eh i might as well just post em here. Sirenian humans for ya. ftr i never got round to doing this for selkies or the other guys
the individual drawings for these are.. not the best and the text formatting and typos are woeful but i have a lot of fondness for them (especially the hopper harpies, they're my favourites) and the reason i made this blog was originally to talk more about them in a more relaxed space
there's also... this attempt at describing the naming conventions of the most populated settlement
one thing i really wanted to avoid with these guys was the notion of culture being tied to what type of person you are (physically i mean). it's very rare that a settlement is limited to only one type of human. culture is instead related to settlements and geographical regions (can u tell I hate the common trope of Monolithic Fantasy Race Culture). because the humans who originally settled on siren spoke english, all of the languages spoken by modern sirenians are derived from english (and this is how scholars can back-translate ancient records about ishmael et al). some people with very specific adaptations (like hoppers) might be concentrated in the area that best fits their morphology but there are no exclusive groups based on body type.
the modern sirenians do not believe they are (or were, originally) aliens on siren, they do not know about earth, they know nothing at all aside from the fact that there were once Precursors who've left some technology behind.
the main story is about our guy Qedivar travelling from the spire to the old Precursor ruins to do some research, and on the way he hires Huarva as a tugboat and Terwy as an astronavigator. They have each lied to the other about some fundamental aspect of themselves of course so there's drama but eventually Qedivar gets home and publishes a preliminary report on what he found there (which is the record of Ishmael's life). Conservative factions immediately decry it as heresy and call for Qedivar to be killed, so he has to go into hiding and publish under a pseudonym.
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Danny slowly lowered himself down onto Luther's newest death machine thanks to his bat themed grappling hook. Making special care not to let his heart beat or his lungs take in breath lest Superman hear him and intervene, he used his intangibility to sink into the machine itself to steal its parts.
Yeah, so a full white outfit wasn't the best choice for stealth, but it was better than dressing like a traffic light. Plus the black gloves and boots made him feel nostalgic. It had been only seven months since the accident that took his life, so much has happened since then.
Biting his lip as he smiled as he began gathering up parts and wires with his intangibility and placing them into his bag. Lastly he grabbed the power source, which-surprise, surprise, is kryptonite.
After he grabbed what he wanted he quickly stuck a note on the maintenance panel of the machine for when someone opened it and discovered it now had a large hollow space, then simply sank down through the floor and flew to freedom.
Danny sighed once he was clear. Or, at least he thought he was.
"Young man." Crud. Danny turned around to see big blue floating behind him in all his red underwear glory. Great. "I believe you have something that doesn't belong to you." The Kryptonian said, looking pointedly at the large chunk of kryptonite Danny held under his arm.
Instead of an excuse, Danny got an idea. "Uh, hello? Recognize the mask?" He said, gesturing to his face.
Superman narrowed his eyes, staring at his face for a few very long seconds and just as Danny was about to cut his losses and book it out of there, a look of recognition graced the heros face. Sweet. "Thats Nightwings mask."
"Yeah. Just smaller."
Superman nodded, then asked, "Why aren't you wearing a bat symbol? I wouldn't have thought you were a thief if I knew you were working with Batman." Danny had to fight to keep his face neutral.
"I haven't decided what symbol I want on my suit yet." And that was true. Danny wasn't sure he wanted any symbol at all. The mark of the bat would mean that he belonged in the batclan, and Danny was a lone ghost. A wandering spirit if you will. He didn't belong anywhere.
Some small part of his mind that sounded suspiciously like Jazz said that might be one of the reasons he's been behaving so poorly lately, but he brushed it off. Superman just nodded sagely. Danny doubted he actually knew how Danny felt and was just nodding along to appear sympathetic. Adults lie, and they lie often. Danny kinda hated them for it.
"Well, I'm kinda on a deadline, so I should get going. Crime to fight, goth furry to annoy, you know how it is." Danny said, waving the arm that wasn't carrying the kryptonite around in the air before using it to readjust the bags strap on his shoulder.
"Alright," superdude smiled warmly, "Tell Batman I said hi." Danny grinned back at him as he jogged away, "Will do!"
That went better than expected. Thank you, Nightwing~! The boy thought to himself as he ran off into a secluded area and turned invisible and flying away.
Just imagining Supermans face if- no- when Batman finally breaks and tells the Justice League about the little menace thats been stealing all his and his sidekicks stuff for the last few weeks nearly sends Danny into hysterics.
