muppenthings - Tumblr blog

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Ah, but consider! Webbed hand=free hammock

It is! Might be a mixed bag tho, depending on whose webbing you're resting on. I imagine it can be relaxing or pure adrenaline rushes.

Like Cetus is gonna yeet you consistently. xD

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une smooch 💋😘🧜‍♀️

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Part of your world

Eli wants to be part of your world. Even if all he can do is squeak and make whale noises.

Hope you all have a nice day.

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Get attacked!! ✨🌈SEND THIS TO OTHER BLOGGERS YOU THINK ARE WONDERFUL. KEEP THE GAME GOING🌈 Boop!

Aaaah thank you for the boop! xD

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Light Filtered Clouds

Simply wanted to make pretty clouds with light rays filtering through. Ended up with this beauty of Owen and Nakia there. Both enjoying and soaking in the gentle lighting.

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Another g/t trope that I love but as a dialogue prompt

Giant: "You're scared of me."

Tiny: "...I don't want to be."

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"The- The Sea Monster !!"

Another drawing of Prism 🏃🏽‍♀️💨

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I changed Prism design (again) !!!

He's a big mermaid inspired by a whale shark

He's not bad even tho he has sharp teeth, he's just curious about the ships he meet in his territory.

He likes swimming close to pirate ships to understand what it is exactly which gave him the reputation of a "Sea monster" because he scares the sh*t out of pirates

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Sneaking Around

The entire time I was working on this, I had Henry Mancini’s “The Pink Panther” theme stuck in my head. I used a sunset picture for my color palette, see below the cut.

Originally I thought this was a preliminary moment to a first meeting. I saw it as tiny Kristine was sneaking around, attempting to avoid whoever lived in this enormous place, having never seen a giant before. She has no clue she is being snuck up on by the giant themselves. However the more I toyed with it, the more I saw other stories and possible scenarios surface.

I’d LOVE to hear your ideas on what you think the story of this piece is. Are they sneaking around together? Are they on a heist? Are they friends playing a game? Is the giant going to spook/prank their friend Kristine? Is the giant a known villain our hero Kristine is trying to avoid? Please share what you think is happening here - or about what happens after this image. Write, draw, comment or reblog. I’d love to hear your interpretation.

Master Post with links to all my posted content

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How many people does Cetus make friends with from the organization that’s helping him? And is he publicly know so the public could eventually meet him? One day there could be a line of people hugging him along his torso so he can get a better feeling of being hugged 🥺

Currently three; Taniel, Jonna and Nikos. They work closest with him and are always present during any interactions with him; the injections, feeding, checkups etc.

While he is publicly known, public interactions are off limits. The reef and ocean mers also know of him, but they mostly stay clear.

Freshwater mers live in bonded pairs, it's not in their nature to spend much time in large groups. They only gather up in certain locations in early spring to find their partner. Then they leave asap as it's kinda stressful for them.

Even for a freshwater mer, Cetus is particularly sensetive to the emotions and energy of others. That's why there's a limited amount of people interacting with him at all times. And they're now carefully chosen for the job. Because if one person "sets him off" it can escalate pretty fast.

So no chain hugs for him; a large number of people around him will just stress him out. Unless they're all very chill, but even then it's a stretch. One-on-one quality time suits him a lot more! :)

Besides, Cetus is quite aloof to strangers. But that's mostly the fault of the humans who unknowingly mishandled everything from the start. They got frightened or frustrated with him which in turn made him more reactive/stressed causing him to act out. This had the effect of people quitting the job. So Cetus didn't bother warming up to anyone; what's the point if they're going to leave soon anyway.

But the trio has grown on him; they've stayed even if he's snapped his teeth inches from their faces. ;)

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Surrounded in Happiness

In clovers and possibly a wolf above.

Went a little insane with the detail and lighting here. But i love it. Have some Chrome and Poppy

Happy St Patrick's

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Sunrise Kiss

I am still having difficulty drawing. Especially pieces like my “Handheld” series. So I took the opportunity to play with colors and silhouettes.

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I have a question regarding floofs because I'd like to make a few of my own (as well as revamp Mint)

Exactly how big are they? Are they as small as bugs or as big as mice?

