#it’s completely obscured but he also has fused together wings

[unnamed-proxy]

Drawing every toon currently available for a pet project, pt 2/22

Astro Novalite!!!!!!

[sawyersorbet]

Okay, now that i’m on this blog let’s talk some more about this!

Total word count: 663

As mentioned previously, the story is spilt into 2 sections. This is primarily for my own sake as it’s easier to keep track of everything this way for me.

It should be mentioned here that theres around a 300 year time skip in between Part 1 and Part 2.

The over arching story for Part 1 is MC learning about who they are (in terms of how powerful they are) and defeating the Aeon of Corruption.

Part 2’s story is Luke working as hard as he can to become the next Celestial Ruler. In doing so, he’ll learn about all three realms and have a greater appreciation for all of them.

There isn’t really an over arching villain for Part 2, and that’s intentional. While there are obstacles and challenges, there isn’t much that poses an actual threat because this is supposed to be the easier time that MC brings by defeating the Corruption.

Also yeah, “Aeons” aren’t a thing in normal Obey Me. However to tie this whole thing into some of my own stories the power hierarchy is pretty different. Sorry.

Either way the current Ruler of the Celestial Realm is Radiance, god of light and the brothers father. (obviously he’s the father of more angels (and fallen angels) then the brothers but it’s semi unimportant.) I named him Radiance cause just calling him “God” was weird for me. Radiance had been planning for a successor for quite a while (around 1-2 million years) and while he would’ve liked to act on that sooner, however a certain Corruption got hold of him so that was put on hiatus.

The point of all of this is the fact that Radiance needs an out, as he sees himself as unfit to rule for much longer. He’ll stay as long as he needs to for his successor to feel properly prepared for the job and he won’t just disappear into obscurity after he gets to retirement, but he’s been ruling for around 1 billion years or so and still attempting to do whatever he can to fix everything that he and his corrupted self did wrong.

Luke at this point is pretty excited for the idea of ruling the Celestial Realm, however he is also very scared of it. The Celestial Realm is huge and the idea that he could be responsible in reconciling the realm’s connections to the human realm and the Devildom is pretty intimidating to him. Thankfully though, he has MC mentoring him (Similar to how MC’s prior incarnation mentored Radiance) as well as everyone from Part 1.

In order to document and keep track of his growth, Luke is given a spellbook by Radiance. Over the course of Season 6 Luke would get stamps every time he overcame a challenging, which unlock spells in the book for him to use for future obstacles. After a number of stamps (and likely at the beginning of season 7) Luke is given a wand to assist in his magic.

While Luke wouldn’t actually receive the wand until season 7, near the end of season 6 he would gain a couple charms after notable events for his development. (After first saving a few people from a monster and after MC’s wedding (with which ever brother/character you prefer. or a different notable event where Luke can really and finally get over most of his disdain for demons and all that.) These charms would go into the transparent part of the wand and make his magic more powerful with each one he earns.

However, there are other charms he could earn as well. Being wing charms that would be added to the actual outside of the wand itself. There are 4 of these he can earn (the cavities in the middle of the wand) and 2 extras. the one at the top with the gem is for when he completes the wand and proves he’s able to be the successor, and the one at the bottom he earns after his first three sets of wings and allows him to start fusing his spells together to make them more powerful.

Obviously, all of this is very self indulgent and yeah. Maybe none of it really makes sense, but honestly i’m just having fun with it and i think thats all that matters to be honest.

Alright, thats all i’ve got for you. thanks for your time!

Hello again ! I return a few days later to tell you a little bit about a concept i have for some Obey Me stuff.

I’ve mentioned it on another blog but i’m sorta doing a rewrite of Obey Me’s storyline cause of inconsistencies and some things relating to my MC. (Also; this is only a rewrite in concept as i am NOT a writer by any means so these concepts and ideas are all i have for you, sorry.) (It should also be noted that i treat nightbringer as an AU and not apart of the main timeline.)

