#and he just leaves the city and flies around as a dragon like just does loops in the air before walking back home | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

itllsetyoufree · 3 years

Note

“Does this help?” + kara being injured

All things considered, Lena’s Saturday has been startlingly unremarkable so far. The sun is shining, she’d had her usual cup of yogurt with sliced bananas for breakfast, she hasn’t gotten a single off-hours weekend call from work, and she’d even had time to read the Cooking section in the National City Tribune. The biggest thing on her calendar for the day is her weekly movie night with Kara, which she’d been quietly looking forward to since Kara had left her apartment after their movie night the week before.

There was a time in Lena’s life where the easy, almost leisurely flow of her day would have been alarmingly, disarmingly suspect. But with no attempts on her life and L-Corp running smoothly for the last year or so, Lena’s life has settled into something more… quiet.

And on any other day, it might have continued that way.

Because noxious gas-breathing, nine-legged alien dragons aren’t typically her problem.

She gets the notification on her phone, of course:

Emergency Alert: Rogue Alien Attacking National City Waterfront— alien is violent and unrestrained, exhales unidentified purple gas. Residents urged to remain indoors and to close all windows.

Lena sighs, rolling her neck to the side and grabbing her phone as she lifts herself off her couch to close her balcony door. Despite having a near-panoramic view of the water, Lena’s apartment is on the other side of town from the docks, but she winds her way around her apartment anyway and closes all of her windows just in case. She’s just shutting the last one when she fires off a text to Kara, telling her to stay inside and to not come over until the alien is taken care of, and don’t even think about going down to the docks to report on it, Kara, I know CatCo doesn’t have gas masks on hand.

She gets a single thumbs up in response, an unusually terse reply from Kara, who never sends one text message when three will do, but Lena doesn’t think much of it and just settles back down on the couch to flip on the news.

She watches live as the alien positively obliterates several of National City’s piers with three of its arms. The video feed shows people diving out of the way as wet, splintered wood flies in every direction. The esplanade is littered with debris as the alien rears up again, swinging its tail against the surface of the bay and spraying rolling waves of water onto the shore.

Lena blows out a heavy breath as she watches the destruction unfold before reaching out for her phone again. She’s just hitting send on an email to Jess, telling her to donate funds to the city to rebuild the docks, when the unmitigated panic on screen abruptly stops.

She sits up straight on the couch as she watches the dragon puff out a billowing cloud of purple smoke. It unfurls along the embankment and the remaining parts of the boardwalk, and slowly engulfs the small crowd of people fleeing the waterfront and the remaining stragglers on the shoreline.

Lena watches, mouth parting in shock, as they all stop running en masse and slow to a halt. The newsfeed goes silent as the crowd stops screaming, even the newscaster losing his breath as everyone stands still, lolling around on their feet as if held up by rubber and not muscle, before they all calmly sink down to the ground and lay down.

The sweeping shot of everyone resting on the ground seems to spur the news anchor back to life, and he resumes narrating wildly, jabbering and speculating like an auctioneer calling the Superbowl.

The dragon stops destroying more of the docks to huff out another cloud of smoke at a helicopter nearby. Lena sucks in a breath as the helicopter wobbles in the air over the people on the ground, but it just floats softly down, landing gentle as a feather on the nearest open patch of grass. Lena pinches her eyebrows together, bewildered, but before she can think too much on it, there’s a red and blue streak zooming into the frame.

Supergirl pulls up behind the dragon, and Lena only has a second to admire the sun glinting off her hair before Supergirl grabs the alien by one of its legs and flings it out toward the sea.

From there it’s a whirlwind. Supergirl and the alien lunge and splash and swing at each other at a dizzying speed, spinning in the air and dragging each other under the water. The camera holds steady on them for several minutes until one final breathtaking moment. Both Supergirl and the alien breach out of the water and whirl to face one another. Supergirl’s eyes glow for a split second before her heat vision activates and scorches across the dragon’s abdomen. It crashes back to the water with a roar, but just before it sinks beneath the surface, it huffs out one final breath of smoke.

It catches Supergirl visibly off-guard as she recovers from the fight, gasping for air just as it engulfs her. The newscaster goes silent once more, watching as Supergirl seems to go loose mid-air. She sways a little, drifting in the wind, a glassy, confused look on her face. Lena’s reaching for her phone, ready to call Alex to see if she can help, when Supergirl shakes her head and starts to fly, slowly and unsteadily, away from the scene.

The newscaster and Lena heave a simultaneous sigh of relief, and Lena lets her phone drop back down to the couch. The news switches back to coverage of the dazed, lethargic people on the shore who seem confused but otherwise unharmed. Lena’s just relaxing back into the cushions, half a mind to open her windows back up to let in the breeze, when she catches movement out of the corner of her eye.

She turns, watching as Supergirl floats shakily toward her balcony.

When Supergirl lands, it’s with none of the elegance or athleticism Lena’s come to associate with her. There’s no graceful descent, no landing delicately on one pointed foot or shooting down from the sky to stop on a dime just before she hits the ground. Supergirl drifts closer and closer to her building, one foot outstretched as she reaches Lena’s balcony, but her foot catches on the top of the railing, and she topples over it, hands splayed out to catch herself. She spills over the banister and lands on her chest, legs arching up behind her and feet still hooked over the railing. She looks up at Lena through the glass window, eyes half glazed over and unfocused as her cape slides up the slope of her back to pool at the back of her neck.

The sight of her, glassy and dazed and draped over her railing like a wet towel spurs Lena into action. She throws the balcony door open and rushes over, dropping to her knees and reaching out to run her hands down the length of Supergirl’s arms, cupping her cheeks and tilting her head to either side to look for bruises.

“Supergirl! Are you hurt? Can you stand? Come, let’s get you to the DEO.”

“Hi.”

Lena stills, pausing her frantic checking of Supergirl’s pulse to actually take stock of the situation.

Supergirl, seemingly unconcerned by her chin pressing into the concrete or being curled backwards over herself, blinks up at Lena. She looks untroubled, calm, her hair and suit still damp from the water but otherwise right as rain, but the expression on her face is… vacant. Her eyes are glossy, just slightly unfocused, mouth parted as she looks up at Lena. She looks open, unguarded, and completely unaware, and Lena recalibrates.

“Supergirl, do you know where you are?”

“Your balcony.”

“And do you know who I am?”

“Lena.”

“Does anything hurt?”

“No.”

“Can you untangle your feet so we can get you up?”

“Oh,” Supergirl remarks, like she hadn’t noticed her feet weren’t under her. She tries to twist around to look over her back at her feet, and she shuffles a little, unhooking the toes of her boots and falling fully onto the stone floor.

Lena tsks and instinctually reaches out again, grabbing hold of Supergirl’s shoulders and helping her move until she’s sitting upright, propped against the balcony railing. Supergirl leans back against it, blinking slowly and looking blankly around, and Lena finds herself itching for the phone she left in the living room but unwilling to leave the woman in front of her while she’s so vulnerable.

It isn’t like she hasn’t dealt with an incapacitated Supergirl before. Lena’s saved Supergirl from more than a handful of scrapes in the past couple years, but never like this, never while she was conscious, never while she seemed loopy and almost childlike. It’s easier to maintain her focus, Lena realizes, easier to put the worry aside and work on a fix when Supergirl is in grave danger, in desperate need of help.

This, with her awake and seemingly fine but so disoriented is throwing Lena off guard. Normal citizens shouldn’t see their city’s hero downed and unconscious, but they shouldn’t see her like this either, unfocused and confused, almost as if she’d been drugged. It’s unsettling, deeply uncomfortable in a way Lena can’t put her finger on, and she can’t help but feel both protective and out of her element at the same time.

“Okay,” Lena says, keeping her voice soft and caring. “How about we get you over to the DEO so they can check you out?”

“No, thanks,” comes the quiet reply. “I’ll stay here.”

It’s Lena’s turn to blink confusedly back at Supergirl, but the woman is looking elsewhere. The soft breeze that’s been blowing all day blows an errant leaf off of one of Lena’s plants and into Supergirl’s lap, and Lena watches, latent sense of panic beginning to grow in her stomach, as Supergirl picks up the leaf and twirls it between her fingers.

“I really think we should get you over to the DEO. You seem a little… off,” Lena says, careful to phrase it as gently as she can to not cause any alarm. “What if I just have Director Danvers come here by herself?” Lena asks, half unsure why she’s humoring Supergirl before she realizes that Supergirl has probably never gone anywhere she didn’t want to go— on account of being strong enough to lift a space station.

“No,” Supergirl responds again, simply, not rudely, “she’s not invited.”

Lena narrows her eyes at that, trying to sort out what kind of laughing gas this dragon has breathed out.

“I think I’m in charge of that,” Lena retorts, but she sighs, because Supergirl just looks up at her and smiles dopily.

“Okay,” Lena tries again. “Will you at least stand up and come inside? I can do some research on how to get these side effects to go away.”

Supergirl acquiesces this time, or at least Lena thinks she does until Supergirl turns away from the open door to her living room.

“I’ll stay out here,” she says, words slurring a little as she points to one of Lena’s deck chairs. “Need a little sun.”

She sways on the spot, as if momentarily suspended by the breeze, before stumbling over to Lena’s deck chair and collapsing onto it. She trips on one of the legs and the chair breaks under her weight, but she doesn’t seem to notice, letting her eyes drift shut and tilting her chin up toward the sun. A small smile crosses her face as the sun warms her, and Lena finds herself unable to hold back a small smile of her own.

“You’ve got twenty minutes,” Lena says, already planning out her research on alien dragons and a call to Alex in her head. “Then I’m making the call.”

“Uh uh,” Supergirl hums, eyes still closed, and Lena raises both eyebrows. “Is’fine, Lena. Don’t call. Wanted to come here.”

The longer sentences are starting to ease Lena’s mind, but Supergirl’s response rattles around in her brain and she can’t help but ask.

“Supergirl?”

Supergirl just hums back at her again.

“Why’d you come here instead of going to the DEO?”

“Didn’t want to miss movie night,” she says, calmly while she exhales, like Lena had asked her what day it is and she’d said, ‘Saturday.’

Lena freezes. The pit of panic in her stomach drops out and her whole body clenches at the loss. She stands frozen, staring at the figure laying prone, sprawled out on her deck chair. Lena’s heart pounds. She feels the rapid thudding in her chest, hears it reverberate in her ears. She takes it in, the red boots and skirt, the blue suit, the cape, the blonde hair.

Her eyes map the features on Supergirl’s face, and she realizes with some modicum of horror how familiar those features are. The point of her chin, the slope of her cheekbones, the nick of the scar above her eyebrow, the slightly upturned, charming pull of her mouth. It’s all—

“Lena?” those eyebrows scrunch together and it comes out as a whine, and Lena is overcome.

The panic disappears, instantly replaced by a tidal wave of worry, of affection, of bewilderment, confusion, and a little hurt.

“I’m here,” is what she blurts out in response, dropping onto the adjacent chair and wrapping her hand around Supergirl’s— Kara’s?— wrist, gentle, caring. “Hey, hey, I’m here. Are you okay?”

“Mhmm” Supergirl hums again, twisting her wrist to take hold of Lena’s hand. “Better already. Just need a nap and then we can watch a movie, okay?” Her voice is light and airy, and the smile droops off her face as she begins to fall asleep, but Lena can’t let her go, can’t be left alone with her racing mind. She needs to know, needs to be sure, and with a pounding heart, she presses on.

“Have—” Lena starts. Her voice cracks and she clears her throat and tries again, wiping the hand not enclosed in Supergirl’s tiredly across her brow. “Have you thought about what movie you want to see?”

“Which Star Wars are we up to?” Supergirl mumbles, half-asleep, and Lena feels her whole body clench with the confirmation as she sweeps her eyes up and down the figure in front of her with renewed worry, checking for injuries she knows aren’t there, because it’s Kara, it’s Kara, it’s Kara.

“Episode Six,” she whispers, tightening her hand around Kara’s.

“That one. ‘S a good one.” Kara breathes back.

Kara shifts on the chair a little bit, and small as the movement is, Lena thinks it looks the tiniest more purposeful, the tiniest bit less loose and floppy, and Lena feels her shoulders relax with it. It shifts something in her, the worry beginning to melt into a tender form of annoyance and she decides to push a little more.

“Are you hungry?”

“Mm,” Kara hums, smiling again. Lena narrows her eyes at her.

“Do you want Big Belly Burger for dinner like last time?”

“Mhmm yeah,” Kara murmurs, “and those fries that I like.”

Lena smirks, raising an eyebrow, but Kara is completely unaware. Lena squeezes her hand and stands. “I’ll order the food, and you can nap until it gets here, okay?”

“Mhmm thanks, Lena.”

“You’re welcome, Kara,” she says pointedly, but Kara doesn’t notice. Lena watches her smile in her half-asleep doze, her hand twitching a little until the smile droops off her face and she falls asleep just like that. Lena stands there, gaping at her for a moment, then makes her way inside.

Twenty minutes later, after a text to Alex and enough time spent slowing her racing heart, enough time spent with the news to know that the gas wears off on its own, eventually, she hears a sigh and a creak from outside. Supergirl— Kara, god, it’s Kara— is stretching on the deck chair, which appears to be hanging on for dear life, and Lena lifts herself off the couch, grabbing the bag next to her and making her way back outside.

She sets a glass of water down on the drinks table next to Kara’s head, watching as she shifts in the sun but doesn’t open her eyes.

“How are you feeling, Supergirl?”

“Mhmm, good, sleepy,” Kara yawns.

“They pulled that dragon out of the bay,” Lena says casually, crossing her arms. “You did a great job. No one’s hurt. The effects of the gas seem to subside on their own.”

“Good,” Kara murmurs, tilting her head up into the sun again. “That’s good.”

“The food’s here too,” Lena informs her, unable to hold back a smirk. “I got us a couple shakes as well.”

“Thanks,” Kara sighs happily. You’re the best.”

“But Kara?”

“Mmph?”

“You have to change out of your suit first. Wouldn’t want to get any residual alien goop on my couch.”

It’s exactly as satisfying as she thought it would be. Kara’s loose, floppy posture stiffens as her spine snaps straight, her eyes flying open as the chair finally gives out from under her. Lena watches the wheels turn once Kara hits the ground, sees Kara’s eyes bug out when they make eye contact. Kara’s flick down to look at her suit, then back up to Lena.

Lena twists her wrist, letting the paper bag swing out toward Kara.

“Your fries?”

#when you haven't been able to write a word for months and are struck by this feral fever dream of a thing #and when you misremember the line in the prompt as being 'can i help you?'#and then don't include it anyway #OOPS #btc you're a hero as always <3 #fic tag #anonymous #ask box

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shootsun · 2 years

Note

What about MK asking for Mei to go finish a delivery for him because Wukong asked him to do something, and she finds out she’s delivering to Macaque. Does she have anything to say to him?

She has lots...well...not much to say, but lots she'd like to do.

ah, I think MK would not want the others to know he's in contact with Mac until he's smoothed things over a little with the fam

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

“Oh, ow, ow ow.” MK says, sprawled out on the pavement. He winces as he sits up, rubbing the back of his head.

“MK! This is why we wear helmets!” Mei frets as she slings an arm under her friend’s arm.

“Okay, but consider,” He lifts an arm, pointing nowhere in particular, “I’m -”

“If you say ‘Invincible’, I’m going to wack you upside the head. And then roll you up in bubble wrap and stick you in one of those giant hamster balls.” Mei glares at him, and he giggles weakly.

“I didn’t think Heelys would be so dangerous,” MK mutters, and she sighs as they hobble to the curb in front of Pigsy's shop.

“Ancient tech is always more dangerous than we give it credit for,” She nods solemnly as the two of them sit carefully on the ground.

“Did you just call Heelys ancient technology?” Tang screeches from beyond the door, and the curtain flies open.

The scholar wields his chopsticks angrily as he rants about how he’s only thirty-four and they came out when he was a kid, and sure they’re a little more dangerous for the accident prone, but more importantly, are you calling him old?!

“Yeah.” Mei deadpans as she checks the back of MK’s head, the hero doing his best to squirm out of her grip with puppy dog eyes.

Tang deflates dramatically, and Pigsy calls out, “Quit bullying my freeloader, that’s my job! And if you two are done goofing off, MK, I got an order that needs to go out!”

“Sure thing, Pigsy!” MK stands, and stumbles. He places his hands on his knees and blinks rapidly before sitting back down.

“Absolutely not.” Mei shakes her head. “I think you’ve got a mild concussion. I’ll take it.”

MK looks at her like she’s grown a second head, and she laughs, patting him on the head gently.

“Come on, kid, we ain’t got all day!” Pigsy calls, and holds the order out the door.

“It’ll be fine, I know the city just as well as you do,” She reassures him.

“But it’s just a little concussion, it’ll be-” MK tries to argue, but Mei shushes him.

“Nope. I’ll be back in a sec.” She grins and grabs the bag of noodles Pigsy held out the door.

Ten seconds later, and she’s roaring away on her bike as Pigsy scolds MK for being so reckless in the background.

She double checks the address and blinks in surprise at the rundown dojo she pulls to a stop in front of.

Mei hops off her bike and practically skips up the steps, the bag of noodles dangling from her grip as she knocks on the door with gusto.

The door swings open, and a familiar voice from her nightmares chuckles.

“Kid, I swear, you’re slower delivering those noodles when I’m a paying customer than…when…”

Macaque stops, his mouth snapping closed as he actually looks at the teen before him.

