#feather fungi au

[pumpkin-magpie]

Wow that infection AU stuff was wild, glad I never gave into the urge to combine it with one of my interests.

Anyways.

How are y’all’s days going?

[catsafarithewriter]

Cliche trope but Baron/Haru fake dating that went to full love confession?? 😅. Or Muta and Toto betting on whom among Baron and Haru will admit their feelings first 😅 sorry for the overtly used trope

A/N: With tropes like these, there's a reason they're so popular! One fake dating coming right up!

(And if you want more, I have a fake marriage au, Marry Me Twice on AO3, and a half-finished series of fake dating/marriage snippets on tumblr!)

x

At this point. Haru decided, she really shouldn't be surprised anymore when Baron got himself into these sorts of situations.

After all, she tried to remind herself, even she hadn't been immune to his charms upon their first meeting, and in the many years since he hadn't toned down his charisma one iota. He simply had a natural pizazz to him, a flair that drew and kept the eye. It was just a nuisance that he was oblivious to his effect until it was too late.

Still, one would think he would learn after the sixth accidental engagement.

"We've got a plan to get him out, right?" Haru deadpanned to the remaining (thankfully unengaged) members of the Bureau. "We're not just gonna sit back and watch him be married off to the faerie queen, right?"

Muta snorted. "I say we leave him there as a distraction while we get on with the case."

"Or Muta and I can do that, while you recover him," Toto said. "The changeling child should be around here somewhere. Just remember - fae can tell if you're lying."

Haru regarded the swirling ballroom before her. It wasn't built of brick and mortar, but of living trees and vines. The canopy knotted so thickly overhead that the only light to be found was in the glow of the mushrooms, bioluminescent fungi clinging to the trunks that served in place of pillars. Its occupants only had the barest resemblance to humanity - all feathers and antlers and fur - that left her the stark outlier. "If they turn me into a frog for my impertinence, you'll save me, right?"

"We'll make yer a pond with only the finest lily pads."

"Fantastic." Taking that as the best reassurance she was going to get, Haru waded into the sea of twirling gowns and gilded waistcoats. She worried that she would have to elbow her way through, but the dancers parted, if only as far as her next step so that she felt like a shark ineffectively swimming through a shoal of fish. Only sharks probably didn't feel like they were next on the menu.

At the far end of the ballroom was a bower. And in the bower was the faerie queen - and Baron.

Haru bowed. "Your Majesty, I thank you for your hospitality in welcoming us here, but I am afraid to say it is time we took our leave." That was probably fine, wasn't it? Not too formal? Not formal enough? Should she have broken out the 'thee's and 'thou's?

"Then I bid you farewell."

Haru waited. When she didn't hear Baron make a move, she cautiously glanced up. She immediately saw the reason for Baron's inaction; the faerie queen's hand is still rested on his. It was gentle, but deliberately possessive.

"I plan to leave with all of my friends, your Majesty."

The faerie queen smiled. "I'm afraid the Baron has decided to stay."

Haru glanced to Baron and raised an eyebrow. "Has he now?" She knew him well enough to read the apology in the quirk of his lips, and the belated realisation that he might have messed up in the flicker of an eye. She raised her other eyebrow in reply.

"Indeed," the faerie queen said. "After all, he has been such a gentleman, so charming and attentive, that his true intentions could scarcely have been mistaken for anything other than an affair of the heart."

"You think he's in love with you?"

"And why wouldn't he be?" the queen asked. "Have you seen any as beautiful as I?"

The fact that the faerie queen was indeed mesmerisingly stunning - despite, or perhaps because of the feline glint of her eyes or the vines that grew in and along her skin - was immaterial. Haru couldn't do anything but agree when the person in question could curse her with less than a thought.

Haru bowed again. "None are your equal, I'm sure, but that was never in doubt. I only ask because Baron is a gentleman at heart, and prone to being charming and attentive to all. Regardless of intent." Or awareness.

"And how, pray tell, are you so sure of his intent?"

"I know because," and a dozen lies paraded through Haru's mind; she grabbed one at random before her hesitation would betray the deception, "he's already in love with someone."

"And whom may that be?"

Without a shadow of a doubt, Haru knew that she would have to supply any mystery suitor she named. She offered what she hoped Baron knew to be an apologetic, I'm-only-doing-this-to-save-your-skin smile. "Me. He's in love with me, your Majesty."

The music never stopped, the ballroom conversations never quietened, but the silence in the bower was deafening. What was it Toto had said earlier? Fae can tell if you're lying? Well, it was too late for that now. Haru waited for the faerie queen to call her out on her deception, but she only tilted her head, like a dog catching an intriguing scent.

"Is this true?" the faerie queen asked Baron.

Baron looked to Haru.

Haru looked back.

Lie, dammit.

"Yes," he said. He started to say something anew, floundered, and tried again. "Although I have attempted to keep such feelings within, my heart belongs wholly to Miss Haru. It has for some time now."

Haru's traitorous heart skipped a few beats, as though this wasn't a ruse she herself had started. She blinked, and managed to refocus on the queen. "So you see, your Majesty, you can hardly marry Baron when he loves another."

"Indeed."

"So with that, we should take our leave-"

Haru's hand caught Baron's and started to lead him from the bower, only for the faerie queen to suddenly stand. Baron and Haru both halted in instinctive self-preservation.

"Wait."

The faerie queen descended from the bower, an uncanny grace to her movements. It was like watching a panther, just before it pounced.

"But how can you talk of leaving after such a heartfelt confession?" she asked. "Surely, on a night like tonight when the music compels you, two lovebirds such as yourselves cannot pass up the opportunity to dance. At least," she added with another glimmer of her feline eyes, "any true couple wouldn't."

Haru felt her smile thin. She bowed, hoping it would hide the waning enthusiasm. "Your Majesty is always correct. If you would be so kind, I have a song request for your musicians, should they know it."

"Our musicians are well acquainted with much of your mortal music. Go ahead."

Haru rose from her bow and, after conferring quickly with the musicians in question, swept with Baron down to the heart of the ballroom.

"Katzen Blut?" Baron asked as the first few notes started up. "It has been a long time since I've heard this."

"It's the only song we've ever danced to. I thought it might give us a fighting chance of actually pulling this off." When Baron still seemed a little too nonplussed by the situation to respond, Haru placed his hand against her waist, ensuring they at least looked the part. "Sorry. I panicked, and that was the first excuse that came to mind."

"It was quick thinking on your part. Just... unexpected."

As the music rolled into a swing, the two of them started into a familiar waltz. Doing her best to ignore certain realities, like the fact that Baron was so close, close enough to kiss, Haru focused on easier topics. "So. What is this, the sixth time you've ended up accidentally winning someone's heart? This is getting to become a habit, Baron."

Baron had the decency to look suitably sheepish. "I thought I was merely offering her Majesty the respect befitting one of her station. If I had known it would be misinterpreted as such, I would have..."

Haru waited, and nearly flattened several of his toes when she misjudged a step. "You would have...? Go on. What would you have done differently?"

"I might have gone easier on the purple prose of her beauty."

"Gee, you think?"

"Perhaps pare down on the extravagant bow."

"Another good option."

"But, in my defence, I was left in charge of distracting her while yourself and the others located the missing changeling child."

"We asked you to distract her, not marry her."

"I haven't married her."

"Not yet. If we'd given it another half hour though..."

"Yes, you've made your point quite clear."

Their dancing neighbours glanced sidelong at them, ears perked at Baron's curt voice, and Baron swung Haru out into a twirl to deter any eavesdroppers. It would have been a far more impressive move had Haru been wearing a dress but, as things stood, the best she got was the sweep of her coat hem.

She swung back into Baron's arms, closer than before. "How exactly did you try to tell her Majesty that you weren't interested, anyway?"

"It's... complicated."

"What, you mean there wasn't a nearby rooftop to jump off after telling her you admire a woman who speaks from the heart?"

"Haru..."

"All I'm saying is, that worked great on me." Well, mostly. The fact that Haru had gone on with her life, then fallen back in with the Bureau, and then fallen for Baron again was neither here nor there. The important thing was that it had successfully snapped her out of her schoolgirl crush - just long enough for her to think things through and then develop one-sided pining later in life.

"It is... surprisingly difficult to refute a fae's attentions without causing insult."

"And anything too subtle goes right over their heads," Haru finished.

"As you discovered. If I had known that all I needed to do was confess love for another..."

Haru snorted. "We both know that was one hell of a risk. I don't even know how we managed to sell that lie, given everything we've been warned about the fae."

