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lo-55 · 4 years

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Here There Be Dragons Ch. 1

The people of Hanamura knew better than to step foot in the old castle. The foreign criminals did not. Neither did the man tracking them.

McHanzo AU

Notes:

This is loosely based on the Jackie Chan Adventures episode ‘The Lotus Temple’ . It’s also my first time writing for McCree and Hanzo, so please be gentle with me ^^

Scales and Tales

The people of Hanamura knew better than to step foot in the old castle. They had been born to the whispers of curses, to the dark clouds the circled over it for all but one day in the year. Their children played games, dared each other to touch the gate, to look upon the stone dragon that wrapped itself around the gates and glared down with eyes that warned of a storm. None of them were foolish enough to cross over the wall. None of them were foolish enough to dismiss generations of promises to never enter.

To forsake their lives just for a glimpse inside.

None of them were international weapons smuggler sprinting through the city with a target on their back. None of them were strangers jaded to the world and it’s supposed curses.

None of them could recognize something ancient and powerful for what it was. And so they scrambled over walls, throwing backpacks and bodies over into a pile of weapons and limbs.

One boy dropped down, landing on his ankle wrong. It was visible even from the vantage point Jesse McCree had taken up residence in. He leaned on the tree trunk, watching the kid scramble to pick up a bag when the one in charge, a nasty piece of work that called himself Glitch.

The Blackwatch operative narrowed his eyes. If they got into the castle proper and fortified it, he’d have to cave and call for some back up, or say fuck it and just destroy half of the building in a firefight. If he took them out now, he’d be making a mess of a courtyard, but it would be quicker and over faster.

Too bad Reyes wanted him to bring in Glitch alive. Too bad some of them were kids.

You were a kid too, in Deadlock, he reminded himself. He hadn’t been doing kid stuff then and these kids weren’t doing kid stuff now. If they’d come all this way from Germany, they knew what they were getting themselves in. No one worked for Glitch for long without knowing what it was going to cost them.

Jesse idly wondered if they knew that Glitch’s real name was Iverson Bemesderfer.

Probably not.

Jesse breathed in deeply, mourning that he couldn't smoke on the clock, and drew his piece. He was readying himself to jump from tree to wall when a sound invaded his ears. It was almost too low for him to notice, at first.

His implants picked it up before he really did. Typically they dulled the blast from gunfire so it didn’t blow his eardrums out, but they also caught and amplified certain things. Things that might register as a threat.

Things like the low roll of thunder that beat inside the castle walls. The sky was clear, the castle was empty, save the invaders.

Jesse blinked.

Something moved. A flash of lightning through the courtyard, an explosion of action that cut through the crooks, leaving blood and guts in its wake. Blue caught the light, thunder grew louder, echoing in tandem with screaming. A gun went off, then another, a flurry of bullets flying at the flash of light that tore through the crowd.

To the side a grenade went off, tearing through five men and throwing the blue back into a wall hard enough to crack it.

For just an instant the carnage stilled. Jesse knew moments like these, when the fight went from hot to cold, bodies frozen in motion where the only things he could hear was the pounding of his heart and the world zeroed in to the sight at the end of Peacekeeper.

This was different.

The sound he heard drowned out his heart, the beat of thunder on the horizon. Peacekeeper stayed down, at his hip. That didn’t stop the ice in his veins. That didn’t stop the way the world darkened until there was only black and white and red and for the first time in his life blue.

Blue. Brilliant, glowing, blinding blue burst through the Deadeye he didn’t call upon, burning itself into his memory. Scales shimmered in his vision where they fell to the ground, blue warring with red. The serpentine body curled in against the wall, stone collapse frozen around it.

One of the kids had turned a machine gun on the creature when it impacted.

Jesse blinked and the world returned. Peacekeeper smoked faintly in his hand and six bodies hit the ground. A girl who had hefted another grenade, the boy with the machine gun and the four people closest to Glitch. For an instant his eyes locked with the creature’s.

His heart beat once and the beast erupted once more, red and blue lashing across the ground, cutting through bodies. It felt familiar, the death, the massacre, watching his targets fall. Not at his hand, true, but he knew folks that favored the blade over gun smoke or bare fists. It felt like that.

Glitch had sense enough to turn tail and run, for the wall. Jesse couldn’t bear to tear his eyes away from the scene but he forced himself, vaulting to the ground to intercept, jogging to where Glitch would end up over the side. The shadow of his head fell over Jesse’s shoulders and he stepped back so he could be ready to subdue him. The target managed to get almost all the way over the wall before he screamed.

Jesse met him beneath the red shingled, catching the part of his body that came down. Most of him, at least. His legs had been sheared off.

Jesse touched his comm and called for a medic, focusing on what he knew. He coudln’t think about what he’d seen, what he’d learned was real. He had to keep his mind on the job, or he didn’t think he could keep from trying to catch one last glimpse of the most beautiful creature he’d ever seen.

