I’ve had this idea about a plural tmnt au for a couple days where basically -

Tw for discussion of childhood trauma obv

Ok so there’s only one turtle that gets mutated with splinter and I’ve already decided on the name “ronin” for a collective / bodily name. But something happened very early on in their life that caused them to naturally … naturally isn’t the right word but you get what I mean, cause them to develop DID.

Bada bing bada boom Ronins brain splinters into 4 distinct parts : Raphael, Leonardo, Donatello, and Michelangelo. Named that way due to the fact that at the time of the trauma they were very interested in the renaissance and high-renaissance, probably because those were the only books their dad had.

There isn’t an “original” alter named Ronin or whatever, it’s just 4 guys controlling one body while not knowing the other guys exist or that there are 4 guys in the first place.

Id imagine that the person who’d be out the most would be Leo , idt enough to really gain the “host” role but enough to where when Donnie Raph and Mikey are fronting they try to mask as him the most.

I don’t have much thought for this au past that other than I don’t think I want the trauma to be related to splinter, just cause there are other ways for DID/ OSDD to form and if I ever flesh this out more I’d want to highlight that.

I could just make this my own iteration tbh. Feel free to run wild with it tho I don’t have time to flesh it out rn

In the wine party AU Padmé getting them too drunk to get it up backfires, they're just completely schmoopy over each other, can you imagine the drunk lovesick smiles? They spend all night gazing into each other's eyes and she ends up stuck watching because she stayed over on the couch to make sure they didn't die of alcohol poisoning. So her punishment is listening to them slur "my sun and stars" and "moon of my life" at each other all night, hehe. And of course neither remembers a word of this in the morning...

we know two very different kinds of sloppy drunks lol

I think they’d definitely be very touchy feely but not capable of any sort of romantic babbling. They survive the rest of the party just tipsy and Padmé breaks out another bottle of wine just to be spiteful and stays around to watch them go progressively more touchy. They’re slurring their words, they’re half on top of each other, they pass out on the couch and Padmé has to rescue a still mostly full glass of red from anakin’s hand before it spills out onto the white rug because that’s honestly the last thing she needs right now

Their hangovers are going to be so bad in the morning and she spends the night on the other couch just because she wants to hear the absolute bitch fest they’ll throw at each other when they wake up all tangled together with dry mouth and matching raging headaches

for science

I’m a e2l fan so I want anything you could give us about it like characters likes /dislikes ? Small snippet (sorry Im so excited for this fic I’m asking for alot :,(no pressure though <3)

love you hope you’re doing good

hiii! you're so sweet, ily2! i'm mostly good! a little stressed bc school but i'm keeping it pushing haha

and you're not asking for a lot!! i've actually been talking a lot about this au with a few of my moots lately so i've been itching to share about it so honestly go crazy with asking about it!!! since i haven't gotten as many asks about this au i guess i'll make this ask kind of long and just kind of dump some of the stuff from my notes into it? and i have a tiny snippet i can share too!

so i'll just go on a long ass tangent below lol

okay, so first thing about this au, the one thing i really want to emphasize (without spoiling) is the whole thing about this au is that their breakup reason is important, but also that nobody in particular is at fault. sometimes life just happens, and things happen, and sometimes you just need to take a step back and re-evaluate yourself, your goals, and what you really want! it's about coming back together and choosing that person in the end because you realize not being with them is worse than whatever drove y'all apart!

tbh a lot of this au is partially inspired by my own breakup & how the experience of me getting over it! i was in my early 20s for the first time being single after being in a relationship since i was a teenager and i was like woah wtf idk how to be single/without a partner. so that's a big focus of that! learning how to find yourself and realign your goals and all that!

but we can get into the characters now!

eren:

definitely is a bit more obvious about missing mikasa, but tries to act like he doesnt (he has her highlight still up lol, not doing a good job at it)

mostly just works a lot while they're not together

after they breakup, mikasa moves out of their apartment, so he's stuck seeing all their stuff all the time

the first time they see each other its messy, they get into a big fight lol, they aren't allowed to hang out together lol

but he realizes pretty fast that he regrets the breakup, but he sees that mikasa seems to be doing okay, so he wouldn't wanna intrude on that

he gets armin in the breakup basically (mostly bc he sees armin more, but armin still talks to mikasa, just not as much as he does to eren obvi)

he picks up some of mikasa's hobbies bc he misses her so much lol he's down horrendous

at the very least does miss mikasa at least as a friend

mikasa

after their breakup, because she's kind of trying to spite eren, she starts going out a lot to cope—her "hot girl era" essentially lol

she definitely starts prioritizing herself a lot more, and spends more time with her friends and figuring out what she wants outside of eren

but she definitely misses eren, she's just better at hiding it lol

she partially thinks he just doesn't want anything to do with her anymore (a lot of this is just them being fucking idiots lol), and she basically doesn't try to stalk him or see what he's up to bc she doesn't wanna know out of her own peace of mind

she has very bad flight anxiety so when they fly to italy, she lowkey kind of hopes that eren doesn't change his flight (he does bc he has to do something not even to be petty), and she has a very terrible flight experience and all she wishes is that eren were there

and here's a little snippet! this takes place the day after they break up!! sorry for rambling LOl but hope you enjoyed my little tangent! :)

“Damn, Mikasa,” Gabi called out from behind her, only causing Mikasa to turn around. “We didn’t know you went out on weeknights.” 

Gabi, one of the college freshmen who worked at the gallery, had a tendency to say whatever was on her mind, never bothering to filter herself. Even if Mikasa had grown rather close to her since she started working at the gallery in August, sometimes she wished Gabi would just shut up.

Mikasa scoffed, confused as to what even prompted her to say that. “What are you talking about, Gabi? And don’t cuss so loud, especially where guests can hear you.”

“Your eyes, they’re all red. Not to mention how bad your bags are,” she said, pointing to her eyes. “Seems like someone was a victim of Sunday Funday.”

Mikasa lifted a finger to touch her eye—still puffy, but from tears, rather than drinking.

“Gabi, you’re not supposed to say stuff like that—it’s rude,” Falco chimed in.

“Hey, it’s not my fault she can’t handle her alcohol,” she shrugged, turning back toward Mikasa. “It’s okay, Mikasa, the prettiest girls are always the biggest lightweights. But anyway, are you feeling okay? Does our favorite party girl need some Tylenol? A Liquid IV, maybe? Even a Gatorade?”

Was she supposed to answer honestly? Tell them that she had spent the entirety of her night crying because she and her boyfriend had broken up. That she was sure that the cops almost got called by their neighbors from how loud they were yelling at one another? That Sasha couldn’t even understand her when she called, telling her she needed somewhere to stay because she stormed out of their apartment, not even giving Eren the chance to finish his sentence, somewhere after one of them had uttered the words, “We shouldn’t be together anymore?”

She had been doing so well, pushing the thoughts to the back of her head, trying to get through the entirety of her shift without thinking about everything—about him. She only had an hour left in her shift, but all of her efforts had been to no avail.

It was as if the wind had been knocked out of her, she suddenly lost the ability to breathe, and she felt all the blood drain from her face.

We aren’t together. We aren’t together. We aren’t together. The words playing in her mind on loop.

“Hey, Mikasa. Are you okay?” Falco asked, his eyes flooding with concern as he looked over Mikasa’s current state.

