Hope she looks enough like Juleka. I tried to make her similar to jagged stone- and also Guitar Villain- bc I like the concept of the couffaine sibling having some hero forms based off of their parents and their akumatizations (not sure if she looks like a hero though, I think this concept would have worked better if she was a villain), so specially her mask has guitar villain's mask shape. I also wanted to give her a side cut.
I also wanted to make a pattern for the dragon users with the 3 powers, I do like the idea but I'm still gonna change it in the future
I made an option with gold hair instead of red and tbh I think I like it way more (bc there's too much red in the suit), but it was too late to change the rest (also the red was supposed to be way darker, but the app I use has a limited color Pallet)
I think Ivan's full outfits turned out better, but I liked this one anyways.
🇧🇷: Espero que ela pareça o suficiente com a Juleka. Eu tentei fazer ela parecida com o jagged stone- e o Guitarrista Malvado Também- porque eu gosto do conceito dos irmãos couffaine terem algumas formas de herói baseadas nos seus pais e as akumatizacoes deles (apesar de que não sei se ela parece uma heroína, acho que o conceito teria funcionado bem melhor se ela fosse uma vilã), então a máscara dela em especial tem o formato da máscara do guitarrista malvado. Eu também queria dar um sidecut pra ela.
Também queria fazer um padrão de estampa prós usuários do dragão com os 3 poderes, eu gosto da ideia mas ainda vou mudar o padrão no futuro.
Fiz uma opção com cabelo dourado ao invés de vermelho e sinceramente eu acho que gostei bem mais (pq tem muito vermelho na roupa), mas já tava tarde demais pra mudar o resto (e também o vermelho era pra ser bem mais escuro, mas o app q eu uso tem uma paleta de cores limitada).
Acho que as miniaturas do Ivan com a roupa inteira ficaram melhores, mas gostei dessa de qualquer forma.
First of all, sorry for the long wait, I only had the chance to redo the drawing yesterday, but for some reason today, my computer reset and I lost all my files, except the backups, so this is what I managed to do, I wanted to put in a few more details, but I don't think I can make any more changes to the file, but all my headcanons of her are here, so even with this little problem, I hope you like it, so stay here with Komodo. I've taken into consideration the idea of the original concept of miraculous, Perfection, and who could be more perfect with her imperfections than her, so I've put in this asymmetrical palette scheme.
Hiii! lol this story isn't dead or abandoned, I promise! 😁 Huge thanks to @verfound for the eternal bog conversation 😆 and to @mintaka14 for betaing this chapter! 💖
Jagged catches up with Tom and Sabine, Marinette and Luka start their search, and Juleka has an unexpected visitor.
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As Jagged made his way through the little town on the way to Luka’s tower, he noticed instantly that something was wrong.
For one thing, the bakery was closed.
And for another, not one person asked him about his new mandolin, or told him to stop playing.
Everyone just seemed… jumpy. On edge. Watching each other out of the corner of their eyes.
He stashed his mandolin on his back and shoved his way into the bakery door, despite it being closed. Tom and Sabine had never had an issue with his visits, considering he was a regular, one of the King’s Wizards, and always bought huge quantities of their bread.
Instead of the bright, booming laugh he’d come to expect, though, he was greeted by Tom’s big hands shoving him back out.
“No bread today,” he growled, “just like yesterday and the day before that. Not until the people of this town apologize.”
“Wait, whoa, hold up!” Jagged yelled as he stuck his hands and feet in the doorway to prevent being shoved out. There was a harsh crack of wood behind him and he groaned as he realized his brand new mandolin was probably broken at the neck. Again. “I’m here as a friend!”
The hands pushing him out were pulled away and Jagged turned his head to look. Tom had taken two huge steps back and was rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.
“Sorry, there, Jagged, I guess I thought…”
Jagged relaxed and slipped the mandolin from around his neck to assess the damage. Snapped completely in half, strings ripped apart… geez, how much brute strength did the guy have anyways? Luckily he knew the repair spell by heart and he forced the wood back together to perform it.
“Now then,” he said when he finished, “what’s going on in this town?”
Sabine scuttled forward with a cup of tea and she laid a hand on Tom’s arm as she set the cup on the table and invited Jagged to sit. He waved her off and the couple shared an uncomfortable look.
“Marinette was here,” Sabine started carefully, “...with Luka.”
Jagged snorted. “Well, that explains a lot.”
“It does?”
