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vuelode-irbis · 11 months

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The love given to the first piece inspired me to do another one with more flags!

ID: a digital drawing that features seven members of the Mustelidae family, colored with the palettes of different pride flags. From left to right and top to bottom: a wolverine with the theme of the intersex pride flag, behind it, there are purple and yellow circles; a chinese ferret-badger with the genderqueer pride flag colors, and some sparkly onomatopoeias in the same colors; a black-footed ferret colored with the genderfluid pride flag, a heart in blue, pink and white and a line with the flag colors besides it; a river otter with the aroace pride flag colors, as well as exclamation onomatopoeias; a steppe polecat in the demiboy pride flag colors, a crown and a heart over his head; a striped polecat colored with the demigirl pride colors, which also has a little crown and a heart around; lastly, an american badger colored in the queer flag, and holding a little one. End ID.

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crowsyart · 16 days

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D’arce-European Robin

Le’garde-European hare

Ragnvaldr-Red wolf

Cahara-Steppe polecat

Enki-Cinereous vulture

#d’arce cataliss #d’arce fear and hunger #fear and hunger #fear and hunger enki #cahara fear and hunger #le’garde #ragnvaldr

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themask-maker · 7 months

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Here is another excerpt, but this one is from pre-TMM short story I've been working on as practice. It is similar to Practice Makes Perfect in that it's just supplemental prequel-ish information.

For those unfamiliar, this excerpt has to do with the the Fierce Deity's childhood.

In the space between winter and summer, Icespine begins its sprint from one season to the next. Its winds quiet their howls. Its skies brighten into unbroken swaths of blue. Its fields blossom with colors. The cold retreats north, allowing the sun to seep into the land’s bones in its wake and rouse it from slumber. Within the span of a few months, the sun will bake instead of seep and the rains will play coy to beckon droughts. The spring wildflowers bloom while they can, because like most things in Icespine, they will be here and gone again in the blink of an eye. Change is a constant companion to the steppe, just as it is to the ephemeral people who call it home. A bundle of cool safflina sprigs rest in a small, clawed hand. Its owner wanders through tall grass, methodically plucking only those periwinkle flowers from the sea of colors. His face remains hidden behind a wooden red bird mask as he shuffles along. Some yards behind him, a group of fellow masked youngsters dilly-dally under the supervision of two teenagers. The latter sit atop a large rock, watching over them like shepherds. A basket of safflina rests in the center of their small herd. One of the teens, a heavier set boy in a marmot mask, suddenly perks up. He counts the imps under his breath. When he comes up one short, he hops to his feet and glances around like a meerkat, quickly spotting the lone Igo toddling away. He gives a short whistle, but the wandering imp doesn't look up. He sighs at his fellow babysitter. "Head in the clouds, huh?" he chuckles. The other teen shakes her head, peering at him through the wide, carved eyes of a polecat. She's the oldest of the crew and the de facto leader, but still young at only sixteen. "It's ok, he does that," polecat reassures. She lifts her mask and cups a hand by her mouth to call out. "Ursang! Don't wander too far off now, ya hear?"

#fic excerpt #pre tmm #ursang #fierce deity link #fierce deity #the mask-maker #demon tribes au #loz au #majora's mask #igo kana #icespine

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can-of-pringles · 3 months

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Assign different mustelids (ferrets, badgers, otters, skunks, etc) to your OCs?

I had no idea they were called that, but ok here we go

Arline: Ferret

Carina Shephard/Beatrice Maddison: European Badger

Dannie Karim: Tayra

Pigeon: American Marten

Silas Petersson: Beech Marten

Arith: Greater Grison (bc this thing looks so weird in a fun way)

Iriel: Long-tailed Weasel

Kaia: Black-footed Ferret

Odel: Eurasian Otter

Eliška Hasek: Steppe Polecat

Marigold Rosales: North American River Otter

Rosie Rosales-Maximoff: Least Weasel

Allison Dahir: Sea Otter

Lee Quinn: Mountain Weasel

#answered asks #pringle answers #arline the arcane oc #carina shepherd // beatrice maddison #dannie karim #nameless ghoul pigeon #silas petersson #pringles good omens ocs #eliška hašek #xmen oc au #lee quinn #practically an xman

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potatos-messy-mind · 10 months

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So i decided to put this up here. I wil eventually be making one for Chun, no worries, but wanted to post this here for future reference for myself and anyone else who needs it. Since this is going to be a big reference sheet, I will include any and all reference images that are important. At the top are References for Tao's appearance, and below that are images of certain items he has with him at all times amd any other images that are relevant.

