#rustwarden

[stevecoven]

This is their whole dynamic for a solid three months

[rocksandmirrors]

did a quick doodle of @jamscandraw 's OC Murph!! make sure to check out their art, it's lovely <3

[jamscandraw]

All my Murph refs in one post to make it easier to point people towards info about them! This still isn't their entire story, there's no way I could fit it all in, but I'm currently working on a complete timeline.

TLDR if you don't wanna read all that: Murph was Steve's childhood best friend but they parted ways after they took his chance to enter the Emperor's Coven. After learning some of the secrets about the Day of Unity from their father, who was imprisoned and executed for trying to stop Belos' plans, they flee the coven, cutting their own arms off to prevent being harmed by their sigil, and turn to a life in exile as the notorious wild witch The Rustwarden. For years they are pursued by coven scouts trying to capture them, and to their horror they discover that one of them has been Steve this whole time. They both fight, spill their secrets, and slowly reconcile once Steve decides to leave the coven and join the rebellion. Feelings slowly rekindle and after several near-death experiences and major sacrifices during the DoU and the ensuing aftermath, the two finally get together once the dust has settled and things (sort of) return to normal.

[burntmetalbastard]

These three fine gentlemen are affectionately referred to as The Triplets, three easy-to-build plague marines dredged up from the past (They're from the old First Strike starter kit) and given a fresh coat of grimy, plague-ridden paint to keep me from going insane while painting my main army's colors over and over. From left to right: Blood borne pathogen expert The Phlebotomist, Pallid Hand champion The Southpaw, and Iron Warrior grenadier The Rustwarden. They were great side projects to alleviate burnout and I had tons of fun using them to learn how to use black ink as a wash

[jamscandraw]

You should do an au where Steve is the Rustwarden and Murph is a coven scout. A switcharoo au if you will

I absolutely love a switcheroo AU, but I would have to do a LOT of narrative reshuffling and gymnastics and character changes to make a 1:1 roleswap AU for this story! Murph's whole motivation for becoming the Rustwarden is revenge for their father's death and a hatred for the regime that caused it, and idk what a suitable parallel motivation for Steve would be (ideas for swaps very welcome because I would love to play in this space at some point)

[stevecoven]

Thinking about Murph's parents and how they're barely in the story but are kind of the catalyst for everything 😭

Raya taught Murph how to be adventurous and fierce and protect the things they care about, with fists and teeth if necessary. Her illness and the lack of a cure spawns Murph's disdain for the coven system and her death shapes their entire adolescence. Their unchecked grief is what forces them to switch schools and gain a reputation for violence, and is what leads to meeting Steve and him being such a cornerstone of their life. Fear of losing someone they love again has made them both incredibly clingy and terrified of having feelings at all

Flinton taught Murph patience and gentleness, and their love of food and crafts. After Raya passes he is their sole guardian, biggest role model and moral compass; Murph is torn between choosing their own risky path in life and doing what they think will make their dad proud. His disappearance is the catalyst for Murph joining the Emperor's Coven (taking Steve's place), and his execution is what causes them to flee and eventually swear revenge on Belos. Their Rustwarden mask and weapons are his old tools; they are literally carrying him around with them for years after he's gone

[stevecoven]

Murph is giving "I had a very bloody accident involving my mouth as a child"

Their tooth gap is actually just natural! They could have fixed it with braces but they didn't want to, they like the way it looks

They are missing quite a few of their original teeth, but that's all from their Rustwarden era 💀

[jamscandraw]

how is the relationship between matt and Murph? Does Matt third wheel or does he get annoyed by their lovey-dovey things? Does Matt tease Steve about the things that go on at night? What were Matt's thoughts when Steve started dating Murph?

I ended up rambling a lot so I've put it under a cut!

Matt and Murph have a turbulent relationship to begin with, but by the time everything has settled down they're thick as thieves and might as well be siblings themselves. For a long time, Matt's only knowledge of Murph was "my brother's best friend who broke his horn off and then vanished and never came back" and even though he was only 5 at the time he remembers Steve being really upset, so he took it upon himself to hate this person on his brother's behalf. He doesn't see them again until his time hiding at New Hexside when they're forced to work together, and Matt learns that things were a lot more complicated than that, and he's forced to let go of his grudge. Murph almost dies protecting him and the other students and after that he sticks to them like glue.

Matt is fine with Murph dating Steve - fucking finally is what he says after having to listen to them mope and pine for three months while Steve was missing. He does get a bit jealous and paranoid about Murph "stealing" Steve away from him, because it's the first time Steve has been home permanently in years and he doesn't want Steve to forget about him. Steve knows this though, and always makes sure he makes room for Brother Time so Matt doesn't feel abandoned. Murph also understands this paranoia (they were the same as a teenager) so they try and include Matt in stuff like cooking or Grudgby training

Matt thinks they're gross and makes comedy retching noises every time they kiss or hold hands, because he's 13 years old and that's what 13 year olds do. He has absolutely no interest in what those two get up to behind closed doors and if Steve ever tried to tell him anything he'd clap his hands over his ears and start screaming. He might roll his eyes and call them mushy losers but at the end of the day he's never seen Steve this happy and he knows Murph would literally upend the entire island for him so his brother is in good hands. Him and Murph have a spoken agreement of "if you make Steve cry I'll ruin your life"

