#Alcor the dolphin

[the-real-couchrat]

A new chapter of ‘Transdimensional Arc!! Alcor Finds a Ford’ (by @random-dragons-interest-hoarde) came out recently, and I just had to draw the delphinidae dimension residents!

The orca (named Graham) was described as having lots of scars, but I don’t actually know how or where his humanoid self got them, so I just gave him rake marks. (Rake marks are just a fancy name for the scars orcas get from each other)

I Drew some Dolphin!Alcor as well, even though he probably doesn’t exist in this dimension, because I love him and we got his canonical dolphin species confirmed by Stan (who’s name I changed a bit to be more dolphin-y)

Closeups and notes below

I tried to replicate Graham’s wing(?) pattern things on his fins, and his horns(?) on his eye markings, but I’m not so sure how well it turned out. I also tried to replicate Liam’s tattoos from ‘Once Again, Again’ (by @vallis-cineris---wanderer) because I have many theories of how he exists in that world (this will be a separate post once I get my thoughts together). Funnily enough, this is the first fanart of Liam I’ve ever made.

Also some closeups of Fiddleford McBucket, because despite saying I wouldn’t draw him, I did and love how it turned out!

Quick tangent but I’d like to give a thank you/shoutout to Dragon’s Hoard for writing dolphins in a positive light. Recently, dolphins have been getting a terrible rep, and it’s gotten old. There’s duality in anything intelligent, and dolphins s are some of the most intelligent creatures around. Even then, they’re just animals acting on instinct, and we shouldn’t hold them to the same standards we hold humans to.

[catcze]

You’re curled up in your seat, forehead pressed to your knees and your shoulders shaking. There’s not a noise that escapes you— you’ve been silent for quite a while now, and you haven’t moved for even longer.

Kazuha sits beside you, one hand intertwined with yours. He’s been beside you since he’s found you like this. Since he asked if you wanted him to stay or if you wanted space, and you’d wordlessly grabbed ahold of his hand and pulled him to where he sits now. He hasn’t let go of your hand since.

“Would you like to talk about it? Or should I distract you with something else?” Kazuha asks eventually. If you don’t answer though, he’s content to continue sitting in silence with you. Whatever you needed from him— be it his ear, his words or simply his presence, he’s willing to give.

You don’t move or straighten out, but he feels the hold you have on his hand tighten in a sqeeze. Once. Twice. 

Distraction, then.

Not missing a beat, he tells you all about his day. About the fish he had for breakfast, and the way he nearly slipped on the newly-mopped deck of the ship. Kazuha recounts the dolphins that he had spotted jumping beside the Alcor, and how he wished you could have seen how pretty they looked with the setting sun as their backdrop. He recounts the cloud that he says looked like an onikabuto, and the other that he swears had a striking resemblance to captain Beidou herself. 

On and on he rambles about the most mundane things— spinning his words to make the most boring thing seem interesting and wonderful. Making his words flowery and poetic, in the way he knows you always found lovely to listen to.

And little by little, with each new topic he can think of, you emerge from your shell. It’s slow, but he never rushes you. Lets you straighten up as best as you can at your own pace, merely squeezing your hand in response whenever you’d squeeze his first. 

Kazuha doesn’t know for how long he talks— doubts he can count all the topics he used to distract you even with two hands. His voice might be a little strained tomorrow, but it’s worth it when, at the end of his latest tale, your head is resting on his shoulder, tired but much more at ease. 

Your eyes are still a little red, face a little puffy. “You’re a really great storyteller, Kazu.” Your voice is still a little rough too, but that’s okay. Hearing your voice after so long is already one of the best sounds he’s ever heard.

He hums, one arm coming to wrap around your shoulders and press you closer to your side. “I hope I didn’t bore you too badly. Even I can only do so much to make the seagulls on the crow’s nest seem interesting enough, you know.”

That earns him a quiet chuckle from you, and he nearly glows with pride.

“I think you did pretty alright,” you say, leaning more of your weight onto him. The past few hours are catching up to you, making your eyelids grow heavy and your words slur. You’re more emotionally and physically exhausted than you realized. “If they’re as you’ve described, I think I’d like to meet these seagulls next time.” You yawn. “They seem like pleasant company to have.”

Kazuha shakes his head, an amused little smile playing on the corners of his lips. You don’t even try to fight the pull of sleep, much too tired. Just before your eyes shut and your breathing evens, he gives on last squeeze to the hand you still hold and presses a kiss to your forehead.

“Goodnight, my love,” he says. His thumb rubs gently against the drying wetness that trails down your cheeks, careful not to wake you. “Sleep well, and may your dreams bring nothing but happiness.”

[mukubear]

The Pirate and The Qilin

This is a small rarepair that I actually enjoy, and wanted to make a cute story involving them, so here you go!

Ship: Beidou x Ganyu

With the warmer days starting to come to Liyue, the various food vendors were starting to offer up some cold dishes to combat the heat and many of its citizens are taking breaks from work so they don't suffer from overheating or exhaustion. Surprisingly enough, one of those who were doing so was Ganyu despite how much she loved to work and took a couple days off in a row to also relax for her own health after being advised to do so by her boss, Ningguang.

