#them feeling guilty to an objective post too. its so... annoying to read. they chose to engage but view them as mean or smth??

[guideaus]

Honestly I think its super sad how a sentiment of "maybe we could be doing other things with our time than fighting for the right to create mass free advertising for a company/brand that wants your money" or "fandomizing a war criminal because of a meme for said brand is not good" gets these hyper defensive, insecure, spineless people with no morals being like "do you have FUN 🤨" as if the only way people can have fun is by... propping up a product regardless of the content... bc they wanna consume media soo bad atm

[psychadelicrose]

Day 1: Adventure

happy @mastar-week 2019!! here’s to all of us having a good time <33 here is a dragon au because I love dragon aus and I hope yall do too thank u

lol this is a day late because I had no computer to post with yesterday but it aite uwu the premise for this is basically “maka is an unconventional princess who sought out the companionship of a dragon by herself, instead of waiting to be snatched up.” this chapter would take place somewhere in the middle of the plot! much love to my sweet potato @l0chn3ss for betaing and giving advice when I asked <33

AO3

It was strange, having nothing to do. There was no duty or task to keep her occupied. A quill in her right hand and a tutor to the same side, peering over her shoulder, is usually where she’d find herself now. Or maybe at a luncheon with a neighboring diplomat, listlessly sipping her tea or ferociously holding her tongue.

She felt a little silly, lounging in a meadow.

What doing?

Breathing in deeply, Maka lifted the book she’d let drape over her face like a silken mask. The pages fluttered and shifted like a fan as she did, and she saw that her spot had been lost. She huffed.

Reading, she responded.

Lie. No pages.

Maka giggled and set the book aside, allowing herself to shake the pages loudly for good measure. See, she jibed, not expecting him to believe her and not particularly harried to be believed. 

He tried again, not deterred. She could see him in her mind’s eye, with his head tilted to the side and ears perked just so. The amount of time he spent focused on her was almost exhausting, but she’d chosen this for herself. 

What doing? 

Breathing out, Maka smiled something small and secret. She rolled over in the grass and felt the sun tickle her skin, a kiss from the heavens and sweeter than all else. He was always like this, checking in and making sure all was right. He took his responsibility very seriously, although he was almost childlike in some of his approaches. He was as hard to predict as a summer’s night.

Napping then, maybe.

No nap. Wait there.

He wanted her to wait until he was there to watch her, is what she assumed he meant. His speaking skills were getting better, and the thought made her feel suspiciously delighted. Most of the time, his thoughts came across to her just like this. It was enough to understand, but anymore more complex was still difficult for him.

Hmm? she tried. There was no real urgency in the thought. She just liked to get a rise out of her dragon. It serves him right for leaving her to her boredom.

I said no.

Maka stifled a laugh at the severity of his voice. Lately, he’d taken on a tough-love approach when he thought she was being unruly. It almost never worked, but she enjoyed his concern and the novelty of it all. She’d love to see his reaction if she ever managed to sneak away to town.

And if I do it anyways? Maka shifted her arms until she could rest her head comfortably, still smiling to herself. The sun felt healing against her back, and the grass was supple on her stomach. Then, a sudden puff of air hit the back of her neck and caused her to shiver. Maka snorted into her arms.

No wings.

Pointedly keeping her eyes closed, Maka chose to reply out loud. She spoke to him flatly, not once believing he’d follow through with his threat.

“You’re blocking my sun.”

So? She could hear the challenge in his voice, and she itched to meet it.

A few moments went by without another word from her dragon. Cracking open her eyes, she settled on the black scales sitting in front of her like a statue, and another hot puff of air hit her skin. Maka looked up towards the deep, steel blue eyes trained on her.

“You never let me sleep out in the open, even when I do ask,” Maka pointed out. In truth, she didn’t mind. Curling up under his wings had become a guilty pleasure, one so embarrassing that she’d never let on to it. “I get hot in the middle of the night,” she fibbed. If she argued to sleep alone, he’d give her the flattest look that told her all she needed to know. “Dragons— strong. Princess, not.” It was infuriating, but she was determined to change his mind someday. However, she wouldn’t usually object at the current point in their journey. Not when spring was upon them and the nights were wrought with chilled mist.

Presently, Maka chose to blindly stuff her castaway book into her satchel to be with her other belongings. If she was going to be bossed around, she at least wouldn’t go down without a fight.

Yeah. Sweaty, he agreed. He looked down his snout at her and indulged in the heated glare she threw at him. She let a litany of annoyed tones move across their bond, to tell him that He didn't have to make her sleep there with him!

Not safe, he explained, not sounding serious in the slightest. He doesn’t move his eyes away from her, and she can see him not so subtly looking over her body for anything out of place. More? He bared his fangs animatedly, so much so that she could tell his intention was to pull off a smirk.

If he was truly fluent in her language, she could practically hear him at the edges of her senses, cackling and trying for, “You got a problem?” instead.