Matt would never admit it out loud but he's quite proud of Murph being in the family. Obviously everyone at Hexside knows what they did during the Collectorpocalypse and Matt gets a lot of smug enjoyment every time someone expresses admiration for the Rustwarden and he gets to say "they live in my house don't you know". It's also a very good bully deterrent to have a famous outlaw living under your roof. Murph is his submission for a Show and Tell assignment at the end of the school year

[jamscandraw]

What if it was Steve's mother dying for the Rustwarden switcheroo instead? We don't really have anything for his and Matt's parents canon wise so aus are a perfect way to expand on that. Whether it be the same father, different mothers or vice versa

In my main timeline (ACJFT) Steve and Matt share a biological mother and have different dads (Matt's is still around, but Steve never knew his). Killing his mom would absolutely radicalise Steve, he adores her and it would immediately put a very young Matt's safety in jeopardy, but I'm not sure what situation would lead to her dying in the right kind of way to set him off on that path of revenge. Murph's dad disobeyed direct orders from Belos, and as a well-known and well-respected figure of the community, was wrongfully executed to make an example of him (and stop him spilling his secrets about the DoU). Steve's mom is very much just a normal citizen with no direct ties to the EC or Belos so I'd have to find a different kind of justification to make it work

[stevecoven]

"talk to me about my ocs" on it, boss!!

what's Murph's relationship with the BATs, like how do they fit in?? do they get along with everyone, do they like to hang out with one of them in particular?? (if you're cool answering that, that is)

Murph worked with the BATTs for maybe ~6 months before the Day of Unity as part of the rebellion (I messed with the timeline a little bit, Steve joins at least a month before the DoU rather than a few days for plot convenience) and gets on with all of them pretty well

Katya: the reason Murph is here. One of Murph's infamous prison breaks (get arrested on purpose, get locked up in the Conformatorium, bust out of jail and free all the other prisoners in the process) was also one of Katya's several stints behind bars. She feels indebted to this stranger, who also happens to be a mad powerful witch who seems to hate everything to do with the Emperor, so when Raine tells their bards about assembling a rebellion against the DoU Katya insists on tracking down the Rustwarden and recruiting them to the cause. Murph, relieved to know they're not the only one in this fight any more, accepts right away. The two become fast friends quickly and Katya becomes Murph's confidant/emotional support buddy. She's a hopeless romantic (and a fanfic writer) so I see her getting obsessively invested in the drama between Murph and Steve, but she knows better than to get involved. Also Murph went to school with her cousin Roscoe (another OC of mine) who is a dick and they bond over teasing him too. Post-canon they get even closer and Katya is definitely Murph's girl bestie (except when Delphy is in town)

Amber: I feel like she's super easy to get on with. Definitely super nosy and asks way too many invasive questions about Murph's past, but Murph likes her enthusiasm and goofing around with her. Like Katya, Amber is super invested in the drama with Steve because she's a slut for gossip but far more meddlesome/awful at keeping her mouth shut so Murph doesn't trust her with quite as many deep secrets. Loves to braid Murph's hair when their mutated hands can't do it anymore, which is a key bonding experience for Murph. Murph has a lot of affection for her in an annoying younger sister kinda way

Derwin: he's an absolute fucking mystery. Murph can't figure out how this soft-spoken eloquent guy ended up so close with the other two but somehow it works. He doesn't ask nosy questions like the other two, to the point where Murph assumes he's just not interested in getting to know them, but he's extremely observant and picks up on all sorts of little things. Murph finds him a little strange but often enjoys his calm and collected presence compared to the hyperactive nature of the girls, and every so often he'll drop the most sage and life-changing advice you've ever heard out of nowhere

and of COURSE Steve gets adopted into this group dynamic pretty quickly too. He's excited to have new friends who think he's cool and they're all pretty trusting of him considering he's ex-EC (mainly because if they said anything mean Murph would eat them). Post-DoU they're a close friend group and regularly go out for drinks/food/movies together

[stevecoven]

I’m sorry but the idea of katyurphy is sending me xD

Poor Steve, what’s worse than having both your exes date each other?

LMAOOOOO POOR STEVE to be fair though, I think he's enough of a gentleman that he'd still manage to be happy for the both of them and not let his pride make him bitter. He can take it like a champ

ALSO,,, Katyurphy does exist as a viable Sturphy alternative in my timeline. Katya is serving one of her many prison sentences when Murph (as the Rustwarden) does a jailbreak and a whole load of prisoners, including her, are able to escape. She's indebted to this mysterious criminal and is the one who convinced Raine to track them down and try to convince Murph to join the rebellion. They become fast friends (and Amber and Derwin too) and Katya definitely has a "oooh you rescued me, handsome stranger" crush on Murph at least for a little bit. If Steve never showed up or he never made up with Murph, there could definitely be something between those two 👀

Or, galaxy brain take where we both win. Stevatyurphy polycule 💛🖤💜

[burntmetalbastard]

The last Triplet, the big belly plate on his armor inspired me to try my hand at hazard stripes for the first time and create the Iron Warrior known as The Rustwarden. I'm happy with the stripes, and quite pleased that they hold up under close inspection in the last image