The Seasonal Dragons (and the truth behind them)

Today i again had to face the horrible horrible past i had back then with DragCave and i just felt like finally publish it. I need this story to be told and it's not a story i made up, it is sadly 100% true and i was the "lucky" one to go through the fire of hell.

First let me tell that i am 100% female (they never asked if i was male or female û_u and seriously, you don't even need too know. And i also never cared to fix that because i'm a bird (lawl reference to VenturianTales "cause i'm a bird!" lawl!))

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Well, i think those who know the Site DragCave know that there exist several Dragons which you can adopt. And i could guess most will also know that there are the Seasonal Dragons which a Person called Shiro Shitoro (me) made them and of course other dragons like Balloon and Dorsal. You think that's quite it, right?

Wrong!
You don't know the actuall story behind the Season Dragons i made there and i think you might get shocked.
Anyways, back then long long time ago i joined DragCave. It was a quite going Project but it didn't had that many Dragons to get then today. I got the courage to actually try and sprite, i still was a pretty newbie with spriting and it wasn't easy for me, and well...from anatomical thingies i sure was to FAR away from being perfect. I admit, my sprites sure don't look the best and look also quite cartoony, but back then, they were interesting for everyone and they loved them a lot and thats also why they even got acepted in the first place. And when i got the idea of making the Seasonals i guess everyone was sorta pretty exited and me myself aswell. First the Autumn Dragon came which brought my idea of it up and everyone seemed also to like him, so i kept his style and took away the claws to fit him more with the other seasons. Spring was Green/Pink, Summer was Yellow/Red, Autumn Brown and Colorfull and atleast Winter with pretty much blue colorings.

Summer Yellow/Red? What? Summer is Green and Yellow! Yes that's correct but ORIGINALLY he was Yellow and Red because he was resembeling the Heat of the Summer! But when i made a nice banner with a background behind them, everyone was pointing on the Summer why he is so off. I stated MANY TIMES why he was else then the others and why i kept him like this and everyone agreed later.
And when they were about to be released, i got a SHOCK. TJ, the owner of the Site Recolored the Summer without my permission! He complettly messed up with the Summer Season Dragon and i was mad! Not only because of the Recoloring, i was especially mad because he even did it without ASKING for Permission! The Seasonals would have been my perfect Dragon Breed back then but he had to destroy it by recoloring the Summer Version! I was just shocked and mad, angry that they had to rage about why he was different even thought i stated why the Summer has to stay in his original color because he is resembeling the Heat, not the Background of a stupid banner!
These Seasonal Dragons were perfect, but by recoloring without the permission and being forced to change the summers color, it just put a big shadow above them. I was happy first but now i am having nightmares times to times because of this happening. I lost complettly the trust in TJ and anyone, this is the reason why i quit spriting there any longer and why i actually decline every permission questions by others "Can i use that sprite?", "Can i recolor it?" and so on and on. I just lost the trust, even thought these Sprites are worse, back then they were my biggest creations and they are a part of me, every sprite i make helps me to be better. But this happening also gave me the creeps, it made to not trust anyone anymore and not being able to sprite for any other site anymore.

I once got an offer from Magistream and i tried to do Sprites for them, but before actually finishing the first i just couldn't and i quit allready again as spriter, even thought it would have meant that i would get a little bit money. But still, i just couldn't because of these nightmares back with DragCave.

Then ProjectNyoka came up and they were pretty much at their beginnings and i thought, maybe i could loose my nightmares and all the bad things in the past by joining as Spriter there and showing off my works which they got quite better since these years. Some of my Creatures even got released which i'm so happy about and after telling them about the past i had in DragCave they said this won't be happening with me because they wouldn't do such stuff and really, they also agreed how mean it was from TJ to mess with my Summer Dragon. And so i wanted also to teach TJ a lesson to not mess around with me, creating the complete new Versions of the Seasonal Dragons with some difference to my older versions and, ofcourse, making the Summer Season Dragon in the original colors which it meant to have! I also made a big picture with sowing my old Sprites from DC with the new ones from PN and seriously, i saw the big difference from today and past and i was happy to give PN the honor of getting the better version of the Seasonals. I wanted to see TJ crushed! And i am still mad and everything till today because i never really got an apologize from him! And even if he would apologize, it would not change the fact that i can't trust him!

DragCave was big for me in the past and a place where i thought i could get sorta be known...and..yes i am still known thanks to the Balloon Dragon and the Seasonals. And if i wouldn't have joined DragCave i don't know what i would have done, would i still be a spriter? Would i be still that good like today or not or even better? Would i have joined a site or even done my own one to be big? I can't answer these questions, maybe it would have changed my live quite a lot if i woulnd't have joined there but i would also never got these nightmares, anger and pain back then. I mean, seriously! I worked damn hard on those Sprites! And then they just get ruined by getting recolored AGAINST MY WILL. I was seriously broken. And i still am today, it breaks every time my heart when i think back to the Seasonals. I just can't work with this Site anymore, i also can't play it anymore because it just gives me nightmares (and that i get really long loading times is another story i won't go about).
I learned a lot in DragCave, good but sadly also bad things. I learnt to sprite but i also learnt not to trust anyone with my works expect my very close friends.

So thank you TJ for giving me the nightmares i never wanted and for all the bad memories i got back then. Recoloring my Summer Dragon without Permission, replacing Eggs without asking, doing everything behind my back and letting me not even know till i see it with my very own eyes!

Spriters, you have your own will!
Don't let others break them just because they want to have it their own way!
Fight for what you stand for!
And especially, be carefull with trusting other peoples, they might be nice but they also might jump into your back to do with your works what they want.

This was my story as being a spriter and what i had to go through back then. And sadly, it is 100% true.
I am still spriting, but not for anyone anymore but rather just for fun, trying to forget my past.

-Shiro


PS: Oh and if you think "Oh cool! I go ask if i can get permission for Balloon/Dorsal/Seasonal (what ever!)" don't even try. I will not respond to any other permissions and delete them! This also includes the other sprites i have here in my Account. I know you love those sprites and i love you too for loving them but i just can't give permissions because they will just get more and more to keep track with and i just don't want that. So thank you for taking your time to read through what i had laying so heavily on my heart for so many years and i hope that this might help me to finally forget what happend back then. And i also hope that you Guys and Girls understand that i won't give any permissions and that i don't take any comissions when it comes to Art or Spriting. I might do comissions one day, otherwise they just gonna stay avaiable for my closest friends i found in the past years.

-Shiro (again)