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artificial-dreamers-archived · 6 years ago

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Dryla fumbled about the bedroom. She had been looking through every drawer and small spaces for the past 10 minutes or so. Driela had just been watching her while she brushed her head.

"What are you looking for?"

"Oh, now you ask me," Dryla said, then proceeded to grumble something without answering.

"Um... yeah." Driela watches as Dryla searches the closet for the third time. "So... what are you looking for?"

Dryla slammed the closet doors shut and was now face-to-face with Driela. "Okay, take one good look. Notice anything different?"

Driela reeled her head back as she continued to brush her fur. She observed her face as it seemed Dryla hinted heavily that it was something with her. Okay, her fur's well-groomed; her echo flower was intact and blooming; her eyes as green as hers; her fangs was as sharp as always. Wait, she'd be wearing her purple contacts by now. Even in their own home, Dryla would still prefer to distinguish herself from Driela.

"Did you lose your-- Okay, yeah, I figured."

Dryla showed and shook the empty case. "I lost my contacts."

"How'd that even happen?"

"I think I left it in Kierra and Sally's place. I got dust in my eyes while in the basement, and while I was wiping it I might've dropped one of them when Sally barged in and almost gave me and Cade a heart attack."

"And the other one...?"

"Probably in that shelf I put it on." Dryla went over to her bedside stand and grabbed her other pair of contacts in the drawer. After putting them on, she looked at Driela, who moved on to brushing one of her arms. She crossed her arms, an impatient look on her face.

"Wait, we're not going back there, are we?"

"Oh, of course not, silly. We're going to wait patiently for them to return it to me, preferably in person in our front doorstep with a fresh batch of chocolate-chip cookies on a silver platter." Driela growled. "Of course we're going back there! I don't wanna go back to town just to buy one pair of lenses."

Driela sighed. "Fine." She stood to place the fur-ridden brush on the drawer. "But we're not staying there for long. I don't want them to get any ideas with us."

They reached the not-so-abandoned house once more. Dryla was the one to knock this time. Maybe she was not as good of a door-knocker as Driela, or maybe the residents were busy with household chores, but it was taking quite a while for anyone to answer. She knocked again, this time pounding on the door with a fist. Still no answer. It was starting to get tempting to bust another window or just teleport in, and Driela could tell just how impatient Dryla was getting.

Before she beat the door a third time, Sally finally answered it. "Oh!" she exclaimed, sounding just as cheerful as always. "Hey, you two! Did you, er, happen to be knocking on the wrong house?"

"No, we're definitely in the right house if you're here," Dryla said. "I left something when we were cleaning the basement, and I'd appreciate it if you let us in."

"But I don't remember you bringing a bag to our place. Unleeess the bag Arcadia had was actually yours."

Dryla groaned. "Just let us in."

Driela was going to ask politely, just as soon as Sally was about to turn them down, but they all looked inside the house at Kierra's voice echoing through the halls, bellowing, "Is it those two brats again!?"

"Yeah, it is!" Sally yelled back. "Should I let them in?"

Even the echoes of Kierra's groan of infuriation reached the doorway. There was a moment of silence before Kierra yelled, "Only for a while!"

Driela had no choice but to go to the basement as Dryla dragged her to the dark underbelly of the house. It was full of ancient junk and reeked of death, but to Driela's surprise it was free of cobwebs. Her twin let go of her hand to went to the center of the room. She tiptoed and swatted from the ceiling, before finally pulling a cord and drowning the room in yellow artificial light.

"You guys did a pretty good job cleaning," Driela said.

"Yeah, and we didn't even steal a single thing. Some stuff was tempting to take, but we lost our chance to pilfer anything when Sally started watching over us." Dryla walked over to a shelf. She picked up a dial-up telephone, examining it and finding no busted pieces. "Cade wanted them for parts while I wanted them 'cause they're cool antiques. I'm sure we can make an arrangement if we do manage to take all these."

Driela took a gander at the other junk mixed up in the pile of cardboard boxes. A There was a rusted bicycle with a shoehorn. And--

"Oh my god, there's-- there's just swords and shields hanging on the wall." Driela stared at two longswords and two kite shields. Dryla pried her attention from a strange-looking rod to gawk at it as well. "They're not just props, are they?"

"They look real to me," Dryla said. "The bottom part of the swords looks rusted, and the shields look heavy. Definitely not some cheap plastic."

A voice behind them whispered, "What are you two doing?"

