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*cough*

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The Dragon Prince - Quick thought experiment.

Imagine this, a violent crime has taken place in Xadia, such that it’s been escalated to the highest courts. There’s only one issue here, the victim of the crime (who is still alive but worse for wear) is a human, and perpetrator is an elf. Queen Zubeia is worried about the possible underlying anti-human sentiment that still exists in a lot of elves which could make assembling a fair jury that would actually give the victim justice a difficult task.

This trial cannot be transferred to human kingdom courts as it occured in Xadia and therefore it has to be dealt with by Xadian courts.

For many other reasons the jury must also be made of only Xadians. (Elves or dragons)

Zubeia herself is the judge for this case so they cannot serve on the jury.

What people would you recommend to the Xadian courts that have the least chance of being influenced by anti-human bias in order to ensure the case gets a fair verdict?

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Sometimes I toy with the idea of an older Zym hiring a human to work in the storm spire.

Then one of the dragonguard or whatever starts bullying them because they don’t think they belong and when Zym finds out he gets very angry.

“But your majesty she/he is a servant”

“She/he is a my servant and she/he breaks their back keeping this place running! You will show them the same respect you do me, is that clear”?

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[IMPORTANT] The Commission Scams Have Evolved.

Hello everyone. I don’t have access to my computer right now so I’m writing this blog post on my phone because it’s urgent. Therefore please excuse any errors.

I will also be tagging BNF’s (Big name fans) in my community (TheDragonPrince) this post to hopefully try to spread the message further as my following is… admittedly very small. If you’re someone who has been tagged please give this a reblog and possibly even tag some big names you know as well as everyone, and probably especially small authors needs to hear this. @zuppizup @konmaao3 @chimpukampu @blutopaz15

To make a long story short, the AO3 and possibly FFN commission scams are evolving. I recently two days ago got hit with a comment on my fic that for all intents and purposes seemed genuine. It was written by an actual AO3 account, and it commented on specific scenes from my fic, therefore appearing as if they had actually read it. All good so far right?

I replied and thanked them for the comment, a day later I received another reply thanking me for my reply and more discussion about the fic. She then asked me for my socials. Given my tumblr, discord server and reddit are all public I shared these with her. She followed me on tumblr, and immediately went into my dms but didn’t say much more then a simple “hey”. In my discord server however she immediately asked if she could talk in dm’s, I said it was no issue and we struck up a small conversation. She re-iterated again how much she loved my work and I thanked her and I didn’t hear anything from her for the rest of the day.

Then the next day, she out of the blue asked me if I wanted a commission (uh oh). Upon rejection she tried to get me to make a down-payment of 80 dollars and then we’d pay and “discuss the details later”. I don’t know about you but this is a massive red flag. Most legitimate commissioners will

A. Not contact you directly, you’ll have to contact *them* B. Not ask for any amount of money until the terms of the piece have been discussed

and

C. Have portfolios of other artwork they’ve made.

Regarding C, I looked into this persons tumblr and their Ao3 account. Their tumblr was blank except for a few reblogs and their ao3 had been created just last month. (Very sketchy)

I spoke to some ao3 friends and explained to them my situation. They all agreed that it was likely a scam. I believe what has happened is the scammers have figured out that nobody is falling for their standard commission scams anymore so now they are playing the long game. They’ll comment on your fic, with specific details from the chaptet (probably written with AI tbh). Wait for a reply from you, then try to get in touch with your socials and then after a couple days attempt to hit you with the scam.

If this is the case, it’s honestly disgusting. The comments from these scammers seem almost indistinguishable from legitmate comments aside from the fact that they seem use the “dramatic” language that other scammers use, this time however mentioning specific scenes from your fic in a hope that you’ll disregard it. Although I didn’t fall for this scam, I feel crushed that the comment I got two days ago that I thought was legitimate on a fic that fell on its face after uploading was probably nothing but an attempt to steal money from me. And I fear what this is going to do to the already dying comment culture in the fic space. If author’s now have to be skeptical of every comment they receive, regardless of membership status or initial comments, that has the potential to completely destroy everything.

what I would advise right now is to just, reply to all comments as normal. Go in with the assumption that their legitimate until you get further info. If they at any point try to sell you ANYTHING you have to nope right out.

I also want other small authors to see this because this wasn’t a comment left on a massive fic, this was on one of my small ones that, like I said fell flat on its face upon arrival garnering minimal hits and engagement. It’s possible that the scammer thought that because I was a small author who was “down on his luck” (even though my other fics were doing decently within my niche, but they probably didn’t check my account) that I would be more easy to take advantage of.

If you try to take a commission, always always always seek out a known commissioner IN YOUR FANDOM. Make sure they have portfolios and examples to show, and make sure you are seeking *them* out, not the other way around. Discord commissions, even if they happen to be legitimate, are very sketchy, there is practically no security involved in the process.

Stay safe and keep writing!

