[ sms : yeji (captain my captain ]
→ are you going to do anything to the new jaeger initiates?
→ i mean this camping trip is pretty tough initiation already but are /we/ going to do anything else to break them in or welcome them?
→ or should we prank them :’-)
he swears he can spot her from even miles away. with long, blonde hair flying every which way courtesy of the ocean’s very own breeze, she’s not the most inconspicuous to say the least. despite being not completely over the trauma of having his head in an unideal predicament with a certain white, porcelain bowl, he can’t help but follow when his legs immediately start carrying him in her direction, as if acting upon pure instinct.
junhao’s sure it’s because he likes the challenge. after all, a life of willing smiles and easy conversation eventually becomes lacklustre, especially if it has since become so mundane; so routine that it physically hurts how dull something once so foolishly entertaining has become. maybe that’s why he’s become an addict, hooked on the thrill of the chase. at least, that’s what he keeps telling himself when asked why he even bothers to put up with so much heat ( literally ) when he could easily find someone more willing to give him their time of day.
or maybe, he presumes, it could be an egotistical thing. growing up with a silver spoon clenched tightly in his fist, on bad days the only ”no” he’ll get is from someone when prompted with the question,”if the doctor says i’m slightly lactose intolerant, does that mean i should stop eating ice cream?”
so with yejin giving him the constant cold shoulder, junhao can’t help but be amused. her flustered antics only add fuel to his fire, and soon he realizes that he can’t find a way to put it out. it consumes him in the most juvenile of ways, pushing him to test the limits of her patience further and further, only to be rewarded when she sends a snarky comment his way; for his motivation to be renewed when she shoots a classic glare in his direction.
in all honestly, the boy doesn’t quite know why he’s so insistent on her of all people. all he does know is that he can’t take no for an answer. perhaps, that will get him into some big trouble one day. for now though, junhao figures he’s in the clear.
“hey, long time no see,” he greets nonchalantly. casually sitting down on the rotting, wooden dock besides her unannounced as if they’ve been the best of friends since birth. as if they didn’t have a history of his unrequited attempts at trying to ( in his very own words, unfortunately ) tap that. junhao braces himself for whatever unwelcome retort he anticipates will be thrown his way by leaning back, supporting the majority of his weight on the palms of both his hands; legs swinging carelessly back and forth as they hang precariously off the dock.
then he turns to her. meets the fury of her gaze with his very own. drinks in the sight of her. cocks his head slightly to the side. flashes his signature, lazy half smile.
INTRODUCING NOH YEJIN, OUR NEWEST STUDENT WITH THE POWER OF DRAGON PHYSIOLOGY
WELCOME TO GUMI INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL FOR THE POWERED.
WHO ARE THEY?
PERSONALITY
(+) perceptive, quick on her feet, assertive
(–) bossy, deceptive, hot-tempered
BACKGROUND
NOH YEJIN SHOULDN’T EXIST. that is, she’s been long dead. that is, the remains of frail bones of seven remain buried in the backyard of the noh household.
SO WHO IS “NOH YEJIN” NOW? WHO IS STANDING IN HER PLACE, HER NAME ETCHED IN SKIN?
SHE IS AN ORPHAN. names aren’t important, that is, she has long forgotten hers (the syllables swen together to form her birth name is rotted, barren as the concrete she slept on). that is, up until now, words commonly associated were “brat”, “little one”, “yah”.
( “freak”, “lizard”, “gecko” )
our freak thrives in a rundown establishment, an orphanage for mutant child baring any sign of familial warmth, where kindness is based on superficial means (the prettiest child, the most useful mutation, top of the food chain). and there was nothing kind about the scales accumulating on the soft underbelly of her forearm. nothing kind about being a “lizard”.
instead childhood is filled to the brim in insecurities, messy wrapped bandages and a grotesque collection of jagged scales. pretty. when they’re not attached to her.
but salvation exists, even in the most cruel ways. the literature professor that takes her in is a loving husband, a mourning father, a desperate man with a blinding wife. when he brings her home, he is careful to tuck lies under the base of her tongue. your name is noh yejin. you’ll call her mama. you’ll are here to make life easier on her. you’ll be soft. you’ll be demure. you’ll be hers, yejin.
