Dragon's Bride Meme

[sninja]

The Dragon's Bride

Flames, then ash. Your village will be left with little else should the dragon that plagues the countryside not get his demanded sacrifice...if you're lucky. Your good fortune turns south, the bones of your neighbors (or whatever else remains of them) litter a new charred graveyard that was once a town. So, the necessary offers must be made.

At least that's the hope. The alternative would be too awful to contemplate.

In a last-ditch effort to save those you love — or against your will, as these things tend to go with forcibly created martyrs — you have been hoisted onto the pyre, waiting for the dragon to fly off with you. What terrors race through your mind as your doom impends?

How you'll end up in a beast's belly, no doubt. Except, you must consider this: there are worst fates than being a dragon's next meal. A monster that covets you as its treasure...a new type of danger unfurls its wings. You've become a dragon's bride.

But could such an infernal creature ever learn to know honest, unselfish affection? Is it possible to be more than a "spouse?" A mere treasure?

Perhaps, you could learn to be a dragon's love.

HOW TO PLAY
✗ Comment with your character, roles ("dragon" or "bride") prefs, etc.
✗ Y'all know how this goes. Approach "dragon" as a stand-in. The monster mash could be elves, orcs, goblins, werewolves, demons, dwarves, fey, purple people eaters, what have you. Of course, actual dragon and shifters folks are welcome, too! And don't think that you have to make your boring human a boring ol' human. Consider this the monster/supernatural being/cryptid/creature AU of your dreams!
✗ Second verse, same as the first, "bride" registers as gender-neutral 'round these parts. That word choice just sounds a touch more poetic.
✗ Reply to others.

Comments

Nakajima Atsushi | Bungou to Alchemist | Dragon

[tigerpoet]

[The giant white tiger that lives in the jungle outside the village demands appeasement. Can either be a tiger that shapeshifts into a human or just tiger-shaped all the time, if you're into that.]

I didn't think I was actually going to go with Hinata for this but here I am

[futurebullets]

[He'd wanted to protect his friends... but Hinata hadn't wanted this.

How long has it been since the village has entered this dance with the tiger that lives in the jungle? Longer than he cares to think about. Long enough for all of them to live in fear.

He'd commented over dinner with his mother and father, numerously but offhandedly, that he wished there was something he could do to keep his friends safe. His parents, with whom his relationship had always been strained, had been all too happy to offer that as their reasoning when they jumped at the monetary reward for offering him up as a sacrifice.

They were hurting for money, they were always disappointed in him - but Hinata had never thought they loathed him enough to be that at peace with forking him away.

Several adults had looked at him with pity, others with genuine sympathy. The latter had been harder to look at. A few adults had even gotten angry on his behalf, though Hinata thought that was at the general notion of one of the youth being given up than any particular attachment to himself.

Nanami had cried. That had been the hardest.

He held onto memories of her smile like a talisman to ward off whatever pain he was about to go through, but he couldn't think of her tears. He'd already been forsaken by the people that should have protected him, but those tears would break through the resolve that he'd had to forge of his own volition - if nobody had protected Hinata, then at least he could use himself to protect the friends he cared about so much.

He'd been bound on the way up here, but his escorts had released him upon arriving at the entrance to the tiger's lair. At his confused look, they'd told him it was fine because there would be no place for him at the village if he should try to flee.

It had made him feel too numb to even be hurt by it.

Now, though - Hinata tenses, broken out of his thoughts. His brain had been too distracted to recognize the sound, but something had definitely come from within the lair. Is that... It couldn't have been anything but the tiger, right? What would they do once they saw him?]

[tigerpoet]

[It is definitely, for certain the tiger that emerges from between the trees. There's no mistaking it for any other white tiger, either - the creature is far larger than any animal would naturally grow, and its eyes shine a bright gold.

It looks Hinata over with a critical eye, taking in his fear, then jerks its head in the direction it came from, deeper into the jungle. Apparently it expects Hinata to walk further of his own volition.]

