Grumble Grumble Grumble WHINE Grumble

[athelind]

Man, everyone calls themselves "Storm Dragons" these days. No offense intended to storm_dragon, of course; I just keep running into more and more overgrown iguanas on the MUCKs who smack "storm" in front of their species because it sounds Exotic and Cool.

I'm not particularly wedded to the term, myself; I just applied the designation when someone on alt.fan.dragons wouldn't accept that I was just A Dragon, and demanded a more specific appelation. I gave it roughly ninety-seven seconds of thought, and responded with "Storm Dragon", because a) it wasn't from the AD&D Monster Manual; b) it didn't wed me to the works of some specific author; and c) it sounded Exotic and Cool. My general affinity for storms and violent weather, both as human and, even moreso, as dragon, did influence matters, of course, but the designation was arbitrary and largely a manner of humoring those who needed pigeonholes.

This pigeonhole is getting crowded.

Comments

[halfelf.livejournal.com]

Actually, I think the Doors came up with it first, with their well known hit, "Dragons of the Storm". Everyone knows...

Wait, what?

... Never mind.

[athelind.livejournal.com]

*snicker* I used to go by "Stormrider", before I married Ms. Prismdancer.

[paka.livejournal.com]

"Storm" is one of those modifiers like "Dark" or "Nightmare" that people pick because it sounds all exotic and cool. The crowding is sort of inevitable really, the description equivalent of wanting to live in Manhattan.

Meanwhile, I'm not just a hyena, I'm a draconic hyenacorn!

[tugrik.livejournal.com]

Heh. Even I've been called that sometimes... though I'm only barely within the definition of 'dragon' by itself.

The term is all muddled up anyways. It can mean all kinds of things, from a direct love of storms to a person of natural chaos and power. And did you ever notice how much 'less desirable' any kind of specialization on the term is? How many "haildragons" and "lightningdragons" and "microburstdragons" are there? The term 'stormdragon' has become such the dimestore-pagan type of word.

We just gotta find a better phrasing for your particular variety, and then growl at folks to keep 'em from ganking it again.

Hrumf. :)

[athelind.livejournal.com]

Grauph. I'm a DRAGON. I don't NEED a pigeonhole; specializations are for lesser breeds!

Raar!

[snobahr.livejournal.com]

Besides - pigeons are hors d'ouvres.

[rikoshi.livejournal.com]

I don't think that pigeons are large enough to even amount to hors do'ouvres for Athelind!

[bluerain.livejournal.com]

Nobody here but us rain dragons.

[digitalis.livejournal.com]

Plant dragons FTW!

[rikoshi.livejournal.com]

Heck, at least you don't have a name like "Wolfblade Darkepaw" or something.

[bluerain.livejournal.com]

I gave my comic strip protagonist the last name of "Mudd" precisely for that reason--I'd met way too many people with ridiculously over-AD&D-ish pseudo-Tolkienish names, and I asked myself "what's the exact opposite of that?"

[rikoshi.livejournal.com]

Well, then you have names like Ozymandias J. Llewellyn. :)

[athelind.livejournal.com]

Yes, but that's just COOL.

[bluerain.livejournal.com]

Was Ozymandias J. Fox before I decided who his father was. And anyway, the J tands for Justin. ;)

[rikoshi.livejournal.com]

Oh, and that totally wasn't a dig against your character naming conventions. :) I find it all rather charming, actually.

[wy.livejournal.com]

Whoa! :P You write Ozy and Millie? /fanboi

...

Anyways, on the general topic .. well, I'm just Wy. And thankfully, not too many feathery winged asian dragons out there. *grin*

[bluerain.livejournal.com]

Whoa! :P You write Ozy and Millie?

Well, someone has to.

[athelind.livejournal.com]

My character file includes "Drakewynne Silverblade" and "Lados Nightflame"...

In my defense, those two date back to 1978 and age 14...

[rikoshi.livejournal.com]

Yes, but the difference is is that Drakewynne is awesome. :)

[breimh.livejournal.com]

And there are a lot of others calling themselves Star or Celestial dragons, too... for some strange reason, since they've met me. What's with that, anyway? }:=*P

(FWIW, there is a 'storm dragon' and a 'cloud dragon' both, in one of the monsterous tomes for AD&D's 1st ed. I just can't remember which place I last saw them.)

