#Hurricane Riders

[shyacross]

fright rider repose w/ a changes spear (it's an axe now I guess?)

I had a spare without a nfc chip from another project so I decided to do something with this, and I can make my own nfcs now so I can replace it🎉

[skyfallscotland]

Is that Mira's POV when they are in Cordyn?

It's Mira's POV in Cordyn, in a slightly alternate universe (soulmate identifying marks) 😌

[biomic]

hana and sakura were in the eye of the hurricane that was revice's production they got out of there unscathed

[brandwhorestarscream]

Maybe a weird question, but how would the coalition of bereaved parents react upon seeing what their sparklings became in the "canon" universe?

Oooooh this is a good ask!! Not only is it about Hindsight (yesssss 🥰) but this is such a fun topic! I've actually thought about it a little bit, a silly crack idea of the destructicon high command getting plopped into canon

We'll start with Electroshock and Illuminate. They're ecstatic when they find out he's alive, but the happiness is short lived. When they see what's happened to Shockwave they're horrified: he's been reduced to little more than a husk, just a shell of what he used to be. Empurata and shadowplay was usually reserved for those who crossed the Senate and needed to be put in their place. It's horrific, to see that their baby has been reduced to little more than a drone. He operates exclusively on logic almost like a pre-programmed AI. His emotions have been physically removed from his mind, and if he gets a chance to meet them he doesn't have much to say. How can he? He recognizes that they are his creators, and still holds his memories of them, but all the feelings attached to those memories are gone. He's not happy to see them, he's not sad to see them, he hasn't missed them. Their baby can't feel anything and it's alkost like suffering his death all over again. He's here but he's not there, you know?

Illuminate is devestated, begging Shockwave to come back, to speak to her, to say that some sliver of him still remains in there. Electroshock knows he's gone--she was a Senator for millions of years, after all. She knows a clean shadowplay when she sees one, and she knows there's nothing left of their son 😔

Now, for Wavelength... his is a little more difficult. Considering he's half-dead, all hooked up to and one with the mothership, his consciousness is fragmented and scattered. He can "see" through the security systems, and this is the first time he ever gets to properly look at Soundwave. He can't see his son's face, but his stature is so achingly similar to his sire. Because Soundwave doesn't speak it would be really hard for them to communicate if they were actually together. Wavelength, somewhere within the recesses of his mind, is proud of his son. He's doing what needs to be done, fighting to rectify Cybertron's miserable state and working tirelessly to bring them closer to victory. How could he not be proud? He wishes he could hear him speak, just once--all the other parents have memories of their sparklings alive, giggling, cooing, and yes, even speaking, but Wavelength never even got to hold him. His baby died before he could even be born, so he never got to hear his sparkling make a single sound. He longs for it, more than anything, but is content just to see him in another world, alive and safe.

For Starscream... well. His carrier is dead, but if Skysoar could see him, he'd weep tears of joy. The deaths of his newborn triplets killed him, so to see that even one of them made it to adulthood is a great relief. He looks a lot like Storm Rider, actually, so lithe and quick and graceful. The other two are equally as glad to see him alive, once they figure out which one he is. They were so young when they died that their color nanites hadn't yet come in, and Starscream is constantly dressed in the mourning colors. They're very worried for his health and safety. He seems to have such terrible luck, and his mental health is clearly in a very poor state. He's completely isolated, and seekers are so social they need positive relationships to be healthy. It's clear he's been alone for a long time. Perhaps, if things were different, he would've become a great Winglord just as they hoped. If they had actually entered the other timeline/dimension, they would've separated him from everyone else to protect him, and get him the help he needs: destructive and treacherous tendencies are not doing him any favors and he desperately needs intervention.

And finally, Megatron. This could change a bit from timeline to timeline, as Galvatron gets more and more obsessed and paranoid the more lives he goes through, but to keep it simple we'll stick with the second timeline's iteration.

