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fountainpenguin · 3 months

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what might your version of sparky be like

I hate admitting this, but I think the most terrible out-of-context part of my worldbuilding is that these two-

-are cousins and have been since I started Origin of the Pixies in 2016. They share their grandmother, Corinna Posy, from the days when Sparky was still a proper Fairy and went by the name Sparkle Doubletake (later Sparky Doublecross).

Sparkle's not on the Whimsifinado family tree (Deliberately excluded), but he mentions Corinna in Chapter 4 ("School's Out - Not Much of a Musical") and she's on H.P.'s family tree. Sparkle and H.P. both have orange scent in their pheromones.

Since Ambrosine was cut from the family after H.P. was born and Solara was an absent mother (for... reasons), H.P. isn't familiar with Solara's side of the family and didn't recognize Sparkle as a relative when he introduced himself. But, it's always been there in my canon!

H.P. always found Sparkle super annoying because he'd constantly get drunk and break rules, like smuggling a cù sith (fairy dog) into the dorm, notwithstanding that Fairy culture hates them because they steal souls.

In Origin of the Pixies, a golden cù sith named Leonard lived with H.P. and his housemates in Chapter 6, "A Grain of Truth" (in line with Sparky's appearance in the Snow White story in Season 9's "Fairly Odd Fairy Tales"). Sparky envied Leonard's life as a fairy dog and killed a man specifically so Leonard would grab the opportunity to steal his body (which fairy dogs can only do in special situations). So, technically, Leonard is now H.P.'s cousin and Sparky isn't any longer.

Here's my Sparky design from an old height chart (October 2016) with some other fellas:

I like this design because his wings are very subtle on his back, playing into the vibe of disguising himself as an average dog.

In our current Origin timeline, Sparky's in the dog body and has supposedly been living with Queen Vyanda all this time (Chapter 32, "Almost"). He doesn't fight in the War of the Angels because of this, although coin sìth and their soul-stealing ability definitely caused some chaos that we'll see later.

H.P. actually hates him specifically for the fact that his reward for a string of thefts, at minimum 1 murder, and a habit of chronic drunkenness was living in luxury with a princess for thousands of years and he even got out of the war. Also, I think H.P. blames him for ruining his life (Inviting him to a party when he was a teen that led to a huge fight when his dad found out) and it's hilarious to me because he looks like a loon for hating on a dog.

To be fair, H.P. despised him before he was a dog because they were roommates and he drove H.P. mad, but... it's funny.

[Scene snippets & more info under the cut, covering bits of Sparky, H.P., and Rice (fairy dog OC from Origin of the Pixies)]

H.P.'s description of Sparkle in Origin Chapter 4:

Sparkle was a hard worker in school who knew his stuff. I found myself grudgingly admitting to myself that while he came off as annoying at the best of times, by no stretch of the imagination could he be described as uneducated. He was dumb and emotionally unstable, but well-traveled, and it made him clever. He could drive anything with pedals, and while he rubbed many an animal and Fairy the wrong way, his positive attitude never allowed him to back down from the challenge of friendship. And not even the grouchiest goblin among us could claim that Sparkle Doubletake, who never took the last slice of cherry pie and spent every Wednesday night baking tarts for the whole floor to taste come morning, was unkind. Our third dinner in the Hole, for example, when he saw my hesitation upon finding he and Polly sitting beside another gyne, he didn't even have to be asked to move. He recognized his error and jumped up to help me find another seat, even while I protested that I didn't require his assistance. Now, if he would only do something about those rotting square teeth. That was territory of the Tooth Fairies alone, unfortunately, or I would have shelled out the cash to fix them up myself. Let me make myself clear: I did not like Sparkle. He won himself a fair amount of detentions within our first week alone, he had his wand suspended more than once during my time at the Academy, he constantly toed the line around my section of our room, he frequently came onto me when sugarloaded, and he had no real respect for the rules or Da Rules at all. No. I never learned to like Sparkle. I simply said that he performed well concerning his schoolwork, and I respected him for his ability to get his act together in time for class when he spent his nights drunk or chasing damsels until three in the morning. He and I got on perfectly fine so long as we didn't have to be anywhere near one another.

