qwillreign

[qwillreign]

Jenna hated Mondays. Monday’s were palace days, which meant endless meetings and delegating. Mondays meant having to be in long meetings with the housekeeper and butler she reluctantly employed, having to moderate disputes between the palace’s inhabitants, and the relentlessly frustrating ghost of her mother telling her how wrong everything was.

Today was a Monday- a no-fun day. It was going to d particularly frustrating because This Friday was the 3 year anniversary of her coronation a year ago, and everyone kept trying to make that a big deal. It wasn’t that Queen Jenna resented her coronation, in fact she had looked forward to it when it happened and enjoyed having firm authority, but instead the fact that they wanted to plan a party.

Scratch that. Jenna liked parties. She just didn’t want to plan them. Other people could make the choices, she trusted them. But no, she had to approve and receive every piece of coronation table setting, decoration, and dish they wanted to pull out for the occasion. She had already given a blanket okay- and Maven, the head housekeeper and unofficial party planner, knew that. But they all just kept asking and asking, and Jenna wanted to get to the fun part of her job.

She told herself that it would be over today, h th at this was the last day they would need anything approved or signed, that everything would go back to normal next Monday and she would have only the usual Monday disputes. She told herself this for 4 hours at the desk on the side of the throne room wheee she felt with paperwork. She told herself this right up until a certain someone came it to ask if she would prefer “maroon or burgundy tablecloths, your majesty?”, at which point she chose randomly, stood up, and hid in the tiny room behind the throne until beetle found her there an hour later.

“There’s been an argument between the cobblers and the leather workers, want to get out of here and see the sun?”

Jenna smiled. Right now, that sounded like the best thing in the world, especially compared to tablecloth colors. beetle always knew when she needed to be rescued.

She held out her arm and he pulled her up, catching her when she tripped into his arms.

“Thank Magyk, an actual job to do. Let’s go!”

It took until they were nearly at the makers mile before she thought to ask “Hey Beet, why’d they go to you?”

“I was the only one who knew where to look, Jen”, he responded with a laugh. “Your hiding places are good, but being with you means I can make pretty good guesses, I guess.”

Fin.

[qwillreign]

POV: You are Dimo. You are a Jäger, one of a group who are ferociously loyal to their Heterodyne masters and famously social with each other. You have always had these touchstones to lean on.

Except…suddenly there aren’t any Heterodynes. Everything is in chaos and a mysterious enemy is ravaging Europa. For everyone’s sake, the Jägergenerals make a deal to serve under a new master, Baron Wulfenbach.

Except…the Jägers are still loyal to the House of Heterodyne. So to honor that loyalty, you volunteer to go looking for a Heterodyne. You know, in case one is hidden behind the couch cushions or whatever. And it’s rough! You are officially detached from the Jägers. You can’t come back unless you find a stray Heterodyne, whom you have no reason to think actually exists, so you’re probably going to be out here forever or until you die. Which is a real possibility, because everybody in Europa hates Jägers due to all those centuries serving some of the worst sparks in Europa. (Which, all right, is fair, but still. It’s hurtful.) But you have your fellow volunteers, a little squad of three. You have another Jäger, Jenka, checking in periodically and generally riding herd. And somewhere out there are the rest of the Jägers and the Jägergenerals, doing fine. And over the years you adapt to independence; you learn to plan, and you even find yourself giving orders to the others sometimes.

And then you find an actual Heterodyne, holy shit! She’s eighteen, alone, and green as grass, but she’s got steel in her spine and she’s a crazy strong spark; you have a new mistress! Best day ever!

Except…she gets implanted with the mind of The Enemy. That’s not great. (This happened to her after you found her. You Have Failed Your Heterodyne. ETA: Also you only know about it because you listened sneakily at the door. You’re not sure this is proper Jäger behavior.) But never mind that, she’s got it under control, you all get to Mechanicsburg and she kicks ass and does SCIENCE! and fixes the Castle and reclaims the city and at the end of it she is secure as the new Heterodyne of Mechanicsburg.

Except…

Except then something happens to Mechanicsburg. Is it permanent? Dunno. But the Heterodyne was in there. The Jägergenerals were in there. Anyone in authority in Mechanicsburg was in there. Even Baron Wulfenbach was in there.