But first, I'm going to include each artist who drew the images, including the two so far that i've drawn. If any more images that relate to Tao's powers are made, I will update this with said image and the proper credit.

Artist creds

On Twitter: lupinebones77(Most of Tao's current refs aside from King and the inscence burner)

melocelli (Kaiju form)

torikalmia (King and the Incense burner)

deni_acp (Yang image)

On Deviantart: TropicalIndigo (Jinjing image)

My art: Tiger/Snow Leapord Hybrid, Li Yun(Electric/dark big cat).

Some general Info about Tao before we get into his powers.

Relationship Status: Taken by their partner/Fiancée Zihou

Age: est. 1500 (at least half the age of Wukong and Macaque)

Gender: Intersex (both male and female genetalia)

Pronouns: He/Him, She/Her, They/Them

Sexuality: Demisexual

Mental illnesses: Autism, ADHD, Anxiety, Depression, DID (magic makes this work somewhat differently in demons from how it presents irl), CPTSD

Physical Illnesses: Asthma, Pulmonary Atresia

Incense Burner/Ball and Chain Weapon

This incense burner is wrapped around Tao's waist and tends to spew some of his mist magic at any given time. It acts as both a weapon and storage. It can be used similarly to the ball and chain weapon from twilight princess, but can grow and shrink depending on what Tao needs. Misty spikes appear on the sphere when Tao is using it as a weapon.

King

A plushie made in Wukong's likeness that Macaque made for Tao when she was little. They told Macaque what clothes he wanted the little guy to wear, after seeing a future vision of baba wearing his more modern outfit. Has several small pocket dimensions inside of him that Tao can go into at any time.

Tao's Powers

Blessings of the White Snake

• Forked Tounge

• Hands(all four) can morph into snake heads

• Heatvision (Using his forked tounge.)

• More liquid/snakelike movement

Powers from Sun Wukong

72 Transformations

• Panda(Bear)

• Phoenix (Bird)

• Tiger/Snow Leapord hybrid (Big Cat)

• English Lop (Rabbit)

• Chow Chow (Dog)

• Long Eared Jeroba (Mouse)

• Chinese Moon/Silk Moth hybrid (Bug)

• Maine Coon (Domestic Cat)

• Datong (Horse)

• Impressed Tortise (Tortise)

• Yellow Pond Turtle (Turtle)

• Leatherback Turtle (Sea Turtle)

• Dulong Cow (Bull/Bovine)

• King Cobra/Burmese Python Hybrid (Snake)

• Chinese Water Dragon (Lizard)

• Tokay Gecko (Gecko)

• Chinese Alligator

• Eastern Dragon

• Yangtze Finless Porpoise (Porpoise)

• Hainan Eld's Deer

• Himilayan Marmot

• Steppe Polecat (Ferret)

• Asian Small-Clawed Otter

• Asian Badger

• Rhesus Macaque/Golden Snub Nosed Monkey Hybrid

108,000 Leap Somersault

Useful, but can cause Tao to have an asthma attack if preformed too fast or in a place with lots of debris.

Chi Manipulation

Mainly used in exorcisms and not in actual combat with living beings.

Flight

Loves soaring all on her own. can use his body to propel himself around and even gets help from the wind.

Replication/Shadow Cloning

Makes misty clones that can take on a physical appearance if nessicary.

Telepathic communication/Astral Projection

Has links to Wukong, Macaque, Chun and Zihou, but can easily astral project to anyone so long as they accept.

Flaming Fist of Fury

Strengthened by the Yang Samadhi fire to dangerous levels

Lazer eyes

Has the ability to use this power, but has never done so.

Gold Vision

Capable of using this in it's original state, and an altered version that allows him to see as if he wasn't blind.

Kaiju Form/Smoke Generation

Inherited from both parents (I will go i to more detail about his Kaiju in Macaque's section.)

Powers from Liu Er (Macaque)

Enhanced Hearing

Although Tao only has one extra set of ears, his hearing is still very sensitive.

Shadow Manipulation

Tao's shadows are more fluid-like in appearance compared to Macaque's.

She is capable of calling upon their mother's shadows should he ever find the need to.

