#like i think both of them are smaller than than the 3 other dragons + the demon dragon but. hes tiny (still huge by dragon standards ofc)

[verflares]

think i mentioned it offhandedly the last time i posted my draconified link design but i Do think he is the smallest/shortest dragon btw. like thats just canon to me

[very-straight-blog]

I never read the books, I just know some vague info about it and mostly just watched the show.

Sometimes I wonder how in the seven kingdoms did Rhaenyra manage to do so bad in the war and why did she even bother with the dragon seeds. Like- yeah sure at the end she won cuz it's her children and then descendants on the Iron Throne, but also- how was it such a disastrous conflict?

Team Green has 4 dragons: Tessarion and Sunfyre (relatively young and small dragons), Vaghar which fair enough is a giant battle hardened dragon (but also old and slow) and Dreamfyre who doesn't even ever fight. So technically they only have 3 fighting dragons.

Team black has: Arrax, Moondancer and Vermax, small but still it's 3 dragons that cannot be that younger than Tessarion. I am not counting Joffrey's dragon cuz it's too small so not apt to fight. They also have Syrax, spoiled but still a decently big dragon I would guess probably around or a bit smaller than Sunfyre. And they have both Meleys and Caraxes, both battle hardened very big dragons with experienced riders despite not being as big as Vaghar. That's a total of 6 dragons against 3 of the greens. When Seasmoke, another battle hardened dragon joined their team, what was even the point of looking for other Dragon Seeds?

The greens had only Tessarion and Vaghar while the Blacks still had Vermax, Moondancer, Caraxes, Syrax and Seasmoke.

Taking in other dragon Seeds is such a risky move as their loyalty cannot be assured. I am also not counting Sheepstealer cuz they couldn't have known Rhena would claim it. But like- how can you loose with these odds? I know Rhaenyra didn't want more of his loved ones to die but girl, is literally war, you already have the advantage and you think the best idea is to grab a bunch of random bastards and give them giant dragons and just "hope they stay loyal to you cuz you were oh so nice to them"?

I love that Rhaenyra lost, even though she initially had an absolute advantage - more dragons, more allies. Here we can again speculate about what kind of queen she would be if she couldn't even win the war being in a much better position than her opponent. She lost her allies and dragons because of her stupid and short-sighted decisions, and eventually Aegon (who was literally disabled at the time) defeated her and fed her to Sunfyre. Poetic, if you ask me.

[ringleaderising]

PIGLET APPLICATION #01 TOOTH THE RESSURECTIONIST.

RULES OF ENGAGEMENT:

These Piglets are for lore clans with a tumblr presence (sideblog, FR posting on mainblogs, etc you simply have to be a lore clan who engages with the community here on tumblr.)

Other players with their siblings (and myself with their parents) will be not only welcome to but encouraged to write interclan letters/in character messages to their siblings, and you'll have to be okay with everything that comes with that (On-Site DMs, the potential of a message going unanswered/etc) I would also appreciate if you ping me for the stuff you do with them because I want to see what they get up to <3

If you win one of the siblings, please refrain from applying for another, this is so everyone interested gets an opportunity and a fair shake at taking one of the girls home!

If you're the selected winner, the dragon is yours to do what you please with! (Regene, change species, rename, change gender identities/pronoun preferences, etc) I ask only that you have a lore/character reason for breed or name changes, as they'll be connected to a wider group of dragons that would need to know these things (What kind of dragon their sibling has become, What to call them in letters, etc) and if you can keep them a modern breed so they can keep their cleavers, well that'd just be nice for their old man Pig.

Please honor the basic lore of the dragon you win, you're welcome to rewrite/reinterpret the lore they arrive with, but please don't eliminate that history entirely, since they'll be interwoven with other clans/players!

[and a big thank you to Khadjin for reminding me I never mentioned this yet!] my lore deviates pretty substantially from site lore. however every aspect can be explained within the context of the site, please don't feel like you have to adopt my headcanons to participate in these!- my "Lesser Gods" are nothing more than magically afflicted/overcharged spirits or magically mutated dragons created in a reactor explosion somewhere in Lightning and some timeloop silliness, and the 'Gaps' are highly concentrated leylines caused by this incident. the eleven gods of sornieth remain the only true gods in my lore much like the site on the whole!- the Piglets and their parents simply lived under the affliction of spirits, cults, and mutated dragons and contextualized them as "Gods" the very same way we create urban myth/legends. While they would know of The Host and the Gaps because of the direct effect both have had on their parents, they are not required to have continued to believe in them as "Higher beings" and can have learned in their time away from their family that these things are likely, little more than the arcane gone haywire.

BLANK APPLICATION

Please copy/paste and fill this out in a Reblog here on tumblr or send it to me through my submit box here so I can keep track of things on a per-dragon basis for the course of the 48-hours each application will be active!

FR Username/Numbers: Basic Clan Lore: (just a general description of the lore/area of your clan you intend to place this hatchling in!) Plans For Dragon: (A little description of any of your ideas, headcanons, story beats, etc you're thinking of for the dragon you're applying for! This can be anything you've got in mind, scries, outfits, etc, feel free to go as big or as little as you want, I wanna see what's going on in your head!) Intended Payment: (These dragons will be PWYW, but I need everyone to acknowledge they're not free, so whatever you're planning on paying/trading for them, even if you change your mind when the time comes, stick something here.)

RINGLEADER'S HEADCANONS

These are just some smaller lore bits and pieces you're welcome to use or disregard for each child, things that I couldn't fit into the bios in a way that made sense. much like the example outfit photo up-top, this is for fun or stuff to help get ideas flowing, if you're stuck!

Tooth has horrible first-child syndrome despite being the third-born, she wants her parents' (and others, really) approval in any way she can get it, which has led to a deathly competitive streak- dangerous in a dragon closer to a horror slasher than anything else.

Tooth is the child with the most heavy proclivity toward plague's flesh and bone sensibilities, and while this is fitting for a necromancer, it makes her look odd when engaging with hobbies that aren't hunting, killing, or doing strange magic- she's mildly self conscious about this.

Her tendency to pull her own teeth to create resurrection daggers has led to her using her mouth as an odd accessory, adorned with teeth carved from precious stones, metals, and various other souvenirs she's chosen.

She's one of the few members of the Piglets who actually has an innate sense of magic, as her talent with resurrection does not require any outside intervention beyond a focus for her powers!

THIS APPLICATION IS OPEN FROM 3 PM DECEMBER 2ND, 2024, TO 3 PM DECEMBER 4TH, 2024. REBLOGS AFTER THIS TIME WILL BE DISQUALIFIED FROM THE RUNNING.

Annnnd the auction pings for my tumblr lovelies!~:

@hor-wod-flir @harpyartisan @fuiran @terra-tortoise @bawkrya @pocketmouse-fr @spongyspingy-rising @avalonianrising @clansunsharp

[hiwelcometothemonstersancturary]

What are the gangs favorite type of video games to play? Weather it’s Mario, Pokémon, sports, rhythm games, horror games, etc etc.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. YOU ACTIVATED MY TRAP CARD!!!! Now...

Poppy prefers tabletop games more, but she can be often caught playing or seeing someone else playing The Sims. She LOVES that game - Angel has The Sims 2 installed on their computer, and when they all move to a bigger house Poppy gets her own PC so she can play TS2 as much as she wants.

Kissy doesn't play much on her own, but she really loves 3D platformers and adventure games. Her favorites are the og Spyro the Dragon trilogy! I think she loves watching others play pokémon as well.

Huggy loves racing games. Get anything with a car and he's instantly in love with it.

I can Mommy Long Legs making super over-the-top stories on The Sims 2 as well, so she and Poppy often share news of what their sims are doing. They are both active in forums and are trying to make their own custom content for the game!

Bunzo is a pokémon guy.

PJ Pug-a-Pillar doesn't like playing games in general but he LOVES watching others play, esp if there's lots of cutscenes. It's like watching a movie!

Miss Delight falls in love with Portal 2 when it's released, but I think she's really picky with her puzzle games. She likes being a bit creative on her solutions! She's also really into RPGs. I think the Fallout franchise is her comfort game.

Catnap and Craftycorn are walking Silent Hill encyclopedias, but they LOOOOVE survival horror. Catnap's fav is the original SH1, while Craftycorn loves Haunting Ground (PS2) and SH3.

Bobby on the other hand prefers Resident Evil and Clock Tower 3, but when it's not horror it's definitely a more experimental game. She cries everytime she plays Shadow of the Colossus but she loves it.

Bubba, much like Miss Delight, is SUPER into RPGs and puzzle games, but pokémon and Ace Attorney have conquered his heart. He LOOOVES gushing about it!

Picky's favorite is Animal Crossing! It makes her feel safe and she loves just walking around her town. She made a really impressive one and everyone wants updates from her villagers, Picky loves giving them.

Kickin can't get enough of any FPS or action-adventure game, and he can and WILL ragequit if he's playing online and his teammates start being rude to him or each other. Thankfully he learned really quick how to deal with the more toxic players so now he can truly relax. Unfortunately doomed to become a League of Legends player when it comes out.

Hoppy also loves FPS, but 3D platformers and open-world games are her favorites. Anything that gives her plenty of freedom to move around or just be silly immediately catches her attention! I think she becomes a Team Fortress 2 player.

Dogday prefers to watch rather than play and he gets SO invested. I think Miss Delight likes playing puzzle games with him because they figure out solutions together, but if Dogday were to chose a game for himself to play it would probably be a rythimn game. It gives him the zoomies.

The other smaller toys all have their own individual preferences, so talking about them is more complicated!

Everyone becomes obsessed with Minecraft when it's released. Catch Catnap pranking everyone on their shared beta server by pretending to be Herobrine.

When Angel gets them an Xbox 360 they have many game nights where they play on the Kinect.

Speaking of which, Angel is down to play literally everything, but all the toys know they aren't very keen on anything horror-related. Not because it's scary, it's just that Angel finds them boring after surviving Playtime Co. They probably have an encyclopedia-level knowledge of pokémon, tho.

Prototype doesn't play videogames, but enjoyes watching the others play. Just don't put ANY war games in front of him and we're all good, otherwise he stops watching.