Baron was studiously not looking at her. "Indeed."

"I mean, I don't know what even possessed me to say that. Realistically, I should have been cursed into a frog, or something, for trying a lie like that, I don't..."

The penny dropped.

"Wait, Baron-"

"Change partners!" Baron cried, and twirled her into the arms of a fae with antlers and canines.

"Oh no you don't." Haru spun away from her current dance partner and, as best she could in time with the music, whirled from one whistle-stop faerie to the next. Baron might have had Creation grace and years of dance practice, but Haru had five years' worth of stubborn pining pushing her on.

Eventually, she landed back in Baron's arms.

"You don't just get to waltz away like that when I'm having a revelation," she scolded. "Faeries can sense lies, right? And you'd think the queen of faeries would have an extra-sensative bullshit-detector, right?"

"Not quite how I'd put it, but-"

"Not the priority right now. So, with that in mind, how the hell did I manage to convince her that you were in love with me?"

"You are a remarkable young woman, Haru, perhaps-"

"Perhaps, unknown to me, I wasn't lying."

"Haru-"

"Are you in love with me?"

"I... admire you-"

"Do not. I'm not a schoolkid anymore, Baron; I can handle a rejection just fine. Are you in love with me?"

Baron opened his mouth. Closed it. Tried several more times to no effect.

Haru groaned. "One of these days, we'll actually get to finish this dance," she muttered and, dropping her hands away from Baron, stormed back towards the bower.

"Enjoying your dance-"

"When Baron said he was in love with me, was he telling the truth?"

The faerie queen faltered. There had been the briefest flicker of rage at Haru's impertinence at interrupting her, but now it was swept away by a knowing smile. Suddenly, Haru knew why her halfway deceit had been allowed to go on; this was all entertainment to the queen and her kind.

"Yes." the queen replied.

"What the hell?" Haru turned, seeing Baron wading free from the dancing crowd, and repeated for good measure, "What the hell, Baron?!"

"I cannot help how I feel, Haru, but I thought that, if I kept it to myself-"

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I... didn't want to make things awkward between us," he said. "You are my good friend, Haru, and I never wanted to lose that. If it meant I had to push away such feelings to keep your companionship, then so be it-"

"I've been in love with you for years, you idiot."

Baron's mouth snapped shut. He blinked. "Oh. You are?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

"Yes!"

"Why?"

Some kind of nervous, almost hysterical laughter bubbled through Haru, and she pushed it back with some herculean restraint. "Because, Baron. Because you're kind and determined and I love spending time with you. Because the heart wants what the heart wants, and sometimes what it wants is an emotionally constipated cat figurine who has now been accidentally engaged six times."

"Oh."

"Yes. Oh. I can't believe I've been pining after you, thinking, 'oh there's no way he feels the same way,' all this time, just to..."

Baron stepped up to her and she let him take her hands in his. "Why wouldn't I fall for you?" he asked softly. "How could I not, when you are the bravest, most compassionate, stubbornest woman I have ever met?"

Haru sniffled, and she only realised then that she was dangerously on the verge of tears. "Not many people would woo someone by calling them stubborn, you know."

"It's one of my favourite things about you. You don't give up, Haru, even when the rest of the world wants you to. You'll stand up against a Cat King, against pirates, against monsters." He cupped her cheek in his hand and brushed away the beginning of a tear. "You'll stand up against a faerie queen to save those you love."

Haru grinned, began to offer up a retort, and then remembered the audience they had. One glance confirmed that the faerie queen was sat, quite happily, and looking like all she was missing was a bag of popcorn.

"I think this is the part where you're supposed to kiss," she offered helpfully.

Haru looked back to Baron, blushing. Only her familiarity with him betrayed the mirror blush beneath his fur. She leant in. "Well," she said. "If a queen expects it..."

There came a heartstopping crack, like the snap of a bone or a sharp clap of thunder, and a tree crashed across the ballroom. The music juddered to a halt. All conversation ceased. And in the ringing silence...

"Move, move, move!" Muta and Toto came thundering through the gap the felled tree had left. Muta had a swaddled baby cradled in his arms. "Baron, Chicky, we've got what we came for. Time to go!"

[melanirana]

This is the outcome of my Sphinx AU Brainrot. Of course the Sphinx AU belogns to @zus-a-fungi​ 

If you dont know, Sun and Moon are actully hybrides of two different Sphinx species interbreeding. And i have been stuck thinking of what their parents and therefore the other Sphinxes might look like. That what would they look like evolved into what would their biologie be like? Where would they live? How would they act? What would be their species name be? 

So now i present to you my interpretation of the two Sphinx species Sun and Moon are made out of. 

Basilisk Sphinx 

(magnusalis unguibus) 

Diet: Carnivore ( Mammals, Reptiles, Birds, Fish if available) 

Habitat: Savana, Coastal area, the area between savana and jungle 

Appearance: different shades of brown and gray, scales from neck to chest, scales on front arms and legs, scales on the side of the body   

Basilisk Sphinx have a slim and relatively light body structure, perfect for quick ambushes and to moveing silently thru the undergroth, but sturdy enough to hold their own in a fight. The Wings of Basiliks resemble that of birds of prey. Their talons are long with sharp claws, allowing them to easely grab and tear into flesh. The scales both funktion as protection and regulation of body tempeature. 

Paradise Sphinx 

(magnusalis colormirabillis)    

Diet: Omnivore (Mammals, Birds, Fruit, Roots)

Habitat: Jungel, Prairie,

Appearance: Any color under the sun, no two petterns looks alike, many decorative feathers 

Just like Birds of Paradise, Paradise Sphinx are able to make a veriety of singsong like calls and come in wunderfull colors the meals more so then the female. Female Sphinx will have duller colors then the meals, thou there can be variations. The powerfuly talons of these Sphinx are perfekt for diging up roots, braking bones and clinging to clifs and trees.    

These two make sens to me. They acound for most of Sun and Moon and the rest can be explaind by their mutations.  

Bonus: 

Thank you for coming to my Ted talk

[garbashedump]

...white guy Scrabby phrases

I GOT THE LIST bunch of things of mildly zesty phrases Scrabby would probably say

"don't get your panties in a twist" (ofc ofc)

"shiver me timbers! I'm freezing like a popsicle out here"

"hey guys let's split up to cover more ground"

"working hard or hardly working?"

"hi hungry I'm dad."

"the early bird catches the worm!

"wow were sure in a pickle here!" (Prism fav phrase ofc)

"that's it no more Mr. Nice auditor! that's the last straw buckeroo."

"you're on thin ice pal."

"I'm keeping my eye on you."

"you catch more scrabbys with sugar than smoke "

"Ahh, a good ol' cup of Jake Joe!"

"I'm so hungry I could eat a horse!"

"Time to dig in!" / "Time to get my grub on!"

"Oh look the suns out while its raining! guess the devil is beating his wife"

"Uh oh looks like we got company..."

"See you on the flip side!"

"You're looking a little tipsy-tury my friend."

"Looks like someone's buzzed as a bee."

"Looks like someone is decks below the ship."

"Oh how the tables have turned."

"Its the heart of the cards!"

Lifting heavy stuff: "Man anymore lifting and I'll blow my back hip out."

"Well slap my ass and call me Sally."

"Well butter my bugs and call me a Biscuit"

"Better safe than sorry!"

"Oh crumbs."

"Let's not dilly-dally too long guys."

"Aw quit being a negative Nancy!"

"Oooooh..... Right in the bread basket."

"Jeeze Louise lemon squeeze!"

" Holy moly guacamole!"

"Stop all of this tomfoolery this instant!"

"An apple a day keeps the doctor away!"

"Oopsie daisy!"

"Guess whoo✨" (Covers Prism's eyes)

"Beggars aren't choosers."

"Ahh I see, the apple never falls far from the tree."

"Looks like ya got ants in your pants."

"All bark but no bite huh?"

"Man that really ruffles my feathers."

"Ah! It'll be like finding a needle in a haystack!!"

"I'm losing my marbles over here!"

.....ok.... i may or many not have more but the- they're Scrizzers..

damn are you zombie fungi? cause you got me under your spell

are you a spider? cause you woven me in your web of love

are you the summer sun? cause you got my cheeks sunburnt red

Prism: damn you a cigarette? cause you got me addicted to you (Scrabby would then die after hearing this)

btw these are directed towards lawful joke au by @chaosaliien

[deathnguts]

hi hello forgive me for yapping nonsense pls plss <33

okay so, you know how people write that Regulus would run away to the Potters with Sirius?? Okay, I call bullshit (respectfully). But anyways, thoughts on Regulus whose safe space is instead, with the Rosier twins (or just Evan if you like). Specifically, it's a run-down treehouse behind the Rosier's house. It's nothing fancy, the wood is old and seems to be on the verge of breaking, there's mold and fungi in the corners, cobwebs, dust over old things left behind through the years, and a thin mattress with holes, escaped feathers, and dirty stains from the twin's experiments.

