#this is one of the rare moments when hiccup is NOT me fr fr

[saturnniidae]

Hiccup got the kinda sensory and stimuli seeking autism where he actively enjoys loud noises as long as it's not people talking or yelling.

[hannahbarberra162]

stop why can i lowkey see the wbp keeping reader as like memorabilia of white beard after he passes. you know when people like keep something special that their deceased loved one owned? going from blood draining to emotionally draining fr 😭😭

What a delicious ask. Sorry it took me a little while to answer.

No, you’re right. I also think WB himself wasn’t too into the treatment. He always wanted to die in battle, not wasting away. It’s Marco who can’t let go.

“But you don’t need me anymore,” you said, tears falling down your face. You were so sick of crying in front of Marco but you couldn’t help it. Your scenery had changed, but your life hadn’t. You were still stuck with Marco, but this time on Sphynx. You thought that with Whitebeard’s death, you’d finally be free. But Marco had dedicated the rest of his life to helping the people of Whitebeard’s home island and had brought you along. You’d asked him why so many times, Whitebeard was gone, he didn’t need your platelets anymore. 

“That’s not true. Someone here might need a transfusion yoi. It’s best that you stay here. Besides, I can protect you too.” Marco replied, not picking his eyes off the paperwork on his desk. 

“B-but I don’t need p-protection! I’m not a p-pirate!” you hiccuped as you kept crying. 

“The Marines don’t know that yoi. You were with Whitebeard on the Moby, you’re here with me on the island, you’ve already been identified as a pirate.”

“That’s NOT TRUE!” you yelled out, frustrated that you didn't know if he was telling the truth. Marco finally looked up at your reddened, tear stained face. He got up and moved around his desk to stand in front of you. Rubbing his thumb on your cheek, he put his forehead on top of your head, a rare moment of physical intimacy from him.

“I can’t let you go. I need you.” Marco said into your hair.

“You d-don’t, there’s gotta be people with A nega-”

“No, I need you. There’s been so much loss, so much death. I can’t - I can’t…I just need something to be the same. You remind me of happier times, I can’t…let you go. I need you.” Marco held your hands in his as he finished his ramble. He was almost begging you to understand. You felt bad for Marco, you really did, but you weren’t some memento he could put on a shelf and look at when he was upset. 

"You c-can't keep m-me here, I -"

Marco suddenly moved to grip both of your wrists in one of his large hands, tight enough to bruise. He grabbed your hair, pulling hard, making you look at his face. You looked up at Marco in fear, he'd never been so rough on you before when you weren't fighting him.

"I can't let you go. I need you."

[inactiive-shit]