“I think I’m gonna be sick,” she said quickly, before running off to the bathroom.

But maybe just this once, Mikasa was lucky for Gabi’s inability to shut her mouth—at least being hungover was a good enough cover for sobbing her eyes out in the bathroom.

Honest Lie - 6, 22, 25

6. What do you need to write? Is there anything special you need to do/have to help your creative flow?

Honestly, this is an interesting question for this fic specifically, bc my writing usually comes from a place of... pure fucking spite lmao. If there's something I don't like enough, I want to fix it (in Bleeding Heart, it was all the early access bullying lol). An Honest Lie is weird because I actually really like the Astarion canon storyline - though I can't speak for patches. So in this case, what I need to write, is a few weeks of getting depressed from my angsty as fuck AU, and then I come here to be cosy and promise my OC the world :')

22. Does personal experience ever inspire your fics? What about this particular fic?

Crying. killshot.

The fun thing about me, is that I don't consider any of my OCs self-inserts or related to me at all(this is no judgement to self-insert OCs, I simply do not consider myself hot enough to hold a candle to the imaginary women in my brain and thus, I admire anyone with the confidence).

...And then I go into therapy, and my therapist asks me about my writing, and then they give me a long hard look and I say "oh, no, I get that look, but it's not me, you see. because this girl is hot :) and pink :)". And then my therapist looks at me some more.

which is a bit of an overshare, but basically it turns out that every fic I write can be archaeologically surveyed about a year after I write it for the personal experience it actually entails (yes, I'm extremely worried about Pieces).

luckily, Rosalie is 2yrs old, so I have done that work already! and oh boy, does that make writing An Honest Lie fucking weird at times!

I've been pretty open that Rose was my pandemic OC. I didn't write her based on my own pandemic experiences - it was actually that two of my friends at the time were agoraphobic, I was anxious, and I liked the idea of a magical cure for both of those things, in the form of the tadpole. But since I wrote the first fic with her, I have realised a lot about myself: I have recovered from an acute self-hating depression, and I have received an autism diagnosis, all of which seem relevant to the Masker Extraordinaire.

If I was to pinpoint the exact piece of personal experience here, I think it's the irrational fear that all recovery can be undone in an instant. That is the worry that motivates a lot of Rosalie's character. Like Rose, I really fear the moment where my progress is exposed as a lie, or the risk that one thing will tip me back into my worst moment without me having any control over it. I don't think it will happen, but I do feel like that possibility haunts my choices and my everyday life!

25. Is there anything you would change about this fic? Why/Why not?

Weirdly... I'm not sure if I'd write it? which is a depressing way to answer this question. I like it as a project, but it's a little different than my approach to other fics - it feels messier as a story. I mostly started it bc people asked for a continuation of my first fic, and I have a lot of love for A Bleeding Heart... neither of these are good motivations for a whole new fic lmaooooo. But now that I'm here, I wouldn't change anything. I've accepted it's going to be a messier, more self-indulgent project, and that while it doesn't come from my usual urge to fix things in a story, which means I have less prompts going forward, instead I just have to fully enjoy the bits I love.

behind the scenes fic asks!

I really love the little moments you choose to gif. What inspires you to pick the ones you do?

Hiii! Thank you! It makes my heart warm! It makes me happy! <3

The question is quite interesting, because I hadn't never thought in detail about my reasons for choosing specific moments, it's the moment that draws my eyes.

Overlooking how this blog supports women's rights to do wrongs, I like to compare the source material with the web adaptation: like with jiang cheng' dream. Or the gifset I am most emotionally attacked to: this. I still remember that the first time I read jiang cheng smiling looking at his mother (he's the only one who seems truly happy to see her) and it caught my attention: he loves her so much! And she loves him too! I have a soft spot for mother & kid relationship, and I enjoy how their relationship is played in the drama, so, that's how the gifset is born. (the quality is so bad though. At the time I still was using YouTube videos :-/)

Other times, cql and the cast acting choices/interpretations have caught my attention. Like here: the camera shows us, even if briefly, jiang yanli's expression while lan xichen is congratulating jiang cheng: she opens in a little smile only to immediately drop it... What is she thinking? I had in mind another moment to add to the gifset, a parallel, but I felt it was unbiased/leaning toward an exact interpretation, and decided to focus on her expression during jiang cheng's speech to his disciples. Another gifset born due cql choices, is jiang yanli mourning jin zixuan: jin zixuan saying 'I'll take care of you' is a great foreshadowing! I like to think about jiang yanli, looking at jin zixuan's coffin, and remembering that specific moment (or, I've written scenes like this in my jiang yanli survives au lol). the jiang siblings inability to deal with rejection is still so funny.

Other times, mostly born from spite, my gifsets are about themes: love and hurt, jiang cheng protecting his family and being protected, deaths - 1, 2 (initially, I wanted to gif all mdzs's characters' deaths including novel quotes to enlighten the differences between the canon source and the web divergence. I still want to do it! I just need time).

Or I'll do a whole gifset because I want to gif one moment lmao. As in this ao3 tags gifset, I just wanted to include granny wen and wen yuan under the 'rated t for trauma' tag, because I think their past is quite overlooked! (if not to underline who is good and who's bad...) (like, seriously, the wen clan is *great* and I'll obsess over them all more if lotus pier and its dysfunction wasn't there too). Even retelling of jiang cheng and wei wuxian relationship is born due a gif... That I didn’t include because I felt it wasn't fitting the tone of the gifset :-/ ( the gif was lotus pier burning + tag: Lotus pier is a metaphor for chengxian)

Then, to motivate myself to keep reading svsss (I have almost finished the first book), I decided to make this gifset: honestly, parallels/references to mdzs stand out lol. Mxtx, the writer you are.

Uh, I think that's all! Like, I'll honestly make fun of cql too ( sorry, I am mean :-/). Hoping the answer is coherent enough. Still, thank you for the ask!

I'M GOING TO COLLECTIVELY ANSWER THE ASKS ALTOGETHER THAT I OVERLOOKED IN MY INBOX (IM SORRY) YIPPEE!!!😼

Q: I really like your last fanart! Can I repost it on reddit? Of course, I will mention your name and provide a link to the post.

A: YES PLEASE FEEL FREE THANK YOU!

Q: The first time i saw your bitch hunter belos I thought it was a quote shirt Hunter gave him lol like "bitch" -Hunter

A: LMAO honestly hunter would 100% do that out of spite

Q: How are you human? How are you able to draw so well after getting bonked in the head?

A: Let's just say I'm just built different 😼 (im used to concussions and head injuries already)

Q: what do you think about the nightgown scene in was not the hero where Philip wore a woman’s nightgown at the request of Silas and the lap sitting scene between them?

A: It warms and pains me especially when I know what happens next 😭 kdkejdjenejs It's just so tenderly written between the two of them ft. Silas' gay awakening lmaoo

THE REST OF THE ASKS ARE ABOUT THE "Was Not the Hero: The Owl House AU fanfic by Chiconisroc" NSFW PHILIP X SILAS FANART I MADE AND THEY'RE JUST MOSTLY NSFW KDKWJDJE WOW YALL REALLY LIKED THAT HUH IM FLATTERED AND HAPPY

I know technically that you’ve put a pause on repeat this story au BUT…I just got hit with a particular delicious thought…soooo the latest Stanley that Narrator is helping along when Stanley and Co come to get Narrator (pending nickname is Stanford for now) is a particular brand of stubbornness that can rival the other Stanleys - he’s petty, full of spite, and quite fecking done with this shite. It doesn’t help that his own narrator (Narraford) is equally spiteful of his wayward protagonist. (1/???)