The twins jumped with a yelp, whipping around to see Sally looming over them.

"Oh gosh, sorry if I frightened you two too much! I thought we were just being mysterious and spooky."

"Great," Dryla mumbled through gritted teeth, "there goes another chance of larceny." She then said aloud, "We're still looking for my contact lenses. If you could give us some privacy, that would be-- Hey, wait a second..."

She squinted her eyes and leaned closer to Sally. "You didn't always have purple eyes, did you?"

"And you didn't always have blue eyes either! I guess it’s the season for monsters’ eyes to change colors now." Sally giggled. Dryla crossed her arms, and after a moment of silence, Sally gasped in realization. "Oooh, these are your contact lenses! I thought they were from the house." Dryla stayed silent, continuing to scowl at sheep and tap a foot impatiently. "Do you... want them back?"

Oh no, Driela thought, here comes the sass.

"Oh, I don't know, do I want my favorite lenses back? It's not like it took me forever to get those pair, and that buying those almost made me broke. And did I mention that wearing someone else's lenses is not the safest idea?"

Sally frowned. Driela gave her twin an odd look, confused by almost everything she just said.

"Um... I would happily take them off, but..." The sheep then whispered, "I don't really know how to take them off. It took me an hour to get one of them on."

Dryla rolled her eyes. "C'mere, I'll get them off for you. It's not like you care about your eyes anyway." She got closer and tiptoed, grabbing the back of Sally’s neck and pulling her closer. Sally pushed her back, but Dryla persisted on taking it by force. Eventually, it escalated to them yelling and fighting---mostly just Dryla trying to reach the sheep's head---and Driela just watched, concerned for the both of them.

Suddenly another voice shrieked, much more ear-piercing that Sally's giddy pitch and Driela's childish complaints. Driela's eyes darted about while the two continued their David-and-Goliath-quarrel.

Her eyes were locked on a large black figure. It was hard to pinpoint what it was and where it went, but it continued screeching and cackling harshly as it crashed against the wall and knocking over what could be priceless relics. Its cacophony eventually came to a halt when it crashed into Sally and Dryla, simultaneously breaking up their fight.

Dryla scrambled away, kicking at the dark lump. "What the hell is that?"

The bat-like figure stood up on its talons, using his hands(?) to support himself. He shook his head, its pointy ears twitching. He ignored the Boss Monster as his eyes went over to the sheep. It seemed like he knew her as he grinned and exclaimed, "Sal! Motherfucker, I actually got the place right. How're you and Kierra been doin' in this part of the universe?"

"I'm peachy! But Kiki is, um... a little beaten up right now."

The bat’s puffy ears twitched as he cocked his head. "Hm? How so?"

"I think it's better if you meet her yourself. Cheer her up with your face, you know?"

Sally led them to the second floor and into one of the bedrooms where Kierra rested. Dryla only followed along due to her hostaged contact lenses; Driela simply tagged along, and she grew curious of this bat individual and Kierra's state.

Kierra was only wearing a purple hoodie with crystals covering her more exposed areas. She sat against the headboard. On the bedside table was an empty bowl of soup, but the smell of chicken noodle lingered in the room.

Her brown eyes blazed up at the sight of the twins, but surprise and delight took over her features upon noticing the bat near the ground. "Keggs? What the hell are you doing here?"

"Can't a bat be welcomed to a friend's new abode?" The bat leaped and perched on the bedpost opposite of Kierra. "Damn, you took quite a beating. What were you fightin' and do I have to kill some'ore here?"

"It's fine," Kierra said, waving a hand. "I just recently fought one of our nemesis in another world."

"That stumpy bag o' bones?"

"Other nemesis."

"Ah." The bat looked back at the twins for a second. "I see. I don't quite see why you'd be doin' that this soon. 'Specially if you befriended two of them here."

"'Friend' is a generous word," Kierra growled feebly. "I'd say neighbor would better fit them."

"Well, I'm still impressed you didn't kill them on sight. Quite uncharacteristic of you, must admit."

Driela grimaced. Sure, uncharacteristic of her. Thinking about that horrifying moment, she could still feel her Kierra's heated grasp squeezing her neck. Her hand involuntarily rubbed her throat as she gulped.

Keggs flapped onto Kierra's stomach. "But hey, I know what might cure your aching." He licked his front fangs as he leaned his small head closer. "Do it like old times, y'know?"

