#natives au

[urskekyagvi]

Futility

The child is dead. His lifeless eyes wide open, the expression of faint surprise all that is left to show of his last thoughts before the storm, before the winds and sand ripped his family's ship to pieces. 

urOng opened his eyes. The child is alive, sleeping peacefully in his mother's lap. The sky above the canopy of the Wellspring tree is clear and blue, like crystal. Only he knows what awaits. He closes his eyes again. 

The child is dead. 

He contemplates telling them, warning them of the storm about to rip through the desert, the surging monster that would swallow their lives; but he knows better. The effort would be wasted, the message unheeded. He's read this story before, again and again, he knows the outcome, he knows to hold his tongue. 

He looks at his hands. 

One, two, three, four. 

One, two, three, four. 

Four hands, four fingers each. 

Sixteen fingers, not one of them good for anything.

urOng watches them leave the safety of the oasis. Their fate is sealed, there is nothing he can do. He swallows his tears, refuses to waste the water. A dirge starts to rise from his throat. 

There's nothing he can do.

[dracocheesecake]

UrAugh: *drinks from puddle*

UrVa: "UrAugh!!!! What did I tell you about drinking stagnant water?!?"

UrAugh: "It's not stagnant! I stirred it first."

[ohfugecannada]

Here are some concept sketches of Natives!MalVa I forgot to post.

For the face and top half I mostly stayed faithful to @ben-the-hyena’s design with the lion/ape face (leaning more towards lion in my version of the design).

Since the original drawing only showed the head and bust, I decided to do my own interpretation of the body and outfit. When drawing dark crystal chracters or designing ocs (like with my idea for the natives au Raunip equivalent) I tend to look at the art of Brian Froud for inspiration and reference to get a good balance between the character being unique while still feeling like something that would exist in the Dark Crystal universe.

It was here that I ran into a problem as, while I wanted to go for a slightly chubby muscular body, muscular bodies weren’t a very common body type in Froud’s work. Most of the characters drawn by Froud are either very lanky (the gelfling, firies most of his fairies) , potbellied (most of the skeksis) or mega chonkers (Ludo). In the end I modeld MalVa’s body on wrestlers like Brandon Slay and Rulon Gardner. My reasoning was that while using his bow most of the time, MalVa would also become stronger from fights wrangling larger prey.

For the outfit I recreated the top from the original design while adding this long skirt/loincloth type thing and later the red shawl in the final piece. Since MalVa’s story in the Natives AU takes place sometime during the same time as the creation myths comics and the skeksis and Urru of this period canonically dressed like this:

I figured this MMORPG bakini armour type clothing would be pretty fitting.

[dracocheesecake]

Natives AU: SkekMi the Storyteller

One night long ago, SkekLi the Satrist had visited the Skeksis Castle after many trine spent traveling and performing abroad. It was said, due to his grand bravado, he went about collecting fans and admirers for himself, returning rarely only to perform for his beloved Emperor and the rest of the great court.

Very few knew the truth of why he rarely returned.

SkekLi despised the Emperor; not an uncommon opinion amongst the Skeksis under his thrall, but the Satrist had the misfortune of being more aboveboard about it. Over the trine spent under him, his satire grew more and more conspicuous as to who exactly it was describing: a horrid, selfish and vain ruler who tormented his subjects for his own amusement.

SkekSo saw it, read perfectly between the lines of each and every verse of the Satrist's songs, and knew it was all too true, of course: which is why he never ceased to knock him down whenever he could. SkekLi could only watch helplessly as the position he worked years to obtain steadily slipped from him. He lost his friends in court, his reputation began to go to shambles; little by little, he lost all favor with everyone he had known. He was losing his career, and perhaps soon, his life.

He drank heavily that night, taking refuge with the one soul in the palace in almost as bad a position as he- (not the Scientist, you would have to be mad to talk to the Scientist)- the Treasurer. Both were in a similar way, and all because of a common enemy. They drank and bemoaned to each other their woes, spinning tales about how horribly the Emperor had wronged them.

One thing led to another. Shared misery turned into companionship. Companionship took what it had gained and ran with it.

And two trine later, long after SkekLi had thought the little nighttime escapade long over with, SkekShod pulled him into the darkest corners of the treasury to present him with an egg. Their egg, soon to hatch.

It was the worst possible time for them to have a child: SkekSo, they knew, hated them both, and wouldn't hesitate to destroy anything that came from them, even if it took the shape of a skekling; a rumor had been floating about the courts that the Satrist was to be banished, perhaps never to return, and SkekShod wouldn't let their young one fall into the Emperor's clutches.

A desperate plan was hastily made: after the egg hatched, the little one would go with their father in his banishment, and SkekShod would get away when he could to see them (both unaware that soon the Emperor would call the Satrist back). So, deep in the treasury, the little skekling hatched from their shell, and was given the name SkekMi by their mother. SkekLi collected her up, and after the Emperor's inexorable decree had fallen, he whisked her away, unnoticed by any of the Castle residents.