A bunch of Jägers were not in there. And they don’t know what to do without someone giving them orders, and…look, you didn’t mean to become a General. Honest. But Jenka’s off monitoring the situation in the rest of Europa, and the only remaining Jägergeneral has somehow gone undercover on the personal staff of the new Baron. They gotta be where they are, and you gotta be where you are, managing dozens of increasingly desperate Jägers and human refugees and trying to figure out what the fuck to do next.

And then the Heterodyne shows up somehow! All is not lost! She’s determined to fix everything! And someone else can be in charge now! Yay!

Except…remember the Enemy? Yeah. She’s still in the Heterodyne’s head. There are things that aren’t safe for her to know. So you have to keep secrets from your Heterodyne, and manage those things yourself without her catching on. It’s hard, but you do it. You do it so well, in fact, that you have a sinking feeling that people are just going to keep asking you to be responsible for things. You’re doomed.

POV: You are Dimo, and you need a drink. And a vacation.

…you’ll probably get the drink?

[qwillreign]

Heaptober Day 5: Siblings

Simon had always been an older brother. He didn’t remember a time without Sam, and before Edd and Erik was hazy at best. It was nice, to always know he was needed, always knowing there was a sibling looking up at him for guidance. 

More than that, it was tiring as all hell. He just wanted one day alone with his mum and his dad, one quiet afternoon where he was the center of attention, not Jenna, or Nicko, the littles, not the chaotic twins or the wandering Sam. 

But simon knew that was never going to happen, not unless he engineered it very, very, carefully. 

So he did. 

One weekend, Simon arranged for Sam to take Nicko and Jenna fishing. He got Edd, Erik, and Jojo a spot on the children’s barge for the day, ticket money saved up from odd jobs and supplemented with a 3 for 2 coupon he had found and doctored into a 3 for 1.5. 

It was worth it, when he had a moment of quiet in the room, an option to lay down, stretch out, sing at the top of his lungs. He got the chance to talk to his mum and dad about his dreams, to be a kid again. 

Simon just wished he hadn’t had to be the one to organize it. 

Oh well.

[qwillreign]

Heaptober Day 4: Trapped

The Extraordinary wizard hated the dark. She hated the cold, the damp, the musty, and the dirty. Everyone knew this about her, and she suspected that was why she had been placed in the most rank and miserable place in the Castle, Dungeon Number One. It was the perfect place to drain her life force further, to ensure she would never escape and retrieve the Ahukl Amulet from that dastardly man. 

It was the perfect place, if not for Alther. Bless that man, he visited every day without fail, spending hours with her even though he too had his own trauma in the place, and she could see how much it pained him. 

It didn’t change the fact that she was trapped, but it did mean that when she was dragged up and out of the Dungeon, weeks, or months, or was it years later, she was able to move, to think, and to fight.

Fighting is how she won.  

[qwillreign]

Odd question maybe but what are some works that, to you, are related to girl genius? This could be spiritually related, thematically related, related by genre or medium, related to you because it came out at the same time, because you were also into it at the same time as reading gg, etc

It could even just be something you associate because you like both things and tend to intertwine whatever your interests are

Just curious

[qwillreign]

link to full chapter!

Heaptober Day 3: Beetle Day

Feat. an excerpt from the next chapter of my Kid Fic, Seventh of the Seventh

O. Beetle Beetle was on his way to his apprenticeship when he was knocked over by the Princess. 

He had been introduced to her before, so of course he recognized the most important person of his age. But strangely, she was not wearing a gown, or even her circlet. No, she was running through the ramblings in a tunic, with a Heap. 

As Beetle bent to help her up, he wondered why his life was so strange now. It seemed that working at the manuscriptorium was not the boring desk job he had once thought it was. When he had gotten the apprencitceship last year he thought he would be running fizzfroots and getting pens for the scribes, but instead they had him working the front desk, which meant he was getting to meet a lot of interesting people. 

Now, it was spreading outside of work, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about that. 

“Are you okay, Princess?” Mathilda started, and Beetle realized she had’nt recognized him, which was fair, but kinda hurt. They had had a nice conversation while he mother had talked with his master, the Cheif Hermitic scribe, but he supposed she met a lot of people. 

“Oh! Beetle!” Mathilda said, “thanks for helping me up!” 

“Not at all, Princess” Beetle said, happy she had recognized him. 

“SHHHH” Mathilda covered his mouth as she started walking, that Heap boy ( Nicko? Septimus? Beetle had met him once but could never tell them apart) following behind, glancing back at the ground like he was searching for something following them. 

