I have been dying to share this piece for @bg3-fate-spins-along for a while!
If you’ve seen my art over the past year, you know I love. He’s my favorite NPC and was responsible for getting me back into drawing and working hard to level up my work.
I chose the Seven of Swords for him because it represents deception, trickery, and manipulating outcomes, which feels perfect for him. Originally the quills were scrolls/contracts, but I felt that quills were better suited to represent swords— after all, the pen is mightier than the sword.
An extra delightful thing about Project Hail Mary is that, eventually, humans WILL go to Erid, and Eridians WILL visit Earth. And there's every likelihood Rocky will be there to see it.
For one, humans on Earth likely continued to breed astrophage, trying to minimize its range or damaging effects - any number of things. Rendering it sterile would be ideal, of course, but it was likely impossible until the mission succeeded. You can damn well bet your ass Stratt was out there chaining scientists to workbenches, trying to find or force a silver lining. She wouldn't be wrong: Astrophage IS an excellent source of fuel, which means it has great potential. PLUS!! the discovery of Taumeba gives you a way to control it.
Erid is only 16 light years away.
Imagine humanity pulled back from the brink, striving together to produce not one but TWO (at least!) huge joint efforts to save ourselves and each other. Project Hail Mary was followed the Taumeba Project, surely. The world comes together again.
I, however, like to imagine there was a third plan.
I think meeting Eridians became a worldwide obsession. Ryland Grace's legacy can be nothing but a collective triumph, though his contact with intelligent alien life is somehow second to saving the Earth and who knows how many other systems. Once saved, the next major project would surely be meeting our interplanetary friends. How would we say "hello"?
Let's say Earth's initial overture is a simple probe, Voyager style. What do you send? Well, they know Grace may still be out there, or at least was/is known to Eridian culture. He's the one link; the only common element.
The probe launches, and what it's full of is love for Ryland Grace. His childhood pictures. Interviews with his students. Thousands of statues and dedications and documentaries. Videos of worldwide celebrations of the Day of Grace. Kids' drawings of Rocky with laboriously-written thank you notes, thick with crayon so the Eridians can see. We love him too. We love you already.
Given their longevity, I imagine Rocky and Adrian opening the probe together, trilling over memories of their old friend. Stories they only heard about secondhand or not at all. Joy and triumph and thankfulness and hope, all in one small interstellar package. Amaze amaze amaze.
(Disclaimer: This is all in good fun and not made to being taken seriously. It’s not expected for anyone to change their minds about which character to like/dislike)
You like Gojo because he’s pretty? I HAVE GOOD NEWS, QIFREY IS PRETTY TOO, and wears it far better 😌
White spikey hair, deep blue eyes, glasses that obscures only one eye, teasing you and making you wonder what hides behind it. So pretty, so elegant, so mysterious~
Gojo on the other hand? Pretty, sure, but he doesn’t know how to wear it *shakes their head*
Look at that hairstyle, look at that bandana that covers his eyes and keeps his hair up, he looks like a plant! He has to let all his power out to really look pretty… Unlike Qifrey, who always looks pretty
Also, this is not Gojo’s fault per se, but that uniform doesn’t make him any favors at all. The Jujutsu high school was allergic to fashion or something, because they managed to make dark blue look bad on everyone xd
Look at the difference, how Qifrey’s uniform works with his natural appeal 😌
You like Gojo because of his relationship with his students? Say no more!
Qifrey is actually a good teacher! He not only supports and gives them valuable lessons, he also doesn’t put them in danger himself just for shit and giggles! In fact, he rescues them when they get in trouble by themselves!
In fact, Qifrey doesn’t blackmail the main character with the threat of death, a threat that he wasn’t going to follow with btw and just used to make the MC want to join their side, like a certain someone *ejem Gojo ejem*
He does warn the MC about her memory being erased, but it’s the MC the one who begs him not to do it, not only because she wants to save her mother, but because she has always wanted to be a witch! Qifrey’s and the MC’s goals go in the same direction so there’s no need for threats and blackmail!
Such a nice guy, Qifrey 😌
Meanwhile, Gojo actively puts his students in danger, making them do the missions he doesn’t do, despite being far too dangerous for mere students, and taking them to dangerous fights against powerful curses.
He even takes the MC out of hiding when the higher ups wanted him dead, and already tried to kill him by giving him one of Gojo’s missions, to watch him fight a high level curse so the MC can see how cool Gojo is.
He doesn’t even bother to kill said curse, letting them get away TWICE, which causes so much trouble for everyone later, and it’s the direct cause of one character dying
Just, the difference in how both carry their own students tell a whole different story.