SkekLi however had no plans to keep the squirming, crying, messy little skekling; being a father full-time simply didn't suit him- not that he was cruel, he simply had never had any good parental figures for guidance; his own childhood had been squandered by neglect and abuse; would he dare repeat that with an innocent, clean slate?

He knew someone who would help: it was a vain hope, a slim chance, but he had to try. It took a few unum, but he found the caves of Grot, and inside, he found an old friend of his. Not much explanation was given besides a name, and the skekling was thrust into UrLii's arms before the Satrist disappeared again. SkekMi latched onto the urru immediately, despite his reluctance, dubbing him "papa"; and that one word was enough for UrLii to tuck the little one into his pouch.

A trine passed in Grot, and it became clear to UrLii that this place was not fit for an energetic, curious, mischievous skekling. She jumped off the high shelves in the tomb, terrorized his Grottan students, tried to eat whatever creatures she found wandering about, and almost got trapped in an arathim web when she explored too deep in the various tunnels; so UrLii took up his 'Potato' and went back to the Urru Capital, retaking his place as the Court Storyteller.

UrLii lost many friends with his skekling daughter, many claiming he had even gone mad enough to take a skekling in; not that it bothered UrLii much, often stating that because of SkekMi he discovered who his true friends were. Thus, SkekMi grew up in the Valley, accruing urrling friends (despite the dismay of many parents) and became well-liked for her quick wit and sharp tongue.

She had a happy childhood under UrLii's care, whom she respected and deeply admired, despite the grief she caused him in her youth (she had been a wicked little creature, she knew). As SkekLi's secret visits to her and her papa grew more and more rare as she aged, his gentle influence shaped her almost entirely.

As an adult she grew to emulate him, even giving herself the title of "Storyteller", after her Papa. Carrying a bookshelf-like carapace on her back, she carried her puppets and other contrivances across Thra, entertaining villages and towns with stories, both her own and those passed down to her from UrLii. During her travels, she tends to run into her on-again-off-again banished father, but usually wants little or nothing to do with him despite his friendly demeanor towards her.

[dracocheesecake]

I dont know if u and Ben-the-hyena already brought this up, but after reading the 7 gelfling clans and rewatching AoR I realised it’s heavy implied that the All-Madura title was created by the skeksis to establish a hierarchy and maintain power of the clans. Since in the natives au, skeks aren’t considered gods but rather another species of thra, I wonder if in this timeline Maudra Martin is just the Vapran Maudra as opposed to the ruler of all gelfling clans.

Correct, actually! There would be no All-Maudra since the Skeksis in this AU don't necessarily hold the power to establish such a thing; however, the Skeksis Empire still tries to find ways to hold sway over the gelfling clans, whether this be through economic means (harsh tariffs and control over trade routes) or some simple political/social string pulling...well, until Emperor SkekSo decided to just do away with all that subtlety and start a genocide.

[dracocheesecake]

Natives AU: UrAugh the Ranger

UrAugh is the eldest living son of UrAi the Surveyor and UrVa the Archer. He was born in his father's house deep in the Endless Forest, during a warm day in the summer ninet. As a pink, lively, and chubby little thing with floppy ears, he immediately won his parents' affection as soon as they laid eye on him, and so he was quickly placed in his mother's pouch after a plethora of kisses.

After that first day of calm, however, UrAugh quickly made himself known: although a squirming, whimpering infant, as soon as his eyes opened he was ready to cause mischief. He waddled all about, trying to squeeze his chubby little body in any space he could, especially in places his parents wished he wouldn't: behind the bookshelf and under rocks (prompting UrVa to affectionately call him "chubby lizard"), under furniture, under logs- anywhere he could explore his surroundings. Unfortunately for his poor chagrined parents, it didn't abate as he aged.

When he was older his father gifted him with a little bow like his own in miniture, which he used to hit any target he could, including howefrocs that got too close to his mother's garden; He tried to run into the dangerous woods, making his poor mother want to tear his mane out; he rolled about in mud, let leaves and twigs get tangled in his mane, tried to walk around nude; refused to bathe; wrestled roughly with his little brother; and punched holes in the walls of their home whilst roughhousing.

Not that UrAugh was an angry child, or ever had any malice in mind; he was simply full of energy, and had few channels with which to spend it, and very little sense to know how to use it. Only his father's training in the use of martial arts and the bow seemed to help, and had the added effect of making him a great warrior. As he grew, his prowness increased, though he only used his fighting talents when wrestling with his little brother or father.