The Dragon inside Hanamura Castle.

What Jesse saw never made it into his official report, the one that went into the files that Blackwatch sent to Morrison. Jesse had almost withheld it from even Reyes, but in the end he told him the full truth, if for no other reason than he couldn't think up another way to explain that he’d only shot six people and when extraction had been completed there was no sign of anyone having been inside of Hanamura Castle at all.

Jesse had no idea why Reyes believed him. As long as he didn’t send him to Mercy for a head check it was just fine by him. .

After Glitch he had stuck mostly to the America’s, north and south. Hunting down other rogue agents, taking down gangs one at a time. Usually he was partnered up with someone, Genji preferably, or even Reyes on a couple of memorable, explosive , occasions.

The next time he went to Hanamura it was on his own terms.

Jesse passed the castle three times the first day. He knew that going the same place on repeat was a messy mistake, it made it easy to track him. Easy to make a target out of him. Jesse just couldn't help it. He was drawn to the building and the being inside of it.

He wanted to know more.

He asked around, but his Japanese was terrible and the english explanations he got were mostly centered around staying the hell away.

The second day he climbed the tree he had been in two years before to look inside. There was no sign of the carnage, no sign of dragon. Nothing at all.

Jesse left with a stone in his guts.

He hung around his hotel room for the next few days, checking out where he was going next and berating himself for not just hopping the fence and going in.

He cleaned his six shooter about a dozen times, polished his boots, mended his serape and anything else he could do to keep his mind occupied and off the castle. He wanted to go in. He wanted to see the dragon again.

He did not want to die.

Every time he almost got up the courage to poke his head into the dragons den he remembered Glitch’s legs. A single snap of massive jaws and they were both gone. Jesse was already missing one arm, he wasn’t sure he wanted to lose any more parts.

He was putting Peacekeeper back together after her fourth cleaning of the day when a knock sounded on the door.

“Housekeeping!” was announced. In a voice that didn’t match the one that had come every day before. Jesse had time enough to grab his hat before the door came off its hinges and he was shoved out the window from the power of the explosion.

He hit the ground running.

Jesse McCree was not known for his brilliant ideas. Genji thought he was ten pounds of crazy in a five pound bag and had delusions of immortality. Reyes thought he was a punk with a penchant for ignoring common sense. Morrison… Jesse didn’t even want to know what he thought.

Maybe Genji was right. Maybe, Jesse was just totally insane and had diluted himself into thinking he could make plans that wouldn’t end up in his death. Jesse had always been a few steps ahead of the reaper, kept there by the bodies he dropped behind him. He’d only ever been good for talking shit and shootin folks, which probably explained how he’d gotten this hair brained scheme in his head in the first place.

His boots beat against the back alley, splashing though he-didn’t-want-to-know-what. Footsteps followed him second behind, just far enough that he didn’t have to start dodging bullets yet. Peacekeeper rested heavy in his fingers, hammer pulled back, waiting to be released.

He bolted around a corner, his aim coming into sight. The rooftops rose high in the setting sun. Jesse took a deep breath and poured on more speed so when he threw himself at the wall it was the momentum carried him halfway up. His free hand caught the top, metal clanging audibly and he swung himself up, over the top. A gun raport broke through the sounds of the city around just before Jesse rolled over the roof and dropped to the ground below.

He crushed some poor, unsuspecting bush under his weight before he pulled himself out of the clawing foliage. Blood ran down his arm from the new hole in his shoulder, slicking his grip on his piece. Heat burned through his shoulder and along his ribs.

He touched his side with his metal hand, hissing. Damn. He hadn’t been counting on being hit.

Voices crowded around the wall he’d just dropped over, accompanied by the clinking of metal and the clicks of weaponry.

At least that was going according to plan.

Jesse wiped his bloody palm on his pants before he went back to running, steadying his grip on the pistol. Behind him, pursuers had started to climb the wall.

“Sorry about all this, darlin,” he told the castle. “ Ah, wasn’t expectin’ all this trouble.”

Which was ridiculous. He should have. Trouble followed him in a shadow of misfortune.

More bodies dropped down behind him. He picked up his heels and ran. The front gate was in sight when he turned the corner. Blood trailed behind him. For a long minute he wondered if he really had lost his marbles those years before. If he had imagined the blue dragon.

Then the thunder beat through the earth. Someone screamed behind him. Jesse threw himself forwards, against the gate, managing to scramble up. From the high ground he turned his sight back, to the dragon that tore through the pursuers like they were nothing more than paper. It was incredible, awe inspiring.

Jesse lifted his hand, pulled back the hammer and shot. One by one his targets fell, crumpling to the ground. Never once did he strike the dragon that coiled through the intruders. Jesse had seen rattlesnakes slower than this.

