Freedom

"What's really not fair is the biggest difference between me and those dragons. [...] They all had someone who loved them. No one ever loved me! Not that I care; I don't care, I don't care. But that's the unfair part, actually."

— Freedom to Luna about love, The Flames of Hope

Freedom, originally named Lizard by Cottonmouth, was a female dragonet who was introduced in The Flames of Hope. She made up half of the consciousness of the othermind, along with Cottonmouth.

Description

Freedom had brittle shiny orange and green scales, and two green wings that curved like leaves. The shape of her eyes were reminiscent of a RainWing's, and they were covered by a white film, overlaid by a shimmer of mossy green. She was smaller than Dusky, despite his tiny size. She had bright white little teeth. There was a plant growing through her head, emerging from the top of her skull before continuing into Cottonmouth’s in the physical world. She resembled a combination of several tribes, and had a high, clear voice.

Personality

Freedom was entitled, loud, and fierce, having lived a short life in which she never experienced feelings like compassion and affection. She believed that her life was the worst so she had no reason to feel bad for anyone else, since they should all be feeling bad for her. She thought that she was most like Snowfall out of all the dragons she saw in the memories that she saw. She got mad easily and hated Cottonmouth completely. She believed that dragons could never feel love or love others, coldly regarding them as "reptiles.” She was easily disgusted by shows of affection, like hugging, and wanted to be big and scary like the dragons she had seen in Cottonmouth's memories, believing they are "true dragons". However, she changed after Luna introduced her to the concept of friendship and love, eventually allowing Luna to end her life in order to save the world.

Biography

Pre-series

Cottonmouth had his subordinates steal Freedom's egg as a part of his experiments to try and tame dragons. This had unfortunately led to the fall of his empire as the mothers of the dragon eggs he had stolen retaliated by burning down the human cities, an event that would later be called the Scorching. Cottonmouth and some of his followers had managed to survive and escape the burning city and brought along with them Freedom's egg. Cottonmouth, during his time in the abyss, did many tests to figure out how to control dragons. He found moderate success with a genetically modified plant that later became known as the "breath of evil" and decided to test it on Freedom. However, this backfired when the plant took over him and Freedom, trapping them in the mindspace.

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The Lost Continent Prophecy

The Flames of Hope

Freedom first appeared as Luna was traveling through her, Cottonmouth, and various humans' memories to tell their story in the mindspace. After Dusky attempted to explain that her name was Lizard, she stated she could speak for herself and that she hated experiencing the same thing for thousands of years. She then asked Luna and Dusky for their memories, and became frustrated when they refuse. Freedom accused Cottonmouth for being the reason they were trapped with the plant. She then showed Luna and Dusky the mindspace. As they watched Tsunami, Pineapple, and Qibli in Queen Wasp's throne room, Luna convinced Freedom to intervene in exchange for Luna's memories. Freedom took over Malachite and allowed the group to escape by using a sword and cutting the vines. After watching Dusky and Luna's memories and pronouncing them boring and not understanding why Luna would care so much about Blue, she brought Pineapple into the mindspace. Luna convinced her to free Luna and Dusky from the vines that Freedom controlled, in exchange for Pineapple's memories, which she also declares not to her taste. She was surprised when Moon appeared in the mindspace. After watching the various memories transferred to her through Moon, she stated that she hated all of it, because nobody was like her. Luna explained that every dragon is different, and Freedom eventually told her how to stop the othermind; to cut the vine running through her and Cottonmouth's heads. She then told Dusky to distract her, saying she didn't want to think about Luna cutting the vine. When Cottonmouth told Freedom to focus, she complained and stuck her tongue at him. When Luna requested, she showed her and Dusky Cicada Hive. Freedom watched and commentated on the following battle near Scorpion Lake. When Luna cut the vine between Freedom and Cottonmouth, Freedom expressed confusion then frustration when Luna explained why she had cut the vine between Freedom and Cottonmouth and not under Freedom. She shouted that she did not want to spend the rest of eternity fighting the plant as it tried to use her leafspeak. When Luna and Dusky prepared to cut the vine, Dusky suggested giving her a new name instead of "Lizard" as Cottonmouth had named her. Freedom hesitantly agreed and asked to be called Freedom. Right before the vine was cut, she awkwardly thanked Dusky and Luna for the "squishy, ridiculous, cuddle-monster" memories, saying they may not have been so bad and that if she had had a real life, Dusky and Luna would be OK in it. Freedom was mentioned in the epilogue when Cricket and Luna were talking about recording history.

Relationships

Cottonmouth

Freedom hated Cottonmouth for killing her before she lived a normal dragon life. Meanwhile, Cottonmouth found her annoying and inferior. It was said that Cottonmouth convinced her that all dragons are vicious, and that they do not have feelings resulting in her, at first, believing Luna's and Dusky's memories to not be as vicious and cold as they were from a different tribe. She found his story boring. Cottonmouth also gave her the name 'Lizard'. They did not like each other, however, they were bound to each other for as long as they lived, working together to control the breath of evil. They knew that they needed each other to continue 'living', but they did not tolerate the other much. Freedom greatly enjoyed watching him die, and thanked Luna for giving her the privilege to see it before her own demise.

Dusky

Freedom considered Dusky a friend. She absorbed his memories and claimed to find them boring. Dusky also gave her a hug, which she called 'stupid,' although she seemed to secretly appreciate it. She played with him in the othermind's mindspace, drawing in the dirt and wrestling, and took his suggestion to adopt a new name before her second, final death.

Luna

Luna was kind to Freedom and she felt bad for her terrible life. Luna told her that she would give over her memories in exchange for helping her friends. In one of Luna's memories, Freedom did not understand why Luna did not just abandon Blue and run away. Luna responded that she loved him, which Freedom detested. Luna then got the idea to show Freedom memories of dragons from different tribes. Freedom still called them bland, and said she was nothing like any of them. Luna then compared her to all of them, showing her that they all had bits and pieces that were similar to her. This showed Freedom sympathy and compassion. She decided that if she did have a life outside the Othermind, it would be okay if Luna and Dusky were in it. This influenced her to instruct Luna to cut the plant, saving dragonkind, and killing her and Cottonmouth in the process.

Quotes

"Because I want them! And I am the most miserable dragon who ever lived, and then died, and then had to half-live, half-be-dead forever all stuck together with a hateful human and a desperate weed, so I should get to have anything I want! Give them!"

― to Luna and Dusky, about why she should take Dusky's memories

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"What's really not fair is the biggest difference between me and those dragons, [...] They all had someone who loved them. No one ever loved me! Not that I care; I don't care, I don't care. But that's the unfair part, actually."

― to Luna, about the memories the rest of the stealth team gave her

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"If you cut the vine that's growing through our heads, [...] the plant will be a normal plant again, and we'll be gone."

― to Luna, about destroying the othermind, killing her and Cottonmouth in the process

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"Do you think... would Freedom be a weird name for a dragon?"

― to Luna and Dusky, about getting a new name

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"And thank you for all your squishy, ridiculous cuddlemonster memories, [...] I guess maybe they weren't so bad. If I had a real life, it would be maybe OK if you two were in it."

― to Luna and Dusky, about receiving their memories