(2/??) Building on ur post from before that mentioned the escape pod only fitting 2 ppl at a time, Stan somehow convinces Narraford to comply taking Stanford and freeing them. How? Weeeelll the thing is they both loved pushing each other’s buttons (lol). Stanfords whole deal is that he wasn’t happy with the freedom ending bc he wants to find out WHY the facility is built, who trapped him there, were his co-workers/memories real? And Narraford is fecking upset that his protagonist keeps going off the irrelevant path to try and find more answers, why can’t he just be happy escaping and finding freedom??? He doesn’t NEED to find out the mystery of the office, that’s not the point of the story Stanford!! (3/??) then what was the point? Stan asks, gently. Why write this ending for the protagonist if he doesn’t want it? And that stumps Narraford for a moment. For all his blustering about how perfect his Parable was, what was the point if the audience he wrote it for wasn’t too happy with it? Granted this should be taken with a grain of salt BUT this moment of reflection is just enough for Stan to continue - Stanford just wanted to solve the mystery. He wanted to know what the Parable is. That didn’t sound like someone who isn’t following the story out of spite, doesn’t it? (4/??) in fact he sounds pretty invested in the story! Stan concludes. (Meanwhile Stanford is trying his very best to not strangle - or at least slap a hand over the other’s mouth - bc that was true but he didn’t have to say it/sign it godammit!!!) and Narraford would hate to admit it but they both shared a hunger to know. That was one thing binding them together, for all of their animosity (fun fact: their fav ending is Countdown. Don’t judge me). Like, he still thinks his protagonist is a brat and Stanford hates Narrafords guts but the curiosity of a new ending has Narraford hooked, so in the end he reluctantly agrees to come with Stanford on the first escape pod flight (5/5) i have some other brain worms about them but long story short I went ‘wouldn’t it be funny if they disliked each other but didn’t want anyone else bc they’re at least familiar with each other’ and turned it into a prompt thing (that being said it is by no means of trying to write ur story!! I thought it would be fun to submit a Stanley lol)

(grouped these into one ask, made slightly more readable and added a lil bit of formatting)

no no this is great! and it's a really good read on a narrator and stanley relationship, in that they still NEED each other and dont want anybody else, which is such a fixed thing in the Parable. like all the other narrators we've struggled with so far either tried to really push the idea they DONT need stanley or they just abuse their connection to the point where that need is.... like, not the healthy choice.

it's REALLY HARD to convince a narrator to consider his protagonist's own needs and thoughts but honestly if anyone could do it, it would be Stan. I love him SO much.

and honestly I have no issue with you making the "last" stanley and narrator in the iteration hell, I had some ideas but they were pretty vague at best, mostly a matter of "the Narrator is going to VERY MUCH BE A POWERHOUSE at the point just to make this iteration realize he uh. should probably give them half a second to talk".

I also think theres a hilarity in finally giving this one the name Stanford, since he's endlessly curious and picking fights with beings much more powerful with him because he needs to know all the things. Alright Stanford Pines. we're making all these stanleys watch Gravity Falls later to point and laugh

thank u for giving me a boy. the boy is appreciated.

You know it's very funny because reading the bit about the self aware au just brought out like the worst in me and I couldn't help but think (mostly due to the ritsu part, because boy don't you dare touch my dia) "oh yeah? Two can play that game you know. Touch my día and you're dead to me. What if I decide to never open the game again? What if I uninstall you? What if I forcefully break my phone and buy a new one that has nothing in common with the last one? You won't see me ever again, is that what you want? Don't test how far my spite, anger and disappointment can take me."

Because within the context of "you don't quite know what's going on, but there's something wrong" and especially if you do not realize they're self-aware, they're still just kinda.... A bunch of pixels? So if they bring you more pain than the joy they once did, why wouldn't you get rid of them? If you realize they are actually self-aware that night bring more problems though (moral conundrums y'know y'know)

Anyway I love the concept it's so fun to think about <3 I'm also blaming the worst parts of my thinking process currently on "I'm salty due to my lack of sleep and the blorbos are going to pay for it"

Under the cut for length! As always, yandere is not something I approve of or see as romantic, instead I see it as horror - and similarly see the yandere self-aware stuff as the cousin of the "i got a haunted game at a yard sale" creepypastas lolol

No but you're exactly right. Let's imagine, for a moment, that something like "the pixels become self-aware" actually happens - you might think off-handedly "oh, wow, like those sci-fi movies where the AI becomes conscious and destroys the world", but that's exactly it. You'll think "sci-fi", "movie", "world's end" and it's all very unrealistic. I don't think anybody's really immune to the "But it won't happen to me" mindset especially with something as far-fetched as that. So, even if you think about it, you'd likely just wave it off as a funny joke you came up with and instead go ahead believing you're experiencing a weird bug. Honestly, I've seen weirder playing enstars, and I've had bugs that seemingly nobody else has encountered, so I wouldn't even be fazed. Might e-mail support if it gets really bad (as in - if Ritsu yoinks my hard-earned dia), but I wouldn't be overly worried.

But spite is always a good trait to have in these cases. And literally - imagine you're saving up for a feature scout for the character you produce above all else (instead of an event, bc I think scouts being reliant on luck will often mean you'll end up spending a lot more than on events), let's say you managed to rack up enough for 100 pulls - not even halfway to the point where you'd get pity, but not an amount to sneeze at by any means either. Tomorrow the scout opens, and, if need be, you can still grind some stuff, an upcoming event, some songs you haven't S+ combo'd, and so on, but it won't give you a lot of dia. Maybe for another 10pull - maybe - but every little bit counts.

And then this bitch (lol) on your homescreen gets jealous. Maybe you've skipped his event scout because you wanted to make sure you had dia for this other idol, and he can't have that. So he just... erases your dia. Doesn't even spend it on anything, simply takes those hard-earned 3,500 dia and changes the code into a sweet little zero (this hurt to write). Emailing support wouldn't even help as it's not really a bug, and I imagine it'd be hard to prove you even had the dia in the first place and that it just disappeared. It wouldn't surprise me if someone would be discouraged enough to drop the game. Especially if you're f2p - it's no easy task grinding dia. But I don't think Ritsu would really know what his actions could have as consequence - he'd act out of emotion and on impulse, and wouldn't really realise the problem until suddenly the player is only getting the daily logins, then they log in once a week, then once a month, and then they stop playing. Support was no help, the event scout came and went, and the player, discouraged and disappointed, lost interest. Soon enough, the game is uninstalled, and Ritsu has an eternity in the void to think about how his unhealthy jealousy and impulsive actions brought him that loneliness.

Although if you then make the connection of "Hey, wait a minute, didn't Ritsu literally threaten me with this?" you're definitely better off just buying a new phone before installing enstars again. I imagine the self-awareness like a virus, it stays on your phone the same way game data sticks around if you reinstall a game, except they kinda leak into every crevice of your phone, able to connect to anything the phone connects to, so if you charge your phone on your pc, and then install enstars on the pc through an emulator, you get the "corrupted" enstars there, too.