Just Until

Masterlist

Sanders Sides

Warnings: panic attack

Ship: Platonic moxiety

Summary: Virgil has not been having a good week. Patton knows a guy.

~~~~~

Virgil’s been in college for about four months. It was his freshman year, his very first time being totally on his own, and in that time he had turned nineteen, celebrated his birthday alone, not gone home over break and been entirely overwhelmed by his work load and having to exist as a real, functional person simultaneously.

It had been...a lot.

And if that had been all it was, he could have lived with that. He could have figured out how to do his own laundry and regulate his eating habits and sleep enough to function and share his space with a total stranger and do his homework and be alone. He could have dealt with all of that and he would not have even complained about having to do it because at least he was getting the opportunity. Plenty of other people who had come from his background had not gotten such an opportunity and he just wanted to prove he was more than the sum of his parts.

And yet.

He would have just kept trudging along, keeping the tears on the inside where they belonged, but he’d gone to pick up his prescription the other day and was told his insurance no longer covered it. It was a mistake, some stupid paperwork misfiled or mislabeled or something, but regardless, he could not afford his meds without insurance and the mistake would not be fixed for another week. Then the college had contacted him and told him that he couldn’t actually have his emotional support animal because his forms were invalid or something that he couldn’t really remember now, and he hadn’t even brought back the snake he had picked out yet.

In short, it had been a fucking awful few days.

So here he was, bawling his eyes out and as quietly as he could, curled up on his bed. It was Friday, so it wasn’t likely that his roommates would be coming back until tomorrow or the next day; they were usually all out every weekend, and though two of them had made an attempt to include Virgil in whatever weekend activities they had going on, Virgil was pretty comfortable with having the dorm to himself for the weekend. And especially when he did things like cry his eyes out in his dorm.

So really, the less people there to witness it, the better.

Virgil really should have known it wasn’t going to go like that.

A few minutes into his well-deserved meltdown, a key turned in his lock. Oh shit, Virgil thought, but there was no time to even his breathing or hide his tear-stained face before someone loomed in his doorway and the only thing he could see of them was a pair of glasses glinting in the light. He shrank back, pulling the blanket up around his head. If he had to die today, he would at least do it without facing the world.

��Kiddo, is that you?” said the person. “Silly question. Sorry. Of course it’s you. Logan and Roman are both at Dee’s place. What are you up to?” The only person this could be was Patton, one of his three roommates, which somehow Virgil thinks may actually be worse than if either of their other roommates had walked in on this. Patton always wanted to talk about whatever was going on and he would tell Virgil about what they were doing and invite him along even though they had barely ever spoken and he didn’t even know who Dee was.

“Nothing,” Virgil gasped from under his blanket, chest hitching.

“Are you alright?” Patton asked, followed by a panicked, “Virgil, are you crying?”

“No. Fine,” Virgil spat even though that wasn’t vaguely true and they both knew it.

“What happened?” Patton sat down on Virgil’s bed and rested his hand gently on Virgil’s shoulder despite the layers and layers of blankets between them. Virgil hiccuped on a sob and clapped a hand to his mouth.

“Nothing,” he said again.

“Virge, you don’t just start crying for no reason,” Patton said gently. “What’s going on?”

“It’s stupid and it’s not important and it’s nothing, can you just leave me alone?”

“I would,” Patton said slowly, “if that’s what you really wanted. Is it, kiddo? You have to tell me.”

“I-I don’t-” Ever so softly, Patton removed the blanket from Virgil’s face.

“Oh, kiddo,” he said. Virgil was sure his face looked a mess, eyeliner and eyeshadow smeared like he’d spent the last few days without taking it off. Patton didn’t look disgusted though, despite the fact that it was disgusting. “What happened, sweetheart?”

“Everything’s fucked and I just-I can’t do this, I don’t even know what I’m doing.” Virgil pressed his hand back over his mouth and leaned into his knees. Patton made some soft noise and pulled Virgil into his arms.

“It’s okay,” Patton said. “It’s going to be okay. You don’t have to know what you’re doing right now. It’s okay.” He rubbed a hand so comfortingly over Virgil’s back, in a way that he had never experienced before, and he held Virgil so snuggly in his arms. It felt safe and Virgil rarely felt like that, like he could just be. They stayed that way until Virgil finished crying so hard he couldn’t speak.

Once he was finally breathing normally and didn’t feel like he was actively combusting, Patton started to get up.