[futurebullets]

[Hinata flinches as soon as the tiger emerges, feeling his body begin to shake but still unwilling to look away. He's almost certain he's about to meet his end...

...and it doesn't happen.

Why...? What purpose is there in killing me now or killing me later?

There must be some reason, something he doesn't have the context to figure out. The trembling in his limbs eases up, but his body is still tense in preparation of whatever will surely be done to him later.

Briefly, he thinks of running, and dismisses it just as fast, numbness sparking in his chest again. There is only one way to go anymore, and it's forward.

Uncertain of the future, Hinata follows the tiger.]

[tigerpoet]

[Even a tiger can feel the tension in the air as they head deeper into the jungle. For a few minutes the only sounds are the crunching of sticks underfoot.

It speaks, suddenly, voice a low grumble.]

How old are you?

[futurebullets]

[Hinata flinches at the voice - and then realizes there are words, he's being spoken to.

He looks both ways. Nobody else is around, there's only one person... or creature that it could be.

He doesn't understand why the tiger would ask him such a thing... But maybe there was a reason that had been a rule of the selection.]

...Seventeen. [His voice is a little hoarse as he struggles to clear it.] My village refused to pick anyone over twenty.

[tigerpoet]

Ridiculous. Your people are so eager to be rid of their children.

[There's disdain in the tiger's voice, but it's not directed at Hinata. If anything, it's aimed at the people who sent him here.]

[futurebullets]

[Hinata's nose wrinkles even as turmoil unfurls in his chest.]

Seventeen is hardly a child, you know. Some in the village my age have already had arranged marriages. [Old enough to be married off, but still in that sweet spot of getting denied a lot of the privileges of adulthood. Besides, the more important point:] I'm taller than a lot of adults, too.

[Still.

The tiger's words sting. Not because they're wrong, but because they're right.]

...I guess they were, though. The ones in charge, at least. They wouldn't even listen to the people that actually were mad for my sake. [He shakes his head, though. What does it even matter?] Is it really that important, though?

[tigerpoet]

I told them to send someone good-looking. If they assume that only means 'teenager', that says a lot about them.

[Like. It's not inherently bad that they sent a teen, but the fact that they only send teens is questionable.]

[futurebullets]

[Hinata - stops, full on stops, nearly trips over his own two feet in fact.]

What the fuck- [He didn't mean for that to slip out but it sure is what he said. His face is burning. Hinata knows he should be angry, should probably even hate the people that put him in this situation, but all he can feel right now is embarrassed.] I... didn't realize that's what you'd asked for. They never told us even once.

[Is he more flustered that his village leaders are weirdos or that he was possibly chosen for being attractive? A mystery.]

[tigerpoet]

Hah. Consider it a compliment, in that case.

[They're almost there anyway, once Hinata recovers enough to walk. The jungle opens up to a small clearing. Animal pelts are stacked in a pile vaguely resembling a bed, and a few books are tucked underneath a tree.]

Here we are. Make yourself comfortable.

Suga Koutarou | Forest of Drizzling Rain | Bride

[gemuinemanagement]

['Man sacrifices his own happiness out of a sense of duty to protect his village even though everyone in said village is a dick to him' is already his backstory, so like. Obviously.]

[monomon]

[Monomon herself had forgotten when this little exchange first begun. Vague memories of her youth could be brought forth, knowing that once she had attacked them whenever they built too close to the shore; bringing forth crashing waves and scorching their land with lightning.

They were an odd species that took more than they gave. Now, in her old age, she was intrigued by them and their oddly individualistic society.

It was why she continued, and today she was intrigued to know what they would offer her. She had seen many come and go, old and young, wise and foolish, with all manner of skills to show or stories to tell. Each an intrigue till age eventually snuffed them out.

What would today's be? Slowly she ascended from beneath the waters to the shore, where her gift awaited.]

[gemuinemanagement]

[Suga had suspected it would be him this time around.

He had never been liked in the village, and had no family to vouch for him after Shiori's grandfather passed. The museum was in the way of expansion into the forest, the 'safer' way to grow the village than building towards the shore - suffice to say that no one would particularly regret giving him up.

