History Literature / Spitfire

Spitfire is an original WebSerialNovel about romance, autonomy, found family, and learning to embrace humanity. It was created by [[https://www.mayakern.com/ Maya Kern]], otherwise known as author of Webcomic/MonsterPop. Its first installment was published on February 15, 2020, and it concluded on June 08, 2021. It can be read [[https://archiveofourown.org/works/22728280/chapters/54312130 here]] on Website/ArchiveOfOurOwn, and [[https://www.wattpad.com/story/239573654-spitfire here]] on Website/{{Wattpad}}.

* {{Crossdresser}}: Lysithea Ballard. [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] between Feon and Lysithea at their first in-text meeting; Feon asks why Lysithea doesn't wear dresses anymore, and Lysithea replies that it's a matter of style.

* EveryoneIsBi: [[ImpliedTrope Implied]]. None of the characters have been explicitly stated to have a gender preference, and it seems that attraction is generally treated the same regardless of the genders involved. [[note]]However, Lysithea is only shown flirting with women, and so may be a ButchLesbian.[[/note]]

* GreenRocks: The amber ring can [[spoiler: change Feon's pigmentation and physical shape]] as well as [[spoiler: dampen the magical Bond between Caederyn and Feon]].

* LadyOfWar: Lysithea Ballard embodies this trope through and through: from her high social status as daughter of a powerful foreign politician, to her [[AlphaBitch mean streak]], to her preferred weapons, a RoyalRapier and a ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parrying_dagger main-gauche]]'' which she wields with a grace and precision that Caederyn (no mean swordsman himself) compares to dancing.

-->'''Feon:''' My lack of regard for you transcends your funky little human genders.
* PartialTransformation: Feon frequently lengthens and sharpens his teeth without altering the rest of his human form. He also grows patches of scales on his skin at various points, which can apparently happen involuntarily.

** Voswainian culture is polyamorous as a default, up to and including its royal family. Voswain has two queens who are married to each other - and ''twelve'' royal consorts. This is more than a mere RoyalHarem system, as the consorts do seem to be officially and publicly designated somehow (Caederyn recognizes one at a ball by the bejeweled blue rose the consort wears), are parents to the royal heirs (Allene herself is the daughter of one of the queens and a consort), and are generally, by all indications, an equal part of the royal family. It's not exactly an ExoticExtendedMarriage as it is not used to denote Voswain as culturally Other; it is simply a facet of the worldbuilding.

* RedheadsAreUncool: Fidelity is a rare adult example of this trope. She's somewhat awkward and easily-embarrassed, which leads to her blushing in a manner that clashes with her bright hair. Also, her hair has a tendency to frizz unattractively out of its style.
* SelfHarm: Caederyn often uses a pinprick to refocus his mind away from emotions he finds distressing. He escalates the behavior later on, [[spoiler:taking a knife to himself]].

* ShapeshiftingExcludesClothing: No MagicPants here, folks [[spoiler:except for the Shiftweave tunic, which has yet to be put to this particular test]]. Feon's clothing regularly rips when he transforms from his human to his draconic form.

* VoluntaryShapeshifting: Feon's narration frequently reminds the reader that his true form is his draconic one. He shifts to human-sized, and maintains that shift for long periods of time, in order to fulfill his role as Caederyn's companion and protector. This ability [[ChekhovsSkill becomes relevant later on]], most notably with [[spoiler:Feon's SexShifter adventures]]. And yes, Feon does [[PowerPerversionPotential some ''experimenting'']] with his form as well, which [[spoiler:Allene]] greatly enjoys.
* {{Weredragon}}: All the Nadaran Bonded Companions are the first type of this, i.e. dragons that can spend most of their time comfortably looking like a human being. [[spoiler: This is the [[ChekhovsSkill ability]] that leads to the above-mentioned TwistEnding.]]
* WildMagic: Fae and other forces of this nature existed before the settlement of the continent, and continue to exists chiefly in the land of Ogren at the time of the story. They do ''not'' like the [[SufficientlyAnalyzedMagic Voswainian approach]].

* BloodMagic:
** Though this plot point is not yet resolved, it's pretty clear that [[spoiler:the Lake Lady]] is doing ''something'' of this variety with [[spoiler:Feon]]'s blood.
** The Bond between Feon and Caederyn was created by [[spoiler:Caederyn and Feon standing in a sigil drawn on the floor with a large amount of Caederyn's blood (drawn and stored in daily increments over the preceding weeks), and Caederyn drawing another sigil - the Bond Mark - on Feon's torso with yet more of his blood, this time freshly-spilled.]] It's rather chilling to think of all of that blood being shed, considering that at the time, [[spoiler:Caederyn was a child of about five years of age]].