Danny still has Robins sword mounted above the fireplace in his favorite safe house in Costa del Sol. Red Hoods "favorite" motorcycle was in its garage and Red Robins wrist computer and chest harness thing were mounded in a glass case next to the first thing he stole from them:
Batmans utility belt.
Sure, its a pain to remove all the tracking stuff from them, but man is he proud of those accomplishments.
Still. Its better to leave Metropolis after he got caught by Superman. Its only a mater of time before someone finds out about the old switcheroo he pulled at the last museum robbery and that combined with the bodies of those creepy rich guys he had killed (human trafficer buyers) well, surely Batman has noticed he had been gone for a while and would pick up on the matching M.O. in Metropolis.
Time to bounce.
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@jegulus-microfic // may 22 // prompt: control // words: 1169
“We should eat soon. Do you have any preference?” James asks as he glances into his rearview mirror.
“No, I'm easy,” Regulus replies. He swipes at his phone again, mindlessly opening the calculator before closing it again. He's been alternating between the calculator and the weather app for the better part of an hour no, nothing else to do on his phone and a deep reluctance to have an actual conversation with James.
He looks up at James when there’s no response. It takes a second for his own words to register and with a sigh he adds, “I meant easy to please.”
Again, the double meaning snatches James’ attention. “I'm just not picky,” Regulus grounds out.
“Yeah,” James scoffs. “I can tell.”
Regulus drops his phone on his lap, turning his head to give James his full attention. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing.” But evidently it is not nothing, because James waits barely a second before continuing with, “It’s just that you barely waited for the bed to get cold.”
“Excuse me?” Incredulity bleeds into his voice.
“I heard that you went out a lot.”
“With my friends.” Late nights wallowing on the couch were only accepted for so long until they started tugging at him with impatient hands, dragging him out of the house and into this club, then that one.
They told him that the best way to get over someone was to get under someone else, but Regulus never did take anyone home. Any pair of hands that didn't belong to James made his skin crawl.
“And we all know how your friends feel about you,” James says harshly.
“Okay, seriously, what the fuck is your damage, James?” Regulus twists in his seat, staring holes into James’ side profile. His messy hair and wire-frame glasses. His cheeks are flushed with anger, but Regulus doesn’t think James has anything to be angry about.
“What's my damage?” James asks, eyes flitting over to Regulus. “What are you, twelve?”
“You know what I mean.”
“Do I?”
Regulus laughs, short and joyless, before dropping back into his seat. His eyes fall shut as he lets his head thud against the headrest. “And I remember, suddenly, why this didn’t work.”
“Yeah? Was it your incessant need to be in control?”
“No, actually. It was your complete and utter inability to listen.”
“Oh, I think I hear you loud and clear,” James scoffs, and Regulus resists the urge to just crawl out the car window. He’s slight enough, he thinks he could fit. As a matter of fact —
“Stop the car.”
“What?”
“You heard me, stop the fucking car.”
“Regulus, you're not walking all the way to Sirius' house. We still have three hours to go.”
“I don't care. Stop. The. Car.”
“What's your damage?”
“My damage is that I'm stuck in a car with you with nowhere else to go!”
It's silent for a beat. Then two.
“Well, I'm sorry you feel that way,” James says eventually, before harshly turning the dial to turn up the volume.
They drive to the roadside restaurant in silence. Or well, as silent as can be with the music playing loud enough that Regulus can’t hear himself think. Just as well. He wasn’t thinking anything nice.
James makes the executive decision to pass by a drive-through, probably to prevent having to spend more time in each other’s company than strictly necessary. Regulus can’t say that he minds.
No words are exchanged as they eat, but when Regulus reaches for his drink in the cupholder, James speaks again.
“Do you still like vanilla milkshakes?” He inclines his head toward the cup in Regulus’ hand. James always teased him about choosing the most boring flavor, but vanilla is a classic and Regulus stands by it.
Regulus has the urge to make a snide comment, but he swallows it down. Glances over at James, tense in his seat, both hands on the steering wheel. It unnerves Regulus a little, seeing James like this. He is supposed to be loose limbs and easy smiles. Not… this.
“Yeah, do— do you still like those cherries?” Regulus asks, holding out his cup for James in case he wants the maraschino cherry that sits on top of the whipped cream. James plucks it out of the swirl with ease, like they never stopped doing this.
“Do you still go to the diner down the street?”
