#for now - raptor riders it is

[mandalorianchronicles]

Bo and Din in a few episodes when the chicks are grown...

[dandelionsresilience]

Good News - April 1-7

Like these weekly compilations? Support me on Ko-fi! Also, if you tip me on here or Ko-fi, at the end of the month I’ll send you a link to all of the articles I found but didn’t use each week - almost double the content! (I’m new to taking tips on here; if it doesn’t show me your username or if you have DM’s turned off, please send me a screenshot of your payment)

1. Three Endangered Asiatic Lion Cubs Born at London Zoo

“The three cubs are a huge boost to the conservation breeding programme for Asiatic lions, which are now found only in the Gir Forest in Gujarat, India.”

2. United Nations Passes Groundbreaking Intersex Rights Resolution

“The United Nations Human Rights Council has passed its first ever resolution affirming the rights of intersex people, signaling growing international resolve to address rights violations experienced by people born with variations in their sex characteristics.”

3. Proposal to delist Roanoke logperch

“Based on a review of the best available science, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has determined that the Roanoke logperch, a large freshwater darter, is no longer at risk of extinction. […] When the Roanoke logperch was listed as endangered in 1989, it was found in only 14 streams. In the years since, Roanoke logperch surveys and habitat restoration have more than doubled the species range, with 31 occupied streams as of 2019.”

4. Fully-Accessible Theme Park Reopens Following Major Expansion

“Following the $6.5 million overhaul, the park now offers [among other “ultra-accessible” attractions] a first-of-its-kind 4-seat zip line that can accommodate riders in wheelchairs as well as those who need extra restraints, respiratory equipment or other special gear.”

5. ‘The Javan tiger still exists’: DNA find may herald an extinct species’ comeback

“A single strand of hair recovered from [a sighting] is a close genetic match to hair from a Javan tiger pelt from 1930 kept at a museum, [a new] study shows. “Through this research, we have determined that the Javan tiger still exists in the wild,” says Wirdateti, a government researcher and lead author of the study.”

6. Treehouse Village: Eco-housing and energy savings

““The entire place is designed and built to meet the passive house standard, which is the most energy-efficient construction standard in the world,” says resident Wayne Groszko, co-owner of one of the units at Treehouse.”

7. 50 rare crocodiles released in Cambodia's tropical Cardamom Mountains

“Cambodian conservationists have released 50 captive-bred juvenile Siamese crocodiles at a remote site in Cambodia as part of an ongoing programme to save the species from extinction.”

8. The Remarkable Growth of the Global Biochar Market: A Beacon of Environmental Progress

“Biochar, a stable carbon form derived from organic materials like agricultural residues and forestry trimmings, is a pivotal solution in the fight against global warming. By capturing carbon in a stable form during biochar production, and with high technology readiness levels, biochar offers accessible and durable carbon dioxide removal.”

9. 'Seismic' changes set for [grouse shooting] industry as new Scottish law aims to tackle raptor persecution

“Conservation scientists and campaigners believe that birds such as golden eagles and hen harriers are being killed to prevent them from preying on red grouse, the main target species of the shooting industry. […] Under the Wildlife Management and Muirburn Bill, the Scottish grouse industry will be regulated for the first time in its history.”

10. White House Awards $20 Billion to Nation’s First ‘Green Bank’ Network

“At least 70 percent of the funds will go to disadvantaged communities, the administration said, while 20 percent will go to rural communities and more than 5 percent will go to tribal communities. […] The White House said that the new initiative will generate about $150 billion in clean energy and climate investments[…].”

March 22-28 news here | (all credit for images and written material can be found at the source linked; I don’t claim credit for anything but curating.)

[laresearchette]

Monday, November 04, 2024 Canadian TV Listings (Times Eastern)

WHERE CAN I FIND THOSE PREMIERES?: INSPECTOR ELLIS (AcornTV) HOLIDAY BAKING CHAMPIONSHIP (Food Network Canada) 8:00pm

WHAT IS NOT PREMIERING IN CANADA TONIGHT?: 2024 SNL ELECTION SPECIAL (NBC Feed)

NEW TO AMAZON PRIME CANADA/CBC GEM/CRAVE TV/DISNEY + STAR/NETFLIX CANADA:

AMAZON PRIME CANADA PRIME MONDAY NIGHT HOCKEY – DEVILS VS. OILERS

CRAVE TV HAPPILY EVER AFTER — THE DARCY AND JER STORY

NETFLIX CANADA ANCHORMAN: THE LEGEND OF RON BURGUNDY ANCHORMAN 2: THE LEGEND CONTINUES

CFL FOOTBALL (TSN2) 2:00pm: Lions vs. Roughriders

NBA BASKETBALL (SN) 7:00pm: Bucks vs. Cavaliers (TSN2) 7:30pm: Lakers vs. Pistons (SN Now) 7:45pm: Celtics vs. Hawks (SN/SN1) 10:00pm: Raptors vs. Nuggets

THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES (CBC) 8:00pm: 2024 One-Hour U.S. Election Special

MURDOCH MYSTERIES (CBC) 8:00pm: Murdoch, Watts and Choi investigate the overdose death of a bookkeeper living in new workers' housing.

WILD ROSE VETS (APTN) 8:00pm: Dr. Cori's team is busy when they find a mysterious scar on a new shop cat and assist a puppy who was hurt after leaping from a car. Dr. Allison discovers an infection in a dog but is less confident in her dancing abilities as she learns to jig.

NFL FOOTBALL (TSN1/TSN3/TSN4/TSN5) 8:15pm: Buccaneers vs. Chiefs

HORSE WARRIORS (APTN) 8:30pm: Tensions rise as Leon suspects his rider, Tyrone, is responsible for two consecutive losses due to moonlighting as a rider for other teams. Logan steps up to ride for the Old Sun men's team when they lose their previous rider, Justin Maguire.

PLAN B (CBC) 9:00pm: Mia seeks therapy to address her controlling behaviour; Paul attends counseling while Mia supervises his visits with his daughters; Mia's unresolved issues resurface, leading to a family confrontation.

DESTINATIONS OF THE DAMNED WITH ZAK BAGANS (Discovery Channel Canada) 9:00pm (SERIES PREMIERE): Zak Bagans sends his team to Armero, Colombia, where thousands perished after a volcanic eruption in 1985.

PARIS HAS FALLEN (CTV Drama) 9:00pm: A protection officer and an MI6 operative team up after a terrorist attack; they suspect a mole as they race to thwart a larger conspiracy threatening Paris.

THE TRAITORS CANADA (CTV) 10:00pm: One player finds themselves the focus of suspicion from many of the guests; the future of another player's game is on the line in the latest mission; loyalties are torn apart as The Traitors continue to turn on one another.

TOP CHEF CANADA (Food Network Canada) 10:00pm

DIVIDED BY DESIGN (HGTV Canada) 10:00pm (SERIES PREMIERE): Ray and Eilyn compete for a $150,000 renovation project with clashing homeowners' tastes; the delay of Moroccan tile pushes Eilyn's schedule.

ACTING GOOD (CTV Comedy) 10:30pm: Grouse Lake Grouse Break

[djpain619]

WIP WEDNESDAY

Kreig's Back On The Menu Boys

Took me a while but I've finally got together the Bits and Kits I need to complete my Kreig Combat Patrol . I've got my Armored Sentinel. I've got the Feild Ordinance Battery Bits and the Grognard HeavyWeapon/ Command box with enough ww1 German gas masked helmets to make a couple Feild Ordinance Batteries.

I've also got Aztecs and Raptor mounts with cavalry legs to make 2 full 10 Rider squads of Rough Riders. So my Aquillacan Carabineers will finally have Kitbashed models. I've been procrastinating a long time with kitbashing these. I originally wanted the helmets and weapons of the Wargames Atlantic Ooh Rahs to make them more high tech, but now ive settled on just Aztecs in Jeans, wearing the occasional cowboy hat while riding Raptors, kinda vibe. And I can get the main bodies done and just order some 3d printed carbines to tack onto them later.

I've also got several NCR Ranger Helmets. These will be used on Grognard bodies to make Centurion Rangers. I plan to put at least one Centurion Ranger with 2 Kreigers on at least half of my Feild Ordinance. I like to imagine having MPs to enforce regulations among the Kreigers would help them feel at home.

[monsterwaterwolf6]

The Restoring Team: Chapter 3

One and half weeks later

Dogday and his team have return to home from mission. They get out of their ship, Hoppy and Kickin get excited about visiting Kenna at Hospital. They run for it, others are confusing. Dogday asks, “Where they going? We need give report to.” Catnap signed ‘Maybe they want to see this firebird. Kenna. She is type like Hoppy and Kickin like often trouble what they pleased.’ Dogday sighs, “Yeah, she is. Last time we saw her, we can not stop her. Critical heath or not, she still strong. Now, I see that Poppy needed her team back. Poppy said her team is very first for all teammates have superpowers. I wonder why they quitted being Space Riders. Really happened four years ago before we joined the Space Riders after graduation from Space Rider Academia. Kenna or Poppy won’t tell us about this. Let’s go guys.”

