#i know you technically asked for only wing lore

[spitefulsatanfics]

𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐥 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐁𝐨𝐲𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐖𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞...

— by little devil 🕯️

pairing: castiel x she/her reader

tone: angelic awkwardness, holy fluff, tragic beauty, tender devotion

genre: canon-compliant headcanon list told through mini fanfiction scenes

rating: pg-13 for themes of eternity, gentle touches, and celestial simping

synopsis: loving an angel isn’t like loving a person—it’s like being seen for the first time in your whole damn life.

🌌 Endless, Unwavering Staring

You’ve asked him why he does it. The staring.

He tilts his head, confused.

“You are… captivating,” he says. “I’m literally brushing my teeth, Cas.” “Yes. I am aware.”

No matter the time, the place, or the state of your bedhead, Castiel stares at you like you are the only thing keeping the universe from crumbling. And maybe—just maybe—you are.

📿 That Old Testament Flavor of Devotion

He doesn’t love like a man. He loves like a declaration.

“I would fall again,” he says, quiet, sure. “For you. If Heaven demanded otherwise—I would choose you.”

You freeze, soup spoon halfway to your mouth.

“Cas. I’m just sick. You don’t have to make it biblical.”

But that’s the thing. With Castiel, everything is.

☁️ Trying to Teach Him Pop Culture with Deeply Mixed Results

“That is… a SpongeBob.” “Correct!” “He lives in a fruit?” “Technically a sea sponge in a pineapple under the sea, yeah.” “This is absurd.” “…You love it.” “…I do.”

He once recited “the Krabby Patty secret formula is love” during a demon interrogation. Dean still hasn’t recovered.

🕰️ Being Gently Out of Step with Time but Always on Time for You

He doesn’t sleep, doesn’t eat, doesn’t really understand mortality.

But somehow, he always knows when your hands start shaking, when the nightmares hit, when the weight of everything becomes too much.

“You do not need to be strong tonight,” he murmurs, wrapping his coat around you. “Just rest. I will carry it for now.”

🕊️ Accidentally Saying the Most Romantic Things in the Universe

Like, he really doesn’t mean to go so hard. He’s just… built that way.

“I studied your soul once,” he tells you one night, voice low and reverent. “It’s brighter than anything I’ve seen in Heaven.”

You: 🧍‍♀️ Also you: dead on the floor, heart exploded, ascended to the astral plane

🔥 Moments of Terrifying, Blazing Power—But He’ll Never Hurt You

When Cas is angry, the air changes.

Demons scatter. Lights flicker. The Earth holds its breath.

But when he looks at you?

His hands shake, soft and unsure, wings tucked in like he’s afraid of brushing against your light.

“Even at my most powerful,” he whispers, “you make me feel… human.”

🥪 Trying Human Things Just Because You Like Them

He doesn’t need food. But when you offer him a bite of your sandwich, he takes it.

Chews.

Blushes.

“This is... pleasant.” “It’s grilled cheese, babe.” “Then I would like… more grilled cheese. With you.”

He eats it awkwardly, angelic hands too big for the plate, and you have never loved anyone more.

📖 Reading Scripture and Lore with You—and Occasionally Correcting It

He reads over your shoulder, brow furrowed.

“That’s… not accurate.” “What, this Latin exorcism?” “No, the depiction of Uriel. He wasn’t nearly that tall. Or kind.” “Cas, it’s fanfiction.” “It is… fanfiction of Heaven?” “Yeah. And apparently Gabriel's hot now.” “…He will be insufferable when he finds out.”

🌿 Flowers Left in Strange Places

He doesn’t buy bouquets. He materializes them.

Sometimes it’s a single daisy on your dashboard. Sometimes an entire garden blooms outside your motel room.

“I thought you needed… beauty.” “Cas. You made tulips grow in the carpet.” “Do you like them?” “…Yeah, actually.”

💬 Deep Conversations at Inconvenient Hours

You: half-asleep at 2am Cas: watching the ceiling

“Y/N, do you believe fate can be rewritten?” “Cas it is literally 2—” “If I was made for obedience… then why do I desire free will with you?” “…Okay hang on let me get tea.”

🕯️ Making You Feel Like a Living Prayer

When Castiel touches you—your hand, your cheek, your waist—it’s not just affection. It’s reverence.

“You are not just a person to me,” he confesses, voice low. “You are… a beacon. Something sacred.”

You’ve been many things. But never sacred. Until now.

🌟 Wings Unfurled Only for You

You ask him to show you once. He hesitates.

“They are… damaged.” “So am I,” you reply. “Doesn’t mean I’m not beautiful.”

He unfolds them in the dark—burned, broken, glorious.

You swear you can feel them against your skin like the warmth of a dying star.

𓆩☁️𓆪 Castiel loves like cathedral bells in the distance, like the hush after prayer, like starlight on skin.

He does not know how to love halfway. He only knows forever. And he chose you.

𓆩☁️𓆪

[arolegos]

@fiberturkey89 OK HI i love treating ninjago charactes like my oc so heres the umm explanation for my morro design!!! YAP SESSION under cut cause i dont wanna flood ppl with my yapping ...

ok so to me he was a member of the cloud kingdom!!! i know this is a somewhat popular headcanon although im not sure who first came up with it. i just wanted a reason to make him look cool at first

every different realm and region has a majority species . To me . i could go on and on about each one that i Made up but for now i will focus on the CK species (plus euphrasia for additional um. idk. context?)

idk what id call the species name. ill just call them Writers . for now. Ummm as u can see i believe that their species has a LOT of wings. like a whole bunch. each person can have up to like 3 colours for their wings, with white being the main one. the colours don't have meaning Yet but idk . they're mostly whatever colour i think fit best with their character .

they also got Eyes on their wings . this would be the tertiary colour (or the same colour as secondary) . they have a Lot of feathers on their body (neck-chest, arm-wrist, around knee-ankle). They also have . featheered tails . Ok that's about as much as ill detail for their species bc i do have madeup culture for them But i don't want this to turn into a 9 paragraph yap session . I will focus on morro now

MORRO FAKE LORE! WOOHOO!!

ok so in the world where hes my oc. he was a part of the writers of destiny (or rather one in training but he lived in the cloud kingdom nonetheless) . anyways . he didn't really like the life there bc he always wanted to be More than just a writer of destiny. he wanted to be there to experience the damn thing himself, but that obviously wasn't allowed in the cloud kingdom (bc . well. u can see that theyre kinda strict on their rules (one destiny one path sort of thing or whatever) . so he eventually gets kicked out after enough misdemeanours (so probably he misbehaved like One time) . anyways they bound him to a flightless life (bc . flying was . well. a pretty big thing in a community full of people who have wings all over their body) and exiled him to Ninjago .

he cant fly back home so he doesn't. not that he would anyway. this is why he keeps his wings folded/closed almost all the time. they do not serve any purpose. he would love to chop them off if he could

he makes a few friends on the streets but theyre hardly 'friends' in the natural sense of that word.

also. in a fucked up twist of the world, he ends up being the elemental master of wind.

(this ones connected to another thing i also made up but if the Ninjago writers get to forget things and make things up at random So Can I; anyways my point is that wojira was defeated by Nyad . who was one of the two elements that matched the um amulet thing. and since she transformed into the sea i cant imagine the first EM of wind was just like Oh well okay then i guess its all over. In my mind they became one with the wind too and was probably from an even higher plane than the cloud kingdom but their powers ended up there anyway . Taken by some. Freak.)

around this time is when he meets wu and stuff. u know everything that happens from here so i will not be retelling shit but i am sooo adamant on them Not being father and son sorry. or at the very least i think it was only one-sided . i think wu wanted company and morro reminded him of a younger version of his older brother . thought of him as a 'son' bc thats the only way he could really see him. whereas morro thought wu was some stinky old man who was nice. very nice and sweet to him. promised him a destiny bigger than himself. but not a father. what even is a father? he does not see that in wu sorry . tgey will never be father and son to me . that relationship dynamic is too simple for the complexity of their relationship

yeagh well wu 'lied' about his destiny (I mean . of cours i dont actually think that way. wu kind of Had no way to tell if he really was destined to be the green ninja although It is kinda Freaked up to suggest it to a like. 10 year old. i guess he did learn his lesson . ) and morro was like Fuck u i choose my own destiny . And left and died. ok yea this is all stuff u already knew

(also i imagine he went looking for FSM's tombstone (aka he was Really just looking for the realm crystal) so he could go back home . to rewrite his own destiny. to be like Yeah i actually AM the green ninja and you cant stop me.)

okkokokk this is a bit graphic cause. believe it or not. morro dies. so like. i will be describing that a little

annywaayyyysss morro goes to the cave of despair and. gets lost. falls a bunch. at some point he realises hes like completely lost as in like to the point of no return . and while hes panicking there are Fuckinf geysers gushing out and rumbling the damn ground. he falls but he doesn't die immediately. he breaks his wings first though. not that they would've helped him fly out. but im just explaining why his wings look so wilted and like theyre just 'hanging off' in his ghost design. its bc they r. those are broken wings that cannot move naturally . he cannot keep them folded bc they are broken

his cause of death was thirst . starvation was a factor too but like. thirst got his ass first (as it would anyone). he ripped his sleeves while venturing around the cave but he did use some to try and wrap around his wounds . didn't really Help tho cause he died anyway .

Extra fucked up fake lore ? Writers have feathered tails that fall off to impending doom. as a final play on a destined fate (Dying!!!! LOL!!!!). so like days before morro dies the feathers of his tail fall off one by one until there are None left . if it makes it any better it doesn't hurt like a broken bone . just imagine if one day you woke up to your.? idk? leg gone? like it didn't hurt its just gone and you can feel that its gone but not the pain of the loss. if u get what i mean. or maybe thats not the right comparison. idk. your hair i guess?

. in his last moments his thoughts are not of any happy memories Because he straight up has none sorry gang i dont want him happy. Ok kidding im sure he thought of wu. im sure part of him wished wu had come after him. im sure a part of him wished he hadn't stepped into the cave. but i also Believe he probably welcomed death pretty nicely. with a warm hug and all. he probably leapt into that mfs arms.

anywaygsss . he gets sent to the cursed realm (Whicg is crazy im not going to lie but apparently he did a bunch of crazy shit while looking for the FSM's tomb so. maybe deserved. i dont know.) and the preeminent is like Yooo what is this freak doing here . Do my taxes. and morro is like Ok but u have to curse some realms. And the preeminent is like Yeah i already planned on doing that

also its only BC he went to the cursed realm that his wings are black in his ghost form!!! it looks more decayed and Cursed that way

ok yeah thats all the stuff i made up i think . unless i missed something. i dont think i did

also Lloyd would not have had his wings while he was being possessed . he only had like traces of them (ghost feathers would fall off his back when he moved but they weren't /actually/ there . it confused the fuck out of the ninja the first time. they were like Woah your voice got deeper. Why are you shedding feathers.)

morro is my favourite fucked up evil OC im so thankful they didn't give him a redemption arc thank yiu so much i love it when villains refuse to be redeemed even when given the chance im cheering adn clapping. morro never get revived. thank you.

