7 inches by 8.5 inches
ballpoint pen and ink on Bristol board
February 7, 2012
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
SLAADI: Verminous Slaad
Sometimes it begins with a stumble. You trip and fall and when you turn around, there's nothing there. Other times it starts with a short sharp poke...on the arm or leg or sometimes, terrifyingly, deep inside the brain. You grab the spot, rub the pain away but again...nothing there. Later come the scuttling shapes in the dark shadows in the corners of your room and the skittering voices just on the edge of hearing. You run to the wall, grab the lantern and shine it into the corners just in time to see, just maybe, something small and blue and scaly evaporate like black mist. Turning around to hang up the lantern, you stop, stunned. The wall is now a window. You drop the lantern and before it hits the ground it becomes a cloud of stinging midges. Your whisper rises to a scream before it is cut off and you reach for your throat only to discover your hands have become teeth. The verminous slaadi, the rats of reality, have shuffled the scenery of your world and the shadows in the corners are closing in again.
7 inches by 8.5 inches
ballpoint pen and ink on Bristol board
February 7, 2012
7 inches by 8.5 inches
ballpoint pen and ink on Bristol board
February 7, 2012
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15 comments:
I imagine those plates lift up, & crawling on the skin below the scales are little wee beasties, like the earwigs from Star Trek 2.
Man, that scene freaked me out SO BAD when I was a kid. The way Khan was so meticulous and matter-of-fact while pulling them out of the mother worm thing. And then watching them slowly, and in close-up, slide inside the ears. I seem to remember a bit of blood too. Horrifying.
Oh, but very cool comment Mordicai, thank you!
One more thing...Paul Winfield (Captain Terrell) is a badass.
And, Circle Jerks reference in my Verminous Slaad description. You know, for those tracking this sort of thing.
Oh my god, I've experienced this in reality, sometimes while playing Scrabble. Not even kidding.
I'm loving the text
RF, that is (to me at least) truly wonderful. But most of all I loved the "sometimes while playing Scrabble." Sometimes! Again, awesome.
Hmmmm...thank you Scrap Princess, I think. I am hoping that your "I'm loving the text" comment doesn't also mean "but the drawing sucks donkey balls." Although if you do think it sucks donkey balls, you can (and should) certainly tell me. I like to know these things, even when they're critical.
haha no , just think I gushed about the evocativeness of the drawings earlier, and wanted to plug the writing as well!
I am so glad this is happening. You two have made my month.
Thank you Scrap Princess, I was a bit worried although it's not always easy to admit that. I am glad you liked the writing. Yours was so spot-on and so evocative I really felt scared to write anything. But things started coming to me slowly and surely and that has been great fun.
Richard, that is very very kind. It has been a blast to do this, spurred on by Scrap Princess' own brilliant Slaadi. My greatest hope is that some gamer out there will take hers and mine and perhaps use them in a campaign or, better yet, create more of their own Slaadi.
love this creature tho i know nothing of D&D, i want to take it home...
It could use a new home, Lizzy. But be cautious...one never knows what will happen with a Slaad.
acually, 1. will need to find out more about the creature and 2., when more awake, am thinking of returning to entries and maybe giving that guy a new home indeed - to be continued...
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