#Just winged flight

[clumsiestgiantess]

Bringing back this fantastic g/t dream I had forever ago because I’m thinking about Inventor and Apprentice again…

(I had one last night but it wasn’t good enough to beat this one, and unless I get a lucid g/t dream it will probably stay my fave)

A g/t dream that happened suspiciously soon after seeing the Antman Quantumainia movie:

The dream started out with two lovers, a guy and girl, both scientists and inventors.  Though none of their insane inventions actually worked/were given funding, they gathered enough money to buy a countryside cottage house far away from their problems and start a new life.  They were married and worked on funky lil projects together.  Their inventions progressively kept getting crazier until one day they cracked the code for inter-molecular travel.  (This could cure any number of viral diseases by going in and fighting them head on, and even genetic ones by potentially re-organizing cell reproduction to skip over harmful strands of DNA)

They celebrate their victory and the husband suddenly starts crying.  His partner asks what’s wrong and he says ‘nothing!  I- I’m glad we figured this out in time!’  Apparently he has cancer and isn’t going to be around nearly as long as he thought.  However, before they test the machine to try and save him, a Kang-the-Conqueror-type villain appears out of the new machine and tries to take over.  The husband and him duke it out while the wife desperately tries to fix the machine to send him back. 

Husband manages to cut the villain’s suit (which he needs to breathe in such a new world, like a space suit) and the villain dies.  Shortly afterwards Husband falls to the ground having been given a fatal injury in the fight.  There isn’t a hospital for miles around, and even then it would be too late.  Her husband dies in her arms.

(timeskip)

A few years later, a new person moves to town.  She’s a young inventor wannabe herself and heard rumors of the secluded widow that was once a brilliant mind.  She finds her tinkering with stupid machines (like the unserious ones from the funnier mad scientists in Honey I Shrunk the Kids, Back to the Future, Epic, etc), and gets barred from entering by some crazy device. 

As an aspiring inventor, she reverse-engineers the device that’s stopping her from getting inside and tries to talk with the woman.  At first she keeps giving no answers and telling her to leave, but the newcomer is persistent and keeps coming back to help. Eventually the two come to some friendship.  The younger one becomes her apprentice, but also teaches her a few things herself being only a few years younger than the older inventor.

One day Apprentice finds the old inter-molecular travel machine and (being science-y and studying it for a moment) realizes what it’s for.  She excitedly asks if it works — if it’s possible — but gets immediately shut down and the machine is yanked from her hands and hidden away again.  Inventor tells her it’s not safe and she should never touch it again.  Of course, where would our story be if she listened to that?

Apprentice secretly takes the machine home and works on it herself, getting it to run after working on it for some time.  In her spare time (and possibly by stealing parts from Inventor) she builds a small spaceship-looking vessel that can take her down where the machine goes.  She boots up the thing in her front yard (the ship is too big to be in the house and the backyard is too wooded) and goes on her own. Wow! So many cool things! She’s having an awesome time and doesn’t understand why Inventor was so scared of it.

(we zoom back out to the normal front yard)

Apprentice put her small dog behind a locked dog door to keep him from messing around in the yard while she does her thing.  Unfortunately, the mailman comes up to the porch to deliver a package, stepping past the machine with nothing but a confused look. The little dog goes nuts the moment the mailman steps onto the porch and bursts through the flimsy plastic to chase him.  He runs off the front porch and trips over the machine, damaging it before quickly speeding away.

The machine is rapidly dying and the ship can sense it, sending out an alarm.  Apprentice rushes back to the surface before the connection is cut, but doesn’t make it in time.  She’s stuck at about half a centimeter tall.  Some weird cells/microscopic creatures grow with her too and she sees them all spasm and die in front of her through the ship’s windshield, simultaneously realizing that if she were to step outside, the air would be too large to breathe and she would die too.  Thankfully, both the suit and the craft have the ability to synthesize smaller air from the larger normal one.  However, she’s still trapped at a ridiculously small size.