Beetle liked the Princess, as self-importat as she was, and she was in fact his boss’s boss, technically, so he shushed. “What are we running from?” He whispered under her hand, before pushing it away with a grunt. 

“Message rat,” she said.  The boy (and it was the wizarding one, so Septimus) shrugged, and exchanged a commiserating glance with Beetle as they turned a few corners. 

“Jenna, do you have any idea where you’re going?” Septimus asked, clearly knowing she did not. Betle did wonder why the wizard boy was calling her Jenna, but it suited her, so he left it be. 

“No, but Beetle was going somewhere, so we can go with him and they can't find us!” 

Beetle sighed. Kids. Always wanting to follow you around. (He was only 13, and they were 11, but it felt like a big difference at the moment). “Sure, but I’m just going to work.”

“Perfect! Mama can’t be as mad if she finds me in the Manuscriptorium! I’ll just say you were teaching me something!” 

Beetle was pretty sure this would end badly. But that was okay, because he kinda liked these kids, and even if he didn’t, he felt like saying that the Princess told him to would be a good enough defense for his boss.

[qwillreign]

Heaptober Day 3: Beetle Day

Feat. an excerpt from the next chapter of my Kid Fic, Seventh of the Seventh

O. Beetle Beetle was on his way to his apprenticeship when he was knocked over by the Princess. 

He had been introduced to her before, so of course he recognized the most important person of his age. But strangely, she was not wearing a gown, or even her circlet. No, she was running through the ramblings in a tunic, with a Heap. 

As Beetle bent to help her up, he wondered why his life was so strange now. It seemed that working at the manuscriptorium was not the boring desk job he had once thought it was. When he had gotten the apprencitceship last year he thought he would be running fizzfroots and getting pens for the scribes, but instead they had him working the front desk, which meant he was getting to meet a lot of interesting people. 

Now, it was spreading outside of work, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about that. 

“Are you okay, Princess?” Mathilda started, and Beetle realized she had’nt recognized him, which was fair, but kinda hurt. They had had a nice conversation while he mother had talked with his master, the Cheif Hermitic scribe, but he supposed she met a lot of people. 

“Oh! Beetle!” Mathilda said, “thanks for helping me up!” 

“Not at all, Princess” Beetle said, happy she had recognized him. 

“SHHHH” Mathilda covered his mouth as she started walking, that Heap boy ( Nicko? Septimus? Beetle had met him once but could never tell them apart) following behind, glancing back at the ground like he was searching for something following them. 

Beetle liked the Princess, as self-importat as she was, and she was in fact his boss’s boss, technically, so he shushed. “What are we running from?” He whispered under her hand, before pushing it away with a grunt. 

“Message rat,” she said.  The boy (and it was the wizarding one, so Septimus) shrugged, and exchanged a commiserating glance with Beetle as they turned a few corners. 

“Jenna, do you have any idea where you’re going?” Septimus asked, clearly knowing she did not. Betle did wonder why the wizard boy was calling her Jenna, but it suited her, so he left it be. 

“No, but Beetle was going somewhere, so we can go with him and they can't find us!” 

Beetle sighed. Kids. Always wanting to follow you around. (He was only 13, and they were 11, but it felt like a big difference at the moment). “Sure, but I’m just going to work.”

“Perfect! Mama can’t be as mad if she finds me in the Manuscriptorium! I’ll just say you were teaching me something!” 

Beetle was pretty sure this would end badly. But that was okay, because he kinda liked these kids, and even if he didn’t, he felt like saying that the Princess told him to would be a good enough defense for his boss.

[qwillreign]

Heaptober Day 2: Eyes 👀

Jenna grew up surrounded by blondes. Her brothers were blond, her mother was blond, and her father had the brightest hair of all. She was the outlier, the ugly duckling, the black sheep of her family. Jenna’s was dark hair, straight as a stick, and her skin tanned easily, while her family’s burned. These things ate at her, day and night, but they were all pushed down beneath the love and joy she found at home. She still heard the whispers and the rumors, even if she pretended she hadn’t. She was her family’s, and they were hers. 

No, the thing that bothered Jenna above all else was the color of her eyes. They were stubbornly purple, no matter how much Magyk she was around, no matter how much Magyk she performed, no matter how much Magyk her brothers did on her. Nicko’s eyes had turned 3 years ago now, so hers were already 2 years late! Not to mention, Nicko didn’t even want to do Magyk! All he wanted to do was ride boats. 

