#mos: xornoth

[minecraftbookshelf]

I totally am not considering Empires Season 1 AUs

Jimmy, pouting: “Why do I have to get married for the treaty.”

Lizzie, eating breakfast: “Because the Wither Rose Alliance refused anything less than a marriage and I figured you would rather marry one of their allies than one of them.”

Jimmy, sulking: “So obviously I should marry the one we know nothing about bc his brother keeps him home under lock and key.”

Lizzie, spreading jam on a fish filet: “Well if the worst comes to worst and he’s absolutely terrible, at least you can just outlive him. Elves only live like four or five hundred years anyway.”

Jimmy: *opens his mouth*

Jimmy: *closes his mouth*

Jimmy: “How did that plan work out for you, then?”

Seablings: *look at each other*

Seablings: *look at Joel*

Joel, a perfectly normal, garden variety human. Who has inexplicably been married to Lizzie for ~600 years now: “is there something on my face?”

Lizzie: “Point taken.”

Meanwhile, in Rivendell

Scott, who has been relying on his brother’s lava magic to keep him from freezing their whole kingdom over for a long time now: “Oh yes this is going to go so well. We’re going to end up going to war with the Ocean because I accidentally turn the swamp kingdom into an ice skating rink. Excellent diplomacy, brother. You should get a prize.”

[pacificwaternymph]

Okay I promised a post on the lore and plot of my ATLA Empires Mashup AU.

We'll start with Scott. He was the crown prince of the Fire Nation. I know I know, it completely goes against his whole Ice MO, but like- this made the best sense plot wise and this way Xornoth can be a fire Princette.

So anyway, Scott believed wholeheartedly in his father and the superiority of his nation. Until he discovered that he was the Avatar.

His father found out and tried to kill him, because he felt threatened by Scott's abilities and he's such a narcissist that he couldn't stand to have anyone better than him around him :)

So now that Scott is out in the wider world, he learns pretty quickly that most of the things he learned were complete and utter bullshit. His confidence in his nation is already waning when he decides that as the avatar, he needs to master the four elements. Then he arrives at the Eastern Air Temple to find a teacher and finds it absolutely decimated.

The only survivor was Katherine, and that was the day Scott lost any and all respect for his ancestors. But luckily, Katherine can see his anger and realizes he knew nothing about this. So she agrees to teach him, and as he learns, they head to the Southern Water Tribe to find a water bending teacher as well.

I'm glossing over a lot, as you can tell. But basically, Scott's still a pretty novice airbender, since Katherine herself had only recently become a master and had never taught anyone.

And then they reach the SWT, and find that there's only one water bender left in the whole South Pole.

Jimmy's not a very strong water bender. His sister, Lizzie, on the other hand, was one of the best the world had ever seen. But a few years ago, Lizzie was dragged off in a fire nation raid, after lying and saying she was the last of the water benders.

So needless to say, Scott's arrival isn't exactly welcomed. But Katherine defends him, he proves he's the avatar, and long story short, Jimmy joins them, along with his best friend Pixl, who's been the closest thing to family he's had.

And then... Shrub. Shrub meeting the others goes pretty much exactly like how Toph meets the Gaang. No that's- that's literally it. Also Katherine develops a crush on her instantly.

So Scott now has three people willing to teach him, but... none of them, except Shrub, are masters. So they decide to head to the other air temples first, and try to warn them of what the Fire Nation did to the Eastern Air Temple.

After that, they plan to go to the northern water tribe so both Scott and Jimmy can train, and then... well, they'll figure it out when they get there.

All the while, Xornoth was delivered an ultimatum from their father. Find and kill their brother before the eclipse, and they will be named heir to the throne. Fail, and be killed themself.

Xornoth was always the unloved sibling, because Scott has blue fire and lightning and Xornoth... doesn't. They see this as their chance to finally prove they're worth something to their father, but growing up alongside someone does have an impact.

They don't really have a choice anyway, it is quite literally kill or be killed. So they enlist the help of their fiancé, Joey, to help them on this and the two of them embark on a quest to capture/kill the avatar.

There will be a separate post that will include the Jizzie and the WRA, the romantic subplots, and Xornoth's "redemption"

[prismartist]

Hello, op. It is me again lurking in your asks with a cursed idea:

Hayaan mo Sila but it's Xornoth doing a “Mother Knows Best” thing to Scott after Sausage kissed Jimmy

AHFJK that sure is an image... imagining xornoth rapping is so funny though jhfjhdjkdfhk

[minecraftbookshelf]

Shovel Talk

Xornoth: "You are going to marry my brother."

Jimmy: "Yes?"