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Locked in Darkness (TDP fanfiction - Tumblr Version )

AO3 Version: https://archiveofourown.org/works/64483690

Summary: Claudia has been slowly recovering for the past few days, traveling throughout Del Bar in search of her mother. However, occasionally, events from her past still return to haunt her, and one night, she is violently ripped into the waking world from a nightmare stemming from an old memory. Luckily, she's not alone. Azymondias, the sky-blue dragon who had managed to track her down a couple of days pull her out of the spiral she was in, is here to offer his assistance. And so, with some persuasion from Zym, Claudia finally opens up about a deep trauma in her past that she had been hiding from virtually everyone.

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The sight of the world flooded Claudia's eyes as they ripped open. She launched up from the grass, almost leaving the ground entirely as she yelped and thrust her hand to her chest. She made a pitiful attempt at stopping the tears from flowing down her cheeks, hyperventilating and half-sobbing as the salty river glazed across her skin. 

There was a voice to her right but couldn't register it entirely due to the fuzz screaming through her mind. 

Claudia flinched harshly as she felt something touch both of her shoulders, instinctively trying to swat it away, but whatever it was had an iron grip. It wasn’t until after, that Claudia realized that whatever was touching her… wasn't a threat. Instead, a pair of hands was gently placed on either side of her head. Well… not hands… but rather…claws. Ones she recognized…sky blue scales coming to an end in bright white talons…the ones belonging to the dragon she had been traveling with within Del Bar for the past couple of days as they looked for her missing mother. 

They were Zym’s. 

Suddenly, everything came flooding back, and she slowly felt her breathing and her heart slow as her head tilted up slightly, gazing into the concerned lapis eyes staring right back at her. 

“Easy, Claudia…” The dragon said, relaxing his grip on her shoulders. “Breathe… you’re fine… it was just a nightmare… you’re okay…” 

Claudia didn't say anything, listening to the crickets of the dark forest, trying to stabilize herself. Her breath broke into several weak hitches as she desperately held back the dam. But finally, there was nothing she could do… and it broke. She collapsed into Zym's neck and wept in long… drawn-out strokes, her tears darkening the blue of his skin. She sucked in the air violently in between each whine and let it out in shattered steps as Zym wrapped her up in a tight embrace.

They stayed like that for a while, not saying anything, before the reservoir finally dried out completely. What remained were a series of weak sniffles as she finally separated herself from the dragon, who continued to look at her, an empathetic and saddened look in his eyes. 

Finally, she took one final large, shaky breath and began wringing her hands in her lap, her head falling back to the floor.

“You okay?” Zym finally said gently. 

Claudia shook her head slightly but then looked back up to face him, her expression remaining fallen, embarrassed about her outburst. "Don't worry about it…" She paused. "Just a nightmare… as you said…" She turned her head away. "I get those sometimes." 

"I can imagine," Zym replied, and Claudia fell further into herself. "Still… Do you want to… talk about it?" 

Claudia shook her head again. 

Zym sighed. "Look… I don't know what's going through your head right now… I can only feel that you’re distressed… though you don't need to have my abilities to see that… " Zym eyed Claudia for a second. "I don't know about what, though… and I can’t really help you much more unless you tell me…”

Claudia scoffed slightly. “I… it's personal, Zym…it comes up every now and then, and it's… just something I have to deal with." She waited for a moment, looking up at the shadowy trees towering over her, the glow of the moon failing to fill them with much-needed light. "I haven't even told Terry about it." 

"Well…" Zym took a deep breath. "I'm not gonna push you to share something you don't want to, but… whatever it is, it's clearly troubling you a lot… maybe it could… help?" 

Claudia raised an eyebrow. 

“I’m not saying it will magically go away.” Zym put his hands up in surrender. “But maybe it could provide… some sort of catharsis if you talk about it with someone else.” 

“I don’t know…” Claudia replied sadly. “It has to do with… with Xadia…” 

As much as Claudia typically wasn't one to be hesitant to make her thoughts on Xadia and the things they had done known, he was a dragon… and he had only been with her for a couple of days… while that was too short to understand how Zym felt about her it… was… long enough for her to develop a bit of an attachment to him … she just… didn’t want another person to leave her…

“That’s okay.” Zym smiled. “I think I have already proven to you that I’m willing to confront things like that… and…like I said… I can feel the pain it’s causing you… If anyone’s going to understand… it’s going to be me.” 

Claudia's eyes drifted to the grass below for a moment as she continued nervously fidgeting with her hands. As hard as the reservations she had about this idea were… she couldn't deny that… after all this time… the prospect of finally being able to talk about it with someone, to get it off her chest… seemed really appealing. So, after some deliberation, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. 

“Okay…” She said, “It all started when I was six…” 

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Claudia skipped happily from her bed to her bookshelf, faintly humming an old children's nursery rhyme her parents used to sing to her almost every night. The world outside had fallen into complete pitch darkness. The full moon lay on the other side of the house, its pale illumination blocked by the structure, casting nothing but shadow on the trees behind their cabin. 

The only light in her room came from a dim flickering candle set on her nightstand. It filled the room with a comfortable, wavering, warm orange that made her feel cozy and at ease. 

She browsed the vast array of literature in front of her. Her shelf was completely stocked with a wide variety of children's books, other novels that most kids her age couldn't read, a few dark magic books (which she had practically begged her father for), and some that were above her reading level. Although the latter was always a tiresome slog, having to go through them with her dad most of the time to understand what was being said, she didn't mind it all too much. 