Regulus likes it there, it has this melancholy yet disturbing feeling to it that he finds a sort of comfort with. He likes to spend his summers and breaks there if he can with the Rosier twins, just sitting there while Evan and Pandora look at the interesting, beautiful, and grotesque things nature can offer. Sometimes there is music playing and sometimes it's just them breathe with some mindless chatter scattered about. That is his safe space, that's where he wants to be.

okay that it's, cant say more cuz i gotta go byeeeee :D

Holy shit I haven’t checked my ask box in decades I’m so sorry

But I for sure agree that If regulus were to run away, it would be to the rosiers. Like in an ideal, nonmagic, no Voldemort world, it would be to barty (I’ve read a few very good fics with Barty being the savior here, and they’re all in like a better world usually modern AU) but that can’t happen because Barty is also under his abusive parents’ thumb, an abusive parent who doesn’t like the Blacks for being dark. So he’s not a good choice in the ‘canon’ but the rosiers, while supporting the Blacks and not being good parents themselves, I don’t think they’re helicopter parents like the Blacks and the Crouches. Like, I think they actually have a decent amount of kids, like 5+ at least, and just pay no attention to any of them. So you can get away with a lot in that house, including smuggling an entire person.

And you’re vision of liek an overgrown, smells like dirt and moss, sort of area is very cool. I also like it because it takes away from yhe idea that regulus is such a haughty rich boy that he’s like scared of dirt. I get him being unknowing or averse towards certain stuff because of his life being lived in wealth, but I feel a lot of people take it a bit far. Like he’s unable to live without silk or something. I feel that regulus is someone who is very fascinated by the grotesque, macarbre, or simply unsavory like this leans more towards.

And I think that teh rosiers enjoy seeing him in a such a place. His almost uncannily aristocratic and perfect look with this rotted and forgotten place as the backdrop is a very good thing to them. I can’t say much for pandora because I don’t write about her much, or personally fully agree with the rosier twin headcanon, but I definitely see it for Evan. I write him to be obsessed with regulus to a degree where he doesn’t exactly want to control or jar it but he wants to re-contextualize what makes regulus beautifuk to be his in a way. And this is literally his area with a world no one’s watching, where they can be alone and consumed by it. And not even in just a dark way, like it can be a lighthearted get away from the world too.

Yeah no one asked me to yap all that but there it is, I like your ideas and your aesthetic for them is always very cool and intriguing to me :)

[kiliinstinct]

The Forbidden Woods:

A Genshin Impact Au Pairing: Aether/Xiao Urban Fantasy and Supernatural Romance Find on A03: [Here] Special Thanks to @genavere: My beta. Chapter 2:

---

Chapter 1: A House of Dust And Memories

Aether remembered the bird.

It was a tiny thing, perched atop the broken, overgrown altar of stones where he and Lumine had played in their childhood. Confidence born from innocence pulled them to the small clearing where the altar stood, partially shielded by the forest behind their home. They’d been warned countless times to never venture near there, but had regarded the warnings only as general advice rather than an outright rule. 

They never passed into the thicket, after all, what was the worst that could happen? 

The old altar was cracked, crusted in dirt, but it had fueled the twin’s imaginations as they darted about, fighting imaginary enemies or digging for made-up treasures. Over time, it was no longer an ancient, abandoned shrine to them, but a hideout from the rest of the world. And it was theirs. 

So was the bird. 

Aether had noticed it once or twice, observing their antics from a distance. He convinced himself it was a baby who’d only recently left its nest as it was far too small to be anything else. Lumine scoffed at the notion, stating that many birds were tinier than that, and perhaps its nest was nearby. He wasn’t so sure, but lacking any proof (or an attention span willing to focus on being right), he gave it a little wave before resuming their game. 

It was closer the day they decided to clean the area, head tilted and eyes glaring. With gloves equipped, rakes and shovels as their chosen weapons, they attacked the area with a single mindedness only sheer determination could manage.  As they removed old, decaying vines and swept away the undergrowth of dried leaves and fungi, the bird examined them every step of the way.  

Aether was delighted to see its colorful, teal feathers flecked in bits of gold along the edges of its wings. Like little gems that made it pop in comparison to the looming woods around them. 

When he trilled a failed attempt to ‘speak’ in bird language, its feathers ruffled until it gave the impression of a round ball, angrily squawking in response. 

The twins laughed and decided then this pretty bird was also theirs in the same sense the sun was. While they played pretend the bird twittered and hopped from branch to branch, looking over them as they played. It was the tiniest of guardians. 

These were fond memories that faded into the back of Aether’s mind through the years. Tender little treasures he kept to himself for rainy days when the nights were too dark or his loneliness high. He’d set the memories out and reminisce, smiling fondly each time he recalled something new. The days of childhood are short in comparison to adulthood, but that never dulled the sweetness of his memories. Nor did it mute the quiet yearning he felt each time he recalled that luminous bird, shining brightly amidst the foliage of his old home.

A home he was now returning to for the first time in years. 

Once upon a time, its acres were full of life, growing wildflowers and Inteyvats along the border as vegetable stocks grew to heights that towered above him when young. Now, the land was barren, devoid of color, and the house that once held all his happiest memories looked like a sad, decrepit memory. Much like the altar had been.

With the view of his old home full of dust and who knows what else, he wistfully wondered if the bird would still be there. Probably dead,  he thought,  allowing the reality to sink in. It had been far too long since he and Lumine ran through the halls of their old farm, creating stories of wondrous adventures with their shared imaginary friends while exploring every nook and cranny of the family home.   He looked onward, examining the old Ranch Style porch with its chipped paint and rotting wood. Once upon a time it was painted a brilliant white as the smell of the honeysuckles out front surrounded the property. 

Echoes of the past rang in Aether’s ears, a quiet reminder of laughter he once heard in the empty halls and through the open windows. All silent and dark. The nostalgia sank into his bones, begging him to look around in hopes of a familiar glimpse of teal and gold feathers. His shoulders drooped as the memory of laughter and smells of flowers and baked pie from the kitchens faded from his thoughts. 

That part of his life was already gone and to expect a creature from so long ago to still be as they were was ridiculous. 

But the thought didn’t mollify him. Rather it filled him with a disappointment that settled on his tongue like raisins in his chocolate chip cookies. 

“You don’t have to stay here.” 

Aether jumped, startled from his thoughts as he was quickly reminded of his present company. A tall man called Draff, who had kept watch over the grounds since his family left. His breath reeked of beer, but his eyes were clear, examining the grounds with something akin to pity in his eyes. 

“Seriously,” the man reiterated, fixing Aether with a welcoming smile that crinkled the corner of his eyes, “this place doesn’t look too hospitable and Springvale isn’t too far off. I’ve got a spare bedroom you can use while you clean this place up.”

A tempting offer. One that Aether appreciated, but his own smile was distant, closed off as he looked back to the old house. Even the shutters hung off the hinges, looking more fitting of a haunted house than a home. 

That didn’t matter. Not at that moment. While he could accept Draff’s sympathy and run away to enjoy the comforts of a clean house with a warm meal, he grinded his feet into the ground, cemented in place. 

“I can always visit for dinner sometime,” He replied, mischief settling in his smile. “Your treat, obviously.”

“Pfft, if you mean hunted by me, sure.”

“Diona could make the drinks.” Aether joked, recalling the man’s young daughter at home.

Draff chortled, “She’d have both our heads. Besides, aren’t you a little young–”

“I’ve been over the drinking age for five years, Draff.” Aether monotoned, offended.

“Could have fooled me with that baby face.” He boomed a laugh that made Aether’s ears ring. “Did you discover the fountain of youth while you were gone or is it just good genes? No, don’t tell me. I don’t want to be more jealous than I already am.”

The laughter was nice. It filled the air with a little more color than the old farm had before, but it settled into a somber silence seconds later. Aether readjusted his travel bag over his shoulder, wondering how soon he could clear a space for sleeping. Beside him, Draff cleared his throat, glancing to his wristwatch as he shuffled quietly back towards his rusted truck.

“You sure you’ll be alright?” he asked, his earlier offer still hanging in the air. “No one said you had to do this alone.”

