Devs

"Driven out by Odin

No place to call his home

Cast out to the ocean

To the great unknown

His lust for vengeance rising

With the power of the waves

This dear abomination of a child

Has many names"

-Power Snake by Brothers of Metal

Sooo Httyd Jörmungandr! One of the worst disservices I've ever seen done to a character, AND the thing they're inspired by. I'm a huge fan of dragons, but also snakes and reptiles in general. I also love Norse mythology, and Jörmungandr is a major highlight of it for me (loved him in God of War too, big friend-shaped noodle /lh). I also grew up with antagonists like the Great Devourer from Ninjago and the Screaming Death from How to Train Your Dragon. Needless to say, I had some EXPECTATIONS HERE.

So when I made my redesign, I wanted to improve not only how it looks, but also HOW IT WORKS. Because obviously, the show's take of "it's THE Jörmungandr and it's inherently evil and it somehow survived being trapped in a cage for hundreds of years without starving" is.. well I have many words, but let's say it's stupid, to put it simply.

Wether they mean to imply that Jörmungandr is actually THE mythological creature from the mythology and ACTUALLY came to be as it does in the stories and ACTUALLY implies that the mythology is real - or they mean that the mythology was written based on creatures like him (kind of like how in real life animals have probably been mistaken for unicorns or dragons in ancient times), I'm not sure what the direction of the show is meant to be. Either way it did not work at all and just sounds confusing and takes away the natural feel the dragons of the franchise have always had. Yes, there may be superstitions and legends about them and that can be super cool, but at the end of the day, they have all always been just natural animals. They aren't so much "dragons the legendary beasts" they're more like "dragons the animals", if that makes sense. More grounded, even if humans may have formed beliefs around them (but then, people have always formed beliefs around real animals as well)

Anyway that aside I wanted to use the mythological character's story as inspiration for this character's story. My Jörmungandr is just an animal. He's not any actual mythological beast, but he IS out of place and feels almost impossible, because he's a prehistoric animal, who survived in hibernation for eons. He is the only one of his species to have done this by some miracle, and therefore he is the only one of a species long since lost to time, long before humans even existed. So when vikings heard whispers of the slumbering beast, when rumors spread of a serpent beast the size of mountains, sleeping under the ocean, obviously they would find the connection between that description and the world devouring serpent in their stories - the Jörmungandr. Sightings of its hibernating body were rare though (as it is so ancient and mostly buried deep into the Hidden world, new layers of ground have formed over it etc), so it was little more than a tale and a warning in the viking times. Again, to be clear though, this specific dragon is NOT THE JÖRMUNGANDR, but he became associated with the beast through vikings (the kids in my Nine Realms AU also nickname him that because of the obvious likeness).

Now, as for the modern day, when he eventually awakens and is actually able to move around and interact with the world - what is he? A monster or a victim of unfortunate circumstances? Well here I once more like to think about the myth of Jörmungandr. An offspring of Loki that was feared to become a threat as soon as he was born, so he was cast out by Odin and left abandoned and alone, until he grew and eventually became a threat. I think that works pretty well to describe for what I want my Jörmungandr to be as well.

He's an antagonist in the Nine Realms, but he's not evil for the sake of being evil. My Jörmungandr is an animal, who finds himself waking up to a world beyond recognition, a world where no dragon quite communicates in his ancient dialect. Everything looks, smells and sounds different due to the sheer amount of time between his natural existance, and the modern day. Jörmungandr is a confused creature in a time that's not his own, and while it's trying to figure that out, it's a threat to everyone by its sheer size alone. And while docile at first, there are plenty of reasons it may become aggressive and even more dangerous.

Platypus time! Out of the major characters in the book, she is probably my favourite ✨️ She's just so entertaining yet so nuanced and I can't wait to see more of her.

What I find interesting is that based on what I've seen, she's compared to Kinkajou a lot in the fandom (I haven't been super active or into the community myself so this is based on what little I've seen), which I find odd because the only thing they really share is being very clear and loud about their emotions and being fierce. Personally I get reminded of Tsunami, Sundew and Freedom if anything, but that's not a complaint or anything, just an interesting observation really 🤷🏼‍♀️ (Not that I want to define Platypus as a copy of any other character and I think she's very distinct as her own person👍)

About the design, Wildwings obviously have no official reference - and based on how they've come to be, their body structure probably varies a lot based on parents and ancestors, other than the common traits like the spiky scales, etc. So I based her on the official art of Quokka, with the added spikiness she's described with. As for colors, I mostly followed her description in the book, expect I didn't include the black patterns, and I also made the tips of all her spikes have the same bioluminescent green spots her wings are described to have, just for flavor. Also it's not included in this picture, but I like to think she has the poisonous spikes that platypus males have on their back feet, since her claws are poisonous anyway.

So this is my interpretation of Royal. Man, I was SO HYPED when Queen Monarch was revealed to be still alive, and even more so when I realized Royal is her son.

