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illumwriting · 2 years

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live hard, die young (revised)

a little thing that got way out of hand. based on sparxflame’s lovely responses. huge warnings for character death, blood, violence. heavy references to shatsome. 2,850 words.

They dump a twitching and barely conscious Strife on Kirin’s back doorstep, wrapped in a ragged blanket and peel out of the alley in Smith’s car of the month, faces drawn. “Guys, just let them take me-” Smith starts, and Trott snarls no so fast Smith doesn’t try to argue.

Sips greets them at the door, his smile wide as ever and the smell of half burnt pizza coming from the kitchen. His face falls as he sees Smith’s pale face, and the terror flitting behind Trott’s eyes.

“Ross?” Sips asks slowly as he lets them in and locks the door behind them, watches Ross’s stony form shake almost imperceptibly. Smith has fled to the upstairs and Sips can hear things being thrown, punctuated by gritted shouts of profanity. Trott meets Ross’s eyes and nods, and Ross runs up after Smith, the banging slowly fading.

“We need to go, Sips.” Trott’s voice is raw, and his hands are still stained from the mix of redstone and blood he’d tried to wipe off Strife’s face.

“Trotty-” Sips protests, but the deadness in Trott’s face makes Sips realize this is no game. “Am I gonna need anything?” Trott glances around their shared home, his face drawn. “Your warmest jacket. Any weapon. You have about 10 minutes.”

There’s another crash from overhead and a raw cry of anger, Sips can’t tell who. He just nods and starts digging in the front closet for anything that might fit him as his head spins with the possibilities of what might have happened. Smiffy not speaking, even Ross frightened. The boys had just gone out for a jaunt with Strife…

Oh, fuck.

Trott wrings his hands together and drags his skin slowly off the back of the couch, slinging it over his shoulders with a labored sigh. Ross and Smith thunder down the stairs, an angry light of self-hatred in Smith’s eyes and a pained resignation in Ross’s.

“I don’t know when they’ll start looking for us.” Trott says as they gather in the entryway, Ross handing a thick strip of leather to Sips who takes it with a questioning look. “As soon as they come, I’ll lead them to the water.”

Smith dips his head in a nod. His lips are pressed together thinly.

“But-” Ross starts to protest, and Trott stares him down, eyes full of sorrow and the thought of loss. “Protect Sips.” Trott mandates, struggling to keep his voice steady.

Smith utters a cry of frustrated anguish and rips open the door.

They’re still in Smith’s car when the horns sound, not even a full hour outside of the city yet. Sips knows what’s going on now, and hates the way he can see it eat at his court. “C’mon guys!” he says from the backseat where he sits with Ross. “We’ll make sunrise, I know it.”

No-one says anything back and Smith jams his foot down harder on the pedal as if it will make the car go past its limits.

“We’re sorry.” Ross murmurs in Sips’ ear as the car starts to sputter and they hear the pounding on the road that’s been following for at least the past mile now start to grow louder. “We were supposed to protect you-” Sips stops him, running a hand across the ridges on Ross’s neck.

Smith suddenly swerves off the road, banking the car harshly down the edge and onto the mud by the river, no care for the way the branches scratch it.

“I’m gonna miss you idiots.” Sips says when the car stops bouncing, and then Trott is yanking them both out of the backseat.

“We need to go, now.” Trott hisses. “Ross, you fly, far as you can ahead. The old shack, by the river. Stay there, they don’t know about it.”

Smith is dropping dark red boxes into the car, and Sips feels the sickness in his stomach well. The pounding is getting closer. Trott stands before Sips, head bowed in one last act of love and subservice to his king. “I’m sorry.” He says.

Sips kisses the top of his head. Feels the softness of his lovely servant's hair one more time. “Go.” He releases Trott, and thinks he sees tears past the hardened resolution in Trott’s face as the selkie takes off on foot towards the water and the pounding follows him.

“Come and get me, you bastards!” Trott screams, and Sips weakly smiles at the silhouetted middle fingers Trott holds high.

“Come on.” Smith whispers softly as soon as the murderous mob passes. “Get on my back, before the fuses burn out.”

