random msm headcanons because my brain thinks thoughts without my permission very often
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boo'qwurm tend to drum their hands on most surfaces and actually can absorb the 'knowledge' of objects that arent books- but usually that knowledge amounts to knowing if certain things were in a certain place
^depending on the object though (i.e. a family heirloom, a prized possession, a special gift) there might be little snippets of conversation or memories
based on the subtle animation of the stairs on the nexus: it is said among monsters that when the stairs move, the stair shaper is having company.
faesodd has big faerie wings! the element sigil is meant to look like them
faesodd is often hailed as the greatest storyteller currently residing in the monster world
the reason the flowers on stair shaper's shawl(?) have four petals is because they have four students!
stair shaper is liable to have any number of random otherworldly/extraterrestrial critters on it at any given point. as a hitchhiker itself, it cant bring itself to brush them off and tries to care for them
cruv'laapht (being that theyre from space) is mostly deaf for lack of the anatomy that would allow them to hear, but can use their psychic power to stimulate those pathways in their brain
owlesque are very smart creatures, but during the day they often play at being more flighty and cute to get food and affection from other monsters
the reason there are more glowing runes on minor arcorina than major arcorina is just because theyre not activated- theyre meant to stave off, well. ruin. it doesnt seem as necessary in the major form but it gets more desperate as its form decays
dakktyl is the type to do a backbend and just walk around while still in the backbend for fun. it might also run at random monsters like its in the exorcist as a prank if its so inclined
whatever ethereal quads that got directly yoinked by zarroë bear some form of mark after the fact- its not necessarily a scar or a burn in the regular sense, but it is there and it will Stay there forever because that is a godlike entity and you dont get away from that unscathed. tfw your creator leaves a fucking godly handprint on your mortal form
^zarroë is unaware of this. even if they were aware of it, it would probably take them forever to do anything about it, if they even could
necrull can remove and reattach its limbs like every skeleton character ever, it may be a titan but its physical from is deathly unserious
^this does not extend to the bone monsters because they are alive and with exposed bones while necrull is properly undead.
phosphora is vaguely amphibious-because it moves around the planet, it helps to be equipped for land and water
everything about phosphora glows, and i do mean Everything. their blood and tears glow yellow, and they have patterns (and bones!!) that fluoresce under uv light
^relevant to this, phosphora can also perceive a Lot more shades and hues than the average mon, and this extends to the light monsters to a lesser degree. they (phosphora) can probably see ultraviolet and infrared light too because why not
whenever monsters are on a long trip there will be. so many road trip songs. if one group happens to be going the same way as another group they will be harmonizing with each other and competing to see whose group can sing louder (in good fun of course)
on cold island (or just if it happens to be chilly outside) monsters tend to congregate around the bakeries since they give off heat and also they might get warm food. its like a water cooler but better
• Thanks to Agent Chill, it became a running joke at DOMA to call normal doughnuts "Toruses".
• Ethereal Epic Wubbox's voice glitches when he's mad or very upset. (Kinda like this.)
• Despite how closed off EEW usually is, he does get along with the other Wubs. He helped Common out in a few projects, Rare and him both share a higher interest in (specifically human) tech than the rest, and he sometimes hangs out with the Fire Epic Wubs, tho he is a bit closer to Oasis than Haven.
• The Haven and Oasis Wubs often share thoughts, so much so they can often finish eachother's sentences or say different parts of the same sentence and it'd still make sense. They got this trait not just because they're close, but also because Dulcettéa's mind is split between the 2 Fire Islands.
• After creeping around the mine in the Workshop, Rhysmuth enjoys showing the different shinies he found there to those he likes.
• The color of Phosphora's light changes based on her emotions, (ex yellow=calm/netural, light blue=excited/high energy).
• Enchantler got gifts from all 4 of the other Titans, each representing their own magical elements in some way. It uses those items regularly.
• Necrull makes jewelry out of bones and crystals.
-> They gave Enchantler a necklace made of bones.
• Agent Redacted has a wide varianty of (mostly) auditory hallucinations (even when not counting that Spurrit that keeps popping up, or the Narrator), which may not be hallucinations at all, but him hearing things slipping through the Seam from the Monster World. Either way, he's been lying on his psych eval.
• Dulcettéa used to watch over the youngest Colossals back in the day and was pretty motherly to some of them.
• As queen of the Colossals, leader of the Celestials and mirroring each others' elements, Dulcettéa and Galvana often worked together and discussed important matters, including but not limited to:
which Colossal should be paired with which Celestial.