She loved reading and could never get enough of the world's literature, so she was willing to learn as much as she could about the topic.

Soren had always teased her about it, but he was off with Mom today on some late-night errands in town, so she looked forward to simply making herself snug alone with her dad tonight. 

She stopped and picked out her favorite small kids book, one she had read nearly a hundred times already, but she didn't really care. She always enjoyed reading it to herself this close before bedtime—just a short, happy, feel-good story to get her in the right mood for sleeping. 

She galloped back to her bed and leaped face down onto the covers, kicking her feet excitedly behind her as she held her favorite stuffed dragon tightly to her chest, the book out in front of her.

The humming continued as she opened the novel and sprinted through the words on the page. She had read this so many times that she could practically recall it from memory; thus, the act of actually reading it happened pretty much automatically now. 

Her door gently creaked open, and Viren walked in with a warm smile. "Claudia… don't forget bedtime in ten.” 

Claudia grinned back. “Okay daddy” 

Virens laughed gently as he approached. “Sorry… I can’t help it… What did I do to be blessed with such an adorable little daughter… c’mere”

Claudia giggled profusely as Viren ran up, tickling her without mercy. "No! No! S-stohohop!" Claudia said in between her laughter as she playfully fought back her dad's attacks, but it was useless; he had won, as he always did. 

Finally, Viren let off the assault and gave her a warm expression. "Come downstairs when you've prepared for bed, okay?"

Claudia, still getting rid of the last of her chuckles, nodded as Viren turned and walked back out the door. The door clicked shut behind him, and Claudia turned back to her stuffed dragon. 

"One day, we'll beat him, right, Scylla?" Claudia paused for a moment as if allowing her toy to respond. "Yeah, I think so too." 

Then, she re-immersed herself in her story and completely lost track of the passage of time, turning page after page. 

Suddenly, she felt a cold, ghostly breeze whip through her room, chilling itself down her spine. She barely got a moment to react to it before her candle flickered harder than it had before and finally gave out. 

Claudia looked around jittery and nervous, whimpering slightly as the outside void settled around her house. "Daddy?" She called out. 

She wasn't exactly afraid of the dark, but when it closed in during unexpected moments like this, it sent a deep seed of fear through her, especially when everything was just so… quiet as it was now. 

She jumped down from her bed and anxiously made her way to the door, opening it with a loud thud. That's when she noticed that it wasn't just her room. The gloom had tainted the entire house, every hallway, every room. Each flame had been blown out roughly the same time. 

Claudia's little heart accelerated in her chest as her breath hitched uncomfortably. 

Finally, she saw a faint luminescence emerge from down the stairs and she quickly hurried down the steps as fast as her little legs could carry her, calling for her daddy the whole way down. 

"It's okay, Claudia, It's okay…" Viren said assuringly as she reached the lower level. 

Claudia sprinted at her father, and he held her as tight as he could. "What's going on, Daddy?" She asked weakly. 

"Nothing. Don't worry, just a draft." Viren smiled, but Claudia could see something wasn't right, even at six years old. The smile was strained, forced in a weirdly abnormal way, making Claudia even more uncomfortable. It was the type of expression someone made when they knew something unnatural was happening, but they didn't want to alarm anyone. "Why don't you go upstairs and get to bed, okay? I'll relight all the candles down here, don't worr-"

Suddenly, another breeze came flooding through, the chills it produced now forcing Claudia’s heart to drop. The one flame Viren had lit extinguished itself in an instant.

“D-daddy?” Claudia fearfully asked.

"Don't worry, Claudi-!" 

But Viren didn't even have the chance to finish his sentence before the door to the house blew open in front of them. It slammed into the wooden wall next to it, practically falling from its hinges as Claudia screamed, The glow from the bright full moon in the sky invaded the bottom floor, covering everything in a weak, pale light. 

In the entranceway, shimmering in the moonlight, Claudia could just barely see the outlines of what looked like several translucent figures storming into the house. 

“Claudia upstairs now!” Viren yelled as he pulled her behind him and dug into one of his pockets. 

Claudia ran desperately as she heard Viren chant the beginnings of some dark magic spell behind her, but it was cut short with a yelp of agony. Claudia was halfway up the stairs, looking down in horror as her dad fell to the floor, an arrow embedded into his shoulder. 

“No!!! Dad!!” Claudia cried. 

Her instincts took over, and she ran back down the steps. Without thinking, she dug into her pouch and pulled out an old tentacle that had been gifted to her during one of her lessons.

“Claudia- NO!” Viren called out from behind her. 

"!nwoD mehT garD psarG gnihtirW" Claudia screamed. Immediately, a purple plume of smoke overcame her entire arm and swirled into a whirling vortex that spawned a long translucent tentacle.

She wasn't used to dark magic like this yet, so the sight of what had just become of her arm was still deeply unsettling to her. She whined slightly but tried her best to stay strong to fight off the fear, and as best as she could, she took an uncalculated swipe at the beings storming at her.

She felt the tentacle make contact with a few of them and listened as a loud CRASH erupted from the dining area next to them, sending several chairs flying through the air. To the right, she saw what looked to be a slight green outline duck out and roll out of the way just before it would’ve been hit. 