“Sure, great leapin’ lizard shows up outta nowhere. ‘Course people are scared.”
“Well, no, he wasn’t… he looked human, it was just…”
“He’s not,” Jagged completed simply. “And people don’t like what they don’t understand. Can’t understand.” His own brow furrowed with the thought. Wizards hadn't been all that acceptable at first, either, until the King realized they were useful. Still left a bitter taste in Jagged's mouth.
“There was some sort of stand off in the town square,” Sabine continued. “They both escaped, but the townspeople… well…”
“They formed a bloody mob and went after them!” Tom thundered. Sabine laid a hand on his forearm and he quieted.
“We tried to explain, it was out of self-defense, but no one would listen to us.”
“Then they wanted bread the next day like they hadn’t just gone after my family,” Tom growled.
"Wait, they went after them?" Jagged asked, his attention snapping back to Sabine. "What do you mean 'they went after them'? What happened?"
Tom let out a little snort of laughter and sat to cover his chortles. It made Jagged feel somewhat better that he was laughing and not distraught, but the question remained.
"They weren't there," Sabine explained, with a fond sidelong glance to Tom. "We went up with them to try to do something, or convince someone. They'd already left, but—"
"My daughter's a genius," Tom managed between laughs.
"The townspeople heard one wail and ran. Turns out Marinette had strung some armor up. When the wind blew through it, it sounded like some sort of moan, and it made the townspeople think the tower was cursed."
Jagged blinked at Sabine, then at Tom, who was still laughing. Sabine just shrugged, smiling a little, and finally Jagged let out a whooping laugh.
"That's my little baker's girl!" He nudged Tom's shoulder good-naturedly and they fell into laughing together. When they finally stopped, Jagged had to wipe some tears from his eyes. "I can definitely work with that," he said, grinning. Sabine and Tom exchanged a nervous, knowing look.
"No enchanted bogs, Jagged."
"I would never—that was—" Jagged spluttered indignantly. "That was one time!"
"Once was enough, thank you," Sabine said curtly. He rolled his eyes at her and pulled out his mandolin to pluck a few lines.
"Just because that mayor's daughter fell into it doesn't mean—"
Sabine silenced him with a look. He couldn't help grinning, though, as he nodded and clamped his lips shut.
Later, when he made his way up to the tower, he realized what Sabine and Tom had been talking about. The air was filled with unearthly wails and moans that sounded like the dead had been raised, along with the tell-tale clink of empty armor against the trees. Through the greenery, he spotted one of Marinette's rabbit traps holding up a cuirass and he had to smile. Tom was right. Genius.
Jagged rolled his neck and cracked his knuckles as he decided how best to enhance Marinette's plan. A few simple rune traps would add to the effect. Nothing big, just some eerie mist, maybe a spectral form here or there… When they were stepped on they would activate and the whole thing would work like a "keep out" sign for suspicious villagers.
When he'd finished the perimeter, he stood back to admire his work, then turned his attention to the tower. Luka would've left a note, he was sure of it, explaining things. That's the way the kid was. He liked to have things buttoned up and tidied away. He would've said goodbye.
When he did climb the tower, he found the small blue flower that Luka had left, preserved with a little bit of magic Jagged had taught him and kept in place by a stone. When he opened the note, it was blank except for the words, "Thanks for everything."
But, thanks to the preserved flower, Jagged knew exactly what to do to find his real message.
He crumbled the flower and blew the resulting powder into the paper. The residual magic stuck to the encoded words and shimmered a glittery blue in the fading afternoon light.
Jagged, it read, we're headed west into the forest. I'll leave a trail for you so you can come visit wherever we end up.
You've probably already helped Marinette with her idea. If I can ask one more thing of you, there's a trapdoor hidden in the floor in the back of this room. I'm not as skilled in magic as you are, so I couldn't protect the door with anything but a simple lock charm. I know you'll come up with something better.
No enchanted bogs.
Jagged rolled his eyes. Seriously it was one time! Why was everyone so focused on the one time he tried a new spell and turned the entire town into an eternal bog. It wasn't even eternal—the whole thing only lasted a month or so, although, well, the smell did linger a while longer.
He looked around and found the door Luka had mentioned. While it would be hard to find for anyone who wasn't looking, he understood why Luka would want it protected. Those books of his were his life while he'd been here. He looked back to the note and there were only two lines left.
Until I see you again, Luka.
P.S. Don't worry, I'll take care of her.