Oh! I'd love to see the new Mint and floofs if you feel like sharing! :DD

As for size, I always imagined them to be around the size of a dwarf hamster or a pet mouse. So around 3 inches! There's some slight variation in their sizes so they can be slightly smaller or bigger! :3

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Does Gorm know how to show affection? actually how does your mers that interact with people learn how to show affection?

Oh he definitely shows affection, in his own way! He's very "vocal", as in he'll communicate loads with you. Sharing knowledge, experiences, ideas and so on. He'll want to tell you all about that new thing he found or where you can find a good fishing spot. Will a human understand those rapidly changing colors and happy puffs of air? No. If he likes the person, he'll want to just hang out with them, see what they're doing and so on.

Octomers in general aren't very cuddly or affectionate, being a quite solitary species. But if they do show affection it's by holding another mer's arm, or anywhere else. A small, subtle contact. And of course there's a bioluminescence display of happiness/content.

As for learned affection, Gorm's discovered that humans can give things like pets with their small hands. It's quite interesting and he wants to experience those more. And also perhaps the humans would like those pats back?

As for my other mers, some had to learn to adjust their physical displays of affection with smaller folks. Runt is a natural at adjusting and taking ques and reading body language. So he's very much selftaught! And it helps that he's not as massive as the others.

More under the cut cause I ramble...

For Runt it's part of his nature and he'll happily show his affection to those comfortable with it. Saehl mers will rub and press their noses into eachother. They're quite scent oriented and the scent of a loved one is instant dopamine for them. So Runt is very content to shove his whole face into you, puffing happily. If you puff back he'll be ecstatic! He's very quick to adapt his affection to the individual and if someone doesn't want his face all over them, he'll happily pat them on the back instead for example. Saehls form very strong family bonds and friendships where touch is casual and constant. Sunbasking side by side, grooming and so on. So if anyone is in the vicinity, he'll want to be close and up in their space if possible. He'll also keep an eye on open, making sure that the people around him are happy and healthy too. If he senses a hint of sadness or anything, he'll do his best to make them feel better. He'll absolutely remind them of their doctor's appointment they told him about four weeks ago. xD

Tide is in the process of becoming more confident to express affection again. He wasn't truly part of the pod he was mostly raised in, his affection were either taken for granted or unwanted. He grew up thinking that affection just wasn't meant for him. He was extremely jealous and bitter of other mers giving and receiving affection so easily. Merry's being an excellent support/teacher there. He's awkward and flustered but they're very patient and encouraging. :)

Keiki is from a mer species that lives in tight-knit pods. So physical contact is very natural to him and something he needs to be happy. As he was raised by land folk, he got a lot of feedback and practise with them. They taught him to go slowly, to not lift them up too quickly, to be gentle and to not grab someone in a burst of affection etc. He can still be a little too quick sometimes and knows he can be too much so he tries his best to not be overwhelming, especially if he's on the larger side.

A thing he learned to adapt was hugging. When he was young he'd try to hug the ship (and nearly break it pfff) so they quickly had to steer that into a different outlet. To satiate the need for closeness, they taught him to instead bring them to a cheek, or cup them in his hands and hold them to his neck. He'll also make a very specific sound, like soft fluttering singing tones. It's a very unique sound that these mers only use to a loved one, it has many layers to it but it comes down to signal "I love you".

Keiki's also very happy to help out, little acts of service, when he's able to. He was raised in that everyone helps out and take care of eachother. Unfortunately he can be clumsy so the acts of thoughtfulness can take a wrong turn. He wants to help clean the deck of a boat? The deck gets completely soaked and things wash overboard. And he doesn't quite learn, he just keeps trying his best.™

Cetus is also from a species of mer that is very physical in their affection. It's instinctual, as natural as breathing. But unlike Keiki, he can't be as "small" as 200ft-ish and the humans were very strict in the no-touch department when he was growing up. So the lack of practise coupled with his sheer size, leaves him struggling with how to properly satiate the instinctual need to rub against a person he likes. So he's often rubbing against boats, or any other object, the person is on or try to rub his face against them directly. Which isn't very optimal.