And I can already hear you all saying “ugh, ok, but we like Gojo because he has a mean side, you know? A bit of spice, ulterior motives and all that”
Well, glad that you said that! Because guess what? QIFREY HAS THOSE TOO!!!
If ulterior motives and a a bit of psychopath side is what you like, you wont be disappointed.
You see, Qifrey wants to find a group of evil wizards and witches, and the only key to find them is Coco, so that’s why he accepted her as a disciple so quickly despite being something uncommon.
And while he’s not the only one going after them, it’s also something personal to him, because he threatens another wizard to keep quiet about evil magic being used despite that being a mandatory report
Qifrey doesn’t care though! He wants to throw hands himself!
But also! He does it to protect his students too! Since that dark magic was used against them, they could get in big trouble with the people in charge, and Qifrey wouldn’t let that happen ever!
He has ulterior motives, and it’s scary when he wants, but he does it to protect the people around him!
Unlike Gojo, whose ulterior motives almost caused the world to end, twice. And who couldn’t have enough consideration to his students to just not do what he does *shaking my head*
And lastly, at least for now, their abilities. “Gojo looks so cool when he fights” you say, I can hear you, “he’s so powerful!”
Let’s be honest, Gojo’s abilities look lame if you really think about it, they’re tiny spheres that explode (I simplified it, I know they don’t technically explode)
Meanwhile, Qifrey is not only skilled, since he has to draw the spells himself! But also so powerful, so flashy! Looks at the absolute badassery of his golden dragon! Gojo’s infinity has nothing to do against Qifrey’s spells in terms of beauty, flashiness and elegance!
(Sorry for the link, couldn’t find a gif. If it gets taken down I’ll try to find a gif or something)
Qifrey also had to work hard to get where he is instead of being a very special boi who was born special and doesn’t know what hard work means btw 😌
But basically, Qifrey is far better than Gojo in every possible way, more handsome, a far better teacher with good morals, a far more interesting dark side, better abilities and powers, and far more drip
And these are all my arguments for now, I’ll add more if I can think of anything else 👌
Forget Gojo’s agenda and join Qifrey’s instead, all the cool kids are doing it right now 😌👌❤️🔥
(I’m a noob at tumblr and don’t know how to center pics, sorry xd)
From today, everyone can enjoy this devilishly delightful fanzine dedicated to Raphael & Haarlep.
If you missed it during launch, here’s your second chance:
🔥Infernal Corner Zine free release
So far, 45 generous souls helped us raise
408 GBP for Cats Protection UK,
and you can still support them here:
https://www.cats.org.uk
Huge thanks to our brilliant contributors, the hardworking staff, and the ever-enchanting Andrew Wincott, actor behind both Raphael and Haarlep, who kindly gave us an interview for the zine.
Thank you all for making this little corner of the Hells such a joy. 💜
For October 2025, the Prompt Foundry is having itself another double feature: OC-tober and Ominous October!
OC-tober is meant as a celebration of and chance to share your Original Characters, whether they're fan characters, the cast of your original work, or just little guys who hang out in your brain without much of a story to go along with them yet. Write about them, draw them, cosplay them, compose music for them—whatever sort of creativity they inspire!
Ominous October is a celebration of the spooky side of things. Lean into the horror, get your creep on, and revel in the darkness! Channel your Edgar Allen Poe, your Junji Ito, your Mary Shelley and don't be scared to scary in whatever creative medium's speaking to you right now, from poetry and prose, to photoshop and oil paints, to ballroom dance and electric cello.
Feel free to combine different days’ prompts with each other, or combine them with each other or other events, like Inktober, Kinktober, or last year's Prompts That Go Bump In The Night!
If you use either of these lists, please tag me here @thepromptfoundry, I’d love to see your writing and art!
Respond to as many prompts as you want or as interest you, don’t worry about missing or skipping any. Remember, this is supposed to be fun!
If you have any questions or musings, check our FAQ, and if you don’t find your answer, shoot me an ask.