Bubba tell Dogday, “Kenna said, if we join her mission to get her team back, she will explain about this. I wonder about this, I look forward to any reports from four years ago, but they are seal by Poppy. I can hack to open, but it must there a reason they are seal. We can ask Poppy about we can join Kenna.”

Dogday look him, “If Kenna is strong than us, then her team is strong. Do we have to force them back or they will fight back us? I don’t think so.”

Bobby lifts her hand up, “I am sure Kenna will protect us. She will not let them fight us. I can go to a hospital and ask her! Piggy, Craftycorn want join?”

Dogday trying to stop her but Piggy and Craftycorn agree and walk away with Bobby. He rubs his head with Catnap and Bubba who sighs. “I guess Poppy will ask me where almost everyone go… Come now.”

At a hospital

Kenna is really hell annoying in bed with her arms crossing on chest. Four reasons, 1st reason foods is horrible. 2nd reason, she is very bored as hell. 3rd the nurses and doctors won’t let her get up from bed. 4th reason, she doesn’t want to be help by the damn nurses for go bathroom. She grabs a remote and turn tv on. She is changing channels and can’t find anything. She is ready to scream in bored but she is stop by a door. She quick glares at a nurse or a doctor come but instead Hoppy and Kickin come in. They notice a glare from Kenna, but it is replaced by surprise. “Huh? Hoppy? KickinChicken? What are you doing here? I thought I am goings to crazy in this fuck room!”

Hoppy and Kickin are surprised and think to help her out. Hoppy asks Kenna, “How about we can sneak out of this hospital?” Suddenly Kenna takes blanket off and get up with help by Hoppy. Kickin peeps at hallway and no ones there. They get out a room and slow walking, before other hallway, check out and no ones there either. In few minutes, finally they get out of a hospital.

Kenna sighs, “Finally, I am out. Let go to my teammate’s gym.” She guides them to a gym in few minutes. They arrive at a door of a gym. She looking her keys.

Hoppy and Kickin stare at sign of a gym. Kickin look at Kenna, “That was closed and Poppy ordered all space riders keep out of that.” Kenna waves off and found a key to open a door. They get in and look around. Kickin touch one of chairs, “Wow that dutst anywhere as long time and never use here. Must four years, right?”

Kenna sigh, “Yeah he left to home. Poppy is pain ass for keep this place out. So let go to his office and look the fuses for lights. That way, an office never locked because he is trusting all space riders.” They get in office and looking for fuses. Hoppy found it and turn it on, all lights are on.

Hoppy excited, “Found it! Let’s go to see inside of gym! Com-.” She found a pictures on wall and get close to see. She sees a black horse with wing, a white horse with a horn and a young white foal with a horn and marked moon on under of a horn. They were big smiles. Hoppy looks other picture, she sees a dinosaur as white-grey-red raptor, a brown/tan cat with two long teeth, a grey-white wolf, a brown-green snake, a black dog with pointed ears, a black horse with wings, a grumpy black-purple dragon, and Kenna as in a group with a words ‘The Myths.’ Hoppy called Kickin as he come to her. Hoppy’s finger point to a picture of a group.

Kickin take look, “Whoa. That Kenna’s team? They look like strong. Mmm, what that dog is? He is weird. Huh that cat with long teeth?”

Hoppy nods, “Yeah, I think, she is sabertooth. But unknown what kind of this dog. I didn’t see that kind when we meet few space riders or people we know.”

Kenna walking to them, “he is Pharaoh Hound. That from ancient as Egypt. So, you saw my team.” She looks other a picture as a family and put it flip down on desk. She is sad, before she left grab a picture of a team. Hoppy and Kickin are confused after they see she put a picture of a family flip down. They follow Kenna to out of a office. They are awww when they see many weights, exercise bands, dumbbells, big sized rope, etc.

They are excited and run to use they want. Kenna walks to a chair and watch a picture of her team. Kenna looks up and watch Hoppy and Kickin exercising. She let a small laugh and shakes her head. She takes her tablet and stares at it. She did read report from her captain but not just captain, all teammates wrote on reports about really happening four years ago. She was thinking so long time, she was figuring out how say to her teammates.

Back to Bobby and her two teammates. They arrived at a hospital and ask a nurse for Kenna. A nurse nods, “Come with me, I need check on her. I am sure two visitors are still there.”

Bobby looks her teammates, “That are be Hoppy and Kickin. That quick they arrived there. Hope not gets trouble what they did.” They arrive by Kenna’s room, a nurse knocks on door before opening it. They found a room is empty. “Yup, they did it…”

A nurse gets panics after found no ones here, “Oh my god, she has escaped again! I am gone to inform a doctor!” She gets leave but she stops by Piggy.

Piggy calm her down, “Let us care of this. I am sure Hoppy and Kickin help her out. Don’t worry about it. Come girls, we need ask Poppy. Maybe, she knows where they going.” They leave a room and leave a nurse alone.

Craftycorn ask them, “is this Kenna often trouble like Hoppy and Kickin do?” Bobby and Piggy nodding. “Mmm I am surprised, Dogday or Catnap can’t stop Kenna when she was running away. How is she strong?”

Bobby shakes her head, “I am not sure yet. We saw she changed in fire herself. Poppy said she is Phoenix as firebird. Also, she didn’t attack us instead trick us with her created twister with fire, didn’t hurt us either. I wonder what she does in fight mode. We will be bugging Dogday for join Kenna for her mission to get her team back. I am sure Poppy will need them.” They are agreeing, they arrive Poppy’s headquarter and open a door. Poppy, Dogday, Catnap, and Bubba are there and talking about their last mission. “Poppy! Do you know where Kenna went as normal? Kenna had escaping with Hoppy and Kickin from a hospital.”

Poppy facepalm, “Again? Mmm, I know she won’t go to her home if the nurse or the doctor will find her. My guess is a gym that I ordered them away from it. Hoppy and Kickin are enjoying there since they are fighters. You can go there when Kenna opened it. Ahead on. I will talk a doctor about how Kenna doing while one and half weeks since Kenna waked up. I am sure she will be training herself at a gym with Hoppy and Kickin. Have fun!” Poppy calling to a doctor.

Dogday and others leaving Poppy’s headquarter, “What is hell Hoppy and Kickin think? They helped Kenna to away from a hospital. That normal they are trouble guys, now Kenna join them as well.” Dogday sighs and rubs his head. “ Let’s go, guys. To a gym.” They are on way to a gym.

Kenna looks at speakers, “I wonder how long that nurse or doctor are not go check on me. Whatever! Mmmm?” She looks down at hospital clothes and on way to locker room for change clothes. She looks her locker until found it and opens it. She is done changed, she wears sport bra and sport short with a Phoenix as fire. She look at mirror herself then her own scar right shoulder to left hip. ‘Black Night…” she leaves and found Hoppy and Kickin are challenge on boxing ring. “Hey, want me a referee for you? You are enjoying challenging all times.”

The duo turn their attention to Kenna, Hoppy punch Kickin’s face before responding, “Yup we did often. I love to kill the cults’ ass! I hate to wait for next mission, it is so bored when I am doing nothing.”

Kickin get up after got punch, “I am going to kick your ass Hoppy! Huh? When you has that scar?” He stares at Kenna’s body where scar. Hoppy noticed it too.

Kenna look down and touch it, “Four years ago, that why I was fell in coma after I was attack by… my own teammate. But he don’t mean it. My heal power is slowly on this wounded because of his power.”

The duo are shock and shout ‘WHAT!?’ Hoppy run to inside ring and close Kenna who walk back off in surprise, “Why he does that? Is he your friend and teammate, right?”

Kenna smiling and pat Hoppy’s head, “Yes. It is accident. But that was the cults’ fault for make he do it to attack me, not just me including other teammates. I won’t forgiving that cults what they have done to people and my teammates.” Kenna and the duo hear opening a door. “Oh Shit! Did a nurse or a doctor found out where I am!?” The duo is panic as well. They gets to run aways but they see Dogday and others.

The duo sighs, Kickin run to inside ring and shouts, “Man! You give us a heart attack! We thought it was a nurse or a doctor! We are almost getting catch and trouble! Geez!”

Hoppy laughs, “Sorry! Kenna is more fun than we expected. Right, Kenna?” She notices Kenna is not responding, look at her and found Kenna is shocking and fearful. Dogday and others noticed until Kenna whispered, ‘Light Lunar?’

I have free times this weekend nights except day for watching my nieces. Mmm i am still working on drawing, often my apple pen gets die and get charging… pain in my ass.

Space Riders belong to @onyxonline

Kenna and The Myths belong to me

[ana-lora-rein]

𝘌𝘺𝘬𝘵𝘢𝘯 𝘛𝘴𝘢𝘩𝘦𝘺𝘭𝘶 ܟ 𝘖𝘊 𝘈'𝘮𝘰𝘬 ܟ 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 9 A fierce, guttural growl echoed around him, making him shudder in surprise. Na'vi emerged from the dark, deep forest on the back of a huge tanator. Nevada was covered in goosebumps. Kentucky, goggling, hid in terror behind the broad leaves, unable to believe his eyes. Sitting in a leather saddle, the warrior held the ferocious predator with two ropes woven to resemble a harness. His long scythe was connected by neurotubes to the predator. The Thanator, a bloodthirsty beast beyond anyone's control, was astonishingly obedient. It proudly raised its narrow mouth and growled menacingly at the visitor standing in the center, displaying an impressive array of sharp, healthy fangs. Then, with feline grace, it dropped to the ground with two pairs of massive forelegs and allowed the rider to step to the ground.