The golden dog body has always been described as undersized to keep in line with him being a puppy in the Season 9 episode "Let Sleeper Dogs Lie." I kept the canon about Sparky living with Crocker for a bit, though I don't consider the way Crocker lost Cosmo and Wanda in that episode canon since it conflicts with the much better-known episode "Secret Origins of Denzel Crocker" from Season 3.

I don't have much to say about my portrayal of Sparky because for the most part, I think the personality I gave him connects with canon. I especially like this one scene in Chapter 4 where he summoned a battering ram with a wave of magic, which is a nod to his behavior in Season 9 where he summons vehicles like monster trucks in broad daylight and loves to drive.

My face and chest slammed into the door. I bounced back and rolled heels over head. Sparkle cringed, then clucked his tongue as he watched me climb to my feet and stumble in a circle. "Gee Fergus, you're gonna want like a battering ram drill chariot or something. Fortunately, I'm your guy." With a swirl of his wand, he poofed up a buggy with a hefty spike affixed to the front, and positioned himself in the high chair… with me as his draft pegasus.

One thing I'd like to say is that I dislike Sparky's canon portrayal, as he tends to use magic in front of people without facing consequences and it doesn't vibe well with the show's established rules about lying low. I also feel he doesn't connect with Cosmo and Wanda (compared to Poof or Chloe, who engage with them directly). Sparky tends to have separate adventures and only really talks to Timmy, so he doesn't feel like he adds to the dynamic.

I don't often write content for the humans (as I do more cloudland worldbuilding and backstory pieces), but those are things I like to focus on with my Sparky portrayal: he tends to be aloof, struggles to connect with his friends (who learn bits and pieces of his wild activities, but never get the full story), and he always has random storylines going on in his background.

If I were to improve him (in my eyes), I'd like to make the dynamic feel more natural by adding to his relationship with Cosmo and Wanda- In other words, giving him more interactive dialogue with the other characters so he feels he fits in the scene. I do try to play him more as a dog, emphasizing the magical need to hide his origins compared to his canon self, who floats and cooks food in front of humans. His personality is very rebellious and wacky. He's a person confined to a dog's body (by choice, but confined nonetheless), so his behavior's not always dog-like. He has... issues and drama in his past.

There's actually a lot of weird depth to my Sparky portrayal (in the sense of "He's been around for ages and seen a lot of traumatizing things"), but in true Sparky fashion, he's off doing questionable things and you never get his whole story. Which, y'know... as much as I'm not a Sparky fan, I'm glad I found a place for him in my 'fics, even if it's bizarre.

He still has extreme behavior- I don't intend to take that from him, but I prefer it kept behind closed doors like the other Fairy characters keep theirs (though not all magic species do, with Norm being a good example of a blatant magic user). Timmy appreciates him dearly and Sparky stays with him even after Cosmo, Wanda, and Poof leave; he just has to go silent or be removed. Theoretically... He is a rebel.

In the 130 Prompt "Bones," Sparky attended Doidle's funeral; Mark even refers to him as Sparky Stealer of Souls. In the 130 Prompt "Repeat," Sparky's moved to Cosmo and Wanda's place in Fairy World and is growing gray on his muzzle. He hung out in the garden while Cosmo was weeding plants.

One of my favorite moments from the canon is Timmy freeing Sparky from Megan Bacon's net in "The Past and the Furious." Instead of attacking Megan, Sparky immediately poofs away and Timmy just stands there before saying "Ladies and gentlemen, my loyal dog, Sparky" in utter disappointment. It gets me every time.

On a side note, I introduced the chihuahua cù sith Rice to Origin of the Pixies for a few reasons- the in-universe reasoning being of course that H.P. keeps him around so he'll be more likely to hesitate in killing Longwood since doing so would allow Rice to steal his soul (as we saw when H.P. adopted him in Chapter 28, "Cotton Candy Oatmeal").

Rice has an upcoming purpose as well that's spoilers, but I have to say... I get why introducing a pet to an existing cast (especially a talking pet) can suddenly make it more difficult to write fluid content. I have to justify his existence by including him, but he's also limited in what he can do because Rice is a dog doing dog things and he doesn't have hands or, like... a job. He's not often relevant and he drains my energy fast because he's always kinda following H.P. around, but it doesn't make sense to separate them when his whole purpose is to follow him, so... not a character type I'll repeat.

