#gotta have them scutes!

[omg-snakes]

I have a snake question (snestion)! Are you breeding towards a specific Morph Combo that you want to be consistently producing, or are you spreading out, aiming for variety?

Ooohhh that's a good snestion and one I've been asking myself a lot lately.

I was originally looking at variety, hoping to explore multiple morphs and hit a wider customer base, but I realize now that it's better for me to be a specialist in a narrow range of morphs that genuinely interest me. That said, I am still exploring a few things. Here's where I'm focused:

How Peach interacts with Palmetto, Charcoal, and Anery

What in the world Hatshepsut's red-enhancing gene is and if it's RF or maybe even Peach this whole time

Revitalization of the Sunglow morph and maybe a revamp with inclusion of Tessera

Very Obnoxiously Pink Snake

Something something Moonstone

I have a couple of het Scaleless snakes still, and I think I'll prove them next year before I go making any firm decisions about where to go from there. I know that Scaleless is a controversial morph, but as long as they have belly scales I really don't see it as any more deleterious than Snow, which removes eye pigment and makes snakes much more sensitive to light and possibly functionally blind... But of course nobody's calling THAT "unethical..." 🤔

Also scaleless adult snakes are found occasionally in the wild so it's clearly not a fitness-reducing trait.

Aaaanyway I've been rehoming a good number of my adults and holdbacks and reconsidering what I really want out of this hobby. Currently it's not sparking much joy, if you get what I'm saying.

If the recent trends continue, I may be forced to downsize further or get out completely and just keep my favorites as pets.

[charcoaldustonmyfingers]

Biblically accurate Donatello! No shade to my boy, but Soft-shell turtles are so weird looking omg. My roommate saw that one episode of Amazing World of Gumball and has since decided they are all demon possessed, but considering it’s Donnie I guess that checks out

Spiny soft-shells actually come in several subspecies, several of which are quite region specific and endangered. They’re pretty funky, having bendy shells apart from the central bony shell plate, with super weird segmented plastral bones, long noses, and lips that cover their beaks. The reason for those can probably be attested to the fact that they are ambush predators, sitting beneath the mud in ponds and slurping up fish like a vacuum when they come close to their hiding spot. They don’t really have scutes, the big scales found on turtle shells and alligator backs, or scales in general I don’t think. (I don’t have a herpetology degree so this is all from surface level googling, feel free to correct!)

It’s hard to figure out how Donnie’s battle-shell would fit around the very flat bottom half of his true shell, as that’s the most bendy part. Additionally, he would probably need extra protection on his front, as the plastron ends higher up on soft-shells and isn’t one solid bone, nor does it have scutes to protect him. Not to mention the rest of him also not really having scales?

With the shape of turtle heads being quite flat, it would probably be hard to make masks that fit. They’d have to wear something more akin to a racing horse maybe? Donnie would probably draw his eyebrows anyway. Gotta have an impressive brow to raise when you gotta judge your brothers for being dum-dums, after all.

Softshells also have extremely long necks, so he can look down at people to judge them no matter how tall (except Raph lol)

[Raphael] [Leonardo] [Michelangelo] [Extended Family]

[phoebepheebsphibs]

Double-Mutated Mikey

Chap 2: Exodus

Continued from the short story written by @boots-with-the-fur-club

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Mikey growls loudly at the creatures as they come close. His marks start to flicker, as if they want to glow bright with his ninpo but can't anymore. Some part of Raph wonders what that means... but currently, he's terrified of what Mikey is going to do.

He's never heard him growl like that.

It's deep and guttural, much lower than Mikey has ever made his voice go.

Mikey suddenly lunges, running on all fours at the army of mutated monsters coming at them.

One creature that looks like it may have once been part wolf tries to swipe at him, but Mikey dodges it and swings his tail at him instead, sweeping out the hind legs and causing it to trip. Mikey's tail suddenly becomes sentient, grabs the hound and swings it like a club, knocking back several mutated animals before tossing the wolf like the world's furriest bowling ball. It slams into a row of oncoming beasts, slowing them down.

Raph can't let Mikey do this alone.

That's not what brothers do.

Not again.

He punches his fists together, creating two large hologram arms, and charges to join the fray.

Mikey is becoming wilder and wilder by the second, his grimace turning into a nasty snarl with sharp fangs beginning to jutt out. His eyes begin getting wider, the red irises glowing brighter and brighter. There are strange spines starting to creep out of his shell, the scales on his arms becoming sharp scutes like armor. Even his whipping tail -- which was much shorter before this crazy thing -- is starting to grow spines on it, the end practically looking like a mace or medieval weapon.

Raph is starting to get scared of his baby brother.

"Mikey! Mikey, you okay?" he asks, as he pushes several mutated raccoons and beavers aside.

Mikey doesn't respond beyond a gravelly low growl as he grabs a mutant badger by the tail and flings it into a wall.

How many animals are there?!

The hall is starting to fill up!

"Mike, we gotta get outta here! I can't hold these guys off for much longer!" he grunts, creating a few extra hologram arms to help ward off the rest. "Plus, I don't wanna hurt em!"

Mikey doesn't seem to hear him as he roars at the hoard. A few creatures start to back away in fright, before what looks like a mix between a boar and a porcupine starts running at them.

"That's our cue!" Raph shouts, grabbing Mikey. The spines and spikes protruding from his shell stab his palms and scrape his arms...

Mikey whirls around and bites Raph hard on the hand.

He yelps as he drops him. There's a mark on his hand, a deep indent. A small puncture wound begins to turn bright red. A tiny flow of blood begins to form just above his thumb.

Raph stares at Mikey.

Mikey glares back, the glow in his eyes bright as the blood on his hand.

"...Mikey...?"

His voice is a whisper. He can't stop shaking.

A moment passes and the glow in Mikey's eyes begins to dissipate, the spikes and spines slowly creeping back into his shell and skin. His tail smoothes out and starts to curl around his feet. His demeanour shifts, from one of a feral animal to a scared kid slowly coming out of a tantrum. He looks at Raph in fear as he realizes what he did. He whimpers, backing away slowly...

"Wait, it's okay! Really, I'm not mad, I --"

The mutant boar reaches them, slamming head-first into Mikey and throwing him into a wall. Mikey grunts with pain, a large crater forming in the drywall where he landed. He gets up quickly, his eyes immediately shifting back to red as he goes to retaliate.

Raphael watches in shock and horror as Mikey grabs the boar by the tusks and rips them out from his jaw. The pig squeals in agony and charges again, two smaller tusks quickly starting to grow back almost instantly.

"MIKEY!!"

"R--aph! Ra-- Come in, do y-- read me--?"

"Leo?!"

Raph looks down at his communicator. He totally forgot about it for a second... Leo and Donnie had been searching the other floors of the facility looking for Mikey, too! He should have let them know he'd found him --

"RAPH! I repeat, Raph, can you hear me?!"

"Yeah!" he shouts back over the screaming behind him. "I read you, Leo!"

"What the heck is all that noise?!"

"Long story short, I found Mikey. We need an escape, like, NOW."

"Donnie's on it," comes a second voice on the comms. "What floor are you on?"

"Five," he responds quickly, ducking from another mutant's attack. "I think we've been made. There were cages filled with animals and they all got released at once!"

"I'm coming now!" Donnie shouts. Raph can hear his hovershell whirr in the background, wind start whipping past the mic as he speeds towards them.

"Leo, where are you?"

"I just came from the basement. You guys will never believe what I found --"

"You can tell us on the way home, but we have to go NOW!!"

For a moment, Raph forgets that he isn't the leader anymore. For a moment, he's in charge and it's all on him to get them out. He's in control of everything and doesn't have to wait on Leo to make a self-sacrificing decision to solve everything like he tends to do.

"Okay, boss man. I'll meet you all outside in the turtle tank."

Raph sighs with relief.

"Got it. Donnie, ETA?"

"Right behind you -- oh what in the name of unholy science is that?!"

Raph turns around to see Donnie slowly coming to a halt, hovering over Mikey. The box turtle has defeated the boar at this point, slamming it hard into a wall until the boar slumped with a groan onto the floor.

"Is... is that Mikey --"

"Donnie, just find us an exit!" Raph shouts as he grabs Mikey, who doesn’t bite him again but struggles against his hold until he sees who's holding him.

"R-right... right... Uh, take a left, that window leads directly to the alley where Leo is waiting..."

The intercom buzzes again.

"What did Donnie say? What's going on with Mikey?!" Leo asks, his voice in a panic.

"Get the tank started, we're coming to you."

"But what about Mikey?!"

"He's here with us."

"Why doesn't he respond--"

Raph crashes through the window before he can answer, landing with a thud against the top of the tank. Mikey howls loudly, whining in fear and scratching at Raph's arms to let him go. He sees Donnie for the first time and makes a feeble chirp.

Donnie stares wide-eyed at him, mouth open and hands trembling.

Raph scrambles into the tank, holding Mikey tightly. Donnie follows after him, silently staring at his baby brother.