Xornoth: *sits down next to him*

Xornoth: "I have a demon in my head, did you know that?"

Jimmy: ...

Jimmy, very high-pitched: "What"

Xornoth, casually: "Yeah, I was supposed to be the champion of an evil stag god and bring about the end of the world. I decided that I would not do that and protect my baby brother instead."

Jimmy: "Oh thats-thats good."

Xornoth: "I would burn the world to protect him."

Xornoth: :)

[minecraftbookshelf]

Quick question about mots, if Scott follows in Joels footsteps and becomes immortal, hows Xornoth gonna take that? And on the flipside, if Scott dosen't become immortal, hows Jimmy gonna take that?

Xornoth is pretty codependent tbh so of the two of them (them and Jimmy) they would take being separated from Scott long-term far worse. Jimmy would be very sad but would carry on and eventually move on. Xornoth would claw themselves back out of the grave to haunt their brother.

(I haven't decided exactly what is going to happen there because I'm not sure which would be more narratively and thematically satisfying but it will be coming up at some point)

I will say though that Joel is just...weird. Like, in general. By all the laws of the Universe. Joel is Joel. The vibes are very strongly "Death came to take him and he very politely said 'no thank you, I have a lot to do and things to build and a wife to love and support' and Death said 'you know what, fair enough! You do you, you funky little man!' and she's been sitting back and watching him just keep living ever since."

[minecraftbookshelf]

Priorities

Scott: “so you social anxietied me into a political marriage.”

Xornoth, face-down on the floor: *distressed noises*

Scott: “To someone 80% of our allies are one bad day away from declaring war on.”

Xornoth, quiet and miserable: “Yes”

Scott: “To someone I have never met.”

Xornoth: 😭😭😭

Scott: “Well is he cute at least?”

Joey, watching from the sofa with a bowl of popcorn: *collapses in raucous laughter*

Xornoth: …

Xornoth: …

Xornoth: “So about that…”

[minecraftbookshelf]

Marriage of State: The King of Rivendell

Xornoth only really has one look throughout the AU, with a few minor variations and, of course, The Armor Edition TM.

Once again the primary sources for inspiration are the skin for the character in question and the architectural style of their home empire, in this case, Rivendell. Rivendell also draws (canonically) on Tolkein's elves, though only incidentally. I've opted to take that and run with it so the original Rivendell, and other elements of Lord of the Rings, both elvish and mortal, are incorporated. The other major contributors are viking-era Scandinavia, and Rohan, also from lotr.

The Elf Xornoth skin is a recolored version of Scott's base Rivendell skin with a few other minor changes (one shoulder cape, long pants)

Technically speaking the Demon Xornoth skin isn't super relevant to their design for the AU, but I wanted to throw it on here anyway, as something to keep in mind.

So the easiest way of doing this is going to be top to toe I think so we'll start with the antlers!

There are three main points (no pun intended) regarding Xornoth's antlers.

They are probably not as big as you think they are, because Xornoth has only had two or three sheds. They are adult antlers, but young adult antlers.

For antler design I've based them off of Scottish Red Deer.

They are made of obsidian and have been ever since Xornoth first allowed Exor into their head.

Under the antlers, Xornoth has magenta hair (just past shoulder length with the slightest bit of curl) and eyes, though the eyes tend to be a bit pinker when they are having A MomentTM

They do wear jewelry but its usually fairly simple. Earrings, an antler ring or two. They only wear their crown when they absolutely have to.

Their wings are Snowy Owl wings

specifically, snowy owl wings with a higher proportion of black on them, as in the images above, especially the one on the right.

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Xornoth tends to dress relatively utilitarian as well, in dark colors that stand out among the blues most common in Rivendell, they usually wear black and autumn colors.

As far as style goes, the heaviest inspiration is the lord of the rings films, specifically simpler elvish styles, such as those worn by Legolas, especially in Rivendell or Lothlorien. (The main thing coming from the actual Xornoth skin is the single conclusion of "knee high boots") But with embroidery more akin to what you see in Rohan where it contrasts rather than blends in

Like so.

Rivendell has a lot of embroidery and knotwork incorporated into their clothes, a lot of it with gold-thread as well. Especially for royalty.

Xornoth does wear a cloak, it is designed to be fairly easy to remove for flying reasons, but is a sturdy and warm piece of clothing regardless, due to Xornoth being cold all the time.

Their armor is netherite, in style its basically just this

When Xornoth is older and starts wearing longer robes more often (currently only when they absolutely have to at extremely formal occasions) they will basically just be dressing like Elrond. Color pallet and style and all.