At first, he's blinded by pride and joy. Not only has his son grown up, but he's become such a fine warrior that he's unrivalled by all but the Prime himself. He followed in his carrier's footsteps and waged a war for the betterment of society, to give the warframes a chance at a better life. He avoids or outright denies any wrongdoings his 'sweet little angel' has committed. It's Terminus that has to set him straight: though he is also ecstatic to see dear Megatronus alive, he certainly isn't well. He's gotten himself hooked on dark energon of all things, which is worse than every cybertronian narcotic combined. Raising the dead and forcing them to fight as mere puppets is a line he isn't comfortable crossing. Terminus doesn't care at all for the autobots or the organic creatures they love so much, but he's not going to sit idly by while their son plays with fire and inevitably sets himself ablaze. He doesn't care if Megatron is an adult: as his sire he has a responsibility to guide him and set him straight if he's doing something stupid, and drug use like that is about as dumb as it gets. He doesn't care if he wants to cyberform the earth (the destructicons already did). He doesn't care if he wants to wipe out all the autobots. He doesn't care if he wants to rule over Cybertron as it's sole monarch. It's almost cute, if you ask him, how much Megatronus has grown up to be like his mother. But he's going to nip this problem in the bud if it fucking kills him

TLDR: ultimately, they're all happy to see them alive, but each worried for different reasons as their kids are each suffering some major issue. Tysm for the ask, anon! I had a great time with it 💖 if there's anything else you'd like to know about Hindsight or have more ideas to throw out there, please don't be shy ^-^

[lavenderrosiefan]

Which of your favorite non-Skylanders characters would belong to the Air element? For me, it would be these characters:

From Thomas and Friends: Thomas, Percy, Sir Handel, Hank, Connor, Hugo, Vinnie, Frieda, Etienne, Hurricane, & Kenji

From Chuggington: Koko, Hoot, Piper, Hanzo

From Kamen Rider (Reiwa Era): Isamu, Naki, Ikazuchi, Kento, Ren, Reika

From Rainbow High: Skyler, Robin, Alfie, Ayesha

From MLP: Derpy Hooves, Minuette

From Equestria Girls: Tennis Match

From Power Rangers: Sky, Emma, Vida

From Aikatsu (OG): Ran, Sora

From Aikatsu Stars: Tsubasa, Rei

From Aikatsu Friends: Mio

From Cookie Run Kingdom: Madeleine, Royal Margarine, Stormbringer, Wind Archer

P.S. Not all of the characters from each franchise that I envision to be in this element will be included here yet. I'll add them later.

[gidkog]

The good shit

[howard11792]

Tropical Cycling by Howard Metz

[overjoyedisland]

Fluffy Fourth Wing Fics

Sometimes you just need to read something happy...

Here's a list of completed, feel-good fics (no angst allowed).

I'll be adding to this throughout the day. What am I missing?

The Backup Plan by HockeySpiral23

Accidental Connection by overjoyedisland

first impressions by jcwritesstuff

Great Basgiath Bake Off by TeganTales

The State of Rider-Flier Relations by hurricane

basgiath.gov by littlefirefox18

It's not that serious by iva1109

The Bonded Report by ekreider

Dear Brennan by SuebsWrites and Yanny77

Ridoc's Ice Sculpture Delivery by oopsireaditagain

All in Good Fun by sowenelf

Read It and Weep by nevergonnaloveagain

Nothing Up My Sleeve by Nivaria

Tell Me a Secret by Yanny77

Like Coming Home by amberswansong

Karma is a Cat (purring in my lap cause it loves me) by HockeySpiral23

Basgiath U: Backcountry by TeganTales

Mess It Up by justanothersarah

Get In, Loser, We're Going Shipping by oopsireaditagain

Night Games by mint_chocolatechip

Admit It, We Are Lost by AlexanDia03

I have an excellent father by siobhanbooks

Baby Iron Squad by FireHeart_Rose

Karma's a Relaxing Thought by kho_o

Ridoc's Sparring Seduction by Mint_chocolatechip

Picture Perfect by hamsterboo

The Mile High Club by saranova

The Grape Escape by alltoowellread

[misanthropic-angel0]

“I was your starry-eyed lover and the one that you saw”

“I was your hurricane rider and the one that you'd call”

“We were just two moonshiners on the cusp of a breath”

“And I've been burning for you, baby, since the moment I left”

[wardenofdragons]

|| Warden ||

Updated Warden's reference sheet, since his lore (and my artistic skills) developed a lot since I drew the original.

There was a reason the Huntsman was feared across the Archipelago. Death and destruction followed him everywhere he went, families and entire communities torn apart in the wake of his decade long crusade under Drago Bludvist's banner.

A dragon rider with no apparent sympathy for dragon- or mankind is a true force of nature. An unstoppable, unfeeling hurricane. But a rider is only as dangerous as the dragon they ride, and the Huntsman's Night Fury played no small part in the spread of its master's infamy...

Original version under the cut for comparison :)

Sheesh. Talk about an upgrade /lh

[hiwelcometothemonstersancturary]

Poppy Worldwide AU Masterlist~!