“What?” Sips says, and Smith just huffs and reaches into Sips’ pocket and pulls out the leather strip, hanging it around his neck so the ends trail down is back and kneels on the ground, facing away from Sips.

“Grab it and hold the fuck on.” Smith urges him as Trott’s whooping fades out in the distance. Sips obeys, and suddenly Smith is shifting, wet and wild as he becomes a steed for their king.

“Woah.” Sips says, and the rest of his words are lost to the wind as Smith gallops into the tree line and away from the rocking explosion behind them.

————

“Fuck you.” Trott spits out the sand in his mouth onto the ground, mucky and stained with blood. They’d caught him with an aggravating ease thanks to modern weapons, shot at him with harpoons and arrows and double-barreled shotguns, hauled him out of the water and ripped his skin from him with searing magic. He’s without clothes now and bleeding from his side where the broken remains of a spear still stick out, on his knees in front of Kirin- Kirin, the fae lord of the whole city. His hunting party holds Trott’s pelt, ready to desecrate it.

“Burn it.” Kirin says, never taking his eyes off Trott. Trott doesn’t falter from his disrespectful manners, even though he knows what’s coming. “Where are they, selkie?”

“I hope you rot in the witch’s domain.” Trott flashes his teeth, bloodstained from ripping enemies to bits in the water before his face contorts into sharp pain as the fae light his skin on fire.

“Harsh words.” Kirin muses, gripping Trott’s chin. “And you sacrificed yourself for nothing.” Trott spits again in his agony, right into Kirin’s face even as he can feel himself burning alive from the inside out.

Kirin drops Trott back to the sand of the beach, wiping his face off with disgust and watches the selkie writhe until his seal skin is almost all burnt to ash before driving his sword through Trott’s heart to the fae’s cries of “No Mercy!”

———————

They hear the cheering float all the way down the river, clinging to each other in the ruins of a house where Smith first stole Ross away. They all feel it, like a hot iron to their souls. “Fuck!” Smith's voice cracks sharply as he sobs. His hair hangs wet in front of his face, his clothes rendered useless and waterlogged.

They’re not quite sure what to do then, as they hear the rhythmic pounding of the pack on the Hunt again, and Sips curls his fist in the hem of Ross’s shirt.

“Go.” Ross says quietly, and Smith and Sips stare at him as the gargoyle disentangles himself and stands. Smith opens to his mouth to protest, and Ross cuts him off. “Smith, go. Take Sips and get as far away as you can, don’t stop. You know you can’t carry us both on your back.”

“Come here.” Sips says gruffly, standing too and pulling Ross in towards him, hugging Ross tightly and breathing in the scent of fresh paved roads and dust and the hint of saltwater that came from Trott that still lingers on Ross’s clothes.

Smith presses the last of the explosives and a remote detonator into Ross’s hands and kisses him. “Thank you for stealing me.” Ross says, and then watches as Smith and Sips disappear into the night, sweeping over the few human tracks Sips leaves.

“Hey assholes!” Ross booms into the night when the two have gotten well away, and hears the pounding swerve to draw close to him.

————

Ross goes out in a blaze, like the church he was once bound to. Rigs the shack with explosives and gets as many as he can to come in, stabbing with his tail and shredding with his claws until the ratty couch where he and Smith had bound themselves to each other is surrounded by the downed corpses.

He tires all too soon, made of stone almost as old as Kirin and of borrowed fragments that were never truly meant to be a part of him. They jump him, pin him down and take delight in ripping the gems from his body that Honeydew had given him to repair himself with. He waits until he hears Kirin come up the stairs and then whaps his tail onto the button he’d kept hidden under the couch.

Kirin finds him in the rubble, burnt and charred fae around him, his right arm broken off into concrete dust and the rest of him trapped under rubble.

“You were my favorite.” Kirin says softly, kneeling beside Ross, who coughs ash from his mouth and looks weakly at Kirin with blue eyes that are fading to dull grey.

“Eat shit.” Ross grinds out, his voice raspy and he coughs again, trying to free himself from the smoldering beams on top of him. Kirins tsks at him, and holds a scrap of-

Oh stars above- Ross thinks-

fur in front of his face. “Trott decided to go the hard way out.”

