#lapblood

[gummybearsings]

I was compelled to make a lazy personal character guide + size chart of Twitchtip, Ripred, and Lapblood so below is a very long ramble on how I headcannon their looks because the brain rot is real and I don’t want to think about finals this week.

First things first: the eyes

I swear when Gregor meets Ripred for the first time he described his eyes as “glowing” so I decided to make that literal and give all (if not most) of the under-land creatures glowing eyes. I’ve been thinking about possibly mild color changes to the eyes but different shades of yellow seems good for now.

Now as for the actual characters starting with everyone’s favorite sassy scent seer Twitchtip!

TT: Shes tiny, flat out. There’s no way an 11 year old boy was able to hold onto a huge waterlogged rat and be able to keep his grip long enough for the rest of the questers to pull them out of the water so she’s tiny (Yes I know she was also holding onto him to but still). Would also explain why she can jump so high, tiny body, strong legs (fast runner too). Miiiight possibly make her a tad bigger since Twirltongue is supposed to also be small but eh. I was debating on making her some fun color or just a light shade of gray but decided the gray would be fine for now. I also see her as perpetually tired looking so eye bags for days.

The others are pretty straightforward.

RR: Big boi, even to the other rats. I was messing with his fur color and decided the dark bluish gray was perfect for him. Looks soft and fluffy but has pretty course fur, with a proper bath and grooming it would be much softer. Far more physically expressive then the other rats for drama points. Other then that, not much to say.

LP: I figured she would fall into the average category in terms of looks. Was also thinking of adding cool coat patters but eh it looked too crowded. She’s around the average height for a female gnawer and a few shades darker then Twitchtip. Constantly has a “I’m over this” look to her. Slightly less fluffy then Ripred but much softer.

Oh also different whisker looks for everyone because I find it fun.

[tangents-within-tangents]

Recently reread the Underland Chronicles so I decided to dig through and find the old fanart I did when I first read the series like 11 years ago (wow i’m old) so please enjoy

Featuring my Mark Crilley manga phase, my terrible handwriting lol, ✨copic markers✨, random details I latched on to for some reason, FEELs wtf bro, and me somehow missing the fact that Luxa got a haircut in book one, and spoilers (fr go read these books if you haven't they are so good)

Luxa and Henry (and questionable armor choices??)

The weave texture was meant to show that their clothes are made of spider silk (Idk what the random thigh pouch is supposed to be tho)

Hamnet and Hazard (and long arms so they can hold hands lol)

Queen Luxa

Yeah 13 year old me really latched on to Luxa and tried to make her my personality lolll

And for some reason the fish-shape crystal thing really stood out to me I guess

And the turtle trapdoor, I remembered that bit specifically during my reread bc I pictured this drawing I did of it. (I also vaguely remember writing (like by hand in my notebook) a mini missing scene fanfic about Luxa using the turtle trapdoor when she snuck out to join the quest in PoB XD)

(Don't ask about that size difference lol)

Okay here come the scenes/spoilers (and FEELS)

(and apparently I thought that holding Ares' claw meant his foot instead of his wing)

There you have it lol

I also distinctly remember making like a montage of Lapblood moments (the dart frog jumping near her face, strangled in the vines, sinking in quicksand (all near death experiences apparently, rip she had it rough), and Gregor brushing her fur) bc those were the moments I remembered and kept picturing during my reread. But unfortunately I could not for the LIFE of me find it!

Anyway, looking at your old art is cringeyyyy but it's still kinda fun too. This really is not how I picture the characters or clothing and stuff anymore, I might do some redraws if I ever find the time/motivation (lol as if) 

[rin-solo]

Cartoon Series Pt. 3 | Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods

This is part 3 in an art series for TUC!! I will probably do one wallpaper for every book/quest. Are you interested in seeing more of these? You can find parts 1+2 on my profile, btw!

Yes, the style is close to Phineas and Ferb; Idk why but, for some reason, I fell in love with the way the characters look in this style.