"There you guys are!" Leo yells, a wave of relief rushing over him. "I was starting to get really --"

He sees him.

"What... what happened to..."

"Just drive," Raph orders, holding Mikey close. "Just get us out of here."

Leo nods slowly, turning to Donnie. He receives the silent command and navigates the tank, speeding away.

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[kat-124]

Walks over and flutters my eyelashes…you should totally tell me about your region genetic headcanons

ACKKKKK hey.

michael vsauce here, first i gotta explain another system i have in my headcanons. because goodness these guys are very, very diverse! and theres subcategories! my favorite! (everything below is headcanon territory, however I'll be formatting it as if its a fact or sm)

all demons belong to a 1st species, which basically means they have traits from whatever region they're spawned in.

theres Lost Temple demons, Thieve's Den, Playground, and Blackrock.

if you want, in another part i can talk abt how evolution/genes occurs in the first place when theres not really a 'passing down' of genes because i have explanations for that aswell! infact I'll happily explain anything further on request, i loove yapping

a 2nd species is basically a second set of traits mixed with the 1st species, this can be animalistic, object, concept, etc. (for example: wolf, fishing hook, music)

a 2nd species isnt always present, but when it is it can override 1st species traits, seemingly at random with less concern for survivability according to environment.

however, animalistic 2nd species are seen to commonly reflect the region theyre born into, whether this is because matching-animal 2nd species are more common or just that they survive more is unknown.

