#no imagine dragons! that rarely happens lol

[rollingthunderpouringrain]

Receiptify: Top Tracks, Last Month

Got tagged by @thequeerlibrarian <3 Thank you :)

🙈

No pressure tags: @all-chickens-are-trans , @rovermcfly , @chaotic-gay-is-my-alignment , @atkeks :)

[Link]

[thegnomelord]

Harpy Gaz and Dragon reader is gud.

- 🦈

(I am so happy you are indulging in these requests. It gives such a soft and intamit version of these guys and i fuckin love it. It helps expand the side of monsterlovers and fuckers in the fandom. Thank you so much.

On the other hand. Got any ideas for werewolf courting rituals? Because there's an endless amount of possibilities.)

I'm happy you approve and hey I'm not just a monsterfucker, I'm a monster lover too lol

But for werewolves I don't think they'd have many rituals, certainly not as complex as Harpy or Dragon ones are. Werewolves tend to be really practical and mostly think with their nose and stomach.

I don't think there'd be much fighting for mates (though that could occasionally happen but it's rare). Mostly they'd try to show off how good they are as a potential mate, how good they could be for you, the pups, the pack. Primarily they'd do this by hunting, the bigger the prey they bring back the better, but just giving a bite of your food can be seen as a courting ritual. Just imagine waking up to find Johnny had hunted a damn bison for you (how he got that in england? who knows but it's not you) :Dd

Other gifts might be little bone/wood carvings, homemade goods, knitted sweaters, etc. Doesn't matter how shoddily it's made, it's the fact it's made with their hands that counts. And it's a Huge insult to gift something you didn't make.

I hc their sense of smell is one of the best of all monsters so they know immediately if you're taken or not. And Like you'll know a werewolf wants to be your mate because they'll be rubbing up on you and scenting you like their life depends on it so you smell like them and vice versa. God help you if you have some unknown person's scent clinging to you because they are going to try and scent you immediately. And if you don't push them off they'll take them as a go ahead to scent you in a more. . . intimate way.

[skyward-floored]

Because Murphy of Murphy’s law has a personal grudge against us ♥️🫂

Half-dragon Wars stuff? The parents vs Cia? Or maybe the dark-Link/save Link from himself arc?

This has happened like four times now (not exaggerating) so I guess it’s just the way it is lol

But yeah, half dragon stuff!! I actually haven’t written much down yet for either of those, but I have a thing I’ve been messing with with Link and Volga later on, if you’d like to see some of that?

“Volga,” Link coughs, leaning heavily against a wall, “V-Volga wait.”

The dragon stops and looks back at him, and concern flickers over his gaze as he strides back to his side.

“I-I think they did... something,” Link wheezes, and Volga leans down so he’s nose-to-nose with Link. He looks him over again, more slowly than the first examination he’d given, then breathes in long and slow. Link waits for him to say something, unsure of what he’s doing, and slightly afraid to ask.

Is he... smelling him?

Volga’s expression suddenly darkens.

“...Safflina,” he growls, something flashing in his gaze. “They weren’t taking chances.”

Before Link can ask what that means, Volga lunges forward and pulls him into his arms, resuming his quick stride down the hallway. Link scrambles to hold on with only one working arm, head spinning from the sudden movement.

“What—”

“You’ve been poisoned, hero,” Volga says without looking at him, speeding his pace further. “Time is of the essence.”

“What? But... safflina isn’t poisonous,” Link says, blinking a little dizzily.

“There is a rare strain of it that is poisonous for dragons in high concentrations,” Volga says curtly. “But that knowledge is not well known. Those fools who’d captured you would have no method of obtaining such information.”

“So how did they..?”

“I don’t know,�� Volga growls, his grip tightening just a little. “But it doesn’t bode well.”

Link frowns, then coughs, his breath a little tight in his throat. His stomach feels odd now as well, and he goes a little more limp in Volga’s arms without meaning to. Maybe it’s his imagination, but it feels like Volga holds him a little tighter.

[ganondoodle]

im pretty sure i mentioned all these things before but its too late to start drawing anything and each time i see someone talk about totk i just get sad and frustrated again

literally by FAR the biggest problem about totk is that it REFUSES to connect to botw in any way beyond reusing the same map and character models, and even taking the things botw had established and ruin them entirely

ancient hero? BAM weird sonau dog thing that remains completely unexplained and out of nowhere eight heroine myster- BAM just some guy long gone sonau peopl- BAM here they are and they have zero connection to the ones of botw mystical dragons gracing the skies with their presence- BAM probably some dude who ate a magic pebble once strange mystical nature god you could rarely encounter in one specific spot and the area was made to feel utteraly unsettling but also divine- BAM now hes everywhere and only serves you as a shorthand for man pointing at cave the strange energy all shiekah tech was powered with with certain locations being ones where alot of it was concentrated including beneath hyrule castle clearly stating that somethings up with that- welp theres evil guy donw there but he has zero connection to all that lol

the whole shiekah tech thing, i just- WHY???? LIKE THAT??? there was so much stuff in botw that seemed deliberately placed that there IS more to it and now it all vanished and nothing of that mattered??? i saw a video of someone comparing certain places directly and on some where towers literally broke away tons of debris where just like .. sanded back down like nothing ever happened???; the fuking mechanism of how the towers and shrines and the pillars around the castle worked AND WHAT THE BOTW BOSS ARENA WAS ACTUALLY FOR?? its all gone and replaced with dirt; tHE ANCIENT FUCKING FURNANCES UTTERLY GONE AND REPLACED WITH ROCKS HUH???? so nothing of all that talk about their mystery and mechanism mattered???? the luminous stoens and its connection to spirits and how concentrated spiritual energy might have been what powered the tech- like you could connect things, and they made SENSE, so much sense that that seemed like it was intentionally setting up- only for it all to be just GONE?? to literally say lol it all vanished and that we shouldnt worry about it- like what the FUCK (and it also AGAIN doesnt make sense in itself bc WE SEE GUARDIAN PARTS in the towers, and some parts of them too are made of clearly shiekah tech stuff so it cant all have vanished- all their mystery doesnt matter bc idk it just works i guess lol and its not even called shiekah tech at any point either its just there and also not lol-)

(and even the smaller things like .. where the fuck does link live if everyone treats him like a goddamn stranger in the town you had to buy a house in botw for it to not be demolished and now that house is there but its not yours and noone knows you??? sth i personalyl found strange too that dumsda, the guy you help build an entire town, taburasa, had a very specific talking quirk i loved, and its all just gone in totk too, he talks like any other person all of the sudden

also at the end of botw finally being reunited with zelda and giving you the taste of being in the game WITH her at the same time in the intro to totk- WOOP away she goes! shes your pretty prize at the end and nothing more, what a way to disrespect her and her character..)

imagine if majoras mask didnt have the opening like it has and it otherwise stayed the same and they tried to tell you that its a direct sequel happening exactly where ocarina of time happened in the same world, zelda who?? ganondorf who??? things seem weird and off? lol dont worry about that :)) that would be weird and not make any sense at all now would it??

... sorry going on another rant again, ill just never be able to accept everything from botw didnt actually matter, and despite what some people might say, its pretty hard to ignore totk bc i LOVE botw, and as much as i hate it, they are connected in canon, even if it makes no sense

[badcaseofcasey]

one single thread of gold (tied me to you)

ao3 is still down IS BACK UP NOW!!, so what better time to start posting Eddie's POV to my Steddie soulmate au lol - enjoy! (ps - I went ahead and kept the same taglist from Steve's POV, but please let me know if you want me to take you off!) Steve's POV, in case you want to see where this all started | Part 2

Eddie maintains that he would have grown up loving fantasy regardless of what his words ended up being; from a young age, fantasy and role playing were an escape from boredom or loneliness.

Back when his mom was still working - before she got sick - the library was an easy spot for her to drop him off during the summer where she knew he’d be safe while she was at work. After a long day of cleaning motel rooms, she’d pick him up and ask to hear what stories he had read that day, giving her entire attention to his recounting of Arthurian or Greek myths, or tales of wizards and dragons.

Once his mom got sick, Eddie brought the stories to her - battered copies of Tolkien and Stephen King, and Anne McCaffrey, borrowed from the library so he could read them aloud. That summer was mostly spent in hospital rooms and sitting in the arm chair while his mom slept on the couch after each round of chemo. His dad couldn’t be bothered to bring him to the library, so Eddie would grab whatever change he could find to take the bus back and forth.

So it was really no surprise to anybody that when he finally got his words, they had something to do with dragons.

Eddie didn't know it at the time, but the summer he got his words would be the last one with his mom. She was trying a new sort of chemo, one that would take longer and have a harder recovery than the ones before, so she'd asked Wayne to make sure Eddie still got to have part of the summer to be a kid - and to make sure he didn't have to see his mom so sick.

Wayne took the week off work so that he was able to spend the time with Eddie and for the first time since his mom got sick, Eddie had someone to take him to the park - the park! Hawkins was a much smaller town than Indianapolis, so the park wasn't nearly as big, but he didn't care, not when his Uncle Wayne was so excited to show him the new playground.

It was easy to let his imagination run wild once they got there - a stick he picked out of the woods became his sword and the clouds misting over the horizon were the breath of dragons. When he spotted a younger boy all by himself, it was an easy decision to invite him along - besides, it was always more fun to play pretend with friends than on his own.

And when he got home that day, he noticed some new words running the length of his side, from right underneath his armpit almost all the way down to his hipbone, there aren’t any dragons here.

Wayne noticed the words as he was helping Eddie get ready for bed, and stopped short.

"Eddie, when did you get your words?" he asked, voice careful.

"Today!" Eddie chirped, tugging his pajama top over his unruly curls. He'd been having so much fun with Steve, he didn't see a reason to stop and check, but he was sure that the zap of electricity he felt when the boy first spoke was when it happened.

"At the park?" Wayne asked. "Was it that little boy you were playing with?"

"Yep," Eddie said, allowing Wayne to tuck him into the covers. Wayne's bed felt so big - and it was huge compared to Eddie's bed at home - but Wayne insisted on taking the couch so Eddie could sleep in the trailer's one bedroom. "He's a dragon slayer. My words even say so."

Wayne smiled down at Eddie. "That's awfully nice to have, a dragon slayer of your very own."

"Can we go back to the park tomorrow?" Eddie asked. "He said he'd try and come back tomorrow at the same time as today."

"Sure, kiddo," Wayne said, pulling the covers up to Eddie's chin. "You know I love you, right? Very much."

Eddie nodded, somewhat confused. As much as he knew Uncle Wayne loved him, the man rarely said it out loud.

"Then you know I'm saying this because it's important. And you know I usually tell you that no grown-up should ask you to keep secrets, but... I wouldn't tell your daddy you got your words, or who you got them from. It might not be safe."

Eddie vaguely remembered an overheard conversation between his mom and dad, something about Wayne's words, and knew that his uncle was being serious. He nodded again.

"I'll always be here for you, Eddie," Wayne said. "No matter what, okay?"

Eddie smiled. He might have just met his dragon slayer at the park today, but he already had lots of people to fight dragons with, Uncle Wayne included.