[thetormentita]

the woman in winter (se ābra isse sōnar) - chapter 3

the unspoken rule says that no man should interfere in what the gods have set.

Pairing: Original Female! Targaryen x Cregan Stark

A/n: finally! This feels like a fill-up chapter but idc! 🤪

Warnings: bit of fluff? not much, tbh, maybe jace being kinda jealous and cregan not letting elia alone much time 🤔

Rating: Teen (+13)

Tagging list: @novaursa @maegelletargaryen

The farewell had been bittersweet, filled with promises and good words, with tight hugs and little gifts, but also with the unspoken understanding that things would never be quite the same.

A soft rumble takes her out of her thoughts as her eyes go to the sky and the looming shadow of Mayhem flies over them, like wanting to shield them from any possible danger that could approach the galley. Next to him go Vermax and Arrax, the latter somewhat smaller than the others, marking his youth and eagerness. The sight of the three dragons, with their broad wings casting large, fleeting shadows on the ground below, brings a sense of awe and a reminder of the power of house Targaryen.

“But the Dornishman's blade was made of black steel,

and its kiss was a terrible thing.”

Elia smiles at Davos Blackwood, who apparently without any malice has just started to sing. He has always had a good voice, and his spark has helped him to make friends in even the most unlikely places. The song, ‘The Dornishman’s wife’, has been chosen personally for the only element of the kingsguard to be sent to the North with them, and she finds it hard to not join him in an attempt of easying the latent sorrow.

Her gaze roams far from the ship, free, wondering, matched with a small smile curving her lips. Before her the land is changing, the rocky cliffs from the Vale’s coast letting way to the vast, rolling expanses of the North, the biting cold crawling up and wrapping around her like a familiar cloak. The shift from the relatively milder climate of the Vale to the harsh, unforgiving cold of the North marks a transition not just in scenery, but in the very essence of the journey. It is as if each gust of the chilling wind carries whispers of ancient tales of heroes and giants, of enormous beasts and trees old as time itself carved with faces of people long forgotten.

“Are you sure you don’t want to see ser Criston trying to shut Davos up?”

Her eyes go to her right and meet with the gaze of her former betrothed, the future king of the Seven Kingdoms and probably her best friend. A sort of warm feeling clings to her chest, her little treasure for what the future may bring, when she realizes how funny he finds the teasing to the Kingsguard.

“No, I think I will pass on that,” she says with a light chuckle, the warm feeling in her chest blossoming into a soft smile.

Jacaerys’s eyes roam over the changing landscape and hers follow as well, not before noticing the spark upon his face, the way the halfclouded sunbeams sculpt his profile against the vast canvas of the sky.

“I must say I am not completely pleased with the idea, but I like to think how the whole North will bend the knee to you” he mutters, biting his lower lip as if the thought brings a mix of worry and pride. “You, with the North at your back, would be an unparalleled force, feared and respected across the whole Westeros.”

“You make it look bigger than it is…” She replies, her voice trailing off as she gazes into the distance, contemplating the weight of his words. The very idea of such power is both intoxicating and daunting.

“You heard Viserys. If time comes, I will need you by my side, El, and with Cregan Stark come the fiercest warriors of the whole realm.”

Religion. Politics. Prophecies. Around her everybody seems to see a different side of her oncoming marriage she just cannot make sense of.

“What if nothing happens?” he tilts his head to look at her, his purple irises full of questions. “What if you get to sit on the throne and need nothing from the North?”

Silence lingers between them, and she sees the flicker of doubt in his eyes, mirroring her own uncertainties. She inhales deeply, aware of the heavy burden her words might carry, deciding to tread carefully yet honestly.

Before them the coastline of the biggest port of the North stretches out, almost waiting for them, the white buildings of the city gleaming like pearls against the backdrop of the dark sea. The sight is both intimidating and awe-inspiring, a constant reminder of the power and responsibility that rests upon her shoulders.

Before Jacaerys has any chance to answer, the sailors that have guided them to their destination start to prepare them all for their landing at the door of winter itself.

…

He has had his time to assume the future during their travel, but he cannot help but feel a tight knot at the mouth of his stomach the very moment his horse sets foot on Manderly territory. Despite knowing that he has to wed again in order to keep the name of his house and his lineage alive, Cregan is fully aware that another death like Arra’s would be too much to handle.

The moment he meets with Desmond Manderly, Cregan can sense the weight of expectation resting upon his shoulders. Desmond, with a keen eye and a firmer voice than Cregan remembers from their youth, speaks of alliances and the future. The Manderlys have always been a strong ally to his house since they were let to live in the North and use the Wolf’s Den a thousand years before the arrival of Aegon the Conqueror to the frozen lands of their forbears, and the relationship between both houses had always been firm, built on mutual respect and shared interests.

“If only I would have had a daughter…”

Cregan throws a sideways glance at the big-bellied lord of White Harbor as they lead the party to welcome the princess and her retinue, arriving there before the ship can even be seen, the guards alerted by the presence of three dragons upon the sky, their roars freezing the blood of the Northmen, definitely not used to hear such sound echoing through their lands. The lords of the North, in their thick furs and heavy cloaks, stand stiffly, partly in awe, partly in fear, and Cregan’s grey eyes land upon the biggest beast, dark as the night sky, its scales glimmering with a hint of silver under the weak northern sun; it is a sight so foreign, yet so majestic, that even the most seasoned warriors among them cannot help but marvel at it. The beast circles above, its massive wings casting shadows over the city, as its companions follow in its wake, their colours brighter, shades

of green and gold shimmering in the sunlight.

Three dragons changed the history of the North generations ago, and three dragons will change it again.

He can hear the steel of the men’s arms jangling with a mix of anticipation and fear, as they prepare for what is to come, and Cregan just needs a raising hand for his men to abandon the idea roaming their minds.

“If anybody dares to raise a blade to their future lady, I will be cutting heads before sun sets.”

His voice, laced with a stern warning, cuts through the tense air like a blade through silk. The men, seasoned warriors of the North, exchange glances in silence, understanding the gravity of their lord's words. The atmosphere is heavy with the weight of loyalty and the unspoken promise of protection.

They respect him, and they should do the same with their lady.

…

Her eagerness betrays her when her eyes scan the people gathered by the wharf, maybe hoping to see a big retinue with direwolves emblazoned on their clothes, or banners with the sigil of her future house.

“D’ya think they have spare furs?” Aeron’s voice next to hers pushes her to hold his hand with too much strength, her nervousness palpable. “It’s colder here than I thought.”

She smiles weakly, trying to focus on his words and not on the fluttering in her stomach or the way her heart seems to beat louder with each passing moment. “Sure they do,” she replies, her voice barely above a whisper, striving to inject a confidence she doesn’t feel into her words.

They get closer, and her gaze meets the one of the man with the longsword at his back. Elia needs nobody to tell her who he is.

When the gangway is set for them to leave the galley, she takes a deep breath, trying to calm the nerves that dance under her skin like fireflies in the dark. All eyes upon her as, step by step, she descends, her posture straight, projecting an air of assurance that belies the turmoil within. She can feel the weight of the man’s gaze, intense and unfaltering, as if trying to decipher an ancient script written upon her face. Elia can sense the whispers that begin to swirl around them, carried by the salty breeze, a mixture of curiosity and speculation. When the man with the longsword at his back approaches her, she hesitates for a moment, not ready for a moment like that one.

“Your Highness” he takes her hand, bowing slightly, a gesture of respect that feels oddly comforting in the midst of her inner chaos. His voice is a soft baritone, carrying a warmth that belies the coolness of the sea air. “Welcome to the North. Hope you had a safe travel.”

Nothing exists around them, not really. She allows herself a moment to get lost in those grey eyes of his, deep and captivating, and the warmth of his touch despite the layers of cloth between them is undeniably comfortable. It sparks something within her, a flicker of something like hope, or maybe the beginning of trust in this new, mysterious place.

“I certainly did, lord Stark” she finds herself saying, her voice steadier than she feels. The corners of his lips tilt up ever so slightly in what might be the ghost of a smile, an expression so rare and fleeting that it imbues the moment with a sense of exclusivity, as though she’s been allowed a glimpse into a private world seldom shared with others. “You did not have to do any of this for me.”

“Anything for the future lady of Winterfell.”

His words hang between them, heavy with implications of duty and perhaps something more, a depth of feeling that neither of them is ready to acknowledge just yet. It feels like a promise, a vow unspoken yet as binding as any oath made under the watchful eyes of the old gods and the new. Her heart swells with a mix of emotions—gratitude, apprehension, and an emerging seed of affection that she dares not name. The weight of his gaze is both comforting and unsettling, stirring a myriad of thoughts within her.

The strangely comfortable silence between them both is interrupted by a man who introduces himself as Desmond Manderly, and Elia, only by the glance Cregan throws at him, already knows that despite being important allies to her future house, lord Desmond is not a man who leaves his own priorities aside when he has the chance to advance them. His introduction is smooth, his words carefully chosen, painting the picture of a man who is both a friend and a formidable player in the courtly games that seem to just not have let her be when she left King’s Landing.

“Feel free to rest under our roof as much time as needed, princess” for a moment he looks like a greedy uncle talking to his nephews rather to his liege and his future wife, and despite showing herself polite and easy-going, Elia is already building her own impression of the big-bellied man hiding behind a moustache almost as prominent as his ego. “Such a trip must be tiresome.”

“In fact,” Elia can feel Jace’s presence looming behind her, almost like wanting to protect her, “I am more than eager to see my new home, lord Manderly. I am thankful for your proposition, anyway.”

Both sides get introduced, and a sort of procession guides them from the harbour to the New Castle up the hill through the Castle Stair, rows merman statues cradling bowls of burning whale oil lining the path, casting eerie shadows that danced like wraiths in the night. The air is filled with the briny scent of the sea, mingling with the smoky aroma of the burning oil, creating an atmosphere that is both mystic and foreboding, as if the very essence of the ancient town of White Harbor was welcoming them with open arms and whispered secrets.