He wasn't the main focus of the book but man I loved the bits of character he got! The initial contrast of his mother being one of the kindest, most warmhearted dragons there is, to him being a sarcastic jerk in a band of bullies, is so interesting and immediately caught my eye when reading.

And of course, me with my track record of adopting all the Snotlouts and Kenjis and the like, I was instantly sold on Royal too /lh. He wasn't given a crazy amount of development but there's the obvious implications that the sarcasm and cynical behavior are an act to protect himself from being vulnerable. And while it's wielded as a weapon for most of the book, in the end he turns it on Taipan to stand up against the biggest bully. (All of this while still ofc acknowledging that he did wrong too).

There's also just so much angst potential in what made him that way, most glaringly the fact that he was separated from his parents when Beryl took over, and maybe even before that, if the trauma that Monarch and Glowworm had endure before leaving Pantala carried with them all that time. Which, based on their behavior and description, seems clear is the case and is to be expected. I'm sure Monarch would be the most loving parent based on her character, but the idea of showcasing the flaws that even good, loving parents can and will have and how it can unintentionally affect their kids, is always interesting to see represented in stories.

But yeah that's an interesting point! For me, the decision to make them a zilant in this particular case was mainly just made because I thought it'd be fun to mix things up a bit from the usual quadrupeds and wyverns. I do also like to consider a dragon's appearance and anatomy in relation to species, dragon class etc because I'm a (starting newbie) biology major and in general love being nerdy about details like that, both for scientific interest and storytelling purposes.

I hadn't even considered the Seashocker when thinking about the Mist Twister, but I will definitely do now, incase I might take inspiration to my redesign, which the fullbody is still in the works and of course anything is object to change, I like having it as a developing thing 👍

That being said, I haven't watched the full live-action movie myself. I followed it's development, saw the trailers, read interviews and articles - I probably will eventually watch it just 'cause, but for now I just haven't bothered. I share the sentiment that the movie is a shallow cashgrab to follow a trend that was always mid at best, horrible at worst.

Aside from story details being changed and some dialogue I don't care for, my main issue is the visuals. The colors, the outfits, the movement and design of the dragons (ngl the Monstrous Nightmare is my biggest grievance because it's my favourite dragon in the franchise. It's not necessarily the worst of the bunch, but again it's so generic, and the thing that bothers me is how skinny and gangly it is, just a worm with wings </3. How does my boy fly with no chest muscles to move those wings) - everything that is the world we're presented on-screen. It's all either bad or just generic. The original Httyd movie is one of my all time favorite movies and one of the main contributors to that is the visual masterpiece that it is.

So anyway, Toothless. There was never going to be an easy way to redesign one of the most iconic and beloved characters in the world, so I don't want to be too harsh. (In general, I mean no ill will towards the artists and animators who worked on this project) However as the habit has been, unfortunately this design falls in the same direction as Httyd 3 (even Httyd 2 Toothless in some aspects, these comparisons are a common topic) does. Aside from obvious, commonly covered "cat -> dog" traits, everything about the design favors a sort of "show don't tell" type of approach if that makes sense. Exaggerated, cartoonish expressions, very saturated and large eyes, it's very far-removed from the Toothless I personally prefer, which is the original one. He was more reserved, more eerie. You had to pay attention to his movements and expressions to understand what he was feeling, but it still wasn't complicated to do so. Both are valid ways to design a character, but in Toothless' case, the latter suits his character better in my opinion.

The designs of him I most prefer besides the og, and the ones who keep his characteristics the best are in my opinion the Gift of the Night fury, Riders/Defenders of Berk and Race to the Edge models (with the shows' design maybe being a little light in color and eyes being a touch too dull, but anyway). Oh, and special shoutout to the new Toothless animatronic at Epic Universe's Isle of Berk, love that little guy! /lh

After all that exposition, here's FINALLY the part about these edits xD I wouldn't call these "redesigns", these were made for fun, as a design practice to see how he would look with traits more akin to the Toothless I prefer. Nothing fancy, just gave him his blue hue, made his eyes smaller and adjusted the color, plus added his scars and markings and some other minor adjustments.

I first saw Scarecrow when playing Lego Batman 2 on the Ps3 way back in the day, when I was young and knew very little about DC. He was just a funny witch as far as I knew, but that was my first memory of him, after which I'd see him pop up in some animated movies, etc.

But the first time I paid real notice to the character, and what would become my absolute favorite iteration of the character (by personality, story and design), is when I decided to play Batman: Arkham Asylum in 2019. I've always enjoyed intelligent, strategic characters, they're my jam. Logically, Scarecrow fills these expectations, but that alone is not what caught my attention here. He doesn't get a lot of screentime in the game, but when he does, he uses it well.

Scarecrow and how he appears and functions in Asylum is unlike any of the other characters. He's eerie, mysterious, out of reach and even out of bounds. He literally makes it seem like the game crashed and your save got lost, so your playthrough supposedly starts all over from the beginning. He warps reality, and you don't even know he's struck until it starts to kick in. And I love that it's still possible to notice, you can hear the gas as it floods into the room before every single Scarecrow encounter in the game.

