Hey, here's where Dirtifer came from. I was actually really surprised to see a dockalfer show up in Wizard School Mysteries Book 1, I think I designed him before the book was released? Related was my attempt to draw a Beelzebub to varying results.

Most of this page is dedicated to the knucker and Lambton worm. The knucker was designed after seeing the kettles and pot-hole lakes named after knuckers. It made me think of them as a type of pest which lodges themselves into these holes, with spikes to prevent people from removing them. Their ears also have long scales or hairs to mimic reeds. The Lambton worm was drawn to make it look a little more like an eft, or juvenile newt, which the worm was supposed to resemble.

Finally at the bottom, Drake lets his hair down, to the admiration of his friend. We'll see more of her on the next sketch page, but she's part of an extended friend group, a "TDG Junior" if you will. Fun facts: her name is Angel and she predates both Ariel and Drake!

ROSE: The core appeal of Willy Wonka is that he is a nigh-omnipotent maniac who uses his near-limitless powers over reality to trick shitty people into killing themselves.

JOHN: “wonka” again?

ROSE: Absolutely “Wonka” again. You cannot make him the protagonist of a whimsical coming-of-age tale; you have to treat him like Jason Voorhees, or Dracula, or any other horror icon.

JOHN: not entirely a train of thought i’ve ever had about willy wonka, but i can see what you mean. he’s kind of like the god of the chocolate factory. that’s, like, his realm.

ROSE: Exactly. All the audiences want is for him to be given some new victims, some new interesting kills, and to set him loose.

Best of the Reptiles in Media - 01 - Godzilla (Monsterverse)

I figure that while I'm using this blog, I might as well post my ramblings on a subject dear to my heart: That being the representation of reptiles as characters in media. And not just villainous or vile ones like we're so used to. I'm talking about ones that inspire me. The ones that are legitimately compelling to me. And these posts are an excuse to espouse why.

Plus, it's just fun. You can thank the likes of @tyrantisterror and @bogleech for inspiring me to do these.

So who better to start with than with the lizard who's been an inspiration to me for almost my entire life. That being the one known as Gojira. AKA...Godzilla.

This is the one character in these posts who probably needs no introduction. Ever since his debut in 1954, the walking embodiment of the horrors of nuclear war, among other things, has been nothing less than an icon. This is the beast people think about when they hear "giant monster" or "kaiju". This is truly the King of the Monsters.

My introduction to Godzilla was a children's book called "Godzilla on Monster Island". It was a fun read full of neat monsters living together and teaming up to stop an evil plan. And it left me wanting more. I wanted more stories of these fantastic yet friendly beasts being friends and living together while having fun adventures. Little me was a bit disappointed to find that Godzilla spent more time fighting his fellow kaiju and trashing cities instead.

The truth, as I would find out, was that Godzilla is never just one thing. He is a fun defender of the Earth. He's the terrifying consequences of our tampering with both nature and science. And in recent memory, he's been a lot of other things. But most of the time, he's either hero or mankind's hubris on two legs. To me, he was a giant dinosaur that could fire thermonuclear breath, and that was all that mattered. It was after hearing about the historical significance of him that my respect doubled.

Back then, I would tell you that my favorite Godzilla from a design standpoint was the 2002 version. Personality wise, almost every Showa appearance post-1964.

But in 2014, everything changed. In came a Goji that seemed to have everything I could ask for. So, we're going to look at the one that resonates with me the most. The Monsterverse version.

That right there is perhaps one of the most awe-inspiring entrances I've ever seen in a cinema.

Before the release of Godzilla (2014), the franchise had entered something of a slump period. The last film was all the way back in 2004, and sadly, the kaiju genre was still something of a niche thing growing up. Here in America, you either liked superheroes or real-life celebrities as a kid. If you liked monsters, let alone giant monsters, you were one of the weird kids. That, or one of the kids who never lost their passion for dinosaurs. But those were rare.

Then Gareth Edwards unleashed this film, and while one could argue that Pacific Rim (2013) got the ball rolling, THIS ultimately resurrected the entire franchise of the Big G, and got him a degree of general respect from most film-goers (so long as you ignore the irritating internet drama regarding screen-time back then).

But let's get to the meat of this post. Why is this Godzilla so much better to me than the rest? A few things, really.

First off, there's Godzilla's role in the Monsterverse's narrative. For the most part, he is a guardian of the natural order, a means of bringing balance to imbalance. He is a metaphor for how nature is capable of righting itself, and how we either have to deal with it, or live with the consequences. In practice, Godzilla ends up going up against almost every monster, most of which are only a threat because we awakened them/created them. Yet despite this, he doesn't go out of his way to destroy us. He's not mindlessly destructive or particularly vengeful either. He knows we're a part of the world too. We just tend to grate a bit more on his nerves because of how much we screw up. If there's one thing this series isn't afraid to show, it's that...well, "the arrogance of man is thinking nature is within our control, and not the other way around."