Elia Targaryen has the first chance to enjoy a moment of a sort of solitude once she reaches her chambers, when a tub of steaming hot water is brought in for her. The servants, silent as shadows, pour the water with practiced ease, adding scented oils that fill the room with a calming aroma, chasing away the chill of the northern air and the weariness from her bones. The scent of lavender and chamomile blends with the steam, enveloping her in a cocoon of warmth and tranquility, driving her far from the prying eyes of the head of house Manderly, the looming presence of ser Criston or even the silent clash between Cregan and Jace, like wanting to establish a pact between them both that none of them has the guts to accept first.

…

“Lord Stark.”

Cregan turns, and the face of the heir to the Iron Throne is right behind him, his dark eyes observing every move of him.

“My prince.” Cregan bows slightly, maintaining the respect due to royalty, yet his stance remains firm, a testament to the unwavering nature of the Northmen. Despite his loyalty to King’s Landing and the house of the dragons, he is fully aware of the history of house Targaryen and their forgotten promises related to the North. “What may I do for you?”

Cregan’s eyes cannot deny the evident. Jacaerys Velaryon and Elia Targaryen may not look like a typical Valyrian, but the atmosphere that surrounds them suggests an inherent nobility, an unspoken power that seems to flow through their veins as effortlessly as the blood of their ancestors.

“She seems to like you.”

She. Not ‘Elia’, nor ‘my cousin’, not even ‘the princess’.

“The feeling is mutual” he keeps to himself a soft smile when memories from the dinner come to his mind, Elia sat by his side, constantly asking questions about his homeland, his kin and their traditions. “My lady is a curious soul, the fire in her is undeniable ,” he reflects, the warmth of the memory painting a fond expression on his face.

The conversation around the dinner table had been electrifying, with Elia Targaryen, the promise of Aegon the Conqueror and Jaehaerys the Conciliator made flesh, shining by herself, no need of flourished garments nor her own retinue supporting her. The spark in her gaze captivated everyone, her eyes casting ancient hues when the lights of the torches and the candles reflected in them, speaking of a lineage steeped in dragonfire and destiny. Each word she spoke carried the weight of history, yet her laughter, light and unburdened by the burdens of her bloodline, filled the room with an infectious joy. It was as if the shadows of his own life had stepped aside to let her try to win her place within his soul.

The grim upon the prince’s face says a lot of things, but not the one he wants to express.

“She has a sweet tooth, her favourites are the lemon cakes. She is not fond of sewing, but her works are delicate and full of detail” as he speaks, Jacaerys’s eyes almost shine with a glow different than the one of the candles around them. “She adores flying, but sometimes she takes profit on her dragon’s independent tendencies and lets him fly on his own.”

He loves her. He still does.

…

A day. Enough for her to study more and more her future lands, and for her small retinue to pretend enjoying the strange city of White Harbor as much as they are supposed to.

A short promenade leads her to the sept, and there, amidst the quiet atmosphere and the soft flickering of candlelight, she finds a strange peace she will not certainly miss —or at least she thinks so. Sat by one of the benches, her indigo eyes observe the statues looming over her, the Manderlys showing themselves too much, even with the images of the Seven, huge looming statues of stone white as the purest snow, garnished with sea green details making them even more than what they really are.

The words sent a while ago to her grandsire still linger in her mind, a short message to reassure him of their arrival and the Northmen’s kindness towards them. She had already planned to send another raven to King’s Landing once she had settled in her new home in Winterfell, the heart of the North. The transition from the sun-kissed towers of King’s Landing to the grey stone and colder airs of the North is stark, but not unwelcome. The North holds a rugged beauty that she finds herself growing fond of, even if the chill seeps into her bones.

The stillness of the place helps unveiling the opening of the door, the creaking of wood and iron echoing against the stone walls. Despite not being precisely fond of the sudden end of her time for contemplation, she tries to guess who is coming before the person reveals themselves, only for the noise of the steps. The heavy footsteps grow closer, deliberate and unhurried, typical of the men of the North, who take pride in their steadfast demeanor. As the figure steps into the dim light, the shadows dance across his rugged features, a specific face among the many she has come to know in such a little time.

A soft smile tugs from the corners of her lips at the sight of the man.

“I can get you a sept built in Winterfell just for you, if that pleases you, my lady.”

Despite the sept being empty, she slightly moves to a side, like wanting to let him find an empty seat beside her.

“There will be no need. I am just bidding farewell.”

As her eyes return to the statues, Cregan Stark takes a sit next to her, his presence both comforting and imposing, and the feel of his gaze upon her awakes something deep within her soul, a flicker of warmth in the cold expanse of the North.

“I want the whole of it. If I am to be the lady of Winterfell, I will submit myself entirely to the North, including their gods” she mumbles, her voice barely a whisper, yet carrying a determined edge that slices through the chill air.

“The least I want is for you to not feel comfortable.”

“At least you think about what I want” she gets comfortable next to him, her hand laying with care upon his, getting used to the warmth and roughness of his touch, finding some pleasure in it. “I appreciate that. The Seven have been a part of my life since I remember, always pushed to the Great Sept to pray and remember those gone.”

By the corner of her eye she can see the Warden of the North tilting his head, his brow furrowed as he observes the statues looming over them, and she decides he is too young to handle the burden of his title alone, the responsibility weighing on his shoulders like the heavy cloaks they wear against the northern chill.

“How is it?”

“How is what?”

“To pray for them. It is something more private here in the North.”

“The godswoods?”

“Aye.”

She starts talking about the ceremonies, the septons and septas and the aim for luxury at any sept from south of the Neck, all of them trying to display lavish paraphernalia in an attempt to please the Seven, and as she speaks, the feeling of those grey eyes upon her stirs a strange feeling she finds it likable, to have a listener so intent, so fully absorbed in her words. It makes her feel appreciated.

“I see why you have decided to leave the Seven aside… Cannot imagine how it is, really. Such display for nothing.”

“Papa used to say that without clothing we are all the same.” she lowers her gaze, her lips drawing a sort of smile, like wanting to leave the matter aside, to finally say farewell to the Gods her ancestors had to start praying to in order to be accepted by the Westerosi kings of old. “Can’t wait to see Winterfell.”

She lifts her eyes then, bright with a mix of curiosity and determination, her hand approaching his almost by itself, seeking the reassurance found in the warmth of his touch.

“‘Tis not much compared to King’s Landing, but Winterfell has its own charm. If you get to find anything unpleasant once we have reached home, be sure it will be dealt with. The least I want is for you to not feel it as your home as well, my lady.”

“Please, do call me Elia.”

[duxbelisarius]

Dune At Home: The First Dornish War, Part Four

Thank you to everyone that has followed the series thus far (you can follow the series via the Master Post and AO3); I hope you've enjoyed it and have found it informative! Now that we're done discussing the strategies of both sides when the war began, we can discuss how the Dornish and Seven Kingdoms armies conducted their campaigns (ie Operations) and fought battles (ie Tactics), as well as the use of the Targaryen dragons.

I want to start by covering dragons, since they play an important role in how the war is perceived; before discussing tactics however, I want to throw my hat into the ring on another subject: dragon size. /u/servantoffire gave a pretty good estimate for Balerion's size some years ago, and while I think his length figure of 126 feet long is a solid estimate for Vhagar during the Dance, when she was almost as large as Balerion, my estimates for Balerion take a different approach. We are told by Tyrion that Balerion could swallow an aurochs whole, or a mammoth from Ib; since aurochs existed in our world, we can use their height figure of two meters at the shoulders. Ib being an island, I think these mammoths are likely similar to the dwarf mammoths of Wrangel Island rather than the free-roaming specimens north of the Wall, and their heights would be c. 2 meters like an aurochs. In order to estimate Balerion's size, I compared this 2 meter height to the jaw size of one of the largest reptiles known to have lived: Hoffmann's Mosasaur, estimated at c. 40 feet (c. 12.2 meters) in length from snout to tail.

The best estimate I've seen suggests that it could open it's jaws 1 meter, and my estimate for Balerion's jaws would be 3.5 meters to fit an aurochs or dwarf mammoth with some room to spare, giving us a body length of 140 feet from snout to tail. For Balerion's wings, /u/servantoffire used a Flying Fox's dimensions to arrive at a wingspan of 453 feet; my estimate is based on Dany's comment in her first chapter of ACOK regarding her dragons wings: "their span was three times their length." This gives Balerion a wingspan of 420 feet (128m) with a body length of 140 feet (c.42.7m), and using the 126 foot (38.4m) length for Vhagar gives her a wingspan of 378 feet (115.2m). These measurements allow us to extrapolate the size of other dragons in the series: Aenys I and Aegon the Uncrowned's dragon Quicksilver was a quarter the size of Balerion at her death, putting her at 35 feet (c.10.7m) long with a 105 foot (32m) wingspan; Caraxes was half the size of Vhagar during the Dance, or 63 feet (19.2m) long with a 189 foot (57.6m) wingspan; Arrax was one-fifth the size of Vhagar (c. 25 feet by 75 feet, 7.6m by 22.9m) and Vermax and Tyraxes would have been slightly larger and smaller respectively. After this we can only speculate, but if we propose that the difference in size between Vermithor and Vhagar during the Dance was similar to the difference between our estimates of Balerion and Dance!Vhagar, c. 14 feet (4.3m), Vermithor would be 110 feet (33.5m) long with a 330 foot (100.6m) wingspan. Tessarion and Seasmoke were both a third the size of Vermithor, giving them a length of c. 37 feet (11.3m) with a wingspan of 110 feet.

The smallest dragon for which we have measurements is Baela's Moondancer, described in F&B as no larger than a warhorse in 130 AC; her size is relevant not only for giving us a sense of how small a dragon can be an still fly with a rider, but also because determining the size of a warhorse in George's world will be relevant for Part 5, where I plan to discuss the Dornish Marches. From John Pryor and Elizabeth Jeffries' analysis of Medieval horse transport ships (Age of the Dromon, 304-333) and Ann Hyland's research on Medieval and Ancient Roman horses (Medieval Warhorse, 143-148), a 12th century Medieval warhorse would have been around 15 hands tall from the hoof to their withers (where the shoulder meets the neck; 1 Hand = 3 inches, 15 Hands = 5 Feet). Hyland further estimates that a Roman horse would have been between 13.5 and 15 hands, with 16 hand horses not being unknown for Ancient and Medieval breeds, meaning a height range of 4'5" to 5'3" (1.4 to 1.6m).