A day later, Inventor comes looking for her because she didn’t show up to the house.  She becomes terrified as she looks into the front yard and sees the dead machine.  Had a similar fight occurred to the one she witnessed?  Was her friend lying dead somewhere, and the conquering person wandering around ready to take the world? 

Thankfully not; the now much smaller Apprentice made camp by the machine and Inventor spots it while assessing damages to it, figuring out what must’ve happened in her head.  Her friend isn’t in the camp (off scavenging to survive) and she fears that they died.  Inventor calls to Apprentice in a normal voice, which would be like shouting through a megaphone to their very tiny friend.  Apprentice rushes back to camp, waving her arms wildly, so so relieved that they were found before the inevitable happened.  Inventor tells her to get in the ship (which is reinforced to go through the entry and exit phases) and brings it carefully inside to a counter where she can see her better.

Thankfully, there’s an intercom on the ship for talking between the person out in the suit and the people on the ship (just like any space suit).  Inventor reprograms it and is able to hear their friend through the intercom.  Apprentice starts crying, apologizing to Inventor over and over again, saying that she was right, it was dangerous and she should’ve listened to her but now it’s too late.  Inventor gently calms her down. 

Though she’s angry that her friend used the machine after she warned her about it, she’s clearly learned her lesson, and worse.  Apprentice gets scared and sad (as anyone in her situation would be) telling Inventor that she’s ruined her life and will be stuck like that forever.  See, if you stop the process halfway through, whatever height you stop at becomes your new true biological height.  Trying to pull her back up with the machine won’t work because the systems wouldn’t see that as bringing her back to normal height. She was already brought back up.  That is her normal height now.

After the initial terrifying few days of organizing things and getting used to simply being around someone so vastly different in scale, Inventor comes up with an idea to create a machine that basically does the opposite of what the old one did.  It could be used to vastly grow someone instead of vastly shrink them. Apprentice dejectedly points out that she thought of that already, and did the math.  The process will multiply anything’s mass instead of dividing it, simple as that.  At a normal human size, that would multiply two big numbers together and make them absolutely massive.  At her size, the number would be much smaller.  At best she’d be about 15 centimeters tall — giant-sized for someone who’s half a centimeter, but not so much for someone who isn’t.

Inventor nods, having done the math themselves, and asks her ‘surely you’d rather be the length of my hand than the length of a pen tip, right?’  Apprentice agrees and they set to work.  Time goes by and their relationship grows ever closer as they learn to live together and trust eachother at such a dramatic difference in scale.

At last, the machine is done.  Apprentice steps in and grows to — as calculated — about 15 centimeters tall.  At last she doesn’t need the suit to talk and breathe; she doesn’t need to hide away from everything, even the sun itself, which was a lot hotter as half a centimeter tall; she doesn’t need to constantly be surrounded by food and heat in her little ship, lest she quickly freeze or starve to death.  Overjoyed, the two share an awkward little g/t embrace.  Both celebrating the fact that they can easily walk around and talk to the other without fear.

Time goes by and they become even closer through various little g/t scenarios — closer than either expected. After a while, they decide to destroy both machines and any records of them permanently.  They’re way too dangerous to be kept around. Apprentice can’t go through the growing one twice (cells would stretch to decay) and Inventor is too afraid to mess with the shrinking one to try and make her height more accommodating to Apprentice.

This duel destruction causes an unforeseen explosion that drags tiny Apprentice into it. Inventor rushes to the blast site, and is met with quite the shocking scene.

The blast actually negated all previous effects of both machines, and Apprentice is there covered in ash, back to normal size.  The two happily share a true embrace for the first time in years.  A bit of romance/drama stuff ensues as both struggle with their feelings for the other, which grew from friendship to love while they were living together.  Eventually, Apprentice tells Inventor that she loves her and Inventor gets even more conflicted because they love her too but.. her husband. 