Funnily enough, in another project of mine, I have an OC with an anthro service dog and I ran into the same issue of "I've now stopped my main character from committing crimes, flirting with his wife, and getting into trouble because he's followed all the time. This is infuriating."

I enjoy watching the H.P. & Rice friendship grow (from "purposely adopting the dog with the worst personality to prevent me from killing my son") to them having serious conversations about H.P. sending Keefe and Springs to live with Reddinski, and from there to them genuinely caring about each other and valuing each other's opinions. Rice & H.P. relationship post-Iris's rejection in "Off," my beloved...

"You know," I said to Rice that night, "it would have been nice if she said yes. I miss falling asleep with someone next to me who didn't kick and squirm and maybe wet the bed. I miss waking up and finding someone else there." "What about me?" he asked, sounding legitimately offended. "I sleep with you, like, every night, strudel. And I've only wet once." I rolled over and looked at him, squinting without my glasses. "You're a cù sith." "Oh." He lifted his paw and looked at it. "Yeah. I forget sometimes." Rice lay his head back on my shoulder, nuzzling his cheek into my skin. He yawned. We were quiet for a while. Then I asked, "Did you tell your wife you planned to go cù sith? Or did it just happen?" "… Well, we weren't sharing the bed anymore. I was already used to being in the doghouse when I took this body." Then he said, "I liked Iris," which I almost want to kill him for looking back on it now. "Me too," I said, nestling into my pillow. "I just wish I knew how to make friends." Until now, the other party had always done it for me. "I wish… things stopped falling apart. China. The Eros Nest. My parenting classes. Anti-Bryndin lying about the Purple Robe. Kris Kringle laying me off. The stillborn. Now Iris… Nothing seems to go right anymore. The cakes are working out, but that's just business. Friends, damsels, or drones, I can't get anyone to like me. The Anti-Fairies tell me I have this invisible 'karmic weave' that they alone can see, and apparently I'm going to be someone important and influential someday. But what's the point in being influential if no one cares about me?" "I care," Rice said softly. He placed his chin on my shoulder. "Look… You're my best friend, cinnamon. I'm a lot happier now than I was when you first took me home." I stared at the wall, curling my fingers in the bedsheets. "Sometimes… I don't think anyone would care if I went back to the Eros Nest. I could spend the rest of my life in there. I'm forgettable. No one would visit me." "I care, sugarball." "You're a pet. You don't count." Rice closed his eyes. "Pals before gals, fudge bar. At least we have each other." "Friends before it ends," I mumbled, and drifted into sleep.

I do actually enjoy Rice. I just hate that it takes a crowbar to pry him out of any scene <3

Hands-down my favorite part of Rice thus far is when H.P. is having emotional moments in his bedroom (like his conversation with Rupert at the end of Chapter 36, "Senseless"), and Rice is just there squeaking his rubber steak toy. His role in the story isn't my favorite, but oh if he isn't my annoying little guy (affectionate-derogatory).

Also, shout-out to H.P. throwing his newborn son across the rooftops in Chapter 30 ("What Karma Is") while Rice watched in horror and couldn't do anything about it:

"Oh, shoot. You're right. If I jump, how's he going to get across? He can't fly." I looked at Springs. I looked at the gap between us and the next building. I looked at Springs again. Then I picked him up and lifted him above my head. "Never mind. Problem solved. Time this little guy lived up to his name." Rice wrapped his paws around my arm. "Whoa, hold on, hold on! What the frosted strawberries? Are you going to peppermint cocoa throw him?" I looked at him again, too, but didn't lower Springs back to the ground. "Why not? It's not against the law. It's actually the better of two options. And nymphs bounce, right? This is literally the point of elastic exoskeletons." "Well… Uh…" "He's not your pixie," I pointed out, squeezing the squirming nymph with my fingertips. "He's mine. I don't have a problem with it. I don't see why anyone else should. Okay. Here we go, Springs. Keep your chin up." Calculating distance comes naturally to a pixie, of course, and Springs landed exactly where I was aiming. On his rebound, he skipped halfway across the roof before crashing against some metal art sculpture thing and bouncing back. I leapt after him, pushing forward with my wings. Even if they lost momentum when I flew too high, at least steering was still an option. I stretched forward with my arms, grasped the new building's rail, and flipped over to my feet. Or tried to. I tipped too far and crashed on my back with a solid wumph. "Oof… Whoa. Okay. I just jumped a roof as if I could fly. That's the most dazzled thing I have ever done in my life." Rice slunk from his tote, stumbling from side to side. "Granola, that was a rough spin for an old boy…"

Best use of a service dog character: reminding us why the protagonist needs help.