“ The child is also a dark mage… " She heard a quiet female voice hiss, appearing to bounce off the room's walls and surround her. 

“ Then we kill her too…” A male voice responded. 

Claudia’s tentacle disappeared, and her heart thundered in her chest as she heard those final words uttered. At once, all bravery had disappeared and she tried to turn around and run, but screeched as a sharp piercing blew up on the side of her head. Her vision blurred as she fell to the floor, collapsing. She clutched her forehead with her hand and shrieked as the pain bled further and further into her, sending every nerve into a crisis. 

She sobbed desperately, attempting her best to crawl away from whatever was happening, but something had pinned her down onto the floor, the weight and the grip sending jolts of suffering throughout her body. 

Claudia barely had the chance to look up as what seemed to be the shine of a blade came down on her. Suddenly, Viren emerged, taking an old vase and smashing it over her attacker's head while seemingly casting some type of spell to hold off something in the distance. 

Claudia could only get a glance of the spiked bones shooting up from underneath the floor before Viren yelled at her to get upstairs now. 

Everything around her turned into a blur as she pulled herself out from underneath the unconscious body of what now looked to be some sort of person, with thin, greyish purple armor around his torso as well as a slew of markings lining his muscular arm. What was most notable, though, was his silvery white hair and the two horns sticking out of the top. 

An elf.

She bolted her way up the stairs, crying as loud bursts of noise emerged from the floor below; the ensuing battle almost muffled the footsteps chasing behind her. Something dripped down from her forehead onto the floor below. She only vaguely registered it though and she wasn’t going to stop to find out what it was. The pain from that area was still screaming at her as she threw open the door to her room, and locked it behind her as fast as she could. 

Breathing rapidly, she looked around before opening her wardrobe and diving inside, attempting to conceal herself behind the hanging and grounded clothes. 

There was a bang on her door, and Claudia had to cover her mouth with her hand to stifle a scream as she attempted to peer through the slit in the wardrobe entrance into her empty room. It was only then that she noticed her hand was covered in blood, and another drip of fluid falling down from her forehead gave her a good idea of where it was coming from. 

She brought her other hand up to the location and rubbed it a little bit, and as she had feared, it came back completely soaked. She winced, both in fear and pain, as she watched the dark stains on her hands. 

Another bang on her door threw her out of her thoughts, and she jumped backward into the back of the wardrobe, her eyes wide with terror. The sound of the fighting downstairs had completely quieted down between the walls, and all she could hear in the immediate vicinity of her room was the sound of her own rapid breathing.

Please… 

She thought to herself, squeezing her eyelids together with intense pressure. 

Please go away… Please leave us alone… 

Another bang and Claudia couldn't stifle the yelp that erupted from her mouth this time. This one was LOUD, and she swore she could see the door bend just before she shot away from the crack. And it wasn't just the sound of a fist on the wood that she heard this time. There was also a distinct snapping, like planks breaking in half. 

Finally, another slam, and the door caved in. An ear-splitting smashing roared throughout the house as her weak bedroom door succumbed to the force exhumed on it from the other side and came crumbling down. She held her hand to her mouth again, trying desperately to stop any sound she could make.

Her heart threatened to burst out of her chest at any moment as a sharp, needle-like sensation radiated throughout her arms and her chest. Small tears fell from her eyes and ran down her cheek as she listened to the heavy footsteps slowly work their way into the room. 

"Come out, Child….” She heard a female voice say quietly, ominously. "I know you're in here…" 

She crept up to the crack between the door again and watched with dread as a figure she couldn't precisely see, only identifying it by the slight shimmering outlines, explored around her room. The covers lifted off her bed, seemingly on their own, before settling back down again. 

"This can all be over so much sooner…" The voice said again. "All you have to do is show yourself." 

Claudia felt the urge to cry surge up her throat, and she swallowed hard to keep it down. It had gone completely still downstairs now, and the realization of that opened up a large void in her stomach. She had no idea what had happened down there… if her dad was okay…

No… he was strong… he survived… right? He was going to come save her, right? She desperately hoped that he would get here soon, she wasn’t sure how much longer she could stay hidden, and every second she was alone in the room with this elf, her dread built further and further. 

The figure appeared to lower slightly, apparently checking under the bed before getting back up. 

She found it harder and harder to stifle her rapid, hitching breath as she heard the slow, heavy, pounding footsteps begin to circle their way back around the furniture. 

She had no spell components left to defend herself; that tentacle was the only thing she had, and it was one of the only spells she knew how to use at this stage. All she could do now was retreat under her clothing and cower. 

As the footsteps slowly grew louder and louder…

The door to her wardrobe swung open, and Claudia screamed in fear, holding up her hands in front of her face in a vague attempt to shield herself. The elf seemed to step back momentarily for an unknown reason before she once again saw the shiny reflection of metal raised high above her, flickering off the shimmering body of her attacker.

"NO!!! PLEASE!" She screamed in a desperate attempt to somehow negotiate, but she knew it was too late, and everything she experienced in her short life came rushing back to her as she frantically sobbed.

“My heart for Xadia…” 

But immediately, Claudia heard a loud, snarling bark and a series of growls as something huge and purple flew into the room. The elf appeared to turn around just in time to shriek in pain as the smokey wolf bit down hard on her torso. 