Shadow Cloning/Replication

Clones usually take on a misty, cloud-like appearance, but have the ability to turn into identical clones to the original. Shadow clones of Macaque's can also be summoned if needed.

Shadow Transportation

Tao can use this ability easily, and the shadows tend to do most of the work for him. Macaque can sense each time Tao uses the shadows to warp.

Smoke Generation /Kaiju form

A misty form with a stone-like mask and chest plate with all four of the hands being stone as well as some stone bits around her wrists and tail. This form has three alternate forms depending on Tao's mood and the element that corresponds to it.

The Kaiju's base form

Height: Mainly between 120 Meters (394 Feet) and 158 Meters (521 feet), but can shrink to smaller heights. (Imagine the heights between Godzilla in Godzilla vs. Kong and King Ghidorah)

Fire Form

Uses the Yang half of the Samadhi Fire to further fuel itself. The base form has only parts of Tao's hair, the twin tips of his tail and around his wrists ignite, the same places where his stone parts are excluding the stone mask and chest piece. This differs fron his fiery wrath form, in which the entire body of the kaiju is engulfed in flames, which burn any and all they come in contact with.

Water Form

Uses the primal power of Tao's water abilities to fuel it. This form is rarely used for fighting and more as a method of escape, as it can seemingly 'melt' into any large body of water and vanish. Every time this form appears, heavy monsoon-like rains follow. This form is completely made of water with the exception of the stone bits.

Dual Form

A mix of all three forms and is the most destructive in terms of passive property damage. It has currently never been used, and for good reason. It's power alone rivals the power of the primordeal gods of old. The Yang Samadhi fire is unaffected by the water from this kaiju.

Powers Unique to Tao

• Echolocation

• True Sight (A modified verison of Gold Vision that allows Tao to see as if he wasn't blind)

• Familiar creation, allowed him to summon a unique companion based deeply on his personality. There are currently three. These three count as pokemon in the Pokemon AU I have for Tao.

Yang (Height: 9'2" Feet)

A fiery ghost dog that has been Tao's friend and companion since they were young. He used to be a living being, a half hellhound. Died protecting his master, and once in the Diyu he became so distraught and enraged over his master still being in danger that he singlehandedly broke out of the Underworld by digging himself out. His flames were so intense at that point that no one could get close without severe casualty to their person, not even the 10 kings. He lost all skin on his paws and head aside from his ears in the act, and successfully escaped to return to his master's side.

He is the only being aside from Wukong that has successfully escaped the Diyu, and since his only goal was to be reunited with his master, the ten kings decided it wasn't worth trying to bring him back. His bays, barks and howls is so intimidating that most sane beings will instinctively flee upon hearing it. He is semi-incorporeal. he consumed his own body as a spirit upon returning to battle and can choose to be more ghost-like or not. Yang often stays in Tao's incense burner/pokeball, or his master's shadow when not needed at that moment. Yang can control his flames to the point that allies will not be burned by them, but instead feel very warm. He's the perfect heater on cold winter days.

Jinjing (Height: 3'5" Feet)

A spunky fishy fox familiar that has also been with Tao since she was young. She acts like a service animal when Tao goes out and about, since Yang and Li are too big to do so without issue. Yang may be able to phase through walls but his Aura is extremely intimidating even for Erlang's hounds. and Li is far too big to be able to fit comfortably in most places. Jinjing knows DPT, can retrieve Tao's medicine on command, and helps to break them out of anything from a spiraling episode to ADHD paralysis (Not a medical term). Those big blue flowing antennae can act as hands if she really wants to use them. The webbed collar is backwards to help with drag in the water. when she flips it out, it helps slow her down in the water and causes drag. She can also inflate it enough to keep her head above water.

Li Yun (Height: 6'0" Feet)

The newest of the familiars, Li is the second most intimidating of the them. They can summon lightning storms at will and are capable of absorbing electricity. Their barks can sound for miles, and wherever they step, thunder and lightning are said to follow. They are generally neutral in most affairs and are more reserved than their Fire and Water counterparts. If Li isn't running about and stretching their legs, they're either in Tao's incense burner/their pokeball, patrolling Megaopolis from the rooftops, or by their Master's side.

• Feelers by his ears that allow him to sense the most subtle changes in the atmosphere.

Past/Future Sight

Able to see into the past or future. This ability is very different how his mother Liu Er sees into the past and future. Tao can only see one type of vision at a time. The triggers for both visions are very different and he can only see one type at a time. The inner color of his each represent the past (Purple) and the future (Yellow). When having either vision, his eye swill glow a pearlescent white color, and some kind of sparkling dust matching the color of the inside ear comes out of the corresponding set of ears.