He waits by the shoreline, not entirely sure what kind of creature he should be looking for. There are pictures, but they vary as much as the stories do and it's hard to separate fact from fiction.]

[monomon]

[What appeared first were two giant tentacles. They slid up the sandy shore before ascending into the air. Then came her head, covered by a mask and something akin to a veil. Nothing in the air, nothing around them, the human was alone.

The rest of her voluminous and gelatinous body floated up into the air, leaving the waters behind her turbulent, and she stared down at the sacrifice---a mere child. Shame. It wasn't the first time, but it still struck her as a cruel choice every time. She supposed the village thought they had chosen well, but more often than not their reasons for sending a child were rather petty.]

Hmmm. [She lean down till her mask hovered three feet above him]

You look quite young. How old are you?

[gemuinemanagement]

[That... he isn't sure what he expected, but it probably wasn't a masked jellyfish. It's a shame he's not going to get to go back and tell anyone about what Monomon actually looks like.

He pulls the notepad out of his pocket and jots down an answer, which he shows to her.]

17

[monomon]

[Oh? Does he not speak? Monomon could only assume that was the case if he had come with all that prepared. Fear immobilizing someone's tongue had happened before but this was new. And he was 17. Young indeed, even for a human. What was the reason that they had chosen someone so young? Ah, well, she could ask that of him once they were back home.]

I see. Well then, we can continue things below.

[One massive tentacle reached out towards Suga, encircling him before pausing.]

And your name?

[gemuinemanagement]

[He has to assume he's not going to drown. There would be no point in asking his name if that was her plan for him. All the same, he does startle a little when she wraps her tentacle around him.]

Suga

[...This paper definitely isn't waterproof.]

[monomon]

[Suga. Monomon gives a nod of acknowledgement. Unfortunately she was not expecting someone who could not speak and so she had nothing to give him to replace it on her at the moment. Hopefully once they are home she could find something to replace it. The tentacle wraps further around him, squeezing, but into of any pressure or pain he'll suddenly just find himself popped right into the gelatinous tentacle.

It is perfectly breathable, but would give a sensation akin to a day of intense humidity.]

There we go. Are you ready?

[gemuinemanagement]

[It's... definitely weird. But better than drowning, so he supposes he has no room to complain.

He nods. Take him to your lair, or wherever.]

[monomon]

[It was quite the long journey, but one that certainly had a lot to look at. Monomon glided gracefully through the ocean waters, passing seaweed, bright coral, schools of fishes of all kind. Dull, bright, small, large, slow, quick. All seemed accustomed to her presence, and so would not run, but neither did any ever try to attack her.

As they descended further, the scenary changed to darkness and rock walls and the creatures became those of an eerie, translucent self. Massive, but not quite reaching that of the tentacled behemoth that carried him. Finally, in the distance there came light in the form of bioluminescent mushrooms and jellyfish, and then an elaborate and colorful dome. It was there that Monomon went, and she descended down it's center through a hole that closed behind them. They were in a chamber that drained all water, and then another door beneath them opened which the masked creature floated down after.

It was here that Monomon finally released Suga, gently placing him down]

[gemuinemanagement]

[The ocean is beautiful, in an eerie way. Suga's eyes go wide, and he takes in all of their surroundings with a silent awe.

Once he's released into a dry chamber, he takes a deep breath of real air. Suga pulls out his notepad to write a 'thank you' on, but... ah, it's soaked.]

hera | lore olympus | dragon or bride

[goldentraitor]

((ooc; as the dragon she's said to be a witch who curses others in abhorrent and violent ways. as the bride either remains as hera, given to a more primordial or ancient power, or is a human from a village))

monomon the teacher | hollow knight | dragon

[monomon]

((ooc; giant creature from the ocean able to fly above, in particular always seeking scholarly types))

lobco | watgbs / fumamusea | bride

[justsomeshrimp]

((ooc; probably both chosen but self-sacrifice because low self esteem and honestly she can't be worse off, right?))