Part 2

taglist: @awkwardgravity1 @infinitetrashbag @vampireinthesun @swimmingbirdrunningrock @maya-custodios-dionach @thev01dd @obsessivlyme @a-little-unsteddie @anything-thats-rock-and-roll @spectrum-spectre @red-panderz69 @magpiemuseum @minjintea @finalmoondragonn @thatonebadideapanda @estrellami-1 @freyaforestafay @biatcgh @sadcanadianwinter @im-sam-fucking-winchester @bidisastersworld @justanothergirlwithobsessions @anaibis @thing-a-ling @rosered93 @newtstabber @void-o-chaos @thegingerrapunzel @baron-zemo-trash @katireads @child-of-cthulhu @the-s-is-silent @i-must-potato @hellomynameismoo @lovelylilbadone @theotalksalot @lydi-cyan @background-noise-headache @idontgetpaidenoughforthisshit @slitherynchiken @grapefruitgalaxy @bookbinderbitch @luthienstormblessed @blues-tunes @murdblurdock @grtwdsmwhr @xpaperheartso

[namelessedospuntosp]

What would GTA SA be like if we could take woozie and Claude out on a date?

I'm well bored, so I wrote how I think dating woozie and Claude would be in GTA sa if rockstar hadn't been afraid to make cj bi/pan/omnisexual.

First let's go with my beautiful king woozie.

WOOZIE

After completing ALL the woozie quests, you will be able to make him your (secret?) boyfriend in the "fours dragons" in his office or a more secluded place. After that, he will be idle from 22:00 to 0:00 (I imagine being a casino owner won't give you much free time, so be quick to ask him out on a date.) you can meet him at his house somewhat far from his casino. (It would be a bit silly to live in your casino knowing that a mobster wants to kill you because you stole money from him in his casino with your boyfriend and he knows where you work. Lol)

Requirements: None, at the end of the day, he is blind and wouldn't care much what kind of body cj has, but he would be curious to touch it (Not sexual way) and find imperfections or scars. (I feel he likes scars because of their origin, he finds it boring if an object or a body is all smooth and has no shape or an imperfection).

Food: He will go to any restaurant, bar no matter if it's far from home. Except junk food restaurants, he hates the strong smell of that place (he gets pretty dizzy when he smells something strong) and the taste of the food there. (I can imagine trying to throw a plastic bottle towards CJ's head but misses and hits another guy who was eating his burger in peace. Xddd)

Places to dance: Oh baby, this won't be like all the dancing you did with the other girls. You'll have to beat the woozie out of a dance competition, whoever has the most dance points wins. (Accidentally woozie will get the girls' attention and when the competition is over, you'll have to rescue him from them). Rides: I remember hearing woozie's dialogues asking Carl to increase the speed. So yes, he is going to ask you to go more but faster, he is going to have a lot of fun. (Another tough challenge, try not to crash or he will call you blind.) but there will be times when woozie is going to ask you if he can drive, if he says yes, you will have to guide him, what directions to go and when to stop or follow the car. If you don't respond or don't respond in time, woozie will crash, first he will ask you if you are ok, then he will scold you and tell you to be more attentive.

He doesn't care if you take him far away or close to his home, as he won't notice. Moments that can happen during the date: Remember when Salvatore threatened Carl about killing him, his family and friends? Well, I highly doubt that threat was null and void knowing that he had Claude kill people (if I'm not mistaken) who were indebted to him. So he will send the assassin to kill you and woozie. If you choose to attack, this may affect negatively, as it will cause woozie to become more stressed.(He already has a lot of stress with his casino.). So it's best to get away from them as quickly as possible, before woozie gets screaming mad and shoots you. If this keeps happening too many times, the two of you will have to let each other see each other for a while for the safety of both of you, but you're not going to stop getting calls from woozie.

Hot coffe: Mmm... if I tell you he's asexual? (Rockstar confirmed it to me. 🤑) Or well, at least he's on the asexual spectrum. You have a better chance of him inviting you to play video games, very rarely is he going to ask you if he wants to have coffee. (10% chance you have that he does, there should be an achievement for that.) but you're not going to hear woozie's moans, if not Carl's. (Just because he's blind, doesn't mean he'll leave all the work to cj.) Prizes: 40% He will give you another car much faster than the one we got in the mission "Wu Zi mu". 60% you can now gather woozie members, he can help you to conquer neighborhoods in the saints or assassinate Salvatore's guys. (Same as Grove Street members, only with better aim,

more useful and they are not a nuisance in battle). 80% Hot coffer. 100% a Mountain Cloud Boys suit, with this suit you have high chances that woozie members will agree to go with you, bets will be easier to win and if you fail, you won't be in debt and you won't get those annoying calls. The only negative is that Salvatore's men will identify you easier and will try to kill you.

Ways to break up with him: Woozie's relationship at zero percentage: although woozie looks like a nice guy and peaceful, he is not patient and does not like to waste his time if he sees that his relationship there is no good communication or if he is treated badly. He will end up with Carl sadly, but not the friendship, so the gifts and benefits will stay there. Kill woozie: I don't know who will be very cruel to kill him knowing what woozie did for Carl, but if someone is able to do that, he will lose everything he got with him and now you already have two mobs wanting to kill you.

Claude speed

is at the place where Carl first meets woozie and Claude. Most likely looking at the state of his car or observing people's attitudes. He will be free from 12:00 to 15:00 at his house in san fierro. ("But Nameless, you can't go to san fierro yet, you must do the mission of-" shhhh... cj went there by the power of headcanons). Maybe I will ooc with him, because I imagine a young Claude speed very contrary than the speed of now, the only thing that doesn't change is that he is mute and full of traumas. Requirements: Ability to drive cars at 70% or max and stamina 50% or more. Food: He likes to eat everything and doesn't get fat and no matter how much food he swallows. (Currently he barely eats.) And he's not a big fan of bars but he's not going to refuse to drink it. (Later he got used to alcoholic drink, but he still doesn't like the taste and they don't drink too much because of a bad memory.) but his favorite choice will be Burger Shot. Places to dance: He doesn't really mind what place you go to (does this guy have an opinion and tastes of his own?). He's not a very good dancer, but he'll have a lot of fun if you dance worse than him. Lol

Things that will ensure that the date is a success: The fastest way to make the date go well is to play pranks on each other or drive at high speed, regardless of whether it's a ride or not. Problems that can happen on the date: CATALINA Oh shit... can you imagine how Catalina would react if she knew her boyfriend and her ex were together? She will do everything she can to hunt him down or find another man to make them both jealous. Walks: Oh man... not for nothing his last name is speed (I know rockstar said maybe that's not his last name, but he also let us create headcanons about him.) instead of a ride, he's going to challenge you a race, the one who wins can do anything or make her boyfriend a challenge. Hot coffee: He's not going to invite you for a coffee, speed is going to make eyes at you to conquer you and go straight to his dirty game. 👀 And if you ask me, Claude barely moans. That way you're going to hear Carl's moans more and very rarely hear someone else's moan. Ways to end it: Three ways this time.

Canonical: everyone already knows it, Claude Speed leaves with Catalina for Liberty city and is never heard from again. Bad boyfriend: not dating him and lying to him with "see you soon." knowing that Claude stayed with Catalina for many years (if we recall ALL the things Catalina did to cj, it must have been hell being with her for 10 years and cause you can't empathize or be cold as a defense for fear someone else will hurt you.) He may not say anything, but pretty disappointed in you, think he is not important to you and maybe he thinks this is normal between couple and the percentage will go down, but he can still date him no matter if he is 0% processes with him. Kill him: eh... the good thing is that you prevented Catalina from ruining Claude's life(? Rewards: 30% he'll lend you his key to use his car that he won in a race with woozie (Headcanon or not?). 50% hot coffe. 100% Claude will give you his clothes, having that on will increase 40% the speed of all cars but the car resistance and the bullet resistance of other enemies depends a lot on the advance of the speed ratio, if it is good or at the maximum, the cars will be much more resistant and very rarely the other enemy gangs will follow you, but if it is low or empty, they will be very easy to destroy and the enemies will shoot you no matter if you arrive green or ask what gang you are.

[ranticore]

in ur dragon fight drawing, one of the dragon has a hole torn in its wing, would that be a debilitating injury in this world? how are riders and dragons with disabilities treated?

i have to say the wing heals up easily enough (otherwise their dragon attrition rate would be terrible... that's one way they can't be like planes lol). i think a hit through the wing would be an 'i yield' moment in battle where the victim bows out of the fight. a skirmish is p.much guaranteed to result in injuries and potentially deaths, and some airbases might have a policy of not taking 'i yield' as sign to stop attacking. it's rare though, there's a kind of honour system in place in a skirmish because you might have to count on those other people as allies at some point, and the goal is to secure control in the airspace, not kill or rout the enemy.

each airbase is essentially its own little militia (i think of it like a huge warship with hundreds onboard) with its own culture. if you can recover from your wounds, great, you go back into the line of duty. if you're unable to do that then you retire. dragons are treated better than humans in general but that often extends a shield over the riders who are considered the public faces of their dragons. if the dragon is grounded they can still teach and still do radio work, and that means the human sticks around to facilitate this. if the human is injured and can no longer fly skirmishes then treatment depends on their rank & the rank of their dragon. at the lowest ranks, you might not get much by way of assistance or quality of life. in the airbase you can specialise into tasks which can be done as desk jobs - drawing charts, weather-fronts, managing the provisions, stuff like that. but it's entirely up to the dragon whether or not another rider replaces you in the saddle.

if you truly cannot work again it's also up to your dragon to advocate on your behalf. not every airbase culture facilitates this. as with many things in life, your continued survival may rely on being on good terms with the higher ups, winning a matriarch's favour, or being generally liked.

tangential but the overall culture i'm imagining is (barring the radio technology and somewhat early-1900s aesthetic) relatively feudal, a hundred small holders and lords with no central ruling structure. rank is usually determined by bloodline (imagine open candidacy to ride for small dragon classes, closed for the more "important" ones, etc. that way we can get some Controversy and Drama... court intrigue even...). so relating back to the ask, if you happen to be born important, you needn't ever worry about your future at the airbase, even if you are disabled in the line of duty.

[icedragonlizard]

Let's talk about Ice Dragon

I mean.. this thing is literally my namesake! Let me give it recognition.

I know I frequently post about characters such as Susie, Magolor and Marx, and yet I have "icedragonlizard" as my username which would imply that I should be more all over this big chubby blue dinosaur.

Funny of me to be acting the way I do.

However... despite seldom talking about him, I do love this thing.

I chose this username for two reasons: 1.) to stand out and 2.) while Ice Dragon may not necessarily be my top favorite character in all of Kirby, it is however one of my very favorite designs in the series!

I adore the appearance of this big cute silly thing.

He's big. He's chubby. He's blue. He looks very squishy. I want to hug him even if he'd bite me or turn me into an ice cube. He just straight up looks like a dinosaur, despite having dragon in his name. This is like the perfect sort of kawaii dinosaur design you'd expect in Kirby.

He looks like the substitute decoy from pokemon, LOL.

We don't have much reptiles in Kirby. There's also Landia, of course, which is another dragon. And there are also Galbos, an enemy species with evolved variants such as Galboros. I've noticed the visual similarities that Ice Dragon has to Galbos. May they be related at all?

I think the biggest problem with Ice Dragon is that he... isn't much of a character. He's very under-utilized. As far as I know, all his main appearances are: a boss in Dream Land 2 where he debuted, he's a painting that Adeleine summons in Dream Land 3, 64 and Star Allies (the former two as bosses, the latter as playable), he's a hologram in Planet Robobot, and if I'm not mistaken he also shows up in the clash games. I've never actually played the clash games but I've seen images of him in it.

And the fact he sadly has little recognition in the fandom in general.

He's much less major than other boss characters like Whispy Woods and Kracko. At least those two show up in like almost every game.

He doesn't even have a mask of his likeliness in Merry Magoland!

At least he does appear in the anime, though. I think it was cool the way they handled him, where they gave him a small version and then he just grew really gigantic.

There's unfortunately just very little to work with or talk about with Ice Dragon. One can try to rectify this with headcanons, which I've tried.

