#dreamdragon

[undertale-writing-times]

I'd love to adopt some Nightmare bitties, please!

This one was fun but a little hard haha.

You were asleep in your bed when you suddenly heard a sound, which caused you to jolt awake, your eyes shooting around. Huh? Oh... that was someone knocking? You yawn and rub at your eyes.

Who would be knocking at this time? You stretch out on the bed, slip out of it, and walk towards the door. You didn't have anything planned to be delivered today, right? At least, you didn't think so.

When you opened the door you saw a Bitty Inc worker holding a few boxes. They look at you and smile, "Good morning! I'm here to deliver your Bitties," they hold out the clipboard for you to sign.

Wait what? Did you... did you adopt Bitties? No, that makes no sense! You never signed up to get the Bitties, this was weird. "Uhh... O...Okay?" you mumble, writing down your name.

"Thank you for signing," The worker says, then hands you the boxes and they turn, walking off to get back to the car. You watch them go, then look down at the boxes again.

Okay... Alright, you have Bitties now. How many did you have? These were big boxes! You walk over to the living room and set down the boxes starting to open them to look through them. Once you got the Bitties out of all of the boxes, you look them over. The first one was a Nightmare Bitty, you could tell by the goop that covered his body. The next was purple, that was... that was a Passive Bitty, right?

The next one had tentacles coming from its mouth, and the tentacles were covered in eyes that were closed. It was colored red. Then one in a nice-looking suit, too many golden rings, and a lighter shade of goop than normal Nightmare.

Then a little dragon Bitty, shiny and black, one that was a mer creature. He had a faint glow to his tentacles and long dark dark hair...

Oh no...

Did they give you all Nightmare Bitties?! You had 14 Bitties now? You can't... these were all hard ones! They weren't for beginners. You've never had a Bitty before! Maybe you could... maybe you should take them back? Call the Bitty Inc and explain that there was a mistake? You put your hands on your cheeks feeling panic and confusion.

When you heard the noises start, you uncover your face looking at them. The Bitties were starting to wake up, all letting out their own little sounds. Nightmare was the one that opened his eye first, sitting up and he looks around then looks up at you. "You're the one?" he asks, a hint of confusion in his voice, then he looks over at the others, letting out a soft sound of annoyance.

Passive was the one to wake up next, squirming but opening his eyes too and looking around. His eyes widen when he saw all the others then stands up and moves closer to you, so you rest your hand down on the table which he climbs into. Okay... guess he felt a little uncomfortable around all of them. Nightmare was glaring at him.

All of Oxi's eyes open too, starting to scan the area. Slowly everyone woke up and Moonlight messes with his fingers, his eyes shooting around then up, "Did you adopt us?" He moves a little closer to Delusion cause they seemed the most similar.

"I... I guess I did?" You look over at Deep, the mer creature, and you lift up the bag going to get the tank out from your garage. Everyone just has a tank in their garage... right? Cause I did.

It took a few hours to get everything ready, and you learned their names. Nightmare, Passive, Oxi, Gloom, Envy, Dracul, Deep, Delusion, Nightfall, Oblivion, Shade, Moonlight, Thorn, and Bane. Bane was a Papyrus Nightmare counterpart, Nightfall came from Dreamtale and he was still asleep because it was during the day... Gloom seemed unhappy to be there though you had a feeling that he would just be unhappy altogether.

Envy seemed pleased, talking with Dracul and Oblivion. Oblivion and Nightmare started trying to fight each other and Delusion, Passive, and Moonlight all stuck to themselves not wanting to be around the other nightmares.

Oxi kept trying to wrap his tentacles around Thorn who kept having to move away from him, letting out sounds of distress. Oxi just laughed and you had to lift it away from the others, telling it to stop messing with the others. Oxi just laughed at you.

God... these are going to make you so tired. At least Deep seemed to be enjoying himself in the water. Dracul sat on the edge of the tank, watching him swim and Shade sat with him. Guess ones with wings/ones that aren't skeletons, gotta stick together?

[jadesjunk]

Few sketches I’ve worked on this year including “Howl’s Moving Horse” from January and two pieces from this month. The first is a test for my kitsune character Ayuka’s fox form as I’m still trying to sort out color and general design but I’m liking the maned wolf proportions.

The second May one is a sketch I made of @papi-makky’s character Blake and Az chilling and comparing their awesome hair!

[citizenoftmrrwlnd]

self care for : a dream dragon with pastel colors, stars, moons, crystals, clouds, and general dragon themes [center image generated on flight rising]

x | x | x x | - | x x | x | x

[kaisumisucreations]

random dreamdragon, they offered me a bottle of either magenta or black-n-white glitter

[draconicheir]

Dreamdragon Riri here to eat ur nightmares~!

[that-dreaming-dragon]

Ruminating Alterhumanity

Sometimes I think about how life is pretty amazing by itself. All these lived experience, each person is their own universe within. Like Buddhism say, everyone has a Buddha inside. To me, that means endless possibility within ourselves. Maybe in a literal sense, a headspace. Or like a identity sense, whether it be species, gender, or some other sort of identity. Or maybe more symbolic and metaphorical, like a color, or maybe a believe, something intangible. Which is vague and a little abstract because isn't feelings and experience also sort of intangible?

Well, where was I going with this?

Alterhumanity, to me, is a experience. And yes, I'm totally referencing Garnet from Steven Universe.

Abstract and nebulous, yet at time so concrete and up front. Perhaps that is the nature of identities and everything else. Alterhumanity is what made up of a part of us, how we see the world, how we view our internal selves. It is something profound and sometimes a little silly.

Either way, before I completely lost track of my chaotic thoughts… I'm partaking in the Sol System's Alterhuman Writing Challenge. I will be uploading my stuff on tumblr @that-dreaming-dragon and my dreamwidth dreamdragon, the content will be my relationship with alterhumanity, either my own or in general. I will not be working off of a prompt and instead do it almost like a freewrite session. Although it will likely still jump around with my hectic schedule, naturally chaotic brain, and distraction every corner. I will be using the tags below so stay tuned!