They also usually have at least one sword on them, often two.

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Lizzie || Jimmy || Joel ||

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Art

Lizzie || Jimmy || Jimmy Eeveelution

[minecraftbookshelf]

One upside of accepting that the elves are going to be owl people as well as deer people is that this means that they can turn their head farther than humanoid standard. Not quite the full owl 180, but definitely far enough it flips into uncanny valley for humans who see it.

Xornoth absolutely doesn't use this to freak Fwip out on more than one occasion nope.

[minecraftbookshelf]

The Morning After the Engagement: Rivendell Edition

AKA, Scott got betrothed for politics and now he is suffering

So this one won't actually be in the fic most likely, because plot-wise I don't want Scott and Xornoth to know what everyone else is thinking, but I thought this was funny and was told it was so here. Enjoy.

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Scott opened the door to a hyperactive flurry of scarlet and rainbow feathers and immediately slammed it shut again on the intruder's foot. The pained yelp was very satisfying.

"Brother, your mistress is here," he shouted back into the house, yanking the door open again just in time to see a very scandalized minister of agriculture hurry away down the road towards the marketplace over Joey's shoulder.

The Emperor of the Lost Kingdom was hopping on one foot, his face screwed up while he clutched at the (now scuffed) heeled sandal that had given his toes absolutely no protection from the solid spruce door.

Once he became aware that Scott was looking at him he composed himself enough to sniff disdainfully and limp past him into the house.

"Xorny!" He smelled like warm humidity. Ugh.

Scott follows him back to the kitchen where Xornoth really looks as if they regret everything ever as Joey dramatically flings himself across a whole corner of the table, nearly knocking their breakfast to the floor. His wings trail through Scott's plate. Serves him right. Scott hopes the honey is hell to wash out.

Joey is already chattering a million miles an hour and it is way too early in the morning for this.

Scott doesn't make his escape quickly enough though because Joey rolls over so he's lounging on the table like its a piece of parlor furniture and gives him the brightest, smuggest smirk of a grin. "And here is the lucky bridegroom himself! You absolutely must let me help plan the wedding."

"Unfortunately we have several professionals who are already hard at work," Scott says in mock sadness. "And it would be an insult to them to remove them from the project."

Xornoth seems to be considering the merits of drowning themselves in their sweetberry juice. Scott squints at it and decides to risk freezing it over. The only possible casualty is Joey.

He successfully freezes Xornoth's juice. And Joey's right wing. And Xornoth's feet. Maybe he's not as okay about this whole thing as he's pretending.

Xornoth gives him a guilty look while they're slowly defrosting Joey's wing. "I should have talked to you first," They admit. "I panicked. I thought they'd try to bargain more."

"They think its some kind of rescue," Joey sniffs, immediately snatching both siblings' attention. He doesn't notice at first, intently preening through his newly freed (and damp) feathers. Eventually he does look up and rolls his eyes at them. "Oh come on. Surely you're aware."

Scott has no idea what he is talking about. Xornoth looks equally confused.

Joey sighs and flops back so he's leaning percariously off the edge of the table, wings draped down to the floor, shoulders held up by Xornoth's. "They think you keep Scotty here locked up in a dungeon or a tower or something and they see this as an opportunity to make sure he's safe from the big bad rebel king or whatever."

Xornoth makes a noise equal parts distressed and amused.

"What?"

Joey rolls his eyes again so hard he almost falls. "As far as they know you were exiled, came back, killed your parents and disappeared your little brother. From the outside it looks really bad."

He idly picks at his fingernails and peers over at Scott. "I'm pretty sure if it weren't for Katherine most of them wouldn't even believe you're alive."

Xornoth just blinks over at them both. "Do I really give off such strong Evil Dictator vibes?"

"You both have the social skills of a dead sheep," Joey says bluntly.

"Like you're any better," Scott mutters under his breath.

"I am a fucking delight. You two have the mutual dream of running off and becoming mountain hermits."

[minecraftbookshelf]

Because of the combined effects of their antlers and wings, Xornoth has some Issues when visiting other empires. Doors, for example

[minecraftbookshelf]

For Marriage of State, since Scott has ice powers he is able to withstand extreme cold in relative comfort. The downside of this is that he overheats very easily.

The flip side of this is that Xornoth is able to withstand extreme heat…and is always cold.