I do have headcanons for him.... it's just not a ton due to how little and minor of a character he is. For one, I headcanon that he's the king of whatever is Popstar's main snowy/arctic area, whether that be Iceberg (from DL2 and DL3) or White Wafers (from RTDL). And I imagine he's friends with King Dedede or at least gets along with him well, since they both serve as kings in their respective lands. Adeleine and the animal friends may know him and get along with him well, too, since the former even has paintings of him that she can summon.

If Ice Dragon was more major than he is... if they made him a more frequent boss and did more with him, I'd be all over it. I'd talk about him a lot more. I'd develop more headcanons for him at that point!

I once thought about that if Forgotten Land was willing to include dinosaur-like creatures during its game, then a primal version of Ice Dragon would've been absolutely perfect for the Winter Horns section.

If they ever do a Kirby game that includes dinosaurs, whether they be the villain faction or something else, then I think Ice Dragon himself or a relative could show up, and the aesthetic of his design could be a great base for other dinosaur creatures that get added in the series.

^ Just an idea, more ideas could be made.

This could be said for a lot of other characters in Kirby, I know, but I think a lot of really cool and awesome stuff could be done with Ice Dragon if HAL were to utilize him as such. I'd love to see it happen.

Oh and by the way, I'm aware that a plushie for Ice Dragon exists... it's from the Roly-Poly Friends merch line, but it's extremely rare to find and also costs a ton of money. It's out of my luxury to get it, sadly.

I would love to see a Sanei plushie of this guy come out at some point. I did say after all that I'd expand on my plushie collection more when they introduce more Sanei plushies later down the road, didn't I? Hahahahaha. Although I have the feeling that may take a while. That's fine. No need to rush. But if an Ice Dragon plush from Sanei comes into existence, I'm going to get it in a heartbeat. It'll be great.

[beastren]

∞ Arisen & Pawn Character Introductions

original template by @arisenreborn :D

♛ THE ARISEN:

NAME: Nimh AGE: 23 RACE: Half-elf PRONOUNS: She/her PREFERRED VOCATION: Warfarer FAVORED GIFTS: Gems, things to make food with, particularly (princess) harspuds. FAMILY: Elf father, human mother.

POSITIVE TRAITS: Brave, hard-working, largely unconcerned with things she deems trivial, so it helps her have a good sense of drive/focus, but can also make her some across as uncaring. NEGATIVE TRAITS: Rash, reckless, impulsive, particularly in high-pressure moments, like if Lir gets downed. Easily frustrated. LIKES: Goats, books, small creeks. DISLIKES: The cold. Glyndwr. She doesn't have the best impression of elves in general, but also not the worst. Medusas.

1. What was their life like before becoming Arisen?

She lived on a small farm with her parents until she was about 16, when she decided to start traveling and doing odd jobs around Vermund, which is how she ended up as a sell-sword in Melve when the dragon attacked. Her family lived a decent bit away from any settlement, although they would go into the nearest towns to shop and trade every so often. She didn't have many friends because of this, so she took up reading from a young age, and it was her main hobby, aside from helping on the farm, which she did genuinely love.

2. How do they handle being Arisen, and the responsibilities that come with it?

She handles it pretty well, at the beginning, after she's gotten her memories back. The point where she didn't have them was quite rough though, and of course it gets rough later on when more things start feeling at stake. In the AU where she brings about the Unmoored World it's a bit horrifying, it's the absolute worst thing she could've ever imagined and the only things that get her through are the urge to set thing's right and Lir's determination.

3. What are their thoughts on Pawns in general?

Just fine! Not good or bad, and both before and after becoming an arisen she was inclined to see them as Just People, albeit with a bit more nuance later on.

4. What's their relationship like with their main Pawn?

Complicated and simple at the same time. Due to her love of books as a child, particularly tales of knights and princes, Lir was born from an idealized image of those figures. While he was made for her to fall in love with and be a crutch/wish fulfillment in a way, she also always struggled with attachment and attraction to men. It's not that she wasn't, but it happened very rarely. So between that, and also how convoluted, intense and unique the bond between arisen and main pawn can be, she spends a lot of time figuring out what might be projection or miss-attributed feelings. She does come to very much genuinely love him for him though, throughout their journey. More on this in Lir's paragraph on his feelings for Nimh and how he's changed.

5. Do they have any interest in being Sovran? What are their opinions on the politics of the world in general?

No interest in it at all smh.... She's definitely just handing the responsibility off to Sven lol. She was happy in her late teens/early 20's to be away from home and the farm, but as she goes through her journey as Arisen she finds herself longing for it again more than anything. So she really hopes Sven would also be willing to fund her getting a little farm of her own somewhere.... Maybe she could renovate those couple destroyed buildings overrun by saurians by the fields of Vernworth.... As she'd also hate to be too far from people again.

6. Who are their love interest(s) and/or closest friends?

Wilhelmina is her love interest, aside from Lir.... Wilhelmina kissing her to save her from the guards was her bi awakening lol. As for close friends, she gets along well with Menella and Brant. She likes to visit Waldhar too, as he becomes a great supply of books and is someone she can talk about them to. She likes hanging out with Ulrika and Fyoran when she visits Harve as well. Beren as well, and although she doesn't spend much time with him, he's one of the only people she truly feels she won't be judged for being quiet around.

7. What drew them to their preferred vocation? Do they have history with it?

She hates being limited (read: not being able to reach areas), so always being able to pull out a staff and levitate, or to pull out a magick bow to shoot enemies out of the sky or hit multiple targets is something she quickly finds she can't go back from once she has it. Though she usually equips all 4 of her skill slots with skills from one vocation anyway, mainly mystic spearhand and occasionally thief.

8. Do they have any hobbies? Any way of relaxing between all that monster-slaying and traveling?

Reading!! But also she at least does very much enjoy camping and making good food for everyone, especially finding ways to go above and beyond the default slab of meat. Maybe THIS is her secret to getting Lir to be so strong.... She also likes petting and playing with farm animals. She will often wander out into the fields outside of Vernworth to do this....

♟︎ THE PAWN:

NAME: Lir AGE: 24 RACE: Beastren PRONOUNS: He/him PREFERRED VOCATION: Warrior FAVORED GIFTS: Berries, delicately but pleasantly fragranced soaps. Handmade things and kind gestures in general. INCLINATION: Kindhearted

POSITIVE TRAITS: Kind, strong, loyal and sweet. NEGATIVE TRAITS: Self-sacrificing, can be a bit clueless. Clumsy around deep water. LIKES: Shallow water and baths, hot springs.... He enjoys traveling and seeing interesting sights but there's nothing better than a warm comfortable bed. DISLIKES: Deep water and the brine.... Dragonsplague....

1. What was their life like prior to being summoned by their Arisen?

Nothing much to note here! Just a foggy consciousness in the rift.... Nimh is his first and only arisen!

2. What is their opinion on the Arisen? How do they view their relationship?

He looks up to her a lot, before anything else. At first he's quite compelled by Nimh's will and her projection of it, as his arisen, onto him, and sort of loves her blindly for a while. But even at the start, part of his awe and wonder towards her is certainly genuine. More on this in the "how have they changed" section below.

3. Is there anything about the Arisen they find troublesome? Be it a small quirk or bad habit? (Or are they obviously flawless?)

He holds her in too high of a regard to think of any of her traits as too much of a flaw, but if he had to say some things, it'd be her recklessness when worrying over him, but also her difficulty at times with communication. Although they work together very well in battle, and there is a certain amount Lir can kind of just Sense off of her, there was a period in the middle of their journey (about the time they reached Battahl) where the two grew rather distant. Largely because Nimh was having difficulties sorting through her feelings for both Lir and Wilhelmina, and also just struggling as enemies got harsher in Battahl. This lead her to neglecting him a bit and just not talking to him about anything she was going through, which Lir would've absolutely preferred and believes would've saved them a lot of trouble. They do eventually have a breaking point where they work things out and grow closer than ever before.

4. What is their specialization and is there any story behind how they cultivated that skill set?

Chirurgeon!! He was a Logistician at first, but Nimh wold get frustrated at him crafting salubrious draught all the time before she could wait for fruit to ripen and dry to make roborant.... She decided to channel his affinity for curatives and his kindhearted nature into a specialization where he could look out for their party more directly.

5. Do they have any thoughts on the politics of the world and their place in it as a Pawn - or how Pawns are treated?

Lir can be very sensitive to it, feeling lots of grief at the ways pawns get mistreated in Battahl. It's extra odd for him being a beastren pawn as well.... But part of him does understand why they feel that way considering dragonsplauge, but it hurts nonetheless. He wants to be hopeful since Nadinia seems open-minded, but he wonders how much of what Phaesus does she truly knows about.

6. Does their journey with the Arisen change them in any significant way and how?

During the rough patch between Nimh and Lir, he starts to gain his own will bit by bit. At first this and the general circumstances do draw them apart, but Lir takes the time to ponder and sort out his own genuine, developing feelings. It's hard to sort out and get rid of Nimh's will completely, so things continue to be complicated, but Nimh is very wary of this and that isn't lost on Lir. He doesn't ever bring his feelings up directly for quite a long time because of this, although he does keep up his sweet manner of speech full of admiration as it is kind of second nature by now, albeit with a bit more Meaning. To keep the rest of this short, in one AU Lir, Nimh and Wilhelmina all end up happily together, retired at their farm with Sven as sovran. In another, they decide to bitter-sweetly part ways after everything so Lir can travel and become truly his own self. And there's also the unmoored world AU ofc.

7. Is there a reason they chose their preferred vocation?

In game he comments on this a lot lol, he loves being a warrior. Sometimes he even asks to be a warrior WHILE he's a warrior. Initially he was a fighter, influenced by Nimh's vision of a princely knight. But he felt a little stagnant after reaching max rank so they had him try out warrior and he just instantly thrived, he felt a lot more helpful/capable/powerful too, so it just stuck!!

8. Do they have any hobbies or preferred past-times?

Hmmm, that's hard.... He's rather go with the flow so he can be happy chilling and doing whatever, like watching the clouds or the stars.... But I could see him having a journal/scrapbook or something!! I'm sure he gets into a lot of stuff in the AU where he sets out on his own but i'd have to ponder it more.... Kind of related, but he would help re-braid Nimh's hair often and got quite good at it, on top of it being quite relaxing to him.... Hairstylist....

[aardvaark]

Leverage character asks: 1,3,17,45 (your choice on character)

thank you for the ask & for fueling my leverage obsession lol <3

1. Canon I outright reject

honestly i love the character development on leverage, even when it means the character has some negative traits or weaknesses or something. hmm… i think one thing i disliked was hardison being a super bad tipper (some ep in s5). he doesn’t care about workers? particularly after five years of leverage? idk.

i also wish eliot didn’t seem to like cops so much, but thats more of a gripe with the show’s/showrunners’ attitudes towards police.

3. Obscure headcanon

sophie: that she’s trans! love that hc. shout out to @transsophiedevereaux. also that sophie had a drunken one night stand with maggie, which is actually (word of god) canon rather than a head canon, but seems to be rarely mentioned.

nate: nate x sophie x sterling… it’s happened at least once.

parker: so many!! but the one i’ll share is that. uh. she’s probably killed someone. pre-leverage, she’s known to be dangerous for a reason, and she’s been in a lot of awful situations unfortunately. she would probably have done so out of necessity, it might even have been self defense, but yk. it’s still killing someone. and no, i don’t mean the pilot flashback - according to word of god (ie john rogers) she probably didn’t kill her foster parents when exploding their house. anyway, i’ve seen some cool fics about this idea and discussed this topic w @laser-tripwires and i think it’s really interesting for a variety of reasons, but i won’t list them here bc this is already getting so long lol.

hardison: that he still secretly adds to nana’s income somehow (he canonically paid off her medical bills), that he plays D&D, that he likes [insert media beloved by geeks that i don’t really know much about, but i love that people hc him as enjoying the things they enjoy so much].

eliot: my own silly hc that many of his scars are actually from kitchen accidents rather than fights lol

17. Quotes, songs, poems, etc. that I associate with them

gonna answer this one for sophie only, cause i have quite a few answers just for her!

