Description Force!

[Kakaru_of_DOOM]

Looking good now, Lagie! I appreciate the tweak.

 

Here are my next prompts:

- A dragon with a hoarding problem.

- A pair of dragons with a strong rivalry.

[Lagie]

Thanks!

 

I did one other, not from a prompt, but I think you saw it in cave - the Odd Squad mint.

 

*ponders siblings*

 

 

Hoard -

https://dragcave.net/view/Zj8x3

Passing Showers loves rainy days. Light sprinkles send him into raptures. A steady downpour is cause for ecstasy. His absolute favourites are gusty thunderstorms where the rain comes at him from all directions. Passing Showers thinks most of the humans are weird because they seem to dislike the rain. They're always carrying fancy devices to keep themselves dry. Passing Showers has made a game of trying to snatch as many of these from passing humans as he can. It's an unusual hoard for a dragon, but Passing Showers doesn't mind. He isn't even truly aware that he has so many of these gadgets that his cave is full to overflowing. He just assumes all dragons have to navigate their way through and over and under their hoard, and he is clueless to the fact that the mere sight of his hoard is enough to scare any slightly interested lady dragons away. The rain and his hoard are enough to keep him happy, for now.

Edited April 4, 2020 by Lagie
To add description

[Kakaru_of_DOOM]

I'm not sure if I saw the Odd Squad mint (I don't get the reference. I have been signing my comments, so it should be clear if I saw it). I did see your umbrella hoarder, though.

 

Were you the one who got super-excited over https://dragcave.net/view/wdwdS's description?

WordwordS has travelled a bit and learned many writing sytstems, most of which she has found cumbersome - phonetic writing takes up too much space, symbolic writing has too many characters. Her favourite is hexplyph. She went to Nworset to try and convince the government there to shift their official alphabet, putting together a presentation to show off how a single tile of writing, comprised of up to six syllabic symbols, could convey words. For her examples she picked "awesome", "efficient", and "creative" - all words she felt described hexglyph. Unfortunately for her, many of the dragons she presented to struggled to pick out the individual characters from the compound symbol and asked her to separate them out. WordwordS obliged the audience and unpacked her adjectives.

 

He follows the first of my next two prompts:

- A reference (book, game, music, TV, etc) in draconic form.

- A dragon that uses magic of a non-creation element to heal.

[Lagie]

29 minutes ago, Kakaru_of_DOOM said:

I'm not sure if I saw the Odd Squad mint (I don't get the reference. I have been signing my comments, so it should be clear if I saw it). I did see your umbrella hoarder, though.

 

Were you the one who got super-excited over https://dragcave.net/view/wdwdS's description?

 

 

He follows the first of my next two prompts:

- A reference (book, game, music, TV, etc) in draconic form.

- A dragon that uses magic of a non-creation element to heal.

You did! Something about good to have another perspective.

 

No. I saw that one but I didn't comment on my accept.

 

I had one for the mistaking one dragon for another prompt but the one I wanted it for didn't gender right, so I've been trying to figure out how to rework it.

[Dirtytabs]

I now have a pair of dragons that others get confused with one another! Shark and Pop haven't/hasn't grown up yet, but the description will look similar.

Quote

Hip Serpent Among Us is often mistaken for another dragon, Shark and Pop, due to their many similarities. Hip Serpent's coloration is determined by light level, she spends a lot of time airborne, she is a serpentine amphiptere with feathered wings, she is soft and supple, and she makes decisions easily. One presumes those are among the many reasons she and Shark and Pop are hard to distinguish, and she does not blame anyone for that. Whenever she meets someone, whether for the first time or with an old friend, she typically starts the conversation with, "This is Hip Serpent speaking, not Shark and Pop!" By the looks of their puzzled faces, people are still confused, so they're probably glad she greets them this way.

