#mothfrey

(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!!!

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*

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

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 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

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..!

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."

. . .

is it sth that's tightly under wraps and only the people who were present at the unboxing + doctors know? is it common knowledge or at least rumors among great hall witches? do the daughters apprentices + olly know?

THE UNBOXING, I'M SOBBING -> cheers to whoever drew that youtube thumbnail style of Beldaruit unboxing Qifrey, it lives rent free in my mind Mothfrey Fic: here

it's kind of like the worst kept secret of witchfolk- no one talks about it, but everyone knows about it- kinda like how everyone knows Beldaruit yoinked an 'outsider' as his first ever apprentice in canon but not why. Qifrey is kept on a much shorter leash as a result

Beldaruit keeps him close- not really because he thinks Qifrey is something to be ashamed of, or something unseemly, but because other witches will and he doesn't want him to get hurt -> It doesn't really work, because Qifrey is sneaky and traipses off anyway; but his wings are negligable under his cloak and his antennae pass for odd ahoge if you don't look too close. Witchfolk have been... strongly advised.. to turn a blind eye.

His extra limbs are a bit harder to ignore, but they're always nestled close to his stomach, and only really visible when he's without his cloak and upper portion of his robes [everything else: his segmented limbs and odd coloring, are tucked under tight sleeves and gloves]

Olly still thinks he's beautiful looks like fallen snow, and he's the one that made Qifrey his gloves. He knows everything about the moth -> Mostly because Qifrey vaguely complained that the regular gloves didn't let him move his fingers right, or got stuck in the dip of the segments, and stuck painfully to the little feelers attached to his skin. Similarly, Olly is the only one he lets touch his appendages without express permission. Aside from his girls- who he won't begrudge for being curious- they're gentle enough that he can allow it.

So instead of being called the 'Problem Child' of the Great Hall, Qifrey is called the 'Abomination' [their daughters his apprentices are aware that Qifrey isn't mothy by choice, and want to ask more questions- but Olruggio pulled them aside to tell them it'd be like pressing on a bruise]