Eventually this caught the eye of SkekMal, who kidnapped the young one to keep as his own, in an attempt at vengeance against the Archer; UrAugh remained with the Hunter for a few weeks, eating meat and suffering torment from SkekMal's three offspring: SkekVal, SkekVa, and SkekMa, horrid little creatures that hated the urrling for the favoritism their mother showed him, when they themselves never saw an ounce of affection.

Fortunately UrVa found the Hunter's lair and saved his son, but that wouldn't be the last UrAugh saw of the Hunter's offspring. He continued to grow, increasing his skill with the bow until he was worthy enough to match his father, and with his new found talent he took to transversing the Endless Forest, overlooking the rakkida population in his father's stead and rendering aid to any lost travelers. He had many misadventures, many of which included SkekVal the Ravager and SkekVa the Beast (later the Hunter).

UrAugh fought with them both, barely repelling SkekVa during his raids upon travelers, and brawling with SkekVal whenever he met him; however, something strange began to develop between UrAugh and the Ravager. They fought less and less, spoke more, shared meals, and soon their meetings turned into quiet time spent in the light of a campfire.

UrAugh didn't tell his father about his secret meetings with the Hunter's son. Knowing his father's history with SkekMal, even dim-witted UrAugh understood the Archer wouldn't take this newfound relationship very well. So for many trine he and SkekVal would meet in secret, in the most secluded parts of the forest they could find.

For many trine, this went well.

And then SkekVal became pregnant.

UrAugh finally confessed to his parents about his relationship, and brought his mate to them to meet at last. UrAi welcomed the new addition to their family with open arms, glad that his son had found someone to be happy with. UrVa, however, was the only person in that house unhappy with the announcement: how could his son choose to mate with one of that monster's offspring?

But that was soon to change when little MalVa was born. A pink, lively, and chubby little thing with floppy ears, he quickly won both his parents' and grandparents' affection as soon as they laid eye on him, and he was quickly placed in his father's pouch after a plethora of kisses.

[ohfugecannada]

@ben-the-hyena @dracocheesecake

Finally! After T H R E E DA M N M O N T H S , I give you my take on natives!MalVa.

I based his face and torso mostly on @ben-the-hyena’s original design. With the rest of the body and some minor tweaks, I took artistic liberties. Like giveing MalVa ape-like feet since I have this headcanon that polydactylism is common with Natives!ursekeks. Some urskeks have a fith finger on thier hand, while others, like MalVa, have opposable thumbs on thier feet.

As for the red cloak I gave him in the second pic, ive got a bit of backstory for that: before, MalVa was on his own hunting in the wilderness and only had a torn up and all black outfit (similar to skekMal’s in that one bit of concept art in the Age of Resistance art book). Then, he ran into a group of other Urskeks who, like him, were either outcasted by or left thier Skeksis/Urru socities (at this point in the timeline, Urskeks weren’t enslaved or treated like animals like in the events of AoR, but were still seen as strange and were discriminated against in some cases). Eventually one of these Urskeks, EketUtt, made and gave the cloak and bracelets to MalVa as a gift. Because he noticed MalVa always wore the same dirty clothes and thoght he’d like make new clean ones for him (he even stitched a couple of leaf shaped beads into it since, ya know, MalVa spends a lot of time outside and likes nature, right?). Dispite EketUtt calling him dirty MalVa was actually pretty touched by this since it was one of the first times in ages that someone showed him genuine kindness and thought of his wellbeing, even if he tried his best not to show it at the time. Even after the urskeks met Aughra, MalVa still wore the red cloak on hunts. But he only ever wears the bracelets when he’s paying Aughra a viset.

[dracocheesecake]

Natives AU: UrTa the Climber

UrTa the Climber is the grandchild of UrZah the Ritual Guardian, who raised them when their parents were murdered by bandits during a raid on a caravan. As a result, UrTa was reared by their grandmother to be the Ritual Guardian Apprentice, with the hope that they would take UrZah's place in court when the time was right.

However, young UrTa had other plans. Though raised with a great respect for, and knowledge of Thra and its spiritual workings, UrTa found their heart belonged to the heights: from the first time they could move their limbs, they were already taking to the trees, rocks, bookshelves, Master UrSu- anything they could possibly climb to give them the thrill of being so high off the ground, and the satisfaction of knowing their own strength brought them so far.

As UrTa aged, the desire only grew in intensity. They soon became weary of UrZah's strict Ritual Guardian training and longed for the distant mountains they heard of in song and tales. Young UrTa pestered travelers that visited the Valley, demanding to hear of these mountains and canyons, ravines and other valleys begging to be conquered by a worthy challenger. They cut their long hair short (to UrZah's utter dismay), smuggled bits of meat to eat, and questioned the urru way; though UrZah tried his hardest to dissuade his grandchild from this path of action, he very soon found out that it was pointless.