* BuxomIsBetter:
** Feon and Caederyn both get distracted by low-cut necklines on large breasts ''several'' times throughout the novel.
** When [[spoiler:shifting his form to female to get into Allene's tea party]], Feon grumbles about the "utter lack of tits" on Pavani, the woman he [[spoiler:stole clothing from in order to pull off that disguise]]. Earlier in that same scene, he describes [[spoiler:his own [[DCupDistress overly-]]]]large breasts as "truly magnificent."
** The ladies of the Nadaran court (plus foreigners Allene and Lysithea) all seem to agree that Eugenia, a woman with particularly massive breasts, is so overwhelmingly attractive as to be "a force of nature."

* TwistEnding: It's a doozy. [[spoiler: Yuen, the king's dragon companion who supposedly died in battle twenty-five years ago, [[FakingTheDead is actually alive]]. And is [[DeadPersonImpersonator living on in the guise of King Rynnwald]]. King Rynnwald, for his part, [[ElCidPloy is the one who died twenty-five years ago]].]]
* VoluntaryShapeshifting: Feon's narration frequently reminds the reader that his true form is his dragon one. He shifts to human-sized, and maintains that shift for long periods of time, in order to fulfill his role as Caederyn's companion and protector. This ability [[ChekhovsSkill becomes relevant later on]], most notably with [[spoiler:Feon's SexShifter adventures]]. And yes, Feon does [[PowerPerversionPotential some ''experimenting'']] as well, which [[spoiler:Allene]] greatly enjoys.

Spitfire is an original WebSerialNovel about romance, autonomy, found family, and learning to embrace humanity. It was created by [[https://www.mayakern.com/ Maya Kern]], probably best known as author of Webcomic/MonsterPop. Its first installment was published on February 15, 2020, and it concluded on June 08, 2021. It can be read [[https://archiveofourown.org/works/22728280/chapters/54312130 here]] on Website/ArchiveOfOurOwn, and [[https://www.wattpad.com/story/239573654-spitfire here]] on Website/{{Wattpad}}.

* CostumePorn: In ''spades''. The POV characters are all royals who understand the importance of clothing and presentation to some degree, so literally any time a new non-servant character is introduced, expect there to be a description of that character's outfit. And any time the characters encounter one another at a social function. And when they're sizing ''themselves'' up in the mirror preparing for such a function...you get the idea.

* SilverFox: Elske, the captain of Caederyn's personal guard, is described with these exact words. She's flirted with by several characters, and Caederyn himself even harbored a boyish crush on her at one point.

** Lysithea's hair and [[TechnicolorEyes eyes]] both turned [[CurtainsMatchTheWindow silver-white]] after [[spoiler: she had a near-death experience with the fae and had her life saved by the Lake Lady]].

** Played straight, and best illustrated with a direct quote.

Spitfire is a WebSerialNovel about LGBT romance, autonomy, found family, and learning to embrace humanity. It was created by [[https://www.mayakern.com/ Maya Kern]], probably best known as author of Webcomic/MonsterPop. Its first installment was published on February 15, 2020, and it concluded on June 08, 2021. It can be read [[https://archiveofourown.org/works/22728280/chapters/54312130 here]] on Website/ArchiveOfOurOwn, and [[https://www.wattpad.com/story/239573654-spitfire here]] on Website/{{Wattpad}}.

Spitfire is a WebSerialNovel about LGBT romance, autonomy, found family, and learning to embrace humanity. It was created by [[http://mayakern.tumblr.com/ Maya Kern]], probably best known as author of Webcomic/MonsterPop. Its first installment was published on February 15, 2020, and it concluded on June 08, 2021. It can be read [[https://archiveofourown.org/works/22728280/chapters/54312130 here]] on Website/ArchiveOfOurOwn, and [[https://www.wattpad.com/story/239573654-spitfire here]] on Website/{{Wattpad}}.

** Played straight, and best illustrated with a direct quote. "Feon’s bed is ''covered'' in all manner shiny objects: golden coins, surprisingly sizable jewels, pearl crusted broaches, bejeweled goblets, gilt dinnerware. The quality and value seem to range drastically from mundane trinkets and common currency to a necklace that looks suspiciously as if it might have once been someone’s family heirloom. With the bounty of pillows and blankets arranged at its perimeter, the bed has the look of a strange, golden nest."