The last of his pursuers crumpled to the ground, a bullet in their head. Wind blew through his hair, tugging at his hat. The thunder beat harder in his heart.

Jesse opened his mouth to say something, anything. All that came out was a shout when the gate beneath his feet cracked and fell, collapsing backwards, sending the cowboy down with it. The air rushed from his lungs, leaving him choking desperately.

He barely got his breath back when something cast a long shadow over him. Jesse brought his shooting hand up on instinct, levelled in between two gold eyes. The dragon loomed over him, baring its teeth. Thunder rumbled around him, growled from between the dragons fangs.

“Well, don’t that beat all,” Jesse breathed. He sat up, slowly, letting the weapon drop. He could shoot from the hip just fine. The man drew his legs away from the creature’s fierce claws. His heavy boot knocked some stone, sending it clattering off the door and into the street. Tight muscles tensed under thick hide and the dragon moved a threatening inch closer. He didn’t think he’d ever seen anything so pretty in his life.

Pretty like a rattler with it’s scales shining in the sun. Pretty like the barrel of Peacekeeper after he’d just polished her. Pretty like Ana Amari.

Pretty and perfectly capable of killing him.

Up close he could see it’s eyes in the burning light, golden, flecked with brown. Surrounding that was pale scales, practically white, beneath a slim patch of fur that could have been spun from his mama’s wedding band. Whiskers of the same color flicked in front of him, floating in the air with a serenity that was sharply opposed by the massive, pointed teeth being shown to him. Under the drawn lips was a beard that chased backwards, edging jaw that could have taken Jesse in whole. It edged up along with sharp point, horns maybe, that crowned the dragon’s head till the point of a blade of fur that drew from the tip of the head to the end of a long, long tail.

“Ain’t you somethin’?” Jesse slowly moved, so as not to startle the creature, pushing himself into a stand. The dragon made no move to stop him. “Thank ya’ kindly for the help,” he nodded to the bloody mess behind the dragon and took a respectful step back, his heart beating hard.

It released a growl that shook him to the core, one that rolled through the scales that flashed beautifully. Jesse realized that where the scales faded from the near-white around the eyes and lips into a deep, ocean shade they were tipped with the same gold he could see in the dragon’s eyes.

Jesse took another step away, watching the dragon the whole time. As soon as his boots were off the door it jerked, twisting, and disappeared. Doors that been broken repaired themselves and lifted back into place. It shut hard.

Jesse was left with a bullet in his shoulder, a graze in his side, and a pair of shaking knees.

Something caught in the light, the stone he’d kicked earlier. It sang blue in the dimming light. Jesse did a recount.

He also had a scale.

#Hanzo Shimada #Jesse McCree #Blackwatch era #Overwatch #overwatch fanfiction #overwatch au #McHanzo #hanzo x mccree #dragons #noodle dragons #urban fantasy #fluff #hurt/comfort

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dire-vulture · 5 years

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16, 35, 42, 43, 45, 49, 53, 62, 63, 69, 79!

THAT is a lot of numbers omg,, let’s do this

16. answered here!

35. How in-tune with their native element are your dragons? Does it vary? If you have any dragons that aren’t, why is that?

OH yes does it vary. I have some dragons who are very elementally inclined (no mistaking Tamarind for anything but a Nature Boy), some who outright refuse their birth element (Zaffre is native to plague, but uses lightning magic), and many who are just neutral. I’d say the majority of my dragons don’t have any sort of magic or strong affinities. But the ones that do have magic often have powers that don’t have much to do with their element at all. As for why, I guess that’s just the way it is haha. Zaffre just never jived with Plague. And same with Bergamot, who hides his plague eyes with green goggles... And Kyurem has light eyes, but they’re as icy a dragon as it gets! Moraine doesn’t have magic at all, but she still relates more closely to her family’s ice roots than wind. and Gushers is wind too, but she is ALL about the arcane, it’s what interests her the most. i could list more but i think that suffices haha...

42. If your clan leader went off the deep end, who would stand by them no matter what?

Oh well, my clan has four leaders: Tarragon, Moraine, Zaffre, and Tamarind... them going off the deep end, not totally sure what it would entail omg. They’d probably all try and stand by each other though, though if they were doing like, truly horrifying stuff the others would do their best to try to figure out and ultimately stop the situation dfadsfsdg otherwise they’d do their best to be understanding of why one of them was suddenly so distraught or whatever? i think i good portion of the lair would want to like, help too. (though it also would depend on a lot of factors.