1) i saw a gif set of sophie once with the lyrics of "thief" by imagine dragons, and it was a really gorgeous gif set and the lyrics fit very well.

2) yk the fable "the scorpion and the frog"? at the end of s1, she seems to excuse her actions (conning the team) like the scorpion - that it’s just in her nature, lying is who she is, she’s a thief and this is what thieves do, etc. additionally, it’s what sterling says about her, that her behaviour was predictable because it’s "who she is".

3) the gambler by kenny rogers. bc the chorus is canonically her life philosophy lmao (according to the last dam job).

45. Their favorite celebrity

sophie: canonically, db cooper. she idolises him in the db cooper job lol. poster above her bed as a teenager etc etc.

nate: man, his would be oddly specific im sure. like he reads war strategy books, maybe sun tzu. or perhaps a chess grandmaster, like bobby fischer. i don’t know much about war strategists nor chess players, so if anyone does, then maybe you can suggest a more specific person.

hardison: i know he loves star trek, doctor who, star wars - im simply not pop culture savvy enough to know who his fave actors from those shows might be. BUT. i think it would be funny if his fave celebrity was wil wheaton (who was in star trek, and who, of course, played cha0s in leverage). also, wil wheaton is famously into D&D, video games, comics, and other "geek" stuff that hardison proudly enjoys too. hardison does not see the resemblance btwn wheaton and his nemesis, no idea what you’re taking about.

eliot: i think he would have people he looks up to or thinks are incredible, who are celebrities but only in a very specific field. like a renowned chef, but not a "celebrity chef" as in one who’s on tv. i mean like a chef who is famous among chefs, for being one of the most talented in the world.

parker: i feel her definition of celebrity would be somewhat different to most people’s. plus, her knowledge of the world is deep but narrow - she knows everything possible about thievery and anything even tangentially related (probably a decent amount of physics, for example), but pop culture? not so much. she later gets into stuff like dr who via hardison though, so perhaps the actor of the current doctor, ncuti gatwa. now, there’s also famous thieves, BUT they’re generally only famous because they eventually got caught. parker does not get caught. she would not idolise someone who ended up caught. maybe the thief of an unsolved heist. honestly, parker is famous in the leverage crime world. so. herself? not that she enjoys being a celebrity lol.

[slightlyhopefulromantic]

been thinking about doing a class swap for a week or so, but i couldnt think of anything for prudence - until party fowl, of course, where oxventure gave an alternative class to me XD i might come back to these and do lines and color, but for now, just some sketches :]

some extra rambling under the cut about my thought process for all of these:

corazón was a pretty easy choice, considering he's already in a band and loves to charisma his way out of things, haha. he's a little less flashy than canon corazón since being a bard gets him plenty of attention as is LOL so he dresses more plainly. he puts up a display of being very cheerful and a friend to all, but this is very much a display - he still is corazón, with all of his brooding and jealousy, which led to him getting the rest of his pirate crew cursed, of course. though he was not initially captain of the joyful damnation, he took control of it after the incident of the cursehole, and is slightly prone to going on rants about "oh, they never took old CORAZÓN seriously, but see who isn't cursed now!" (<- was the one who got them cursed)

prudence was still raised by cyrus the hermit, but when she decided to follow cthulhu instead of zargon, she left behind the life of a warlock entirely. she still follows cthulhu, hence the evil-looking octopus tattoo on her shoulder, but this is purely a religious thing and does not grant her power. she's path of the beast because of course she is, she's a werebear. she carries an axe. she does not use said axe when she can just claw wildly or whip her tail around, but she definitely carries it!

dob was my favorite to draw. he's a pretty boy :] he has the most different backstory - he still got rabies, but an archfey took pity on him after suzette left to find a cure and gifted him with a fruit from feywilds to cure him. he spent some time in the feywilds as he recovered and was only returned to geth quite a few years later, and promptly set off on a quest to find his lost sister. this was, of course, a way for the fey to lay claim over him and now he's in a deal that greatly hinders his life, but he likes looking on the bright side of things! everyone thinks he smells lovely and comforting and he doesn't even have to wash himself for it to happen! awesome!

egbert is incredibly similar to canon. he has a big shield, hits people with his mace, and he's the religion guy (does not do anything with this). when he left the noble order of le dragon d'or, he was called to follow la vache mauve and was bidden to swap his class to cleric. he is not exceptionally good at the healing side of being cleric, but luckily he's light domain, so he can just blast people with all sorts of fire and radiant spells

merilwen was probably the hardest for me to sort out, since she is so based in being a druid and going with ranger seemed too easy (and also was already given to dob, lol). the vision of her riding on a bear took over though, so i went for cavalier so she could have advantage with mounted combat! i imagine that she would very rarely get to do this, but she loves that she has the ability to, and she definitely has an unnecessarily high animal handling score

[apollosgiftofprophecy]

can you tell me more about draco and the northern oracle 🙏 i wanted to dive more into this when i saw your post about heavenly oracles but all that came up when i searched for the dragon was ladon

Ah yes, I know why that is.

Multiple myths can correlate to the same constellation. Capricorn, for instance, could be this one legendary seagoat who was memorialized for his bravery as a constellation OR it could be a representation of Pan's escape from Typhon as a seagoat.

The Draco constellation is like this - most will say it's to symbolize Ladon, the dragon who guards Hera's golden apples, while others will say the constellation itself is the earth-dragon of Koios's oracle.

Obviously, I think we all know which one I prefer lol

and!!! um!!! maybe I can tell you more, we'll see XD

So. I am of the mind that Draco and Python both coexisted with their respective Titan counterparts - Koios and Phoebe. They both witnessed the Titan War, and while Draco retreated inside Koios's oracle and kinda shut it down to a degree to keep it from falling into the gods' hands (because remember - Draco is on Koios's side here. He would do everything he could to keep it from Olympus.), Python remained neutral with Phoebe.

That is. Until he grew greedy. And wanted Delphi's power for himself. And then got slammed by her grandson lmao

BUT THIS ISN'T ABOUT HIM :D IT'S DRACO TIME :D

I imagine Draco to be kinda an icy-blue and white dragon, resembling the north but also the sky, because that's where he and Koios get their prophecies from (and I see Python as purple & green hence the Earth and all that hehe. Colors!!!).

AH I CAN SHARE MY HEADCANON ON WHERE I THINK THE ORACLE IS AT NOW :D

so context: Koios's oracle is to the North, but not like. the North Pole. The Ancient Greeks weren't aware of such a thing - sure, they believe Koios was the Northern pillar, but not like the North Pole.

This is important to know because Hyperborea, Apollo's eternal spring vacation suit, is located just below where Koios's oracle is!

SO IF WE TAKE OUT MY MAP HERE (yes I have a map for this. i have ADHD what do you expect?)

The Underworld River Eridanos runs through Hyperborea, as seen by the 34 Gray marker on the map^

Gray marker 32 is the location of the Rhipaion Mountains, where Boreas lives. This is the southernmost border of Hyperborea!

Originally I thought Eridanos was like. the Northern border - but no! Sources say that it's the River Oceanus instead.

But the thing is. For this river to be the northern border, then that means Hyperborea takes up like. Bulgaria to Poland. Lithuania. Till it hits the Baltic Sea, at least.

(Wait. oh my gosh...that's how Freypollo happens...ohmygosh EVERYONE I'VE FIGURED IT OUT!

ahem. saves for later <-ask me about it. please.)

anyway. SO THEREFORE HYPERBOREA IS LIKE. WHERE GRAY 33 IS. BUT ALSO FROM GRAY 32 AND UP.

Apollo really just went "See this? It's all mine now." lmaooo XD

that or Boreas was a really good boyfriend <-headcanon i could share too if anybody's curious hehe

BACK TO THE ORACLE NOW.

Delphi is the center of the world to the Ancient Greeks, so if we go North, Koios's would be right about...

Koios has friends in the Norse pantheon confirmed?

guys I'm just spitballing right now. but it makes sense too.

Ancient Greece was aware of the Norse, btw! and, funnily enough, they could have mythologicalized them as...the Hyperboreans.

Freypollo happened y'all it's all right here

And I'm not making that up! It's historically agreed upon that the Hyperboreans in mythology were probably mythological avatars of the Norse! Greece rarely interacted with them, but they still knew of the other's existence. In fact, they were in a bit of awe of the Norse if memory serves correctly lol

Fascinating. Amazing how it all fits together.

Of course, remember this is just me making a crack theory about this Really Obscure Thing so there may be something out there that doesn't add up with this and if there is I Will make it Work with this but all in all, I think it does make sense?

Like seriously I just pulled this out of my head. Only the part above the cut was prewritten but the rest was pure crack theory slammed down.

As for where I think Hyperborea and Koios's Oracle are in the RRverse...

Greenland be covered in snow, yes. But remember Hyperborea is a land of Eternal Spring and would not be deterred by that lol

Plus it'll be typical RRverse shenanigans for Eternal Spring to be in a Very Snowy place lmao

I was tempted to put Koios's Oracle at The North Pole but then I was like ehhh not very accessible, is it?

I can officially say this is my second theory lol hope you enjoyed the rabbit hole :3

[yomogi-mogi-mochi]

Spolia (VII Final)

Parings: Malleus/(Light Fae) MC // Slight Rook/Vil // Trein/MC (Parental)

Summary: You wondered why you ever got accepted into NRC but never bothered to look back when the infamous black carriage whisked you away from a place you could never call home. Having been handed an opportunity of freedom, of solitude, of hope- how come you're paralyzed with fear rather than excitement? Your sunny plein air sessions and nightly walks contemplating this has attracted a certain dragon fae with an affinity for your nimble gargoyle sketches and magnificent paintings.

Notes: Hopefully this chapter makes up for the last. I've been in kind of a creative slump lately, for my art and my writing. Like I can write and draw but nothing feels right and I'm never satisfied. Ugh I hate this feeling

I think I took enough time to write this that this is an acceptable ending. I suck at happy endings because I rarely consume media that does it to my tastes lol, that and I don't really consume happy media too much. So I hope you enjoy. The next chapter is a preview to my next work, which I should have published the first chapter of when I post this.

CW: Suicide mention/attempted suicide/substance abuse (?) for this chapter.

AO3 Link Here.

Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 3 // Part 4 // Part 5 // Part 6 // Part 7 (Here)

Masterlist

————————————————————

The light is too harsh for your eyes that have adjusted to darkness. You squint even with the dim glow of the mirror chamber, shielding your eyes with trembling hands. The kindling warmth that you felt last time you were in this room was now replaced with a thousands of burning needles writhing under your skin, threatening to burst open from your seams. It’s all too much, too much. Fire, fire, fire, your body shrieked. You let it burn itself out, replacing it with a chilling darkness that flowed through your veins.

You want to go back into that dark room, devoid of any smells, touch, gravity, feeling, and light. But your mother had the maids drag you out of the belly of the darkness, dress you prim and proper, and sent you back to a vial of medicine in hand. You looked at the shimmering glass, feeling its full weight in the palm of your hand. What would happen if you drained it all into your body? You let out a breathy laugh at that, holding it up to the light to imagine the bitterness on your tongue once more.