Disclaimer: the bg is a stock image; the rest is drawn by me!

[quohotos]

Sketched Lapblood in paint 3d as a warmup today. Rats are actually very difficult to draw.

[overandunderland]

Ripred:*trying to pretend he's the same grizzled cynical rat he's always been since Gregor's absence.*

Gregor noticing a building of a nest in the den he shares with Lapblood:

[haveihitanerve]

honestly

Ripred this Ripred that

Well have you considered Lapblood?

[aldoodles]

Two faves I don’t draw enough

[haveihitanerve]

I have this headcannon that ripred just pretty much shows up at home with his new kids every once in a while and just assumes everyone is aware and every single one of his pack members accepts his kids, but the first time are always baffled by it like- Ripred: and as i was saying- razor did you have something you wanted to say? Razor: um… yeah. Who-? Why is the warrior here? Ripred: *glancing at eleven year old gregor who is playing hopscotch with another rat pup* thats my son obviously. Now as i was saying- - Mange: *waking up and yawning. Walks out of cave* good morning everyo- GAH JESUS CHRIST Ares: *hanging upside down right in front of the cave entrance* oh. Good morning. Is ripred here? Mange:...*heart rate at 200 beats per second*.....Yeah. yeah. Just inside Ares: *sweetly* thank you - Razor: Mange: Lapblood: Ratriff: Clawsin: Razor: why is the queen here? Lapblood: ripred just showed up, dropped her off, said something about retrieving the other one and left Luxa: *chewing some bubble gum* sup. - Ripred: Aurora: Ripred: Aurora: Ripred: Aurora: Ripred: *sigh* fine Aurora: yay! Lapblood: Razor: Clawsin: Ratriff: Mange: did any of yall get that? Them: nope.  - Ripred: *walking into cave for pack meeting time* theres more coming behind me Lapblood: oh okay we can- Ares: *flies in with gregor on his back* sup yall Mange: hey pup. Now- Aurora: *flies in with nike attached to her leg by a piece of rope* hey Nike: *sullenly* id didn't wanna come Razor: h-hi? Ratriff: okay so- Andromeda: hello! Howard: hey Luxa: *cartwheels in* sup bitches *high fives gregor* Mareth: *carrying a wet boots* gregor she said shes not feeling polite today Gregor: okay. Does she need to go to Regalia? Mareth: no shes just not feeling polite Boots: *hiss* Hazard: *comes skipping in* hello! Lapblood: is that the last of them? Ripred: *counting* yeah should be.  Them: …. Ripred: what? Mange: you have to count your kids? Ripred: THERES A LOT OF THEM OKAY???

[tigirl-and-co]

if there was an underland video game, I don't CARE what kind of game, i DEMAND a social management aspect. Like you, as gregor, have to keep the different party members from fucking killing each other (or dying of exhaustion by running themselves ragged bc nobody wants to help them)

and if you finish a quest with either no deaths or max affection you get bonus scenes/good endings

[theotherpacman]

ah fuck I just remembered, gregor singing to lapblood as he brushes the quicksand out of her fur. can you fucking imagine

hello. gregor likes to sing au

the first time gregor sings in the underland, it's on the quest of gray. it's time to sleep, but boots is restless. gregor knows he can't let her stay awake while he's sleeping down here, so he sings her to sleep - something slow and soulful, something their dad always liked, something their mom hasn't wanted to listen to since he went missing. he only remembers that part once he's already begun: the way their dad would put on the cd and sing along while he and their mom cooked dinner together. the way their mom cooks alone now, in silence.

the painful nostalgia, the mourning of time lost and memories tainted comes out in his voice. boots doesn't notice - she's asleep by the time the song is over - but luxa and henry do. ares and pandora do. ripred does, as well.

none of them say a word about it until months later, when they're on another quest entirely, this time to find and kill the mysterious bane. luxa isn't supposed to be there, so she feels she can't complain about anything, not even the loud and ceaseless bickering of the shiners - but she really can't stand it. so she asks gregor to sing.

