#which is tricky when i'm introducing a new lore thing

[imtrashraccoon]

Me, happily writing the next chapter of TNA 😌

Finishes the two plot points I had planned

Mfw the chapter is 1,000 words shorter than I hoped 🥲

Welp, I guess it's time to reword things and hope to squeeze a couple hundred words out of editing it!

[yumikeki]

How I'd go about reintroducing Mephiles back into Sonic lore(sorta)

So this isn't going to be super structured, its gonna be really rambly but its basically cuz i'm repeating the whole thought process I had while looking stuff up, brainstorming etc so sorry if it gets a bit long, so I'll put design stuff and the whole thing under a keep reading link. Got it? Good. Lets uh, do this.

So to go back to the very beginning, the sonic channel poll. That was a wild time haha. When i first saw it I wasn't initially interested in Mephiles. I would've voted for Vector or Sonicman tbh. But seeing people talking about how cool it would be to reintroduce a character that got wiped out of existence made it a bit more entertaining to me. Which made it suck a little more that he didnt win. But hey, im not complaining about Sonicman, good for him. But that got me thinking about how difficult it would be to reintroduce Mephiles. After all, he came from a very infamous game that still leaves scars in Sonic's history, and having him just come back when his whole story revolved around a game that ppl do not want back is tricky. At least with Silver they rewrote his future a bit, and Blaze already had lore. Elise might still exist but they can mention Soleanna without having to explore too much of its past game story. Mephiles was pivotal to a plot that Sega does not want to bring back. So, i don't think they'd want to bring him back in his initial form. I also think they're trying to stray from the god stuff Sonic 06 brought into the series(besides the End).

But then I thought about IDW's canon. Where its almost sorta filler, it'll acknowledge the games but the game will only reference its characters and story in passing(so far). IDW would probably be the best place to put Mephiles so that he gets an arc without it affecting the mainline games, but still exist. Still I think we need to go further in. Solaris was not only killed in the future, but erased from existence in the beginning. Existence was rewritten to what it is now, how to you bring back a character that was not only killed, but erased? Well for the killed part, what about reincarnation? Weakened to a mortal form with lesser powers(still reminiscent of the past, but not to the time manipulation powers it once was. Essentially, mostly just the shadow powers with some new perks, but no time travel or time god powers). There can be many ways to introduce a reincarnated character, but I have an idea in mind ill elaborate on later. Next, for the erased part. Well, my idea was, why not use Null Space? Maybe what Eggman assumed was a realm created by the Phantom Ruby was actually a pocket dimension where things that didnt make sense in the new reality were put into. It has so little lore and its not very explored, rewriting it a tad wouldn't be a big deal. There was things in Null Space, despite it being described as a place of nothingness. Everything that was from the 06 reality that couldnt fit neatly into the new one was put into this pocket dimension that's essentially the void. Thats where "Mephiles" has been this entire time.

Back to the reincarnation bit, having a character like this means that while this character is in fact Mephiles, it also sorta isn't. I think this grey line where it brings back Mephiles but can be its own character in time would help ppl feel more confident in bringing him back. He wont be 100% the same, but he still has those qualities that made him seem so cool in the first place. Cold, manipulative, and destructive. Trying to always be one step ahead of others.

My idea of bringing Mephiles back would be in the form of a child. Why? Well when I think of being reverted to a weakened state, i sometimes default to children. Children also represent untapped potential, the ability to grow and change, and be easily influenced by their environment. For a character that beckons to the past but also has the ability to grow beyond it, being a child makes sense to me thematically. Also the idea of the edgy, cold merciless personality being in the body of a child is endearing to me. I actually designed a hedgehog form for this character that's supposed to harken back to Mephiles' initial form, but look like his own person. Its not what I think is the ideal form for the character, but hey i tried. My tablet broke tho so its only a doodle.