“Tyrant,” Maka snarked. She pulled one hand out from under her and used it to shove away his snout, squawking when he merely pushed it against her harder. One claw inched closer, as if to cage her against the ground. He’d never dare touch her with his nails, she knew, but he wasn’t afraid to roughhouse either. Rolling onto her back, Maka used both hands to shove at his snout instead. A goading rumble resonated from his chest, and the sound made her twist her body so that her boots could push up against his sternum. “Off, lizard!”

Annoyingly, he huffed a distracting breath in her face on purpose, and merely slithered his tail between his own legs so that it could wrap securely around one of her ankles. Before she could react, he’d pulled her straight out from under him, and proceeded to drag her behind him like a prize. He glanced back at her briefly, all to pleased with himself, and let loose a series of clicks she knew to be laughter. Maka just barely managed to grab her bag before being pulled away, and she screeched in indignation.

“Excuse me!” There is no reply, only a sly turn of his head so that she could see he was listening but wasn’t considering letting her go. She scrambled for any purchase and kicked her free boot against the knot of his tail, but nothing seemed to slow him down. It was only then that noticed he was dragging her towards the river. “Black Star, do not!”

Clean you, was the only explanation she received before he stopped short of the river, still holding onto her ankle tightly. She was sure she had grass in her hair and stains on the back of her neck. Maka let a loud groan escape, and banged her head against the grass in protest. She shot him a nasty look that she had no doubt he could feel.

“I don’t need a caretaker!” There’s another tug against her ankle, testing the waters. Maka used her stomach muscles to haul her torso forward, and tried to wiggle her fingers underneath his scaly tail. Black Star only watched her in amusement and tightened his grip. 

Funny. Heaving another groan through her teeth, Maka smacked his tail once for good measure. She pouted when it only served to sting the palm of her hand. Mosquito. His eyes shimmered something cocky.

“Throw me in the river already if that’s what you want.” Another tug to her ankle, and Maka’s hands flew backwards to grip the grass without looking away from him. Then, she felt herself sliding forwards again. He let her leg go just short of slipping into the water, and trotted ahead into the stream so he could look back at her in waiting. She threw another nasty look at him.

Bathe, he said. Important.

“I don’t need a reminder, thank you,” she told him dryly. A long silence stretched between them, and she contemplated making a run for it only long enough for his tail to start swishing threateningly under the water. If he’d truly haul her into the waters himself, she wouldn’t be surprised. And by the looks of him, he wouldn’t mind getting creative and splashing a few waves at her either. 

Either way, he wins.

Smelly, he grins to her across the link. If looks could scorch, she hoped hers were half as scalding as his fire.

In a last stand, Maka tugged off her boot and chucked it at his head. It hit him square in the snout before pathetically landing in the water and starting its lazy trek downstream. Her dragon only watched its descent without making a move to retrieve it. Maka didn’t move either.

“Go get it.”

Yours.

“I know.”

You threw.

“I did. Go get it.” Maka shared a long look with her dragon, to which he lifted his chin and leveled her with his own look. She felt minutes must have passed before the silence had grated on her nerves too much to keep quiet, and finally released a, “Tyrant!” Her dragon flicked his tail in the water, eyes lit with mischief. He didn’t even deny her accusation.

“Fine!” She waved her hands around incessantly to shoo him, and continued with a, “Just, go downstream and do what you normally do!”

All too pleased, her dragon made his way downstream to collect her shoe and find a spot far away enough to give her some privacy. He stayed close enough that he could keep a lookout, but far enough that she didn’t feel intruded upon as long as he kept his back turned. As a passing anecdote, he said to her:

Bathe then dinner then sleep. Walk when morning. Pouting suddenly, Maka called to him before he could get too far.

“If you keep feeding me before sleep, I’ll gain weight!” Black Star only looked back momentarily to say:

Humans must? Sturdy?

That’s not how it works, she thought back to him. She watched as he plopped down a ways away, unfettered by the rivers currents. She’d asked once why he preferred to head downriver instead of get out, and was only a little miffed to hear his reply of, Princess light. River eat you.

Which is to say, he thought that she was so light that the river would wash her downstream, and he’d like to be there to catch her. This had her miffed only because it was slightly true, and she’d only lost her footing once before and had watched his back twitch at the sound of sloshing water. He’d relaxed when she’d regained her footing, but she could tell he’d desperately wanted to turn around and check on her.

Fast. Need to eat, he called to her. Just for that, she thinks she might take a few minutes longer.

Heard—

Maka chucked her other boot downstream, along with the rest of her clothes. It was too much sometimes, the amount that he cared. Maka dunked her head underwater, willing herself to disregard the words spoken so earnestly to her by a dragon much too infuriating. If the crisp water bit at her flushed cheeks more than usual, she ignored it and sunk deeper.

Doting words shouldn’t affect her the way they do.