dragonflightsoffantasy

[dragonflightsoffantasy]

Dragons And The Names They Choose

Summary: Dragons don't understand the human versions of the concept of masculine and feminine. This leads to some interesting results when it is time for them to give an alias.

"You may call me Suzie," the dragon said. He was a medium-sized western male, one of the European breeds, his voice deep and rumbling as it echoed through his barrel of a chest, covered in ancient scars that could have been dated with most parietal art- an exaggeration, really, no dragon was that old- but then again, dragons often exaggerated.

Jason tried to process what had just been said to him. He blinked a few times, but his eyes couldn't clear it up. Then it hit him, all at once.

"...Your name," he said, slowly, "is...Suzie?"

"You may call me that, yes."

Again, he had to have a minute to process this, and then another minute of trying not to burst into hysterical laughter; this had to be some sort of mistake, an error in translation.

"No," he said, leaning back in his chair, "that's-" here, he couldn't help himself and ended up chuckling. He swallowed and tried again. "No, I'm sorry, but...Suzie? You're joking, right?"

The pale nictitating membranes fluttered over the dragon's blue eyes- according to the notebook on the table in front of Jason, this was a sign of confusion.

"Why would I joke?" He rumbled, "That is the name I have chosen."

Jason paused again. He tried not to laugh- it was never wise to laugh at a dragon, even in the midst of modern-day civilization. Maybe he could explain this.

"It's just...It's an unusual name for a male," he started gently.

The dragon's nictitating membranes flickered again. "Is it? How so?"

"Well, you know...'Suzie' basically means lilly, which is a type of flower. Flowers are usually associated with femininity- "

The dragon's brow furrowed. A low huff issued from his nostrils softly, in confusion, not anger. "How can a plant be feminine?"

Jason found himself at a loss for words. Why were flowers considered feminine? He thought on it for a moment, and then tried to scrape up an explanation.

"Well, because they're...pretty? And-"

"Human males cannot be pretty?"

"No- I mean, they can! I'm just trying to explain why people consider flowers feminine- or at least, why they were considered traditionally feminine. Obviously, times have changed- but 'Suzie' is traditionally considered a girl name, and many people consider it to be feminine to this day."

Suzie didn't say anything for a moment. Jason began to worry that perhaps he had made a major mistake in signing up for the sociology class's dragon studies program, when the dragon made a rumbling noise (his notes labeled this as another sign of confusion) and sat back on his haunches. His wings folded in more tightly. Then his front talons gently folded together, and he steepled two claws that he gently tapped against his chin in a very human gesture.

"...So you are saying," Suzie said slowly, so that his slight accent hissed out around his words, "that I cannot call myself 'Suzie', because it is a...'girl name'."

Jason nodded. "You're free to call yourself Suzie, there's no law against it, but as for the rest...pretty much."

The white dragon arched his neck forward, so that he could maintain better eye contact with him. His eyes were wide, brow somewhat furrowed- confusion and some consternation, in the body language of dragons, and mostly in humans, too. When he spoke again, he spoke even more slowly, pronounciating each and every word as if ensuring the human would be able to understand him.

"...What...Is a...'girl name'? How...can...a name...be...a 'girl name'?"

Again, Jason began to grow worried that he was causing accidental offense, and he realized that the more he argued with Suzie, the more he found fallacies in his own argument that could only be heaped up to tradition, the ancient 'because someone said so'. In taking this course of mild debate, he had backed himself unwittingly into a proverbial (and potentially dangerously physical) corner. He then rushed to explain.

"I mean...well, no offense is meant, and- again- you're completely free to call yourself Suzie, it's- er...it's a nice name, it's just always been associated with women."

"No offense taken," Suzie rumbled mildly, "I am only curious to know why 'Suzie is a girl name. Why is it associated with women- and why are flowers associated with women?"

"...I honestly can't tell you."

He fluttered his nictitating membranes down at the human in visible confusion, and then twisted his neck around, towards the back of the bookstore.

"Frank!" He called, causing some patrons to start and glare at him, "Come over here for a moment!"

A white draconic head, only a shade dimmer than Suzie's, poked up from the manga section. They put away the book they had been flipping through and then trotted through the aisles to the other white dragon's side, sitting on their haunches. Suzie chuffed at them, then turned back to Jason.

"This is my sister. Her name is Frank," he said.

Jason held his breath. It was a miracle that he wasn't even cracking a smile right now. He inhaled deeply. Tried to suppress any and all expression.

"...Her name is...Frank?"