The past visions are usually triggered by physically touching an object that either has a spirit or spiritual energy attached. Places that have a lot of spiritual energy can also trigger a vision the moment Tao finds a high enough concentration of energy. Sometimes he will move around during these visions, coming to in places he didn't pass out in.

Future visions are different with the exception of the glowing eyes and yellow dust. These visions can happen at any time, and leave Tao completely immobile until it ends.

Those who ingest the dust from either set of ears will temporarily gain the ability of future sight or past visions. These only have one use and may drive one mad the more they ingest. Humans and demons from all over sought to capture Tao for his oracle abilities, and to collect the dust he creates during a future vision.

Yang Samadhi Fire

Unlike what has been told about this powerful flame, in reality it was split into two seperate pieces long before the birth of Red Son. Tao possesses the 'Yang Half' of this flame, equally as powerful as the 'Yin' Half Red Son was born with. What is different about this flame is that ist is less likely to be triggered by emotion, but for Tao anger is the only trigger outside of activating the flames himself.

The flame tends to have more untriggered power behind it despite being of equal power to the Yin half. This flame tends to have a higher power output in the spring and summer months in accordance to Yin and Yang. It is a calmer flame compared to the Yin half, which feeds off of the emotions of it's host, and in Red Son and Mei's case makes it harder for the host to control their emotions.

The Yang Half of the flames is the only thing capable of completely calming the flames of the Yin.

In the primal days, the combined flames were said to scorch anything it touched into nothing, and was split in two in an attempt to mitigate the intense damage it caused when it raged unchecked. For the time being, the Samadhi Fire will remain seperated until the proper time.

Water Manipulation The ability to use and manipulate water (In a similar mannter to the water benders of ATLA, but with some differences.) to his whim.

Thanks to the maleability of the water in his body plus the blessing of the White Snake, Tao is able to extend his limbs far past their normal limits. when using this ability they can move around as if there are no bones in his arms. They can also extend and retract at will.

An extension of this ability is an extremely dangerous one,

Blood Bending

Tao is able to control the blood of living beings, being completely capable of controlling their bodies. Most beings can attempt to resist and break free, but anyone blood related to Tao will be unable to control their body until he releases them. This only works on Wukong, Macaque and Chun. Tao doesn't like using this power often, however he often uses liquid bending to help defeat any construct that uses a similar circulatory-like system.

When they were younger, Tao would often cause some unintentional issues, as when she cried, rain would start to fall in a certain raduis around him and quickly become monsoon level rains if left unchecked.

Siren Song

Tao has a singing voice similar to the likes of sea sirens, being able to influence and/or control others through his voice. His voice is also powerful enough to rip flesh off of bone should he choose to use it, or cause the user hearing it to go mad. However this power is rarely used due to Tao not wanting to cause potential death and/or property damage. The inside of her mouth glows yellow when using this ability. Glamours/Illusions

Tao can use glamour to take on a human appearance at any time, and prefers to not look so much like a monkie. He can also make illusions with his shadow abilities.

Water Warping/Portals

Tao is capable of using a very unique method of travel similar to shadow warping. The main difference is the stream of magic that is being used. Warping through water is usually done by oracles, as the stream of water magic used to travel is also the closest to the timespace stream, the flow of time and space around that entire dimension, In it's own pocket dimension, a seemingly strange place where water flows around breathable air in a tubelike tunnel from all sides. This is an area that only oracles can access, and with the floating islands scattered about it is safe for them to make living areas there.

Water Portals

These take more concentration to use, but are very handy for travel; as the requirement for warping is different. Unless the place is somewhere Tao has visited before, he can warp to and from any large puddle or body of water to anywhere in the world, even places he hasnt visited before.

Tao can also breathe underwater, but doesn't really need to breathe at all.

Primal Diety

Tao and his sister have full control over certain elements, regardless of the control gods from China and other pantheons have. In other words, an example being that the gods of the sea (ex. Posiedon) loose their control if Tao extends his control of water to the entire planet, same with fire.

Misty Form

Tao can turn himself into mist at will and change back at any time. He is more succeptable to being trapped in items like jars with an airtight lid or enchanted items of the same ilk, but he can return to a shrunken form at any time, or change back to his normal size and potentially break the item holding him if it isn't strong enough to contain him.