[sl-ut]

all is fair

pairing: pope heyward x fem!reader, unrequited!jj maybank x fem!reader, slightly homoerotic bff!sarah cameron x reader LOLLLL

description: jj is not jealous of pope. definitely not. okay, maybe just a little.

warnings: swearing, underage drinking/drug usage, jealousy, slight angst, jj being a little butthurt, pope and jj are beefing, weird au where the plot of the show never happens lol but sarah and jb are still dating, reader has a shitty past and a bit of lore but we’ll get into it but don’t worry it doesnt rlly affect what the reader looks like or ethnic/cultural background (but i wrote it with arabic-canadian!reader in mind but thats just self indulgent lol), once again was high when starting this and writing this rn so sorry if it makes like no sense whatsoever but i think the story will be good), the grandparents are the sweetest human beings ever sorry

words: 2.7K

date posted: 08/11/25

JJ swore he wasn’t jealous. No way.

JJ, despite his unfortunate past, he had grown to be pretty damn confident in himself over the years; He was one of the best surfers in Kildare, he had a great group of friends, and he was fairly popular among the ladies in the Outer Banks. Sure, there were parts of him that he wasn’t so proud of or tried to keep hidden as much as possible, but at a time like this, he shouldn’t be feeling anything but on top of the world, but he couldn’t quite fight off the gnawing feeling in the pit of his stomach as his eyes followed the movements of the two girls on the opposite side of the bonfire.

Sarah threw her head back, laughing joyfully as she and Y/n took turns twirling each other around to some song that was far too fast for their dancing, but neither seemed to care. They’d been at it for a few songs now, Sarah always waiting in the wings to snatch the newest member of the Pogues away to have all to herself, knowing fully well that there were at least two other members of the group who were eager to do the same. John B didn’t seem alarmed at his girlfriend’s obsession with their new friend, though it was probably too demanding to ask a teenage boy to be upset about his girlfriend rubbing up on another girl. 

To be totally fair, Sarah did technically have first dibs, having been the first to meet the girl after she’d moved in with her grandparents in Figure Eight while volunteering at the local animal shelter. Her grandparents were pretty well known in Kildare, two former snowbirds who finally decided to settle in North Carolina, both having recently retired, though her grandfather did own and partially run the shelter. They were a sweet old couple, the type that you might see on a Christmas card or a cookie box, and lived quite modestly despite the fact that they were living amongst the wealthier community on the island. With their granddaughter in town and staying with them indefinitely, they were eager to introduce her to Sarah in hopes of easily transitioning her into the social scene. It was Sarah who had invited her to the kegger the following weekend, so it made sense that they had quickly become two peas in a pod, so long as JJ was next in the pecking order.

Except, he couldn’t technically claim that spot on his own. He had actually met Y/n prior to the bonfire while delivering groceries with Pope, both of them spotting her at the exact same time as she answered the door, charming each of them with a sweet smile and a generous tip, completely unaware of the lingering gaze of each boy as she bid them each a polite goodbye before closing the door. Neither of them said anything the entire walk back to the truck, both sitting quietly in the front seat for a moment before JJ finally let his thoughts take over.

“She was like, crazy hot, right?”

Pope was silent for another beat before he sighed out his response, “Yeah she was.”

Neither of them brought her up again, figuring it wasn’t really worth their time to pursue anything with a girl who would only be there for a week. However, when she showed up with Sarah to the kegger that Friday, all bets were off.

JJ was the first to actually get to talk to her, stepping in with a greeting while Sarah became occupied with her boyfriend, nearly wasting away after being apart for two hours. He offered her a drink, chuckling to himself at the cringing expression on her face at the taste of the warm beer. She shook her head, handing the red cup back to him with a slightly embarrassed look on her face. This caught Sarah’s attention, winking at JJ as she encouraged him to show Y/n the cooler of quote-on-quote “girly drinks” in the back of the twinkie. 

He could read that she was nervous, especially now that she was alone with him. Normally, he would do his best to calm her nerves just enough that he could persuade her to climb into the back of the van with him, but something about this girl made him feel different, almost obliged to treat her with more respect than he did most girls. She wasn’t just another girl, he could tell simply by the way she carried herself, almost like she understood him on a deeper level before she even knew anything about him. He was drawn to her, and an unfamiliar feeling of nerves ate away at his tummy as he showed her the selection of Sarah’s cans and gave her a lopsided grin as she took the can from him. 

He lost sight of her for a while, returning to manning the keg while John B and Sarah rushed down the beach hand in hand, but his eyes were in a constant motion of scanning the crowd, eagerly searching for even a glimpse of the girl who’d had his head spinning for the last hour. 

Unbeknownst to him, she had found herself sitting next to Kie at the bonfire, falling easily into the conversation with her and the few others. She took note of the boy sitting across from her, making an effort to ask him questions or include him in the conversations. He seemed to be a bit socially awkward, but there was something about him that had caught her eye straight away, even from the first moment they locked eyes while he was delivering her grandparents’ groceries.  

He was dorky and awkward in the most endearing way possible, unlike guys she had historically been attracted to, but she was certain that that was exactly why she liked him so much; she was in the market for a fresh start, and that couldn’t happen if she put herself in the position to treated like shit all over again. 

Six weeks later and Y/n found herself becoming a regular at the Chateau, constantly being dragged there on her days off from the shelter by Sarah or being picked up by one of the others on their way home from whatever odd job they’d picked up on Figure Eight for the day. Every day out on the boat, every kegger, every bonfire on the beach, she was there. 

They had all even begun hanging out at her place, all quickly becoming acquainted with her grandparents, both of whom were more than happy to host the teens, keeping them comfortable and fed all day as they used their in-ground pool or lounged in the A/C. Her grandmother thought they were all the sweetest kids who’d ever lived, having a special place in her heart for the boys, while her grandfather was just glad to have a group to cook for, gladly donning his fancy apron and manning his grill for them all and enjoyed having extra help around the house. Her grandma especially loves when Sarah comes for sleepovers because she loves joining in on your gossip sessions and joining you both to go get mani-pedis in the morning. 

Their closeness to her family also meant that they were quickly discovering very personal things about Y/n’s life prior to moving to the Outer Banks. Y/n was very hyper aware of this for the first few weeks, almost vulnerable now that her past was now out in the open, but she quickly came to realise that her secrets were safe with the pogues, and that they only made them love her even more.

Initially, it hadn’t been the intent of either Y/n or Pope to begin hanging out on their own in secret. Well, they had both wanted to hang out on their own, but the secrecy stemmed from the fact that JJ had made his intentions and feelings for Y/n very clear, and that he was very hard-pressed about the “no pogue-on-pogue macking,” rule for everyone except for himself for some reason. They also liked the quietness of secrecy, neither of them worried about their friends trying to butt in on their movie nights or walks on the beach, even though they were most definitely not trying to get each other alone on purpose… Until after she kissed him for the first time, that is.

Pope had been shocked when it happened, his brain barely even registering the second-long peck after he’d walked her home from the Chateau one evening, but he was sure to put his all into the second and third ones that quickly followed. He had expected some time to figure things out before anything was made official, but he of course had chosen a girl who was prepared to take what she wanted without fear of repercussions, and so, shortly after she had been picked up at the end of her grandparent’s dock, she curled into his side and announced that they were now together. Pope was taken aback, but was somewhat relieved that he no longer had to go through with his long-winded but very sweet gesture that he had planned in order to make things official. That relief, however, disappeared very quickly as he met JJ’s heated gaze.

“What ever happened to bro code?” He’d whined once they had gotten back to the chateau after dropping her back off that evening. “I mean, seriously man, I called dibs and you just swoop in before I even get to make a move.”

“Woah, woah, woah,” Kie raised a hand to cut him off before he could spout any more nonsense, “You called dibs? Are you aware that we are talking about a real human girl here?”

“Not the point,” JJ ignored her, “You knew I liked her!”

“And you knew I did too!” Pope countered, “Look, I’m sorry I didn’t talk to you about this beforehand but I never expected her to drop that on you guys like that.”

JJ shook his head, finishing the last of his beer and tossing the can to the side as he stormed towards the front door of the Chateau, “You just couldn’t let me have one thing now, could you Pope?”

Pope jumped to his own feet, brows furrowing as a look of disbelief crossed his face, “One thing? Do you even hear yourself? JJ, you can and have screwed around with every girl on this island; you always get first pick, and even the ones you leave for me are usually waiting for their chance to talk to you! God forbid the one girl I really like actually likes me back and isn’t just using me to get to you, but I guess that would be too hard for you to believe, huh?”

JJ frowned, opening his mouth to counter that argument when Sarah finally stepped in.

“Why are you even fighting over this?” She scoffed, “JJ, you have been here the entire time. If you were going to make a move you could have, but I really don’t think it would have made much of a difference. Like I said, you were here, you were an option, and she still chose Pope. Don’t throw your friendship with both of them away over her feelings, which none of you could have controlled even if you tried.”

JJ felt his breathing grow heavier, his emotions mixing with Sarah’s words of reason and sending him into a frenzy. He needed to be alone before he had the chance to blow up again, he needed time to think, so he stormed out of the Chateau without another word.

Two more weeks had passed, and all of them had gone back to normal. JJ was still a bit butthurt over it all, but made an effort to be his usual self. There was still a bit of tension between him and Pope, and the Heyward boy had even made an effort to plan more time away from the group with his new girlfriend, both out of respect for JJ’s feelings and out of a slight tinge of greed knowing that other eyes were looking at her in the same way he did. He had made an effort to not divulge any of what had happened to her, but he was sure that Sarah would have let at least some of it slip at some point.

The bonfire had been planned in honour of Kie’s birthday, though she had fled the party rather early, hand-in-hand with some dark-haired touron while her friends whooped and cheered. Most of the others had left by that point, leaving JJ, John B, Sarah, Pope, and Y/n alone to enjoy the slowly dying fire, the quickly dwindling alcohol supply, and the free-flowing music that played through John B’s beat up bluetooth speaker.

JJ sat on his folding chair, nursing his fourth beer of the night as he watched the girl twirl around and around with Sarah until they both stopped, alcohol-inspired giggles leaving their lips as they leaned against each other to regain their balance. They grinned at each other for a moment before Sarah leaned forward, pressing a gleeful kiss to her friend’s lips before pulling herself away.

“Heyward,” She called in a demanding voice, catching the attention of Pope, who’d already been watching his girlfriend with a lovesick stare, “Come get your lady, I need a break.”

Y/n grinned at him, eyes filling with love hearts at the sight of her boyfriend as she held out her grabby hands to him, beckoning him to join her, “Dance with me, Popey.”

Pope visibly cringed at the nickname, something she had never even once called him while sober, but still pushed himself off of his log and moved to meet her on the other side of the fire. 

JJ reached a hand out, stopping him from moving any further as Pope stared down at him with a challenging look. They stared for a quick beat before JJ moved his hand up into an all-too-familiar position. A small smile appeared on Pope’s lips as he clapped his own hand into his best friend’s, dapping him up for the first time in weeks.