“You’re, uh, not MK,” The monkey nervously chuckles.

A dark shadow crosses over Mei’s face, and energy crackles around her as green fire flickers between her fingers, devouring the plastic bag and the noodles inside, leaving nothing behind but the pungent smell of burning plastic and burnt noodles.

The demon falls backwards into a swirling shadow portal to escape, but the young dragon, swathed in flames, barrels in after him.

Swearing, Macaque pulls them both out of his magic in the middle of the city, allowing himself to tuck and roll onto the pavement as Mei goes soaring into the air above him with a guttural roar.

Mei wraps her dragon form around one of the buildings, and it starts to crumble under her avatar’s weight.

Civilians run screaming from the city block, vacating the area and leaving it eerily quiet.

Red sparks throughout the green flames that wreath her avatar, and Mei snarls out, “This is All YOUR FAULT.”

Macaque gulps nervously, and before he can reply, a phone rings in the middle of the tense pause.

“You’ve got a friend in me,” blares out of the demon’s pocket, and even Mei pauses in confusion as Macaque withdraws his Nokia from his robes with a dumbfounded expression on his face.

Mei blinks as Macaque flips open the clunky phone with a twitch of his wrist.

“Hey, bud.” He says, maintaining eye contact with the dragon still clinging to a skyscraper.

“I don’t know how you changed my ringtone, but I’m glad you called. Mind explaining why your attack dragon horse delivered my noodles and tried to burn my face off?”

At the mention of her avatar, the green flame covered dragon flicks its tail irritably, shattering a few windows in the process.

The demon flinches as glass rains down on the pavement below and then takes a deep breath before pulling the phone away from his ear and pressing a button.

“Mei?! Are you there? Don’t hurt him! He’s…He’s not a bad guy!” MK’s voice is panicked, tinny, and grainy through the speakers, but the flames that had been growing steadily larger on the young dragon’s scales began to shrink at the sound of MK’s voice.

“He’s the one who did this to me! The one who’s hurt you over and over!” Mei yells, and Macaque grimaces, his free hand twitching, pulling threads of magic tightly between his fingers for an easy escape.

“I know.” MK sighs, and it sounds so tired through the speakers and out in the dead air. “But Macaque isn’t a bad person. He just…made some bad choices.”

“I can’t ask you to forgive and forget…but could you let him go? Please?”

The request hangs in the empty city street, and nothing moves for a minute except for the fire around Mei.

“...Fine. Just this once.” She scowls, and the fire bathing the area in green light shrinks and then seemingly vanishes in between the scales of Mei’s dragon before that too slinks down to the ground and sets the girl within on the pavement as it disappears.

“Thank you,” MK sounds relieved, and she can imagine him dramatically collapsing to the floor.

“I’ll be back soon. You better be resting, mister.” Mei calls out, and Macaque snaps his phone shut before a reply filters through.

“So, uh…” Macaque starts, shifting uncomfortably.

“If I see you again, or hear about you hurting MK again, I’ll rip out your throat with my teeth.”

“Careful, dragon horse girl. You’re starting to sound like a demon.” The monkey snarks, and Mei grins, allowing her sharp canines into full view.

“You haven’t seen anything yet, Mac.”

The shadow demon laughs as he portals away, and Mei is left alone, several blocks away from both her bike and Pigsy’s.

She groans and calls a cab, fuming the whole ride home, back to her friends.

#answering ask #listen i think mei would beat the shit out of him #and then befriend him #she just has to go through her anime protag thing #and then it'll be fine #lmk #lmk six eared macaque #lmk macaque #lmk liu er mihou #lmk mei #lmk mk #lmk xiaojiao #lmk xiaotian #the return of mac's nokia #sun rambles

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saphira5 · 2 years

Text

Newt Scamander x Dragon reader Part 3

“We are heading back to New York to stop Grimwald”, y/n nods. Newt stops on the middle of the bridge “let’s fly”, y/n flies off his shoulder and shift, you turn around and look at him “are you sure”, “not really”, y/n chuckles a bit. Y/n then shifts into a dragon, you lower y/n heads and Newt climbs on “hold on”, Newt yells “to what”. Then y/n takes off fast in the sky, Newt screaming the whole way even when y/n was just soaring in the sky. “You can open your eyes Newt”, he stops screaming and opens his eyes “It is beautiful, but nothing compared to y/n beauty”. Y/n turns your head a bit to look at Newt, he looks away “I didn’t catch that”, he looks at y/n, “nothing”, “you sure”, “yes”. You turn your head back to the front, looking at the lovely sky. Y/n could see New York in the distance, so you become invisible, but Newt sticks out. “Newt, I need you to hop in the mouth”, “what”, you look back at him “I won’t swallow you”, “ok”. Y/n opens your mouth, Newt hops in and you close your mouth. Y/n flies around until y/n spots Tina’s apartment building, y/n lands on top very graceful. Y/n opens your mouth and Newt climbs out, he is covered in saliva, and he smells like cod fish. Newt looks at his at his hands and sees that y/n saliva is blue, he looks at where y/n might be “it’s blue”, “y/n saliva is fireproof, I cox y/n self so y/n can be fireproof. Y/n saliva can also be used for many other things”. “Amazing, we will take more about it later”, “I well be heading to Tina’s now, be careful”, “I will”. Newt opens the roof door and walks through the door; it closes behind him. Y/n lays down and waits for Newt, the sun began to set when the roof door opens, y/n could see Newt, then Tina, and Theseus. Newt calls your name, y/n opens your eyes, Newt sees y/n eyes he begins walking over to you. Tina and Theseus follow him, but they stay a couple of feet behind him. “We need to leave”, “Hop on”. “How”, Theseus says “turn around, Newt you stand in front of Theseus and Tina stand behind Thesus. They all stand in a line, facing all in the same direction. “Spread your legs”, they all spread their legs, “for what”, y/n slides your head through their legs, you then lift up. They slide back a bit, Newt slides down and bit then he holds on to y/n neck, then Theseus grabs on to Newt, Theseus holds on to Newts waist very tightly. Tina slides a bit too far back, she is laying down on y/n neck, she is rapping her arms around your neck, holding tightly. Y/n takes off quickly into the sky, so not to draw to much attention. When y/n could no longer see New York city, you be visible. You start hovering in the air, Newt falls back a bit, but he doesn’t fall of, Theseus hugs his brother tightly and Tina she hasn’t moved at all, her eyes closed. “We need to head to Tartarus, something in their Dumbledore wants”, “where is it”, “Australia”. Y/n nods, you begin flying out into the North Atlantic Ocean, y/n couldn’t see the ocean only clouds, you wanted so badly to see the ocean to. You wanted to glide over the water and tip y/n talons into the water. But y/n couldn’t risk being seen by muggles or by other witches or wizards. Then y/n thought why everyone was so very quiet, the whole hour y/n has been flying you didn’t hear a peep, you look back and see that they were all asleep. You smiled a bit; another hour has passed. Y/n then heard something behind you, y/n looks back, everyone was asleep. You hear it again, y/n pokes Newt with your snot, Newt wakes up and so does Theseus, “something is following us. Wake up Tina”. Thesus looks back and he shakes Tina with his left hand, while holding tightly to Newt with his right. Tina wakes up, she looks up at Theseus “what happen”, “we are being followed”. Tina is still laying down; she begins holding on even tighter onto y/n neck. “Don’t make a sound and hold on.” Everyone holds on and stays quiet, you then hear something to your left, you see a figure in the clouds to y/n left side. Y/n blow a fire ball at the figure, y/n could hear a man’s scream, the figure begins falling. You dive to the figure and see a man on fire, and a broom stick. Y/n stops and hovers, you listen but y/n doesn’t hear anything, y/n then begins ascending into the clouds, you couldn’t be out in the open, y/n needed cover. You got up to clouds, when y/n gets hit hard on the side, you look to y/n left side. A huge gash, it went from y/n wrist up to y/n shoulder, it wasn’t bleeding too badly. Y/n dives to the ocean, you pull up a bit. You glide over the water, y/n looks up, then to your right and left, but you didn’t see anything. You listened for anything when y/n heard something, y/n looks to the left and blast a fire ball at the sound, then y/n sees another man on fire, falling into the ocean. Y/n didn’t hear anything else, but y/n kept flying over the ocean, you just wanted to make sure that y/n wasn’t followed. After another hour passed y/n went back into the clouds, you turned invisible. “Y/n, your wound”, you look at the gash on your left side, it was bleeding a lot. “I will land in Morocco”, as another hour passed it was getting a bit harder to fly. “Y/n are you ok”, Newt can see that y/n was having trouble keeping your head up. “Poison”, Newt gasp “it’s ok, we are close to Morocco”, y/n could no longer stay awake, you begin falling. “Y/n”, you wake up just in time, you pull up, y/n was about four hundred feet from crashing in the sand. You glide down slowly, y/n lands on the sand. Y/n lowers your neck, everyone slides off, y/n then collapse, you can hear voices, but y/n couldn’t make them out. You open your eyes and see Newt on his knees checking y/n wound “don’t worry”, then light out. It was dark when y/n woke up, y/n sees Newt, Theseus and Tina seating around a fire. Y/n gets up and you curl up around them, “y/n”. You look at Newt and blow smoke through y/n nostrils. “Y/n, the poison shouldn’t allow you to move”, “I am immune”, “then why did y/n have trouble staying awake”, “I never delt with this poison before, so my body has to adapt to the poison. Once y/n body does adapt, the poison doesn’t work on me”. Newt gets out his book and writes it down, “fascinating”, you chuckle a bit. Y/n lays your head near Newt, y/n closes your eyes, and you listen to their conversation until sleep over came y/n. Posted: 5/4/22 Part 4 coming Sunday

#newt scamander x reader #newt scamander

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archangelsunited · 3 years

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First Riders

The first human riders are not children.

They can’t be. Three times at war and three losses and moving across the sea and, and, and-

They just can’t be.

So Palancar brings together all the expendable humans. He gathers them around a sleeping dragon and an elf.

The elf doesn’t sneer at them. He doesn’t have a facial expression they can see. He just lays two eggs on the ground before the dragon. He dares them to approach.

They do.

This is not the first dragon they have seen. This is not the first death they faced.

One by one, each presses a hand to an egg. In the end, two were chosen.

The daughter of a second son and a boy who could not father children.

It was the best outcome.

The city is large, and still being built. They are taught by an elf with sunlight in their hair. They know other riders. They are not friends.

The boy is quiet and listens. He learns of the elves and learns to see what they think is beautiful.

And he learns he is ugly.

He learns the language, and understands he is coarse. His voice grates against the ears and he learns to be silent.

But his dragon is beautiful. So he speaks with their words and he basks in the shadow of their wings, the stars could not compare to the light bouncing off scales the color of moist earth.

The girl means to be respectful. She knows to listen and be silent. She listens and learns.

And she is angry. She is furious.

The elves discuss magic and beauty and health.

They discuss politics and religion.

The girl keeps her mouth shut.

She receives a letter from a cousin, it talks of the building of a temple- the first since they came to the continent. They have had a good harvest and new births. They are not at war. She cries until her dragon thrashes with her emotions.

She tells her master of this, excited and exultant. Her people live and are healthy.

The elves say nothing.

A year later, she learns the elves have stopped the humans from building. They allow no more trees to be cut down, they allow no animals to be killed for worship.

She is furious. She is angry. She says nothing.

Her dragon, who is green like her mother’s eyes, flies off in the night. It is many days till he returns.

She learns he ate three bulls in front of the elven ambassadors in Palancar’s lands.

Necks broken, blood flowing out. He bore his teeth.

The temple is built within the next year.

Her dragon is beautiful and she tastes power for the first time in years.

The dragons do not temper them. He grows wild. He is trained, then he leaves. He wanders the forests- hunting, growing, shaping his magic. He talks even less. He runs his hands over bark until his mind knows the shape and feel of each kind of tree in the dark.

He stays in the dark.

His hair grows white, wrinkles form around his eyes, but he does not age. He finds freedom in the silence.

Eventually, she comes and finds him. He follows her to the land where his family’s descendants farm and learn. He shows them how to build forests on their own land and how to grow crops to feed a population. He watches as she shows them how to build as the dwarves do.

Her anger is a blue flame. When the elves teach them no more, she flies and flies and flies away. She finds the children of stone and puts herself under them. She learns of their gods, of their armies, of their writing.

She learns to dig and to mine and to understand the stone.

She brings it back with her.

She finds him. He is not old, but he still does not speak. He knows the forests and plants better than any other she knows. She sits with him for many moons as her dragon speaks to his. She convinces him to come back with her.

He helps her. Their king and his children died, but she still has nephews and nieces who sit hunched down in tattered huts. She brings him to them. He listens as they speak. They need no more words to know what must be done.

The elves gave them nothing in the end.

He shows them agriculture in a way he learned while lonely. He shows them without magic, but with hands calloused from work. He shows them how wolves hunt and dragons devour and what is needed for the animals to thrive.

Her hands show them the forming of the stylus and the mining of stone. She shows them the measurements of the city they could build.

They do not leave for many years.

The elves do not speak to them, but they speak to their dragons. His laughs and delights in the attention, but becomes cruel when the elves speak ill of the strides his rider’s people have made. Hers listens and waits and speaks with Umaroth.

Vrael flies many times to speak with the elves. It is no use.

She grows angrier and angrier- and he grows quieter and quieter.

Yet, while the elves lay fallow in their magic, the humans grow and grow.

And grow.

#The Inheritance Cycle #tic #first riders #eragon #eldest #brisingr #inheritance #human riders #elven riders #fic #fanfiction #Listen this is going to be an actual thing #and not in this style #but i wanted to see what people thought #elven supremacy problems #vrael #Umaroth

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dat-town · 3 years

Text

wish you were here

Characters: Mark Lee & you

Setting: wish dragon au (and a bit of aladdin because mark even has a tiger in their garden like jasmine did. don’t ask why, just blame the regular mv), childhood best friends to lovers (at least there’s potential?)

Genre: fluff and humour

Warnings: mentions of a sick animal and a wild animal kept as a pet in a huge garden (just like jasmine’s tiger, it’s very tamed)

Summary: A magical teapot, a dragon that wants everyone to be happy and an old friendship being revived. Oh yeah, have I told you that you have 3 wishes?

Words: 6.4k

For @restlessmaknae 💕

When your mother told you you got delivery to your childhood home, you certainly did not expect this: a brown box as big as a small watermelon with your old Canadian address and MARK LEE scrabbled next to your name as another recipient but no sender. Not to mention, the first stamp on the thing was dating back to the early 2010s. Where the hell was this package for 10 years? And what would you and your old neighbour slash best friend have gotten together?

Okay, first things first:

You and this clumsy, kind of cute kid, Mark had been quite tight while growing up. You were born in the same year, only a month apart, and his family lived in the house next to yours in the suburbs of Vancouver, so it was kind of natural. You two might have been against the world kind of comrades, playing hide and seek when you were six and wondering about whether time travelling was possible through black holes at twelve. But no matter how close you used to be, you fell out of touch when Mark's family moved to the other end of the world, back to Korea, their roots when you were fourteen. You slowly forgot about him, and started university in the city, moving away from home, so nothing really reminded you of him ⎼ and your stupid, big fat crush on him that you had no courage to tell him about in middle school ⎼, nothing until this box.

You put the delivered package on your kitchen table while you make some dinner for yourself out of what you have gotten during grocery shopping earlier just before you picked up the mysterious stuff at the post office. You eye it suspiciously over your pasta, really not wrapping your mind about what it could be but instead of annoying yourself with this pointless curiosity, you put your fork down and stand up to open it. It’s a struggle at first, the box being secured with multiple adhesive tapes over the years but when you finally get rid of all that and can look inside of it, an intense feeling rushes through you… immerse disappointment.

“A teapot? For real? What were we thinking?” you furrow your brows taking the small, green and pretty old teapot into your hands. It looks like a piece of a traditional Asian set with its jade colour and dragon pattern. It couldn’t have been in a much better shape 10 years ago either seeing how wayworn it is but still, you expected something more… exciting? Something funny that might or might not give you an excuse to look up Mark Lee on the internet and message him for the sake of old times. But how lame it would be to befriend him on Facebook only to tell him that you got delivered a teapot under both your names. Hah, you would rather not embarrass yourself like that.

You shoot one last glance at the teapot before leaving it on your counter and going back to your food, you successfully forget about the whole ordeal. You carry your life on with only one small difference: Mark Lee back on your mind after long, long years.

It was just a small crush, you tell yourself, sighing as you look into the mirror, absentmindedly wondering how he’s doing. Does he think of you sometimes as well? Did he go to music college like he has always wanted? Is he happy? You wish he was even if he’s half a world away and with that thought you think it’s time to go to sleep despite the upcoming weekend days. You don’t want to mess up your sleep schedule over some boy but as soon as you pull the blanket over your chest and close your eyes, something explodes in your kitchen.

You jump out of bed faster than lightning, in slight panic over the fact that your neighbours will hate you for bothering them late at night and your landlord would kill you if you managed to blow up your microwave. But the sight that welcomes you is like no other that you imagined. The whole room is covered in thick pink glittery smoke. Like your worst Barbie nightmare.