Fairly Recent Abilities

Tao was kidnapped by the Spider Queen some time during her attempted takeover of Megaopolis in the season 2 finale. See tried to turn them into a spider demon, but the only thing the venom did was give her silk glands in her hands that produce high quality enchanted silk (Silk moth like silk). This is abnormal since there is no other creature that can create enchanted silk naturally, so Spider Queen took quick advantage of this, using Tao as a silk producer for her takeover. Unfortunately making so much silk at once caused Tao's pawpads to become agitated and inflamed, and they stopped producing enchanted silk. Fortunately he managed to escape before the Lady Bone Demon tried to capture him for his half of the Samadhi fire.

The silk strands come out through the pawpads on their hands, and by pressing them together and stretching his arms apart, the silk forms into thick, glowing strands with each motion. This raw material can be used in many products from clothing to armor to fabric.

Misc. Info

• Tao is capable of storing immense amounts of magical power and has more potent magic than his twin sister. His snake heads, when not hands can sink their fangs into a person and suck their life essence and even their soul from their body.

• They a connection to death and the 10 kings, and his mist magic is capable of acting on its own and raising the dead, mainly those who's lives were tragically cut short.

• She sometimes sleepwalks, and depending on the phase of the tide, either moves around like a slow shambling zombie (low tide) or gets aggressive in his sleep and goes into water kaiju form (High Tide). this is one of the only times the water form becomes aggressive.

• Being physically intersex leaves him a target for European alchemists from all over.

• Sometimes purple and gold christhamanthemums spring from her bare feet whenever they touch natural ground. (Think Amaterasu from okami when she runs) these flowers have very potent medical properties.

• Their familiars are an extension of his magic and personality given form, and usually reside in his incense burner/Pokeballs/Shadow (Yang only) when not needed or resting.

• Her fire antlers were once crystal-like purple horns, that upon awakening the samadhi fire burst into flame. These flames started small in the beginning, but grew with age. They shrink to a smaller size during sleep.

That's everything I have at this time! This will be updated each time there is a change or new reference image. If you've read this far, thank you for actually reading all the way through! I would give you a cookie if I could. Tao is one of my most developed OCs, and I hope you've enjoyed reading this, I put a lot of research into him and the AU he's a part of as a whole, and I can go into more detail on the world building I've done at a later date if anyone is interested!

#lego monkie kid oc #commissioned art #shadowpeach fankid #powers and abilities #my art #not my art #Tao Yin

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fenneykindlefire · 2 years

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Object Players Animals (Remake)

For @computerwolfartsy

Bagpipes: Island Spotted Skunk Barrel: Marine Otter Belly: Red Deer Black Holey: Thorny Devil Lizard (because Black Hole from BFB was a Frilled Lizard) Card: White Dove Bird Cherries: Lorikeet Birds Chesse: Steppe Mouse Chew Toy: Border Collie Dog Cup: South American Fox Emoji: Canary Bird Lava: Volcano Rabbit Gummy Bear: Spectacled Bear Mug: Plush Blue Jay Bird Penny: Orange Tabby Cat Phone: Coatimundi Pillow: Sheep Pridey: Scarlet Macaw Bird Soft Ball: Kangaroo Sharpie: Albino Squirrel Silver Trophy: Cheetah Strawberry Milk: Chilean Flamingo Switch: European Polecat

#object players

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kosserdragon · 2 years

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So going back to the Marble Hornets Furry AU, or Marble Furries as I call it, I've got most of the species down for everyone.

Tim: Aenocyon dirus - Dire Wolf

Brian: Mustela eversmanii michnoi - Baikal Steppe Polecat

Alex: Sarchosuchus imperator

Jay: Archaeopteryx lithographica

Amy: Trachemys scripta elegans - Red-Eared Slider

The Operator: Odocoileus virginianus virginianus - Virginia White-Tailed Deer

Seth: Nymphicus hollandicus - Cockatiel

Sarah: Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus - Hyacinth Macaw

Adam: Lynx rufus rufus - Bobcat

David: Tamiasciurus hudsonicus regalis - American Red Squirrel

Taylor: Raphicerus campestris - Stenbok

Dan: Castor canadensis - North American Beaver

Sydney: Sordes pilosus

Only one I'm not certain about is Jessica. I will admit, when I made her a Mediterranean house gecko, it was rushed. Now that I look back on it, I should have stayed with my original idea of a Red-crowned crane, but Spinosaurus sounds so good. I just need to decide between the two for the AU. What to do, though? What to choose?