“Don’t worry about me,”  Aether assured him, a smile plastered on his face as he finally took the first steps past the wrought iron gate, ignoring the tickle of grass that brushed along his ankles. “I’m not really alone.”

“Your cell phone doesn’t count.”

“Video calling Lumine will suit me just fine,” Aether cheered, feeling more grounded at the thought of his sister. “I’m serious. Don’t underestimate a twin, Draff!”

“Yeah, yeah.” The older man rolled his eyes, but his expression was a fond one. It had been years since Aether had last seen him, promising his parents to tend the grounds after their departure.. And while he thought meeting face to face would grow awkward after so many years, he’d been just as friendly as he remembered—if a bit less sober.

Now that friendly face was leaving Aether to his own devices, sliding into the driver’s seat from the passenger side. When the truck’s engine rumbled to life, the hunter turned his focus back to Aether, leaning over to wrestle the window down and shouted a final farewell, teasing Aether’s memories with a warning he barely recalled hearing when he was a child.

“Don’t forget to stay out of the woods! It’s only gotten nastier while you were gone!”

He accepted the warning, coughing as the spinning tires kicked up gravel and dirt into the air. As his one and only friend in the vast radius of his family home disappeared into the distance, his bravado equally faded away. If he were honest with himself, being alone was going to fray at his nerves before the night was over. That he was certain of, but…

Closing the gate behind him, Aether side. It was better not to fall into his doubts.  No matter what, he had chosen to do this. The urge to return before the property was sold was too strong to ignore. Like a compulsion that yanked at his heart and urged him to explore the home his parents had taken him from so long ago. He couldn’t remember why they had left, and all attempts to learn the truth were met with dismissal from his parents. With them now passed, his questions remained unanswered. At some point, he’d accepted he’d never know the full truth and moved on with his life alongside his twin and youngest sibling. They were all they had and what good did dwelling on a home he’d never see again really do? These had been his thoughts right up until they hired a realtor and put the property up for sale. The money they could make off the acreage would be more than enough to cover their student loans and Paimon’s Private School for years. The choice made sense. Right until they began receiving advertisement postcards in the mail, mixed in with shopping ads and bills. He’d almost tossed them out, until the top images caught his attention: a familiar expanse of woods with rolling hills, overlooking the small town of Springvale. ‘A Small Town Riddled in Mystery and Comfort.  Come visit today!’ it read. More had followed, each covering a different aspect of the town: hunting seasons, a local fair coming to town, new shops opening. The reasons were numerous, but not one explained why they were sent in the first place. 

But it was just enough to rekindle the old curiosity Aether long thought dead.  Before he knew it, he was planning his trip and requesting Lumine to hold off on fishing the recent sale. “Just until I get back, then we can sign those papers and sign Paimon up for The Sumeru Akademiya!”  It had taken days of stubborn debates for either of his sisters to agree, but in the end, he proved himself the more stubborn of the three. 

Draff’s warning whirled in his mind. A simple reminder of a well-known myth from his and Lumine’s younger days. Despite the strange foreboding that came with it, Aether couldn’t resist shaking his head dubiously. Did folks out here really still try to scare others with that?

Back then, the rumors of the woods were just that: Rumors. Tall tales to scare the local children into coming home before nightfall. The old town whispers of a cursed fog surrounding the forest were nothing more than stories. 

Hunters came in and out of those woods yearly. Aether remembered their orange vests as they parked on the roadside and ventured through the thicket, guns in hand.  Even he had stepped over the threshold, curious in his boyhood to see the supposed murk the parents feared. And while the hint of a memory he couldn’t quite recall tickled the edge of his senses, Aether knew better than to humor it. His being here today, alive and well, was proof enough the old stories were false; and Draff’s rumor was nothing more than a nod to the past.

“It’s not as if the woods will still be here next year,” he murmured, closing the gate behind him as he withdrew the keys. He looked at the for sale sign plastered against the living room window and sighed. How could he run and hide in Springvale when this was his last chance to say goodbye to the only real home he’d ever had?  

It was better not to fall into his doubts.

Stepping into the dark house, Aether failed to notice the teal feathers of a bird watching from the branches of the nearest tree. Its eyes never wavered as it observed through the windows  the lights flickering on and off Aether’s slumped shoulders. 

[fountainpenguin]

"I have you strung... Strung in my web! Candle burning slowly by the bed..." (x)

The Candles We Light (and Should Regret)

The Pantheon of Silk and Plays AU Guide

❤️ Read on AO3

🧡 T - Ongoing multichapter

💙 Blog tag - #Silk Plays AU

💚 More MCYT AUs

“Would you… care to know what clothes I’m wearing?” Cleo turned her head, eyes still squeezed. She didn’t respond, but heard the spirit shift. Metal clicked against metal somewhere out of sight, maybe around his neck or back. “If you will have me, Cleo… take my ties and silks and draw them off. Undress me as you would a mortal man, and I am yours.” “Undress you?” The words left her in a whisper. “Is such a thing sacred?” “Yes,” he breathed, and Cleo shuddered despite herself. He gripped her arm, pulling her in. “To take my silks is to possess my heart and soul, as the skins of seal-folk. You remember, of course, how the god of travel and arts stripped the god of war and sky. Make a mortal thing of me.”

Cleo has never seen her husband; the father of her children. He only visits in the dark.

(And the tales that came before).

A Cupid/Psyche-inspired AU themed around the Limited Life and Double Life SMPs

(First 1,000 words under the cut)

Tsumugi

🐛 🕯️ 🧵

Slippers made poor riding shoes, especially over lava. But they were silk, gifted by the flicking wings of moths without number, and when you know not where you walk, you should always dress in silk. It's good enough for gods.

Scalding. Fierce. Cleo hooked her fingers in crimson neck feathers. She slid forward and back with the steady gait of the long-legged bird she'd mounted with a saddle; she lured it ever forward with a promise of mushrooms in her outstretched hand (taken beneath the sleepy eyes of a mossy-coated god). Stink burned her nostrils, but she had not the words to describe it beyond memories of eggs fallen beneath the henhouses where she'd once changed the straw.

One blemish marred her finger; already, she'd dropped her satchel and watched it burn. There went her offerings… and there went her payment for the trip back across the glittery golden pool. No other mortal creature (if there were any) could carry her across again, for all things died in lava except the long-legged birds sired by the god she'd come to see. They pranced like demigods in their crowns of ivory, wrapped in feathered robes.

Every tread rocked her forward, pressing her head to the back of the bird's rough neck. But halfway across the lava lake, her companion stopped walking. Her gift had reached its end; it would take her no further. It pecked for mushrooms in her hand. Cleo curled her fingers. The bird swayed beneath her, ruffling its wings. It stamped its legs. This blurred her vision, kicking butterflies across her fingertips. If it charged and took flight, would the saddle hold? Buckling a saddle on a bird hadn't been an easy task. She fed it many, many mushrooms; she owed a debt now to the god of sleep and dew.

"Shh, shh… It's all right. Look; here you go." Cleo brought the last bits of fungi to the bird's face, stroking its neck as it settled down again. How curious to be a pair of mortal things tangled in heat and stench. The bird fluttered, disloyal to its own footing, and Cleo pressed her knees against its huffing sides until her thighs ached up the seamlines. The silk slippers debated mutiny on her toes. Lava sizzled and crackled an arm's length away. Did sailors feel like this on sinking ships? Cleo pressed her lips together, swallowing clogged-up air. Then, lifting their head, they looked towards the platform they hadn't reached. Much too far to jump.

If she must be slain for intruding in this temple—for overhearing sacred words of bliss and passion not meant for mortal ears—then let it be on her feet, head tilted back while shadowed implications danced upon the wall. Let it be the night wife and husband called each other Mulberry, after the silk flowing in their veins. They cried that lonely word until they crushed it into dust beneath the weight of expectations. How many centuries did it take the spirits to memorize every thumbprint on each other's skin? Would they know the moth holes marking one another's hearts?

The god who dwelled in this magma-filled temple (made honorary god of hearts and husbandry by his wife) hummed beyond his veil. His wife answered him in whispers. She'd become his mulberry-thing (his blessed and beloved), as he'd become hers.

The beautiful birds were not embarrassed by their mother and father. And if the birds were not embarrassed, neither would she be. They nipped and tore at each other, still squawking at her chosen mount for devouring the mushrooms they'd brought without sharing with the flock. Cleo did what they had to, then, and tossed dirt into the lava before her. As though by miracle, the particles took solid form to shape a little platform. They dismounted the long-legged bird for this makeshift island of exile, and pet its beak until it ambled away. Its footsteps slurped with every stride.