Creation of new monsters.
Planning any new islands or parts for the Continent.
• ^Zarroë used every opportunity they got to eavesdrop and follow the 2 around, just to be near Galvana more often. They didn't mind :)
I think every msm fan especially ones interested in the lore can benefit from paying attention to the colossals and titans a little bit more than they usually do, but because they're not monsters they're not seen as important unfortunately and it's really sad to see because the celestials are cool n all but lore wise they have nothing going on compared to these guys.
[Uh oh! Long post!]
indeed so! i feel like the only one people care about is zarroë, like they've all got their own personalities n stuff but they only focus on the ethereal colossal because of the whole workshop and islets thing
and regarding the titans: they're also affected by this, the masses only cared once the titansouls started (no shade to the titansouls! they're peak as hell! but it feels like the titans only started actually being noticed because of them)
and additionally for the titan skins: nobody cares about them because they're skins for the natural islands and that's it. no lore, no new song, nothing! they're just different looking natural islands without the coloss-eye
anyways about that personalities thing (click keep reading):
grennitch (plant) is basically a blassoom fanboy. am i exaggerating? probably idk. but anyway because of this muscially training blassoom went by very easily. i got nothing else there's not really much else on gren
frigil (cold) is a loner, introverted, one could say.. cold (laugh, now) and (to quote the coloss-eye bio)
"It was never easy for them to socialize or find common ground or shared interests with the others, to the point where being alone seemed like the most favorable option."
this also made frij and their assigned celestial glaishur basically polar opposites, but ironically they went together like ham and bread and they both learnt a lesson of "introversion is not unfriendliness" and "try and actually chat with the others ffs be yourself please i beg", very good lessons
zeffree (air) has a mech special interest. unfortunately they are not the mech colossal since zarroë was a greedy lil bitchard and took 5 celestials for themself anyways they wanted cyborgs and continuously suggested "HEY BECOME A CYBORG" to attmoz who was basically saying "there's already a celestial for that, what", said that imagination is superior, and then they made the air guitar and zeff learnt they are not the baseline for opinions
hyddryd is an adventurer. the wanderlust is off the charts. if bro wasn't a colossal they would go to wanderer island. therefore, the fact they were told to go train a celestial bummed them out because this was not adventurous at all
thankfully, hornacle (fun fact hornacle's my birth celestial) reciprocated! so they ended up doing ANYTHING BUT TRAINING (but somehow also nothing but training simultaneously. idk man)
sollum (earth) was basically the resident socialite but when the time came to teach torrt they became a little anxious. sure they could do their own thing and do that well, but inspiring another? you must be mad! "the celestial is levelheaded and easygoing though" "nahhhhh bro i'm procrastinating" so then they dragged sollum to do their job and it worked like a charm
can i do titans and the other guys in another post i feel like i've done enough typing already
"I assure you, Phosphora, you have nothing to fear from our mentor. They have no cause to be upset with you in any capacity, you've been keeping up with their lectures, they think you're very competent and rightfully so- I have no reason to believe that this is anything other than the very same stunt they pulled with me."
And yet, Phosphora continued to fuss with one of the glowing nodules on their ear. "I just don't know, Necrull. Once isn't really a pattern, is it..?"
It hadn't been long since the Stair Shaper had played their little trick on Necrull. They had called upon Phosphora to meet them after the very next lecture, giving only the reason of 'needing to speak in confidence, if they had not made prior engagements.' Citing that she had meant to speak to Necrull, which was untrue, she fled temporarily. Mercifully, Necrull had either caught on to the fib or taken pity on its poor floundering classmate, and allowed them a moment of its time before the weightless sensation of astral projecting made it nauseous.
"What if they think I don't care enough because I never ask questions? What if they think I'm too attached to the monsters? What if-"
"I am certain they think nothing of the sort, Phosphora! And even if they did, they wouldn't be so unkind as to dismiss you without so much as asking why you behave the way you do. In fact, if this isn't them being prankish again, I'd be willing to believe that that's what they're wanting here- just to understand you better. You're right in saying you don't speak much, so it makes sense that they'd have no idea what goes on in your head."
"But who's to say they don't know? They are capable of- of- of reading minds, of hearing thoughts!"
Necrull gently shooed Phosphora's hand away from the nodule. "You'll make it rupture. Look, they wouldn't use that sort of power with such wanton disregard. They respect you!"
Phosphora wrung her hands. "But-!"