Design-wise, this is one of the best Godzilla's around. He's bulky, has a killer stare, and there's something oddly endearing about how...well, meaty he is. He's like if my aforementioned previous favorite design, the 2002 one, put on both a lot of muscle and weight. It also ties into his fighting style, said to have been inspired particularly by bears. Even the sounds associated with him are amazing. From that hype-inducing charge of his thermonuclear breath to what might be the best rendition of the classic roar.

Then there is the body language. This Godzilla's usual gait is slow, almost plodding at times. He shows clear signs of exhaustion in some scenes. What he goes through is hard, and his job is even harder, but he still does it. It really helps sell his personality most of the time.

Part of why I like the Monsterverse so much is that, for the most part, the kaiju are treated as characters in their own right (that's not to say they weren't in previous iterations, far from it, but it's a bit more pronounced here than most of the post-Showa stuff). Sure, some films in this verse are better about it than others (more on that later...), but I like how you can glean what Godzilla is thinking of just by looking at his eyes. Of particular note is how they widen in "Godzilla: King of the Monsters" when Ghidorah gains the upper hand during the final battle, his absolute sneer of anger in the first movie when the male MUTO approaches him, or...this.

This scene. This one right here encapsulates so much of what I love about this iteration. Where Godzilla, dazed and thoroughly battered by both the fight with the MUTOS and having a building fall right on him, locks eyes with a tiny little soldier. You see a sense of tiredness, of pain, of acknowledgement, and maybe even a little wonder. This is not just some mindless beast fighting for its turf. It's a thinking being. And he's hurt. The most powerful creature on the planet isn't invincible, neither on the outside and definitely not on the inside.

And you know what? I've been there. There are times where I feel like I'm carrying the weight of the world, that there are things too heavy to bear, and its suffocating. Godzilla constantly shows throughout the Monsterverse that his job as a living balancing act is wearing on him. He gets put through so. Much. Crap. From getting buildings dropped on him to being personally dropped from a distance above the clouds to watching his symbiotic partner/mate die, it's almost unfair how we're expected to not really sympathize with him as much as...I'll get to that later.

But he never gives up. Despite all the pain and fatigue, he gets back up, and he fights. And he fights. And he continues until the deed is done. Someone has to rise to the occasion, and it might as well be him. If not him, then who?

That is the biggest reason I resonate with this Godzilla. His awe-inspiring design is one thing, but he gave me the strength to persevere. I don't give up, because he never did. Never before had the Big G been such a hero to me. Such that in 2014 I found myself silently sobbing to myself when it seemed like he was dead near the end even though that was clearly not the case. It's hardly a surprise that I based my personal Godzilla AU on him, albeit with the more sympathetic traits dialed up. Stuff like this made G14 and KOTM some of my favorite kaiju flicks...

...which made it more than a little disappointing when Wingard took the helm and basically said "screw that, this is about the monke now!" Yeah, GvK is the weakest entry in the series for me for a reason. Godzilla's more redeeming qualities are buried under a narrative that clearly is not interested in giving him the time of day or even the benefit of a doubt. Both it and it's successor, GxK, are Kong movies through and through, and that means poor Big G is put out of focus.

I cannot tell you how much I HATE this idea that the only way a monster can be relatable is if it either looks almost just like us or is really cute. Yes, I understand the universal appeal, but they had such a good thing going for Godzilla! And they throw almost all of it away just so that they can make Kong look better by comparison.

Credit where it's due, these issues are slightly improved in GxK. It's not only firmly established that Godzilla is an overall benefit to the world for keeping the other Titans in check, but we get some interesting bits with him like how he instantly responds and prepares to answer the call of the Iwi and help them. It shows that despite his tenuous relationship with humans, there are ones he clearly gives a lot of thought to. And there's also how he makes the Roman Coliseum his own personal bed. Not only is it kind of hilariously adorable, but if you remember how in KOTM he had his own man-made temple, you get the impression that he has a bit of homesickness. That's the kind of thing I like to see! More of that and less "he's only ever angry and he only ever fights, character is for primates only".

Also, while the Evolved design has nice details, I WANT THAT GUT BACK! it just looks weird otherwise with that disproportionately skinny waist.

But thankfully, our prayers might be answered:

With GxK's roaring success (ha!), it's more than likely that the next Monsterverse entry will finally give Godzilla an overdue character arc that doesn't begin and end with "destroy everyone and act big and scary and nothing else". Just please make sure that he doesn't have to die to get that. There are plenty of ways you can make us invest in the guy's story without having to kill him. I WANT to see more of that emotional vulnerability teased across the movies. I want to see him come to terms with how he's been going about his job. And more importantly...I want to see a more explicit Mothzilla scene. A nuzzle and everything. But that's just me.