Poppy Worldwide, also known as Save Everyone AU, is a different take on the events from Poppy Playtime. Instead of the player character/Angel simply going with the flow, they go out of their way to save not just Poppy, Kissy and Dogday, but every single toy they find. This Angel is haunted by the guilt of never being able to do anything in the 10 years since they lost their coworkers. They won't stand there and watch as more tragedy happens anymore.

CHARACTER REFERENCES

Angel reference sheet

Smiling Critters reference sheet, part 1

Smiling Critters reference sheet, part 2

The Prototype / Experiment 1006 reference sheet

ART SESSION

In chronological order:

Aftermath

Why are you sitting like that

Who was the hardest to get a bath? (plus some other thoughts and bonus meme)

Sketches

Angel class sketches

Angel in outfits/Driver's first apparition in this blog

Angel holding a mini wuggy

Angel with an ubuttoned shirt (not NSFW, but it's under a cut just to be safe)

DayNap in cute outfits

Space Riders AU

Fanart

Fanart for Bobby!

Fanart for Angel!

WRITING SESSION

In chronological order:

Poppy Worldwide: SALVATION ROUTE (AO3 fanfic, still in the works): Also known as the Factory Arc, covering chapters 1-4 of the game.

Post-factory arc:

The Ambulance Ride (Tumblr post).

And that's how you begin to heal (and stop Catnap and Mommy Long Legs from killing each other at the hospital) (Tumblr post)

House Tour, part 1 (Tumblr post).

House Tour, part 2 (Tumblr post)

Yet Another Scar (Tumblr post)

+5 years after the rescue:

Thunderstorm Ball (Tumblr post, DayNap and Prometheus one-shot)

Fanfic:

The Experiment of an Angel, an AU made by @/sukisoox!

HEADCANONS SESSION

Just a compilation of the headcanons I use for this AU! Poppy Worldwide follows the theory that Elliot Ludwig became the Prototype, and that Poppy was his adopted daughter.

Why plan Hour of Joy?

Prototype and Poppy's relationship

Prototype and Catnap's relationship (coming soon)

Prototype's gender and sexuality

Molly Ludwig

Daddy Long Legs

Why is Angel so kind?

Angel's past with PlayCo.

RANDOM INFORMATION SESSION

Just some fun curiosities and facts about the au :0}

Order in which the toys refer to Angel as their parent

Order in which the Smiling Critters refer to Angel as their parent

Order in which every single toy started to refer to Prototype as their parent

Smiling Critters reunion

Catnap and Mommy Long Legs' sibling rivalry

Angel's body count

Catnap's love language (food)

Fashion choices

Favorite movies

Favorite videogames

Sleeping arrangements for everyone

Sleeping, dreaming and nightmares

Fears and phobias

Coyotes in the farm

Prototype first lore drop post

Prototype starting to heal from his trauma

Angel's PTSD (CW: Self-harm dicussion)

Prometheus ship thoughts

Prometheus ship thoughts, part 2

Prometheus romcom

DayNap romcom

Dogday and Catnap dropping their adopted kid off at school

Random scenarios

First baths post-rescue

Angel and the media

What if Angel gets a pet?

Who gives them the "Talk"?

Swimming for the toys

The older toys getting an alcoholic drink for the first time

How do they react when it's hurricane season?

Easter!

Scammer calls

What do they do with all the extra money?

Activism in the house

What if they found a toy that escaped PlayCo. during the HoJ?

DayNap wedding

Super silly posts

Angel's neighboors

[kirider]

Your art for it is so cute, what's Kamen Rider SD? I want to get into it :D

yesss.... fall into my trap... mwhahaha >:3c (also thank you ^v^)

SD in general means Super Deformed, it's a chibi style that's not unique to Kamen Rider (Gundam also has a bunch of SD stuff, mentioning it here bc i love those models :3)

But since you're asking in relation with my art, here's the ones I made art for:

SD The Great Battle

A series of videogames that's a crossover between Kamen Rider, Gundam and Ultraman characters, all in the SD style. An original character called Fighter Roar joins the team from the second game on. They're very fun and wacky game that don't really have a coherent plot but we love them for that :3 In IV they get a giant robot (Compatible Kaiser my beloved) and in V they're cowboys. I love the cowboy outfits so much. Games one to five have english fan translations, now I need someone to translate Gaia Saver because apparently that one has the Rider Killer lore....