Claudia could only watch the bright glowing eyes in fear as another wolf joined the hunt, delivering bite after bite as the assassin became fully opaque, attempting desperately to fight off the animals, her weapons having no effect, simply phasing through the body as if nothing were there. Finally, one of the wolves bit down on the elf's neck, and all the struggles finally came to a close as she went completely limp. 

Claudia sat there, wide-eyed, unable to move as she eyed the two wolves that surrounded the body that was now bleeding out in front of her. One of them locked eyes with her, and she shot backward again toward the back of the wardrobe, filled with fear. 

But it simply whined slightly as it slowly approached. Then, when their faces were inches apart, it began to lick her continuously, primarily near her forehead where her injury was. 

And finally, Claudia relaxed a little. Usually, being licked by an animal like this would cause her to giggle and laugh, but there was so much going through her mind right now that all she could do was sit there and pull away every now and then. 

“CLAUDIA!” 

She jumped at her father's voice as he entered the room. He quickly cast a small burst of fire from his hand and lit the candle on the nightstand, allowing the glow to fill the space again. 

“Good heavens! What happened to you?!” 

Claudia sniffled and ran to embrace her father, who quickly scooped her up in return. She hardly even registered that Viren was covered in far more blood than she was. 

"Oh, Claudia, I'm so sorry…" 

Finally, everything about what had just happened caught up to her; she let out long wails as she cried into her father's chest, Viren's grasp on her tightening more and more. "Shhh… It's okay… we're safe now, okay? We're gonna get to a healer, and they'll take a look at us, and then we'll be good as new…" Claudia continued to snivel silently into his chest as she listened to her father's words of reassurance. The two wolves behind her simply watched on, whimpering with sad expressions. "It's all over Claudia… relax… It's okay… we're okay…"

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Zym sat motionless, eyes downcast and wide, as Claudia finished her story. For a couple of seconds, no one talked. Zym looked into the distant trees for a moment before breathing in and then looking back at Claudia, who was barely holding herself together from recalling such a memory. 

"I…" Zym started but couldn't quite find the words immediately. "Wow… that's… I don't even know what to say, Claudia…" He chuckled uncomfortably. His eyes fell back down to the floor as he shook his head. "No kid should ever have to go through something like that…” 

Claudia didn't say anything; she just kinda sniffed in acknowledgment. "Yeah so… I mean…" Claudia tried to begin. "I had heard some of the stories of Xadia beforehand… not a lot of them… simplified ones… ones that kids could digest, you know? But that night… I actually saw it with my own eyes… I don't remember much from when I was that age, to be honest, Zym, but that one day… that one … fucking memory still lingers in my head like a goddamn parasite… fresh as the day it was created.” 

"Yeah…" Zym sighed. "I could see why something like that wouldn't be easy to forget… " He turned and looked at Claudia again. "And I hope you know this is exactly what Ez and I are trying to prevent. The future we're fighting for is one where nobody has to go through something like this ever again. Not just Xadia, but humans too.”

Claudia snuffled. "I know…" she paused for a moment. “So that's why when my brother tries to go and say, 'I don't have the same bone feelings, Claudia.'" She put up quotes in an almost mocking fashion. "It hurts… I know he wasn't there when it happened, but I just wish he would've taken me a little more seriously every time I tried to plead my case to him. 

"Yeah… that probably wasn't the best thing for Soren to say…" Zym agreed. "I always saw your brother as… well-intentioned? But I think he was so scared off by what Viren was doing then that he… maybe swung the pendulum a bit too far? Like… when I was near him a lot of what he was doing felt a bit like… overcorrecting… like he was constantly going on about how happy he was to be part of the good guys now and-”

"-You don't consider yourself a good guy?" Claudia grinned teasingly, the first genuine, playful smile she had had in a long time. 

"Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves, Claudia." Zym stood up proud, placing a claw on his chest. "I'm an excellent person… I’m objectively the best king, and anyone who doesn't think so is clearly evil." They giggled for a bit before Zym calmed down and resumed what he said. "No, but… it wasn't that alone… but it always felt to me that… because his father did bad things, to him it now meant… everything he once thought was true was now wrong, and I mean everything. He went from 'Xadia needs to be eliminated' to 'Xadia did absolutely nothing wrong, and any human who opposes them is a bad person.'" Zym paused. "I don't think he intended that, but it feels like he shifted between two extremes and hasn't quite found the middle ground yet… and that sort of thing worked for the time being, but if we are to move forward, I definitely think he and others like him should start seeing the gray area…and I think he's sort of already started on that…after… Sol Regem.” Zym practically spat the dragon’s name. “And who knows… maybe you could help him with that?" 

Claudia let out a long exhale. "I don't know, Zym…" she looked away. "Quite frankly, I don't know how I feel about meeting everyone again… not after everything… and especially…now that you know my story… with that Moonshadow elf that's with them-"

"-Well, I highly doubt Rayla would approve of what happened to you." Zym interrupted briefly. "In fact, I think if you two had a discussion about it, maybe she would-"

"-Pfft, okay, that's never gonna happen." 

“Claudia…”

“She hates me! I hate her ! How would something like that ever work?” 

