#RosenRotAU

[cochineal-leviat]

Marquis Fluff reference The Midnight Soirée chapter 1 to 5

It's Fluff's turn!

Kirby 1-2

A warning for spoilers for the Midnight Soirée. Please go read that first if you're interested in the story. Please enjoy

Back reference without Fluff's long hair.

Colour Pallete:

All Fluff's colours are saturated, and compared to Kirby, who uses all colours - Fluff only uses the CMYK colour palette except the green for the leaves. (Cyan, magenta, yellow and key colour. The key colour is usually black or brown, with the latter fitting in here. And well, the cyan is more blue, but I ended up using it for Fluff's eyeshadow.) CMYK is known as print colours and are subtractive, which means the more colour you add, the darker it becomes. The opposite is RGB colours, which are additive colours. The more colour you add, the closer it becomes to white, with white being every colour. RGB is used in electronic displays like TVs, phones and computer screens, and eye cones are also RGB. Though very rarely, people are born with four cones rather than three. Animals like the mantis shrimp have sixteen colour receptors and can see in more colours than we do. 

Clothes:

From top to bottom: we have his wooden crown. In my extra trivia chapter from the Midnight Soirée, I explained how all fae royalty wear flower crowns when they marry and afterwards. But since Fluff is a bachelor, he does not wear a flower crown. So, he dons a crown of wood instead. A few small branches grow from it, resembling horns, as Fluff's true form has four horns. 

All the gems on his person are diamond-shaped. This is because the shape of a diamond represents perfection, which is also why I used the diamond pattern on his jacket. Although with the shading, the diamonds look like triangles, considered half or incomplete perfection. They also resemble cushions, which refers to Patchland being made from arts and crafts. 

The jacket of a concerto maestro with their long tailcoats inspired Fluff's overcoat. Fluff's coattails resemble broken clipped dragonfly wings; the top half is missing, and Fluff's pouldrons are very prince-like. Kirby never thought Fluff was a prince because his crown was humble compared to the royalty Kirby knew. Duke Dedede wears a singlet, which is normal for Dreamland Nobility. A passage in Chapter 1 explains this as crowns are passed down the aristocracy family tree from the head of the family to the next heir. 

Before designing the characters, I had already visualised the starlight tights, which fit well with Kirby's starry night cape. They resemble Lapiz Lazuli, which are some magnificent stones. They have these golden flecks in them and crushed are called Ultramarine, which is a very vibrant dark blue powder. It was believed that wearing lapis lazuli warded off bad spirits, and in Ancient Egypt, they crushed the stone to wear the powder as eyeshadow. 

Fluff's shoes are styled like flowers/vines that wrap around the foot and legs like boots but have the appearance of high heels. It is both elegant and intimidating. A fun detail is that they, from the front, resemble hooves from a bovine. Which is not the correct animal, but hell, why not? It is one of the few drafts I kept from the first sketch because it fits well. 

Without the sash. Marquis Fluff gave his sash to Kirby in chapter 2

Close up from face. I had a lot of fun designing the makeup for Fluff in this AU.

Fluff's glamour is constructed out of many things. However, as a fae, Fluff has no hair shine as a human like Kirby does. Neither do Fae have eyelights. You can see it best in this close-up. The only light that reflects back is on Fluff's clothes or gems. This is why the only light is at the bottom of Fluff's hair, as it is a gradient. This is because the fae use an illusion to hide their true yet ever-changing eldritch forms. So Fluff's eyes and hair are fake, so his skin and really everything about him. It is all magic, which is why, throughout the night, he changes appearances so rapidly and why his expressions can go from warm to cold/deadly so quickly. He mimics human expressions and mannerisms while filling the rest with fae manners. The fae are an adaptive species that outwardly change like nature as nature, even if we don't see it, is constantly adapting for survival. 

As for why Fluff decided to adapt to his form - who knows? Partly, it is to resemble the portrait that hangs in the real world in the debilitated mansion's foyer.

(remember this bad boy? Yeah, it's old but I still love the colours)

All the features that have been added or changed are meant to lure Kirby in. Fae are said to tempt people with their magical beauty and, in some instances, transform to fit the human's preferences. In some myths, it is even said when someone casts their eyes on a fae they have already lost as they are that beautiful.

