pearlcatcher-problems

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my dad was looking at my art and just went 'you really like green and tan, huh?' and I've never felt more called out

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not tagging these but these are next on the list to tackle in terms of skins, the veil m skin is a little treat as a break from hatchie skins q wq

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eating incense ᛜ mesa incense

gave up the fight with skin queue, so instead just putting my personal colourway up for public sale along with the one colour that got through.

sign-ups and more info in the forum!

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finallyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

I'm free !

until they add new familiars

but for now.................................... freedom

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they are on-site after a bit of struggling with shlines, but!! hooray!!

the only bad news is that somehow in the middle of fighting with shlines, I'd toggled the body fades off and forgot to turn them back on, so the on-site ones have been de-sooted.

do I still love them? yes. do I miss the soot? yes. do I want to resubmit them? no.

two copies of each colour are up for auction on-thread now, along with a custom recolour slot for someone to have that exact tone they want for their lair since I plan on keeping the base limited q wq

hunter becomes hunted / predator come prey / the trapper trapped

wrapped up some custom skins for some beans, was a lot of fun to finish these up tbh ; w; ( no shlines yet because shlines my behated )

hopefully will have them on-site soon and will auction off two copies of each colourway ( 5-prints as usual with my personal customs, since I tend to use two and prefer keeping a spare in my hoard ) as well as a custom recolour slot so people can have their own weird toothy critter in their own specific colour combo.

versions with their intended dragons under the cut! please ignore parts that seem too flat against the dragon, shlines will make them look better I just--- hhhh energy

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maferzin ᛜ amphithere ᛜ queen of the roost

she ! the bean ! the long noodle ! I keep referring to her as the spaghetti project, so thankful to have it done after all the chaos this month q wq

Lore rambles about the amphitheres / roost under the cut to keep things tidy

Amphitheres. Noisy, multi-winged beasts that flocked in the remains of a Harpy outpost after the lich's fall due to a surplus of energy there, choosing to leech directly from the corrupted magics to fuel their flock rather than worry of possible risks as the benefits far outweigh any possible negatives. They have a drive for survival and know that they do so better in numbers, which requires above all protection, sustenance, and a strong sense of community between the flock. They're smart, but they're... not smart. While they can understand difficult concepts and engage in philosophy, a lot of the time they'd just rather.... not. In general, Roost Amphitheres tend to find more joy in the more 'stupid' aspects in life: unironically engaging in the equivalent to 'meme culture' in their little community.

Unironically, these little pea-brained idiots name themselves after whatever little thing makes them giggle the most so that they get to hear it time and time again and share that experience with friends. As amphitheres depends on identifying each other via scent patterns, the name is as much an accessory to them as the garb they wrap themselves in. There are some Amphitheres who may change their name once a week, others that simply end up finding something that feels right to them and staying with it their whole lives.

( Fun fact: most of the Roost Amphitheres are named after parts of the dubbed nanalan show because it tickles my brain so much! Maferzin, Peepo, and Nasa are all ones that have survived the name cycle over the years to keep to this homage! )

They are quick to react and slow to forgive, making them risky allies for many reasons. It's not uncommon for them to end up scrapping with dragonkin over veiled insults towards their nonsense habits or their more beast-like mannerisms when feeding / playing / existing in general, which has made creating long-lasting allies a hardship. In recent years, researchers from the main allied outpost have tried to gain access to Roost grounds to survey the lich's remains and form diplomatic bonds with the Amphitheres under Spire's guidance, which has been... mostly successful. There's been a glut of magic from the lich this season as his corpse will take aeons to properly decay, leaving the Amphitheres full to glut on his magic, jolly, and generally more amicable.

Physiologically, amphitheres are serpentine creatures that have bodies covered with scale and fur, and have no proper 'limbs' beyond wings. Six tends to be the norm, but some have been recorded with more or less depending on their heritage and how heavily the corruption has settled through their bloodline. 'Maneuvering' wing limbs usually have a singular or pair of clawed digits to allow them to grip or climb, whereas their main 'flying' wings are relatively normal. Some breeds may even fold up maneuvering wings for ease of flying depending on how poorly laid out they are. Two horns is the norm, but four have been recorded. Some may grind off their horns entirely if they get in the way of flying or entangled too much, it's also not uncommon for some to be broken from brawling.