Based on how dragons are depicted alive and in heraldry in TWOIAF, the forelimbs of the dragons appear to make up half the span of the wing, meaning that Moondancer's wings would each have been 10'6" in length for a wing span of c. 21 feet (6.4m), with a body length of 7 feet (2.1m), using the aforementioned estimates for warhorse height. By comparison, the largest known flying animal discovered to date was Quetzalcoatlus Northropi with a wingspan of 36 feet, equal to a Cessna 172 four-seater utility aircraft. Given George's already established problems with scale which we've discussed in this series, I think it's safe to assume his warhorses are much larger than they actually were, and Moondancer in turn is somewhat bigger. A height of 18 to 20 hands at the withers would give her a wingspan of c.24 to 26 feet (7.3 to 7.9m) and a body length just north of 8 feet (2.4m).

My reason for investigating dragon sizes is to help illustrate just how massive the Conquerors dragons were, to give some indication of how deadly they would have been in combat. We obviously know that dragons can fly and breath fire, but one activity that seems quite underappreciated about dragons is that they can also dig. Leaving aside the likely origins of dragons as creatures created magically by crossing fire wyrms with wyverns as proposed by Septon Barth, we know from the books and elsewhere that even large dragons can tunnel and make burrows. Despite steadily increasing in size, Rhaegal and Viserion are still able to tunnel through the brick and earth foundations of the Great Pyramid of Meereen, using their fire and claws to make a cavern large enough for Viserion to hand upside down from its ceiling. The Cannibal was the largest dragon alive during the Dance after Vhagar and Vermithor and is said to have 'made it's lair' within the dragon mount, while George also talks about dragon lairs and 'deep caverns' under the dragon mount which likely required some effort on the part of the dragons to render suitable for dwelling.

It is surprising given these tendencies that no attempt was made to go after the Dornish in their tunnels and caves, assuming that our hypothesis from Part 2 is true. We estimated that it could have taken 3 months for Aegon's host to reach King's Landing from Dorne, during which time the garrisons he left behind ought to have been trying to locate where the Dornish population was hidden. Even a single dragon would have a assisted these efforts immensely given their flying and digging capabilities, alongside what should be heightened senses of smell, hearing and sight which should be considerable for magical apex predators. Like the Cappadocian subterranean dwellings, the Dornish hideaways would have needed shafts connected to the surface for access clean air and sunlight, as well as to provide chimneys for fires and to allow wells on the surface to access water sources further below.

Like Cappadocia, the Dornish could not have disposed of animal and human waste in underground rivers they depended on for water, so 'nightsoil' would have been stored in jars and disposed of on the surface. Livestock being kept underground would also have needed opportunities to graze and stretch their legs on the surface, creating further opportunities for the garrisons and dragons on the surface to locate them. Once entrances could be located, a dragon would have made short work of them like a kind of hellish Clifford the Big Red Dog. We noted in Part 3 that blocking the passes and forcing the dragons to clear them could allow the Dornish to target the riders, provided the ambushes had been planned and set-up in advance; attacking the caverns would mean less risk since the caverns need to be kept hidden, and any troops stationed nearby on the surface would be a liability.

The other issue regarding dragons in the First Dornish War is the manner in which the Dornish attempt to fight while the dragons are at large. TWOIAF tells us that the Dornish "harried and ambushed the Targaryen forces, then would scamper beneath their rocks as soon as they saw the dragons take flight," but this raises serious questions. For starters, why are the dragons taking flight? We mentioned 'writing to lose' at the end of Part 3 and it's hard not to think that this is what is happening, as the Targaryen dragons should be in the air as much as possible to monitor events on the ground. The size of Aegon's army means its column should be long enough to attack it without the immediate risk of a dragon intervening, so it makes little sense why the Dornish are taking such risks. If we use Balerion as an example, his incredible size means that Aegon cannot ride him on foot as he did in Oldtown at his coronation, since his claws and weight would ruin any of the roads in the Prince's Pass (and probably should have ruined those of Oldtown too).

Short of resting or clearing obstacles, Balerion should be in the air every chance Aegon gets, but the Dornish tactics also make little sense. While harrying and harassment might be possible with small numbers of troops, the purpose of an ambush is to surprise a foe and maul or annihilate their forces or at least put them to flight, especially though not always if the foe is superior in number. The presence of a dragon poses a problem since withdrawing the moment it takes off makes it unlikely that the losses inflicted on the enemy are severe, rendering the entire action pointless. Nor can it be assumed that such a timely withdrawal would be possible, since a melee developing or counterattacks by the enemy could make it difficult or even impossible for the attackers to withdraw without great loss. Unless means have been planned for in advance to mitigate the dragon's ability to intervene, there is no reason for the Dornish to attack at all when a dragon is on hand to assist Aegon's forces.

In the interest of treating the Dornish Marches with greater detail in Part 5, the last tactical or operational subject I want to discuss is the conduct of Aegon's forces in the Dornish Desert. We already mentioned in Part 3 that whether George knows it or not, Harlan Tyrell and his men should never have reached Hellholt, but this is only the tip of the questionable writing iceberg. In explaining the plight of the Highgardeners, F&B tells us it was the second year of autumn and it was hoped winter would arrive soon and bring more water and less heat to the desert. The Dornish sun was unrelenting however, and with the local water sources poisoned the Tyrell host lost almost all it's horses and a quarter of its men. We're given no indication of how they obtained water otherwise so even without our logistical knowledge we can still assume that the water they carried with them would not have lasted long, and Tyrell's host would have needed to force march most of the distant at the cost of significantly more men than the 25% they lost.

The weather does raise problems for the plot: the rainy season in both Spain and Israel/Palestine begins in autumn (roughly October-November), and we should expect this to be the case in Dorne given those regions were influences for George's depiction of Dorne in the books. George insists that Dorne receives enough rain even in the summer to remain habitable, so we should expect that by autumn there should already be some relief; if we're to believe that this autumn has been more dry than usual, this poses a serious problem for the Dornish. If 1 BC and 4 AC have already been write offs agriculturally as we suggested in Part 2, a dry autumn in 3 AC would mean an additional year of slim returns owing to reduced rainfall, in addition to the difficulties organizing planting and harvesting while the population at least attempts to remain hidden (Aegon sends a delegation in 3 AC to negotiate, which would have reported any activity by the Dornish that they could observe). The autumn of 3-4 AC being hot and dry should also have ruled out marching to Hellholt since finding water in the desert would have been difficult with or without the Sandy Dornish poisoning water sources.

Whether or not the Tyrell host was sent to Hellholt, the question of water supply would have been on the mind of Harlan Tyrell regardless of the circumstances and climate in which he was fighting. According to George, the Reach and Stormlands rarely get snow, and almost never in Oldtown and Dorne. Even if the climate is more temperate in the Reach proper and the Honeywine Valley (north and south of the line Bandallon-Brightwater Keep-Horn Hill respectively, inclusive in the former case) compared to Dorne with more abundant water, heat and exposure to the sun should still be an issue for the population. Harlan Tyrell was steward of Highgarden for House Gardener prior to being named Warden and Lord Paramount of the Reach by Aegon; it's almost certain he was in charge of supplying and quartering Mern IX's massive host before it marched to join Loren I Lannister's at Goldengrove. We have no reason to doubt TWOIAF when says that Harlan proved a 'capable steward' for the Reach, which makes it that much more unfathomable that he lead his host to Hellholt in the first place.

F&B says that it was Aegon who divided his host and sent Tyrell against Hellholt, implying that Aegon arrived at the decision and Tyrell supported it. Although F&B has Tyrell claim that Aegon's host could defeat any Dornish army without Balerion, clearly intending to show his arrogance, there's a difference between arrogantly underestimating your opponent's forces and ignoring the supply needs of your own host despite leading it through a desert. One is absolutely arrogance but the other is ignorance and outright incompetence, and it's the latter which is implied by the almost chiding way in which Gyldan states that 'men drink more' in the heat, as though Tyrell would have been unaware of this fact despite hailing from a kingdom whose climate is almost too warm for snow. Aegon and Harlan Tyrell should both have access to the archives of the Citadel and those of the Gardener and Durrandon kings as well as those kept by the noble houses of the Reach and Stormlands, they cannot have passed the 4 years between Aegon's coronation and the invasion of Dorne is blissful ignorance of what they would face. Water supply is a necessity for warfare at all times, and only becomes that much more important if water is scarce where operations are taking place.

The 10th century Byzantine manual On Campaign Organization and Tactics refers to the danger of operations when the enemy is at large and water is scarce, but what it says is applicable regardless of whether or not the enemy is close at hand:

13. The risk involved in marching through regions without water while the enemy is on the move.

In addition to other things, this too must be borne in mind: When the enemy are expected it is dangerous to lead the army through places in which there is no water, especially during the summer. In the winter the troops can often last for the whole day without water but in the summertime, not even to the noon meal. The men will perish along with the horses. It is a terrible thing to have to engage in two battles. I mean the one against the enemy and the one against the heat when water is lacking. If it should be necessary, however, they should choose a laborious route of three or four days to that shorter one which has no water. For it is preferable to march safely but laboriously along that long road which presents no danger than to choose the short one and fall into danger." (Dennis, Three Byzantine Military Treatises, 285)

The anonymous writer refers to many of the Empire's enemies from Arabs and Turks to Bulgars, Russians and Pechenegs, but there is no indication that water is any less important in Balkan Europe than in the border region of modern day Turkey, Syria and Iraq.

Things are only made worse by what F&B tells us about the occupation of Hellholt; while it was believed Hellholt was well placed to respond to rebellions, "the river was sulfurous and the fish taken from it made the Highgardeners sick." Of course this implies that no one in Aegon's inner circle much less Aegon himself made any attempt to gather information about Hellholt in the 4 or so years prior to the invasion, let alone the year leading up to the invasion. This is not an error of judgement made in the heat of the moment, this is a systemic error that could have been avoided years in advance, and which raise serious question about the competence of Aegon and his lords (more on this in Part 6). More confusing still are the reports that the Qorgyles and Vaiths were ambushing Tyrell foraging parties that ventured too far west or east. As we noted in Part 3, Sandstone and Vaith are 150 miles or more away from Hellholt, meaning that the foraging parties and their assailants have to be crossing incredible distances despite the dry autumn and the hiding away of the Dornish population making it unlikely that any forage could be found to begin with.