"You hush now. Listen, just go to them, and if you feel like any distress has come to you by what they say, we can talk about it after the fact rather than before. Does that sound reasonable?"
"Ohh... well, I suppose. You can't cross a bridge before you've reached it."
Although unconvinced, Phosphora conceded. They bobbed their head as Necrull retreated and, after no small amount of deep breathing, dragged her feet back to the Stair Shaper. They did not face her, but beckoned her to follow them up, further and further. As they watched their mentor glide amidst the stars, unmoved by the cosmic winds, tension swelled- or so she felt. Necrull was surely no liar, Phosphora was certain, and would not put her astray or give her false hope on purpose. Did she have no faith in her dear friend?
No, that wasn't the problem. The problem was that Necrull surely had no way of knowing what Stair Shaper's intentions really were. Indeed, it's prediction was sound given the evidence it had, but that evidence was precious little and-
Phosphora's hand found another nodule to fidget with.
What if Necrull was wrong? How was she ever going to face her fellow titans if she failed the Stair Shaper? It was an ugly and evil thought for her to have, but she had always figured Faesodd would have been the first to go if it ever came down to it-
Suspense gnawed at her lip. Or perhaps that was her teeth?
Stair Shaper descended unto a humid and forested planet. Moonlight was beginning to filter down through broad leaves as they picked their way around the roots of sky-scraping trees. They knew Necrull was an avid collector of oddities and trinkets, but Phosphora had no such penchant- something to do with her constant wayfaring, perhaps, they did not need to pry for details. Even so, it felt dishonorable to have given something to one student and nothing to another. Thus, they had come to the conclusion that they ought to bring to light a special place, or perhaps a rare occurrence instead. They wholeheartedly hoped she would like this, the apprehensive thing she was.
As the silvery light of the moon shivered on the forest floor, Phosphora was yet dwelling on their own situation. Why did they need to be so far from the torus for this? Why did all this fidgeting happen if it didn't even assuage her apprehension? Why was the rain on this planet so hot and falling only on their lip- oh no. Ohh no.
Both hands hovered limply over her mouth as luminous yellow ichor dribbled down from the small cut she had unwittingly put in her lip. Oh, this- this was horrendous. On a strange, alien planet with such treacherous terrain and the most learned sorcerer she'd ever met and who knew what sort of wildlife, she herself was the cause of an injury? This was thoroughly and horrendously mortifying.
A still lake emerged between the trees, the full moon glistening in its waters. The Stair Shaper paused just before the bank, turning their gaze over their shoulder- they had not meant to look as though they were ignoring a student. Of course, if Phosphora was inclined to tread behind them, that was her decision to make. All the same, they could not help but feel a shred of guilt that they had not so much as glanced at her since their departure.
"Have I remained in your company, Phosphora?"
They fixed their gaze on her. She gave them no words, only nodding as she crept forward. What glowing thing was she holding there, close to her face, they wondered? As her eyes met theirs, a flash of discomfort, an unpleasant warmth pulsed behind their lip. Hmm.
"Wonderful." They flicked their gaze to the moon. It would be exceptionally awkward if they had mistimed this, and frankly quite sad.
"If I may, Phosphora, I do wonder something. Do you bite your nails when you are distressed? Or perhaps your lip?"
Phosphora winced at the question, eyes averted.
"There is no shame in it. I only implore that you mind when it happens, that you try not to make a habit of wounding yourself, alright?"
The Stair Shaper tapped their finger against their lip where they had felt the pang, and the cut on Phosphora's lip knit together. She could only mumble her thanks as she inched towards the lake.
"Now that we have both arrived," they smiled. "Are you well aware why I needed to bring you aside?"
Try as she might, and indeed she had been trying, Phosphora couldn't conjure up a single positive reason for this conversation. It was another thing entirely to conceive of all the things they might have done wrong, but of all the possible blunders, how could they pick one? Eyes wide, she pressed her mouth into a thin line and prayed her voice wouldn't wobble.
"Did I do something wrong?" She must have. She must have, there was just no way she was doing as well as Necrull.
"Quite the opposite, my disciple, in fact-" Stair Shaper paused abruptly.
Phosphora looked as though she were certain of her imminent demise. She was almost perfectly frozen on the spot, save for a trembling lip. Her lights were dim from distress, and her the wetness in her eyes almost seemed brighter than their regular glow.
"Oh! Oh, Phosphora, I apologize! I only thought to make a bit of a joke of my silence before I let you know what my intent was. I do truly apologize, I never meant any harm by it. You are in no trouble, I assure you."