Ross grits his teeth, exhales slowly even though he knows he doesn’t need to breathe at all. “The witch will use your bones for fertilizer.”

Kirin sighs and shake his head at the stubbornness. He cleanly puts his sword through Ross's heart, watching the gargoyle break apart into shards, leaving behind a pair of ripped jeans and shirt that burn quickly in the spreading fire of the shack’s remains. ———————————————-

They’re in a thick forest- it all looks the same to Sips as the trees whip past and he presses himself close to Smith’s mane to keep his face safe from the foliage they crash through.

He can feel Smith falter beneath as they draw out of range of the water, and he can hear the labored breaths as Smith’s form starts to fail him after so much exertion.

“Stop.” Sips whispers into Smith’s ear, and the horse pays no mind, running on. The ground is damp behind them, an easy trail to follow. There is no pounding, no shouting to be heard.

“Smiffy, stop, you’re gonna hurt yourself.” Sips begs again when he feels Smith stumble, hard, and finally Smith stops, and sips slides off his back, letting Smith turn back to human. He’s covered in sweat and his eyes are wild as he gasps for air.

“They got them, oh fuck- Ross is dead, mate-” Smith whimpers, holding his arm where he’d bound himself to Ross and Sips knows Smith isn’t lying with the creeping coldness he feels too.

“We gotta hide.” Sips says, his own voice shaky, and drags Smith after him into the brush, holding the trembling kelpie’s head in his lap.

The night is cold, and the hunters are relentless. It’s just after midnight- or as far as Sips can tell, when the pounding jolts him from his sleep and he shakes Smith awake with a hissed “Shhhh.” Smith sits up and rubs at his tear stained face, staring with wide eyes out into the dark at the lights drawing near.

They stay silent, curled up to each other, Sips drenched by the water and tears that haven't stopped dripping off of Smiffy. The pounding gets close, the wild whoops of creatures who have gone so long without a hunt like this and the roaring noise that sounds like Smith’s cars yet distinctly primeval. Sips shudders, and feels Smith tense against him.

It goes dead quiet, and the lights hold still. Smith bares his teeth at whatever lies outside the brush, a defiant shout growing in the back of his throat. Sips holds Smith’s arm tight and reins him back.

The brush atop of them parts, and Kirin looks down at them. He’s got blood smeared across his beard and he smells thickly of ash and fire. “Found you.” He says and Smith lunges from Sips’ hands, a broken cry rattling out of his throat as he goes straight for Kirin’s neck with a thin blade Sips had carried for him.

Sips stares, helpless and mortal as Smith and Kirin grapple, water spraying around them as Smith drives the knife into Kirin’s upper arm over and over and Kirin wraps his wide hand around Smith’s throat and squeezes until Smith is choking and can’t hold the knife anymore, driving the point of the blade one last time into Kirin’s arm and then trying to pry the fingers from around his throat as he’s shoved to his knees.

“Sips.” Kirin’s voice is commanding, and Sips stands up from the brush slowly, noting the circle that the hunting party has formed around them. “Come here.”

Sips stands his ground, hands shoved in his pockets and slouching. He blames his shaking on the cold air and his soaked jeans and sweatshirt. His cap was long gone to the forest, leaving him feeling exposed. “Let Smiffy breathe.” He drawls, tries to keep the fear out of his voice. He meets Smith’s eyes and Smiffy looks as terrified and angry as Sips feels.

Kirin tosses Smith to the left of him into a tree, hard. “Consider that your dying request.” Kirin says as Smith wheezes and gasps for air. The fae descend on Smith and bind him to the tree with iron rope and Smith wails in pain. Sips shrugs and steps closer, never taking his hands out of his pockets.

“So nice of you.” Sips says flatly. He feels the weight of the small gun in his pocket, the cold metal against his palm. He’s only got one shot.

“Your court harmed my property, severely.” Kirin crosses his arms. There’s just a few feet between the two rulers, despite the power difference.

“Yeah. I’d say you, uh, harmed my property pretty severely too.” Sips tries to laugh, but he feels broken inside. He’s never getting them back.