[pandoriasbox]

Wildwoods HC Lore - The Herds

Okay so I think if there’s one thing I should cover, it’s bare minimum my head canons/personal lore for the Wildwoods because it varies drastically from the in game lore. This is especially in relation to my fic “Into the Wildwoods” which you can find a link to the first chapter here. It’s also on my Ao3 (JadeDragon18) but I’d like this to show in the tags so you’re on your own to find that.

The fic itself I started last year (2021) and is still in progress, I have a few chapters ready to post but need to clean them up and make sure everything ties in appropriately across them. Obviously this includes spoilers for the fic so if you want to wait to find out through the story, please don’t read below the cut. I did mark where a major story spoiler is so if you’re curious but want to avoid major plot spoilers, just keep an eye out for that.

The Herds Overview

First things first, there are actually four herds and each are based around one of the pandoric circles (star, moon, sun, lightning) and have a lot of history that tends to be forgotten given they’re horses. This doesn’t deviate a ton from in game overall but the “foresters” are called “woodkeepers” because while yes, forester is an accurate name I personally associate it more with the word “deforestation” and lumber jacking, removal of trees, ect. I also feel like “forester” just sounds way more human than something the herds would come up with. So basically it boils down to personal preference.

Obviously these are talking horses, why the hell would they understand human concepts in the first place but ya know what? We’re gonna be doing a lot of stretching of our suspension of disbelief with this anyways since there are certain human elements I’ll still be including just because I like them. Anyhow, the other herds are still called the warriors and mystics and our new sun herd are called the wanderers. (Wow, almost a full set of w’s lol.)

Herds History

Gonna get this out of the way right away, the herds have had incredibly limited contact with humans and as much as I love Gary’s redesign and new backstory, no he and the druids have never interacted with the herds. I won’t say the herds never interacted with humans until very recently but overall humans have been a tiny blip in their history. This is the most grey area in things but I will stand firmly in the fact I want the druids and Gary to have nothing to do with them prior to Az meeting them in my lore and writing. The only other notable human is Hartwood before Az, any other interactions were done outside the valley and were on a one on one basis rather than the whole herd meeting humans. (Besides maybe the wanderers herd due to them leaving.) Also please note, I’m not saying I won’t ever have Gary or anyone else interact with the herds but this is something that would happen after Az’s experiences in the Wildwoods.

So let’s start from the beginning on this, long ago, before Jorvik saw humans as wide spread as they are now, the ancestors of the jorvik wilds roamed across the land. In particular there were a few notable herds living throughout Mistfall, including what is now known as the Redwoods and Wildwoods. This area is massive and the jorvik wilds remained in these areas up until about the 1900′s when suddenly their appearances had dwindled to a rarity. During the 1980s-1990s they were only ever rarely seen in the Redwoods which pushed them further into their mythical status. Overall Jorvik does not consider them extinct due to there being many herds across the island but the specific herds seen in Mistfall were deemed as either gone or having retreated further up into the valley. There is also a separate herd of “embermanes” which hail from even further up north, closer to Dino Valley and Garnok’s Fury but we won’t be focusing on them here. Also of note, it’s been deemed impossible to make it to the Wildwoods Valley due to the impenetrable nature of the mountains surrounding it. There is also some sort of disturbance that makes attempts at using electronics and other means of surveying the area without humans impossible.

Now again, this is huge spoilers territory for the fic so if you don’t want the ending surprises revealed, please skip this part of the history. Jorvik wilds by default cannot speak. No natural horse on jorvik can speak and any jorvik wilds that are not from the bloodline of the Wildwoods herds also cannot. I personally dislike talking horses and especially talking animals that do so vocally. I much prefer a mental link so that is how I made the “talking” work with my Wildwoods lore. The herds of the valley are capable of human level sentience and speech via psychic telepathy. There’s a catch however, it requires one to be either a wild whisperer or well versed in pandorian “magic” or energy.

The reason for this is because the jorvik wilds from the Wildwoods are not 100% horse, they have some pandoric heritage and in fact, the pandorians who started this still exist within the herds and are the ones who become their leaders and elders. I’ll likely go over the actual history of the Wildwoods specifically in another post since this’ll already be stupid long. But basically long story short, 4 pandorians, one of each circle arrived in the area and took on the forms of the local wildlife (horses, deer, squirrels, ect) in order to survive in our dimension. Overtime they stopped taking on the appearance of other animals and purely acted as horses. The process of going through the life cycle to survive caused the pandorians to eventually forget their origins and overtime believe they were just another horse in the herd.

This is my explanation for the speaking ability, their human level intelligence and partially why they have certain human-ish skills and tools. It’s a stretch but at least one I’m comfortable making. The current pandorians in my fic are Crabapple, Alder, Strongheart and an unknown wanderer leader. (The wanderers herd is absent and I haven’t developed them yet.)

Woodkeepers

The most peaceful of the four herds, the woodkeepers are dedicated to the plants and the Sentinel. They focus most on understanding the natural world around them as it is and studying flora. Most in the herd keep some sort of garden or tend to a specific patch of plants they call their own. Juniper specifically cares for a small garden of marigolds gifted to him by Rocco for example. Speaking of Juniper, he is the current leader of the woodkeepers with Crabapple being their head elder of the herd. Other notable members include Rosemary as well as Twig and Sapling, her apprentices.

The woodkeepers are responsible for producing much of the extra food the herds need to sustain themselves in the remote valley. Many of their crop gardens are located around the outskirts of Tailtop where the woodkeepers called home before the unrest across the herds began. Following the fall of Tailtop, the herd is the only one that remotely still uses the small village, with many having moved away to the furthest southern edge of the valley. They also used to act as the main healers of Tailtop before the separation of the herds where they worked alongside the mystics to produce remedies, salves and tend to wounds and other injuries.