 

I have lots of references in draconic form, so here's an old one that I'm very proud of:

Quote

There is a continent where seasons are long and unpredictable, which are called "Winter" and "Winter Is Coming". Scheme of Seats lives in the Land of Nouns. Everything is Noun of Noun because those kind of titles sound so cool. Her community is one of dragons who are constantly fighting over the world's least comfortable chair. There's a giant icy army on its way, but the chair seems to be a bigger concern, for some reason. Also, there is one dragon who has a lot of humans on her side, so she could probably take the seat of power if she wanted to, once she arrives to the Land of Nouns. Anyway, Scheme of Seats quietly watches her brethren, friends, and other folks she might know kill each other over the uncomfortable chair. Whoever gets to sit on it decides how food is rationed. Because of the unpredictable but usually snowy weather, that is a plus to have, and no one can bicker and hit each other if they don't eat. All men must dine.

 

[Lagie]

https://dragcave.net/view/ZuhnK

"You had one job..." Nearly every dragon that Zuhnk has every met eventually ends up saying this to him. He makes grand promises of this and of that, but he never, ever delivers on those promises. His weak and ineffectual attempts at doing anything have earned him the moniker Feckless, and dragons who know his style warn others to stay away from him. Zuhnk is also well-known for never taking responsibility for his actions and always finding someone else to blame, usually starting with the words, "They had one job..."

Already has two accepts, one with a comment that confuses me - 

• Accept:
• Accept: Hilarious- Not sure if appropriate for time period, though.

There's no time period stated in the description and nothing referencing modern anything? How can this be inappropriate for the time period?

 

 

[Kakaru_of_DOOM]

Random fact: the "pair of dragons that others get confused with one another" prompt came from two of my older dragons (Sherrias and Sherinas, if you must know) that have been around from before I knew how to write good descriptions... that I apparently updated during the period I was into spelling "dragon" with a c instead of a g. ((I should probably fix that, but I feel bad about the prospect of flooding the mods with 150+ dragons with one-character edits who for the most part I don't pay much attention to anyways.))

I agree with your confusion on the 'period appropriate' comment, Lagie. I can't see anything specific to a time period either.

Don't Ash Me

Once upon a time an ash wyrmling found a sleeping aeria gloris. The glowing crystals that floated around the amphiptere's neck looked tasty, so she ate them. Then she stared feeling funny, so she tried to go home. Unfortunately, the antigravity magic in the crystals sent her plummeting high up into the stratosphere. The high-altitude dragons who found her stared in amazement and a few inquired as to how she got up there. "Don't ash me," she said (she had yet to master a hard 'k'). She continued to float, so some of the skywings started calling her the "don't ash me kid", which eventually became the name she goes by to this day.

Because of her early and serious exposure, Don't Ash Me has become mana-transformed and continues to float high above the clouds, "flying" by paddling through the air with her legs. She has no control over her buoyancy because gravity magic is not native to her kind, but she doesn't let that stop her. She has a particularly close relationship with Stratos Fear.

Reject: Capitalize dragon names, like "Skywings" and "Aeria Gloris." Also a bit strange and unlikely.
Accept: Matches up well with Stratos Fear(yes I reviewed that one). Good and descriptive, good job

I'm annoyed at the first comment. I have never capitalised the names of dragon species, the same way I don't capitalise "lion" nor "acorn woodpecker". A species is a noun, not a proper noun. Unfortunately, that reject has enough clout behind it that Don't Ash Me's description is not visible on her page. I can't help with the 'strange' part, since there has to be some explanation for how an ash and a stratos could end up physically close enough to have eggs together...

One thing that confuses me is that sometimes an "abstain" comment is enough to make a pending description go invisible. I thought abstain was supposed to be "NULL YOUR VOTE"? Should't that be ±0 to the visibility score?

[Dirtytabs]

That or neither has enough clout to either show or disappear a pending description. I assumed "abstain" does do nothing to the "score", but it'd be nice for a mod to say whether that's really true.

 

There might be a commenter on the queue who isn't thinking broadly enough about the potential of descriptions. But it's very nice to see remarks (as opposed to empty rejects) even those I disagree with.

 

Quote

Accept: "People?" Not dragons?

 

People, yes.