"Yes," Frank rumbled, in a voice only an octave less deep than her brother's, "That is the alias I have chosen for myself, closest in meaning to my True Name."

And in an instant, clarity hit him in a moment of epiphany. Jason's mouth gaped open.

"Oh!" He said, internally cursing himself for having not asking sooner, "Oh! That's what- Oh!"

Both dragons flickered their nictitating membranes and cast a quick glance at each other, as if wondering whether or not they should be concerned for this human's mental stability. He smiled at them, tight-lipped; you never showed your teeth to a dragon.

"So you just choose whichever human name is closest in meaning to your True Name!"

"Yes?"

"And you don't care about gendered names- because your version of masculine and feminine is completely different from ours!"

"I suppose?"

Jason quickly picked up his notebook, scribbling down a few notes in relief; yet another barrier between him and understanding dragonkind came crashing down. Frank leaned in closer, her nostrils flaring lightly as she sniffed the ink, her eyes scanning the page with mild interest. She murmured in her own language, but the tone was thoughtful; Jason took it as a sign of encouragement, and resumed his scribbling with renewed vigor.

The dragoness made some rumbling noise and lifted her head again. "Well, I guess that clears something up for you. I don't understand why you needed to call me over here. I was reading."

Suzie leaned down to read the notebook himself, sniffing the page just as his sister had done, Jason turning it to aid him. He nodded once, and then nudged his sister in the shoulder with his nose.

"Yes, yes, sorry to interrupt your 'reading'. So much more important than my homework." Jason couldn't help but notice the sarcasm in Suzie's tone, so very much like human siblings; another thing for him to ask about later.

Frank grunted something in their shared language and nudged Suzie back, a little harder, and he almost lost his balance. His tail flailed out, almost catching a cardboard display- but he righted himself quickly. His head twisted about, a few of his front fangs showing, eyes wide. Frank blinked at him innocently, flicked her tongue in and out, and then trotted back towards the manga section again.

Suzie grumbled something Jason couldn't interpret and then snorted. Once again all of his attention was fully diverted to the human, as if nothing at all had ever happened.

"Well, I hope that clears something up," he said. "I chose Suzie because it means 'lily'- that was close to what my true name means. Frank chose her name because it means 'honesty'- same reason."

"But why Suzie particularly?" Jason realized that this sounded rude, and corrected himself hastily. "I mean- you're allowed to, it's a very, very, lovely name, it really suits you- I'm just wondering, since there are so many names meaning lily-"

"No offense taken! You're so shaky. I'm not going to bite your head off just for asking a question- and if I wanted to, I wouldn't do it in public. I can see why you needed to take this course."

Suzie made some sort of chuckling sound and shook himself while Jason sat in embarrassed silence. After a moment of preening, Suzie finally responded.

"Honestly, I just liked the way it sounded. I thought of 'Susan' or 'Lilly', and I almost settled on 'Shanna'- but Suzie really caught my eye. It has a nice feeling on the tongue. Sooooozzzzzieeee. I like it."

He made some sort of pleased chuffing noise that Jason had no notes on. Then Suzie bent his neck so he was almost at eye level with him, and pulled the corners of his lips and eyes back in something that looked like a human smile. And then Jason realized that he had a lot left to learn- and he wouldn't learn any of it if he didn't pull his nose out of his papers.

"What about you?" Suzie asked. "This goes both ways, doesn't it? I know Jason is your true name- but your parents chose it for you. Do you like it, or would you change it if you could?"

Jason thought for a moment. His hand laid under the cover of his notebook, pencil held rigidly in the other. Slowly, he put it down. The air around their small table space felt thick with thought.

"...I like it," he said, finally, and closed his notebook.

******

Author's Note: Finally finished this one! It took me awhile, and it's certainly not my best work, but at least I feel like I've accomplished something! Hopefully, this will be the first of many other short stories, snippets, and small articles on this blog as I begin to test my wings as a writer, most of which will (with even more hope and the grace of whatever god presides over writers) be posted more consistently. As always, thank you for reading, commenting, and critiquing.

May your wings always spread wide on your own flights of fantasy!

~ Draco S.

[dragonflightsoffantasy]

Happy Year of The Dragon!

May this new year bring in more dragons! (And motivation for me to get serious about this blog).

~ Draco S.

[dragonflightsoffantasy]

Some Dragon Biology- Various Notes Upon The Gifts Granted Them By Nature's Whims And Their Own Genetic Indomitability

Chinese Longs (or Lungs)

A very diverse species, even within the classification of their own breed there are variations- from the high-altitude gliders of the mountain peaks to the typical burrowers, to the underground-dwelling Nocturnals. In fact, they are so varied that there are truly only a few distinguishing physical traits shared between all members that allows anyone to be capable of identifying a single individual as a part of this group.

