#deep docks

7 little chuddies jumping on the bed.

My first post on my future "spriteslop" series, made up mostly of either sprites of my mutuals' silksonas, fake screenshots, or sprites of my own sona. :]

This series will not have a consistent schedule, mind you. As do none of my posts. But I'll be drip-feeding you folks some of the sprites I've done and describing each in more detail. :]

Do note that none of the characters, except for the one with the huge drill-lance, are mine.

Cool how Hornet reverse grips the slate to use it; makes sense considering it is a quick retrieval from and to the pouch

It looks like the handle is a screw pin that was used to hold the original stone in place as it was cut and polished into a slate

Ngl delver's drill seems like a tool more fit for Deep Docks

maybe those drills were originally gonna be delivered there? Or were brought from there for repairs?

The location is curious, as it looks like the Flintgem used for the tool was taken from the cave walls

Yet Flintgem is an organ obtained from a Flintbeetle

There are four options here:

The gem isn't really an organ but something akin to a bezoar growing on an organ; Flintbeetles feed on flintgem rich ore and accumulate it on said organ

The gem can occur both naturally and on the organ through different processes

Dead Flintbeetles can form natural deposits of the gem, or maybe a generational accumulation of carcasses in dedicated burrows

Flintbeetles can leave a trace of flintgem powder so rich it can turn into / be considered flintgem on its own right

... hold on is this trace a turd?

Track down Flintbeetles in The Marrow and defeat them to collect Flintgems.

Flintbeetles can be tracked by their stone-sheddings and their aromic dung.

Oh it literally is

At first I thought Flintbeetles just ate flintstone and their digestion processed it into flintgem

But then I realized flintgem traces and outcrops are literally all over the place

These could all be traces from Flintbeetles, seeing how they are almost always embedded in fossilstone, and most of the time has that powdery look from their dungs, but still

Some of these could also be inert flintflame, which seems to be a more volatile form of flintgem

Flintstone acts similar to coal, or at the very least has a similar role as both a source of heat and fuel for the Cauldron

Flintgem on the other hand seems more similar to sulfur (called brimstone ("burning stone") in the past); this goes to explain the specification of Flintbeetle dung being "aromic"

However, it isn't wholy like sulfur: it might melt into a red color, like lava and like flintstone, but it burns with a blue flame

TC probably used flint in the name of all these minerals because of how it is used to spark fires (and also in how it is used to make blades in the case of the flintslate) but irl flint is a form of quartz, which isn't really volatile, the sparks coming from shaved off iron particles that react to the air

Spark bright… Defy the dark…

Is this implying the brightness of these ores and/or the lava were keeping the void at bay? Or even that these creatures seeking flint out is a defense mechanism against the void or the dark in general?

World's breath, distant call…

I wonder what this is about

...Endless heat..

Flintgem does seem to burn for a very long time, maybe even unnaturally long

...Pharloom's fury...

This reminds me of one of the ingredients ("Four stones rage-baked, crushed powder coarse") for Flickering Flame, the shaman recipe that seems to have been used to create the wisps (I'll cover this on the lantern's turn)

It's very cool that the Forebrothers also use flintslates

Wait, Forebrothers? what kind of name is that?

Is it a play on foreboding? sure, they seem like despicable bosses, and they guard the ominous diving bell, but it doesn't quite fit them y'know

Or is it forever brothers? well that makes even less sense

It would make more sense if they were called Forgebrothers, since their needolin talks about forging stuff

Wouldn't be the first time Team Cherry has such a typo, see no further than Mantis Petra in the first game, with petra meaning stone, something those enemies have nothing to do with, unlike ptera, meaning wings, like how they're characterized for being large flying mantis and the only ones capable of flight between the traitors

Wait, I was just informed that "foreman" (leader in a working crew) is a term that exists, and yeah that does make more sense

But still, where have I heard a similar naming scheme to "Forgebrothers" before...

A smith? Hardly so crude! We are Forge Daughter! How can a pointy bug not tell? Ours is the ancient line and honoured role. These docks and lands around are fortunate to have our skills.

Sent from our Forgehome we were, at request of those holy bugs above.

Forgehome, of ancient line and honoured role

Surely being part of such caste would make one worthy of the role of overseeing the Deep Docks

However, Forge Daughter only talks of forge daughters, no brothers whatsoever

Yes! An age ago that. Such is duty! We Forge Daughters live to hone the craft, and aid the line. By the Citadel's patronage, and our long duty upon these docks, our Forgehome would swell in holy esteem.

Now, this may be a hard stop to the idea that Signis and Gron are from the Forgehome, however, look at Forge Daughter's needolin dialogue

Heat it... Shape it... The work endures... Forged by holy duty... Tempered... moulded... For Pharloom everlasting... We continue the task...

It's the exact same needolin dialogue as the Forebrothers, even in their Haunting

So yeah, I'm positive in calling them Forgebrothers; we could go with saying that "Forebrothers" is a play in both foremen and forge brothers

Maybe when she says "We Forge Daughters live to hone the craft, and aid the line" she means that specifically the daughters dedicate themselves to crafting bells, and the brothers get the role of overseers

It would also come to question if their flintslates are just something they did for themselves on their own, or if they're expected to create such things

Daughters forging protections, Brothers forging shoveling tools and weapons

Now, Ballow also shares this needolin dialogue; wether this is because he's her assistant, or because he's just singing along, or because he's actually part of the line, or because he's the only sane smelt shoveler left, that's up to you to decide

Going back to Flintbeetles, or rather, the creatures inhabiting The Marrow in general, isn't it odd how there are lava slugs and lava spitting flies? (that last one is from far fields but shhh there's still lava over there)

Or how the area is named after and specially noted to be a huge conglomerate of bones, despite 90% of this world's soil being comprised of fossilstone and bones anyways?

If void is below all things, is lava always above the void? is this lava even the result of a world's hot core?

I'm gonna go directly to the point: I don't think this lava is merely the result of rocks getting really hot from geological processes

I think it is an extreme result from the digestive processes of some of the inhabitants of the marrow, not just bugs but even microorganisms, breaking down bone and rock for nutrients, biological and chemical processes of extreme exothermal results, through countles generations and ages, which continue to happen long after the flesh of those ancestral giants has already been consumed, only bone and a sluice of incredibly hot minerals left as evidence of their existence

(These all have the same needolin dialogue btw)

An argument could be made that The Marrow once looked like the grassy Far Fields, with the grass only recently receeding, as indicated by the Memorium and Gilly

But both of these also imply the lava was already there as well

In fact, I'd argue we see the distant titanic ancestors of tarmites in both Far Fields (their nest, outside of which they only start spawning after Hornet destroys it) and The Marrow (the shellwood connection skull)

You don't just have a nest of tarmites heavily feature this kind of skull and not expect to imply they're related

I wonder if the Marrow one having such weird teeth and worm-like throat is actually because it died with a worm in its mouth, maybe it bit more than it could chew

We are Forge Daughter! Before all you interesting and peculiar bugs are able to ask Us questions, We have some rules of The Forge.

One : The Forge is a safe space, you are welcome. Do not discriminate or discourage against each other.

Two : Do not ask concerning intrigues. It disturbs Us and disturbed Ballow… and We would strongly advise against it.

Three : If you show Us any peculiar or disturbing oddities and scribbles, you will be banned from The Forge. Any other oddities and scribbles are very welcome here!

Have a wondrous day, bugs of Pharloom, and farewell!

-—OOC UNDER CUT—-