“W-wait,” Virgil exclaimed, immediately feeling stupid for it. If Patton had taken all that he could of Virgil’s nonsense, he had every right to leave right now and they would never have to speak about this again. It would be less embarrassing for Virgil and less cumbersome for Patton. It would be better.

“I was just going to get you a water bottle, kiddo. You’re going to be feeling awfully dehydrated after that. I was going to come right back. What’s wrong?” Oh, Virgil thought, feeling almost faint. He wasn’t leaving.

“I just-do you mind if we stay like this for a little longer?” He spoke quickly, ripped it off like a bandaid so that at least the rejection would be quicker, there would be less waiting and uncertainty.

“Of course,” Patton said, and he settled right back into the bed, hugging Virgil to him. “Whatever you need.” He ran a hand through Virgil’s hair, scratching lightly at his scalp. It made Virgil melt. If he had been able to think more clearly, he would have been surprised it worked, surprised Patton had stayed for him. But he couldn’t really think that straight at the moment.

“Feel better?” Patton asked after a few more minutes. Virgil nodded. “Good. Do you want to talk about what’s wrong now?”

“Uh, I ran out of my meds and they aren’t refilled yet, and the university denied my request for a service animal, and there’s just so much to do, I’m-I’m just overwhelmed.” Virgil pulled away from Patton to sit on his own. He realized rather suddenly that Patton had somewhere else to be, someone he was meeting, and was not by any means required or even expected to deal with Virgil’s bullshit. He was just being a bother to his overly polite roommate. “I’m sorry. You shouldn’t have had to-”

“It’s okay, Virge.” Patton patted his hand before he could finish. “We’re friends. I like helping the people I care about. You’re not imposing on me at all.” He smiled. Virgil was confused. They were friends? They’d exchanged maybe four sentences the whole time they’d been rooming together. He didn’t know what to say to that. “I’m sorry you have to deal with all that,” Patton continued. “What were you going to get for a service animal?”

“A snake,” Virgil said. He felt obligated to answer Patton’s questions because he had listened to Virgil cry even when he had been busy, but he really just wanted Patton to get on with what he was doing before so that he wouldn’t end up resenting Virgil for being such a crybaby about something that should have been nothing. “I was going to name him Caspar. Seriously though, Patton, you don’t have to stay here and do this. Go meet up with your friends. I’ll be fine.”

“Well,” Patton said thoughtfully, squinting down at Virgil’s blankets. “You want me to meet my friends, but I don’t want to leave you here alone. I know!” He grabbed Virgil’s hand excitedly, a smile breaking out across his face. “You can come over to Dee’s apartment! We can all hang out together.”

“Oh, I don’t know-”

“Dee even has some pet snakes,” Patton wheedled. When Virgil still looked unsure, he aimed his best puppy dog eyes at him. “C’mon, Virge. It’ll be fun, and if you don’t like it, we can come right back here. I promise. Justy try? It might make you feel better if you’re not alone, you know.”

Virgil sighed. “Fine. But only because I want to see the snakes.”

“That’s great, kiddo.” Patton practically bounced off the bed after that. “I’ll go get you a water bottle, and we can go as soon as you’re ready!” He scampered off to the shared kitchen area, and Virgil pulled on his shoes before stopping in the bathroom to wash his face. With the tear tracks and smeared eye-liner washed away and a goal in mind, Virgil did feel a little better.

It still took more willpower than he would admit to force himself out of the bathroom to meet Patton and begin their trek over to Dee’s house. Whoever Dee was. His snakes better be pretty frickin’ cool, otherwise Virgil was going to bail at the first opportunity.

“Virge?”

“Hmm?” Virgil hummed.

“I think you’re going to be just fine.”

“Huh,” Virgil said. “Thanks.”

“I mean it. You’re more capable than you think. You’ll make it through.” Patton smiled, this time soft and comforting, and Virgil couldn’t deny that being out with Patton did feel better than being cooped up in that tiny room. So Virgil smirked back, as friendly as he could, and decided that he really would give this whole hanging-out-with-acquaintances thing a try.

Just until he got his snake, just until he didn’t feel like one more task would send him spiralling into an inky abyss, just until they were friends instead of acquaintances, and then Virgil would do something else he’d never done before: he’d give that whole hanging-out-with-friends thing a try. And he might just like it enough to keep doing it. And maybe, once the semester ended, he would have a pet snake and new friends and somewhere nice to spend his summer.

Just until he got his snake, though. Just until then.

[kingbaekho]

you’re my home (friends-to-lovers!you x jr)

pairing: nu’est’s jr x you

word count: 2.2k

genres: fluff, slice-of-life, slow(ish) burn, friends-to-lovers

a/n: i truly have nothing to do this summer, so i’ll start writing more!

jonghyun’s the yin to your yang.