— Why don't we get out of here, huh? — Kentucky panicked. Sweating profusely, he began frantically gulping oxygen under his mask, as if he couldn't get enough air.

— We can't get away if we're spotted… If that thing smells us… Quiet!

The Tanator's rider was a young, slender fellow with black battle paint on his face, wearing bone armor and a leather belt, with two long daggers of some animal's sharp teeth protruding from the sheath. He squatted silently by the babbling stream, washing the blood from his long fingers, and then turned his attention to his guest.

— Tarsem… — said the Thanator's rider in Na'vi, as he approached the guest and, as a greeting, bent the fingers of his left hand and placed them on his forehead, bowing slightly. — Why have you come to us, warrior?

— Oel ngati kame, — the man who called himself Tarsem answered politely. — A'mok, brother, I think you know why I've come, for word travels faster than a banshee.

At this point Nevada mentally thanked Michigan for the leader forcing the troop to learn the language of the natives. Now he could understand them fluently and learn all sorts of information that might come in handy somewhere. Kentucky, on the other hand, had not fully mastered the material, so when he heard the unfamiliar speech, he became even more wary and was about to crawl away, but his comrade grabbed him by his suspenders, preventing him from leaving. Nevada wasn't sure they could escape unarmed, especially after seeing the tame Thanator.

The Na'vi named A'mok smiled briefly at his guest's words and approached his tanator. Placing a hand on his narrow black snout, he encouraged the raptor to lie down obediently on the ground like a pet kitten.

— You're not my brother… — he said indulgently, stroking the animal's nose. — You know, rumors can deceive our imagination, but your words will allow us to understand exactly what you're up to.

Tarsem pursed his lips and slowly raised his head in a haughty pose. It was noticeable how tense the guest was. This conversation clearly did not begin on an easy note for him, but still he tried to look confident.

— The rumors do not lie: I have come to propose a clan alliance. The sky demons have returned. Their iron birds have grown larger and their iron armor stronger. They kill our Mother and build an iron village that grows larger by the day. It is harder to resist them now.

A'mok didn't answer. A smile of irony appeared on his lips for a few seconds, and his hands continued to slide down the tanator's face, toward the scruff of his neck.

— The Clan Alliance… — he said after a few moments of tense silence. — Tell me, Tarsem, do we look like we need an alliance?

— Our clans need it. We must join forces against a common enemy and fight back! My scouts report sad tidings… Several clans from the south have lost their homes, and another has been completely destroyed. Demons are building a road there, and the iron beasts have rushed down that road. The sound of their wheels can be heard for miles. A'mok, they're digging up our land, they're collecting iron!

— Omaticaya is not the only one with scouts, Olo'eiktan. My warriors have long been watching the celestial creatures. I know all this, but I see no advantage in allying with you.

Kentucky, hearing the familiar words, became visibly animated, sticking his nose out between the leaves, glancing at the two blue natives.

— That's Chief Omaticaya, — he said. — So that's why he wasn't there the day we fucked his clan.

Nevada hummed softly.

— Looks like the bastard's trying to get all the monkeys together. Hopes they can beat us… Ha…

— That coward Jake Sully gave the clan to the wrong fool, — Kentucky whispered with a sneer.

— Yeah, that one, apparently. If that monkey gets even a few clans together, there'll be another round of sabotage on every front. Do we need it? No. We still have to get our hands on those guns and kill those two.

— That's not a good idea, I told you… We can't risk it. The second we move, that big beast over there is gonna tear us apart.

Tarsem's menacing hiss distracted the two fugitives from their chatter. They concentrated on the natives again.

— You dare to seek advantage for yourself! — The proud Olo'eektan of the forest clan shouted, his voice echoing overhead.

A'mok's fangs clenched, and even his grounded walking tanator raised his head, warningly grinning at the intruder for raising his voice to his rider.

— We must fight back against these demons who are destroying our home! — Tarsem continued to stand his ground. — Killing our Mother! Destroying her laws!

The rider of the thanator confidently approached the impertinent guest face to face, and asked:

— Do I need to remind you of my clan's history? The history of my father? Need I remind you of what the Anurai have suffered while the Omaticaya kissed the hand of the enemy and allowed him to educate their children? You yourselves are to blame for the troubles that have fallen upon your heads.

— Na'vi have all heard the story… — Tarsem's gaze narrowed and his face lost its former boldness. — Rai'uk was a legendary warrior. He fought for his people until his last breath.

— He was avenging his lost clan, — A'Mok explained, clenching his fists, but his face was calm and centered. — Revenge.

[bluebudgie]

budgie can you tell us more about glenn and naoise?

Waaah! I mean yea sure! c:

Their whole story is still kinda messy and full of plot holes since I'm gathering background inspiration and information as I slowly go through GW1, so please bear with me;;

But the outline is basically that Glenn is a charr raised in a human noble family (possibly of Ascalonian descent / possibly related to GW1 shenanigans) around Beetletun (undecided). They took in the charr cub as a sort of "poster child" to prove to remaining doubters and separatists that these "beasts" are just normal people "if raised with proper values". Don't think I have to point out that this setup is kinda... mh.

Anyway Glenn's a pretty meek and quiet person. Definitely lacks some backbone. Grew up carrying that heavy burden of somehow having to fulfill all these social expectations that were set by his family. Always left feeling inferior to his sibling(s?), whom he loved very dearly nonetheless. He's more the scholarly type. Prays to the human gods. And he's an excellent rider! Roadrunner raptors run (no pun intended) in the family. He's got a grey one! Name pending.

-

Naoise is the dictionary definition of a way too lawful, way too loyal knight. Originally I wrote him as a Seraph but I also really want to appoint him as a personal knight to the aforementioned noble family and I'm not sure if that works in the lore considering Seraphs are the city police more than anything else. But I really want to keep the Seraph thing. I'll find a way to combine both somehow. Anyway he's the "duty over everything" guy. Awfully pious. Easily flustered. Also gay. Which doesn't pair well with being easily flustered. And also a good rider. What's a knight without a trusty steed, right?

He and Glenn have known each other for quite a few years now. I don't really know about all the details yet, just that Naoise is his loyal protector and completely devoted to Glenn ('s family). On a purely professional level of course. Or.............? :)

-

Thank you for asking!! This was unexpected ;w;

[huntunderironskies]

Rating the GW2 Mounts in the most Unhelpful Way Possible

I can now say I have thought about the most useless worldbuilding exercise for GW2: how mounts would theoretically feel to ride. This is, as I'm sure you can tell, the most important thing to consider in a video game. What's a mechanic? Never heard of her.

So a quick prelude: if you've never rode horses before: you cannot actually sit still in the saddle or you will, probably literally, break your crotch and/or fall off if the horse is doing anything faster than a trot. Because the horse is, well, moving and its muscles and legs are going to shift you around on its back. In order to not die or be seriously injured, you have to use the stirrups (unless you're going bareback in which case…yeah, I'm not sure what you'd do because I've never tried, I assume you would have to grip pretty tightly with your legs around the horse's side so you can still keep with the horse's body motions) to lift yourself up and then back down with the horse's gait. There's a rhythm to it and you kind of get used to it over time. Now, as we all know, horses don't exist, but the techniques should be roughly comparable, so now I have given unnecessarily in-depth consideration to what the different mounts would be like to ride.

Raptor

I'd imagine this would be pretty rough-- having its center of gravity towards its back end and therefore jerking forward a lot would make it a bumpy ride even if your balance and technique is really good because you'd have the additional complication of needing to lean forward while keeping your rhythm. Also the raptor bobs forward a lot when they're moving, which again makes it hard to keep your balance. 5/10, but that long jump looks like it'd be really fun until you get the mastery where it gets to be an absurdly long jump.

Springer

God, this looks like they'd be a nightmare to ride. All of the bouncing around means it'd be hitting the ground hard which is probably fine for the springer since they're built like kangaroos but not for you. This would be particularly bad in its high jump since you'd need to stay high in the saddle for the duration of it before the springer hits the ground. Even with the backpiece on the saddle giving you more of a seat to settle in, it seems like there's a serious risk of sliding off. 3/10.

Jackal

Among the most comfortable looking other than the turtle which doesn't have a saddle so much as a mobile command center. That said, briefly heading through the Realm of Torment while porting would probably be a little scary. 8/10. Probably no different than riding a horse, honestly, if the horse went to hell whenever it needed to travel somewhere it couldn't otherwise reach.