Maferzin is the head of the roost, Queen of the Amphithere flock and considers herself to be quite the catch. She's large for an amphithere, but still dwarfed in comparison to Spire- something that goes to his favour as she's not used to feeling small and dainty around other dragons. As matriarch, her bloodline has cemented itself through the Roost's lineage, having multiple offspring thriving within their flock now, some expecting clutches of their own. She is a good leader in making the right call for her people, but not always the most empathetic to the struggles of others. She is a deep romantic at heart though and has found peace with the plentiful season in being able to simply thrive and enjoy the finer things in life: good company, a plentiful den, the newest in allied clan garb from the neighbouring silk trader....

She's never been one for frivolities, but with the new trade agreements and allies have come gifts. This has been a new pleasure she's very much enjoyed: thoroughly dressing both herself and her kin up in whichever finery the neighbouring seamstress sends their way ( she's honestly just thrilled to have a new body shape / flight pattern to clothe!! ) She has learned to keep whichever poorly-shaped pearls around her midsection, as they're the ones most likely to be pulled as she scales and winds herself around things.

While the species is jovial now, when starved... things change. They will attack anything that moves and wipe out entire ecosystems if left to their own unchecked. They are nasty buggers to fight as many of them tend to be venomous and they are always in large numbers. When alerted, many of them will create noise to pass on the alarm to neighbouring Amphitheres, usually in the form of hissing or rattling of tails ( for those who have rattles. ) Having them be peaceful long-term is a beneficial goal for everyone, as their existence allows plentiful research on lichfall from the main outpost, and having them be calm allows safe trade routes through their domain for other outposts. As such, the main outpost has devised a back up plan for if things do fall into a bad season via a storage system of liquid ley via the elementals at the oasis.

It's a delicate balance keeping it all afloat, but they're all somehow bound by the lich's fall and need to support themselves somehow.

Also, the base sketch of this was from literal years ago but I've been crying for the energy to actually tackle it. Feeling very good about being able to do so now!

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finally getting back to working on her ref and......... slowly............. maybe this weekend. love me some maferzin. I made her reference scribble like.... two years ago. About time to make it a proper ref.

extremely WIP but trying to be more comfortable about showing mid-stages on projects, so :spin: enjoy my scrubbly stuff

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!! bb's first roundsey dragon win q wq what a fun thing to wake up to

definitely not my colour-scheme with the maroon tert, but !! still fun to get! will be selling rather than keeping, as it won't fit and I'd likely just scatter over it and I'm sure someone loves them as-is

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special queue for three weeks, pray for my eternal soul.

Hex canceled for making hatchling skins that are smoking ( pls it's not smoking it's INCENSE AAAA )

I really shouldn't have made myself wait on getting them approved to put the other skins in, but here we are. I've already clowned so have to wait. At least if I'd put the spiral skins in I'd have had them back by now q wq but u g h I honestly didn't think I'd have so many issues with the imp skin in queue as-is

quietly shaking FR skin queue, release me, please, I swear I don't want hatchlings to smoke I swear it's not a smoke I swear--

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spire ᛜ false amphithere ᛜ beast wyrm ᛜ king of the roost

finally had the time to tackle this lad's reference; next up is a custom skin for him to match his headcanon! Lore rambles and general discussion of him / his spot in the lair beneath the cut to keep length down q wq

Spire is a false amphithere, technically a beast wyrm, that has settled and taken over one of the lair outposts. Most of his body is furred with thick boar bristle, but his chestplate is heavier armoured scale. Like most outpost heads, he bears the emblem of the joined clans on his wings and garb, although the over-ornamentation is mostly his magpie-like mate's preference.

The 'koi' on his wings is only ever visible under direct sunlight, where the fish-like scaling on his wings is most iridescent. Otherwise, it's just yet another glossy protective layer over his already armoured hide.

Beast wyrms are usually territorial and brutish, usually lone-wanderers due to conflict with others of their species. They rarely breed, which means their numbers are low, and quite a few of them will integrate themselves in mixed-species lairs that better suits the beast side of their bloodlines. Boars, bears, ox, and bison tend to be the most plentiful beast lines, with other species spotted scarcely. There's very little understanding on how they can continue their bloodlines or how new species are still popping up, and there are theories that they're instead created through corrupted interference. It very well could be both.