Kamen Rider SD: Strange!? Man Spider (or simply Kamen Rider SD OVA)

If you've been around the fandom you probably already know this one. It's a 30 minutes short where RX and the other Battle Riders (Ichigo and ZX) have to rescue RX's crush from shocker, with the help of the Mechanic Riders (V3, X and Super1). Wild Team (Stronger, Amazon and Nigo) appears for like. 3 minutes total at the end but they're my darlings and I love them. Other very important thing in this short is the Rider Carrier, a giant robot grasshopper that acts as their base and I think every version of the riders shoul have a giant grasshopper base not just the SDs u.u This short is apparently an adaptation from the Mighty Riders manga, but I haven't investigated it yet so I can't confirm that. It's also connected to a couple more SD videogames, Sortie!! Rider Machines and Run! Mighty Riders (the team names come from here as far as I can tell)

Kamen Rider SD: Hurricane Legend / Kamen Rider SD: Legend of the Stormy Age

(listen. I know the direct translation is the first one. But the second one is on the back cover so if they gave it an official english title I'm using that :P)

This is probably the one you're asking for, but I wanted to use the excuse to talk about the other two :P

I'll be honest, going in blind on this one is probably the best experience. Do not look up panels you will get spoiled. The basic plot is V3 and Riderman travel around to recruit the other Riders to defeat Shocker. I want to talk about it more but again, I had so much fun going "WHAT!?!" while reading it that I must resist- Might post more about them but will tag it as spoilers

Other SD stuff that I care less about, for completionist sake:

• there's a third SD manga (Kamen Rider SD: Roaring Laughs School) that I know nothing of (I think it's a 4koma gag manga? I'll be honest I'm not very interested in it so I haven't done much research);

• the most recent SD game is SD Shin Kamen Rider Rumble, a game for the movie, but that one seems to be simply a side scroller so again, no interest from me;

• Lost Heroes 1 and 2 technically use chibi-ish versions of Riders, Gundams and Ultramen, and are part of the Compati Hero series (the same series as The Great Battle), but they don't have SD in the title;

•there's. sooooo many sports games in the Compati Hero series. I like the Battle Dodgeball ones :3 Also speaking of Compati Hero, special mention to Super Hero Operations because that's the next one I wanna play, I get to meet Zubat, Metalder and a bunch of others there :3

[number-one-toku-robot-lover]

I feel like we as a community don't talk about Super-1's bikes enough.

V Machine: Very cute :) reminds me of the Cyclone's aesthetic more than some of the other Rider's bikes in a way I really like. The red accents look really good with Super-1's suit! Good bike.

V Jet: Now this is a nice upgrade form. Bigger and fancier, but still keeping the design's charms. Buttons! It's labeled with his name! The front gives it kind of a moth wing like silhouette!

Blue Version: First of all. 10/10 name. Second, the slimmer build gives it a really nice contrast with Mr. V Machine and matches nicely with the some of the other Rider's bikes like Hurricane or Kabutoro!

[marq-lynch]

Happy New Year, Non-Wrestling and Non-AEW wrestling friends!

My wrestling blorbos are finally live on HBO MAX tonight if you want to check them out!

It's going to be a great introductory episode to jump into blind if you'd like but here's the fast and easy rundown for what we're hoping for:

Fight for the Fallen is an annual special episode of Dynamite and this year it's being hosted by tag team FTR as a benefit for their hometown of Asheville which was hit hard by the hurricane last year.

FTR has teamed up with the Rated R Superstar Adam Copeland, to form Rated FTR, and they're determined to take down the Death Riders, who are currently holding an iron grip on AEW as baddies. Copeland's return last month also signals the return of Old Man Yaoi for 2025 as he is very divorced and his ex-husband Christian Cage is already Sweating as this ruins his plans.

We've also been waiting for a gay breakup with The Acclaimed (Bowens can do so much better) and The Hurt Syndicate are the new powerhouse faction in AEW that might just be able to break the camel's back tonight. Please.

Julia Hart, our Goth Queen has finally returned from injury and we're delighted to see her and her faction back in action. The House of Black always delivers (and always wins)

And in the realm of 'I am too close to this to have normal opinions about it' Hangman Adam Page, the beloved anxious millennial cowboy of AEW is currently in his 'Utterly Unhinged and Making Great Life Choices' Black Hat Era because of... Reasons, and Orange Cassidy, ultra laid back and chill guy you cannot piss off has finally had Enough.

It's going to be fun, and makes AEW a lot more available to a lot more people who don't want to bother with cable television, VPNs, or additional obscured streaming add-ons.