Kierra rolled her eyes with a chuckle. "It's a bit too early for that, don't you think?"

"'Tis?" Keggs flapped over to the window sill. He peeked through the blinds and pulled his head back with a hiss, eyes wincing at the sunlight. "Fuckin' is. I thought time would be universal. Guess I was wrong." He hopped onto the ground and began to swagger around the room. "Drinks can wait, I s'pose. We can catch up, get to know these two faces more, and then get wild once the moon shows its lovely glow."

"We're actually just about to leave," Driela said. Her eyes darted over to her twin. "Right, Dry?"

Dryla chuckled. "I don't about you, Dree, but I don't have any plans tonight. As long as I get my lenses, I'd be fine to stay here all day; maybe even invite Cade so we have more company."

"That's the spirit!" Keggs laughed in unison with her.

"Keggs, they're just kids," Kierra reminded. "I hate the rules as much as you do, but we still gotta be responsible." Her voice sounded a bit hesitant when speaking the last part.

"Yeah!" Sally chimed in. "Alcohol and swearing and other adult activities are not allowed in the household when children are present."

"Ehh, they'll be fine." The bat dismissively waved a hand. "If they wanna join they'll join. I won't stop them from wanting to kill their insides with a bit of booze."

Driela's mouth twitched, the same expression Kierra and Sally showed. Dryla and Keggs were on the same page, but everyone else was uncertain. Even Kierra seemed to just want the twins to avoid trouble, and Driela would gladly drag her twin out of here. Maybe getting her lenses would convince her to leave. Maybe. Hopefully.

#waking dream;{ic}#the prodigy child;{driela}#the original clone;{dryla}#the hybrid;{kierra}#giddy but sheepish;{sally}#keggs #((Oh thank goat I finally finished it.))#((Have this chapter for the dusty novel known as my blog.))#((Also new babu!))

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affableanthropologist · 7 years ago

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So the amazing David Kegg from StoryForge did a wonderful sketch of my first d&d character, Urshmek the half-orc! A beastmaster ranger with no charisma and no intelligence, who was the first of their party to be knocked out in combat, and also the first to die (they got better.)

StoryForge releases new content each month. There are cool items, awesome enemy and allied NPC stat blocks, some nice bits of worldbuilding and scene-setting...and all for only US $4 a month! You can find out more on their drip, here: https://d.rip/storyforge

If you scroll right to the bottom you’ll find the first asset pack (’Temple of Bounty’), which is totally free and includes Urcid Reedlove- possibly the coolest NPC of all time!

(StoryForge said it was fine for me to share the sketch- to help spread word of their Awesomeness!)

#Storyforge #Urshmek #Ursh #dungeons and dragons #half-orc

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rnomics · 5 years ago

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Identification of crucial #miRNAs and genes in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma by #miRNA-#mRNA integrated analysis.

Related Articles Identification of crucial #miRNAs and genes in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma by #miRNA-#mRNA integrated analysis. Medicine (Baltimore). 2019 Jul;98(27):e16269 Authors: Zhong X, Huang G, Ma Q, Liao H, Liu C, Pu W, Xu L, Cai Y, Guo X Abstract Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is a malignancy that severely threatens human health and carries a high incidence rate and a low 5-year survival rate. Micro#RNAs (#miRNAs) are commonly accepted as a key regulatory function in human #cancer, but the potential regulatory mechanisms of #miRNA-#mRNA related to ESCC remain poorly understood.The GSE55857, GSE43732, and GSE6188 #miRNA microarray datasets and the gene expression microarray datasets GSE70409, GSE29001, and GSE20347 were downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus databases. The differentially expressed #miRNAs (DEMs) and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained using GEO2R. Gene ontology (GO) and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis for DEGs were performed by Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery (DAVID). A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network and functional modules were established using the STRING database and were visualized by Cytoscape. Kaplan-Meier analysis was constructed based on The #cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database.In total, 26 DEMs and 280 DEGs that consisted of 96 upregulated and 184 downregulated genes were screened out. A functional enrichment analysis showed that the DEGs were mainly enriched in the ECM-receptor interaction and cytochrome P450 metabolic pathways. In addition, MMP9, PCNA, TOP2A, MMP1, AURKA, MCM2, IVL, CYP2E1, SPRR3, FOS, FLG, TGM1, and CYP2C9 were considered to be hub genes owing to high degrees in the PPI network. MiR-183-5p was with the highest connectivity target genes in hub genes. FOS was predicted to be a common target gene of the significant DEMs. Hsa-miR-9-3p, hsa-miR-34c-3p and FOS were related to patient prognosis and higher expression of the transcripts were associated with a poor OS in patients with ESCC.Our study revealed the #miRNA-mediated hub genes regulatory network as a model for predicting the molecular mechanism of ESCC. This may provide novel insights for unraveling the pathogenesis of ESCC. PMID: 31277149 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] http://bit.ly/2l7SCGZ

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dndeed · 8 years ago

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Take cover, it’s Tiefling Tuesday!