And dhbdjdjd entirely understandable... i hope you'll be able to get some shut-eye later in the day <3 or at least a moment to sit down and chill!

Uh-huh. Well. That was. A lot. I'm gonna need a while to process this one. What I can say immediately is that I am curious about how much Anne will be appearing in s2. You've said it's mostly a Sasha season in the way s2 was mostly a Marcy season, so I guess I'm just worried she'll drop off the map... mostly because she really has some apologizing to do. Which is interesting, and certainly not a position that canon Anne is ever really put in. Cause correct me if I'm wrong, but Marcy was feeding herself by age 6? Is that what I'm getting from "She heated some leftovers and opened the Gladiator box that housed her new Nintwodo Double Screen. She spent the night hopping and jumping through Sanrio World Deluxe."? Cause if so, YIKES. Again, her taking Anne and Sasha was definitely a bad choice. But to a child in a home like *that*, it may have been her only choice. What I find interesting is the implication of child abuse from Sasha's end, given how Marcy talked about not wanting to tell her because "nothing was happening to her". Which creates an interesting possibility that didn't exist really in canon, which is for Sasha to call Anne out on something, and be completely right to do so. As for Valeriana... wow, can't believe the newt is homophobic, could not be me. (sarcasm). But yeah, the fact that she just... showed up when Anne was at her lowest to whisk her away, and the fact that "cult" shows up twice over in your s2 chapter descriptions... I get the sneaking suspicion that you're leaning into the "Valeriana orchestrated the events of the plot" angle, to which I say *interesting.*

Hey Cynda! I was wondering when you would come by, gonna compile my answers to this and your other asks right here for efficiencies sake, but let me start by saying thanks for leaving such thoughtful questions/comments for me ^_^

Anne's Prevalence in An Alchemist Abroad

So not gonna get too deep into it here, but I will say that AU!Anne will be around more than C!Sasha was in Season 2 of the show. Just to give a ballpark.

Marcy's Home Life & Motivations

It wasn't every night, but Marcy definitely was feeding herself when things got too busy. Which is awful terrible quietly tragic a great show of resourcefulness! And I'm glad that Marcy's motives are sympathetic. That was a big goal of that chapter and this season in general. Not justified mind you, but sympathetic.

Marcy's View of Sasha's Home Life

So Sasha's home life is complicated and bad in a very different way from Marcy, which we will get to in S2. However I will say that Marcy has also downplayed her own needs/wants for most of her life both with her biofamily and her friendship. So her undervaluing the hurt she has felt is not out of character.

Edit: Whoops forgot to Address Val lol

Valeriana

While I get why everyone is angry at her. I will say in her defense, she didn’t force, manipulate, or even prod Anne to leave. She just gave her a second option when Anne felt she had none. 

No, that was a funny guess. It wasn't super intentional, its very much a thing that I think I will explain and people will go 'oh that makes sense'. There wasn't a super clear wink/nod

That would be very funny though

Oh man that would be so mean! Holy shit. Man I had considered leaving a coy 'Guess We'll See ;)' kind of answer, but honestly no thats not in the cards for this AU. I could see Sasha possibly going for it, she doesn't know they had dated, and probably wouldn't care if she did. Marcy would probably let it happen, considering her own self worth/guilt complex at the moment. I think the deal breaker here is Anne though, in that even as hurt as she is, I don't think she would be that spiteful given the circumstances. God so much drama if she did though.

Sorry to disappoint but that was a typo, wherever it was. 20,000 words is a lot to work through. I probably left out or missed the 's' key.

opal, lapis, malachite, and pyrite? :)

Since the Mass Effect obsession has returned FULL force, we're going with Adrian!

Opal - What motivates your protagonist to complete their goal?

FOG. I'm... not entirely kidding, like 75% of Adrian's motivation throughout the series is, in fact, a combo of: Fear, Obligation, and Guilt; the remaining 25% is split between spite and a deep sense of justice and love for the galaxy - which, honestly, is where the fear comes from, too. She's afraid of being found a fraud... but more than that, she's afraid of what will happen if she doesn't take up the mantle she's been handed, because regardless of her feelings? There's so much to the galaxy. So many good people, so many people who deserve a chance to do better, so many who may be bastards but are probably mostly bastards because of systems put into place long before they existed, and they should get to have a chance, too; and as much as she doesn't want to do this... she's afraid that if she doesn't? No one else will.

Lapis - What makes your antagonist 'the bad guy'?

Blue and orange ultra-longterm view morality aside - They want to kill everything beyond the most barely sapient creatures xD As far as Cerberus goes - Plain old racism and extremism, honestly. Their goals could have been noble enough; trying to prove humanity has plenty to offer despite being the newcomers to the galaxy, but uhhhh yeah no that didn't quite happen.

Malachite - What do the characters have to lose?

Everyone and everything they've ever known lol Mass Effect goes for high stakes. On a personal level... Adrian, on the one hand: has a career and reputation to lose, if the truth ever gets out/she owns up to what went down on Akuze. On the other: Has her own happiness and well-being to lose by continuing to play along and remain in the Alliance. She's also likely to lose at least part of her family, if she ever quit. (It's why I'm finally caving and working a Shepard Lives AU - the consequences of her staying alive are, honestly, pretty interesting to explore!)

Pyrite - Could the antagonist and protagonist ever be friends?

For the Reapers? Honestly, Adrian's enough of a deep sea & tech nerd with a passing interest in history that she /would/ like to interact with them in a non-hostile manner! For Cerberus and The Illusive Man? ... look Adrian doesn't like killing (and yes you're probably wondering, 'sir why are you still a soldier-' see FOG up above) but TIM is one of the times she would willingly, and indeed, /happily/ end a life.

Coming Attractions!

First Monday of the month, so here goes!

(And, as is often the case with these, I'll be keeping an eye on my askbox for an Open Question Night. Anything I've posted about here or on AO3 is fair game; I do take prompts but am not necessarily very fast at filling them)

Year of the OTP

I'm still behind on all of these, haha...I still have to do the three origfic ones for June (but...honestly, I didn't...really like most of the June prompts, ah well) and all five for July, plus get caught up on August. Goal is to get all of that done by the end of the month, but we'll see how it goes (especially since this month involves the Actual Moving sooooooo yeah)

Other SW Fic

Mostly putting this here to say that Precipice is not dead because I refuse to let it die; granted I haven't been actively working on it as much as I should lately, but I will update Someday, I promise. Unless I end up falling out of the fandom entirely, that fic continue.

BSG Fic

Once again plugging the Big Bang/Mini Bang event! There's still time to sign up! We are particularly low on betas, and could also use a few more artists. So given the numbers I'm not going to participate as an author myself (though I'll beta and probably jump in to podfic). Also the idea I had I'm not sure how to structure it (Zarek character study; the general idea was him looking back on his first arrest as he waits for his execution; drawing some on that great quote of his from Kobol "It's a lot easier to get blood off your hands than on it" or something like that; sort of approaching the questions of how much of his rhetoric does he (still) actually believe; some things about charisma and leading other people to their deaths; I was going to title it 'The Blood of Angry Men'...)