The first year of AEW's PPVs and Dynamite (2019) has also been added to MAX on demand, and they've promised to update it on a rolling basis to let people catch up along with two months backlog of the most recent shows (in 2025 that will be Wednesday Night Dynamite and Saturday Night Collision).

So if you're curious about the promotion that has consumed so many people over the last several years by making the alternative more mainstream, and tv wrestling a gayer, kinkier, bloodier, and all around weirder, now's your chance!

Or hey, if you're seeing this post later? HBO MAX is still there.

[phoenixcatch7]

Welcome to the environmental lore photo collection that took me three weeks to do! We shall see if we can fit all the photos in!

Okay! For purposes of this compilation I'll not be talking about either seasonal areas or the war! Because those are whole separate topics, and well...

We know enough. Also, I had to lighten several photos, so they might look slightly off to experienced players. It's so you can see!

So, the very first area -

Forgive the quality, this is their second compression lmao. As you can see, we start off with pretty standard Sky Kingdom architecture - blue stone with pale blue paint, topped with gold almost-spikes. There's a landing area from valley (middle left) but it's almost entirely flooded with cloud so good luck landing on it now lol. An overhead walkway (bottom left) that only appears elsewhere in the valley citadel and skate race. Unsurprising, given the proximity.

The interesting things are the campfire, the lanterns, and the broken bridge (top left, right, and bottom right respectively).

The huge campfire and the rows of lanterns speak of low light levels and temperatures. The nature of the wasteland is pollution and corruption, so it's easy to think the thick, dark cloud layer blocking out the sun is a result of that, and thus came about later in the timeline. But it seems to be early enough that ancestors made their own countermeasures to the darkness.

The broken bridge, of course, led down. It's sizable. I wonder what it looked like, before the hurricane? Perhaps they used shuttle boats like the village of dreams? Unlikely - there's no boat debris anywhere on either side, but it's an interesting thought. Either way, it tells us the hurricane wasn't always there...

^ Enter the wasteland proper, and you're met with this. Everything is half buried in sand, the water is toxic, and there's not a candle to be seen (except of course on cake days, as you will see later XD) - this will remain true for the whole realm. Under the hooked arch in the bottom pic is the sapling (clinging on for dear life, surely) and the dock leading to Enchantment.

What purpose the listing building in the centre pic does, I don't know, but if you squint under the left arch in the bottom picture, you'll see there's another one (with nothing inside). Given its placement, it could be assumed one had to pass through it to reach the main entrance. It's highly unlikely they were homes.

Similarly, all those giant broken arches could have enclosed a vast area the size of a small town (figuratively, if we consider the dream village and the aviary) - they're all pointing at each other (as best they can). Valley has proven the smaller version of these are to be walked on, so perhaps guards or manta riders could patrol on them? You do crashland enter under the only standing arch, after all.

The paths, centre right, also seem to be doing badly. Their solidity and thickness means they're not simple flagstones or paving like other areas in sky - they're heavy duty, lined with I believe to be more of that golden metal that bent instead of crumbled. They were built over unsteady ground. Whether that be the sand and toxic water they sit in now or just normal water remains to be seen.

If you look left, you'll see a distant... Factory of some kind. Middle left picture. Pipes leading in or out of it. Whatever it is, production, water purification, waste disposal, it probably doesn't work anymore. If you've played Journey (sky's predecessor), it's strongly reminiscent of an area where you build a temporary bridge connecting the broken arches so you can cross into the enormous building ahead. It's a fantastic sense of scale, to realise that this ancient civilisation ringed a significant portion of way around the base of this gargantuan mountain.

Half buried statues guard the crumbling entrance - smaller than the gigantic ones in the valley stadium, but pretty much the same otherwise lol. Given the amount of buried rubble around them and the chasm in the stone above, did something burst in... Or out? The mystery isn't solved on the inside, but at least the corridor isn't completely blocked. Sky kid (me!) for scale! It's interesting, how apart from the obviously ceremonial dramatic valley statues, these are the first things we see of anything resembling combat or even weapons. A culture which has a concept of militaristic might. They're guarding something important. (Vault, duh.)

No! Unlike what you'd think, the important thing becomes clear immediately. The collosal, toppled bell (I always wondered if they were hollow), the odd ceremonial structure it landed by (top left), those funny diamond bells (top right, top left if you squint), the studded cylinders (bottom left). The hastily stacked rubble blocking the krill's sight (bottom middle), the ripped open roof (bottom right).