Spire's nature is a benefit to him where he is now, having quickly charmed most of the chattering amphitheres over within days of his first landing within their borders and ended up being the prize gem of their matriarch within a season. The amphitheres are chaotic and fickle creatures, and as such, they had strained relations with neighbouring clans until Spire was able to better translate between the groups. While the neighbouring dragon clans simply wanted access to the amphithere grounds for study and ( hopefully ) trade, the amphithere's distrusting nature made it near impossible to conduct anything of the sort safely. With the amphitheres now well-fed due to an influx of ley magics and their society a little more organised, they've been able to progress their roost to the point of joining a proper network. Most who venture into the roost know that they only have one chance, if they overstep they will be tossed either by an amphithere denizen, or Spire himself.

He's unable to fly for long distances, both due to his shorter wingspan compared to most flying-beasts, and the added weight of the boar bristling. He is able to glide, climb, crawl, and charge at quite a good speed though, which means most of his fighting is done on-ground after intentionally disabling his opponents' wings somehow or hindering their ability to fly at all. Like most dragon-folk, he has the ability to breathe 'fire' but it requires quite a lot of fuel to do so and is used sparingly. It takes his body at least twenty seconds to get a devastating flame charged and it's visibly obvious when he's preparing for it as the scaling on his chestplate will flare up, which means it's not something used without thought or desperation. He is powerful, but there are always limits and calls to that power. It's why he agreed to engage in the political alliances for the good of the roost, at least then if they do encounter a threat where he's limited in his abilities, the allied clans have promised to step in.

He has five functioning digits on his forelimbs, but they're limited in dexterity and mostly used as anchoring grapples or simple motion. Given the shape of his wings, it's difficult for him to turn his wrists without moving his entire wing, which means a lot of fine-tune work is often left to a different dragon. His hindlimbs only have two functioning digits, with a pair of curved claws and a pair of dewclaws for gripping behind them.

Although he can technically eat anything, his favourite foods are tubers and fresh melons, but he also enjoys just gnawing on bones. The amphitheres are unable to eat anything outside of raw ley energy and flesh, so any growing produce within their territory tends to be just for him, a few of the locals specifically hiding away small melon farms in corners of the cliffs away from where younglings may try to play with them.

Most of the allied clans call all citizens of the roost 'amphitheres,' which has lead to some confusion as not all dragons in the roost are technically amphitheres. Despite the differences in species though, socially and culturally, all species are amphitheres and equal as long as the same goals are kept. It's an odd place, but it somehow works.

l m a o none of this is organised but mmmm I just love this lad qwq

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quietly shaking FR skin queue, release me, please, I swear I don't want hatchlings to smoke I swear it's not a smoke I swear--

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two posts in one day? woah. WIP on the next base since I've been playing with it while I wait on queue. maybe some day I'll be free.

( will be public! just another of the wistful series )

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hunter becomes hunted / predator come prey / the trapper trapped

wrapped up some custom skins for some beans, was a lot of fun to finish these up tbh ; w; ( no shlines yet because shlines my behated )

hopefully will have them on-site soon and will auction off two copies of each colourway ( 5-prints as usual with my personal customs, since I tend to use two and prefer keeping a spare in my hoard ) as well as a custom recolour slot so people can have their own weird toothy critter in their own specific colour combo.

versions with their intended dragons under the cut! please ignore parts that seem too flat against the dragon, shlines will make them look better I just--- hhhh energy

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very WIP ref of spire -- I keep meaning to come back to it but never have the time, so plopping it down here and MAYBE I'll get to it

love me some beastie dragons awawaaw

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a few finished projects that I've been vibing with a lot! and their bonus lore rambles under the cut to keep things a little more trim ; w;

» the wives [ Padparadscha | Bunanuhnanuh ]

antique jaguar ᛜ ginger breakup ᛜ terracotta koi bronze piebald ᛜ white basic ᛜ terracotta koi

» the twins [ Naberius | custard ]

stone piebald ᛜ white basic ᛜ spruce koi tarnish pharaoh ᛜ white basic ᛜ brown basic

» acolyte goblin ambassador [ moss ]

white basic ᛜ obsidian paint ᛜ hickory koi

I swear I'm normal about naming dragons-- I'll have serious names alongside dumb meme ones and treat them equally as seriously as characters. I swear, it makes sense in my lair. I promise.