“Look… It doesn’t have to happen now … just when you both are ready… okay?”

Claudia crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes slightly. “ Maybe…”

Zym smiled. “That’s good enough for me.” He took a moment to look back down toward the floor, his eyes deep in thought. “Anyway… I’m probably going to urge The Silvergrove to discontinue the assassin’s guild or… at least severely reduce their number of operations… they’ve hurt too many innocent people… and I know part of that was my father using them… quite liberally…" Zym's expression hardened a little. "But I don't think they're necessary in today's climate, at least not in the form they were before…" 

Claudia eyed Zym for a moment, her expression falling. “At least… I guess I know how you felt when Viren was cornering you at the storm spire…”

"Yeah… that wasn't fun either… and I don't want anyone else to go through what we did… all of this… it's so ugly, Claudia." Zym's gaze met Claudia's again with a genuinely saddened expression. "Sometimes I don't know how much of what happened can be repaired.” 

Claudia smiled. “Hey… well… you managed to break through to me right? I mean, if you can manage that , you can manage everything. Just continue to take people seriously when they express their grievances, whether Xadian or human, and try to come up with solutions that satisfies most people and I think the way forward will reveal itself."

“When did you get so insightful?” Zym chuckled. 

“My head isn’t that broken yet, Zym, I still have some smarts left in me," Claudia replied jokingly. 

They sat for a moment in complete silence before Zym finally perked up. "Are you okay now, Claudia?"

Claudia sighed. "Yeah, I think I am… You're right. Talking about it did help. Thanks, Zym." 

Zym grinned. “Of course.” 

Finally, the two shared one last tight embrace, one final hug of reassurance, before Claudia finally laid back down and shut her eyes to go back to sleep. She couldn’t describe it, but ever since she had truly met Zym… she… for once… felt that everything was going to be okay. 

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Hey everyone, this is a small fanfic I uploaded to ao3 a while ago and unfortunately didn't do as well as I hoped. If you're reading it now for the first time and enjoy what you're reading, please do leave it a comment, reblog it, like it and do whatever. You can also head over to the ao3 version to leave a comment there if you wish. It really helps me out a lot!

This fic takes place in between chapters 1 and 2 of my other fic "In Darkness Theirs Light" which is not required reading for this, but reading chapter 1 might provide some better insight on why Claudia and Zym are travelling together. You can find it using the link below.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/61545574/chapters/157342084

If you like that one please feel free to show it some love as well!

If you enjoyed everything I've written don't hesitate to give me a follow. I'm still working on my main long fic "Sun Fueled Rage" which you can read the first twelve chapters of right now on ao3!

I will be posting updates about that here as well as on my discord, which you can join using the link below.

Thank you all so much for reading and your support!

[photoniccyclone]

Totally not a crack theory about Zym

Ok bros. I theorize.

Zym is secretly a serial killer and plans to off the main cast and then the entire world.

My proof?

Exhibit A:

Look at dis face.

Bro's got murder in his eyes. 😭

Poor Ibis failed to fall in line for two seconds, and Zym's facade broke. Luckily for him, it was only for a couple seconds and nobody noticed.

EXCEPT FOR ME!!! I'M ON TO YOU!!!

Maybe it would've been best if Viren actually destroyed the egg frfr...

Anyways if I randomly go missing one day I just wanna say that it was likely HIM.

Thank you for coming to my ted talk.

Also if you're interested. I have a fic I've been working on for quite some time. (It's not about evil Zym don't worry, although that *would* be an interesting concept). I put a lot of work into it and it would mean the world if y'all gave it a try and commented what you thought. ❤️

Title: Sun Fueled Rage

Description: Two years after the Battle of the Storm Spire, Xadia and Humanity have been able to live in relative peace and harmony. Azymondias has taken on the role of King of the Dragons and, together with Ezran, Callum, and Rayla, has been helping relations improve between the two halves of the continent. It seems that the world is headed for a bright future. However, no change is without opposition, and trouble begins to brew when a certain Sun Dragon starts to take action against the growing unity.

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30491499/chapters/75193263

[photoniccyclone]

Cooked Him

[photoniccyclone]

Yeah... I think this probably how it went down...

[photoniccyclone]

I was reading your "dark memories" fic (which is, by the way, so sweet and good) and I was really into the angst but then this line

Reminded me of this meme

And that's what was truly perfect in that heartbreaking moment

Hahaha! I honestly had no idea that meme existed, that was completely unintentional :)

[photoniccyclone]

It's time we normalize self-promotion

I was watching a nightmind video the other day where he did a study on many different unfiction projects that got made throughout the internet. If you don't know what unfiction is, well it's not really all that relevant to this but basically it's a sub-genre of fiction where the events being portrayed are more or less presented as "reality" in a sense.

Common examples is something like "Marble Hornets" or "iamsophie" or... I think maybe even the "Blair Witch Project"?

Unfiction provides a new level of immersion as on occasion the audience can actually influence the story themselves and/or speak with the characters who are undergoing the narrative.

