#furnace sword af

[allthecastlesonclouds]

yippee :) @starstruckodysseys sword af modern au be upon ye! ty preemptively letting me ramble :)

FIRST. CHARACTERS.

let's start with... Koda Amakiir :D

they/them

traveling musician

child star /neg : ran away when it got to be too much; planned to meet up with fayen in the next city and couldn’t find him

show was called Four Seasons

they are not living their best life but they do love what they do

vibes with delores immediately. bug is sweet but. a bit too enthusiastic for them

always carries the SMALLEST hope that at the next city, they’ll find him :) they haven't yet :)

alr next Delores Paradise

she/her

owns a trinket shop with a constant Everything Must Go sign

Went into a coma years ago and was legally considered dead for a while – when she woke up she was given her children’s contacts, but was told she would have to contact them herself. She has not yet

(she’s afraid of what their reactions might be)

the hospital was Mourosel's and that medical debt is. hefty

very very close to straight up Buying the building from her landlord bc he jacks up the price every year.

rents it out along with fernie– the second floor houses two bedrooms and a kitchen/dining room, the first floor (behind the shop) has two more bedrooms, a Very Small sitting area, and a bathroom

the shop doubles as a performance space– artists are allowed to rent out the space during the day if they want to, but in the evenings, esp the weekends, there's an open mic night that does in fact serve alcohol

Bug

he/they

somehow very few people know his last name!

delores should since she hands over the rent to the landlord but she was. not fully with it when she did let’s say.

i am saying she was drunk and/or busy flirting with the next door neighbor

24, graduate school– studying to be a surgeon.

goes to their school’s athletic center RELIGIOUSLY

watched koda’s show as a child (also religiously) and that made them want to be. as buff as possible

def had like. so many posters of Four Seasons. like plates and posters and a blanket and bug is trying to keep as much of this a secret from koda as possible

he's trans. bc i can make him. also middle child. parents did not realize he came out to them and so now bug's just uncomfortable during every interaction

some of their siblings are. bitches tho

something in my aus is that i will retcon as few things as possible from the actors but I CANNOT MAKE BUG A PODCAST GUY. PLS. PLS BUG'S MY GUY

and our last guy got a name change: Ashton "Fernie" Fern

he/him

fernie by his friends, furnace by his family

delores came up with the nickname when they got drunk together

park ranger! faerashi faerani is one of the park’s lawyer; they’re pretty close. she handles all of the park’s legal cases, and sometimes they just get drunk together bc people visiting the parks are idiots

kevin the moth is a terrarium moth that he keeps in his room :]

has biweekly dinners with (first) delores (and then the whole group once they move in)

there are three rubens in fernie's life– one is his coworker, one is a weasel in the park, and one is his cat :)

such a nice guy. genuinely very sweet. and then he sees his family and faerasha literally has to shove him off a path so he doesn't punch them again

alr a few other points i wanna make :)

faerasha (she doesn't usually go by her full name, it's either fae or 'rasha) is doug's daughter

doug was a costume designer on Four Seasons. now he's a private stylist. he's also fucking rich

bug couldn't rent with the people he rented with the previous year of school– they're that group of heroes from s1– and koda likes to room in places that aren't hotels bc they're less likely to be found by fans

bug was punching trees in the park and fernie stopped him and they just chatted. koda swung by the trinket shop bc it was the most outwardly welcoming building they could find and then asked delores if she knew where someone could stay

bug sees koda when delores and fernie organize a meeting to make sure everyone would be alright with the living situation and went I Will Be Literally So Normal. I Am Literally So Normal About This. (to be fair he tried very hard with it)

bug and fernie are both Big Family kids. fernie's the oldest of like. 9 or 10 kids, i want to say? i'm really set on bug's family having 13 kids for some reason and bug's SOLIDLY number 7

fernie double majored in business and environmental studies, minor in economy, then got a master's of science in animal welfare and behavior

unfortunately this means that his father did not in fact change the deed to true neutral. yes it's nepotism. of course this bitch would rely on nepotism for his business

true neutral is essentially amazon in canon right? it continues to essentially be amazon.