SHE IS A CHARLATAN. a downright fraud. a pretty fabricated lie. she, in the eyes of most, is a marvel in the noh household. noh yejin, the “miracle child” in the neighborhood who’ve returned to the land of the living. her habits are not her own. her childhood. her home. her life is not her own.
but beggers can’t be choosers.
and this, this, this is all she has.
and this is all she’ll take.
(with grace. with life’s bitterness pooled at the back of her tongue. she’ll never be noh yejin. never be loved as she is. her own person. who knows who that is anymore?)
mama called her her delicate flower.
oh, she wished. even now yejin would wish, with every remnant of hope and good left in her, wished beyond the lies under her tongue and rough in her touch—that she could be delicate for her. that her chest wasn’t filled with burning ash. that her body didn’t tear and contort into one of a beast’s.
that she could be the daughter she wanted for her.
that she could could be anything anything but this creature. this mess. this lizard. this freak.
from the faint scars marring fair skin to the way her eyes flashed inhumanly green—yejin was no flower.
hint: she’s not even human.
even now, with mama’s eyes gone; with the fact that she could see nothing but darkness, feel nothing but the embrace of her sweet daughter and smell the faint scent of fruit & ashes in her hair.
she was no flower.
at least—not her flower.
instead, unlike what mama had hoped, yejin had blossomed into something deadly. something raised on misdirected love. something weaned on loneliness and the taste of metal. something that eats at her from within at nights—in which her heart tightens and her lips are gnawed raw to keep herself from confessing, from spilling it all, the depiction of her life and her stature and being—all a lie.
this life wasn’t hers.
and in gumi—at the helm of the destruction—she could be herself.
if she remembers who she was.
WHAT CAN THEY DO?
the ability to shift entirely and/or partially into the legendary serpentine, otherwise known as DRAGON PHYSIOLOGY, enables yejin to transform and harness all traits and powers of the creature.
it is expected of the form to be massive, winged, and scaled—fluid yet rough in movement all the same, for as a creature presumably worshipped, dragons were also feared. the most popular association—beyond the standard expectation of DERMAL ARMOR and SCALE MANIFESTATION, all quality methods to prevent damage and adds to the DURABILITY factor, perhaps even bulletproof; although that relies in actually manifesting the scales and tough hide than anything—is heat. FIRE BREATH is among the few heat related bases that yejin can manage, along with the ability to generate anything from minor fireballs to small flames licking her skin as well as an inherent RESISTANCE to all temperatures of heat. beyond that, the dragonness is also capable of enhancing her physical condition to one of an enhanced, a supernatural’s, a dragon’s—an act done simply so by shifting parts of her body into a dragon’s, for example an arm for strength or a pair of eyes for vision—as well as HYPNOSIS; where her eyes flash frosty green and you find yourself unable to resist. beings associated with magic and the mysticals, MAGIC IMMUNITY is also a semi-innate ability, ranging from a “weak” resistance in her human form and growing in strength the more and more she shifts into that of a dragon. the beast in her also knows no fear—allows the yejin the capable of FEAR MASKING; of suppressing her fears.
WEAKNESSES
firstly, though full transformation is possible, it’s one done not too often given the amount of energy and pain required to actually make the shift; and even then, she’s able to only keep the form for the max of a forty-five minutes before her energy rapidly depletes.
of course, the shifting of body parts into one of a dragon’s has a longer time limit, but prolonged use leaves her limbs post-usage numb for a certain amount of time.
capability of shifting into a miniature version of her true form is also possible, and though takes less energy to keep up, likely lowers the levels of her abilities with it ( fire breathing at the size of a household pet? not too destructive. ).
her so-called “manipulation” of fire extends to only small forms of generation, controlling fires through means of increasing and decreasing is impossible.
hypnosis may or may not be broken by those of stronger will-power or higher intelligence—other than that, unless stated otherwise, it’d most likely wear off after a certain amount of time; visual contact of at least five seconds is also required to be truly effective.
fear masking proves effective in the high ninety percentile, but against a fear manipulator who could easily strip her of such a feat (if they were to realize it) or at the least, weaken it immensely—there is no way out of it.