I guess if you want some more specifics, Ingot would be the most likely to stick by Moraine? Ingot really respects and trusts Moraine and they are very good friends! Kyurem of course would stick by Zaffre, they’re partners and have known each other for like 40 years by this point and have gotten closer than ever the latter half of that. Tamarind has had a bit of harder time getting support from dragons other than Tarragon and Moraine, and his heaps of exes in the lair doesn’t help, but I think I’ll say Hallow would be most likely to stick by him. They’re exes too, but it ended amicably and I think of anyone in the lair, Tamarind probably helped Hallow come to terms with the loss his charge the best, so Hallow has the utmost respect for Tam. And lastly, Tarragon... Tarragon is so lovable, friendly, and gentle that finding dragons in the lair that like him is as easy as it gets...but truthfully he isn’t super close to a ton of them outside his fellow leaders. I think the one who’d be most likely to stick by him is his younger brother Paragon, who throughout their whole lives the two have always done what they could to support each other, even if they find themselves at odds sometimes. Paragon isn’t the most popular dragon in Florabrisa, but Tarragon is always there to defend him anyway, and Paragon would definitely return the favor should something strange ever happen.

oof that was long im gonna put everything else under a read more fadsfd

43. How has your clan changed since it started? This can mean when you first joined or in-lore.

Well, in lore, the clan’s certainly grown a lot in the 20 years it’s been around! It’s still a small community but it’s bustling! The gardens of Florabrisa will always be its major feature, but it has a lot more on offer now.It’s always been pretty agrarian, but there are much more food options now than there used to be. Crystalspirit has grown his art gallery considerably through the years and now with Ardest joining the clan, there could be a local art scene coming... I also wanna get some theatre in, Florabrisa definitely has one and i think Tabbagh is gonna be a big player, they love the stage. Ricotta too honestly, she’s very theatrical. and Bomoseen will probably be trying to introduce film to the lair (though they currently don’t have the tech for it. Bom needs to talk to Xana.....)

And out of lore, I think I still have more or less the same concept as i did at the start! The biggest change might be that at first Tarragon was the only leader, but I later decided to elevate Moraine, Zaffre, and Tamarind to be his equals. Tarragon leading by himself just didn’t really make sense to me haha. Also adding the swamp was a pretty big deal! Picked up some many swamp aes dragons this year haha... Also, initially I did think that breeding didn’t have to be a relationship thing, but admittedly I’d done absolutely nothing with the concept so that’s probably not the case anymore dfafd I’ve definitely aged the lair too, like a lot of dragons I initially saw as kids have grown up now :`) i do wonder how much further along i’ll take the timeline, since I do have some dragons in my lair who lorewise intend to leave Florabrisa within a few years. I could probably stick them in my den, or just let them stick around anyway...?

45. How competent would your clan say your leaders are? How competent are they really?

Tarragon, Moraine, Zaffre, and Tamarind have been leading for almost 20 years now, so I’d say the clan thinks they’re in good hands haha. All four leaders have their different personalities and roles and balance each other out in many ways, and they all take the clan’s needs very seriously and the dragons of the clan feel respected by them! They do what they can for the clan and get the job done as best the can, so yeah the clan would say they’re very competent! And I’d say so too, they are good bunch together :D

49. Who’s the “clan mom”?

Ooh, there are a few dragons who could fit the bill, Moraine being an obvious one. Ricotta probably fits the bill even better than her though! Ricotta will really go out of her way to make sure dragons are getting properly fed..or at least eating plenty of pasta haha. She is incredibly caring for the wellbeing of the lair and does what she can to make her fellow Florabrisians happy and blessed by her presence haha. Ricotta admittedly does tend to pick favorites though dasfsda And there’s Clash too, who is very nurturing and along with her wife Antikyra has taken care of younger dragons of the clan for awhile now! Many of them definitely think of the two as parental figures. The list of dragons under 20 years old who have called Clash ‘mom’ is probably quite long.

53. What dragons make up your most disgustingly cute relationship? What makes them so cute?

OH man lots of strong contenders here. I think Prim and Proper are the best answer! They have matching aesthetics, are pretty much inseparable and utterly glow in each others’ company, they share everything, and of course THEIR NAMES omg... No one in the clan knows if like, they just coincidentally have matching names or if they did it on purpose. (honestly I think it’s a mix of both. they happened to have similar names then just..made them match better haha this isn’t 100% set in stone but i’ve considered their ’full names’ are Primrose and Prosperity. Either way Prim is definitely short for Primrose, it’s Proper’s name i’m not as sure about.)

62. Who’s the clan troublemaker and who has to clean up the mess?

The clan troublemaker is Prank Master Patlican! You never know what to expect with her. She’s most famous for hiding vegetables in strange places, but she will do almost anything. From good old fashioned handshake buzzers to leaping out at poor unassuming dragons to switching locations of Tarragon’s potted plants, she has a large prank repertoire... Her friend Ottomy does his best to clean up her mess. He’s very often the target himself fsadfaf

63. Are there any rivals in your clan? Are they friendly rivals or bitter enemies?

Oh yes, I got some rivals! There’s definitely some stuff going on with Xana/Iolite versus Matrix/Micron. I think they’re more friendly than anything, but then again they probably subscribe to ‘keep your enemies closer’ haha... Matrix also has some sort of rivalry with Lisianthus, who is mostly just confused by it tbh. They’re probably ultimately friends though.