The god of sea and fire had been married many years, rendered mortal and soft in every thread he played across his fingers. Cleo could not see his wife disrobed from her sacred silks and strewn across the loom, guarded as she was by gossamer veil, but their shadows and candles conspired to chase hidden things into light. It was known to Cleo then (in fragmented, unfinished way) how he wove with nimble fingers. He called her name ambrosia and pomegranate and Venus among the fishes, and all the things that get you drunk on life and love. She named him This thing and That thing which cannot be translated, and filthy things that can, which would have ruffled even the real god of hearts and husbandry if they chanced upon his ear. Cleo traced two finger pads across the stitch marks down her cheek. That…

That was mulberry silk, in a way the kind that ran inside her undead veins was not.

Upon the marital loom, the gods weaved a bird into life (which Cleo saw only in its shadow), and love was made. The bird squawked in hunger. Two scraggly wings spread in prayer or plea. The god hummed in pleasure and lifted the little thing in his hands. Its shadow burned imprints in the backs of Cleo's eyes. Newborn things were rarely a mortal's right to see.

On this spot—this tiny island made up of one dirt block—they would make their plea, for all they were worth. Cleo then bore their chin high and called with grand voice into the whispers of the night:

"I leave comment with the god of sea and fire, who bears my heart and leads my trail."

The murmurs stopped. The shadows fidgeted. The new bird croaked, seeking solace at his chest. The shadows slid apart again as the god lifted the candle in its dish.

"Oi! Oh, you're having a-" The spirit thrust the veil aside then, rubbing something akin to exhaustion from his eyes. "What are you on about? I took down my bridge for the night. Why have you set foot in my abode?"

❤️ Read on AO3

[bluiex]

I can't keep things brief. Enjoy 1 of possibly 3 shroom stories to come, but please remove my username!

Bdubs has the braincell.

Scar drops by to be an ass.

Mumbo is sad.

If you're following the Father Spore AU, you already know what you're in for.

- 🩸 (slightly different emoji since I'm submitting this from my computer)

“I say we blow ‘em all up.”

Mumbo’s head sank further into his hands, combed black hair parting untamed between fingers.

“Scar’s gettin’ more aggressive. He already took down the entire science facility, killed a bunch of people and turned Cub. And now he’s got Grian! We’re running outta options here!”

“Grian is not gone yet!” the mayor pounded his fist on the desk. “And we will not resort to blowing up the shopping district just because we haven’t found the cure yet!”

“The cure IS blowing up the shopping district, genius!” Bdubs growled and leaned over the desk challenging his boss. “Shoot the laser, send the antifungal, and watch ‘em dry up. You asked Grumbot for a plan and that’s the one he gave us. So do it!”

Mumbo’s dark eyes glared back, but his lip quivered under the advisor’s gaze. His facade chipped apart like broken machinery, emotions falling back into disarray.

“I can’t do it, Bdubs. I can’t. I can’t kill him after we’ve recovered so many others. He just has a different strand of the infection! Something we haven’t cultured a strong enough drug for yet. If you’d just give me more time to-”

“Time to what? Let the dead scientists keep working? Ask Cub for some skulk? Scar crippled us when he infected the lab and we’re all outta time.” He pulled out his pocket watch for added emphasis.

The golden sheen reflected movement outside the room. Mumbo glanced behind him to see Grian stumbling through the hall in a trance.

“Grian wait!”

The words fell on deaf ears as Mumbo rushed forward, Bdubs on his heels. Grian pushed the door open and a gust of heavy, wet air swept inside of town hall. An overcast gray sky groaned with rain. Wind whipped the once diamond studded trees until their leaves blew off and fell at the foot of a certain man in a purple vest.

“Afternoon Mumbo, Bdubs!” He waved, pulling one hand off his cane. “Lovely day for a stroll isn’t it?”

Mumbo gripped Grian’s arm to hold him back, but the bird wasn’t moving. Instead, he stared lovingly at the monster before them, eyes heavy with purple fog. His wings drooped and fanned out behind him in a display of submission. Fans of shelf fungi peeked out from between his dull feathers and clouds of spores fell out as he puffed them gently.

“Mister mayor! Get away from him!” Bdubs yanked Mumbo back and knocked the sticky pollen off his hands. Despite his size, he manhandled the mayor until Mumbo’s arms were pinned behind his back.

“Grian! Bdubs, stop! You cant’-!Grian!!!”

The words didn’t have much meaning coming from his lips. Scar chuckled and tapped his cane on the pavement.

“Just thought I’d stop by to give you a referendum.” He purred. “The Mycelium Resistance is ready to strike. You have until Friday to submit and join us because on Saturday we’ll be busy celebrating our victory. But I’m not saying this as a threat! Oh no, no, no. Quite the opposite in fact! This is an opportunity for you!”

“You really should listen, Mumbo.” Grian sighed dreamily. “If only you could know this wonder, this feeling of… connection. Pleasure. Love…”

Father Spore hummed in agreement.

“As my sweet sporeling said, there’s nothing to be afraid of. I take good care of my children. You’ll have everything you could ever want or dream of. The Mycelium welcomes all and only grows on you.” He smirked at his own pun. “I know that you miss him, Mumbo. He’s such a pretty thing. But as you see, he’s come to his senses. Come along now Grian.”

Mumbo struggled helplessly watching the bird descend the stairs and run happily into Father Spore’s embrace. Grian nuzzled against Scar’s vest affectionately, breathing in deeply the scent of earth, moisture, and sweet tinges of lust that floated off him.

“So beautiful,” Scar mused, idly running his hand through Grian’s unkempt, mushroom-laced wings. Green eyes locked with Mumbo’s and Scar slid his hand down Grian’s back, making a show of caressing his ass. Grian moaned at the touch and rocked against Scar’s hips.

“So close to perfection, my songbird. I can’t wait to fill you again; hear you beg and plead for more of Daddy’s cock…”

“BASTARD!”

Scar snickered while Bdubs gripped the mayor tighter.

“This is what peace looks like,” he said calmly, snaking his arm around Grian’s waist. “Join us Mumbo, or I’ll make that incident at the lab look like a birthday party compared to this Friday. You have five days.”

Father Spore turned on his heel and walked away with Grian held lovingly at his side.

“Mumbo! Mumbo! It’s okay! Stop listening to him! Calm down!”

The mayoral assistant was having a hard time restraining the thrashing mayor.

“Okay?! He’s being bloody kidnapped! And if you don’t let go of me this instant, Grian’s going to be-”

“Grian is GONE your mayorship! Didn’t ya see how he waltzed right into Scar’s arms? There’s nothing left! His brain’s turned to soup!”

The mayor looked on as the pair turned out of sight and vanished. A single, shoddy feather blew across the pavement before the wind carried it away and the hush of rain fell over the shopping district. He was gone. He was gone. Mumbo knew it, but his tongue refused to admit it.

When his struggles died down, Bdubs slowly let go and placed a hand on Mumbo’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry, mayor. I really am sorry...”

He wanted to respond to Bdubs, he really did, but instead Mumbo’s trembling legs gave up and sank to his knees on the concrete porch.

Gray noise filled the world and his thoughts alike.

[lowkeyclueless5137]

*see the Three Musketeers and Swan Lake Barbie AU*

*slides in and crass into a tree*

There Musketeers and Swan Lake AU? My childhood?! Sign me up and tell us more about it!

Unless you already did and I being an idiot and forgot about them :v

The 3 musketeers is a oneshot already :v

And as for the swan lake... I referenced it actually in the wink Au S4.

So imma have the swan lake explained on short under the cut :'3

We start off with our Floyd as a more free-spirited guy, his parents being just simple people of the kingdom with simple needs and as such. His father was a shoemaker and his mother was a seamstress. Jade was making sweet eyes with the baker's son, so Floyd just wanted an adventure.

Cue wondering around, finding a unicorn and thinking that he ate some of Jade's sus fungi.

Floyd finds a pretty rock! The rock turns out to be a magic cristal!

Floyd yeets it in the fucking lake. :'3

Of course, this is to the horror of floofy dress fairy Malleus who hoped Floyd would help them out with the problem of evil wizard Crowley. Floyd wanted nothing to do with the wierd guy in sparkly dress and the critters around. He just wants home and wait for the mushroom effects to wear off(he never ate a mushroom to begin with)

But he is pursued by Crow man and turned into a swan. :v

Cue Floyd waddling home anyway as a swan, after Malleus gives him the retrieved gem. Only at night Floyd would turn back to a human, so he hoped it would be enough to convince him to help.

