#50 Words of Dale and Hadley

[fountainpenguin]

Hey, you know what's way funnier than Dale NOT having Dev in his college years?

Girl, you are so "Turning Out Pts. i, ii & iii"-coded, fr fr...

Hadley's profile and the cherry lemon ship masterpost have been updated with new, correct timeline info. tl;dr - Still married in January 2012, but they're one year younger than previously stated and got married during Hadley's junior year instead of after she graduates. Hadley's out of school before her pregnancy... Dale's in it for the long haul.

Bonus:

Daddy's special graduate... Too bad he wasn't there to see it <3

[riddledeep]

Dimmadome + Leadly family tree (via GenoPro); click to enlarge

- Dimmalonius and Francis Macdome Dimm appeared as statues (and implied ancestors) in "Lost and Founder's Day." - Dale Dimm appeared in "Which Witch Is Which?" and Dimmsdale is named after him; he saved the settlement from Alden Bitterroot's rampage in 1665 (See also, Crocker Family Tree). - Dimmsdale was settled by the English despite surrounding areas being settled by the Spanish; in Riddleverse canon, it exists in place of Los Angeles. - An ancestor - likely a parent, grandparent, or great-grandparent of Duncan - founded Dimmadelphia (which can't be younger than the Electric Light Ice Cream Float parade in "A Dinosaur In Dimmadelphia," which hasn't been canceled in over 115 years). - Doug is responsible for changing his family's surname to Dimmadome (circa 1965). Prior him, they were Dimms. - Doug's mom (Griselda) comes from a family with a hand in real estate. His dad (Duncan) really propelled the Dimm family to being successful business owners, earning the nickname Development. - It's only after Doug (age 15) struck gold in 1953 ("Lost and Founder's Day") that the family wealth really took off, catapulting him into landing a marriage with the upper class Pearl Doe. Dale is the first in his family to be born in excessive wealth. - Pearl disappeared right around the time Dale did, playing into Doug's belief that his wife took their son and ran. They're not divorced... but definitely separated. - Doug (age 76) died in 2014, around the time Dev was born (to Dale's devastation). Pearl is still alive in Dev's childhood, but Dale has some... issues with her. - ADHD and OCD are extremely common in the Dimmadome family line [alongside lactose intolerance]- Doug, Dale, and Dev have all 3. Unfortunately, their family doesn't really "believe in mental health," so the first two tend to go untreated. Hadley also has ADHD and OCD and is at least semi-helpful to Dale and Dev (when she's around). - Ed Leadly is the owner of Timmy's Dad's workplace (Pencil Nexus; "The Boss of Me") and was shown to be extremely wealthy in "Dog Gone." Dev gets his growth hormone deficiency and hypoglycemia through the Leadly side of his family. - Hadley is a 13-year-old godkid when Timmy is 10. She was heavily referenced in the one-shot "End of the World" and appears in "Back In Action," "Trying Too Hard," and other stories from Timmy's youth. She appeared as an adult in "50 Words of Dev and Hazel" when Dev visited her in Tokyo. - Several Dimmadomes are referenced (or appear directly) in Lemonade and Papercuts and 130 Prompt #96, "You Deserve It." - ...... Hmm. Dale, Hadley, and especially Dev's character profiles might have more info on that mystery sibling...

Click HERE for my Fairly OddParents worldbuilding masterpost

[fountainpenguin]

Congrats!! You've broken City Lights Dale down to his core components!!

Being a "good son" for his dad and going along with Hadley's ideas because following instructions is safe and low-brainpower!

[fountainpenguin]

The more I think about my "Dale has misophonia" headcanon, the worse it gets, actually <3

(Hadley was in the shower for 12 minutes. He's ready for a vow renewal and second honeymoon. They cannot go because Dev is 3 weeks old.)

Alt text: "If you want more babies, maybe we should have them all at once and I can stay in a hotel." / "Dale, no."