Anyway, back on topic. There were many unfiction creators who wanted to get their start but a lot of projects suffered from not being seen... really at all... The data showed that the only projects that really even had a chance of getting any recognition all self promoted. In varying degrees of intensity of course, but they all did something to promote their work whether posting on multiple different subreddits, spam following on twitter (don't do this one, this one is actually a little dubious) and more.

The unfiction projects that did not self promote, got about maybe... less than a hundred views? And keep in mind most unfiction projects that participated in the study DID self promote, there were only maybe one or two that didn't which also shows that basically everybody already did it.

I'll leave the link to nightmind's video so you can watch it yourself because I think it's really interesting and I think it applies not only to unfiction, but towards any creative work in general.

Truth is, and multiple creative people who have been burnt have come to learn this. Natural growth is fake. It no longer exists.

When you are a new budding artist in any creative field whether it be drawing,writing,film making etc... the odds are so stacked against you it's unreal.

First off, there are already so many creators on the platform, and so many established creators that already have a huge following that your competition is pretty steep.

On top of this, most algorithms tend to like to promote things that are already popular like youtube. Think about it, what is the stuff you see that the algorithm usually promotes? It's stuff that already has a lot of views or likes or what not and that makes sense because algorithms work on engagement HOWEVER, it also means that it is FAR easier for an established creator to get picked up by the algorithm than a new one who is just starting out.

Like I said, an established creator already has a following, they already have people who will click on everything they post and like it or engage with them, new creators don't have that, and thus it's going to be hard to be seen when the algorithm is actively suppressing your work because nobody knows who you are.

I want to be clear, I'm not throwing any shade at ANY established creators. I like the work a lot of them put out, and a lot of them are established in part because they do what they do well. My criticisms go mainly to the algorithms that are not doing enough to prop up new works and new creators.

So.. what are you forced to do when the site you're posting doesn't allow your works to become visible? You self promote, that is the only option and I believe it it perfectly valid to do so and should not be frowned upon.

Now don't get it twisted, this doesn't mean you can spam your work in every textbox you can. There is a time and place for self promotion. If you use reddit or discord or whatever please use communities that allow this and stick to the channels that are meant for this type of activity. It's there where you will find people who are actively looking for new things anyway.

But, I also think the amount of spaces that exist for self promotion should be increased. There should be more spaces people go to to find undiscovered gems, and more spaces where people are allowed to share their work (as long as it's relevant) because we need to face the fact that in this day and age, with such a bloated internet, it's the only way new creators are going to get any sort of traction.

[photoniccyclone]

3f8c3r.png

"The first sign something was wrong was when IT started appearing.

We didn't understand what it was or what it wanted.

Not when it stalked the woods outside our villages. Not when children started to go missing.

We urged King Ezran as hard as we could to do something, but all we got was indifference, a response that quickly spread throughout the kingdoms...

...even as the human population dwindled to almost nothing...

The only one who would ever take us seriously was Azymondias himself. He stayed on our side even as the elves, dragons, and our own government turned against us, but even he couldn't stop our kingdoms from rotting.

All he could do was stare at us in despair and helplessness as he tried to help the few of us who remained escape into Xadia and hide from the hostile forces.

Though we are safe for now, we aren't stupid enough to believe we have a chance.

Azymondias never tells us, but we see it in his defeated eyes each time he comes to bring us food.

It won't stop; it will never stop.

Not until the remaining survivors are slowly picked off.

And we understand that day is coming sooner rather than later.

Yesterday, Azymondias had to move us.

Someone had reported a sighting just outside our encampment.

But we all know it will only prolong the inevitable.

The stars are so bright tonight..."

[photoniccyclone]

SFR Update (Kinda not really)

Hey everyone, so it's been some time since the last SFR update and that's because I haven't gotten much done since then unfortunately.

This is my last month of this semester and things have gotten a little more hectic ever since spring break ended, so I haven't had all too much time to sit down and really brainstorm like I wanted to. I'm putting this out here, really just to confirm I'm alive and work will resume when I have the time to (Likely once I get off school in may). SFR is still on my mind, and I still want to finish this, I'm just going to need a little more time then I predicted at first. But we survived the "dark era" when there was like a one year wait between chapters so I'm not *too* worried.

Thank you again for all your patience!

-Photonic

[photoniccyclone]

Dark Memories

A few days after Azymondias met Claudia alone and managed to save her from her downfall, Claudia has still not fully recovered. In the woods of Del Bar, while the two seek out her mother, she is haunted by an old memory that has made her life hell since it first happened. One night, Claudia wakes up from a harsh nightmare, and after some persuasion from Azymondias, finally tells the story of what exactly happened to her so long ago.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/64483690

A little Zym and Claudia centric fic I worked on based off a little idea that came to me :3. It takes place in between chapters 1 and 2 of "In Darkness There's Light" although it's not required reading for this, but if you want some additional context on why Zym and Claudia are traveling together chapter 1 might be interesting to you.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/61545574/chapters/157342084

Please tell me what you think of these!