I’m not going to get into the details here, but the essentials of this are that i plan to have a “part 2” (as i’m calling it currently) of the storyline, Part 1 would encompass seasons 1-4 (and my fictional season 5) and Part 2 would be seasons 6+ (i’m not entirely sure how many seasons it would hypothetically be yet ? but it’s unimportant.) Either way, the main point is that Part 1 primarily follows MC and Part 2 primarily follows Luke !

Technically while Luke acts as the main character for Part 2, MC is still very present acting as Luke’s mentor!

By the end of season 5 MC has basically learned all they could from Solomon and everyone else, becoming far more powerful then anyone could’ve predicted. (Even despite the fact they aren’t his apprentice anymore, Solomon still refers to them as his darling apprentice lol.) MC, being as powerful as they are, is the perfect candidate to be Luke’s mentor as Luke is destined to become the next Ruler of the Celestial Realm. (And don’t worry about Simeon, he’s very present and still acting as Luke’s father.)

That’s all i’m going to include in this post, as its already quite long. So thank you for your time, and hopefully i’ll be able to post more of this concept in the notes soon! :]

[obscuraxrp]

The smoke settles to reveal LEE MINSONG, a 110 year old domination and imprisonment-aligned fae of Sunseong. He is a hunter and dog cafe owner who appears to be adept in chain manipulation and enhanced durability — but like most things in Sunseong, there must be more to him than meets the eye.

FACECLAIM: lee taeyong (nct)

APPEARANCE:

Human Form: Minsong’s human form appears mostly human with a few notable flaws. The first being that Minsong’s eyes are frequently changing color from their scarred white to oddly vibrant colors. Usually he makes himself appear to have some sort of heterochromia, but will change the eye colors back and form just to mess with people. The second trait is that Minsong always has chains wrapped around both of his wrists. Upon closer inspection, the actually fuse into his skin at a point. Luckily, this is somewhat difficult to tell. Lastly, Minsong blood is a vibrant, metallic silver color. True From: Minsong’s true form is a large, silhouetted figure wearing a long, tattered cloak. He appears mostly human aside from his unnaturally long arms and clawed fingers. However, his face is constantly obscured in shadow, along with his hair being naturally pitch black. The trench coat is covered in various restraints, and usually Minsong’s arms are restrained together To his sides as well as to each other, making his arms look as though he’s crossing them. The restraints holding him in this way are chains, as well as some wrapped around his neck and torso. He is wearing heavy boots and is capable of walking around. However, he can also remove the restraints and open the coat, revealing that most of his body is wrapped in chains.

BIOGRAPHY:

Some fae are just… born into what seems like nothing. That’s what he is- suddenly awake in a forest and aware of everything. He’s full sapient, completely intelligent, and in that moment it’s very overwhelming. For a short time he wanders alone in the forest- eyes looking over everything with his new awareness. He has no names for the things he sees, but in a way he understand them. Being born so suddenly- so sporadically has it’s effects. It makes one curious about their surroundings, but for Minsong there was something else too. A strange desire to control what was around him- the desire to hold it tight and never let it leave. He couldn’t contain that feeling, but he also could never contain the world around him. It… Frustrated him.

His wandering finally ceased when he came across a small mansion- a strange place in the middle of a forest that seemed strangely well kept. No other civilization laid within miles of this place, yet the mansion stood tall and firm. Inside, a small family lived. At first when they saw the young fae they were shocked, but then they were accepting. They, as they put it, adored fae. The brought him into their home. Showed him around. When he looked at their oldest child, a boy of only 3 years old, Minsong was quick to steal his image. He hid his true form from his new parents- they called him and their oldest son twins.

And that’s where he grew up. The number of children in the family grew frequently- starting with only 3, then 5, then 10, then 15… 20. Minsong never understood how human children worked, so he thought nothing odd of the fact that multiple children would appear within a month. He never understood that human children are born as babies, not as one year olds or three year olds. He’s a fae, so he didn’t understand the nuances of what a kidnapping could mean or if that meant his family was bad. The children seemed happy in the mansion, and he was happy there too. This was his family. A family with a mother, a father, a twin brother, tons of siblings…

And the fae that all of them worshipped.