Fluff took something Kirby was familiar with and was already bewitched by. Or perhaps the portrait is magical of itself and was the first part of the curse. Who knows.

Chapter 3 & Beginning

Fluff with his hair done up and a few other things. Fluff looks more elegant/handsome with his pair-up. It might be because I've been staring at Fluff's reference model with his hair down, so putting up his hair is refreshing.

Fluff was sure at this point that he and Kirby would be together as husbands, so he felt more free to express himself and put more thought into his appearance. The diamond skin from Chapter 3 to Chapter 5 is not part of his makeup, as that was his glamour starting to slip. Luckily for him, it was something that could be considered beautiful. Although the lights can look creepy in the dark as they are essentially glowing freckles. The pointed ears are also from his glamour weakening but he does not feel ashamed to hide them since Kirby knows he is Fae. Fluff's first appearance was meant to attract and yet hide his true nature so here he is much more open. 

Also, diamond earrings = symbolise perfection. Fluff looks a lot more sheep-like with his nose. 

Midpoint Chapter 4 and 5

Here, Fluff is without his maestro jacket - seemingly vulnerable as he wanted to be left alone. Despite his obvious otherness, he seems more down to earth in his upset state. We also see his shirt and hands without his blue coat/gloves covering them, so that's neat. I had a lot of fun designing the ruffled shirt. I wanted to ensure it was not a stale design when I eventually disregarded the jacket for Fluff's angry/hurt role in those two chapters. 

Oh yeah, Fluff is pissed, alright. Well, he is more hurt, but he gets to be angry too. Even if he understood deep down, it was a misunderstanding. He was so close to one's goal, and finding someone who he could love and loves suddenly reject him stung. As did Kirby returning after they rejected him. Fluff did away with all the makeup and jewellery. Even his crown of wood/thorns is gone. His hair is messy, and his eyes and cheeks are covered in cracks. Yeah, Fluff does not care anymore how he is perceived in that moment. Still, he holds onto his glamour just a little longer for sentimentally. Because as hurt as he is, he did enjoy his time spent with Kirby. He also stopped glamouring his natural red peepers, and from this point, he never hides them behind the yellow lenses he conjured from the beginning of the night. They have horizontal pupils like sheep do. 

The pin in his bun is a button. 

Thank you very much for looking at my art & reading. I hope you have a wonderful day or night further! Happy spooky month (*^▽^*)

[emerxshiu]

Spoilers for The Midnight Soirée on ao3

link to the series: RosenRot Au (i hope the link works, i dunno how they work here on tumblr) by Analytical_Cochineal (ao3) here is their tumblr too

I finally decided to draw fanart for my favourite fanfic and kirby au (its actually my second attempt, fucked up the first one and left it unfinished) so here it is!

there isnt an official yin-yarn gijinka on the art references fic, and i was too lazy to create one for him so uh...yeah.

based on SaturdayLemon's comment on chapter 5.

i thought it'd be funny to have him in the shinji pose, it was a pain drawing this, i dunno what was more difficult, the chair or kirby himself in that pose

i kinda tried to like, merge my style a bit with the reference(? if thats understandable, dunno sorry im shit at explaining but i'll try my best, ok so, i wanted to keep the facial features, because my artstyle tends to be kinda simplified, especially in the face so it usually doesnt have much diversity in head form and stuff (im kinda trying to work on that), i think saying that i tried to adapt it to style would be more accurate? not sure, but if i try drawing this goober again i'll try ti adapt it better, because he kinda looks...off? to me

love'd bad end nights, i tend to ocasionally check ao3 to see if theres anything new in the tags i lurk on, gasped when i saw another entry on the RosenRot AU

the only way that i had to describe it after finishing chap.1 was

"its written by a human yet it is so beyond my human comprehension i literally didnt understand anything at all yet i understood everything at the same time and i love it" i dunno its weird to put what i felt into words. i think kirby has a terrible time is so accurate, so much so i'd say its an understatement and terrible doesnt make it justice to what the silly goes trough

originally this were gonna be two drawings, this the first, and another one of fluff dissapointed, but uh, i fucked up the second one and i couldnt salvage it. so he died i guess, i was thinking about end of chap3 and beggining of chap4, basically "were going to be wed my darling fian- what do you mean by what."

also my first attempt was chap5 fluff, but i fucked up and it was followed by one of the weirdest intereactions i've ever had (it was 2am and i hadent gotten a good sleep in some days and i was watching a video talking about those "kid channels" that are definitly not for kids and weird (censored ofc) stuff appeared and i literally said "do u see this shit fluff" y'know the spider-man meme? yeah that one, and there's more but im going off the rails)

dead attempt of the chair thing

i think imma cut it here, i have so much more to rant about (i rlly love this au) but i'll save it for another post of this

Jambuhbye :3 !