whenever people find out that you and jonghyun are best friends, they’re always taken aback. it’s no big deal -- you two are used to it, and you’ve spent multiple long nights rambling about it over facetime.

there’s jonghyun, who suffers from rbf, but once he smiles, turns into the cutest human being alive. he’s a serious introvert whose late nights are spent watching anime, reading manga, or playing video games. on the rare occasion he’s at a party (usually having been dragged to it by you), he sticks to the walls with only soda in his hands, carefully watching to make sure that nothing happens to you as you disappear into the crowd. he’s selfless the a fault -- his friends have regularly pointed out how often people ask him for help without giving anything back in return, to the point where you blew up at a girl in middle of math class for asking him for the answers to last night’s homework for the tenth day in a row. jonghyun doesn’t mind, though. he never does. as long as he can be there to make someone happy, he’s happy as well.

and then there’s you, the virtual polar opposite of jonghyun. if you have to stay at home for even one day, you get restless. when jonghyun can’t find his voice, you do it for him -- hence the above incident. while he’ll never say a bad word about anyone, you’re blunt -- if you dislike someone, you’ll make it crystal clear. you like loud parties, dancing, random hookups -- everything jonghyun doesn’t. hell, you even look like the polar opposite of jonghyun. while he prefers oversized sweaters that, according to you, are a “big uwu”, your hair is dyed platinum blonde, with a closet like an instagram model.

yet, you and jonghyun are the best of friends, like yin and yang (for your 18th birthday, you and jonghyun gave each other yin and yang stick-and-poke tattoos that actually didn’t turn out too badly, especially considering the fact that both of you were tipsy). you coax jonghyun out of his shell, while he calms you down and keeps you safe. you’re up in the sky, but it’s jonghyun who keeps you anchored to the earth. it’s been this way ever since ninth grade, when you were the new student that, when you could have had your pick of popular friends, chose jonghyun to sit next to during lunch. and now, four years later, you two even chose to go to the same college.

except lately, you and jonghyun have been growing apart. jonghyun understands -- you’re both 18 now, almost college students. he wants to give you space to breath, to let you grow into your own without him to tie you down. you two are so vastly different, and it makes since that you would want friends that want to do the same things that you do. jonghyun doesn’t mind. he’ll always be here, waiting for you.

after all, he has his girlfriend now. yena is much more like him, and so being with her feels effortless in a way that being with you doesn’t. as much as jonghyun enjoys spending time with you, your boundless energy can be tiring at times. with yena, he could spend day after day by her side, just watching anime. she’s comfortable, a lovely familiarity whereas you’re the unknown. nowadays, jonghyun just wants to be comfortable.

even though for the past few months, you and jonghyun’s communication has disintegrated into exclusively snapchat streaks with the occasional tagged instagram meme, it’s your number that he dials the night that yena dumps him, after he spends hours sobbing into his pillow.

“what’s up?” you answer with your usual brazenness.

jonghyun doesn’t know why, but he feels an urge to get out of his house. he needs a distraction from this heartbreak. “are you free?”

“uh, what’s up?” you ask again. jonghyun realizes that it’s a saturday night. of course you’re busy. he sighs.

“don’t worry about it,” he says.

“no, what’s up?” you repeat. “this is the most we’ve talked in months, something’s obviously wrong.”

for as flighty as you are, you have a sixth sense about these things. jonghyun pauses.

“yena and i broke up.”

“i’ll be there in ten minutes.” you hang up.

“jesus, you look like a wreck,” you mutter when jonghyun climbs into your car at 11 that night. you push a box of tissues into his lap before speeding off into the street. neither of you speak until you reach a stoplight, and you look at him for what must be the first time in months. jonghyun notices that you’ve dyed your hair a fiery orange.

“what happened?” you ask, rolling down your window and tapping your fingers against the side of the car. you turn somebody to love up to a fifty.

jonghyun sniffles. “she said she found someone else.”

“christ,” you whisper. out loud, you say, “bitch couldn’t spot a good thing if it hit her over the fucking head,” in your usual blunt style. it does make jonghyun laugh, though. you turn to him with a small smile. “i think this calls for a midnight snack run, yes?”

he nods. once again, you’re off, going at least 10 over the speed limit, as usual. jonghyun really has no idea how you’ve managed to avoid a speeding ticket in all your years of driving.

“what were you gonna do tonight?” he asks to make conversation. he doesn’t like the silence between them, the awkwardness of it can’t help but make him feel guilty for not reaching out to her lately.

you shrug. “minki’s house.”