On today’s Tiefling Tuesday we have a selection of Tiefling gunslingers. One of which may be a devaronian from Star Wars.

In order of appearance: Yama Orce huanGH64 David Kegg SirTiefling

#tieflingtuesday

#tieflingtuesday #yamaorce #huangh64 #davidkegg #sirtiefling #tieflings #gunslinger #tiefling gunslingers #definitely not a devaronian

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thewanderingcotabus · 6 years ago

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Bloodstone - Mina the Rogue by David Kegg

#rogue #dagger #daggers #dual wielding #wearerogue #surge tank

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jasonwang7art · 8 years ago

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Been working on this character for the past 2 weeks, but was distracted by the Chinese New Year break. She is based on a concept artwork by David Kegg. The final model looks less stylized than the concept because I am aiming for something more realistic looking.

#huntress #hunter #archer #ranger #3d #3d model #3D Character

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worldofwarcraftart · 6 years ago

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Rastakhan's Rumble by David Kegg Source: https://ift.tt/2ucfNkV New news website for furry fans: http://awoonews.com

#wow #world of warcraft #legion #azeroth #imaginaryazeroth #hunter #armory #forums #classes #movie #blizzard

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aboutastorm · 6 years ago

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KeyForge Concept Design : House Untamed

I had the pleasure of doing the concept design work for all the factions for Fantasy Flight Game's unique deck card game KeyForge. House Untamed was the most diverse and wide faction to design. Untamed needed to encapsulate the most humans but also needed to have a wide array of creature designs - all beautified with/ effected by/ mutated by Aember - a rare 'magical' resource on the Crucible. Lots of fun to kind of just run with that theme in all directions. - David Kegg

#Untamed #Keyforge #Key Forge #Art #Concept #Visual #Design #Mutant #Beast #Forest #Card Game #richard garfield #House Untamed #Animal

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healthtimetaylor · 5 years ago

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Mechanisms of berberine for the treatment of atherosclerosis based on network pharmacology.

PMID: Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2020 ;2020:3568756. Epub 2020 Mar 19. PMID: 32256641 Abstract Title: Mechanisms of Berberine for the Treatment of Atherosclerosis Based on Network Pharmacology. Abstract: Atherosclerosis is a common metabolic disease characterized by lipid metabolic disorder. The processes of atherosclerosis include endothelial dysfunction, new endothelial layer formation, lipid sediment, foam cell formation, plaque formation, and plaque burst. Owing to the adverse effects of first-line medications, it is urgent to discover new medications to deal with atherosclerosis. Berberine is one of the most promising natural products derived from traditional Chinese medicine. However, the panoramic mechanism of berberine against atherosclerosis has not been discovered clearly. In this study, we used network pharmacology to investigate the interaction between berberine and atherosclerosis. We identified potential targets related to berberine and atherosclerosis from several databases. A total of 31 and 331 putative targets for berberine and atherosclerosis were identified, respectively. Then, we constructed berberine and atherosclerosis targets with PPI data. Berberine targets network with PPI data had 3204 nodes and 79437 edges. Atherosclerosis targets network with PPI data had 5451 nodes and 130891 edges. Furthermore, we merged the two PPI networks and obtained the core PPI network from the merged PPI network. The core PPI network had 132 nodes and 3339 edges. At last, we performed functional enrichment analyses including GO and KEGG pathway analysis in David database. GO analysis indicated that the biological processes were correlated with G1/S transition of mitotic cells cycle. KEGG pathway analysis found that the pathways directly associated with berberine against atherosclerosis were cell cycle, ubiquitin mediated proteolysis, MAPK signaling pathway, and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway. After combining the results in context with the available treatments for atherosclerosis, we considered that berberine inhibited inflammation and cell proliferation in the treatment of atherosclerosis. Our study provided a valid theoretical foundation for future research.

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