[Mirhana]

8 hours ago, Kakaru_of_DOOM said:

Reject: Capitalize dragon names, like "Skywings" and "Aeria Gloris." Also a bit strange and unlikely.
I'm annoyed at the first comment. I have never capitalised the names of dragon species, the same way I don't capitalise "lion" nor "acorn woodpecker". A species is a noun, not a proper noun.

I agree with your logic, but looking through some species descriptions the different breeds do seem to be capitalized:
- "but Nocturne dragons"
- "though Falconiform Wyverns"
- "the Boreal Dragon prefers" etcetera
A short google on whether dog or cat breed names are capitalized in English shows that it varies a lot.
 

Edited April 8, 2020 by Mirhana

[Lagie]

I never capitalize my breeds. I get confused with the dragon name when I do capitalize.

[Kakaru_of_DOOM]

Yeah. Good point, comments are better than non-comments, even if they're a little off-base. 

19 hours ago, Dirtytabs said:

I assumed "abstain" does do nothing to the "score", but it'd be nice for a mod to say whether that's really true.

I had one case where a description had two accepts and was visible-pending, and then got a third comment which was an abstain and the description disappeared. Admittedly, this was some time ago, so the rules may have changed since then. 

 

Oh, and thanks for your help with Wysmyg's description, Lagie. My spelling checker decided to be buggy and not register errors for that description.

 

Speaking of comments, they can work as writing prompts, too.

- A description inspired my a comment you've gotten on another description

I'm not sure this makes sense to anyone other than myself, so to explain what I'm thinking with a few examples: a comment of confusion on cUPA9's favourite nouns some time ago (I think it was form Tabs? It's been a while) ultimately led to this description. Likewise, a 'long pork' comment on Coral Cavern ultimately led to Porceus's description.

 

[Lagie]

On 4/9/2020 at 12:05 AM, Kakaru_of_DOOM said:

Speaking of comments, they can work as writing prompts, too.

- A description inspired my a comment you've gotten on another description

I'm not sure this makes sense to anyone other than myself, so to explain what I'm thinking with a few examples: a comment of confusion on cUPA9's favourite nouns some time ago (I think it was form Tabs? It's been a while) ultimately led to this description. Likewise, a 'long pork' comment on Coral Cavern ultimately led to Porceus's description.

 

So, on 9DIN0, this comment showed up - Accept: All he needs is some big red boots, then his disguise will be complete! - KoD

Rather than change the gold's description, I came up with this one:

https://dragcave.net/view/dYR7z

Ronald Bruce isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, and he's a bit of a kleptomaniac. He's particularly fond of the red boots that the dinos wear. They're good at holding water, at least for a while. He also thinks they'll help him be able to walk better on land than the average waterhorse. Where his lack of smarts comes in, is that he's always trying to swipe boots from 9DIN0, the gold dragon who thinks he's a dino. Where every other dragon in the cave knows that 9DIN0 really is a gold, no matter what he says, Ronald Bruce believes 9DIN0 and consequently cannot figure out why there are no red boots for him to steal.

[Mirhana]

Zuqi the Dorkface

Quote

They say everyone who looks into their family history will find a secret sooner or later. 
Found as an undercooled, abandoned egg by one of the Aeon Wyverns of the pack, Zuqi knew nothing about his background or heritage for most of his life. He would weave great tales about the might of his Desipis ancestors and the havoc they would wreak upon anyone getting in their way, weaving a hidden threat in his stories that others had better not cross him either. Anyone unimpressed by his tall tales would be subject to the mind-distorting powers of the tantrum of this young Desipis. 
Despite Zuqi's good relations with the adults, the other hatchlings never seemed to like or respect him. Myaro even started digging around for information, smooth-talking the adults of the Pack on any details about where and when Zuqi was found. It didn't take long before he had found the perfect nickname for Zuqi, with all the other hatchlings chanting it wherever they saw him:
Dorkface! Dorkface! Dorkface!

• Accept:
• Abstain: Good job... ok, I liked it til the dork face part. Otherwise, cute story bro!
• Accept:

Ah well, can't please everyone! 
...I also just realized I used weave twice in the same sentence and didn't capitalize Pack the first time.