there’s a pause before jonghyun says, “you didn’t have to, you know.”

you shrug again. “i can party whenever i want to. i still consider you my best friend, jonghyun. i’m gonna help you out.”

you pull into the parking lot of a grocery store, instantly reviving the old memories of whenever jonghyun would sleep over at your apartment and you two would slip out at midnight to run to the the 7/11 on the street corner, giggling and relishing in the rebellion.

and just like the old days, a mischievous smile spreads across your lips. “come on!” you yell into the windy night air, already halfway across the parking lot despite your heels. you throw your hands up in the air, gesturing wildly. jonghyun smiles, too, as he breaks out into a sprint to catch up to you.

you laugh once he catches up to you. “took you long enough.” once you two enter the store, you hop into a cart. “push me,” you demand, pouting playfully until jonghyun acquiesces.

you two spend what seems like eons in the store, racing up and down the aisles, jonghyun putting in the cart whatever you want.

“soju?” jonghyun is already walking over to the bottles, predicting your response.

“yeah, of course.” you wave your hand dismissively, and jonghyun picks up a six-pack in each hand.

“get wine, too!” you call as he’s walking back to the cart.

“i don’t think we can drink this all on our own.” jonghyun raises his eyebrows

“wrong!” you cry. “if there’s a will, there’s a way!” he just shakes his head and fills the cart with as much alcohol as he can carry.

“this is a terrible idea,” he states as he pushes the cart out of the alcohol aisle.

“you always say that,” you reply, reaching for a bottle of soju.

“at least wait until we pay for it!” he protests.

“fine,” you grumble, retracting your hand.

even though this is the first time you’ve talked in months, it’s easy for the both of you to fall into your normal cadence. by the time you two leave the grocery store, with you handing jonghyun your grocery bags with an overly-sweet smile. jonghyun realizes that he hasn’t even thought about yena. sitting in the car as you drive off into the night, humming along to radiohead, jonghyun traces the yin tattoo on his wrist with his finger. no matter what, at the end of the day, it’ll always be you and jonghyun.

you park somewhere along the bank of the hand river, and with soju and snacks in hand, you and jonghyun settle yourselves on the sidewalk along the edge of the river, where the water occasionally laps up and splashes the sidewalk with a small spray. after the shopping trip, the silence between them is now comfortable, punctuated only by you opening a bottle of soju and by jonghyun opening up a bag of cheetos.

“i’m sorry about yena,” you say after a long bout of silence. you take a swig of alcohol and look off into the distance.

jonghyun shrugs. “i guess it was bound to happen at some point. we’re going to completely different colleges, after all.”

“still.” you turn to look at him. “she’s a dumb bitch.”

he just laughs, used to your bluntness. “i mean, that’s just life.”

“i guess, but still,” you say with utter conviction. “you’re a great person, jonghyun. she doesn’t deserve you.”

“i don’t know,” he says, taking the bottle of soju that you offer him. “different people just need different things in a relationship.”

you set down your bottle with a clunk, and jonghyun realizes that you’ve already consumed most of it.

“are you gonna be okay?” he asks, scrutinizing you with concern in his eyes.

“yeah!” you wave your hand dismissively again. “it’s all good in the hood.” but you’re already starting to slur your words.

“do you want me to drive home?” he asks.

“yep.” you nod, leaning back on your elbows. jonghyun rolls his eyes playfully. he didn’t realize how much he’d missed you. it can be tiring playing catch-up with you whenever you drag him to parties, but it’s these moments, where it’s just the two of you on some random adventure, that he misses, no matter how small the adventure is. to him, being with you is thrilling, like a roller coaster. maybe, after the same-old same-old that being with yena was, this is what he needs.

“i’m sorry for not talking to you.” your voice breaks the silence.

“hm?” he turns to you. “what do you mean?”

“i--” you hiccup. “i kind of made a conscious effort not to talk to you.”

he blinks. “why?”

“because of yena.” you take a hard gulp of your soju.

“what do you mean?” jonghyun inches closer to you, and unsuccessfully tries to pry your hands from your bottle. “you’ve had too much to drink way too quickly.”

“it’s mine,” you pout, curling up into a ball to protect your liquor. “anyway, i didn’t like yena.”

“i mean, she just broke up with me, but she was always nice,” he says, sitting back down. “i thought you two got along okay.”

“no.” you shake your head vehemently. “not that. the issue was that--” this time, jonghyun doesn’t stop you from drinking.

“i like you,” you say finally, suddenly sounding sober. “i’ve liked you since the end of tenth grade.” you turn your gaze to the ground.

jonghyun’s taken aback. out of everything he expected her to say, that wasn’t one of them. your dating history consisted of a stream of college boys who only stayed long enough to buy you whatever you wanted before you moved on to the next. never something serious. never anyone like him.