Our discussion of tactics and operations will continue in Part 5, so the 'fix-it' section here will be fairly short. Much of these problems are already solved by what we did in Part 3, namely scaling back the scenario of the First Dornish War to make it more manageable. Tyrell never enters the western desert and the Dornishmen launch ambushes or when the dragons aren't there or if their effectiveness is mitigated by the terrain, so these scenarios never have to be depicted (in fairness to George, the quote about ambushes does not appear in F&B, so he seems to have cut it entirely). I'll have more to say about the dragons in Part 6, but the fact that the First Dornish War is less than half as long in our scenario (4-7 AC vs 4-13 AC) limits the damage they can inflict. Thank you for reading, and stay tuned for Part 5!

[fereldanwench]

apropos of nothing and certainly not my tag rant from a few posts back

did you know that out of 150 popular video games released between 1985 and 2022, only 6% of them feature sole female protagonists?

did you know that prior to mass effect 3, female shepard was never used in any promotional material for the series?

(and there's no hard data available on this, but i very distinctly recall a lot of gamerbro outrage when me3 had an optional reversible cover so you could pick between male and fem shep on your personal game)

did you know that only 18% of players chose femshep in any shape or form (default or customized) during the original release?

(anecdotally, i know a few people who didn't even realize you could play a female at all in me1 bc of how the cc is setup)

did you know with the release of the legendary edition in 2021 the percentage of femshep players didn't even double (despite jennifer hale's seemingly enormous popularity amongst the broader playerbase over the past decade) and is reported at 32%?

did you know that dragon age inquisition has the same breakdown between male and female inquisitors (68% to 32% respectively)?

did you know during the playtests for assassin's creed odyssey, it was a 50/50 split between kassandra and alexios, and ubisoft suits actually thought when the game was released, kassandra would be more popular? and yet once again, about 70% of players chose the male protag

did you know evie and aya were both supposed to have a much larger roles in assassin's creed syndicate and origins but were forced into a smaller role bc the ubisoft marketing team didn't think the games would sell well with a female lead?

cdpr hasn't released data on male vs female v, probably because the game handles gender a little differently than just two strict options like many other rpgs, but it was revealed that panam was the most popular romance, sitting at about 68%, which means at least 68% of players chose the male v body. I'm sure some players did not make that choice as a cis male v, but i would also guess that those who didn't are a small minority of this demographic, and if you factor in kerry romancers, this split is probably very similar to other games in the genre

now i realize that a lot of the male v players who are in more transformative fandom spaces (like tumblr) are not the str8 gamer dudebros of reddit angry about pores on a female character's face and whatnot. i realize that a lot of you are also on the outskirts of the perceived norm and also feel under-represented by mainstream male protags and that's incredibly frustrating and alienating and i genuinely feel for you

but female protagonists and female gamers who want to play as female protagonists and who have a few niche spaces to celebrate female protags are not the reason for your lack of representation

and frankly you don't sound a whole lot different from the angry incel gamer boys when you say shit like "fem v gets too much attention"

so maybe try advocating for male protags who don't fit the generic boring gruff white guy mold without throwing women under the bus. we're should be allies in this fight, not rivals

[solavelyan]

I was tagged to do a fic author self rec with 5 of my personal favorites by @crackinglamb! I wrote rarepair stuff I really liked last year and feel like some other stuff aged well, so I'm gonna go for it. (And it's all Dragon Age, so I'm doing this on ye olde sideblog whee.)

Solas/F!Trevelyan is kind of what I hang my hat on around here a little bit, so I'll start with those. Most of the time the Trevelyan in question is my best girl, Thayet. She's not my most self-indulgent OC but she's definitely up there.

pull the moon to the waves (Explicit, Solas/F!Trevelyan, 10,640 words) - A canon divergent fic where Solas and Thayet admit their feelings for each other (kind of) during the journey from Haven to Skyhold, and that kicks off the romance instead of the Fade kiss in Skyhold.

This fic ruined my life a little bit because apparently if you write the Inquisitor getting fisted in a tent one time, three years later your friends are still telling "tentfic" and "fisting" jokes like they're getting a tax writeoff for it. It's also just the story that seems to keep coming back! It's actually a rewrite of an older fic called "the responsible thing" (objectively a horrible title but I'm not changing it now) from 2018 that I did as a kink meme fill, and it's getting a second rewrite as part of a longer fic that I'm working on right now but isn't getting posted yet.

Bittersweet & Strange (Mature, Solas/F!Trevelyan, 37,188 words) - A Beauty and the Beast retelling where Skyhold is the enchanted castle and Fen'Harel is the beast that haunts it.

I wrote this in less than 2 months for the @dacreateathon in 2022, and there's a part of me that would love to do a rewrite to let it be longer (...and smuttier), but I'm intensely proud of how it turned out given the time frame. I actually had Lamb and @ir0n-angel beta this one for me to help me stay on schedule, which was invaluable, I never, ever would have finished it without them being my accountability buddies and spellcheckers. I really really enjoyed writing it and think very fondly of it.

Hawke is Dead/Not Dead (Explicit, Fenris/F!Hawke, 3,224 words) - Fenris and Hawke both make for Skyhold after Adamant, Fenris because Hawke is dead, Hawke because Hawke is alive.

I wrote this for my very first exchange ever, @dasmutquisition, in 2022 (which currently has open sign-ups, btw!). I'm so fond of it and I honestly think the best parts of it are before any of the smut happens.

dying now a second time (Mature, F!Trevelyan/M!Lavellan, 17,058 words) - Taking place mostly pre-Inquisition during Thayet Trevelyan's time as a Templar, this one is mostly from the perspective of the First Enchanter of Ostwick Circle, who is a very, very canon divergent M!Lavellan, Aeryk. Told in four vignettes, it focuses on the requited but ultimately tragic love affair between them in the Circle and in the aftermath of its fall.

Aeryk is my wife's OC, so this is part creative endeavor, part personal love letter. We write together a lot, and over the last 10 years Aeryk and Thayet have gone from kind of a silly ship that we fell into during an RP game to something rather serious and dramatic that makes it into... pretty much everything we do together. They've both changed so much over the years, and DA!Aeryk has been a vague figure in Thayet's backstory for years before I really sat down to hammer out details. The wife gave me her endorsement and a lot of freedom to add details to him for this continuity.

Although it might say something about me that I got her permission to use Aeryk for fic and immediately used it to basically edge him for 17,000 words before metaphorically murdering him. So, uh. Sorry, buddy. I love u. It's a really good fic, though, I swear.

more and smaller ways of dying (Explicit, F!Trevelyan/M!Lavellan, 5,011 words) - An alternate version of chapter 3 of "dying now a second time", where Aeryk is cured of his Tranquility by the Breach and he and Thayet fuck on the floor of the Redcliffe Chantry after dispatching Alexius.

I felt bad about the other fic. Felt like they deserved it. And honestly this isn't even the only time I'm spinning off from "dying now...", I'm halfway through the first chapter of a fic that starts just after the end of the first chapter. I love them. Make them kiss. Mwuah.

I'm going to tag @volkoss, @queenaeducan, @dismalzelenka, @jellydishes, @sulky-valkyrie, and whomever else would like to do it :D

[violet-moonstone]

HTTYD Sibling/Family Relationships

Some things I wish we got more of in the franchise are A) family relationships, and B) other young people in Berk who are older or younger than the main 6 riders and Gustav.

We didn't, so here's my headcanons.

First one isn't very original because in the books Snotlout and Hiccup are related and Snotlout says he's "next in line" in THW but I would love it if Spitelout and Stoick were canonically brothers (or brothers-in-law!!!), making Hiccup and Snotlout cousins too. I want Hiccup and Snotlout, despite being only-children, to have grown up like brothers who can't stand each other. Before the events of HTTYD, Snotlout teases Hiccup about how he'll usurp him, but when Hiccup trains Toothless, the rivalry becomes even worse, as Snotlout finds himself in second place - this already happens to a certain extent in RoB/DoB, but now it's more pronounced. Them improving their relationship and avoiding the pitfalls of Stoick and Spitelout's rivalry is even more meaningful. Also as we know from comments Snotlout has made about sewing, his mother is a sweet lady who teaches her son crafts. Too good for Spitelout, tbh. Would be nice if she were also a fierce fighter who is super good at sewing too.

Fishlegs is a very protective older brother to a younger sister who is similarly sensitive and sweet. He, however, stops being sweet the second anyone poses emotional or physical danger to her. He loves taking her flying on Meatlug when she's still too small for her own dragon, and he's always teaching her dragon facts. I think his parents are very sweet as well. His mom is a super tall and busty Viking lady very while his dad is smaller. They're both sheep and yak farmers and not really the warrior type. Fishlegs got his love of animals from growing up on a farm.

Astrid is the youngest of at least 3 older siblings (either brothers or sisters, doesn't matter) who are all very accomplished. Each excels in either strength, intelligence, or stealth, but they're all pretty brave fighters in general. (I'm thinking she has at least one brother who is very strong but not super bright - big himbo energy. Ruffnut probably has a crush on him, and it creeps Astrid out). As the youngest, Astrid feels like she has to live up to and exceed all of their abilities. She also *hates* being the baby of the family, which is why she's so aggressive. One of her parents is doting (probably does something in crafting) while the other is very intense (a warrior).

Ruffnut and Tuffnut are the middle siblings of a huge-ass family and have lots of extended family as well. Literally everyone in their family is chaotic as hell in their own unique, Thorston way. They do everything from farming, fishing, smithing, fighting, etc, because there are so many of them. Berk is already a small community, and it's very common to have at least one Thorston relative somewhere in your family. Eventually, they have to identify Thorstons by jobs, landmarks, or well-known events (Those are the Baker Thorstons, or the Cliffside Thorstons, or the Thorstons-that-Ruined-Snoggletog, etc.)

[exhausted-archivist]

The Deep Roads are Complicated, and I am in too Deep...