Whatever the quality of his current status, nothing is taking away how much I love this version of Godzilla. He's taken me out of some very dark places, and for that, I say long live the king.

Also, he brought Mothzilla into the public sphere and every Mothzilla pic made since is the cutest thing ever, so I just love him even more.

godzilla x kong: the new empire

"For most of human civilization, we believed that life could only exist on the surface of our planet. What else were we wrong about?"

okay, I kind of fell off doing this, but we’re back! the best ever tumblr review series that’s written by avillanappears.tumblr.com! I came in not expecting much, but it turns out I really, really liked it, actually! I’m more pleasantly surprised than anyone, godzilla vs kong rubbed me very much the wrong way. godzilla and kong beating the ever-loving tar out of each other was fun, sure, but I have WORDS for the human stuff. I could fill a whole post with those, probably, but we’re not talking about that! we’re thinking good thoughts, about the one I liked!

it’s definitely a fun adventure film. hollow earth was a much more fleshed out setting this time, I loved the varieties of locales and creatures. giant, flying flamingo fish that shoot electricity? kong crossing a rickety bridge made out of the spine of a monster so massive, that it’s kaiju sized compared to him? this is exactly the sort of thing I wanted to see! it was fascinating seeing kaiju sort of “on their level”, in a whole giant sized ecosystem made for them. we got some of that in the atomic time of monsters by @tyrantisterror, and I think it’s such fertile ground to explore. godzilla’s flirted with the idea before in both its netflix animes, but this is them really committing to it. it makes my worldbuilding and specbio freak heart happy. we even got to see more hellhawks! I love those guys.

lookit that face

okay this is going pretty long, but anyhoo, I liked the character stuff too. kong was as lovable as always, you really feel for the big lug. even though he’s a living god the size of a mountain, there’s a real vulnerability to him. he’s just a sad, lonely guy who wants purpose and belonging.

he and suko had some kind of fast, but still very nice bonding. the human side was fun too, they fixed a lot about what I didn’t like from the last movie. jia had more of an arc going instead of just being “the one kong talks to”, bernie was a lot more enjoyable since they cut out the weird conspiracy theorist stuff, trapper was a fun guy. it was nice just seeing someone who loves monsters and weird nature stuff.

skar king surprised me with how personal of a threat he is, they really let him feel like a horrid, nasty piece of work. he’s more than just a big evil overlord, he’s a bullying control freak who wants everything his way, and it makes his wretchedness more tangible in a way.

shimo didn’t get all that much, but I love shimo. I love her, and I can barely even tell why, there’s just some kind of Vibe to her I resonate with. I think it’s how mythical she feels. the oldest of a line of gods, a great being of ice, controlled by a wicked devil….in fact it all felt very mythic. I appreciate that, I love it when kaiju works play out like weird mythological epics.

probably the most tangible complaint I can think of right now is that the godzilla stuff was pretty underwritten. it honestly felt like he was just….doing video game sidequests or something. like, it didn’t have Impact up until the very end when he finally meets kong and SPOILERS SPOILERS. and it feels a shame to kill scylla and tiamat off this early, I liked those two as unpredictable wildcards. with rodan and the others still mia, and two titans unceremoniously dead, it’s starting to feel like the monsterverse is sorta….flattening itself? now that kongs arc is done, I think we need to get back to a godzilla solo or two, flesh things back out a bit. but that’s for future peter to talk about, today we’re leaving things off on a high note. fun characters, dynamic locales, some great monster brawling, this one was a good’un!

godzilla cast monkeys into hell for their sins

@tyrantisterror I think some stuff in this video would speak to you (it speaks to me).

Fan Kaiju for @tyrantisterror's ATOM setting; Scribble!

Info under the cut!

so i dont have all the EXACTS worked out, so i just have their Origin, Behavior/Personality and Powers

Origin: Supposedly Created by an Art-Terrorist who built their base atop a yamaneon deposit and apparently were experimenting with genetic manipulation. Supposedly because the entire group was wiped out by their creation upon Atomic Fossilization. Initially thought to be literally a piece of paper brought to life, it was only after examination of cell samples after their initial battle with Tyrantis was it determined the creature is actually composed of flesh and has Chromosome markers from Flatworms, Cephalopods and, surprisingly, Trichoplax. Biology: Scribble is a massive, flat organism covered in highly developed chromatophores and possessing of a highly malleable form, allowing it to stretch and contract its surface into any rough shape it pleases to accompany whatever image it wishes to display. Scribble is even capable of flight, utilizing its lightweight form (in addition to the gravity altering properties of yamaneon) to hover in the air. Scribble's edges are covered in microaetae that gives it extreme 'sharpness' allowing it to literally slice up opponents with what amounts to the world's deadliest papercuts. And where its sharp edges dont cut it, Scribble is capable of exuding a multi-colored (but usually jet black) Ink-like Mucus, either to distract or blind foes, or it can flood it with powerful digestive enzymes and acids, forcing its body over and enveloping opponents to break them down like an acidic, smothering blanket.

while strange and seemingly powerful, Scribble is very lightwight and fragile, having very very little defense against most kaiju's attacks, though their regeneration is extreme even by kaiju standards.

