End-of-Year Features and Christmas Wishes

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Hi all!

So it's Christmas 2016, and I thought I'd write an entry wishing everyone a merry Christmas and happy new year. (This applies generally in theory, although I gather that it only the people who read it will know that I wished them a merry Christmas in practice :P )

While I'm here, breaking out of my usual activities and writing an actual journal entry, I thought I'd take a moment to mention some fantastic art and literature that I've enjoyed over the last year. It will be a limited sampling, but I'm keen to share at least some of the awesome work on DA. It isn't really a top ten list or anything: Just a few I enjoyed recently and wanted to share.

First up, the literature:

1. An awesome, tense and original tale by Zara-Arletis
The Sleeping CityMather Just hugged the shadow of the rocks like an ardent lover but all his attention was on the field of mirror-shine below. Row upon row of solar panels sidling up to a serpent's tangle of pipes that filled the valley with an electric hum. The sleeping city, thought Mather, grinding his jaw. He stood up in the bright, hot desert sun and faced the hill behind him. His holy warriors were there, unseen behind the rocks and sand. Mather made the alls-clear sign and motioned them forward.
Down the hill they slid, bellies pressed to the grit, his band of fearless men. Die-well, Tenacity, Cherubin, and Enoch, all four goodly young men with a fire in their hearts. They beheld the sleeping city with all of Mather's hatred and then some, as it should be. This was the home of Covenant, the frauds that stole mankind's future. 
Mather waited until his men were tucked into the shadows and whispered to them in carrying tones. "The valley's empty of the living, but you'll see Covenant sensors u

2. One of a series of OC profiles by GourmetNinja
OC Profile: Naomi Jager SilversteinName: Naomi Jager Silverstein.
Age: 39.
Race: Human.
Ethnicity: Israeli.
Gender: Female.
Height: Five feet, nine inches.
Zodiac: Leo.
Chinese Zodiac: Dragon.
Favorite Foods: Fried eggs, barbecued meat (if it's kosher), parsnip soup, spicy food, spinach.
Least Favorite Foods: Pork, shell fish, potatoes.
Weight/Build: Naomi’s body is designed to resemble cassowary. Her limbs are long and slender, highly flexible, and incredibly strong, quite the contrast to how sleek they are. As you could expect, these wiry things are every bit as fast as they are powerful. Her body is shaped like a tightly packed vertical lozenge, having a slightly longer than normal neck which supports her head.
Skin Color: Naomi’s skin is a rich shade of olive-cream. Like her husband, Cyrus, she spends much of her time outside, giving it a tan shade.
Facial Features: Her head is is shaped like a ball of very hard cheese that is beginning to age. Her chin is small, and her nose is equally so. The forehead

3. A melancholic story with a good twist by vevulicious379
Stay With MeThe day was dull and dreary. Grey clouds against a greyer sky. Around noon a light rain began to fall, the first of many. Such showers weren’t rare occurrences for September.
On the couch in the living room the two of them sat: sisters, an older one and a younger one, underneath a blue fleece blanket shared between them. A dull light shone through the sliding glass door built into the east wall, and dark silhouettes were cast across the walls from droplets of rain impacting the exterior surface and extending into thin streaks, stretching like tendrils towards the floor. The elder girl, dark-haired and about seventeen in appearance, sat with her back against the far armrest and her sister, her junior by a year or two with more reddish hair and lighter skin, pulled close up against her body, arms wrapped around her midsection just below her chest and chin resting on her right shoulder. The TV on the far side of the room was turned on and cast off the occasional noticeably brig

4. An exceptional excerpt of prose fiction by Nocturnaliss
The General falters by Nocturnaliss
5. A short, humorous poem by MaggotsX
Fall 2016/Anger Management: Grade F-Fall 2016/Anger Management: Grade F-
Angry
Facebook people
Dissed and deplorabled
I just block them
Whoops
MaggotsX @ 12.01.2016

6. One of many beautiful haikus by ArwynRie
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7. This lyrical poem by SuperferretIX
My right, my choice My right, my choice
I will be master of what is mine,
I'll tame it to my cause,
I'll craft it in those fires divine,
And use it without pause,
I will stand upon the highest top,
Or walk an alley row,
Or steal across a wall, and stop,
And peer at those below,
I will weild it with my fiery skill,
I'll loom in shadows dark,
I'll hound my goal, and with my will,
Find solace in my mark,
I will carve a path through pages plain,
Quest into waters deep,
And stir it up, and search in vain,
For secrets it might keep,
I will whisper my sad tale, to those,
Who care to lend an ear,
And walk the path of which I chose,
With ne'er a hint of fear,
I will look out over lands so vast,
My mind can't comprehend,
The wonders of the now and past,
This time on Earth I spend,
Yet dear tempered steel, your sheen will dull,
My eyes will cloud with time,
We'll fall together, an empty hull,
Now that we're past our prime,
I could cling to you, with weathered claws,
Or slip you from my hand,
Relinquish mysel