While they are the most peaceful of the herds, Juniper struggles to keep the younger members from lashing out in frustration against the other two herds. Namely against the Mystics as they have become completely cut off from the Sentinel whom they used to care for. They also tire of the warriors stampeding through their territory, ruining their gardens at times and blocking access to outside of the valley, preventing them from collecting new plants. The woodkeepers on the other hand reduce how much of their crops they ration to the other herds as a more subtle way of punishing them for their disrespectful actions. They have also grown incredibly protective over the flora they have control over, causing Juniper to run ragged trying to keep the peace between his herd and the others.

The woodkeepers do in fact have some limited basket weaving but this is heavily handled by the squirrels due to them having more dexterous limbs. Some horses might be able to do some work with their mouths but the majority of baskets are made by squirrels. They also use bark for packaging items and when getting along with the other herds, make use of some of items crafted by the warriors for transport.

Mystics

Out of all the herds, the mystics are the most in tune with the energy and magic of the world around them. They look to the stars for guidance, commune with the Sentinel and create potions, and such to aid the other herds. The most gifted of the herd are able to foresee glimpses of the future, either via the stars or through dreams. All members of the herd are responsible for care and worship of the Sentinel and work to maintain the shrines and offerings to the tree.

However once the strife began between the herds, they soon started cutting off access to the tree and with it, started preventing any outside of the mystics from traveling too close to it. This caused a lot of commonly used paths to become practically unusable to any outside of the mystics herd and greatly infuriated the other two herds, especially the warriors who had to travel the most across the valley. The prevention of accessing and interacting with the Sentinel especially upset the woodkeepers who had been the herd that tended the most to the tree physically. However the mystics began to claim they didn’t truly understand how to take care of it, blocking any from the other herd from interacting with the great tree.

They now solely reside in the marshy fens in the center of the wildwoods and around the lake. They focus heavily on building shrines and mostly communing with the Sentinel to the point that there are very few mystics who still practice their other traditions. Some within the herd have grown increasingly concerned but with the unrest they dare not bring it up as they are already on edge having to protect their guardian tree from the other two herds already let alone causing problems within their own herd. Notable members include Alder, Willow, Ziggy and Star.

Mystics craft incense and as aforementioned, potions and other specially made items. They also focus a lot on building shrines and making offerings for the Sentinel and by extension, Aideen. They do not have any form of metalworking as seems to be in game but do likely have some limited wood carving like the warriors thanks to the squirrels. They also likely make nets and do weaving, making blankets that are often patterned and dyed using materials from within the Wildwoods. Again, much of this is helped thanks to the squirrels but some limited and simplified means are handled by the horses themselves. 

Side note, the squirrels are pretty intelligent themselves and while I don’t talk much about them and kinda gloss over them because I don’t want to add more characters, they are basically adopted into each herd as full fledged members if they so wish to be. Ziggy is the one who interacts with them most but hasn’t popped up in the fic so I haven’t actually developed much related to them. But they do play a large part in the day to day lives of all three of the herds still in the valley.

Warriors

The strongest of the three herds, the warriors a powerful, honor bound and tradition centered herd. They have a less than stellar reputation amongst the other herds due to typically being more aggressive and rather stubborn. The warriors seek to keep their land and those living within it safe and often patrol the edges and especially guard the entrances to the valley to prevent anything from getting in and in more recent times, getting out. They also uphold the ideas of honor and tradition very highly and will fight anything that threatens those.

Warriors spar daily to keep their bodies strong and their fighting skill sharp. There is a phenomenon with their specific herd where when one comes of age they will have dark, typically black stripes form across their fur. This is noticeable even on black coated horses where the stripes will still appear as a subtle but still darker part of the coat. When a member of the herd doesn’t have their stripes come in they are often treated as an outcast and honorless. “Stripeless runt” is a common insult to those who do not receive stripes.

Another set of traditions include earning one’s mask and playing their “heartsong” upon the massive drum the herd maintains. The mask is crafted by the herd’s squirrels and is made specifically for that horse when they are fully grown. It is created from the redwood trees and is carved to resemble animal skulls, often with horns and tusks adorning them. They are dyed either bone white or charred black and the traditional paints are added before the whole piece is completed. They are surprisingly resilient against the wear of time and weather and will be attached to the horse’s head via a simple leather string.

The “heartsong” is a drum performance done by herd members when they are officially integrated into the herd and may take place before one receives their mask. The whole herd gathers around the stump and the horse who is to perform must launch themselves onto it and stomp/dance upon the drum. The song they play is one that comes naturally and is described as coming from the heart. The sound of it will reveal their true intentions and if done “correctly” the current leader will welcome them into the herd. Those who fail must go through many more trials before they might be considered worthy of joining.

As for the current fighting, the warriors heavily control the movement in and out of the valley as well as regularly patrol the land. This causes a lot of issues with the other herds not only in that they cannot leave but also in that many of the current warriors have little respect for anyone else’s belongings. Some will even run straight through gardens, knock over shrines and so forth because of how little care they have. If it does not pertain to their traditions, it is unimportant. In turn, they’re incredibly frustrated with the mystics for limiting their movement in the valley. The warriors live in the gallop plains section, far to the north and so movement down and around the valley is very important given they don’t have a centralized location like the mystics do. They also grow incredibly irritated at the woodkeepers for their rationing of crops and lack of respect for maintaining the valley’s safety. Notable members include Rocco, Strongheart, Ash and Pepper.

Warriors do not have a “pot smashing” thing, I get it’s kind of a cute zelda reference but I really didn’t care for it so I removed it from my lore (also the thought of all those shards scattered about bothers me.) Like I could see them crafting incredibly simplified pottery but instead I think they have means of making very simple leather working and wood carving instead.

(These guys are pretty much the most developed since I’ve done the most writing about them in the fic thus far lol. Hopefully will be releasing said writing soon!)

