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Angry Birds’ opinion on the Mario Bros.

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The Buddhist Yamabiko Youkai who Guards the Mountain Pass - fanart of Kasodani Kyouko from Touhou Project 13: Ten Desires

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Breaking News: Touhou Project Fossilized Wonders is finally here!!!

Fan-made poster made to commemorate the release of the 20th official Touhou Project game.

WIP Speedpaint: https://youtu.be/E6Ytsx1gIuU?si=zY8XkT3eQ31lTgC7

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Paleo-Files: Megalania prisca

Megalania prisca a is a species of giant monitor lizard which roamed across much of Australia during the Pliocene to Pleistocene epochs, from around 2.5 million years ago to around 41,000 years ago when the Aborigines arrived on the once-isolated island continent. It was closely related to and would have coexisted with the extant komodo dragon, which evolved in Australia around 3.8 million years ago, and it was also the single largest lizard species ever to have evolved, with adult individuals reaching snout-to-vent lengths of 3-3.8 m (9-12 ft), reaching total lengths of around 4.5-5.5m (15-18 ft) and weighing up to 331 to 380 kg. Sir Richard Owen described the species in 1859 based on a few large vertebrae, and other fragmentary remains have been found since then, such as those of the limb bones and skull. Even if they don't paint a completely acurate picture of the creature's size and appearance, they do indicate that the so-called "giant goanna" would have resembled a very large and robust komodo dragon that had the same predatory features as these monitors such as iron-coated, serrated teeth and a venomus bite. Megalania was a major component of Australia's unique Plio-Pleistocene megafauna that included other giant reptiles such as the crocodilians Paludirex and Quinkana, the snake Wonambi and the turtle Meiolania as well as the ratite-like anseriform Genyornis and giant marsupials such as the hippo-sized wombat relative Diprotodon, the giant kangaroo relative Procoptodon goliath, and the predatory leopard-like Thylacoleo, and it would have used quick bursts of speed to ambush and prey upon large mammal and bird herbivores, and it would occasionally consuming birds' eggs and carrion in the absence of any live prey. Being ectothermic or cold-blooded also enabled Megalania to consume less meat to sustain itself than Thylacoleo and other endothermic or warm-blooded carnivores.

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In the middle of a long summer hike in one of the many verdant valleys of the Black Mountains, Keiko Yamamoto and her companions Robby Hide and Vicky the Raccoon have all ascended the top of a very tall hill, and situated thousands of feet before their eyes was the region's most beautiful sights...

"Look!" Said Robby Hide. "It looks like we have come at last to Lake Clearwater where the Three Burgs meet!"

"Lake Clearwater..." Vicky said. "Never before have I've seen a lake like it...for the ones that my siblings and I explored back when we were very little were much smaller..."

"You're right, Robby Hide." Keiko said. "It's just as the books that I've read have described...a great expanse of azure water, nestled in a valley of steep hills, firs and pastureland, that is one of the Black Mountains' best kept secrets...I can clearly see Derosburg at the lowermost shores of the lake, Meandrosburg at the western side, and Kerosburg on the eastern side. Once these three cities, which grew from little villages founded by mountain shepherds and woodsmen, flourished on the banks of the river Meandros for a few centuries but soon fought and squabbled each other over the ownership of the pastures and forests of the valley. But once the Burgs all converged on the shores of this lake, their mayors were astouonded by its vast size, realized the mistakes of their old ways, and set aside their differences upon realizing that its waters, as well as its surrounding lands, should be the common property of all with the signing of the Charter of the Lake, and the Three Burgs have all been peacefully prospering on the shores of Lake Clearwater ever since..."

I had the nature scenes of Howl's Moving Castle, Frodo and Sam cross-country hiking, the alpine valley landscapes of Austria, Germany and Switzerland, and Caspar David Friedrich's Wanderer above the Sea of Fog in mind when I made this conceptual drawing for my upcoming fantasy story, which will in some way be a feminist take of sorts on the Hero's Journey, and the way in which the three travellers stand before Lake Clearwater and its scenic surroundings also conveys the message that "The journey is not yet over" when it comes the development and progress of a tale that takes as much inspiration and influences from the 19th century Romantic Era as the works of Hayao Miyazaki and Tolkien's Legendarium.

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Paleo-Files: Pterygotus

Described by Louis Agassiz in 1839, Pterygotus, whose name means “winged one” in Greek, is a genus of raptorial Eurypterids or so-called “Sea-Scorpions” that thrived in the seas of North America, South America, Europe and Australia 428-372 million years ago from the middle of the Silurian period to the end of the Devonian. Pterygotus and its closest relatives such as Jaekelopterus can be distinguished from other Eurypterids for having spade-shaped telsions, large compound eyes that were similar to those of other predatory arthropods, and large chelicerae claws that were used for puncturing and grasping small prey such as small lawless fish and trilobites. and although the smallest species P.kopaninensis measured 50 centimeters long, many other species, such as the type species P.anglicus as well as P.impacatus and P.grandidentatus, could measure up to 1.6-1.7 meters (about 5.2-5.7 feet) long and were among the largest of the Eurypterids, only surpassed in size by Acutiramus and Jaekelopterus rhenaniae.