Scribble feeds very rarely due to its very low actual body mass and is mostly omnivorous, but favors detritus that wont fight back.

Personality and Behavior:

Scribble can best be described as 'Childish' or 'Infantile'. Theyre not a Malicious Kaiju by any means, But theyre too emotionally immature to handle most situations and will lash out in a childish temper tantrum like a toddler if annoyed enough. Mostly, and above all, while it COULD use its chromatophores to become invisible, Scribble simply wants attention and attempts to garner attention through any means possible.

Though its known that scribble is covered in light sensitive and chemosensitive cells to detect its surroundings, it is somehow capable of sensing when it is being observed by intelligent beings. there does not seem to be a limit to the range of this sense and no vector for it has currently been found, but kaiju researchers theorize that the ability is psychic in nature like some other telepathic kaiju. Scribble is content to sit in place, flattened against the ground or other tall object or surface so long as it is observed at least once every few hours by an intelligent being, seemingly preferring human children or juvenile kaiju, and is attracted to high population centers for this reason. Scribble will often cover a favored spot in its own crude scribbles made from its own multicolored ink. If Scribble feels that people or Kaiju are purposefully ignoring it it will throw a temper tantrum.

Scribble has displayed a capability for memory and learning on par with children and has displayed some childlike curiosity, at one point attempting to fold itself into the shape of a paper fortune teller after observing a group of children making some out of sheets of paper. though sloppy and incomplete it held this form for several weeks before unfolding itself and returning to normal.

While Most of the time, Pieces of Scribble that are cut off or blasted away in the midst of battle will attempt to rejoin the largest piece they can find, any piece of Scribble that is disconnected from the whole long enough will grow into a new scribble like a flatworm. However when two Scribble instances meet they will engage in a Vicious battle, Scribble cannot seem to be able to stand their own personality or kind and will attempt to break down and consume any extra instances they encounter. whether this is due to its own infantile personality or programming from its original creators intended to keep it from growing out of control is, as of yet, unknown. Scribble's Most common and seemingly 'default' form and image are that of an extremely simplistic humanoid type figure, but also favors a seemingly mocking image of tyrantis after their first encounter.

Power set: standard-

Super strength

Hyper enhanced healing factor

Immunity to radiation Unique-

Flat physiology

Chromatophores

voluntary flight

Shape-Changing Image Changing

image creation

Acid ink

division

"All roads lead to me, for I am Rome!" says @tyrantisterror. And just like Rome, he wants to be pillaged by Goths.

Pop Culture Builds 13: Margot d’Francane (Wizard School Mysteries)

And here we are with another Pop Culture special, diving into how to create facsimiles of your favorite characters from across fiction in Pathfinder or Starfinder, and this time we’ll be doing a first: a build which focuses on Pathfinder Second Edition!

But before we get into the nitty gritty, let’s preface this: I will never be doing any characters from a certain young adult series written by Britain’s TERF-in-Chief.

So instead let’s do one based on a book series that takes the magical school trope and combines it with the teen detective genre, without the ugliness that is interwoven with Joanne’s overhyped diatribe.

Indeed, today we’ll be focusing on William Cope’s (also known as @tyrantisterror here on tumblr) series, Wizard School Mysteries!

(Note that I have not found the time to read Cope’s books, so I apologize in advance if I miss anything important about dear Margot’s character in this book)

But without further ado, let’s get into today’s subject, Margot d’Francane!

When Margot lost her family to the last great Goblin War, she found herself in the care of a kindly blacksmith who took her in. However, things were not idyllic for the young mage, as her innate pyromantic abilities were so potent and uncontrollable that her caretaker was forced to bind her arm, which was already deformed with a magical illness called lichrot, with a rune-enchanted metal gauntlet.

However, this was not enough for Margot, who wanted to truly control her powers. So, she enrolled at the Academy of Applied Arcana and Magic to better understand her powers. However, some of the teachers, one in particular, saw her gauntlet as a way to demean and belittle her. Imagine someone making fun of your wheelchair for being a “crutch” despite it also keeping other people from getting hurt.

However, with the help of her newfound friends, she’s more than capable of mastering herself and rising to the occasion (not to mention finally putting that awful teacher in her place).