Wanderers

The least well known herd, they mostly existed long before the issues that cropped up in valley because they have since disappeared entirely. The history of a fourth herd has become almost rumor and myth by modern day because of how long it has been since they left. All that was known was the leader of the wanderers could no longer stand staying purely within the valley and over time the herd or individual members would continue to leave and come back. One day, they finally left permanently and haven’t been seen or heard of since. As the name implies, they are a very nomadic herd and refuse to call one location home. They are horses born with a spirit to wander and explore, unable to stay put and grow uncomfortable if confined. Some foals are still born however connected to this herd but often rarely know it as they have no one to relate to in the valley who feels the urge to travel like they do. Either they repress their feelings or the desire takes control and urges them to finally escape, fleeing out into the wild world beyond in search of answers to the calling in their heart.

(This is the least developed herd because my current ideas are that they are not even within the south-western part of Jorvik but have actually moved north west past Northlink.)

Other Jorvik Wild Horses

I don’t have a lot of development for other wild horses but embermanes do exist and the standard jorvik wild is not at all like the herds of the Wildwoods. Natural jorvik wilds, the embermanes included, do not speak and do not have human level sentience nor intelligence. They do tend to be a bit more intelligent than the average horse, this is especially true for any born as a soul breed (all of the Wildwoods horses are soul breeds btw.) Normal jorvik wild horses typically share similar appearances but this will change depending on their location and such. The breed evolves a bit depending on their region, especially for any that reside up by Dino Valley like the embermanes. The unnatural coloration of horses like the mystics however only occurs when a jorvik wild is exposed to concentrated pandoric energy.

Embermanes are much like the typical jorvik wild except for the fact they do have slightly higher intelligence, are typically born as a soulbreed more often than normal jorvik wilds and have a natural affiliation with fire. Their coats are surprisingly well suited for both the harsh cold around Dino Valley as well as the intense heat of the volcanic area around Garnok’s Fury. They also have a strange ability where they are actually rather flame resistant but are not completely immune to fire or heat. Embermanes are known, mostly by the Wildwoods herds, as keepers of fire. They are typically only seen outside of their natural habitat when there are forest fires. The breed acts as a guardian of sorts, surveying the land and either causing or preventing fires depending on where its needed. It is unknown why this happens or how they are able to do it as it is something rarely seen outside of the most rural parts of Jorvik, typically those not touched by humans. They are always drawn to fire due to their instincts which call them to protect the land which is how Az met the one she did during her journey on Jorvik.

Jorvik Wild Physiology & Magic

Jorvik wild horses as they are colloquially known are the general catch all term for any fully wild breed on the island. In modern day this is predominantly only applied to the species in the wildwoods and their relatives outside of it with a similar overall appearance. Feral horses go by a different term (undecided at this time personally) but are not grouped under the JWH name. (JWH being the common acronym for them.) Jorvik wilds are identifiable by their body which heavily resembles their ancestral and primal roots. They are direct descendants of the original wild horses on the island and come in all sorts of colors because of this.

Overall JWH’s are a large, heavily musclar horse with thick fur and manes that vary from long, rough and shaggy to an almost lion like barbary mane which covers the full neck and chest. Some manes also only grow out into a short spikey mess along the top of the neck. Excess hair tends to grow along the chest and stomach as well. Some horses for unknown reasons also have a lion or “unicorn” like tail where the tail bone extends farther and only has hair along the underside or near the very tip, giving it a traditional unicorn look.

Typically, specific traits do align with certain groups and environments and diet do affect the breed over time. The horses in the Wildwoods already vary quite a bit between their coloring and other traits with warriors even having strange black stripes appearing over their bodies verses the often blue tinted mystics. However the blue coloration appears to be related to their proximity to the pandoric energies coming from their environment. Breeds outside the Wildwoods also feature unique traits that have evolved overtime due to their habitats.

Beyond the easily identifiable traits, jorvik wilds also have a unique diet from most other horses. While all of them do still eat forage, namely grasses, some actually eat fish and meat as a more regular part of their diet. These horses typically display changes to their teeth to accommodate their needs. In the Wildwoods especially, warriors tend to eat the most meat along with fish and foliage, mystics prefer fish and plants most and typically get most of their food from the lake while woodkeepers have a far more typical diet consisting of many different kinds of plants. All three Wildwoods herds however do display sharper teeth for ripping into fleshy meals when needed and it is a trait that is shared across almost all other jorvik wilds. The fish and animals they eat however are rarely larger than a rabbit with most JWH that do eat meat going after small rodents or birds. Of course, given the companionship between the herds and squirrels of the woods, they do not touch any squirrel regardless of its intelligence or allegiances.

As for magic, overall most jorvik wilds both within and without the Wildwoods are either incapable or unaware of magic use. Mystics are the most in tune but typically at best will use whatever magic they do have for scrying or visions. Magic amongst horses (except for pandorians) is typically something that only comes naturally and is often limited due to level of intelligence. Soul breeds by default are of higher intelligence than the average horse and every Wildwoods JWH is in fact a soul breed due to their connection to the pandorians who joined them. However most if not all are unaware of how to truly tap into any magic they may be capable of.

Overall, mystics are connected to the moon circle, hence why they are capable of receiving visions, usually via the stars or dreams. Pandorians are capable of causing hallucinations or making illusions but there are no known jorvik wilds able to do this. Woodkeepers are of the star circle which grants them incredible healing abilities and some control over plant life and other living matter. For the horses it appears more as a means of accelerating growth but most of the best healers in the Wildwoods are “naturally gifted” woodkeepers. 

The warriors are of the lightning circle, and the striped markings across their backs are likely connected to this. They don’t have magic that is as apparent as some of the other herds (much like the wanderers) and instead most of it is expressed in their physical forms. Warriors are often the fastest and strongest of the four herds. There are legends though of warriors who had an attunement to storms and could possibly even summon lightning. Last but not least, the wanderers who are the least known herd are those of the sun circle. The circle calls them to explore and wander. They are also among the most susceptible to pandoric influence due to their circle being connected to condensed pandoric energy and rift formation. The expression of any actual magic abilities by this breed is unheard of at least as far as was known in the Wildwoods before their departure. It’s unknown how the herd fares outside of the wood however.