I've been working on and off at mapping the Deep Roads for a while now and after writing 4 pages explaining my methodology of why I think it is mapped the way I put it and then moving on to orienting the ttrpg thaig map, I realized something while taking notes on the directions mentioned and cross-referencing it to the description of Horrors of Hormak thaig description.

You can't map the Deep Roads from a top-down perspective because sometimes the roads change directions and aren't actually going in a straight line.

They need an orthographic map. Or a map that essentially bisects the mountain. The literal map in the corner of both the Origins and ttrpg maps. The maps... that have increments of depth.

Now, I knew that the deep roads had to change elevation, especially considering how they're described and the way they're supposedly below sea level for most thaigs.

But somehow, despite knowing that, I never considered that thaigs and the roads themselves would essentially be stacked on top of each other. Don't know why that never crossed my mind up until I was checking my notes and the passages of the ttrpg and Horrors of Hormak to confirm directions. To which it finally clicked as they both explain how there are galleries/antechambers and staircases/pathways that change directions.

How do we get to the thaig? This tunnel leads to a series of galleries. Think of them as interconnecting wide flights of stairs linked together and occasionally switching direction. We head down these for a few hours and we’ll be on the outskirts of the thaig.

-- Dragon Age Tabletop RPG, Buried Pasts p. 18

Beside him, Lesha muttered a word and her staff began to glow. She pushed it inside the entrance to the hole, giving light to the darkness within. The edges of the circle cast by Lesha’s spell revealed a small staircase that descended into an antechamber slightly larger than the clearing above, carved with a skill and delicacy that rivaled the works of Orzammar, or even Kal-Sharok. At the other end of the chamber, a doorway and a second staircase beyond that which spiraled into the darkness, the entire space lit by the glow of lyrium. And above the entrance, written in dwarven runes, a single word—Hormok.

-- Dragon Age: Tevinter Nights, Horrors of Hormak (p. 86)

Which then gave me pause and had me rereading and looking back at the map. Because the maps looked like they were straight and didn't initially give the impression of any verticality to them. Until you look in the corner. That's when it clicked for me and the mountains suddenly made more sense.

And now I'm screaming about it here. Because both maps are depicting a small chunk of mountain(s) in the Frostbacks. Which, for reference, my wip of the Deep Roads looked like this.

If you follow BioWare's scale of 1 square = 15 miles / 24 km - if the Deep Roads were in working order the journey to the anvil would only be roughly around 2.5-3 days journey. However, we know to get to the anvil and back to Orzammar is a month-long trip. So, with the darkspawn and collapsed tunnels it becomes a 2-week journey there and 2 weeks back. Which is quite a large jump in travel times.

I have a personal scale based on population size, megafauna, and the fact that it is supposed to take over a week to get to the Circle from Orzammar on the surface, among other travel time increments. Which makes each square 38 mi / 61 km. A 4-5 day journey from the anvil to the void when functioning.

Now, I think this map still holds up in terms of placement considering that mountains can have a wide footprint and the map on the Origins Deep Roads has at least two major peaks and a plateau, whereas the ttrpg just has one major peak and a couple of smaller ones. The ttrpg map also speaks of ravines and such so it fits the geography.

But yeah, long story short I need to revise some of my methodology; and maybe rescale the map, so things aren't super tiny.

[swordscleric]

I don't know if anyone's gone through the original Dawn War pantheon* and compared the events of the Dawn War to the events of the Calamity, but it's interesting comparing how Tharizdun acts in the Dawn War to how little we know about it as the Chained Oblivion and might be useful as a theory-crafting aid for how the Chained Oblivion fits with Predathos**.

In the Dawn War, Tharizdun was a normal god, driven mad by extradimensional demons who provided him with huge amounts of power and attempted to force him to open a portal in the Astral Plane to release them. He took this power, and instead of releasing them created the Abyss. He and his would-be masters fought to a stalemate over control of the Abyss, until the rest of the pantheon found out and sealed him away, leaving him chained to a remote part of the Abyss[1].

By contrast, the Chained Oblivion is "something other entirely"[2], "less like a god and more like another world"[3]; it's been categorised as not of the Primes or Betrayers[4], and generally Matt has leaned much more into the cosmic horror vibes (sans a connection to the Far Realm) of the Chained Oblivion. It's a creature of "roiling ink and hungry darkness"[5], and was sealed at the bottom of the Abyss by the Dawnfather and the Knowing Mistress, with support from the Allhammer and the Changebringer[2, 3, 6]. The Chained Oblivion also wants to consume all and end the world and is kept at arms length by the Betrayers[5], and as a result of that plus its association with an unknowable hunger some people have now associated it with Predathos or think it and Predathos are of a similar species.

I think the Chained Oblivion is not Predathos in another form, but I do think that it's of a similar species. Looking at the Dawn War, and assuming (with the full acknowledgement that I'll more than likely be wrong) that Matt will stick as closely to the Dawn War as he has in the past, I think the Chained Oblivion is a smaller and weaker being of nothingness that decided to forge its own path instead of following Predathos' lead. My gut instinct is that the Chained Oblivion, seeing Ethedok and Vordo get eaten, took up Ethedok's mantle of darkness[7]*** and avoided working with Predathos and porentially fought the God Eater in order to survive and work its own odd plans of destruction. The Chained Oblivion makes a lot of plans to try and free itself (see the Angel of Irons or Cognouza), so I wouldn't be surprised if its propensity towards planning was present from the very moment it set foot on Exandria. Does this mean the Chained Oblivion will be let loose to fight the God Eater if Predathos is released? I doubt it, considering that it nearly killed the Knowing Mistress. And we know how the gods feel about family.

Footnotes

*The Dawn War pantheon is the slimmed down pantheon used for 4th edition D&D; can be found on page 11 of the 5th edition Dungeon Master's Guide. Used by Matt for the Primes & Betrayers with the addition of Sarenrae from Pathfinder.

**I'm aware of the pitfalls of using existing narratives and non-Exandrian lore to try and predict what's going on in CR at this moment in time; while there's not a 1:1 overlap between other D&D worlds' lore and Exandria, some of the major relationships do stay the same. For example, Pelor, Ioun and Tharizdun are all linked in Exandria and in D&D "canon" (Pelor, Ioun and Tharizdun all looked into the Far Realm and saw mysterious secrets, secrets which drove Tharizdun to want to destroy the universe as per Gates of Madness (2010). Additionally, Tharizdun is deeply associated with the Abyss across both settings). Bear with me.

***Zehir, the Cloaked Serpent is also associated with darkness; however while the Lawbearer and the Platinum Dragon are associated with order there is no explicit god of order which was Vordo's other domain. The Chained Oblivion is explicitly described as a god of darkness in both the Explorer's Guide to Wildemount (page 27) and the Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn (page 34).

References

1. Demonomicon (2010), pages 7-9. The wording of how the sealing took place is intentionally vague as it's a plot hook for DMs to expand on in their campaigns.

2. Titles and Tattoos, CR Campaign 2, Episode 84, from 14:00.

3. Explorer's Guide to Wildemount (2020), page 27.

4. Matt's Discord post during Nick Marini's AMA (linked here).

5. Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn, page 36.

6. The Endless Atheneum, CR Campaign 1, Episode 106, from 1:08:16.

7. Axiom Shaken, CR Campaign 3, Episode 43, at 3:02:19.

[giggly-squiggily]

All right - I sat on this one for a hot second but I think I'm gonna do it!

May I please request a 🧡 Bestie with the line "You haven't actually asked me to stop yet, you know" for lee Asta and ler Yami? I looooove the other drabble you did for them and just- their dynamic is so fun, I'd love to see it 💖

Loving the event so far, friend!! Make sure you're taking care of yourself between everything, too! 🫂

{Candy Hearts are officially CLOSED!}

Nym you are a godsent- how did you know I wanted to write for Yami? I mean-granted I always wanna write for Yami but that's neither here or there This was so FUN! I've gotcha covered, friend! :D (Awww, thank you!! That makes me so happy TwT <3 I wish the same to you- take care and keeping being amazing! <3)

Bestie- "You haven't actually asked me to stop yet, you know?"

“Oi. Cheer up.” Yami reached down, ruffling Asta’s hair aggressively as he took a long drag from his cigarette. “You're moping again.”

“Gah! Captain Yahami!” Asta went from a seemingly permanent frown to laughing, reaching up and failing to push away his captain’s hand. He struggled even more when said hand went to his neck and shoulders, squeezing the muscles there. “It tihiihhickles!”

“That’s the point.” Yami smirked, alternating between light kneads to skittering pokes as Asta scrunched up, ducking down from the tickles. Funny enough, he wasn’t moving away. If anything, he seemed to be moving closer, occasionally bumping into Yami while he laughed on. “You haven’t actually asked me to stop yet, you know.”

“Hahhahen’t I? Eehehhee- Gehehehehhahahhaha!” The hand from his neck went to his side, squeezing along his ribs and lower waist. “Thahahht’s fihihihihine! I dohohohon’t mihihihnd it!”

“Huh.” Yami puffed out another stream of smoke, like a dragon watching his prey. He wiggled a few fingers into Asta’s armpit, making the smaller boy squeal and jump out of his skin. “Bad spot?”

“Yoohohu could shahahy thahat-Ah! Gehahhahaha, Cahhahaptahhahahain!”

“Just say the word and I’ll stop.” Yami brought both hands in now, snickering as Asta cackled and danced before him. “One word and this all can be over. If you don’t, I’m gonna assume you want me to keep tickling you. Come on- surpass your limits.”

“Yeehhehehes shhihihihiihr! Gheahahhahahahaha! Ehehehehe-EHEHEHK!” Asta hit the floor when Yami reached around to tickle his stomach. Yami followed him down, his hand never easing up. “OHOHOKAY, OHOOHKAY STHAHAHP!”

Yami did, and Asta curled up in a loose ball on the floor. “Heh, you lasted longer than I thought. Good job, kid.” Yami patted his head again, the touch far gentler than before. Asta let out a breathless sigh, puffing up with pride at his captain’s words.

“Thahanks, Captain Yami!”

[kheprriverse]

You wanna ramble on about dragon Ares?? Would you mind telling us more about the surgically removed combustion pouch?

Was it because of an accident? Was it done before or during the war? What does Volga think of that?