“I love you, man,” JJ slurred.

“Love you too, JJ.”

“Pope!” Y/n placed her hands on her hips, impatiently waiting for him as Sarah collapsed into John B’s lap.

“Go get her, tiger,” JJ let go of his hand, making sure to pat his ass sharply as he walked past with a laugh, watching as he took the girl into his arms and began to slowly sway her back and forth to the beat of the song. 

Y/n leaned her head against his shoulder, nuzzling into his neck as the drinks she’d had began to transcend from energetic to sleepy in just moments. JJ watched on, a small frown appearing on his lips before it quickly switched to a soft smile.

Alright, maybe he was jealous, but he’d never seen Pope look so happy, so maybe it was all worth it. 

okay why did i actually eat this up

fr tho i love this pairing and little plot i have going so im def down to make this a mini series or do like hcs for this if ppl are interested if not just go ahead and tell me to stfu already

[lightandfellowship]

The Sewer Squad's designs are fine, actually

If you ask me, the Sewer Squad from KHUX are a really great visual example of Kingdom Hearts' approach to writing and design.

That approach being: it's fine to make design and writing decisions that come across as silly, campy, unbelievable, or "cringey" if those choices are meaningful in context and contribute something significant to the story.

On the whole, the Sewer Squad are a mess of character designs. Minus the Leader who just kinda looks like a normal character tbh, the remaining 3/4ths of the group don't look particularly cohesive or even...aesthetically pleasing? At least for me. If you were to judge these designs purely on a visual and technical level, using commonly accepted character design guidelines, I personally don't think they would score very high.

Function has been thrown out the window with their accessories, with a lot of said accessories looking either bulky, heavy, face/movement obstructing, or just plain uncomfortable, despite them presumably fighting Heartless on the daily.

Color palettes are all over the place, especially with the Gummi Girl who's sporting three different hues of pink all conflicting in one design. Themeing is likewise all over the place—using the Gummi Girl once again as an example, she's pairing futuristic Gummi ship wings with a ninja outfit and a modern-looking frog hat. Which like, normally you can marry vastly different themes/time periods together into one character design just fine if you do it well, but here these elements are just kinda pasted all over the design separately with no blending/discussion between them. (Yes I know this makes perfect sense given the lore; I'm getting there.)

And then characters like Fancy Bowtie Boy are wearing gimmick-y clothing pieces based off of canon characters, such as Ansem SoD and...Halloween Town Goofy, for some reason. Which makes the design look derivative and nonsensical. (There's a way to justify this in canon thanks to the Book of Prophecies and the medals, but it's still kinda weird and offputting to see one of the Big Bad's gloves on a silly side character.)

It also doesn't help that their outfits/hair/facial features weren't designed specifically with them in mind, and instead are comprised of various disparate, pre-existing Player assets slapped together haphazardly. And not being able to give these characters more thoughtful, bespoke design elements means losing the opportuntiy to communicate who these characters are more precisely.

They do have recognizable silhouettes though (along with some much needed diversity), so I'll give them credit for that.

But, everything I just said and criticized above? THAT'S ENTIRELY THE POINT, BABY!!!

They're not supposed to represent a typical character with a typical character design that follows typical character design rules because they're not typical "characters"—rather, they're supposed to represent the average, real-life players playing KHUX. The people who buy random outfits with whatever Jewels they have and then mix and match the pieces together regardless of whether or not they actually look "good" together or logically connect. The people who are just having fun with customization.

And this distinction is meaningful because the whole idea behind these characters is that they belong to the same party that the Player belongs to. They're not like Player's other friends such as Ephemer and Skuld who are main characters in the plot and thus require more visually pleasing and thought-out character designs; they're not "generic" NPCs that Player runs into only once or twice like the "my friends aren't my power" guy who can just wear one of the basic default outfits and it'll serve its purpose just fine; they are, specifically, Player's fellow party members. And if the Player themself is wearing a silly costume too, well, they'll just fit right in with the Sewer Squad, won't they?

Thus, they're meant to mirror the visuals and dynamics of real KHUX parties comprised of real people, hopefully making it easier for the person playing the game to relate to them (if said person belongs to a party themself) and intuitively understand the role these characters play in Player's life. And despite how unrealistic their outfits are (considering most of them are running around fighting in outrageous, cumbersome costumes), I would argue that their closer resemblance to the actual playerbase gives them the potential to feel more real, paradoxically.

This also just demonstrates KHUX's commitment to its story and gameplay integration. It doesn't matter how "silly" a gameplay feature might look or feel in practice, it is going to be properly represented in the story regardless. Lux, Guilt, Power Bangles, Spirits, Shift Pride, player costumes, it doesn't matter, if it's a part of the gameplay, it's going in the story somewhere. The game takes a risk and trades a little bit of immersion/suspension of disbelief for pure gameplay and story synergy. Perhaps it doesn't work for everybody, but in general it works for me, and I respect it.

[approximatelynothereorthere]

Broken Legs - Part 2

Bodhi Durran x OC (Evelyn Lyford) OC masterpost

3.6k words ☆ Part 2 of 2 (but I may want to do a part 3 so lmk if you're interested) Part 1 here

This took waaaay longer to finish (I am in the middle of exams rn so I don't know what I was expecting) than I expected but it's finally here!!!

Warnings: Nimh being a bit murdery, description of mending a broken bone (not fun), references to some evie lore that may involve some childhood trauma (not specified), tiny mention of blood, bodhi being adorable, dain being a bit of an idiot

(please let me know if I missed anything)

“Good, you’re awake.” Is the first thing I hear as I open my eyes but that doesn’t make any sense because, even through my slightly bleary eyes, I can’t see anyone around. Aside from the first year in a bed at the other end of the room, who looks like she’s got a really bad cold and is a little high, there’s no one else here. Parker’s shift in the infirmary ended while I was asleep, if it’s the time I think it is, Nolan left quite quickly after he mended my legs and Bodhi eventually gave in to my insistence that I would fine if he left me for a bit to go to his classes. I take a quick look around the room just to make sure I’m not blatantly ignoring someone. I’m not, there’s no one else here. So what-

“Sometimes I question why I chose you when you’re this stupid.”

“Ah, hi Nimh.”

“How are the legs?” She asks. Greeting people normally is not something she finds easy so, the majority of the time, she just doesn’t make any attempts.

“They ache but, you know, not broken anymore so…”

Nolan had mended me earlier. Mending, a deceptive name for what he is able to do. Yes, he does technically mend but there’s a sort of gentleness to that word that does not translate to the actual process of mending bones. I hadn’t expected it either, I’d never broken a bone whilst in the quadrant before. My only experience with menders was with a cadet in the second wing, last year, who was one. She’d had a go at mending some bruises I’d received on the mat, nothing too major (I had won the match, after all) and easy enough for a first year who was only just learning to use their signet. The mending felt odd but not uncomfortable, it was warm and tingly like someone had just brushed their lips on my skin. But mending bone, that’s a whole other sensation. Less a sensation and more like something has spectacularly exploded and embedded itself into all the broken bits of bone to furiously jam them back together all while shockwaves from the explosion pulse through your nerves and make you wish you could just have broken legs forever and ever. Menders now terrify me. Imagine what they could do if they actually tried to hurt you.

Bodhi was with me the whole time. Like a single tent peg that’s managed to keep the flailing tent tethered to the ground in the middle of a hurricane. Holding my hands, in part, to counter me and also to comfort. To tether me to reality, be my rock, my anchor, my gravity.

He stayed for a little while after, still holding my hand, occasionally whispering soft little utterances, in Tyrrish (I’d asked him to teach me after I heard him speak it quietly to himself), to me. Until I realised he was missing History.

“What is your plan with the squad leader?” Nimh’s voice cuts through my thoughts sharply although there’s the tiniest hint in her tone that reminds me of when I would conspire with my best friend back home.

“Unfortunately it’s against the codex to kill him.”

“Not for me, it isn’t.” And she’s back to the bloodthirsty dragon I’m used to.

“I appreciate the offer but I’m not feeling up to taking over his responsibilities. It’s hard enough being his executive officer.” I reply as a new healer enters the infirmary to start their rounds. Shouldn’t be bad with a grand total of two people in their care at the moment.

“I had forgotten that it may affect your leadership position. Now I think we should definitely kill him.”

“No, we’re not killing him for… what is your obsession with power?”

“Why do you not want more power?” There’s a teasing lilt to her voice.

“Because this shit is difficult enough as it is.” I bite back. At the same time, two infantry cadets stumble into the infirmary. One with a jagged bleeding cut across his cheek and the other clutching his side like his internal organs are going to fall out. I highly doubt they are, I can’t even spot any blood. Though, that doesn’t rule out internal bleeding so I’ll let him off the hook for the dramatics. For now.

“And you are perfectly capable…” Right, I’m still having a conversation and… hang on-

“Whoa, is that a compliment?”

“You have ruined it now.” Nimh’s voice is now devoid of any emotion, making me smile a little.

“You still complimented me.”

“We still don’t have a plan for the squad leader.”

I see the healer take note of the infantry cadets and I swear she lets out a small exasperated sigh. I think she’s a first year. Huh, so much for an easy shift.

“Smooth topic change.”

“Plan.” Yep. There is not a single ounce of emotion in her voice now. My poor emotionally repressed dragon.

“How about I give him my notes on the first year's matches late?”

There’s silence from her end but I know she’s still listening.

“What? It’s Dain! That will drive him up the wall.”

Still, silence.

“I’ll do it for a full two months.”

“Better.”

“Are you going to do something to mess with Cath?”

“Obviously.”

“Are you gonna tell me what it is?”

“No.”

I guess I’ll find out when it happens then.

The first year has started to stitch up the cut on the first guy’s cheek. I’m fighting a small smirk that wants to form on my lips at his more than uncomfortable state.

Nimh’s voice creeps into my mind once again. “Enlighten me as to why you’re taking pleasure in this unknown man’s pain.”

Odd phrasing.

“I have my reasons.” She knows why, she just wants me to say it.

“Infantry?”

I’m half tempted not to reply and then fully tempted as the door opens allowing me to feign being distracted by the new visitor. The door appears to open on its own at first and I briefly consider the possibility of ghosts. I’m quickly starting to get bored in here.

To either my relief or disappointment, it’s not ghosts. It’s someone pushing the door open with their back. Someone tall with a dark head of curls holding a tray in their arms. They step away from the door letting it swing back to close and then pause momentarily. Warm brown searching eyes meet mine and instantly soften. I lift my hand from where it’s been resting on my side and give Bodhi a subtle wave. As if the floor is propelling him, he springs toward my bed with a small smile gracing his lips.

“Ah,” Nimh chuckles. “He’s here. That’s why your mind has gone all fuzzy.”

I ignore her and the sparkling navy presence in my mind ebbs away a little.