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Paleo-Files: Edmontosaurus annectens

Edmontosaurus annectens is the younger species of the hadrosaur genus Edmontosaurus, living about 68-66 Mya at the Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous on the island-continent of Laramidia. Alongside the contemporary closely-related Asian hadrosaur Shantungosaurus, It was one of the largest species of ornithopod dinosaurs that has ever lived and by far the largest herbivore of Maastrichtian North America besides the titanosaur Alamosaurus, with fully-grown individuals estimated to have reached lengths of 12-15 m (approx. 40-50 ft) long. Large herds of E.annectens inhabited the coastal floodplains and forests that stretched from what is now Colorado and Utah in the south to what is now Montana and Saskatchewan in the north, and it shared this particular habitat with many other impressive dinosaurs such as Ankylosaurus, Denversaurus, Torosaurus, Triceratops and Tyrannosaurus. Edmontosaurus annectens was originally described at ther end of the 19th century as “Trachodon”, being depicted in many early 20th century paleo-media such as the paintings of Charles R. Knight, until it was reclassified as “Anatotitan” in the middle of the 20th century and subsequently placed in the Edmontosaurus genusalongside the largely Canadian E.regalia in the 21st century. It is also one of the most extensively-researched dinosaur species known to science, and perhaps the single best-studied hadrosaur species, with nearly a dozen beautifully-preserved fossil specimens that show extensive traces of skin and other soft tissue impressions on parts of the body, forelimbs and tail.

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Keiko flying past the burning military airship

- made to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki

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A confrontation between two male Apatosaurus ajax, the largest species of Apatosaurus, in a battle over territory of mating rights

WIP Speedpaint

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So please be sure to spread this post and this Speedpaint video all over the world for everyone to know what the true intent and message behind the development of The Sorceress of Leaf and Sand is all about! 

In the middle of her mission to fulfill the ancient Prophecy of the West, Keiko Yamamoto nearly sacrifices her life by assuming her bird form to fly across a sea of flames that covered what was once a prosperous city and confront a giant bomber, probably a Thubanian one, that is among of the last of its fleet to arrive and destroy the city with a barrage of deadly incendiary bombs. Keiko’s not fighting on behalf of any nation here-because all the major human nations and kingdoms of Aetherosia, save for the entire region of the Southwestern Lands, are allied with either Arpan or Thuban and are at war with one another, she is actively fighting against the war waged between the Goblin empires of Arpan and Thuban and their respective allies that has ravaged her homeland for over 50 long years and has brought untold destruction to not only the island continent’s cities, towns and villages but also to its ecosystems, creatures, and natural surroundings too, and her carefully-made attempts to secretly use her magic to end the Arpan-Thuban war by destroying the machines of war that they sometimes use for the slaughter of millions of innocent civilians are all part of her ultimate plan to fulfill the prophecy and restore peace and order to the world around her once and for all.

“The news today about ‘Atomic bombs’ is so horrifying one is stunned. The utter folly of these lunatic physicists to consent to do such work for war-purposes: calmly plotting the destruction of the world! Such explosives in men’s hands, while their moral and intellectual status is declining, is about as useful as giving out firearms to all inmates of a gaol and then saying that you hope ‘this will ensure peace.’” - J.R.R.Tolkien

This drawing was made to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, a city which I’ve personally visited 7 years ago as part of a trip across Japan (that included a visit to the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, Tokyo), and that was the event in world history alongside the bombing of Nagasaki in which the corrupting influence of technology and power on mankind (a theme that is present across many of Miyazaki’s works such as Future Boy Conan, Howl’s Moving Castle, Nausiciaa of the Valley of the Wind, Castle in the Sky and Princess Mononoke) was revealed for the first time and the morality of war itself was questioned by people all over the world….but with the UN celebrating its 80th anniversary this year, there have been attempts by some powerful world leaders to mislead and uneducated the public by distorting and twisting history to suit their own interests, and whether or not the history books of the future will ever mention the atomic bombings remains to be seen…

As The Sorceress of Leaf and Sand is meant to be my own homage and tribute to Hayao Miyazaki, I’ll be doing my best to mold Keiko along the lines of Miyazaki’s heroines and incorporate his most important themes of environmentalism, pacifism, love and family into the final version of the story.

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“What are you reading today, Dame Keiko?”

“Umm…Just a little book of arcane spells, Beziel…”

“Nice to know, black-haired lady. So what will you be doing with that book of yours?”