Kirin reaches into a pocket and holds out his hand. Sips can see a scrap of fur and the glint of something blue. Smith strains at his bindings and wails another outraged cry that is stifled as fabric is stuffed into his mouth.

“If you rescind all ties with them, you’re free to go.” Kirin’s teeth flash unnaturally white as he offers the remnants of Sips’ court to him. “No mercy!” shouts a group of fae and Kirin’s tail lashes in irritation. They fall silent, but Sips finds it in him to sneer at Kirin.

“You fuckin’ think I’m still just a mortal they kidnapped?” Sips tightens his hand around the gun, sees a space between the armor that Kirin wears. “Play by your own rules or don’t play at all.”

He sees Smith out of the corner of his eye, straining, looking angry and proud of his king as Sips whips the little pistol out and shoots. Sips stumbles backwards with the force of the magic-imbued shot, landing on his ass in the muddy grass and watches Kirin stumble backwards too, the fur and shard falling from his hand. The fae shout and Smith struggles to break free in the clamor. Sips stares as Kirin rights himself, and smiles a wide grin and traces over the dent in his armor.

“Bring me the kelpie.” Kirin unsheathes his sword as he stares down Sips with malice, and Sips feels frozen in place as Smith is dragged and forced on his knees in front of Kirin, facing Sips, prone. “Smiffy-” Sips breathes and Smith gives him a tired smile around the gag.

Kirin grabs a handful of Smith’s hair and drags it back until Smith’s neck is bared. Sips feels the fae closing in around him but not touching him, not yet.

“No mercy.” Kirin spits and drives the sword home, through Smith’s back and out through his heart.

Sips stares at the blood on the iron blade, at Smiffy’s face frozen in hatred and hears dimly the sounds of chanting fae as Kirin drops Smith’s body to the ground ands pulls his sword out.

“Last words?” Kirin asks him, and Sips blinks out of his haze, staring up at the fae lord.

“Yeah.” Sips says and sneers again. It's started to rain, and the drops are cool on his skin. He’ll see the others soon, wherever dead assholes like them end up. “Smiffy says the witch is comin, and I say the witch is gonna win. Also, fuck you.”

Kirin slams the blade down into Sips’ heart with no hesitance, and then pulls it out, lifting it high.

The Hunt is over.

#hatfic #yogfic #urban magic yogs #the garbage court #rewrite #sparxflame #swyogs

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iwannabejustlikethewind · 2 months

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A second part to my Spiral into Idv x Magnus Archives. I’ve decided to assign each character an entity, whether they be an avatar, witness, or victim. If they’re a victim I’ll specify if they make a statement or just die. Starting with survivors cuz yeah.

MAJOR SPOILERS FOR TMA!!

Lucky Guy could honestly be either one, cuz he’s literally a blank slate. I see him being taken by the Lonely or being an avatar for it, but I’m leaning toward victim. Or maybe he’s just constantly surviving attacks from the various creatures and makes a ton of statements, who knows.

Emily would be a victim of the Flesh or Corruption, possibly a combination of both. She would definitely survive and make a statement in my mind. I think she’d see something otherworldly, like a Flesh Hive or victim of the Bone Turner or something, at her clinic. Then she goes to the institute to make her statement.

Freddy is a bit of a weird one in my mind. I could see him as an avatar of The Desolation, mainly because he destroyed Leo’s life, but that doesn’t fit him too well. Maybe he could be part of the Institute, because that kinda fits him. I think he’d probably die pretty quickly though.

Kreacher would probably be a similar situation to that one The Dark urban explorer episode, but instead of exploring he’s trying to steal something. I mainly say this because of his flashlight honestly, but I think he’d make a statement then die to the Desolation (like in canon lol). Maybe something with the Buried because of financial issues but idk.

Emma, like I said in my last post, is most definitely an avatar of The Desolation. Like she burned Kreacher alive, and her father also burned alive. I could also see her dying from the Spiral, as she’s super mentally unstable, but I feel like avatar would be more fitting.