I can now see the items he’s holding that forced him to make his almost spectral entrance. Two plates piled with steaming food and a book. My book, which had been hastily turned upside down with the pages still open on my bedside table after Imogen violently banged on my door to get me out and down to breakfast on time. My book, which is now carefully placed on a tray in my boyfriend’s arms with a navy blue ribbon poking out the pages marking where I left off. He’s a godsdamn angel.

“Dinner is served milady.” he proclaims solemnly, placing the tray on the small wooden table to my left.

“Hello.”

“Hi. How are you feeling darling?” He sits in his chair from this morning and immediately grasps my hand to kiss it softly.

“Bored.”

He bites back a smile.

“Not quite what I meant. How are your legs?”

I let out a small sigh and squeeze his hand. “They feel alright, a bit achy but good.”

Bodhi hums in response, his too-pretty eyes flitting over to where the first year healer is still sorting out the two infantry cadets. “They gonna let you go tonight?”

“Not sure. I’ve only just woken up but I feel fine enough.” He nods. “You didn’t have to bring me dinner by the way.” I murmur whilst shifting myself into more of a sitting position.

“Yes, I did. You haven’t eaten all day and…” He hesitates though the words are on the tip of his tongue “I’ve also gone far too long without seeing you.”

I narrow my eyes at him but the corner of my mouth lifts slightly when I see how he’s still focused intensely on me like it’s his one and only purpose in life.

“You sap.”

“I’m very aware.” He states before shuffling forward in his seat slightly to take a plate and fork off of the tray. “Now, eat or I’ll feed you myself.” He leans over to pass them to me.

‘I’d like to see you try.’ I lift my chin a little.

“Oh yeah?” Before I can even register what’s happening Bodhi is reaching across with a fork aiming straight for my mouth. I duck and hide my face in the pillow resting behind me.

“That was not actually an invitation, Bodhi Durran! You ass!” I groan into the pillow and raise my hand to flip him off. He takes said hand in his own and pulls me by the arm away from the pillow. My eyes are shut, he doesn’t deserve to be looked at after pulling that, but I can hear him laughing. Quiet little fits of giggles at my perfectly valid reaction to him trying to feed me like I’m a petulant child. I fold my arms over my chest, opening my eyes slowly as if that will prepare me for another fork attack. He’s stopped laughing now but his face is lit up in a smile that causes the skin around the outer corner of his eyes to crease a little. I take the plate from him avoiding eye contact so I don’t accidently contract a strain of his infectious smile. Staring straight at the plate in my lap seems the best option at the moment. My stomach rumbles at the sight in front of me. I am fucking starving.

“How was your day anyway?” I ask in between mouthfuls.

I hear him chuckle slightly before answering. “Fine. Good. Well, not good. I missed you.”

At that, I do look at him, eyebrows raised, corner of my mouth lifting.

“Hey, I wasn’t the only one.” He defends. “Imogen was in a foul mood today. I’d say she missed you too.”

“Imogen’s always in a foul mood. That means nothing.” I point out as he takes the other plate on the tray and begins eating. Something in Bodhi’s eyes shifts.

“Well,” he begins. “she was excessively pissed about something but she wouldn’t say what…” he trails off, looking at me pointedly.

I bite my lip and slowly put down my fork as I realise what he’s getting at. He still doesn’t know what happened. Probably still thinks someone’s out there waiting to try and kill me again which they aren’t. No one tried to kill me in the first place but his adorable yet seriously paranoid ass likely thinks they did. I did get knocked off the top of my dragon and only broke both of my legs, after all.

“Look…” I start but then-

“Hey! Sorry if I’m interrupting. I just need to do a couple checks and then I think I can go get one of my professors to discharge you.” It’s the first year, oblivious to the heavy cloud of awkwardness that is hovering above Bodhi and me.

I turn to her with a smile. That's my best attempt at not being awkward but pretending I’m fine when I’m not has never been my strong suit. “Yeah. Sure whatever you need to do.”

And she’s off straightening out my legs and staring at them as if she can see through the skin to the newly mended bone. She notes something down on the clipboard she’s holding and then turns to me again.

“I need to see how you’re walking now so if you want to get up and just walk to the other side of the room.”

I nod and start to get up out of the bed, swinging my legs to one side and letting my feet touch the floor. I can feel the cold through my socks and it sends a small shiver up my body. Bodhi reaches out a hand to pull me up and I take it without hesitation. His hands are warm and comforting like always, unless he’s been outside without gloves for too long, and his thumb brushes over the back of my hand like it’s muscle memory by now. He doesn’t say anything though. I doubt he will until I start talking. I glance at his face briefly, there’s a small crease between his eyebrows and his eyes look far away like their souls have wandered off into the depths of his mind. He’s shut down, worrying, wondering why I haven’t told him what happened. And, honestly, I am too. He’s my boyfriend for fucks sake.

The second Bodhi lets go of my hand to allow me to walk, I’m cold all over again and there’s a bone-deep ache in my legs that makes me wince.

The healer- I really should ask her name- notices and helpfully adds “It might hurt a bit but we’re just checking everything’s back in the right place and not causing massive amounts of pain. However, if anything does feel wrong, say.”

I take a breath and step forward. One foot in front of the other. It hurts but only because I feel a bit stiff. The sharp stabs I felt this morning are long gone. I turn around when I make it to the other side of the room and the first year is right back to making a note on her clipboard. She looks up quickly and says “Okay, I can go get one of my professors and you’ll be good to go.”

Five minutes later, I’m sitting on the edge of the bed, tying the laces on my boots as Bodhi puts our half-eaten dinner plates back on the tray next to my untouched book. He’s moving slowly, his mind still far away, worrying when he shouldn’t be. I can’t take this anymore.

“It was an accident.” I blurt.

Bodhi looks at me with furrowed brows. “What?”

“The whole falling off Nimh thing. No one was trying to kill me like I know you think they did.”

He opens his mouth to say something.

“No. Let me finish. I was standing at the top of Nimh’s leg, about to dismount, when another dragon was coming into the flight field a little too low. They went straight over Nimh and me and the gust blew me off. They didn’t mean to be flying that low over us. It was an accident. No one is trying to kill me, and it most certainly wasn’t because of you.”

He nods slowly and then quickly sits beside me on the bed. His soft brown eyes meet mine and he says “You’re sure? Because if someone was-”

“I’m sure. Stop worrying baby.”

I take Bodhi’s hands in mine and a wide grin lights up the rest of his face.

“What?” I ask and his grin gets impossibly wider.

“You never call me that in public.” He teases whilst pulling my arms up so my hands will rest on the back of his neck.

I look anywhere but him and blood rushes into my cheeks.

“Wha- there are, like, three people in here. That doesn’t count.”

His hands find their way to my side, pulling me closer, and he leans down a little so we’re face to face. I’m still not letting myself look at him.

“Uh huh. You keep telling yourself that.” He murmurs before pressing his lips firmly onto mine. I kiss him back and pull him closer as sparks shoot up my spine. Bodhi smiles into the kiss and after a moment, in the biggest turn of the century, pulls away first.

“You also never let kisses last that long in public.” He adds.

I groan and drop my forehead onto his chest.

“Are you complaining?”

“No. No, definitely not.” He chuckles and presses a kiss to the top of my head.

Then a thought comes to me. A stupid thought, an utterly ridiculous thought but still, now it’s in my head and there’s only one way to get it out.

“Is this your way of saying you’re mad at me?” I mumble into his chest. I can barely hear myself say it, I’m half expecting Bodhi to innocently ask me to repeat myself but from the way he freezes and his hands grip harder at my sides, I know he heard me.

“Why on earth would you think that?” His voice is quiet, too quiet. I lift my head to look at him. His eyes are wide, the rest of his face frozen in an expression that is not dissimilar to that of a kicked puppy.

I feel like a bucket of ice water has been tipped over me and in my most pathetic voice I say, “I didn’t tell you what happened, made you worry the whole day.”

Bodhi looks at me in sheer disbelief and lifts a hand to my face, brushing a thumb over my cheekbone. “Oh Evie, no never. I don’t think it’s actually possible for me to be mad at you, ever.”

I nod carefully and let my hands smooth over his chest. I’m not saying anything, not until the stupidity of my question washes away.

“What I am mad about though,” he continues as if that utterance was never going to make my heart rate increase exponentially. “is that I brought your book all the way here so I could read to you and now you’re getting discharged before I can even suggest it.”

Warmth spreads through my body and before I can properly think about it I’m wrapping my arms around his torso and laying my head against his chest.

“Fuck, I love you.” Tumbles from my lips and everything in me just stops functioning because there goes another thing I don’t do in public. At least, not so loudly because I’m pretty sure I was close to shouting there.

“You are on a roll with these public displays of affection today.” Bodhi teases, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me even closer so I’m practically in his lap. I glare up at him but don’t make an attempt to move away. I honestly wouldn’t care if the entire quadrant came in and saw us like this. Something has to be wrong with me.

“Okay sorry, but while we’re on the theme of asking silly questions, well I’m more just curious… Was it Aetos?” He asks so casually that I almost don’t realise what he’s said, too lost in the rhythm of his heart beating by my ear.

“How the fuck does he know that?” I ask Nimh, who’s been easing herself back into my mind, no doubt spying so she can mercilessly mock me later.

“Not a clue, I haven’t told Cuir anything.” She sounds extremely amused, I can practically hear her smirk if dragons can even do that. Well, only one way to find out now.

“How the fuck do you know that?”

I try to angle my head to look at him but it’s not really possible without moving from my very comfortable position, which I very much do not want to do. Bodhi begins to slowly use one of his hands to caress my back, lighting a trail of sparks along my spine.

“Dain kept looking guiltily at the spot you’d usually sit in during Battle Brief, so I guessed he’s got something to do with it.” He states. “Originally I had thought he had just seen it happen and felt bad, I didn’t think he would’ve been the one to cause it because at the time I thought someone wanted to kill you and he can’t kill you without breaking the codex and we all know how he feels about that. But now… well, I’ve seen how much he likes to make those dramatic ass landings with his dragon.”

I smile a little at that.

“He did have a bit of a panic when he saw me go down and he offered to help. I did then tell him if he stepped any closer there would be a dagger embedded in his chest.”

Bodhi laughs, the sound making my heart flutter, and he kisses the top of my head again. “That’s my girl.” He says into my hair and I instinctively move closer into his chest.

“Okay, seriously what happened? Did they give you too many painkillers or something? Because this never happens outside of our rooms unless you’re really sleepy?” He genuinely questions.

“Not sleepy,” I state. “I think it might be because I was so scared of poisoning you earlier. Like, I’m overcompensating or something. Maybe I just don’t give a fuck anymore, want people to see you’re mine.”

And apparently, I have no filter anymore either because I even shocked myself with that last admission. Bodhi just holds me even tighter and mutters something in Tyrrish that I can’t quite pick up.

After a minute of comfortable silence, I ask, “Could I stay in your room tonight and you could read to me?”

“I was just about to suggest that, darling.”

Thank you so much for reading this and please let me know what you think!

I am currently working on something for Aaric and also Ridoc (eventually I'll get round to all the FW boys) so look out for that if you're interested.