ANYWAYS

region genetics (aka 1st species)

~~~~ Lost Temple

lost temple demons tend to have thicker, rougher skin all over, rougher palms/soles, longer eyelashes, etc.

claws: longest of all the regions, demons tend to trim them though, to make modern life things easier. tend to be nonretractable. duller than other regions, in color and appearance. very sturdy, can be used for digging through materials like softer rocks, dirt, etc.

skin: lost temple demons tend to have darker skin when spawned, but many also just tan (grey-en? idk) from the sun. skin colors are random when spawned, but think of it as just being more common to be darker.

diet: omnivores. dried insects or lizards, beans, cacti, etc. seen as cultural foods and are quite common to find.

horns: Lost Temple horns can start to flake if not maintained, they are very sturdy, and are the heaviest out of the regions. they are quite solid, seeing a Lost Temple demon with a broken horn is a rare sight as it tends to be easier for the whole thing to be detached from the skull rather than fracturing. this makes them harder to customize shape-wise.

scutes: tend to line the upper side of the hands and feet, (think like reptiles or bird feet) scutes would also sometimes appear in 'armored' areas, like outside of forearm, shoulder, back of neck, along back, shins, outer thighs, etc.

while 'inside' softer skin areas would not have scutes. like the belly, inside of forearm, upper arm, inner thighs, etc.

scutes are shed periodically, and tend to be a mix or offset of horn + skin color. can be polished, traded or gifted afterward.

temp sensitivity: very temperature resistant, as the desert has an incredibly harsh climate (hot during the day, freezing at night) they have to in order to survive, even with shelter.

they dont tend to sweat very much, if at all, as it conserves water amounts.

Lost temple demons tend to be naturally nocturnal, as to avoid the heat, but have adjusted to being awake during the day due to the development of towns, the lifestyle of other factions, and such.

towns historically developed around rivers and oasises.

Lost Temple demons are generally quite tall

they tend to have a third eyelid, its a thin membrane they can shut it over their eye. this helps be able to see partially during sandstorms or if its windy. it freaks other regions out though.

Playground

Playground demons tend to have thicker skin especially at the palms and soles, they have

claws: Playgrounders tend to have medium sized claws, shorter than Lost temple ones. non-retractable. noticeably curved, very sharp, used for climbing or grappling easily. Playground demons will also file or trim their claws down to improve dexterity. they come in brighter colors.

skin: Playgrounders tend to be dark-midtone but having more colorful hues, (ie. they might be grey but with an hue overlay of another color, usually matching horn color.) smooth in texture.

diet: omnivores, fruits and vegetation are very common food sources, spices and herbs are also very common here, and are used in cooking often. avian meat is the kind thats most commonly consumed, aswell as reptiles. Playgrounders tend to have a wide diet.

playgrounders horns are the most malleable, they are softer and more sustainable to breaking or chipping. broken, cracked, or chipped horns are a common sight in Playground. they are smooth in texture.

Playgrounders tend to be shorter/smaller, however they tend to have longer tails than other factions. and these tend to be prehensile tails.

decorating yourself with colorful items and foliage used to be a sign that you were stronger/a threat, however, now its moreso just self expression and is very common.

very quick, along with being small they tend to be nimble and agile, good at evading something trying to chase them. theyre strong in a way that would make them not great at arm wrestles, but would be at tug of war.

very resistant to the humidity and heat. they do poorly in colder or less humid environments. they have pretty good poison tolerance.

Playgrounders also tend to be naturally nocturnal, but now are more active in the afternoon, especially at dusk. Playgrounders tend to nap often rather than taking long sleeps. theyre also light sleepers.

-------------

ok ive been letting this sit in draft for aaaawhile, im gonna post this now, ignore any mistakes they arent there, trust

might yap abt the other two factions in a 2nd part i dunno, feel free to ask me specific questions about my hcs, i find it easier to make a response if the question is more specific/narrow ^_^

[fisherrprince]

wahhh just went through your ffxiv specbio tags they’re so cool!!! do you perchance have any more hcs for au ra

I HAVENT DONE AU RA YET but I love the lizards…. My best friends lizardguys. I haven’t gotten to endwalker yet and I know there’s a few more auri characters in there so…maybe my ideas will change But

au ra are I think probably the most diverse species out there just based on HOW MANY lizards exist and how BIG the azim steppes/doma/their reach is. I don’t know if I’d divide species traits by xaela/raen or if they all share that diversity, but I��m tempted to say there are fewer raen, most of whom are either in solitude or hanging out in doma, and they kind of remain proud of their celestial lineage, so they on the whole have more often “draconic” traits, while xaela with their many different lifestyles on the steppe on the whole will be more diverse. Like eastern dragons versus every other dragon species

so! between everyone I think their scales are Way More, most of which are very very hard and difficult to scratch or dent but some of which are soft like some reptiles wherein it’s not necessarily a scale, which sheds layers (like turtles shed their scutes), and more like skin, which sheds in flakes (like snakes or geckos). Au ra whose scales are soft like that are generally the same types of au ra who can pop their (also often soft and thick!) tails off at will and regrow them. Most au ra have very tough, muscly scaly tails, anywhere from big thick crocodile tails to thin draconic tails to tails that have ossified spines or clubs at the end (like dinosaurs!). Since they’re so strong, they can be used to emote — hitting them against the ground is a happy sign, while dragging it against things is Not. Also kids tend to grab and pull them a lot, which leads to the common thought of tail pulling being seen as kiddy. It is quite rude to do to an au ra as an adult. Their scales can sometimes spread to cover most of their body, and sometimes be restricted to the forearms, face, tail, and legs. their horns (aside from being basically ears which I think is cool, they must be pretty complex organs on the inside — I think they can shed but only the tips, like goats, and breaking any further is both really hard and very harmful not only to their ears but because they’re full of blood vessels!! Be careful! ) aren’t really used for fighting or anything they are there for hearing and temperature regulation and in defense. Au ra don’t really, like, sweat? They’re warm-blooded, but don’t sweat. So an important thing to keep in mind if you’re going into the desert is that overheating looks different in an au ra vs another race (lethargy, drooling, and unfocused eyes are your main tells). many of their horns point forwards to block their face. so no, sleeping isn’t that hard bc they sleep like loafs, but yes kissing is hard :( that’s not really a thing they do unless someone else wants to they snuggle and rub scales. so says yoshi p

Protofeathers are basically dinosaur fur - they are NOT feathers. They’re little hollow filaments somewhere between a feather shaft and hair. These ones are pretty stiff. That’s why au ra hair can so easily stick right up like a cockatiel. Some au ra have been noted to have protofeathers on their neck and arms like fur too :0

i have been. Speaking for a long time. uhhhh let’s see they have feets anywhere from plantigrade (clawed, kinda geckoey) to digitigrade (DINO!!!), their claws really need trimming often bc they don’t stop growing, they are not obligate carnivores like hrothgar but like miqote they need more meat than they do veggies, and it’s sometimes very hard for a non- au ra to tell if the big growl they’re doing is happy or not because big growl is how they purr! Like wolves going HHRHRRRRRR (happy). Also im obsessed with their limbal rings im so sad they’re so faded in the graphical update. they gotta glow. Most au ra are also colorblind in some way BUT! They can faintly see infrared

Also in researching lizards i found out that some lizards and frogs have like a third eye that can’t See like images but it CAN detect light and darkness and stuff? It’s called a parietal eye! Garleans… is amphibian (taking notes) /j

[doddsmountain]

hi Dodd I'm in the mood to learn some fish things what are your top 5 favorite fish?

OMG!!!!!!!!

SO! Number 1 is OBVIOUSLY Oncorhynchus mykiss... AKA the rainbow trout

These guys are amazing. They are the most farmed fish in the world by weight (not numbers). And they're not a trout! They are a true pacific salmon, like chinooks, cohos, sockeye, etc etc.

These dudes are different than the other pacific salmon though as they can spawn multiple times! That's why they don't undergo quite such extreme transformations during spawning season.

Rainbows are typically landlocked. Steelhead trout (which are Oncorhynchus mykiss mykiss) are the rainbows you see out at sea.

NUMBER 2: Acipenser transmontanus.... WHITE STURGEON!

This photo is a poor image I took of the baby white sturgeon I got to take care of for a year during my fisheries and aquaculture tech program.

White sturgeon are the largest sturgeon species. The largest ever recorded was 20 feet long and roughly 120 years old. The oldest sturgeon I worked with, Tyra, was about 9 feet long and was only 65. They reside along the pacific coast of North America and they are pure muscle. A two year old is about a foot long and the scutes (modified scales) are sharp as hell. You can't wear gloves when you handle them either so your hands get cut up real bad. I loved taking care of them. They're like giant, muscly, slimy dogs.

Females will lay roughly 3 million eggs per spawn and the eggs will hatch after about 6 days. A newly hatched white sturgeon is a few millimeters long. Crazy to think about.

This is my jar of dead babies.

NUMBER 3: Frog fish!

Wish I could remember who took this photo!

Frog fish have specially adapted pectoral fins that they use almost like legs! They're bottom dwellers and "walk" along the sea floor.

I don't know much about them I'm afraid. My brain was almost entirely consumed by rainbow trout and white sturgeon.

These guys look so grumpy! (I like to say my 'fursona' is just a regular ol' frog fish lol)

NUMBER 4: A fish my family had for about 15 years... A bloodred parrot cichlid named Sir Rupert Finklebottom III, Esq. (We learned she was female when she was about 9 years old)

These fish are man made abominations and I do not recommend owning them. They have horrible health issues and they have nasty personalities. We had two of them. Rupert and Regina. Because they're crossbreeds they're essentially infertile. Rupert and Regina both laid thousands of unfertilized eggs when they were roughly 9 years old. They only did this once. They ate all of their eggs within a week.

People say they're good community tank fish. They are not. They're aggressive little assholes. Ours had to live in their own tank and they'd try to bite you if you put your fingers in their tank (it didn't hurt because they can't close their mouths and have no teeth.)

They have malformed swim bladders and are just generally awful fish. But boy do I miss my Rupert and Regina.

And finally