He never got that part himself very well. Occasionally the man with flaming wings would visit the mansion with another child in his hands and Minsong’s parents would be so happy to take them in. The man’s name was Aether, or that’s how he referred to himself. The first time he saw Minsong he was incredibly excited. He was the one who told Minsong what he was, how he worked. Every time he came to visit the family he would smile at Minsong- take him out and teach him something new. Aether taught Minsong everything there was about fae, about the supernatural. Minsong just listened with a smile as he was pulled through forests and shown everything there was. He was an oddly happy kid, though there was no deny he wasn’t a normal one. He was happy that he had Aether as a teacher.

Things weren’t always easy. Aether told Minsong how fae were created from different concepts- magic. He taught Minsong how fae had to feed, and Minsong quickly realized that he felt far more refreshed when bossing his siblings around. It took him a while to understand what this control meant- what concepts it was that he was possibly based on, but by the time he found out Aether was proud that he had figured so much out.

Years passed in the happy little family (or perhaps a large family. He never knew the difference). It’s 18, if he remembers correctly on how to count. The night is calm with everyone asleep. Early in the night Aether had come to the home and happily talked with everyone there. Aether had instructed Minsong to go out that night to explore the forest, and while he hated being told what to do he learned, at least, to listen to Aether. So he went, calmly enough, leaving his family sleeping behind.

It was the noise that made him turn back- the rumbling in the earth and the pillar of smoke rising upward. When he arrived back at the mansion he found it collapsed- flames reaching upward toward the night sky. Smoke bellowed out in all directions and he stared in panic. The family who had cared for him were deep inside that pile of smoulder ash. His movements were frantic- searching the debris despite the flame for what he could. It was now he was thankful for his abilities, for the chains. He could barely control five at a time, but he could try to move things out of the way. He managed to pull so few from the wreckage. His father, his twin brother…

His only sister- Jaeun.

His father and brother are unconscious- bleeding. He’s in a state of full on panic as he clings tight to his sister. She’s crying- screaming, and he has no clue how to calm her down. He doesn’t understand humans well enough. Despite being raised by them he’s lost and he doesn’t know what to do. He hopes that his father will wake up- that his brother will too. He begs to nothingness that they wake up and take care of his sister as she bawls for her mother. She’s only three. Three and she’s newer to the family. He doesn’t know how to take care of a child.

That’s when Aether appears- a sick grin plastered on his face as his blazing wings appear behind him. Minsong is quick to ask for his help- to plead that he do something to save the rest of the family. Aether just laughs in his face. He feeds on destruction- he loves to create and destroy families. He fae struck Minsong’s so-called parents just to have them watch over all these children… Just so he could have Minsong’s sweet mother set the bomb that destroyed everything he had ever known. Minsong was a wild card, though. Aether sent him away out of fear that his plan might be ruined.

He tells Minsong he should just kill what’s left, but Minsong refuses. Aether calls it his funeral. He flies off leaving trails of fire and Minsong is sobbing as he holds onto his sister. He promises to himself that he’ll make Aether pay for this. He swears that nothing will stop him from destroying the one who did all of this. But he can’t just destroy him, no. That would be uncharacteristic. Aether is the destruction fae, after all. No, Minsong needs something more.

He stays in the forest with his father and his brother- watching them slowly fade away. He doesn’t know what a coma is or how it works. He barely manages to catch food for Jaeun. She’s picky at first- cries more than he would like but when she’s hungry she’ll eat what he has. He’s always apologizing to her in a small voice- promising that one their father and brother wake up that they’ll go find a new home. She’s not very patient, but she willing to wait.

And they wait until both their father and brother are completely gone.

Minsong doesn’t want to believe it. He doesn’t understand why they died. When he found that his father’s heart had stopped he only cursed the world around him. When his brother went next, he couldn’t even bring himself to speak. He picked Jaeun up and began to wander- heading in any direction. He hopes that eventually he’ll find other humans. He hopes that he’ll find a way to take care of Jaeun.

He manages to find a small town eventually. They’re not kind to what appears to be a 21-year-old street rat and his pale, weak sister. He scrounges for food- often steals when it’s necessary. The town isn’t inviting but it provides well enough. A year or two passes- slow and painful. Jaeun is often sick but Minsong is good at getting her treated. He’s been training his magic- learning to summon chains from his body in order to manipulate his surroundings. His body has grown tougher. He can threaten the human doctors with ease.