Also my inbox is open if anyone wants to ask questions about my OC's or just FW in general because I love talking about it.

[burningcheese-merchant]

Use me as the ask to rant about the kid's Soul jams, pls. I need to know that lore and the reaction to the news.

Hahahahaha another hapless creature has fallen into my trap. Now you will endure my rambling. There is no escape.

Seriously though. I actually sat and mulled over how to answer you, because someone else also asked about the kids' Soul Jams and I don't want to copy-paste the exact same answers, you know? I don't want to do that for anyone I talk or reply to (that's partially why I take forever to answer asks lol, I want to give as complete, articulate and unique of responses as I can. I feel that's the least I owe you for being interested in me and my thoughts enough to want to ask me something)

Now that I answered the other one, I think I can answer yours with new information (that I may have deliberately withheld just so you can have something too haha)

Pepper Jack's Soul Jam is dark blue. Matar Paneer's is orange. (You'll know what hers is called when I drop her doodle, she's next)

I explained this already, but them gaining their own Soul Jams really was an accident. Neither Burning Spice nor Golden Cheese were actively trying to give them those. It turned out to be a natural consequence of their union, particularly because they own the two halves of the same Soul Jam and in creating these children, the halves "united" and became whole again like they were originally meant to, and in doing so, created something new. Blah blah true love blah blah destiny blah blah special blessing blah blah blah

Nobody knew this would happen until the kids were actually born. Besides them practically radiating that familiar aura that all the other Soul Jam wielders have, there are little things that give it away. Golden Cheese didn't always have wings, she was given them after acquiring the Soul Jam. Meanwhile, Jack actually was born with his. He inherited something that his mother technically doesn't truly have. Something she only got through the power she possesses...

The Soul Jams aren't... "there", so to speak. You can't touch them or hold them or anything. They're not stones that exist in the real world like the other Soul Jams do. When Spice and Golden gave them a bit of Soul Jam, it was the power itself they handed down, not the actual, physical thing. For Jack and Paneer, the Soul Jams are literally, unironically in their souls. The power is imbued in their souls and thus cannot be seen or touched, only sensed/felt (but if you look into their minds or souls, you can and will actually see them. Shadow Milk can when he peeks into their minds, for example. It's how he helped confirm that they exist in the first place). If you want to take their Soul Jams away, you have to take their souls themselves away. So they're infinitely harder to rob than their parents lol

They do not truly know how to use them for a while. They are blessed with great power, but learn to wield it and unlock its fullest potential as they grow older

Additional point to the above: you know how the Soul Jams seem semi-sentient? Remember how they "talk" to their owners? (Hollyberry's speaks to her during the princess contest arc, for example. Golden Cheese's also "says" things to her in Beast-Yeast episode 6, right before she awakens.) Jack's and Paneer's are like that, too. But they don't "hear" them for a while. Not until they unlock their full potential

They will not achieve true mastery over their Soul Jams until they are adults. And they only truly begin that journey after they are both pushed to their absolute limits. (Won't spoil what that is, I'll just say it's different for each of them. They are going to suffer, that's all you get for now lol)

Mentioned in a previous post that Golden was super duper tired while she was pregnant with both of them. Well, this is why lol. Carrying extremely powerful children, to whom you and your husband technically surrendered a portion of your own power in the process of creating them, takes a lot out of you physically

While they were given pieces of the Light of Abundance/Destruction, those pieces transformed into something entirely new and original to suit them specifically. The kids took the Soul Jams and made them their own

Think of Spice and Golden passing down their power to Jack and Paneer as like... how Pitaya Dragon granted Fire Spirit some of their power via their deal. Similar situation here. Hopefully that makes all this make more sense

Lot of excitement and nervousness from people all around when it came to light that two new Soul Jams were conjured from practically nothing lol. Now there are 12 Soul Jam wielders, not just 10. No one knows what these two are, what they can do, what powers they've bestowed upon the children. How dangerous they can really be. It's a great and terrible responsibility even for adults. These are literal children. They hold the might of gods before even knowing their own names. What does any of this mean for the world? How might this interfere with preexisting power dynamics, particularly amongst the other Soul Jam owners? What will they end up doing with this power? What if they choose evil, like their father once did? There's no tangible Soul Jam to take away, how would they be stopped if push came to shove? CAN they be?

There are legitimate reasons behind Jack's being Renewal and Paneer's being [you'll know what it is soon enough lol] that I will explain in due time. Not right now though, because I'll be spoiling their character arcs in a massive way. So be patient

[sweet-s0rr0w]

day 28 of @hprecfest - a fic over 100k

Any Instrument by @dictacontrion - E, 131k, 2015

Summary: Draco Malfoy wouldn't go back to England for anything less than an exceptional case. Being asked to figure out why Harry Potter can't control his magic might be exceptional enough to qualify.

Excerpt:

Draco reached for a teaspoon, grasped the edge of the saucer, and leaned back against the sofa, stirring gently and resting an ankle on the opposite knee. “Why, and for what, exactly, are you trying to blame the French?”

“As I suspect you know, there have been hordes of Ministry officials trekking through the house all week. Aurors and Unspeakables, all of them. Millie says the East Wing is off limits, and Prippa has had some fairly alarming news about why that is. I can only hope this whole affair is a case of temporary insanity. Now,” she said, stirring her tea, “that can’t be down to your mother, or you’d have gone mad ages ago. The Unspeakables I’ve overheard talk about your technical abilities with a truly disturbing degree of reverence, so I doubt it’s your work. Process of elimination. It must be the French.”

“That would be the why. Is this accusation of temporary insanity the what?”

Greg shifted, curling his body towards an armrest and looking intently into the middle distance with his chin braced in a palm.

“Draco.” Pansy set her saucer down with enough insistence to rattle the whole set. “Even in your altered state, I can’t imagine it’s escaped your notice that Harry Potter has moved into your ancestral home.”

He paused. “It hasn’t. Though that particular detail was supposed to escape yours.”

Some sweet_s0rr0w trivia: I finished reading this fic one morning back in November 2020, and a few hours later I had the idea for my first ever fic (which became Nor All That Glisters)! I don't think the fics are alike at all, but I suspect I found some things I really admired here - the writing is brilliant (I think the author does dialogue and character interactions especially well - I remember a brilliant Pansy very clearly in this one), the development of trust then tentative friendship then more between Drarry feels very natural, and the feels epic in scope; twisty and clever and fun. Draco's a biomagicologist (brilliant lore here), come reluctantly from his home in France to help Harry with his magic. Also, the flower scene is one of my favourite scenes of all time. Big rec from me to anyone who hasn't read it yet!

If you read it, and especially if you love it, please do let me know! And as always, please do take the time to leave the author a kudos/comment <3

day 1 - first fic you remember reading

day 2 - a fic rated G

day 3 - a fic not on ao3

day 4 - a comfort fic

day 5 - a romantic fic

day 6 - a fic for a ship you don’t normally read

day 7 - the best of your OTP

day 8 - a fic that was recced to you

day 9 - a WIP

day 10 - a fest/event fic

day 11 - an underrated fic

day 12 - a fic from your favourite author

day 13 - a rare pair

day 14 - a fic rated T

day 15 - a fic over 50k

day 16 - a podfic

day 17 - a fic that makes you cry

day 18 - a fic that makes you laugh

day 19 - fanart

day 20 - a fic with fanart

day 21 - a fic rated M

day 22 - a series

day 23 - a crossover or AU fic

day 24 - holiday (vacation)

day 25 - holiday (national holiday)

day 27 - a smokin' hot fic

[mushroompoisoning]

Good friend, I ask of you because I trust you, what are these "The Mechanisms" you are so fond of?

Okay I tried to type out an incredibly long summary but tumblr deleted it so you're getting a semi-sane version instead

The Mechanisms are a band of immortal, space-faring pirates travelling the universe singing about the tragedies they witness for our entertainment!

There are nine main members you'll hear about, with the tenth - Dr Carmilla - having left much earlier and making her own music 👍 ( there is technically an eleventh but they're more of a mystery easter egg than anyone we know things about )

Quick lore thing: the mechanisms immortality works from the mechanical part(s) they each have. They can die and get injured, but they'll revive whenever the narrative wants them too. All logic in this universe functions off of Would It Be Good For The Story

The cast is:

Jonny D'Ville (he/him) is the ship's first mate ( don't let him tell you otherwise ) and he's got a mechanical heart

Nastya Rasputina (she/her) is the ship's engineer and girlfriend! Yea the ship - Aurora - is alive btw. She's got me hanical blood

Ashes O'Reily (they/them) is the ship's quartermaster and best arsonist! they've got mechanical lungs

Drumbot Brian (he/him) is the ship's pilot and the only one with a moral code. It's controlled by a switch which flips between Means Justify Ends and Ends Justify Means with no nuance. everything is mechanical except for his heart

Ivy Alexandria (she/her) is the ship's archivist! Pretty chill, cares more for books than violence but that doesn't mean she disapproves of the latter. she's got a mechanical brain

The Toy Soldier (it/its) is the mascot and whatever else they tell it to be! it just wants to be involved. will follow anything you tell it if you ask nicely ( or with enough force ). it's not actually mechanized, and is instead a sentient wooden man

Gunpowder Tim (he/him) is the ship's master at arms! madman war veteran who I love dearly. he blew up the moon. he's great. I pick favourites. he's got mechanical eyes

Raphaella La Cognizi (she/her) is the ship's unethical scientist! nothing is off the table when it comes to research. nothing. theory is she mechanized her, but iirc that unconfirmed. she's got a mechanical spine and wings!

and Baron Marius Von Raum (he/him) who is neither the ships baron nor doctor. he claims to be both, though. Deeply unserious fella. he's got a mechanical arm

^ here are some good images for crew reference

OKAY! Now onto actual music

They have six albums and a couple singles!

Once Upon a Time (In Space) is an unconventional retelling of classic fairytales

High Noon over Camelot is a retelling of King Arthur

Ulysses Dies at Dawn is a greek mythos adaptation

and The Bifrost Incident is a norse mythos adaptation

there's also Tales To Be Told volumes I and II, and the two single Frankenstein and Death To The Mechanisms ( technically that one is part of an album but the album is just a bunch of their other songs from already existing albums )

The tales to be told albums contain some of the mechanisms origins!

One Eyed Jacks is Jonny's

Lucky Sevens is Ashes'

Lost In The Cosmos is Brian's

and Gunpowder Tim vs The Moon Kaiser I don't think I have to say

Nastya has an origin song, but it was never officially put on anything. You can find it on the @mechanismslorearchive ( you can get any lore you want on there )

They also have a number of live shows ( you can find those on youtube ) and written stories on their website! I recommend these if you wanna get to know the mechanisms as characters better

that is the basic rundown. I'm not an expert on the mechs so if you're looking to talk to a metaphorical seasoned nurse instead of a med student I'd go to @bugsinthebayou or @gunpowderdtim (sorry for tagging yall)

[therobotmonster]

Gah, I love Turtles of Grayskull!

