A while ago I looked up the Wikipedia page for DreamWorks Dragons Race to the Edge, because I wanted to see if there was a behind-the-scenes video released that I missed. I didn’t find what I was looking for, but I did come to read through the page. Coming to find something else that frankly, made me fall in love with the show even more. So the show was initially green-lighted for four seasons. Then later on they were renewed for a fifth and sixth.
It made me think of the high stakes we were given in the last three seasons. How the Shellshocker project came to fall through, the introduction of two other villains, and leading into more of an introduction on Drago. For a summary of what happened in the five years between HTTYD 1 and HTTYD 2, I am rather impressed on how well they managed to wind in all that they did.
However, it led me to realize that Viggo was meant to be the main antagonist for the series. He was probably never meant to be redeemed. But if it hadn’t been for the extra two season renewal, the show would’ve probably ended with the decimation of the Dragon Hunters, and of course the Dragon Riders heading back to Berk.
Obviously, the writers found out within a good timeline to be able to adjust the show and decide what they would wind into the remaining two seasons. But it also made me wonder, Krogan wasn’t meant to have more episodes as an antagonist. The plot addition of Viggo having lived and the Dragon Eye once more coming under the enemies’ side as well as the race to find the King of Dragons and also adapt to Johann being a traitor, they couldn’t have possibly fit all that into four seasons.
And now knowing that there was initially supposed to be four seasons, guys I am reeling.
Vostrakka (plural: Vostrakka) are one of the main original species in Starboard Forward!
Biology
Vostrakka are a humanoid arthropod species. They are hexapods, with two sturdy hind legs they stand on and two pairs of arms, the larger pair attached at the shoulders and the secondary smaller pair attached lower and closer to the back.
They have three digits on each hand; two fingers and a thumb.
They have thick protective chitin plates covering their bodies except for the segmented neck and tail which tend to be fleshy under the "fur".
The neck and tail are covered with long setae, giving them a fluffy appearance
Their hind feet have three toes, two in front and one at the heel
At the end of their tail is a pair of pinchers.
They have chewing type mouthparts similar to weevils located on the underside of the snout near the end. On their head is two large compound eyes with pupil-like eyespots. These are often stylized in official art to be more expressive but they do not possess eyelids.
They possess a pair of antennae on the top of their head.
Vostrakka are single sexed and all individuals with decent fertility are capable of siring or laying eggs.
Respiration is done through four large spiracle nostrils located beneath the arms. Air is drawn in through these and into a pair of proto-lungs within the chest cavity. The chest chitin has a split down the center and between it and the thorax with soft tissues inbetween to allow the chest to expand and contract
Their chitin is covered in miniscule setae, similar to human peachfuzz. This setae is how they sense touch
They can be in pretty much any color, though typically the soft tissue between their chitin plates are lighter than the surrounding chitin and their fur tends to be the more vibrant color on their bodies.Their eyes, pedipalps and antennae tend to be the same color or similar colors. They can have a white spotting gene although this is less common. Melanism and albinism also occurs rarely.
Their life cycle begins with an egg, which hatches into a larvae. They pupate at about 3 years of age, now resembling the adult form with a paler exoskeleton.
Vostrakka live around the same lifespan as humans, on average living to 80-90 years with a known maximum of 135.
Genetics
There are two main forms of Vostrakka body type, stout and long.
Long Vostrakka stand around 6'5"-11' tall on average with necks and tails around the same length. Stout Vostrakka have a more compact frame, standing at an average height of 4'-5'5". Their tails are noticeably shorter at around 2'6"-3'6" in length.
Vostrakka are extremely genetically diverse with a large variation in antennae and pincher shapes, color, and eyespot shape(typically a plus, four pointed star, rounded rectangle, rounded square, oval, or circle)
Their neck consists of a single segment and is extremely short. (edited)
Stout and long genes are not mutually exclusive however and there are plenty of Vostrakka who inherit traits from both, such as a tall Vostrakka with a short neck or a short Vostrakka like Goose(orange Vostrakka pictured above) with a long neck and tail.
Society
Vostrakka are a communal species much like humans and live in villages or cities depending on which one suits the individual. children are raised somewhat communally, often carried in the neck fur of trusted adults.
Gender is not a concept in Vostrakkan culture and most will use They/Them or other neutral pronouns. Those living with humans or other gendered species will often choose a different set of pronouns as self expression, although it is usually considered an aspect of style to them. The main exception to this is Vostrakka raised by/alongside a gendered culture. These individuals typically do grow to have their own sense of gender identity from the culture they were raised in.
Communication
Vostrakkan vocalizations are limited to clicks and shrill grinding of the mouthparts. These vocalizations are typically emotional and used to express stress, anger, joy, and fear. Vocalizatons are typically subconscious.
The main method of communication for Vostrakka is four-armed sign.
The upper two arms are the “main” arms of the vostrakka. The hands on these arms are used to sign nouns and verbs.
The smaller, lower set of arms are the “secondary” arms. These hands are used to modify the nouns and verbs signed by the upper arms by simultaneous signing to indicate verb tense, adjectives, and pronouns.
Signing is a rhythmic action due to the clicking of the finger chitin and when accompanying music it acts as both the lyrics and percussion.
hi friends! it's me, sam (@samwhambam)! and I am here to kick off our little intro to series with my personal favorite ship, stevie/twyla.