But it does eventually come back to bite him. Police approach him in a dirty alley- holding Jaeun close for warmth. They tell him that he’s under arrest, but not for what he would assume. They tell him that Jaeun was kidnapped, they think he did it. His eyes go wide. He doesn’t understand. Jaeun is his sister, his family. No one can take her away. But they try. They try to rip her from his hands and he holds only tighter. They only stop when the alley is covered in red. Jaeun is screaming, crying, and Minsong is doing everything he can to calm her. At this point, he’s no longer just able to threaten. The dead cops only prove it.

He now realizes it’s not safe for them here, not in Korea. It isn’t easy to pull Jaeun that far on foot, but they take to traveling. Years pass- Jaeun getting older and Minsong staying… 21. But Jaeun doesn’t think it’s odd. She doesn’t think anything of it. Minsong is just her brother and they are a family. He takes care of her in every way he knows no matter how hard times often become. Japan becomes a safe haven for a while. Minsong manages to find something he’s good at. People are willing to pay the fae to kill. He’s not adverse to it, so long as it means he can buy a small home for himself and Jaeun. He starts taking up jobs to kill anyone, so long as the pay is high enough.

It’s here that he catches wind of an oddity- something familiar. A large family was recently killed in a surprise bombing. Minsong does what he can, investigates. He finds a few people that he dubs useful and finds himself oddly quick to fae strike them. At first, perhaps, he’s guilty for it. He feels that he’s no better that Aether, but the moment he actually finds the destruction fae, he finds that he doesn’t care anymore.

A metal worker, a genius, and a chef are the ones he pulls into his plan. Each other them adore him because they have no other choice. He leaves them in his home, tells the metalworker to build him a cage in iron. There are no questions. Catching Aether isn’t easy. It takes far more effort than Minsong was prepared for, but his efforts pay off. He has him placed in the iron cage, has the genius set up some form of surveillance. It’s primitive, some of the very first, but it works well enough. The chef’s job is simply, he cooks for Junae and, occasionally, Aether.

Minsong is pleased watching the destruction fae rot away from a black and white screen no matter the difficulty he has telling what’s happening. He’s pleased to watch Aether squirm against the iron and try to move himself in any way that doesn’t result in burns. None save him though. He’s caught in Minsong’s trap- imprisoned, and Minsong finds that this is somehow giving him more energy. He determines that maybe Domination isn’t his only specialty.

A few weeks pass with only a few slip ups. A few moments where Aether is screaming and Minsong has to ask the metalworker to shut him up. He doesn’t want to get too close to the iron cage. Even if it doesn’t hurt him from a distance, it’s painfully uncomfortable. So he only watches from the distance… Perhaps that was the biggest mistake.

The chef approaches him one day with a strangely nervous expression. At the time, Minsong thought nothing of it. He assumed it was a simple chat. If anything, he thought he would need to put more magic into the man to keep him obedient… But that isn’t what happened.

Iron dust is horribly painful. Finding it in his eyes left Minsong suddenly unable to see anything in the world around him, yet his reaction was immediate. Apparently when Aether managed to fae strike the chef, he had given him a three part plan. Part one was to throw iron dust into Minsong’s eyes. Part two was to stab him with an iron dagger.

But chains made it through his chest before he even got to part two.

Minsong was furious, blinded suddenly and found himself cursing the world around him. Sweet Jaeun approached him to ask if he was alright- saw his bleeding eyes. She asked him if he could see, if he would be okay. He told her that he was fine. That he could see just fine. There was no reason to worry her. Jaeun didn’t deserve to worry. She was too perfect to worry.

Minsong quickly got rid of the metalworker and the genius- locking them away so they wouldn’t come back to him. He left Aether in the cage- listened as he begged and pleaded until he finally went completely silent. It took three months for him to fully die. Minsong made sure that there was nothing left. He found that he was correct. Despite his blind eyes, he could feel that the body was… well, gone. And he could hear the Aether never left. The fae had burnt out- turned to ash… And Minsong was suddenly…

So empty.