Idk what happens in between (there was a very poorly timed timeskip, but because of the ending I know they end up together)

So I imagine Inventor learns to let go and move on.  I remember watching a Studio Ghibli looking montage of pretty hand-drawn backgrounds (since the thing is animated in my dream) of them doing things that lovers do.  There was a heartwarming ending scene where they add their first true invention they made together to the little memorial that Inventor and her husband made of their first one.

The end I think.  I woke up after that. Honestly my favorite g/t dream to date, despite not being in it myself.

[dimetrodone]

The dilemma with designing biologivally plausible dragons is most attributes associated with dragons suck ass for flight.

[elbiotipo]

I was going to make a longer post about it but just imagining how the US election arguments as we approach November will flood every place of the English-speaking internet (where, unfortunately, I hang out during much of my time) and god, it's gonna be so tiresome. We're gonna get flooded with "REGISTER TO VOTE" ads even if you don't live there and people arguing about voting, not voting, voting for this and that, not voting for third parties (apparently a crime in the US, great democracy guys), and so on and so on. And the results in one way or the other will be awful for the wider world. Not looking forward to it.

[malmagmafr]

Been seeing a lot of talk about dragons with different body shapes, so I took a stab at making my own design!

The Bellows Dragon is a breed originating from the Great Furnace, specifically from inside of it. Made in secret, the Bellows Dragons have been living within the magma chamber, punching a network of lava tubes to connect the entire Ashfall Waste together. These dragons are very teamwork oriented and often travel with a “Tube Buddy”. Using their long, gator-like tails, they propel themselves through the liquid rock.

Sornieth learned of their existence during a very unfortunate encounter between a group of Bellows and Sandsurges, as the Bellows had mistakenly punched too far into the Shifting Expanse and knocked out a local power grid.

[polliwoggers]

throwing these up here because i need to link em to something in order to put them on the fr forums. but anyways. flight rising rainy day apparel WHEN

[marlynnofmany]

It occurred to me that it would be fun in some fantasy story to have squirrels with wings, but then I remembered that their tails are so fluffy as a way to slow them down when they jump from branch to branch (and occasionally fall out of trees).

A squirrel trying to flap enough to move forward with that kind of drag would be a sad thing to see. Flying with the brakes on.

And well, there's always magic in fantasyland to make things easier, but that's just cheating.

[thatsrightice]

There were 140 total Pilots, Copilots, Navigators, and Bombardiers in the “Original” 100th crews.

After Münster, there were only THREE left on flying status:

Pilot Everett Blakely

Bombardier James Douglass*

Navigator Harry Crosby

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

this is so self indulgent... I wanted to draw my ideal Nadder. the Nadder i would want. im obsessed with her

even more indulgent cringe:

[terra-tortoise]

when you need delicate bat wings

[reefknotslair]

I love them I love them I love them I love them I love them I love th

[yippeedragons]

actually what the heck! why in the world does alloy go so hard only on fem faes!!! it just looks so much more fun with these prominent accent colors!

(pearl/clay/grapefruit/cyan)

[dispotatorulzz]

Did a rough size chart and some colour references for myself but there's a little world building in it so I thought I might as well share it ^^ !!!

Aswell !! As just some sketch pages lol

Just messin around :33

[daily-grian]

Anybody else feel like the new FR ancient is extremely Grian vibes

[gremlins-hotel]

alfred rocking some different flight jackets (nerd stuff under cut)

The flight jacket, an iconic piece of any aviator's outerwear. Before they ever became symbols of fashion and the 'exalted' place that came with the occupation of pilot, the flight jacket as we know it was first made for function. Aircraft of World War I and the earliest designs were open cockpit machines, and many would remain that way in the Interbellum. All that to say this paramount paraphernalia's original purpose was to keep an aviator warm in the sky.