Jagged smiled as the last line thrummed with a magic Luka probably hadn't intended. He really had to teach that boy about the way love and magic so often coincided.
Although he had a feeling that Luka was starting to discover that for himself.
***
"Dragon?" the merchant asked, rubbing his chin in thought. "No, none of those in these parts. Heard tell of one the next village over, though. 'Round a tower. King's offered some gold for its head if memory serves."
Marinette offered him a tight-lipped smile in return as she paid, conscious of Luka's tense energy beside her.
She turned, handed him the gloves, and pulled at his shirt to prompt him to walk away. He followed, albeit stiffly.
"Luka, I told you already, no one knows it's you they're talking about."
"Doesn't make it any easier," he grumbled back. But he glanced down at his forearms that were still covered in scales despite their stones and tugged the leather gloves on anyway. "Besides, I doubt anyone around here will know where to find Jules. We keep to ourselves, really, and if it hadn't been for my incident I doubt anyone would've even known dragons were still out there."
When he held up his hands to show her what the gloves looked like on him, she glanced over them in approval, then frowned in thought and reached up to brush his hair out of his eyes.
"Nothing we can do about these, I guess."
"Or the teeth," he added, smirking for effect.
“Or the teeth,” she agreed fondly. “I guess just don’t… smile at anyone for now.”
A dry chuckle slid out from between his clenched teeth as his eyes darted around the square they were in, on guard and suspicious, taking note of the people still around them. "Not a problem, love."
She tipped up and kissed the edge of his jaw, which surprised him enough to jar him out of his rigid paranoia and turn that soft look on her. For good measure, she brushed his hair out of his eyes again, more to trail her fingers along his cheeks and down the sides of his neck than because she wanted to see the bright blue of his eyes match the blue of the stone at his neck.
Something ignited in his gaze as he looked at her and she blushed as she pulled her hands away. She'd never felt in danger with Luka before, but that look was definitely dangerous.
"Come on," she muttered, lacing her fingers through his and tugging him along. "There are still some people we can ask, and maybe we can find a place to stay tonight."
***
Juleka startled to attention as footsteps resounded in the empty space of the cave she'd hunkered down in for the time being. It wasn't as cozy as other places, but there was a village nearby that was too close for comfort and she preferred to keep her distance. Stay invisible. Stay alive. That'd been her saving grace for as long as she'd been on her own.
Arguably, she was young for a dragon to be by herself, but without Luka to smooth the waters between them, Juleka and her mother were… inflammatory.
She thought she'd done well enough, but the human stumbling into her cave proved her very wrong. The tiny thing looked up with bleary blue eyes under a fringe of bright blonde hair and gave Juleka a wobbly smile.
"I'm sorry," she said, her voice weak, "I just… I'm so tired… I need to…" She didn't even finish the sentence before her knees gave out from under her and, without thinking, Juleka darted towards her to catch her with an armored claw. The sprite of a human gave her a thankful little smile, snuggled into her scales, and promptly fell asleep.
Juleka lowered her head to check that the human was still breathing, careful not to transfer her fire. Luka's mistake had been drilled into her head and she knew—she knew—that if a dragon shared their fire they shared their life. It wasn't worth it, her mother had said, giving up the freedom of the skies for anyone or anything.
Not that Juleka wanted to. Looking at the tiny, helpless thing in her arms that she could easily swipe aside without another thought—protect herself and protect her secret—she couldn't see why a dragon would ever bother with them. If it weren't for Luka's accident, she knew he wouldn't have chosen a human.
Still, she had to admit, the way the blonde's eyelashes fluttered in her sleep was… maybe a little cute.
Juleka and Longg are such a great duo, they'd be unstoppable
Longg's sass amplifying Juleka's, Longg encouraging Juleka to stand out more and be more sure about herself. Him giving her life advice. Just Longg being such a great mentor and them getting along???? Like hello, this is so good!!
Perfect Storm is great for Jules! It's offensive and flashy but still allows her to be in the shadows, it's basically,,, sigh,, perfect,,,
(I hc Juleka as someone who would actually prefer offensive powers, rather than the hiding ones like invisibility. or like. she's someone who would like to be in the light, not the spotlight, but she just wouldn't like to be in the shadows. So while Roaar would be a good match for her (matching the Couffaine's chaotic nature and all), Prowl really isn't.. I was also thinking about the bee, and Venom would be a pretty good match but Pollen's submissive nature would make her uncomfortable,, there just wouldn't really be someone to challenge her)
