#mothfrey

[falling-star-cygnus]

Your mothfrey AU has been living rent free in my head ever since I found it, so have some doodles to show my appreciation

(I put both versions cause I like the colors and the sketchy look)

SCREAMING AND CRYING ACTUALLY, I LOVE THESE SM OH MY GOSH!!! -> oh these are so perfect, oh my gosh, oh my goodness, oh my STARS, ohh holy shit, i love this so much, thank you thank you thank you!!!

baby mothfrey and Beldaruit, orufrey, MAMA MOTH QIFREY, auughhh it's so perfect ↓ seriously, thank you SO much for this and for your submission over on the ask blog!!!

ALSO PHM REFERENCE??? [completely canon btw, he does in fact fidget with his middle arms {when they're visible like above} to sort of self soothe. like when he holds his elbows in actual canon. Olruggio treated one like a hand once, and shook it all formal like, and it's still smth they laugh about as adults]

[ask-mothfrey]

Here are a few photos of lovely brushbug

oh...! it's so fluffy..

*Qifrey titters quietly to himself, and softly taps his finger over one square's little brushbug head- as if petting it*

....wait- if it's a bug, why does it have teeth-?

[falling-star-cygnus]

I came from ao3 because I have soooo many questions but I didn't wanna flood the ao3 comments- anywayy

Does this mean the knight of moralis are gonna be even worse to mothfrey? Like he gets accused a lot more often of using forbidden magic at any minor inconvenience they have😭 Also I wonder if being a moth is going to change Qifrey's dynamic with girls?

abegpu9be ask me all the questions you'd like always!!! thank you sm!! -> Mothfrey Fic: For the Crime of Living {here} -> Ask Blog: here {@ask-mothfrey}

the Knights Moralis, sans.... Vinanna to a certain extent, and the knight that helped him out of his casket.. doooo nooot fuck with Qifrey at ALL no 😭 even worse than in canon, they don't like 'im ↓ Vinanna gives a general order to just- not engage unless strictly necessary, because she can't trust them not to be nasty to a small, tortured child

One Knight catches him scrubbing ink off his little segmented fingers- once- and drags him back to Beldaruit like they've proven something -> Their grip is much too tight, and their arm held much too high, for a child that only barely passes their knee- so, when they barge into the room, Qifrey is held up on his tiptoes and subconsciously chirping//squeaking in distress. Beldaruit is immediately tense and alert "What do you think you're doing?" "Lord Beldaruit! I've caught-" "Put him down this instant." -> The knight falters, a little off guard at the usually bubbly Wise's cold and vitriolic tone. They grit their teeth and shove Qifrey's ink stained hand forward, causing him to trip "But I've caught him using forbidden magic-!" "I wasn't-" "Hush." -> Beldaruit urges his seal chair forward, balking slightly at the indeed there smudges of processed cruor- and little knicks, upon closer inspection. How odd- Qifrey didn't much like magic... it was a struggle getting him invested in plain theory, so why-? "Qifrey?" -> The boy flinches, and his wings buzz with his mounting anxiety- his antennae twitch together. When he does speak, it's quiet and it's a mumble and it's tinged with chirpy vibration. His big crystalline eye is a little glossy "...I broke an ink bottle.. m'sorry..."

honestly, the only difference is: Richeh is a tad less waspish with him when he tries to coax her into looking at spells ↓ she's not pleased by any means, but she recognizes that it's not him trying to change her into something she doesn't want to be. That- and she doesn't swat at him when he checks her for injuries, mostly because she's genuinely worried that it'll be like swatting an actual bug and killing it

other than that: his dynamic with the girls doesn't change too much- he's still their mama Professor, even if he's a little different looking, and he takes care of them and lets them study the type of magic that makes them happiest.. so...

[falling-star-cygnus]

Seeing as Mothfrey tries to hide as much of his mothy features as he could, has he ever considered growing out his hair to hide his antennaes better?