If you want to read some of my old thoughts on pandorians and the four circles you can check out this post here! (It’s kinda outdated now so I should make a new one but the overall ideas still stand.)

[tamasuri]

Choose your dream, i have the perfect one for you

[ericthepentaxian]

Work in progress, 3rd layer (base + 2 drybrush layers) applied. At least 3 drybrush and 2 wash layers to go before detail Work begins. #gamerslife #gaming #gamer #gameon #rafm #rafmminiatures #dragon #d20 #advanceddungeonsanddragons #dungeonsanddragons #dndminiatures #dndcreatures #dungeonmaster #dungeonmasterlife #miniaturegaming #miniaturepainting #miniaturepainter #dreamdragon (at Medina, Ohio) https://www.instagram.com/p/CGJOe1tBa-E/?igshid=14r4lcpyetthm

[mciii]

Trying to materialize my dream dragon. #art #dragon #dreamdragon #dragmare ? https://www.instagram.com/p/CBfQRjLFqhu/?igshid=6abwlpl6nyvb

[evaxcheyenne-fr]

Dreamdragon help!

Not exactly my dreamdragon, but my good ol' friend @local-litporeon-fr does have one!

Raspberry starmap, Raspberry constellation, Pearl ghost, Mirror female, Fire common or uncommon eyes. I myself am actively breeding it, but the range on these dragons are far too wide. So if you have any dragon in raspberry/raspberry/pearl range with gem gene primary and secondary, please sell me them! Boosts are very much appreciated! Thank you.

[undertale-writing-times]

How would the dragons think of humans (who likes them and who doesn’t

Sure! Thanks for the ask :)

Burn: It used to like humans and would even sometimes play with them, in a way that dragons played of course, but then the humans lashed out in fear and they tore its wings! Now it cannot really fly all that well, if at all, so it avoids humans as best it can… it is a shockingly kind red dragon, even though it has killed quite a few people in the past. Most of them were in a way to protect itself, however.

Arman: Oh, yeah, Arman loves humans! Finds them really fun and enjoyable to mess with. He likes how tiny and cute they are when he's in his dragon form. Sometimes when people are going through the swamp that he calls his own, he'll mess with them. Either by tripping them up, or sometimes scaring them. He just finds it really funny! Haha.

Levi: Avoids at all costs. As a purple dragon, he has never been seen by the human eye before.

Chua: As a gold dragon, he can smell family bloodlines! If he met someone before that treated him kindly, he would keep their family members safe. But if someone treated him unkindly, he may not. He believes that all humans can be good, even if they don't see it, and he will try to help them see that they can be. If they attack him, however, he will not hold back.

Dracul: He is quick to anger and cruel to ones that he believes are his prey or his enemy. He doesn't see humans as different from the prey animals that he catches sometimes. If they get in his way, they will suffer. It takes a special person to not.

[jadesjunk]

Reposting this as the old one for some reason draws in bots like bugs to a zapper. Hoping that’ll clear it as I’m sick of the alerts and blocking blank blogs. Apologizes to Icy and Ruth for re-tagging, I’ll be deleting the old post so I still want to credit you guys for all your help <3

August Pt2 - Monthly Drawing Challenge

The final piece for August’s challenge! I was so excited to hear we were getting dragon horses in game and while the green one has won my heart over the red I know which one best relates to Az. The in-game dragon’s name is even a reference to her, my hot-headed Flameflower.

Of course I took some liberties in redesigning it slightly (and no way was I gonna do all those scales right now.) I do like to imagine that Az figures out a way to extend her lifespan and lives for centuries, possibly even millennia on. This piece comes from that idea where in the far flung future Az has discovered where the dragons fled to. She cares and trains them but in the process managed to lose one of her arms. Of course, still being good friends with Ydris means she can replace it with a crystal one!

Lastly, so many thank you’s to my amazing and talented friends @wintry-art and @ruth-westside for helping me with this piece especially with my last minute shading. I couldn’t make this work without you guys. My understanding of art has progressed leaps and bounds thanks to them so please check out their art and send them some love!

[insidethemindoflindsey]

Anyone else dream of being the opposite sex?

13.07.22

I was a man, either Vin Diesel himself or someone similar...

I was given a yellow sports car and had to drive it into a corporate-type building and essentially wreak havoc, smash through things Fortnite-style and squash the baddies, who were apparently the entire staff...

I had a bit of crashing and smashing before I was becoming a bit overwhelmed by numbers and resistance and decided to make my escape, drove straight into an elevator, tried to hit buttons to change floors, enemies kept opening the door, I kept re shutting the door, stress stress stress...eventually changed floors, it was the top level so I floored it off the rooftop, landed without damage and begun my proper escape...

Helicopters with lights searching were apparently surrounding the general facility, more attempts to escape but it was clear I wasn't going to get out of there, hit an evacuation button and flew high into the air, chose my landing spot of a small lake, and hid in a nearby cabin.

Police and incidents abandoned, I was given a small dragons egg, and focussed on trying to hatch it and guessing a chicken or lizard would hatch instead...but nope! A magical, but non-dragon like, chick type animal with little t rex front claws and thick bottom claws emerged, green on bottom and a gradient into pink top half.

Begun feeding it, it merged into a spindly praying mantis x stick insect type thing, wind blew and it seemed to be tangled and damaged amongst itself with its delicacy, but it seemed to be alive still...and I woke up.

[pandoriasbox]

I haven’t talked about Eversong in a while and he’s absolutely one of my favorite horse OCs. Eversong’s a pretty calm, laid back horse overall but he can be a bit grumpy at times and doesn’t like to do anything too strenuous unless it’s an activity he likes. He’s incredibly intelligent due to being a soulbreed (and another reason that I suppose is kind of spoilers for Az’s story.) 