“What the⎼” you cough, waving your hands to clear the air and once it dissolves into nothingness with its weirdly cotton candy smell, there’s a boy in the middle of it all, sitting cross legged on your kitchen counter so casually as if he owned the place. His pink-ish purple hair hangs into his eyes and he seems to find your coffee machine strangely interesting. You grab the first thing you can ⎼ a blender ⎼ and hold it up in defensive before yelling at the boy: “Who the hell are you and what are you doing in my apartment?”

The stranger’s mouth pulls up in a charming smile, his eyes sparkle as he turns his attention to you, hopping off the counter. He’s all thin and long limbs, so you hate how you hate to look up at him as he walks towards you before bowing ceremoniously.

“Hello, sorry for the sudden appearance, I just couldn’t wait any longer! I’ve been stuck in that teapot waaay too long. I didn’t mean to be rude or anything. My name is Taeyong, I’m a wish dragon and you’re my new owner,” he smiles and what he says makes absolutely no sense.

“A wish dragon?” you mumble in shock, looking around to see if this is just another prank of Johnny. You wouldn’t be surprised to see him jump out from under one of the cupboards. Or maybe you just fell asleep and you’re dreaming. Yeah, that seems like a realistic scenario.

“Ah, yes! I know I don’t look like it but modern times require modern solutions. Most people freak out because of my dragon form, so human it is,” the boy who seems only a few years older than you grins as he’s chatting and you have to give it to him, he takes this role pretty seriously. “You have three wishes as my owner. You can ask for anything as long as it’s not about death or love.”

So you got yourself someone who thinks he’s basically a genie? Oh gosh, is he that drunk?

“Aha, very funny. I’m too tired for this prank, so I would appreciate it if you left the same way you came...” you point towards your window because there’s no way he came through the door. Putting down your blender because the guy looks pretty harmless despite his crazy blabbering, you move to go back to your bedroom.

“No, no, no, I can’t do that,” the boy, Taeyong as he introduced himself, appears in front of you within a second and grabs your shoulder as if he could shake some sense into you. He looks pretty desperate. “I can only get a new owner if I fulfill all wishes of yours. It was super stuffy in that box the last decade, you know.”

At that excuse you let out a laugh.

“You don’t even fit it the⎼”

“You were saying?” Taeyong is suddenly nowhere near ahead of you but instead a small creature, supposedly a dragon, in the size of your palm flies in front of your eye level. “It’s magic!”

Okay, now that sight makes you feel like it’s you who is drunk. Or worse.

“Am I dead?” you have to ask in a small, uncertain voice, trying to think back what could have happened. Maybe that explosion literally blew your apartment up? But it hurts when you pinch your arm and turning back into his human form, Taeyong wants to prove the very same thing. Not the hurting but the not dead part, obviously.

“No, you’re very much alive and a happy owner of a wish dragon. Not permanently, of course, but still,” he tells you as he drags you onto your couch in the living room. As if sitting down could help processing all this.

So you have a wish dragon in your home, a magical creature that can casually switch between its dragon and human form and he says you should wish for three things, so he could leave and you could go back to your old, boring life without magic and things that scare you to death at 11PM.

“Can I ask… why? Why me? I’m not really owner-material,” you whisper because heck yeah, you even managed to kill your cactus before. Taeyong purses his lips as he sits down, a hand at his chin.

“Well, it’s unusual indeed to have a peasant girl, no offence, as my owner but as far as I know, you and your friend asked for a sign that magic was real.”

Oh, you remember that, being so obsessed with shooting stars and other stuff like that, you two used Mark’s brother’s computer to browse the internet, trying to find evidence about all that. You were kids wanting to believe in a world beyond the one you knew. But...

“That was like 10 years ago,” you furrow your eyebrows, not getting the timing.

“Well, sorry, you weren’t put on the top of the Heaven wish list and the shipping from Shanghai to Vancouver isn’t the fastest either,” Taeyong shrugs as if it was supposed to be natural. As if that was the most unbelievable thing. Well, delivery services are sometimes a pain in the ass, that’s true but getting a wish delivered by Heaven was something you would have never thought of and it all drains down on you. Strangest realisation of your life.

“So… it’s all real,” you whisper ahead of yourself: magic, dragons and all that. You could basically see your old best friend’s I told you so smile and let out a soft chuckle. “I wish Mark could meet with you, too.”

At that the guy ahead of you claps his hands and rubs them together, creating the same purple smoke from before. You look at him alarmed.

“Your wish, my command,” Taeyong grins and lifts his hands and before you could make a sound of protest because gosh, you didn’t mean it literally, you feel the ground move under your feet and you’re falling, into the darkness but despite shutting your eyes automatically, fearing the impact of the crash, nothing comes. Only the smell of soy sauce in the air and warm sunshine on your skin… Wait, what?

Your eyelids fly open and you notice in shock that you’re not in your flat anymore, ready to sleep. Instead, you stand in the middle of a goddamn street somewhere in Korea based on the signs still in your PJ shorts and tee. Oh my gosh! You hide in an alley right away and yank the seemingly proud Taeyong with you.

“I didn’t tell you that I meant right now! I can’t meet Mark in my PJs and I need my phone and wallet to function anyways. Not to mention, I don’t speak Korean at all...” you ramble panicking, the realisation that you’re indeed on the other side of the Earth due to some magic is yet to register. But the awkwardness from the stares you have just gotten has already turned you bashful.

Listening to you, the wish dragon seems sheepish and slightly embarrassed as he scratched his nape, his colourful hair falling into his cast down eyes.

“Oh… sorry. I got so excited over the wish that I didn’t think about it! It’s been a while since I did teleport magic but hey, I still have it in me. Anyways, sorry. Phone and wallet, you said? Here you go,” he pulls out something from his pants which magically seems to be indeed your belongings. That definitely makes things earlier.

“Uhm, thanks. Where are we exactly?”

“Ah, well you mentioned your friend Mark Lee, so we’re here. Well, one bell away because I did remember that it’s rude to intrude other’s houses without permission first,” oh now, you know, you snicker internally and gulp because hell, even if you wanted to see Mark, you wouldn’t have thought that the meeting would come so soon. You didn’t have enough time to prepare yourself mentally.

“So… you’re telling me that this… is where Mark lives?” you point at the impressive apartment complex on the corner of the street but Taeyong shakes his head.

“Nope, This is where your Mark lives,” he says and before you could object about the ‘your’ part, the dragon points at the other side of the road at a luxurious house with a huge garden, basically a palace. Seeing the beautiful fountain, the modern and yet traditional Korean style building beyond the fences makes your jaw drop.

“Hahaha, alright for a magic dragon you must have made a mistake. There’s no way the Mark Lee I know lives here,” you look back at Taeyong finding it funny that the kid who used to wore his favourite tees until his mother basically threw them out would live at such a place.

“Mark Lee, korean name Minhyung, supposed to be 22 years old internationally soon. Bad eyesight, contagious laugh, clumsy but has surprisingly good reflexes, gets embarrassed easily. Sound familiar?” Taeyong crooks a brow at you as he reads the information off from a parchment he just took out of his pants. Everything he listed is just so Mark that you’re left in disbelief.

“Uuh… that sounds about right.”

“His father hit it big in 2016 with a tech company, their net worth has too many zeros to count,” Taeyong explains, seeing how surprised you were over the fact that he lived a lavish life like this. Not that he doesn’t deserve it! Mark is such a sweetheart, so of course, you would only want the best for him but as if half the world wasn’t enough, now you have another huge gap between you.

“Gosh, I really can’t believe this. How am I supposed to just ring the bell and say hello after so much time?” you sighed with your head in your hands. “Argh, I need to buy some clothes and change.”

Taeyong approves the idea based on how enthusiastically he hollers, you wonder why nobody on the street seems to pay no attention to him. Maybe only you see him, just more reason for you to be crazy.

“Good idea because we’re having dinner with Mark!”

“What?” you look up in shock, not following through. Taeyong grins down at you, flashing a giddy smile and with a twirl he’s changed from his baggy, casual clothes to something more chic but still laidback.

“Your wish was him meeting me, so I arranged everything. I can't meet him without you and the teapot there, you know,” he explains as if it was supposed to be obvious. You aren't ready yet though.

“You just want to eat all the fancy delicious food he has,” you squint at him suspiciously and the dragon stays silent, so you must be right. He laughs nervously.

“Maybe, but can you blame me? I haven’t had a feast since a literal decade!” he hollers and somehow you really cannot find it in yourself to be angry at him. You are in Seoul for god's sake after all and magic is real, you can put up with the inconvenience of buying clothes and making yourself look decent before dumping all this surprise on Mark.

An hour later you stand in front of the gates of the Lee mansion and nervously you wipe your sweating hands into your dress. You can totally do this, you just say hi to an old friend, it's not like you're afraid he wouldn't remember you, hah, of course not–

"Y/N!"

You whip your head at the call of your name to the source of that all too familiar voice. Sure it's deeper than you remember but there's no mistake in whose it is. Plus, who else would call your name in South Korea of all places.

"Mark, hey!" you wave the boy who just got out of one of the fanciest cars you've ever seen in your life. And yet, despite the Prada suit and expensive shoes, styled hair and Swiss watch on wrist, Mark Lee still has that goofy little smile and the doe eyes that used to make you weak in the knees. Hah, who are you kidding? They still do.

"Oh my god, dude, you… you got pretty," Mark jogs up to you and having no filter like always he blabbers immediately only to stutter as his ears turn red. It was so him talking before thinking, so you didn’t really mean to dwell on his words. Although you felt your cheeks dusted with pink soon enough. "I mean, it's really good to see you! I was so surprised to see your name in my calendar for today's dinner! You should have told me you were coming to Korea, I would have picked you up at the airport."

His calendar? Ah, of course, he must have been busy and all that. You wouldn’t have been surprised to see an assistant run after him at this point, so you wonder how your wish dragon magically put you onto his list of important people to meet. Gosh, it was so weird.

"Ah, I have a funny story about that…" you chuckled to yourself but before you could have get out anything, even a please, can we go to a more private place? Mark’s eyes zero on the guy next to you and his eyes grow comically wide.

"And uhm, who is your friend?" he points at Taeyong who waves him in exchange with a kilowatt smile. He looks back at you with his mouth agapé. "Oh my god, you came to invite me to your wedding?"

He says oh my god way too many times for an eloquent rich kid, he really is the Mark Lee you knew.

"No, never! I mean, of course, I would invite you but Taeyong and I– I literally met him on my way here," you explain hastily cursing yourself for the silly lie. You came to tell him the news not to try to make it believable.

“I heard there’s food,” the wish dragon pipes in very helpful and you shoot him a disapproving glance he doesn’t notice. Luckily, Mark doesn’t seem to mind.

“Oh, yeah, of course, dinner! Come on in, let’s get you two settled,” he grins albeit a bit awkwardly as he leads you through the gate after opening it with his card.

On the way through the very, very, very big garden, he’s chattering about how he misses the Vancouver weather, especially on humid, hot days like this and talks about how he thinks the fountain in their yard is a bit too much but his mom loved it and then before you know it, you sit by a huge dining table with fine food in front of you. Suddenly you can’t decide whether you're grateful for Taeyong’s shameless presence – he digs into the jjigae right away – because at least the situation isn’t awkward because of your silence or you’re annoyed by it because you must seem like a weirdo because of him. That’s why you decide to rip off the bandage and tell Mark as soon as the last maid has disappeared too.

“Okay, so actually I came here because I have a surprise,” you speak up, probably too serious because the boy almost chokes on his food due to how fast he turns his head towards you.

“More surprise?” he coughs out and you offer him a glass of water which he takes with a smile.

“You literally won’t believe this one!” you assure him and wait until he gulps down the drink. Only then you point to Taeyong and tell him that your childhood wish has come true.

Mark almost falls off his chair this time.

Not after you tell him that though. He laughs at that with that wheezing laugh of his as if you told the joke of the century then pats you on the shoulder murmuring That was a good one, bro and turning back to his food. But then you look at the magic dragon pointedly and Taeyong puts down his chopsticks with an exaggerated sign. Then he flexes his magic: turning into his dragon form among additional sparkles and Mark suddenly looks like he’s about to faint. He reaches out to tap on your shoulder while not taking his eyes off the wish dragon.

“Am I dreaming?” he whispers and honestly, you totally get his reaction while Taeyong mumbles something about ‘people these days not believing in dragons’ as he shows off all the things he could do: gift riches, make one stronger than they are, giving skills of whatever one wants. He starts rambling about how this one Chinese emperor became wealthy thanks to this, how that one actor in martial arts and all this before changing back to his human form and he continues eating his pasta like nothing ever happened.

“I can do this all day,” he shrugs as if he didn’t just perform the coolest magic tricks.

“This… this is the best thing ever!” Mark exclaims with those sparkles in his eyes you missed so much. He was always so excited about new things and it automatically makes you smile how he bombards Taeyong with million questions like: ‘So you are the wish dragon that grants wishes?’ or asking him about his scales, his unique color, how it feels to live in such a small teapot, how old he is and the dragon glows under all the attention. Can’t blame him but Mark has always been so curious about the world, it’s endearing.

“So your first wish was to meet me?” he turns to you after long minutes of interrogating Taeyong and suddenly, under the spotlight you don’t know what to do with yourself. You can feel yourself blushing because you didn’t necessarily mean to wish for that but it’s not like you’re regretting it, it’s just… you don’t want him to misunderstand.

“I thought you should meet him, too, after all the package was delivered for the two of us,” you look down, trying to sound nonchalant while picking your food, avoiding Mark’s gaze. No matter how open armed he welcomed you, you still aren’t convinced that it’s okay to be here because the more time you spend with him, the more you would like to stay a part of his life. “It’s just… I wasn’t really sure we could ever meet again. We didn’t keep contact after you left.”

With dropped shoulders, you try not to sound too downhearted because of what happened because you know all too well, it wasn’t his fault, it was a family decision and look at him, it did good for him! He seems happy, they live in a practically mansion but most importantly, he didn’t seem to change with the wealth. He might wear expensive clothes but under it all he’s still the boy with the most loveable smile.

“I… I was thinking about you a lot, I just thought you forgot about me,” Mark admits with a sheepish smile, tucking his hair behind his ear shyly. He really still is the same and it’s playing silly little games with your heart. If this was a cheesy Disney movie, a slow bgm would start to play as you look into each other but your moment is broken when Taeyong accidentally kicks into his chair as he stands up. At first he looks alarmed but then giggles.

“I will just… go. Don’t mind me,” he disappears like smoke with a wink, leaving you two alone at which Mark lets out a woah. You chuckle at his cute reaction, heart doing somersaults in your chest.

You thought it would be awkward, just the two of you alone after long years but Mark has this thing that he makes people feel comfortable around him, so it’s actually quite nice. You catch up on everything and anything that comes to your mind: old neighbours, studies, friends, what are you doing now and what would you like to do, too.

After finishing the delicious dinner, Mark offers a home tour which you would never refuse and you jaw drops at the huge crystal chandelier in their living room as well as their swimming pool but your favourite place in the whole mansion is Mark’s room because it’s just so him. You can’t describe it well but the moment you step inside, it feels like home. It’s cozy to the point it makes you want to cuddle a pillow. It has colours of pastels, a synthesizer here, a guitar there, posters of singers framed on his wall and vinyl records hanging down. His window has a view of sunset and Namsan above their green garden and although you haven’t been in Seoul before, you’re pretty sure it’s your favourite place in the whole damn city, too.

“Wait, there’s someone I would like you to meet,” Mark suddenly exclaims while you’re looking through his pictures and he pulls you out of his room, out of the house, into the garden: You giggle all the way as he’s being so secretive about it but then your steps halt unexpectedly and the hand you have in Mark’s yanks him back.

“Mark… why is there a tiger in your garden in the middle of Seoul?” you ask as quietly and as immobile as you can. You don’t want to attract the sleeping animal’s attention to yourself. But to your biggest surprise, the boy just laughs, his thumb caressing your skin soothingly.

“She’s Jasmine and she won’t hurt you,” he reassures you but needless to say, you’re not too calm and you’re pulled close to the wild animal that lifts its huge head towards you lazily. “She was abandoned by her mother as a cub and she was outcast in the zoo because she’s a bit sick, so she has always been weaker than her siblings. Dad made a donation and we have raised her since she was young.”

You hiss when Mark reaches out without fear but the tiger basically purrs as he strokes down his fur at the neck. You watch in awe as this big wild animal becomes a soft cat under the hands of Mark Lee. When the boy encourages you to pat her too, you hesitate but he promises you that it’s gonna be alright and you take a leap of faith.

“What’s her sickness?” you wonder aloud as your fingers get lost in the soft fur of the tiger. You hope she’s not in a lot of pain.

“It’s an immune system thing, not sure what exactly but she wouldn’t have survived this long in the wild,” the boy tells you and his mouth curls up in a smile when Jasmine licks your hand. It seems like you’re tiger-approved. You look into its warm brown eyes and your heart churns at the thought of her condition.

Mark tells you stories of Jasmine, about that one time she crashed his birthday cake or how much she likes to swim with him in their pool during summer and gosh, you could listen to him go on and on forever. You’re only reminded of the reality, that all this is just a possible one-time thing, a weekend getaway with magic when Taeyong shows up in swimwear, ready to crash in said pool.

“I guess he might have been bored in that teapot,” Mark laughs, not minding at all. He even offers you to join but you have a better idea.

“Taeyong, I have my second wish!” you call out for the wish dragon who’s suddenly much more excited about that than the water. He’s beside you in a moment, beaming and curious. You glance at Mark with a soft smile before looking at your personal genie confidently.