NUMBER 5: All manner of eels. For the purposes of this I'm going to say Rock Gunnels.

These slippery little dudes are sharp as hell. When I did a practicum at an oyster farm these dudes kept getting pulled up in the oyster beds and I ran around scooping them up and tossing them back into the sea. They come in a variety of vibrant colours too!

BONUS FISH:

This abomination. It's a lamprey of some sort. And if I gotta look at this thing so does everyone else.

[an-ordinary-roach]

"Well, well, that was a resounding success~." Clearly pleased with her work, she stood hunched over the dead body, blood slowly pouring out of a gaping hole through his heart, a gentle snow falling all around them as if painting the scene with a poetic sense of irony. She leaned her rifle up against her shoulder, the cold steel of the barrel pressing into her neck as she dug through their blazer, taking just a few moments to find what she was looking for. A wallet, with a few measly bills inside but more importantly: an ID badge. Detailing his rank and number in the Exorcist Organization.

"Hm. He's only a second year, fresh off the chopping block. But he did prove useful. Your blood together with my bullets worked wonders. Those anti-demons wards he threw up shattered in an instant. I could get used to this. Having this kind of an edge over them certainly levels the playing field." (Luna)

And the demon watched everything from the top of Luna's head, front row seats they've called it. Wanted to be there for when she tried out their blood on the test run, wanted to see the results cuz really... They've never tried it out this way and wanted it to witness it first hand. Wow, was the results promising! They felt a little sorry to hear the target was a person who just got out of training, but that's fine. They'll keep the body and wipe his soul and mind to be a new person, or make a new construct or have it be a host for a new horde of intrusions. The roach fluttered off Luna's head and landed right on top of the target. Chittering while tapping away with their antennae to judge the damage, making a descending whistle finding the wound itself. "Hohoh Jeez that was great!~ And did I keep my promise or did I keep my promise?~ My kind's blood is good for this stuff, it's why necromancers and liches love us so much." The demon stood on their tiny tips toes proudly, "If ya need some of this not in, ya know... uh- Blood form, I got a pal who has like?? Hard pangolin plates, works well as the ichor, but I gotta convince him to let me borrow a scute or two when he sheds em."

[dwollsadventures]

I'm taking a week to watch some dogs, and what better a way to pass the time than reading the Lord of the Rings? As mentioned 2 and 1/2 years ago here, I've only ever read The Hobbit and caught brief glimpses of the trilogy from movies, memes, and general cultural osmosis. Well no more! I'm a much more patient reader now than I was when I first attempted to read it in high school. Really good, so far. One thing I was really looking forward to were the beasts, especially the cave troll. One of the big scenes that stuck in my memory was the "They have a cave troll" scene from the movies. It played a comparatively small role in the books. Only its shoulder and claw "with a dark skin of greenish scales" and "great, flat, toeless foot" are seen as it tries to force open a door. Then it gets stabbed, bellows, and is never seen again. Based on all that, it seemed more bestial than the organized orcs and goblins it stuck around with. More like an animal the goblins found beneath the mountain and trained to break things, than a fellow soldier at arms. Even the trolls from the Hobbit could speak and create magic talking purses. Which, of course, got me thinking. And drawing. The cave troll fears sunlight even more than its cousins. While they turn to stone under its baleful gaze, even a small torch can earn the wrath of a cave troll. Because of this, they live so far under the ground that the threat of the sun has disappeared altogether. The unintended side-effect was that they're now slow and simple, merely beasts. Cave trolls have regressed to the point of resembling the very rocks they come from, being covered in huge scutes and scales. Their eyes and ears are reduced to the point of uselessness, unlike their noses, which are even keener than a regular troll's. Normally content to live underground, chomping on rocks and whatever fungi and algae can grow beneath the Earth, sometimes they can be conditioned to act as an ally in battle. Just gotta point them at something you want smashed and bam! it's smashed. Not much for conversation though. The scutes and claws are based off of a pangolin's, while the columnar, elephantine feet support its huge weight. In addition to light, they would probably avoid water as well, cus these guys would sink like a rock.

[kariachi]

It’s time for another Pern Au of the Month! September’s AU is ‘a universe in which dragons take at least a decade to mature’ which let me tell ya threw me a bit. Normally I’ve got ideas by the time I finish reading the post, but not this time. But, I’ve not missed a month yet, so let’s see what I can put together...

We’re gonna be taking a few of the ideas mentioned in the ‘here’s your shit for the month’ post, just to have something to work off of. Namely, we’re starting with ‘does time spent in the egg count’ and working our way along from there.

Short Answer: No, time spent in the egg doesn’t count against time needed to reach maturity.

Long Answer: Dragons take about a decade to mature on top of a solid five years in the egg, because my mother decided to be nice and talk me down from ten.

Downside- this drops the maximum number of eggs a queen can produce in her lifetime by a hell of a margin. But, we can mollify that a little by saying that Intervals don’t have a reduced clutching rate. Your gold will lay a clutch of eggs every five years, starting somewhere between the ages of ten and fifteen, right up until they stop Rising- which is generally about when doing so would impact their rider’s health.

Now, another problem, this means queens are gonna be on their eggs pretty much all the time. Does this affect the Weyrleadership? I really don’t want to be putting bronzes in charge of shit...

But then, do the golds need to leave the Sands to handle shit? They’re psychic and have Command...

Do humans fill enough of the socialization needs of young dragons to take over as main caretakers, or is that a job dragons would need to handle...

Okay, we’re doing a complete overhaul you guys because I have an image in my head that I think I am going to work towards here!

We’re adding a rank, say Greys for the sake of the naming scheme and ease. Like a midway point between greens and golds they’re infertile and don’t flame, about as common as browns but closer in size to bronzes and similarly can only take Command from queens. They are a very specific rank with a very specific job and that is childcare. We’re already going to be dealing with a lower population, so we can’t spare more than what’s nessecary from the fighting ranks, and the queens are going to be tending and guarding eggs for most of their lives, so we need somebody to keep an eye on and raise the babies. Having a whole rank for the job makes at least as much sense as having a single Weyrlingmaster and a few assistants to handle what could be over sixty weyrlingpairs ranging in age from ‘hatched yesterday’ to about ‘to graduate’ all at the same time.

So we have grey dragons, and their entire job is to raise to teach the babies for the ten years before they reach maturity. Which means now we’ve gotta look at stuff like Impression so we know what all that entails...

Okay, so, we cannot keep candidacy the same. We can’t. The entire point of bringing them in young is so they get maximum time and the whole ‘ten years before they can fly Thread’ thing is not going to help that. If you want twenty-year-olds flying Thread then you’d have to be having small children Stand and just. No. No. Babies are not ready for that.

So, fuck it, candidacy is no longer a thing. They tried it in the First Pass, it Did Not Work How They Wanted, and by the Ninth Pass they’ve tossed the whole mess. Babies do the firelizard ‘impressing to my fair for my youth’ thing and then grow up happily bouncing around and being children alongside the weyrbrats, one of whom they’ll eventually Impress to. They don’t have to, technically, they can stay bonded amongst themselves, but they can’t fly Thread otherwise due to logistics issues and the wonkiness with mating flights is not pretty if they don’t have another mind to even them out.

An unImpressed dragon that goes on a mating flight has their brain sort’ve go, sideways. It’s not fun, they tend to get lost, occasionally try to jump Between home which goes about as well as trying to Between immediately following a stroke, just not pretty. So they tend to find somebody within their first twenty years to form that solid bond with.

Actually, since we’re mixing things up, I’m gonna take something from a different au I have- you can’t Impress unwittingly or against your will or whatever. The whole thing is like a marriage proposal, with the dragon very formally asking and the human giving a yes or no. Because it’s not an event happening to everybody all at once it doesn’t warrant a feast, but newly bonded pairs generally get much celebration from the greys and their riders and anyone else close to them. Possibly we could even throw symbolism in there, traditional stuffs, there’s a load of cultural things that could come from that. Plus, it adds another dimension to the whole ‘riders don’t marry’ thing.

Of course one side effect of dragons and humans growing up together and making their own matches as informed teens/adults is that dragons here are probably much more open to speaking with humans. Not sure what effect that would have on relations between Hold and Weyr (and shards there would be an even worse culture shock between the two, with this new set-up meaning riders probably don’t need to go on Search, as if the gap wasn’t enough before).

Weyrlingmasters are probably a collection of retired fighting pairs that train up the new fighting pairs, probably after the tenth birthday or after bonding, depending on the pair. Grey weyrlings end up under the wings of the other greypairs (I can’t help picturing them as just, full childcare specialists, greys managing the dragons and their riders running the creche, and it’s not even like you can claim ‘predetermined’ shit because their bonding would’ve literally been a choice between the two of them based on their own interests and desires). Golds under golds. Learn from the fuckers doing your jobs. And since dragons have friends and such and golds will be sharing the Sands the majority of the time queenriders are probably opened up to have a firmer hold on the actual running of things, dealing with Holds, yadda yadda yackity-smackity.

Let’s see, original post mentions benefits to taking longer to mature....

Okay, so, long maturing time means slower growth so they don’t really need all the oiling canon dragons have. They still gotta moisturize but it’s not like you’re oiling them thrice a day began they gained four inches between breakfast and lunch. Also, can have part of that growing energy go into developing armored hides. They can keep the soft underbelly, but their upper sides can have thick scutes or plating or whatever. This also helps with the lower numbers, as armored dragons are less likely to be grounded by Threadscore, or even really inconvenienced. Unless their rider, eye, or wing is hit they can jump Between, come back, keep on trucking like nothing happened. Let the greens and blues last a full Fall and we’re golden.

