#desert runner

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!! my computer absolutely did not want to let me post this for some reason. wtf lol

ANYWAYS, even if Aruka and Zuto live in a desert & likely can’t differentiate winter from summer since it’s hot all the time, I still wanted to draw something with them for Christmas.... just because I thought it was funny lmao! I wanted these images to look like pages of a book, which I think I succeeded at...

The greater than/less than symbols in the text indicate they aren’t actually speaking English & it’s translated, since Hivers especially are described as speaking in grunts, meaning they have their own language. I’m not sure if Desert Runners would be able to speak it, but since Seekers and Hivers learned to communicate with each other despite a language barrier, I think it’s possible for Zuto to do it as well?

I cannot believe I haven’t posted my Man After Man OCs yet! I also cannot believe that’s a sentence I just said! But this image has been on my computer for at least a week, maybe 2, so it’s about time I posted it.

Zuto is a Desert Runner, Aruka is a Hiver (Bearer variant), and Monopoino is a Seeker. 

Aruka’s white spots are a mutation, her skin and fur loses pigment overtime due to stress. If I ever color her in, they’d be a similar color to the Socials’ Queen and Nurse coloration from earlier in the book, whereas the rest of her colors correspond to the appropriate Bearer Hiver coloration depicted in the book. She has finger blades, but they’re more like finger spears because they’re underdeveloped (as the book implies they are in all females iirc? But that’s a bit of a guess because the male Hivers & Socials’ last digits don’t really have joints & are held out straight all the time, whereas the Social Nurses and Queens’ last digits can still bend, and I suspect it’s the same for the Hiver Bearer). Nevertheless, it’s still a weapon, just with different functionality. Aruka is quite dissatisfied with life in the hive, looking to escape. She could probably do it too, since she has Monopoino with her.

Zuto’s whiskers are considerably longer than a standard Desert Runner’s (all the better to keep sand out with..?) and he’s kind of frail. He may have sharp claws and teeth, but he can barely take a hit. He has been to Aruka’s hive before, but the two know each other on a deeper level than that.

My whole story for these 2 is that Aruka flees her hive with Monopoino, and is essentially all alone in the desert until she & Zuto run into each other! So they form a beneficial partnership where Aruka helps Zuto by warding off danger and seeking out food and water with Monopoino, while Zuto helps Aruka become accustomed to life outside the hive. I’m not actually sure if Hivers or Desert Runners can talk (in fact, they probably can’t), but if they could, I’m sure Aruka and Zuto would have very profound conversations about the meaning of life and finding one’s identity...

I think perhaps through Zuto, Aruka learns the skill of deception, something lost to time in her evolutionary history, at least after the days of the Socials...

Aruka and Zuto’s first meeting outside the Hive! ... It didn’t go so well.

As I’ve mentioned before, back when Aruka still lived in her family’s Hive, she did see Zuto a few times in passing. Desert Runners do tend to hide out in Hivers’ structures when times are tough. Though, since their stays are typically limited to a day or so, visitors like Zuto rarely venture into the deeper underground tunnels of the Hive & instead stick closer to the surface. As such, since Aruka spends most of her time out of the Hive or deeper underground where the seekers are, she didn’t find much time to familiarize herself with the smaller furry visitors.

However, on her own outside the Hive, Aruka’s sense of self-preservation goes into overdrive, and though she is well aware a Desert Runner can’t do any harm to her due to her size and hand blades, she is also aware that Monopoino could easily be snatched away by a fast foe, so she keeps her as close to her body as possible.

Zuto, having recognized Aruka’s distinctive white spots, runs forward to greet her. Seeing this as a charge, Aruka immediately goes on the offensive. It’s a good thing Zuto stopped when he did, or else Aruka would’ve drawn blood for sure.

✨🏃‍♂️ Moab Magic: Iconic Trails Await! 🏞️🌄

Hey, trail fam! If you haven’t hit the trails in Moab, you’re seriously missing out! The iconic Slickrock Trail is an absolute must—it's like running on the moon with its stunning red rock formations and jaw-dropping views. 🌌 The elevation changes will challenge you, but the thrill of conquering those climbs is unbeatable!

And let’s not forget the sunset runs—there’s nothing like that golden hour glow reflecting off the rocks. 🌅 Just don’t forget your hydration because it can get toasty out there!

The goal was to build a machine that hearkened back to the days of Steve McQueen, and the “hare scrambles” of California. And the ultimate goal was to enter it in the L.A.-Barstow to Vegas off road race that happens every Thanksgiving. The video is a little teaser telling the visual story of building "Revival's Royal Enfield Desert Runner" and racing it in the 2 day off-road desert race.

I had a fantastic Friday morning with a buddy an his brand new RC4WD Desert Runner Ford Raptor. Pretty nice looking rig. Some minor mods and the rig performs nice. Full video here: http://remoteaddicted.com/rc-videos/rc4wd-desert-runner-ford-raptor-rtr-maiden-run.html