Killing Aether was the only purpose he had given himself, and without it there was nothing but Jaeun. So he threw his time into her completely. He taught her everything he could while he continued to provide. Over time they had to move once more because people began to ask too many questions about Minsong’s lifestyle. They began to realize he was an assassin… He decided to do one last job before he left, though.

It turned out to be a job to kill another fae, and somehow it gave Minsong a rush. He felt less empty, and that was how he made a terrible decision. He began to market himself more as a hunter than an assassin. Killing supernaturals was… Easy enough, after all.

They moved back to Korea when Jaeun was 15. Minsong felt she deserved to see her home country again. Things were not easy- getting back with two illegal people, by all technicality. Minsong managed, though. Got a small apartment for them both and once again started up hunting. He managed to get his name spread around quickly enough. If you wanted a supernatural dead, he was someone you could always rely on… Assuming you don’t mind the somewhat… Illegal nature of how he works in the first place.

Jaeun grew fast, in ways he never could understand, but he did everything he could to hide the terrible parts of himself from her. To her, he was always smiling and always willing to do whatever it took. When she would ask him if she looked good in a dress or if he liked the way something she drew looked, he would always smile and tell her it was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. Because even though he could see nothing but darkness, he made an image in his mind of his little sister. To him, there truly was nothing better in this world than her. She was his everything. It was like this for two years.

Jaeun was growing well, and then… suddenly things halted. She was sick- terribly sick. Minsong did his best to treat her on his own but despite everything still had no grasp on human illnesses. Eventually he had no choice but to take her to a hospital, where the told him the bad news. He didn’t understand most of it- the oddities of the words. All he knew was that they reported her as a missing child- that they recognized her as the kidnapped one. They called her terminally ill. They said he was under arrest.

And he ran. He had no choice but to run. Even if he could stay, even if he weren’t going to be taken away and killed by these humans he couldn’t bare to watch his precious sister rot away as he had watched his father and his brother do all those years ago. He couldn’t stand the thought of losing her. He wouldn’t believe that this happened. So he shut himself off. He made himself nothing but angry. He couldn’t be sad again- never again.

So Minsong disappeared.

Years have passed- time has advanced all around him. Technology’s spread has left him baffled and he often realizes he is but an old man lost in child’s world. His understanding of humans might have increased some, but he’s still left in the dark most of the time. His eyes remain blind- his mind somewhat broken. Sunseong city has become his home, if only because it’s where he wandered.

He found a place with the Lord, though perhaps not a place he enjoyed. He was, after all, never next to the Lord or above him. He was always under a heavy boot- eyes stinging his skin as he was given the next order. The pay was not as well as it should have been, yet he was always ordered to capture other supernaturals and drag them in. He was never allowed to keep them- the enjoys the spoils of his own work. The Lord would rip them away from him with barely any praise and Minsong was left grimacing and growling. He obeyed though, obeyed despite the way his body would often begin to feel sluggish. Obeyed when his human form began to be affected by it- showing as thinner and thinner. He could only feed on capturing those The Lord wished to keep, but he knew he couldn’t run.

It was either that he worked for The Lord or he would have found himself dead- disappearing just as he had watched Aether do. His fear of his own disappearance managed to give him strength through The Lord’s reign. It kept him going when there were pains running through him from fight after fight- from The Lord pushing him down and punishing him when things didn’t go exactly as he pleased. Minsong grew only stronger spite for the supernaturals around him- often feeling as though they didn’t deserve the lives they had. Perhaps he had just grown cold to the existence of everything, but during those times he held absolutely no emotion toward those around him- wore only a blindfold and a blank expression while he dragged in those who The Lord wished to take the magic from. He never cared if they kicked, screamed, begged… He had no choice but to follow orders or end up just as they had.

The Lord’s death was a blessing and a curse, but it changed that expression of his into a constant smirk. Minsong’s reputation only grew in his time working for the Lord. Many eyes would turn to him when he wore the correct gear. A Fae in a blindfold who kills or captures supernaturals may sound like a rumor, but it spread well enough to hinder him. The fame had it’s perks- people hiring him just because they knew who he was, supernaturals avoiding him in the middle of assassinations, but… There were other issues with it. Names thrown in the street- people looking out for him- warning against him. It was never particularly… Easy. But hunting… is what he does. Hunting is a necessary if he wants to live- if he wants to feed. And his magic is painfully low.