Other projects--aside from the OTP stuff, I am still slowly putting The Other Battlestar together. No real ETA on that, but it is coming. And it is going to be. Extremely Long, lol. Even if I do end it after Pegasus, which is my current plan (because while I have Some thoughts, figuring out how drastically things would shift after that is. A Pain. I can more or less do In Spite Of A Nail between Atia and Kimble to get the fleet in Close Enough to that same position by the time that encounter happens but. After. Man.) But yeah, very long, because...I don't need to cover/rewrite everything, but there's a Good Chunk that does need to be reworked, plus covering those six months from the Pegasus side...It's probably going to be Precipice-length (200-250k) by the time I'm done, lol.

There are always other things noodling around in my head, but that's pretty much all that's sort of Actively In The Works.

(But sign up for the event! Join us!!!!)

Les Mis Fic

Yeah so this is the current primary brainrot, lol. Papa and J... is picking up again; Ari will start learning some things in the next chapter! And will find it way easier to identify J than initially expected, lol.

For the stuff Ari won't be able to learn (due to letters/records being lost, either deliberately or because...just...::gestures at the 19th-century French governments:: ), I'm going to post a companion piece after P&J finishes, working title Provenance.

The other project which I'm hoping to start posting soon is a Groundhog Day AU, working title Acheron. I'm excited for that one but. uh. Definitely heed the warnings when it comes out because. Yeah.

Other Stuff

I'm doing the occasional origfic snippet that's not connected to the OTP fills; plus bouncing back to some of the AtLA projects I started on at the beginning of that fandom renaissance, but nothing super concrete coming up.

But also pod_together! Writing is done, recording is mostly done (I think?), I'm really excited for how this one's turned out. Leverage in the style of Shakespeare, it's a delight. (Three scenes; one with Eliot and Parker set fairly early; one with the whole crew in the Exposition scene; and a soliloquy from Sterling which was actually the first thing I wrote XD)

I also haven't forgotten about Incinctus, especially since Nocturne finally has an actual Trailer. But I think I'm going to need to rewatch the show and get in the right headspace in order to actually update it (which I do want to do! I just. Got stuck on the next chapter that needs to come out, haha...)

fun fact: watching castlevania was actually how i ended up getting actively back into bsg fandom XD

...I think that pretty much covers it! Like I said at the top, Open Question Night, and I'd love to hear about what you guys are working on, too!

also this is a reminder to me to finish putting together the Story Details form/do a reminder post about the first GBB checkin coming soon...

🎶

these are mostly my canon interpretations because honestly your portrayals are like almost indistinguishable from my own headcanons lol (we have the same brain yippee) and i was only able to get so many songs because i have playlists for almost all of these characters. this is gonna be a long one so bare with me bro

p.s: i did try to include explanations for the songs for your au claus but since i dont know him that well there may not be any

for lucas:

billy bibbit by san fermin

i cant explain this one that well but you'll understand when u listen lol

if all goes well by the dear hunter

i just really love this song for him (and like 2 other blonde protagonists with severe Issues), i really wanna do a lyric comic w/ specifically the "love us all in spite of what we'll do to you" lyric bc i think that really is like. him

the killing type by amanda palmer

i just think he hates killing stuff. like obviously. this song fits him really well, and the bits about killing to make someone feel are totally directed at the masked man

cheshire kitten by sj tucker

yippee bonus song!!! this one just reminds me of him being kinda Strange, esp after hinawa died. also stripes reference (fun fact: he shares this song with pokey on my playlists!!! theyre twinning!!!)

for ness:

hard times come and go by pokey lafarge

my friend gave me this song last night because of the artists name being really funny but it did actually remind me of pokey and ness so i decided to put it on my playlists

im not a dog by the pleasantries

its literally him bro. i just think he's kinda Sad sometimes. i have the matching song on my pokey playlist.

numb bears by of monsters and men

i wanted to include something happy on here, i think winning the war against giygas was a big win for him, especially with how much discouragement he got from people

for ninten:

the rainbow connection by kermit

i aint explaining this one its just him

constellations by the oh hellos

also not explaining it i dont have that many thoughts abt this one. i just think its kinda nintencore

change by steven universe

him and giegue i guess. because he's a little pollyanna.

for au claus:

a terrible ride by lizard boy

he obviously regrets like. everything that happened. especially because he lost his brother because of it

worry for naught by go child

reminds me of his general fear of how he could get caught not being the real claus (fun fact: this song is just all star by smash mouth but altered with new lyrics)

silhouette by owl city

isnt he like searching for lucas All The Time even though none of them are his. that's gotta hurt bro

Hello! May I request Albedo and Kaeya with a villain au darling that just basically lost all their drive to live after being hunted down by everyone else. Darling is just apathetic and tired at this point, the only thing that catches their attention is any news to get home but other than that they’re just very silent and sullen. Wonder how the Khaenri’ahns help Darling during this low point. Thanks!

Broken Darling

im assuming you wanted them to be put seperately? eitherways here is your angst you’ve all been waiting for!!

albedo was furious, to treat any being like this— but what made him even more furious is that you didn’t even have any will to live anymore. he was angry, at himself for allowing you to get mistreated. and at teyvat, for making you like this, you wouldn’t even willingly eat?? Sure he may be an alchemist but theres only so much that he can do..

he opened the door to your room, he walked up slowly, his shoes making contact with the hard cold ground every time he took a step

you were sitting on your bed, the depressing aura in the room was hard to ignore, he didn’t know what to do, so he just followed his instincts, he crouched and you readied yourself incase you got hit once again..

however what came wasn’t something you were expecting.. a hug? albedo hugged you? and honestly you did feel a little cold, that warm embrace.. it brought you back a little life, and you just cuddled in the warm embrace, albedo felt a little better, i mean hugging with your graceness? he usually didnt like hugs.. but this one was an exception

you kept holding on to him for dear life, never wanting this warmth to go away, well you basically just hugged him back, it made you feel happy and less lonely.. wow, you never knew you would be so grateful for a hug..

“thank you, albedo” your voice spoke up as you teared up, it was a little quiet because of how raspy your throat is, you honestly needed that after all that has been thrown at you.

kaeya never usually had hard feelings for anyone, he was a playful guy, he could mostly get along with everyone, although what left him shocked and speechless was that how the people of teyvat would treat you as if your some.. criminal and how the archons let it happen with no thinking about their actions whatsoever?? It was childish, he didn’t know what would happen if he wasn’t there to help you get away

you had just left the gates of mondstadt, people were yelling at you ’imposter!’ and somethings along the line of ‘fraud!‘ it all made you confused and hurt, you were excited to be transported to your favorite game and meet all your favorite characters but.. this certainly was not what you were expecting?? you had hid near windrise, rethinking all that you did, you never did anything bad?? you couldnt recall atleast, and you already took the time to cry so now your eyes looked dull and empty, you didnt bother to leave your spot, you just sat here hoping no one would catch you.

once kaeya saw you sitting down there, he knew this might be his only chance to get your grace on his side, but he didnt only want you to help him.. he wanted to help you, and that way you could both defeat the archons in spite of the lifes they have taken with their hands in cold blood, he was ready to get revenge in Khaenri’ah’s name and in your name.

he wanted to help you feel something again, he didnt want you to feel hurt or pain, he just wanted you to feel happy for once, thats what brought him here to this spot, he was crying in your shoulder while hugging you tightly, he couldn’t bear the thought of you, who provably is the only one who understands him, to want to die. He just wants to see you happy for once

in empathy, you hug him back, but deep down he knows you could never again show emotions, and all affection you gave him was in pity

[ anyways you thought this was wholesome? nah bro, albedos actually is more wholesome but kaeyas is just full on angst lol ]

i made another post about this a while ago but i can't find it

but au where richie gets a nice burst of spite and decides on complete impulse power to take the wind out of pennywise's sails by coming out to the losers immediately.

he races back to the townhouse, paces around in front of increasingly concerned bev and ben until eddie and bill both get back. eddie is covered in goo or whatever, but richie begs him to wait to wash it off.