Once you dragged your body back to your room, you stitched the curtains shut with a needle and thread. In and out, in and out, you pulled the thread tightly so the light that poured in through the seams would be completely shut out, letting not even a drop of light in. Your body felt like it was floating in the complete darkness you made, the weight of the vial in your hands being the only thing which tethered your body to the ground. Walking around the room aimlessly, you began to throw your canvases, tubes of paint, and brushes into one pile, throwing each carelessly into a mess in the middle of your room. You would throw it out later at night.

Stilling your body in front of the mess, you entertained the thought of burning it all, and showering in that fire to see if any sort of anger, pity, or sadness from yourself would revive out of you, deep inside your heart. But your chest felt flat like a shadow‒ no depth, no hole, no softness you could dig your hands through to rip anything out. Just a quiet, smoothed shade, dull to any blazing heat or bitter chill. If you could take the sharpest blade into your bare hands and sink it in, it would bend at the fossilized surface of your heart. It felt heavy like a collar around your neck.

You opened the vial in your hands, relishing in the burn it left in your throat as the bitterness sunk into your tongue. The liquid bubbled like acid against the flesh inside your body, and you felt a rush of feverish lightness wash over you. You held the cool glass close to your collapsing chest. It was euphoria to feel that gaping wound in your chest once more.

You collapsed into what you think was your bed, allowing the covers to mold to your body and swallow you like the darkness. Unlike the last time you were at this school‒ you no longer feared the mouth of the beast that devoured you, instead climbing into its throat with open arms, clamping down its jaws onto your body to let its dark flesh embrace your body. Touch me, hold me, love me. You begged, and it did just that‒ ravaging you whole.

————————————————————

Trein glanced at the pile of papers sitting at the edge of his desk, pausing his pen against the papers he had been grading for what felt like ages. He let out a tired sigh, rubbing his eyes with cooled fingers to massage out the anxiety he had been feeling for the few weeks you had not shown your face since winter break ended. Still his worry persisted, so he lifted his stiff body from his office chair to get some fresh air, hoping it would help the nervous itch that was at the back of his mind that appeared right after his last conversation with you. Growing up with daughters, he had learned to sniff out unsavory people in hopes of protecting them, and his interaction with your mother left a chill in his bones that signaled just that. Unsavory, dangerous even.

“Non, I haven’t seen L’artiste en folie, even during our shared art elective…Were you able to catch them after winter break?”

“No, I haven’t seen them at all. Even if I knock on their door, nothing…And that dragon keeps knocking at our door asking about their whereabouts, I keep telling him if I knew I’d say but he’s so persistent‒“

Trein cleared his throat, catching the attention of the two Pomefiore students. “You two. Shouldn’t you be at your club activities?”

Vil pulled a piece of paper from his breast pocket. Trein examined it briefly before handing it back. “We were called to Headmage Crowley’s office to discuss a student’s absence. We were just on our way to take care of the issue right now.” Rook nodded in agreement.

“Hm." He hummed. "Do you mean (Name)?” Trein felt a twinge at his temples at the thought of gossiping with his students, however he pushed it aside, thinking of your safety above all else.

The two students exchanged a look. “Oui. Have you heard anything from them? We’re not even certain they returned, so we just received a master key to check, just for the purpose of safety.” Rook dangled a set of keys in front of Trein.

“In that case I will come with. There is something about their home situation I would like to investigate.” The two students nodded, asking no further questions.

————————————————————

Malleus stood at the doors of the Pomefiore dorm once more, hesitant to knock. Lilia, Silver, and Sebek stood by his side this time‒ the Vice dorm leader insisting he’d tag along because he was worried of your health as well, and the two guards following since the weather at the Diasmonia dorm had become so unbearable they would use any excuse to tag along at their master’s side. Even Sebek remained unusually quiet, lost in the heavy aura hanging around Malleus. The Diasmonia dorm leader held his fist away from the door. This was what, day fifteen of demanding the Pomefiore dormhead of your whereabouts?

“Roi des Dragons! Here for your usual visit, I see?”

Malleus hummed, anxiety buzzing at his fingertips. Or perhaps it was the rumbling thunder he was summoning over the blazing sunset. “Any news of them?”

Trein spoke up, hoping to relieve some of the tension brewing between his students. “Mr.Draconia. I understand that you are close acquaintances with Mx.D’aramitz. We’re going to check on them now. Perhaps it would be best if you approached them first?”. As much as Trein wanted to check on your well being and sort out the suspected family issues, he didn't want to overcrowd you.

“That might not be a bad idea if you are acquaintances. We’ve really only had classes with them and conversed a few times outside of business.” Vil agreed.

“We are friends.” Malleus corrected, narrowing his eyes. “I will find them.”

The group entered the marbled floor, heading up the stairs and down the hall to your room number. Rook tucked the key in Malleus' hands, stepping aside to let him at the door. He knocked softly at the door, calling your name. With silence filling the air, he inserted the key, the door creaking open to reveal deep darkness in the room.

Rook let out a gasp. "Mon dieu, that's…" He looked in horror at Malleus' feet. Feeling a sticky sensation seeping under his feet, Malleus looked down to find a dark liquid staining the fabric below.

Lilia poked at the stain, seeing the vicious black string that trailed to his fingers. "That's…"

"It's blot." Malleus finished. His hands curled to a fist, trembling a bit at his intense grip.

Sebek stepped forward, hand on his baton. "Young master, please, let us take your place. These humans should not have even concerned you with such‒"

"No. I must do this." He says. "We can't overwhelm them in this state, and I think it's best if we're able to take a pacifist approach to this as possible, considering…everything."

I wish to find you. He gripped his words in his chest, holding with it the smoldering fire it brought in his heart. It fed the light that guided him back to you, and you to him.

He stepped into the room, closing the door behind him and entering the total darkness.

A fire was lit in the palm of his hands to illuminate his sticky path. The liquid rose to his thighs as he struggled to avoid the various obstacles created by the various canvases and easels sinking into the blot, growing thicker, heavier with every step he took. Globs of black slowly rained down from the ceiling, rendering his wings useless in the situation. Fighting the blot that threatened to swallow him whole, he identified a small mound at the center of what looked to be your bed. Pulling himself towards you with the bed frame, he felt suffocated by the dark liquid that weighed at his feet and his shoulders but lifted his hand to reach towards the mass. Digging his arms deep into the darkness, he searched for your form against the resisting goop that slowly began to submerge his face.

Taking a deep breath in, he sunk his body into the void.

...don't look at me…

Disgusting disgusting disgusting

Malleus heard your distorted voice echo through the vast emptiness of the space he stood in. An expansive room‒ filled up to his ankles in blot. He saw your form curled in the middle of the room. You repeated those words over and over, like a spell to make yourself vanish from existence. Don’t look at me, don’t look, don’t look, don’t look. You prayed for the darkness to consume you whole once more, dragging you away from everything with its sharp claws.

Repent, repent, repent.

You felt like your mother was looming over you once more, that pressure rising the bile in your throat and pulling your trembling palms towards each other in a despairing prayer. These hands were never meant to create, to know sweetness, to touch even the warmth of the sun‒ they were meant to fuse together as they were now, into an invocation of a hand that would give you permission to live. You didn’t even care if those hands ripped you apart‒ taking your body, your heart, your mind, your hands‒ just, please, please, may I just be?

You felt an intoxicating heaviness weighing onto you, embracing your form. A lightness returned to your body, you felt like your flesh and blood were being flushed from your body, melting into the murky shadows. Seeing your form being engulfed in blot‒ Malleus hurled his body towards yours to dig through the viscous liquid once more. He ripped the tangled strings of blot from your face, clutching it between his hands to check for your breathing. When he heard shallow air escape from your lips, he sighed a bit in relief, before pulling your cool body up to his chest to free you from the blot. He looked up to scan the area for an escape, seeing a familiar blue glow emanating from above. Unfurling his wings, he held your body close, soaring towards the light.

From the cold, dead darkness, warmth emerges from somewhere, enveloping your hands with tender force. It almost burned your icy skin. The fire felt on it made you aware of the outline of your body from the deep black enveloping you. Ah, right, skin. Your hands, you were reminded.

You felt the blood pump through them, to the tips of your fingers where they touched warm hands. Warmth spreads to your face when the hands softly curled onto your face, tracing your eyelids, the crevice between your nose and cheek, your lips, and your chin. Right. You think. Eyes, mouth, nose.

The heaviness in your arms locked them in their crimpled position as the warmth gently, so so gently, guided your movements to sit you upright.

The blood rushed to your head, thump, thump, thump. The sound of blood being pumped deep from your chest, penetrating your veins, buzzing into your fingertips reverberated deep in your bones. The warmth radiating from gentle hands permeated the nerves on your skin, soaking your body with hot blood. The warmth wrapped itself around your body, squeezing tightly*.

Right, your body, your skin. Feet, legs, stomach, the warm organs packed inside it, a beating heart, lungs, shoulders, arms, hands, fingers.

Your eyes ‒right, eyes‒ clamped shut still. You felt that if you could look him in the eyes, the reality of your existence, your pain, your failure, your body would pour over your head like ice water. Still, warm hands lovingly caressed your face, softly rubbing the outline of your jaw to trace your face from the darkness that enveloped you both.

“It”s okay. I’m here, you’re here. It’s okay.”

Okay?

The heaviness of your eyelids slowly lifted as you opened your eyes in the room filled with a soft moon glow. Malleus held you close to his fluttering heart, tenderness fell on his lips once more.

“I’m here with you. It’s okay.”

"I’m here? That’s okay? It’s okay to be here? With you?" Those words barely felt like your own.

“Undoubtedly, (name).”

Mouth, ears, eyes. Eyes, eyes, eyes.

Ah, you didn’t even recognize your voice, or the water that was leaking from your eyes, into your mouth. The saltiness burned your parched tongue.

Your lungs gasped and gasped for air, your chest felt full. You felt like you were going to burst at the seams, with all that you’ve been, and everything you wished to be. Too much, too much, it’s all too much. You felt warm blood thrashing inside your skin, ready to rupture.

He held you tightly, not you hold it all in, but to hold you together when you fell apart. He drank in the fire that boiled your blood. It burned, but he kept you together. A cry burst from somewhere deep inside of you, and you felt yourself clutch onto his neck to explode.

Slowly, it cooled, and you felt relief as the tightness in your chest poured out with your tears. And though the darkness consumed your vision once more as you burrowed your face into his neck, in your mind, you could clearly trace his warmth pressed against yours, and outline your whole body which clung to his. You were here, in your entirety, next to him.

With no more tears left to cry, you looked into his eyes. For the first time, you let yourself relish in their hue. The color of lush grass, the color of fresh dew, the color of summer wind, the color of life. You sunk your gaze into them, drinking him whole as he did with you.

“I finally found you.” He speaks with a smile which hurt his cheeks.

“You found me.” You felt like you were filled with little bubbles‒ but it didn’t hurt, rather, you felt like you were floating, flying, flying up and up towards the sun. You felt full in a different way this time, it ached in the weight on your chest, you didn’t know how to give him more, more, more of you to be consumed in the softness of his eyes‒ you felt like you could die from the inferno that was being blazed inside you. You could let it burn the rest of the world and it would still not be enough to smother even a speck of it. With a brimming heart, you decided to return the same smile that hurt the muscles on your face. “Thank you.” You squeeze your arms around his neck, pressing your heart next to his. Closer, closer, closer‒ more, more, more. “I finally found you too.” He squeezed back, pressing his body even closer. It spread that bubbly warmth throughout your entire body. You felt here, present, whole in his embrace.

