DECEMBER REWARDS FINAL

If ya wanna follow me on other sites or help me survive by sending money or buying merch, here's ways to access my other content! https://linktr.ee/darkmastern -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DrZock I'm biased, but I feel like Victoria would be perfect for all kinds of holiday shenanigans. Replacing Clara in a twisted version of The Nutcracker? Getting hauled away by a Krampus? Stuffing her face with all the goodies aboard the Polar Express? Hell, I even drew some holiday-themed art of her myself! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We just learned about Krampus and the Winterlands, and the Toylands were mentioned as being nearby. Krampus is a creator of various toys and automated constructs, and will create creepy little toys to use in luring in children or capturing them, however Krampus does not create all of the toys seen through the underside. Some are given life through animate dreams, and others through hate and neglect, but all are brought to life by the spiritual spark of life being bourne into them in one way or another. Some children who lose their toys, have the toy fall into the underside. There it may maintain it’s size, or it may become larger or smaller at the whims of the strange magic of the world. These items harbor within them the loving touch and memory of the children who once played with them. Some of these toys sit forever, forgotten in the candy wastes, while others are picked up by children and loved again. Others become sentient and begin to long for the touch of their human, to play and be loved again. The most common of these is the Teddy, though the Babydolls are similar in that these small toys tend to love children still and long to return to their child. However some are filled with bitterness for being abused or abandoned, and they wish for the destruction of all children. The spirits that inhabit their bodies have a strong influence on their behavior as well as they are often times wayward fae or children’s souls that spark them to life. It is believed that the wishing star has granted life to some as well, and in fact the story of Pinocchio may have been inspired by one such event. Some are not created randomly however, some are created deliberately. And one of the most deliberate creations are the Nutcrackers. Though they are believed to have been created similarly, brought to life through sparks of imagination, animated by wayward spirits, or animated by a magician’s touch, they are now used often times as sentries and patrols in the Toy Kingdom. The Toylands are partially ruled over by the Grognards. Strange noseless, google eyed brutish creatures that argue and fight over everything, constantly bickering with one another and causing needless bloodshed and war. They often make various platoons of toys and soldiers fight one another. There are locations in the toylands however ruled entirely by toys, and many small dens of teddies and dollbabies exist, often times in rebellion against the Grognards, though there do still exist small kingdoms of fae royalty that also persist within the toylands. Regardless, one of the most common creatures one may have to face in the Toylands is the Nutcracker. These are wooden soldiers, most often standing at anywhere from 4-6 feet tall, though sometimes much smaller or larger. They possess enormous humanoid heads with unsettling eyes and large hats. Their heads take up a large portion of their bodies, and most of their head is occupied by a huge toothy mouth that can open multiple feet. They possess grasping arms and are often decorated like soldiers or members of a marching band with buttons, pauldrons and regal clothing, though they can appear to look like anything the creator designs them to look like, with some even taking on much more humanoid or realistic appearances. More often than not they appear as men with moustaches and white beards, however they will occasionally be female or lack the beard and moustache they are known for. Nutcrackers are tireless soldiers that march forward and complete whatever task was given to them. If they are commanded to stand guard over a location, they will do so until commanded to stop. If they are told to hunt a creature, they will do so until the creature is hunted or until their bodies fall apart. They are often times capable of wielding weapons of various types, most notably swords and spears, but some also know how to use muskets. The Nutcracker may be mostly wood, however it possesses blood, and fleshy organs within, and it’s mouth is fully biological. Most Nutcrackers can open their jaws up to 4 feet wide, and possess a biting force greater than that of an alligator. Their teeth are able to sheer through armor and even crush stone in some circumstances. The Nutcrackers are machines, powered by spiritual energy, but fueled on flesh, and as such they consume living creatures to continue working, often times biting down one enemies and swallowing them into a blender like set of whirring blades in the back of their throat. Some however simply possess an open cavity in their chest in which they can swallow and hold a creature. Why do Nutcrackers possess blood and organs within their strange wooden bodies? Well it's unknown, but believed that the magic that flows through them created it. Though the Nutcrackers are made of wood, they are fire resistant to a degree and can often march through burning areas, with some of them built to breathe fire themselves. They are only one type of “Wooden soldier” that defends and patrols the toylands, but they are one of the most memorable. They are most known for the war they waged against the various vermin of the candy wastes that tried to migrate to the Toylands when the great sugarstorms were raging and pushing various critters from the wastes toward the Toylands. Not all Nutcrackers are mindless soldiers. Some maintain that spark of life from before they became Nutcrackers, and they may go rogue, or bits and pieces of their personality may shine through. Many may just have a psychotic break and attack other creatures around them. Some may lose track of what they were supposed to do, simply wandering without a purpose like a lost ant detached from it’s colony, only performing actions it remembers from before. Not all Nutcracters are delegated to the Underside, spellcasters and Doll hags and witches sometimes create Nutcrackers or other toy soldiers to aid them in combat or with daily chores on both Earth and Urth, and the Darklings will create similar puppets out of children and sell them to unwitting humans. Nutcrackers can be used not only as soldiers, but as bodyguards and servants as well. Here we have Victoria dancing ballet with a few Nutcrackers aiding her in her dance. But one can’t fully discern what their true motives may be behind those wooden faces. Maybe it’s dinner time…. Or maybe they’re just helping her out and they happen to look incredibly creepy. It’s always hard to tell… --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MORE UNDERSIDE FOR CHRISTMAS! Though these creeps aren't ONLY from the underside. But here we are, some creepy nutcrackers, helping Victoria learn Ballet. Hopefully she'll learn to lift that chubby leg higher. Though she seems to be doing a good job.