I like the straightjacket look of it, and it's loosely based on the scepter of darkness because this body is a mortal cage for Mephiles' soul. Its supposed to look like a creepy edgy kid, Mephiles himself is kinda offputting in that way anyways. Might simplify the little thorn spikes from the shoes or waist, or remove em entirely. The coat is also supposed to cover his body markings, in case one would want to keep his identity a bit of a surprise, initially. The claws are summoned, not inherently a part of his body. Looks like Mephiles' hands, just bigger. Also partially inspired by Sig from Puyo Puyo.

Since this is Mephiles-but-sorta-not, he needed a new name. I wanted to keep it close to the original Mephiles while still having its own identity, so I did research. And uh, it was probably very obvious for most but he's supposed to symbolize both God and the devil? So Mephiles is short for Mephistopheles from Faust, which also became another name for Satan. Iblis was a demon in the Islamic tradition that is also another name for Satan somewhat. And Solaris, which is a name that harkens to the sun(being a sun and time god), also harkens to Satan's original name Lucificer(meaning light-bringer/bearer, keep that in mind). Plus with the 6's of different features in the first phase and then turning into an angel of light in the final, its kinda obvious who Mephiles is supposed to represent. Well, besides also being a fusion of the concept of God, for relating to light and time. On a side note, looking into a game ive played but had no interest in, Sonic 06 really was supposed to be such an ambitious game. It had all these plot intricacies, metaphors, and the weight of fighting a god was supposed to be really heavy. It was supposed to be the biggest fight in Sonic history. The biggest bad who ever bad-ded. It was meant to be so important. It was probably obvious to most, but it was only by looking into it that I got an appreciation for 06. Its just a shame that it ended up how it did. But anyways, back to names. So I wanted to follow the same theme as Mephiles, Iblis, and Solaris, being that they are all names for the Devil. Lucifer was considered the original name for the Devil, but I dont want to be that obvious. Well, i looked into the name, and Lucifer actually had greek origins with i believe the God of Venus. Well, another name for the god of Venus was Phosphorus(which guess what, also means light-bringer!). So i shortened it, and behold, the new name is Phos. So we have a design and a name! Whats the story?

Well, I don't have everything planned out, but I did have a few bullet points I'll post here:

Reincarnation of Mephiles, stripped of divine power but has his shadow manipulation still 

Lives in the Null Void from Forces(the Null Void is actually a pocket of space created when the original reality deleted itself.)

When Sonic enters and escapes Null Void, Phos leaves as well. 

Has no memories, bumps into sonic and co 

Wants to learn who he is, gets attached to sonic due to familiarity

Hates shadow, like original counterpart

Shadow does not trust him at all, and Sonic is suspicious but hey, they dont know who Mephiles is anyways. The kid looks sketchy but hes also abandoned and amnesiac, it would feel pretty bad to beat up a child. Maybe not for Shadow lol.

Has extreme empathy, but no sympathy: Is able to read people to an inhuman degree and reflect their emotions like a mirror due to lacking individuality(initially)

Starts off as cold and emotionless, incredibly manipulative due to the ability to detect the feelings of his target. 

Ends up living with Vanilla and Cream as compromise(its really funny that Cream befriends a demon baby)

He does good things and makes friends not cuz he wants to, but because he figures making allies and doing what he can so they dont kick him out will help out more in the long run. When he messes up and his morality is questioned, hes able to barely stay by putting things in his favor and talking it out.

Maybe initially tries to manipulate Sonic, but later learns of the strength of his character.

Gradually not only understands the emotions of others, but begins to absorb them as well, gaining his own feelings based on the ideals of the people in his life, primarily Sonic, Shadow, and Silver(the three who killed him in the first place)

Eventually learns about the truth, plots to regain his other half and reach his deity status somehow

Maybe ties into targeting Blaze for her fire powers? Could be related to what happened to Iblis after the reset.

????

When he realizes he wants to be his own person and choose his life, its too late and he's becoming Mephiles. 

Sonic and co go to save him, fight ensues, Phos helps from inside his own shattered mind, and is eventually able to revert back to normal, keeping his weakened powers but is not inherently evil or empty anymore. Still kinda cold and crafty but he's doing it for good(or what he believes in good, kinda stubborn like Shadow).

