#speed paint

I've come across this video several times, and each time I was disappointed that this moment doesn't actually happen in the game. I really think it's a big oversight on the part of the game that we are only given two choices for romantic interests. I WANTED TO CHOOSE FLAMBAE! HEY!

You can watch a video of better resolution at my Instagram post.

Well this is an unusual post. But just like with trolls, I challenge against pop-cultural fantasy narratives of stiff definition of "Western dragons" (which are more specifically the type post-classical/modern Western dragons). Most informations comes from the database Sägenkartan (Swedish only, but if you want an English source you could go to Wikipedia's article although can be a bit stiff) for the Nordic folkloric dragons while the diversity and evolution of the medieval dragons comes from The Medieval Bestiary website and various other dragons in the Wikipedia article for dragons.

Western dragons

Various different randomly selected medieval dragons.

It’s incredibly debated on the definition of dragons. I think it’s a collective term for a type of legendary reptilian-like beasts that’s often hybridized. It’s not easy to generalize with “Western vs Eastern” dragons. In ancient and throughout various local oral traditional folklore, dragons were mostly serpentine in Europe and rather similar to Eastern dragons.

The common Western dragons design you often seen in fairy tales and fantasy is what I would rather call “Post-classical Western dragons” or "modern Western dragons". It first originates from few Medieval European art from 1200s and started dominating in the 1500s and beyond in elitist artwork and literature.

While dragons had always been wildly diverse throughout the middle ages, earlier Medieval art still featured more serpentine dragons (or even birdlike) while between 1200s-1500s they were more bestial hybrids of random animals. One of the common possible depictions of dragons in mid-medieval art is having a dog-like head (very commonly having ears), serpentine neck and tail, birdlike wings and posture and bird or dog-like legs.

The fire breath is almost universal present amongst dragon types all around the world although extremely rare in comparison to modern Western dragons where it's unusually far common.

Examples of medieval dragons with more modern designs (carefully selected)

Old Norse Dragons

Even if the Viking Age also considered dragons as a kind of serpents, dragons are easily distinguishable from other snakes by being large and having more fantastical stylized designs. Often with their heads being more detailed. Sculptured dragon heads sometimes look rather wolf-like. Normal snakes just look like normal generic snakes as they have round short faces, large round eyes and a simple fork-shaped tongue. It’s very common to see a bunch of snakes slithering around dragons that look like vines or worms far away unless you look at their tiny faces. It’s common to highlight them white while dragons being reddish. Runic dragons do sometimes have limps and birdlike/fantastical wings but are less common than Western post-classical dragons.

While the Midgard serpent is rarely depicted in runes, the very few runic depictions that do exist are more like a giant snake than a dragon as its name suggests. Especially when the few only runic depictions depict him with a normal snake head. There's one depiction of him looking very ambiguous.

Nordic Folkloric Dragons

In various accounts, “drake” (dragon) and “lindorm” are frequently used as interchangeable synonyms or comparable within the same account in Swedish-speaking regions where they are also called snakes/serpents a lot. Although there are various different local names for dragons.

Dragons looks very different depending on accounts which are very difficult to generalize based on specific regions.

Some accounts say dragons have an oxen head while others say snake-headed. Some have beards. Coloration is often white or golden. Wings are only sometimes mentioned but what kind is not known but it’s more commonly imagined to be wingless due to most accounts lacks any mention of them. Mentions of legs are also rare but very few accounts will mention having four legs. Most however describe their motions slithering like a snake or a fish although some mention running. One account claims to have seen a tiny female dragon that looks like a small lizard whose head is like a calf.

Some accounts say they spit poison (just like in Beowulf where a dragon who spits a poisonous substance that was so toxic it was flammable which some medieval dragons are sometimes also noted to do). Although just like both ancient European dragons and Asiatic dragons, there are very few dragons that breathe fire a few times however it’s far rarer than post-classical Western dragons.

They are still heavily associated with treasures like hoarding and guarding treasures as well as wearing it. Few accounts mention them dropping trails of coins or even cauldrons full of coins.

They will also still commonly prey on cattle. A few times mentioned their breath might even vacuum up the cattles.

While commonly lived in their own nests, few accounts say they live in large snake nests amongst normal snakes. Where they live vary but they commonly lived in mountains, caves, underground or hollowed out trees (commonly an oak). One account thinks the reason one ground didn’t grow anything on was because a dragon was buried there.

Meteor-Dragons

Some accounts of meteorite dragons describe them resembling a flying burning old Swedish steelyard balance far away like this one.

Finns and Swedes commonly believed meteors were burning dragons in the past. While folklore itself doesn't name these dragons any special, Swedish institutions call them “flogdrakar” and “eldrakar” for convenience due to their frequency for flight while their bodies burn (despite these aspects themselves not being specific for these dragons). They are regionally called "godsdrakar" or "gussdratji" in Dalecarlian which might referencing to carrying goods even though normal dragons also commonly carries treasures.

This phenomena exist in English folklore called "Firedrakes" however less common and more ambiguous (maybe because Englishmen are more literate to understand these are just meteors or falling wishing stars become more favorable explanations).

Finnish-speakers don't call these anything special at all other than the older Finnish word for dragon "louhikäärme". In modern Finnish, "lohikäärme" literally translate as "salmon snake/seprent" however "Louhi" is also a female deity in Finnish mythology associated with spellcasting and the supernatural. Although it's also speculated that "louhi" is old word for lightning.

Many accounts said it looked like a fast-moving burning besom or steelyard balance. Similar accounts say they look like burning slim lines or straws. The coloration is often burning red, golden or white. One skeptic said he knew these were just meteors and people mistook them as dragons when he was a child. Additional information might be added but those are often repeated general dragon information like carrying treasures or flying across mountains.

Commission for @arizaluca! < 3 First time I drew The Fox. How'd I do chat?

Speed paint(most of it anyway) under vvvv

SERVING CUNT????? YOURE DOOMED BY THE NARRATIVE AND YOURE SERVING CUNT????

i’m so tired

this took me 3.5 hours

alts/ref/sketch/timelapse under cut