pearlcatcher-problems - Tumblr blog

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little rambling about dusthides ( again ) since I've had a bit of time to mull them over now, and like.... despite my initial underwhelm, I do like them a lot?

I'm very fond of the poses and the ratios between the body parts and the terts are a lot of fun -- but I can't see myself using them without any line-breaking terts or accents that hide the baldness orb head.

I think I'm still lost in terms of direction with them or how to integrate them into the lair since we.... don't really have proper lore for them, which makes slotting them into a lore-focus lair.... tricky. Do I still want a bunch around? Absolutely!

I love the fact that they're tunneling sorts and could easily slot a few in with the acolytes as the 'brains' of that eclectic gaggle of dragons to ensure their tunnels still meet OSHA standards.

I also keep getting the image of a geode-like dusthide that has like..... full on crystal latticing in the underside of their wings from lack of use / constant burrowing or mineral dust accumulation due to their tunneling system, or even that the ends of their wings are beginning to calcify due to working in more active vent areas. Mmmmmmmight use this inspo for a personal skin and see if I can make the idea function as a character thing, but I'm excited to see how FR actually incorporates them beyond 'hey look at this bald newt!!!!!'

I still dddddddon't fully agree that they're unique enough to be ancients, but I'm glad we have them anyway.

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kdjsfghksdjfhg flats and ( most ) lines done during work, was fun to play with ; w; lamp needs more work but for now................ I'm happy

super sketchy but I'm thinking........

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super sketchy but I'm thinking........

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gmgmfmhgf thanks peeps, genuinely ; w;

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now we're composting, lads

I love mulch a lot, shaggy old man, he's not even done but I love him

Quick lore notes... he's the eldest of four. Four siblings? Four friends? Just four. He's not older than the others by much, but he'll never tell you how much it actually is. Days? Hours? Weeks? Seasons? Years?

He's secretive and always somehow happens to be in the right place at the right time. He tends to chatter to himself in the late hours while 'double-checking' everything in the lair.

Outside of that? He's just mulch.

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new ancients are adorable but I'm..... confused as to why they're ancients?

one head, two wings, one tail, four limbs which is kinda the modern standard rule. Sure the tail is chunky but there are workarounds, Snappers are chunky all over and clothing has been fine for them ( sometimes. )

I guess I'm just a little underwhelmed? Especially for an earth ancient ; w; I think I was just mentally prepped for something a little more.... anatomically exciting given the whole 'ancients can't be dressed since their anatomy is so vastly different to modern dragons' thing.

I'm sure I'll love them at some point, I guess I was just expecting something a little..... more?

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I realise I've shared Sezha without actually Sharing Sezha so behold, my boy

I've been having so much fun with this section of the lair, and I am a lore / story-building lair despite the actual lack of public lore, so have some rambles regarding him and his section of the lair below as I scream into the void about him q wq

warning: this is a hot mess of rambles

The acolytes are all 'new age' beasties compared to the rest of the lair, so younger sprites with smaller energy than the wizened elementals or eldritch critters from Oasis or Deepwoods. They first emerged from the far roots of the Deepwoods, tainted by the magics of the Solstice Trio, and as such are still bound to lands corrupted by the forest above. They're cave-dwelling creatures with albinistic traits, but all streaked with peacock tones from Solstice influence. As a whole, they're quick to act and quick to forgive, often tumbling into wild tousles out of nowhere due to some innate itch.

They're primal in a way that defies their age, acting on core instinct above logic at most times. The entire lair is curated by their instincts as well, tunnels burrowed to keep nails and sometimes teeth in shape due to their specific diet ( tainted fungi and roots from the forest ) causing some reactions to some reverting to more beastly forms than they started. Most of the Acolytes spend their time... pretty much having the time of their lives. Short lives, but still. They curate moss ( so much moss, ) sculpt sections out of the limestone to show praise to the Solstice ( which leads to ornate tunnels winding with scale-like patterns carved into the walls for most of the lair, ) and they eat their weight in plump mushrooms and ichor-tainted roots. There's nothing to complain for since they have their every need met for the time being, until something monumental changes they're more than happy to continue their strange little life below the ground.

Sezha is the lair curator -- the one that plans new winding tunnels or cellars for different types of jewel-toned mushroom growths, and decides the final colour palettes for new artistic projects run by Seiph and pong ( who are both equally as passionate about ensuring the subterranean lair is as beautiful as it is sustainable. ) He often spends his time ripping through the tunnels at full tilt, knowing the lair so well that he can whip past daintier sections of their artistic 'venture' into the depths without so much as rustling the daintiest of fungi. His body is more stoat-like than anything else, modified and specialised for this way of life away from the air, his feathery wings often just used for emoting rather than ever catching air beneath them.