Millisievert and Falcata were pretty fierce rivals and hate everything the other one stands for. They’ve mellowed out a bit over the years and mostly just try to avoid each other now.

Tamarind and Kyurem also probably count to some extent? Mostly Tamarind is bitter that Kyurem managed to take both his wife AND son (and not even a son from said wife dfdsaf) They do try to be adults about it and are generally cordial to each other, though Tamarind is definitely like ‘that guy’ under his breath.

OH and how could i forget. Marglobe and Warglobe! Marglobe just wants to grow tomatoes and Warglobe won’t stand for it for some reason.

69. Who misses their old flight/home the most?

Ooh hmm..most dragons are quite happy to be staying in Florabrisa and came in part because they wanted to get away from their home for whatever reason.

There is Tamarind! I imagine he misses his Nature home every now and then, but he is chargebound to stay in Wind. That said, his charge being the native flora of the Windswept Plateau is like, obviously it can take care of itself so he doesn’t really need to stay there, he can definitely leave for a period of time if he so desired, but it’d still feel wrong to him to do so. Plus all his friends are here!

Osira probably gets a little homesick too. She is very strongly an arcane dragon and I’m not really sure why she left? Maybe she just wanted to go exploring, or just needed to take some personal time. It’s likely she and her gf Gushers will decide to move to the Starfall Isles at some point, but for now they’re happy together in Florabrisa c:

79. How religious is the bulk of your clan?

Not very religious at all! Florabrisa doesn’t exalt or really follow the teachings of any deity, aside from the general influence of Wind culture. That’s right. Florabrisa commits tax evasion fdsfgd

There are some members who follow a particular deity or two, like Qirrasi is very devout to the Plaguebringer, and Inermis is by far the biggest Windsinger follower around, but yeah in general deities are talked about very little in Florabrisa, and rituals are few and far between.

That said... I also gotta mention Ricotta. She claims to be a goddess. Most of the clan doesn’t really think she’s one, but there is a small handful of dragons who do, and she is happy to accept their prayers and offerings and give them blessings for it! (though she’s happy to share her divine food with almost anyone in the clan anyway, as long as they aren’t rude to her!) Some of her known followers include Macaroon, Artichoke, Calabasas, Nutshell, Sicliane, and Marbles! (and even some that don’t really believe in her are happy to play along anyway haha) There’s also the newer goddess in town Lemuria, but considering her complete inability to back up her claim, I don’t think she has even one follower so...RIP her.

thank you for the ask omg!! this was a Lot, but it was a lot of fun too :D

#long post #florabrisa #loreabrisa #asks #guardsbian #drakessimblr

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tokyoteddywolf · 7 years

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Super Shallurklance

@syeriane @shallurklancentric as promised, some cute Shallurklance, but with a cute cliffhanger ;3

"Is everyone in my apartment building a superhero?” More like Lance is the normal guy who usually ends up taking care of his neighbors after they go out to fight crime and befriends them all, but has a pining crush on three of his neighbors bc fuck he's too poly and bi to function- Anyways, Pidge has plant powers and hacking skills, Hunk is basically an earth bender, Keith is a fucking dragon, Shiro can fly and use super strength, Allura is Wonder Woman but has cats, and Coran is the landlord of the building. There are Major powers and Minor powers. Those with Major powers are usually in the Hero or Villain business. Those with Minor powers are generally sidekicks or civilians. Lance and Coran have Minor powers. Lance can pull water from the air or from anywhere within ten feet. It's not very strong but it helps to clean wounds. Coran has the ability to bend metals. Enjoy ;3

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"Is everyone in my apartment building a superhero?” Lance groaned, eying the pretty new girl moving in. "No, not everyone. You aren't. I think she's the Hero Altea though. The hair certainly matches." Lance's above floor neighbor, Pidge, yawned from her spot leaning against the railing next to him. "As in the city female favorite, Altea? Great. Let me guess, you guys are gonna show her the best place to patch up after a fight?" Lance asked defeatedly, narrowing cold blue eyes at the grinning superhero girl. "You know it, Lance! I'm not taking chances! Also, do you have any more tea? I'm out of green leaf and I know you have an extra stock somewhere." Pidge poked him in the side. Lance sighed. "Yeah yeah, I bought a new box yesterday. Come on, I'll make you a cup." Hours later, an explosion rocked the city and sure enough, as Lance calmly drank his hot cocoa in front of the TV, the news coverage showed the Voltron team plus Altea herself fighting against a massive metal monster. The Voltron team, aka Lance's neighbors in the Lion Apartments. Black, a powerful hero with indestructibility and the gift of flight, his powers mostly originating in his prosthetic arm. Olkari, a small hero with the ability to manipulate plants to her will, no matter the size. She could also hack anything, which was what she was currently doing to the monster's mainframe. Balmeran, the bulky hero with extreme strength. He was known for using the ground and environment to his advantage. Red, the original partner of Black's and gifted with extreme, nearly uncontrollable power. His flames could melt anything, as well as change him into a dragon if he felt like it. And Altea, a woman with super strength, speed, and energy manipulation. Usually sending it out in the form of lightning or beams, usually white or pink, sometimes blue. The creature went down after a short while, and the camera followed the heroes launching away in different directions. But Lance knew where they would all end up eventually.