he’s reminded of when he had a crush on you, too. he thought he’d quashed those feelings with yena. but now, in the cool summer breeze, knowing that you like him, too -- he doesn’t know anymore. maybe it’s just the rush of post-breakup emotions. or maybe jonghyun’s realizing that you were what he always needed.

“i...” his voice trails off.

“i know.” this time, when you speak, you sound weary. “you just broke up with yena. you still have feelings for her.”

he nods slowly. “yeah, but i mean... i don’t know anymore. i’ve had a crush on you, too, ever since the summer before junior year. but i didn’t think you’d like me back... and so i dated yena. so now, i don’t know anymore.”

“i see,” you say carefully. “can you... kiss me?”

jonghyun doesn’t know exactly why he accepts, but he inches over to you anyway. despite the strong taste of soju on your lips, kissing you feels so natural. the way his lips meld together with yours makes jonghyun think that you two were made for one another, like puzzle pieces. there’s no awkwardness, no fumbling. it’s plain and simple, and it’s another reminder that maybe, jonghyun had gotten it all wrong that it’s you he’s really been searching for.

“that was nice,” you mumble once you two finally part, your arms still wrapped around his neck.

“mhm.” he nods, looking down at you with a smile.

“so what do you wanna do now?” you ask, looking up at him expectantly.

jonghyun shrugs his shoulders. “i’m not really sure.” your arms fall away, and he sits down, staring at the twinkling lights of the buildings across the river. “but i have a feeling that this will work out.”

“that’s the most un-you thing i’ve ever heard you say.” you smile, moving so that you can rest your head in his lap. “but i like the way you think.”

jonghyun smiles down at you. “maybe you’re a bad influence on me.”

“maybe so,” you hum, closing your eyes.

jonghyun knows that he’s been getting it all wrong. he thought comfort meant similarity, so he chose yena. but it’s not. comfort is the feeling he gets when he’s next to you. comfort is the feeling he gets when he kisses you.

at the end of the day, it’ll always be just you and jonghyun.

[webwingalpha]

The Iron-Forged Chronicles: Eclipse

@griminal-rising @yuushanoah-fr @frxemriss @majestyrising (if you want to be added to the pinglist for my lore posts let me know!)

(a few years before)

A pale blue egg rested safely between the front legs of an aqua and tomato colored Coatl, who was curled up in a corner of a large and spacious room. Her pink eyes were fixated upwards, focused on the event that was currently happening through a large and round glass window on the ceiling. She had never seen anything like it, though she had read about it in various books. An eclipse. It was so much more... intense in real, more than what she would have ever expected it to be, even after reading about dragons personally seeing one. Vastly more beautiful than she had imagined, though the window was tinted for her eyes' sake and thus wasn't showing the full glory.

She felt blessed being able to experience an occasion like this.

The egg shivered, the movement drawing the Coatl's attention back to it. She had been the egg's caretaker ever since the father, a grey and gold Pearlcatcher with spotted wings, known as Umessis, had disappeared without a trace. He had brought the egg, pale blue and perfectly smooth, to this small Light clan, claiming the egg was “a gift from a goddess.” The egg most certainly looked special, not like any normal elemental egg, but most of the dragons in the clan had laughed it off. There was no way this one dragon had gotten in contact with a goddess, much less receive an egg from one. It just wasn't possible.

Was it?

Something had drawn her to the little egg, despite her own doubts about it. This was why she offered to take care of it when the Umessis went missing, before anyone else had the chance to speak up. It felt right. As if she was meant to be the baby's caretaker before it was born.

The egg shuddered again, bringing her out of her thoughts. As she focused on it, she became aware of a small crack beginning to form near the top of the oval object. Was it... starting to hatch? During the eclipse out of all things? Was it a sign? It felt like one, that was for sure.

Hmmm. Maybe his claim wasn't as ridiculous as it at first seemed after all. The timing was just too perfect for it to be a coincidence, in her eyes at least. What would the others think of this, she wondered. Would its hatch timing change anyone's opinion?

She watched the egg now, the eclipse seemingly forgotten, as the egg shook and shivered again, the fracture lengthening and widening. It seemed as if the hatchling was in a rush to get out, wanting out now, instead of slowly working its way out of the shell. Maybe it really did want to get out before the eclipse was over.