It's identical to the forest elder shrine. This is a temple. Could this have been the original location of the wasteland elder shrine? The only remaining proof of a secret eighth elder, now subsumed?... A cool shaped building the architects took and ran with? We don't know. Whatever it was, it was clearly of great import. Most likely ceremonial, or for worship, or, heck, the equivalent of a podium specifically for big grand speeches. When the roof was there, it was an enormous, grand room, guarded by stern stone giants twice over and blocked by the same great doors that hide the forest glade. The ones that light up and spin and only open after meditating and meeting the elder...

There's no sign of those doors now, which is impressive. Probably where they got the stone for the krill blockade and the hiding places along the little bridge. Good thing they're gone, then, because those magic hinges seem to have run out of juice and gone dark. My theory is they were there to keep people out - a barrier between the last traces of peace and the battle torn graveyard we're about to walk into. (Another potential point in the 'prev wasteland elder location' - an ancestor would have to pass through him to enter, and the enemy on the way out.)

There's pipes now, too - I can only believe they were a later addition, given how haphazardly they coat the walls, and the industrial pollution aesthetic much more suited to the grimy, bleak wastes of today than the gilded ceremonial hall this once was.

Just off the left after the main temple area, there's a large room, ceiling also torn off. I can only describe them as pedestals, but what stood on them I don't know. My first thought when I found this place as a moth was a wardrobe/constellation/friend constellation thing, but it's??? Eh. If it were statues, they're long gone with no sign, and they're not big enough for anything mobile. This room served a function, that much is clear, but if decorative or practical I doubt we'll ever know.

^ The graveyard. This is its actual name, I believe. Fitting. The wasteland title promised us Vault, that's all this place is now good for, so that must be the vault we see looming in the background, tower reaching into the low clouds. (If you've played Journey, you're already familiar with the tower idea, so it's easy to slot the two together.)

Here you'll find, uh, krill. There's four here, the highest concentration of krill in all sky lmao. You'll find giant skeletons. You'll find sand. Toxic water. And that's kind of it.

Interesting things abound, however! There's a fleet of sunken, broken boats (middle left), a campfire now overgrown with dark plants (not shown) and a giant crab roasting campfire with a poor, beloathed by the community, crab loving spirit (middle). We can only assume he's the one who built the campfire! Thanks dude! Please have an easier relived memory! (should we call it a seance??) Now, given the guy is an elderly dude who carries a guitar and spends his time chasing crabs all across the dang map, he's probably not a warrior. Heck, with the amount of crabs, he probably arrived after the pipes. After the war, even? On the middle right pic is the weirdly undecorated entrance to the sunken ship.

Of course I looked at the skeletons and compared them! Each wasteland one had tiny scratches or notches in the spine spikes, and yes they aren't there on the other, but otherwise the size and shapes are identical! These skeletons are whales, as proven by the skeleton in forest haunted by the whale whisperer! The poor forest whale died of head injury colliding with the building, so there's every chance these guys were also used in warfare for similar reasons - maybe even specifically bred to fight the krill - but it could also have been a tragedy of mass extinction during what turned the graveyard into what it is today. :( That you can find a Rythm spirit in a skull tells us the troupe came about a LONG time after the deaths.

^ To the shipwreck! The first pic I caught during the shard event (though they landed all the way in prairie!) lol. It looks so ominous... Outside of the seasonal enchantment beauty, this is the biggest vessel in the game, and much more utilitarian. Unlike SS Enchantment, this thing was a tanker, not a home for those on board.

Featuring - the only decorated pipes in the kingdom (middle left)! Life boat deployment cranes (bottom left)! A beached lifeboat, bottom right :(. A boat still attached (feat me). More of those weird diamond bells for cargo, which proves they were a valued commodity and at least semi mass produced and shipped around the kingdom! More than the craftsman in prairie, or the tree fellers in forest, they prove a thriving, stable kingdom steadily advancing in technology and society! And the boat being pointed to the temple - incoming goods? Potentially, for Vault?

The krill decided it didn't want to be in the top pic, but I swear he's there XD... Most likely what sank the ship, tbh. It's not caught on some rock, or ledge, or ditch. In fact, the bottom is more intact than the top!... I think the krill escaped the warzone and caught the arriving ship, possibly spotting an unlucky crewmate through those big arched windows. The memory of the saluting captain walks the wreckage of his ship, sending away a loyal crew member on the second last life boat, back out to sea. Whether it's the boat dashed on the rocks or if they escaped the krill I don't know, but we know the captain didn't. Crab whisperer passes through later, so we know the light seekers are also post event.