Joins the cast as a regular character. 

So for his powers, I kinda simplified them into a few things:

Shadow manipulation powers. Absorbs shadows, can merge into shadows to hide or teleport between them. Maybe the shadow balls come back, not sure. Can make shadow-y clones too.

Crystalline powers. Harkens back to his past body. Is able to make claws out of a crystal like substance and slash at things. Maybe can shoot them like projectiles too.

Idk if he'd keep his ability to morph into other peoples appearances though. IDW already has that one guy and its not like Mephiles made exact copies. Plus he already has his own body. Considering that Phos is meant to be somewhat empty inside and reflects the emotions of his peers, it could be fitting. Maybe when he becomes more introspective he shifts into the appearances of other characters when he thinks about them. idk.

But uh yea that was everything i had written down(i made notes based on the late night brainworms I was getting that lasted a couple of hours. This was the fruit of that labor haha.) I'm not saying this is the perfect way of bringing him back, its possible people will be upset with this version or not prefer it, but hey i like it so its gotta mean something. Technically by writing this down it kinda guarantees SEGA would not use it anyways, so its not important anyways. I might keep this as my own oc and doodle more concepts of this schemer demon baby in the future though, I think it's really neat. The idea of having a powerful small child with emotionless whims that you pray stays on your side is very cool to me, and this whole thing was fun practice anyways. I hope you guys have a good one, if you have any critiques or ideas you'd like to share id love to hear it. Just uh, be nice to me please lol. I'm trying my best. But yea that's it, thanks for entering my brainstorming personal hell.

[bonesandthebees]

this is totally random but I was planning a fic and now i think i may have made the backstory of the world + characters a lil too complicated and convoluted

i was wondering if you had an opinion on that?? in your opinion, is there ever too much worldbuilding/backstory for a character?

for example, I was planning like lore for the city that my vigilante fic is going to take place in, and I was thinking of a whole Doomsday thing to nod a reference to the dsmp, and I was going to connect that to one of the characters causing it and having a whole redemption arc Pre where the fic's timeline actually takes place. If that makes sense??

It's kinda hard to explain lol but yeahhh!! the main gist is, should i keep things simple and straightforward, or is adding plottwists n stuff before the fic okay? (It would have a purpose for the plot that's not just characterization btw !!)

also no pressure to respond to this btw, i just know that sometimes you give writing advice so I was just wondering what your opinion on this would be? Esp since you did an amazing job with stars' worldbuilding and I wasnt sure how you approached that and alll that jazz

hmm this is a tricky one because usually I'm one to say you shouldn't make things too complicated, but I guess a better way to phrase it is you shouldn't set out to make things really complicated? because from what you described, it doesn't actually sound all that complicated to me. that sounds like a really solid setting and very good foundation for one of your characters to be connected to this pre-story event. it gives you an idea for what one of your characters is like right off the bat, and introduces the idea of possible conflict later on if someone who doesn't know that character's backstory finds out and is upset, or something like that.

so I guess what I'm saying is that if you already have the ideas and it feels like it fits into the story you want to tell, go for it. but don't feel like you HAVE to have backstories for every single character figured out right from the get go. let the story carry you where it wants to go, but feel free to add in complications early on, even if you're not sure where they're going to pan out. it gives you a lot of options later on when new plot points come up.

for example, in world forgetting when I had the scene of that fight when tommy was still acting as lucid and phil blew up the building, where dream used his fear powers on wilbur, I had dream reference the sounds of trains. I actually hadn't come up with wilbur's backstory at that point. but a very vague idea popped into my head while i was writing that scene and so i threw the train platform reference into the dialogue knowing it would be something i could use later. as the story went on that vague idea sat in the back of my head, slowly growing and influencing wilbur's character until the chapter came where wilbur talked about dying as a child to tommy, which was when i fully solidified his backstory.

so yeah feel free to throw in complicated stuff early on, but don't feel like you have to have it and also don't feel like you need it 100% figured out if you do throw it in. sometimes it's a lot more enjoyable to let the story flow where it wants to, leaving things loose until you get a better feel for what you wanna go for.