[pigeoncentric]

i did an A:TLA rewatch and took notes because that’s just what i do, and here’s the notes if anyone wants to see my thoughts

i haven't watched atla since about a year before korra started airing, so like, around 2011. i should also mention that i never watched korra through to the end, but i guess i'll do that after this. if i feel like it. i do know that the biggest bottles were never popped

i have such a clear memory of the first episode. it must've been on nickelodeon pretty often, even though when it was airing, i only watched it occasionally. i remember they also aired the library episode super often.

aang's voice is so tiny and sweet

i gotta turn off my dumb adult brain and put my dumb kid brain back on so i can better appreciate the nickelodeonness of it all

sokka and zuko's first interaction.......

zuko's intimidating approach and then his tiny teen voice

SOKKA AND ZUKO'S SECOND INTERACTION............

zuko's like "i'm going home." with aang. he must be feeling an incredible mixture of feelings, thinking he has the avatar and can reclaim his Honor. but he also must be terrified to go back, and in disbelief... fortunately he's not going home like he said and there are even more confused feelings in between

i just remembered that iroh's voice actor dies between seasons :(

thinking a lot about dante basco... no thoughts in particular, just a lot of them... and how he shipped zutara lmao

"my troubles cannot be soaked away!"

hei bai looks like a ben 10

mounts list (added to as i progressed through the series): zuko's rhinos. earth armored ostriches. metal noshing mole. north pole goatyak. azula and friends' fur geckos. sabertooth moose lion if you're not a wimp. appa-sized beetle. moose with aquatic features. Eel Hound.

you can't out-mom-friend katara. even when she's yelling and being reckless

it's true... airbenders are weak to nets.

the n*tfli* captions are making several mistakes. eat my ass ne*f*ix and hire me to do flawless captioning instead you dumb fucks

YEAH! even by episode 13 in season 1 we already know zuko is a good boy! well also by episode 12. and earlier. well i've seen the series before.

i've just learned that zach tyler eisen is the voice of aang and i have to give him huge props for having the perfect voice. i pay a lot of attention to voice acting, usually in a nitpicky way, and i've never heard an english voice actor whose voice is perfect on the level of ikue ohtani... and when he was like 12 years old. incredible. i'm not being remotely sarcastic

i gotta be 100% honest. i had completely forgotten the existence of zhao and that he's actually a pretty important character, at least in season 1. also his voice actor is pretty good. generally the voice acting is good in this show, and i'm picky.

god the animation where aang makes one catapult catapult the other is so good. also appa just picked up and grabbed a guy. with his fist. wait how many toes does appa have? is that 18 in total? also appa has scutes on his ventrum. anyway i love that appa can pick up and grab a guy but generally chooses not to. gives it more weight when he does choose to

zuko tells turtle seals to be quiet and then touches them unkindly :(

zuko busted out of katara's ice orb instead of melting it :\

zuko put his hood up like iroh told him to but aang just has his naked bald head in the snowy cold :(

seeing zhao grab and bag the moon spirit fish made me feel sick. such a foul act

god. the quality rope. i noticed sokka mention it and was like, "was this a chekhov's gun or a red herring" and then a few minutes later there was a pointed pan over to the quality rope.

anyway examining the quality of the voice acting here leads me to a thesis i might gather evidence to prove: american english voice acting for cartoons is far higher quality than american english voice acting for anime dubs. or is that just something obvious that everyone already agrees on

anyway anyway, the episode ended without the quality rope being put to use. unless i missed it, which is entirely possible.

jesus i heard azula's first lines and got an instant flashback to all the tumblr drama about grey delisle and her tumblr account and how she pretended it wasn't hers or something let's just erase all of this from my brain right now

this is kind of out of nowhere and borderline inappropriate but i'm glad characters in avatar are illustrated with nipples when they're shirtless... it always disturbs me a tiny bit when shirtless characters are depicted with zero nipple, not even a hint of nipple. (Aladdin.) not just because it implicitly stigmatizes something everyone has, but also because this scenario always plays in my head where it's like, a little kid sees a cartoon character without nipples and they think, "so i'm not supposed to have these..." and they start feeling weird and bad about themself... all you need to depict a nipple is a single unobtrusive dot. nothing visually offensive or explicit about it.

even to an audience who doesn't understand any cultural context, you can't not see the significance of zuko and iroh cutting off their topknots...

fandom seems to see sokka as the silliest one when in fact at least 40% of his entire role as a character is to be the tsukkomi

underrated moment: "you've got an elbow leech." "WHERE?! WHERE?!"

zuko should be a good boy and only steal if it's from pirates

stealy zuko stealing money and buying iroh a teapot !

god i forgot what a tiny baby voice toph has... so tiny

zuko trying really really hard but doing a bad job hammering (tears)

azula set up zuko and mai for a lucky sukebe...

when zuko's mom told him not to forget who he is, she didn't mean to remember that he's a prince and an heir as he revealed to the unsuspecting earth kingdom village. she meant to remember that he's someone with at least the base level of empathy and compassion, unlike most of his immediate family...

i still think aang's voice actor did a great job but i bet it sucks to be a young boy doing an excellent young boy voice and then when you grow up a little and presumably experience some puberty you just Cannot do the young boy voice anymore. hopefully in most cases where that happens, it's at least not abrupt

placing a bet that the writer for episode s2:e10 (the library) is different than most of the other episodes. i don't like it very much, at least in the first several minutes. if it's a name i recognize from the credits of several other episodes, i might be a bit disappointed in them. seriously, there's one stinker after another. and with such a great concept of an episode...

i didn't recognize the name of the guy who wrote this episode so i thought i was right but no, he wrote a bunch of episodes. must have been off his game for this one... either that or i'm in a very unforgiving mood and don't realize it... also when i went on wikipedia to look at who wrote which atla episodes, i learned that the animation for the show was split between two animation studios, and they're both korean. ah, i guess that doesn't mean all the animation took place overseas, as DM movie has a headquarters in the US. according to wikipedia.

oh, they're BUZZards... i get it... i gotcha.

aang with a vengeance is both scary and sad to see. but he does understand that property damage is nothing compared to a life

people who love azula are the exact same as people who love vriska: [comment redacted]

they have american birds in the avatar world. i keep hearing an eastern wood-peewee going "pee-pee-uwee" in the background :3

the serpent's pass seems geologically implausible.

sokka should really get face paint all over his face when he kisses suki. or like, the cartoonish image of when someone is covered in lipstick lip smacks, but it should be suki's makeup color

appa's been through so much and now he has to meet a boarcupine?!?! fortunately he still knows how to pick up and grab... but still :(

he touched appa's scutes and read them like a palm...

longshot translated his meaningful stares into out-loud words for katara and friends

zuko forgot that azula always lies :(

zuko should know that being redeemed in his father's eyes is the opposite of what he wants...

i LOVE aang's passionate tsungi horn dance

there are spring peepers in the fire nation

god the dripping of the rotten clams is so excessive

you know how ultrasonic humidifiers can create water vapor without heating it into steam, by vibrating it super fast? let's try that with waterbending, it'll be cool

two different bad guys have been skipped across the water like a rock

i love the fake time lapse of cleaning the river... and it showed how with pollution in real life, stopping the source of the pollution is not enough. it needs to be removed as well

sokka deserves LOTS of credit just for being able to handle a boomerang.

GOD THE SLOW PAN OVER THE BEAUTIFUL SWORD (in 3:4)

sokka also deserves LOTS of credit for being able to admit he doesn't know everything.

i managed to forget that zuko turns his back on iroh, while remembering that at some point, iroh gets buff

the voice of sokka's master is the voice of the boulder. right? right? no? are you kidding me? i suck at this

seems like kissing azula would have immediate consequences, like something melting

zuko is poorly socialized

zuko still forgot that azula always lies. even when she's being somewhat humanized in an episode like this.

so avatar roku had earthly attachments he did not let go of, presumably. such as his wife. did he have unfettered access to the avatar state? that's what i would ask him during this expositionfest if i was aang.

so sozin could do heatbending... that's amazing. i think i missed that the first time around.

that's right, zuko came back and his hair is long enough, but he hasn't recreated his topknot.

hawky is the only atla animal that poops on camera.

if you're gonna bend sweat, you might as well bend spit, and it's a little easier to obtain

wait so... is combustion man also a heatbender? i'll have to look into it later. [looked into it later: the avatar wiki has termed it "combustionbending?" are you shitting me?]

ooh it's the bloodbending episode! i'm pumped.

someone made a post about how when they watched this show and they were a kid they were thinking about how the characters are hot, and now they're watching as an adult and the characters are all tiny children... that's how i've been feeling. also season 3 episode 8 aang's voice sounds a little bit pubertous.

anyway damn this bloodbending episode is outright traumatic. good shit

oh, now zuko's topknot is back.

appa's armor covers each individual toe <:3c

i seriously misremembered the course of zuko's character development. and the timeline of the invasion in general. but now i understand that zuko has to tell his dad to eat shit face to face.

watching zuko's "zuko here" practice speech hurts 100% as much as it did the first time i saw it. and when he's delivering it to the gaang it's impossible to watch. i didn't put my hands on my head-- they just went there unbidden.

i kinda can't help picturing dante basco's face every time i hear zuko talk. the whole time. it's sometimes not optimal to know the faces of voice actors. especially when you're like me and you're not good at pushing out unwanted mental images.

what the fuck, combustion man? he just loves assassination so much you can't take back any orders. also i can't help but imagine that if you put a slice across his third eye his combustion would be fully inhibited. well i guess that's not a problem anymore.

i like that the gaang are a variety of heights, and that they're all noticeably shorter than most of the adults they meet. it just makes it feel realistic