Edited April 12, 2020 by Mirhana

[Lagie]

49 minutes ago, Mirhana said:

Zuqi the Dorkface

Ah well, can't please everyone! 
...I also just realized I used weave twice in the same sentence and didn't capitalize Pack the first time.

They may not have realized the significance of Dorkface at Dragon Cave.

[Kakaru_of_DOOM]

On 4/11/2020 at 10:43 AM, Lagie said:

So, on 9DIN0, this comment showed up - Accept: All he needs is some big red boots, then his disguise will be complete! - KoD

Rather than change the gold's description, I came up with this one:

https://dragcave.net/view/dYR7z

That's what I intended with the prompt: take a comment and use it as inspiration for a second description. I'm glad that prompt worked, since it was kind of an odd one. I did go out of my way to review a few extra descriptions yesterday to try and leave comments that could lead somewhere.

 

14 hours ago, Mirhana said:

Zuqi the Dorkface

Ah well, can't please everyone! 

 

Yep, not everyone recognises the famous names of Valkemare. I certainly took awhile to figure them out, but I wasn't on the forums at all when I started playing. I took the Dorkface line more seriously than the Thuweds back then...

 

Well, here are my next prompts:

- A pair of dragons who are pen-pals.

- A dragon with sensory (tactile, auditory, telepathic, proprioceptive, etc. Pick as few or many as you want) hypersensitivity.

[Lagie]

So... I use description reviewing as a way to pass time between Easter eggs. I have run out of descriptions to review!

[Mirhana]

@Kakaru_of_DOOM Gave your writing prompt a try, thank you very much!

 

Quote

Magi dragons are exceptionally sensitive and attuned to all stimuli around them. Where humans and most other dragons will hear no sound, feel no wind on their skin and see nothing but an empty space, Rosgail will feel the lightest airflow tugging at her millions of scales, the slightest vibration pounding on her eardrums and will see the flow of all magic around her in a brilliant display of colours. To some, mage sight is as much a burden as it is a blessing. 

Often the sheer amount of information she needs to process from all her different senses becomes too much for her to handle, and she will shut down, curl up and wait for better times. However, it also makes her one of the most gifted Magi, as her fine attunement allows her to make precise calculations for her spells. When Rosgail does not need her senses for her work, she will often wrap a silk cloth around her ears and eyes to protect herself. Her mage sight alone is enough to navigate this exhausting, busy world.

 

Edited April 14, 2020 by Mirhana

[Kakaru_of_DOOM]

I'm glad my prompts are inspiring. That must be a pretty strong enchantment on that silk cloth to keep out all the noise. If only my noise-cancelling headphones were that good...

 

It is a common occurrence for someone to call out a greeting to Oc and for him to answer, then almost immediately cut himself off by saying, "Be right back," and sprint off to finish some errand or other. Many of his casual acquaintances think that "be right back" is an official part of his name, leading many to call him "Oc - BRB". Oc always overpacks his schedule, whether he is trying to arrange courtships for every student in Seven Questions University or help his friend Left and Be Right Back the gemina finish some of their experiments. Oc manages to teach a good number of classes, though throughout the day students keep interrupting him for help because he talks too fast during lectures. He supposedly is working on experiments of his own in the Impractical department, but again, all of his work is hurried and crowded around extracurricular activities. The last thing he published was about chocolate hears, but had so many typos that nobody could tell what his conclusion was.

Accept: chocolate hears?

That one really was a typo and supposed to be "hearts", but since OcBRB does make a lot of typos... should I just put the phrase in quotes and roll with it?

 

If I was on top of things, I'd have come up with these next prompts before the event was almost over:

- A dragon preparing for the Festival of Eggs.

- A dragon participating in Festival of Eggs activities!

Edited April 15, 2020 by Kakaru_of_DOOM

[Lagie]

10 hours ago, Kakaru_of_DOOM said:

 

Accept: chocolate hears?

That one really was a typo and supposed to be "hearts", but since OcBRB does make a lot of typos... should I just put the phrase in quotes and roll with it?

That sounds like a plan!