Skimmer

So the skimmer seems to be more or less frictionless other than air resistance, which would probably make it very comfortable to ride. It's just hovering all the time meaning there's little adjustment to deal with. The saddle being set that far back looks like it'd be a little odd to get used to but at least skimmers don't really do sudden stops so much as sliding to a stop so overbalancing wouldn't be too much of a problem. I'm not sure how going that fast underwater would feel because they have not invented underwater jetpacks yet, but I imagine that much water pressure whooshing past you would mean you'd have to work a lot harder to not fall backwards off the saddle especially since they are fast underwater. The aileron roll that it does during its engage animation seems like your primary trick riding stunt and would take a lot of practice to do right but that wouldn't be something a beginning rider would deal with so I'm not counting that. 9/10 on land, 3/10 underwater….probably? Who knows.

Griffon

General speculation I've read is that winged creatures would be particularly difficult to ride because you're right behind their wings most of the time which would mean more motion right in front of you, making balancing harder. Also, if you fall you die. Griffons do flap their wings but spend most of their time gliding which would make this a little less bad. Diving, on the other hand, would be absolutely terrifying especially having to pull up from one because the shift in direction would make you lurch around no matter how good your technique is. However, I love their weird chimerical non-traditional griffon-ness, and they make cute trilling and cooing noises. 7/10, solely docking points for the fact that I would probably die riding one. Worth it. I want to pet one. That's not what I'm supposed to be grading on but I'm making an exception here.

Warclaw

Same thing as the jackal but bulkier and slower. The difference between riding a hotblood and a coldblood. Probably not fun for short people, I know I never was very fond of riding draft horses given that back when I was riding I was able to ride fairly large ponies with how underweight I was. Condolences to all the Asura who do WvW. 8/10 if you are of reasonable height, 5/10 if not.

Roller Beetle

A mixed bag. On one hand this would clearly be quite smooth since the saddle is levitating and therefore it'd be another frictionless ride. On the other hand the current estimation for top beetle speed is around 137 mph. That is a lot. I'm also not sure how you'd give guidance to the beetle without reins, my current guess is you'd lean into the saddle like you do a motorbike and somehow the little parts that make the saddle float cause the roller beetle to feel a shift in sensation on its carapace so it knows to turn in a direction. That's sort of what it looks like in the animations. I really hope there is some kind of gravitational field on that saddle or if you hit any kind of obstacle you are going to launch yourself out of the saddle and die, so given that doesn't happen I assume there has to be. 6/10, about as dangerous as the griffon but not as much fun to pet (that said, they are still extremely cute.)

Skyscale

Man, I need to log on to check again but from what I remember that hover animation looks like it'd be uncomfortable for the rider with the way the skyscale's back is curved. I don’t have a skyscale, don’t look at me, the quest is a pain in the ass. Anyways, same issue as the griffon with more flapping. The speed boost being another aileron roll would realistically be a bad idea in the air but you make it work between g-forces and probably at that point having an insane amount of riding practice by the point you get one.

In summary: 2/10. All of you who let your commander sit on their Skyscale in midair while camping events are monsters. I have sympathy pains in my calves whenever I see that.

Siege Turtle

I don't have much to say. The luxury touring bike of mounts. Comfortable seats and you can shoot things (note: you cannot shoot things on a motorcycle without a great deal of effort and probably breaking the law depending on where you live), though the jump jets and stomps might cause some jarring. I feel like being that close to cannons might necessitate earplugs but otherwise 10/10. Somewhat confused about the fact that when it sinks to the water you don't start floating out, so I guess there's invisible seatbelts, but that still makes it more comfortable than a skimmer underwater.

tl;dr

The commander probably has calves of steel from riding around all the time though I guess some saddles could have like, magical stabilizers that help, I know a few saddles use stabilizers as an ingredient when you're doing the collections to get them, also this is what I think about at two in the morning.

[pandoriasmostwanted]

🐾⚔️ for all of them :)

🐾 [PAW PRINTS] -> Does your Original Character own any pets? If so, how many and what kind?

Ylva - Basically owns a private zoo at this point, she has so many animals. Dogs, cats, rabbits, birds you name it, she probably has it.

Phoenix - Also owns a lot of animals, but she trains animals for tv and movies

Branwen - has a small flock of ravens, and a cat. The ravens are named after the Addams Family and the cat is named Salem

Calamity - she has a seagull named Fripp :)

Lorelei - doesn't have any pets in the traditional sense, but she does take care of the animals that live in her lake

Blake - co-owns Phoenix's animals because they're together <3

Persephone - she has an African bush viper that is basically a glorified house plant

Aida - she has a black and white cat named Oreo

Drew - doesn't have the time for any pets, but if he did it'd be something low maintenance like a ball python

Morgan - her dad is a wildlife rehabber, so they're not pets, but she does spend a lot of time around animals

Hayden - she has a Rottweiler mix puppy named Libby

Max - no pets currently, but I could see him getting a rabbit or guinea pig.

⚔️ [CROSSED SWORDS] -> What is your Original Character's relationship to Dark Core, their Riders, and Garnok in general?

Ylva - Even though they're supposed to be enemies, Ylva kind of pities the Dark Riders. She can't help it, it's just who she is. In another lifetime she feels they could be friends. Thinks Darko is a pathetic wet cat and Mr Sands is a loser, though.

Phoenix - Tries to ignore them mostly, she's tired of the emotional whiplash they give her between flirting and attempted murder.

Branwen - No real feelings either way about them, though she did turn down their offer to recruit her. She did once have a violin battle with Katja though.

Calamity - Was briefly part of Dark Core, but they kicked her out because she was too annoying. She still shows up every now and again because they refuse to update their security. She also broke their portal by accident.

Lorelei - Doesn't like Dark Core, she despises what they're doing to the environment, and is personally responsible for that scar on Sabine's face

Blake - Basically ignores Dark Core.

Persephone - Had a Raptor-esque experience with Dark Core briefly before she broke off their contract and has ignored them since

Aida - Detests Dark Core, the Dark Riders and everything they stand for.

Drew - Blissfully unaware

Morgan - In the same camp as Lorelei, hates how badly they're screwing up the ecosystem with their bullshit

Hayden - Kinda stays out it, she knows they're bad, and she helps the druids and keepers of aideen how she can but she's not a fighter

Max - Blissfully unaware of everything

[grimmwolf]

TICO TACO YA YA YA - TICO TACO YA YA YA

Now that I’ve got your attention…Ahem…let me introduce…

Pause, for dramatic effect…

My next post lmao

Yo! I’m sick af. I’ve been sick af for a while now, and I haven’t been getting many quality shifts lately. Sad. Sad boi. Sad boi time. Sad boi hours. BUT, I did just get the most amazing and vivid shift I’ve had in a while. I think I unlocked another memory. It was of my past life as a Raptor. It started out as wolf shift, as it had done so many a time before. They usually start out as wolf shifts cuz this table I stand on with just my arms makes it appear and feel as though I’m standing like a wolf. So I was doing the usually wolf stuff. Watching, sniffing, growling, ya know. And then, I saw it…

The back of my rider’s head. Dark, curly-ish hair. Color like dark chocolate. He wore a silver headband this day. The skin on the back of his neck, tanned from the sun. Dark, and clear, like cocoa. His robes were orange, lined with golden strips. His sandals brown and woven, slightly weathered from the desert sand. His thin but strong calves exposed. He speaks…

But I don’t know what he said, can’t remember. All I saw was his head moving left and right, his mouth opening and closing, and his arm waving side to side. And all I was doing was watching. I stood behind him, tall. Taller than him, taller than most others around us. Other Raptors, other animals and creatures. Dinosaurs. I must’ve been in my Raptor form…

I was very wary, very alert, cautious, quiet, careful. I saw, and heard, and smelled things, things that were foreign to my Raptor self. I had grown up in the jungle, so these things usually found in cities were unknown to me until this day. The day they brought me in from the jungle. When they found me, I was lone. My family no where to be seen, presumably had passed on. And I had lived on my own, until they found me…

I was a bit frantic. All these new things startled me. The “Fresh Meat”. I didn’t know anything, other than this man that was in front of me, took me in, and cared for me. So I stuck close to him. Clinging to his form like a lost toddler. He was my savior, my protector. My everything I know. My everything, now. I had no one else besides him in this moment of my life right now…

I nuzzled my shoulders and neck close to him, peeking my head out passed his shoulders to see everything around us. My backside felt vulnerable though, so oftentimes I would shift my weight and turn around as to protect my other end, as I knew there were others like me here. Others, who were male. And ready for a mate. They’ve been ready to take a mate for a while now, having been no other females here before. So I, was their center of focus now…

I got lazy and didn’t feel like adding more. I’m sick, don’t blame it on me 😂 BUT, if I feel like it, I may add more to this later, or just make a whole other post relating to this. Idfk, I’m sick, I don’t gotta know these things rn

See ya, wouldn’t wanna be ya!~

[ashes-writing-corner]

In the Heart of Winter

Chapter 2

The Lorcains only had to wait a matter of minutes before another royal house arrived holding banners of a white eagle holding a rose in one claw and a trout in the other on a blue field. House Nevrakis were the rulers of Thilux, the summer kingdom. Strong allies to the Lorcains, the Nevrakis were like a second family to the Lorcain children, and it served the other way with the Nevrakis children.