"this is a time sensitive issue," he says, trying to joke through it even though he feels like he's going to faint any second, because that's what he does. "i have a limited window of bravery." (that part isn't true of course, richie has always shown up boldly for his friends. he's kept one secret and he thinks it defines him.)

anyway, so he tells them. short and sweet, just the two words. but then of course he realizes, oh, actually, that's not everything is it? the clown could easily still hold the other part over richie's head, and honestly that part is the bigger deal anyway. so he adds on, "and i was in love with eddie. might still be, i don't know. feels like it."

and there's a huge long pause, mostly because this was obviously really difficult for richie so no one wants to demand if this was really the time (not knowing how it's clown related). but richie hardly even notices what the rest of the losers are doing, because the one who could have the worst reaction is the one richie could least handle being hurt by. he only has eyes for eddie.

and eddie- is just staring at richie, his mouth slightly open, his eyebrows pinched together. he's just shocked and confused at first, but then richie can tell that he's thinking something over. and while he's thinking it over (bait lol), he starts to tremble just slightly and he swallows convulsively, and oh no oh fuck oh god-

"you would never," eddie says. and he's not really talking to richie so much as just acknowledging this truth out loud, but richie doesn't realize that so he hurries to promise of course not, eds, whatever it is i would never. i would never.

and eddie says, "i have to get a divorce." and ofc richie immediately parkours into a new panic.

"hey, whoa whoa," he says. the words are what one might say to sooth an anxious horse or whatever, but the tone of the delivery would only make it much worse. "i'm not asking you for anything, man."

"no, richie, shut up," eddie snaps, fumbling around in his pockets looking for his phone. "shut up, it's not about you, i just- i thought that's just what it's like for everyone. that's just what love is like, it just makes you feel- like that. but it doesn't, it-" he pauses in his search and sticks richie is a wide-eyed look. "how long...?"

richie can only shake his head, and eddie insists semi-desperately, "i have to know, rich. i have know when..."

richie shakes his head again. "i'm not being shy, man," he says apologetically. anything eddie directly asked him for, richie would give if he could. "i really don't know. looking back there's no point it's not there." eddie snorts doubtfully, coming out of his anxiety a little at the familiar opportunity to give richie shit.

"what?" he huffs. "like love at first sight? c'mon, we were like six."

but richie shakes his head one more time.

"no, i know," he agrees. "it's just like- it's so... much. it's like it changed everything before."

there's another long pause. the losers are all holding their breaths watching this unfold. the last time something like this happened to any of them was ben's poem. eddie is rosy and soft, like pink frosting.

"you..." he breathes. "you love me so much it changed the past?"

richie cringes (idiot). "god, sorry," he mumbles, looking down at his shoes. "that's so-"

richie was going to say gay, but eddie interrupts, cutting richie off short even though he only speaks in a murmur, because what he says is, "-romantic."

some meta about Izuku, Katsuki, and trust

and choosing to trust is the real bridge that goes to accepting that person as a part of your live again and what the offender has to earn. I think the interesting aspect of Deku and Bakugou's relationship is that Deku has always trusted Bakugou, and I would say more than he had forgiven him at the start of the story (where he does show more frustration and resentment towards Bakugou's behaviour and see him as a jerk) but despite that he can always trust Bakugou to him himself, attested to

the fact that Deku feels very confident about how Bakugou will act or what Bakugou's true motives are and probably the reason why he always sees Bakugou as a hero despite his hurtful behaviour is because Deku 100% trusts Bakugou even if he's doing something disagreeable or that will hurt him. Knowing someone and trusting is not exactly the same and I see it as trust because of Deku willingness to be co-operative. On Bakugou's side he is mistrustful of Deku and thats where the communication

breaks down and there has been plenty of meta exploring why Bakugou has deep rooted problems around Deku and his journey is him taking accountability of that and changing to be a better person. While understanding and miscommunication get their fair due I think trust and mistrust are the true bedrocks of the bkdk river bed because that allows for how they can still be so connected despite the miscommunication (with Bakugou mistrust is mixed with some trust) because of knowing.

anon I really enjoyed this, thank you for sharing your thoughts! I concur with just about all of this, and this ask got me thinking a lot about the nature of trust, and how it applies to Izuku and Katsuki’s relationship.

I think a lot of people’s reactions to reading the sentence “Bakugou and Deku have always trusted each other” would pretty much be, “???” and “lol what.” like, yeah, sure. they trusted each other so much that Bakugou decided that throwing a tantrum for ten years would be an appropriate reaction to Deku trying to hold his hand. classic Trust, right there!!

lol but I honestly think this is true, though. it’s just that there are different... levels?? types?? of trust. let’s go with types. there are different types of trust, and what makes Izuku and Katsuki’s relationship so interesting to me is that it’s kind of the opposite of what these fictional rival-type relationships usually are. it’s basically the difference between knowing, and understanding.

okay so first of all let’s back up here to make sure we’re all on the same page. we’re defining trust as “firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone”, which is the Oxford Language definition and which works pretty well for me. you’ll note, btw, that the current relationship between Katsuki and Izuku more or less meets all four of these criteria.

reliability - both boys regard each other as dependable and are willing to rely on each other in a pinch (although Izuku is currently having some difficulty with that, but that’s another topic for another day).

truth - both are honest with each other, though not completely honest (this is the aspect that Katsuki still needs to work on, as he’s currently hiding his desire to atone).

ability - neither of them have any difficulty with this. Izuku admires Katsuki’s ability so much that he’s made it his own gold standard since childhood, and Katsuki respects Izuku’s ability enough that he made him his main rival, and never doubted that Izuku was qualified to receive OFA and become All Might’s heir.

strength - as with ability, this is another aspect of trust that neither of them has ever struggled with. in fact, a lot of their relationship struggles happened specifically because Katsuki never doubted Izuku’s strength, but feared it because he didn’t understand it.

so yeah. there’s a lot more trust between them than most people realize, I think. but the thing is that the type of trust they have is based more on knowing than understanding, and that’s where so much of their conflict stems from.

when I say knowing, I’m talking about the kind of awareness that comes from familiarity and experience. this is the type of trust that’s difficult to take shortcuts with, because it mostly just has to be accumulated over time. this is all about learning what someone is like through observing them and being around them. and it’s just as much about being known as well, because at the same time that you’re learning who the other person is, they’re learning about who you are. and that’s where trust starts to work its way in. it’s the slow unveiling of who you are, and laying it on the table piece by piece over time. and every time another little piece of you is revealed and accepted, and every time you accept one more piece of who the other person is in turn, that trust increases a little bit more. this type of trust takes a long, long time to build up, but in exchange the foundation it creates is pretty much rock-solid and nigh-indestructible.

understanding, on the other hand, to me is more instinctual. it’s about empathy and insight. and the interesting thing is that it’s possible to know someone for years upon years, and yet never truly understand them. and on the flip side, it’s also possible to understand someone within minutes of meeting them, even if you know almost nothing about them. if “knowing” is about learning who someone is, I would say that “understanding” is about learning why they are who they are. this type of trust isn’t necessarily always mutual, but it does necessitate forming a connection with someone. because empathy is such a critical component of it, it’s basically impossible to understand someone and not form an emotional connection to them in some way. this type of trust can be far more powerful and intense than the “knowing” type of trust, but the flip side is that it can sometimes be less stable and easier to break.