Margot is human, but there’s no special reason that she needs to remain so for this build, though cooperative nature, sense allies, cooperative soul, group aid, stubborn persistence, and the like are good choices for her determination and team mom energy.

For her class, I went with the sorcerer class with the elemental bloodline (fire) and the wellspring mage archetype, the former representing her unparalleled mastery of pyromancy, while the latter representing the uncontrolled nature of her power. However, the wellspring mage assumes that your character is a more traditional “wild mage”, whereas Margot’s uncontrolled outbursts of magic tend to err on the side of “even more fire”, so some GM fiat may be needed there.

Of course, in 2e classes have their own feats. From the sorcerer, you’ll likely want dangerous sorcery, widen spell, bespell weapon, split shot, advanced bloodline, detonating spell, steady spellcasting, energy fusion, greater bloodline, overwhelming energy, and the like. Meanwhile, the wellspring mage archetype offers the dedication, and interfering surge in particular. The end result is a mage that have overwhelming mastery over their destructive potential, but sometimes things get out of control.

In more general feats, specialty crafting (blacksmith) makes sense, as does toughness, cooperative crafting, impeccable crafting, craft anything, and the like.

Naturally, most of Margot’s spells should be fire-focused, but don’t forget a few lightning spells so you can combine them for her energy fusion feat as well. Beyond that, spells that protect and buff allies are also a must, as she deeply cares and worries for her friends.

As far as signature equipment goes, Margot is mostly known for her gauntlet, which helps her control her fire magic. While there is no specific mechanic for such a thing in Pathfinder 2e, I imagine it would be easy to homebrew this as a gauntlet or spiked gauntlet composed of a special material (I’m thinking either adamantine or noqual, the latter for it’s antimagic properties) enchanted to become a powerful striking weapon, but also potentially having a unique enchantment that lets her reroll her wellspring surge roll once per day. Beyond that, I would advise giving her equipment for enhancing her magical arts. She does, however, have a magically animated chariot as well, which could be used to add to her mobility as well.

Of course, if you don’t want to build her as a 2e sorcerer, you could build her as a 1e evoker wizard with her gauntlet as her focus item, or a simple fire elemental sorcerer with the elemental spell (electricity) feat. Arcanist with bloodline development and the ability to induce primal magic events might also be appealing to some.

A fiery mage who uses a gauntlet as a limiter or focus can be a lot of fun, even beyond the confines of this character, so feel free to use it beyond emulating Margot.

That does it for today, but this week is just getting started!

How I’d Ruin it: Transformers

Inspired by Tyrantisterror and his “how I’d ruin it” series, I’m doing one for Transformers. I’m gonna take this one step at a time, because I’m crazy about transformers and I got a lot of thoughts on what I would do if I had three phases of a comic book.

Part One: Lore

For the general lore of this hypothetical series, I’d lean into the Primus vs Unicron storyline. Ironically appropriate for my How I’d Ruin It, because I know a good number of TF fans who prefer the quintesson origin and want to return to it. Sorry fellas, I just think the thirteen primes are neat. We also take a look into the (possible) future of the cybertronian race at the start of phase two of the hypothetical comic. I’ll be dividing this lore into ages for simplicity's sake.

Prehistory: At the very beginning of the universe, there was an omnipotent being made of light with no name. This being, referred to by cybertronian historians as The One, had cosmic powers beyond space and time. With this power, it saw into multiple timelines and dimensions out of young curiosity. There were so many different lifeforms, all with their own cultures and beliefs. There was peace and war, creation and destruction. As its knowledge grew, so did its internal conflict. Why were these unique beings fighting over seemingly pointless things? Was it individual philosophy that sparked greed and violence, or was it differing beliefs that each species held? If they were to all unite under one banner, would they lose that which made them unique. Was it morally correct for such a perfected and powerful being as The One to judge and interfere with mortals? The One had become so confused and anxious from this internal battle, that its mind and body split into two separate beings. Primus, the great creator, adored and even envied mortals. Where The One was flawless and blank, these miniscule lifeforms were varied and colorful. These beings could change and grow. Even the smallest could evolve and transform into something beautiful. Then there was his brother, a being who hated these ununiformed and petty insects. He vowed to destroy and reshape these species into a singular kingdom of rigid order. No longer would there be conflict, for he would punish and unite all as their one God. He would be Unicron, the chaos killer. These cosmically powered twins became natural enemies the moment they were created, the following battle lasting for billions of years. The battle ended in a draw, Primus and Unicron were so exhausted that both entered a deep sleep. In this coma like state, meteors and other space debris formed around them to become seemingly dormant planets.