» the wives [ Padparadscha | Bunanuhnanuh ]

Pad and Bun are wives, with Bun being the elegant airhead and Pad being the gruff behemoth. Pad is near twice Bun's size and tends to be more protective/defensive than the wildclaw is. Her pearl tends to stay with Bun when not in her pearl pouch, who keeps it in one of her silk scarves padded with dry moss and lavender sprigs.

The two of them are residing in the Bazaar, currently travelling between there and the Oasis to finalise some trade agreements before the encampments decide to make proper paths between them. While Bun is more than happy to keep the conversation for the two of them, Pad is just.... always listening. The pearlcatcher beast somehow always seems to know what is going on and can quickly get the answer to the most obscure questions if given enough time to think. This includes knowledge from any of their other outposts, somehow able to just.... know. ( Behind the scenes, she's actually a fraction of a hydra, and despite them being split, they are still able to communicate telepathically with each other, resulting in easy relay of information between allied outposts nearly instantly but the only one who controls/knows of this is Quail. )

Bun used to be part of the Roost outpost, which is why her namesake is so strange compared to the desert-dwellers. She's kept her name, although able to change it any time given how Roost customs are, and finds some joy in how hers and Pad's mirror each other in length. Those close to her may call her Bun or Bana, although Pad tends to call her Sprig, Sweetbean, and other soft little nicknames. When relaxing, Pad often gnaws on Bun's horns when cuddling to keep her tusks in check, something Bun doesn't mind as her horns constantly grow regardless.

» the twins [ Naberius | custard ]

The youngest of the Acolytes ( a subterranean clan that only emerges for three weeks a year and spends the rest of the year worshiping the Solstice trio I / II / III and tunnelling. More Info on them is heeeeeere! ) They have the same affliction post-hatchling that ogi and his younger sibling do, where they just haven't progressed further physically or mentally. They have a lot of inherent volatile magics because of what they are, but they can't always act on it in the way they want due to whatever is stunting them. This leaves the two a little hard to predict, scrapping as often as they'd play, all while leaving arcs of fulgurite along the tunnels from their warring elements.

They are often underfoot, eager to help tunnelling efforts and harvesting lichen, but are easy to tire out and will just nap wherever they run out of energy. It's not uncommon to find both of them blocking a tunnel because they need a quick powernap. Good luck moving them.

Naberius and custard's energy came from an old elemental, also named Naberius, who decayed on the Acolyte border after leaving the bounds of the Oasis. The two spawned from his fall and have many of his powers, but with the stunt and divide between them, it is just a grain of what it used to be. Sezha knew what they grew from, and decided to keep Naberius' name for one as a way to honour his fall, while casket was allowed to name the other, resulting in the mock-roost name: custard.

» acolyte goblin ambassador [ moss ]

Moss is the 'ambassador' for the Acolytes when they're out of the ground, or when dealing with people who come to 'trade' ( drop gifts and supplies, they don't actually want anything from the Acolytes in exchange and are just encouraged to do so by Quail and repaid for it in other ways ) at the outposts' entrance during their submerged seasons. She loves the idea of bartering and making a trade, only really knowing how trade works from her few visits to the Oasis grounds and seeing the elementals make pacts.

When trading, she wears The Hat. The hat is a combination of a few hats she's traded for over the years, worn around the edges and lovingly cared for. She often puts feathers, gemstones, or dried flowers tucked into the brim for flair, and will outright refuse to accept offers from other outposts if she can't get her claws on her hat at that time. All business MUST be done with the hat.

When not being Very Important, she spends most of her time tunnelling and setting up the lighting system in the deeper section of the lair. The Acolytes currently use a lighting method that leeches off the ley lines beneath them, giving them an easy method to track the health of the flow of magic and know when their worship is required. These free-floating orbs can be placed at any area of the lair as long as they're still connected to the earth, and so often will be rooted to the walls with vining plants from handsome's farm.

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new tablet arrives today and I'm totally normal about it I swear

I'm totally not just looking at the delivery timeline every 5 minutes

pls pls pls pls pls I can't wait to tinker with stuff agaiiiiin

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I've been really into matching dragons lately and figuring out what kind of relationship I see between them / how they'll fit in the main lair. Here are two paired projects I've been planning out ; w; really excited to tackle their lore a little more in-depth down the line!

» husbands [ Leynth | Xerxes ] abyss basic ᛜ spruce jester ᛜ grapefruit glimmer

» twins [ Khal | Hanta ] umber fade ᛜ antique bee ᛜ peacock glimmer