Siobhan held them in high regard, as they had never been anything but kind to her and her family. She was closer to Iris Nevrakis, the oldest of the summer brood, than she was to Aislinn. Countless letters had been sent between the pair, usually via one of the Nevrakis raptors.

Siobhan put an arm around Seoras' shoulders. "It's House Nevrakis. I think you'll like them" she told him.

"Think so?" Seoras looked up at her.

His older sister smiled. "I'm sure of it. Demetrius and papa were best friends. They grew up together. He may as well be our uncle".

"Think they'll like me? Like Ronan?"

"I believe so. They're really easy going".

Overhead flew the pride of House Nevrakis: Their trained raptors, birds of prey that had helped turned the tide in the War of Man and Magic. They were a signature in Iorera, and House Nevrakis adored these feathered, fierce creatures. Among them was a golden eagle named Nike, who was trained by Demetrius Nevrakis, king of Thilux and Lord of Summer. Close to her was a kestrel named Ioanna. If memory served Siobhan right, she was trained by Maia Nevrakis, Demetrius' wife and the lady of Summer. Behind them was a bird the autumn princess knew well: A barn owl named Vassilios, who was trained by Iris Nevrakis. He had delivered their messages back and forth for a while now, but Siobhan hadn't heard from Iris in a few months. He was followed by a female osprey named Klymene, a male sparrowhawk named Alekos, and a male peregrine falcon named Lambros. Siobhan wasn't too certain on the trainer of these birds. The other kids of House Nevrakis sure but she wasn't sure of specifics. She watched as the birds landed in the trees close by, watching their family roll in.

The Nevrakis were an eccectric lot, laid back and fun loving. It was said they were descended from the ancient merfolk rather than the earliest elves that served the Fae millenias ago. They loved the sea and the wind alike, and it was even said that summer elves even grew scales on their bodies as they aged. Siobhan had even read about a rare bunch actually being born with finned tails and webbing between fingers and toes.

They rolled up in beautiful carriages made from what appeared to be giant pearls. The windows and doors were lined in gold shaped to look like ocean waves. The driver and footman were dressed in the sky blue on the house's banners. The horses that pulled the carriages were silver furred, and their harnesses were made from gold and decorated with large sapphires. The Nevrakis were the wealthiest family in Iorera, and they weren't afraid to show it.

The carriage stopped and the footman stepped to the door to open it, but let out a rather comical yell of surprise when one of the riders opened it first, nearly knocking the poor man to the ground. Out of the carriage first was a short, pudgy man with a bald round head. His eyebrows were black and bushy, his dark green eyes bright with happiness. His beard was thick but nice and cleanly kept. His face was freckled and with a slightly hooked nose. His thin lips were curled into a delighted and joyous smile. This was Demetrius Nevrakis, the wealthiest man in Iorera.

"He's gotten rounder" Aislinn noted aloud.

Siobhan glanced at her from Seoras' side. "Hey, Aislinn, can you go five minutes without being a total bi-"

"Siobhan Aithnea Lorcain! Mind your words!" Neassa glared at her sharply.

"She's the one calling the lord of summer fat!"

"It was simply an observation Siobhan. Contain the calamity of your mammaries".

"Yeah a bitchy one" Ronan replied not looking at the eldest Lorcain.

Aislinn gasped as if Ronan had offended her. "Seoras, I swear if you don't muzzle that thing-"

"Not a thing!" Seoras told her through gritted teeth, his tone icy.

"Guys!" Seoc rolled his eyes, "It's like I'm getting babysitting except I'm not getting paid..."

The siblings fell into a heated quiet as Demetrius helped his beloved wife, Maia, out of the carriage. Maia Nevrakis was a beautiful elf, every inch of her radiated nobility. Like her husband, she was short, but carried herself remarkably well. Maia had long chocolate brown hair that cascaded down her back elegantly. Her eyes were a deep emerald, a signature of summer elves. Across her neck was a tattoo of a budding tree branch, the buds lavender across her pale throat. She wore a long silk gown of lilac, which matched the flowery headdress she wore. The headdress was decorated with ebony dyed antlers, giving Maia the appearance of having stag horned crown. Maia happily took a look at the Lorcains, her lovely lips a soft shade of magenta.

"Oh look at you all, it's been so long!" Maia came over to them excitedly and hugged the Lorcians until she got to Seoras, "I haven't seen you since you were a tiny thing. Are hugs okay?" she asked the autumn prince.

Seoras shook his head. "No, sorry".

"Oh no need to apologize dear. I understand perfectly. Not everyone likes hugs and close contact. My younger daughter's the same way. It's why I asked". Maia smiled kindly.

"I like hugs!" Ronan spoke out.

Maia chuckled. "Awww who's this little fellow?"

"Ronan. I made him" Seoras told her.

"Well he's a delightful little construct. It's nice to meet you, Ronan".

"Same to you, gorgeous".

Maia blinked and then laughed a bit. "A little flirt I see".

"And don't ya forget it!"

The summer lady bowed her head and turned to Neassa. Her face went from warm and welcome to somber and sympathetic. She took the queen's hands gently.

"And how are you, your grace?"

"None of that now, sister. I've been well, attempting to keep my family and the continent together as best I can".

"You're doing remarkably. I promise you, Alasdair would be proud of the work you've done".

"I certainly hope so, Maia".

One by one the four Nevrakis children came out of the carriage in order of their birth, lining in front of the Lorcains. Siobhan smiled, stealing a glance at Iris.

Iris smiled back, bowing her head. The eldest of the four, Iris was tall and slender with a slight build. her clothing was lolita styled, complete with an interesting mix of black, light blushing pink, and lilac purple. The lighter colors clashed with the deep black of her wild hair, which was highlighted with ash brown streaks and kept in high pigtails. Her bangs were straight and a tad choppy. In front of each pigtail was a small bow of light blue with soft lavender stripes. Iris had her mother's emerald eyes, though they were encompassed and contained by thick rimmed circular black glasses. On her left shoulder was a tiny frilled lizard named Xene. His black and silver scales shined in the sunlight as his claws dug into the fabric of Iris' shirt. Like Ronan was for Seoras, Xene was Iris' crowning achievement. The result of many years of studying reptilian genetics. It showed the summer princess' remarkable intelligence despite her eccentric appearance and demeanor.

Iris bowed to Neassa. "Your grace" she smiled warmly.

Neassa nodded. "Princess Iris, an interesting color combination and style. I take it you made this?"

"I did, thank you".

"You look wonderful. I take it then that your business is going well?"

"Oh very much so, your grace. In fact if you andd his grace Daimon would permit me, I would like to design and put together everyone's wedding attire" Iris proposed.

Behind her veil, Neassa smiled kindly. "We in House Lorcain would be honored if you did so".

Iris smiled to herself as the queen moved to her younger brother, Leonidas. Known to his family as Leo, Lenoidas Nevrakis was his mother's son through and through. He had her eyes and chocolate brown hair. He also wore an antlered headdress, though his were silver coated, shining in the sunlight. On either side of his neck, he had red roses tattooed. His beard was getting a bit long, his eyebrows bushy like his father's. On his right cheek, most notably, were a pair of slash scars he received from a fight with the youngest member of House Seiya, the spring rulers in Xisha. As for his clothing, he wore dull earth tones of mostly green and brown. Like Seoc, Leo was an archer of the finest calibur. He bowed before the queen of Autumn.

"Your highness" he greeted her with a respectful tone, "May the day bring great fortune to you and yours".

Neassa nodded in kind. "Same with you, Leonidas. Formal as always".

"Respectful your grace, and you're worthy of every ounce of it" Leonidas replied.

The queen moved on to the next sibling, another girl named Reah. Like Neassa, Maia had her children in a similar order: Daughter, son, daughter, and another son. Soft spoken and mousey, Reah Nevrakis reminded the queen of her own son, Seoras. She had long, light brown hair that trailed down to her waist. Two braids were made at the fronts of her shoulders. Her bright green eyes were polished peridots. Her thin lips were painted a soft pink-gray color, and on her head she wore a bronze and red jeweled circlet that was decorated with dyed red ram horns on either side of her head. Around her neck was a pink and green jeweled spider web like necklace. As for her attire, she wore a simple but lovely red colored toga style gown.

Neassa looked at the girl intrigued. "You wear my colors, princess".

"The colors of my house, majesty".

"If the day goes well".

The two bowed respectfully before Neassa moved on to the next aqnd last sibling. The boyishly charming Prince Zoilos.

Zoilos bowed. "Your majesty"

Neassa nodded as she looked him over. "Prince Zoilos. I see you've grown well".

If one didn't know any better, they'd think Zoilos and Reah were twins. Their eyes were similar, as was their hair color. The prince's was more wild and rebellious. His face was boyish and kind. He was younger than Reah, but he was taller than her. He also wore red and gold, perhaps also wanting to join House Lorcain. Zoilos was a trained speaqrmaster, even impressing House Seiya with his skills.

"You too wear my family's colors" the veiled queen noted with a slight smile.

"A show of respect, your highness, and support. I...I hope the day is good" he seemed shy but sweet.