#marble hornets #txt #marblehornets #marble furries

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iimokookie · 3 years

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These Keychains are available on My Storenvy!~ if you'd like to support me, you can have a look at My Patreon where you can get early access to my art and other goodies! Otherwise if you'd like, you can follow me on twitter or AD Twitter for sketches and such~ Or if you'd like to join My Discord server, you're more than welcome to~

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bonesthedestroyeroflegos · 2 years

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The results of my most recent twitch stream.

The next set of mustelids, this time representing Mustelinae, we have the back-striped weasel (Mustela strigidorsa) and the steppe polecat (Mustela eversmanii).

https://www.twitch.tv/bonesthedestroyeroflegos

#mustelid #watercolor painting #animal art #scientific illustration #mustela eversmanii #steppe polecat #mustela strigidorsa #back-striped weasel #twitch art stream #twitch #twitch streamer

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spidermilkshake · 3 years

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Started doing some to-scale size references for Redwall-verse species, including some speculative ones (and corrected identifications, such as Jacques's few infamous instances of "crested lizards"... those are newts, buddy).

All the creatures in this series are obviously much less tiny or gigantic in proportion to each other than their real-life inspirations. Kinda got to do that to make a building useful for both small mice and massive badgers and otters!

First page to be displayed lengthways instead of up and down, since we're getting to the really big fellas. Hares among them. Both species, the Flatland (known irl as the Brown Hare) and the Highland/Mountain hare are considered Goodbeasts, though only the mountain hares are native to the Mossflower and surrounding regions, with the others having migrated there and settled themselves along with the rabbits a long long time ago.

Then, finally the ferret. Or the polecat. There is not really any distinction physically, and the series makes it unclear which ferrets and which polecats. This size comparison is an effective average for all ferrets, European polecats, Steppe polecats, and all other mixes and matches that meet that description. I have added another polecat species to the world that is different enough, but that's later. Ferrets, of course, get classed as Vermin, despite how very charming and pleasant they are in real life. I feel like Jacques never knew any ferret keepers, only know they were technically weasels.

Lastly there's the Alpine Marmot, added speculatively because regions just across the channel have these and Redwall never makes it clear if Mossflower region is bound entirely by coasts or not. Marmots are very big members of the squirrel family, and I presume given their physical resemblance to both squirrels and the larger beavers, they'd be counted as Goodbeast too.

#redwall #anthro art #anthropomorphic #fan art #speculative fan art #ferret #hare #marmot #mountain hare #size comparison #species comparison

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firstginger · 4 years

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Hi there, sorry to bother you but I was working on a little daemon au I wanted to write for tlou. I've got some ideas for what animals could fit each of the characters but I was wondering if you had any suggestions for their forms (if it's not too much trouble!!) - your form analysis posts are so dang good and that quiz has been super helpful for helping me to figure things out for it!!

oh what a fun question, thank you for asking! i’m only casually familiar with the series so take these with a grain of salt, but my girlfriend who has played the series and is into daemons helped me out!

for ellie i was really attached to the idea of a scottish wildcat because i think it fits really well aesthetically, and a small predator that’s resourceful and determined seems to fit her well. her feisty sort of personality also makes me think of something in the guloninae family like a pine marten or a steppe polecat? and maybe a little outside the mold but i could also definitely see a rat (rattus rattus) for her too, just with how enduring, adamant, curious, and resourceful they are.

for joel i went around for a little bit but i actually really like the black-breasted buzzard for him... determined, enduring, not finicky, and very much a scavenger. the african harrier hawk was also a strong contender for similar reasons; they're independent but have a close-bonding streak that i think is important for his character. i’m really attached to scavenger species like the black-breasted buzzard because i think it fits his personality and history very well! i guess as an aside i really like a riverine rabbit or a scrub hare daemon for him aesthetically (they look so traumatized!) but i think any rabbit species is going to be too anxious.