She was paying so much attention to the egg and watching the crack progress, while other cracks started to form, that she was unaware of the progress the eclipse was making until the room was enveloped in darkness. The realization that the sun was now behind the moon caused her head to jolt up, and she directed her head to look upwards at the window again. Just for a moment, the egg had been her focus, the importance of it being a distraction. But still... she wanted to see this, even if it was only a glimpse. This was the part she had been most intrigued about.

It was so wonderful.

Unable to remove her eyes immediately, she remained fixated on the scene above for one minute... two minutes... this was amazing. She was glad this room was rarely used; otherwise she might not have gotten as much of a chance to see... this. And oh look, the moon was moving away from the sun, showing a sliver... how fascinating! She would never forget this-

Crack!

The Coatl looked back down, her feather crest pinned back in surprise. That crack had been overwhelmingly loud, enough that it reverberated throughout the entire room even after the original sound had finished, startling the Coatl out of her wits. And now, as she stared down at her front feet, eyes wide, while the room slowly gained brightness due to the eclipse moving on, the mass at her feet twitched, no longer just an egg. It moved slowly, a mess of shell and dragon, sitting up with a soft hiccup, eyes closed. The hatchling was a Pearlcatcher, just like its father, and the small stub on its face, in front of the horn on its forehead, showed clearly that the hatchling was male. She couldn't tell his colors easily in the dim lighting, just enough to see that he looked to be a mix of gold and grey, seemingly glowing in areas such as his sides and feet. Did he have Runes...?

“Why hello little guy! It's quite nice to finally see you! You're quite adorable!”

Her startled mood leaving, the Coatl lifted a front foot, gently plucking a piece of eggshell out of the Pearlcatcher's mane. She dropped the piece of shell onto the floor, reaching out to stroke one of the hatchling's cheeks with the back of one of her claws. “Welcome to the waking world, little one! How does it feel?” she smirked, chuckling softly and tapping the top of his head afterwards, being careful to not poke herself on his larger horn. “Maybe you should open your eyes and get a look for yourself, you silly dragon.”

As she pulled her foot away, he did exactly that. He shook his head with a soft squeak as he opened his eyes, first staring straight at her. The Coatl inhaled, watching the hatchling, unable to speak, unable to do anything other than stare. His eyes were glowing brightly, two bright beacons on his face, standing out against the small blanket of darkness still covering the two. Bright enough that the rest of his details were even more blurred than before. He seemed unaware of it, blinking a couple times as he looked around, squeaking again as he tried to stand for the first time. The attempt failed, and he flopped over, twitching an ear as he looked back up at the larger dragon.

Though, as soon as it had begun, it was over. The room was cast into bright light again as the moon finished its journey over the sun, and at the same time, the hatchling's eyes stopped glowing, revealing a pair of dark purple-grey eyes, marked with flecks of yellow, including a ring around each pupil. It was unlike anything she had seen before, in fact, his eyes made her think of the eclipse that had just passed. So it was really meant to be. He was special.

And in her heart, even if his eyes had the look of a Shadow dragon's at first glance, she knew he was a Light dragon. There was no denying it, especially with how his eyes had glowed a bright yellow just moments before.

Also now that the room wasn't obscured by the darkness anymore, she could see his small form clearly now, as he moved back into a sitting position, attempting to scratch himself with a hind leg as he did so. His body was a vibrant gold, spotted with darker brown, with glowing dark pink runes running along his side and tail, blotting each cheek, covering each paw, making it look as if he had walked in some kind of strange-coloured liquid or muck. And last of all, his mane, cheek fluff, and tail tuft were all a dark grey, with a soft appearance, while his wings were a paler grey. They sparkled in the dimmed sunlight like glittering gems as he stretched them out, making an attempt to stand up again as he did so. They were marvelous, reminding her of insect wings with how transparent they were.

This time, when he fell over, the Coatl caught him before he hit the ground. “Careful little one.” she cooed, coaxing him to sit on the floor again. “Don't need you hurting yourself, do we?” she nudged him as she spoke, ignoring the squeak of protest she got as she started picking the pieces of eggshell off of him and putting them on the ground next to him. She knew what Pearlcatcher hatchlings did with the pieces of shell and she wanted to make it a little easier for him.

“I can't wait for the others to see you, little one, after you're done making your pearl! I'm sure you'll get quite the reaction.” she was ecstatic, enthralled, her voice showing it loud and clear. She was also highly curious. What would the rest, the ones who had scoffed at Umessis's words, think of all of this? Of him? The young Pearlcatcher was definitely not a normal, run-of-the-mill Light dragon. Not with the way his eyes had glowed during the eclipse, not with how they looked now, dark with speckles of light yellow showing through.