he sings something upbeat this time, something fast-paced and fun. it gets boots dancing, which makes them smile. again, gregor thinks of his family, but it's different now that his dad is back. now, he thinks of how hard he and lizzie and their mom have been trying to get their dad back to his old joyful self again. now, he thinks of how music is one of the only things that can make his dad stir with life, as though he's beginning to wake up from an open-eyed sleep - but it doesn't always work. but gregor tries not to think about that too much, opting instead to focus on singing loudly enough to drown out the fireflies' whining. (and to focus on the way that luxa seems to relax into his voice.)

in the jungle, singing isn't so easy. but boots is exhausted and hungry and thirsty and sick and there's just nothing else he can do for her, so he sings. his voice cracks in his dry throat and stumbles with his painful steps, but he sings. he sings any song that comes to his mind until boots stops crying, having drifted off into a fevered and uneasy sleep. the others on the journey listen to every word.

[prophecyofgray]

okay okay this one’s going to be a banger for sure. Uhhhhhh Lapblood + 12

song: "hot to go" by chappell roan

lyrics:

"Well, I woke up alone staring at my ceiling I try not to care but it hurts my feelings You don't have to stare, come here, get with it No one's touched me there in a damn hot minute"

(this is a CRAZY combination but these lyrics taken out of context kind of sort of work? a little bit? maybe? idk but it was fun to try!)

fic below the cut! [set during Curse of the Warmbloods, CW for canon-typical grief and suicidal ideation for lapblood, 445 words]

Mange is dead Mange is dead Mange is dead.

The words rebound through Lapblood's head over and over again, sometimes punctuated by Flyfur and Sixclaw are probably dead. She stares out at the foliage of the jungle, the greenery indistinct and insignificant to her eyes. I should be dead.

When she next awakens, it's to sounds of celebration. "Water!" Like an incantation has been uttered, she becomes immediately aware of the heaviness of her tongue, dry and useless in her mouth. Someone or something carries her towards the water, and she steps blindly into the lake.

The water is rough and coarse against her fur, and the dirty brownish-yellow color doesn't make sense to her addled mind. She hears more shouts from the group, only this time they're fearful, and then Lapblood is sinking, sinking, sinking. They cry out to her, Ripred and the Overlander alike, angry and desperate.

Just let me go. She's not sure if she speaks it aloud or merely thinks it. Stop waiting for me. Just let me go.

"...your pups!"

Her eyes, crusting over, now fly open. "My pups!" This she says aloud, she screams, she yells. The revelation comes from her gut, panicked and insuppressible. Flyfur and Sixclaw are probably dead. But what if they're not?

Lapblood grabs the branch that's been thrown to her and allows herself to be rescued, a new mantra pounding against her rib cage. My pups my pups my pups.

Consciousness slips away, elusive in the minutes or hours or days that pass. Someone slips water down her throat. Mange grooms her. Mange... Mange? No, Mange is dead. Pain shoots through her chest. Mange is dead Mange is dead Mange is--

The Overlander appears in front of her. "I'm going to brush out your belly now. You've got to lay on your side."

Lapblood complies, staring at him and trying to connect his face with the brush that's being run through her fur. No human, and especially no Overlander, has ever touched her with any amount of tenderness. Not even many other gnawers have. Just her mother. And Mange.

"Do you think they're still alive?" Lapblood asks Mange. "Flyfur and Sixclaw?"

"Sure. Sure I do. They'll have the yellow powder by now. And... And Mincemeat will feed them."

Mincemeat. No, Makemince, that's her name. "Yes, she will feed them. My pups."

"Now you should try and get some sleep, Lapblood. Okay?"

Lapblood looks at the Overlander, Gregor, who is not Mange. Mange, who is not here. Mange, who is dead. Mange is dead Mange is dead Mange is dead. The thought continues to pulse within her head and heart as she drifts off once more.

