#trait: machine dragon

[digi-lov]

Jazamon EX7-039, Jazardmon EX7-042, Jazarichmon EX7-046, and Matellicdramon EX7-049 by GOSSAN from EX-07 Extra Booster Digimon Liberator

[cloakedpress]

How to Write Better Characters: Roles, Motivation & Actually Making People Care

Let’s be real: your story can have the coolest magic system, the twistiness of the plot, or the hottest vampire/detective/alien—  

but if your characters are flat?  

Nobody’s sticking around.

So let’s break down how to give your characters real presence in your story by understanding their role, their motivation, and how to make them hit harder on the page.

1. What’s Their Role in the Story?

Every character needs a *reason to exist*. Think of them like parts in a machine. What do they *do* in your narrative?

Here are a few basic types:

- Protagonist: The one we’re rooting for. They drive the plot forward.

- Antagonist: The one in their way. Doesn’t have to be evil—just opposed.

- Foil: Someone who reflects the main character’s traits by contrast.

- Mentor: Offers wisdom, often with a tragic backstory or dramatic exit.

- Love Interest: Romantic tension? Check. But make sure they’re *more* than just eye candy.

- Wildcard: Unpredictable chaos gremlin. Every story needs one.

TIP: If you can remove a character without changing the plot? You probably should.

2. What Do They Want? (AKA Motivation)

This is the *core* of your character. Motivation makes everything feel real. Ask yourself:

- What does this character want more than anything?

- Why do they want it?

- What are they willing to do (or give up) to get it?

Bonus points if their motivation is in conflict with someone else’s. That’s where the juicy drama lives.

Ex: “She wants to save her sister. He wants to save the world. One bomb. One choice.”    Now we’re COOKING.

3. How Do You Show It?

Motivation isn’t just monologues and dramatic speeches. It’s in:

- What they *notice* first in a room.

- Who they *trust* (or don’t).

- The mistakes they keep repeating.

- The lies they tell *themselves*.

A character who’s obsessed with control might organize their bag mid-crisis.  

A character desperate to be loved might make themselves useful to everyone… even villains.

4. Let Them Be Messy

Perfect characters are boring.  

Give them contradictions. Regrets. Bad coping mechanisms. Let them be *wrong*. Let them grow.

Characters who never fail or change = characters nobody relates to.

Let your soft boys punch someone. Let your bad girls cry. Let your villains have a point.

5. Ask Yourself the Hard Stuff

- What would break this character?

- What line won’t they cross?

- Who are they when no one’s watching?

If you can answer these? You *know* your character.

6. Level Up: Relationships Matter

Characters don’t exist in a vacuum. Use dynamics to reveal depth:

- A character might be brave in a fight but terrified of disappointing their mentor.

- A flirty rogue might go speechless around the person they actually care about.

- A villain’s cruelty might soften around their childhood friend.

People are different with different people. Show it.

 TL;DR:  

Great characters = clear role + deep motivation + real emotion. 

Make them want things. Make them struggle. Make them human (even if they’re a dragon princess from space).

Want help building a specific character? Drop their name + vibe in my ask box. Let’s break them open together.

[maybeiwasjustjade]

Genuinely, perhaps 99% of me, believes that the only reason Condal and Hess made HOTD Aegon a r*pist/have adult Aegon’s introduction the aftermath of the SA of a maid, was because they knew that if Aegon was just a drunk and a cheat—like almost all Westerosi men—he would be too tragic of a character not to root for, and they really couldn’t have that. No, Aegon has to be the monster to Rhaenyra’s saint, because if you took away the act that made him monstrous, he’s so easy to root for, and the TB/TG divide would be significantly larger.

Cheating and visiting brothels are quite common in Westeros, with the vast majority of male characters doing one or the other or both. Drinking is even more so. Aegon would still be palatable with either or both traits because it doesn’t make him worse than Rhaenyra. Rhaenyra had three bastards with Harwin because Laenor’s gay, so it makes her affair understandable and valid. Aegon was forced to marry his own sister as a young teen, and clearly despises the whole targ-incest tradition. Why is it a crime that he doesn’t find his little sister sexually or romantically attractive???

Aegon’s basically a Greek tragedy made flesh. The eldest son conceived to be a long-awaited heir, yet simultaneously cheated out of a birthright. Born wanted yet unwanted, the heir who is not an heir. Meant to be loved, yet raised without it, with a mother’s disdain and fear as his only companion. His father stopped wanting him sometime after his second birthday (probably around the time Jacaerys was born), and his mother never wanted him anyway. His mere existence is a threat to a crown he never wanted, yet nobody cared when they placed it on his head. He wants love but no one loves him, and contrary to popular belief, that lack of love didn’t just stem from adulthood. He was a little boy once too, who very much didn’t deserve that level of apathy.

Married to his sister despite his clear disdain for his family’s incestuous tradition. Forced to father children on her at the grand old age of sixteen (and she fourteen). The only thing he ever really loved was his dragon, and the children he had. And even those he loses to tragedy, and someone else’s doing.

It’s not at all a surprise that Aegon’s defining trait is his love for Sunfyre. A ridiculously strong bond, born from years of having only each other. Moreover, a dragon is the symbol of power, which Aegon has little of. He can’t protect himself from his own family’s abuse or machinations, and unless he claims the crown everyone he loves will die. Dragons also represent freedom, and the ability to just fly away. And if there’s one thing Aegon wants more than anything in the world, it’s to run away from his family and the accursed throne.

In that, he’s not so different than a young Rhaenyra (pre-personality change anyway). Young Rhaenyra hated having to conform to societal standards. Hated having no choice but to marry, and to whom. She too wanted to fly away to freedom. There’s too many parallels between the two, even down to their ages pre-timeskip. Rhaenyra was about 18, and Aegon now is only 20. Yet Rhaenyra at 16’s only problem was whether her infant brother would replace her as heir, while Aegon’s was being forced to play house with his sister and newborn twins.

Perhaps misogyny and society would always be Rhaenyra’s greatest opponent, and the same Aegon’s ally when it comes to their claims, but it was not the only issue. Precedent declared that Aegon would be heir ahead of her, yet it was Rhaenyra’s position and honor that Viserys defied law for, even when she committed high treason against the crown thrice. She got everything; Aegon had nothing. He’s the underdog of the story, not her. So had they not made him an on screen r*pist (unlike Daemon who was off-screen one and merely an on-screen pedo and wife-killer), it would’ve been very hard for the writers to push their “Rhaenyra good, TG bad” narrative. Those two would’ve had too many parallels and foils for it to work, and they really couldn’t have that, could they.

No, Aegon has to be the villain; Rhaenyra has to be the hero. It’s a black and white war, good vs evil. That’s the story HOTD is trying to sell, and not at all the complex tragedy of a family tearing itself and its dynasty into pieces over greed and idiocy.

[sahashbelvanie]

Sympathy for the Grafted

I think, personally, that Godrick has one of the better “buildups” when it comes to his character — but I won’t really go into that. I also love him for what he represents: this kind of rot, or slow degradation, that once was the glory of his golden clan.

Godrick, as we know, is a member of the Golden Lineage — those born from and descended of Queen Marika and the Elden Lord Godfrey. Godrick’s generational distance is also quite notable, as he’s barely regarded as a demigod — a decrepit, old, ugly, and grotesque man.

A detail that isn’t often brought up about Godrick is that he was born a weakling child. That isn’t to say being born closer in stature to mortals makes someone weak, but rather, there was something inherently wrong with him — something that made him physically weaker than most others. Sickly born, I suppose.

Now, take into consideration the factors that culminated in Godrick as a person:

The citizens of Leyndell — members of the nobility, royalty, and their servants — are largely isolated. They lived in a small city that is twice fortified by near-impenetrable walls. This land is their right, as the grave-given denizens of the Erdtree. So naturally, not only is material wealth taken into consideration, but also physical traits. If you were graceless — some flavor of beast or demihuman, or both — you’d better be far away, enslaved, run through the machine of war, or killed. The world has no place for impurities.

This culminates in a genetic and spiritual enclave of highland supremacists who undermine anyone beyond their way of life or understanding. Godrick echoes this — a snobby, classist racist, naturally. He’s the byproduct of his circumstances. The chosen, worthy people — a golden people under the great tree.

Godrick’s clan is also one marked by bravery, heroism, and selflessness. Godfrey was a man known for his conquering reign and his ability to face down any challenge with either his axe or bare hands. Godwyn the Golden was a fearsome warrior who fought prehistoric dragons that conjured storms, and he was hailed as a beloved peacemaker.

Where does that leave Godrick? Physically, he is no more impressive than some commoners — not at all a tall, muscular man brandishing a weapon with cascading blond hair, but a sickly man brought up at the end of an era, when the glory of his people began to fade after the banishment of their clan’s forefather.

Godrick has a radically misunderstood image of Godfrey in his mind — mostly because Hoarah Loux’s identity as Godfrey is his legacy. The battle axe, the tree, the lion — these are symbols of Godfrey that Godrick dons. You may notice how neither Godfrey nor Godwyn dress at all like Godrick, his fellow weakling kin, or their banners or armies. Godfrey and Godwyn wear a lot of blue with floral-aquatic golden embroidery, generally adorned with silver or gold ornaments. Godrick and his affiliates wear orange and green, accented with yellow, with the symbols of Godfrey woven throughout — symbols of home, strength, and wisdom.

Godrick is a man who likes to wear, feature, and speak on ideals of strength and faith, but in no way could he actually be emblematic of them. He wasn’t Godfrey — not like that. He was the sickly-born child of a great legacy, whose forebears no longer preside over the continent. Godrick was a man who likely just wanted some small amount of notoriety as a golden clansman during the brief and tenuous period following Godwyn’s death and during Morgott’s fragile attempt at a peaceful coalition with his fellow Shardbearers. But Godrick the Golden was always the little one.

Not to mention, he’s a thieving coward — stealing family treasures, attempting a siege upon Leyndell (which, to be fair, was an understandable move when an Omen of all things claims he possesses more legitimacy than you), hiding himself among the womenfolk, hiding within Stormveil, insulting Malenia only to be defeated, wherein she spared him as he groveled to the ground to quite literally kiss her unalloyed feet. He’s so goddamn pathetic. Everything he’s ever had, he either stole from others or inherited because he’s all that’s left in any relevant capacity.

Even in Morgott’s coalition — imagine: you have the Carian royalty and the malformed twins, all children of the man who displaced your ancestor. The only apparent representative of your kin is a foolish Omen claiming kingship. Yet Godrick had no physical prowess, and so he survived by being a pathetic coward, slipping through the cracks whenever it suited him.

I can definitely see him as a self-loathing man. How unfair it must feel to be born in such a way, when you’re surrounded by grandeur. Sadly, he chose the villainous route — but then again, they’re all just warring aristocrats in the end. All the demigods.

[doyouknowthemossinman]

what's a little humanity in the grand scheme of things?

OOAAAAGGHH this has been cooking in my brain for all of maybe a week but i CAN'T HELP BUT PUT MY CC'S CHARACTERS INTO HELS/THE RNS UNIVERSE BECAUS AAAAUGH

he's a helsmet the way that Red and Martyn are helsmets, in that they are kind of characters that the cc's played for a server once. so this guy can double as tr!sneeg easilyyyy. either way, he's a warden now! with dragon traits thrown in bc i love that headcanon so much. he dealt the killing blow and got one of the only egg shards, so yea. and the egg shards are tied to hearing the warden heartbeats anyway. obv.

if i was gonna insert him into the environemnt of hels i don't think he'd be much like our current tr!sneeg. he doesn't align himself with anyone, fights only for himself, and isolates himself in an abandoned corner of hels that somehow has grown sculk to accommodate for him. (evil x can't figure out how he did that, but isn't interested in asking.) nobody who's encountered him refers to him as sneegsnag, not that he could really communicate that that is (was?) his name; he's just the warden to them, the way that red is the red king. he's lost too much of his mind to be very good at making machines anymore, not that redstone is readily available in hels, and there aren't any levels to grind in hels like on the realm so he doesn't have the motivation to anyway. maybe his hands itch sometimes like he needs to create something, but he doesn't know why, or what to create or how.

maybe someone ropes him into being a colosseum fighter. a trident feels familiar in his hands, but there aren't any pools of water in the arena for him to riptide from. he easily wields to heavy weapons at once without remembering where he got the strength. he never seems to bleed, but takes damage from well-aimed hits. his opponents have to face the souls of those sneeg has killed in another life if they want to strike his chest cavity or ribs. he's blind, but could one-shot you if you make one wrong move.

maybe he's just the monster on the edge of the city who emerges from the basalt when disturbed, functioning like a warden in-game because he's lost so much of his mind and consciousness. maybe he dives into the sculk he's created himself and appears in an ancient city in the overworld, darker and colder and quieter, and doesn't actually spend much time in hels at all. there's a lot i could do with a dark mirror of sneeg that has a very unknown amount of agency in his own body. how much awareness does he still have? because what does humanity mean if it includes more than your body?

as a prize for reading through my rambling here are some close ups

i end this post with a plea for you to read redstone and skulk!!!!!!!

[bunji-enthusiast]

Note // ideas…. Multiple. Motivation? None. But the fluff is there and it is rotting me. imagine if your the only other person that Serrat allows you to be in close vicinity with.

It was strange really, the only one Serrat genuinely listened to was The Slayer.

Yet here the augmented dragon was, cuddling up to you at your accidental behest. you were fairly confused, but almost tinged with half-hearted amusement. you almost felt honored in a way, to see that he was so willing to let you touch him as his master would. however, the real mystery that plagued you, is the why.

Why would Serrat so willingly be up close and personal with you? it was obvious that reprieve was left up to the man himself. You really only had come to the creature's den with the intent of repairing some of the machinery Serrat lugs around due to damages the dragon had incurred during the last siege upon the land. Obviously you had stayed way later past your intended session, but then you heard low growling emitting from Serrat's throat. So out of curiosity, you cautiously approached a few steps with one question.

"Is... something wrong?" you asked, your tone laced with concern--wondering if perhaps Serrat was injured somehow. You angle your head, trying to look for any possible wounds or cuts on his body. He merely growls, a lighter undercurrent evident. Serrat lowers his head, his one good eye flickering over to you, it was hard to see beneath the metallic mask he adorns; but it was noticeable. It pulses with red, an apparent trait.

And for a moment, you take the time to briefly admire Serrat. All the machinery, the metal gauntlets on his front legs, the scar that disabled his left eye. But he still stands strong, still so firm and ready to fight. Serrat was a lot like The Slayer in that way, you could see why they bond so well together. They were well prepared and ready to die for one another, ready to protect each other.

Admittedly, you envied them for such a thing. But it was an envy you wished not to serve, and instead locked it away. Instead you chose to admire it, and learn from it.

You carried your own issues, your own tears and grievances for yourself. But with Serrat, you could in a way, just be. Even if initially, you dared not to approach him without any sight of permission, or the quick scuttling from and to when you repaired the parts that became so engraved within the dragon's appearance.

You ran solo, on your own. You who bore the great knowledge of combining the care of machine and scaly flesh--and maintaining it as well. While your connection with the Slayer was grotesque and at most, gentle, you found solace in just merely being alone. Inwardly, you grew fond of his augmented companion. Even talking to the great creature without prepense or compensation from the other. There was thoughts and imagination, wondering just how much Serrat experienced and endured, even long before he met the man in green armor.

In the midst of your mind, a soft growl rips you from your transparent reminiscing, leaving you to be somewhat surprised as Serrat nudges your human body. A stark contrast between both beings, an easy reminder. Even now, something wrenches your heart, as if you could understand him. "I'm alright, but are you truly injured?" You twist the concern, and the dragon only settles for laying down, encircling his body upon your immediate area.

That action surprises you, leaving to yelp under the weight of mass flesh cuddling your own. Serrat runs hot, and temperamentally cold due to his metal armor. A median really, and it was nice.

You shake your head out of your train of thoughts, you were so confused. Why was he being so comfortable with you like this? For a moment it amused you, but now you were just plagued with confusion. "Why?" you ask, as if you almost expected Serrat to give you a verbal and concise answer. In return, you only heard a low groan, the sound rumbling your body. You almost shivered at the contact, sighing in mortal defeat.

Serrat couldn't speak, but many things could be said, particularly without the proprietary measures of vocalization. As for the dragon, and for some, it was a burden to bear. One they chose to discard.

You did not blame Serrat in that regard, or any of them.

Not even The Slayer.

However, it made you think at times. How much it was worth to forsake the novelty of vocal language. Perhaps it was really time for you to learn from Serrat, and that had begun right now.

Despite your own realization, you felt something hinder at the reaches of your awakeness. Tiredness ebbs at your eyelids, and without warning, it claims you to the chambers of sleep.

Serrat takes notice, a low—I nterceptible rumble wavering from his throat as he curls up around you closer, following you in sleep.

For the first time since then, you've actually slept well.

[rpgchoices]

Very short non spoiler review of Veilguard act 1

I played only to chapter 8, which should be still in act 1, but I am not going to add any spoilers. This is a very generic bulletpoint list of opinions.

GAMEPLAY

Intro is great, art is pretty good too, even the characters

combat is very fun, but I still preferred Inquisition combat

the world is extremely empty. There is one or two talking npc for each faction and that is. Secondary characters do not exist. Quests are all generic (ex. Random nameless character "hey, this person disappeared, can you find them?" with no extra story or explanation)

barely any animals or surprises in the world. The only exploration factor is looking at landscapes and doing some puzzles

there are only three type of puzzles: move object into place to activate door, destroy blight to free door to open, destroy crystal to free door to open. That is it.

choices that matters are identified by the game with a sign, and you will also have a sign that will let you know which dialogue was affected by what

loved the jumping around and the sliding down

you can pet any cat or dog

the world feels empty, empty of lore, empty of characters, empty of animals, quests, people

CHARACTERS

companions are the only characters in the whole game, plus a few associated characters to them

barely any banter and the only banter present is very superficial or more on the funny side

good thing is that if banter is interrupted by a combat it will continue later

my favorite part was seeing characters talk and interact in the lighthouse

do not expect cameo, and if there are cameo they are very short and very generic

companions are very good, very kind, very nice, with little consistency between their characterization and how they behave (ex. Neve is a detective, but she never asks anything or acts differently from other characters or even seem interested in what is going on)

companions seem almost flanderized, with mainly one character trait each

dialogue is sometimes extremely clunky, with "textbook answers" that seem written with AI instead of a writer. It is all "tell, do not show", so it is more likely that a character says "I am shaken" over actually showing how they feel

characters seem to act often like exposition machines, and knows things they definitely should not know

ROOK / PLAYER

amazing character creation options

I played as elf and it has little reactivity, maybe a bit less than Inquisition

the faction has more reactivity, and there are multiple dialogues with your companions about it, mainly little comments that make it feels like Rook has a backstory (much better than inquisition)

Rook facial expressions and movements are a bit strange sometimes, making it seems like he is always smiling and happy even when he should not be

the "purple" dialogue options are a bit meh, definitely not as funny as DA2, and I think "red" might fit more (in my attempt to try and make a more serious Rook)

you cannot really shape Rook's personality

also you cannot disagree with your companions, there is no dialogue choice to disagree or fight with them like in previous games. Most of the dialogue seems to be divided in a few categories: Exposition requests; Flirting; Supportive comment; Joking comment but still supportive.

STORY AND QUESTS

It does not feel like Dragon Age.

The game take theories and secret information from previous games and make it the standard world knowledge

there is no urgency

side quests are forgettable

story is very weirdly paced

each companion has a post-recruitment quest to know them

factions and world seems sanitized. We do not hear about the darker side of the Crows, or about Tevinter's slavery if not in passing

the story is okay but would have benefitted A LOT from hiding the villains and introducing them later. When I say a lot I mean from a 6/10 game to a 8/10 game.

also never thought I would say this, but I miss the Chantry. There is barely any mention of any lore

also only three choices matter - but do they? it felt like everything was a blank state

ROMANCES

By the end of act 1 you can still flirt with everyone.

A lot of flirting options for all characters and if you skip some of them you still get the next ones

I had no romance specific scene yet so it looks like you can flirt with everyone for quite a while before deciding

the flirting is all very PG13 and it is more allusions than actual overt flirting (I mainly flirted with Davrin and Emmrich)

for now I have seen no characters flirting with each other's

I think around chapter 7 and onwards the pacing gets much better, and the writing of the quests a bit more interesting. It honestly felt like a different game in some parts, and I have no idea what happened there. It feels like the game is:

Amazing prologue, probably the best DA prologue yet

First recruitment character and first mission - completely downhill with writing

Pretty slow and weird paced then until chapter 7-8

[literaryvein-reblogs]

do you have any tips for writing speculative biology?

Speculative biology—(also referred to as "speculative zoology", though it is by no means limited to animals) is a sub-genre of science fiction which combines speculative fiction (i.e., Science Fiction, Fantasy, Alternate History and everything in between) with creature design, and deals with evolution in the future, on other worlds, or in alternate timelines, the same way that many other sci-fi works discuss technology.

This is one of the most fun sub-genres to explore. Here are just a few writing tips.

Read/watch a lot of media that plays with this sub-genre, and learn from them. Examples:

A Memoir by Lady Trent - Marie Brennan describes a low fantasy world with largely the same culture and animals as real life, but also home to very diverse dragons. The dragons are given extensive analysis through the character of Lady Trent, a naturalist dedicated to studying their taxonomy, anatomy, behaviors and ecology.

Dreamwork's How to Train Your Dragon - sometimes dabbles in this, displaying different types of Dragons as different species with a couple overlapping traits, implying that they evolved from a common ancestor. This is most prominently shown in Book of Dragons which describes at least 6 major taxonomic families of Dragons that most dragons in the franchise belong to.

Doctor Who: "The Lazarus Experiment" - has Richard Lazarus being mutated into a fearsome giant centipede/scorpion-like monster after an experiment with an anti-ageing machine goes wrong. The Doctor describes the monster as a creature of evolutionary potential — something that evolution could have turned humanity into if it hadn't gone the "two arms and legs, ten fingers and toes" route — lying dormant within Lazarus' genes.

Research a lot. Here are just a few resources that may help you in writing this sub-genre, particularly with creature design:

Here's a really good article that discusses some evolutionary rules

A brief resource on Evolution Rules

This article called, "Rules of evolution"

A Wildlife Fact Sheet

After doing all the research, and the devouring, and the hoarding of all the resources you can get your hands on, hoping they'll bleed into your story once you start writing, because admit it, you are procrastinating by asking this question—here is the writing tip that pervades all genre: let go. "Good writing is often about letting go of fear and affectation. Affectation itself, beginning with the need to define some sorts of writing as ‘good’ and other sorts as ‘bad,’ is fearful behavior." —Stephen King

So let your soul colour the pages. Particularly with this genre, allow your imagination to run free. Be as creative as you can. Because "when you write, you want to get rid of the world, don’t you? Of course you do. When you’re writing, you’re creating your own worlds." —Stephen King

Sources: 1 2

Hope this helps. Please tag me, or send me a link if it does. I would love to read your work!

More: Fantasy ⚜ Writing Notes & References

[friendship-got-faster]

Decided the ponies of the AU need some alternative names better fit for the world of Equestria!

(and so they they can bs properly identified separately from the original sonic cast)

Here's a master list of all the names for everypony:

• Ponies

– Sonic Boom (Sonic)

– Twisty Tails (Tails)

– Ace Rose ("Ace") (Amy)

– Creme brulee ("Creme") (Cream)

– Bulky Catch ("Bulk") (Big)

– Mareroon ("Roon") (Rouge) batpony

– Shadow Sparks (Shadow)

– Silver stardust (Silver)

• Other Creatures

– Buckles ("Bucks") (Knuckles) Zebra

– Tenochtitlan ("Teno") (Tikal) Zebra

– Blazing Aster (Blaze) Kirin

– Mareef (Marine) Hippogriff

– Espionage (Espio) Dragon

– Scorcher (Vector) Dragon

– Hamuli (Charmy) Changeling

• Machines

– Timber Omega (T-123 Omega) (Omega)

– Metal Boom (Metal Sonic)

(this list will be updated if I think of any additional characters I'd like to include )

╰┈➤ Tags––––––––––

Some character are still referred to by there original name, so for tags I'll be using

The original name of that Character (e.g. Amy)

The original, fullname (e.g. Amy Rose)

The AU name (e.g. Ace Rose)

→ Explaining the nameing ––––––––––

• Ace Rose ––––––––––

→ Card pun

• Creme Brulee ––––––––––

→ Creme Brulee is a type of dessert which primarily uses cream!

• Bulky Catch ––––––––––

→ a play on his size but a hint to his love of fishing! (and because he quite the catch himself, we love big in these parts)

• Mareroon ––––––––––

→ since "Rouge" is a color, I decided to pick another color as the alternative name. Maroon not only works for the pun, but is also a color associated with bl*od, which felt appropriate for a bat pony

• Shadow Sparks ––––––––––

→ he's a dark figure, illuminated only by the sparks of his own magic

• Buckles ––––––––––

→ Horses (or Zebras in this case) don't have hands, so they don't have Knuckles, so they can't punch. Horses do however, have hooves, and can kick, this Buckles, Bucks!

• Tenochtitlan ––––––––––

→ Tikal is named after a temple, so I figured her AU name should be named after a temple in Equestria, and I landed on the Tenochtitlan temple, not much is actually known for this temple in universe, so writing will be required.

• Blazing Aster ––––––––––

→ the Kirin have plant/nature related names. Aster is a kind of purple flower so I figured it fit best!

• Mareef ––––––––––

→ "Marine" is in reference to general Ocean life, which is very prominent in Coral Reefs.

• Espionage ––––––––––

→ Dragons usually have short names that list off a specific trait, Espio is short of espionage which refers to spying

• Scorcher ––––––––––

→ A hint at his fire breath (or fire tunes if you'd like)

• Hamuli ––––––––––

→ the changelings tend to have names that reference bug anatomy or topics, "Hamuli" are a structure found on honeybee wings.

• Timber Omega ––––––––––

→ Omega is a term used for wolf rankings in some cases, so perhaps it's used for Timberwolves as well! Omegas design will reflect that aspect as well as what powers him

[wings-of-fire-confessions]

Feeling bold today, so I shall be unanonymous with this one

I feel like Clay could be interesting. We wouldn't know this as after the first book, we don't see his pov but...

Imagine all of your life. You're told that you're a monster. Someone destined to kill as that's you supposedly did when you were born and your guardians hit and scream at you both to vent stress and under the belief that you'll become the killing machine they thought you were meant to be, you eventually assume that eventually you'll become this killing machine, Afterall that's how you were when you first came out of the egg, but after time and time again you find that the monster in you never comes out, even in times you believe it will, after a while you realize that you never were a monster, kindness was in your heart the moment you've hatched, you can rest easy now! Or can you?

That brings me to my main point. It could be possible that Clay suffers from survivors guilt. He doesn't want to kill Fjord, but he dies anyway, and in the hidden kingdom, you can see him wincing when Glory mimics Fjord's color pallet. He finds out Asha died trying to bring his egg to the talons of peace, Crane despite having no way of preventing it was killed recently, and while he saves Starflight, Starflight is still badly injured in the process. Clay's personality traits after his pov are probably because in these fleeting moments of peace, he feels relieved, for a little while, he doesn't have to think about innocent dragons dying, despite this death and destruction still manage to come charging in to his life and finds himself failing everytime, afterall what's the point of not being a monster when he still can't protect the dragons in the war or even the dragons close to him and I think those thoughts culminate to what he did in the brightest night

After seeing all these dragons get hurt because of what he believes to be him, he sees what might be Starflight, Sunny and/or Fatespeaker about to be killed by the dragon bite viper, and he saves them sacrificing himself, he knows he's going to die but it's okay because he was able to save his family after all these thoughts of failing to save other dragons he was finally able to save someone, even if it meant he died in the process....

But hey, this is just a theory, a wof theory!

.

[lavendercharm]

Arrhythmia, Chapter 1

Jo jerked, her eyes blinking and her mind clouded with the momentary confusion of a rude awakening. Allowing her eyes and brain to adjust to the darkness of her bedroom, she huffed a sigh at the realization of what had awoken her. Her phone sat buzzing on her bedside table, persistently rattling against the table top.

She rubbed the sleep from her eyes with one hand, reaching over to grasp the shaking object with the other. She blinked a few times, fighting to register the caller ID displayed on her phone. “What the fuck?” she mumbled, irritated at having her evening depression nap so unceremoniously interrupted. It was unusual for Mateo to call her at all, let alone around when he’d be getting off of work. She tapped the green icon and immediately hit the speaker button, holding the phone away from her face.

“Hello?” she said, her voice raspy with sleep.

“Did I wake you up, Josie?” a teasing voice responded.

“What gave it away, Mattie?” Jo retorted, the childhood nicknames normally used to annoy one another causing a smile to creep onto her lips in spite of herself. Mateo Diaz and Josephine Bishop had grown up together, a shared childhood full of games, laughter, scraped knees, and only the occasional argument. Their friendship had been forged in the fire of the elementary school playground, when Mateo had stood up to another boy who was making fun of Jo for her wild curly hair, a trait they both had in common.

From then on, the two had been fast friends. They’d learned to skate board together, played out imaginary scenarios of fighting dragons with stick-swords and saving princesses (the part of which Mateo would always play, as Jo flat out refused to play a damsel in distress), and shared many sleepovers. She had even lived with Mateo and his family for a while in high school, their home serving as a safe haven from a home life turned bad.

They’d graduated high school together, shared a few years at community college, and decided to enter a nursing program together. However, Jo’s true passion eventually won out, and she dropped out of nursing school to pursue her true lifelong passion. Mateo remained a constant in Jo’s life, and they’d spend time together on occasion still, when Mateo’s busy work schedule allowed.

Still, calls were unusual, the two typically preferring to text. “Why the call out of the blue? Just missing the sound of my voice?” Jo rasped.

Mateo huffed out a laugh at her, and Jo could picture the radiant grin on her friend’s face. As her annoyance began to melt away and her body became accustomed to her being awake, Jo sat up in bed, running a hand through her wild hair. “How you doing?”

“Oh, I’m lovely,” Jo replied, sarcasm dripping from her voice. “Nothing like a looming eviction to brighten up your day.”

“Well, sorry to make your day worse then, but I have an idea that might keep a roof over your head,” Mateo replied, his voice laced with humor and a touch of concern.

“For the eightieth time, I am not starting an OnlyFans- not that I have anything against sex work-“

“Chill! That’s not what I was gonna say,” Mateo cuts her off. Jo huffs in response as she throws her legs over the side of the bed and wanders out of her bedroom. She plants herself at the kitchen counter, leaning against the cold marble and crossing her arms.

Her eyes trace the long fern leaves curving along her left forearm, the thick shaded ink settled in, a part of her that felt like it had always been there. Her fingers twitched, aching for the thrum of her tattoo machine, the feel of latex on her hands, the smell of disinfectant. After a few more moments of silence, Matteo says, “Can I say what I was gonna say?”

With a huff, Jo mutters, “Let’s hear it then.”

“My coworker Cassie, the one I babysit for? Her son Harrison is a really cool kid. He’s staying with her now, and she needs someone who can be a little more full time than me, and well… I may have mentioned you to her.”

Jo frowned, her eyebrows drawn together. “Mateo, I… thank you, but I seriously doubt she can afford to pay me enough to keep me from getting evicted,” Jo says. “Besides, she hasn’t even met me. I’m not the best with kids…” she trails off.

“Harrison is easy!” Mateo replies. “He’s super chill. And Cass can’t pay you enough for rent, that’s true, but I happen to know they have a spare room.”

“No,” Jo returns immediately. “Listen, I love you Mateo, but no way am I moving in with a total stranger and her kid.”

“No offense Jo, but it doesn’t seem like you have many other options,” Mateo points out. At her irritated growl, he continued, “I can vouch! Cassie’s really cool. She’s in a bind, and you’re about to be on the street. I think this could be a good solution for everyone.”

“I don’t know the first thing about taking care of a kid!” Jo exclaims, her hands flying into the air. “It’s scary! What if he has an allergic reaction and I can’t find his epi pen, or what if he gets in a weird guy’s van when my back is turned? What if he’s mean? Oh my god, what if he’s mean? Kids are vicious nowadays!”

“Dude, calm down,” Mateo says, and Jo can tell he’s fighting not to laugh at her because it will only make her more worked up. “He’s like eleven, he can pretty much handle himself. He’s just not old enough to be alone yet.” Jo doesn’t respond, the silence sitting heavy between them.

“Look, Cassie just needs a little help, that’s all. And you need some help too.” Jo’s brain turning over in her mind. Mateo says, “Josie, do you trust me?”

“Of course,” she says without hesitation, an edge still present in her voice. “I just… God, I can’t think of a good reason to say no, but it’s a big thing to wrap my head around, okay? It feels like a lot of responsibility.” Jo can feel the vulnerability beginning to creep up, and she fights to keep it down. “Besides, does she know I’m about to be evicted? Does she even know what my job was before this? I can’t see a single mother being thrilled about leaving her kid with a washed up, unemployed tattoo artist who’s about to lose her apartment.”

Jo had spent a few years as an artist in a shop downtown. Her apprenticeship was hell, her mentor having been an old school guy who believed in putting his apprentices through the wringer. Still, Jo fought and worked her ass off. She’d lost count of the sleepless nights, and she was sure she could have saved up to buy a car that wasn’t a total piece of crap with all the money she’d spent on her supplies, booth rental, and Redbulls to get her through late nights creating designs. Still, her passion burned like a fire, and she refused to give up.

How she’d ended up here, on the verge of being evicted and no hope in sight… she sighed, running a hand over her face. She didn’t want to think about what had already happened. She couldn’t change that.

“You’re right. She’d much prefer an employed tattoo artist,” Mateo says, the shit eating grin practically audible through the phone.

“You know what I mean, you ass,” Jo deadpans.

“I may have glossed over a few details,” Mateo admits. He rushes to continue before Jo can refuse him once more. “But I didn’t need to because I know once she meets you, she’ll love you! Cassie trusts me too, she knows I wouldn’t recommend someone crazy or dangerous.”

Jo is silent. She knows she’s going to give in, it’s inevitable. She’s tied down on the tracks and the train is coming at her. This is a lifeline she’s being offered, her savior coming to free her in the nick of time. Still, it’s a lot for her to process and her reservations are persistent, flashing like big neon signs in her mind.

Finally, she speaks. “Okay,” she says reluctantly.

“Okay?” Mateo asks.

“Yeah, okay. I’ll at least meet with her. Just… I’m trying not to get my hopes up too much. I’m not exactly the poster child for a live in babysitter, and I have no experience with kids. But at this point, what do I have to lose, right?” Jo mutters.

“Sweet!” Mateo says excitedly. “I’ll let Cassie know! I’ll give her your number so you guys can figure it out, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Jo says, already dreading receiving the text message from the unknown number.

“I really think this will be good, Jo. For both of you,” he says. He’s encouraging, caring, and for a moment, Jo aches. She wishes she wasn’t standing alone in her dark kitchen. Perhaps living with someone else wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.

“Thank you, Mattie,” Jo says softly. “Thank you for looking out for me.”

“Always,” he says immediately. “I’ve got your back always. I gotta go, but I love you Jo. Things will get better. Just hang in there, yeah?”

“Yeah,” she says. “Love you too.” The familiar tone of the phone call ending leaves Jo feeling a bit empty inside. Yes, living with someone else would probably be good, she thinks.

In the dimness of her kitchen, illuminated only by the light of the moon flooding through the windows, Jo’s eyes are drawn to the eviction notice she’d ripped off of her door and slapped on the counter last night. There was no denying that regardless of what happened, she would be losing her home again. As if she hadn’t lost enough already.

A moment longer, and Jo reaches over, ripping the piece of paper to shreds and balling them up in her fists. She tosses the scraps into her garbage and turns to go back to her room, her warm bed calling to her. All she could do now was wait for this Cassie to reach out to her. In the meantime, she would avoid being conscious at all costs. The less she had to face reality, the better.

[flamebringer0]

About Hybrid Dragons

Whiteout is visibly a Nightwing-Icewing hybrid, whereas her brother is almost indistinguishable from a full-blooded Nightwing. Sunny is somewhere in the middle: dragons readily identify her as an unusual-looking Sandwing, but they can't put their claw on the reason. What they all have in common is that they resemble their mother's tribe more than their father's. Why? The wiki says:

Hybrids get their dominant genes (the genes which make a hybrid look more like a specific tribe) from their mother.[35]

This is cited to page 115 of Darkstalker. I only have an ebook copy of Darkstalker, which doesn't have page numbers, so I'm unable to figure out exactly what line this refers to. What I can do is a full text search, and the words "dominant" and "gene" don't actually appear anywhere in that book. So I don't know what that's about.

Regardless of whether this is something that was actually in the books, or something that was said at a fan event, or just something someone inserted into the wiki for their own reasons, it doesn't really make sense. Let's assume that "dominant genes" are something that really exists in the setting and are roughly the same thing as dominant genes in real life. I feel like it often goes unspoken, but this is really an assumption! It's a fantasy setting, so genes don't have to behave like real life genes. Actually I would say genes don't have to exist at all, except that the word "genetic" does appear in Moon Rising (in reference to inheritance of animus). But the wiki appears to assert that the setting does have dominant genes, so let's run with that assumption.

So, why doesn't it make sense? Some genetics background: animals, along with plants, fungi, and some less familiar organisms, are what's called "diploid". This means that, for most genes, most individuals have two copies. One copy comes from one parent, and the other comes from the other parent. Sometimes these two copies of the gene are completely identical, or at least they encode identical traits. But sometimes they aren't, and an individual will have two copies of a gene that each encode conflicting traits. What happens then? There are several possibilities, but one pattern is that one of the two forms of the gene simply overrides the other. The organism will develop as if it had two identical copies of the gene. In that case, we call the form of the gene that overrides the other "dominant", and the form that gets overridden "recessive".

The issue is, a gene being dominant or recessive is an intrinsic property of the gene, not something that depends on which parent it comes from. So while it's true that a dragon's appearance would be more influenced by dominant genes than recessive genes, this doesn't explain at all why hybrids look more like their mothers than their fathers. But I do think there's a real-world biological phenomenon that could explain what's going on here.

The way genes actually influence an organism is by encoding proteins, which are basically molecular-scale machines that each carry out a specific task. Slightly different versions of a gene produce slightly different proteins, and those slightly different proteins function slightly differently, and that results in organisms with different traits. But aside from changing the form of a protein, another way to affect this process is by changing the amount of a protein. And it's possible to change the amount of a protein the body makes without changing the genes at all: additional molecules attached to the DNA can cause a particular gene's protein to be built more or less frequently, which we call upregulation and downregulation.

So here's what I think: when a dragon egg is fertilised, genes from the mother are upregulated, and genes from the father are downregulated. Therefore, when the form of a gene inherited from the mother and the form inherited from the father are different, the maternal form of the protein predominates, and the dragonet tends to resemble the mother more than the father.

If this is correct, it has a weird upshot: Whiteout's dragonets probably looked more like Icewings than Whiteout herself did. Whiteout's genes are 50% Nightwing and 50% Icewing, but the Icewing part comes from her father, and so it's downregulated and she mostly looks like a Nightwing. Her dragonets would be genetically 75% Nightwing and 25% Icewing*, but the Icewing part comes from their mother, so it would be upregulated and therefore more expressed in them than in her.

This would generalise: if Sunny ever has dragonets, they'll probably look more like Nightwings than she does (even if the father is a Sandwing). But the same doesn't apply to male hybrids: Darkstalker's hypothetical dragonets would have been a quarter Icewing just like Whiteout's, but the Icewing genes would have been downregulated and so they would have just looked like Nightwings.

I think this phenomenon is surprising, and therefore cool, and so I've decided the whole thing is true. It's probably not great for Whiteout's dragonets though, since it would mean they had to live in a tribe that hated Icewings while looking more like Icewings than anyone else. That might be an interesting premise for a fanfic though.

*I'm assuming Thoughtful is the father.

[elvendoodles]

LEGO Elves Character Tier List

Back at it again, this time with another tier list! This time I've created a character tier list for you to rank your favorite characters, least favorite characters, and those who are just kinda alright. What do you rank the characters as? Reblog this post so I can see how y'all rank the characters!

LEGO Elves Character Ranking

If you'd like to see why I ranked the characters the way I did, explanations are below the cut.

The way I ranked the characters considers 3 things: Story, characterization, and personal enjoyment.

S-Tier: I'm clearly biased, but Ragana and Cronan are incredibly fun villains in their respective story arcs! Ragana is clearly the favorite child of the producers since we saw her pop up in subsequent seasons, and she was fun each time we saw her. She was a decent first villain for the squad to face, and the format of the webisodes allowed us to see her be more goofy and genuine with Dusti and Jynx while in private.

Cronan's story is by far the most impactful, taking advantage of the darker tones the series was pushing towards. While still a fun villain in the webisodes, I enjoy SoE Cronan more for how the series better matched his character with the weight of the story, making him act like an unapologetic villain for most of the runtime.

A-Tier: Azari was one of the first elves we meet when entering Elvendale. Her energy is delightful to see, and juxtaposed with her selectiveness about where to direct that energy, Azari is an entertaining character to see on screen.

Farran suffers from the "token boy" treatment throughout the series, but still manages to have a contrasting character from the girls, being the sensible homebody type. He's almost the mom friend. If only he wasn't relegated to comedic relief all the time.

Aira is like Azari in her energy, but puts her all into everything all the time. She's a brilliant engineer without falling into the stereotypical "nerd" or "smart kid" elements that are tempting to tack onto her character role.

Cory may be a surprise to most, but in her short time on screen she made a big impact on me. She almost reminds me of a cynical veteran who can't quite move on from the old days, but that's getting into speculation. Her dynamic with Naida in their dedicated episode was the most memorable of the elf/guardian interactions.

B-Tier: These are the characters I feel like would have been in higher tiers had they been given just a little bit more.

Emily and Naida can be described as kind and caring, but there's little else to go off of from canon information. We get a touch more from the two chapter books, but again, not much. Emily suffers from this more than Naida does since we learn almost nothing else about her from introduction to finale.

Skyra my beloved, how I love a cranky lady with a soft spot... For the screen time she has, Skyra leaves a bold impression as a stern and powerful woman. But we don't have enough time with her to get much information about other facets of her character, like how she cares for her family, her intelligence, or the small similarities she has with Emily that are only mentioned in a website BIO.

Tidus and Rosalyn are the supporting cast in their respective seasons. Tidus is a gifted dragon trainer who can literally speak to dragons. Rosalyn is a swift huntress and potion master keeping her forest alive by a thread from the shadows. I want a little more from them, be it conflict, inter-character dynamic, or even just extra traits that compliment what we have now.

C-Tier: These are characters I believe had strong ideas behind them, but those ideas were never realized.

Sira introduced an interesting idea about elves not clicking with their given magic, loosely tying into Ragana's story of not being great with her own magic. She's like a mix of Aira and Azari with her interest in machines and blasé attitude.

Sophie is just the annoying little sibling archetype, but I appreciate the angle of her bringing out a new side to Emily (and forcing the writers to let us know a little more about Emily's life away from Elvendale).

Quartzine. The inciting incident. While her lust for power and karmic destruction for it is interesting, her (lack of) connection to characters aside from Cronan makes her more of a plot device than a character...

Noctura is the big finale bad of the series. The root of all evil in Elvendale. But we never know why or how she got banished to begin with. She and Lumia were friends after all. I love her as a villain idea, but the brevity of the final season didn't do anyone any favors.

Liska and Cyclo are decent foils to their respective elves. Liska doesn't pay any mind to trouble while Farran is uptight trying to find solutions. Cyclo is a quiet thinker while Aira is a noisy do-er. The latter managed to wrap up the duo's bonding in a nice meet-in-the-middle solution, but the former has sparked controversy in the fandom for the annihilation of Farran's character. In the end, the elves had to meet the guardians where they were at, the guardians had zero learning curves of their own.

D-Tier: Go girl, give us nothing! While I don't dislike these characters, they're pretty much blank slates as far as canon information is concerned.

Johnny is well-loved in the fandom just for being a sweetie pie. Granted, that's all anyone has to go off of. He gets multiple appearances throughout the show, but these appearances are only gags or goofs instead of character time.

Lumia has more character in her single paragraph website BIO than in the show proper, and even then only a single sentence gives us any information about how she is as a character. It's clear she's an important figure who works in the background to keep Elvendale in balance, she was essential in actually defeating Noctura, and she may or may not have history with the five sisters?

Rowan gives us a whole lot of nothing. There is vague reference to the first Narnia book/movie in his dynamic with Noctura, but we get no insight into his character or how he and Azari interact with each other whatsoever.

[mjrtaurus]

Let’s assume that the Monkey D clan was founded on and well established in Zou in the 200 years before the Void Century. There were a lot of different simian (monkeys and apes both) species represented in the Monkey D clan, and if the genetics is anything as wild as the Fish-men’s are, the current Monkey D men could have their few mink traits come from different simian species.

Again, we’re basing this off of Fish-men genetics, so this is a scientific garbage fire.

Garp is a Gorilla Mink. He’s big. He’s burly. He’s top heavy. He’s fuzzy. He’s a roughhousing machine. Tough guy posturing will get you thrown into the next Blue because them’s fightn’ words.

Dragon is a Mandrill Mink. Teeth. Big fucking teeth. Sharp, too. He has the patience of a monk, but if you somehow manage to piss him off (why would you do that), he’ll show them to you.

Luffy is a Spider Monkey Mink. Kid was climbing about the same time he started walking. Has sharper than average canines and will bare them if given good reason to. Obnoxiously loud, especially with friends around.

[snuggles-and-struggles]

I have probably half a dozen or more ideas around one or both halves of spicyhoney being a "gaster blaster dragon" shapeshifter beast thing, but the most recent addition to the pile is rattling around again so

In this specific version, they're more akin to werewolves in their alternate form than full quadruped "dragons" (or what have you), so still mostly biped, no wings, just bigger and pointier with the Signature elongated skulls with horns and the double jointed legs. And tails of course, I would never miss an opportunity to add tails.

Anyways. After meeting via typical machine shenanigans before surfacing, none of them are certain the others can shapeshift and sort of try to hide it while simultaneously finding out? But of course, eventually, they soon learn the truth, and are more comfortable discussing the odd trait amongst each other.

Except Edge. For whatever reason, he excludes himself from anything related to shifting, and hasn't done so in front of any of the others. To each their own, whatever, eventually, one by one, they're freed to a shared surface, and things are looking up.

Except for Edge. At least for the most part. Ever since surfacing, he’s seemed to have gradually increasing problems with his temper and magic control. This could be chalked up to how stressful his job is, or the same reasons other monsters had noticed changes in their magic control (just natural adjusting to no longer being underground). But Rus suspects it's more than that.

He enlists Stretch's help to figure out what's wrong with Edge, and primarily only manage to stress and upset him further. So Stretch takes one rare opportunity to talk to Edge alone, and with a lot of patience, ultimately learns that Edge's shifting ability doesn't work like everyone else's. It's almost like some sort of alter ego takes over, and he almost never remembers what he did while shifted.

It started when he was a young teen, and got worse over the years, especially as he gained LV. It really is almost like a stereotypical werewolf situation for him, as he, apparently, behaves very animalistic and aggressive. He used to be able to shift with his brother's supervision just to burn off the excess magic but it's become a bigger problem since surfacing, likely due to the improved quality of health and living.

Stretch listens, and then they talk, and ultimately, he offers to help Edge burn off some of the energy now and then. Edge is averse to the idea for the same reason he doesn't want his brother around anymore, fear of hurting him, but Stretch insists his reflexes are plenty good, and he has full conscious control in his shifted form, so he'd be more than equipped.

They back and forth a bit more, until Edge agrees to think about it, which leads to accepting some time a few days later. He can't keep letting this hamper him. Stretch is also hopeful that exercising his alt form more frequently might help him redeveloped his self awareness as he couldn't shift all that frequently back underground, which Stretch believes to be the bulk of the problem.

The story then goes on to follow Stretch figuring out the best ways to help Edge (starting with supervised romps through mostly empty woods), and Edge slowly slowly slowly regaining his consciousness even while shifted, and of course growing closer as friends as well. And then they kiss <3

/j but also /srs, although of course there's drama that comes up here and there, probably involving either Edge accidentally hurting Stretch, or someone else hurting Stretch and Stretch having to stop Edge from tearing them limb from limb lol, idk. But they're cute! After they're closer Stretch sometimes calls Edge puppydog and he fucking hates it (<- lie)

[dovaeh]

FILL IN THE BELOW CATEGORIES WITH  3 - 5  THINGS THAT YOUR CHARACTER CAN BE IDENTIFIED BY.

traits:

1. passionate. for a cause, a person, an ideal - she puts the entirety of her heart into everything she does. 2. impulsive. she works off the heart and not the brain, which gets her into sticky situations with those who might've required more strategy. 3. kind. it's a constant conscious choice to be nice, soft, gentle - generous with her time and energy and anything else she can possibly give. she just wants everyone to be happy and well. 4. intense. too much everything. too much anger, love, hunger, presence. she fills the room til it's bloated and ready to burst, she holds onto people too hard because she's afraid they'll disappear if she loosens her grip, if she falters in any way.

colours:

1. sky blue. 2. raspberry pink. 3. pale gold. 4. ruby red.

scents:

1. fresh pine wood. 2. sweet, heady smoke. 3. honeyed mead. 4. dragon's tongue.

clothing:

1. steel, shining armor. catches the light in flashes of silver, draped with soft fabrics to keep her warm. 2. unnecessarily long tunics tucked into leather pants, leather straps that wrap around her torso to keep the shield on her back. 3. bustier corsets over flowing dresses of thick fabric, furs on her shoulders, decorated in silver. 4. a leather cuirass over an old, ratty blouse that's frayed at the ends.

objects:

1. a unique amulet of thin silver with a small aquamarine stone lain in the middle, edges smoothed over by her worrying fingers. 2. a lightly singed book of the dragonborn, the blood stains hard to catch against the black of the leather. 3. a heavy, pale blue scarf the length of her body, embroidered with small, cream colored flowers. 4. a worn leather journal filled with scribbles of black ink, a bent feather bound tightly to it.

vices + bad habits.

1. bottling her emotions until she bursts. 2. training until her hands bleed, and sometimes beyond. 3. rubbing and scrubbing and scratching her skin raw when she bathes after a bloody battle. 4. eases pain with mead rather than healing potions.

body language:

1. rubbing her brow or temples in exasperation / exhaustion, rubbing her fingers over her lips, rubbing her hands together. 2. biting her lip and twisting her mouth to suppress a smile. 3. blushing easily, hot pink filling fair and freckled cheeks, bleeding down her neck. 4. shifting her weight incessantly, bouncing on her toes, always fidgeting, never still.

aesthetics:

1. a wide open plain of tall, orange grass. in the center a dragon is curled up like a cat, sleeping. 2. black smoke filling a village in ruins, the smell of burnt meat in the air, fire licking up stone. 3. a roaring hearth in an empty hall, a long, full table surrounding the flame. it's hot and the air is heavy, but it holds you like a hug. 4. hands; fidgety and unsure, gripping a sword, braiding hair, shining a shield, curled through someone else's hair. hands; shaking and bloody, held up to blot out the sun, palm pressed to the forehead of a dragon's fleshless skull, white-knuckle grip curled protectively around a lifeless body. hands; callused and steady, stroking someone else's cheek, holding a hand, making a meal, patting dirt down around a seed.

songs:

1. daffodil - florence and the machine. 2. caesar on a tv screen - the last dinner party 3. creature - half alive.

tagged by: stole it. tagging: @newb0rn & @atheeos ( whomstever<33 ), @ulfhrafnx, @strnza, @unhirsch ( frost or frieda ), @fenanera, @sunsweets, @odahraan, @crosaidi, @lyr1umgh0st, @wiedzlak, @halsins.