Today, she was walking along the entire harbor, taking in the cool air from the sea. Ganyu always enjoyed the sights from the harbor, watching ships sail in and out the city, various wildlife appearing from the water, and when it's nighttime during Lantern Rite.

While she was strolling around the dock and taking in the sight, Ganyu spotted a familiar ship just arriving and began to walk where it was docking. Soon reaching the ship, she saw it was the exact ship she thought it was, The Alcor and it's crew, The Crux.

Shortly afterwards, coming from the captain's quarters, the captain and leader emerged onto the deck with an ever so prideful stride as she knows her own reputation to the people of Liyue. She then slowly walked off the deck and onto the docks, seeing the familiar face of her only friend in the Qixing.

"What's up Ms. Secretary, it's been awhile hasn't it, how have you been doing?"

Ganyu gave a tiny smile before walking closer and looking up at the taller woman. "Greetings Ms. Beidou, it has been a while and I've been fine. What about you, what has the sea offered up since we last met?"

"Still the same old you, come on and follow me. I'll tell you about it all while having a proper meal!" With that, Beidou began walking away with Ganyu in tow towards the Third-Round Knockout and ordered her special Flash-Fried Filet for herself and a dish of Universal Peace for her friend while talking about the past couple of weeks.

Ganyu has always been keen on talking to Beidou, always enjoying any time she has with her despite them being polar opposites both in personality and lines of work. The same can be said on Beidou's end, loving the time she can spend with Ganyu, especially because they usually have to be under the radar with meetings since the majority of the Qixing have a major disliking towards Beidou herself.

Soon enough, the two had finished their meals and began walking back to The Alcor, having some small talk of still catching up. Upon arriving at the ship, Ganyu stopped walking and stared at Beidou. "How long are you staying in Liyue this time?" She was genuinely curious as for a few reasons, one of which was because she did want to spend a couple more days with Beidou as they both didn't have many they can call friends.

"Sadly I need to leave by night, having to transport some exports on behalf of the Qixing. However I'll be back in a few days this time rather than weeks. Why do you ask?"

Upon hearing that Beidou would be gone a few days this time, Ganyu grew happy but then realized that by the time she does return she'd have to return to work like normal which instantly ruined her mood before an idea came to her mind. "Could I perhaps join you on this voyage Ms. Beidou?"

A laugh came from the captain before staring directly into Ganyu's eyes. "You ask such an interesting question, not many ever ask to join me on any voyages that aren't part of my crew. What brought interest to Ms. Secretary to join the liking of a pirate?"

A faint blush grew on the Qixing secretary before speaking up. "Well.. I want to know what it's like to be on the open sea seeing how I've never traveled by ship before." While Ganyu was genuine with her response, she also had the reason for wanting to spend some more time with Beidou before having to work once again.

"Well I'll be. Come aboard then, I'll show you around The Alcor so you're acquainted with the different rooms there are below deck."

Upon saying that, Beidou didn't think of the fact that she could possibly be skipping work and grabbed her hand as she brought Ganyu around below deck showing the brig, crew quarters, and kitchen with the canteen. She was quite happy that Ganyu had some interest in joining this voyage along with being able to teach her some knowledge in her area of expertise. After the small tour of the ship, Beidou soon brought Ganyu above deck and to the captain's quarters, decorated with various trinkets and treasures from previous voyages. The room also houses a large bed just for the captain herself. "While you're my guest on this voyage, you can use my quarters like it was your own! I'll be back in a moment, need to have a word with the crew." With that, Beidou gave Ganyu a small pet on her head, slightly petting her horns on accident causing her to blush from the touch as she watched her leave the quarters.

After a moment, Ganyu sat down on the bed, finding it quite comfortable as she laid down on it, taking a moment to properly relax and take in the moment. Not too long into relaxing, she had fallen asleep with how late it was at the time.

Early the next morning, Ganyu found herself waking up in the captain's quarters, feeling something over her torso. As she opened her eyes and adjusted to the lighting, she soon saw Beidou laying behind her, holding her close with arms wrapped around her hips and torso. She began to blush horrendously as she slowly maneuvered the arms holding her in place off herself as she got up from the bed and nearly fell over from the waves guiding the ship to its destination.

Opening up the door to the deck, the warm sun hit her skin, helping her wake up some more as she saw the crew doing their jobs of adjusting sails to catch the wind, changing the length of some so they don't have difficulty when having to turn. She walked over the the side of the ship, looking out over the glimmering ocean water, occasionally seeing a dolphin jump from the water, making her smile as she continued to walk around the deck.

It wasn't long before Ganyu stood at the helmet, watching over everything going on with the ship and it's crew before suddenly feeling a hand atop her head and horns, petting her ever so slightly, making her turn red and had her face behind her hands. 

"Hey there Ms. Secretary, how well did you sleep?" After saying that, Beidou looked down at Ganyu, seeing the reaction she was having, finding it cute. "Don't be shy!"

After a moment, the hand left her head and Ganyu looked up to Beidou, a shy smile given behind the intense blush. "I slept well.. your bed was quite comfortable.."