Physical traits that all members of this breed share include: immense size compared to all other breeds, four giant burrowing claws similar to a pangolin's (though often times these days, these are shaven down for convenience), thick manes much like that of a lion's surrounding their long necks and running down their backs, large leathery wings (in the adults), immense whiskers, large ears, and eyes capable of seeing in the dark. Their sense of smell is immaculate- possibly the best of any dragon breed.

Chinese Longs have an average lifespan of about 5,000 years, the first one hundred of which they spend safely underground, being tended to by their parents until their "baby scales" harden into a protective coat. Afterwards, parents will allow their children supervised expeditions above ground, where they will begin their first attempts at free-range pack hunting: a tendency they will eventually outgrow as they become more self-reliant.

Chinese Longs tend to lay clutches of 9 eggs at a time every 50 years (not counting unfertilized eggs, which are laid every year or so). As such, 9 is considered to be a very lucky number. Expectant parents will decorate nurseries with the number, in hopes that all nine hatchlings will survive until their 100th year, in which they will receive a name.

They don't grow their wings until about 750 years of age- their equivalent of 15 (50 years being roughly equivalent to one dragon year).

Before and after they grow their wings, all Chinese Longs (and most Eastern Dragon Breeds, at that) have an ability to glide: much like the Flying Snake, they are able to flare out their ribs to make their bodies somewhat flat, and by making an undulating movement in the air, are able to make it across vast distances; however, they need to be able to jump off a certain point in order to do so.

Chinese Longs are omnivores, and they'll eat anything that's available, including carrion, bones, and even minerals, which they dig out of the walls of their cavern homes to consume as a supplement to their diet. Their stomach acid is incredibly corrosive.

Dragons never truly stop growing; however, Chinese Longs are considered the largest breed of dragons, the adults on average reaching lengths of 9 meters. The biggest specimen ever recorded, a 5,010 year old Burrowing female, was about 16 meters long and 5 meters heigh (from shoulder to foot), with a wingspan of over 20 meters.

There's not many distinctive differences easily caught by the human eye between males and females- however, females tend to be larger, while males tend to be smaller, with small facial tendrils on their snouts; during breeding season these differences are more obvious: males develop brightly-colored patches on their wings and vulnerable areas.

Chinese Longs hibernate in the winter months, much like bears; however, in modern times, with modern conveniences, they can chose whether or not they want to sleep for months in specially-designed hotels or brave the winter instead.

Not all Chinese Longs are fire breathers; the Nocturnals have no need of the specialization, as the bright light will harm their delicate eyes; instead, they've developed venom to incapacitate their prey, though like fire-breathers, they can still "unhinge" their jaws, due to having a mandible structure similar to snakes; makes devouring prey easier.

Enormous elongated lungs assists in both flight and holding their breath- on average, they have been recorded as able to retain air without breathing for five hours (in adults).

The breed have evolved a stress response unique to them alone- that of arching their backs as high as possible. Some believe this may have came from a need to prevent minor cave-ins (Chinese Longs, being so large, need not appear any larger), and could be the origins of the myth of dragons creating mountains by arching their backs.

[dragonflightsoffantasy]

YOU KNOW WHAT DAY IT IS

[dragonflightsoffantasy]

Various Notes Upon Dragonkind: Biology, Society, and More

Warning: Vague mentions of infant mortality and reproduction

On Dragons In General:

Dragons of some sort occupy almost every continent on Earth- even the poles! They've naturally evolved over millions of years along with every other species on the planet, having originated in a third branch of amniote between synapsida and sauropsida, dubbed "arcansida"- an unknown vertebrate ancestor bearing traits of mammals, reptiles, and birds, but belonging to a class all of their own, whos talent laid in a ability of "intentional mutation" which hastened their overall evolution.

Highly adaptable as a species- they can occupy almost any environment.

Two main branches exist: "Western" and "Eastern", the classification depending upon which hemisphere the breed inhabits.

Dragons have sapience- but only relatively recently evolved this in comparison to humans and other species. As such, there are still areas in which they steer more towards their instinct rather than reason.

Have their own cultures and languages, varying based on breed; languages which are impossible for human beings to learn how to speak, due to biological limitations (aka lack of a forked tongue).

All dragons have the same vulnerable areas, regardless of breed, where their scales are thinnest: under their chins, on their armpits, their underbelly, etc.