“Do you remember anything? About overblotting?” You detangled his arms from your own, lowering your embrace to lean your ear close to his heart. He melted against your touch, soaking in your warmth.

“I don’t remember much about overblotting. Just…coming back here from my family’s and ending up in that cold and empty space. I…I think I ended up drinking an entire bottle of transformation potion actually, maybe that’s what triggered it?” You struggled to recall anything distinct except for draining the entire bottle and going to sleep. “But I remember you. I remember the warmth of your hands making my body whole again.” Making me whole again. “Like you were reaching out to me, calling my name.”

Malleus felt a buzz spread from his heart, to his fingertips. “I felt that way when I saw your painting for the first time. A prayer, just for me, I felt as if I was going to explode. It felt like you were reaching out to my heart in the dark.” He looked towards the sky, the curtains unable to shield you two from the moon glow. It reminded him of you, so he fixed his gaze back to you. “Kind of like the moon. I really should have put together the pieces when you were talking about it in the art classroom.”

An airy laugh was sung on your lips. “Ironic, considering I’m a light fae.” You felt a hand lace between your milky hair. The tender handling was foreign to it, you delighted in the newly learned sensation.

“So that’s what you are.” He breathed out, a dazed smile on his lips.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before. M-my mother‒“

Malleus brushed a thumb across your face. “You don’t have to tell me right this second, whenever you are ready. You still time into an eternity in your presence, yet it is still not enough to contain you‒ we have much time to spend together.” You lifted your head from his chest. Closer, closer, closer‒ more, more, more. You wanted to crawl into his gaze, and bleed the entirety of your body brimming with warmth for him‒ you would break apart the world if it meant nourishing the endless depth in his eyes. This new heaviness‒ having a whole, beating heart‒ it brought you a new way of hurting, of aching‒ more, more, more‒ gods, anything, anything in the world to love deeper, taller, wider, more, more more‒

Instead of sinking in that slurry feeling, you rose to bring your hands into a prayer, except this time, his head softly against your palms instead of a forlorn grip. You prayed,

“Can I‒“

Malleus reacted before he could even speak, sliding his hands into the nape of your neck and bringing you closer, closer, closer, until your lips met. The warmth of his sweetened throat poured into yours, as you felt some of that pounding fullness coarse into him every second you spent drinking in his syrupy heat that swelled from deep inside of him. When your lips left his, you kept your eyes closed, afraid that if you opened them, he would be gone. Malleus delighted in another honeyed kiss, pressing deeper, closer into you. Your eyes still remained closed for a second after he softly let go. However, when his hand cupped your cheek, the warmth made you blink your eyes open‒ and to your absolute bliss, he was still standing, whole.

“We should probably get you to the infirmary eventually. Even with the blot purged from your system I think we should be safe and take you just in case.”

“We?” Those two letters, side by side, felt like sweet butter on your tongue. It spread when he smiled back.

“Yes, we. If you’ll allow it, always, ‘we’.”

You let out a boyish giggle. “Is that your way of asking to court me?”

“If you’ll allow it.” He repeated. “Even if I do not do it right, I’ll find you again and again.”

“I would love to be found by you, again and again.” You thought of the gargoyles, sleeping on the soft grass, moonlit walks, the smell of old words, crimson ink‒ spolia. Something once broken, rebuilt into something more whole. Sought, even in its destruction, a new era, founded on the old. You held it closely in your heart, nursing the fire that led you to him, and him to you. Found again, and again. Find me, find me, find me‒ a prayer of love, an invocation of eternity.

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

Notes:

I sort of imagine the overblot being like Howls tantrum from Howl's moving castle?? Also with a mix of that scene in Mononoke Hime where Ashitaka digs through the Tatarigami to find San

Deep pressure therapy is a technique used for autistic folks to ground them or help with sensory input. The body is composed of eight sensory systems which allow for sensory processing, which is the way we make sense of the world around us. These are visual, auditory, tactile, taste, vestibular (movement), proprioceptive (muscles and joints), and interoception (internal acknowledgement/sensors for the physiological conditions happening around you/in you). Malleus here is using tactile sensation by squeezing your body, as well as auditory and vestibular grounding to help with anxiety and dissociation

I tried to think of things that feel green to me, since I have synesthesia, like the smell of tatami mats, sunny rain, the smell of fresh laundry, the feeling of fingers on the ridges on a ginko leaf, or the warmth of a summer rain. Sometimes when I imagine the colors of something it nearly brings me to tears‒ and it reminds me of a quote from Albert Camus’ A Happy Death: “When I look at my life and its secret colors, I feel like bursting into tears.” So I would love to hear what “feels green” to you if you have synesthesia!

“Even if I do not do it right, I’ll find you again and again” refers to Mitski’s Pink in the Night, “And I know I’ve kissed you before, but I didn’t do it right / Cn I try again, try again, try again” Anyway Mitski for life

I hope you enjoyed the ending! I had lots of fun writing this piece since it got me back into creative writing again! You all are so nice with the comments and kudos I hope to continue writing stuff like this in the future!

New Rook/Reader piece HERE.

[minecraftbookshelf]

Biglong ask incoming, I kept getting more ideas as I typed lol. Hope you’ve got a ramble already locked and loaded. This might be a bit much otherwise, sorry. 😅

So… How big are things in MoS? Like the empires are presumably much larger than the Minecraft counterparts, being actually functional empires. How long is travel between the empires? Is the Minecraft map basically proportional or would things scale up differently? Is there just a separate map for the AU or are the broad strokes close enough to use the original world as a reference?

And what does travel actually look like? Are elytra a common thing for people to have? If they’re rare and valuable, who gets to use them? How about boats, horses, camels, lamas, donkeys? What’s common? Are there empire specific preferences for mounts/vehicles? Do we got flying machines, and would you see them outside the grimlands? How does pix tend to travel when he goes wandering?

When the dragons get brought back (gem would not appreciate the passive voice there) do dragon riders pop up? Do they become more common mounts eventually?

What is travel between empires like? Who lets people through easily, who doesn’t, and how do they enforce it? (especially with the flying people) What’s the process to be allowed into more closed off empires? I imagine the rules are different with allies, so what are they in that case?

Do you have any big trade routes you already thought of? Is ocean trade and travel generally allowed by lizze? Are there any silly circuitous routes that trade or travel has to take to get around closed off borders; get around both as in literally geographically around and metaphorically, as in around the rules.

Do winged sophonts ride on mounts sometimes; for comfort or for pomp and circumstance? Or is flying just so much faster that they basically never bother? Are there underwater mounts for the seafolk? Do seafolk use boats for themselves? Can seafolk swim faster than boats? Travel long distances faster?

Nether travel exists too! Or does it? Xornoth didn’t get possessed, so is the nether still around? If it is, how common is nether travel? Is it like the baseline for long trips, or a restricted ultra-fast highway? Probably depends on how hard it is to make portals in AUland. Do they even make more at all? If not commonplace, do the portals have like, waiting lists? Who tends to use them? Is it mostly used for trade?

Oh jeez, my asks are only getting longer. I feel like I need a tldr. Actually..

TLDR: a bunch of questions about travel in the MoS AU, more specifically regarding, in order; scale, vehicles, borders, trade routes, flying and swimming manually, and the nether.

Ok, now I think I’m finally actually done, for real this time, and I hope you have a good day. <3

Usually I either do have a ramble locked and loaded or it doesn't take much to get one going so I wouldn't worry about it XD

going to go ahead and preemptively pop in a readmore because, all this. (Also this ask is very funny to me because the literal first few paragraphs of the upcoming chapter do actually talk a bit about travel. In the sense of "Jimmy has flown all the way to the Overgrown and is dried up and cranky about it.")

How Big Is It All?

I have messed a bit with the proportions. On the actual SMP for example, Helianthia is one of the smaller empires, while that just...isn't quite feasible for the purposes of the AU since the sort of large scale agriculture happening there needs Space. Even when its magically assisted agriculture. Basically I'm using the official map and just adjusting proportions a bit. I might make my own "official" version for the AU at some point, but I haven't really bothered at this point.

Helianthia, Mezalea, and Mythland in particular are all pretty big. Some of the other kingdoms, like Pixandria, are fairly small but just spread out over a large area. (In this case, small populations clustered in a few different oases) Rivendell technically has a fairly large territory, but a lot of the Southern reaches of it are abandoned. Things like that.

Travel?

Travel time depends on who is traveling to/from where and how. There are elytra but they are extremely rare and are reserved for the rulers themselves and, in a few cases, particularly trusted messengers who act as couriers for high-security documents/messages. Mythland, Mezalea, Pixandria, Helianthia, The Ocean, The Swamp, and The Grimlands all make use of elytra to differing levels, while Rivendell, The Overgrown, and The Lost Empire have enough citizens with wings of their own that they don't really bother. The Crystal Cliffs use spells to achieve the same effect (Shrub doesn't even arrive until after the story has already begun, so I leave them out of a lot of this discussion mostly because a lot of it will be in the actual fics explicitly as they learn to find their way around a strange new world full of stupidly tall people.)

Boats and ships are very common for the seafaring kingdoms; The Swamp, Mezalea, and Mythland. Pixandria also has a few but they mostly use them for near-shore fishing and shorter ferry trips. Ocean trade and travel routes are heavily effected by the existence of the Ocean Empire in general and Lizzie in particular. The Mythlands used to be much more seafaring then they currently are, and yes, they do have to take some rather circuitous routes these days.

There are very much empire specific preferences for mounted travel, though horses are fairly standard in most empires. A lot of those will show up fairly quickly in the series so I won't do a full breakdown here but yes, Pearl does have her golden goose because I love that that is a thing.

Pix has traveled just about every way imaginable and he is just as likely to show up at your door on foot as he is by elytra.

There are some flying machines, though they are not incredibly reliable. They are mostly used by the Grimlands yes though Mezalea also has a couple of more dirigible-style transports.

I'm actually going to put a pin in the topic of the dragons for now. :)

What is travel between empires like? Who lets people through easily, who doesn’t, and how do they enforce it? (especially with the flying people) What’s the process to be allowed into more closed off empires? I imagine the rules are different with allies, so what are they in that case? Do you have any big trade routes you already thought of? Is ocean trade and travel generally allowed by lizze? Are there any silly circuitous routes that trade or travel has to take to get around closed off borders; get around both as in literally geographically around and metaphorically, as in around the rules.

These will both be kind of covered in the post that I will make with the trade routes map i mentioned making earlier but the tldr is yes, alliances definitely affect trade and travel, though the emperors themselves tend to go wherever they want and show up on each others doorstep with zero warning, there are some instances in which this is heavily discouraged. (Mythical Sausage is Not Welcome in the Cod Swamp. He shows up anyway. This is a major topic of conversation that I have been writing about lately XD) Some empires also heavily discourage air travel by outsiders.

(So yes most of the winged rulers do have backup mounts for such cases.)

The Ocean Empire does not really use boats or ships but the Swamp does. Some Sea-folk are faster than ships straight up, but mostly they aren't as limited by ocean currents and wind patterns and so can often take more direct routes. (Though they also do use the currents)

Nether travel does exist. Xornoth's connection to the Nether is a little bit different in this AU, just because I've tweaked the mythology to suit my own purposes and story. So there are Nether roads, though how frequently they are used and how well they are maintained varies wildly. The Ocean Empire and the majority of The Swamp population avoid it when possible, because it's basically instant dehydration for them and is an incredibly dangerous way to travel. A significant portion of the Rivendell population is also very ill-suited for travel in the Nether as well. It's primarily used for extreme distances or for some of the WRA. It's mostly used for time sensitive things that won't be harmed by the heat. Some trade, but mostly travel.