so the ceo dies and the company goes to "his eldest son, who is entirely capable due to his education". this sparks annoyance in the public bc of nepotism. this sparks annoyance in the family bc fernie hates his family. this sparks annoyance in delores bc her trinket shop is flooded with reporters all of a sudden– and then fans of koda, and then two of bug's brothers (she forces everyone to buy something for every question they want to ask, which does lessen her annoyance). this sparks annoyance in faerasha bc HE'S NOT SAYING ANYTHING HE NEEDS A FUCKING LAWYER–

fernie doesn't know what's happening. his phone broke a week ago and he hasn't bothered to get a new one, he can get to work and back just fine

finally faerasha just breaks in and sits him down

alr there's more not in that vein

koda and doug are besties even though doug is. a couple decades older. they have tea every now and again

koda's also working on an album. they're not going to announce it– people would find them– but they're thinking they might quietly release it and just let people find it

gunthar is the next-door neighbor and delores unabashedly flirts with him. rum-pum and tungo and chumo live on the other side and bug is consistently delighted by their stories. they're all dating. he thinks.

delores really does not know whether to contact her kids

she has a late night talk with koda tho where they talk about their. bad experiences. on their show. and she talks about her coma and her debt and her lack of memory.

and they push her to call one of them! she's got her family just one step away, and she's so kind to all of them!

and now. bc why not. some doodles. fernie doesn't look tall enough but like. the energy is there

[ammnd]

🌻|🔥

[thejegsu12]

F U R N A C E

SwordAF season 2 is here and MAN is it great so far!

[fallinginaforrest]

"This is Fernie. Plant it in my Garden."

[puch-jpg]

So… I’m obsessed

[justanotherspeck]

"i finally know what money is and what money does" in THAT context is so insane, what a way to bring it back around.

[iamchickenhearmesquawk]

Fernie and Furnace have my whole heart dammit

Also Koda bullying bugs bullies made me so emotional fuck

[alliexandra]

three wins. four arms. five nights at freddy's...

[tame-a-messenger]

PLEASE tell me you've watched the SAF S2E1 visualizer bc the part in the end when Fernie goes beast mode... There certainly was some Visualizing going on

!!! SPOILERS FOR SAF S2 E1 !!!

I went and watched it because of this ask!

Holy shit does he look cool~

[systemblr]

fernie/furnace from sword af is the best autistic DID representative the media has right now.

[vc55bughead]

SWORD AF S2×E2 SPOILERS BELOW!

Damien calling Fernie "The Inferno" and unlocking some of the biggest lore yet>>>>> : the reason they picked that name was BRILLIANT! To showcase him being a tree and part plant but him also being a literal machine- a furnace. *THE Furnace* 🤯🤯🤯

LADY-BUG 🤏🥺

THE PATTYCAKE MY HEART 😭😭😭

A BEEJ-

THE CLIFFHANGER STOP IT!!!!

we NEED more fun fluffy relaxed episodes that was so cool!

Also......🔥Henry🔥

[ammnd]

Hero

poster version :DD

[deliveringdestiny]

SWORD AF S2 E1 SPOILERS

I have not been keeping up with the sword af fandom recently so I’m not sure if I’m the first person to say this but I think we should start calling furnace fernie burnie

[fallinginaforrest]

Sword AF spoilers

a) I correctly guessed Bug would choose Oath of Devotion for his Paladin Oath (makes sense considering his cleric past). I can't recall his oath being explicitly stated anywhere but the spealls he used are available to oath of devotion.

b) I'M CRYING. OF COURSE THE FURNACE'S LAST MESSAGE WAS TO BUG. "This is Fernie. Plant it in my garden" Bug and Fernie had such a special bond, arguably Bug took it hardest when Fernie died and the Furnace replaced him. All they wanted was their friend back. But he was able to work through it. He found peace in the Furnace. They Consolidated this new creature with the creature he had known before and he was able to see them as two sides of the same coin. He loved the Furnace as he loved Fernie, and so of COURSE the Furnace would reach out to Bug in those final moments. Of course the Furnace, washed away, obliterated by the sheer energy of the reactor, a reactor made of nature, of life, would reach out to Bug. Of course Fernie would reach out to Bug.