He came back from a quick trip to the supermarket and groaned when he found the lock picked and half open from a cute little vine, seemingly innocent. "Pidge! What have I told you about breaking into my house through the front door?! The balcony sliding door is always unlocked you know!" The irritated Cuban called as he entered his home, noting the dirty tracks on the carpet. "And Hunk! I trusted you to keep Keith in line during that fight, and now half the city is rubble! Keith, did you even shower properly before you came here?! Hi Shiro, Miss Altea. Pidge! Get out of the tea cabinet! I just gave you a box yesterday!" Lance set his bags on the coffee table in front of both Shiro and the startled Altea before marching over to yank Pidge away from his tea storage, a small whip of water putting out a small fire left on Keith's head. Lance ushered everyone to a seat on the various couches in the main room. "Okay, who's first? I got extra gauze this time, and special disinfectant for rust bacteria." Lance pulled water from a nearby cup and wrapped it around a particularly nasty burn on Shiro's arm, the hero Altea looking on in fascination as the water slowly started massaging impurities from the blood and skin. "So, miss Altea, I'm Lance. I usually patch these guys up after a fight, so I'm guessing they decided to bring you around too?" Said male asked the white haired heroine, raising an eyebrow and using another small water whip to clean up the blood on her cheek. "Ah, well, Olkari insisted, since you are very trustworthy and she mentioned you keep a wide variety of tea?" Altea admitted, Pidge piping up from her seat trying to wrangle Keith into using an ice pack. "Call me Pidge! We all live in the same building anyways, and Lance here knows us all on first name basis so we might as well use it ourselves!" The tiny plant hero chirped triumphantly as she managed to headlock Keith and press the ice against the nasty bruise on his back.

"I'm Keith, Shiro's boyfriend and partner in heroism." The man wheezed from where his friend was currently crushing his back as she 'tended' to him. Shiro waved with his prosthetic arm. "I'm Shiro, nice to be working with you, Miss Altea." Hunk came back from the kitchen, stirring what looked to be a bowl full of chocolate chip cookie dough. "Sorry Lance, I borrowed some stuff for cookies. Also, hi, I'm Hunk and I'm usually the one to feed these people because somehow none of them know how to cook." The bulky man leveled a glare at his three teammates, each glancing away with a sheepish smile or a nervous chuckle. "I kind of know how to cook!" Keith replied defensively, pouting. "Keith, charred lumps of god knows what does not equal cooking." Lance deadpanned, finishing his task of bandaging Altea's arm. The heroine snorted out a half giggle half wheeze, and Lance had to mentally stomp on the growing attraction in his heart. He already had two impossible crushes, he didn't need a third... "Well, my name is Allura. It is nice to meet all of you!" She introduced herself, and the others all grinned back. "Well now that all the introductions are out of the way, who wants tea? I also have hot chocolate and coffee." Lance asked, standing up and moving towards the kitchen. He was sweating from the effort of holding up five separate threads of water. The ones that were currently cooling and healing the burn wounds on the 5 heroes. Shiro wanted black coffee, Pidge wanted green tea with extra sugar, Hunk wanted a specific amount of sugar and cream in his coffee, Keith demanded chamomile tea, and Allura politely requested juniberry petal tea. He didn't notice Keith intently watching him serve their drinks, didn't see Allura narrow her eyes when Lance swayed slightly, didn't realize he was collapsing until Shiro practically vaulted over the couch to catch him on his way back to the kitchen.

He did, however, notice the worried voices whispering near him as he slowly woke up to someone stroking his hair. It felt nice, nothing like the stress his job had been putting him through lately or the strain of using his Power too much recently. He sighed and rolled over to fall back asleep, the stroking in his hair never faltering. Meanwhile, Allura frowned as she watched Red, Keith, pet Lance's hair as he kept vigil over the man on the couch. "It's strange, normally he doesn't collapse like that. I always tell him to rest after he uses his Power and take a break now and then, but today must have been a bad day to ask for help." Shiro murmured, gazing at Lance in concerned fondness. "For someone who exercises his Power so much, I wouldn't think something so small as purifying wounds on five people would cause him to collapse. Perhaps he has been working too hard lately?" Allura asked, placing a comforting hand on Shiro's shoulder. "He isn't home as much, actually. I've seen him come home real late at night and leave at really early hours." Keith piped up, quiet so as not to wake Lance up. Shiro sighed. "He has a communication problem, which is surprising for someone who's so talkative."