She hid her frustration, saying she didn’t want Magyk anyway, but it stung to be so different from her family in the only way she thought would be fixed. For years, she had hung onto the hope that she could be like them in this way, that once her eyes were green all the bullies at school and their busybody mothers would finally believe she was a Heap. She would never tell her Mum, nor her dad, but she often fell asleep in her cupboard, dreaming of green eyes and sparking green Magyk.

[qwillreign]

I tried drawing the Wizard Tower…

[qwillreign]

apparently i havent written anything for a full year? crazy

[qwillreign]

Heaptober 2024!!!! :D

ID: the prompts list for heaptober 2024. The list is styled like the cover of magyk, gold on dark blue. The list reads:

Darkness

Eyes

Beetle day

Trapped

Siblings

Gold

Assassination

Candles

Trios

Fyre

Wizard tower

Curses

Fairy tale

Queen

AU day

Music

Do a prompt from last year

Childhood

Purple/green

Septimus day

Growing up

Families

Favourite character

Injury

Sick fic/art

Camp Heap

Do a prompt from the first year

Stars

Time travel

Vacation

Epilogue

End ID

Thank you to @chaos-has-theories for the image!!

Event stars October 3rd, ends November 2nd

As always, H*rry P*tter fans not welcome here. Fuck off

Rules under the cut:

Any kind of art is welcome and encouraged (except AI art), including drawing, writing, moodboards, music, animation, sculpture, photography, if you can make it septimus heap related and fit the prompt then you can do whatever you please!!

You can stick to the prompts as strictly or loosely as you want. They mean whatever you want them to mean :)

Please add image descriptions to anything with an image!! If you cannot write your own then dm me here or on @septimus-heap and I will do it for you

Tag all posts with "#heaptober" "#heaptober 2024" and "#septimus heap" and @ this blog! Sometimes posts don't show up in tags for whatever reason so if you @ me you can be sure I'll see it

Doing prompts out of order is totally fine!! Do whatever you want forever

Late posting is fine!!!! You can keep posting into December or next year if you want. It doesn't matter. Please @ me though

And as always, it's meant to be fun!!! There's no obligation to do every prompt and if you find yourself getting stressed feel free to take a break, quit, or if you really want to post then it's totally fine to post WIPs

[qwillreign]

Heaptober Day 1: Darke

Silas Heap was not, in actuality, a bad Wizard.  He had dropped out of his apprenticeship to be sure, but not before passing his qualifying exams.  It was simply that he was a father, not a fighter. He didn't need his boys to be the sons of the Extraordinary Wizard, and he didn't want them to be either. Recognition and money were never his goals, and he knew for a fact that Sarah would hate it.   There was a reason none of the past 10 extraordinaries had been married. 

But above all else it was the presence of the Darke that he couldn't bear to bring home to his boys, to his Sarah, to the child growing inside her. The Darke was corrupting, and Silas didn't need the Darke week to be an Ordinary Wizard, so he just stopped. 

Alther had been upset at first, but years later he told Silas how proud he was of him being able to step away and protect himself from the Darke (the way Alther never could). And eight years after he became an Ordinary, four years after he had stopped regular work at the tower and moved to freelance, (with the occasional duty shift) Silas was absurdly glad he had moved to the Ramblings. When he found his baby girl, his baby princess, he knew that he could never have kept her safe if there was even a touch of Darke in his home. (She would find her own touch of the Darke in due time, but Silas refused to be the source.

Silas was a poor man in gold, but a rich one in heart. People could judge him for his choices, his wasted potential,  but his true potential was his children, his sons and his daughter, growing whole and hale. Safe from the Custodian Guards because their father was a failure, not a real wizard. 

So he let them believe it, and he didn't show his true power to anyone, despite his room being by far the most Magykal in the Ramblings, underneath all the children.  He let even Marcia,  who had once been like a little sister to him, (on account of Alther’s paternal instincts) believe he was an incompetent wizard. Silas was safest, his boys were safest, his princess was safest if nobody knew their father had quit the best Apprenticeship in the Castle to avoid the Darke, not the Magyk. 

[qwillreign]

@ people who carry bags everywhere what do you put in them what is there to bring other than chapstick, keys, phone and maybe a tampon why are you packing a suitcase to be outside for 5 hours

[qwillreign]

ive never been to pride but i get to go tomorrow and im so excited but also nervous?

[qwillreign]

do your ever get excited to see certain mutuals in your notes like yes i pleased the Friend