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AU Masterpost

[minecraftbookshelf]

The Xornoth-Exor situation from Marriage of State AU, as summarized by myself and @okamialex-draw (their art is amazing you should go check it out)

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Transcript under the cut

[Three screenshots of Discord conversation between Okamialex and LiveAndLetRain:

Okamialex - Yep good job with that I'm now thinking about this meme that goes like"what do u want? (The souls of the innocent) a bagel (noooo) two bagels) buth with xornoth

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LiveAndLetRain - Exor is very disappointed in his current circumstances. This particular champion has gone of script and now he is being dragged along to budget meetings (edited)

Okamialex - Where is the chaos and destruction he was promise

LiveAndLetRain - He is supposed to be bathing in the blood of his enemies right now There was a schedule Why is he having to listen to people talk about wool exports (At this point Xornoth is attending extra meetings out of spite. It's the least they can do to inconvenience the elder god in their head)

Okamialex - I had an appointment to a blood bath we are late

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LiveAndLetRain - The mental image I just got from that! XD

Okamialex - Exor pulling a clock"we lateeee

LiveAndLetRain - I'm imagining him standing impatiently in the corner with one of those big old pocket watches Just making aggressive eye contact while he holds it

Okamialex - Agresive tapping it

LiveAndLetRain - (This is mostly funny because Exor is usually shaped like a deer he does not have thumbs or pockets)

[minecraftbookshelf]

Religion in the Empires: Fae Squad Edition

General disclaimer that, for the most part, the religions in the empires are not analogous to Christianity at all, beyond the general inevitable flavors that come from both the ccs and myself originating in culturally Christian environments.

The exception to this is a little bit the Rivendell siblings, as the way that was set up in canon and grown in the fandom does lend itself to some very Christianity-oriented looks at religion and religious trauma and, at least to an extent, that will be playing out. It will not be a major theme in anything most likely, but it’s there.

And reminder that the modern western approach to religion is historically unusual.

Katherine:

As Guardian of the Overgrown who is able to communicate with the Spring, Katherine culturally functions as a sort of priestess/conduit for Nature. Its actually a similar role to the one Pix holds in Pixandria in some ways, while being distinct because the Spring is less of a god in a pantheon (like the goddess of death that Pix is connected to) and is instead The Overgrown itself.

House Blossom is only one of the Fae Courts but all of them are more animistic than their more mortally-aligned neighbors.

Smajor:

The reform method of dealing with religious trauma. Is genuinely very religious on a personal level and so is kind of the default royal for presiding at religious events that Xornoth is technically ineligible for (elaborated on below)

On a more general level, Aeor’s church is one of Scott’s favorite places. It was the one place he could hide from his parents during the worst years and even the priests generally didn’t bother him there. When he’s mad at Xornoth it’s where he goes because he knows he won’t be followed. So aside from any religious aspects the church building is a Safe Space for him.

That being said does have some deep-running trauma from the fundamentalist practices and ideals that ruled during his parent’s reign and his childhood.

Xornoth:

“I will face god and walk backwards into hell.” Has a literal god living in their head and refuses to do what any god wants ever. Especially the one in their head.

Their relationship with Aeor is extremely complicated, mostly because they (Xornoth and Aeor) are in a weird sort of stasis where they can’t be openly hostile to each other because that would make Exor happy and Scott sad, which they’ve sort of reluctantly concluded are both things neither of them want to happen, to varying degrees. Xornoth avoids Aeor’s church, Aeor leaves Scott alone and continues to bless Rivendell with the usual level of protection and prosperity and they sort of continue through life ignoring each other.

Xornoth was officially labeled as a blasphemer by the high priest of Aeor under their parents’ rule, technically that was never rescinded but the current high priest doesn’t enforce or draw attention to it. (The main reason it hasn’t been rescinded is equal parts it is technically theologically accurate and Xornoth finds it funny/is very proud of it)

Shrub Berry:

As an inter-dimensional refugee they spent some time existing in a sort of religious limbo. The gnomes were very much about casual worship of the local patrons and she doesn’t know who protects the Undergrove for quite some time. Meeting the Mother Wolf is a huge relief for her, though the close connection that the Mother Wolf initiated was a bit of a shock.

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Ocean Alliance

Wither Rose Alliance

[minecraftbookshelf]

Xornoth: Arranged Marriage AU

Xornoth actually does have an arranged marriage.

Queen Iona is a lovely lady from the Rivendell nobility. She lives in the Rivendell palace (the one that Smajor never got around to actually building) with her girlfriend personal assistant and is a primary ally of Xornoth and Scott with the whole "convincing Rivendell that leaving behind their isolationist days behind them is for the best." She won't really be in the stories much but she is there, mostly wrangling the Rivendell Council of Ministers behind the scenes while Xornoth and Scott have their various crises.