Servais is one where I think he’d witness something weird and make a statement, but it wouldn’t directly endanger him. Like maybe at one of his magic shows there’s some activity from the Stranger. I could also see something with the Spiral, because what are illusions but just lies of vision. He’d survive and make a statement, but probably die pretty quickly after.

Kurt I think would be a victim of the Spiral simply because of his delusional nature. I doubt he’d survive the encounter either. Maybe a connection to the Hunt, like that guy who was unwittingly brought along to the Hunt’s ritual. Either way I think it’d go similar to Servais.

Another one I mentioned, but Naib would definitely be an avatar of the Slaughter or the Hunt. He’s naturally aggressive and violent, and he’s related to the military I believe. So, either work for him.

Fiona would obviously be a servant of something, and I think it would most likely be the Eye, or whatever the stand-in entity for Yog-Sothoth is. I’m not really that well versed in Lovecraftian lore so I’m not sure what it would be, but it definitely seems on par with the entities. Also she could be the Eye simply because she has an eye on her key lol.

Martha would probably be a witness to The Slaughter, as she was a military coordinator. Maybe a victim of the Vast, as she was an aspiring pilot. Still, I’m confident she would survive and make a statement at the institute.

Tracy I think would be one of the first witnesses to The Extinction, possibly like the Extinction using George as some sort of vessel. If not the Extinction, then maybe the Stranger would use George for something. She would definitely survive and make a statement also.

William is a bit of a weird one, but i feel like he’d have a similar story to the one in Body Builder. Like he’d witness something of The Flesh or smth. Maybe he’d be a Hunter though, but idk.

Helena is most definitely part of the Eye and in the Magnus Institute. A. It’s thematically interesting with her blindness (though it may also make it be impossible. We’re pretending that blinding yourself severs the connection, not blindness itself.) B. She’s a scholar, which basically automatically makes her part of The Eye. I could also see her ‘witnessing’ a Not-Them, like she hears a new person but it’s actually someone she supposedly had know her entire life. Maybe that could be her motivation to join the institute.

Vera would be so fun as a Not-Them. Like Chloe literally replaces her sister as Vera, so it’s perfect. Maybe it could be something like Chloe kills Vera, takes over her life for a bit, but NotVera suddenly appears and Chloe’s terrified.

Kevin is a bit of a tricky one, as his lore is just very outside the realm of fictional horror. If I had to assign one for him to witness, it’d be the Hunt.

Margaretha would definitely be connected to the Stranger, simply because she is part of a circus. I could see her as being part of it, but I think it’s more likely she’d be a witness. I imagine the Hullabaloo circus started out normally, but eventually was infested with the Stranger. Maybe she even somehow joins the Stranger, whether it be herself or simply her skin being used.

Eli, like Helena, would be part of the Eye. His whole thing of being blind but still being able to see all is very Beholding of him.

Aesop is 100% an avatar of the End. He’s obsessed with the dead, and he’s even an embalmer. If that’s not perfect I don’t know what is. Only thing is I think it’d be interesting if he was a witness to the Corruption, like he’s trying to perfect a body for burial but it’s just rotting so much.

Norton could easily be connected to the Buried, whether that be through witnessing or avatarhood. Maybe trapping all those miners was a plan to create a ton of fear, or maybe it was something he just narrowly managed to escape.

Patricia is a tough one because I know she’d definitely be an avatar of something, but I don’t know what. Her story is so dark I can’t really attach anything to it. But I feel she’d be overall benevolent to the protagonists, even if she might do bad things.

Murro, like Margie, is part of the Hullabaloo and thus connected to the Stranger. I think maybe he’d be some lone survivor of whatever happened at the circus, and makes a statement at the Institute.

Mike, another Hullabaloo circus member. I think he’d probably die to the Stranger, maybe have his skin used or something idk.

José would definitely witness something on his adventures at sea. Maybe a Vast thing or maybe a Lonely thing, could possibly connect back to Wu Chang? Would definitely survive to tell the tale though.

Demi is another one I’m not sure of, mainly because I don’t know her lore that well. Maybe she witnesses something happening to her brother, Sam, but I’m not sure. She’d definitely tell her statement to the institute.

Victor could easily be part of the Lonely, just because I get that vibe from him. Maybe he’d work for one of the Avatars, sending letters around that are super evil lol.