[paka.livejournal.com]

Old 1st ed Monster Manual II for the Cloud Dragon. I'm certain that given how D&D works both have cropped up several more times.

[luxatos.livejournal.com]

My short description on Alfandria was as a "lapis dragon" because... well... just because of my colors. Looks like lapis lazuli. But not that cheap sodalite that people try to pass off as lapis...

[halfelf.livejournal.com]

I think that a moldavite dragon would be the best type ever. :)

[luxatos.livejournal.com]

Or sphalerite... so sparkle sparkly.

[athelind.livejournal.com]

Soda Lite? Like Diet Pepsi?

[luxatos.livejournal.com]

Yes, just like it! Except it isn't a dark brown acid solution (or liquid at all) in the middle.

[racethecoon.livejournal.com]

I still only know one Boojum Snark.

[athelind.livejournal.com]

Snarks are getting pretty common, too, really, and there are a few other Boojums (Booja?) out there. Nobody else seems to have decided that "Boojum" is a variety of "Snark", though.

[araquan.livejournal.com]

There are many immitators, but only one original.

[reveille-d.livejournal.com]

At least you're pronounceable.

[athelind.livejournal.com]

So, how often DO people call you "revile", anyway?

[reveille-d.livejournal.com]

About 75% of the time. Most people don't call me ANYTHING because they don't know how to pronounce it. When I first realized I was 'Revile' to most people, I changed my name to just 'Rev', but I changed it back afterwards, because I was half a dragon. Well, half a fox, at the time.

[rikoshi.livejournal.com]

Which is neat, because 'Rev' is pronouned like 'Räv,' and that means 'fox' anyway. :)

[bfdragon.livejournal.com]

I don't know how many people at FC looked at me funny when I pronounced your name right.. and well, sadly it still took me 2 years of staring at your name on the mucks for the light to go on and think: OOooh, Reveille!

[athelind.livejournal.com]

I have a suspicion that the only reason I got it right immediately was the time I spent at Texas A&M.

[ceruleanst.livejournal.com]

Come to think of it, is there such a thing as a dragon who doesn't care for storms? I would be hard pressed to find one.

[athelind.livejournal.com]

I have to say, the redundancy was part of the original appeal.

[jirris-midvale.livejournal.com]

How do you think I feel with all these red pandas coming out of the bamboo?

On the upside, it means the pandarmy will be mighty indeed. Now to design some russian and german inspired uniforms, and I'll be set.

[athelind.livejournal.com]

How do you think I feel with all these red pandas coming out of the bamboo?

Wah, wah, wah.

[jirris-midvale.livejournal.com]

PEW PEW PEW!

[unclekage.livejournal.com]

Storm Dragon is two drinks in the Anthrocon Registration Drinking Game.

[athelind.livejournal.com]

:spit take:

[jirris-midvale.livejournal.com]

AWESOME. Tell me the rules, Uncle Kage!

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

Why do you think I only ever referred to myself as "batty?" Amongst the nightshift there are so many adjectivenoun names referring to moon, stars and/or night that another would be silly. I do have a name, but I'm just batty.

In the back of my mind I've always thought the answer to "What sort of dragon is Athelind?" is "Big."

[quelonzia.livejournal.com]

Come on sweetie...you know the only reason why you took the name was because you are just a puddledwagin at heart. };>

Besides - stormdancer fits you muchobettah!

*smoochies*

[athelind.livejournal.com]

Yes it does.

*smoochiesback*

[araquan.livejournal.com]

Well, I think I told you where my general species-type and name came from, yes? }:>

[bfdragon.livejournal.com]

I still generally just go by "Black Dragon" and people generally get the clue that it's not from any particular book or something, much less the D&D rulebook... it's just the color of my scales.

Of course, now and again I go by "cosmic dragon" and it seems to fit pretty well.. but again.. it's more descriptive then categorical *grin*.

[drakegrey.livejournal.com]

I think that if pestered to quantify your dragonness, you should in the future reply that your dragon type is 'ravenous'. :)

--Drake (who isn't a dragon but knows a few on TV)