Age of Primes: Sensing that Unicron was regaining strength and reformatting his planet into a colossal body, Primus began to plan his defense. Not wanting a repeat of their last battle, Primus decides on a different approach. He creates the thirteen primes, incredibly powerful, autonomous robots with unique abilities. Together, these thirteen would prepare for the return of Unicron and become a sort of family through their training. After the deed is done and the chaos killer is defeated from the inside of his vast body, the thirteen are left to their own devices on the metal world of Primus. As his final act, the great creator formed the well of all sparks. It was here that new robots were created and the planet would be known as Cybertron. Thirteen tribes were created, each led by a different prime, which led to the foundation of cybertronian culture. Much like previous TF stories, the thirteen primes had a falling out due to the manipulations of one manipulative and ambitious prime. The primes nearly went to war with one another, until the near death of one of their most beloved siblings shook them out of their anger. Realizing that they were not the infallible gods that they thought they were, nearly all the primes either left Cybertron or merged with the planet’s inner core. Only one prime remained to overlook the planet’s development, Alpha Trion, who gave one of the mythical artifacts of primes (the matrix) to one worthy of leadership.

Age of Function: After receiving what would later be known as the matrix of leadership, the prideful but valiant Nova Prime unified the thirteen tribes into one civilization. What follows is the planet wide construction of cities and government. Because the masses were still freshly made and unsure of their purpose in this new world, Nova decided to create functionism. Each cybertronian’s alt-mode would determine their role in creating Cybertron. At first, when the species was still relatively small in number, this system served well in accelerating Cybertron’s society. But when the contruction was near its end their optics looked towards the stars, the inherent flaws of functionism reared its ugly head. The rigid caste system quickly led to class envy and great inequality among the masses. Despite Alpha Trion’s insistence in changing this system, Nova Prime ego wouldn’t allow him to admit his prejudice. As space travel was fully realized and Nova set out to discover new worlds to colonize, his pride at his species’ accomplishments leading him down the road of becoming a cybertronian supremacist, a terrible discovery was made. During the first great battle between Primus and Unicron, their blood splashed across the galaxy. Not only were energon crystals (formed from Primus’ blood) found on foreign worlds, but the blood of Unicron was discovered as well. Before he realized what it was, dark energon infected Nova Prime and a number of his crew. They became more aggressive, burned through their energon at an alarming rate, and began to hear whispers of a dark god thought to be dead. Despite his smugness and stubbornness, Nova knew what terrible things could happen if he became Unicron’s herald. The corrupted prime gave up the matrix to the unaffected cybertronians in his crew, took those who were infected and went into deep space in self-exile. • The Golden Age: The next cybertronian to own the Matrix was Nominus Prime. Although he was overly invested in his personal appearance/hygiene and was somewhat of an elitist snob, he also possessed a good moral framework and a kind spark. His first major act as prime was the elimination of functionism, making him both beloved and hated by many. Not long after, the cybertronian race began to colonize worlds with the strict policy of not claiming worlds with significant life on them. Seemingly every new colony world produced new subcultures and different kinds of cybertronian. Although Nominus arguably just piggybacked off of other leaders and inventors, this was an age of artistry and prosperity.

Age of Rust: Seemingly out of nowhere, a slow acting but fast spreading disease began to appear across the farthest colony worlds named cosmic rust. Metal skyscrapers began to crumble, citizens were falling apart in medical beds, space bridges were forced to shut down to stop the rust from spreading. This was the first major disaster that Nominus Prime had to face and he was utterly mortified. Then, when all hope of saving the colonie and their species was lost, a strange race of techno-organics appeared. These beings were the quintessons, five faced octopus like people who claimed to be the creation of one of the thirteen prime to aid cybertronians in understanding the organic side of the galaxy. They offered a cure to cosmic rust and asked to use the space bridges to help spread the cure. Desperate to end this nightmare, Nominus gave them access to the space bridges without question. Almost immediately, he would regret this decision. These were not benevolent geniuses, but black hearted and capitalistic entrepreneurs. Not only were they the ones who invented cosmic rust, but they had created a great number of gadgets, combat drones and weapons specifically designed to annihilate cybertronians. In the blink of an eye, the whole of the cybertronian race was conquered and enslaved. Nominus was publicly executed, the matrix was taken, and the cybertronians were sold as commercial goods or military hardware to all other species in the galaxy. This would go on for thousands of years, until a hardened soldier named Zeta began to lead a rebellion with the aid of Alpha Trion and a brilliant engineer named Termagax. The cybertronian uprising was slow and bloody, but through cleverness and determination the quintessons were defeated. The matrix was found, Zeta had become Sentinel Prime, and the cybertronian race was free.