“I wish Jasmine would be healthy,” you whisper, playing with the tiger’s furry ears which she seems to enjoy. You were a little bit afraid the dragon would say it’s not possible, that he can’t cure sickness but to your relief, he just grins.

“Your wish, my command,” he nods and puts a hand over the animal. Nothing but a smoke of purple signals the magic being done but you believe in it and so does Mark by the looks of it. He reaches out for your hand and squeezes it gently.

“Thank you,” he smiles and you smile back. He used to be your best friend after all, it’s the least you can do for him.

Mark convinces you to stay the weekend and there’s no way you could tell no to him, not when he clears his schedule just for you. He never complains about how busy he must be working for his father’s business while being a music major at a local university. All he ever talks about is the places he wishes to show you and he takes you around Seoul as if he was your certificated tour guide. It’s lovely how enthusiastic he is about it while what really matters to you is the time you spend together. He makes sure you two take a million photos to remember by, Taeyong posing on half of them since he joins you on your little trips and sometimes it’s just the two of you watching the wish dragon being genuinely in awe by modern technology, 10 years is a long time after all.

On the last day before you have to go back to Vancouver (thanks to Taeyong’s kind offer to take you the same way you came back since he misunderstood you, you don’t have to sit through a 10+ hours flight and you have more time), Mark not only tries to make you breakfast despite having an in-house chef (his eggs are ugly as heck but you appreciate his efforts and can’t help but coo at his dreamy smile under that grey hoodie when you tell him it tastes yummy) but he also introduces you to his friends in Korea. Of course, they tease you (mostly Mark) about where he has been hiding you but it’s all chill and fun you’re not quite ready to say goodbye. But you should go because the more you stay, the more you don’t want to leave. You’re lucky enough for this chance to reunite with Mark but all good things end eventually.

“Let’s not disappear from each other’s life again, okay?” the boy grins at you as you’re ready to go, Taeyong already working on his magic.

“Yeah, let’s not,” you agree easily, looking forward to your video chatting and constant texting even if it’s from the two opposite ends of the Earth with a terrible time zone difference.

You glance at the wish dragon who’s drumming with his fingers while pursing his lips as if he was waiting for something and you let out a huff before working up the courage to actually do something about these feelings inside of you. You might have regretted not confessing in middle school, you have spent years wondering about the what ifs, so you don’t want to make the same mistake twice but still, you want to give Mark a chance to ignore it all if he wants to. So you step forward and wrap your hands around him as you hug him close. It’s obvious that your action takes him aback, he suddenly doesn’t know what to do with his hands and his body tenses under you but it all melts as you say those words that have been threatening to fall from your lips all this time:

“I have missed you.” you confess, honest and based on the hitch in his breathing, Mark must be surprised. You can’t blame him though, you just wanted him to know. You step back with a weary smile, his big Bambi eyes on you but before he could say anything you nod at Taeyong and you feel yourself falling, purple fog pulling you in. A few moments later you’re back in Vancouver, in your apartment, without him.

The first few days pass in a blurr, you can still barely believe what just happened. Your weekend with Mark feels like a too good dream but Mark kept his side of promise and texted you almost immediately as you left. He sends you selfies, songs that remind him of you and you talk about your days like you never did before. Still, it feels like you’re dancing around certain topics which are basically the elephant in the room and maybe that’s why Taeyong tries to cheer you up in his own way. Though, he soon realizes that you not being happy isn’t the problem, you are happy, you just… miss Mark more than you ever did.

“Enough of moping, you still have a wish left!” Taeyong exclaims, throwing himself onto your bed. “Come on, close your eyes, imagine what you want the most in the world and make a wish!" he singsongs. However, before you could even just indulge him, your phone pings with a new notification.

fullsun00 tagged you in their post!

You click on it right away, wondering what Mark’s friend Donghyuck is doing online at 1AM. The uploaded post turns out to be a photo of you and Mark when you all hang out near Han river. You were too busy at the time laughing at how the boy almost lost his whole scoop of ice cream before he could have had a single bite to notice his smile while looking at you. Based on his caption Donghyuck apparently wasn’t.

fullsun00: just old friends, they say. friends my ass @buttercupyn @onyourm__ark

You click your tongue wondering what Mark thinks of the callout but you press like on the post anyways. You put your phone aside before you could see how his other friends join the teasing in the comment section.

“Actually, I do have my third wish,” you speak up as you turn to Taeyong before he could make a remark on your tinted cheeks.

You’ve been thinking a lot about it during the past days. You could wish for anything but you’re at a point of your life where no riches or fame would make you happier because you’re happy enough just the way it is. It might not be perfect but you don’t want to be selfish and you want to make decisions you won’t regret: like catching up with Mark, curing his tiger and bringing happiness into the life of somebody who only ever served other people in his life.

“Ooh, what is it?” Taeyong claps, giddy as if he was waiting for this to happen. He probably did.

“I wish you would go on a vacation and enjoy life,” you tell him but unlike his usual reaction, this time the dragon’s smile fades and he blinks at you, confused.

“You could ask for anything in the world and that’s what you want? Are you sure?” he furrows his brows, not quite believing your words but you just smile, knowingly.

“Yes, Taeyong, I’m sure.”

“Your wish, my command,” he bows with his hands put together and with a twirl suddenly he’s in a Hawaiian shirt and sunglasses, looking as ready for a holiday as one can be. You chuckle and tell him to just go, you’ll be fine.

You’re fine, you really are. Life goes on, you study and work, you laugh with your friends, you video call with Mark regularly and his friends are regulars on your social media, too. It’s just sometimes the feeling of missing something hits you harder than other days. Especially when you’re looking through the pictures you have from your Seoul weekend.

“I wish you were here,” you whisper ahead of you at one particularly good photo of Mark and the sunset, smiling at you behind the camera. You miss his smile, the cute wrinkles around his eyes when he crunches his nose, the sound of his laughter, his hand on your wrist… you miss him.

Ding-dong.

You stand up startled at the sound of your flat’s bell, running to the door to open it even though you have no idea who it could be so early on a Saturday morning. Not having a better idea, you expect it to be either a neighbour of your landlord but on the other side of your doorstep stands a boy who you thought was a continent away. He’s dressed semi-casually this time, his shirt tucked in his jeans, hair lightly falling onto his forehead and a nervous smile on his thin lips.

“Mark! But I⎼ I don’t even have more wishes,” you blink, taken aback, looking around to look for Taeyong in case he came back. But your behaviour just manages to confuse Mark instead.

“What?”

“I just wished you were here,” you blurt out without thinking, your words only processing later in your brain and it’s then when heat creeps onto your cheeks. Mark tries to but can’t really hide his growing smile at that.

“Really? I’m glad then. I just took my new private plane on a test drive,” he says bashfully, a silly excuse for real.

“All the way to Vancouver?” you tease, watching Mark fumble with the hem of his shirt. Your heart beats overtime just because of the fact that he’s there.

“Well, what can I say? I did miss the weather here,” he plays along with a shrug but he’s more serious when he looks deep into your eye and adds: “And you left without letting me answer.”

Oh yes, you did. You were kind of afraid of his reaction but seeing how he was ready to travel across the world just to see you, maybe there’s no reason for you to be so afraid. It feels like deja vu but a reversed one in a way as Mark gently pulls you into a hug, his lips grazing your hair with a whisper that makes your heart skip a beat: “I have missed you too.”

You really wouldn’t wish for anything more.

#nct scenarios #nct imagines #nct x reader #mark lee x reader #mark lee x you #stories

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a-secret-bolton-vampire · 3 years

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Daenerys Stormborn, Part 2: Wake the Dragon

Oh hey, I have part 2 already! Guess my brain is really focused on Dany now. In part 1, I talked about Dany's arcs from AGOT to ASOS, exploring the narrative and thematic purpose of her journey. However, the most important part of her journey occurs in ADWD, and sets the stage for some incredibly exciting developments to come in TWOW. For part 2, I'll be talking about the gradual transformation of Daenerys into a slightly different, darker character for the future.

Breaker of Chains & Mhysa

Slavery has been an important background element throughout Dany's time in Essos, even in AGOT, but it becomes front and centre in ASOS. She accepted the Dothraki, a society that uses slaves for many things, and wasn't too perturbed at the use of slaves in Qarth. However, it is in Astapor where she finally realizes just how bad the institution is, as she tells Xaro:

"Whence came this madness? Should I count myself fortunate that you did not free my own slaves when you were my guest in Qarth?" I was a beggar queen and you were Xaro of the Thirteen, Dany thought, and all you wanted were my dragons. "Your slaves seemed well treated and content. It was not till Astapor that my eyes were opened."

As mentioned last time, ASOS is when she begins to take control of her destiny, and she does so by beginning a revolution to free the slaves of Slaver's Bay. She believe she has a greater destiny lying ahead of her, that there is a reason for her dragons, the red comet. She also has great empathy for people and sees this disturbing injustice being played out with nobody to stop it. But she has the power to do so, and thus she begins by going fire and blood at Astapor, killing the Good Masters and freeing all the slaves. Afterwards, she leaves the city with a ruling council of a priest, a scholar, and a healer and moves to Yunkai.

She does a different approach with Yunkai, negotiating with the Wise Masters to surrender their slaves and to leave them in peace. And then when she arrives at Meereen, she decides to stay and rule as its queen. This is where things begin to get difficult for Daenerys. The ruling council of Astapor is overthrown by a butcher named Cleon, who said the council was conspiring to bring back slavery, who declares himself King of Astapor, enslaves the children of the former Good Masters to make new Unsullied, and tries to ally with Daenerys against Yunkai, who has resumed slavery.

Daenerys is not interested in any war with Yunkai. The reason she stays in Meereen is exactly because she learned what happened when she left Astapor. The fire and blood approach didn't work. You can't just dismantle such a deeply engrained system so easily. So instead she opts to rule, and protect the people she can. While a lot of readers view Dany's actions in Meereen as pointless, the whims of a naive girl, and poor leadership, I actually think it's the opposite.

For starters, Dany realized that she can't simply burn the slavers to end slavery, but she needs to stay and instill changes. While King Cleon repeatedly begs for Daenerys to join the war against Yunkai, she refuses, and warns Cleon to not do such a thing. She turns out to be horribly right, as Cleon is killed, Astapor is sieged, before being slaughtered, burned, and sacked, to be reinstated as a slave city once more. Likewise, the Yunkish siege Meereen, first by creating a blockade in the bay with ships, and then by having armies amassed outside the city walls.

In addition, refugees from Astapor begin to pile up outside the city, and a deadly plague called the pale mare (for the horse from Astapor that arrives at Meereen) begins to sweep the starving Astapori freedmen, who begin to resort to cannibalism to survive. Dany blames herself for leaving Astapor a mess, but does not wish to have the same thing happen in Meereen. She wants to protect the people she's freed, not just from the Yunkish, but herself as well.

When a sheepherder brings the burned bones of his daughter, Hazzea, who was killed by her dragons, Dany has Rhaegal and Viserion chained in the dungeons below the Great Pyramid to prevent them from causing any more harm. However, Drogon is still loose, unable to be found. In addition, when the sons of the harpy, a terrorist group opposed to the emancipation of Meereen, begin massacring freedmen, Dany decides to raise a tax on the Great Masters and have all families of suspect loyalty send a child to serve as a hostage and cupbearers. Yet, as the killings continue, she has grown close to the children and decides not to have them killed.

Now, some of you may notice that I am taking a lot from the Meereenese Blot essays written by Adam Feldman. That's not only because they are really well written essays, but ones that GRRM himself has approved of.

"I read those when someone pointed them out to me, and I was really pleased with them, because at least one guy got it. He got it completely, he knew exactly what I was trying to do there, and evidently I did it well enough for people who were paying attention."

So I am retreading some of the ground Feldman has laid, but it's important to do so if I am to build up to what I think is going to happen in the future of Dany's story.

As Feldman notes, Dany's own actions (or in the case of the cupbearers, inaction) actually made a peace possible, because the Yunkish saw that she was someone who is capable of mercy and not a (in their eye) violent mass murderer. Knowing what happened with Astapor, and seeing what happens when her dragons are unleashed with Hazzea, Dany decides to make peace with the Yunkish and marry Hizdahr.

Under the peace, Meereen itself would remain a free city, but the Yunkish would continue to sell slaves. They even sell them in markets outside the walls of Meereen, which displeases Daenerys extremely. In addition, slaveowners could bring their slaves into Meereen without fear of them being freed, and the Yunkish promised to respect the rights of the freedmen in Meereen. Yet, despite the peace and the progress made, she feels as though this is a defeat.

This is peace, she told herself. This is what I wanted, what I worked for, this is why I married Hizdahr. So why does it taste so much like defeat?

The thing is, Daenerys has had to sacrifice so much of herself and her morals to get to this point. Yes there is peace, even if it is tentative, Meereen would not be sacked by the Yunkish, but slavery is still going on, and she thinks that she has let herself and other people down by agreeing to peace and allowing the Yunkish to continue slavery. She has agreed to peace to people she loathes and thinks are despicable, she has married a man she does not love and does not love her, she has chained her dragons in the pit below, she has allowed the fighting pits to reopen. This comes to ahead at Daznak's Pit when she is at the height of her discomfort.

The boar buried his snout in Barsena's belly and began rooting out her entrails. The smell was more than the queen could stand. The heat, the flies, the shouts from the crowd … I cannot breathe. She lifted her veil and let it flutter away. She took her tokar off as well. The pearls rattled softly against one another as she unwound the silk.

And then Drogon arrives, and in the chaos of him attacking the boar and being attacked by the soldiers in the pit, Dany tries to calm him, but he spits fire at her, and she tries to tame him by whipping him into submission. Here, Dany is quite literally fighting herself. She herself in this moment represents the Queen of Meereen, someone who desires for peace. Meanwhile, Drogon represents the dragon inside her, who wants to unleash blood and fire on her enemies. In the end, Dany climbs onto Drogon and they fly away together, which foreshadows and symbolizes Dany's later decision to choose being the dragon.

Despite her frustrations in Meereen, the peace was a good first step. Not to say that it solved every issue, it didn't, but that doesn't need to be the end of it. Daenerys could forge new peaces, new agreements, and if she stayed in Meereen, she could implement great changes throughout Slaver's Bay. But what is done is done, and cannot be undone. The peace that was forged is now gone. Next comes war.

The House with the Red Door

Before we move on to Dany's final chapter and what that means for the future, we must take a look at a very important part of her backstory which is one of the main elements of her own story. Sure, destiny, greatness, prophecy, power, and identity are themes with Daenerys, but at the center of it all is the desire for home. Dany was born on Dragonstone, but was whisked away to Braavos, and there she lived in the house with the red door, with Viserys, Ser Willem Darry, and their servants.

To Dany, the house with the red door was the only place in her life she called home, and she has very fond memories of it, of Willem, or the lemon tree. But after Willem died, they were kicked out and forced to become beggars on the streets, selling off their possessions and travelling the Free Cities. The red door was closed and gone forever after, but the dream of having a home hasn't.

Daenerys has a desire for home, for love, for family. Throughout her childhood, Viserys would tell Dany all about Westeros, how they need to take back the Iron Throne, that the Seven Kingdoms were the most beautiful lands in the world. And sure enough, soon, Westeros represents the idea for home and belonging to Dany.

"I pray for home too," she told him, believing it. Ser Jorah laughed. "Look around you then, Khaleesi." But it was not the plains Dany saw then. It was King's Landing and the great Red Keep that Aegon the Conqueror had built. It was Dragonstone where she had been born. In her mind's eye they burned with a thousand lights, a fire blazing in every window. In her mind's eye, all the doors were red.

Although she takes on the mantle as the new head of House Targaryen and carries on Viserys's dream of taking back the Iron Throne out of a sense of duty, she also does so for desire to belong in a place she can call home. It's a nostalgic feeling she gets of the old days, that she wants to relive again.

But then other ambitions get in her way. She frees the slaves of Slaver's Bay, and decides to stay in Meereen to try to ensure that her revolution succeeds. Thus, her quest for home is put on hold. Throughout ADWD, she gives up parts of herself, to try to become one with the Meereenese; marrying Hizdahr, reopening the fighting pits, chaining her dragons, dressing in the Ghiscari fashion, and making peace. But in the Dothraki sea, hundreds of miles outside Meereen, she finds that she wasn't being her true self, that she can never be the Queen of Meereen, or become a true Meereenese.

I must keep walking. Water flows downhill. The stream will take me to the river, and the river will take me home. Except it wouldn't, not truly. Meereen was not her home, and never would be. It was a city of strange men with strange gods and stranger hair, of slavers wrapped in fringed tokars, where grace was earned through whoring, butchery was art, and dog was a delicacy. Meereen would always be the Harpy's city, and Daenerys could not be a harpy.

The series is all about the human heart in conflict with itself, and Daenerys in ADWD is one of the best examples of that. She was struggling with her two competing titles of Breaker of Chains and Mother of Dragons, but in the end she was not comfortable with being the Breaker of Chains. This final transformation she undergoes in the Dothraki sea really sets the tone for what she will do in the future, and how she will change as a person and character.

Mother of Dragons

Daenerys X is one of the more bizarre chapters in the series, since it follows only one character alone with her thoughts, but it works extremely well as a character study, and the development over the course of the chapter is one of my favourites in the whole series. Through all the hallucinations and visions and dreams Daenerys has during this chapter, it's important to remember that they all (apart from possibly Quaithe) are her, so the discussions she has are with her own internal thoughts directly.