Unlike in SSO’s canon (when it’s being consistent lol) Eversong cannot speak neither aloud nor mentally and neither can any of the other “soul horses.” He does share a special link to Az which she often describes as a “thread“ that connects them. They use this to communicate, share thoughts and feelings and magic. Az and Eversong are nearly inseparable except for when Az is working as a ranger. The two get along incredibly well but of course it makes sense as their souls are intertwined after their first meeting.

Eversong acts as Az’s rock in a sense, he provides stability and comfort to her and the two play well off each other. Where Az is fiery, loud and go-getting, Eversong is calm, quiet and relaxed. They balance each other out and work exceptionally well together.

What is your OC's soul steed (or horse if they do not have a soul steed)'s personality? Do they get along with your OC?

Prancer is a huge brat. If Lucy loses balance and falls on his neck, he'll lower his head so she falls off. He'll throw little tantrums if Lucy pays attention to the other soul steeds cause he's JEALOUS. Even though their personalities clash, though, they do manage to get along. (Or at least they try to, it's definitely clear that Prancer and Lucy are meant for each other though)

I wrote a drabble where Lucy was trying to figure out if Drew's (@praisethelamps OC) horse, Spaceship had some kind of injury and the entire time Prancer was throwing a fit. Pacing around in his stall and making angry horse noises because her attention wasn't on him.

[pandoriasbox]

Ch1 Into the Wood - Into the Wildwoods (Standard)

The large irish cob snorted as the last of the load was added to his back. Eversong looked over to where Az was finishing up and his eyes followed her as she walked over to him. Immediately his muscles relaxed as they made contact and he felt her reassurance pulse through their connection. The rider was giddy, excited but also nervous, this was the first time the pair were heading back up to Redwood Point since before the fall of Garnok. So much had changed and yet at the same time it felt like so little. The world was still turning, Az still worked as a ranger and to all those she shared her job with it was just another average day.

Az planted a gentle kiss to the soft snout of her beloved companion, opening her eyes to see his beautiful duo colored ones staring right back at her. “It won’t take long to get up there, it’s already cleared and then I can unpack all this stuff at the station.” She smiled and let him nuzzle her hand. Az had felt trepidation at the thought of going on such a long term mission without her other half but thanks in part to Rowan the stallion was allowed to accompany them. The senior ranger had pulled a few strings and with some convincing Eversong was allowed along as a packhorse so the team was able to carry extra gear and supplies for their initial expedition.

Once she was sure Eversong was ready, the redhead returned to her other equine companion Foxfire. The buckskin let out a snort and pawed at the ground as she awaited her rider. Az gave her a pat on the neck before giving her tack a once over. The trip shouldn’t be too long but it wasn’t exactly the same as going between the southern station and Dundull. Taking a deep breath she swung up into the saddle and led the two horses to join the small group gathered at the base of the road to the station.

“Alright mates, everyone good to go?” Rowan called out to the assembled rangers. A general affirmation rang out from the group. “Okay good, now Az I’d like you up front with me since you have the most experience up there out of all of us. Everyone else ride in formation as we discussed.” With that the expedition began in proper, Az trotting up to meet Rowan at the front. The group of six rangers began their journey up through the recently cleared brambles.

“So Az, you excited to head back up into Redwood? Your reports were pretty minimal but that route really helped with getting the foliage cleared.” Rowan glanced over, smiling warmly.

The redhead chuckled softly and nodded. “Yeah, it’s been a good bit but I gotta say all those rumors of Hartwood really got me interested. Thanks for getting me on the mission… and uh… thanks for letting Eversong come along.”

Rowan waved their hand dismissively. “Eh don’t worry about it, I know how much he means to you and honestly you seem to have an even stronger connection with that stallion than Foxy or any of our own. There’s something special between you two and I’d like to have that with us.”

“Ah yeah, you could definitely say that, something special I mean.” A tiny flush filled Az’s cheeks as she thought about how much deeper it went. It wasn’t every day your very soul was intertwined with another’s but she wouldn’t have it any other way. Sighing softly she let a smile bloom across her lips as she leaned forward to pet the mare she rode with her free hand. “Foxy’s a good gal though, hardy and determined… when she wants to be.” The two let out a laugh that made the mare snort and flick her ears back before returning her attention to the overgrown trail before them. The rest of the ride up the pass was mostly in silence but Az certainly didn’t mind. She enjoyed the serenity and scenery surrounding them, mindful of the precarious cliffs and rock bridge as they reached them.

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The station soon came into view and it looked just as worn down as the last time Az had visited it. The roofs were covered in fresh growth, there was still a broken window in the stables and the pasture fences were a mess. They had a lot of work ahead of them but she knew they could get this place looking almost as good as new. The horses were tied up to the safest part of the fence, Eversong having his packs unloaded while Rowan directed the other rangers. Az was given fence repair. The others did their best to get the rest of the station up to livable standards. She waved to Enitan as she passed through the pasture gate while he set to work fixing the door to the stable. Eversong nickered behind her and she paused to give him a gentle pet. “Hey buddy, we made it. You and Foxy did a great job.” Az grinned as he nuzzled against her and she gave him another pat. “Careful now, I got a bunch of nails on me.” She laughed softly as he snorted at her and returned to his grazing.

Much of the fencing for the paddock was old and even a few sections showed signs of mold or too severe of damage. She sighed and set to work, patching holes as she could with existing material before returning to the stable to find some spare wood. It was as she was on the last part of the fence, as far into the forest as one could get when she sensed something was amiss. She knew bears and wolves lived out here but that wasn’t what sent a prickle down her spine. All the training that Evergrey and Ydris put her through came flooding back as she straightened and stood back up. It was no simple animal that stood behind her, it was something that exuded a magic she couldn’t quite place. That only put her more on edge however.