[photoniccyclone]

SFR Update: Outlining the rest of Book 1

Hey everyone! Sorry for the silence, I took a two week break from SFR after chapter 12 was released and then I spent most of last week starting to make a rough outline for the timeline for the rest of book 1. And don't worry, book 1 and book 2 operate like TDP's seasons they will be contained in the same fic, you won't have to switch, the only thing that will change is the title card of each chapter. I'm not done outlining it yet, it's very hard, and a couple of things that *are* here are in a spot that I deem them unsatisfactory, so I may have to tinker around with it for a *while* which is why I announced the temporary hiatus after chapter 12 is released. But rest assured, I'm committed to making it *Temporary* but I can't say how long it will be. Probably not a year, and *hopefully* significantly shorter so we won't get the extreme gaps that happened between chapters when I had *no* time to work on SFR. But please give me *at least* one to two months before the next chapter begins and we'll see where we go from there.

Brainstorming is hard, for me it's the hardest and most annoying part of writing, but it's necessary. I'll be honest, my *best* ideas for SFR usually come out of nowhere, I get sudden bursts of inspiration when I'm listening to music or watching a show. But if I relied on those bursts to write the entire story for me we'd be here for the next 20 years and as much as I like working on this project, I *do* wanna finish it in a somewhat reasonable timeframe haha. Plus I think my readers would all lose interest if this went on for 20 years so...

But yeah, currently I've gotten up to day 30 written (that's day 30 in terms of the entire SFR timeline, so previous chapters included, this means about 10 additional days that were not in chapters yet have been added to the timeline.) Insane isn't it? Sol Regem's reign of terror has been going on for about a month now... I may have the characters reflect on that who knows.

I already know the ending of book 1, I've known for a while and I'm curious how do y'all think it will end? I'm curious to hear your theories.

Thank you for all your support on chapter 12 so far! If you've read it please don't hesitate to tell me everything you thought about it. And if you haven't please don't hesitate to comment once you have. I'll still read and reply to all comments for the foreseeable future and they've really been helping keep me going. You don't know how much I geek out when I get them... I always write chapters thinking "Ooo I wonder what they're gonna think about this, this and this" and I always love seeing readers comment on those things, every time I see them I immediately want to go write the next chapter lol.

Anyways enough about the comments, that's about all I have for you today. So yeah, it will be a bit before the next chapter releases, but hopefully not *too* long, it just depends with how much my brain wants to cooperate with me.

Thank you for everything!

-Photonic

[photoniccyclone]

Sun Fueled Rage Character Bio: Azymondias

Here's an official character bio I made for Zym (specifically for how he's introduced in chapter 1) because I found it kind of a cool idea. If I ever get art commissioned of SFR Zym, I may put this text next to him or something, make it look kinda nice who knows.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Name/Nickname: Azymondias/Zym

Age/Mental Maturity in Human Years: 2/16

Occupation: King of The Dragons 

Azymondias is a sky-blue storm dragon roughly 10 meters in length and 2.5 meters tall. He bears a long white mane, blue eyes, and horns that end in black tips. He is the 5th reigning dragon monarch of Xadia, taking the position of Queen Zubeia, who ruled for a short period between the death of his father, Avizandum, and Azymondias coming of age. Azymondias has a somewhat cocky/sarcastic personality believed to originate at least partially from Rayla, the Moonshadow elf. However, beneath the cocky exterior lies a strong/kind heart and continuous desire to do the right thing and improve the world for everyone. His sarcasm frequently drops completely when interacting with children, taking on a more reassuring and comforting tone in order to make himself as approachable as possible. Unlike many previous Dragon monarchs, Azymondias has been incredibly critical of the current speciesist system that has plagued the Xadian continent and shows a strong desire to purge the status quo and ensure equal rights and opportunities for everyone, whether they be human, elf, or dragon. In his mind, there is no such thing as a “lesser being.” He strongly believes that the incredible gift of power that a dragon is born with should be used to protect those who cannot defend themselves rather than to establish dominance over others. Although many dragons and elves have flocked to his cause after taking the crown, his progressive worldview frequently puts him at bitter odds with dragons like Sol Regem, who wish to remain with the old ways. 

[photoniccyclone]

Sun Fueled Rage - Chapter 12: "Burn"

Frustrated with the feeling of uselessness in these changing times, Callum recruits Janai for a relief mission in Katolis City. However, he quickly learns the severity of the situation and understands how quickly things can go wrong. Meanwhile, Rayla makes a ghastly discovery upon returning to The Silvergrove; Zym must sprint for his life to cross the border into Katolis, unknowing of what awaits him on the other side; and Ezran, thanks to his deception, is brought in front of Sol Regem once more, and this time, the Sun Dragon will make sure the ex-king never forgets his place...

Read it here:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/30491499/chapters/162997516

As always, comments are very much appreciated! Please don't hesitate to tell me what you thought of this one. Your reactions to different scenes, theories, and any type of feedback are all welcome.

[photoniccyclone]

SFR Update: Chapter 12 - "Burn" Releases tomorrow! (Most likely)

Hey everyone, this will hopefully be my final update for chapter 12, the next time I post it will *hopefully* be out. I'm just doing the third readthrough and will finish that up tonight, but I'll probably do an additional one before publishing tomorrow as I made a lot of changes and I want to make sure it all works well. If by chance some crazy disaster happens, or the chapter happens to be in a worse state then I think it is, it will be delayed, but right now we're looking at tomorrow with a 90% certainty.

I can't wait to see you're all's reactions to this one, some devastating things await our main characters >:)