emo.

The logistics of scorpion punk

Sandwings and Skywings of the scorpion den would probably be the first purveyors of punk, with both tribes heavily affected by tyranny, war and authoritarianism around the same time (Sandwing succession + Queen scarlet both come to power in the same..ish... timeframe.) I imagine these dragons talked a lot in the den, realized they had something and common and began accessorizing to identify each other or themselves. The harsh, loud, spiky appearance gives a distinct style, while also making it harder for other dragons (or guards!) to grab hold of these dragons during a fight - which they would likely have a lot of. Wood was burnt to make charcoal, which could be combined with oils or water to make a cheap, effective dye when squid ink imports were unavailable/too expensive. Spikes were fashioned from cactus thorns or cheap smelted metals, sometimes even sewn into the scales for that extra weaponry.

These functional design choices must've caught like fire to a dead tree, becoming more and more popular until they were a commonality across the punks of all tribes. Eventually, Scorpion punk became more creative - dyes and paints were used on sandwing frills, and thin black linens could be pulled over the neck or arms to create a fishnet-like accessory. In some extreme cases, dragons would even bend or clip their frills/spikes to create a more thorny appearance.

What about the Outclaws?

The biggest issue with this idea is undoubtedly the presence of the outclaws: an authority in an anti-authority space. Most of the individual dragons that make up the outclaws would probably lean into scorpion punk: if you look at Six-claws, Thorn and Kindle, all of them could easily be punk. Still, their presence kind of disrupts the whole vibe... until you look a little closer at what the outclaws are actually doing.

As described by the wiki, the outclaws are described as a group of peacekeepers who control (and distribute) water from the oasis equally, as well as providing free meals and persistently giving resources to the scorpion den. These traits are still very comparable to punk, only softer on the anti-authoritarianism. I would suggest the outclaws are more alike a punk gang, upholding their community in spite of the mistrust other dragons have of them.

Speaking of, the general response to punk outclaws would probably be to call them posers. Its been stated in the books that some dragons in the scorpion den think the outclaws are secret recruiters for the war, and the same sentiment could easily carry over to the honesty of their punkness.

in conclusion, the punks of the scorpion den undoubtedly outlast the sandwing succession war: remaining and integrated part of their community and culture for decades to come.

If you made it this far, thank you so much for listening to me prattle! I tried to keep it short and leave room for imagination, so do with this what you will. I'll see you guys this weekend for some perfectly punk sandwing redesigns!

( ´ ω ` )ノﾞ

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🐟🐟🐟

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You said sandwings were your favorite, so would you be willing to do Queen Thorn?

of course! I'm aware this design takes some explaining to do, but trust me... this IS Queen Thorn.

I think of all the times I've made a post that starts with 'this might be the time I take too much liberty,' THIS really takes the cake.

Thinking about Thorn as a character, I really wanted to bring out her more scorpion-den side, even if the redesign is set after she becomes queen. I feel that Thorn's most admirable quality as a ruler is her strong sense of identity and belonging among the citizens of the sandwing kingdom, and thought it unreasonable that she would make any real effort to dress/appear different after becoming queen (even if it caused a little uproar among sandwing nobles.)

Because of this, I decided to incorporate a lot of punk design aspects (for any new readers, my last post is about the scorpion den being punk.) She has a lot of spikes sewn/fastened directly to her under scales, as well as a little vest and tail bracelet with the outclaw patch sewn in. I wanted to give her some kind of royal-leaning attire without losing the vibe, so I added these leather-ish, chain-ish back piece meant to resemble a cape. Kind of. Onto her scales: Thorn's design is very on the nose: with thorn patterns (based on the name) and swirl patterns (reminded me of sand.) Finally, her frills are dyed! I imagine Thorn probably uses a blend of papaya or prickly pear cactus to get the job done, but the ends fade with time. That kind of makes me wonder if sandwing frills grow like hair..

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As always, thank you all so much for your support and continued appreciation of this blog! If you're interested in making a request or viewing which characters are on the redesign waitlist, check my pinned post! I'm still working on determining my art comp prizes, but I can confidently tell you all it will probably be a redesign or draw in your style challenge!

later ☆ ～('▽^人)

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Reblog if your blog is a safe space for these identities: agender, demiboy, demigirl, genderfluid, non-binary, and transgender!

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i'm on a lot of nyquil right now

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Oh ok so it turns out ive been borrowing grief from the future ! it turns out ive been preparing to lose the things i love rather than basking in the light of them while they last. Maybe i should nt do that

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The Onion continues to never miss

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OK new game. Use this website to see how common your first name is, and then put that number in the tags. 

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An old man who insists he has the right of way at every crossing no matter what the law says, encounters a spandex biker who insists on riding on the road that's right next to a perfectly viable and usable bike lane. They naturally crash into each other, and die on impact. As they both died gloriously in battle according to their shared beliefs, they are both retreived by shrieking winged she-abominations that resemble an equal mix of a seagull and Margaret Thatcher, and are carried off to Traffic Valhalla, where they get to beat the shit out of each other, and other fallen vehicle warriors alike them, forever and ever.

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There's also the secret third option "everytime you complain i have to stop what I'm doing therefore the more you complain the more I stop to address you and the longer this takes"

The problem with trying to tell people "the more you hurry me, the longer this is going to take" is that an outside observer has no way to tell the difference between "I take any request to do something as a personal challenge to do the opposite out of spite, because I consider any expectation to accommodate your needs as a personal insult and beneath me uwu" and "the more pressure you put on me, the more stressed I am going to be, and the more anxious I am the more mistakes I will make, and I will have to go even slower in order to avoid them or keep trying to get it right over and over again so the only thing that makes the difference between us getting there in time or us both being late because I'm sitting on the floor crying is 100% your choice to either keep doing that or stop doing that."

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it bugs me how many lesbians have issues with trans women. like, we're supposed to love women. what's next, you gonna start hating short people too? fuck off.

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