“Trying to hone in my magical knowledge and skills as a sorceress, perhaps…”

WIP: https://youtu.be/stQf_DquyeQ?si=8bd0PnFQHzwg3FOj

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Two Astigamsaura genuflexia walk past a hungry Argentinosaurus Huinculensis as two Mapusaurus roseae that had just eaten a juvenile sauropod take a siesta under the wide, splayed-out leaves of an araucaria tree. I made this picture as an homage to a similar scene in the WWD episode “Time of the Titans” because the paper that described Astigamsaura was titled “Side by Side with Titans” and to me the Huincul Formation looks like a possible South American spiritual successor to the Morrison…

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A drawing of FMNH PR2081, the famous Tyrannosaurus rex specimen at the Field Museum popularly nicknamed "Sue", highlighting the forward-facing eye sockets that gave this mighty carnivorous dinosaur excellent binocular vision. Modified from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Sue_(Tyrannosaurus_specimen_FMNH_PR2081_skull_in_anterior_aspect)#/media/File:Sue_TRex_Skull_Full_Frontal.JPG

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Paleo-Files: Shri rapax

Shri rapax is a species of large, 2.2-meter-long velociraptorine dromaeosaur hailing from the Campanian-aged Djadochta formation of what is now Mongolia. Unlike its more famous contemporary relative Velociraptor, Shri rapax was quite unusual amongst velociraptorines had a shorter, stouter snout suggesting that it had a possibly stronger, larger bite force than the former as well as having a large sickle-shaped claw on the first digit of its hands, hence its species name meaning “rapacious” in Latin, and equally large sickle claws on its feet than other dromaeosaurids. These features all suggest that Shri rapax may have preyed upon larger prey animals, such as larger-sized individuals of ceratopsians such as Protoceratops and Udanoceratops and ankylosaurs such as Minotaurasaurus and Pinacosaurus, than other velociraptorines that preyed on slightly smaller individuals of these ornithischians as well as small mammals, and thus suggests that some form of niche partitioning was present between Shri rapax and the other dromaeosaurs of the Djadochta.

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OC Showcase: Keiko Yamamoto

Keiko is the youngest member of the Yamamoto family of mages who live in Southwestern Lands of the enchanted island-continent of Aetherosia with her astronomy and aviation-loving father Hitoshi, herbalist mother Minami, and aviation-obsessed older brothers Hakaru and Tōru. She had previously been bullied when she was 10-13 by her classmates for having a pair of pigtails that were shaped like the ears of a rabbit, and that made her quite shy and sometimes willing to use her magic to play various unfortunate pranks on her bullies. And a result of having been given a stellar magical education throughout her childhood years that included learning different kinds of spells good and bad, learning about magic related to astronomy and the four elements, concocting potions, and using herbs by her parents, who both were highly active members of the Order of the Stone of the Philosophers who kept the Philosopher’s Stone, and therefore the very substance that was used for the creation of the Golden Master Orb safe from the clutches of the Goblin empires of Arpan and Thuban, she happens to be an altruistic, caring, compassionate, kind and polite sorceress who is skilled in the art of casting spells, elemental magic, and using herbs or potions who also fondly loves apples, apple pie, and any apple-related recipes because of the years she once spent working on her parents’ apple orchard as a child. Keiko is well-versed in the books of lore and spells that record the elemental magic and healing powers of the ancient Aetherosians, and for her fifteenth birthday, she received from her paternal grandmother Akiko a few important gifts that marked the end of her magical education: a crimson dress that came with a wide-brimmed hat and a pair of tall black boots, a scrying stone for looking into the past or future or distant lands, and a magic staff that allows her to channel forth her power. Keiko can also shape-shift into black-colored cat or crow forms due to her family having a strong connection to those two animals in the past, but tends to use those forms very sparingly and only when she needs to. Keiko is capable of communicating with the Gods and Spirits of nature in order to gain their trust and for them to come to her aid in times of great need, and just like her parents and older brothers, Keiko is a pacifist who believes that there is some capacity for good to be found in the hearts of all men and staunchly believes that throughout history, magic has been used, both by those in the highest positions of power and authority and by those who stood at the lowest ranks of society, for purposes that are either good or evil, and that the misuse of certain powerful instruments of magic, such as the Golden Master Orb and the other regalia of the Trians of Triania, at the hands of the mighty can do more harm than good for the fate of the entire world. Her closest companions, whom she first met when she was wandering around the wooded outskirts of her family’s garden as a small child and who both come to her aid whenever she feels threatened or insecure, are the little wood elf Robby Hide and his pet raccoon Vicky, who will both guide the sorceress on her quest to fulfill the Prophecy of the West shortly following Emperor Tarius the Just of Thubania’s invasion and occupation of the Southwestern Lands on the day after she turned fifteen.

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An impression of two Allosaurus fragilis showing the morphological differences between the adult and juvenile forms, followed at the top by a sketch of two A.fragilis individuals feeding on a juvenile Barosaurus that they’ve brought down together

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Breaking news! A newly-described European relative of the bizarre early Triassic reptile Longisquama just dropped: