dragons dragons dragons

[bloodand]

SHAPESHIFTER DRAGON AU MEME

I was going to write a bunch of prompts for this but you know what? Fuck it. You all know why you're here. Just remember to content warn your smut, my fellow sinners.

TLDR Dragons can shapeshift, have been hiding among humanity, some of them for a very long time. Culturally there tends to be a split between the ones that stay in one place and build a power base versus the ones that are more nomadic and wander from place to place. Also hoarding instincts are weird and sometimes latch onto things that are very definitely not Typical Hoards.

Have fun.

Comments

Xander | Fire Emblem | OTA

[kingshaming]

[Xander is definitely the more sedimentary type, still under the thumb of his father and basically his kneebreaker. Their family is known for cruelty and dark arts and manipulating and abusing humans... but honestly all the younger members are mostly kept down out of fear. In fact, Xander should be more powerful and on his own by now, but Garon has been purposely keeping his children weaker so he can manipulate them. Because of this Xander rarely in his full draconic form.

Most likely other characters might run into him when he's doing Garon's bidding, or at any meetings or gatherings Garon can't be bothered to deal with himself]

[founderinglight]

[The worst thing about coming through this territory is the obligatory stop to make nice with the well-established local family. The Nohrians have dug themselves in over the centuries, a sharp contrast to the mostly mobile older generations of Lucis Caelum.

Also in sharp contrast, Garon is paranoid enough that it's impossible to pass through his territory without being noticed. And so a luxurious RV trundles up, a Vespa scooter in navy blue on a trailer hooked to the back, parking among all the various luxury cars and looking distinctly out of place.

Better to make himself known, play the obligatory politics with a smile, and then get out of dodge again as soon as possible. So the driver hops out after a moment with a casual air, straightening his scarf and glancing around for which member of the Nohrian clan has gotten assigned to greet him this time.]

[kingshaming]

[It doesn't take long, cuz like hell they were going to leave him waiting long. Xander approaches from the building, dressed in pressed blacks and clicking heavy boots. He's young, but everyone is young in comparison- but at least it's not insultingly so.

When he reaches their guest he bows slightly]

Good evening, Sir. I am Xander, Garon's eldest son.

[His stance is tense and, honestly, for one that knew how to look for it, terrified. Pressed down so hard that fear has turned into a foul diamond.]

[cluelesscavewoman]

[For what reason would he run into a seemingly inept young dragon? Probably cause someone important thinks she makes a good messenger. And she's stood there, all puffed up at the gateway holding onto the letter and not giving it to the servants.

She has strict orders to give it to someone in charge. And what better servant that one that wouldn't even think of going against orders?]

[kingshaming]

[One of the servants came to him in a flustered state- all upset by this stubborn girl. So she gets Xander himself approaching]

You. You have a message?

[press_start]

[It is evident, when the door is answered or the butler brings the note up or whatever, that this particular caller is not truly a dragon. Her magic lacks that strength- some kind of spirit, possibly, or in the worst-case something artificial and not entirely there. The girl herself is small, and dressed for a work engagement.]

Prince Xander? I’m a representative from the Future Foundation. Are you currently engaged?

[Election by merit? In MY dragon-managed state a few territories over? It's more likely than you think.]

[train goes by] Lucis Caelum

[founderinglight]

[Do you want dragon hobos because Lucis Caelums have got your dragon hobo right here. This is younger twin edition, who looks significantly less like he dressed out of a Goodwill bin and more like a goth on vacation, complete with living out of one of those obscenely impressive rich people RVs.

Also he's like, fucking old as shit and ginormous in his natural form. Big skinny and serpentine, that's Izunia.]

[le_mat]

[When a Lucis Caelum is in the area, rumor gets around quickly to those that know where to listen. The smart thing was to not get involved, especially is you were young and small.

Both things Akira was. But the moment he heard all he could feel was a Thrill. Some of them had hoards of riches. Some had places or people. Akira's drives where more... ethereal. The items didn't matter.

What mattered was they Weren't His. And the more Risky the Better. Taking from powerful humans was getting too easy, so over the last year he had moved up to other dragons. And no one knew what the ancient twins even had... even getting a glimpse was worth the risk. Which is why he was currently crouching on the roof of the RV, eyes gleaming catlike in the dark. He was careful in his movements, moving inch by inch so carefully and slowly he was practically silent. He could shift, but he didn't want to risk anyone sensing him, so he was still in his human form.

All he had to do was get at a window...]

[photoshooter]

[Mornin', Dragrandpa. Or probably closer to noon, knowing the line of Lucis. A fluffy little macaroni noodle flutters up to perch moodily on Izunia's horn, curling his tail around the girth of it for additional balance and sighing.]

Hey, Zuzu.

Lea | KH:3D's | OTA

[somebodyperfect]

[Either a relatively open-to-dragons human or a dragon himself. Either way, Lea's friendly enough now that he's no longer under someone else's thumb; either dragonslayers or an older group of dragons. Either way, he's got a new lease on life.

If human, Lea is a former dragonslayer now turned to a life studying and aiding the creatures he once killed. If dragon, he's a young adult, just big enough to ride while not being immense, recently escaped from the service of older, larger, and generally meaner dragons. Either way, he's a nice enough guy!]

[cluelesscavewoman]

[There were smart dragons, and then there where dragons that pull a window frame out and end up wearing it trying to steal food off the counter on the other side.

Futayo was the latter. But she wasn't going to let that get her down, she had food! Even if she nearly fell a few times because the frame had fallen to her waist and kept bumping into things. Mainly the bins in this dark alleyway.

...She could just slide it back over her head or turn into a human. And not be a walking risk to the whole 'hiding from humanity' thing.]

Futayo Honda | Horizon on the Middle of Nowhere | OTA

[cluelesscavewoman]

[A young and curious nomadic dragon. She used to be rooted down and living with her father, until that home was destroyed, then she became a wanderer. A strange one. With just a too-big backpack an old spear. The weapon did a good enough job of keeping trouble away and she bounces before any form of authorities come.

As far as dragons go, she's definitely more land based. Looking more like a velociraptor than a dragon, with batlike wings that can only just hold her weight. So it's probably not surprising that she runs everywhere.]

Aya Shameimaru | Touhou Project | OTA

[bulletnews]

[Aya drifts around in spurts but always seems to be pretty well-off. Her hoard and what she considers her best work, is an investment - a collection of damning personal details about humans and other dragons alike, though the latter are even more closely guarded than the former - she understands better than anyone that words can ruin lives, which isn't to say that she isn't capable of great force, if she ever needs it.

Needless to say, she's a dragon. An old one at that.]

"Anguished One" | Devil Survivor 2 | OTA

[eightofseven]

[Speaking of old dragons, describing Al Saiduq the Anguished as just "old" is like describing the ocean as "wet" - not nearly sufficient to really grasp the depth of it. A self-described sage and philosopher with the wisdom to back it up, his attitude towards humanity in general has been "hands-off" since their beginning, even if individual humans largely don't stand out.

Much of his time now is spent reflecting on the roles of dragons and humans in this world now that things have changed so dramatically.]

Jetshard | Homestuck (OC) | OTA

[dubiouslychthonic]

[Jetshard's from a family noted for their healing magics; the last time the family held a permanent territory was centuries ago and continents away, as posing as semi-benevolent chthonic gods kind of stopped being a viable lifestyle. Jetshard herself was born into the more nomadic lifestyle, and has been utterly fascinated with human medical advancement over her lifetime. She started posing as a human doctor some time around the turn of the 20th century, and has been bouncing from city to city every few decades ever since.

She'd probably laugh if you suggested that she's anything like "settled," but she's been living and working in this city for long enough to be a known quantity and she figures she's got another decade or two before the humans she works with and treats start getting suspicious at how long she's been vaguely early middle aged. She tries to stay out of faction conflicts among her own kind, and in addition to working at a local hospital, she's been known to treat other dragons out of her own home, for injuries or ailments that would be awkward to take into a human doctor's office full of humans.

In her dragon form, she's of modest size and distinctly insectoid. In human form, she's a tall, dark-skinned woman with green eyes.]

[photoshooter]

[Prompto Argentum is definitely 100% human and not a draconic abomination of magic and technology in any way, shape, or form. The fact that he loves and gets along with the dragons in his life and has a tendency to wander after shiny things and treasure is just coincidence, clearly. He's normal!

But also, when he finally--and unwittingly--transforms, he's a slim, feathered dragon, largely grey with some darker mottling like freckles. The undersides of his wings have a fascinating silvery sheen. He's small even for his age--about the same size as he is as a human--and absurdly fragile, as far as dragons go. But he is very, very fast, keen-eyed, and resistant to extreme cold.]

Yusuke Kitagawa | Persona 5 | OTA

[pursuitofbeauty]

[Whether in dragon form or human guise, Yusuke is forever elegant. Tall, slender, long-necked (just much longer in his real form), both scaled and feathered when he drops the illusion. He's rather proud of his colors-- indigo and deep blue, with hints of dark purple and silver-- and preens just enough to keep himself neat. He's young as dragons go, but he carries himself with dignity and grace.

It's all the more odd if you somehow manage to see him draped over his hoard, though. He collects anything beautiful: paintings, statues, jewelry, pottery. It doesn't matter if it's expensive or cheap, as long as it fits his aesthetic.

That doesn't quite explain the odd little pile of plush lobsters, though.

But out in the world, Yusuke spends his time either searching for more beautiful things to add to his collection or people-watching while he sketches. Humans are interesting but dangerous in their own way, and other dragons... well, it's pleasant but rare when he encounters another of his kind.

So he might be drawing you when you notice him in some random spot. Maybe in the park, or at the coffee shop where you're getting your morning quadruple espresso that would kill a human? You could be on a subway train, or a rest stop near a highway. He appears in the oddest places. Hopefully you aren't offended by a stranger drawing you?]

let's grab that rest stop

[founderinglight]

[It's probably mostly curiosity about the kind of man who leads a small black cat on a leash harness around a rest stop that gets Yusuke's attention first. He seems content to let kitty lead where she will for a while, until some other family's large barking dog frightens her. Then Izunia scoops the cat up in one smooth motion and glares at the dog in a way that immediately causes it to back down. Hmm, isn't there something unusual about that...?

Regardless, the man in the surprisingly fancy black coat sets his black cat back in his equally fancy RV, only pausing to pull some switch that unfolds an awning from the side of it. Now, then, where did he stash those chairs...]

[le_mat]

[Akira knows Yusuke, so he's used to his random drawing urges, even at the cafe when they were enjoying drinks and company, so he wasn't insulted when his friend went silent. Instead he just watches curiously.

Yusuke is one of the few dragons he knows on a personal level, even well enough that he's seen his hoard (and even brought gifts he's nicked that don't fit his own Aesthetic) and shared sleeping space with. Akira himself is smaller then his friend, and a lot less colorful. All feather and fur, and built low to the ground like a ferret. Not the most majestic creature, but a wonder to see in motion- more agile and brutal on the ground then most of their kind were even in the air.]

See something interesting?

Robin · Fire Emblem Awakening · OTA

[thoroff]

[Long ago, there was this really nasty dragon called Grima. Extraordinarily powerful, enough to engender a full-blown god complex, and bearing a profound contempt for humanity, he ended up causing quite a lot of trouble until a certain other, equally formidable dragon intervened to help put him down. His brood, however, survived him, and delved into the darkest arts seeking to resurrect their great father.

After untold centuries, an ideal vessel, the very reincarnation of Grima, was finally born — only for the hatchling's mother to suffer a crisis of maternal conscience, smuggle her away before the dark rites could be performed, and raise her outside of the reach of her clan. Robin's mother told her nothing of her birthright and made an effort to raise her as "normally" as is possible. It was only a chance encounter with members of the Grimleal, including her own father, that led to her learning the truth... at which point, she threw it back in their face, refusing to give herself to Grima and rejecting their belief in the inferiority of mortals.

Even awakened to her true nature, Robin is almost entirely uninterested in the affairs and intrigues of dragonkind, which is probably just as well since Grima was an asshole and boy howdy did he and his descendants make a lot of enemies! She enjoys the company of humans and is perfectly content to live among them. (She hoards friends.) She's a bit of a human history buff, military history in particular, and presently works as a teacher.

She avoids assuming her dragon form at all costs, because... well. Fell Dragon. No thanks.]