I'm on record for rambling about how much I love MOTU origins, an action figure line that provides solid value, craftsmanship, and a sense of fun in an era where everything is increasingly none of those things.

And Turtles of Grayskull understands both its contributors spirits intimately in a way many nostalgia projects don't.

Because nostalgia remembers the cool very easily. But it rarely remembers the silly and the stupid-fun.

You buy a bus ticket to "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" or "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" and you have to know that route will be winding almost exclusively through Historical Crazytowne.

And the Turtles of Grayskull/MOTU Origins team gets this. This isn't some Batman/TMNT crossover where they give you a bunch of cool mutant Arkham Villains and deny you toys of them (but a Michaelangelo wearing the bat-cowl is worth a sculpt, eye-roll).

Recent-ish stuff to ramble about:

Okay, not only is this just an awesome Hordak variant, he's conceptually blended with Lord Draxum. You've got the mutant bat-wings, to go with Hordak's vampire thing, but his shapeshifting weapon arm from the toon is very clearly a mutagen-blaster evoking the mutagen-mosquitos. You've got the shoulder pads evoking Draxum's little gargoyle boys. Fantastique!

I had wondered who Casey was taking inspiration from for awhile, but apparently the lore got revealed from his packaging, he's combined... with the WEAPON RACK/Pack.

Well, technically he raided it, but it's a clever option when it would have been easy to just put him in Man-at-Arms gear or give him a Man-E-Faces gimmick. Deep cuts are appreciated, as is that delightful amount of accessory swag.

Stealth Leo is just a cool Leonardo figure. He's the reason for my hypothesis that Mattel is low-key pitching to be the main TMNT figure company. April gets a sweet power up by being Combined with Zo-ar and the Sorceress, and the amount of new sculpting is impressive there. Nobody would have blinked if she'd been 90% Sorceress parts, so I appreciate it.

He-Man goes stealth ninja after he's de-mutated. that's cool I guess, but He's probably going to wind up with a different head when I get him. Skeletor, however, is everything you want in a repaint guy. 90s neon? Check, kusari-gama with goat skulls? Check. Tube of mutagen? Check. He's obviously a premold for the 2005 Samurai Skeletor but who cares? He's green!

Splinter-Skull is mostly OG Playmates Splinter, down to the face design, but he's got just enough King Grayskull in him to keep him a fun hybrid. In fiction, this is is the spirit of Grayskull taking on a form to match both sets of heroes asking for his help. Fun!

Leatherhead, on the other hand, is just Mattel auditioning to make normal TMNT toys again. Toss some WWEternia legs with some pants on that guy and he's basically the best and most in-scale Leatherhead to not come out of NECA. I look forward to the use of that tail on many, many snakemen related characters to come.

And yet there's more!

I thought this was going to be a four-wave limited thing. But apparently they're just keeping the train rolling until the wheels fall off, to which I say...

Wave 5 has been semi-revealed (no pics yet) and it's:

Variant Donatello, Variant Raphael, Mekaneck, and Rattlor!

Donnie and Raph are going to be costume variants like Stealth Leo, though I'm hoping they're not also stealth versions, because there's tons of other options to pull from.

My druthers would be them with accessory pak themes (cliff climber Raph, Scuba-Attack Donnie (to nod at the wind-up swimming donnie toy), etc). The Dontatello #1 gauntlet could be a fun accessory, and I wouldn't say no to a "slime pit zombie" Raph, but we'll have to wait and see.

The real thing that has me hyped is Mekaneck and Rattlor. I love reptile-people, and the Snake-Men give me a lot of them, so I'm always glad to get more options.

Mekaneck is one of the dorkiest MOTU characters and is thus one of my favorites. He's immensely goofy, and his origin implies that Man-at-Arms decided to fix the guy's broken neck by chopping off his head and giving him an extendable robotic spine. He also has the advantage of just being somebody's dad.

His son is named Philip, by the way.

I can't imagine them not making Mekaneck a wildly mutated weirdo. They had to pack his origins figure in with the road ripper to make him appealing, so I'm pretty sure he's gonna be a mutant. Fingers crossed for a giraffe head. Bonus points if its some kinda blue eternian giraffe or something.

And Rattlor, man, I want him to be a full on character hybrid so bad. Options: Tokka (snappers do have long necks), Snakeweed, Rat King (King Ratsnake?), Hothead & Scaletail.

[peaskikio2]

Onto day two!

The second day of my event has arrived and I spent the entire day outside from 8am to 6:30 pm gluing together pieces, designing a base for the head piece(s) and adding foam layers and textures to the back pack and wings! I also made the little vents that sit above the seeker’s shoulders and textured those too!

To be honest everything went super smooth on day 2, I didn’t really run into any bumps since I had made my layouts the night before…

Despite there being no bumps, the entire day was a bit awkward. I live in an apartment complex and we do not have balconies here. Instead we have a slab of concrete and a little space in front of our door that we could technically consider a porch. Since I was working with very strong adhesive glue and heat gunning and shaving foam, I had to set up outside cause there’s little outlets out front of the door and I don’t want that shit all over the apartment for me or my cats to breathe in or deal with.

But this also means I was now set up outside…

Where the public is…

So everyone walking by could see my mess

LOL

One delivery guy showed up and I had a whole conversation with him sort of awkwardly explaining what I was making because he kept asking me questions. It wasn’t a big deal, really, I love sharing my geeky side, but it was one of those conversations where he asked who the character was and once I told him we just kinda looked at eachother in silence. You could clearly tell this guy had no idea who Acid Storm was…

He then admitted to only knowing the live action movies by asking “which movie is he in?”

I just told him he’s in the original G1 cartoons from the 80’s and left it at that because I knew I could lore dump all I wanted and this man wouldn’t have understood…

But anyways, he was a nice guy though! I’m glad he stopped to talk with me regardless of the conversation awkwardly falling off due to lack of finding mutual ground… but it’s cool! He walked away with a causal chuckle and we both said our goodbyes and went on with our day.

Anyways here are the progress photos to show what I worked on day 2! I’m pretty proud with how it’s coming along!

[mediumgayitalian]

HELLO omg i love your solangelo royals AU, their flirtatious enemies to lovers chemistry in part 2 is so cute 😭 not sure if you’re planning to write more in the universe (i’m already so grateful for what you have out!!) but i just gotta say i am so curious about nico seeking asylum, and what the circumstances were when he showed up, and i desperately want to read more of EVERYTHING in this paragraph:

“Will was annoyed with him the first day they met. He was annoyed the second time, seething, really, dragging Nico back to the sterile surgical suite to fix his torn stitches. He was annoyed when Nico first shouted at him, bewilderment at this random physician treating him like he was another resident of the palace, not the only son of Hades. He was annoyed, notably, the one time Nico came to the infirmary after spraining his wrist in sword fighting and, in Will’s words, “breathed too loudly.”

i hit that ao3 subscribe button so fast 🫠

anyway, love your writing and all the snippets you post!!!! thank you!!

hi hi hi!! you have been reblogging my stuff!! i am very grateful for it as it makes me feel appreciated enough to keep posting!!

i am absolutely planning more in-universe 😎😎 i want the main fic to be long, slowburn, and will pov; i have lots of scenes rattling around in my brain but i'm still working on an actual plotline lol. if i figure out a way to start it i'm just gonna start and hope the plot finds me along the way lol

okay so the asylum thing. i have Lore and im so pumped u asked so here is my rambling:

my idea, and this whole spiel is pretty heavily inspired by this royal au series i'm obsessed with by @gatesofember (with a sprinkling of setting inspo from this fic by @percyinpanties), is that each olympian/major god is a House. so like House Zeus, House Apollo, House Hades, etc. i just thought it was way cooler than kingdom lol.

nico has been fighting nonstop w his father since bianca died. just. constantly. notoriously. they do not get along. they argue about EVERYTHING.

one day, Prince Nico of Hades shows up at House Apollo, ass o'clock in the morning, barely clinging to his horse, exhausted, and claims asylum.

uproar. basically. like thats DRAMA.

of course apollo loves drama and also cannot refuse asylum without good reason, so he graciously accepts. some fun details about that:

nico is now, before a prince, an Asylum Seeker. by status, he is not royalty outside of his own House if he steps away from the role, which he lowkey has done by seeking asylum from his own House. he has very little say in anything now.

apollo, however, has granted him shelter in the royal wing of the House, granting him a royal suite of apartments as if he was a visiting diplomat/royal/House Hades representative. this does not, technically, change his official status, but it does make abundantly clear that apollo still considers him of royal status. aside from that, he's still a prince, and no one wants to make an enemy of a prince (since he can still easily return to his throne, essentially? like there are no laws stopping him from doing so. this whole situation is just Odd and Weird and Really Good Gossip), they were all gonna treat him like prince anyway. he has the fancy clothes and still wears his circlet and often sits in on apollo's fancy meetings and shit (apollo likes his nerve).

will could not give any less of a shit.

he is the only person in the entire House and probably beyond who not only does not give a shit, and does not give a shit to nico's face.

this is insane behaviour.

will is the house physician, right. so in term of respect, he has a lot of it, but he has no authority outside his own infirmary, really. he gets a lot more respect than his status calls for because he's prodigiously good at healing. like. people tease that he can raise the dead. he can't, but. you know. apollo is the House of Drama, really, so no surprises there.

will kinda holes himself up in the infirmary?? there are a few reasons for that. one, apollo is a very artistically inclined House, and will is not very artistically inclined, so he started working in the infirmary as a kid and basically stayed there lol. the court physician before him was actually apollo's oldest daughter, hygieia, whom will adored to a million pieces and who doted on him lol. (she got him a little physician's tunic when he was seven and he literally wore it until it was threads). anyways. he feels useful in the infirmary, and its also where he does all his studies, so he mostly stays in that area of the castle. two, he doesnt get boundaries very well. he also thinks hierarchy is deeply, deeply stupid. for his own safety his friends are like hey. maybe dont interact with visiting royals and diplomats and shit. because someone is going to stab you one day. (and will is like 'well i'll just fix myself then' and they're like 'will for the love of the gods. please.') plus the east wing of the castle (where the infirmary is) is rly well lit and beautiful and leads right to the gardens and the library, so will likes it there :)

this would usually be a great mix, right? nico, who has been treated very much as a prince his entire life and has had people either walking on eggshells around him or scared of him, who has never had anyone but his father and maybe his sister defy him in his life, chilling in the centre part of the castle with the rest of the more royal members, and will, mr Authority Who? Don't Tell Me What To Do, chilling out in the east. no need to interact with each other.

except.

except.

nico is a dumbass who got hurt on his way to House Apollo. and did not tell anyone bc thats embarrassing. so he collapses right after asking asylum, and is carried to will's infirmary, who waits with his foot tapping until nico wakes back up and tears into him 😭😭 calling him the biggest dumbass to ever cross these lands and getting quite creative with it, really, absolutely running his mouth, and as soon as nico recovers from being bewildered (does not take long) he is like you??? cannot fucking talk to me like that???? i am the prince of ghosts???? fucker??? who do you think you are talking to??? and will is like i brought you back into this world, you fucker, i will send your ass right back out of it if you dont sit down and shut up and write down these recovery instructions. and nico is like ???? meanwhile the nurses in the infirmery who know will's stubborn ass are GIGGLING. like they think hes gonna die but at least its funny.