if it was a US max security prison and prisoners were escaping they'd probably just fucking murder them

i love how when mai starts up the gondola again and azula is like "what is she DOING!" and ty lee just makes an "iunno" noise

tfw your best friend abandons you because you wouldn't let her murder her own brother

chit seng didn't get to free his girlfriend and best buddy :(

funny how azula seems almost docile when she's getting everything she wants. typical narcissist. well ok not the least bit typical.

sokka ate the rose. i remembered this scene Too clearly. but i didn't remember that.

um... was that the full moon? when katara bloodbent that guy? i should've looked at the sky... i went back and looked and still didn't see if it was the full moon. maybe the wiki knows. i don't care enough to look it up properly.

i was wondering when the melon lord would show up

none of the teens understand the obvious solution of defeating the fire lord by beating him INTO SUBMISSION (or oblivion) instead of killing him. just like in every anime fight ever. it's over when you acknowledge you've lost or you can't fight anymore, not when you die. (for the #1 best example of ending a fight the right way, see the way luffy defeats crocodile.)

so i know aang's gonna defeat the fire lord by essentially hitting him with a forced purification beam to the face and make him realize the errors of his ways or something. the fun part is how we get there

bumi bending entire houses through the air

aw i forgot the turtle island didn't have a cute face.

jyong jyong firebent a jet platform to fly around on?!

i guess the firelord can fly around like bakugou katsuki

i forgot that aang took away his firebending... and sokka hops up to him like "well, look at you, buster"

i'm glad i decided to watch this again. even if i didn't do a great job paying attention tbh. well i did spend a bit of time carving a little wooden spoon while i was watching. anyway i was thinking i wouldn't move right on to korra but rather read some of the atla comics that i know exist but have never read whatsoever. i wonder if i can find them in some kind of library...

  i found the comics illegally on the internet and read a whole bunch (up until the end of the "zuko finds his mom" arc). i didn't write my thoughts down as i was reading, so i don't remember them. that's how my worthless brain works. i do remember that i found the comics satisfactory as an accurate extension of the show, and that i feel ambivalent about how azula is written/treated in the comics.

i don’t know if i feel like rewatching korra yet.

[kc-anathema]

Hi! I adore your writing and so enjoy your smut! I saw you took requests, are they open now? If so, I recently discovered how turts shed their shells and it looks damn satisfying. How about Raph pealing Leo's scutes and teasing and dirty talk and groping Leo, but super silent and restrained since there is a person next to them (splinter or someone else like in some nexus setting) until they are alone and things happen. Anyways can't wait to see what u gonna choose and write!

Took awhile, and it didn’t come out quite the way envisioned, but at least something appeared ^_^

Soft circles.

Soft, maddening circles.

Leonardo sat crosslegged, hands restingon his knees, deceptively still and languid. He didn’t move except tolower his head an inch, obviously deep in thought. Obviously calm andat peace.

The circle swept down along the edge ofhis shell in a full rotation, scraping the loose bits of shell andlightly touching the new surface beneath. He shivered, lips parting,only for a moment—but his calm facade was just that, a mask, andRaphael gave a low chuckle behind him.

“Like that, huh?”

Raphael worked the stiff bristle brushin a rhythmic pattern, gently scraping away the pieces of shellshedding away. All of them had gone through this multiple times,familiar now with the itching, the painful pulling of too much toofast. The awful sensitivity that followed as a new shell revealeditself.

And Leonardo was the most sensitive ofthe four.

“‘Bout time you finally came tome.” Raphael buffed the bottom curve of the shell, clearing awaythe last rough edges and driving Leonardo up and up, trying to escapethe brushtips. “'Bout time you finally shed at all. I wasworried you’d stopped growing.”

Pressing his lips tight together,Leonardo deliberately ignored that comment and struggled to find hisfocus again. A single candle glowed in the dojo, a small circle oflight on the mat that didn’t reach Raphael. The only ones awake thislate, their murmurs didn’t quite escape the small illumination.

His brother took a moment andstretched, putting his legs out on either side of his sibling. ThenRaphael reached forward and gently wound his brother up in his arms,pulling Leonardo back securely into his lap.

“Raph—”

“Shut up,”Raphael whispered, pressing a kiss to his temple to soften hisbluntness. “Gotta do this right. If it’s worth doing 'n allthat.”

Leonardo tensed asRaphael brought the brush to bear on his plastron, sweeping slowcircles across the scutes to the edges of his shell. Parts of hisshell were curled at the very edge, eager to fall away, and theconstant pressure and brushing hurried the process along. But at aprice. A terrible, terrible—

Raphael wouldn’tlet go. Leonardo hissed as the brush wisped at his thigh,accidentally stroked his tail. He would have moved but the larger armheld him flush against Raphael. Instead, Leonardo leaned helplesslyagainst his brother, letting his head rest on Raphael’s shoulder.

The wooden handleof the brush touched his jaw, gently turning him toward Raphael’skiss. Then the brushing continued, prompting him to arc back againstRaphael, teasing the new edges of his shell.

“Love you likethis,” Raphael murmured. “Like a guitar. Play you justright and—”

The brush sweptdown his entire front, igniting each new nerve ending, and Leonardogasped silently, writhing in Raphael’s arms. Too trapped to escape,silent lest anyone hear and see him like this.

“You do thatagain,” Raphael said in his ear, “and I’ll give yousomething to sit on when you come back down.”

Leonardo winced atthe promise, the way the brush never stopped.

Soft, maddeningcircles. And his control disintegrating just as quickly as his oldshell.

[animeboye]

It’s a Dragon’s World Chapter 6

                                               Pt. 6 Titus Earns His Wings "Doulstraz, huh?" I asked. "What do you not like that name?" Angela asked. "Actually.. I think it's a pretty cool name." I responded with a smile. My tail bobbed around happily. "Looks like my tail likes that name too." I broke my attention away from my tail for a sec. "So what am I supposed to do now? Just stay in this cave?" I asked. "Unfortunately, you don't have much of a choice, Doulstraz. You can go out at night though. No one should see you." "How won't they?! I don't have wings yet!" I exclaimed. "You never know..." Angela said with a devilish, draconic smirk. I yawned. I didn't realize I only got a few hours of sleep. All these revelations made it difficult to think about sleep. "Tired, Doulstraz?" Angela asked. "Yeah. I'm going to bed." "Okay. Good night, Doulstraz." Angela said, warmly.

I found a nest, just perfect for sleeping in. Since the nest was rounded, I slept curled up into a ball. My tail just hung there as the only thing that wasn't curled up. As I slept, I dreamt about what was happening in Utah. I wondered how my other friends were. I wondered what happened to my old house. I wondered what happened to my parents. I woke up with a fright. It was the same dream. I thought to myself. I brought my head to my knees and sobbed a little. It was the same dream as the ones I've been having since I came to California. I stopped sobbing for a sec. My legs felt strange. They felt... scaly. I got up, otu of my "bed" and walked to where there was more light. It looked as if CLAWS were growing out of my toes. My pinkie toe and my big toe were missing, leaving only three toes on each foot. I noticed on the back of my feet, there was a single claw. My feet had green scales growing on them. The scales were goring up all the way to my mid section. I knew that couldn't be good. I pulled my pants down and was shocked at what I saw. "Did THAT have to go?" I thought to myself. My mid section had scutes growing from it. The scutes continued, all the way to my stomach. It seemed they came from my tail as well. I noticed my feet were larger than before. The bones in my legs looked as if they repositioned themselves. My leg bones now faced backwards. My legs also looked as if they had more muscle in them. It also appeared as if I had gained a little bit of height, however I still wasn't as tall as I previously was. That wasn't the only new addition to me. I felt my back. Two new appendages were sticking out. I had grown a pair of WINGS! I was actually very excited. I tried flapping my wings to see if they worked. I hovered above the ground for a split second. then my wings gave out. "Looks like I've got a bit of practicing to do with these guys." I said, somewhat proudly. Angela walked in. She was in her dragon form. "So I see the little dragon's got his wings." Angela said. "Yep." I smiled. "And I've got digitigrade feet." "I've gotta say, Doulstraz. You're turning out to look like a pretty cute hatchling." I blushed a little. I knew I wasn't fully dragon yet, but hearing that just made me feel like maybe the transformation won't be so bad. "Th-Thanks, Angela." I said, looking down at the ground, embarrassed. "So what are you going to do now?' Angela asked. "What do you mean?" I asked. "It's already night time. Since most people are asleep, you're free to wander around California." "I think I'm going to go back to my brother's house." I said. "Doulstraz, are you sure?" "My friend, Lucas will understand. Adults don't understand stuff like this as well as us, kids do. And my nephew and niece would just blab about seeing me halfway through my dragon transformation. Lucas is my only hope." I explained. "What are you going to tell him?" Angela asked. "I'm gonna tell him to tell my brother and the others not to worry about me, and that I'll return soon. There's some stuff I have yet to do." "...I see." Angela said. "This'll also give me a chance to try out my wings." I said with a wide grin. I walked out the door to the shop. Then I opened my wings and flew off, towards my brother's house. In less than a half an hour, I made it to my brother's house. I saw Lucas, sitting on the couch. I waited until my brother and his kids were upstairs. Then I knocked on the sliding glass door. Lucas got off the couch and came outside. "TIT-" I covered his mouth before anyone could hear. I told him not to yell or anything. "What happened to you, Titus? Why are you so small now? And what's with your legs?" "I'm turning into a dragon. I'm at least midway through my transformation." I tried to explain. "So why are you small then? If you're becoming a dragon, shouldn't you be as tall as a house or something?" Lucas asked. "That's the thing. When my transformation's finished, I'm gonna be a child dragon. I'll be at least the size of a dog from what I heard." "Heard from who?" Lucas asked. "I'll tell you later. I need you to pass on a message." I explained. "Okay. What's the message?" Lucas asked. "Tell my brother and his family not to worry about me. I'll be back. But I have stuff to do right now." "Okay. Anything for my dragon friend." Lucas said. I unfurled my wings again. "Wait!" Lucas exclaimed. "What's up?" I asked. "When you become a dragon, will you still remember us?" Lucas asked. I thought about that myself. I didn't know how to respond. I simply replied, "I'm not too sure myself." I again unfurled my wings and flew off, into the sky. I waved goodbye to Lucas. Maybe, this would be the last time I ever saw them. I saw Angela flying through the sky too. She dove down. "I'm proud of you, Doulstraz. Don't worry. You WILL see your friend and family again." I was happy knowing that I'd still see them but right now, I was more happy about this. I thought becoming a dragon would be a bad thing, but now, I was more excited than ever. I closed my eyes and imagined myself as a dragon. "Yeah. Being a dragon. That'll be SO cool." I said to myself. I snickered to myself a little. "You say something, Doulstraz?" Angela asked. "Nah. Just thinking to myself." We flew back to the shop. I wondered what would await me as my transformation continued. Lucas, Jackie, Kyle, Ben, Jessie. Please...wait for me.