Andrew is easily an Avatar of the Buried. I mean, look at him.

Luca I see as a witness to any number of entities. Maybe the Extinction, because of him pursuit of progress and stuff, or maybe the Desolation, because his entire life was destroyed very quickly.

Melly could easily pass as an avatar of Corruption, specifically a Flesh Hive for her bees. Mainly because of her obsession, but also because of her unhealthy love with her husband.

Edgar would probably be a witness to something related to his paintings, like something manifesting in one of them. I could see any variety of entities, like The Lonely because of his self-isolation, or the Flesh because I think he used his blood in some of his works?

Ganji I think could work as a victim of the Desolation, because of that fire that’s like the main part of his lore. I’m not really well versed in his lore, so I don’t have much to say about him.

Anne’s one that I think would be a victim of something, but I’m not sure what. Maybe the Vast, with something to do with her wings/gliding? Maybe the Stranger, like she encounters an uncanny doll I her shop that causes mischief? The Lonely could work, as her lore sets her in a state where she’s completely unwanted by anyone in her life. Whatever it is, she’d survive to make her statement.

Emil’s definitely a victim of the Spiral, as it goes after people deemed ‘mad’. I think he’d probably die from the Distortion’s door most likely. Also possibly a Corruption connection, because of the unhealthy relationship with Ada.

Ada, again, probably would have some Corruption connection. I think she’d probably be trying to save Emil, but end up watching him die and make a statement about that.

Orpheus is very clearly an avatar of Eye, most likely the Archivist stand-in. I mean, his whole gimmick is watching the hunter to get his power. Also he’s kinda the main character, so it makes sense.

Memory is a weird one, as she technically doesn’t exist. I could see her as a sort of ghost connected to an entity, maybe The End or The Desolation. Like she’s there to make Orpheus feel constantly dread about some horrible thing he did or smth.

Weeping is connected to the Hullabaloo, so he probably dies to the Stranger. Maybe becomes a servant, idk.

Luchino could possibly be a witness to the Extinction, like seeing humanity evolve past the point of any semblance of civilization. Then I think he’d be a victim to whatever entity Yidrah would be the stand-in for.

Qi would most likely a Hunter, because I think she’s some kind of assassin so it would make sense.

Fredrick is a weird one, because I have no clue what he could be. I think he’d probably be evil? I think he’d be related to the Eye or Lonely.

Alice is another easy Eye avatar, similarly to Orpheus. Maybe she could be the Archivist in place of Orpheus, or maybe Orpheus would be a Gertrude stand-in. All I know is she would be part of the Institute.

Charles would most likely be Vast, as he has this whole thing heights and the sky thing. He would either be an avatar of the Vast, or a survivor who makes a statement.

Lily is another one like Fredrick, where I have no clue what she could be. Probably a witness of something, maybe like the Hunt?

Matthias would definitely be connected to the Stranger, with his super uncanny valley doll, Luis. Whether he’d simply witness Luis being all creepy and evil, or be connected to him I’m not sure.

God this has been rotting in my drafts for so long, I completely forgot about it 😭😭

#the magnus archives #identity v

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cloning-vat-mistake · 1 year

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Been going back to my roots lately. Making my own little urban magic yogs au.... tempted to make character sheets for every character but we'll see how sustainable that is lol

#moth.txt #'did this start as a-' yes it started as a rythna thing GOD FINE UGH !#tbf though I've been getting really into the dynamic I've set up with nilesy and Hannah lol

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sparxwrites · 2 years

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@dranikitten replied to your post “coming to the horrifying revelation that, for...”:

Sparx... Is it... Is it... -Whisper- UMY?