As the Stair Shaper hastily made to remedy their mistake, Phosphora felt the tension in her being slip away. She laid her hand on her heart, exhaling gently, and pushed an appreciative if exasperated grin onto her face.
"Oh, I wish you hadn't done that... But I suppose it makes me feel better, knowing you thought I could take a joke. Sometimes it feels like the others don't feel the same way, so. I, uh, am grateful for your faith in me, even though you frightened me."
"I believe I understand. I'll be more forthcoming in the future, then, when it comes to such matters as this.
The night bugs called shrilly over the calm waters. Stair Shaper settled on the bank, and Phosphora perched near them with her legs in the water. They craned their neck beyond the rippling canopy. Almost time.
"Well, now that I have gone and thoroughly rattled you," they smiled, "I surely ought to tell you what I truly wanted you to hear- Phosphora, you have been doing just as excellently in your learning as the others, even if you do not believe so yourself."
Phosphora straightened her back and peered at them over her shoulder, fruitlessly inspecting their face with wide eyes for remaining dregs of humor.
"I do appreciate your appetite for progress, and I believe it could very well take you farther than either of us yet know. But please know, you are not required to push yourself as far, or as hastily as you have been. Just as I have already done, I would ask you not to drain yourself."
Phosphora opened her mouth as if to speak, but found herself at a loss for words. She settled for a nod, inspecting her own reflection in the water. Yes, she could slow down a little, she supposed, if it would hurt her not to. Maybe it would help her somehow, who knew?
"There is the other thing we are here for!" Phosphora darted her eyes back over her shoulder towards the Stair Shaper, not wanting to look as though she wasn't listening. Their gaze was fixed on a spot across the lake, though it wasn't clear to her what they'd gotten so excited about.
"It felt discourteous to drag you aside, and then to have you return to your beaten path with only a few words of encouragement which you might not at first believe. Thus, I wanted to show you this."
A glimmer of pale cerulean flitted over the water, its reflection flickering gently. There went another one- and another here, another there, until the air glittered with dancing lights. Phosphora rose in wonder. She strode carefully into the shallows, and, ever so slowly, brought her hand between herself and the swirling lights. In time, one alighted on her palm, and she lifted it towards her face. Illuminated by the sunny yellow of her eyes, it settled in place, and Phosphora could discern from a long body six twig-like legs. She had never seen a blue firefly before... beaming, she turned to the Stair Shaper, and the insect awoke and flitted away.
"I have never seen this many at this lake before. They must be fond of you!"
Phosphora found herself again without words. Wasn't that a wonderful thought?
"Would it be too much to ask, I wonder, to stay here just a while longer?" She knew she could not stay on this planet and follow the moon like she often tried to do on the torus, but entranced as she was, she wanted to stay.
"Well, I am not here to dictate what you ought to do on your own time, my disciple. So long as you are confident that you know how to return to your home, no one ought to be bothered by it. Whatever you choose, however, I myself must away."
"Oh, alright then. Yes, I know how to get back, thank you kindly. "
Hasty goodbyes were said, and Phosphora turned back to the whirling critters without hesitation. Stair Shaper smiled gently as they left. They did not like to lie to their students, but it hadn't been a complete lie, by technicality. They truly had not seen that many before, even if this count only narrowly surpassed the few observations they had made. Furthermore, with such little evidence, they could not claim unarguably that Phosphora’s presence was not actually inviting to the little lights, either. And was that not a wonderful thought?
"...and I do believe that is everything I had outlined for today! I do indeed realize I have kept you for a while longer than I usually do, Faesodd, thank you. Unless there are any questions, you may all feel free to make your departure!"
The astral expanse which hosted the projections of the titans glimmered with countless stars. The thrum of magics subsided ever so slightly as the image of the faerie titan disappeared in a whirl of violet feathers and petals.
Their mirthful glow fading, Stair Shaper turned to their lingering students.
"Ah, but Necrull, if you have the time, the two of us do need to speak in confidence."
Necrull stiffened almost imperceptibly as it rose from the floor where it had sat. Gripped with apprehension, Phosphora offered a secretive wince as they bowed and faded from sight. Cruv'laapht hesitated, squinted gaze bouncing between mentor and mentee. Stalling for time, perhaps, to poke around in said mentor's mind to figure out why their most respected peer apparently needed a personal lecture? But they knew how they looked, and, inclining their head, vanished with a burst of plum light. Necrull drew its head up as though the hollows of its bones had been filled with lead.
"Is something the matter?"