[mama-ghostie-61542]

The Hamato Chronicles--Ch. 2

 Rated M for Mature

If ya recognize it, it ain't mine.

 Chapter Two

Leo’s POV

It was about 6a.m. when my nose woke me up. ‘Mikey must be trying to make biscuits again’, I thought.

I stumbled to the bathroom. I did my morning routine and hit the shower. Normally, at this time of day, there was a ton of hot water, but there were spots where it went ice cold.

About the time I turned the water off, there was a big bang on the door.

“Dude! Hurry up, I need to pee!”

“You have external plumbing and we live in a sewer,” I stated.

“Like hell I do, maggot! Move!”

It was then that I realized it was a girl. I seriously thought about beating Raph for bringing a girl here, but I wrapped my towel around my hips and opened the door.

“Marlowe,” I shrieked, reaching for my sister.

“No time, Leo, gotta pee,” she said as she pushed me out of the bathroom and locked the door. A second later I heard her contented sigh, a moment after that came the flush. Then there was the momentary sound of water being turned on, then back off. Next, my sister unlocked the door and opened it.

Smiling, she said, “Ya know, Leo, I about jimmied the lock.”

“But Lowe,” I blushed, thoroughly embarrassed that my sister would have caught me in my birthday suit.

“Oh, come on, Leo; I diapered you boys and I have been married twice. A penis doesn’t scare me. And I have seen some pretty scary stuff in the Corps. Now, finish up. Breakfast should be about ready when you get there. Just keep it quiet.”

I smiled and nodded, then padded down the hall to my old room and started to get clothes on. As I pulled up my boxer briefs a sudden thought hit me. If she diapered all four of us, then she had seen the weird freckle on my ass. That was a mortifying thought. Was she there when we were baptized and Raph pissed on Father Corelli?

I finished dressing and tried to use my ninja skills to surprise my big sister, but just as I stepped into the kitchen, she turned and handed me the silverware.

“Set the table,” she said as she turned to me. “Good try though, KaBong.”

I smiled at a childhood nickname, “Thanks, Lowe.” Then I grabbed her arm as she walked past me and pulled my tiny, little, big sister into a huge hug. I love Marlowe’s hugs. She is the only girl I have ever met who tries to get her arms all the way around my shell but generally settles for gripping on at least one of my coastal scutes.

“I’m glad you are home and safe, Sis,” I whispered against the top of her head. “I missed you.”

She chuckled and buried her face in my chest and said, “I missed you too, little brother.”

About that time, we heard the boys waking up.

Don’s POV

I padded out of my old lab and saw Leo standing in the kitchen. That in itself was terrifying. But, what set me on edge was knowing that he was hugging someone. As I walked closer to them, I caught sight of DCU pants and sock feet; human sock feet. However, the pants are what gave it away. I only knew of one person who would wear those. I jumped into a group hug that pinned my big sister between my older brother and me.

Hugging my sister, I kissed the top of her head and teared up a bit. The day I had prayed for had finally come. My sister was home.

Next, we heard the water come on in the bathroom. Then, Marlowe smiled softly and dislodged us from her person and went back to fixing breakfast. I knew then we were in for a treat. As much as I love Italian food, I LOVE my sister’s cooking.

Raph’s POV

I smelled homemade biscuits. That is what woke me up. I showered quickly, imagining the buttery goodness with what smelled like sausage gravy, eggs, and hash browns. Someone else had to be cooking, Mikey can’t make gravy to save his life. Meeting my baby bro at the bathroom door though, let me know it wasn’t him.

“Dude, do you smell that,” Mikey asked, his eyes wide.

“Yep, can’t be Leo.”

“No, Don banned him from helping. Could it be Donnie?”

“Nah, D would have turned it into research and burned it. So that leaves Dad,” I whispered.

Mikey shook his head, “No, Dad won’t make gravy and hash browns at the same time. Bro, let me pee and we will both go see.”

Mere minutes later, Mikey and I were silently padding through the old place on our way to the kitchen. Mikey stopped me suddenly and placed a finger over his mouth in the sign to hush, then wiggled his fingers by his ear slit.

We heard a woman’s voice, “Java’s ready, Donnie.”

But Don’s reply blew us away.

“Thanks, Lowe.”

Our eyes lit up! Our big sister was home! We were asses and elbows running for the kitchen. I turned the corner and there, in her sock feet and DCU pants with a tan colored A-shirt on, and buzz cut, black hair was Marlowe, my human big sister.

“Marlowe,” I somehow managed to choke out around the lump in my throat and the growing tightness in my chest. 

Marlowe’s POV

I had just taken the last of the hash browns out of the grease when something large hit me in the back. I turned to see my baby brother, Angel; a name only I was allowed to call him, hopping from one foot to the other with a look of intense joy on his face. He reminded me of a little boy who thought Christmas had come early.

I swear that kid grows an extra set of arms and legs every single time I come home, even if I’m just on leave. My news is gonna explode this one.

I heard my name, near sobbed from the doorway and saw Raph, fighting to keep his tough guy persona going. Don’t tell anyone, but it is close between him and Donnie as to who is my favorite. I know, I’m not supposed to have a favorite, but I do. In fact, I have two.

As I started toward my hot-headed little brother, his knees gave out.

Raph’s POV

My knees went weak and gave out as my big sister wrapped her arms around me.

I sobbed on her as she kissed my dome and whispered, “I’m home, Squeaks; for good this time.”

I looked up at her from where my arms were locked around her middle and my head was buried in her chest, “Really,” I whispered.

“Really, really,” she smiled as she wiped away the tears leaking out of my bronze eyes.

Suddenly, my brothers and dad all joined us in a ginormous group hug.

 Leo POV

When we all separated for breakfast, I asked, “So, when did you get in, Lowe?”

“04:00,” she answered. “I sparred with Pop until about 05:00. Showered; then came down to start breakfast. It is something that my squad loved, but I just couldn’t hack. These are called ‘Heralds’. They are a biscuit, two sausage patties, 2 fried eggs, hash browns, gravy, and cheese,” she said as she made one for Mikey and one for Raph. Don and I were cool without the gravy. Dad had his somewhat like ours, but with ketchup and his biscuit on the side. Lowe just had a biscuit.  

After breakfast, we all went to the dojo for training. I admit, I got a little jealous when she used a move I had never seen before to put Dad on his rear. I had never seen my father go down so fast or with such a huge smile on his face. A part of me worried that she would take over my spot as leader. As soon as she smiled at him, with a look of accomplishment on her face, that feeling faded slightly. I got to see a glimpse of the teenaged girl who beamed with accomplishment and pride at any praise.  I missed seeing her in my Marine sister.

As we left training, the timer on her watch went off. Marlowe excused herself to go take her meds. We didn’t think anything of it; if we had only known about the storm that was brewing.

A/N--Same version is on ffn

[askkrenko]

Magic Story Abridged: Nahiri Rocks

(Episode 6; Original stories HERE and HERE)

Art by UDON

ABOUT SIX THOUSAND YEARS AGO, LESS FORTY

ZENDIKAR

Nahiri: Goodbye, Sorin! Visit soon! We’ll go fishing or hiking or we can practice swordfighting or whatever you want really! I’ll miss you! Hurry back!

Sorin: I won’t be gone long. A few years at most.

Nahiri: Goodbye, Ugin! … ... Goodbye, Ugin!

Ugin: Goodbye, Nahiri.

(Ugin and Sorin planeswalk away, leaving Nahiri behind)

Nahiri: … Well, they’re gone, and I’m stuck on this plane for all eternity keeping an eye on the Eldrazi prison. I guess there’s only one thing to do…. PARTY!

(Nahiri proceeds to party. For five thousand years.

(She goes all over the world, meets everybody, gets laid repeatedly, and gorges herself on fine food and drink. Sorin shows up from time to time to party with her. And then everybody dies. Not all at once, mind. But over time. Everyone she meets. Dead. After like seventy years. Fine for them. Not for her. Really becomes a bummer. How’re you supposed to party for eternity when Sorin’s the only other person who even lives for eternity?)

Nahiri: Ugh… Okay, this party got bad in a hurry. It’s only been five millennia. What the hell am I even supposed to do for the rest of forever? And where the hell is Sorin? It’s been like a decade, and I could really use a friend right about now.

The Soul of Zendikar, a glowing green beastie that only Nahiri can see: Hi! I’ll be your friend. But I need you to do something for me.

Nahiri: What? I mean, sure! But what?

Zendikar: MAKE THE HURTING STOOOOOOOOOOP! (The entire plane shakes)

Nahiri: The what? Oh, scute! The Eldrazi! I need to make a call.

(Nahiri goes to the Eye of Ugin.)

Nahiri: UGIN! UGIN! I NEED YOUR HELP!

Eye of Ugin: Rrrrring. Rrrrring. Rrrrring. Rrrrring.

Nahiri: He’s not answering. Why isn’t he answering? UGIN! IT’S THE ELDRAZI!

Eye of Ugin: Hello, you have reached Ugin, the Spirit Dragon. I can’t come to the magical stone right now, but if you leave your name, home plane, and a brief message, I’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Beep.

Nahiri:  Damnit! It’s Nahiri! Zendikar! Eldrazi! Come quick!   Uumm… SORIN! CALL SORIN!

Eye of Ugin: The number you have dialed is not in service. Please check the number and dial again.

Nahiri: What? WHAT?!?! What does that even… No time! Gotta check the hedrons!

(Nahiri runs off around the world to make sure the giant floating octahedrons are still in place. At Ondu, Nahiri finds…)

Art by Daniel Ljunggren

Nahiri: SEXY ANTHROPOMORPHIC ELDRAZI STATUES? THE F***?! THE ACTUAL F***?!

Zendikar: Well, remember that time you called them gods?

Nahiri: I called them dark and vile gods that tried to destroy the world!

Zendikar: Right. Gods.

Nahiri: Oh, Eldrazidamnit.   (Nahiri waves her hand and the statues collapse.)

(Nahiri continues to roam the world, fighting small Eldrazi spawn along the way. She gets back and finds… The damage to the network was in a cave right near where she started. She’d just started going the wrong way.)

(Turns out someone carved one of the hedrons into a sexy anthropomorphic Ulamog statue.)

Nahiri: Oh, come on! Now I’ve got to melt this whole thing down and…

Art by James Ryman

Vampire, arriving with weapons drawn, and reinforcements: You’ll do no such thing! This is our sacred shrine!

Nahiri: ...There aren’t any Vampires on Zendikar.

Vampire: I think you’ll find that- (Nahri points. Rocks fall. All the vampires die.)

Nahiri: Right, I’ve got to melt this whole thing down and…

Zendikar: IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS! (Earthquakes happen)