The topic of Targaryen madness reoccurs throughout the series, but it's ADWD where it is brought up the most. Now, the topic of Targaryen madness will be another post i will do in the far future and won't discuss in depth today, but the matter is that Dany is aware of some of it, even if she hasn't fully accepted the truth of her father. She fears that she is succumbing to the madness at points.

"Your Grace?" Missandei stood in the door of the queen's bedchamber, a lantern in her hand. "Who are you talking to?" Dany glanced back toward the persimmon tree. There was no woman there. No hooded robe, no lacquer mask, no Quaithe. A shadow. A memory. No one. She was the blood of the dragon, but Ser Barristan had warned her that in that blood there was a taint. Could I be going mad? They had called her father mad, once.

Later, she implies this fear again to Barristan.

I lived in fear for fourteen years, my lord. I woke afraid each morning and went to sleep afraid each night … but my fears were burned away the day I came forth from the fire. Only one thing frightens me now." "And what is it that you fear, sweet queen?" "I am only a foolish young girl." Dany rose on her toes and kissed his cheek. "But not so foolish as to tell you that. My men shall look at these ships. Then you shall have my answer."

But in an early version of Daenerys III, the answer Daenerys gave was "myself". She fears what would happen if she "woke the dragon", as Viserys put it. She's afraid of succumbing to the madness that consumed her father and probably was consuming Viserys. She's afraid of what would happen if she unleashed her dragons, how many innocents they would kill. But in the Dothraki sea, she begins to question her decisions, starting when she woke up after finding blood between her thighs:

"I am the blood of the dragon," she told the grass, aloud. Once, the grass whispered back, until you chained your dragons in the dark. "Drogon killed a little girl. Her name was … her name …" Dany could not recall the child's name. That made her so sad that she would have cried if all her tears had not been burned away. "I will never have a little girl. I was the Mother of Dragons." Aye, the grass said, but you turned against your children.

The importance of this quote cannot go unnoticed. She thinks about Hazzea all the time throughout the book, feeling deeply guilty about what Drogon did to her. But here, at the end, she cannot remember her name. The in world explanation is that, of course, she is delirious from being in the wilderness eating berries and being sick, but thematically this is her slowly turning away from the people she freed. Next comes a dream with Viserys (long quote incoming):

She dreamt of her dead brother. Viserys looked just as he had the last time she'd seen him. His mouth was twisted in anguish, his hair was burnt, and his face was black and smoking where the molten gold had run down across his brow and cheeks and into his eyes. "You are dead," Dany said. Murdered. Though his lips never moved, somehow she could hear his voice, whispering in her ear. You never mourned me, sister. It is hard to die unmourned. "I loved you once." Once, he said, so bitterly it made her shudder. You were supposed to be my wife, to bear me children with silver hair and purple eyes, to keep the blood of the dragon pure. I took care of you. I taught you who you were. I fed you. I sold our mother's crown to keep you fed. "You hurt me. You frightened me." Only when you woke the dragon. I loved you. "You sold me. You betrayed me." No. You were the betrayer. You turned against me, against your own blood. They cheated me. Your horsey husband and his stinking savages. They were cheats and liars. They promised me a golden crown and gave me this. He touched the molten gold that was creeping down his face, and smoke rose from his finger. "You could have had your crown," Dany told him. "My sun-and-stars would have won it for you if only you had waited." I waited long enough. I waited my whole life. I was their king, their rightful king. They laughed at me. "You should have stayed in Pentos with Magister Illyrio. Khal Drogo had to present me to the dosh khaleen, but you did not have to ride with us. That was your choice. Your mistake." Do you want to wake the dragon, you stupid little whore? Drogo's khalasar was mine. I bought them from him, a hundred thousand screamers. I paid for them with your maidenhead. "You never understood. Dothraki do not buy and sell. They give gifts and receive them. If you had waited …" I did wait. For my crown, for my throne, for you. All those years, and all I ever got was a pot of molten gold. Why did they give the dragon's eggs to you? They should have been mine. If I'd had a dragon, I would have taught the world the meaning of our words. Viserys began to laugh, until his jaw fell away from his face, smoking, and blood and molten gold ran from his mouth.

The dream terrifies Daenerys, but once again, Viserys (really herself here) is telling her she is stalling in a place she doesn't belong, that she needs to go home, that she should embrace being a dragon. The climax of this comes right after she realizes Meereen would never be her home, where she argues with Jorah (again, herself):

Meereen would always be the Harpy's city, and Daenerys could not be a harpy. Never, said the grass, in the gruff tones of Jorah Mormont. You were warned, Your Grace. Let this city be, I said. Your war is in Westeros, I told you. The voice was no more than a whisper, yet somehow Dany felt that he was walking just behind her. My bear, she thought, my old sweet bear, who loved me and betrayed me. She had missed him so. She wanted to see his ugly face, to wrap her arms around him and press herself against his chest, but she knew that if she turned around Ser Jorah would be gone. "I am dreaming," she said. "A waking dream, a walking dream. I am alone and lost." Lost, because you lingered, in a place that you were never meant to be, murmured Ser Jorah, as softly as the wind. Alone, because you sent me from your side. "You betrayed me. You informed on me, for gold." For home. Home was all I ever wanted. "And me. You wanted me." Dany had seen it in his eyes. I did, the grass whispered, sadly. "You kissed me. I never said you could, but you did. You sold me to my enemies, but you meant it when you kissed me." I gave you good counsel. Save your spears and swords for the Seven Kingdoms, I told you. Leave Meereen to the Meereenese and go west, I said. You would not listen. "I had to take Meereen or see my children starve along the march." Dany could still see the trail of corpses she had left behind her crossing the Red Waste. It was not a sight she wished to see again. "I had to take Meereen to feed my people." You took Meereen, he told her, yet still you lingered. "To be a queen." You are a queen, her bear said. In Westeros. "It is such a long way," she complained. "I was tired, Jorah. I was weary of war. I wanted to rest, to laugh, to plant trees and see them grow. I am only a young girl." No. You are the blood of the dragon. The whispering was growing fainter, as if Ser Jorah were falling farther behind. Dragons plant no trees. Remember that. Remember who you are, what you were made to be. Remember your words. "Fire and Blood," Daenerys told the swaying grass.

And here is where everything changes. She has spent time trying to protect innocent lives, to make peace, not war, to be loved and accepted by Meereen. But here, she decides that it is time to do away with that. Meereen is not her home, Westeros is, and it's time to wake the dragon and burn Yunkai. No longer will she be burdened by the idea of a cost of innocent lives, no longer will she fear herself, and no longer will she linger. When the time comes, she will burn her enemies and leave for Westeros.

I need to make a few things clear here, however. For one, I don't think she's mad now, this is just her resolving her internal conflict. For another, I don't care what she does to the slavers. They deserve what's coming for them. She will still care about the innocent, but she's now going to go full-blooded Targaryen and burn cities to the ground, and this will mean massive collateral damage she will try to rationalize away.

Daenerys has now transformed into a different, much darker character, which I feel will continue to define her for the rest of the series. She is now the Mother of Dragons, in her entirety, and Essos is about to bleed and burn. I really appreciate how GRRM put this together, and that she didn't stay fire and blood after Astapor. His character development is realistic, and sometimes the development is not linear. In part 3, I will be discussing predictions about Daenerys's arc and story in TWOW, more specifically what she will do in Essos.

#asoiaf #asoiaf meta #asoiaf character arcs #daenerys targaryen #daenerys stormborn #mother of dragons #adwd #meereen

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sunrisetune · 2 years

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Concept that I haven’t made an actual-actual thing of and probably won’t, but has arrived in my thoughts in a lot of detail anyway, Pt. 36*: (*No it isn’t, it’s the first and only iteration of this fic, but exaggerating the number of times I’ve written down is funny)

Dragon Age II “Accidental baby acquisition” fic, but the baby is a dragon

(Hashtag #Gen or any pairing, Bittersweet Ending, rated T for gore and fantasy violence,, Dragons)

-Sometime between act II and III, they hear a weird cry in the woods up by the Bone Pit and it turns out it’s a baby dragon that’s gotten its wing run through by a tree branch. It’s really very small, even smaller than the dragonlings who regularly try to eat them -And, listen, it’s been a long day. There’s been a lot of death. Hawke and co. are tired. There’s a 85% chance Merrill has cried a little on the way back and everyone’s done their best not to draw attention to it. And so at first Hawke’s like “Varric can you knock it out?“ and Varric does so, and is about to like, double tap but lethally before Hawke is like “Wait.” She heals its wing “so at least it has a chance”, then leaves with everyone in tow.

-Too Bad Dragons Have An Imprinting Reflex

--The dragon shows up at their campsite and wakes everyone up by rolling in the fire, before sort of cowering when Hawke stumbles out of her tent -The group recognizes her by the scar on her wing-- Hawke can heal without scarring, she’s a spirit healer after all, but damn it she’s doctor not a fantasy veterinarian, and they’d been short on time; plus, dragons are inherently pretty magic so it’d been weird trying to circumvent that-- but it is clear that she’s the same dragon -Overall everyone is baffled when she only crouches down and looks up at Hawke with big eyes, instead of attacking or running away

--It becomes clear that the baby has imprinted on Hawke, specifically, and follows her outside the city wherever she goes

--She is at least as smart as a mabari, and is sort of trained to only attack people Hawke is attacking; or rather, she does attack people Hawke is attacking, and then Hawke’s like “Only These Ones though okay?” and like, bonks Baby on the nose with her staff when she starts growling at the others

--At first Hawke’s a little worried about the conspicuousness of a Fucking Dragon following them around, but 1. she’s only a little dragon (at first), 2. Varric tells everyone about it, immediately, thus ensuring no one believes it’s true, and 3. Baby still was raised partly by her mother and has fairly strong instincts with re: hiding, hunting (non-sentient species), digging, etc, so on her own devices she is both healthy and hard to find

--Everyone else is sort of a mixed bag about it: -Varric is equal parts disbelieving of this weirdness and finding it hilarious; -Isabela coos over her and makes jokes about Hawke’s “”animalistic attraction””; -Merrill is thrilled; -Aveline is steadily disapproving of Hawke not killing it to begin with bc they’re a danger to cities, but she doesn’t disagree of Hawke checking on Baby whenever she’s up there, and when in the group will occasionally sneak her treats when she thinks no one is looking; -Anders doesn’t trust the dragon At All and insists on treating her like, at best, a not particularly smart dog. (Varric teases him that he’s just jealous); -Hawke’s mabari, relatedly, has like, Conflicted Dog Feelings; on one paw, big friend, but on the other paw, Mother not giving Dog her full attention?? Illegal???; -They collectively agree not to tell Sebastian; -Fenris is “a healthy amount of skeptical” but doesn’t overly object, esp. with the additional help of slaver murdering

---At one point Baby like, flies down to their campsite, walks up to Fenris, and deposits a very dead but only slightly devoured slaver body (Blind Man logo painted on their armour) on the ground at his feet, and then sits in front of him like a proud cat. It’s worth noting she is As Tall as him on her haunches at this point and also still has blood all over her snout. He’s like, “........................... thank you.”

-The most significant problem arises in Act III, with the mine massacre

-At first when Hawke gets there, she’s afraid that it was partially Baby’s doing, until one of the others points out that the damage from claws / one blow of breath was too severe to be from something Baby’s size Which is both relieving and signifiying a bigger problem

-They follow the trail of wreckage and bones into the valley to find the Bigger Problem

--At first the fight goes normally, but in the second wave or so of the High Dragon attacking,, Baby wings her way in and circles the group for a second, flapping to a stop midair as she looks from Hawke’s group to-- Hawke is now realizing--- her grandmother -Hawke yells at her to leave; whether or not Baby hears is up for debate

--After some uncertainty, it looks like she might finally turn away,, but instead as the grandmother rears back she flies down and plants herself in front of Hawke’s group, blocking them with her wings, and then screeches up at the other dragon ----It doesn’t sound like a challenge; more like a plea? -The high dragon pauses,, her nostrils flaring and her front claws still in the air, and snarls something back --Baby cowers a little but responds again, and doesn’t move --The high dragon goes on all four feet again with a Genuinely Earthquake-like thud, and circles around to Hawke’s other side slowly, her neck low to the ground so they’re effectively eye to eye. --There is one, (1),, opportunity for a dialogue; her oldest remaining granddaughter has spoken out to defend this strange group, and she’d learn why. The high dragon is waiting.

--Hawke’s ordered everyone not to move; so they Stay Put (remember when that used to happen /jk) ----If the sarcastic or aggressive option is taken, canon follows its course, and it’s a fight to the death ----However, if Hawke chooses the Diplomatic check, she talks territory and important groups: about the place above her being important because her people are there, and she doesn’t want to kill just for sport, but her people need to be defended and she will to fight to do so. --After a long moment, the grandmother heaves herself into the sky and leaves -All her remaining children follow with her, scrambling along paths over the mountains around the pit. (A group dragonlings is called either a thunder or a retreat)

-But Baby has to stay behind -She and ends up calling after Grandmother, who bays something back but is already far away --She pauses for a moment, staring down at the mess of dead dragonlings from the first wave, but when Hawke tries to talk to her she turns away and takes a running flap into the cave on the far side of the little valley --Hawke and friends go back to the city to deal with Hubert,, taking the “the workers own this company now, Bye” route from the cut content bc I like it,, but after a few days they try to come check on her and it turns out she hasn’t left the cave yet ---The cave which is, predictably, full of gigantic spiders, but eventually they find her in the back of it. She’s okay, just like. Sitting in the dark, alone, curled up by the nest where her hundred little siblings had hatched and grown.

-For a while after that they just let her be; there’s a lot of shit going on in Kirkwall that needs attending to, anyway

-The next time she shows up is when Hawke and friends are on the way to Sundermont (hopefully before the incident with Pride) -She flies down gives Hawke some stuff she’d scrounged up from Grandmother’s horde, and then nudges her; there’s a moment where they all kind of reckon with How Big She Is Now, and it’s implied that she’s finally going to fledge (if you will) -She cuddles (cuddles!) Hawke, snoutbutts Fenris and Aveline, and Hawke’s mabari paws at her face in a friendly way and licks her nose (which they regret bc dragons, unlike sharks, are not smooth)

-Then she flies away, in the opposite direction than the others had, above the smoke of the foundries -Kirkwall freaks out about it and her shadow’s sighting gets gossip milled Immediately, but half of the city brushes it off by the next mornings’ news pamphlets as just stress, and / or heavy clouds mixing with the ashes to make strange shapes -The other half thinks of it as an omen of more bad things to come

-EXIT ALL

Thank you for your time, tip your waitstaff

#Goose's writing tag by Goose #dragons #DA2 #Dragon Age #spoilers /#in case #gore cw #long post

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theredheaded-stuff · 3 years

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Batfamily au: They're dragons

Ohoho this seems very fun !

If I may change it a little

The Wayne's are dragons, and safely guard the magic of the world, the mission of those who belong to this family is to protect what is precious to them, and for that everyone in this family gains dragon Traits,since Dragons protect their treasures.

Bruce's parents were murdered in an accident with other powerful families, a fatality, leaving the legacy of the dragons to Alfred and Bruce, meaning maybe the family line would end sooner,since Bruce don't have any siblings.

But they were wrong, until they realized that everyone who came to the family via adoption or who felt they belonged in the family gained draconic characteristics, But first they needed to be determined to protect something or someone, so the family magic would take effect.

Draconic traits can range from scales to powers, and incredibly the powers fit with the personalities of individuals changing from element to element.

Bruce had the shadow element since childhood, but he couldn't control it at first as he feared the leftovers, only being able to control them when he accepted the shadows of the city and himself.

Dick had the element of light,calming everyone down and showing them the way out of the darkness, Dick was one of the main beginnings for Bruce lighting him up,Dick can be either your light that brings you peace or a light that's blinding enough to make everyone lose their sight and strength.

Jason has the earth element, often being Bruce's solid ground, building love and calm in his childhood like solid rocks, after his death his element changed a bit to magna,Being able to either solidify something or end that from existence.

Tim has the element of fire, which could be a calm warmth that keeps you alive if used wisely, or maybe something that burns you to the core, The element could also represent the lack of human warmth he had in childhood.

Damian is the wind, fast movements, fading and appearing just as he appeared in Bruce's life, it can be both a light and pleasant breeze or a hurricane full of rage

Alfred is the water,as he always kept his course, and calmed the people around him like a beautiful crystalline lake, but he could also be like a raging sea.

Bruce sometimes made shadow plays for Dick to sleep

Dick liked to light up any part of the city as a joke, sometimes blinding reporters to get out of a crowd.

Jason used his element to create little houses for him to have quiet places to read in the mansion without the interference of reporters or photographers.

Tim, in turn, had a difficult entry into the family and still struggles to accept himself, but after he won his element, he started to accept himself more in the family.

Tim is banned from the kitchen because he causes kitchen fires

Damian lives flying along with the wind, sometimes he makes small hurricanes that don't cause real damage to get out of school, When the teachers get distracted he flies out the window.

Alfred taught most of the boys to swim, when one of them didn't want to take a bath Alfred just threw them in the water like he regularly does with Bruce,Bruce learned to hold his breath for a long time by refusing to shower.