So he still hunts- though now he doesn’t always kill. He’s grown painfully lonely, started collecting pets… Some of them are dogs- precious creatures that treat him so much better than any human. He opened a cafe a few years ago, despite The Lord’s complaints, just to show them off- to let some humans come to love them as well… But these aren’t his only pets. He speaks to humans- tricks them with kind words. Many people rely on him- say they would die without him. He thinks it’s fascinating. He doesn’t fae strike them, not anymore. That’s not as fun. Too easy and he doesn’t want to be like Aether…

So instead… he’s simply pleased manipulating without magic.. He’s made a small goal for himself that he would love to collect a few more exotic pets, though. If he could find a way to manipulate supernatural into needing him too- if he could control them… Maybe that would fill the void left in his heart.

CHARACTERIZATION:

Minsong is very bad at expressing any sort of emotion. He seems to mostly be feeling some sort of boiling anger, though it’s never expressed outwardly (or at least not easily). He’s usually caught with a small smirk- eyes holding some sort of arrogance that is somewhat unnerving. He’s always looking directly through people thanks to his blindness, and this makes him further hard to read. He likes to keep it that way- prefers not to deal with thinking to hard about his emotions. Normal situations say that Minsong will feel frustrated, but will be smirking despite that. He’s been known to go into all out rages and in the past he’s broken down into tears… But it has been a decade since anyone has heard him really laugh.

He isn’t good at expressing any form of affection. It’s rare in the first place that Minsong will start to feel attached to someone, but even rarer that he can tell them in any way. The closest thing to affection Minsong knows how to show is through physical affection. He gives out hugs and kisses as just simple ways of showing appreciation. He thinks nothing of them, and finds it somewhat amusing when humans seem to panic at being kissed on the cheek or lips. Yelling at him about this is ineffective, and he really doesn’t care to have it happen.

Another odd thing about Minsong is that he gets offended when people break his image of them. Since he’s gone blind, Minsong has started making mental images of people. These certainly don’t always make sense, but Minsong treasures them deeply. When told that they are incorrect, Minsong will often get offended, stating that he personally made them for the person, so they have to be correct.

Also on this note, Minsong refuses to show anyone he is blind- despite this being somewhat obvious from his cane and scarred eyes. If asked if he’s blind, Minsong will always claim that he can see perfectly. If anyone tries to test this fact in any means, Minsong will blatantly guess the answers to questions. If he’s told he’s wrong, he’ll just continue to claim that he is, indeed, not wrong, all while smirking and seeming extremely confident.

Minsong is sometimes difficult to go against thanks to a combination of his stubbornness and arrogance. On top of this, Minsong has few qualms with forcing people to do as he says. He is quick to push someone around or manipulate them with sweet words or deals. He sees no problem with manipulating those around him and even occasionally pushing them down. Usually he is not one to physically harm anyone, but in certain situations Minsong is capable of flying completely off the handle. It is recommended not to be around him when he does.

Minsong’s morality doesn’t match up well with the generic human kind. He has a very strict set of rules that he follows, but they are not as normal as those the most people hear. At times these rules will change, but they at least keep Minsong in some sort of predictable path once they are figured out. The easiest of these rules Minsong keeps to is that Revenge for something Wrong is always fair. The questions is what is deemed and revenge and what, exactly, is wrong?

SPECIALTIES:

Chain Manipulation: Rank 3 (80pts) Minsong has the ability to generate and manipulate chains from his body. These chains are naturally more durable than normal chains, making them nearly unbreakable. They are manipulated in such a way that they are capable of movement through thin air, almost as though being controlled telekinetically. They seem to be almost appendages of Minsong’s true form, and, as such, if injured will harm Minsong as well. While slightly less dexterous than Minsong’s hands, these chains are capable of performing some tasks, though they are certainly not capable of lifting small objects. He is incapable of manipulating any chains not fully attached to his body.