One day, when UrTa was no more than 333 trine of age, UrZah went to wake them, only to discover their things gone, their room empty, and their apprentice robes folded upon the bed with a note explaining their disappearance. UrTa left the Urru Capital with nothing but their poncho, pack, and the clothes on their back, heading straight for the mountains in the North.

Along the way, UrTa had many adventures, some good, many bad, making them wary and streetwise when interacting with others. During one of these adventures, they rescued a baby mounder whom they named Molla. The sweet, red furred little thing clung to UrTa like a burr, and soon she grew to be their loyal mount, assisting them during their climbs.

But that wasn't all UrTa found in the mountains: their heart was again captured, but not by the sight of the world spinning far below.

Their rope had snapped, leaving them to cling to a cliffside thousands of feet above the ground; one wrong move, UrTa knew, and they were done for. But what could they do? Their rope was gone, falling far below them, and the other half was dangling in the wind just above their reach.

A voice, calling above:

"Looks like you're in quite a tight spot. Need help?"

UrTa glanced up, only to see the strangest creature they had ever seen: an Urskek. He was tall, with four arms, bright eyes, short, spikey blonde hair, and a strange mixture of both urru and skeksis traits. UrTa wasn't certain what to make of this: they had heard so many tales of the horrors Urskek could commit...and yet, that smile, that calm, almost kind demeanor...

"No thanks," they had called back, "I've known plenty of 'honorable bastards' in my time."

In truth, all UrTa wanted was for the Urskek to toss that length of rope down so they could get to safety, but was safety guaranteed if this one was on the other end? What would happen, should they climb all the way up, within the Urskek's grasp? Would he push them over the cliff? Or kill them in some other horrid, unexpected way? Or worse?

Well...it was a slightly better prospect than throwing oneself into oblivion. Still, UrTa had to be wary. The Urskek smiled again.

"Well, you haven't known this honorable bastard."

"I have not," UrTa admitted, trying at this point to hide their exhaustion. They shuffled, attempting to find a foothold from which to reach.

"But anyway, if you're not going to be helpful, you can go."

"I can be helpful," the urskek replied, "you need me to toss you this rope, right?"

He reached for it, dangling it before releasing it again, a little closer to where they were. UrTa swallowed, a bead of sweat running down their long length of neck. They reached, then hesitated, though every muscle screamed in pain.

"...How do I know you won't do something awful before or after I get up there?"

"You don't," the Urskek said, his voice going from somewhat jovial to flat serious, "but you will have to, won't you?"

UrTa again found hesitance.

"...Won't I? This drop doesn't seem half bad when compared to what I've heard of your kind."

"So you've heard those old, worn out tales...What if I swore to you, eh? Swore to you on the soul of someone most dear to me?"

UrTa snorted and looked away, though they knew, as a former Ritual Guardian Apprentice, the solemnity of such an oath. A pause passed, their muscles shivered and ached with the strain...their fingers were growing numb from clinging to the cold rock for so long.

When they looked again, the urskek was leaning over the cliff, laying on his belly with his many hands clinging for support. His bright eyes were looking directly into UrTa's own, staring straight into their soul, it seemed. His voice was low, but still they heard it over the howling wind:

"I swear, upon the soul of my lost brother Lore-may Thra claim him- that you will make it up here alive, and I will never harm you."

UrTa's heart pounded. The Urskek held the soul-piercing gaze for a moment more, then gathered up the rope and threw it down. UrTa grabbed it with a desperation, climbing with all the strength they had left before collapsing on the soild ground. The urskek backed away, as if to leave. Seeing his back made UrTa panic almost, a sense of urgency heeding them to call out-

"Hey! Wait!"

The urskek turned with a look of both surprise and a slight hint of amusement.

"You made it to the cliff top alive. Congratulations."

"No-no, not-" They gasped for breath, swallowed, then tried to rise to their feet to look more dignified. When they could breathe again, they extended a hand.

"...No, I meant...I wanted to thank you. You saved my life. You could have left me, you know."

That was true enough. UrTa still didn't quite understand what drove this urskek to such lengths- the tales had all said the same thing. Urskeks were always evil tricksters or murderers, selfish and cruel without reason...but this one, thus far, had proven those tales wrong. UrTa swallowed and furrowed their brow, extending their hand more aggressively.

"I owe you, you know. You saved my life. I-I mean that! So if...you know...um...so you know...I never got your name?"

The urskek smiled, taking their hand in one of his and giving it a warm shake.

"Me? I'm GraGoh. You?"

UrTa nodded, shaking with even more vigor.

"Well...well then thank you, GraGoh. Let it be known that UrTa the Climber owes you a debt."

As it had stood, GraGoh told UrTa they owed him nothing: not that it stopped them, of course, though neither of them knew then the wonderful path that UrTa's stubbornness would lead them to: a path ending in two children and a home in the mountains.