[antique-symbolism]

The scene in Curse of the Warmbloods where Gregor grooms Lapblood is truly one of the most powerful moments of the series.

I feel like it's the moment Gregor truly internalizes the humanity of rats. Before this point, he's been able to accept and even appreciate Ripred and Twitchtip. But it isn't until he recognizes the mirror image of his grief in Lapblood that the barrier is truly broken and he realizes there is no fundamental difference between humans and rats.

Lapblood is on this gruelling journey for a cure that may be ultimately futile. She and hers have been starving for months, she knows some of her children are dead already, that the others are dying, she just watched her mate die violently in front of her eyes. She can't go on. She is exhausted, grief stricken, surrounded by people who revile her just for being a rat. The only other rat left in the party berates her with some kind of twisted 'tough love,' unable to show any compassion, saying in the process that he only wants her there because she's useful in a fight.

Then Gregor, a human, the enemy, the Warrior who is prophecied to defeat the rats, steps in and shows her sympathy, shows her hope. Lays his hands on her not in violence but in healing. It isn't saving her life in a flashy show of heroism - it's different than when he tackles Henry away from killing Ripred in Overlander, different than when he jumps in after Twitchtip in the whirlpool in Prophecy of Bane. It's a calculated, gentle display of compassion. It's intimate. And very, very public, with every eye from all sides of the conflict silently observing.

And then, after all that, with every eye still on him, he brushes out his own hair with the very same tool he used to groom Lapblood, her fur mingling with his hair as if to say, 'This is not my enemy. This is my kin.'

[returntoregalia]

Ripred's always so proud when Gregor gets salty with others. Like. "Hell yeah, that's my boy." Bro gets so joyous and warm fuzzy when the 12 year old bitches back at Lapblood and Solavet or Luxa. He laughs and backs him up. I just love that detail with Red so much and it's so funny that he's this middle aged war vet with an elementary schooler. Like teaching a sixth Grader to say 'fuck the police' in your old hard years. It's just "AWWWWWWW that's so precious. Lookit my lil' baby."

YES I love when Ripred admires Gregor's attitude! Those are the best scenes. Like when Gregor talks back to Luxa and Henry in Book 1 and Ripred is like "Tell them, boy! Tell them your country fought a war so they didn't have to answer to kings and queens." Great times

[unorthodoxiguana]

A theory I thought of

The names of the gnawers are not their actual names. Ripred isn't actually called Ripred. Lapblood isn't actually called Lapblood. Those are just the closest human translations of their actual names in the gnawer language, names that could have related, but still entirely different meanings.

[yesthefandomfreakblr]

So y'all remember the scene where Gregor brushes lapblood and then immediately uses the brush on his own hair and how fucking huge that was (Of course you do, we all do.)

What about later maybe after the firelands or something or a battle Ripred grooms Gregor the way he would another rat. Brushing it off as keeping the pup from getting infections, but the gesture still stands. Maybe when licking the scar across Gregor's side it tickles and regor squirms/laughs and it turns into just a few seconds of genuine tenderness, pinning him under a large paw and tickling him 'on accident' and telling the kid to knock it off and stay still. After he's sufficiently cleaned up he dumps the kid on the ground/shoves him off and starts cleaning himself up.

[snekatiemainy]

Gregor and how he interacts with the gnawers actually makes me go a little bit insane.

Giving Lapblood the strength to pull herself out of the quicksand, even brushing her afterwards when she's too depressed to bother doing it herself.

Treating Twitchtip with a kindness she's likely never received before, and rescuing her from the whirlpool when nobody else cared to- her trusting him enough to CURL UP NEXT TO HIM in her sleep.

Offering Ripred food when he doesn't have to, refusing to let Henry hurt Ripred. How he couldn't bring himself to hurt the Bane, and brought this thing that could supposedly destroy the whole underland to Ripred for even the chance he grows up alright. It's insane. Gregor man.