[cochineal-leviat]

Portrait of Marquis Fluff, ARN 17-9

A painting I did for the Midnight Soirée way back when I uploaded the first chapter of the fic in October. My rendering has gotten a lot better since then. I like the messiness of it. I am getting better at appreciating old art.

The "I had to do it to them" pose was entirely unintentional. It's kinda funny, though, because I only realised this when I was almost done with it.

If you are curious about the context of this, please go check out Midnight Soirée.

(Don't be afraid to ask questions about this AU. I am all too happy to answer them (*^▽^*))

[cochineal-leviat]

A preview of art references I have been working on for The Midnight Soirée and RosenRot AU. Kirby and Fluff are standing next to each other for scale. I have no set heights. But Fluff is average in height. He just looks tall because Kirby is short.

(Some small details may change when I post the official references)

[cochineal-leviat]

"After escaping Underhill, Kirby travels home - aching to see familiar faces and to feel safe again. But they must be careful, lest Kirby be tempted to return to the woods and face a fate worse than death."

Heyo! So, spooky month is back! Yahoo! Originally, I had planned to post this sequel on the anniversary of the Midnight Soirée, which is next week on Wednesday, the 11th of October. But I am getting surgery this Monday and won't be back for a month at most - missing the anniversary completely. (And Halloween ╯;︿;╰) But, hey, it will be the last one for a long while, so I'm happy about that. So, I hope you enjoy the continuation of the Midnight Soirée. I am ecstatic to finally write the rest of the Dream Quartet. The fic's title is inspired by Bring mich nach Haus from Faun. The band also inspired the chapter titles (and those fantasy vibes) for the Midnight Soirée, so I recommend checking them out.

If you haven't read the Midnight Soirée yet, please go read it here.

[cochineal-leviat]

I finally finished this fic! I'm so happy! This was one of my favourite projects to work on. Even if it took a while, I loved writing the setting, the world and the characters.

To be short, this is a medieval fic where Kirby, a traveller seeking adventure, stumbles upon a mansion in the woods. They enter a world of wonder and mystery and meet a handsome Marquis who seems out of this world. Together they make merry in this strange world. Kirby's worries fade away as do their inhibitions.

Please enjoy!

I know it is weird to post the finale when I have never posted the first chapters (but I didn't have a Tumblr back then), so here is the first chapter for any new readers.

[cochineal-leviat]

Kirby reference The Midnight Soirée chapter 1 & 2

This is Kirby in full! Usually, I would do a full rotation, but I'm too lazy. Unless the other side profile differs greatly, I will keep doing only one side profile for every reference I post.

Fluff 1-5

A warning for minor spoilers for The Midnight Soirée.

Colour Pallete:

Although saturated, Kirby's palette is colourful and uses all colours on the colour wheel except for purple and orange (well, the blue in his eyes is slightly purple and brown is desaturated orange). Kirby is a colourful character; I want to convey that in their colour palette. I had to use grey for the trousers to naturalise the other colours, but I'm pretty happy with it even though it took me a long time to find the right colours to use. Kirby's colour palette is more suited for the natural life on earth than Fluff's reference (which you can see in the preview I posted), as Fluff's colours are much more saturated and benefiting of a supernatural creature whose domain is in the void.

The boots and gloves are red to match each other, but also because I am a sucker for Kirby's iconic red shoe look, I wanted to keep that fun detail in his human form. The gloves/gauntlets were a gift from Meta Knight gift before they embarked on their journey. They are red because Meta Knight used Duke Dedede's favourite colour. As are the boots Bandana Dee gave to match the gloves as Meta Knight and Bandana Dee coordinated their gifts. Duke Dedede chose a blue cloak to represent both Meta Knight and Bandana Dee as they are associated with the colour blue (dark blue for Meta Knight and sky blue for Bandana Dee)

(*More on the cape in the next reference)

(**More on the tunic itself on the reference - sans cape)

Instead, like Meta Knight did by stamping his sigil on Kirby's gloves, Duke Dedede gave Kirby a belt buckle with his emblem. It is subtler than his original plan of emblazing his logo on the back of Kirby's cape. As cool as it would have been, as Kirby laments in Chapter 2 of MS - it would have been too eye-catching and drawn highwaymen to Kirby, who needs to keep a low cover if they want to explore the continent of Popstar without being bothered every turn.