When not 'working,' he spends a lot of his time breeding silkmoths, the colonies able to sustain some of their trades with the other branches of their alliance, but it's mostly just something he enjoys doing. Cocoons are often found tucked into his dense fur or strung carefully on wires and tucked into the crooks of his wings for safety. When a new fungi colony is settled into a new lair section, Sezha will often have plans made for new moth colonies to introduce.

He's meticulous about keeping himself tidy, often idly grooming his fur and feathers while discussing matters with other Acolytes. Most of the cave network have walls bound with marble rather than dusty stones or raw earth for that reason. His body is often painted with gold pigments, making him shine under glowlights and sparkle while streaking past.

The only time the Acolytes are able to properly leave their den is during the Solstice's wake, which lasts about two weeks in summer and winter. All four of these are usually a time for Sezha to simply exist and watch life continue above the surface, to enjoy the tones outside of his normal reach, and to memorise as much of it as he could to inspire him for the next six months of work.

BIG MESS OF RAMBLING but I love he so much, I love this section of the lair so much, they're all just literal goblin energy beans that love to make things pretty and consider themselves artists but half the time it's just hyper-fixation and so much needs to be knocked down and redone constantly like a giant ouroborous of cave networks. They dance and gnash teeth, create, destroy, worship, and repeat.

maybe some day I'll actually get my lair lore out properly but it's literally a 3-saga thing at this point because 3-generations of lair heads RIP.

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mmm sandshark

sandsurges are such a neat shape, look at all those fins. Do you think they kick up a storm any time they wiggle like happy puppies? Do they bury their tails in the sand when relaxing as minor stim? Who knows. I love them though. Still not sure how fishbone gene works logically but mmmmmmmmm porcupine.

Another com from my pop-up, playing around with this specific loose style to mmmmaybe start offering stable coms for this style? we'll see though! I find it fun to play around with shapes a bit more.

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half the time I write Sezha's name I auto-write it as 'Sehza' and have to go back to change it. brain pls.

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I just love this laddo so much. Sezha my beloved.

Originally meant to just be a quick sketch to show that he does have glimmer under all that floof, but I got a bit carried away. O whale, he deserves it

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all my coatls are fluffy monstrosities. Feathers who?

Sezha gets a little sketch as I get back into the swing of things. Playing around with the crayon brush again and just having fun with this long bean.

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sketchy com, was fun to get out of artblock with it, winter has been killing me q wq

a literally head-empty aberration that has plague primal eyes stuffed into the skull. I feel like they sound like a maraca when they shake their head around. except gloopy

kinda like the noise of those sticky gummy balls that you can throw against the ceiling with a FWUMP and stick for a while before shlorping off onto the floor.

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this month has been hell and a half, but it's almost over and tomorrow I get to treat myself to a mass-hatch for my birthday ; w;

didn't manage to collect as many eggs as I'd hoped to do, but that's fine! fingers crossed some good combos ( / w \ )

feel free to follow or join in the thread chatter tomorrow, I'll be slow-hatching and posting one at a time through the afternoon, hoping to just make a chill time of it while I work.

also bonus extra wips because these just keep getting forgotten with the chaos of everything else, fingers crossed I'll finish these up in the new year ( pls brain pls )

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pokemon sketch page com -- the prompt for them was 'gay and in love' so they're doing a little berry picnic. Added in a little chibi thing since it isn't as refined as prior coms.

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back to working on art of my own beans -- this time Mir gets some love, about time since I've been spoiling his little brother ogi with so much attention.

He's a serpentine spiral that is indifferent to most other dragons and very proud of the work he does as a guardian to the deepwoods. He's able to track visitor's movement through his third eye if they tread through the blanket of lichen covering the floor of the woods ( which covers 80% of the entire forest ) and as such keeps is main eyes covered to keep complete focus on motion within his borders instead.

He often marks dead trees with his tusks, carving runes and markers into the wood for his own reference. Or little goodies for ogi to find and translate. He tends to avoid Birch like the plague, apparently the two had something in the past that he won't expand on.

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a necro noodle enters the fray

commission for spark on fr, what a treat of a design!

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what does a coatl/spiral baby eat? anything they want!

but no, ogi's favourite foods are seafood and insects, namely the ones pictured above! he'll do almost anything for his favourite tidbits.