Siobhan smiled a bit at that, thinking he would make a great partner for anyone.

"So...anyone heard anything from the other two?" Demetrius asked.

"No one's heard from House Eronen in months. No news out of Zaigary either" Neassa answered with a slightly concerned tone.

Reah fidgeted with her necklace, mumbling something Siobhan couldn't quite pick up. Something about "ice on fire, blood on the snow" or other. The autumn princess was suspicious.

"I'm sure they're fine" Maia said, "Kalervo and Marianna have always been the private sort. I'd swear it's a winter elf thing".

It wasn't a dishonest statement. House Eronen ruled the winter kingdom of Zaigary for the last four thousand years, since the rebellion against the fae. It was, in fact, originally decided that House Eronen would rule Iorera first. However, Alrik Eronen, their ancestor, believed that Iorera wasn't ready for a one thousand year winter. With that decided, it was only natural that a much more pleasant Reign would take control first.

Well...supposedly pleasant.

Siobhan turned her head as another entourage started to roll in. House Seiya were the rulers of the Spring Court in Xisha. A tightly knit family, House Seiya bore banners in the colors of purple, red, and green. It featured a red poppy on a green field with purple sideways raindrops between the poppy's petals.

Siobhan squinted in disgust. Last she had seen the Seiya banners, it was a red rose, not a poppy. The rulers of House Nevrakis looked utterly offended. Maia let out a soft quiet gasp, and Demetrius, a normally calm and collected elf, looked ready to kill. Neassa took Maia's hand and looked at Demetrius.

"Le'ts not make a scene, please" she pleaded.

The spring entourage stopped, one of the carriages a a well polished cherrywood color with red frames. The second one appeared to be an older one, a little more run down and faded. If one didn't know any better they'd think the older looking carriage was for servants.

But they all knew that wasn't the case. House Seiya's inner familial politics were interesting to say the least...

The two carriages stopped behind the Nevrakis and the nobles started making their way out. Daimon Seiya was the lord of spring and King of Xisha. Although short in stature, Daimon held himself high, and commanded a great deal of respect. Everything about him was tight and in control. He wore his family's colors of purple and green with pride on his ceremonial kimono, a red silk poppy pin on his shoulder, a further jab at House Nevrakis. His long black and gray hair was pulled into a high ponytail. His exceptional beard was braided down the middle, giving it the appearance of silver and black stripes. His face was hard and cold, reminiscent of flint. His one amethyst eye seemed to peer through anyone who dared to cross his path. His left eye had been taken out years ago, but not in some great battle like his people believed. Word had it that instead it was taken out by a scorned concubine's curse.

Daimon only looked briefly at the already large gathering of royals and nobles. He paid them little heed, as no matter what family or blood one was from, Daimon believed his superior. Yes, he even believed House Lorcain to be beneath him, viewing their honorable disposition as more a burden than a strength. Neassa was just a sad, pathetic widow with power in his eyes. Alasdair had been a fool. He knew too little about their children to form a solid opinion of them, but if they were anything like their honorable, foolish parents, well...the king of Spring was predisposed to dislike them. However, Daimon was smart enough to hold his tongue around the queen and her children, especially after the king's sacrifice for them all. Daimon knew it wasn't his place to speak on such matters, unless of course he was asked away from them.

The Nevrakis were a whole other matter altogether to him. Their families had disliked one another for years. Daimon believed them all to be little more than bumbling fools who wasted their lives on the most meaningless of things. He believed them to be wasteful, as they seemed to have a damn feast every other week since the War of Man and Magic ended. A part of him had hoped that after the Sinking of Nuxvar, Demetrius would finally take things seriously.

His hopes had apparently been too high.

Daimon shook his head in a disappointed manner as he held his hand out for his lady wife, Mika. A long nailed, delicate looking hand took his in kind as he gently guided the lady out.

The poison queen, as some called her, was a gorgeous elf. She was taller than her husband, her back ramrod straight. There awas an air of confidence and pride about this woman. One would find it hard not to look directly at her whenever she appeared, as her presence alone was so potent. No matter where she was, Queen Mika Seiya was always the center of attention. Her hair was long and silky, raven in color with silver streaks. Her eyes were beautiful violets on a pale field. Her own ceremonial kimono was also in the colors of her house, the obi decorated with red poppies. Her headdress was also decorated with the much hated flowers.

Mika turned to the other gathered houses, her lips painted a deep shade of green, a call back to her house of origin, as well as an embrace of her title as Queen of Poisons. She grinned like a cat who had just caught elusive but defenseless prey.

"Well...look who all's here. And yet, our future king or queen are nowheree to be found. What a shame".

"House Eronen will come" Neassa told her, not at all afraid of her, "If they don't we have to begin the ceremony without them".

"They're our future-"

"Their blood is still in the cauldron, your grace" Neassa cut her off.

The mood that settled over them was tense, even as the Seiya children began to emerge. Neassa addressed her children and the Nevrakis.

"Go inside. Your destinies await us all...and may fortune smile on all who are here. And all of Iorera".

Please like, reblog and comment :D

And consider becoming a patron on my Patreon if you wanna see Lore surrounding this story!

[hasquetzorkukudoneanythingwrong]

Pesadilla Navidad (part 5)

(Part 1) (part 2) (part 3) (part 4)

Rex, Nota, and Quetz found themselves in the singularity that had popped up. "This is kinda nightmarish!" Nota stated upon their arrival.

Suddenly Da Vinci got into contact with the three. "Hey you three! I see the rayshift went well! But it seems we have to rayshift one more thing to the cousins!"

Rex and Nota were a bit confused at that. "What are you going to rayshift to us?" Rex asked.

Suddenly out of nowhere in a flash of light, a whole Sleigh with what looked to be Raptors attached came in in front of them! "It's your Santa Sleigh!" Coyolxauhqui said out of nowhere on the communicator.

"You got a Santa Sleigh pulled by Tzitzimitl???" Quetz asked in shock.

"Now's not the time!" Nota exclaimed back. "We've got Santas to Save" as she entered the Sleigh.

The trio were no airborne with a decent view of the landscape around them. "Da Vinci! Can you tell where the other Santas are?!" Quetz asked on the communicator.

"I can see Artoria Alter's saint graph over by what looks to be a river?" Da Vinci answered.

"Any river in a place like this can't be good!" Nota said as she directed the Sleigh towards the location.

By the aforementioned river, Artoria Alter, who seems to be missing Excalibur Morgan, is seen avoiding the attacks of a mysterious faceless being with what seems to be a very large Staff. The staff wielding would sometimes stab their weapon into a small portal, and a corresponding giant blade would come out of a larger portal near Artoria Alter.

The crew land on the other side of the river. "Alter! We're here!" Nota shouts towards the currently in peril Rider.

"Finally!" The annoyed Rider yelled out. "I've been avoiding this daft cunt's stupid attacks for too bloody long!"

The being turns towards the group and starts to attack them too. Launching powerful Magical attacks in an attempt to kill the group.

"Okay, time to test our new Santa powers!" Nota yelled out.

"Wait what?!" Alter questioned.

"Don't worry about it!" Rex said. Suddenly in his hands, he managed to summon a Jade green staff in the shape of a tuning fork. "Oh shit!"

"Isn't that Chalchiuhtlicue's?!" Quetz questioned.

"Maybe!" Rex says, he waves the staff towards the enemy, and a torrent of water rises from below them.

"Okay my turn!" Nota yells out. Leaping into the air, she pulls out a huge Macuahuitl, imbued with lightning. "Oh holy shit!" Immediately she slams it against the enemy and combined with the water already there, zaps them to hell!

"That was Tlaloc's weapon!" Quetz pointed out.

Nota's zap seemed to do the job thankfully. The enemy is destroyed, only to reveal Alter's weapon: Excalibur Morgan.

"Finally!" She takes her sword back. "Been annoying not being able to use this. Not that I'm dependent on it, but she was so overwhelming it was hard to do much more then avoid her attacks."

Da Vinci contacted the group again. "Oh good! You got Alter! We've got Santa Lily's location! If you could hurry it over, and save her too!"

"Not a moment's rest, huh?" Nota comments.

"To the sleigh!" Rex exclaims. The group, now one member bigger, run to the cousins' sleigh.

"Are those bloody dinosaurs attached to the sleigh?!" Alter asks when she sees the Tzitzimitl.

"Don't worry too much about it." Nota tell the original Santa servant.

The Sleigh rises into the air, flying towards the next location. "Santa Lily seems to be stuck in a deep crevice past the large mountains east of your location!" Da Vinci tells the group.

"She's likely also under unarmed and under attack." Alter tell the group.

"Do you know who's the cause of this singularity?" Quetz asked Alter.

"Oh I've seen them! And they seem to be a big fan of yours!" She tells Quetz.

"Wait wha-" Quetz was starting to say before being interrupted.

"There she is!" Nota yells out, seeing Santa Lily in the crevice.

The group lands in the crevice, seeing Santa Lily trying to avoid attacks from another faceless being. This one in a large cloak, creating seemingly eldritch minions to attack the smaller Santa.

"Ok this is pretty familiar" Nota commented on the appearance of the enemies.