I think that the majority of fictional relationships, especially the ones that become really popular ships, are based more around the latter type of trust because of its intensity and unpredictability and potential for story development. the thing is, both of these types of trust are necessary for a good ship (and when I say “ship”, I’m talking about both romantic and platonic relationships just fyi). if neither type of trust is present on at least some level, then there’s really no foundation to start building up the relationship. so most of the time a ship will start out with one or the other, and then over the course of the story they'll work on building up whichever one was lacking.

and because of how stories work, the majority of the time we’re going to be dealing with characters who at first don’t know each other all that well. and so the relationships we get are ones where the characters first form some kind of emotional connection that builds understanding, and then over time they start to learn more about each other and build up that kind of trust as well. I feel like 90% of ships have this kind of dynamic. it’s the basis for things like enemies-to-lovers, fake dating AUs, and basically any kind of trope in which the characters get stuck somewhere and are forced to spend a lot of time together. it’s good, and it works.

but the fascinating thing about the relationship between Izuku and Katsuki, though, is that it’s actually the exact opposite of this. the premise of Izuku and Katsuki's story is that these are two people who’ve known each other their entire lives, but have almost no understanding of each other whatsoever. they know almost every little detail about each other, so much that they hardly even think about it. but all of their conflict is based on the fact that understanding between them is basically nonexistent.

and to me this is such an intriguing dynamic. the two of them know each other like the back of their hand. they’re familiar with the smallest habits. they can predict each other’s actions. they know how the other person thinks. and they have the kind of trust that comes with having seen the other at both their best and their worst. Katsuki is capable of letting his guard down around Izuku in a way he doesn’t do around anyone else. he cries in front of him on multiple occasions. he lets Izuku call him “Kacchan” long after their other childhood friends have stopped doing so. and even though he fears and resents Izuku’s strength early on, he also subconsciously acknowledges it in ways that even he doesn’t realize (e.g. “don’t you dare get into U.A.,” rather than “you can’t get in” or “you won’t get in”). he knows Izuku.

but he doesn’t understand Izuku. he knows who he is, but he doesn’t understand why. he knows that Izuku is strong, but he can't wrap his head around the nature of that strength. and because he lacks that understanding, this vital aspect of the trust between them is lacking, and is all too easily broken when Katsuki falls into the creek and Izuku tries to offer his help. Katsuki knows that Izuku is a good person, but he doesn’t understand that goodness, that selflessness, and so he’s mistrustful of it.

on the flip side of the coin, however, Izuku has the utmost faith in Katsuki. to him, Katsuki is the strongest, smartest, most capable and most amazing person in the world (aside from All Might). and Izuku, unlike Katsuki, actually does understand his childhood friend at least a little bit. he understands Katsuki’s reasons for wanting to be a hero. he understands that Katsuki is not just mindlessly pursuing strength. he understands that Katsuki’s motivation is about overcoming obstacles and beating challenges. and most importantly, he understands that Katsuki, in spite of everything he’s said and done to Izuku over the years, is fundamentally a good person.

and this is crucial. because, along with the bond of familiarity they’ve built up together over the years, it’s this other, one-sided bond of understanding that is responsible for their relationship enduring for as long as it did despite everything. as you put it, anon, Izuku’s trust is ultimately what becomes the bridge between them. on some level, he trusts in Katsuki’s innate goodness. he believes in it in spite of all of Katsuki’s attempts to persuade him otherwise. e.g. when Katsuki suggests that he go jump off the roof, Izuku is hurt by the words, but he never once takes them to heart, because he knows on some instinctive level that Katsuki doesn’t mean them. and so he grumbles to himself about Katsuki needing to think before he speaks, but aside from that he never gives the words another thought.

Katsuki would no doubt consider this yet another example of Izuku not caring enough about himself or taking himself into account. but it really is more than that. the reason the words don’t cut deep in spite of them being vicious and well-targeted is simply because Izuku knows that Katsuki isn't truly that cruel. and he knows that on a level so deep that Katsuki is never able to break it despite his best efforts. he can’t break it, because there’s nothing to break, because it’s true. the reason the relationship endures in spite of everything is because deep down Katsuki is fundamentally a good person, and so Izuku’s trust, in the end, is based on truth. and so it never fully breaks, and eventually, it becomes reciprocated.

and that’s what their story is all about. it’s two people that have known each other their entire lives, but have to work in order to build their understanding of each other. unlike many ships, they start off already having that foundation of knowing and being known, and so their story instead is about forging that connection of empathy and insight. and it doesn’t come easily to them at all. but they keep at it.

anyway, so thank you again for sharing your thoughts on this, anon. I didn’t even get into the topic of forgiveness, but I agree with you about it being a process of letting go of negative feelings and resentment. I also agree that forgiveness is a separate thing from trust, but I do think trust plays a big part in one’s decision to forgive or not forgive. it's a lot easier to forgive if you have an understanding of the other person’s actions. and it’s also far, far easier to forgive if the offender’s actions are long in the past. and because the latter is now true in Katsuki’s case, that shows a pattern of him learning from his mistakes and not repeating them. which further builds trust, especially in the “reliability” department. and so even though forgiveness and trust are two separate things, they’re still connected. and in many ways, by working to rebuild the understanding between him and Izuku, Katsuki is also working towards earning Izuku’s forgiveness, even though that’s ultimately something that can never truly be earned, but can only be granted.

I’m not sure if I’m really making my point very clear here lol, but basically what I’m trying to say is that while the relationship may have once been one-sided in this aspect, it’s not anymore. it’s mutual, and they’re both putting the work in. and Katsuki is also doing his part without any guarantee or expectation of forgiveness on Izuku’s end. it’s unconditional. he’s doing it because he wants to atone. and he’ll continue to do it whether he’s forgiven or not. and that’s important. it’s important because it shows that the relationship has value to both of them. and it’s important because neither of them wants to lose it. they want to fix it; they want to make it stronger.

and ultimately what that means is that the relationship will continue to endure, despite their ups and downs. because even though it may have started out as something incidental -- two boys who just happened to become friends because they spent a lot of time together as children -- it’s not, anymore. it’s no longer just something that happened, something that just accidentally came together. it’s something that they’re both working to build. they want to trust each other. they want to understand one another. their relationship is no longer something that simply withstood and persisted -- it’s something that is now being nurtured. and you love to see it.

so let's see, how do I even begin to tl;dr this post lol. something something blah blah blah trust, understanding, childhood friends, knowing someone, having faith in someone, being the recipient of that faith, and working to become worthy of it. they're very confused, but they care about each other a lot, and they are good boys.