Age of Restraint: When the dust settled and the quintessons were driven away from the colony worlds, Sentinel Prime and Termagax went to work on rebuilding their civilization. Sentinel, having seen their kind’s technological power used against lesser beings firsthand, initiated the Nominus Edict. Unless there was unanimous agreement of every senator of Cybertron’s cities and other colony worlds, no new colonies would be made, and no technology was to be shared with other alien races. While he had the wellbeing of both his race and all other alien species in mind, his time as both slave soldier of the quintessons and uprising leader left him scarred and paranoid. Through the cybertronian government, he enforced the law to a borderline imperious degree. Termagax grew to resent Sentinal Prime, believing that the cybertronian race could thrive in the galaxy if they weren’t so restricted. She formed the Ascenticon movement, a growing group of bots who not only wanted to explore the cosmos but cooperate with the organic races that they’ve distanced themselves from. This philosophical debate between security and isolation vs freedom and alien collaboration went on for dacades, neither side quite gaining significant ground over the other. Eventually, the exhausted and embittered Termagax stepped down as Ascenticon leader and gave the reigns to her protégé. That protégé was a quintesson mining slave turned gladiatorial champion named Megatron, who had big plans of his own.

Age of Civil War: Not long after becoming leader of the Ascenticons, Megatron began to fully preach his personal doctrine. He believed that the cybertronian race deceived themselves into believing that they shouldn’t be proud of their power. The gladiator fear mongered that another species like the quintessons would conquer them if they didn’t show their dominance. True galactic peace can only be achieved through tyranny. Many cybertronians, in the ascenticon movement and beyond, were radicalized by Megatron’s words of might making right. In short time, Megatron amassed an army and called his new empire the decepticons. The mad tyrant and his followers overthrew the government and imprisoned Sentinel Prime. But much to Megatron’s surprise, the matrix did not deem him worthy of being a prime. He angrily dismissed the matrix and the lineage of primes as outdated and weak as his empire rapidly grew. Alpha Trion, sneakily taking the matrix back, set to work on creating a counter resistance to this new militaristic regime. The elderly prime already had a perfect candidate for the next prime; a former ascenticon who disavowed Megatron’s violent means of peacekeeping despite once being friends with him. A young data clerk named Orion Pax, who believed Cybertron had a responsibility to aid to those who needed it, and that freedom was the right of all sentient beings. And so, Optimus Prime was born. This counter resistance, named the autobots, grew arguably faster than the decepticons did. Cybertronians across the galaxy could see Megatron for the warmongering tyrant that he is. The civil war, waging primarily on Cybertron, lasted for eons. It all culminated in Megatron seizing Vector Sigma, a supercomputer near the well of all sparks that gave newly formed cybertronians the basic history and knowledge of their kind. The decepticon leader planned to hack Vector Sigma to forcibly program his beliefs into every new cybertronian to be protoformed. Horrified by this assault against free will, Optimus journeyed to the core of Cybertron to do something unthinkable. Through communication with Primus, the great creator poured his life-giving power into a device known as the all spark. Optimus threw the all spark into a space bridge with randomized coordinance, and it was lost to the stars. Their home planet torn apart and essentially dead, the Great War began to spread across the galaxy like wildfire. Earth, rich with crystallized energon beneath the surface, is the latest battleground.

Age of Beast Machines (possible future): Manipulating Megatron through dark energon, Unicron is revived. The very first planet destroyed is Cybertron with his new herald Galvatron and an army of terracons. The chaos killer goes on a galactic rampage, consuming stars/planets and creating heralds to spread his influence. Scrambling to save the galaxy, the remaining autobots and decepticons join forces in an effort to slay Unicron. Against all odds, they defeat the chaos killer once and for all. But their victory is bittersweet. The galaxy’s remaining stars and worlds are few and far between. The night skies feel unnaturally blackened. Their war now made pointless, the remaining cybertronians join together in rebuilding on the planet earth and the one surviving colony world known as biosfera. With virtually no energon left, the first order of business was to create a new type of fuel. The scientists of biosera, a jungle world primarily made up of beast mode cybertronians, came up with an unorthodox solution. They would alter their biology and transform into a techno-organic race, flesh and metal fused at the cellular level. Through this technology, they’d be able to live off of solar energy, need minimal energon, and even be able to consume meat and plants for substance. While a good number were hesitant to make such a radical change, they had little choice. Slowly, the cybertronian race flourished once again. Once new generations were protoformed, two sections of one government began to spread across the stars. One group was the Maximals, scientists and explorers that aided young civilizations and researched the new galaxy. The other group were the predacons, the core military that fought off space pirates and crushed growing dictatorships. Although the two groups bickered amongst themselves over their clashing ideologies and methods, they still cooperated and respected each other. But rumors are circulating that a small handful of Unicron’s heralds are still alive. If they are, their willing to bend space and time itself to assure their fallen master’s ultimate victory.

Notes: This lore is a combination of Aligned, both IDW continuities, Beast Wars/Machines and a dash of Last Autobot Standing. One major difference is that Solus Prime survives in this continuity, but we’ll get to that in the next part.