I still remember watching "Happy Anniversary" for the first time and being fixated on Stevie and Twyla getting high with random townies. I mean, we all know how Stevie gets when she's intoxicated... you can't tell me they didn't make out a little bit.
I love the juxtaposition that their ship provides. Stevie is brimming with dry sarcasm and sass, while Twyla is sunnily optimistic and loving. I love playing with the idea of a relationship between them, the balance and support they'd each provide for the other. They both have so much love for the people in their lives, they're amazing friends, they'd be perfect partners for each other.
They could lean on each other, and understand each other, as their businesses grow. They've grown up together (in my mind) so they understand each other. They would understand the others latchkey bringups and tendencies. I don't know, I just love the ship SO MUCH.
Please feel free to reach out if you want more recs, or are looking for something specific! I, and the other mods, would love to help you on your journey.
Enjoy reading!
wherever you go, there you are by @helvetica-upstart is one of my ABSOLUTE favorite Stevie/Twyla fics. It's part-AU (maybe more canon divergent?). So you have some canon background, but it turns into an AU when the motel burns down. There's different settings, so it's easy to focus on the Stevie/Twyla aspect and gett your feet wet in it without being overwhelmed by the SC aspect of it.
just make me come unglued by @yourbuttervoicedbeau is one of my absolute favorite post S6 fics ever! If you want to read something that picks up after the show, this is the one.
crystalline knowledge of you by @mymariahcarey is a very sweet little fic that takes place during the season finale. It plays with what is canon and just shifts it a bit. It's great for when you're ready to play with canon and bend it to make space for Stevie/Twyla.
Bears Believing by @treepyful is the perfect fic for if you want a little magic involved. Twyla is a kitchen witch, and Stevie is in love. It's magical and domestic and there's bread.
there's a lot of us, i think we're all all right by @ships-to-sail is a "league of their own" AU that I still think about. This ship works so so well in AUs and the fic is perfectly written. It's a perfect match.
As a bonus, this is my personal favorite of the Stevie/Twyla fics I've written. It's called Everywhere and it's canon divergent where Stevie falls in love with Twyla during Cabaret.
Prompt: Y/N attends a school for the supernatural, specifically: werewolves, witches and vampires. The school might be magic, but so is love, right? Right?
Genre: angst, fluff, slight smut (?)
Pairing: reader x 00 line
Feat.: NCT (mainly Dream), Yeji as Jisoo (werewolf), Hyunjin as Minsoo (witch), Yuqi as Hana (vampire)
Inspired heavily by: Legacies (and The Vampire Diaries&The Originals )
@originalficfest My intro for this crazy awesome idea. The second and third days may be a bit hard because I’ll be enjoying my wedding anniversary weekend but I’ll do my best!
About Me:
You can call me Rachel. I’m 31, bisexual, a cisfemale, and I’ve been writing since kindergarten. I primarily focus on fantasy, urban fantasy, paranormal romance, and some sci-fi. I have a degree in Professional Writing and Creative Writing and I am currently working as an editor. So, saying writing is my life is both accurate but also a huge understatement. I couldn’t escape if if I wanted to, which I don’t. I love to write. I have the my first novel of the NBC series, Affinity for Pain, up for free reading on inkitt.com and I am considering self-publishing it. If so, I definitely need a better cover. Any way, I’m excited to use this Fic Fest to get a bit more inspiration for book two of the series, Burn the Bone.
About my WIP:
Burn the Bone focuses of Dimitri, best friend of Ciaran from the first book and a Drugha demon, and Red, former Inferno captive alongside Ciaran and Dimitri and fire daemon. They are both forced back into each other’s lives, after a painful separation because of Ciaran’s PTSD and mental issues as the result of the Inferno, when Red needs help to prove that she’s not guilty of a murder that NBCPD Detective Lucas Anderson is tracking her for. Dimitri and Red has grown to have feelings for each other and we never able to act on them. They’d both given up on love when they wind up face to face with each other after years apart.
Together they learn that Roger van Stratton, a unknown but extremely powerful demon, has started Interim, a group that operates under the guise of a demon/human alliance but it is a scheme used by Roger to locate demons and kidnap them. The group doesn't know why Roger wants these demons. What they do know, is that he’s hired mercenaries and they attempt to get information out of them to learn more about what he is and what he wants. Unfortunately, some storm the house in an attempt to kidnap Ciona and instead leave with Red.
Quick Notes about the Newborn City Universe:
Newborn City: a newly formed city created after the Dawning where humans and demons live together in semi-harmony. Newborn City is located in upstate New York. It was built over the foundations of a small town called Endwell. It was chosen because it was far enough away from New York City to escape the hype but also close enough for some of the clans with small children to successfully travel there.
Demon: a group of humanoid creatures that has existed as long as humans. They have evolved simultaneously with them. The term was created by humans out of a religious fear that connected their abilities with evil forces. They are not inherently evil but have the free will to go either way. There are many races of demons and there are some which consist of sexes and many which are asexual.
With the new comeback just around the corner we can hope that more people will fall in love with our talented boys. Because of this I have decided to make a quick, but hopefully helpful, intro to VAV for new VAMPZ. I hope it helps! I will also be making a compilation of what to watch to get to know VAV soon. Thank you all for showing support for VAV!