[fountainpenguin]

i know youve mentioned that the dimmadomes have adhd but are there other characters in your fics that are neurodivergent? :0 if that makes sense

It's not usually mentioned in-story, but here are some that have shown up in my writing:

Humans

- You brought up the Dimmadomes having ADHD/OCD comorbidity. They're some of my favorites just in terms of me developing those headcanons somewhat separately for each one of them... starting with Dale, not Dev, actually. But Dev was a logical conclusion afterwards.

Detail I think is cute: Both Dale and Dev like Sims games because they like building nice, organized things that are under their control (Yes, Dev does have a computer in his bedroom and I imagine he uses it mostly for games). Dev likes cleaning and organizing simulators. Dale played a LOT of Sims during the 50 years of frozen time. I like to think Sims was an awakening for teen Dale in terms of same-sex relationships, but he will never, ever tell you that. Come to think of it, there's no way boy x boy manga-loving Dev is not also exploring same-sex relationships through his Sims world. Like father, like son?

Realizing how funny it would be if Doug had ADHD and OCD and that's why he jumps from one business to another and why his dream in "Mooooving Day" is a suburbia of people dressed in identical outfits living in identical houses in many identical rows still has me on the floor. I'm sorry, I just think my realization of that when I'd already headcanoned both Dale and Dev with ADHD/OCD was extremely funny. Big "Wait a minute" lightbulb moment.

Dale has several interesting things we could talk about, and they're discussed in detail in the character profile I'm posting for him next week. On his list are complex PTSD, hypervigilance, and dissociation. He also has misophonia as part of his OCD (and so does Dev).

- My OC Hadley Harrington also has ADHD/OCD comorbidity. Her big thing is hoarding OCD. I discussed it more in her character profile and we saw it in action in "50 Words of Dev and Hazel," where Dev dug through his mom's stuff to rescue an au pair that had been crushed under her hoard.

In that story, Dale told Dev he was allowed to go to a Christmas party with his peers as long as he brought back some of their wrapping paper so Dale could wrap Hadley's present. She actually likes her presents when they're made of scraps because the recycling helps her feel better than paper being wasted, plus she thinks it looks fun in videos, and Dale knows that. Just a little detail I thought was cute.

- Chloe has mild OCD. She sometimes has anxiety attacks and experiences dissociation.

- Timmy and Mikey Munroe are two other characters who have ADHD in my works and I LOVE playing them as foils for each other, with Timmy being less attentive and Mikey being more hyperactive.

- Mikey also has dyslexia (Heavily implied by canon where he struggles with the spelling bee), which is interesting. I am still obsessed that his crush (Sophie Sanders) seems to have dyscalculia. Boy who struggles with words, girl who struggles with numbers, what crimes will they commit?

- Peppy Happy Betty has severe anxiety. In the original version of "Solo" (which was posted and up for a while), she said Sanderson helped her through her self-harm struggles. I later tweaked it so she says she's been scratching herself as I didn't think the original phrasing fit with the rest of my T-rated content (and I didn't want to catch people off guard with it).

Pink and Gray is supposed to delve into her self-harm, which is part of why I plan to raise its rating when it comes off hiatus (and I'll update the tags accordingly). This is one of the stories that I expected to censor most from its original draft, but since I want to raise its rating for other reasons anyway, I'd like to explore her self-harm arc too. Carefully and with proper tags as mentioned. Betty gets into tattoos later as a way to redirect some of those feelings. I... think she has bat (Anti-Fairy) wings tattooed on her back, but I'll have to double check. Pretty sure it's bat wings.

- I'd also like to write Hazel as autistic- I've seen autistic writers talk about the many things they relate to with her and I like their portrayals.

- I've been waffling over making Kevin Crocker neurodivergent because it feels right to me, but I haven't nailed down exactly what I want to do with him. Open to suggestions, but still doing research and trying to find what feels right :)

Non-Humans

Disclaimer - My non-humans have non-human brains; I'm translating a few things from their in-universe diagnoses for clarity.

- Goldie has Harm OCD. Her species (will o' the wisps) are stereotyped as "damsels force drakes into harems" and she has a lot of paranoia regarding that.