Nether travel won't show up much for the first two arcs but will feature heavily in the third arc so I'll go into it in a lot more detail there.

[francesminos-tt]

Prompt: Soulmate AU where your born with, or get, some kind of identifying marking(s). When you touch your soulmate, there is a bond. You are able to feel any strong emotions that your soulmate feels. If a person gets sick, feels pain or dies, the same thing happens to their soulmate. Joffrey and Daeron are soulmates, but that doesn't mean they love each other. They are forced to get married (and touch each other - the bond for some is a gift and for others it is a punishment- because the bond makes them desperate to touch their other half, Denial of touching your soulmate causes pain in both, for one year the linked souls cannot be separated by long distances, there is a discussion of doubtful consent because they both feel sexual desires and sex is more of an unhealthy necessity of the first year of soul bonding than real pleasure. Joffrey and Daeron try to deal with this in their lives. It's painful and distressing, everyone around them celebrates and celebrates, but they both feel unhappy. Joffrey hates knowing that all his life he will depend on Daeron - someone he doesn't know, someone he doesn't love - He hates the prison that bonding is. Daeron also feels like a prisoner, he doesn't understand how this is considered a blessing from the seven. Joffrey and Daeron constantly wonder how cruel the bond can be to those who don't love each other.

some scenes I thought you might write about them; -if you wish and I hope so-

1 - They are young boys between 19-14 years old, meaning they are sometimes stupid and immature. At some point they may have had a fight and forced themselves to stay away from each other more than is "acceptable" It's a fight to see who is the most stubborn and can stay away the longest, but it goes wrong because one of them faints (I thought of Joffrey) quickly they are placed on the bed next to each other and are forced to touch each other to calm the pain and we have a CRYING Joffrey because he really hates being so helpless about this.

2 - Or we can have a scene of how their nightly routine works, the embarrassment and the longing to touch someone you have no real feelings for. I can imagine Joffrey being unashamed of his nakedness (it's not like Daeron hasn't already seen every part of Joffrey's body)

3 - They've been married for a while and are slowly learning to love each other like Daeron accompanying Joffrey to the training camp silently and just admiring his husband

Of course, you can feel free to write whatever you want or change anything (like their age or how the bond works) I don't care, I just want to read these sad puppies who can't stay away from each other and maybe add sad sex if you want too lol

Joffrey’s mark was half of a dragon wing behind his ear, on the small patch of sensitive skin. His mother found it when she was washing his hair. At first Rhaenyra thought it was just a rash, maybe an irritation, but she soon realized she couldn’t be more wrong.

It was a soulmate mark. Her little boy was blessed with a soulmate, a rare gift given by gods. She burst into tears after the family doctor had confirmed that Joffrey was indeed blessed, that his mark would soon lead him to his soulmate.

He found his soulmate during the Christmas gathering. Joffrey had always been a healthy child, but somehow, he was struck by a nasty cold three times that winter. His throat was still sore when he arrived at Grandpa Viserys’s house. Rhaenyra told her boys to play with their uncles and aunt Helaena in the garden, except for Joffrey, who was still recovering from his cold. Joff, an energetic child, had to stay inside and play with toys that he didn’t even like.

“You are sitting on my comic book.” A boy’s voice came from above, making Joffrey drop the little robot in his hands.

“What?” Joffrey frowned at the blonde boy, who was about his big brother Jacaerys’s age.

“Get off the couch.” The boy shoved Joffrey, sending him to the carpeted floor.

Joffrey felt a shock of electricity running from where the boy touched him to the back of his head. Though the boy’s action was rude and rough, Joffrey was too shocked to care. The electricity had become a warmth, spreading through his body and miraculously making him feel better. Even his throat seemed to be less sore immediately.

The boy seemed to share Joffrey’s surprise. He had forgotten about the comic book, and was staring at Joffrey as if he had seen a ghost.

“What did you do to me?” The boy asked roughly and rubbed the hand that he touched Joffrey with, “You are hot like a boiling kettle.”

Joffrey wanted to ask the boy the same question, but he was only three, he wasn’t that eloquent yet. Before Joffrey could open his mouth, his brothers and their uncles and aunt rushed into the living room, all red faced and laughing.

“What game are you guys playing?” Aegon, the oldest of them all, raised an eyebrow at the bizarre picture in front him, “Why is Joffrey on the floor?”

It turned out that blonde boy was Joffrey’s youngest uncle Daeron. He had been in Old Town last year for Christmas, so Joffrey didn’t know him. He didn’t come out to the garden because of the reason as Joffrey; he was recovering from a cold.

Joffrey learned that his soulmate was Daeron Targaryen, his youngest uncle, a boy who shoved him to the floor at first sight.

Joffrey was three, and Daeron was six that year.

Joffrey and Daeron had been inseparable since the day their fated had been sealed. They went to the same school, lived in the same neighborhood (Joffrey had to throw a tantrum to prevent his mother from asking Daeron to live with them), and had to sleep in each other’s room every other day. At first, it was fine. Kind of funny, Joffrey would say. They would stay late in the night and read Daeron’s comic books, or play with the dragon toy Joffrey’s father got him.

But after the initial novelty had faded, Joffrey found himself trapped. He was only a little boy and he wanted to meet new people and make new friends. No one would come to him at parks because Daeron would always be there, older, taller and more handsome. He felt like a sailor stranded on an isolate island with Daeron. Forever.

The soul bond made it impossible from them to stay apart for more than a few days. The longest time they had stayed apart was that summer when Daeron went to scout camp while Joffrey stayed at home because he was still too young. Daeron had to be sent back five days later because he had been struck down by a bad fever. As soon as Joffrey touched him, Daeron’s labored breath calmed down immediately. Joffrey slept in the same bed with Daeron, and the next day, the blonde boy returned to his healthy self again. Everyone swooned at them. Aegon even wolf whistled at Joffrey the next time he came to visit. Everyone seemed to be happy, except for Daeron.

“You cost me my scout badge.” Daeron said to Joffrey angrily, “I hate you.”

“I didn’t do anything.” Joffrey pouted, a habit he had developed since he could talk.

“Don’t play cute on me. I hate you and your stupid mark.”

“You have your mark too,” Joffrey pointed to Daeron’s wrist, the other half of the dragon wing, “I never asked for this.”

“Well, neither did I. Wait until they decide to marry us. I will be stuck with you forever.”

“Marry?” Joffrey’s eyebrow raised in confusion, “But we are both boys! We can’t marry each other!”

“Then will your future wife be comfortable to have me in your house?” Daeron scoffed and walked away, leaving Joffrey alone in the living room to panic.

That was the day Joffrey learned that he was truly screwed.

“Hey, Joff, your boyfriend is here!” Joffrey’s teammate shouted from the locker room door.

Joffrey rolled his eyes. He had long given up trying to convince his teammates that Daeron was not his boyfriend.

Consider this whole soulmate thing as a medical condition. I just need to spend time with him to stay alive, you know? It’s not like I have feelings for him or anything.

Unfortunately, no one bought his story. Perhaps Joffrey was not very good at convincing people. The locker room burst out a string of laughter, and Joffrey had to punch the goalkeeper who was laughing the hardest. Joffrey took his time to shower, change, put on deodorant and brush his hair. His teammates always laughed at him for caring his appearance too much. Like a chick, they would say, but they had no idea why Joffrey tried to linger in the locker-room. This was the only place he could get away from Daeron.

No matter how hard Joffrey tried to drag the time, eventually he had to leave the locker-room and face his soulmate.

“What took you so long?” Daeron asked impatiently, arms crossed at his chest, “I’ve been standing here for like forever.”

“I told you, you don’t have to pick me up.” Joffrey flipped the duffle bag on his shoulder, “Don’t you have work to do in college?”

Daeron unbuttoned the top button of his shirt, exposing his neck and collar bone that was covered in red rashes.

“I need a recharge.” Daeron said simply, taking Joffrey’s hand, “Thank God it’s only the rashes now. I can’t afford to faint in front of everyone.”

They walked outside to the football field hand in hand. As the years passed, their ‘separation syndrome’ gradually changed as well. Now they would not faint or go into a seizure if they had been separated for too long. Daeron would have red rashes all over his body while Joffrey would suffer from extreme fatigue. They welcomed this change, for it could be easily explained as allergy or lack of sleep. They called their forced proximity recharge, a word suitable for their situation. Just a way to keep going, nothing to do with feelings.

“Looking pretty for your boyfriend, Velaryon?” A tall boy sneered at Joffrey as Joffrey and Daeron approached the field exit.

“Fuck off.” Joffrey said, rolling his eyes for hundredth time today, “I don’t have time for this.”

“Ohhh, pretty Joff doesn’t have time for us! He wants to shag his boyfriend!” the boy and his fellow idiot friends laughed among themselves.

Joffrey had been chosen as the main forward in his high school football team despite being a freshman. The boy and his gang had been picking on Joffrey ever since he scored his first goal. Joffrey had gotten so tired of the boy’s childish provocation.

“Come,” Joffrey nudged Daeron to walk on, “don’t mind them. They are idiots.”

“They called you a bad name, Joffrey.” Daeron frowned, throwing nasty glares at the gang.

“They called me worse,” Joffrey shrugged, apparently no intention to share the details, “They are not worth your time. Let them be. They will get bored and leave.”

Daeron, a 19-year-old who went to college on a fencing scholarship, disagreed.

“Leave him alone,” Daeron snarled at the boy, “I am not his boyfriend, but I don’t like others bullying my nephew.”

“Get lost, faggot.” The boy clearly didn't take this polite and handsome blonde seriously, “You are just as pathetic as little Joff here. What do you say, Velaryon? Admit that you sucked the coach’s cock to get your position.”

Joffrey clenched his fist, but he knew now was not the time to lash out. He could have lost his place on the team if he was found engaging in street fights. Unfortunately, Daeron didn't share his thoughts. The blonde let go of Joffrey’s hand and punched the boy straight in the face in the blink of an eye. Years of fencing training made him strong and swift, so he easily knocked down three boys of the gang before the fourth kicked him on the shin. Daeron hissed and lost his balance, kneeing down on the ground while the attacker was about to launch another punch.

That was when Joffrey kicked the boy from Daeron’s sight, grabbed his soulmate’s hand again, and ran.

“We can take them all, Joffrey!” Daeron yelled, “Teach them a good lesson so they won’t bother you again!”

“Shut up!” Joffrey yelled back, “You might have just cost me my football career!”

It turned out that Joffrey was half right. He was banned from the field for the next three games, but the boy who mocked him first was kicked out of the team. Daeron thought this was a win, but Joffrey couldn't be more furious. He didn't need Daeron to make his decision for him. If he wanted to continue playing football while still having Daeron as his soulmate, soon or later there would be another bully. Joffrey could never shake off the allegations of being a faggot, even though he didn't see himself as one. Sure, he slept in the same bed with Daeron sometimes and shared a few morning kisses, but that was only for health purposes.

Joffrey was sick of this. He didn't want to be called Daeron’s little boyfriend. He wanted an identity of his own, not as Daeron’s attachment.

So he called in sick, turned off his cell, and locked himself in his room. His mother would be so worried about him but luckily, Rhaenyra was on a trip to Pentos. His brothers, Jace and Luke, stayed in their respective college dorms. Joffrey was alone in the house, and he fucking liked it.

Joffrey was curious about how long he could stay away from Daeron before his body shut down. He knew all the symptoms and signs, but he was just curious whether or not he could live on his own without Daeron.