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melchinafan · 1 year

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WAIT A SECOND I'm going through the Nursery in Secret World Legends again, and (spoilers for end-of-Transylvania story):

~~~

Reading this part of a lore entry (and remembering/rereading the related research) got my brain spiraling off on Yu-Gi-Oh thoughts:

CLICK-CLACK. A doctor types: "Similarly, we've found that inhabiting the child subject with an incorporeal entity allows the hemispheres of their brains to become separate processing units."

One of the experiments they were doing was deliberately possessing the kids with spirits/ghosts, and observing that—due to the plasticity of a child's developing brain—it allowed for the hemispheres to work individually: "...[able] to concentrate on separate subjects, and to solve multiple problems, simultaneously..." (with severe side effects, though the specifics are not listed)

Now, because I've been working on stitching YGO into the setting, this led to the thought...WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR YUGI AND RYOU

Granted, both of their spirits also reside within their respective Items, so that probably takes a HUGE load off the relative necessary "processing power" from their brains. So their side effects would've been mild to moderate, instead of severe. Plus, Yugi was older than the eldest in the Nursery when he solved the Puzzle. (He was ~16, the eldest mentioned was 13, and there's a note that it works for kids "to a much higher degree than inhabited adults.")

But Ryou was younger when he got the Ring (~10, at my estimation), thus within the range they were testing. So, between the two of them, it's more likely that he might have suffered some long-term side effects. Further evidenced by how Ryou was able to physically control his hand and click-clack at his own computer without Bakura noticing, during the Monster World TTRPG. (Granted, this was due to a weakening of Bakura based on his avatar in the game, but still.) With Yugi and Yami (as I recall), they either take turns, or work in tandem on the same thing. They can keep secrets from each other, but they don't go as far as controlling separate parts of their shared body simultaneously.

But then, maybe Yugi was also affected by the unlisted side effects, despite being a bit older. We know for sure he had (has?) two soul rooms—at least symbolically, if not a literal hemisphere split. A shame we never got to see Ryou's room. I imagine it looks much like his rad tabletop setups. Possibly even with a castle (or other foreboding structure) where Bakura nestled, when he wasn't fully in the Ring. Though, he's generally more subtle/sneaky when he's not going full Zorc...OH, MAYBE HE'S THE UNDERSIDE OF THE TABLE, WITH A DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENT! AND FLIPS IT WHEN HE TAKES OVER (LIKE WE SAW WITH THE FOREST AREA), SINCE HE CAN FULLY SUPPRESS RYOU, OOOOOOH I LOVE THAT IDEA

(Also swinging back around to the Nursery itself, some crossover AU idea shenanigans...Yugi and Ryou as (two of) the kids they did the ghosty experiments on. Bakura is definitely responsible for the doll room. The rest of the carnage likely involved Penalty Games. And...yanno, the facility itself is nearly a mirror of Yugi's soul rooms, with the play area very similar to Yugi's room, and the horrifying [everything else] sort of being like Yami's, if a bit less labyrinthine. Just a WHOLE BUNCH of horrifying experimentation rooms, instead. But also OH NO THERE ARE ACTUALLY TWO INHABITED CHILDREN IN THAT ROOM IN-GAME, I THOUGHT THERE WAS ONLY ONE? INSTEAD I GOT "HERE'S BOTH THE KIDS, HAVE FUN WITH VALIDATION OF THIS NIGHTMARE SCENARIO")

#swl #secret world legends #ygo #yu-gi-oh #ryou bakura #yami bakura #yugi mutou #yami yugi #crossover theorizing #I know Scriv has referenced Hellsing on purpose in the game #but I don't know if he's familiar enough with YGO for this to be deliberate #though there's some references in Egypt that I swear someone else did on purpose #I've got a whole crossover dissertation I've been working on #it'll be presentable one day #...what if I edit a wee Ryou into a screenshot of the doll room #sharp shadows and everything #I struggled so much to finish this mission because I was just standing around THINKING TOO MUCH ABOUT STUFF

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