They used to go often. The 24/7 diner, red and white tiles on the walls, cracked leather in the booths. They spent late nights there, when studying took priority over cooking and everything else was closed. Appearing again on a Saturday morning, soaking up the alcohol that still lingered in their systems. Salty and sweet kisses shared next to the jukebox.
“No, it—” Regulus catches himself before he says something embarrassing like it hasn’t been the same without you. “It’s been a while,” he says instead.
“I see.”
Regulus squeezes his eyes shut, black spots swimming in his vision. Then, before he can chicken out, he asks the first thing that comes to mind.
“Does your mom still collect those novelty plates?”
James laughs at that, the sound of it comforting and familiar, and he seems to relax in his seat. Even if just a little.
“She’s actually moved on to novelty shot glasses. My dad had to get rid of five plates he’d bought in advance. I still have them, though. I just know she’ll return to the plate thing soon enough.”
They pass the time like that, dragging up memories and habits, questions flowing between them. Regulus finds that he likes it. He’d missed James’ easy nature, his way of telling stories. He also finds that he is secretly relieved that James hasn’t changed a lot in the time they spent away from each other.
Do you still? Say yes, say yes.
Do you still forget to clean your glasses? Do you still keep a picture of you dad in your wallet? Do you still like your coffee the same way? Do you still—
Say yes, say yes.
“I got the internship, by the way,” Regulus says at some point. He’s not sure how much time has passed, but stretching fields of green are slowly giving way to houses again. “The—”
“—one at the publishing house?” James cuts in excitedly. His head whips to the side to look at Regulus, joy evident in the little crinkles around his eyes. “No way!”
Regulus’ heart stalls and stutters. A heavy beat in his chest. Say yes, say yes.
“I can’t believe you remember that,” he breathes.
Silence stretches between them and for a moment, Regulus thinks the conversation has died down again. It was nice while it lasted.
But then, so soft like he hoped Regulus might not hear, “I remember everything about you.”
Do you still? Say yes, say yes.
“James. Stop the car.”
“What?”
“Stop the car.”
Say yes, say yes.
Thankfully, James doesn’t need to be told a third time.
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The cards from the Where is ♡? set contain multiple references to previous Mafuyu event card sets. By far the most obvious reference is the mask that originally appeared as part of her Masquerade Doll costume / Captive Masquerade trained 4* card (right). The mask reappears in Mafuyu's My True Feelings card (left), although it has now been broken in half, alluding to her dropping her metaphorical mask in front of her mother.
Another obvious similarity is the strings in both cards. Mafuyu's Captive Masquerade card originates from her first event, Captive Marionette, in which she subconsciously associates herself with a marionette doll she sees in an exhibit, causing her to have a panic attack. She sees herself in the marionette doll because of how her mother treats her like a puppet - every aspect of her life is controlled by her mother pulling the strings. Her My True Feelings card originates from the Saying Goodbye to My Masked Self event, in which she finally stands up to her mother and ultimately runs away, hence why she is shown cutting the strings in the art.
While hard to tell, it seems as though the background in the My True Feelings card may be based on or even be the same location as the cards from the Ball of the Marionettes set. It's easiest to tell by comparing the background to the windows and pillars from Miku's trained Severed Threads 4* card.
Kanade's trained Embracing Your Trembling Back With Kindness 4* card features ivy covering most of the objects in the card, including the strings. This appears to be a reference to the cards from the Nursing my ES set, the set from Mafuyu's previous unit event, Guiding a Lost Child to What Lies Beyond. In this event, the N25 story began to focus on Mrs Asahina's influence over Mafuyu's life, and the ivy growing over everything may be representative of this. There appears to be some ivy on the objects in Mafuyu's My True Feelings card, but it is hard to tell for certain because the background is out of focus.
Kanade, Ena and Mizuki's cards from the Where is ♡? set feature a crystal heart-shaped apple object. This is a reference to the cards from the Snow White in Oblivion set, which featured a smaller version of this item as a charm on all the costumes. Mafuyu's card from this set is also notable for featuring the first physical appearance of Mrs. Asahina (albeit with her face obscured on both the trained and untrained version of the card). The event this set originates from, Mirage of Lights, was referenced in Saying Goodbye to My Masked Self.
Finally, all of the cards from the Where is ♡? set feature furniture scattered around. This was also a common feature in the Ball of the Marionettes set. While the items of furniture in the latter set are rather generic fancy chairs and such, the objects in the Where is ♡? set appear to be mainly household items and pretty standard furniture, likely alluding to how Mafuyu feels trapped and overwhelmed by her home life.
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