Allura giggled lightly. "I find it quite endearing. You were right to bring me here and convince me to move into this building. I believe Lance will prove to become a large part of our lives. I just hope he accepts us when the time comes." She moved over to crouch next to Keith, her fingers joining the Fire Hero's tangling through Lance's soft, silky hair. Keith hummed lightly and tipped his head onto Allura's shoulder. Shiro folded his arms over his chest and smiled as his girlfriend and boyfriend watched hopefully over the object of their affections. After all, it was a secret that Black, Red and Altea were not friends, but instead a trio of polyamorous lovers. Not even Pidge or Hunk knew that Shiro and Keith knew Allura a lot more intimately than they'd acted like today. One day, Shiro hoped, Lance would make it a group of four. He wished for that day to come soon.

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What do you think? Sequel, maybe? :3

💖💙❤️🖤

#voltron #Shallurklance #my writing #good god this is long

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razieltwelve · 3 years

Text

Solaris (RWBY AU Snippet)

Yang peered down at the verminous multitudes that covered the plain. The Grimm were deadly foes, not simply because of the raw might and power that their mightiest members wielded but also because of the sheer numbers they could call forth. More than one city had fallen beneath a tide of claws and teeth despite having more than capable defenders.

This city was in much the same sort of position. She could feel the rhythmic flare of magic as the city’s defenders tried to simultaneously reinforce their position and pelt the oncoming mass of Grimm with whatever offensive magic they could muster. Bolts of fire, lightning, ice, and even acid rained down on the horde, but the disparity in numbers was simply too much.

On the walls, the city’s guardsmen were locked in brutal melee combat as they fought to keep the Grimm from breaching the city. Larger Grimm, some the size of the titanic mammoths that roamed the frozen ends of the world, thundered into the walls. Cracks spread through the stone bulwark, and the city’s mages shifted their efforts to try to bring the beasts down before they could smash their way through.

Elsewhere, Grimm fliers fought the city’s ever-dwindling ranks of griffin, wyverns, and drake riders. Some of the Grimm were vaguely reptilian in shape whilst others looked more like gargoyles. What they lacked in tactics, they made up for in sheer ferocity. A wyvern riders might strike down three or four of them only to be brought down as a dozen more swarmed them.

Beneath her, Ember Celica gave a low, ominous rumble of barely contained fury. The dragon’s scales were no longer simply warm to the touch, they were burning hot. If Yang hadn’t been linked to the dragon as her rider, her armour would already have begun to melt as her flesh burned away. A dragon’s rage burned hot, and few dragons could match the fury of a solar dragon.

“Yeah.” Yang agreed, knowing what her dragon wanted to do before she’d even given voice to the desire. “Let’s do this.”

Beating her mighty wings, Ember Celica soared higher, her golden scales gleaming in the moonlight as her flight carried her through the thin, low-lying clouds. Surveying the battlefield one last time, both Yang and the dragon closed their eyes in something that was equal parts prayer and meditation.

X X X

The most famous dragons were those born of fire and ruin. Their scales were a the red of blood, and their flames burned as hot as the molten heart of the world.

However, there were also dragons born of light and spirit. Their scales were a radiant white, and their fire was a purifying blaze that seared all that was impure.

But every now and then, a dragon was born that was a combination of both, a dragon born with one parent of fire and ruin and another of light and spirit. Such dragons had scales of purest gold, and their flames were taken from the sun itself.

Solar dragons.

To their friends and allies, their flames brought only warmth and healing. But to their enemies? Fire and ruin. It was the duality of the sun: a force that could nourish crops yet also leave empty deserts of bleached bone and cracked earth.

X X X

The sun-blessed were those who wielded fire and light as their magic. Yang’s father was one of them, and she had inherited her magic from him. For as long as she could remember, she had always felt the warmth of the sun within her. But as she’d grown older, that warmth had become a searing blaze that she could turn on her foes.

The moment that she’d met Ember Celica, she’d known that she and the dragon were meant for each other. The sun called to them both, and it bound them together. Like a raging inferno drawing strength from its own heat, they were stronger together than they ever would be apart.

X X X

“Oh crap.” Ruby looked up as Crescent Rose smashed another Grimm out of the air with her tail and then turned to incinerate several more with a blast of flame. “Yang and Ember Celica are going to cut loose.”

Weiss followed her gaze and paled. “Oh crap.” Beneath her, Myrtenaster winced and nodded in agreement.