The small enemies immediately also converge on the group as they entered. Alter and Quetz start to fight off the enemies. "Amor! Nota! We'll hold them off! You fight their boss!" Quetz yelled to the cousins.

"We'll do our best, corazon!" Rex yells back.

The two run towards the faceless enemy. All of a sudden, Nota's hands grow huge obsidian blade claws. Meanwhile, Rex's mouth started to leak a dark black void like energy. Both were confused, but tried to adapt to these interesting abilities.

Rex blasts the enemy with the void energy, like a dragon blasting flames. Nota meanwhile, slashes at them with her newfound claws. She manages to pierce right through their chest, killing them. The enemy falls apart, to reveal Santa Lily's spear.

Meanwhile, with the others the enemies they were fighting off also fall apart. "Yay! Reindeer saved us!" Santa Lily cheered.

"Not reindeer anymore." Alter told her. "Their true Santas now."

She gasps at this revelation. "Wow! Masters are Santas too!"

Da Vinci comes on the communicator once again. "Sorry to interrupt, but there's still two more Santas to save!" She explains, urgently. "Altera is in the forest towards the south end of the singularity!" She tells them.

The group runs back to the Sleigh, Lily also surprised by the dinosaurs attached to it. "Are those the new reindeer?! I think I proffered when you two were the reindeer." She tells the cousins.

"Sorry about that! But these guys work really well!" Rex tells her.

They get onto the sleigh and head towards Altera's location. Quetz then took the time to bring back the subject about who's responsible for the singularity. "So you were saying, Alter? Something about whoever is doing this being a fan of mine?!" She asks.

"For some reason, they claim that you alone are the true Santa servant!" Alter explains.

"Yeah!" Lily adds in. "Even when any of us tried to explain it changes every year, she still claimed it's only ever been you!"

"Why would they say that?" Quetz questions. "That doesn't make any sense!"

"I see Altera!" Nota exclaims, pointing down from where they were.

Down in a forest, they see Altera being assaulted by a warrior looking being, wielding what is definitely Altera's own sword against her.

Altera is mostly managing to avoid it's attacks, before getting unlucky and tripping. "Ow!" Falling defenseless.

As the warrior being raises the sword to attack, before it gets blocked by Excalibur Morgan. "You're not getting to her, ya daft bastard!" Alter yells out.

Alter is able to hold back the warrior with her sword. "Lily! Now!" Alter yells out.

Suddenly Lily leaps out from behind the warrior, stabbing the warrior with her spear! "Take that!"

The warrior tries to attack Lily, but she turns and runs and calls out "Miss Sun! Your turn!"

Suddenly a huge fireball hits the warrior from behind once again. "Over here, Pendejo!" Quetz yells out.

Then underneath the warrior, the ground shakes and suddenly a huge stone pillar bursts out and launches the warrior into the air. "Ha!" Nota yells out. "Your turn primo!"

Then Rex leaps into the air, with a Caiman tail, slapping the warrior down into the ground with it.

With the warrior on the ground, Altera runs and takes back her weapon. Before stabbing it into the warrior's heart.

"Finally! I didn't think I could keep up anymore." Altera says. "Thank you all for coming to my aid!"

"No problem, Altera!" Rex tells her.

Altera then notices the cousins' outfits. "Oh? Are you two Santa this year?" She asks.

The two were a bit taken aback by how casual she is about it. "Oh! Uh yeah!" Nota said. "We are this Year's Santa."

"Oh that's fun! I wish you the best in completing the job this year!" She tells the pair.

"Thank you, Altera!" Rex says. "That means a lot."

The communicator comes on once again. "We're at the home stretch everyone! I've got Nightingale's location! She's in a desert at the most northern part of the singularity!" Da Vinci explains to the group.

"To the sleigh!" Nota yells out.

The group runs back towards the sleigh. Getting inside and flying towards the sky to get to Nightingale. "Oh what fun Reindeer you two have!" Altera exclaims. "I was wondering who would be your reindeer, since you're normally the reindeer."

As they flew towards the final rescue, Quetz has more questions for the Santas. "Altera! What have you seen of the one responsible for this?! What Alter and Lily have told me so far is confusing!" She questions.

"Oh yes! For some reason she'll only recognize you as Santa!" She mentions.

"But why?! I don't understand!" Quetz responds.

"Hmmm" Altera starts to ponder, staring at Quetz's eyes.

"Uh… Altera?" She questions.

Altera then looked at Rex, lifting his hat off his head for a little bit. "Altera? What are you doing?" He questions.

"She had hair kind of like master Rex's and eyes like yours." Altera tells Quetz.

"Oh really?" Rex asks.

"I see the desert!" Nota calls out.

The group looks down, and witnesses Nightingale in the desert, down on all fours, Clearly weak. "Nightingale!!!" The group yells out.

They land in the desert, and see a haunting figure riding atop a steed of their own. Towering over Nightingale, but not outright attacking her. She's seen coughing, and wheezing. Probably the weakest the group has ever seen a servant.

"She's filled with curses!" Quetz notices.

"But she's still alive! All those curses, I would've figured she'd expire by now." Altera states.

"It might be keeping her alive to curse, but we'll handle it!" Nota says.

As they run towards the haunting rider, the phantom rides towards them aswell, holding a deadly looking spear. Suddenly, most of the team starts coughing and wheezing too. Quetz is mostly resisting, and the cousins seem decent aswell.

"What's going on?!" Nota asks.

"The rider's very presence must be afflicting us with curses!" Quetz says. "I've got good resistance, and you two must have it too!"

"So how do we stop it?!" Rex questions.

"I've noticed you two have the abilities of some other gods, maybe you have healing powers too?!" Quetz asks.

The two have a realization.

"Tlazolteotl!" Rex says.

"Mayahuel!" Nota remarks.

The two are able to heal the group with healing mists coming from their hands. It not only reinvigorates the group, but now has the Rider feeling weak. "It has the opposite effect on them!" Nota exclaims.

"Good!" Alter yells. "Now I can kill it!"

She then prepares her weapon. "EXCALIBUR, MORGAN!!!!!"

The wave of energy destroys the rider, and reveals Nightingale's umbrella gun. She picks it back up, as she starts to feel much better. "Thank you, you all. You have my gratitude." She says to the group. But then she looks at the cousins with a not so happy look. "You two! You are the ones who took the Santa Grail! I told you it'd be too dangerous for humans to be Santa!"

The two were definitely guilty and didn't deny it. "We know! And we're sorry! But we really wanted to be Santa, and were tired of being just the reindeer!" Nota tries to explain.

"It's still not right how we went about it, and what some of our 'helpers' did definitely wasn't what we had in mind but that doesn't excuse what's happened and we're sorry." Rex also adds.

Nightingale sighs before telling them. "Well you two are apologetic enough. And seem to be handling things well, so for now it's fine. Besides, we still have to deal with the singularity.

Suddenly the very earth shakes and a loud yell echoes out throughout the entirety of the singularity.

The communicator comes in one more time. "Everyone! The big boss is here! She seems to be at the very center of this singularity mess!" Da Vinci tells everyone.

"Well that should be easy enough!" Quetz states.

The group gets on the sleigh, heading towards the center. "What an interesting sleigh" Nightingale adds.

"Nightingale! Can you tell me anything you may know about the one causing this?!" Quetz questions.

"I think I actually know why she's doing this." Nightingale tells her. "But I think it's best you see for yourself."

As they reach the center, a shadowy arena is seen. "I think that's our destination!" Rex says.

They land the sleigh right inside the arena, all getting out. Ready to face whoever comes.

Suddenly, as the earth shakes a mountainous figure rises, mostly covered in shadows but with some parts revealed. Blood red skeletal arms, a half-skull face, obsidian black hair that matched Rex's. Jade green eyes like Quetz's, a huge hammer in her hands, and behind her rose out two ginormous wings! She stood more then 10 stories tall, seeming ready to attack the group.

As everyone prepares to attack, and the figure raises her hammer in the air, she seems to take a second look at everyone and seems shocked! "W-wait! Why are you two here?!" She says in a surprisingly normal sounding voice.

Everyone seems surprised to hear her say that. "W-wait! Who do you mean?" Rex asks.

Suddenly the figures shrinks down into a much smaller form. Now looking like a normal human girl in a hoodie, glasses and her same hair and green eyes. "M-mama! Papa!" She says out loud!

Almost everyone is surprised to hear her say that! But Rex and Quetz specifically kinda piece it together. "D-do you mean us?" Quetz asks, while motioning towards both her and Rex.

The girl nods, while walking closer towards them. Tho seeming nervous the whole time. "I was mad at the people trying to steal your role as Santa, mama."

Quetz walks up to the young girl. "Tell me your name, Mija." She says.

"M-Maria" She answers.

"Maria, why do you think I'm the only Santa?" Quetz asks her apparent daughter.

"Well, growing up, it was always you giving us our presents! Every year on Christmas me and Ed would get the nicest presents from you as Santa!" She tells her mother.

"Ed? Is that your brother?" Rex asks.

"Ah! Yes! Eduardo." Mari tells her father.