OH and for bill i was playing around with the idea of an egyptian mongoose but i am not too well-versed with the other characters LOL

i’d love to hear what you were thinking for them, and anyone else’s thoughts! :D

#Anonymous #daemonism #tlou

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animalclasslists · 6 years

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Weasel Classes

(Mustela)

Fighter: European Mink

Barbarian: Steppe Polecat

Paladin: Japanese Weasel

Rogue: Domesticated Ferret

Ranger: Black Footed Ferret

Bard: Indonesian Mountain Weasel

Wizard: Malayan Weasel

Sorcerer: Back-Striped Weasel

Warlock: Yellow-Bellied Weasel

Cleric: Stoat

Monk: Least Weasel

Druid: Long-Tailed Weasel

#animal class lists #weasel #ferret #stoat #polecat #mink

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autodidact-adventures · 5 years

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Siberian History (Part 1): Geography of Siberia

Red: Siberian Federal District

Red & dark orange: Geographic Russian Siberia

Red & both oranges: North Asia (greatest extent of Siberia); Historical Siberia (and present Siberia in some usages)

The topography of Siberia can be divided into three main zones: 1) In the north is a great treeless tundra, extending along the whole Arctic coast; 2) the middle zone is a broad belt of forest, from the Ural Mountains to the Sea of Okhotsk; 3) the southern zone is arable land that gradually becomes semi-arid desert steppes, stretching from the southern Ural Mountains to beyond the Mongolian border.

Tundra

In a tundra environment, low temperatures and short growing seasons hinder tree growth. The vegetation is mostly dwarf shrubs, sedges, grasses, mosses and lichens. Scattered trees do grow in some regions. There are three types of tundra (Arctic, alpine and Antarctic), and the Siberian tundra is mainly Arctic tundra. (Alpine tundra grows on mountains all around the world, including in Siberia.)

The tundra is dry, inhospitable and desolate. For most of the year, it is covered in trackless snow. Tufts of coarse grass, and swards of moss & lichen, grow on it, but not much else. Fierce Arctic gales called purgas force the snowy surface into long, hard, fluted waves (by drifting, packing and scoring it).

Siberian tundra.

Beneath the surface is permafrost, a thick substratum of “geological ice”, very deep in places. In summer, the surface thaws only to a shallow depth, and beneath that the ground is hard and impervious to water. Evaporation is the only way water can escape, as it cannot drain downwards.

Melting snow saturates the topsoil, and therefore over time it has become covered with a dense layer of grey Arctic moss. Moss grows out of decaying moss, year after year, and the whole tundra has become a huge spongy peat bog.

The boundary region between the tundra and the taiga zone is called the tree line or timberline. Here, along the tundra's southernmost margins, some trees grow. The soil is shallow and they tend to grow extremely sideways. Many trees become gnarled and twisted from straining towards the meagre Arctic light. Some twist in upon themselves.

In early summer, the meltwater collects into perfectly round lakes. Stones are squeezed to the surface, forming neat concentric circles, with the larger stones on the outside and the smaller ones inside.

The soil contracts from low temperatures, and becomes brittle enough to crack. During spring, meltwater trickles into the cracks and frost fissures, and later freezes into ice wedges, breaking the soil into even-sided polygons.

The tundra wildlife is limited – reindeer, polar bears, Arctic foxes and lemmings.

Taiga

A taiga environment (also called boreal/snow forest) is characterized by coniferous forests, mostly made up of pines, spruces and larches. The Russian taiga has all three of these types of trees, but the eastern Siberia tundra is basically a huge larch forest.

Dahurian larch trees in the Kolyma region of north-eastern Siberia.

The Siberian taiga begins about 320 – 640km inland from the northern coast. First there are scattered larches, struggling to find patches of thawed ground. Then, by degrees, there are denser stands of pine, fir, spruce, cedar and birch. Their intertwining branches eventually form a thick canopy above the forest floor. Even at noon, the heart of the taiga is bathed in twilight.

The wildlife of the taiga is very diverse – brown & black bears, wolves, wolverines, wild boar, badgers, lynxes, elks, polecats, stoats, squirrels, sables (a species of marten) and hares. There are hundreds of species of birds, including ducks and geese.

Steppe

Eventually, the taiga becomes a mixed forest zone of poplars, elms, maples, aspens and limes. This mixed forest zone then thins out towards the southern steppes, which are rich in arable land and pastureland. In some places, the western Siberian steppe is as fertile as the black soil of Ukraine.

Ukok Plateau, part of the mammoth steppe in Siberia and Mongolia.

The steppe of south-western Siberia.

On its margins, it turns to sand. For about 3,200km, southern Siberia skirts a “land of summer snow”, where thick salt deposits lie beneath the desert sun.