Dragons are capable of manipulating objects with usage of their opposable thumbs- however, since their sharp claws tend to get in the way of using their finger pads, they tend to instead use their knuckles for most things (meaning, basically, that they can use touch-screen technology without scratching it to oblivion).

Dragons have no true gender roles, as males and females both care for the young and hunt: there is no discrimination based on gender. 

They also have very little concept of masculine and feminine- at least, in the way humans define the terms; male and female dragons are very similar, save that females are larger and males tend to develop brightly colored patches of skin under their chin/wings/vulnerable areas during the breeding season- varies between species. 

Dragons have immense lifespans, varying amongst breeds- the longest lived of which are the Chinese Longs, which live to be 5,000 years old; the shortest lived are the English Knuckers (or wyrms) living only 200 years on average.

All dragons lay eggs, and tend to pair off as mates for life; though there are cases of more polygamous groupings of up to three or more, exemplified in various breeds.

Dragons, regardless of breed, have an extreme paternal instinct which will drive them to care for any young they find, regardless of species- adoption is very common, and it isn't unheard of for dragon parents to adopt hatchlings of other breeds- or even humans.

This instinct evolved as a prevention measure due to the species' incredibly high infant mortality rate. Baby dragons are highly vulnerable to innumerable dangers when first born, and sadly only a few dragon infants will survive after hatching. 

Hatchlings, when endangered, have evolved to make a sound eerily similar to a human baby's wails. If a grown dragon hears it, they will go into a frenzy in an attempt to locate both baby and danger (and obliterate the latter); this has become a bit of an inconvenience in modern society, where a human baby wailing in a public space may cause any nearby dragons to go into an instinctual panic.

Dragons have a wide variety of emotions much like humans- however, their psychology and ways of expression are much different than human methods.

Dragons communicate more with body language than actual words; a head tilt can mean several different things depending on which direction the chin goes and how the ears are bent, or even how far you spread your wings (in wing-bearing breeds). As such, mute and deaf dragons tend to still fare well. 

Dragons have their own version of sign language based on body movement rather than hand signs. 

A dragon has two names: the name they were born with, and then the name they give to humans as an alias- a rough translation of their true name into human tongue.

Dragons- both Western and Eastern- have domesticated bears and tigers- these domesticated breeds are smaller and much more docile than their wild counterparts, and are used for companionship, much like humans with cats or dogs.

Dragons can shape-shift, a gift mainly exemplified in the Eastern breeds, and barely understood by either human or dragon biologists; the most that can be said is that it comes from some sort of innate magic usage, and may have evolved as an extreme means of mimicry, allowing them to survive, either via camouflage or passing on their genes (a strange magical ability allowing them to interbreed with other species, which is also barely understood, even with modern science).

Fire breathing breeds unhinge their jaws (not literally: like snakes, they simply have very stretchy ligaments in their mandibles and no chin bone, allowing their jaws to open wide) before breathing fire to avoid burning their tongues, though most of their esophagus is coated in a fire proof mucus.

Most dragon breeds have a nictitating membrane underneath their outer eyelids meant to keep water out- much like birds or alligators. They may use these to express emotion, in some cases (ex: fluttering to show confusion).

******

Author's Note: This is my first post on this blog, and is only a vague, generalized (but enthusiastic) collection of even more generalized headcanons I have thus far amassed and titled "worldbuilding"- I have more, but to get them all out I'll need questions to be able to concentrate and further elaborate on any single subject, because there is a lot of material to discuss. Unfortunately, I have a surplus of only half-baked ideas, due to my very limited knowledge on subjects I want to explore in this world, but am only just beginning to study (ex: linguistics, sociology, speculative biology, etc.). If there are inaccuracies, discrepancies, or discordances, please understand that it is not out of willful malignancy but genuine ignorance, and I am always open to (gentle) critique and correction. However, even with my limited ability I hope that you're able to still glean some enjoyment out of what I present, and even add on to it with your questions and advice! Thank you for reading, and may your wings always spread wide on your own flights of fantasy!

~ Draco S.

[dragonflightsoffantasy]

Warning: Here Be Dragons

There's a few things you should know before you go aimlessly browsing: this blog will feature stories dealing with potentially triggering topics, from mental health to gore, existentialism to pretty sexual themes. All of this will, of course, be appropriately tagged, and include a small warning before each story if such content is involved; so don't say I never warned you. These are, after all, stories about dragons.

Also, please feel free to ask any questions you might have, and leave (constructive) criticism if you feel that it's necessary! I am still learning to write, and I know I'll make mistakes- as long as you have something constructive to offer, I am always willing to listen and learn!

Thank you for reading!