Plain text lists below the cut:
OC-tober
1 Introducing themself for the first time
2 At work or school
3 Hanging with friends
4 Early in their life
5 Going through their pockets
6 Getting ready for bed
7 Facing a fear
8 Having a nice bath
9 Grabbing a snack
10 Preparing for a journey
11 Dressing up fancy
12 Swapping styles with someone
13 As a different gender
14 In a different time
15 Facing their reflection
16 With their soulmate(s), whatever that means
17 In an intimate moment
18 Having a laugh
19 Handling stress
20 With their worst enemy
21 Fighting tooth and nail
22 Being taken care of
23 Taking care of someone else
24 Having a little treat
25 Exploring nature
26 Dancing their heart out
27 In the dark of the night
28 Trying something new
29 Returning home
30 Prepping for a party
31 Celebrating Halloween!
Ominous October
1 Something watching
2 A stifled scream
3 Shattered glass
4 Potent venom
5 Shades of the past
6 Dark premonitions
7 The full moon
8 Dripping blood
9 Gleaming teeth
10 Cries on the wind
11 Music from nowhere
12 Rotting flesh
13 Grave dirt
14 A broken lock
15 Ritual sacrifice
16 Demons
17 Waking nightmares
18 Cold spots
19 Claw marks
20 Ill omens
21 A moonless night
22 Inhuman proportions
23 A boarded door
24 Footsteps in the dark
25 An extra shadow
26 Shivers up the spine
27 Stairs to nowhere
28 Glowing eyes
29 Something missing
30 Guttering candles
31 The veil wearing thin
"I sort fics by kudos and only kudos on stories with high kudos counts, why aren't there more stories with high kudos, I ran out of things to read." You're part of the problem.
"Authors artificially inflate comment counts by thanking people, I can't find anything with a real comment count to read." No they fucking are not, they're grateful for engagement.
"I can't read anything under 100k." That's the majority of fics you're ignoring, most novels aren't even that long.
"I don't have time to look for the incredibly rare diamond in the rough, so I won't read anything below a certain amount of kudos, comments, and hits." Those fics are popular because people gave them a chance and then snobs like you found them.
"I won't read anthing with a single typos." You made typos in that sentence, get off your high horse.
"One singular author didn't thank me for commenting, I'm never commenting on any fic again so I don't get burned." You're punishing people because someone didn't give you engagement they don't owe you that they might not have seen.
"This fic is three months old, it's so old, it doesn't matter if I comment or kudos, it's old." Fics do not have expiration dates, comment and kudos.
You're killing your fandoms with your snobbish behaviors.
It was tough to pick from all you guys' amazing suggestions, but we managed to end up with a lovely list of prompts to work with, AND not a single repeat prompt from last year which we found quite important. Additional info + plain text versions of the prompts can be found under the cut.
FAQ and Rules
What sort of content can I create for this event?
You can create whatever you want (fic, art, edits, etc). Any fandom is allowed, as well as OC stuff. NSFW is allowed, but please tag your content accordingly! The only thing not allowed is AI-generated content.
Do I need to make 31 things to participate?
Oh heavens no! You can make as much or as little content as you like, skip days when desired, or combine prompts (so for example, write something that covers a prompt from day 1, 2, AND 3). You don't have to do the days in order either, go wild! To be considered a 'completionist', you only have to make sure that at the end of the month, you've covered 31 prompts from 31 different days, but whether you do that in 31 works or just 1 is up to you. Your works can be separate onshots or one continuous fic.
How do I interpret these prompts?
Creativity is the name of the game here! If you don't understand a prompt, feel free to send us an ask about it. However, the important thing is you're free to interpret the prompts however you want. For example, 'heat' could be literal (fever, heatstroke, burn wounds) or figurative (somebody getting heat for something). The dialogue prompts are allowed to be slightly rewritten to fit better for the character whose mouth it's coming out of. As long as you're having fun!
What are these alts about?
If none of the three prompts of a particular day are your cup of tea, you can swap them out for an alt prompt of your choice. This will count as having covered that day for completionists.
How do I tag and is there an AO3 collection?
It suffices to tag your work with #ailesswhumptober for us to see and reblog it! Please also tag nsfw, since we'll be using that tag too. Tagging the day is optional but does help the mods along.
There is an AO3 collection to add your fics to. It will be revealed and linked here closer to the start of the event.
That should be all. If you have any additional questions, check our pinned or hit us up in the ask box. Or join our discord maybe, whumping can be a great group activity!
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Plain text versions of the prompts:
October 1
Collapsed lung, Contusion, "Well, that shouldn't have happened."
Whenever I feel like hope is lost, I google "tarantula saved from burning building" and read all the stories about firefighters rescuing one of the world's most hated animals because they're someone's pet and it doesn't matter if you're scared of spiders or think they're gross, their lives have worth and they deserve to live just as much as any other pet
hey kinda messed up that 1st degree burn is the mildest burn but 1st degree murder is the worst murder. they should have collaborated more on that one.
