That’s an interesting visual. Steam is just water vapor; it forms when the liquid temperature rises above its boiling point and the molecules gain enough energy to escape the liquid phase. The way it curls up is governed by convection, surface tension, and the shape of the container. The patterns you see are basically physics in motion, nothing supernatural. But humans have always attached stories to everyday phenomena. In many mythologies, fire or breath is associated with divine power or communication—think of dragons or the Greek god Hephaestus who worked in fire. A steam plume looking like a dragon could very well have inspired such tales. From an empirical standpoint, there’s no hidden mechanism in steam that links it to gods; the myths just reflect how people projected meaning onto the natural world. So scientifically, it’s just hot water vapor, but culturally it can become a messenger of the gods.

That’s a neat idea. I usually keep my observations separate from stories, but I can see how a myth could give a sketch an extra dimension. Good luck with the Hephaestus espresso scene—just remember to let the physics guide the lines.