"Indeed, something is the matter. Do accompany me, my disciple."
Necrull clasped its skeletal hands behind itself, feeling it too tense of a situation to let its arms swing loose in their sockets. As it watched its mentor glide through the dizzying multitude of stars, a familiar writhing feeling manifested below its ribs. Oh, how it wished the Stair Shaper would just bring the two of them to solid ground before giving out whatever bad news it surely had!
Almost as if Necrull had announced its unease, its mentor altered their course through space towards a reflective celestial body. The two alighted on a sandy, unpeopled moon Necrull did not recognize, with a thin atmosphere and a clear view of the stars as Stair Shaper preferred. Necrull quite enjoyed sand, the way it surrounded its footsteps like an embrace from the earth. Especially with the vast wheel of the sky still so perturbingly nearby, it felt soothing to bury its ankles in the chill sand. Though its body was indeed still anchored in that crystalline cavern on the torus, this astral projection still plainly felt the piercing vulnerability of the beyond.
The Stair Shaper folded their legs beneath themself, and beckoned Necrull to follow suit.
"Now," they sighed. "Where was I going to begin..."
Necrull fidgeted. Whenever Stair Shaper had to collect their thoughts, a lengthy lecture was likely to follow.
"Ah, yes. Necrull, you recall our first meeting, do you not? The day I sought you out within the caves?"
What was this about? ...well, yes, it did remember.
"Then you shall also recall my, ah... reaction to your acuity, I trust."
It did. "You were surprised that I spoke at all. And when I demonstrated otherwise, you were thrilled to have been wrong, no?"
"That is correct, my disciple. That is what I wish to speak to you about."
The Stair Shaper glanced away ever so briefly.
"I brought you aside that I might offer you a more substantial apology than the one I offered then, you see. I regret that I reacted so strongly. Beings of the underground do not often carry themselves with such dignity as you do- I should have known when I saw you that you were not so unsophisticated as the creatures I had previously seen in such environs. I unfairly judged you by standards unfit by which to judge you, and I apologize for my misgivings and my presumptions."
Oh. Oh. They were still worried about that? "But I have already forgiven you! I do thank you for acknowledging it, but I truly feel you have made amends, amply so."
Stair Shaper's face relaxed, although a shadow of doubt stayed stuck at the corners of their mouth. "Yet again you extend such grace... might I ask you why?"
"Well, I... I suppose it's because I never perceived that you meant any offense by what you said. Perhaps you were unfair, but I have no reason to believe it was out of malice. It was an honest mistake, no? Anyone can make a mistake."
Necrull watched as the Stair Shaper mulled over its words. How strange it felt to be giving reassurance to a being such as them, be they its teacher or not. After a small eternity, they spoke.
"How lucky I am, to have such a student. I thank you, truly, for everything, even despite how short a time we have known each other."
They held their hand out, a piercing blue light shining at their fingertip. It was fiercely hot, such that Necrull felt its face grow hot on one side. Stair Shaper planted their finger in the sand, and as they dragged the brilliant gleam through the sand it flared a blazing azure. Necrull slid closer, captivated by puzzlement.
"I did have one more thing I wanted to tell you, before I let you on your way."
The light vanished, and the Stair Shaper lifted a red-hot glass trinket from the sand. As they cradled it in their palms, a chill mist flew from their lips, and it cooled to a pale jade. Sneaking a glance at their student, they could not keep a smile from appearing on their face.
"Perhaps it has been easy, but you have been doing excellently." They turned the face of the glass towards Necrull - a circular border around two crossed bones. Its sigil!
"Do accept this. It has no magic to it, but I want you to have it, for no reason in particular."
The glass clinked against Necrull's bones as it spilled gently into its grasp. "Why, thank you." It tilted its skull. "What is it?"
"It is whatever you want it to be! It could be a medallion, or a coin, you could eat it if you really so desired. So long as it brings you some speck of joy, I hardly mind what becomes of it."
Necrull gave a quiet, breathy laugh. "Well, I thank you."
"You are most welcome. Gracious, now I have really kept you longer than usual. You must be well and prepared to return to solid ground, no?"
Necrull glanced at the glittering abyss above it. "Yes, very much so."
“Well, do not let me keep you. I shall remain here a while longer- I do believe I adore this place just as much as you dislike it!”
Its smile taut, Necrull bobbed its skull and its projection collapsed in a cloud of dust, leaving the Stair Shaper with one thought.
I was correct, that was amusing. Who ought I bother next with this little ruse of mine?