You also mentioned he gets more mothy when he gets worked up. Seeing as he's already quite mothy, how does that look? Does his eyes turn fully black?

oooh, myehehe, OKAY SO: ↓ i'm a much slower artist than i am writer, so visuals wiiilll.... eventually come out, but here's a written description:

he thinks about it- growing his hair out- and for the record, he tries, but... well.. stress is a huge deterrant for such a thing. and, of course, being in such a new//hostile place after being unboxed... Qifrey has plenty of stress to go around

part of him- even before he realized it would help hide his antennae [Olly was actually the one to point that out] wanted to grow his hair out to match Beldaruit. he'd vehemently deny it if asked though, so shhh

as for more mothy Mothfrey... -> His eye doesn't go completely black, but the whites of it do practically disappear and get replaced by the blue- and his pupils expands just enough that that blue is just a ring on the edges. His segments deepen too, and gain the exposed tibial spine on his limbs -> Because Box Tree Moth's are built to chew through bark and wood, and not only leaves, his jaw strength also exponentially increases- and splits into mandibles on either side. He also gets fluffier around his neck, and his miniscule feelers are more pronounced -> Normally, he only has the margins of his moth wings- when he gets worked up, they expand and gain the harder frenulum and costa that allow for flight. Similarly, his antennae extend, and his buggier pair of limbs grow to the same length as his arms

Mothfrey Fic: For the Crime of Living {<- ao3 fic link} Ask Blog: @ask-mothfrey

[falling-star-cygnus]

I couldn't resist and I drew Mothfrey with my silly Qifrey design. Hope you enjoy!

(they bond over being fluffy)

(SIfrey stands for Self Insert Qifrey)

this was wonderful to wake up to, oml, it's GORGEOUS ↓ i freakin' love this sm, oh my STARs, i love their odder limbs touching, i love babyfrey holding one of SIfrey's fingers while he examines his fluff, goodness it's so CUTE

i'm going to eat this, thank yew <3

lore exchange, as promised: -> Qifrey can turn into a wee moth when he's feeling particularly small, but he doesn't do it often- out of fear of getting squished as an invasive species. He still can't fly, though, because he still only has the margins of his wings and his crooked antennae aren't reliable. Sometimes he'll be found nested on Beldaruit's shoulder, if you look close enough, or a certain Ghodrey boy's palms

thank you sm!!!

[falling-star-cygnus]

how was moth!frey allowed to live in the grand hall as a kid? did he have the wings and antennae when he was found and beldaruit had to pull the strings even more than in canon to not have tinyfrey sent to adanlee? or did the wings grow in later in life? also, are the wings functional?

mothfrey ask, mothfrey ask, mothfrey ask, yipppeee >W< -> This AU officially has a name! probably! it might be prone to changing... but for right now it's: For the Crime of Living

and yes! Qifrey was already mothy when they pulled him outta the box, buuut he was also just out of the caterpillar stage ↓ like, he was buried fresh outta the cocoon. Luckily the rain water and cramped conditions didn't effect his wings too badly, but it was a toss up for a little bit. Unluckily, Qifrey is still a failed experiment.. so he's not quite capable of sustained flight. He can hover and glide and slow his fall without the use of Sylph Shoes, but complete travel with them is outta the question

sometimes he'll sit on the roof of his atelier to feel the breeze ruffle through his wings, and he'll pretend for a few seconds.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/84188986/chapters/222010906

won't you pretty please leave your hopefully dear author a comment or reblog, if you so enjoyed? it's a surefire way to guarantee moreee >w• and maybe tell me your favorite part?

[ask-mothfrey]

Can you describe your appearance to us, Qifrey?

My... my appearance? But why would you want to know that?

*there's some odd shuffling, and a beat of buzzing as his little wings twitch together with confusion and hesitance. Maybe a bit of weariness too.*

Mm... I suppose I can try... how does this-? oh..!

…hello..

[falling-star-cygnus]

i was explaining the mothfrey au, in EXTENSIVE detail [details i have yet to share here, even], to my aunt [and how it started] and she listened, okay, to her credit. she did listen

and then said, while looking straight into my eyes, "We leave you alone too much, don't we? I think we left you alone too much as a child."

. . .

AND I MEAN YEAH, BUT WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH ANYTHING!?