She realized too late she had her back to the forest. Slowly, carefully she began to turn around, knowing that whatever was behind her could easily be something provoked into attacking if she showed any sign of danger to it. Her free hand tingled as her magic was just a heartbeat away. It wouldn’t be good to use it here, memories flooding back of the forest fires she caused back when she first fled to the area. She heard a shuffling of what sounded like hooves and finally she got the first glimpse of the creature from the corner of her eyes.

White caught her eye then the rest came into view and finally she stood face to face with it. Az’s heart thudded as a deer with a head as white as snow and body made of plants slowly approached her. She stood frozen in its presence, her mind reeling trying to understand what it was. She had never seen such a creature, even its antlers were made of branches and unknown blossoms sprang forth. However what struck her the most were its milky white eyes that bored into her. She didn’t realize she had been holding her breath until the creature’s head turned and it suddenly bounded away.

Coming back to reality Az realized she heard hoofbeats behind her before a whinny rang out and she blinked. Turning around she found Eversong huffing and pawing, his concern ringing clearly across their connection. The ranger hopped the fence and stood beside him, calming the large stallion just as Tiera came running after.

Once she caught her breath she sighed in relief to see the cob was safe with his owner. “Hey Az! Sorry about that, one moment he was just peacefully grazing and the next I looked up and he was gone! Don’t know how but he got the lead rope untied and booked it. Did you uh… want me to bring him back up to the stables?” The younger ranger grinned sheepishly, feeling embarrassed for letting a horse escape on her watch.

Az smiled and picked up the loose lead rope, tossing it over Eversong’s back. “Naw it’s alright, I’ll bring him back up once I’m done giving the fences a once over. Why don’t you head back and check the other horses?” Once Tiera nodded and began her way back Az scrambled up onto the bare stallion’s back. “Naughty boy, you know you’re supposed to be on your best behavior.” She whispered playfully, smiling as Eversong snorted back at her and began moving along the fence line. Az kept her eyes out for any more damage but as far as she could tell everything was as fixed as it was going to get. “Thanks though...” she said softly, “I don’t know what that was… I don’t think it was dangerous but I just… blanked there. I’ve never seen anything like it and I didn’t want to hurt it.” Eversong let out a soft nicker and Az smiled as she sensed his acknowledgement.

She knew thoughts of the white deer would keep her up that night, they filled her mind as she helped clean out the main station cabin. Eversong retired to the pasture with Foxy and the other horses; however he remained vigilant for the strange stag. Az tried her best to reassure him they were probably safe but she could feel how defensive he grew of her. Despite her own concern for him she was grateful he was here watching out for her.

Night came quickly as their work kept the rangers busy. Az soon settled down in her bunk, trying not to toss and turn as images of the deer filled her mind. Questions flitted through her thoughts such as why it had appeared to her now? Where was it from? Jorvik was certainly a magical place but thinking back to what she had sensed… that wasn’t pandoric energy in the slightest. She hummed softly and rolled to her other side. If anything it felt more like the Sleeping Widow or the Singing Yew, ancient and integral to the island rather than alien and unnatural. Yawning, she reached out through her connection to Eversong, feeling him weakly reply. The stallion was settling down to sleep as well but he returned her call.

“Can you help me sleep?” She asked, feeling his reply shortly after and a sense of calm washed over her. Soon she forgot her worries about the stag and felt the sweet embrace of sleep surrounding her.

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Morning came with the breaking of dawn, light filtering past the tall trees and into the grimey windows of the cabin. Az winced as the warm rays hit her face and she rolled over to avoid them. However what she couldn’t avoid was the loud alarm of one of the other ranger’s phones. Groans rose up from several of the others, Az among them as she finally gave up and moved to get out of bed. “Jeeze who’s got the crap ringtone?” She called out, rubbing at an eye.

“Ah, that’d be me, sorry I forgot to turn it off.” Astrid picked up the device, quickly silencing the blaring alarm off. The rest of the rangers stumbled out of bed, some dressing properly while others made their way to the kitchen. Az was surprised to see Rowan already at work making breakfast. The scent of bacon and eggs filled the cabin as she escaped into the bathroom before the others could hog it.

Settling down with a couple other groggy rangers at the table Rowan delivered a few finished strips of bacon to each and a couple fried eggs. “Mornin’ hope you all slept well!” Az snorted at how cheery they were, that was one thing the two didn’t share in common. Rowan was a morning person while Az was always a night owl.

“Ah about as well as one can on those old mattresses, I swear the horses are gonna get better rest.” She joked before snatching up a piece of bacon and popping it into her mouth.

“Yeah we were gonna get a few more z’s in until Astrid’s phone started blaring.” Yousef grumbled while pouring himself some juice.

“Well it’s still the work week, we can’t laze around too much up here. Lots to do after all.” Rowan smirked and tapped at the frying pan. “But I’ll let you guys sleep in on the weekends, if Astrid’s phone agrees.” They chuckled and Az couldn’t help but snort softly. “We’re gonna finish up the major repairs and cleaning today hopefully then start making plans on how we’re going to remap the Redwoods area. All of our maps are extensively out of date and any of the near complete ones have long been lost. As far as I can tell the last time they were updated was back during that Hartwood search.”

Az perked up at the mention of the mysterious ranger. “No one’s been up since then right?” She paused in her meal, looking between Rowan and Enitan who had been quiet since sitting down with her and Yousef.

Clearing his throat, Entian spoke up finally. “No, the whole area was abandoned since staff was short back then, right Rowan?” The Aussie nodded before Entian continued. “The rumors of the area being haunted didn’t really help so it kind of just fell to the wayside.”

“Haunted? Really?” Az tilted her head. “Rowan, you never mentioned that part.” Her gaze returned to the senior ranger while she took a sip of her drink.