Also from June of 2021.

Here you can see I was planning my sketches for what would become the Greek Dragons illustration, with Typhoeus and a Hydra head in detail.

I was also experimenting with some stylized designs for Paracelsus' elementals. While I've drawn plenty of sylphs, gnomes, and salamanders, I hadn't done very much with undines. Though she got a larger design at the bottom, I actually liked the smaller version at the top right with a single eye and no limbs.

During this time I was also reading @tyrantisterror 's novel No Sympathies, so I drew two of the main characters Pug and Alichino (which I misspelled). As I've said before when I drew the four protagonists of The Lost World, I like to doodle the character designs, or what I think they look like, while I read. In this case the characters already had established illustrations, so it was more like drawing them in my style.

And finally some ugly, ugly art of another character named Dwoll (don't worry about it) and some face exploration for an orangutan-based yeti.

@mothnem @spacehippieface @tyrantisterror @godzillajuniorreborn @paladin-of-nerd-fandom65 @prettyhighforawhiteguyblog

Just…just watch. Trust me, just watch. 😉

List of works I've started/made TV Tropes pages for:

A.T.O.M. by @tyrantisterror : https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/TheAtomicTimeOfMonsters

Wizarding School Mysteries by @tyrantisterror : https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/WizardingSchoolMysteries

Daikaiju Yuki by @raffleupagus : https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/DaikaijuYuki

Flowers of Etrea by @rochasaurusrex: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/ComicBook/FlowersOfEtrea

Prehistoria by Jack Blackburn: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/Prehistoria

Sauria: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/WebAnimation/Sauria

All Your Ruins by @mekagojira3k : https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/AllYourRuins

Apt. 51: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Series/Apt51

Knucker (Lindworm felpalus)

Habitat: swamps, lakes

Size: 10 feet long

Coloration: dull green, brown

Diet: rabbits, waterfowl, fish, carrion

Magical Abilities: toxic breath, acceleration of plant growth, toxin removal

So Smaugust is here, and I do not have the energy to draw for the entire month. I still want to participate in it, and I thought of the perfect plan for it!

So I haven’t really discussed it much here, but I’ve been planning out a fantasy setting and story in my head. I’m calling the planned story “Misadventures In Monstrology”.

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been deeply enamored with zoology, so I feel the fantasy story I am going to tell should have zoology as its heart, like how language is the heart of Middle Earth. It’s somewhat disheartening how uncommon fantasy biology is as a trope. So someone has to step in, and I’m gonna be that someone!

Some major inspirations for this setting are the Dragonology and Monstrology books, the Flight of Dragons movie, @tyrantisterror’s Midgaheim Bestiary, and @draconesmundi. (I think you’d both like to see this!)

So in this universe, monsters such as dragons exist due to magic. While magic doesn’t allow for too much craziness (there won’t be much fairytale logic), it does allow monsters to gain mutations that would be strange or impossible otherwise, and also allows them to locally control the elements.

Dragons are squamates (having evolved from monitor lizards), but that doesn’t mean there won’t be any hybrids. Chimeras also exist in this universe, basically through a fantasy version of horizontal gene transfer, which is a real thing with some rotifers! I am planning to make them kinda rare, because I mainly want to do it with creatures that make the most sense (and are more interesting to me) as chimeras, like griffins, pegasi, and some dragons I’ll end up drawing eventually…

Also, I felt I should talk about this dragon. A knucker in English folklore is a sort of water dragon, but unlike sea serpents, they dwell in freshwater “knuckerholes” rather than the ocean. They’ve got a lot in common with wyrms like the Lambton Worm and Hydra in folklore, with how they’re aquatic serpents. So they’re more like lindworms in appearance, rather than the more common modern portrayal of them having four legs.

Design wise, they’re very much based on crocodilians with their heads and back spikes, since they are swamp dwelling reptiles. They’ve also got some amphisbaenian in them, which is kinda inevitable considering their body plan. Also, they’ve got barbels like a fish to kinda add to the swamp creature aesthetic. Poison breath seemed like a given, the magic over plants is due to them probably living in more lush areas, and I like the idea of their body kinda absorbing the toxins they breathe out, keeping their environment healthy.

If you wanna keep up with these posts, click my #field guide to dragons tag which will update throughout the month! Or follow me, if you'd like.

Next ->

@tyrantisterror

@tyrantisterror

At 1:17:41 she talks about how contextually ..weird... making the Gorn into xenomorph knock-offs (compared to the context of their TOS debut) being was.

I will say, I imagine if my own Viroko and @tyrantisterror's Tyrantis crossed paths, I'd imagine it'd end up basically like the kaiju equivalent of this:

(Tyrantis would be Crow in this scenario BTW, Bobo would probably be Mike)