[Dirtytabs]

On 4/8/2020 at 9:05 PM, Kakaru_of_DOOM said:

- A description inspired my a comment you've gotten on another description

 

There was a comment a while back saying my dragon can't play football because Earth references aren't allowed...

 

and I thought, "What other things exist on Earth and therefore "aren't allowed"? Bowling? Ice skating? Gymnastics? Catch?

Quote

Stoppage is a very good thing thrower, as long as the thing is small enough and can be held safely. He can throw the thing from one hand and catch it with the other, but unlike many dragons, he can do this with more than one thing at a time, by timing the throws and and throwing them high enough. His record for the number of balls he can throw at once is five, and he's working on getting cups and baskets up to five. Stoppage has shown dragons in adjacent territories this skill, and they look impressed at his coordination and wonder if he can apply it somewhere. Maybe one day, he'll find a purpose for throwing things.

 

so here's one that mentions a made-up sport

Quote

Zweli's favorite season is spring, and he's most active in the late winter to mid-spring, where he busies himself swimming around looking to make himself useful. He's a pretty decent stickwaterball player with many tricks that aren't necessarily strategically sound but are entertaining to watch, so he always doesn't really help a team win, but he makes games interesting. Zweli plays pick-up matches around the pelagic zone at the request of stickwaterball fans and friends looking for some amusement, and he stays behind to aid in clean-up when the match is over.

 

[Mirhana]

Quote

"September 27. Dear diary, I don't know what to do. I am so worthless."
This Paper dragon seems to have folded itself out of a ball of crumbled pages. Any attempts to read more of the text lead the Paper dragon to fold its wings protectively over its body. When not harassed by nosy readers, however, Leabhar-Latha is kindness itself. It particularly seeks the company of children and teenagers, distracting them with its aerobatic skills, amusing them by folding itself into funny shapes, draping itself comfortingly over their shoulders, or laying down quietly on their lap as they confide their secrets to the mute little dragon. Leabhar seems to know intuitively how to comfort and console lost souls, and the mere company of this piece of Paper seems to have a calming effect on most of the youngsters. 
When alone, though, it seems to lose itself in a state of mourning.
"October 1. I need a place where there is no need for me to be perfect."

User Comments
Accept:
Reject:
Accept:

Too dark for PG13?

[Lagie]

18 minutes ago, Mirhana said:

Too dark for PG13?

No. Looks fine to me. (Don't fret about the random rejector.)

[Kakaru_of_DOOM]

Random rejects happen, Mirhana. Certain descriptions are prone to get more of them, but I see nothing wrong with your paper's description.

 

On 4/17/2020 at 11:02 AM, Dirtytabs said:

There was a comment a while back saying my dragon can't play football because Earth references aren't allowed...

I wonder if that comment came from the same user who told me there were no enchiladas on Valkemare?

 

On 4/15/2020 at 5:44 AM, Lagie said:

That sounds like a plan!

Alright! Description updated.

 

How about this for a writing prompt:

- A dragon with a misleading title

[Dirtytabs]

On 4/8/2020 at 9:05 PM, Kakaru_of_DOOM said:

- A description inspired my a comment you've gotten on another description

How about I write a description inspired by a comment you've gotten on another description?

 

Dependable oh clinical oh is a maker and peddler of sweets. His community is involved in the candy-concocting business, but only he leaves the LS Volcanoside to sell their goods in other regions. Around March and April, he joins other merchants on the Union Road with sacks and trays of food and sugary treats. Early spring is the time of year when he sells his super-special chocolate hears. They are chocolates shaped like a hatchling's ears, a boreal hatchling's, to be precise. (They were originally modeled after his son's.) The candy used to be called chocolate ears, but a group of vendors with a jewel-studded cart who sell bunny ears made of chocolate told him he was using their "chocolate ears" name, and customers will confuse their products if both are called the same. If he didn't change his product's name, they would take him to court. Dependable isn't very good at sports, so he decided not to compete with them. Now he sells chocolate hears, and that's perfectly fine with him.

 

[Lagie]

Good one!