Chain Generation: Minsong can generate chains from his body, but is limited as to the number and length he can create. Minsong can only create up to 50 chains with a total length of 400 ft. This means Misong may choose to make one 400ft long chain or up to 50 8ft long chains. Anything in between is also fair, but these are the limits on length and number of chains.

Chain Shaping: Minsong has the ability to change the size and shape of his chain links to a certain extent. The default are heavy duty rounded links that each measure approximately six inches long. He can make these more rounded, larger, smaller, etc, with some effort. He is also capable of changing the end link (The end away from him, not attached to him) into a variety of shapes, including but not necessarily limited to: a flail, a spearhead, a heavy ball, a cuff (of varying sizes), a sharpened link, and a scythe blade. He appears to only be able to create certain amount of these that are much smaller than the number of chains he can create (I.E he can only make 2 scythe blades or up to 5 cuffs.)

Enhanced Strength: Specifically only within in the chains, Minsong has enhanced strength. Minsong can easily lift most humans with just one chain, though he cannot lift more than 1000lbs (with all 50 chains he could possibly use). This is mostly used in the form of binding, gripping and crushing , where Minsong can wrap his chains around someone to prevent them from moving or escaping. His chains also possess the strength necessary to pierce flesh when equipped with the proper ending link. Combining multiple chains together does increase their strength.

Sense of Touch: Minsong has a somewhat numbed sense of touch through his chains. Generally, he is using them to feel around his surroundings so that he doesn’t need a cane.

Enhance Durability: Rank 1 (20pts) Minsong is naturally more durable than a normal person. It takes a good bit more effort to pierce his skin (with anything aside from iron), and as such he is not prone to smaller injuries. He can also survive hard hits and longer falls, though long enough falls will still easily kill him depending on the height. He can survive a car hitting him at 30mph with only small scratches, but when it hits 45mph (The point where a normal human would be guaranteed death) he will definitely be injured and stands a chance of death. This applies to all forces, but does not help him with any form of agility, and as such he is still as easy to knock over or throw around as any normal human might be,

Innate Abilities: Minor Healing: Minsong is capable of healing minor wounds on himself with some effort. Healing wounds that are of a particularly large size or severity is far more effort. For example: a cut made with a normal blade would be easier than healing one made with a serrated blade.

Greater Illusions: Minsong, like all fae, is capable of making himself appear human, though there are often flaws in this illusion. He is also capable of slightly altering this illusion to fit with his image of himself, though this doesn’t reach outside of usually changing the color of something or, in some cases, the style of his hair. His greater illusions are also capable of hiding his chains, but not when they are being used aggressively. Generally, this means he can only hide them when using them to feel his surroundings or perform minor tasks.

Magic Sensing: Minsong is capable of sensing other magical beings, though he can never tell the specific classifications of them. For example, he might know someone is a were, but not a werewolf or werehyena. The same goes for telling what type of fae he is looking at, what sorts of magic a witch might know, what beast’s blood runs in a beast-blooded veins, etc.

[dippedanddripped]

“Feel that material!” Neal Heard, football shirt collector, author, Instagrammer and all-round fanatic, is proffering a 1981 Juventus home shirt – one of his personal favourites. It is a timeless bit of kit that demonstrates the Italian eye for detail that makes Serie A the spiritual home of classic strips, but also encapsulates the humble football shirt’s dramatic evolution.

The rough-hewn collar and stitched-on panels lend an old-school feel but innovation is woven in. The thin, elasticated cotton was designed with player performance in mind. The player number is rendered in vinyl, with the Ariston sponsor patch an optional extra – supporters could choose whether to stitch it on or leave the black and white stripes unspoiled. Even for a club that remains fashion-forward, it is a cut above.

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The Juventus shirt is one of a handful that Heard is whittling down for his ‘Iconic Eleven’ – the crème de la crème of vintage kits that will take pride of place at his exhibition, The Art of the Football Shirt. Opening in London on Wednesday, it celebrates the elevation of shirt design to an art form, and features a vast array of obscure outfits from Newport County to Eintracht Braunschweig.