YES I WOULD LOVE TO!!!

Ty for the questions, I always have a hard time figuring out where I wanna start (and then also when to end lol). And I like making aus where I already have information established so I can build on it and challenge the garbage I come up with xD

-> Ares’s dragon au ref, for reference

** I do wanna give a warning that the au is a bit more tragic than my other ones. Or at least in a different way. It’s a lot of the two dragons not being raised properly and the consequences of that. Causing them to feel unsafe and not truly realizing it. The details about it are way in the end, but before it really gets there I will be answering the questions and touching on it as lightly as possible <3

Would you mind telling us more about the surgically removed combustion pouch?

Every Fire dragon has two organs relating to their fire. The spitting pouch located in their throat, which comes up to the bottom of their tongue and allows them to spit a corrosive liquid. Then the “combustion pouch” which acts like a secondary set of lungs, much smaller, and holds a gas that when released and mixed with the acid will cause the chemical to “combust” and act like a liquid flamethrower in some instances.

Hatchlings are usually taught how to use both organs properly so they don’t explode, but both organs are separated enough to not become much of an issue. The gas is also usually formed by eating certain minerals and storing the chemicals for later use. And their beaks are strong enough to remove and break apart those minerals to be properly broken down via a digestive process.

A little fun thing too. Some fire dragons, Volga being one of them, have vents near their ribs that allows them to release excess gas then light it by striking their wing claws or beaks. Some do it to impress potential mates, take out enemies, or because they have too much gas in their system and its causing discomfort. (They use it to impress potential mates because its sparkly under certain lighting, they fan their wings out and may do a little dance here and there before lighting it. Depends on the preference.) Otherwise, dragons who don’t have those vents release it like they’re spitting. Could be diverging evolution, or a mutation, or some familial tie, since not every fire dragon is born with it.

Some dragons are skilled enough to breathe fire immediately (using their acid pouch and flammable gas at the same time) while others may use one after the other or wait a little longer before using the gas. Also completely depends on user preference, the situation, and skill.

Was it because or an accident? Was it does before or during the war?

Ares and Apollo’s combustion pouches were removed at a very early age on purpose, to prevent them from lighting anyone on fire. So it would’ve happened before the war and before either of them knew it was a thing they had. The reason their acid pouches weren’t removed instead was so they could use it to break down hard to digest foods, or even bones since younger dragons like eating the marrow. Not that the two are given difficult to eat foods anyways, they’re on a much stricter diet compared to most fire dragons.

They had a lot of stuff removed or whittled down to prevent anything unfortunate happening, but that causes some pretty big consequences when they eventually come across other dragons who do have stuff and make them wonder why they don’t. Puts the question in their head about why their guardians didn’t trust them enough to have smth dragons are built to have. And that’s not a good feeling.

What does Volga think about it?

Everything plays out geeenerally the same as my version of HW (which, not much changes, just a few characters and motivations and some different story beats). They meet in hyrule field, Volga cuts Ares off in one of the keeps to prevent his progress. He notices quickly that Ares is just… strange for a fire dragon but puts it aside. He just assumes its some kind of agreement to keep the hyrulean army happy.

It isn’t until later when he’s freed from Cia’s hold and sides with Artemis’s army that he realizes Ares and Apollo’s strangeness is a little deeper than some sort of personal preference or peace agreement. Its really not common for fire dragons to share territory or even side with hylians and humans, unless they feel their home will be endangered otherwise. Dragons don’t even like sharing territory with their own siblings unless they’re super close or need to. But he realizes then when they’re teamed together that wayyy more is odd and different and simply not right.

They don’t look right, they don’t smell like dragons, they refuse to breath fire, their claws are too short, their scales are too weak, their wing membrane is too short, they don’t have enough muscle mass. It doesn’t take a genius dragon to realize that they weren’t raised by dragons.

Curiosity starts to kill him and he starts making remarks and asking questions when off on a mission with Ares. He learns Ares had no idea they were even the same species, let alone that they should be able to breathe fire. He’s never burrowed before. He may have hoarded in the past? Volga doesn’t really count pillows and blankets as hoarding but its probably the closest Ares and Apollo could’ve gotten to it. He’s never truly had training to hunt for himself, never marked territory, never even scented territory (he’d wonder if that’s why he doesn’t smell right). The diet he has doesn’t encourage boosted scale strength or even body mass.

How he feels? Probably really pissed tbh. Volga was raised by two very strong gigantic dragons in a big family and has a lot of pride in his people. There are certain features and behaviors that encourage it too, and he’s grown up short tempered and fiery due to his lack of horns causing other dragons to see and treat him differently. But never has he met another dragon (let alone two???) that have had all that taken away before they even had a chance to learn it.

He eventually starts sneaking Ares off (unable to convince Apollo, she’s too close and trusting of her guardians), to teach him everything he’s missed out on. Even if he’s permanently fucked tbh, they can at least remedy some of the damage.

Some other miscellaneous information

- Ares and Apollo, in this au, are not twins. They’re born from the same clutch but not from the same egg. I decided on this because it would make twin dragons too common because Volga has twin sisters (he’s from a clutch of six, one of the eggs having been twins). I didn’t want it to be that common so they’re from separate eggs.

- Ares was hatched first and never imprinted. Apollo however imprinted on Artemis when she hatched which is why she’s much more trusting of her and refuses to believe much if anything Volga says. Artemis is practically, officially, her mom because of it.

- Wing claws need to develop throughout a dragon’s life in order to properly balance them out. Even if Ares and Apollo grew them back, they wouldn’t be the right length or weight to make a difference in their comfort.

- Ares has zoochosis, he paces a lot. Although both genders of dragons can and will claim territory, Ares’s lack of imprinting has made it difficult for him to feel safe and secure where he lives. And the inability (or even just the lack of knowledge on how) to claim territory has caused him mass amounts stress he doesn’t realize he has.

- Apollo doesn’t experience the same degree of stress Ares does. She’s spoiled a lot more than him, is let out more often, and rarely has the need to hoard or claim territory thanks to technically having it with Artemis. Dragon hatchlings who imprint on one of their parents won’t have the need to claim territory until they willingly migrate or are kicked out.

- A dragon with no hoard and no territory usually stress out until eventually “rampaging”. But no combustion pouch means difficulty rampaging. So Ares tends to lock himself away, not really truly realizing how miserable he really is.

- Another point on territory. Fire dragons are very sparse, not because they’re rare but because they’re very territorial and don’t like sharing unless they’re mates or (tentatively) family. Volga’s territory was from a different dragon long before Hyrule Kingdom was founded, he challenged the dragon then (a story I might get into later) and won, killing the dragon and winning said territory, the hoard, and now leads the lizardfolk like the previous dragon had. The whole area covers the entirety of Eldin Volcano and a large chunk of hyrule field and some of the plateaus. He refuses to let go of it, even to Zelda’s request as its very important to keep it else the lizardfolk would overrun the gorons and the treaty between the two races would crumble. It would be hell if Volga let go of his territory and moved away, so Artemis tentatively made a verbal peace agreement with him to make sure hell doesn’t break loose. Hopefully that makes sense.

- ^ being in another dragon’s territory, since Volga’s technically reaches into Hyrule Field and possibly into the castle, is also probably causing Ares more stress because he has no way to do anything about it. Constantly smelling danger danger nearby and not knowing what to do is probably really scary for him.

- Last point. Volink might still happen. I feel like after a while of helping Ares, Volga might realize he’s fallen for him a little. Maybe it’s a slow thing? Smth he doesn’t realize until a certain point? Maybe Ares is in danger? Maybe they’re separated for longer than expected? Something. We’ll see.

[ringleaderising]

PIGLET APPLICATION #03 RIOT THE RUSTWORN ZEALOT.

RULES OF ENGAGEMENT:

These Piglets are for lore clans with a tumblr presence (sideblog, FR posting on mainblogs, etc you simply have to be a lore clan who engages with the community here on tumblr.)

Other players with their siblings (and myself with their parents) will be not only welcome to but encouraged to write interclan letters/in character messages to their siblings, and you'll have to be okay with everything that comes with that (On-Site DMs, the potential of a message going unanswered/etc) I would also appreciate if you ping me for the stuff you do with them because I want to see what they get up to <3

If you win one of the siblings, please refrain from applying for another, this is so everyone interested gets an opportunity and a fair shake at taking one of the girls home!

If you're the selected winner, the dragon is yours to do what you please with! (Regene, change species, rename, change gender identities/pronoun preferences, etc) I ask only that you have a lore/character reason for breed or name changes, as they'll be connected to a wider group of dragons that would need to know these things (What kind of dragon their sibling has become, What to call them in letters, etc) and if you can keep them a modern breed so they can keep their cleavers, well that'd just be nice for their old man Pig.

Please honor the basic lore of the dragon you win, you're welcome to rewrite/reinterpret the lore they arrive with, but please don't eliminate that history entirely, since they'll be interwoven with other clans/players!

[and a big thank you to Khadjin for reminding me I never mentioned this yet!] my lore deviates pretty substantially from site lore. however every aspect can be explained within the context of the site, please don't feel like you have to adopt my headcanons to participate in these!- my "Lesser Gods" are nothing more than magically afflicted/overcharged spirits or magically mutated dragons created in a reactor explosion somewhere in Lightning and some timeloop silliness, and the 'Gaps' are highly concentrated leylines caused by this incident. the eleven gods of sornieth remain the only true gods in my lore much like the site on the whole!- the Piglets and their parents simply lived under the affliction of spirits, cults, and mutated dragons and contextualized them as "Gods" the very same way we create urban myth/legends. While they would know of The Host and the Gaps because of the direct effect both have had on their parents, they are not required to have continued to believe in them as "Higher beings" and can have learned in their time away from their family that these things are likely, little more than the arcane gone haywire.

BLANK APPLICATION

Please copy/paste and fill this out in a Reblog here on tumblr or send it to me through my submit box here so I can keep track of things on a per-dragon basis for the course of the 48-hours each application will be active!