* GreenRocks: The amber ring can [[spoiler: change Feon's pigmentation, physical shape, and neurological wiring]] as well as [[spoiler: dampen the magical Bond between Caederyn and Feon]].

* PartialTransformation: Feon frequently lengthens and sharpens his teeth without altering the rest of his human form. He also grows patches of scales on his skin at various points.

* SelfHarm: Caederyn often uses a pinprick to refocus his mind away from emotions he finds distressing. [[spoiler:He escalates the behavior later on, taking a knife to himself]].

--->[[spoiler:'''Allene:''' ''[to Feon]'' "I like all the shapes I've seen you take."]]

--->'''Allene:''' I cannot be exclusive. I can give you all of me but I cannot give it to you alone....I do not wish my nature to be the cause of your undoing, but I cannot change myself. Not like this. Not for you. Not for anyone.

---> '''Caederyn''': Imagine a string, wrapped around the very core of your being and extending outwards, joining to another. It’s a tether, something to keep you safe and whole and protected. Sometimes there are reverberations, like plucking a mandolin, and I can feel an echo of what [Feon] feels, and conversely I know he can do the same, and the stronger the emotion, the larger the vibration. There is no shutting it off, not until we die. We will never be alone.

--->'''Feon:''' Everything was too much: too loud, too bright, too cold. My teeth felt strange and blunt and unreliable. My skin didn’t sit right over the bones and muscles I had improvised. Eating was excruciating. Excreting was worse.

---> '''Anthea, Earthspeaker of Ogren:''' "You have a reputation in Ogren. No, not you personally, but your country. Voswain. The way you do magic....It’s gross."

* BenevolentMageRuler: Ruzena the Briar Queen of Voswain, ancestress of Allene, invented an arcane method that unified her people and brought them prosperity.

** Played straight and best illustrated with a direct quote. "Feon’s bed is ''covered'' in all manner shiny objects: golden coins, surprisingly sizable jewels, pearl crusted broaches, bejeweled goblets, gilt dinnerware. The quality and value seem to range drastically from mundane trinkets and common currency to a necklace that looks suspiciously as if it might have once been someone’s family heirloom. With the bounty of pillows and blankets arranged at its perimeter, the bed has the look of a strange, golden nest."

->[[spoiler:'''Allene:''' ''[to Feon]'' "I like all the shapes I've seen you take."]]

* PartialTransformation: Feon frequently lengthens and sharpens his teeth without changing the rest of his human form. He also grows patches of scales on his skin at various points.

->'''Allene:''' I cannot be exclusive. I can give you all of me but I cannot give it to you alone....I do not wish my nature to be the cause of your undoing, but I cannot change myself. Not like this. Not for you. Not for anyone.

-> '''Caederyn''': Imagine a string, wrapped around the very core of your being and extending outwards, joining to another. It’s a tether, something to keep you safe and whole and protected. Sometimes there are reverberations, like plucking a mandolin, and I can feel an echo of what [Feon] feels, and conversely I know he can do the same, and the stronger the emotion, the larger the vibration. There is no shutting it off, not until we die. We will never be alone.

->'''Feon:''' Everything was too much: too loud, too bright, too cold. My teeth felt strange and blunt and unreliable. My skin didn’t sit right over the bones and muscles I had improvised. Eating was excruciating. Excreting was worse.

-> '''Anthea, Earthspeaker of Ogren:''' "You have a reputation in Ogren. No, not you personally, but your country. Voswain. The way you do magic....It’s gross."

* BigBeautifulWoman: Allene, who is described as fat by herself and her lovers alike.

** The Bond between Feon and Caederyn was created by [[spoiler:Caederyn and Feon standing together in a sigil drawn on the floor with a large amount of Caederyn's blood (drawn and stored in daily increments over the preceding weeks), and Caederyn drawing a sigil - the Bond Mark - on Feon's torso with yet more of his blood, this time freshly-spilled.]] It's rather chilling to think of all of that blood being shed, considering that at the time, [[spoiler:Caederyn was a child of about five years of age]].

* SufficientlyAnalyzedMagic: Voswainian magic, as we see it practiced by Allene, takes a decidedly scientific approach.

* TomboyPrincess: Lysithea Ballard. [[note]]She's ''technically'' not a princess, being the daughter of an ambassador; however, Lysithea's parent appears to have power above and beyond what's usually encompassed by that title.[[/note]]

* Weredragon: All the Nadaran Bonded Companions are the first type of this, i.e. dragons that can spend most of their time comfortably looking like a human being. [[spoiler: This is the [[ChekhovsSkill ability]] that leads to the above-mentioned TwistEnding.]]

