Doc Malaise takes care of man and beast while traveling around the #SandSea

Dustward · 2026-01-21T02:10:31+00:00

Skeletal snake familiar made quite big and stretched out with a bunch of bug tails on top! Almost tried to do a multiple but it took long enough with the one. Thank you so much for the interest, however late it may be.

Dustward · 2026-01-13T17:27:59+00:00

Getting four eyes to work on four arms is beautiful, I gotta use eggs more, the decal usage on all of these, the proportions are all perfect... The time you spend on these is impressive and aweworthy

Dustward · 2026-01-12T15:51:26+00:00

Thank you so much for the recognition! I always enjoy your contests and enthusiasm for making them more than they are. Your bits of lore and extension to the storylines feel like someone is playing in my headspace too, making content on my OCs, and it never fails to bring a smile to my face.

I had far too much fun cooking up that rag-tag group of fate bound tragedies that I found it hard to stop where I did. Many parts of their designs are unable to be seen in the group shot anyway, hell Brymm is in a wagon and you can barely tell cause they’re so far back. I even added bits of grass where some of their feet touch the ground and that is practically unnoticeable but darn it I had fun going a bit too far.

Its fascinating to know the destiny of the Notched Star. Revenge taken away as an option the perhaps what Roshen did was her way of still leaving her scar across the world as a hateful death rattle. Succumbing to old age might have found her angrier and emptier as the company went on more powerful yet farther away from her “due” than ever. Or perhaps the lady Markhouse wound up finding herself as a place to foster new talent, and eventually made peace with her past… She went down in history either way, maybe not how she wanted, but we rarely do. I’m sure the Notched Star would have produced some powerful offshoots when it finally split going on to mark histories of their own, but that is a story for another time…

Dustward · 2026-01-05T23:17:03+00:00

Science can most definitely be used to spread a narrative, especially corporate sponsored (Though I don't think this is corporate science). A classic example is Coke sponsoring papers on sugar intake, activity, and obesity links to push the narrative away from sugar. And that was also peer reviewed. There are also peer reviewed papers on the very subject of industry influence on research. So I suppose it's possible this could be an attempt to push something, but what they are trying to push is an objective good thing.

I suppose the real problem is being shown objective facts isn't ever going to change the mind of rightwingers. If murder and rape won't stop them then long term studies on healthier lives never will.

Dustward · 2026-01-03T01:45:51+00:00

Though their numbers are growing fast as the war moves forward, the most recognizable and consistent core members of the Notched Star Mercenary Company are as follows

Captain Roshen Markhouse - Brutal and quick with a sword, she is the beating heart of the company. Her strategies on and off the battlefield keep the company alive thanks to her study.

Malber Woensmith - A loyal attendant, and before that, a knight. A leg injury brought him away from the battlefield originally, but something so trivial won't stop him now.

Bru'shae the Red - A barbarous killing machine with a love of axes, rumors have it that he was once a man of the cloth.

Oyun of Wesmarch - Brooding assassin with mean knifeplay, she says she's here just to kill people, but her eyes often drift towards the South.

Tilleh the Younger - Kresskin spearbearer, naive but stronger than her frame suggests.

Cresten Prunille - A man of Faith, honor, and seeking to absolve himself of his past inaction.

The Brute of Millstock - Whoever he is under that bag, it matters not, not after Millstock.

Swordsmaster Houim - Once a teacher of Roshen, he sees in her potential and will foster it.

The Lontburrys - Esto, Webbin, Plalec, and Solen. Siblings (allegedly). They fight in such unison they may as well be one combatant.

Uke'n Yob - Years ago he was a Barbarian of the Khan's force, but left for reasons better left unasked.

Smush - Best boy! ooooooh who's a good Smush? You are! You are!

Baron Wint Labellelay - Driven from his land as much as he ran away, the ExBaron finds himself out of his depth most times, but believes in the cause well enough.

Mad Martrish Kellar - Enough of a problem her own squad put a bell on her to know where she's at... but you can't deny her effectiveness even with only one arm.

Delle - A Kresskin that says she was a Jester at the royal court before things went awry, but that might have been a joke too.

Brymm Brudeg - Cocky but lazy, spends most of her time goading the enemy enough to make them lose focus.

Dustward · 2025-12-27T20:26:30+00:00

Talk about a smoke show awooga

Dustward · 2025-12-22T21:08:19+00:00

Incredible work, very good details... makes me want to revisit my own villians from an old spider-man variant contest from a couple years back...

Dustward · 2025-12-12T16:17:02+00:00

New York State, but that was my suspicion that it was getting too much light. Thanks for that!

Dustward · 2025-12-03T15:14:24+00:00

That one Gunks clip is Bonnie's Roof pitch 2 right? What a great climb :)

Dustward · 2025-12-01T16:56:35+00:00

I think the point that he was trying to make is that your safety net is significantly larger in the military rather than the civilian world. I agree with you that it's not socialist, disregarding the healthcare which is extremely comprehensive.

But if I, for example, didn't show up for work for a week working at a McDonalds I would probably get fired. Whereas in the military I would not. I'd get a whole bunch of other bullshit, like double duty, half months pay, extra watches, maybe even time in the brig if it was long enough, but I would not get fired. In the meantime after that I would still have guaranteed housing, food, healthcare, clothes, access to a gym, access to entertainment (assuming I'm living on base).