FR Username/Numbers: Basic Clan Lore: (just a general description of the lore/area of your clan you intend to place this hatchling in!) Plans For Dragon: (A little description of any of your ideas, headcanons, story beats, etc you're thinking of for the dragon you're applying for! This can be anything you've got in mind, scries, outfits, etc, feel free to go as big or as little as you want, I wanna see what's going on in your head!) Intended Payment: (These dragons will be PWYW, but I need everyone to acknowledge they're not free, so whatever you're planning on paying/trading for them, even if you change your mind when the time comes, stick something here.)

RINGLEADER'S HEADCANONS

These are just some smaller lore bits and pieces you're welcome to use or disregard for each child, things that I couldn't fit into the bios in a way that made sense. much like the example outfit photo up-top, this is for fun or stuff to help get ideas flowing, if you're stuck!

Riot is almost completely magically null, and her prosthetics run on the magic she harvests from her prey, or from the larger pockets of it around Sornieth. When she left home, Pig and Sow ensured she had enough filled cores to keep her leg and tail functioning for a few months, as they are both well aware she was already not exactly the most capable combatant.

While her relationship with her sisters is somewhat strained after an early life being spent teased for being "unlucky" they've all grown beyond this, and Riot doesn't hold it against them- she's the only one to lose something important in their Godfall, after all.

A scholar at her core, Riot is a seeker of intelligence as much as she is of her charge, flourishing in the pursuit of knowledge of all forms, she has a functional awareness of most everything, from invention to incantation, and is always seeking more alongside the "God" her charge calls her to.

While some of her siblings have chosen to paint their faces in honor of their parents, Riot instead wears her family loyalty through tattoos imbued with magic- the blood constantly staining her parents' claws and tail marked into scales as a glowing grasp on her three remaining feet.

THIS APPLICATION IS OPEN FROM 3:30 PM DECEMBER 6TH, 2024, TO 3:30 PM DECEMBER 8TH, 2024. REBLOGS AFTER THIS TIME WILL BE DISQUALIFIED FROM THE RUNNING.

And here's the pinglist! (Starting to think maybe you can only ping so many people at once?)

@hor-wod-flir @harpyartisan @fuiran @terra-tortoise @bawkrya @pocketmouse-fr @spongyspingy-rising @avalonianrising @clansunsharp @khadjin-fr

[dopscratch]

i kid you not when i say i looked up these two at 4 am hoping for some crumbs but jere you are writing a whole fanfic ( thank you so much🤩).

I personally haven't read the httyd books only the series and movies. If you don't mind could u give a mini summary as u plan to write after book 8? If not i hope you have a wonderful day/ night!

(If uave tons of other questions but don't want to spam so ill just leave this here)

AUDHJSHDHD thank you so much for sending an ask i literally have none ever HAHA

im glad you enjoy the concept :)

the books are very different fron the movies in a large number of ways! in the books, vikings stat out with dragons, and hiccup's main problem is training his own, which he can't do by the normal strategy of yelling- a) because he's not the best yeller and b) because his little green hunting dragon, toothless, is as disobedient as it gets (and smaller than everyone else's to boot!)

in the books, vikings typically have hunting dragon(s) which are smaller and usually dog-sized, as well as a riding dragon, which is larger and obviously ridable. hiccup's riding dragon is a scraggly feathery dragon called the Windwalker who was rescued from slavery :)

one of the biggest differences as well, is that dragons can speak. most are just as intelligent as humans, some even more so, and they're generally cruel by nature. their culture encourages them to act selfishly and it's worked out pretty well for them, hence why most vikings train theirs by fear or exerting power. hiccup, who is nerdy enough to have sat out where the wild dragons are and literally learned their language has been attempting to train HIS by speaking to them, which has some mixed results. windwalker is actually quite mellow and loyal, since hiccup's probably the first person to show him kindness. toothless is just a little brat with a stammer, but he does have softness in his heart deep deep down.

characterization-wise, everyone's a lot different as well.

hiccup, as stated before is a nerd who'll rattle off dragon facts in dangerous situations while fishlegs is more of the sarcastic romantic, basically think of it like the movies swapped their personalities. he also has bright red Heroic Hair that stands straight up and they robbed that from him in the movies and i will never forgive them. hes also an excellent swordfighter and its just about the only traditionally viking thing he's good at :). also, his mother is never kidnapped by dragons- but she IS gone often, out questing. her name is valhallarama and she is an absolute beast of a woman they definitley nerfed her when they turned her to valka

fishlegs is a skinny little loser (affectionate) who's allergic to dragons, has a plethora of other medical conditions too, and is acrually an orphan and was raised by a long-eared caretaker dragon. he's also hiccup's best and only friend at the start of the series. he's arguably worse at being a viking as hiccup is and they both bond over how they wish society would allow them to not be brainless fighters. his dragon is a lazy common-or-garden-or-basic-brown named horrorcow, she's both a pacifist and a vegetarian. when he was catching his dragon, he actually wanted to grab a nadder, which is long and serpentine because nadder is a pun on adder and i have no idea why the movies didn't see that

snotlout is hiccup's cousin and hates him more than anything in the world, and not in a ha-ha funny way either. he legitamately wishes hiccup were dead or never born because he hates to see this "runt" next in line for chief instead of him. he is constantly literally trying to make hiccup's life miserable or literally murder him and once again this is not played for laughs. his dragon's a mean monstrous nightmare- a hunting dragon only the chief and descendanrs of should have- named fireworm, and she is very full of herself. hookfang is actually one of stoick's monstrous nightmares!

another main character is camicazi, who appears in book 3 onward and she was so powerful they had to split her into three characters in the movies (she's sorta like if you took the thorston twins and astrid and mashed them all together, then added another sprinkle of chaos). she's a short little kid from another tribe of all-female warriors called the bog-burgalars and an excellent escape artist. she has a mood dragon- a serpentine, color-changing dragon named stormfly who can actually speak the human language too. she's not very helpful though since shes a pathological liar.

the main villain is named alvin the treacherous and he's a ridicuoulsly resiliant guy who reaaaally wants hiccup dead for a multitide of reasons we don't need to get into now since hw won't really appear in my work haha

i think ive gotten a lot of basics down, but obviously there's a ton more! in regards to knowledge for my crossover though thats essentially some of the main points you need to know. by the 8th book, hiccup has been on a multitide of adventures (and has nearly died or gotten eaten on all of them) but the world hasn't changed irreparably yet :). i plan on writing it in a way that can accomodate people with no knowledge of httyd, since most of it will be from the touden party's pov exploring the world! you'll be getting plenty of detailed descriptions of some of the dragon species as laios's nerdiness will help show

i would absolutely reccomend checking out the books, though! you can usually find them at your local library, and there's also the entire series of audiobooks on youtube! there's a very dedicated group of people on here who love the httyd books including me who would love to help you get into them as well, if that's what you'd like!

i'll round this off with a few of my renditions of some of the characters i've drawn :)

i hope this was helpful, and if you have any more questions, feel free to ask me! i love getting asks but never do lol

[galaxygirl-katie27]

Mizael Redesign

Tap for better quality

More notes under he cut!

-Okay so first of, he/she/they Mizael. Mizael is above something as human as gender. They just represent as whatever they‘re feeling right now. Wasn’t different in his past life, he was raised by a dragon. I think Jinlon told her to be whatever felt right for them.

-I also headcanon Mizael as Androsexual, so only attracted to men. Specifically to Kaito

-And it was already canon that she was Chinese, so I just kept that.

-Now, if you didn’t know, Mizael was actually first designed to have black hair, so I did that for their past life. But then I thought, how did it suddenly change to blonde? Well, it didn’t! He just decides to dye it blonde, hence the black roots. His Barian form still has blonde hair, but Vector‘s hair also changes from orange to grey, so I don’t think this’s too much of a stretch. The curls are also not natural, he uses a hair curler. This is also not his default hair, she always wears different hair styles, I just really like curly haired Mizael. They also braid their hair for the night, so sometimes the curls stick in the morning.

-Mizael is already a tall bitch, only the second tallest Barian, because Girag is such a hunk. But they always wear heels anyways, because they like to tower other people. It makes him feel superior. And yes, she can run in them.

-They are the fashionista of the Barian household. You will never see Mizael going out of the house looking anything other that gorgeous.

-I made his Barian necklace smaller, because I did not realise that it was a necklace in the first place. Now it actually looks like it.

-She has painted nails, because the Barians (Rio) invented a self care day and everyone joins in, because they all actually feel better after it . Very refreshed and mentally in a better place. He and Rio always paint each others nails.

_Also Mizael is a good cook and baker. He wasn’t at the beginning though. She always has to make his own food, because they need 3 warm meals per day and the other Barians just don’t need that, so he learned to cook for herself and with time he got really good after multiple cook books and courses The baking part is where Kaito comes in, because in this house we ship MizaKai. Since I think Kaito and Haruto both have a sweet tooth, Kaito more so than Haruto, Mizael would learn to bake for both of them, but he only gave them her first perfect result. The Barian household had to act as her taste testers and it took a while for them to not be scared that someone is going to the ER because of Mizael‘s baking.

-Mizael was just born to serve cunt, but the directors were cowards to give us actual cunty Mizael. Fine, I‘ll do it myself

-OK. PAST LIFE.

-I know Mizael canonically used a sword, BUT THAT‘S BORING. Almost every other Barian also uses a sword. I can accept Nasch, Merag and Durbe, but those are IT. I actually thought about giving him a lance at first, but then I realised: How tragic could I make this? Bow and arrow. Imagine, that Mizael was a really skilled archer and I mean REALLY skilled. She is such a natural at archery, never once in their life has he missed a target. But then Mizael and Jinlon were killed by arrows. And now Mizael can’t even bring himself to even lay their eyes on a bow, because the feeling of being pierced by hundreds of arrows always comes back to him and she’s just so traumatised by it. If there was another season, I would write a character arc for him, where they could learn to overcome their trauma and use his skill again (In a very dangerous situation where a loved one is in danger probably and she has no choice, BUT THAT‘S FOR ANOTHER TIME)

-Mizael’s hair was also long af in their past life. I‘m taking down to her knees at least. I’m thinking if maybe his hair was forcefully cut off, before his execution, to explain why he has shorter hair again as a Barian and human, but I think I‘ll leave that up to imagination for now.

-I also added the golden dragon to the clothing in honour of Jinlon.