He was a gift, she thought as she watched him poke at a piece of eggshell, unable to keep from smiling. A blessing. And hopefully they'll see that. Hopefully.

The remains of what looked like a major battle were strewn all over the southern Scorched Forest. From pieces of broken trees and ripped foliage, to areas darkened with blood, to torn cloth, broken weapons, and even a limb or some other body part, hardly any of the cracked ground was free of carnage. Enough time had passed that any bodies that had been there were dragged off to be buried or burned, and there was seemingly no life in the area, no dragons, no birds, not even a sign of any sort of insects humming or buzzing around.

Except it wasn't quite devoid of life, for lying just at the edge of the wreckage, against a fallen log resting on a broken stump, was a small egg, its mostly dark coloring keeping it from being easily visible among the other objects lying around. Smoke seeped from small cracks in the surface, and if one looked closely, it would also be apparent that the inside of the egg was very bright, a vibrant glow peeking out from within the cracks. It shook every now and then as time passed, though the cracks did not progress much. Whatever was in the egg was ready to hatch, hinted by the cracks and the occasional shudder, but taking its time.

As the minutes ticked by, as morning turned into the afternoon, the day growing warmer, the egg's appearance changed slowly, but surely. Smoke was starting to billow out of the cracks a little thicker now, it was shuddering more often and more violently, as if it was about to explode, and the whole egg was emitting an orange glow, the cracks glowing brighter than the rest of it. It stood out as opposed to blending in with the log and ground now, and since there was an unnatural silence over the area now due to the lack of animal activity, all the small noise it made, the shifting around and the cracking, and even sizzling on occasion, seemed to be a lot louder than they really were.

As it shivered, threatening to roll over onto its side due to how violently it was moving, a strange darkness fell over the forest, plunging everything in shadow, as though something had shaded the world. The egg, due to its light, was the only thing that wasn't at all affected by the sudden occurrence, and now, its bright glow caused it to stand out starkly against the darkened landscape, even among the dimly glowing cracks in the ground and trees. It was a beacon; something that would quickly and easily draw the eyes of anyone who happened upon the place.

The darkness only lasted for a brief period of time, for a few minutes later, it slowly passed, the forest gradually growing lighter as the source of the darkness faded away. It was soon back to what it was before it had been before everything was shrouded, as if it had never happened. Silent, desolate, foreboding.

As the light returned with the darkness fading, the glowing egg finally toppled over onto its side. Multiple cracks sounded as it landed with a thud, as the shell that made contact with the ground shattered into little pieces. A single purple-blue paw broke its way out through a large crack on the side, clawing at the air. Not long after, a tail, tufted at the end with streaked brown fur, broke free from the other side of the egg.

As the creature, likely a dragon, within the egg worked to free itself from its temporary prison, a small four-legged shape, with a long whip-like tail and fins flattened against its head and neck, made its way slowly towards it. It was curious, though wary as well thanks to the signs of slaughter all around. What was an egg doing here? Left all alone, when this place was obviously a recent battlefield?

This was no place for a child, the shape mused. It didn't belong here. It needed a home. It would take the youngling in. Take care of it.

[designerevil-blog]

You hear a soft gasp as Mal finishes zipping your dress "W-where did this come from?" Mal asks as she runs her fingers along the rough scar running along your spine from your hairline and disappearing below the top of your dress.

Your muse catches sight of a pretty nasty scar they didn’t know mine had, how does your muse react?

A rare moment of weakness in the female. Tears began to slowly trickle down her face–ruining her mascara in the process. EVIE HAD TRIED SO HARD TO HIDE HER IMPERFECTIONS. Evil Queen has scolded her for every scar on her body. Every mark that would prevent a prince from loving her. In fact, that one in particular…

❝ I–II tried to hide it fr-from yyyou… ❞ she hiccuped, slurring her words slightly as she wiped up her tears. IT WAS USELESS, trying to pretend nothing was there when Mal had so obviously traced it. She forgot to cover it up–how pathetic of her.

❝ My–mother didn’t like these… she told me to cover them. I–I did–but I just seemed to get more and she… gave me one of her own… ❞ Another hiccup escaped her body.❝ I didn’t mean to disappoint her… I’m such a bad daughter… ❞