[mountainiplier]

Some thoughts while listening to sword af, i'm so normal about these losers (lies)...

- Well, jokes on you, cursty and sean are asexual, and they really are just making macaroni art! (Jk, but wouldn't be really funny though?)

- the sound design is fucking amazing!!

- These fuckers (affectionate).... they're so familiar with tropes n shit, i fucking hate it (love it) when they're breaking the fourth wall that way.

- I'm a fucking sucker for dismisive, powerful, villain. Yes, i am talking about characters voiced and played by damien haas. First we got krungdar the bloodsmith, now we have whoever this mech suit wearer is. Just the idea of a big, powerful, masc person, so dismissive because they know their power and what they're able to do.... just, bend me over or something. Y'know?

- I'm freaking the fuck out on the train, i can't do this shit. I need to listen to this in private!

- "Little fernice (furnace?) infernum"..... "my little toy back"... what the fuck is your past, fernie????

- "Oh it's go time!" NOOOOO!!!! WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN?? HOW FCUKING DARE THEM ENDING IT THERE? BOSS FIGHT???

- I wanna see their facial expression so bad.... but it's okay! But i wish at least some sort of subtitle somewhere.

[youghvaudough]

Here’s a list of random things that tickle my funny bone for no reason in the Kyoshi novels

(as a Mandarin speaker)

am working through the novels currently so light spoilers?

will continue to update as I go 

click 4 sum fun rambles

Horse stance. THIS BITCH DESERVES THE TOP SPOT SO HERE GOES. I somehow did not make this connection until like I’m almost all the way through the book, but 扎马步 (zhā mǎ bù) or if you take the literal meaning of characters “poke horse step” is literally so well known it’s insane. I’m talking one of the first training/fighting stance that comes to a Chinese person’s mind when u mention kung fu/combat training in general well known so I rly dunno how it slipped my mind for an entire book

this particular stance is always a lil funny to me bc of the way it’s phrased in Chinese; with the 扎 “poke”, the intention is to convey a planting & sinking, steadying of the stance that’s just also funny af to me

so imagine sth u find a lil silly & funny fully becoming a flirtatious & romantic code specific to the main characters of the story? hilarity ensued; rip my friend who had to listen to my scream-laughing

Jianzhu, the architect, his name is literally pinyin for building (建筑 jiàn zhù); imagine naming ur kid Building Smith. No wonder he’s such an uptight type A

the name of Jesa’s (Kyoshi’s mom) sky bison, Longyan / 龙眼 (lóng yǎn), while directly translates to “dragon eye”, also happens to be the Chinese word for Longan fruit (which like Lychee, has cloudy, white/clear-ish flesh surrounding a dark, round pit)

Rangi’s name in the Chinese translation of the book is 燃姬 (rán jī), which itself is a basic sound translation, but these characters mean “lady on fire” or “burning lady” this is kinda cute as heck 4 me for some reason????? lil furnace lady Rangi makes me soft

…that brings us to Rangi’s mom Hei-Ran, someone who we know can be cold and calloused in getting sh*t done with some shady days in the academy, & her name may reflect that. her name could be these two characters 黑燃 (hēi rán), which translates to “black burn” or “dark burn”. talk abt obvious characteristic here; nothing more obvious than ur name amirite???

…then again it could also be 黑兰 (hēi lán, “Black Orchid”) which tbh I kinda like better bc it’s more likely to be used as a name; AGAIN, no one wants to name their kid “black burn” it really doesn’t sound as cool as you’d think