-> '''Anthea, Earthspeaker of Ogren:''' " You have a reputation in Ogren. No, not you personally, but your country. Voswain. The way you do magic....It’s gross."

* Weredragon: All the Nadaran Bonded Companions are the first type of this, i.e. dragons that can spend most of their time comfortably looking like a human being. [[spoiler: This is the [[ChekhovsSkill ability]] that leads to the above-mentioned TwistEnding.]]

Spitfire is a WebSerialNovel about queer romance, autonomy, found family, and learning to embrace humanity. It was created by [[http://mayakern.tumblr.com/ Maya Kern]], probably best known as author of Webcomic/MonsterPop. Its first installment was published on February 15, 2020, and it concluded on June 08, 2021. It can be read [[https://archiveofourown.org/works/22728280/chapters/54312130 here]] on Website/ArchiveOfOurOwn, and [[https://www.wattpad.com/story/239573654-spitfire here]] on Website/{{Wattpad}}.

Spitfire is a WebSerialNovel about queer romance, autonomy, found family, and learning to embrace humanity. It was created by [[http://mayakern.tumblr.com/ Maya Kern]], probably best known as author of Webcomic/MonsterPop. Its first installment was published on February 15, 2020, and it concluded on June 08, 2021. It can be read [[https://archiveofourown.org/works/22728280/chapters/54312130 here]] on Website/ArchiveOfOurOwn, and [[https://www.wattpad.com/story/239573654-spitfire here]] on Website/Wattpad.

Spitfire is a WebSerialNovel created by [[http://mayakern.tumblr.com/ Maya Kern]], probably best known as author of Webcomic/MonsterPop. Its first installment was published on February 15, 2020, and it concluded on June 08, 2021. It can be found [[https://archiveofourown.org/works/22728280/chapters/54312130 here]] on Website/ArchiveOfOurOwn.

** Lysithea's hair and [[TechnicolorEyes eyes]] turned [[CurtainsMatchTheWindow silver-white]] after [[spoiler: a near-death experience with the fae and having her life saved by the Lake Lady]].

** Voswainian culture is polyamorous as a default, up to and including its royal family. Voswain has two queens who are married to each other - and ''twelve'' royal consorts. This is more than a mere RoyalHarem system, as the consorts do seem to be officially and publicly designated somehow (Feon recognizes one at a ball by the bejeweled blue rose the consort wears), are parents to the royal heirs (Allene herself is the daughter of one of the queens and a consort), and are generally, by all indications, an equal part of the royal family. It's not exactly an ExoticExtendedMarriage as it is not used to denote Voswain as culturally Other; it is simply a facet of the worldbuilding.

** Voswainian culture is polyamorous as a default, up to and including its royal family. Voswain has two queens who are married to each other - and ''twelve'' royal consorts. This is more than a mere RoyalHarem system, as the consorts do seem to be officially and publicly designated somehow (Feon recognizes one at a ball by the bejeweled blue rose the consort wears), are parents to the royal heirs (Allene herself is the daughter of one of the queens and a consort), and are generally, by all indications, an equal part of the royal family.
It's not exactly an ExoticExtendedMarriage as it is not used to denote Voswain as culturally Other; it is simply a facet of the worldbuilding.

* FantasticMedicinalBodilyProduct: Feon's blood, which can do everything from shaking a hangover to sealing a deep blade wound [[spoiler:(even a magically blood-draining one)]].

* ExoticExtendedMarriage: Although Prince Caederyn's nation of Nadara is customarily monogamous, the secrecy and taboo created by such a custom makes Nadaran culture very popular for InUniverse romance writers. As a result, there are apparently ''reams'' of romance literature showing all manner of extra-marital affairs and triads, and particularly showing Nadaran sovereigns forming triads with their chosen spouse and their Bonded dragon companions. [[PlayedForLaughs The hilarious logical conclusion]] is that ''Allene'', who is from the {{polyamorous}} Voswainian royal family described below, thinks this trope applys to the Nadaran royals. (Caederyn [[{{Understatement}}does not agree]], and is mildly horrified to learn of her misconceptions and their source.)

* VoluntaryShapeshifting: Feon's narration frequently reminds the reader that his true form is his dragon one. He shifts to human-sized, and maintains that shift for long periods of time, in order to fulfill his role as Caederyn's companion and protector. This ability [[ChekhovsSkill gets explored in much more detail later on]]. And yes, Feon does [[PowerPerversionPotential some ''experimenting'']] as well, which [[spoiler:Allene]] greatly enjoys.