Temperature-wise, Siberia goes to extremes. Winters are severe, but the brief summers can be extremely hot, even in the upper latitudes.

Mountains

There are several great mountain ranges in Siberia – the Altai Mountains, Sayan Mountains, Yablonoi Mountains, Stanovoy Range, Verkhoyansk Range, and the volcanoes of Kamchatka Peninsula.

The Altai Mountains are located in Central and East Asia, where the borders of Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan come together. This is also where the Irtysh and Ob Rivers have their headwaters. The Altai Mountains merge with the Sayan Mountains in the north-east. In the south-east, they gradually become lower, and merge into the high plateau of the Gobi Desert.

The Sayan Mountains are located in southern Siberia, Russia, and northern Mongolia. They formed part of the border between Russia and Mongolia in the past. This is where the tributaries begin that eventually merge to become the Yenisei River.

The Eastern Sayan Mountains stretch 1,000km from the Yenisei River to the south-west end of Lake Baikal. The Western Sayan Mountains form the eastern continuation of the Altai Mountains.

The Yablonoi Mountains begin in Mongolia and extend north-east into Siberia. They pass just east of Lake Baikal, and are about 1,600km long. These mountains form the divide between the rivers that empty into the Arctic and Pacific Oceans. They can be considered a south-western extension of the Stanovoy Range.

These mountains are found in the Transbaikal, a mountainous region east of Lake Baikal. They divide the Transbaikal into two great terraces of almost equal size.

The Stanovoy Range runs south-west to north-east for over 900km, stretching from the Olyokoma River to the Uchur River. In the past, it served as the border between Russia and China; and it divides the watersheds of the Arctic and Pacific Oceans. Many glaciers, the main source of the Lena River, can be found in these mountains.

The Verkhoyansk Range forms a huge arc between the Lena and Adan Rivers (to the west) and the Yana River (to the east). It is parallel to the Lena River.

The Kamchatka Peninsula is divided by a spine of volcanic summits that form a nearly-continuous ridge. The Klyuchevskaya Sopka is the tallest mountain in Siberia at 4,750m.

Along the whole eastern coast of Siberia, various ranges break off into the sea in shattered headlands and cliffs. In the past, they were broken off from mountain ranges on the Northwestern Pacific Coast of the USA, by cataclysms such as earthquakes and volcanoes. Between these two coasts are chains of volcanic islands with bare, steep coasts that appear similarly sundered and torn.

Rivers

Siberia's three great rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean are the Ob, Yenisei and Lena Rivers. They are formed in the mountains of Southern Siberia, the glaciers of the Altai Mountains, and the borderlands of Mongolia. They give off many tributaries to the east & west, and flow northwards towards the Arctic.

The Ob River is the westernmost of these three rivers, and it is the seventh-longest river in the world. It forms where the Biya and Katun Rivers merge, in the Altai Mountains.

The Yenisei River is the middle river, the fifth-longest river in the world. It begins in Mongolia, and empties into the Yenisei Gulf in the Kara Sea (part of the Arctic Ocean).

The Lena River is the easternmost river, the eleventh-longest river in the world. It is the longest river that is entirely within Russia, and begins in the Baikal Mountains south of the Central Siberian Plateau. It empties into the Laptev Sea (a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean).

Siberia's fourth great river is the Amur River. It forms on the Mongolian Plateau south of Lake Baikal, and flows into the Pacific Ocean, between the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan. The island of Sakhalin is located opposite the river mouth, and to the south & east of Sakhalin are the Kuril Islands.

Other

Novaya Zemlya is an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, and the easternmost point of Europe. It is made up of two islands – the Severny Island (north) and Yuzhny Island (south), separated by the Matochkin Strait. To the west is the Barents Sea, and to the east is the Kara Sea, where the Yenisei River ends.

The Yamal Peninsula is part of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug in north-western Siberia. It is surrounded by the Kara Sea, with the Baydaratskaya Bay to the west and the Gulf of Ob to the east. At the northern end of the 700km-long peninsula is Bely Island, with the Malygina Strait separating them. In the Nenets language, “Yamal” means “end of the land”.

The Taymyr Peninsula is the northernmost extension of Eurasia.

The New Siberian Islands are an archipelago in the Far North of Russia. They are north of the East Siberian Coast, with the Laptev Sea to the west and the East Siberian Sea to the east. The Lyakhovsky Islands are the southernmost group of the New Siberian Islands.