The final thing to strike me upon this first impression, is the fact that Scarecrow never physically hurts Batman, other than the prick of injection needles I guess lol. He can't physically match Batman or even most normal people, yet he's capable of controlling a room with nothing more than words, a presence, and of course some knowledge in chemistry.

And him in Arkham Knight - I can't even begin to describe how much I love his story in the Arkham games, but he is absolutely the highlight of that game and carries the whole thing for me, where as otherwise the game is a bit mid imo (story and characterwise mainly). Only complaints are that he got robbed so bad ALSO WHERE IS THE BOSSFIGHT ROCKSTEADY. WHERE ARE MY FEAR TOXIN ENCOUNTERS. AND NO I DON'T MEAN THE "AR TRAINING".

And to return to an earlier point, which Absolute Batman also beautifully displayed: how effortlessly Scarecrow can hold complete control over a room with nothing more than his presence. To draw an example that's not as spoilery as a very new comic issue, I'll just refer to the very first face-to-face encounter we have with him in Arkham Knight. A weak, crippled man in a tiny room with no escape. He proceeds to get down on his knees and raise his hands before the Dark Knight, yet he says "I am in complete control". And it's not a bluff, he is.

These same observations of the character carry on to other depictions of him and why I enjoy him. Of course there are many other characteristics about him I enjoy too. The analytical mind, the attitude and sarcasm, the "I'm surrounded by idiots" vibe... He has a lot of attributes I relate to actually - which I don't think I need to explain that I obviously don't mean to say I relate to him as the criminal or justify his actions, but the habit of explaining that fact compels me to say it anyway lol.

Honestly I feel like there's so much I'm failing to mention here, I just love so many aspects of the character, but one of the saddest things is how much he gets misused (if he is used at all). I feel like so many stories and depictions misunderstand him, or just don't bother to utilize him at all. Most commonly, he's only there to be another thug in Joker's crew or worse - they don't need him at all, they just need him for the gimmick, aka the fear toxin. (Which, don't even get e started on Batman Begins. The one chance he had to be in a major, live-action movie and they fumbled it. And it's sad because I genuinely think Cillian Murphy could have portrayed a great Scarecrow, but nah. He's just some drug dealer dude WHO DIDN'T EVEN INVENT THE TOXIN OK)

Another reason that Scarecrow has become such a meaningful character to me, rivaled only by Soundwave, is how much he has impacted my life personally. This is the character that got me into psychology. This is the character that worked as a comfort during the most depressing years of my life. He gave me completely new ways to look at characters and stories and how to interpret and/or create them, gave me insight into fear and the human mind when I started therapy and began to learn about self-reflection, and so much more. I discovered so much about the world and how to look at it through this silly costumed crook, and that's just really cool to to me.

The Unity Crystals, the three pieces to seal away all magic, were not made to resemble three pony kinds (as I don't think Twilight would want to enforce that type of separation, plus the magic isn't only the ponies', it's all magic from all creatures in Equestria). No, the important detail is what they become when combined: an alicorn.

In reality, Twilight creating the crystals was just a means of doing what Opaline would have done, had Twilight not beat her to it. Only, crystals are less likely to abuse all that power after obtaining it.

See, Opaline's magical specialty in my AU (like unicorns in G4 used to have each their unique magical talent, aside from basics like levitation etc) is extraction of magic. Collecting it like sap from a tree. In Equestria such a talent borders on miracle, but Opaline wasn't from Equestria, she was from Skyros. And as a god among gods (alicorns having longer lifespan, stronger magic, etc), it's harder to stand out. When everypony is special, nopony is. That's how Opaline saw it.

So how would she become a god above gods? Why, by being the one who controls that godhood. If she could have power over all of magic, granting it to the world only as she sees fit, she could finally stand out, making everyone dependant on her. She only needed to develop her magic so she'd be able to extract any and all magic and collect it for herself.

Only Skyros caught on, and cast out the disgraced alicorn, into the lands below. Out of sight out of mind (they were a very high and mighty kingdom in their time, rather disconnected from the rest of the world, seeing themselves as better than them. Luna and Celestia for example were different in this instance, and after being sent to conquer Equestria in the name of Skyros, decided to instead abandon their old home and become part of this new land, finding value where their alicorn kin had seen none. It was a disgrace, so the gatesof Skyros were locked for them forevermore). It took a while for Opaline to recover her footing, but this development did little to deter her, it only changed her target. Equestria would now become the first to bow to her.

I don't want to give away absolutely everything yet, but as things started escalating, Twilight slowly realized there was no way to stop what Opaline intended to do. Equestria would lose all its magic, and there was no stopping it. Only choosing who would have that power.

So it was done. And Opaline, as an alicorn stripped of so much magic at once, fell into an endless dream. Until of course, the crystals would one day be brought together once more.

And the rest is history.