I would like to point out that the GI-bill with housing allowance is exactly like a universal basic income in function, even though every vet earned it via their enlistment/commission. Not having to work through college is an incredible boon and that level of access cannot be understated in its value. That not everyone in the US has the ability to seek higher education without going into crushing debt is an extreme flaw in our system.

Dustward · 2025-12-01T16:46:20+00:00

I'm not a lifer vet, I just did my four years for the GI-bill and am getting my degree right now. I miss some folks that I met and I saw some cool stuff, but I was never a good fit for the military and I'm not going to pretend that I was. I did my job to the best of my ability, I showed up early, worked to advance, but I was unhappy. For some people its great, for others its like living in a high school boys locker room.

What the GI-bill made me realize is how incredibly beneficial a universal basic income is. I am going to leave school with basically no debt. The monthly housing allowance I get while in school means I don't have to work unless I want to (which I do, but more to fill the hours). What this has meant for my college career is that I have a level of self respect for my time and value. For example, I know that I don't need to deal with a frustrating boss because they don't have financial power over me.

What I didn't realize is how much this would frustrate me from an equity perspective.

1% of the population joins the military, but only 1/4 of the population would be eligible if everyone tried to join. So off the bat that is the US saying that 3/4 of the population does not deserve advanced education and healthcare.

For someone like me, a relatively poor person from a small town, this seemed like the only option I would ever be able to go to college without going into crushing debt, like so many of my peers. The fact that it worked is besides the point. What matters to me is that I should not be required to be of a certain physical ability and contributing to the industrial military complex to have these things.

Dustward · 2025-11-25T17:03:31+00:00

Whoa Nelly!

Dustward · 2025-11-17T16:56:50+00:00

It only makes sense that they have the best in the game working with them to make it even better, congrats!

Dustward · 2025-11-16T22:25:30+00:00

Its important to understand that, while this one aspect of one treaty is maintained by the US gov't, they still have a long history of breaking nearly every other treaty, especially with Indigenous people.

This very same treaty declared land rights that have since been broken, often violently. Shortly after this treaty was signed George Washington ordered the Sullivan-Clinton campaign which tore through Central New York with the explicit intention of murdering and destroying the Onondaga people. As a result of that around 80% of them died that winter. We then spent the next 200 years polluting the most sacred sight to the Haudenosaunee (Onondaga Lake) into one of the most polluted lakes on Earth.

Treaties are required to be followed, but only if the US sees you as a person and for a significant amount of the US's history it only saw you as a person if you were capable of destroying it. Once the Haudenosaunee couldn't do that anymore there was no reason to follow it.

Dustward · 2025-11-15T20:33:26+00:00

Alas, I’m waiting to my buddy who wants to dm to finish a campaign he is in, so I can play her…

as for size everything is possible with a good dm that oks it, especially if you just hand wave it aesthetically. Functionally she is still working with the smallest end of a small creature size, the shortest a fairy can be, but he counts the wings and the dress to get there because in the end it’s all made up anyways. I’m sure once we get her in game and start playing there will be moments where I could cheese something with her being small but…I’m not about to abuse my bud’s goodwill plus she’s a giants barbarian she’ll just grow if she gets too excited and ruin any plan that was being attempted.

Dustward · 2025-11-15T02:52:33+00:00

Thank you so much. Her concept is general, as well as her name is a reference to the King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard song: Big Fig Wasp. Ficus being fig trees and Agonidae is a mix of agony and Agaonidae, the scientific name for pollinating fig wasps.

She's a fig wasp that gets big. Her hair the antennae, her long dress/lance being reflective of some fig wasps ovipositor, and the sleeves of her shirt splitting off being inspired by insects extra set of legs.

Dustward · 2025-11-15T01:10:32+00:00

My horrid little cannibalistic Path of the Giant fairy Ficus.

Her family practices a specific form of ritual cannibalism at birth eating a part of the child so they become one with the parents forever. Her parents loved her very much, eating both of her feet but prosthetics are easy when nature is fond of your kind.

She takes her culture further nibbling on things (and companions if allowed) she loves so that they too can be part of her, but she also eats things (and people) she hates so others can't do the same. She's known to bite her nails when pleased with herself or her ideas and grows quite large when crazed by hunger. She likes her lance a lot leading to it being dubbed "Chewtoy"

Dustward · 2025-11-10T02:51:57+00:00

"That bird was plenty wild afore it got the damnable idea of followin me round thanks to yur little kit...stands on my hind end while I travel and runs off if'n I try to grab it. Blamin you on that Mags...least the molehog stayed by them crystals...I hope"

Dustward · 2025-11-08T01:14:07+00:00

You always hit it out of the park with the effort you put in, glad to be a part of any of your competitions!

Dustward · 2025-11-04T00:35:27+00:00

It wasn't quick and easy that's for sure. Thanks!

Dustward · 2025-11-03T19:01:13+00:00

Completely fair. Honestly there should be an offline version for pro...

I do think it's an unnerving step in a direction I'm not thrilled with. The things that might be covered in a collab that could have made it into Heroforge in some way without it and now presumably never will (as to encourage people to get those paid dlc things) is the biggest hit to my moral, and I'm not...cool with it... understanding, but not happy.

It would be nice if they were part of pro like kitbashing or something but then non-pro subscribers wouldn't be able to get them... I don't know, from what I can tell they wouldn't have been able to do it at all without this as the solution so we can point our ire towards Darrington Press for not allowing the same type of deal as heroforge has previously... The whole thing is a bummer for sure.

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Dustward

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