Hi just found your blog and I am ASTOUNDED at the insane number of OCs and AUs you have planned in detail I aspire to be like that it's amazing and I am lost for words. I may not know the fandoms they are from but one doesn't need to be in the fandom to appreciate art. If you need to, you can take this ask and info dump anything you want. If you are still carrying on with the Overthrown Ozpin AU that'd be preferable haha, but please go all out on anything you want. No questions in particular from me. Also would it be ok if I were to write fics for that AU if anything catches my eye?

hi!! i was,, not expecting an ask let alone smth so sweet?? i'm so glad you like my stuff, particularly the overthrown ozpin au!! i have put a LOT of hard work into the overthrown au in particular, since i've been developing it for over a year, so it's a project (of sorts) that i'm very proud of!! really i have nothing but time on my hands and an endless imagination, fueled by my adhd and autism, sooo that's how i'm able to make these au's and oc's LOL. and honestly, what i've posted on tumblr is just barely the tip of the iceberg of the shit i've made since i rarely post what i make on tumblr. also, if you were to write fics for the overthrown au i think i'd actually cry. like, if you do you may as well be asking for my hand in marriage LMAO. careful, you won't be able to get rid of me :)

and about infodumping!! honestly i really love infodumping about the overthrown au, and honestly it has so much shit going on in it that i could infodump for literal DAYS. not kidding, i infodumped to cara-kira for two days and i still missed a lot of shit. not that i can remember what they were given the fact that there's that much info (seriously, a friend of mine, snom, made an entire google doc and it's 12 pages long, and it doesn't even include everything or up-to-date info). i've been developing this au for over a *year* and there's still shit that needs to be given detail lmao (mostly bc i fixated on oz and oscar). but i'll happily infodump!! here's the link to the last post i infodumped on about the au, there's lots of info! i'll just share random facts here

-in the overthrown au, because of how much ozpin drinks and smokes, his voice gets incredibly deep and scratchy. a close match to his voice is smaug mixed with corpse husband lol

-the overthrown au takes place over ~17-18 years

-ozpin's exile lasts for 2 years, ozpin's reign of vale lasts for 5 years, ozpin's reign of vale and mistral is another 5 years, add vacuo and it's another 5 years, plus one more year for atlas

-oscar is a ram faunus in this au, with his trait being ram horns! this isn't known about until he's around 10 years old though, since his biological parents aren't known, and that's when his horns start growing in

-oscar was also born far later than in canon, not long before vales takeover

-ozpin has COUNTLESS scars from all kinds of wounds from all kinds of sources. burn scars, stab wounds, bite/claw wounds, you name it, he has it

-ozpin's goal isn't only to get his task done and to unite humanity, but to also spite the gods and finally achieve a permanent death

-ozpin has two wyverns; one he found and tamed during his time with roman, and the other that came from the mountain like in v3. however, the first wyvern is smaller and younger (able to be ridden far easier), and the second one is ancient, twice the size of the canon wyvern (possibly larger), and shockingly intelligent, able to understand human language and string together sentences. ozpin uses the larger wyvern to create a sort of living ship by hollowing out the black flesh, leaving behind organs and bones and replacing the rest with metal and dust. it takes a long time to build it, and it's a terrifying sight to behold

-vale plus the other kingdoms get turned into what's known as The Oz Empire. it's a very dangerous place, being a totalitarian fascist police state, not to mention the guards and the grimm that patrol regularly

-when it was shown just how unbelievably powerful oz is (given he took over vale in a single night), lots of scientists and other rich important people went to vale, believing they'd be spared if not on the enemy side

-the scientists, engineers, etc helped to create the empire's own airships, vehicles, weapons, armor, etc, building several factories throughout vale and the other territories

-oz sort of just,, threw together his army. at first, it was a mish-mash of unwilling huntsmen (professional and students), white fang, and robots. after scientists and whatnot started making things such as airships and armor, it more or less assembled itself with oz doing minimal work

-oz's outfit changes over time just like everyone elses, going from a torn and battered version of his old headmaster outfit, to being more military-esque. this is accompanied by the grimm from his grimm arm spreading over the right half of his body

-oz takes the maiden powers back for himself, and being inspired by how cinder fights, he's an incredibly skilled fighter with his magic

-despite the fact that oz is possibly the strongest fighter on remnant, he still has weaknesses to exploit, such as his arrogance, health issues, temper and his trauma

-oz tends to easily twist things around to mean something else entirely, i.e. being able to twist a crown of roses into treason, and he tends to project a lot onto people

-depending on his mood that day, he'll either be shockingly merciful or have no mercy at all. it doesn't matter what you did unless you hurt him personally

-oscar, despite being 15 (at the time of atlas), is an extremely skilled fighter, and is very good at hiding (because of his training/abuse from oz). his weapon is a glaive named Thus Always, the first half of the saying Thus Always to Tyrants (a small rebellion against oz)

-when oz accidentally revived qrow and glynda (which was a one time thing), it turned out that he could control them using orders, despite them being perfectly conscious. they're also immortal, but they can be killed

-the Oz Empire is a capitalist hell, and the classes are pretty clearly divided. though, everyone is miserable because of the police state, and oz simply not wanting them to be happy

-there's actually an infantry that rides sabyr's into battle. yes this is an actual thing

-most of beacon was changed a lot, and after the takeover, it resembles more of a gothic castle, with green banners embroidered with oz's emblem everywhere, and green torches lit with oz's magic. the entire place effectively looks like the beacon vault because of this

-the actual beacon vault was changed and expanded to be dungeons and a laboratory, meant for dr merlot himself to experiment on SEWs and prisoners to make human-grimm hybrids

-two of these experiments succeeded, creating The Lion and The Panther. the lion is twice the size of the hound, made personally for oz. it has a whip-like tail with several ends, and it has a roar that can effectively paralyze you. it somewhat resembles manticores. the panther on the other hand is the same size as the hound, if a smidge smaller, and it was made for oscar, and built for speed, agility and stealth in mind. whenever oscar tries running away, it tends to be the one to catch him if oz doesn't

-as more of the grimm from oz's arm spreads, he gets more grimm abilities, such as controlling them with more ease and summoning grimm hands with glyphs

-because of oz's alcoholism, he's actually completely lost the ability to see color, and to him everything is in various shades of gray

-oz's hair gets longer over time; he basically never cuts it unless it starts to become a liability in battle

-there's actually a nurse oc who takes care of oscar after training and beatings, and her name is Taffy Hollyhock! she's a red panda faunus with a large fluffy tail, and wears mostly pink. she used to be a huntress before she became a nurse (she wanted to help people more closely), and her semblance lets her 'shut off' specific emotions, which is incredibly useful as a nurse. when she turns those emotions back on, though, they come back full force and hit her hard. she's a sweet, short, chubby lady who loves oscar like a son, and would absolutely commit murder for him. just because taffy is short and chubby and soft doesn't mean she isn't a total badass. she's a girlboss incarnate

-mercury and oscar are actually pretty close, and have had years to develop their brotherly bond

-watts and oscar are also fairly close too, not that watts would admit it. he's something of an uncle to oscar that helps heal his wounds