Cor Leonis - Final Fantasy XV - OTA

[immortalmarshal]

[Cor tends to come across as one of those no-nonsense, grumpy warrior types when you first meet him. Can you blame him, though, when he's been serving the Lucis Caelum line as protector and friend since he was barely a young adult? He's bluntly honest when he feels the need to talk, and it would be unwise to make him reach for his faithful blade if you value your life.

That said, though, he tends to soften a little towards young dragons and friendly humans. It's around those that he will show his small smiles and rather dry sense of humor. He uses his human military rank to justify his main horde - books and scrolls on how to make and wield swords - but he also has a second, smaller horde of certain human families that he plays guardian to. His own full-dragon form is that of a bronze adult dragon, bordering on elder adult status.]

Vex'ahlia | Critical Role | OTA

[moneytwin]

[ It's not every day a gem dragon dallies with a metallic dragon hiding in plain sight, but sometimes such activities bear fruit -- or eggs, as the case may be. The twins loved their mother, and hated the man who came to take them away to Syngorn, scorned for their half-elf diguises as much as their father scorned their lack of jewelled hides. But learning to fly after running away from their sire's home gave them new freedom -- and then led to the discovery of their old home burned to ash by the Cinder King.

Years later, and Vex'ahlia is an agile half-elf hunter, beloved bear companion ever at her side. Or so first appearances would have you think.

With a shining cerulean hide, a colour granted by her father but made metallic through her mother, she can occasionally be caught flirting in the sky, revelling in flight. While she has a noted preference for gems and gold, hoarding them where possible and reluctant to part with any (and you better believe she'll haggle down any price), in truth she values the comforts and company of the home she's made with her family, and is highly protective over what she considers her domain, and those that live within it. ]

Leonard Church | Red vs Blue

[motherfucking_ghost]

[Church does not like to be a dragon. He doesn't...understand dragons. He was the last survivor of his clutch, taken in by a scientist who stumbled on the abandoned nest. He's mostly stuck to being human ever since. A bumbling human. An imperfect human. A beautiful, wonderful human with his own apartment and friends who don't know anything about the side of him that occasionally likes to collect blue things, and also broken things to repair or repurpose. That's all normal and human.

As a dragon, he's not very big. Perhaps, in fact, person-sized or even a little smaller, blue, scaly, but with wings to fly should he ever choose to don his more lizardlike self. Which is seldom. He's still figuring out this human stuff, what makes you think he wants to figure out dragon stuff?]

Seto Kaiba | YGO

[playthedamncard]

[Kaiba, in some ironic twist of fate, does not get to be a dragon.

He gets to be, for all intents and purposes, a lorekeeper. A job passed down in the family for thousands of years. It is not...impossible that reincarnation might be involved down the line. He's new to the knowledge, having been separated from his blood family for many years, all potential thoughts of shapeshifting dragon people banished from most recesses of his mind. But now as an independent(ly wealthy) teenager on his own...

Long story short, crash course in draconic knowledge. Major players and families, types, signs, power bases, general territories, connections, oaths, and half of him adores it. The knowledge that dragons are real. Not just a fantasy. The other half despises it. Of all people, he doesn't get to be one?

There is a story that his line began in the sands of Egypt when a distant ancestor fell in love with a shining white dragon with blue eyes, who loved him in return so much that she gave her life to protect him, and from this sacrifice, bestowed upon the line a gift and a responsibility. He thinks it's all bullshit, of course, but...]

[le_mat]

[The first time Akira met the young lorekeeper had been... not very friendly. Hearing that much of the draconian history was kept by one human was too tempting- he wasn't very interested in history except for one thing: Kaiba might have knowledge of lost hordes or ancient tombs. And THOSE made him drool.

So he had tried to sneak into his estate, and was out maneuvered. Which even for a dragon as young as he was was embarrassing. Many would have been furious. Akira on the other hand was fascinated. And often just kept showing up. Sometimes to drop off something new and interesting he found but didn't want to Keep for himself. Relics and bits of horded knowledge he had nicked from older dragons that refused to share their secrets. Today he is lounging in his human skin in a fancy chair, reading an old leather bound book that may or may not actually be cow leather.]