“Ah yeah, I try not to spread those rumors to be honest, makes it harder to get a proper team together. See, we’ve been getting a decent growth in rangers over the last few years. Tiera and Astrid are a great example and given their skill sets I figured they’d be good on this mission. Of course Az you were my top pick.” They motioned at her with the spatula. “Not just because you managed to get up here on your own but you’re among our top rangers right now.”

The redhead blushed softly and smiled. “Thanks, that means a lot.” She paused, mind wandering back to yesterday with the deer. But she also couldn’t wait to start mapping out the Redwoods with Foxy and do some trail rides with Eversong off duty this weekend.

In the background of her thoughts the conversation continued. “They never found her did they?” Yousef asked.

“Nope, there’s been all sorts of strange rumors though.” Enitan started, Az tuning back into the conversation as he began talking about the famous ranger. Midway through the conversation Tiera and Astrid joined breakfast, listening to the storyteller weave the tale of Edith Octavia Hartwood. “She was a legend… one of the first rangers who stepped foot in the Redwoods and well, possibly even beyond. I think most of you by now have heard the tales of mysterious valley deeper in the mountains yes?” A chorus of mumbling agreement and nods mixed with confusion from Yousef. “Well, there’s believed to be this valley somewhere close to us past the mountain face. However no matter what no one seems to be able to get up there. Even attempts to use drones or satellite cameras all result in equipment lost or fuzzy photos. No one can explain why and so far everyone who’s tried to breach the mountain has met terrible fates. Most go missing, this station is the closest recorded settlement to where we think the valley is.” A murmuring of curiosity came from the group except for Astrid who rolled her eyes.

“Just bad luck and there’s probably some kind of weird magnetic thing up there. I’m sure it’s explainable with science.” She huffed, finishing off her meal and leaving to finish getting dressed.

Az frowned and watched her go before returning her attention to Enitan. “Please continue, I’d love to hear more.”

The fellow ranger nodded and proceeded with the rest of his tale. “Well, Edith as I said was a legend among the rangers as far as I know but at the same time she’s somewhat of an enigma. A lot of us know her for being one of the most dedicated rangers in decades but along with that dedication are rumors she might have been a bit… mad.” He took a sip of his drink before continuing. “You see, Hartwood was believed to be very passionate about protecting Mistfall and especially the Jorvik Wild Horses. Back in her day a lot more herds roamed the area, most of them seemed to be up here in the Redwoods but we even had a few herds back down in Southern Mistfall. Nowadays they’ve all but disappeared and only once in a blue moon do you see them but they’re still here. It only fueled the rumors of that secret valley further.” He waved his hand.

“Jorvik Wilds? Wait… aren’t those...” Az thought for a moment, it sounded familiar. She snapped her fingers, trying to remember. “Ah! Yeah weren’t those some of the horses that resembled primievel equines from before the Jarl’s arrival?”

“I see someone’s done their homework” Enitan joked. “But yes Az, they’re also basically a national treasure and highly protected. It’s believed Jorvik Wilds don’t just let anyone ride them, they share some of the strongest bonds with their riders and seem to choose their rider unlike most modern day horses. It’s fascinating really.”

“So… what happened to Hartwood?” Tiera piped up, leaning forward into the table now intrigued.

“Ah yes, as I said Edith was deeply interested in protecting these horses. However no one really knows what happened to her. The herds were starting to thin out in Southern Mistfall by the time she joined the rangers and during her days they all but disappeared everywhere but up in the Redwoods. She was the one responsible for the structures up here actually, right Rowan?” 

The Aussie nodded, having long since joined them and was quietly munching away at their meal while listening in. “Indeed. The cabin, the fences, there’s even an old watchtower somewhere up here that she had built. Everything was, as far as I understood, designed to blend in with the local area as much as possible. You guys think that the growth on the roofs is from time? As far as we know it seems that was one of her ideas for trying to make the structures less intrusive. Same for that old stick fence we call a paddock.” Rowan let out a small bark of laughter before leaning back in their chair and smiling. “I think she did a pretty good job though with the resources she had.”

Enitan nodded and continued. “Yeah, she got this whole place setup and running but for the most part she was the only one up here. There were a lot of staff shortages back then and as far as I’ve learned the building of Redwood Point was unfortunately more costly than they expected. It was nice for a while it seemed but over time the rangers up here dwindled until only Hartwood was left. No one realized she was missing until it was too late. She never came back down for her scheduled resupply and a small group went up to check on her. Everything looked normal but Edith was nowhere to be found. She had long since stopped contact with the southern station but usually still came by in person. No one knew when she actually disappeared so a search party went up right away. Of course as the story goes, still no sign of her and even looking through belongings didn’t leave a hint. It was as if she just up and vanished one day.”

Rowan nodded. “Yeah rumors still abound, those less superstitious think it was just wolves and she got unlucky. There was no sign of her horse either so they assumed both were lost. However those who spin tall tales tell of everything from a sasquatch to aliens. The search party scoured the entire area but there were no traces of her remains, no scraps of clothing, no horse, nothing.”

“Yeah she wasn’t the sort of person to just give up on her tasks out of the blue either. Some tried suggesting she just moved out one day but nothing in the cabin or watchtower signified that.” Enitan shrugged. “Actually I think all her belongings are still around here somewhere if the elements haven’t ruined them.”

“Uhh… you guys wouldn’t mind if I had a look up at them do you?” Az finally spoke up, her interest piqued. “I’ve been curious about Hartwood since Rowan told me about her early on in my time as a ranger.”

Rowan waved their hand. “Go ahead as long as it’s while you’re off duty. If you find anything out I’d love to hear it.” Enitan and Tiera agreed. Az grinned and the group finished off breakfast with some more cheerful chatting. The remainder of the morning was spent sorting out details regarding the last cleanup of the station for now and discussion of cartography. Az was on stable duty next and she was happy to visit Eversong and Foxfire before setting to work making the stable inhabitable again for their equine companions. Once the station was in working order again they could finally begin their real mission. Soon they would be mapping the Redwoods out all over again.