"Makes sense that's his name." Rex says.

"Oh, well Mija. That maybe the case in the future, but here in Chaldea I only did it one time. Others have come before and after me! They're not stealing the role at all! Even this year, your father and aunt have the role! Would you attack them for doing that?" Quetz explains to her daughter.

Maria was surprised to hear that. "You're Santa too, Papa?" She asks.

"Si! But like your mother says, just this year. Then someone else will be Santa." He explains. "No one's stealing it from anyone."

Maria felt shame, and lowered her head when she heard that. "S-sorry I did this." She told them. "I hadn't known…"

The two parents went and hugged their daughter. "Aw, it's okay dear!" Quetz says.

"This is a big misunderstanding, but everyone males mistakes!" Rex tells her. "This was…. Quite a big one, but so long as you know better now."

"But you should probably at least apologize to the ones you attacked." Quetz tells her.

She walks towards the other Santas. "I don't expect you guys to forgive me. What I did was way too far. But I felt, betrayed, somewhat. In my time some of you are like family, so when I assumed you guys took the role of Santa… it felt like a great betrayal." She tells the group.

"I didn't know it was a role passed to others. And what I did was far more cruel then I should've been doing." She continues. "I'm sorry for what you all went through. I shouldn't have done any of that"

"Well, I understand that feeling of betrayal." Alter tells her. "To think close family would do such a thing, must've hurt."

"And I don't think you were thinking right either." Altera adds. "You seemed far more angry then you are now."

"It's ok, sun daughter!" Lily says. "My sister does a lot of scary things too! It's not that bad for us servants!"

"And I think you can help make up for it, if you did something for us." Nightingale tells her.

"What would that be?!" Maria asks.

The group of Santas motion towards the cousins behind her. She then looks back towards her aunt, and father.

"Can you help me and your father deliver presents for the holiday?" Nota asks.

Maria's eyes lit up! "I'd love to!!!" She yells out!

"Well let's get on the Sleigh together!" Rex tells her.

Maria excitedly runs into the sleigh, with her parents and the rest of the group joining in too.

"Ready?!" Rex asks his daughter, as he gives her his Santa hat.

"READY!!!" She answers back.

"Here we go!!!" Nota says, as she gets the sleigh going!

As they fly through the night, the singularity falls apart, as they fly to deliver presents to everybody on this Christmas night!

A/N: and we're done!!! Hope you all liked the Christmas story! Hopefully the end was satisfying!!!

Tags!

@madillhethen @hikikomuridesuuu @hasbbdoneanythingwrong @hasarjunadoneanythingwrong @hasspartacusdoneanythingwrong @haskamadoneanythingwrong @littleminxthings @syracusemoon

[terramcgarden]

Friends and I have a story about Dinosaur Riders Vs Aliens. Each of our rider character's dino is named after a character from an ancient story. My characters partner is a Raptor and has been for years. But then one day bestie just asks out of the blue:

I personally find this hilarious. Now if the dinosaur really did spit venom and hoots like an owl is irrelevant. My bestfriend saw "VENOMOUS HOOTING OWL DINO!" And thought of me.

And guys....

She commits... now at first it was a simple copy and paste... but as you can see; shes getting a bit creative.

And starting to disolve into madness.... more to come

[i-mybrunettelady]

okay, so. i’m grinding drizz, as one does (seriously i spend a good chunk of my gaming hours there) and it makes me consider a portion of nyra lore i don’t think i’ve talked about much before - her mounts!

mentions of animal injury below!

her only official mounts rn are her raptor trippy and her skyscale maurizia (pronounced mauriTHia thank you very much) and they’re both very much present with her during icebrood saga.

trippy is there with her for the first half of it, up until drizzlewood. she was trapped with him in bjora in darkrime delves alongside almorra’s grave because the snowstorm was so bad she had to wait it out with the grave of her order’s general - order she watched slowly thin out by the way - which is y i k e s. not being with trippy, who is like an oversized dog but with claws and lizard-y. everything else about it is. he then almost died by falling so terribly he injured his spine and she branded him so he’s half-branded now, like her!

maurizia takes over after that, because she sent him home to recover for a bit. i imagine she’s flown on zia’s back for scouting purposes across the entirety of the map. there were snipers, of course - but if they so much as grazed zia’s wings, they had the full wrath of the legendary commander to contend with. also, the sight of nyra flying down on a skyscale of all things must have chilled blood in dominion’s veins (i know it would in mine) considering that by icebrood saga, nyra’s quite a proficient skyscale rider.

(don’t ask me where she keeps a whole ass skyscale. she just does. when she lets me know i will let you know as well.)

[tsuki-sennin]

Jya-Jya-Jyamato Grand Prix!

They're mean and green! And they are mad!

Spoilers, I guess...

-Lots of Jyamato Folk.

-Game Master Beroba!

-"She's like... super dangerous, man."

-She cray-cray.

-Now I don't mean to insult all the teenage girls out there with world-conquering desires, but Beroba is like

-The objectively funniest Rider villain we've had in a while.

-I believe the youngest female Rider, and she gets not only a CGI monstrosity form, but also an entire army of demons.

-"You were the finest of your age, my children!"

-Phantoms, Gurongi, and Invess, all in one.

-Kamen Rider Buffa was created by the vile Desire Grand Prix in order to exterminate the Jyamato. To this end, he stands as a champion of the Jyamato.

-I hope you realize I live for this theming.

-Jesus Christ, she's making him play dress up.

-"Where ya goin, Michinaga?"

-Ohhhhhhhhhhh, that's a nasty trick

-"Good luck... Jyamato Rider Buffa."

-Gonna be honest, if the Jyamato weren't killing random humans for Beroba's amusement, I'd almost be rooting for them to take down Niram.

-"It'll be like Tohru-kun never died~!"

-Michinaga, you're in real nasty shit.

-"Not playing?"

-"Nah. Not a Jyamato, sadly. Honestly, it's kinda discriminatory of them. I wanna kill those DGP fuckers as much as they do!"

-"Human or Plant Zombie. Rider-kind's extermination is my only wish. ...that might include you, just a warning."

-Festival~!

-This looks awful fun.

-Ahhh, a little lad! Ready to have fun at the festival soon~!

-Awwww.

-"...those aren't oni."

-Lighting strikes the town~!

-Matsuri, matsuri DEATH!

-Hot damn, Keiwa! Letting them know straight up.

-"This is real!"

-"Ultimate Despair strikes this poor festival town. Yet here come the Riders!"

-Ah yep, there he is. Buffa Deez Nuts.

-Well, this is a fine mess we find ourselves in.

-Ya girl Neon!

-Ohhhh, Zombie Beat

-...does that technically make her Lord Raptor?

-Round 1 is over, bitches!

-It's the DGP's fault the Jyamato even want to kill humans so I don't blame Michinaga at all for wanting to can it, but like...

-Man, revenge is a hell of a drug.

-"...do you want us to help? :)"

-Designed?

-Ohhhhhh, I see... completely predetermined in the future, huh?

-"The hell's a festival, boy?"

-Oh... that's... kinda depressing, Kekera-san.

-And there he is, Kyuun the creepshow.

-"WORMY!?"

-Takahashi, I swear, if this dude's Neon's Prince Charming, I'm gonna shit.

-Hey, we're all in the 10%~! We got in early!

-Ah, Papa Kurama.

-No amount of money in the world's gonna be enough to keep us quiet.

-OHHHHHHH SNAP

-Niram-P!

-OHHHHHHH HE GOT NEON FROM THE GODDESS

-...unless, he's speaking metaphorically?

-Hey little dude. You seem awfully unreceptive to Ace motherfucking Ukiyo, biggest movie star in the world. That whole thing about your mom must really be eatin' you up inside.

-"Yeah... I feel you..." :(

-Ah, so Tohru-san's got a past.

-Azuma's got no time for all this nonsense.

-Archimedel's ready to bring the thunder!

-Hit the beat! Keep the beat!

-"Ace and Azuma, together at last!"

-Ziin, I swear, your fanboying's the least help we've been getting from you.

-Secret Mission, Clear!

-Wow, that was pathetically easy. These achievements are really getting out of hand.

-OHHHHH FUCK HE'S GOT THE RAISE SWORD

-OH MY GOD WHAT THE HELL

-MICHINAGA YOU MAD MAN

-"Well played, nerd."

-OH YOU BITCH

-BOOOST

-MARK II

-Hot damn, that bitch is orange.

[most-calm-revice-and-geats-fan]

"Yay!!"

So me and my friend have started watching Kyuuranger a while back. And all I wanna say is: RAPTOR-283! (I love her so much, SHE'S ADORABLE!)

I was at granny's this week so I didn't have much to really art wise and ye, but I decided to draw Raptor-283 from her imagination when dancing! I swear to god, I'm sure there isn't anyone who hasn't imagined themselves the way she did when she danced (and her outfit was beautiful too!)

Funny enough, Super Sentai is appearing on my feed- Maybe I might watch some more Super Sentai and make art based on dat too besides Kamen Rider? We'll see!

Raptor-283: Have you seen her? Well now you have! (Kinda-)