..............i mean it’s not not umy :p

jokes aside, it draws from a similar set of inspirations as umy - dresden files, matthew swift, handful of tumblr posts - and involves a modern day city that is just casually populated by magic users and fantasy races and creatures, but otherwise... there’s not that much overlap?

i don’t have anyone earmarked as an urban sorcerer in this (idk if swift-style sorcerers even exist in this au, though probably something close does just because i fucking love the concept), the fae are very different (lower powered, kirin-level fae stay beyond the veil, fae in the city run major businesses and the like, they’re Dangerous and Tricksy but not a tonne more so than if a ceo of your average fortune 500 company knew magic), the tone/texture/colour of it in my brain is different...

and so much of umy was coloured by the specific mods the yogs used, whereas i think this one is less regimented. there’s still different people with different “styles” of magic (hedgewitch, formal magician, functional mage, sorcerer...) but the idea of, say, a “technomancer” isn’t really a thing - you might get a functional mage (think circle of magic by tamora pierce, people whose magic is oriented around a craft and is at its base intuitive rather than taught) whose craft is technology, but that’s not quite the same as a technomancer, you know?

also, a lot of the heavy lifting of umy was done by will’s Main Character Energy, and everyone else was kind of... oriented around that. i’m deliberately not doing that here, which means i’ve got in my head something that’s more like. a set of systems of magic, a structure of society, etc., rather than just some basic knowledge of fae-adjacent mythology and one very overpowered dude lmao. which means that everything’s a bit more chill in my mind than umy was. less technology-oriented, too, and more... green, i guess. heavier into the fantasy / pagan / mythology elements.

#dranikitten #reply #sparx chats #hermits crafting #urban fantasy hermits

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desnayy · 1 year

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I'm trying to sleep, why am I thinking of Urban Magic Yogs suddenly

#umy

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yogurtyogitup · 3 years

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Yogtober 2021 day 13: Urban Magic

One time I read a really good UMY fic with the phrase “come be we and be free” in it. If anyone knows the one, hit me up

#yogscast #yogtober #yogtober 2021 #urban magic Yogs #fantazlable #William strife

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breezejay · 2 years

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not me writing a retrospective video essay about Urban Magic Yogs

but forreal if anyone has stories/topics theyd like me to discuss then hmu

#ive wanted to do another essay for so long i just havent been able to stick to a topic #but i think i might be passionate enough about this one to do it #im also uncovering controversy i didnt realise existed at the time so thats gonna be fun #i dont want to turn this into a wider discussion on IRL shipping or violence in fanworks but i know i cant avoid it completely #urban magic yogs #umy #the yogscast #this may take a month or a year we'll see

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larchraven · 3 years

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umy where everything is exactly the same except smith drives a rusted out dark green honda civic with at least one door that's a mismatched color

#urban magic yogs #and it's been tricked out for street racing #im talking purple leds #spiky hubcaps #obnoxiously loud #the works #though i also enjoy the idea of his shitty shitty looking car that just mysteriously drives insanely fast and well.#the windows crank down #it has no cd player no bluetooth no casette pkayer even #and the radio requires the most careful of adjustments to pick anything up #it always fogs up #at least one seat is torn #kelpie with the keys #umy shit #good luck having a boink in THAT back seat #really annoyed that my posts never show up in the tag #not sure what it is but they dont #makes me cry sad tears #imagine if someday i got my shit together and wrote something again #what a concept.#the joke here is that no two umy are the same and whose to say that his car doesnt already look like this in the stories ill never write

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cookiesandkatanas · 3 years

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I've always had Big Thoughts about Smith and how being/presenting male was a huge detriment to the whole "picking up vulnerable people and drowning them" thing. People are gonna be suspicious of a 6 foot guy trying to get you in his car.

So here are some of my headcanons that answer this issue

a kelpie's true form is a horse adjacent creature. you know, the creepy waterlogged #fae horses.

young kelpies first learn glamours for the anatomically similar horse, but the ability to shape reality in relation to themselves is powerful, as it is in most water fae. Theyll soon be able to shift their entire physical form, not just the perception of it. Of course, the next most natural form is a horse. And to interact with humans beyond hunting, well, you gotta look like a human.

Any glamour or form a kelpie takes is basically a costume, the individual is *choosing* how to look

SHAPESHIFTERS ARE ALWAYS NONBINARY

(personal aside, I've been off T for a while and god I feel like a completely different PERSON so) different bodies literally affect Smith's personality, to an extent.

femme!Alex loves the mind games. She prefers to toy with people, both for her own amusement, and if they're prey, well, their emotional high of fear is one more tasty thing she gets to munch on when she finally drowns them. Her favorite food is emotional energy.

femme!Alex pros: seeks out people already leading chaotic lives, and her clean drownings mean she can usually make a pretty penny selling a body nobody will even be looking for for a few days.