It is enough to convince Floyd to help, since it was an absolute inconvenience to be a swan during day and a human during night. Jade did take his feathers that fell off and used to stuff a pillow, his parents didn't know if Floyd should eat bird seeds or something else. And he was more than often asked if he was for sale.

So being fed up with the whole swan situation, Floyd returns to the magical forest in hopes to just beat up the wizard and get his ass back to a normal hooman.

He leaves at night tho, as to not attract suspicions. That's also when he meets a guy with bright red hair, dressed up as any commoner, but with a hood cape to boot. It was clearly an adventurer that maybe stumbled upon this village. But the guy was kind enough to give Floyd a ride to the gate he wanted to go.

The 2 do talk, the stranger asking why Floyd is going towards the waterfall. He replies that he has some business he has to take care of. In turn, Floyd asks why does this stranger have a fancy rapier with him. The stranger is surprised Floyd knew the difference in between a rapier and sword, but he backs it up, saying that many knights and swordspeople came to his father and mother for clothes adjustments, so Floyd and his brother were told many cool stories while their parents would fix those shoes and clothes.

The stranger says that he is a swordsman, working for the queen. He was just patrolling around and didn't mind to give a small ride to Floyd as it was a pretty quiet village.

Floyd simply waits for the guy to leave before using his crystal, which was now a pendant, to open the gate and return to the magical forest, where the magical critters, now back to their fairy/elf/mer forms, being happy that he finally accepted to help.

Floyd is sent to the aincent library, in the volcano gazers, where the fire mers reside. Those are Idia and Ortho, who take great care of all the aincent books, despite the library being literally in a volcano.

They do try and help Floyd and Epel(our sassy unicorn) find the book of the forest, but it takes them all day and then some more, without any results.

Floyd still wants to return home for the day, knowing that Crowley won't risk his ass to come into a village as that big ass bird. But, being too tired, he falls asleep on the lake.

Meanwhile, Jade was growing worried about his brother. He consults with his parents and the baker's son, Trey, before deciding to go after Floyd and help him break that curse.

On his way, he meets up with the same adventurer that Floyd meet up. Thinking it was Floyd, he wonders why he keeps returning to that place. Jade clears it out that his brother was Floyd and he was in quite a pickle.

Of course, the 2 find the way inside via crow man, who hoped to lure them in and use them as a bargain chip.

Of course, he reveals his ploy too late as the 3 already meet up and it was when Floyd got again to his human form. Since he was wearing the crystal, crow man couldn't curse him anymore.

Of course, the redhead stranger gives out his name as Riddle. And Riddle also wanted to help. He insists that he has the skill necessary to take down a threat such as the wizard. And if it's not enough, surely he could 'convince' the queen to get an army.

Floyd tho, insists that it's not that easy. That they shouldn't get involved because Crowley would turn them into critters as well. Maybe even worse.

But to at least reassure their comune concerns, Floyd accepts to at least visit them when the sun goes down, at the border to the magical forest.

And this goes for a few days. Idia and Ortho were relentlessly searching for that book and Floyd with Epel were helping out with it.

This went for a few nights. Sometimes Jade would visit or Riddle. And they would stay together for a few hours before Floyd had to go back and continue with his search.

Finally, Idia finds that fucking book. And bringing it to the others. Giving it to Floyd and opening it, everyone is searching through it, trying to find how to use the crystal's full potential.

What they do find tho, was that very sappy quote of '2 becoming 1'. This, of course puts everyone on springs since how tf do they figure this one out?

That noon tho, Floyd meets up with Riddle, the redhead telling to him about a ball. He would have to attend it as a 'guard of the queen', so he hopes Floyd would at least attend it. He wanted to see him there.

Of course, the other beings of the magical forest go nuts over this. And have Floyd attend that ball. Of course, there needed to be preparations. How to dress up, make sure the manners are in check, from top to bottom, everything had to be to impress. This was a ball that was at the palace after all.

Unfortunately, Crowley steals the book with Idia too. As such, Crowley also knows about this and everyone urges Floyd to go and hurry, in case crow man tries to compromise their plan.

Of course, at the ball, Crowley reaches there before Floyd, with his decoy.

Riddle turns out to be the prince, being pressured by his mother to marry someone. She wanted to put her son on the throne already and ground him from keeping exploring around.

So of course, Riddle thought that was Floyd and slowly reveal that he was pressured to marry early. He was skeptical about everything, but he felt like Floyd was special.

Unfortunately, the real Floyd comes around only when Riddle mentions the proposal, but he doesn't hear how it was only Riddle mocking his mother's expectation of how he should propose.

And Floyd feels a tingle in his chest. It hurts a lot and he was turning back into a human, the pain spreading around until it was unbearable and collapses.

Of course, this gains the attention of some people, word getting to Riddle who immediately realises that it was a scam. Of course, Crowley is happy that his plan was successful.

Cue epic af chase after Crowley steals the now inactive crystal. Floyd does gain some consciousness, only able to mutter out that his chest is in pain. Riddle reassures that it would be alright, once they are somewhere safe.

We also get mostly like the movie ending, bc I believe that it is a great ending, but the wedding itself is after a year or so. Jade still fucking teases his brother whenever Floyd wears or has feathers on him tho. He'll never let that one die. :'3

[orangetintedglasses]

( Moooore BG3!AU stuff because thinkinnnng about two different routes for a replacement arm. One as a 'gift' from newborn Mindflayers (later, less wholesome route) if someone is skipped over in the Underdark, and the other, well-- )

( Let's make up a member of the Society of Brilliance: a druid NPC who specializes (aka has a massive hyperfixation on) the flora of the Underdark-- Aluniira, a Seldarine drow lady with big frizzy hair and thick glasses who's quite keen on Vash after hearing about his response to the Myconids. Nevermind that he's not from here, who is he? What is he? Why does he have a kin-like reaction with these sentient fungi and can he show her??

After some conversation and quests, she figures out a way to draw Vash's power out with an elixir made from the noblestalk mushroom, though it knocks him out pretty hard in the process. Walking through horrible memories of his JuLai (this is MY Vash we're talking about, so he gets to see some of his time as Remade, and his apparently violent use of the flora), Aluniira and the party watch as a ball of feathers erupts and unfurls at the end of what remains of his left arm, vines and roots snaking out and wrapping together into the shape of a brand new root arm.

When he wakes, Vash is (obviously) distressed at the sight-- and his tadpole eagerly shares why. Those flickers of being turned into a weapon, forced to use this power to hurt others, his desire to rip the new limb out from where it sits and chuck it into the nearest pit-- but Karlach is quick to speak, and she assures him that pretty much all of them understand why he's not fond of this power... but the power is part of him, not the other way 'round, and he's certainly not some hijacked puppet. It won't do anything he doesn't want it to.

This calms the poor thing down, and he offers Aluniira gratitude for helping him-- and the arm comes with boons! It might be a bit fragile (easily chopped off/broken if a check fails/etc), but it can be regenerated with an action that refreshes after short rests! It gives a permanent +1 to STR, gives him an extra attack during his turns in combat (stacks with ones given out at certain levels) and it just looks cool, with feathers and flowers and blue orbs of light embedded in the roots. I'll have to draw it sometime-- )

[bluegekk0]

Yes, the "bugs" of Hallownest in my AU aren't actual insects. It's just a general term for all creatures of different species, kind of like "people". Some have insect-like traits, some don't. FPK and Grimm are both quite mammalian in their appearance, so they do have mammal-like teeth, which were inherited by their children. You can see it in their references, as well as other art I made.

I have a post that goes a bit more in detail about how I see the characters, and the term itself. Here it is. But in short, most of the characters are vertebrates, they have skeletal structures and many of them resemble animals (and even non-animals in some cases) other than insects (though insect-like traits are still present in a lot of the species, implying a common ancestor). The characters are fairly big (FPK is just a bit smaller than a raccoon, for reference), so their bodies would need the skeletal structure for support, as opposed to if they were actually tiny like insects.

You have those with mammalian traits, such as fur (Grimm, Brumm, Ogrim), blubber-like fat (FPK) and, as mentioned before, teeth (Grimm, FPK, Hornet, even Zote, though his teeth are more adapted for a plant diet). Reptilian traits are also present, most notably in FPK (especially his previous form). Some resemble plants or fungi, for example WL (who has traits of a tree, as well as some coral and certain fungi), the Mosskin (with their moss-like body coverage) or the Mushroom Clan (self explanatory). There are some with bird-like qualities, my Radiance design resembles an owl a little bit, and I do want to include some other characters with feather-like body coverage. If there are distant lands surrounded by large bodies of water, perhaps they're also inhabited by fish- or crustacean-like species (the latter of which would fall under invertebrates, so they would be an exception). And of course, bug-like traits are also present, many characters have shells and general body shapes resembling that can be compared to our insect species, though unlike our insects, they do still have skeletons.