everyone lowkey expects nico to tattle to apollo and get will thrown out or something.

nico does not. which is weird, because, like, maybe he usually would?? but will makes him so mad he cant even think straight. the second hes released from the infirmary he stomps to his new quarters, seething. he shows up in the infirmary next day with the full intent to start an argument. instead, will tries to put him to WORK. and then gets irritable when nico refuses and kicks him out.

just absolutely insane behaviour. if anyone talked to nico like that in his House theyd be arrested, if not excecuted. hell, if will says this shit in front of apollo he might still get arrested, because what. but nico keeps going back and continues to get humbled by will basically every day.

and, ho ho, what happens?? does he maybe begin to care about will?? no. of course not. will is a pain in his ass.

insert part two here, blah blah blah, nico very obviously does care about will and its embarrassing

he realises right after this that he cares about will. although theres still a layer of denial over it bc will is his fucking nemesis, a pain in his ass, and also a Whole Ass Guy, so.

will begrudgingly allows nico to drag him out of the infirmary on occasion.

he has to admit, that when nico isnt being a diva, he is.

kind of.

charming.

a little.

if he had a knife to his throat, he would admit this.

maybe.

in terms of falling in love, they fall in love FAST. after that barrier of "you're so fucking annoying" "IM annoying?!?!?!" "yes glad you agree" crumbles, they both go TUMBLING off that cliff bro. will takes a cannon to every single one of the bitchy walls nico put up after his sister died, leaving him heart wrenchingly lonely. he treats nico like a person. and nico treats will like an equal, not someone lesser, in fact he treats will like hes not a prince, not a king, but a god. he reveres him. will has never felt this worthy of anythign in his life.

obviously, though.

its vague ambigious royalty times.

their relationship is forbidden and very, very secret.

nico, as a royal, wouldnt face many consequences, but will...

the issue is that will is the most frustrated by the secrecy. nico has always known that he would have to love in secret, he grew up in that truth. will has never lied about anything in his entire life. the whole royal hierarchy makes no sense in any way and pisses him the hell off. he doesnt like having to be cautious about the way he touches nicos shoulder.

4. wrote too many things in one block and got cut off 💀💀 turns out i DO have a plot omg. thank you for asking. GOD i love them so bad.

5. as for the paragraph you liked -- ME TOO I WAS SO PROUD OF IT. IM GLD YOU LIKED. im seeing now ive kinda mixed the first and second "will was annoyed with him" in my brainstorming but eh. ill iron it out later.

6. anyways!! thank you!! expect more for the royal au soon. not sure if im gonna do what i did on my other blog and start slowly updating & posting the long fic, or if ill add some more short ones as i write the long fic in its entirety before posting, but ill figure it out. i have lots to say about them and theres nothing more fun to me than writing secret relationship and rivals to lovers teehee

[humming-fly]

every year for my birthday I do something self-indulgent and THIS year it's me finally organizing all the doodles and lore for my kirby oc Fayre that I have yet to put on tumblr into one place!

because i love you all putting the vast majority of this under a readmore but yeah if you want a collection of doodles and vaguely coherent scraps of info about my little guy please read on and if you want to ask questions about 'em go for it i love talking about these idiots

gonna also be mentioning a few other OC's here so for the record Strix belongs to @alagaesia-overlord and Stell belongs to @aseuki, because everyone knows it's more fun being insane about something if you have company~

real quick gonna just link to the past main posts on fayre for posterity lol

Fayre Details/Backstory:

So as has already been established in prior posts fayre is a very fae-aligned little critter that pretty exclusively hangs out in the woods with their 1-way mirror mask behaving for all intents of the word like some sort of weird cryptid. In terms of defining characteristics they have a set of very odd wings that constantly emit a stunning aura that causes confusion/distress when observed at close quarters, as well as a permanent 0.0 expression that they can't change (so no blinking, smiling, etc.) which is a byproduct of their creation as a mirror clone.

How all that worked out is their 'original', Prism, landed right next to a mirror portal as a newborn and more or less immediately wandered into it - my general headcanon about how the mirror doubles work is that they're made up of Every reflection someone has made up to the point they look into the amazing mirror, but since prism only just existed her first and only reflection was the 0.0 expression of a child looking through the mirror before passing through it, so fayre is locked and loaded with that expression but nothin' else. This is also why fayre's wings are way different than prism's bird-of-paradise setup, as technically prism's back was never reflected by the mirror either so it got the randomizer setting instead.

Despite being 'born' more or less at the same time the two never formally met until many years later, as prism wandered right into the mirror world and fayre wandered right out into the primary world and neither ever looked back. Differences aside, when prism did eventually track fayre down they immediately hit it off and now consider each other to be twin siblings. (Prior to meeting Prism Fayre didn't know they were a mirror clone, but largely took learning that detail in stride, as they do with most things)

In terms of early life fayre was actually found and raised by a small village of broom hatters, who came upon this child in a little crater they'd made after falling off the cloud holding up the mirror

The broom hatters assumed that fall was what had paralyzed their face, but fortunately as the broom hatters are a race of faceless creatures themselves the lack of expressions wasn't ever a problem. Not being able to move or open their mouth means fayre can't talk with it, but instead uses the general telepathic way of speaking used by most species lacking that particular facial feature. The main benefit of that skill is being able to throw their voice and also talk in hieroglyphics if desired

Fayre stayed with the broom hatters until reaching early adolescence, after which they left to go explore the natural world - though now living on their own they do still come back to say Hi every year or so during the Sweeping Seasons.

Fayre got their wings sometime while off living by themselves in the woods, and after some trial and error did figure out a way to more or less 'replace' their wings with a funky cape (the trial and error being a learning curve whereupon getting near people with their wings would cause people to get dizzy/sick, so for a while they were wandering around in a little cape they found until they could puzzle out a way to properly tuck them away) - while the cape is replacing the wings they're more or less 'in stasis', so damaging the cape doesn't damage the wings and vice versa, and is more of a strange pocket dimensional swap than anything. Thus the cape can't actually be removed from fayre, trying to rip it off them won't hurt or anything but will probably just yank them around a bit (maybe they're somehow trading their wings with an equivalent in the yarn dimension? who knows, they certainly don't)

The wings themselves are pretty odd as they look sort of like dragonfly wings but are actually made up of individual feathers of varying traits - general consensus is they are indeed very pretty, but other than gliding fayre can't actually fly that well with them. The stunning aura on them Does keep bugs and wildlife away though making them ideal for forest exploration, and fayre will wrap themselves up in them every night when going to bed as the wings work to deter any predators from going after them, and it's Comfy

~Plot Stuff Begins~

Meeting Strix:

For quite a while Prism was the only consistent point of contact Fayre had with anyone else, and even then the two only visited one another infrequently, both happy to largely keep to the homes and lives they've carved out for themselves.

The first major change to fayre's day to day life was the introduction of another puffball named Strix, who happened upon them while looking for their wayward coworker

After conversing a bit it was discovered that Strix is actually employed as a Reaper, of the paper-pushing variety, and only tends to poke their head out of purgatory when hunting down their work-shirking coworker.

Said work-shirking coworker is also the reason strix is the only person fayre has met that isn't affected by their wing's wonky aura - spending a few centuries in close quarters with someone who puts out a very similar status effect tends to build up an immunity, which fayre tries their best to take full advantage of

Fayre and Strix managed to hit it off early on, and occasionally meet up every month or so for an hour or two to get their required socializations in before wandering back off from whence they came. Strix will often share their work bereavements, or encourage fayre to actually learn some self-defense, which is largely met with playful ambivalence, though despite fayre's general disinterest in combat some minor progress was made on strix's part

(To that end farther the line a more favorable and not at all ominous deal was struck between the two so time will tell how that pans out)

During one of these chats strix also shared some of their Tragic Backstory:tm:, which fayre empathized with in the only way they know how

These friendly meetings continued with regularity for some odd years, up until fayre accidentally rode-along on one of strix's business calls~

Meeting Stell (aka The 'Among-Us' Arc):

Unfortunately for Fayre, Strix had been called to investigate what was reported to be an erroneous wish caused by a faulty comet, one without its proper safety regulations in place. Fayre tumbled on through strix's portal and into the sidelines of an ongoing fight between strix and some new armored fighter apparently affiliated with said comet.

Hoping to avoid whatever anime-ass conflict was going on over there, fayre started drifting towards the only other point in space of any note, the giant cat-like mechanical comet. Unfortunately for fayre, whoever had maintained that comet had rigged it up with a series of perimeter defenses, which fayre became intimately familiar with as they were shot down and forced to land on the comet itself to escape the bullet-hell firing at them.

Suffering some fun knicks and scrapes predominantly on their wings fayre pushed that on the back burner with their cape and started to look for an exit from this weird mechanical death trap. (Past this point Fayre has a quasi-permanent notch in their left feather).

Thus began fayre's fun-filled two-ish weeks of impromptu among us where they had a jolly time hiding in the vents and cutting wires to stall the maniac doing their level best to eject them with lethal force

Eventually contact was made with the assailant, whose name was apparently Stell, and an agreement was brokered just as Strix finally decided to stop by again to see how fixing that busted-ass comet was going.

after that misunderstanding was cleared up Fayre finally got off that shitty comet and after being dropped off in the woods by strix managed to trudge all the way to the mirror dimension to visit prism and get some bandaids (slash bullet holes patched up)

Mirror Arc & Beyond:

Some additional fun is had with the twins in the mirror dimension, namely the whole kitten kaboodle becoming corrupted for a time and fayre becoming a bit of an asshole because of it, which predominantly ended up aimed at strix who popped by to help sort all that out

post-corruption fayre found out apparently strix took the verbal abuse personally and fixed that all right up in their own way by visiting them at their workplace

tragically for fayre's happy-go-lucky attitude they've come to be attached to strix, which only became obvious once strix relayed a recent near-death experience to them and they got to experience their first ever Bummer Emotion

making that extra fun was learning said near-death experience was caused by their good friend Stell, which in turn lead to fayre's first ever Catching Hands Emotion

fayre's emotional roller coaster topped out after more or less jumping stell in a convenience store and trying to forcibly shove their own negative emotions down his throat after he brushed off the encounter he'd had with strix (partially due to running a high fever but that sure wasn't fayre's problem) - since then they've leveled back out and are back to being the most emotionally well-balanced of the three, which is a low bar to clear but hey first place is still first place~

[saym0-0]

oh my god. oh my GOD mechs esmp crossover. this is for SUCH a niche audience the esmp fandom is dead i dont care mechs esmp crossover

LISTEN TO ME okay ill have to add a sci-fi element to my established esmp world i am OKAY with this, grimlands are already victorian steampunk its not that big a stretch to add space travel, especially in the place of dimension travel.