Eldrazi Spawn: Kekeke Eldrazi Rush!

Nahiri: Well, at least I’m not bored anymore…

Art by Jaime Jones

(Nahiri fights Eldrazi off for years as she magically reforges the Hedron. Zendikar complains the whole time. Finally, she remakes it, sets it back in place, and the Eldrazi stop coming…)

Nahiri: There you go, Zendikar. All better.

Zendikar: ...It still hurts. You didn’t do it right. The dragon did it better.

Nahiri: Well, the dragon isn’t here… Neither is Sorin. Damnit, where is Sorin? He better be dead! No! I didn’t mean that! I hope he’s not dead! And why do I have vampires? Zendikar! You stay here!

Zendikar: I am the spirit of this plane and can do literally nothing else.

Nahiri: Great. I’m going to find Sorin! I’ll be back soon!

(Nahiri planeswalks away)

Art by Jaime Jones

INNISTRAD

Nahiri: ...That is easily the ugliest Hedron I have ever seen.

Sorin, appearing silently: I made do. I only know what lithomancy you’ve taught me, and-

(Nahiri GLOMPS Sorin)

Nahiri: YOU’RE ALIVE! I thought you were dead! Why aren’t you dead? Where the hell have you been?

Sorin: Right here! Why would I be dead?

Nahiri: The hedrons got damaged and I called on the Eye of Ugin and nobody came and I had to fix it myself and I was so worried about you!

Sorin: As long as you fixed it. All’s well that ends well.

Nahiri: Except you didn’t come!

Sorin: Oh, that. I put up a magical barrier to protect Innistrad from otherworldly threats. Gave me a nice alarm when you showed up. Must’ve blocked the Eye of Ugin, too.

Nahiri: ...A magical barrier.

Sorin: Oh, yeah. There’s some pretty nasty stuff out there, you know. Terrifying, really. Phyrexians, Dragons, Storm Crows, Eldrazi…

Nahiri: I am aware of the Eldrazi!

Sorin: Then you can see why I needed a barrier.

Nahiri: I needed your help! You promised! And I still need your help! We need to go back to Zendikar! We need to secure the entire network!

Sorin: Calm down, kid. I’ve like a million other things to do right now.

Nahiri: Kid?! I’m over five thousand years old!

Sorin: And I’m over six thousand. You’re a kid.

Nahiri: GRAAAA! (Nahiri hits Sorin with a rock.)

Sorin: Well, I hardly think this kind of reaction is called for.

(Nahiri keeps hitting Sorin with rocks.)

Nahiri: You’re (ROCK) going to shut up, (ROCK) come back to Zendikar, (ROCK) and help me make sure the whole (ROCK) damn (ROCK) Hedron Network (ROCK)  is safe from harm!

???: LEAVE MY DAD ALONE!

Art by Jason Chan

(Nahiri gets suckerpunched by a pale white angel with black clothes and makeup; an achromatic angel, if you will)

Nahiri: An Angel? How did you-?

(Nahiri and the angel fight; rock sword against silver spear. Clang clink clash! The battle is hard fought, and it looks like Nahiri might win, but then…)

Sorin: Stop! Time out!

Nahiri: You can’t just call a time out in a sword fight!

Sorin: No, I mean, you. You’re getting a time out.

(Sorin uses a magical laser to shove Nahiri into the big ugly hedron. She sinks into it and disappears)

Sorin: Into the penalty box with you.

Avacyn, the angel: How long is she to remain in there?

Sorin: Honestly, kid? I don’t actually know how to get her out. It’s designed to hold demons. Forever.

Avacyn: Oh, of course. Shall I fill it with demons?

Sorin: Definitely. You go do that.

(And so she did.)

Art by Kieran Yanner

[elasianstar]

R #7 Bump (Slightly NSFW)

The boys were heading off for patrol without Raph tonight. he pissed off Leo again, shirking orders and almost getting the four spotted, so he's benched. Master splinter would be in the meditation room all night with explicit orders not to disturb him.

So since Raph was in trouble I spent the night in Donnie’s lab, working on four specialized batches of masking serum. I had my music up a little loud, allowing myself to get lost in the sound of the guitar, hips swaying to the beat as I made the calculations and measured out the exact weights of each reactant needed. Stewing some to extract oils, grinding others between mortar and pestle before adding each batch to the still Don had leant me. The resulting bottles of grayish fluid would need much more refining but they were a positive step in the right direction.

“You know I can feel you watching me.”

His voice was low and careful from where he had been watching from the lab door.

“Can't a guy watch his girl work?”

Corking the second vial of potion I turned to lean back against the lab bench, goggles perched low on my nose so i could look over them.

“Not when said guy is in time out and is supposed to be practicing his kata as punishment.”

“Awww come on Myōjō, ya know good and well Leo’s just power trippin.”

“Don't you Myojo me Raphael, I agree with Leo, your stealth could use some major improvement. Especially when you get riled up.”

“I can't believe you're taking his side on this!.......Fuckin fearless leader boy…..doesn't know teamwork if it slapped him upside the damn head….”

I reached up and grabbed his jaw turning  his face toward mine as I held my ground, his hand, raised by instinct, stilled mid air.

“I never said I was taking his side, merely that I agreed that you needed work. I don't think making you mindlessly go through your Kata is the way to do it, but Leo is the leader. In order to make a functional team you sometimes need to just grin and bear it, no matter how much you may disagree.”

He sighed, shaking his head out of my grip and running his hand over his bandana before looking down at me through the corner of his eye.

“Why do ya always gotta be the sane logical one?”

I hooked my arm around his leading him to sit in Donnie’s skateboard chair.

“Because somebody's gotta drag your scaly ass back down to earth. Get you thinking rationally again. Now you can take a short break and watch me work if you really want, but when Leo and the others get back you'd better be back in the Dojo or it'll be another useless fight.”

“Yes ma'am.”

I smirked over my shoulder at him as I started up the still for the next batch.

“Damn straight mister.”

…

“Alright, I've got the stock solutions made and they should keep in this form. Now I just have to separate the solution into a carrier oil over the course of a few weeks and then further refine it with the pollen of ghost orchids until it turns periwinkle blue.”

I felt his hand on my waist as he looked over my shoulder at the tangle of laboratory equipment.

“And that should turn us human?”

“No, there's nothing that will actually accomplish that feat. This will however cause you to appear as human for a number of hours per dose. If I got the calculations right, I'm not used to working with a quasi cold-blooded metabolism.”

“Ya know what? Ya can really put a friggin damper on things when ya go all Don on me. Scientists…”

He wrapped me up so I couldn't move for a few minutes, his chin resting on top of my head.

“Sorry Red. You know I don't care what you are right? I like you all big and scaly.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, you're always so nice to cuddle, you stay cool and I really enjoy the textures of your skin and your shell. They're nice to run my hands over, if you'd let me I'd probably be happy just doing that for hours. I also like that you're so much bigger than me, I'm so used to being the one people look to that it's nice to feel like I can be held and cuddled and cooed over from time to time.”

I turned to face him, reaching up to wrap my arms around his neck while he held my waist. My fingers found the knot of his bandanna and swiftly undid it so I could get a good look at his face.

“Your eyes, I've never seen such a wonderful shade of green, like sunlit peridot sprinkled with flakes of gold. You’re so expressive even when you're trying to hide behind that faux tough exterior. Your face is well balanced and pleasing to the artist in me. The smooth even planes of your nose and the soft gradient between the darker tones around your eyes and the lighter ones around your beak, I could draw you for years and never get tired of it. Your chubby cheeks and your strong jaw that give you a look of innocence, of goodness, despite your years and all you've seen. And your lips, they’re soft and plush and every time you kiss me it feels like i'm diving, terminal velocity, it takes my breath away and I never want to pull up.”

Before I could continue I felt those very lips press passionately against my own as wonderfully rough hands moved to smooth over my lower back and hold me tight to that perfectly large body of his. Lips parted without question as tongues danced around each other like flint and steel, lighting the fire between us to burn ever so brightly. When my hands smoothed over the scattered scales on his neck and shoulders I felt a shiver spark across both of our skin as his hands moved higher to caress the space right below my wings. Fingertips barely brushing the sensitive skin just a few inches higher…

I was expecting the fall, sweeping one of my legs behind his knees as I pressed against the smooth edges of his chest scutes. What I wasn't expecting was for him to stop kissing me, wrapping himself around me almost in entirety, protecting me, as he fell backwards into the chair.

What HE definitely wasn't expecting was for me to start kissing, hot and open mouthed across the exposed skin of his collar bones and up to the sensitive spot on his neck where the end of his slider marks met his pulse point. That deep rumbling Purr buzzing through his plastron too low to hear but definitely able to be felt as I pressed myself closer to him, straddling his waist as his hands took up their expedition across the valleys and plains of my own form. A happy little skene left my lips as his own nuzzled in to give my neck a similar treatment, hands running over the curve of my outer thighs as I pressed my chest close enough to feel the pounding of his heart behind his armored flesh.

My skin was so hot and his cool hide was like an oasis, quenching the fires his hands had started.

“Ah, Raphael, hmmmm, my angel, my perfect… ahhh!”

The feel of his teeth gently grazing over my pulse point mixed with the roughness with which he grasped my ass sent my head rolling back in pleasure, a shaky chirping sound overtaking the words on my lips as i pressed my hips down against his lower plastron. There was a bulging there, something pressing at the softer, more cartilaginous scutes just under the slope of his hips. When I gave it a testing grind he stilled almost immediately, eyes screwed shut as he fought to control his breath.

“Elasia, please d..don't do that. Not yet babe. Haaaah…”

Pulling my hips back I rolled to the side, tucking myself in the nook between his arm and his body as I sat sideways across his lap. I placed my hand carefully over his heart and we focused on calming breaths until he felt like he could open his eyes again. His lips pressed carefully against my forehead and his fingers matched the rhythm of my own gently running along the tendons of the inside of his forearm in calming, grounding motions.

“You ok Raph?”

I felt his breath huff against my hair.

“Yeah, I'm good........... sorry.”

I looked up at him through my hair where it had fallen across my forehead.

“Don't be sweetheart, it's totally fine if you aren't ready or if you feel uncomfortable to let me know. If you need me to back off I will, every time, without question.”

He just held me, focusing on breathing for a few minutes until I felt familiar souls approaching from the south tunnels.

“The guys are back, let's see if you can be stealthy enough to get back to the Dojo before Leo notices you weren't doing your kata.”

I turned back to my work, the only hint that he had even moved being the gentle touch of his fingers as they brushed across the edges of my hair.