SO! After clues from the comments (thank u @taare-writes!) and help I outsourced from TikTok — Hei-Ran’s name actually could be 혜란 in Korean !! also when I put this in the translator I used, the corresponding Mandarin it gave me was 蕙兰 (hùi lán), which is a specific type of orchid (boat orchid I believe?) and SUCH A PRETTY NAME oh my

the term used for the outlaws daofei, is literally just 盗匪 (dào fěi) “thieves/bandits”; this especially tickles my friend (who’s also reading these novels) so I gotta include it for her ;))))

the daofei’s secret gathering spot next to a lake in the mountains, Hujiang, could be 湖江 (hú jiāng) “lake river” or 湖将 (hú jiāng) which if u squint at it could mean “just by the lake”. this is fun bc it’s possible the author just flipped the saying 江湖 (jiāng hú), which while directly translates to “river lake”, has a much broader & meaningful use often in 武侠 (wǔ xiá, if u know u know, but if u don’t you can think of it as samurai or traveling knight but CHINESE) lore: it is used to refer to the world of action, thrills, and adventure walked by these warriors. It’s p cool to me lmao

oh and the Lei Tai the daofei’s fight on? Just 擂台 (lèi tái) “fighting stage”, same thing as the ring in boxing but doesn’t only reference one specific type of fight

Yun’s name is p simple & straight forward, probably just 云 (yún, “cloud”); it’s also an actual last name and I know someone from Highschool with this last name :)))

While Kyoshi obviously has Japanese origins, the kanji corresponding to きょし is 虚子. Japanese kanji have their origins in Chinese characters, and in this case these two kanji can mean “child of the void” (虚 xū “the void / the lack of something” 子 zǐ “child / kid”); pretty fucking metal name if u ask me

Lao Ge, the human alias of the bloodthirsty spirit in Kyoshi’s gang, could just be 老哥 (lǎo gē) “old brother” which is equivalent of just bro

… it’s real name, Tieguai, could be 铁怪 (tiě guài) “iron monster” or 铁拐 (tiě guǎi) “iron crutch”, which both kinda make sense??? given its monstrous tendencies and ancient origins

the green emerald burial sword Tagaka carried with her, jian, literally is just 剑 (jiàn) “sword”. Yes they really went you know what? we gon call it a sword sword

speaking of weapons, the dao broadsword? same thing. 刀 (dāo) literally means “broadsword”. broadsword broadsword hehe

what I find interesting abt this whole weapons naming is that technically when u picture a broadsword, it falls under the umbrella classification of sword (can someone who’s first culture ain’t Chinese confirm this??? thanks); though for Chinese ppl, 剑 (jiàn, “sword”) and 刀 (dāo, “broadsword”) are completely different beasts

basically dao & jian to us r like tigers and wolves when broadswords & swords r like tigers and lions (both in the felidae family)

where this info kinda becomes relevant is bc knives are also translated as 刀 (yeah the one for “broadsword”), and the way ppl know which type of sharp instrument you mean depends on the context. if ur carrying ur dao on ur back (like in the novels) it’s broadsword; if ur looking for a dao to prep dinner with it’s probably a knife unless u really have the urge to chop spinach with a broadsword

the Yellow Scarf’s imprisoned (later freed then dropped) leader, Xu Ping An, has a weirdly ironic name; his name is likely 许平安 (xǔ píng ān), “wish for peace”. 许 (xǔ) can mean “making a wish” & is an actual Chinese last name; 平安 (píng ān) “peace” on the other hand can be & have been used as a name

slight tangent: there’s this Chinese tradition of including undesired characteristics in ur child’s name so they could avoid those things in life I know it’s probably not the tradition mom&dad Xu had in mind when they named him but it did kinda take effect

the design of Govener Te’s mansion complex, the traditional earth kingdom siheyuan design that Rangi mentioned? It’s an actual traditional courtyard’d household design. I’m not the expert on this but if ur interested u can just search siheyuan and read more abt it ! v fascinating

四合院 (sì hé yuàn) roughly translates to “four enclosing yard”, referring to how the structure of this type of housing consists of four sections of single floor housing (each a specific functional space) enclosing an exposed courtyard in the middle. You can still find some of these in Beijing; also these houses go for SO MUCH MONEY on the housing market bc 1. it’s p much a suburb home but in the city 2. CITY LAND 3. homes r just insanely expensive in a city like Beijing. so there’s a running joke that you’d say someone’s well-off by saying their family has a siheyuan

(alright that’s the end of the Rise of Kyoshi!!! Will prolly make another one for the Shadow of Kyoshi; see y’all then)