Trott is convinced since shes always feeding off all that riled up emotional energy, shes more riled up and emotional. He swears shes more impulsive, more sexual.

masc!Smith lives for the pleasures of the flesh. food and fucking, and for him, they're one and the same. he wouldnt be able to tell you which he liked more, feeding on the sexual energy before the drowning, or the flesh and blood he ate afterwards

masc!Smith pros: usually content with smashing stuff/someone up, no patience or interest in making up and playing out drawn out political games for fun. Intimidating presence. More in tune with the water (the local water fae hate when they're Alex, she always says she'll visit but she NEVER does >:c

Trott doesnt like how Smith always runs hot, temper or sex drive or energy.

History:

True name: Alsmiffy. Got to the city in early 1900s, before cars are common. They had to get a job to pay for a place to live, and only men could do that, so human male form it was. Kelpies dont really have a concept of gender, so Alsmiffy doesnt mind their pronouns matching their current form. In the evenings it was still easy to hunt down by the river as a horse.

By the 40s horses had nearly disappeared from the city, and no one was approaching wild ones anymore. Smith started working as a taxi chauffeur, driving people about, drowning a few every so often.

In the 60s they started moving towards the hunting style of present day, using the lure of sex to draw in prey. This is when they started presenting as female more regularly.

Of course, Trott gets fed up with all the shit Alsmiffy pulls. But always wrongly blames it on their form. If Alex is impulsive and sexual, and Smith is hot headed and hot blooded, maybe the issue isnt the body, it's the person, lmao.

As Alsmiffy becomes more comfortable male and female presenting, they spend longer amounts of time in one body or the other. Trott finds some reason or other to ask them to change ("hey can you seduce ___?" or "hey can you be extra muscle at ___?") and they're usually too indifferent to shift back.

As this goes on, Alsmiffy is cultivating two different social circles worth of court favor, but only one at a time, and usually only one for weeks at a time. The sharper and more well connected people put together that the siblings manage some other affairs out of the city, and whatever it is cant be left alone for very long, because one or the other is always out there. Rumors fly wildly about what it may be.

The Troffy Feels

In present day, Alsmiffy has started to realize Trott resents both of their regular human bodies. Instead of addressing the issue of Alsmiffy leaving chaos behind them, Trott postpones the issue again and again by derailing Alsmiffy's focus whenever their collateral damage gets too much. Trott's resentment only grows because the issue keeps coming up, and Alsmiffy just gets increasingly aggressive requests to "go get your 'brother/sister'"

Of course, because its Alsmiffy, this is the gravest of insults and must be responded to as a challenge. (You dont like me now? Oh you'll see how bad I can be.) As time wears on, they start to take it more and more personally, and it becomes the spectre hanging over their relationship.

Ross, who joined them in 60s-80s (not sure exactly when yet) never saw their relationship any other way, and has no other reference for relationships, tries his best to talk them down individually. It doesnt always work, and he usually clears out when they're all together, to give them some time and space to talk things out. (Trott and Alsmiffy both resent the other for always escalating arguments to the point where Ross wont even be in the same room as them)

Despite it all, Trott and Alex have never touched each others' keys/skin. All three of them tell themselves that means they're okay, they wouldnt cross that line so they still respect each other, still love each other. On the worst days that feels like the only assurance they have.

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All these headcanons are being refined thanks to my ongoing Urban Shadows game, a ttrpg made by Magpie Games, run on Powered by the Apocalypse.

It is such a great game, even if you're not adapting it to run umy, lmao. The team is working on 2nd edition out later this year, but a quick start version is out now and I'm p sure it's free on drivethruRPG

#urban magic yogs #nate writes #please cry with me about this cause i just have a troffy playlist full of love/hate and toxic relationship songs #and i funnel all the emotions i have into that playlist #cause i cant talk about it to my players!#please god let the double bracket MORE still work to make a readmore

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