There are some exceptions, like the aforementioned crustacean-like species, and some named characters, for example Unn, and perhaps Monomon (I haven't made a design for her but I really like the jellyfish like appearance so I would stick to that), who don't have skeletons. Salubra is also a possibility, she does seem to have a very soft body, similar to what you'd see on a slug. But it could also be mammal-like blubber. Since mammal traits are pretty common already, I think I would go in a more slug like direction for her.

They're also meant to be fictional species, so none of them are supposed to be actual existing species of animals (so for example, the Hallownest spiders aren't meant to be actual species of spiders, though they do share some traits and the general name). Any similarities could be explained as convergent evolution, so similar environments might lead to similar adaptations. They could also just be a coincidence. For instance, FPK doesn't belong to any existing group. He isn't a reptile, or a mammal, he just shares some traits with both.

Considering the different species can mate and produce offspring even with vastly different biological traits, I imagine the line between certain groups got so blurry that a singular term works best. So in this case, that term happens to be "bug". Since they have their own languages that aren't English, their word could mean something completely different to its English equivalent and have a completely different origin. So any recognizable terms would just be translations or nearest equivalents. But I won't get too much into the etymology and linguistics of the AU, that would be a bit overkill hahahaha

There is a lot of variety within insect species so the potential for unique designs is there. But I do tend to gravitate towards mammalian traits, as you can see in many of my designs, so I figured I could try to expand on that with some worldbuilding. It's certainly a bit of a leap from usual interpretations, but it's something I personally find more engaging to work with as I'm a big fan of speculative biology. I love making designs inspired by various groups of animals, there's so much variety and also a lot of symbolism related to some of them.

Plus there is some precedent for this kind of direction in the actual game. WL is quite literally a pale glowing tree/coral, Brumm doesn't look like any kind of insect, and even Grimm, despite being headcanoned as a moth by many people, looks nothing like one (and was stated to be inspired by "a mix of different things" instead of any specific bug).

I hope this makes sense, and sorry for the long response! I'm just super passionate about this. The AU has kind of turned into a playground for worldbuilding and speculative biology for me. I find it super fun to take things from the established canon and try to mold them into something a bit different, while staying true to the original wherever I can. I may get a bit carried away but hey, it is an AU, so the possibilities are endless. And I think I found a neat little niche for myself in the sea of different AUs and interpretations. It may not be for everyone, but it's one I genuinely love writing and brainstorming, and I hope other people find it interesting as well!

In response to this and this comment I got, I decided to turn my replies into its own ramble post, mainly about Hornet.

The way I picture it, Hornet goes gathering whenever she patrols the areas around Dirtmouth, she sets her hunting traps and collects fruits, leaves, roots, anything she can use as ingredients (or whatever Zote eats). So when she returns home, she brings something for everyone. Back when she was surviving on her own, this was part of her daily routine, so she has no problem continuing it now, especially since it makes her feel more useful. She'll often collect extra ingredients for Ogrim's diner, which he pays for with geo (even if she keeps telling him there's no need).

Of course, FPK often eats by himself whenever he goes hunting, but he'll never say no to a family dinner even if he's not hungry. He loves spending time with the rest of the family, so family dinners would make him incredibly happy. That said, I wouldn't say those group dinners are actually very common. Since Ogrim's place located very close to their house, they often eat there, Grimm and FPK especially, though they also occasionally go on dates and eat in the city (Grimm knows a nice place that is in a relatively secluded area, with its owner owing him a debt, so it's safe for FPK). Hornet also usually eats alone or with Holly and Zote, sharing what she gathered with them while they hang out.

But sometimes she feels inspired to cook something for everyone so that they can all eat together. This is how she shows that she cares, since she's terrible at voicing it, and the others make sure to show their appreciation. So whenever she prepares a meal with everyone in mind, Grimm and FPK change their plans so they can help her prepare a family dinner.

She'd try to match everyone's tastes. A meal heavy in meats for herself, FPK and Holly, something with more fruits and a sweeter flavor for Grimm and Lewk, and a vegetarian meal for Zote. She even makes a softer meal for the twins, they're still toothing and they need softer foods, so that they can join the table. I like to think she learns to really enjoy cooking over time (a passion Lewk picked up by watching her) so this is something she would be happy to do.

And the sight of everyone together and joyful would make her feel all warm inside, and give her hope that perhaps things will finally be alright now. That she can finally open up and enjoy the family life she desperately wanted for so many years. A complete family, something she never got to experience.

I think it's at those moments that she looks at Grimm and sees a father in him, and at Zote, who isn't a brother or even a cousin to her, but is still part of the family. She looks at FPK and Holly, her blood family, and appreciates that they're still here with her after everything that happened. She looks at the kids, at Lewk, whose arrival caused a lot of conflict in her mind, but whom she learned to love and cherish, and at Asta and Milo, her little siblings who still have so much to see and learn, and who brought even more joy to the house and her life.

She struggles to tell them how much she cares, and she will keep struggling for a long, long time. But she hopes that, by doing things like this, the family dinners, the trinkets she brought home because they reminded her of someone in the family, the little acts of care, that the others know that she values and appreciates them more than anything.

[pumpkin-magpie]

Omg no way it’s a SnowKit lives AU 😻 haiiiii SnowLeap

.

[TW: Body Horror, Mushrooms, Infection, Minor Gore, Sickness]

Oh wow SnowLeap, something seems kinda different about you! Did you lose weight?

[kora-kat]

On the traffic au post, id be cool if the players gained/lost abilities w/ their lives, like having more hearts or healing quicker vs the ability to wear non flexible (iron diamond netherite) armor

Oh definitely!!! Some ideas I got are

Grian starts with a few feathers in green, gets large wings, razor sharp talons, night vision and a taste for raw meat. He will attack anything around teammate or not. Sometimes he has instances of rare clarity, but they are short.

Pearl becomes more and more insect like. She grows an armor-like exoskeleton. She now has poisonous abilities like how many moths have poisonous powder on their wings. She also becomes entirely nocturnal

Cleo gets plants and fungi overgrowth. By her last life she is more bone and plant/fungi than flesh. These allow her to be able to regain health via photosynthesis and water, but makes VERY flammable

Martyn starts off with scale-like rocks covering his body. His red life has him looking like a Rocky salamander creature who can spew lava. He can regain health via fire but is super weak to water.

Ren become, surprise surprise, a massive wolf. Once in red will track down anyone who wronged him with single mindedness. Regains health via meat, becomes nocturnal. Cannot harm any teammate.

Impulse starts to resemble a chameleon, able to hide himself as the good spy he is. May have a poisonous bite. Good at climbing but his eyesight worsens. Loves warmth but can't stand cold. Has tried to eat Pearl a few times.

Thats all I can think of

[britishsass]

sci fi AU alien design ideas!

(psychonauts verse humanity in this has four-digit hands and feet usually, but polydactylity and psychic powers are correlated so a lot of psychics and people related to psychics have extra digits)

[Owl’s note: The anon included a LOT here, so I wanted to include a read-more. I’m extremely impressed by all the ideas here!]

monkey like aliens: look a LOT like a monkey, especially if you can’t see the head (their braincase is bigger), but still clearly not Earthly. their internal anatomy is pretty different, but they’re also from a planet that did four-limbs-and-a-tail as the endoskeletal base bodyplan, are warm blooded, and arboreal omnivores with four fingers and toes on each hand. unlike our world, this planet’s warm blooded creatures did not figure out a ‘placenta’ type thing. they have a pouch marsupial style and are a bit more on the herbivorous side compared to humans.

can’t walk bipedially for very long. but can comfortably hang from their tail for an extended period of time.