We've reached the entrance to the vault! It's.. Smaller than it looks from a distance. Vault must be a shorter building hidden behind it, or far enough away it vanishes into the smog. Under a shard event sky, the black waters look like blood.

The first thing you see of the battlefield is the large, imposing building, now listing to one side and rimmed with stakes (cheval de freise, if you want to be fancy. Large caltrops... When your mounts and enemies can fly). There's only one spirit here, lookout (middle left). Whether it was supposed to be a temporary building (UNLIKELY) or whether they didn't build it properly and the sandy ground subsided over the aeons that have passed between then and now is up to interpretation, but at least this time the lack of roof seems intentional. I'm more annoyed it doesn't line up with the temple, I had to stand literally on the right wall to get the bottom picture and it's still slightly left!

Lighting the crystal triggers three krill to emerge from the ground and start hunting. (One time I visited some unknowing friends who triggered the gate... A krill emerged less than a metre from me with no warning... Terrifying XD.) Previously they used to spawn basically on top of the players and you had to run for your LIFE, but now they take a leisurely stroll in your direction, so you've got plenty of time to wander your way to safety. Maybe stop and get an ice cream. Boring :/. In terms of lore very fascinating and scary, given the last stand and the aurora concert both seemed focused on defending the crystal. This whole time... It was rigged. By which side, I don't know.

The shrine! ^

From the outside, a large, ominous building covered in pipes and statue towers. On the inside, an octagonal chamber many stories high. Like the rest of wasteland, what little decor there is is chockers with that hollow star shape that symbolises light, the king, all that good stuff. There's six ginormous double doors ringing the chamber, all tightly shut. My first thought was six realms, one war council. Nothing to prove or disprove that lol. It would have been a great place for diplomacy, though, without the shrine statue. Sand everywhere, probably through the gaps in the ceiling lol. Beautiful door.

Wasteland elder himself!!! His weapons are the ones arranged on his shrine - whether that means he can manifest in the world and grab them or if they're stone recreations of the ones he carries at all times, I don't know. He's never been seen in any memory or cutscene of war, so maybe he can't manifest... We know the isle elder can, in the song runaway of aurora. His space is the very same place as the Crystal outside his chamber, facing out, and he points his spear towards where the kings star would be, the crowning jewel of his tower. We can safely assume whatever his role, he was defending Vault and Eden behind it. And he succeeded.

There's so much to talk about with the vault door. Top left, the closed wasteland/vault door. Bottom left and right, the closed forest door. Centre and top right, the open vault door. You'll notice more diamond shapes and boat imagery. But in wasteland, the jewels that presumably power the great door are missing, black. The double switches, inactive. Even when activated, no line traces up and no light appears - only the outlines of the stars and speckled lights hidden on the door itself. If that's not divine intervention from the elder, I don't know what is lol.

Pass through into vault, and see its beauty untouched. But turn around, and see the mounds of golden sand blown in from Wasteland, settling in the still air. Vault acknowledges its protector.

Some final thoughts:

^ For some reason, probably that it's the only place it's not very visible, the shipwreck is the only place where the kings star is absolutely massive and has a ring. Every other place, it's normal! It's probably an old design tgc forgot to update with the rest lmao.

^ An entirely accidental realisation due to my research. Man I love environmental storytelling. Nearly every detail of the mask matches the skull! The IMAGERY.

^ My first attempt to get a good shot of wasteland instead caught a first person witness to an expert krill dodger! I didn't get to talk to them, but know you were caught being very cool in high definition!!

^ I didn't get to talk about this theory before, but every entrance and exit to the graveyard and next door shipwreck EXCEPT their connecting corridor are all huge drops in altitude. Both are the only places you find boats. Both are sodden with black water. The ground is uneven. There's whale skeletons. My theory is that these areas were once entirely submerged! Water areas! Shipping and naval battles and cargo! Abyss proves krill can survive perfectly under water - and all emerging krill do so from water!! It'd explain the sand and the debris and the beached boats and all!

Elder shrines do like their slitted roofs. This is prairie. 'S why I wasn't theorising about the sand in wasteland lol. Gotta get the dramatic shafts of light from somewhere!

The open door and two beautifully poised strangers - well done on completing wasteland! I hope you enjoy vault!!

Pipe theory: these things pop up at the entrance to wasteland and follow you all the way through to the shrine, disappear in vault, and then reappear. They go all the way to the point of no return in eden!!! They're either taking something up, or, considering the amount of pipes that open into black water areas, the general gravity situation of vertical pipes... It's likely they were siphoning something away. Sewer pipes, but evil. Maybe trying to wash away whatever corruption happened to the Eye? It didn't work... Poisoned the waters instead. Maybe they carried water up to the Eye like a kingdom sized cooling system and that drained the waters??