Officially, Xornoth lives in the palace. Scott reminds them of this constantly. (Xornoth lives in Scott's house)

Xornoth is agender, uses they/them pronouns and is somewhere in that nebulous area surrounding demi/asexuality. They genuinely don't care enough to think too hard about it they're just trying to live their life. They do use some terms for themselves that are traditionally gendered, mostly brother. They're very proud of being Scott's brother.

Their affair with Joey is scandalously public because Joey is incapable of being subtle about his relationship status.

Pearl is Xornoth's best friend because she doesn't make them do social things she is perfectly down with just fighting each other for hours straight.

I am going to write the fic about everything (have, in fact, already begun doing so) but the TL;DR is that Exor did actually make an attempt at possessing Xornoth. Was basically told "no thank you" and now is an annoying voice in Xornoth's head constantly promoting chaos and murder and fratricide and general evilness.

There's also occasional visions and whatnot but those are less annoying and more mild inconveniences.

#JustChampionThings

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AU Masterpost

[minecraftbookshelf]

Wither Rose Alliance In The AU In Which All the Marriages are Arranged

Fwhip and Mythical Sausage are cousins who grew up together and are functionally siblings

Fwhip and GeminiTay are not biologically related but decided they were twins when they were very small and have been family ever since.

Pearl is related to no one and, in fact, is possibly not human at all. Xornoth and Gem are Suspicious. (Sometimes you spend a lot of time wondering if you’re friends with a human queen or a goddess it just be like that)

Xornoth is technically a member in the way that sometimes that one weird quiet kid gets along with one of the friend group of weird loud kids like a house on fire and so they hang out with them even if they don’t really socialize with them.

Xornoth and Pearl are best friends and Xornoth has no idea how this happened and had very little input on the situation.

Joey has become an adjacent member since he and Xornoth started dating.

The core three of the WRA, the Roseblings squad, are the only ones actively in conflict with the Ocean Alliance, which is the primary reason it has never broken out into all out war despite Sausage’s harassment of the Swamp borders. Because while Pearl enjoys a good fight Xornoth doesn’t particularly want to go to war directly after bringing their country out of isolation. And both Xornoth and Gem suspect that Lizzie Vs Pearl would be some kind of natural disaster and so they are very invested in preventing that fight.

(This is where Scott ends up coming into the equation. RIP)

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AU Masterpost

[minecraftbookshelf]

Wedding Logistics Snippet

"Right, okay, great." Scott runs his hands down the sides of his face and flops over onto the bed beside Xornoth, who still seems to be doing their best to smother themself in the pillows. Scott has no sympathy. They brought this upon themself. Upon both of them. "So I'm getting married. Great."

Xornoth makes a noise like a cat whose tail has been stepped on into the pile of pillows. Scott backhands them blindly without looking away from the ceiling. He smacks them rather ineffectually in the middle of their back but its the principle of the thing.

"So leaving aside the reasons this is a bad idea," he continues. "Is there any kind of actual plan? Are our dowry traditions compatible? What trade agreements are part of this deal? How secure is the Codfather's position in the Ocean Alliance and are they likely to turn against him, and thus us by extension? Where is the wedding even happening? Here? The Swamp? Somewhere else?"

Xornoth picks their head up enough to peer at Scott through their hair. "I'm to meet with the Ocean Queen and the Codfather next week. It might not happen here?"

Scott rolls his eyes and sits up, hands in his lap, ready to go into lecture mode. "That's actually the least likely option. I'm the one marrying in. Politically speaking, having it here would be a huge insult to the Swamp and carries a strong risk of souring the citizens of the Swamp towards the marriage," he pauses, considering. His nose wrinkling up in anticipated distaste. "As little equipped as the Swamp seems to be to host a royal wedding of any caliber."

"Mythland is between us and the Swamp," Xornoth said, spitting strands of hair out of their mouth. "The wedding could be there."

Scott just stares at them for a moment. Xornoth stares back, completely serious.

"Mythland," Scott prompts.

Xornoth nods, forehead pinching in confusion.

"In the church of the Blood Sheep," Scott sighs and flops back over, giving up. "Don't you already have enough blasphemy charges to your name? And the aesthetics would be terrible."

There is a long moment of silence. Scott contemplates the merits of repeating the tactics of his juvenile years and just running away into the Southern Mountains. Xornoth got them into this, they can sort it out themselves.

"The Overgrown is also in-between Rivendell and the Swamp and is neutral," Xornoth finally says. "Guardian Katherine might be willing to host."

"That is acceptable," Scott says. The knot in his stomach does not loosen, but he breathes easier.

The two of them lay is silence, staring at the ceiling, until Owen shows up to tell them dinner is ready.

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AU Masterpost