somewhat squirrel-otter type aliens: smaller than the average human and with six limbs. theyve got some sort of lungs and gills setup, a lower body temperature than humans, and are more…cool-blooded? their healthy comfy body temperature range is like ten degrees C wide and swings with external temperature, but they can still comfortably stay above their enviroment’s temperature. theyre great at swimming and climbing but their gait on flat land is relatively inefficient and they need to stay in moist areas or refresh their gills every few hours

took some convincing to believe that it was possible for a sapient species to see leaves as food (really like nuts though).lay externally fertilized eggs like frogs and have built in top-armpit pockets like otters for rocks (now used for many things…but also usually a shell-and-nut cracking tool. like a rock. )

tentacle deer type aliens: kind of like a long-tailed deer. except instead of antlers there’s tentacles covered in gecko suckers for fine manipulation. like horses these guys are herbivores who also like eggs. flow-through lungs with inlet holes on the neck and outlet holes on the sides; no external ears; and camoflagued against predators with colour vision. their plants are solar panel blue though so that just means theyve got dark blue shiny camo pattern fur. also their brain is in their chest have actual live birth and are isogametic like fungi…also like fungi they have like 2000 mating types. spooked crowds sometimes stampede and their kids are mobile within a few minutes of birth.

very weird bats: six limbed quadrupeds, four wings and one pair of grasping limbs. this is actually a group of species. basically their planet’s flying creatures lucked into a body-plan that had a whole pair of grasping limbs freed up for tool use, so whenever you got social groups with simple tool-use it could easily be pushed into full sapience. as a result sapience evolved like twelve times here. includes a couple of fully carnivorous species and some echolocating species, the most numerous also being relatively small and eating mostly tiny things it is convenient to call insects.

covered in a mixture of something like contour feathers away from the wing membranes and something like furry feathers on the wing membranes, with leathery featherless grasping limbs.these guys lay eggs. they also do not have tails. nostrils are on the face but their airway doesnt cross their foodway at all

Anon? Holy frick, this is brilliant stuff. You’re really good at all of this! I really have so little to say here, hah--

[hello-im-not-a-possum]

For the ask meme, “Please don’t be scared…”

I really liked bringing this AU back.

Joey had been a man who made terrible mistakes, but he was also a man who did everything in his power to fix them. Even when that meant that he had to take down the gods themselves, gods that even he could admit he didn’t know or completely understand.

‘The raven king’, some of the locals called it in hushed tones, ‘The lord of hurricanes’, ‘The living wrath of the heavens’, ‘The maestro of the storms’, The one-legged animator had heard these titles and many more that the beast had earned from its tyranny, and he was not at all phased by any of them as he continued to hunt it down in spite of some of their protests.

Was he insane? Maybe so, “Sane men” typically don’t invest as much of their lives into the occult as he did.

Was he stupid? Not in the slightest, he came prepared and knew just what he had to do to catch the beast, and just in case that failed, he had a back-up plan; a necklace that ‘locks’ up the wearer’s magical abilities.

Why was he going out of his way to go against a god that revels in human sacrifice? Cruel god or not, it was undoubtedly a raven, and normal ravens and wolves help each other out in the wild, so why would supernatural ravens and wolves differ?

-----------------------------

It wasn’t until he came across the beast’s nest when he realized that he had neglected the reality of his situation for too long.

As he expected a bird known for hoarding and liking shiny things to do; the Raven king’s nest was decorated in gold, silver, jewels, and anything that was even remotely shiny or pretty by bird standards, it almost reminded him of a dragon’s hoard but with a ton of things that a human would disregard as garbage.

But it was also decorated with corpses. Human corpses, sheep carcasses, a few bears, and many other unlucky critters. Some had long decomposed into skeletons, some were rotting away while being eaten by fungi and maggots, while others were so fresh that they were still warm to the touch.

It reminded him that this was not a game, that one wrong move could make him into both a meal and a decoration. But for Henry, he was still willing to gamble with those odds.

Armed with a fair amount of traps, fire, magic, and his own wits, the beast put up a valiant fight, Joey often just barely missed losing either his head, torso or another limb when scanning the forest for the beast’s knife-filled beak.

The cat and mouse game between the two grew more and more intense until Joey aimed his shotgun towards an old tree the beast flew by it and...

*BANG*

*CRRAAACK*

With a terrifying screech, the monster was pinned underneath the tree, howling like mad and frantically flapping its still free wing to get out.

And with each shaky step the animator took towards the now trapped beast, he saw that it was so much more than just a raven puffed up to colossal size that allowed it to treat men like worms.

Up close, the monster was even more beautiful than Joey had ever imagined. Its feathers shined in the moonlight with a iridescent sheen that made every treasure in the beast’s nest look like cheap plastic in comparison and its eyes shone like rubies.

But he couldn’t just sit there and gawk at the creature while it struggled to free itself, pulling the necklace out of his pocket, he sat on a branch of the fallen tree that held him down and began to put it on the confused, thrashing beast.

“Shhh! It’s okay...” He soothed the raven and patted its beak while it fearfully cawed. “Please don’t be scared...”

As Joey finished fastening the necklace around the raven monster’s neck, to his confusion, the beast appeared to be... molting?

It was getting smaller and smaller until it slipped out of the tree prison with ease, but it didn’t get far. Its feathers came off in large clumps, showing tanned, human skin underneath. In a matter of minutes, where a giant raven-like monster that was hailed as a god had once stood, there was a confused, frightened, and angry looking naked man starring at his hands with his mouth agape.

The equally confused animator fidgeted with his bow tie as the former raven king continued to disapprovingly investigate his new form.

“Oops..?” Joey sheepishly offered, not knowing what else to say to the clearly distressed new human.

He got an icy glare in return, followed by the man trying to bite his nose off.

[kawaiichibiart]

A Fairy's Tale

I just wanted to share some lore for this AU :)

Take note: some of this might change, some might of this be completely removed altogether from the AU. It's very much a first draft, soooo....

• Fairies are able to change their size but are not unable to change their overall appearance. So they'll always have wings, pointed ears, and for those who have them, freckles shaped like leaves, flowers or fungi.

• Half-Fairies will always, ALWAYS, take after their mother. If their mother is a fairy, they will be born a fairy. If their mother is a human, they will be born a human.

• Continuing off the previous point, half-fairies born to fairy mothers are considered to be just fairies, while those born to human mothers are considered to be just human. However, it's clear that they are half-fairies due to a few features:

- Fairy half-fairies have smaller wings compared to fairies born to two fairy parents, as they will have bigger/longer wings. Because they have smaller wings, they aren't able to fly for long, if at all, so they will often travel on different animals, the most common being birds.

- Half-Fairies, both fairy and human, born with freckles will a have a few that look like either leaves, flowers or fungi.

- Human half-fairies tend to be on the taller side and are more likely to have a green thumb.

Just so you are all aware, I am still working on more key differences between fairies and half-fairies. So if anyone has any ideas, feel free to share them. (❁ᴗˬᴗ)

And now to talk about the characters:

• Adrien (still haven't decided if I'm changing the spelling to Adrienne yet) is technically a half-fairy, with her mother being a fairy and her father a human.

• While she is a half-fairy, her cousin, Felicity/Felice (of course I'm making Felix a girl, too), isn't, as both her parents are fairies.

• Chloe first met Adrien when they were both about five. Gabriel was meeting with Audrey at the hotel and Adrien was with him. She had chosen to stay small and ended up in one of the vases, where Chloe found her, making her the second human to know about her, as young fairies are often kept a secret.

• Chloe, wanting to accommodate for her friend's smaller size, has what is essentially a glamorized open dollhouse made for her to stay in whenever she visits and wants to be her tiny fairy self.

• Wanting to be able to share pictures of her friend, Chloe has become really good at using Photoshop and at making sets for Adrien.

• Adrien doesn't attend school, but she does show up at one point to visit Chloe (much to the surprise of the rest of the Akuma class, who thought Chloe was making her up).

• The first person of the Akuma class to find out Adrien's a fairy is Nathaniel.

• You know how in Reverser Chloe shows up to work on her own art project (the selfie collage)? That happens here, but rather than the collage, she was going to work on a new miniature set for Adrien.

• When she's her human size, Adrien wears either a knee length cardigan or a coat to cover her wings and styles her hair to cover up her ears.

• Because she's allergic to feathers/birds, Adrien tends to travel by riding some of the following animals:

- Rats

- Squirrels

- Strays cats and dogs

- Plagg (yes, she's still Chat Noire. This will be its own post)

• As soon as she learns her secret, Marinette volunteers to make Adrien some new clothes; she's genuinely excited to make them as she wants to find a way to work around Adrien's wings outside the magic of her necklace that allows for clothes to magically phase through them.

• While Nathaniel is the first person in the Akuma class to learn Adrien's a fairy, Rose is the first one to try and befriend her.

• There are other half-fairies in Paris (obviously). One of them just so happens to be Marc, who takes it upon himself to help Nathaniel after he learns that Adrien is a fairy. Because of this, Marc and Adrien actually become close friends.