And the photo that started this whole thing, the day I climbed the wasteland temple...

that's not smog. That is a wall. That is the biggest wall I have EVER seen.

Do you see the line under the clouds? The sky box? The 'horizon'?

YOU'RE ALREADY LOOKING AT VAULT.

TGC YOU MOTHERS OF DUCKS.

[delta-pavonis]

Dreamling Week 2024 Day 4

Dreamling Week 2024 Day 4 Prompts (from @mr-sadman): shapeshifter, storm, finger food, dirty

Dreamling || Rated M || 751 words

tags (other than the prompts above): fantasy, urban fantasy, solarpunk, drow druid/sorcerer Dream, half wood elf bard/gunsmith Hob, investigator partners with a history, they get captured and held for days as torture, escape from torture, cannibalism metaphors for love, discussion of taking joy in revenge

In chronological order: Day 2, Day 1, Day 3

Day 4 comes soon after Day 3

They crawl out of the cave system into a raging thunderstorm. Might as well be a hurricane for how the wind is blowing the rain and trees sideways. However, the sight of cypress trees and the salty smell of the ocean limits the possible places that they have been taken to. 

“Holy shit we're in Port Essen!” Hob gasps in breathless laughter. When Dream looks at him he is smiling, almost glowing, underneath all the dirt and grime and soil and debris they are covered with, that is all rapidly turning to mud as the forceful winds and driving rain wash them clean. He looks to Dream and it is like the sun has risen, warmth diffusing through Dream's skin. “I grew up here!”

That raises a red flag in the back of Dream's mind–he doesn't believe in coincidences. 

“We need to move. Get as far away as possible. Fast. Get on.” Dream doesn't say more, doesn't explain, just grabs some of the reedy dunegrass at his feet and pops it into his mouth as he makes the appropriate hand motions. 

Hob lets out a yelp as Dream transforms into a dire elk, huge and black. He wouldn't be able to fly in such rain and he has no meat for a spell component, so his dragon form is out; the elk will give Hob a smoother ride over the widest variety of terrain. 

Once fully shifted Dream drops onto folded legs, but that still means his back is at about the height of a horse, so he angles his head towards Hob to lend an antler for leverage.

Luckily Hob catches on quickly, hefting himself up onto Dream with a grunt. “West,” he says as he buries his hands in the ruff of thick fur around Dream's neck, “We’ll hit forest and freshwater fastest if we go west.”

Dream stands, looks back at Hob once to make sure he is settled, and then leaps into action. Hob lets out another yelp the first time Dream lands from a bound, but he sets a rhythm and the bard in Hob cues onto it almost immediately. 

Then he outright laughs.

“Dream,” he whispers into his fur, must be leaning over to get so close to his ear, “you are amazing, dove.”

Dream would laugh as well, if he could. 

He has never had a rider before, not in any shifted form he has taken, and that it is Hob on his back, moving fluidly with him, legs around him, clinging to him… well. Apparently one doesn’t need wings to fly.

But first they need to disappear. They need to get gone and regroup and get food and maybe bathe in a cold stream and start assembling their meager knowledge of their captors so that they can send out feelers for information and start the tedious process of revenge. 

Because Dream will eat their hearts raw for making this the bower in which he tells Hob the nature of Dream’s connection to him. He will make them watch as he sucks the marrow from their living bones for how they have treated his Mate. He cares not that he himself has been tortured; Dream has done more than enough terrible things in his life to have earned such an experience. But Hob? No. He will not let them survive this insult.

However, getting to that point, when he will be able to revel in the suffering of those who caused so much of the same, will take time. Dream is always thorough in his planning.

And while they wait, keeping to the shadows and gathering their knowledge and power, Dream will sup upon his Mate. He will devour the finest meal he will ever have. Savor the small pieces that he can pick up between his fingers and drop into his mouth and lick from under his fingernails. Drink long draughts of pleasure of Hob’s body and thereby nourish his own soul. Dream has been starving and did not know it, did not really understand what he was missing, until his body was weakened by the captivity and his mind sharpened by the pain his Mate experienced. 

Dream vaults over some rocky ground, avoiding it completely, and then as they crest a hill the treeline comes into sight and he could cry for the relief of it. Within the embrace of the forest Dream will have all the tools he needs to keep them safe. And then he can look towards the future.