But the current people working with him are slowly easing into being more physical with him. Like letting him touch them with a finger pad, or let him nose them. Still, no lifting them up. But they're slowly teaching him, and eachother, how to safely allow him to express affection.

Cetus will also bring gifts. They're not very nice gifts but he's doing what he can in such a restricted area. He'll gift things like seagulls (alive and somehow uninjured), a piece of the whale that was previously brought to him, half of a rusty bicycle...

No, he will not be taught otherwise. Better accept the seagull less he bring you a part of a boat.

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Thanks for the tags! I don't usually do these but I got tagged in this by two different ones, so I cave. xD

Last Song: No Room for Love by Dotter.

Favorite Color: Uuuh that depends entirely on my mood. I shift from loving soft pastels to bright ones. One week it's earthy tones and the next it's neon, sometimes it's a harmonic palette and the next it's complementary ones. It's never just one color. It's about the whole picture! :,D

Currently Watching: ... Does youtube count? I mostly look at youtube cause I currently can't commit to a series. It's usually reaction channels or game playthroughs. Those are often with scary games for some reason. I can never play those kinds of games myself so it's fun to watch without having the nightmares after!

Spicy/Savory/Sweet: I lean towards sweet. There's always room for dessert! ;)

Current Obsession: Oh uh... I'm trying to get in more steps in my days so there's that? And I'm always obsessing over my dog. Love him so much. ;o;

Tagging: No one cause I'm an anxious ball of stress. Whoever reads this feel free to do it. :3

Nine people I’d like to get to know better

Thanks for the tag, @television-overload~!

Last Song: Walk Outside (theme? for Milo and Otis)

Favorite Color: Red! (Just switched my seasonal palette from True Winter to True Summer-- blew my mind-- and now I'm falling in love with greyer pinks, purples, and taupes.)

Currently Watching: Frasier!

Spicy/Savory/Sweet: Sweet. All day, every day. Sometimes I eat it with savory-- depends on the food, depends on the day.

Relationship Status: Single and not looking yet~

Current Obsession: X-Files always-- it's ability to burrow deep into my brain is unparalleled.

Tagging: @baronessblixen, @welsharcher, @agent-troi, @suitablyaggrieved, @amplifyme, @cecilysass, @spidey-is-tired, @two-microscopes~

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Has Gorm encountered a human who is frozen from fear? Like the Fight, Flight, or Freeze response. If people have mostly been fighting or trying to flee, I get that they are scrambling and struggling. So when someone is frozen stiff, that’s got to be new and different to Gorm. Would it make him curious and want to inspect closer? Maybe hold them since they are still? Or is he not phased and something else moving catches his attention instead? Or is his vision motion based? If you’re still, you effectively disappear??

I don't think he's encountered a freeze response yet. People have fainted tho. But since it's a brief loss of consciousness only lasting for a few seconds (up to a minute or two), the person is good to panic/struggle after coming to. Gorm was very concerned for the first fainter however, thinking they just dropped dead. Now he believes it's a defense mechanism. Like animals that play dead, he thinks it's voluntary. xD;;

If someone just freezes, they're not reacting in a way he's used to so that's a cause for a closer look, he will pick them up with an arm. At first he'd think they were willing in the interaction. But if they remain frozen and non responsive (he can't really make out our small facial expressions and twitches after all) then he'd get more concerned. He can tell they're awake and not playing dead. He'd be very insistent on (gently) poking and flipping the person around. Are they injured somewhere? Are they playing? What if he holds them like this for a while? What is going on??

Gorm's vision is excellent, be it tracking movement or stationary things. Standing still will not cause him to loose you; once you catch his attention, you got it full stop. xD

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How would Cetus react to seeing a human baby?

Since his vision is very poor, he won't properly see the baby. But he'd sense the infant, hear and smell it. If he'd ever meet a baby, it'd be because a worker introduced him to theirs (not allowed btw). He wouldn't recongize the little babbling, blur as a human unless he sniffed them first. But most likely the worker would inform him before that. He'd still go for a sniff tho. xD

Then he'd struggle with the instinct to bring both parent and baby to his nest. Like they need to be kept safe ok.

If the baby starts crying then it's over. They're taken to the nest no matter how calmly or sternly anyone protests. And then it'd be tricky to get them back. :,D