okay so in my esmp lore the emperors are blessed by the gods with conditional immortality and flight, they know a new ruler has been born by if they're born with wings. i bet though i could twist that into the king cole/olympians idea of trading their citizen's lives for immortality. although it is kinda reversed? (mechs immortals tend to stop aging but can be killed, emperors still age and can die of old age, but cant be killed). hmm i mean theres definite differences between king cole and the olympians so maybe its just another variation, or something closer to the mechs themselves? though that ones less likely

honestly there literally is an esmp1 musical so i reckon its interesting enough to attract the mechs

but lets be honest with ourselves here, the only reason im doing this is so i have an excuse to draw grimlands!marius lmao

i think raph would be interested in it too though, with how they're so much more reliant on technical advancement than magical.

ivy would love the rivendell library, and crystal cliffs

hmmm jonny might have fun between mythland and the cod empire,,,

hmmmm brian would maybe like to hang out with shrub in the undergrove? he does like his garden,, maybe the overgrown with katherine too,, or gilded helianthia!

hrm,, i keep wanting to put people in the grimlands but i know thats only because its my favourite so therefore the most developed and also the most similar in vibe to the mechs

with that said though, tim really would have fun there,, like hes the gunpowder guy!! fwhip is the gunpowder guy!! they both r in charge of weapons!! guns, crossbows, same difference really

oough back to raph i think she and fwhip would bond over making their own wings,, fwhip made his to prove that he is fit to rule after gem fucked off to wizard school and raph,, uh actually i never found out raphs backstory beyond the fact im like 78% sure she made her and marius' mechanisms,, although that could be widely accepted fanon who knows not me

i think marius would also enjoy mezelea

but OH MY GOD TOY SOLDIER IN MEZELEA,,, i cant believe i almost forgot it,, i think it would immediately blend in with the clones and pretend to be one right up until they leave the planet, and have the time of its life the whole time,,

i dont know where ashes would go either.. i cant just say grimlands again because theres like four of them there already but,, the explosions!!

maybe mythland, or rivendell, those both seem like they'd appreciate a good mob boss taking over the place tbh

i think brian would get along with pix also

okay this isnt mechs but the fandom is a circle so if theres actually any fans of both out there reading this post, has anyone else noticed just how similar pix and jon's (tma) voices are?? genuinely when i started listening to the podcast i had to double check the va wasnt pix (and imagine my confusion when they share the same name too..)

anyways if anyone wants to scream about this with me please do, or if you want to know more about my esmp expanded universe feel free to do that too! in asks replies or reblogs idm

[cursed-iris]

I've seen your Jack and Miss Acacia fanart (the one inspired in a 1923 paint), and now I'm interested on the extended lore of the 2005 album.

Thanks in advance, and have a nice day.

so sorry it took me so long to answer, but thank you so much for this ask! :DD

so, i answered a similar question a while back that also incorporated some of the book lore to make it make more sense, so you can find that post here.

but otherwise, i'm going to talk more about the actual album because i don't think i did the best job explaining it before. cut because it's kind of a long explanation and it does contain some book spoilers from the original post.

so basically, dionysos released the album "monsters in love" in 2005 about 4 years before mathias malzieu (lead singer and writer for the band) published the book in 2009, and 8 years before the movie was released (cerca. 2013 but the release dates were different internationally). this technically makes everything that came after the album, the book and the movie, a prequel.

so that's important because that means the lore in the album (and even to some extent the book and movie) is drastically different from the rest of the source material. however, the book is much closer to tying the narrative of the album together. "monsters in love" is pretty much the first time the character of jack or miss acacia appears.

the album begins with a track called "giant jack,"

this is jack several years after the events of the book take place, and he's like massive.

i don't think we ever discover how exactly he became a giant (it's mentioned at the end of the book), but he's returned to edinburgh and is terrorizing the town. the song isn't sung from jack's perspective, which is interesting because jack is basically a mathias malzieu self insert. but anyway, it's sung from either mathias' perspective or the "broken bird's" (that's another track in the album) perspective because there is a mention of the speaker having wings.

it's hard to decipher some dionysos lyrics because they're super metaphorical and i don't think they're supposed to make that much sense. but from what i read of the lyrics, giant jack strikes a deal to protect the speaker.

in the animated mv for another monsters in love song, "tes lacets sont des fées," we see jack again along with miss acacia. he's wandering the streets of edinburgh at night and sees her (and the broken bird, who at this time, i believe was also a mathias malzieu self-insert character) performing in an orchestra hall. and then... some other... weird stuff... happens... that i'm not going to fully get into. but you can find the music video (cw nudity) here.

so how does any of this tie in with the rest of jack and the cuckoo clock heart? the answer is, it really doesn't for the movie. in the movie, jack dies. he is dead. full stop. but as we know, the movie is based on the book which is based of the album, so the book ending where he doesn't die and returns after a coma actually segues into the beginning of the "monsters in love" album.

this is a direct quote from the last chapter: "As for our 'hero,' he grew taller and taller. But he never got over the loss of Miss Acacia. he went out every night, only at night, to roam the outskirts of the Extraordinarium, in the shadow of its fairground attractions. But the half-ghost that he had become never crossed its threshold. Then he retraced his own boyish steps all the way back to Edinburgh. The city was exactly as he remembered it; time seemed to have stood still there."

Anyway, he returns to his childhood home in the last chapter, only to be told by arthur (and i think anna and luna), that he never even needed the cuckoo clock heart for that long in the first place. it was supposed to be temporary. madélèine could've removed it at any time, but specifically chose not to so he wouldn't go off and leave her, which is pretty messed up actually (wtf madélèine?). my theory, if the book really is a true precursor to the album, as in everything that happens in the album is canon to the jatcch storyline, is that jack starts terrorizing edinburgh after hearing that news. because the clock heart ruined his life and he didn't even need it.

i hope that answered your question. 😭 thank you for the ask!

[spidermanifested]

ive thought a little more about devils nest dungeon meshi au (demons nest?) and here is the idea i was bouncing around in my head. id love for some kind of lore compliance check because i havent really gone back over the manga since i finished it, or sought out any kind of supplemental material, and i like the challenge of fitting these kinds of things into the boundaries of the source (once again DUNGEON MESHI SPOILERS. for people who havent read the manga at all)

so you have this demon (in a dungeon) (granting desires and eating them) (getting stronger) (hoping someday he can get out of the dungeon). and hes been in there a while and boy does he love watching humans get their greatest wishes granted, but the part where they gradually go mad with power or get disenchanted with the results and also he has to eat their desires anyway eventually kind of blows. he wishes he could only have the good part where he gets to make people happy forever is that too much to ask. maybe when he gets out of the dungeon he can do something about that. love to get out of the dungeon

anyway fast forward a while and this guy comes in. some teenage prince from a tallman country thats wracked with internal conflict and what HE wants is to become immortal, because that way when he takes the throne his reign will be eternal and the different clans will stop fighting over the right of succession. thats so specific. the demon loves it. he can just give him a peaceful united empire here, in the dungeon, which he can rule eternally-- no he wants the one at home. well. the problem with that is that the demon is here, in the dungeon, and not out there.

HELP WANTED NOTICE: i dont remember what the exact plan was vis a vis the winged lion getting up to the surface in the manga and i know it Had to be simpler than "just walk out of there" because why would it have had to steal laios' body about it. WOULD a sufficiently dedicated dungeon lord be able to get back up to the surface with their respective demon in tow.

ADDITIONAL HELP WANTED NOTICE: if a demon WAS freed from the dungeon without being powerful enough to get out under its own strength, how much magic would it be able to perform out there? would it be able to make somebody immortal without the big magic-insulation box. i feel like this changes a lot if greed Can grant ling immortality vs if now that hes out of the dungeon he cant really do shit.

either way now that hes out he does not technically need to eat this kids desires specifically anymore. if the immortality thing is a bust, maybe hes shaken by the experience of not being able to fulfill somebodys wish for the first time. but HIS wish has been fulfilled instead? complicated! maybe ling drags him back to his kingdom to help him gain the throne, or maybe he gets mad and leaves and greed never finds out what happens to him, but whatever goes down it changes his worldview and hes starting to develop a sense of personhood separate from the rest of the Demon Conglomerate, and also desires that are unique to Him

but he still wants to help people realize their own desires and maybe thats even strengthened by the fact that now he personally knows how much it owns (funny) to want something so bad and finally get it. so im thinking eventually he goes back to his old dungeon, now way smaller, and he sets up shop, and just waits for people to come by so he can help them in a less exploitative way. like he graduates from Addiction Metaphor to Healthy Coping Mechanism Metaphor. and the chimeras all find their way there eventually and he wins their trust one at a time until they are forced to admit this weird overly genuine dungeon guy kind of rules. his personality is laios basically he has the exact same type of autistic swag

but. if the elves heard about a demon who was just fucking going up to people floor 1 like hi im a demon welcome to my dungeon. they would shit bricks. so the raid also has to happen at some point. and i Am putting ling in there albeit as backstory so im open to suggestions as to how the rest of the cast of fma can fit into this (father and the homunculi as other more typical demons obviously) (no clue about anybody else) (come and play toys with me)

[remediosthinks]

Theory that only makes sense cus this bitch (me) is in too many fandoms

ok so, sorry for this, but this post might go between diff perspectives (1st, 2nd, 3rd) but anything i say unless specifically stated otherwise is about me. He/they pronouns for me and ill refer to myself as Fox.

Ok, so i was out in my backyard, swinging, listening to music and thinking about my Watcher!Grian / Hermit!TommyInnit AU and I was coming up with a whole plotline which is too long to say here.

anyway, it was a... crack treated seriously, ig. technically. and it had a line where Xisuma says: "How did you know he (Tommy) was here (Grian's base. The Hermits were all at spawn for a meeting, so he shouldn'tve.)?" and Grian just said: "I saw."

now, i am a HUGE fan of the c!DSMP characters and plot, especially Las Nevadas, so naturally, when Fox said "I saw" out loud (he thinks out loud, ok? 😭) they immediately though of c!Slimecicle.

Now, he already had an AU which connects SCU (Slimecicle Cinematic Universe) and Epic SMP (the server that Charlie and Ted were basically slaves for Schlatt /rp) to DSMP. What they had made the AU as was that the explosion of Bungerburg was why Slime was, well, slime. It (Slime) had PTA (Post-Traumatic Amnesia) because of the explosion and that's why it can't remember anything before the DSMP. The explosion also caused it to become slime. Don't ask me how, I don't know either.

anyway, since you were thinking about Watchers and hermitcraft/evo lore, you thought of a really interesting au where the reason Slime doesn't remember and is slimy, is because of the Watchers.

what you thought could be a good plotline/fic idea was this:

Charlie fucking explodes Bungerburg and dies. The Watchers "save" him from losing his second life by kidnapping him for like a hundred years. They change his name to the [Language] word for slime and, rather than giving him wings and shit, they make him made out of slime - able to sneak into cracks easily and goop around. He then hides in the wall of the restaurant in Las Nevadas and the rest is history.

What do you readers think of this idea???