#dragons #protector dragons #protectors of Gotham

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immaturityofthomasastruc · 4 years

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(Accidental 150 Follower Special) IOTA’s Top 10 Best (and By That, I Mean Personal Favorite) Episodes of Miraculous Ladybug

Alright, I already covered what I considered to be the worst Miraculous Ladybug episodes in two parts, and now it’s time to talk about the what I consider to be the best Miraculous Ladybug episodes before I talk about... him...

I’m only putting one rule in place for this list. I'm going to try and list episodes with good qualities other than “cool-looking Akuma and awesome fight scenes”, and focus on other details like character moments and story.

Other than that, let’s get started.

These are the Top 10 Best Episodes of Miraculous Ladybug (in my personal opinion because your opinion is also valid)

#10: Mr. Pigeon

While Marinette works on sketching a design for a hat for a fashion contest where the winning design will be worn by Adrien (a rare example where the “Marinette does a thing to impress Adrien” plot actually works), a birdwatcher who loves feeding pigeons in the park is told off by the only police officer in Paris, causing him to get akumatized into the titular Mr. Pigeon, who has control over all of the pigeons in the city.

And by God, does this episode have fun with the concept.

In addition to constantly mimicking pigeon cries, Mr. Pigeon's movements are just so entertaining to watch, only aided by the creative ways he controls the flocks of pigeons.

I'm not kidding when at one point, Mr. Pigeon traps Ladybug and Cat Noir in a cage, and threatens to have his pigeons crap on them unless they hand over their Miraculous. Yeah.

This is one of the episodes that really set the standards for how outlandish the Akumas in Miraculous Ladybug could get. It kind of reminds me of an episode of the original Ultraman, where the SSSP has to find a way to move an incredibly heavy monster using increasingly abnormal strategies, like inflating it with air so it'll float like a balloon. It's clear it isn't taking itself too seriously, so the audience shouldn't either.

Admittedly, Cat Noir's feather allergy feels shoehorned in, and is only included to increase conflict, and you would think it would come up when Mayura, a bird-themed supervillain appears in the third season. But then again, that's just a minor nitpick.

It's just a really fun episode, and I wish we could see Ladybug and Cat Noir fight Mr. Pigeon again that isn't used for a cheap gag.

#9: The Puppeteer

After being told by her mom that she can't have a Ladybug doll made by Marinette, young Manon is Akumatized into the Puppeteer. But obviously, you can't have our heroes beating up a five-year-old, so instead, the Puppeteer has the power to exact control over past Akuma victims as long as she has the doll made by Marinette. So Ladybug and Cat Noir have to face off against Lady Wifi, the Evillustrator, and Rogercop, before the Puppeteer gets her hands on the dolls Marinette made of the two heroes and take control of them as well.

It's still kind of funny to think about the fact that of all the Akumas to become a huge threat to Ladybug and Cat Noir, it's a little girl throwing a temper tantrum. And like with “Mr. Pigeon”, the episode has a lot of fun with the concept, best reflected in the voice acting. You can tell that Carrie Keranen is having so much fun this episode with the stuff she says as Lady Wifi.

The fact that someone who was actually a major threat to the heroes with how she was able to easily outsmart them and also came really close to getting their Miraculous is now acting like a little kid using phrases like “super duper sorry” is even more hilarious.

I'm still a little confused as why of all the past villains, it's Evillustrator and Rogercop that get to come back, and I wish they had gotten more to say, but it's still a treat to see Ladybug and Cat Noir fighting four villains at once, especially since this was before “Heroes Day”.

#8: Sapotis

Hawkmoth akumatizes Alya's little sisters into Sapotis (supposedly based off a folktale, but I can't find anything about it online), who have the power to multiply and easily overwhelm Ladybug and Cat Noir, forcing Ladybug to recruit Alya to become a third hero, Rena Rouge.

I've been a little negative about Alya in the past, but this episode gives her some major character growth. One of the biggest problems I had with her character in Season 1 is how often she tried to figure out Ladybug's identity... despite claiming to be a huge superhero fan, who should know why superheroes keep their identities a secret. Thankfully, this episode mostly puts an end to this idea.

The episode opens with Marinette giving Alya some reasons why Ladybug would keep her identity a secret, and it actually plays into the episode.

Putting aside the stupid Rent-A-Miraculous system introduced in this episode, the idea of keeping secrets and how necessary they can be sometimes is reflected after the battle where Alya is hesitant at first to give up her Miraculous, but eventually concedes and keeps her identity a secret from Marinette (who ironically knows, but that's not important).

Even without that, this episode still has a lot of action with the three heroes fighting their way through an army of Sapotis, with plenty of banter during said action. Hell, at one point, Cat Noir says “gotta catch 'em all”. I don't have a joke here, that's just brilliant.

Out of all the introductory hero episodes, this one easily sticks out among most of them.

(Don’t worry, I’m going to talk about Rena Rouge’s character design in a later post.)

#7: Guitar Villain

I said before in an earlier post that Jagged Stone is one of my favorite characters in Miraculous Ladybug, so it's obvious that the episode where he gets akumatized would be on this list.

After a disagreement with his manager about trying to mimic the popular singer XY (who ironically lacks a Y chromosome), Jagged is akumatized into Guitar Villain, a rock star with a pet dragon who forces everyone to listen to his Awesome Solo (yes, he names his attacks too) to dance uncontrollably.

Honestly, there's not much I can really say about this episode. It's Ladybug and Cat Noir fighting a rock star who flies around on a goddamn dragon. That's one of the coolest things I've ever seen! Even the way they defeat him (which I won’t give away) is a fun jab at rock stars.

Admittedly, the episode does border on grouchy old man territory sometimes by complaining about how bad today's music is with the way they portray XY as a whiny and egotistical coward, but after watching “Silencer”, you'll be glad everyone hates him.

Overall, it's a rockingly awesome episode.

#6: The Dark Owl

Mr. Damocles, the principal of Marinette and Adrien's school, is akumatized into the Dark Owl, a corrupted version of his favorite comic book superhero (who would later turn out to be real in the New York special, but I don't want to acknowledge that), who uses his high-tech gadgets to trap Ladybug and Cat Noir, putting them in one of their toughest binds yet.

I'm a huge fan of the Adam West Batman show, so you could probably guess why it's on this list. This episode really feels like an episode of that show with how goofy and over the top everything is. Obviously, this episode has a few Batman references thrown in (even an Incredibles reference at one point), and they're all hilarious.

I just love how complex Dark Owl's traps for Ladybug and Cat Noir are, and the fact that he actually manages to outsmart them at one point. Like seriously, have you ever heard of a death trap that involves drowning someone in whipped cream? That’s totally something you’d see the Joker setting up.

I don't really want to give away the ending (which is why this part is so short), because I think it's a really clever resolution that you should check out for yourself.

#5: Gorizilla

Hawkmoth akumatizes Adrien's bodyguard into Gorizilla, whose sole purpose is to protect Adrien. His motivation? To see if Adrien is actually Cat Noir or not. So Adrien has to avoid this gigantic gorilla's wrath with Marinette, all while trying to catch a movie his late mother was in.

See this? This is Adrienette done right. This is the kind of interaction I like when it comes to romance. Marinette and Adrien spend a few scenes with each other avoiding Adrien's crazy fanbase, and Marinette doesn't stammer half of her words. Even when she interacts with Adrien as Ladybug, she still remains confident, and Adrien trusts her judgment when it looks like he might fall. I don't just want Marinette and Adrien to cuddle with each other or declare their love for each other when they get their memories wiped. I want them to interact like human beings before they actually start a relationship, and this episode is a good example of it.

Adrien also gets some good focus with the way he views his relationship with his parents, as does Gabriel with his relationship with his son. Granted, he's taking a pretty huge gamble trying to kill Adrien to see if he's Cat Noir or not as opposed to just... taking off his ring while he sleeps. Can we at least admit he's trying?

I feel they could have done more with the King Kong homage (guess who I'm talking about?), but I can understand there wasn't enough time to focus on that. It's still an important episode to watch for plot and character growth that will barely be acknowledged in later episodes.

#4: Sandboy

tHe SaNdBoY hAs ChEcKeD iN. nOw NiGhTmArEs CaN bEgIn.

Now that we got that obvious joke out of the way, let's talk about one of the most creative episodes of the show.

Tikki and Plagg, Marinette and Adrien's Kwamis (the magical beings that power their Miraculous) take part in a ritual with the other Kwamis inside Master Fu's Miracle Box to contact Nooroo, Hawkmoth's Kwami, on his birthday and get an idea of where he is. Unfortunately, Hawkmoth chooses to akumatize someone during the ritual, leaving Marinette and Adrien helpless to fight back against Sandboy, an Akuma with the power to make their worst fears come true.

I said before in my worst list when talking about “Ladybug” that there was too much going on for one episode, what with Marinette's expulsion, the attempted Scarletmoth attack, and the fake Ladybug plotlines generally being rushed through. This episode is basically the opposite of that (ironically, they're both the penultimate episodes of their respective seasons).

The Kwami ritual and the Akuma attack are perfectly staged together so one affects the other. Not only do the Kwamis have to risk aborting their ritual to reach Nooroo in order to fight the Akuma, but Marinette and Adrien have to deal without fighting off Sandboy's nightmares on their own. Both plots balance each other out into a well-crafted story.

This is also one of the only episodes in the show where the Akuma of the week isn't the man focus. Here, we don't even see what happens to get the kid akumatized into Sandboy, and instead, Gabriel senses someone with negative emotions and akumatizes the kid offscreen. This works, because it doesn't distract from the main plot too much.

Even Marinette and Adrien's worst fears beautifully contrast each other, with both managing to be unsettling in different ways, even if they both have different tones. While Adrien's worst fear is being imprisoned in his own room (the fear only made worse with Plagg's absence), Marinette's worst fear is... the real star of the episode. Ladies and Gentlemen, I think you all know who I'm talking about.

You can tell the animators had a field day with animating Nightmare Adrien. Just look at the way he moves around and the faces he makes. It manages to be terrifying and hilarious at the same time. Bryce Papenbrook's performance only makes it better, cementing this as the highlight of the episode.

This episode also does a good job at foreshadowing the main plot for Season 3 with Hawkmoth finding out about the other Kwamis and by extension, more Miraculous.

It's got plot, comedy, good action, and Nightmare Adrien, so how can you turn this episode down?

And no, I'm not talking about Nightmare Ladybug, mainly because I'm tired of all the evil doppelgangers from the worst list.

#3: Startrain

Yes, believe it or not, I managed to find a Season 3 episode that wasn't complete garbage, and spoiler alert, this isn't the only one.

Marinette and Adrien's class goes on a field trip to London by taking the train, until the driver is akumatized into Startrain, who wants to escape to the one place that hasn't been corrupted by capitalism... SPACE! So Ladybug and Cat Noir have to defeat Startrain while also finding a way to bring everyone on the train back home.

I like how this episode plays with the usual Akuma of the week formula. Unlike every other Akuma they've fought, Cat Noir points out that if they beat Startrain, everyone will die, so they have to be more strategic in their approach. They don't even fight Startrain for most of the episode, as they have to make their way to the front of the train to confront the Akuma. The action in this episode is very creative and really takes advantage of zero gravity, only aided by the design of the futuristic train the episode takes place in.

The new hero introduced, Pegasus (AKA Max, another student in Marinette and Adrien's class), is also really cool, being very intelligent and helping out the heroes progress through the train even before he gets the Horse Miraculous. It makes sense that his intelligence would be used rather than just his powers in this situation.

There are even some good character moments too. For once, Master Fu does something smart and loans the Horse Miraculous (which has the power of teleportation) to Marinette so she can still go on the class trip, trusting her and actually letting her have a life. It was also nice to see Alya stick up for Marinette by keeping Lila from interrupting her nap with Adrien.

This episode is basically like a refreshing glass of water to enjoy during the garbage fire that was Season 3.

(I’m going to talk about Pegasus’ character design later on too, don’t worry)

#2: Silencer

Lukanette shippers, ASSEMBLE!

Music producer Bob Roth and his son XY hold a contest for young artists to show off their skills, and Kitty Section, a band composed of several recurring characters, decides to enter, with Marinette helping to design their costumes. But as soon as they submit their video, they find out that XY copied their style, naturally pissing the band off.

Marinette and the lead guitarist of Kitty Section, Luka, confront Bob Roth and XY, who threaten to ruin their careers by claiming that they ripped off XY. Seeing Marinette getting threatened is more than enough for Hawkmoth to akumatize Luka into Silencer, who naturally has the power to silence and mimic the voices of others.

I talked about Luka and his relationship with Marinette in an earlier post (specifically the one where Astruc claimed that the fandom growing to like Luka counted as character development), and I said that this was one of the few good episodes this season because of their interactions. This episode basically made me realize how much Luka cares for Marinette, and the episode gives plenty of time to show the two spending time together and growing closer. It's basically everything “Oni-Chan” should have been about, giving some depth to Luka and not portraying him as a crazy person like they did with Kagami in that episode.

Silencer is also one of the more creatively designed villains this season, and has a really creative approach to achieving his goals. While the ability to steal and imitate someone's voice seems mundane compared to control over the weather, or making nightmares come to life, it's used very effectively. Silencer basically tricks the police into arresting Bob Roth while imitating the mayor's voice, and he threatens to make his life a living hell by using the connections to the voices he's stolen. Even with the hand puppet gesture, it's still unsettling to have Silencer speak in all these voices, and it would make for a really interesting horror movie.

Even Ladybug and Cat Noir's interactions are back to their Season 1 levels of enjoyment. Even though Silencer took her voice, Ladybug just makes so many expressions that do a great job at describing her feelings, which naturally plays off Cat Noir's motormouth tendencies. Whenever Cat Noir jokes about Ladybug's condition, he is rightfully called out on it and is reprimanded in some way, my favorite being when Ladybug uses her yo-yo to hit Cat Noir on the head to shut him up. Even putting aside that, they still work well together this episode and really feel like equals. I also love their silent fist bump when Bob Roth is exposed.

Again, the episode still takes the time to go on about how unoriginal today's musicians are, and how they lack artistic creativity and all that crap. Look, given how ham-fisted the writing in this show can get, are you surprised the commentary isn't subtle?

Even putting aside how much this episode made me appreciate Lukanette, it still has a lot of great moments that aren't even related to the ship itself, which is a real testament to how this show can perfectly balance romance and story when it's done right. Now if only the show could try this much with Adrienette, then people wouldn't hate the main pairing of the show this much.

#1: The Collector

Taking place immediately after the Season 1 finale, Marinette meets Master Fu and discusses the book she found depicting past Miraculous users. Marinette theorizes that since the book was in the Agreste mansion, Gabriel could be Hawkmoth. And to the surprise of absolutely no one, she's right, and in order to draw off suspicion, Gabriel akumatizes himself into the Collector.

This episode has several good writing decisions for both sides, and the choices the characters make feel natural. Gabriel akumatizing himself is such a smart move, and so is what Marinette and Master Fu do with the book at the end. This episode does a great job setting up future plot threads and establishes Master Fu's character and the mystery associated with him.

The Collector is a visually stunning villain, and his powers are really creative, leading to a great fight with Ladybug and Cat Noir, who use a great strategy to outsmart him. I also love how over the top he is in order to make the heroes believe that he's working for Hawkmoth, all with a devious smile on his face.

This was also the episode that really got me into Miraculous Ladybug as a whole. I checked out the first season on a whim after it was mentioned in a Pan Pizza video, but it was during the hiatus between seasons, and I hadn't really started using Tumblr yet, so it mostly stayed off my radar. When Season 2 started however, I really got invested in the story, and the way this episode turned out was a big reason why. I wondered what it would be like when Adrien finds out his own father is Hawkmoth, and how the story would play out after the reveal.

Despite what it led up to, I still consider “The Collector” to be my favorite episode of Miraculous Ladybug.

Well, now that I talked about that, not it's time to talk about what I consider to be the worst episode of Miraculous Ladybug, “Felix”. God help me...

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a-small-batch-of-dragons · 4 years

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It’s Not That Bad, Right?

Prompt: Feel free to write this prompt (or not)- Merlin is cursed and turned into a dragon/wyvern. Arthur commands him to stay in the forest until they figure out how to change him back, but when Merlin senses that Arthur is in danger during a tournament in the City arena, he flies in front of everyone to rescue him, proving how willing he is to protect Arthur even if it means putting his life at the mercy of a shocked Camelot and angry Uther. Also Merlin breaths fire and is BAMF as a dragon.

Thanks for the prompt, babe!

Read on Ao3 Part 2!

Pairings: Merthur, can be platonic or romantic you decide

Warnings: none. Merlin’s a little shit but what did we expect

Word Count: 3511

Okay, Merlin’s gonna take the blame this time. This one’s on him. Definitely. No two ways about it. He’s big enough to admit he screwed up. He is! This one’s definitely on him. Absolutely not a question about it.

In his defense, what was he supposed to do when he saw a sorcerer with a magic circle around a dragon’s egg chanting ominously as a bunch of storm clouds formed overhead, not run into the middle and push it out?

Yeah, as if.

“Merlin!”

Well, it sure hurt like hell, that’s for damn sure. Merlin can feel his teeth chattering against themselves as energy courses through his body, into through his fingertips and out through the top of his head, sending bolts into the ground, through his legs, through his chest. Something reaches deep beneath him and pulls, stretching him like putty. His throat screams in a soundless roar until he registers that, oh wait, that deafening noise is coming from him. Huh.

“M-Merlin?”