Kirby's clothes are dirty, and doing upkeep on his clothes is difficult while travelling. But they are not super filthy, as Kirby has not travelled that far from Sunset Mountain Range. They are a week away on horseback from the infamous southern mountains of the country of Dreamland. Although Kirby has been taking the scenic route stopping by all the sights and staying at every village to get to know the world beyond the mountain he grew up in. (Well, he was born at the base and only started living at the summit with Dedede, Bandana and Meta after a good while of being friends)

Hood up! Kirby and * more information about the cape. The rabbit fur is missing some strands because of Kirby's rough travelling style and habit of getting into fights. The fur comes from the rabbits' Sunset Mountain is famous for as Dedede's dukedom handles livestock and its savoury cuisine. (They know how to throw a good potluck). It is customary in Southern Dreamland to sew a travelling gift with this rabbit fur for luck in one's travels. Duke Dedede personally caught the rabbit, skinned it and made a parting dinner with it to wish Kirby safe travels, as the gift would be moot if he did not prepare the rabbit himself.

You can see a subtle star design on Kirby's back with the hood up. The whole cloak represents Kirby's name and connection to the stars. Kirby's full name is Kirby From the Stars/de las Estrellas (the latter is a surname Meta Knight gifted Kirby to protect them from human society and from the Nightly Folk). A nickname that transformed from 'Kirby Godess gifted' to 'Kirby Godess's gift', 'Kirby Starbright' all the way to' child descended from the star' as Kirby's actions proceeded him. Dedede commissioned this cape in Kirby's honour to call back to their first meeting and the amount of effort and work it took for them to become friends/family. Kirby's greatest treasures are the three gifts from his friends (cloak, gloves and boots).

Dirtless! Kirby. This is after Kirby landed in Underhill. Fluff repaired his cape and polished his shoes and gloves. Other than that, there is not much to say. The patch to Kirby's trousers is left intact because Fluff thought it was a part of the outfit and not a literal patch-up job Kirby did because he tore his pants in the first week of travelling. 

**As you can see, without the cloak, Kirby lacks the colour blue (aside from his eyes). The green sweater contrasts the red of the boots and gloves, and the yellow contrasts all the blue shades. As for why the tunic is split colour - it is because originally, the tunic was entirely yellow. But that didn't fit Kirby, plus I wanted Kirby to have pink on him as he wouldn't have pink hair as a human (yet). Since the cloak covers the tunic, it doesn't attract too much attention, and even then, a lot of peasant clothing had fun designs. As long as something doesn't look too fancy, Kirby won't be mistaken as a noble or servant of a noble. 

I lovingly call this tunic the Strawberry Custard Tunic. Strawberry because pink for Kirby and the Custard for the yellow dye in relation to Keeby, with the original tunic colour being a reference to them. The tunic's design is inspired by the Hylian tunic from BOTW/TOTK. Which was probably obvious with the leather chest plate. The tassels bring out Kirby's playful side and help spread the pink/yellow across the whole tunic. One side is longer than the other simply to enhance the design a bit, as an even-cut hem is not Kirby's style. Even if I gave Kirby an even-hem, it would slit at the sides for more spatial movement. Kirby's earthen look isn't all that exciting, so the little details go a long way, like the sleeves of the outer tunic, which are flowy and stitched to create folds.

As Kirby bemoans, his tunic isn't very pretty or festive, so they were so tempted to wear the dresses in the closet in chapter one. It is a shame I never got to draw/write Kirby with a dress. Well, maybe next time. :)

And finally, at the end of chapter 1, Kirby with the blue rose behind his ear. A blue rose symbolises mystery or attaining the impossible. They are notorious for their 'love at first sight' meaning, and as Fluff gave Kirby one thornless rose, this meaning is amplified as gifting one rose means 'you are the one/you are still the one' and a thornless one also means 'love at first sight'. So it's 'love at first sight' message is doubled. It also adds Fluff's blues to Kirby's palette and nicely matches Kirby's blue cloak. 