That said, whether you are what Heard calls “an old-school football head” or, like him, you love the kits as much as the game, you can probably guess the items on this exclusive rail, from Brazil 1970 to Italy 1982.

There are enough classics here to make the most casual of kit nerds go weak at the knees – but one thing does unite the revered retro designs. They almost all mark the peak of a side’s powers, with some, like Hummel’s 1986 ‘Danish Dynamite’ shirt, representing the team more completely than any single player, goal or game.

“If you or I, or the people walking past, looked at these shirts,” Heard says, gesturing to the bustling Brick Lane crowd outside, “we’d pick out the same memories. It’s something that fuses us together, like a universal language.”

Before Admiral, then a Leicester underwear manufacturer, signed a £7,000 supplier deal with Leeds United in 1973, shirts had served little purpose other than to tell teams apart. The sale of replica kits was followed by the introduction of shirt sponsorship, as colour TV transformed the game for armchair fans. Even so, football kits remained far from fashionable – but Heard explains that in the late 1980s the bold, block patterns of Holland and West Germany, showcased at Euro ‘88 and Italia ‘90, raised the design stakes.

“They kickstarted the streetwear approach, fashion in football shirts,” he says. “For the new generation they don’t necessarily wear a shirt because it’s their team.” Both shirts caused a stir at the time, as the two nations moved away from simplistic, timeworn outfits. “The Beckenbauer era design, plain white with the black collar, is an amazing shirt,” Heard says. “But the late-80s one lit a fire. These shirts were fashion statements.”

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While the exhibition and accompanying book largely pay homage to the best efforts from the early 80s to the mid-90s, kits from all eras and continents make the cut. One corner of the gallery hails shirts given a certain cachet by musicians – from New Order to Oasis via Bob Marley.

Elsewhere designs with political overtones remind us that some shirts represent far more than club colours. There are kits adorned with LGBT rainbow symbols and shirts pledging support to left-wing sides St Pauli and Corinthians – the latter even promotes a democratic cause spurred on by Socrates himself.

From the Hull City tiger print shirts to Fiorentina’s unfortunate mid-90s away shirt, almost every curious kit design you can recall is on display here. Are there any shirts that have proved impossible to track down? “Levi’s made a shirt for Mexico in 1978,” Heard mutters ruefully. “But I can’t even find one to get a photograph.” As for the mint green away version of West Germany’s iconic kit, there is only one he has ever found – in a fellow enthusiast’s collection in Thailand.

In the modern era the replica kit business has splintered in several different directions. Close to 60 brand new shirts will be released by Premier League clubs this summer, with Manchester United selling almost three million globally last year alone – more than enough to pay for Paul Pogba. Yet with quantity growing exponentially, it appears quality may have suffered, with a notable lack of new kits among this arthouse collection.

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For Heard it is more a case of football fashion slowly coming back around to its heyday: “We’ve had 15 years of simple, plain designs and now I think it’s time to go back the other way,” he says, although after a glance at some of the more garish exhibits, he adds, “You don’t have to go crazy.”

Heard has little time for modern recreations of retro shirts, as seen everywhere from Huddersfield to Rome this year. “People loved the original shirts because they were cutting edge, so make something new that’s cutting edge instead.”

With supporters turned off by template designs, high turnover and higher price tags, the vintage market has experienced a boom. Classic Football Shirts, a company started by two Manchester students in 2006, now sells 300,000 vintage kits a year. More than half of those sales are European club shirts – backing the notion that modern fans may buy based on style rather than sentiment.

This modern counter-culture, fuelled by an internet age Heard admits has made collecting easier – “before then Boca Juniors kits never left Argentina” – even extends to a snazzy range of mock shirts created by fashion labels. It marks the next step in an extraordinary evolution and it is hard not to wonder what a West Ham fan in the 1980s would have made of all this if stumbling on it on their way to Upton Park.

The game has most definitely changed. Football kits old and new are big business, high fashion and bona fide gallery pieces. They can be politically charged, feature cutting edge design and stand as cultural reference points every fan can relate to. Whichever one you wear, one thing is for sure: it is more than just a football shirt.