Why does Arthur sound unsure? Merlin’s fine. Merlin’s so fine right now. Everything is so fine and good right now, what’s wrong? Merlin turns around to say that, yeah, it’s alright, prat, he’s fine, no need to sound so nervous, only his head seems really really heavy right now and since when has his neck been that long?

“Sire, stay back! I don’t know what’s happened!”

“Stay low to the ground.”

“One of these buggers wasn’t enough, huh?”

Oh, are there more sorcerers? Merlin turns his—why the hell is his head so heavy?—head to look, scanning the trees for more sorcerers.

…that’s funny, why is he suddenly higher? And where are his arms? Or his legs? Or…

…oh, bollocks.

Merlin sighs, only to realize that hey, you guys remember that dragons can breathe fire, right?

“Get back!” Oh, there’s Leon. Merlin wondered where he got off to. “I don’t know where you come from, beast, but you must leave immediately.”

“Beast,” Merlin mutters, “how rude.”

It’s worth it for the way Leon’s arm drops dead to his side. The knight’s mouth gapes up at him. “Merlin?”

Merlin’s gotta get used to this freaking head. He looks around at himself, tests his four feet—claws? Paws? He doesn’t know—and flaps his wings experimentally. “Pretty sure. Just, er, a little different?”

“A little different, he says,” Gwaine mutters from Arthur’s other side, “Merlin what the hell have you done now?”

“I think,” Merlin says, testing out the words in his new mouth—so many teeth—“I’ve been turned into a dragon.”

“Stellar observations there.”

“How is this possible,” Lancelot murmurs, the only one of the knights who dares step closer, close enough to rest his hand on Merlin’s flank. Wow, he’s tiny. “Merlin, did—did you do this?”

“Why would I do this?”

“You are dramatic,” Lancelot says, winking up at him.

“Hey!”

“He’s not wrong.”

“Thanks, Gwaine.”

“Alright, alright.” Arthur sways on his feet, looking every bit about to faint, except he grits his teeth and puts his sword decidedly at his side. “Merlin’s a dragon. Sure.”

“In the flesh!”

“I think you mean in the scale,” Elyan adds helpfully.

Arthur glares at him, only to glance around and see Lancelot happily petting Merlin’s scales, Leon looking him over like he does the new armor, and Gwaine sauntering over to a stump and sitting down. He cocks his head and looks at Merlin, before shrugging and pulling out a waterskin. Even Percival and Elyan look a little nonplussed.

“Are all of you just—fine with this?”

Gwaine shrugs. “Hardly the weirdest thing to ever happen to us, is it?”

“Merlin is a dragon!”

“And not too long ago Gaius was possessed by a goblin.”

“Don’t forget the manticore,” Percival supplies.

“Oh,” Lancelot calls, “and the immortal army!”

“And,” Leon says, “let us also not forget, Sire, that Uther once was married to a troll.”

“Wait, he was what?” Gwaine leaps up indignantly. “Why have you not told us this story?”

“Enough!”

Merlin doesn’t sigh, but he does exhale noisily through his nostrils. While Arthur prattles on about respecting the king or some such nonsense that he’s sure only Leon is really listening to—and then it’s only out of politeness and because he’s heard it a thousand times—Merlin fidgets.

Scales itch, did you know that? It feels like he’s wearing scratchy clothes that don’t fit right on his skin. He huffs, trying to keep the smoke to a minimum, scrubbing his legs and arms along the ground to try and get some relief. When it doesn’t work, he flops his head down with a resounding thump, out of the way of any of the knights. Wow, his head is the size of Lancelot.

Lancelot, of course, because this man is the definition of unflappable unless it comes to Gwen, simply smiles and reaches out to gently stroke the ridge between Merlin’s eyes. Merlin rumbles gratefully and nudges Lancelot with the tip of his nose.

“Right there, hmm?” Lancelot pats him a few more times.

“He’s not a horse, Lancelot,” Leon says with a smile.

“No, he’s a dragon.”

“He is sitting right here,” Merlin grumbles, “thank you very much.”

“So you can still talk.” Gwaine downs the waterskin and saunters over. “Can you fly?”

Percival glances at his back. “He’s got wings, doesn’t he?”

“Can we ride him?”

“Gwaine!”

“What? You lot were thinking it too!”

“I’m going mad,” Merlin hears Arthur say faintly, “I’m going mad because my manservant is a dragon and none of my knights seem to care.”

“Oh, we care,” Gwaine says, “this is the most interesting thing that’s happened in a while.”

“Merlin appears to have his wits about him still,” Leon murmurs in an effort to soothe Arthur’s nerves which, honestly, Merlin’s a dragon, so that’s fair, “and I do not believe Merlin is likely to attack us.”

“Merlin trips over his own two feet when he’s only got two and he’s the size of a string bean,” Arthur mutters, not taking his eyes off of him.

“Oi!”

“It’s true and you know it.”

Merlin hides a smile, partly because he doesn’t want Arthur to see he’s happy, and partly because he has no idea what dragon smiles look like. Kilgharrah didn’t really smile. But the banter seems to have calmed Arthur down a little, at least enough to walk up to Merlin and look at him. Properly.

Merlin lifts his head, just so they’re eye level, and waits.

Arthur hesitantly reaches a hand out.

Merlin holds his breath.

Arthur’s hand clenches into a fist and he turns away.

“We’ll have to find a way to fix this,” Arthur mutters, stalking back toward his horse. “Back to Camelot. We speak of this to no one except Gaius.”

“You just want to leave him here?”

“If we brought a dragon back to Camelot, my father would have all of our heads. And Merlin would be killed. Or chained up.” Arthur shakes his head firmly, already back on his horse. “We tell no one.”

“So what do we do then,” Gwaine yells, “just abandon him out here?”

“He’s a dragon,” Arthur says, “I’m sure he can fend for himself.”

Something pinches inside Merlin’s chest as Arthur turns away. He growls, ignoring Lancelot’s concerned look as he straightens, his head turning to look down at his massive chest. It aches, like something in him is reaching for the end of a rubber band that just won’t snap back.

“Merlin?”

“I’m fine,” he manages, testing out his body again. He’s definitely not used to having six limbs, let alone wings. “I’ll figure it out.”

“We will find a way to change you back, old friend,” Leon promises, “you will not be stuck like this forever.”

“Might not be the worst thing in the world to be stuck as.”

“All the same, we will try.”

“Thanks, Leon.”

Leon nods deeply, mounting his horse and setting off after Arthur. The other knights do the same, each bidding Merlin farewell. Lancelot is the last to leave.

“Are you sure you wouldn’t like me to stay?”

As tempting as it is, Merlin shakes his massive head. “You might get hurt. And Camelot might, er—“

“Since when have I listened to Camelot over listening to you?”

In response, Merlin nudges him—gently!—with his nose back over to his horse.

“Alright, alright,” Lancelot laughs, “I’m going.”

Still, Merlin can’t help the dull ache of loneliness from settling in his chest as Lancelot disappears into the trees. He looks around. This clearing is nice. It’s just large enough to fit him comfortably. He can lie down—which he does—and curl up with his tail tucked around his legs. He has a tail, does that mean he has seven limbs now? Does a tail count as a limb?

Oh, the ground feels really nice on his sides. Can he—he can roll to his other side too. Oh yeah, that’s fun.

Merlin spends several minutes just rolling around on the ground, letting his wings splay out a little and flap to the sides, stirring up little storms of dust and dirt. He ends up on his back, his wings splayed out, looking up at the dark sky. His eyes drift closed and he rumbles happily.

He isn’t sure how much time passes but his wings are starting to get a little sore. He grunts and rolls.

…only to rock right back.

He tries again. No luck.

Maybe if he flaps his wings, he can—nope. The other side maybe? Oh, nope. Nope, that’s not it either.

He’s stuck.

How undignified. Good thing there’s no one around to—

“Young warlock?”

“No,” Merlin groans, shutting his eyes and instinctively going to cover his face only to remember that he’s got dragon legs and that’s not going to work. “Go away.”

“No, young warlock,” comes the voice that is definitely laughing at him, “I don’t think I will.”

Merlin opens his eyes. Sure enough, there’s Kilgharrah, who looks way too happy. Merlin gives up and lets his limbs hang uselessly. “I’m stuck.”

“I can see that.”

“…how do I get unstuck?”

“You roll, young warlock.”

“I’ve tried that!”

“Well, then you must not’ve tried hard enough.”

Trying to roll over and failing miserably in front of the Great Dragon is possibly one of the most humiliating things you can do. Especially when you’re exerting yourself because you’ve never had a dragon body before and you’re making all sorts of embarrassing grunts and squeals. Merlin doesn’t recommend it.

Eventually, Merlin stops, panting and looking back at Kilgharrah who looks all too pleased with himself. “Are you just going to stand there?”

“Did you need something?”

“Help me!”

“All you had to do was ask, young warlock.”

Merlin wisely bites back the many insults on his tongue and rolls again. This time, Kilgharrah sticks his nose under the flap of Merlin’s wing and pushes him over with a graceless thump. Merlin shakes himself.

“Thanks.”

“But of course. You know I live to serve you.”

“Have you gotten more sarcastic or have we not spoken in a while?”

“That is an answer you must seek for yourself.”

“You’re still as vague, good, I was beginning to think you were some other dragon.”

“There are no other dragons,” Kilgharrah says softly, suddenly growing serious, “at least…there were no other dragons.”

He inclines his head, moving with a grace that shows unlike Merlin, Kilgharrah understands his body.

“What happened, Merlin?”

Merlin explains.

“That was very brave, young warlock.”

“You can say stupid.”

“That was very stupid, Merlin.”

“Yeah, well.” Merlin kicks a rock next to him. “What else is new?”

“I must say,” Kilgharrah muses, looking him over, “you are not an unhealthy dragon.”

“That is…a compliment? I think?”

“Well, typically when it comes to anamorphic magic, it does not perform…nearly this successfully.” Kilgharrah nudges Merlin’s wing with the tip of his snout. “I suspect it is because you are magic that you have transformed so completely.”

“And also why I’m still able to talk?”

“Precisely.”

“Great.” Merlin snuffles a little. Wow, he can smell a whole lot more. “So how do we fix it?”

“Unfortunately, anamorphic magic is…temperamental.”

“Okay, so I can still speak normally, which means it’s not a dragon thing to speak in vague stupid cryptic sentences. Speak normally.”

“Your tongue is still as sharp as ever.”

“Well, now that I’m not a tiny human anymore—“

“Most humans are tiny.”

“Kilgharrah.”

Kilgharrah sighs. Ooh, he’s gotta show Merlin how to do that so he can still sigh. He misses that. “It will take time. From what you described, the spell was not completed, which means it will only last as long as the magic holds.”

“And how long is that?”

“Perhaps until the next full moon.” That’s only a week and a bit away. That’s not so bad.

“So what do I do until then?”

“You never did learn how to hunt with Arthur, did you?”

If you told Merlin he would be spending a week with Kilgharrah learning how to be a dragon and actually enjoying himself while doing it, he would have laughed, slammed the door in your face, and muttered some spell to make you trip as you walked away.

And yet, here we are.

Merlin does always insist that they stay close to the clearing. If someone comes back, he doesn’t want them to worry. Kilgharrah just shakes his head and tosses him another deer. Merlin can sigh now! That’s nice. His body doesn’t feel so itchy all the time either. His head doesn’t feel like a ridiculous weight anymore. His wings feel right. It’s not bad, this whole being-a-dragon business.

There’s still something wrong though.

That pain he had in his chest when the knights first left hasn’t gone away. It feels like he’s missing something. Sometimes when he lies down he rests his head on the ground too, tries to press his chest to the earth as much as possible. See if there’s something he can slot back into place. Nothing ever works.

Kilgharrah, for once, isn’t being cryptic when he says he genuinely doesn’t know what’s wrong. But he does rest his head on Merlin’s back. That feels nice and warm.

He doesn’t trust himself enough to try and breathe fire.

Two days before the spell is supposed to wear off, the pain spikes. In an instant, Merlin crumbles to the ground and whines. It hurts, it hurts, it hurts.

“Merlin,” Kilgharrah rumbles, at his side in an instant, “Merlin, what is wrong?”

“M-my chest, I can’t, I—it hurts—“

“Where is it coming from, young warlock?”

“I just told you—!”

“No,” Kilgharrah says sharply, “where?”

Merlin opens his mouth to snap back when he feels a line in his chest yank taut.

Oh.

With two flaps of his wings, Merlin is airborne. The line pulls him over the trees, out of the forest, toward the castle in the distance. Camelot.

Arthur.

Of bloody course it’s Arthur. What else could it be? As he flies, Merlin racks his brain trying to think of what’s happening, what could be hurting Arthur, what’s going on—

Right. There’s a bloody tournament going on.

What is it about tournaments that make every single magic-user with a grudge against Uther come out of the woodwork?

…well…

There’s the arena. People are fleeing in droves. Merlin tucks his wings and dives, thankful to the lessons Kilgharrah gave him. He spots Arthur, he spots Uther—

He spots a wave of soldiers in black armor surrounding Arthur on all sides. Their blades gleam in the light. Magic crackles around them. Arthur is bleeding.

Not on his watch.

Merlin opens his mouth.

A dozen soldiers melt away like dew as he bathes them in fire, the black armor vanishing. Another dozen vanish as torrents of flame spill from his throat, mouth open in a righteous scream. Arthur whirls around to look. His cry of surprise is lost in the roar of the dragon’s wings. Uther’s face is pale. Another jet of fire incinerates the knights as Merlin lands with a thud in front of Arthur.

A knight charges him. Merlin whips his tail around and swipes four of them off their feet. Another one launches a spear at him and lodges itself in his wing. Merlin cries out and lunges forward. The armor tastes salty. The other knight is torched before he has a chance to throw the spear.

At his side, Arthur seems to snap out of his stupor, brandishing his sword and fighting off one of the last remaining knights. Merlin gets his snout underneath another and throws him into the distance. He swings his head around like a hammer and slams two more into the arena wall.

The last one—well, he just screams at the last one.

It seems to do the trick; the armor falls apart in a series of heavy clanks.

Merlin stops, panting heavily. There’s still a spear lodged in his side and it burns. Arthur is safe. That’s all that matters. Arthur is safe.

“…Merlin?”

Merlin turns his head, his head hanging low. Arthur stands there, covered in blood, but alive, and holds out his hand.

Merlin lays his head on the ground and closes his eyes.

Arthur reaches out.

A soft glove lands on Merlin’s cheek. Rubs his scales softy. Merlin purrs.

“Hello, Merlin,” Arthur murmurs, too quiet for anyone else to hear, “welcome back.”

“Kill it!”

Ah, yes, right. Uther.

“No!”

Arthur’s cry forces Merlin’s eyes open, spotting Gwaine, Lancelot, Leon, Percival, Elyan, all writing spears and javelins away from other knights. A sharp pain comes from his side and he turns to see Arthur trying to pull the spear out. He has to brace his foot against Merlin’s side to get out. Arthur tosses it away and holds his hand over the wound. Thankfully it seems like it just lodged in between two scales, Merlin’s not bleeding too much.

“Father,” Arthur pants, “Father we can’t kill it.”

“It’s a dragon, Arthur!”

“And it just saved our lives!”

“It’s nothing but a beast,” Uther snarls, seemingly regaining some of his composure as he spews his hateful speech from his comfortable box, “mindless and hungry. It will kill us all!”

“Does it look like it’s about to kill us?”

No, no it most certainly does not, thank you very much.

Arthur glances between the two of them, before leaning in close to Merlin.

“Fly back to the clearing, we’ll meet you there.”

Merlin turns his head. Arthur stares at him insistently.

“Go!”

He takes off, hearing Arthur’s long, fake cries about how they will chase after him, slay him, for the good of Camelot. He smiles and lands in the clearing. Kilgharrah is gone. Well, that’s kind of to be expected, isn’t it? He thinks a message of gratitude, hoping it will reach him, wherever he is. He doesn’t get a verbal reply, but a warm spark of magic spreads over his damaged scales and he smiles.

Sure enough, the knights crash through the brush a few moments later, Arthur scrambling off his horse and up to Merlin.

“You,” he says, grinning breathlessly, “are an idiot.”

“Idiot dragon,” Merlin corrects, “who just saved your arse.”

“That was so cool,” Gwaine crows, “you—“

“Yes, yes,” Percival mutters, “you’ve been saying that since we left.”

“They’re a bit excited, Merlin,” Lancelot chuckles, “forgive them.”

“…it is pretty cool,” Merlin admits.

“Are you hurt?” Arthur glances over at his side. “You were hit.”

“I think it’s healed up pretty well.”

“We, er, weren’t able to find a way to fix you.”

“I think it’ll wear off by the next full moon.”

“How would you know?”

Merlin gives Arthur a look that’s definitely just a rip off of Kilgharrah’s. “I know many things, young king.”

“You stop that right now.”

“So,” Elyan muses, “two days?”

Merlin nods.

“Camping trip, boys!”

Gwaine’s holler makes the rest of them laugh and they quickly go about setting up camp. Merlin bows his head to carefully light the fire as the knights make themselves comfortable. It’s not so bad, actually, out here in the clearing with them. Arthur leaning up against his chest, Lancelot by his side. Leon tosses him a large chunk of meat as Percival watches. Elyan double-checks his side and pronounces him all clear.

Yeah. Being a dragon isn’t so bad.

“I get a ride before you turn back, right?”

“Gwaine!”