Chapter 2

Chapter 2 sees two major differences to Kirby. His hair change, and the sash Fluff gives them. The sash was neither a gift nor a deal because Fluff's sash tied Kirby to Fluff. This way, Fluff knew where Kirby was throughout the whole night. Once Kirby discarded the sash later in the fic, Fluff lost his ability to locate Kirby. 

Fluff changed Kirby's hair pink as a part of a mini deal. Interestingly enough, the pink used for Kirby's hair is not Fluff's brand of pink but the same pink as Kirby's split tunic. It also fits them more than the blonde hair did. Though I am sure many people in their world would disagree with this statement. (The pink also fits the blue rose better. Though that might be my bias showing)

(A closer look comparing Kirby with their natural blonde hair and the pink hair Marquis Fluff magicked without the blue rose.)

I made Kirby blonde because it's the brightest colour next to pink, as I could not make Kirby pink-haired from the start. Pink hair on a human would be really suspicious. If Kirby had been born with pink hair despite being fully human, he would have been tossed into the woods, never to be seen again. Either mauled to death, succumbing to starvation/dehydration or taken in by one of the elusive fae this story is centred around. Now, Fae! Kirby would be a very interesting character to write about. But that is not for this story... 

Kirby's dirty blonde hair (or pudding blonde, as I like to call it) makes the blue of his cape stand out more. If I had chosen brown hair, which is closer to pink and easier to make a gradient out of, it would have blended too much with the fur on the cloak. This worked back when Kirby's cloak was more on the green/cyan side. But that was before I made Kirby's cape and Fluff's tights match. (Though Kirby's hair does appear brown in low light/the dark)

I can also geek out about Kirby's eye colour with this close-up. Kirby's eyes have violet shading in this AU to bring in the colour purple to their palette and accentuate the blues. But also to differentiate this Kirby from canon Kirby as I paint puffball Kirby and Gijnka Kirby with green-blue eyes. Kirby's undertunic woollen sweater is already green, so it would have been too much green. Plus, I couldn't have it contrast with the pinks Kirby uses/is going to use. Blue/violet is a nice compromise as it is analogous to purple. 

And now the last touch - the flower crown Fluff weaved into Kirby's hair as Kirby took a nap. They are just a bunch of pink and white roses. Nothing sinister about it :) (I got a little lazy with them, but you get the gist)

Okay, but seriously. The meaning of white and pink roses is peculiar. On their own white roses represent loyalty, purity, and innocence. It is a popular wedding flower and can also mean: eternal love and a brand new start. Pink Roses mean grace and sweetness. Other interpretations include; gentleness, appreciation, joy, thankfulness, and elegance. Pink and white roses are used in anniversaries, graduations or as wedding gifts. 

Combined, the Blue rose, pink and white roses mean: "Love at first sight, pure/gentle and graceful/elegant person - I attained the impossible/mystery, and I am thankful for this joy/new beginning you bestowed upon me." 

And so, in the end, Fluff's magenta and blue shades have been added to Kirby's colour palette. More of Kirby's references follow after Fluff's turn with his early chapters appearances. 

Thank you so much for making it to the end of my design notes. Until next time. ♪(^∇^*)ブ

(Don't be afraid to ask questions about this AU. I am all too happy to answer them)

[cochineal-leviat]

Hello! I was wondering if I could make fanart (and perhaps an animatic) for Midnight Soiree? And if so, do you have any gijinkas you'd like me to use?

One more thing too, I read it this weekend and WHOA. Your writing is so well written! And I sobbed very much. Thank you for the dededepression :')

Oh absolutely! I love to see fanart of my works. I'm honoured I inspired you to create. An animatic. Wow. I'm definitely looking forward to that or anything else you make.

I do have gijinka designs for the characters in A Midnight Soirée. But I will be on holiday for a bit and away from my computer. But I will see to it to upload them soon. I'm very happy you enjoyed my story so much, even if it gave you Dedededepresion. Make sure to consult with Physician Dee about which anti-dededepresant works best for you.

But seriously, thank you for reading. (*^▽^*)