Keep in mind that the images above may not reflect every specimen of their type. Jackets differed in design by manufacturer, production block, and even by the military branch (Navy jackets also often have a different name) & unit ordering them. A great example is the wide range of looks for the quintessential B-3. My apologies in advance for them being all American designs. I would love to show off some of the British flight jackets, but I would rather do a little more research (and practice drawing Arthur more)!

A-1 (1927-1931) A thin leather jacket designed for lower altitudes and made with a flattering fit high on the waist, the A-1 was the kickstart to the wide variety the Army Air Corps would come to know. The A-1 had differing designs between the Navy and the infant Air Corps, and early A-1s are distinguished by having seven buttons and a knit collar, which later models did not keep. However, later models did retain the knit waistband and cuffs.

A-2 (1931-1943) The direct successor to the A-1, the A-2 quickly replaced its older brother. This is one of the more recognizable jackets from the States after becoming the standard for the Air Corps in the early 1930s. The quality of the jackets would fall due to wartime rationing, with early designs of horsehide and silk becoming goatskin and cotton, however, the general look remained. The A-2 was still primarily for open cockpit designs, lower altitudes, and warmer climes. Identifiable from the A-1 by its snap-down leather collar, zipper, and varying shapes and sizes of a hook-and-eye clasp at the collar to close it.

G-1 (1938-present) This looker would replace the A-2 in form and function during the 1940s, first becoming popular with the Army and Navy before being adopted by USAAF. Originally named the ANJ-3/AN-J-3 the jacket gained its new designation by the time the Air Corps caught on. The G-1 came with a mouton collar and a bi-swing back to allow for greater arm movement, meanwhile, it lacked the over-zipper 'wind flap' of its predecessors. A keen eye for pop culture might realize that this is the jacket from the 1986 hit Top Gun.

B-3 (1934-1943) Ah, the B-3! Commonly known simply as the "bomber jacket," the B-3 was made with a high-altitude bomber in mind, unlike previous designs. Incredibly bulky and lined with sheepskin the B-3 was made to keep crews at 25,000 feet above from freezing in their unpressurized cabins, with many such as the early B-17 Flying Fortresses possessing open waist gunner ports. The wide collar could be closed with two leather straps and the jacket did not come with the famous knit waistband or cuffs that others did. "The General" was a B-3 design made specifically for General George S. Patton, who popularized the B-3 outside of the Air Corps. (The B-3 had a slimmer cousin - the B-6 - designed as the 'quality of life' inside bombers improved, such as pressurized cabins.)

B-7 (1941-1942) Short-lived, the B-7 Parka was manufactured for pilots operating in the brutal cold of Alaska. However, not much is known of it due to its limited production. In fact, the B-7 was discontinued swiftly due to its high manufacturing cost. Either way, the B-7 is a funky one-off that is easily distinguishable from the lineup by its three-quarter length and coyote-lined hood.

B-15 (1944-1954) The infamous green flight jacket that many today typically know as the "bomber jacket". The B-15 quickly replaced its older brother, the B-10 (1943-1944). Like other designs it had many variations. Similar to the G-1, the B-15 shared the same pocket design and lack of a wind flap, yet the B-15 was cloth with a mouton collar and a knit waistband and cuffs. The shell was produced in a range of materials including nylon and cotton-rayon. It was lighter weight and far less warm than its sheepskin predecessors and spoke to the advancements in aviation technology. A quirk of its design that soon became standard was the designated pen pocket on the upper left arm.

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

[wingsofwater]

⠀heir of grief

[ID : a bust drawing of Winter the icewing, a scaled dragon with an icy spiked mane. he is looking off to the side with a tearful snarl, his wing over his head. there is a crackled halo behind his head, framing his face. the image is drawn in muted shades of sage green and taupe with bright yellow eyes and halo, and is partially confined to a beige diamond in the background. END ID]

[little-eye-guy]

lisa and the professor (her lilyfowl)