#merlin #bbc merlin #merlin bbc #merthur #merthur fic #arthur 'disaster bi' pendragon #dragonbabbles #fic

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shrike-nest · 3 years

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D&D Character Ask Post

In Honor of D&D, Here are 100 Questions answered about my character Alistair. Done from a prompt reposted by @mechmech and @scatterpatter , and also gonna tag my DM @aerial-ace97

What Does He Smell like: Ozone, Sandalwood, Pine

Voice: A light baritone, sometimes slipping into a bit of a lit from his native island (similar to a Scottish brogue/Irish lit)

Motivator: Before he met his group? Power and Adrenaline. Now? Redemption.

Most embarrassing memory: (TW: Animal Death) He doesn’t really remember this as he was terribly drunk at the time, but he and his crew stopped in a city that held goats as a sacred animal. With a terribly “bright” idea, he wondered how far a goat could fly? Because goats fly. Throws the goat off of the third floor of a building. Then proceeds to have a not very respectful Coffin Dance-style funeral for said goat.

How does he react to pain: Lots of swearing and anger.

What does he wear: He wears dragon scale armor that has three deep gouges in it from where he was previously killed. A faded and slightly ragged admiral style coat on top, leather breeches, and give this man some high calf pirate boots. He also always wears a green headband to keep his hair back, and occasionally an eyepatch to hide his demonic eye.

Most positive relationship: In terms of character development, it might be Torvid, as Torvid inspires Alistair to be a better moral person. In terms of wholesomeness? His partner/hopefully soon fiancé, Atwater. Atwater was able to show Alistair that he can have positive love in his life, without having to fight so hard for it.

The weirdest thing he has ever eaten: Corren’s cooking

Sleep: He suffers from nightmares and now more recently night terrors. Because he technically doesn’t need to sleep from effects of his class, he often chooses not to. However, when he does sleep, he sleeps hard, snores lightly, and octopus cuddles anything in his bed.

Favorite food/ kinda food: He actually really loves a dish similar to pao de queijo (Brazillian Cheese Bread).

Most insecure about: His ability of being a leader.

Like to wear: He enjoys fairly tight fitting clothing to prevent too much flapping when he flies or moves around quickly.

How do they react to feelings of guilt: Denial and self doubt

React to betrayal: A very quick and violent anger that chills to a long lasting and cold hatred. He doesn’t forgive easily.

Greatest achievement: After being mutinied against by his former crew, being wanted and supported as a leader for his current adventuring party

Too little sleep: Pretty robotic, but he doesn’t get exhausted anymore or feel any physical effects of not getting sleep due to his class.

What are they like drunk: He’s a very cheerful and boisterous drunk. Makes and laughs at many jokes. Can fall into a melancholy pretty easily though if he thinks on certain thoughts too long. Deflects with humor!

Music likes: 80s hair band music, and 70s-80s rock.

Right or left-handed: Right handed

Fears: He’s claustrophobic, but also has a fear of being vulnerable and getting his heart broken again.

Favorite weather: Sunny Day with a slight chill.

Favorite color: He really likes blue.

Collect anything: Well technically he used to collect gold and other high priced artifacts. He doesn’t really collect anything anymore.

Hot or cold weather: This man controls the weather. He enjoys his thermostat of life to be at a nice 70 degrees F.

Eye color: His natural eye color is an emerald green. His left eye is a demon cat eye, with a gold iris and black sclera.

Race/ ethnicity: He’s a human in the world of Sekrezia, but in IRL, he’s probably northern UK.

Hair color: Ginger/Auburn, with some sun-bleached streaks in it.

Happy where they are currently: … Well his adopted sister and brother just died in the last game so nah. BUT- as kind of a whole, he’s happy to be where he is now as a person compared to how he used to be.

Morning person: Yup. He tends to wake with the sun if he sleeps, and once he’s awake- he’s awake.

Sunrise or sunset: He loves the sunset. It calms and amazes him that he survived another day.

Messy or organized: He’s messy. Kind of an ADHD procrastination kind of messy.

Pet peeves: Disloyalty, undeserved ego trips, other weather veins that mess with his control of the weather,

Objects of significant importance: O’Malley, his halberd. He earned his weapon when he became a captain, and it has saved his life numerous times after.

Least favorite food: After being stuck in a cave for over a year? Anything with mushrooms.

Least favorite color: He’s not a fan of dark reds or browns. Reminds him too much of dried blood. (oooh edgelord)

Least favorite smell: Cauterized Flesh, Rotting Fish

The last time they cried: Last game. But before that? When he found out that Torvid killed his father. Before before that? When Atwater died. Before before before that? When he woke up alone in the desert after the mutiny.

Were they with anyone when they cried: His party. His party and both sides of the war that was going on. And no one.

One time they got injured: He actually died in a fight with a dragon, not with the dragon, but with a bat crony of the dragon.

Scars: He’s got a scar in the shape of a jagged p on his right cheek, a claw scar from when his eye was gouged out, and he also has the marks from the bat crony when he died. Alistair also has lightning scars on his arms that led to minor nerve damage that occurred when he first was learning how to use his magic.

Mental health issues: ADHD, Depression, Anxiety

Bad habits: Lashing out when he doesn’t know how to process his emotions

Why might someone dislike him: … Lemme get the list. So if we ignore the fact that he used to be a feared sky pirate, earning the nickname “Orphaner of the Skies”… he can be a flippant asshole sometimes. He can often forget to stay in touch and update people on important topics. Also, some may dislike him because he insists on being their dad (*cough* CORREN *cough*)

Why might someone love him: Alistair is very loyal to those he trusts and he can often fall into caretaker type tendencies.

Believe in ghosts: Yeah. He’s seen them and fought them. Also dated one.

Anyone they would trust with their life: Mecha, Corren, Tristan, Atwater, Jerry, Mephistopheles, and Torvid.

Romantically interested in anyone: Atwater!

Dating/ Married: He is currently dating Atwater

Like surprises: Not really

Birthday: His weave day is in Summer, Sibelya 13th.

Celebrate their birthday: He used to. Doesn’t really anymore, mostly because he hasn’t had much reason to celebrate or the time.

Family: His parents are dead, but he still has his adopted aunt Imelda. He also views Tristan as his brother, Corren as his little brother, Mecha as his sister. Atwater is his romantic partner, and he is now the step father of Atwater’s child, Crestwell. He also is the adopted father of Liam (deceased) and Liam’s twin sister, Serana.

Close to their family: Yes

MBTI type: ENTP

Zodiac signs: His Sekrezian Sign is Xamatang, The Coming Storm

Hogwarts house: Gryffindor

Alignment; Chaotic Neutral but he’s steadily making his way towards Chaotic Good

Nightmares: Yes. Often about his ex, Ghost. He also has nightmares about losing those he considers family.

View on death: If it happens, it happens. Once someone is at peace, leave them be.

Something they always laugh at: Seeing his group smile and joke around.

When bored, what do they do: Fly, tinker with magic, practice magic, research magic.

Enjoy the outside: Very much so.

Accent: I can’t replicate it, but I imagine it’s somewhere between a Scottish and Irish accent. However it has faded as he hasn’t been home in a very long time.

Upon seeing a slice of chocolate cake, the first reaction: *Poke it*, *Look at it*, *Look around*… *Shrug*, My cake now.

If they knew they were going to die what would they do/ say: He would find his party, if he can- gives them hugs, and hopefully be able to die watching the sunset. “Find what makes you happy and hold on to it. You all deserve to have happiness in your lives.”

Feelings about sex: He likes it. He also has a pretty damn high libido.

Sexuality: Bisexual

Squeamish around blood: Somewhat. It makes him uncomfortable now because he’s scared that he likes the sight of it still.

Anything they find gross: Rotting bodies and decaying bodies.

TV trope: Father Figure, Tragic Backstory, Anti-Hero

Enjoy helping people: Yes, he finds it comforting, like a form of redemption.

Allergies: Minor shellfish allergy

Pet: Does Meph count as a pet? I mean, he usually hangs around Alistair as a cat.

Quick to anger: Depends on the situation, but yes.

How patient is he: Not very. He gets very jittery and anxious easily. He’s getting slightly better at that.

Good at cooking: Somewhat, he tends to overdo it on the spice.

Favorite insult:” It’s cute when you try.”

How do they act when happy: The biggest doofiest smile, and he can’t help but laugh occasionally.

What do they do when they learn about others’ fears: He keeps it secret, but tends to go out of his way to help them through it, or help them avoid their fears.

Trustworthy: If you earn his trust, yes. A million times in return.

Do they try to hide their emotions: If it benefits him? Yes. And he’s damn good at it. But if he feels it’s not necessary to do so, his heart is on his sleeve.

Exercise regularly: Yes. His constitution is ridiculous and so he often finds ways to keep up and improve his stamina and strength even further.

Comfortable with the way they look: Yeah. He can get a lil cocky about it. But this is a man who uses bar soap on his hair.

Features they find attractive on others: Eyes and hands.

Personalities they find attractive: He likes those that can keep up with him intellectually, but also on a wittier level as well. He really views self-confidence as attractive.

Do they like sweet foods: Yes.

Age: He just turned 42.

Tall or short: He’s 6’0”

Glasses or contacts: Nah

Consider herself attractive: Yup

Sense of humor: Sexual humor, dad jokes ftw, but can also throw in some dark and self-deprecating humor nowadays.

What mood are they in most often: Most recently, a sort of determined melancholia. But he used to be very self-assured, confident, and flippant.

What angers them: Child abuse, betrayal, hurting those he cares about.

Outlook on life: “Just keep going. Roll with the punches. Because that sun is going to rise again, and you’re going to get to try again, try something new, find something new.”

What makes them sad or depressed: Thinking of those he has lost, thinking of Ghost, falling into his own insecurities.

Greatest weakness: He often jumps into situations without thinking them through. He tends to be very “leap before he looks”

Greatest strength: His determination and resiliency

Something they regret: Losing contact with his crew and Imelda, not being a better leader in his eyes, his past of piracy, and in some ways- all his deals with Mephistopheles, even the one that granted him his magic.

Biggest accomplishment: Isn’t this the same as greatest achievement?

Favorite memory: Sitting by the campfire with his group and all of them laughing, joking, and smiling with each other. With the good ol occasional ribbing at Corren’s expense.

#D&D #Alistair Stormcrown #Sekrezia #The F.U.C.K.s

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the-bard-followed-the-witcher · 5 years

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Okay but like:

Has anyone ever thought of Jaskier as somewhat of a monster magnet (trouble always finds him, don’t deny it) as a positive thing?

Cause i see a Jaskier running around in the woods as a small child, his voice raised in songs he is too young to know, tripping and then falling over a branch. He starts crying but not for long because soon a Warg finds him. And he freezes. A frucking Warg, of course of all things. And while Wargs are surely not the scariest of creatures, Jaskier is young and they are gogantic after all. He doesn’t want to die. And he doesn’t. Because the warg sniffs his body that is still lying there on the floor whimpering, and it gives him a little nudge with its nose. It’s almost...encouraging. And soon the nudge becomes harder until eventually Jaskier is forced to sit up at least. His body scrapped and bruised but he can’t even look at himself properly before he feels the wet tongue of a Warg lick over his face. It takes him some time to relax but eventually he does. And when you are relaxed, a wolfs tongue tickles. So Jaskier giggles as he is licked clean, scraches and bruises stop hurting, the only thing he notices is the ticklish tongue and the soft purr coming from the creature in front of him. Now imagine the surpirse his parents felt when they saw their son come out of the woods later that night, a wolf, no a Warg! Close to his side. And Jaskier, Jaskier grinned, he finally found a new puppy to keep.

I see a teen Jaskier who has just about figured out that some fun things in life require a second (or multiple people) to join him. He flirts with everyone and he sleeps with everyone. It’s fun, he is young, and damn he does know how to get what he wants. Of course if you flirt with as many people as he has, you are bound to run into a monster posing as human. The first time, it’s a siren and Jaskier adores her. When he started flirting it was out of curiousity of her beauty but as soon as she had started talking he fell in love with her voice. As aspiring bard it wasn’t too hard for him to realize that such a voice was not human. He flirted with her anyway, even shared a bed that night and in the morning when she told him what she was, he didn’t blink an eye, just kissed her hand and asked her to help him get his human voice somewhat close to her unimaginably beautiful one. He didn’t know sirens could blush. It’s not the first but it’s certainly not the last that Jaskier attracts a monster during his flirts, but who is he to judge? Monsters can be just as beautiful as humans, and he surely won’t limit his playground.

When he really starts travelling as bard it seems to happen even more often than before. Maybe it’s his voice (the siren did a good job teaching him) or maybe it’s just his luck. In nearly every forest, every village there is something not quite human, not quite normal around him. And you see, if you have been surrounded by monsters all your life (trouble always seemed to find him) you start spotting them rather easily. He travels through the woods and he sees a Beann‘shie run past him, a harpy flying calmly above the tree tops. He travels through cities and sees a Fleder in an alley behind an inn, a ghost in the next one over. He travels to court and finds not all royals fully human. He keeps quiet though. Few are friendly, most are dangerous but if you know what to look for, you can get by good enough. He knows the warning, he has experienced some dangers himself. So Jaskier travels the world, fully aware that wherever he goes trouble awaits, or maybe he brings the trouble himself? He was never quite sure about that.

I see a Jaskier who meets Geralt of Rivia and is enchanted. Not because Geralt is mysterious and big and bulky, no, Jaskier is enchated because the Geralt outside of the legends looks so much more human. More human than any other supposed monster he has ever encountered. Of course he noticed him the moment Geralt set foot in the tavern. And you see after a lifetime of monsters you get an instinct on telling which ones are dangerous. Geralt isn’t, not for Jaskier. And so it happens that he starts following the Witcher, trying his best with everyday to figure out how a monster could look so human. He figures pretty soon, it’s easy, some monsters are more human then a human himself.

I see a Jaskier who after seeing Geralt try to safe every monster he comes across, admires the strength of his partner and yet still grieves the death he brings. And every time Geralt has to kill yet another Monster that somehow found Jaskier, Jaskier waits for him to leave, turn around, get wood, it doesn’t matter, he just needs to be alone with the creatures for whose death he is responsible. As soon as Geralt is out of Witcher-earshot, Jaskier does this thing (he did it the first time when his wolf died). He presses his hand to the body, only slightly, he doesn’t want it to bruise, and then he leans down and whispers an apology for each creature he saw killed. Because you see, after a lifetime of monsters it’s hard to see them as just that: monsters. Monsters feel pain too, he knows that.

I see a Jaskier who lets Geralts words about destiny get to him, let’s them flourish in his heart because you see, Geralt is right in a way. Trouble always did find its way to Jaskier and maybe he really was cursed to never have a quiet day and maybe he deserved exactly this, and maybe Geralt really was better off without him. Because after a lifetime of seeing creatures that are supposed to be monsters you quickly realize humans are the real monsters to fear.

And i see a Jaskier who at one point during his travel down a mountain too high finds a baby dragon, a creature so tiny it fits in his pant pocket and falls undyingly in love with it. He doesn’t know how it got there so he waits. He needs to see if there is someone taking care of this little thing, and he waits knowing that every second of waiting hightens his chance of running into Geralt. He doesn’t care. This tiny little baby needs help. He warms it with a fire that evening and still the tiny tiny dragon cuddles up to him as if seeking more warmth. He stays awake till morning, no parent appears. And the baby dragon? It has fallen asleep in his lute already, it’s not like he can just leave his lute or wake the small thing. So he waits. And he feels the nudge of a small snout wake him a couple hours later. Such a small snout. God how could anyone leave a creature this cute behind? But when he sees the whitened left eye the dragon beared, he knew exactly why they had been left behind, both of them. Guess we are all flawed in some way.

I see a Jaskier who continues his travels, continues his songs with a new companion. And monsters still find him, both human and beast, but he doesn’t mind it anymore. He has learned enough from a witcher to defend himself and his baby, and he has enough of a bards charm to trick the rest. They get by, together. And Jaskier lets Trouble (it was always somehow drawn to him) sleep in his pocket, in his lute and as he grows around his neck and curled in his lap. He shares a fire with him and soon the stables too. And monsters really don’t seem dangerous anymore.

You see, the folk talk about a white haired witcher and his story flashes them all, keeps them busy until one day they can’t look away from the second miracle anymore. It flies across the sky, sometimes you can catch a glimpse of a shadow flying above, the sound of a human scream and a monsters roar in unison. It lands with thuds so heavy they shake the ground only to be followed by the most beautiful melodies and the most beautiful sounds. And it confuses the people, scares them even, but they know how to deal. And soon the Witcher is replaced and new songs are written, new legends told this time of a bard and a dragon. The reject of society and the half blind creature. It’s not a simple tale but it’s one that is a lot of fun for Jaskier to tell, it’s the one he enjoys singing about the most. And Trouble appreciates his playing, always humming when Jaskier plays his lute or sings his songs, always falling asleep to a lullaby. And they are never cold again.

Geralt was shocked when he first learned of the myth to say the least. Jaskier didn’t even care if he knew.

And Jaskier still has a life filled with monsters but you see,

Trouble follows Jaskier and somehow this time he doesn’t mind at all.

#jaskier the bard #the witcher series #the bard and the witcher #the witcher #geralt #geralt of rivia #dandelion #jaskier and a dragon is like my favorite idea im sorry #i know this is weird #but trouble is just too cute in my head #i might write more about them #like damn it #geralt/jaskier #Trouble the dragon #Trouble

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