A day passed, then another, and another, soon Joffrey lost count of the days he kept himself in the room. He still ate, frozen pizzas and or beans on toast, but he hadn't been able to leave the bed since the day before yesterday. The extreme fatigue hit him like a drowning wave, making his every limb heavy as lead, unable to even lift his finger. He might have a fever, Joffrey thought, for he was sweaty at one moment and shivering at the next. He began to slip in and out of consciousness, like he was living in a continuous dream.

Would he die? What would mother think if she returned home to his corpse? Why hadn't Jace and Luke called? Did they trust Daeron so much to take care of their brother so they didn't have to? Why hadn’t Daeron come? Soulmates could sense each other’s feelings to some extent. There was no way Daeron didn’t notice Joffrey’s frustration and despair. Why hadn't he come?

“Open the door, Joffrey Velaryon, you crazy little fuck! Or I will break it down!”

Joffrey must have gone mad to hear things. Even if this was real, he was too weak to open the door now.

Five seconds later, with a loud bang, Joffrey’s bedroom door was kicked open, revealing a furious Daeron with disheveled hair and wrinkled shirt. Daeron threw a death glare with blood-shot eyes at Joffrey as soon as he saw the brunette teenager on the bed.

“Are you fucking mad? Going off grid for a week? Jace almost strangled me because he thought somehow, I was at fault. I can't even start to talk about my fucking rashes. Do you know they form on my balls too?”

Joffrey chuckled. For some reason, he chuckled.

“Move your ass, brat.” Daeron spat, shoving Joffrey to the side before lying down on the bed with his shoes on.

“What are you doing?” Joffrey asked, too weak to struggle.

“RECHARGE.” Daeron said with gritted teeth, “Someone decided to turn off his phone and dwell on his teen angst. I will let you know I have given you enough time to dwell on your misery. Now I want my normal life back.”

“I thought normal life meant without each other,” Joffrey said as Daeron took him into the blonde’s arms, “that’s what I have been trying to do in the past week.”

“Well, it didn't work.” Daeron brushed a strand of damp curls from Joffrey’s face, “Are you still so naive as to think we can stay apart, ever?”

Joffrey closed his eyes, and let the tears fall. Daeron was right. They could never get rid of each other in this life. They were cursed by the damn soul marks forever and ever.

Joffrey and Daeron married each other as soon as Joffrey finished college. He had made his first professional debut at Harrenhal FC this past summer, and now he and his husband officially moved to the Riverlands. Rhaenyra was reluctant to let Joffrey go, but she knew she had to let her little boy fly. Fortunately, Daeron was willing to accompany him. Despite being a fencing star in most of his school days, Daeron decided to pursue the career of a lawyer after graduation. He resigned his job at King’s Landing and found a new one as an attorney assistant in Maidenpool due to him and Joffrey’s condition.

Today marked the one-year anniversary of them moving to a nice lake house near God’s Eye.

They had a nice dinner with wine, chatted about their lives, argued about which team had better chance at winning the Champions Cup (Daeron rooted for Old Town, which Joffrey scoffed and rolled his eyes), and watched a movie on the couch.

Joffrey still had one week to go before he went back to the training field, so he was determined to make good use of it. He ate half a carton of ice cream and drank three glasses of wine before lying contentedly on top of Daeron, tipsy and in a food coma. As he grew older, Joffrey had learned to make peace with his fate. He tried to accommodate Daeron’s schedule as much as possible, and Daeron did the same for him. They had found a comfortable balance now, so his life turned out not to be as intolerable as he had expected. After they got married, they found another thing about the soul bond that could benefit them both. They found out that sex could allow them to stay apart for longer. One round of sex and they were able to stay apart for about 10 days. It came in handy when Joffrey was on an away game or when Daeron had to go on business trip.

Daeron played with Joffrey’s curls absently as the movie went on. They were both warm from the alcohol, satisfied and ready to drift to sleep at any moment.

“How’s your relationship with the new girl going?” Joffrey asked before yawning, “What’s her name? Betty? She looks nice.”

They both agreed that they could seek other lovers as long as they let each other know.

“Bethany.” Daeron said, still playing with Joffrey’s hair, “We went to the pub for a few times.”

“And?” Joffrey lifted his head, placing his jaw on Daeron’s shoulder, “Nothing happened?”

“No.” Daeron shook his head, “I didn’t…We think it’s better to stay as friends.”

“Oh,” Joffrey planted a wet kiss on Daeron’s cheek, “you poor boy.”

“Stop. You have wine breath.” Daeron frowned and pretended to be offended, but his smile betrayed his feelings.

“That makes two of us.” Joffrey kissed Daeron again. He was too drunk to think straight. He kept kissing Daeron while grinding his hips again the blonde. Daeron’s arms were around him in an instant, and soon Joffrey found himself straddling Daeron with his pajama rolled up to his chest.

“Don’t leave a mark.” Joffrey warned, but it was too late. Daeron had already bitten down on his nipple hard enough to draw blood.

“Why? You have somewhere to be?”

Joffrey couldn't answer, because he was busy moaning and cursing Daeron for the blonde’s talented tongue on his body. Joffrey had lost count how many times they spent their night like this, cuddled on the couch, watching a movie they picked at random. But all those nights ended up in passionate sex. They were merciless towards each other. They were too familiar with each other’s body to know exactly how to cause the most reaction.

Daeron slid a hand into Joffrey’s pants and cupped the brunette’s butt, kneading, grabbing and slapping, making Joffrey jolt every time his palm hit Joffrey’s skin.

Joffrey kissed Daeron aggressively on the lips, biting the tip of Daeron’s tongue. Being intimate with your soulmate was a euphoric thing, skin against skin, tongue against tongue and cock against cock. Joffrey remembered the first time Daeron fucked him. The blonde’s cock was only half in when Joffrey came messily on Daeron’s stomach. It hurt like hell but the intimacy, and the adrenaline rush was unlike anything he had experienced before.

“Let me grab the condoms.” Daeron said against Joffrey’s lips before trying to push the brunette off his lap, but Joffrey wouldn't barge.

“No,” Joffrey said, too drunk to care, “do it bareback. I don't care.”

Daeron’s eyes narrowed, the light violet becoming so dark that it almost mirrored Joffrey’s own obsidian ones. He pulled off Joffrey’s pants and pushed one finger in the brunette’s hole without warning, earning a surprised shriek from Joffrey.

The sex was violently good. Joffrey knew it was a strange thing to say, but he couldn’t find better words to describe it. Daeron kept the condoms and the lube in their bedroom drawer, and since Joffrey refused to let him go, Daeron had to spread his spit on his cock before thrusting in. Even though Joffrey had gotten used to a cock inside his butt, lack of lubrication still made him wince with pain. He would have lost his interest if he was with anyone else, but not with Daeron.

“Are you okay, Joff? Did I hurt you?”

“Yes,” Joffrey hissed, “you almost split my butt in half. But don't you dare stop.”

Daeron chuckled and began to thrust. Joffrey didn’t know how it ended, because he passed out during round three. He just remembered waking up on the bed, wrapped in sheets and fresh like a newborn baby, and Daeron greeted him with a kiss and coffee in bed.

Joffrey could get used to this.

“Are you sure you are ok with this?” Joffrey asked anxiously, “My teammates’ wives will all be there. They will call you a football wife too.”

“At least I am prettier than most of them.” Daeron joked, eyes on the road as he drove to the stadium, “Relax. I won’t embarrass you.”

“That’s not what I am talking about.” Joffrey sighed. He thought his meaning was clear. If Daeron showed up in his booth today, there would be no going back. Daeron would be forever associated with Joffrey. He would forever be known as Joffrey’s lawyer husband, instead of a successful criminal attorney. Was Daeron willing to make such sacrifice?

“I know, Joff.” Daeron glanced at Joffrey and smiled, “I want to show my support in your booth.”

“Even when I am playing against Old Town?”

“Hmm, maybe not Old Town.”

“Jerk.” Joffrey slapped Daeron’s arm, but not unkindly.

They had been married for seven years now. For most couples, it would mean the lack of passion, increasing life stress, kids, financial difficulties, etc. Joffrey had heard that the seventh year recorded the highest divorce rate. Not for him, though. If anything, he and Daeron seemed to be more comfortable around each other. They had stopped talking about other love interest for almost five years now. Neither of them mentioned the change, as if talking about it would make it real. They had also developed a comfortable routine splitting house chores and making time for each other like a real married couple.

Joffrey had played for Harrenhal FC for two years before transferring to KL United. They didn’t move back to the city, choosing to stay at a house near Maidenpool where Daeron had opened his own office. Despite the new stage of their relationship, Daeron had never showed up at the stadium to watch Joffrey play. Again, the reason was the same. Acknowledging it would make it real.

“Are you sure?” Joffrey grabbed Daeron’s wrist before the blonde could open the car door, “It’s your last chance. You can still drive off and nobody will know you have been here.”

“I am sure.” Daeron flipped his wrist, taking Joffrey’s hand and intertwining their fingers together, “Are you?”

Joffrey swallowed. Was he? Was he ready to remind the public that Daeron, this handsome man, was truly his husband and soulmate?

Daeron waited patiently for Joffrey’s answer. Joffrey couldn’t help but remember their first meeting. Both of them were silly kids back then, recovering from a bad cold because they had been weakened without their soulmate. Daeron had pushed Joffrey to the floor because Joffrey was sitting on his comic book. Their first impression was the worst.

See how far they had come.

“Joffrey?”

“I am sure.” Joffrey said, determination clear in his eyes, “I want you in the crowd to support me.”

“Let’s go then.” Daeron smiled, and to Joffrey’s great surprise, the blonde leaned in and kissed him on the lips. The kiss was tender and chaste, like a promise.

They never kissed unless absolutely necessary. Certainly not in a public parking lot.

“Right.” Joffrey smiled back, his heart swelled, “Let’s go.”

FIN

[bucketsofmonsters]

On the alter headcanons:

Phillip:

Under that helmet he is unconsciously blushing 90% of the time

The reason he's a bit of a knight without a kingdom is that he too, like Pytho, is a "Monster" or magical anomaly like a werewolf or something, but keeps it hidden.

I imagine him about the same height as the reader but stockier, probably has some scars or unhealed wounds (another reason for the helmet). I always imagined him as poorly postured in a nervous way, but that could just be my interpretation.

Fidgety

Pytho:

20-40 feet long and about as wide as an SUV

Bright yellow eyes, bronze-colored scales, in my mind his scales could ruffle out like bird feathers in an expressive manner.

He definitely has a sort of "If you told him Santa didn't exist, he would cry" energy to his personality.

I feel as though commonplaces to humans would shock him, like saliva.

I love all of these!! Ur so right about the blushing, I think Phillip is honestly so grateful for that helmet he's got bc he gets So Flustered under it just constantly. I also think that something is up with Phillip magically, I like to leave it up to interpretation but my little headcanon is that he was a knight who got cursed for some perceived slight and he's been wandering ever since, long after his kingdom fell. I love keeping it vague though, he's a little mystery and I adore everyone's interpretations. I think if anything the armour has given him poor posture, I cannot imagine wearing something that heavy nonstop for years and years does anything good for him, I think you can tell just by the way he moves that he's being weighted down. I think his movements when he does take it off are a little stilted and jerky because he's forgotten how to move without it, it happens so rarely and for such short periods of time.

Pytho is massive, all of my dragons are, what's even the point if they're not lol. His tail is pretty long so depending on how you're measuring he could pull in a lot of extra feet lengthwise that way. I love the idea of his scales ruffling out like feathers, that's so cute. I do not remember if I mentioned a color for him but bronze is one of the best dragon colors for sure so I do love that for him. Either that or a coppery color, maybe he could even oxidize as he gets older. He also is so clueless about humans, every day he is discovering something new about them, just in awe of the most mundane things.