I feel like I kind of said conflicting things there but I hope that helps!!

[beautifulsnake2162020]

Ikepri Chevalier Michel Headcanon on Hotd and High Valyrian.

General Scenario: Emma and Chevalier were organizing things in their faction's office when Nokto walked in and submitted a strange new report.

"There's this unusual report from a new merchant in our territory."

"Merchant of what?"

"Mainly of books but its most like an antique shop. Probably some of the items may be illegal, but I'm not sure."

"Then further investigations must be made." Chevalier states as he finishes the current paperwork on his desk before he moves on to the next.

"By any chance could I perhaps visit? The new merchant might be uncomfortable or might be more hesitant with two of Rhodolite's royal family members investigating his goods."

"Considering that King Chev here hasn't really interacted with the general populace and so far you haven't gone beyond the main square of the town, if you're going to do any first hand investigating yourself it would be wise to bring him along. Albeit inconspicuously."

"You're stating the obvious clown."

"Well in my opinion, I find it a nice development that you're already planning to accompany her to visit this new mysterious store merchant."

"Don't pretend you're not coming too Nokto."

"I'll be more in the background and would investigate other important spots. I wouldn't want to give you and the King away."

You and Chevalier then visit the shop incognito. And long story short, the new merchant was indeed a member of an underground magical community who was fleeing persecution from Obsidian and as thanks for not persecuting him he gives you a magical tablet that is solar power charged. He explains how to use it and soon you and Chevalier found yourselves watching House of the Dragon.

Headcanon proper:

He was intrigued by the internal politics of Hotd and how it seemed he has finally found the family that was a lot more messed up than Rhodolite's royal family.

"While volatile, I do agree with Daemon. His adviser Otto Hightower has alternative interests to the realm."

"Well it seems like all of them have both their weaknesses and their strengths."

As the series progresses and the twist and turns reveal themselves, Chevalier begins to contemplate on the merits of having a qualified person regardless of sex should be able to ascend the throne.

"It's clear to me that Rhaenys is better qualified to rule than Viserys. He lacks the clarity to know when he is being manipulated by those around him."

"That's the point Chevalier, the story is pointing out the flaws of the patriarchal monarchial system."

"Hmph, it also proves that a good man does not equate to being an effective ruler. Because of his complacency he has allowed problems to become bigger than they have to be."

As the series progresses and as you arrive at the time skip, while he hasn't necessarily picked a faction. In his opinion either Rhaenyra or Aemond should be the ruler of Westeros since both are the most worthy in his eyes.

The magical merchant explained that the next Season has not yet been made and that you would have to wait an entire year if not more for the next part of the story to be released.

But to alleviate yours and Chevalier's thirst for more lore about Westeros, he offers you the book "Fire and Blood" which he cautions you to take with a grain of salt since it was a history book made with biases of the events that happen. It was here that you both learn that the civil war between the two factions of the Targaryens was named the Dance of Dragons.

He also senses your interest in learning the High Valyrian language and introduces you and Chevalier to Duolingo since there is no proper book yet teaching High Valyrian.

No surprise that Chevalier finished the course before you did, although you were practicing daily.

He helps you with the tricky grammar and with some tricky pronunciations.

It soon became a secret language between the two of you as you two practice speaking High Valyrian.

Some of the other beasts have varying interests in learning High Valyrian but not as fervently as you and Chevalier have for the language.

He had watched the series once again this time closing his eyes whenever characters would be speaking in High Valyrian to hear how it sound like.

Once you have reached a level of at least slowly understanding what they were saying, you feel the slow satisfaction of not needing to read the subtitles to know what they are saying.

Soon to no surprise to you, he began using High Valyrian in seducing you and whispering how much he desires you as the two of you share both physical intimacy and emotionally intimate moments.

Funnily enough, the High Valyrian language has slowly become intriguing and appealing to both the elites and the common Rhodolite citizen.

Which lead him to the two of you working together to make a textbook on High Valyrian which you gave a first edition copy to the magical merchant.