8. A stark, thematically-challenging piece from blanketings
cannonball criesand oh will this fire burn
wild, melting wax and rain,
these fever-delirious delusions
ill illusions of nighttime wars
but i will not write them.
i cannot bear this pen's weight, no-
i can't beat this pressure in
and against these whimpering lungs
this hollow throat of mine.
trees of life to ashes
and ashes to breath
and breath to choking cries
from darkened rooms flickering
to sixteen mm memories
all as i bury them cold
bury them close
and i grasp my legs so i won't run
to dream of unlove backwards
and ignore this fireplace tremble,
earthquakes in my chest
conversing, convulsing
as they battle until morning

9. An entertaining look at copyright, copyright infringement and Vulcans: thanks painted-bees !
Fictional species, races, characters and copyrightI design a vulcan OC, she's doing the vulcan salute.
She is named T'Pom. 
I can't sell her nor make a profit off of her (nor can anyone else via commissions or otherwise, technically). Technically the IP holders can even ask me to stop making work about her--because making my own vulcan character infringes on their copyright. (but the IP holder is a chill dude and has expressed that they actually get excited about this kind of fan participation, so I'm not worried!)
I design a very logical space elf, blond hair, blue eyes, blue shirt and black jeans. He is making a hand gesture I call "the space elf peace sign", it's an important part of his character.
His name is Marlon.
I can sell this character--I can do what ever I want with him. He's mine. He doesn't infringe on anyone's copyright at all. Even the hand guesture, which is clearly the vulcan salute (space elf peace sign my ass)--is not and cannot be trademarked. And so, sure... space elf peace sign, why not?

10. And, finally ... (drumroll :P) This Christmas-themed horror-comedy tale to get you in the mood for the season: thanks KomradApex !
Micropasta: Naughty and NiceMicropasta: Naughty and Nice
Present, gift, souvenir, carnage, donation. One of those words doesn’t belong.
Do you remember those anonymous gifts you got as a child? Maybe your parents said they were “From Santa” or “To the Family”. You probably thought they were just the result of your parents being cute. After all, adults often don’t realize how essentially cynical most children are in regards to Santa. But think hard. Didn’t your parents seem a little surprised too, when they noticed that as much as half a dozen unexpected presents were under the tree?
Oh, but those were the best gifts! A Sega Saturn, He-Man and She-Ra action figures, and even a Charizard card worth its weight in gold inside a collector’s case.
And one Christmas you just couldn’t wait, could you? You had to open up those mysterious presents from no one early. And therein lies the problem.
These gifts really do come from Santa, but like any ma


Secondly, the artwork:

The first piece probably doesn't need much introduction for a lot of you, but I'm putting it out there anyway, because it's such a beautifully-drawn series: the Lackadaisy comics by tracyjb:

Lackadaisy Ziegfeld by tracyjb

Detailed, unique and gloriously brought to life. I was introduced to this comic by a friend, and can fully recommend it. I particularly like the above picture, 'Ziegfeld'.

Secondly,this hilarious illustration of a dragon crashing in comedic fashion, while being hunted by hamsters. Dat facial expression, though :D :

Dragon Crash by Hamsterfly

This artwork is brought to you by Hamsterfly

Thirdly, this stunning, seasonal photomanipulation piece byrobhas1left:

A Little house on the prairie Christmas by robhas1left

Fourthly, one of my all-time favourites from Eternity9 :

Night Landscape 02 by Eternity9

Fifthly, Newt Scamander meets the Doctor:

Doctor Newt by KarasuTenguProyectos

Thanks KarasuTenguProyectos; it made me smile :D

Sixth, a lovely portrayal of a Flowerdancer dragon from 'Flight Rising', courtesy of poisondragon88 :

Flight Rising:  Flowerdance by poisondragon88

Seventh, this dark photomanipulation from BigBad-Red :

Sorceria by BigBad-Red

Eighth, this magnificent photograph byMariaPetrova :

Dancing Forest by MariaPetrova

It's eerie and beautiful at the same time.

Nineth, this adorable inspirational piece by SuperferretIX :
New identity by SuperferretIX

And, finally,this cute-as-a-button cross stitch by pinkythepink :

Duke Waxeye, Friendly Chirpy (GraniteFire) by pinkythepink

Now, having finished sharing for the moment, (although I expect I will be back with more soon,) I wish you all the best over Christmas. I know that not everyone has friends and family to share the holidays with, and some of you might be experiencing hardships. If that's the case, just know that you can always message me if you need a friendly ear.

Merry Christmas!
© 2016 - 2024 dailydragonlair
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GourmetNinja's avatar
My apologies for not responding to this sooner. I've been busy with a lot of personal issues. I want to thank you all for featuring me. Thanks, everyone! Expect more from me, soon!