A moment later, the shadows beneath one of the largest Grimm fliers split to reveal Gambol Shroud. The dragon disembowelled her foe with an almost bored expression before rolling over to toss the wounded Grimm toward the earth. On her back, Blake followed their gaze.

“Oh crap.”

Similar reactions were coming from the city and its defenders.

Above them all, the light of the moon was gone. In its place was a blazing orb of golden light that would have put even the sun to shame. It cast its blinding radiance across the battlefield, banishing the near twilight that had dominated ever since the sun had set.

But now a new sun had risen, and it was pissed off and out for blood.

X X X

There are many things that make solar dragons dangerous. Physically, they are amongst the most impressive of all dragons. They are large, even for dragons, and their claws and teeth are incredibly sharp. Their scales are largely impervious to physical and magical attack, and although they aren’t the most agile in the air, they can move with impressive speed despite their size.

But what makes solar dragons especially fearsome is their ability to store energy. Blessed by the sun itself, they can store the sun’s light within themselves and unleash it during battle. Given enough time and enough sunlight, there is almost not limit to the devastation they can unleash.

X X X

Rather than a blast of fire, what left Ember Celica’s mouth was closer to a beam of pure sunlight. It sliced down through the sky and struck the ground with a sound like every hammer in the world hitting home at the same time. The ground shook, the night trembled, and the world turned white.

The explosion ripped outward, a swiftly-expanding dome of sun-born devastation. The Grimm caught in its path were incinerated instantly, their bodies reduced to ash that was blasted away a split-second later. The strongest of their number managed to endure for a few moments before they too were swept away.

A savage smile crossed Yang’s lips.

“Let no enemy stand before the sun.”

And Ember Celica answered, replying with another ancient proverb. And let the sun’s light shine across all of Creation.

The blast continued to grow, a roiling, boiling cloud of light that was so bright that they were the only two who could stand to look at it directly. Yet despite the absolute carnage it wrought on the Grimm, their allies were unharmed. No soldier was burned. No mage was blinded. No defender of the city was so much as scratched.

This was the the power all solar dragons strove to achieve. This was the duality of the sun. This was a power that could crush their enemies without mercy or restraint yet never harm their allies.

And it was very, very tiring to use.

As the attack finally began to fade, Ember Celica’s wings faltered. The massive dragon shuddered, and Yang poured as much of her power as she could spare into her dragon to help her.

“Blake!” Yang barked. “Gambol Shroud!”

The shadow dragon and her rider rose up to meet them as Ember Celica began her descent. The solar dragon was definitely flagging now. Using so much of her own power plus her stored energy meant that she was struggling just to stay aloft.

Tendrils of shadows moved to help them, and Gambol Shroud’s efforts were soon aided by those of Myrtenaster. Elaborate circles of magic formed around Ember Celica, easing her burden and helping her glide gently to the ground as Crescent Rose circled, both her and Ruby keeping an eye out for any threats that might have survived.

As soon as Ember Celica touched the ground, the dragon took a deep, shuddering breath, and slumped onto her side.

I think I might have gone overboard.

Yang chuckled and patted her scales. Her own weariness was catching up to her, and she could feel the beginnings of a headache forming in the back of her skull. Yep. She’d probably spend the next couple of days resting to deal with magical exhaustion. On the upside, she was pretty confident they’d dealt with the Grimm.

“Totally worth it though, right?”

Ember Celica’s gaze swept over the Grimm-cleansed landscape. Although her golden scales were duller than usual, her toothy grin said it all.

Yes.

X X X

Author’s Notes

Ember Celica is basically the big gun on their team. Admittedly, Gambol Shroud’s power is more flexible, Myrtenaster has a whole library of magic at her disposal, and there’s nothing in the air that can match Crescent Rose’s speed and agility, but when it comes to just raw, undiluted power, none of the others can match Ember Celica.

What makes her even more powerful is that she and Yang share overlapping forms of magic, which means that as rider and dragon, their powers reinforce each other. Ember Celica’s ability to store sunlight is one of the reason she’s often seen basking or lounging about in the sun, and its also why her scales tend to glow. The more energy she has stored, the brighter her scales will usually be. After expending that energy, her scales will be duller until she has absorbed more energy again.

In a direct confrontation, a fully-charged solar dragon is one of the most deadly things in the world. The only efficient way to deal with one is to evade and draw the battle out to get them to expend their stored energy because if you try to fight them head on, their durability is high enough to survive basically anything you throw at them and their damage output is so ridiculously high that you will be unlikely to live longer than a few seconds if they get their hands on you.

If you’re interested in my thoughts on writing and other topics, you can find those here.

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#rwby #fanfiction #yang xiao long #ember celica #ruby rose #crescent rose #weiss schnee #myrtenaster #blake belladonna #gambol shroud team rwby

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