"That's good to hear, I'm glad you found it so. Well, be prepared for a few more days on the ocean before getting back to Liyue. I hope you enjoy your time with me and my crew."

With that said, both girls went about doing different things but for the most part Ganyu ended up following Beidou around the ship as she didn't really know any of the crew and also to keep catching up some more.

Another day and night passes, Ganyu once again wakes up with Beidou holding onto her, making her blush as she copies the same thing she did the morning before and walks to the deck and takes in the view again before heading back into the captain's quarters, wanting to change out of her clothes before the realization that she didn't pack any spare clothes for the trip, making her start to panic a small bit.

The pacing of heels hitting against the wooden boards caused Beidou to soon wake up, rubbing her one eye as she stared at Ganyu, able to tell something was wrong. "Hey. Ganyu, you alright? Did something happen?"

Stopping in her tracks and turning to face Beidou, Ganyu took some deep breaths before speaking. "No. I just realized that I didn't bring any spare clothes for the voyage."

"Is that all? Y'know, I don't mind if you borrow some of mine from that closet over there." She pointed at the closet in question before stretching and getting off the bed. "I'll leave you to change, I need to get to the wheel." With that, Beidou left the quarters, leaving Ganyu alone to her changing problem.

Now that she calmed down, she walked over and opened the closet, seeing the same outfit Beidou wears but in ever so slightly different styles. Ganyu knew that anything she was to choose would be a bit too big on her, but it was better than wearing her dirty clothes for the rest of the voyage. She soon grabbed the light blue coloured outfit and looked at herself in the mirror, feeling happy for some reason she didn't understand. Ganyu left and found Beidou, holding a short conversation as she was trying to steer the ship.

Later that night, Ganyu was having difficulty sleeping and walked to the bow of the ship, watching the moonlight dance on the water's surface and land off in the distance. The quiet was very peaceful as it helped clear her mind until the sound of boots walking on the deck could be heard moving closer to Ganyu.

"Hey Ms. Secretary, what's got you up this late?" Beidou soon joined Ganyu, standing next to her and taking in the same view as she did. "It's beautiful isn't it? It's a luxury for most to see something like this."

"I have just been thinking a lot since I agreed to join this voyage."

"Can I ask what exactly you've been thinking? You know you can always talk to me if needed."

Ganyu turned to look at Beidou, staring up to catch the look in her eyes. "My feelings.. it's nothing important.."

"Tell me. You're my guest and I want to make sure you're enjoying your time on my ship."

"Well.. I'm just uncertain on how I feel about someone.. not sure if it's something more or something less.."

Beidou placed a hand on her shoulder, giving her a smile. "I understand that feeling. I've had the same thoughts go through my head before whenever I leave Liyue. Can I ask who the person you're talking about? I'll even say the one I think about if you tell me."

Ganyu grew nervous, finding it hard to breathe a bit before calming down while staring into Beidou's eye. "W-Well.. the person is y-you.." Her face instantly turned red as she tried to hide it.

Hearing the answer, Beidou blushed ever so slightly as she began to pet Ganyu on the head and horns. "That's funny. My person is you." She said that with a smile as she found Ganyu to be even cuter with the reaction on her face.

Feeling as she was being pet, Ganyu only hid her face even more and grew even more flustered than she was, but grew shocked from what Beidou said to her. "Really..?" Then to only see her nod in response, making her happier than ever as she pushed herself forward and clung onto Beidou. 

In return, Beidou stopped the petting and held onto Ganyu, rubbing her back softly. "You're the only person who takes the time out of the day to keep up with me and my travels and give me a good time during my time in Liyue. After getting to know you for these years, I couldn't help but grow feelings for you. Then seeing your cute shyness whenever I pet you made it harder to not fall for you."

Beidou held onto Ganyu's chin, lifting her face as she leaned down, pressing their lips together as she gave the short girl a kiss, holding it for a few seconds before pulling away. "I love you, Ganyu."

Ganyu grew the most flustered she's ever been as she hid her face by pressing it up against Beidou's chest, nuzzling slightly into it. "I l-love you too.. Beidou.."

After a quiet moment under the moonlight, Beidou grabbed ahold of Ganyu's hand. "Let's get back to my quarters and sleep for the night, my love."

Ganyu nodded before following behind Beidou back the the captain's quarters and laying on the bed, cuddling with her love.

[the-real-couchrat]

A new chapter of ‘Transdimensional Arc, Alcor Finds a Ford!’ (by @random-dragons-interest-hoarde) came out, so I revisited some old doodles from back when chapter two was published. (These are newer versions)

I tried to be clever on how dinosaur clothing would work on Ford, but I think I just made it needlessly complicated

“Why does Ford’s fin look different?” Because no one can agree what the Spinosaurus looked like and I stopped paying attention, only to realize my mistake while writing this post.

More versions below:

No clothes

Clothes no shading

Close up clothes

Close up swimming/flying

If you haven’t read the fic yet, GO DO IT!!!! It’s worth it, and there’s not many chapters out yet so it won’t be hard to catch up! (And it has DINOSAURS and TALKING DOLPHINS)