Enter Goldie-Poof dubcon arc where Poof feels awful about expressing his relationship concerns to Goldie, knowing she'll panic about them, so he keeps hiding his feelings. "Watch and Learn" was a story where Poof broke up with Goldie, only to take her back almost immediately.

- Anti-Cosmo has bipolar disorder (hand in hand with mania, depression, dissociation, and hypersexuality). Specifically, he has a parallel of it that applies to his specific species- In-universe, he has multiple diagnoses for his condition.

Anti-Fairies refer to him as "having a lightning spirit in his head" (and those he grew up with used they/them pronouns for Anti-Cosmo in his youth because of this, in accordance with Anti-Fairy culture). Fairies diagnose him as "being a Fairy in an Anti-Fairy's body" since his mood changes are arguably similar to those of a drone without pheromone exposure.

In Fairy terms, Anti-Cosmo has divus displacement disorder, which is treated by rubbing pheromones on his face every day. This is referenced again in the sideblog post I'm putting up tomorrow (about pheromones), but Anti-Cosmo throws off a lot of people because he always smells different due to those pheromones. Fairies consider him to have a shifting identity and don't trust him.

- Anti-Cosmo's mother (Anti-Florensa) and brother (Anti-Robin Jr.) have a magical parallel of schizophrenia. His brother experiences hallucinations of the past while his mother has hallucinations about different future timelines.

Anti-Cosmo had a bad falling out with his brother around the time he figured out who he's a reincarnation of (Frayed Knots), as Anti-Robin's struggle to remember who Anti-Cosmo is in this lifetime (and react to him appropriately) strained their relationship.

In Anti-Fairy culture, they're also considered to have their souls entangled with nature spirits and are referred to as they/them by many people (though their enjoyment of being addressed that way fluctuates).

- Foop has dissociative identity disorder. I don't really have anything more to say about it. Lots of trauma going on there. Definitely some PTSD. And again, as an Anti-Fairy, his culture also diagnoses him as having a nature spirit tangled with his soul.

Unfortunately, Foop doesn't get a lot of the help he needs because Anti-Fairies tend to wave his situation off as a genetic condition rather than something trauma-related, seeing as several members of his family tree are also diagnosed with nature spirit conditions. This actually plays into why Foop connects with Fairy culture in a lot of ways (and why he has a pixie therapist, not an Anti-Fairy one).

- I think Poof has a little PTSD too and/or some anxiety, seeing as he had a panic attack at the end of "All I Ever Wanted" when talking about life with Goldie.

- Two characters of mine (a fairy named Rupert Roebeam and a pixie named Walter Keefe) have dysolfactya, which is a parallel of dyslexia I created for the inability to organize scents in your head (Not exactly the easiest thing to live with in a world that relies on pheromones to keep you from wandering into dangerous areas).

- I... usually refer to Longwood's and Poof's lack of interest in preening as a parallel of asexuality for a world where licking necks and faces is a big deal, but it's kind of interesting to think about. In-universe, they'd probably be diagnosed in some medical or psychological way.

Very pre-DSM update vibes, which absolutely fits the time period I have the cloudlands set in. Something akin to "diagnosed with critically low libido" for sure, but for licking.

- H.P. has OCD (Imo, this is implied by the song he sings in the Musical about how he doesn't hate the Fairies and doesn't want to take over, but can't stop himself from doing so because he "must cater" to his urge to be "the world's administrator," not to mention his insistence on 37-year plans).

He hates untidy notes- There are several scenes where he rewrites his entire note page because he doesn't like marks on his notes (including crossed-out words). He also has issues with lying and his athazagoraphobia (fear of being forgotten), leading to the winning combo of making it explicitly clear when he plans to enact a takeover plan. There's a whole thing about how he has to justify his takeovers in terms of "It's their fault for not stopping me; I warned them I'd do it."

H.P. also experienced zoochosis during his time at the Eros Nest (zoo run by Cupid's family), leading to repetitive behaviors with no clear end goal. That probably affects him even now in a PTSD-adjacent way.

There might be characters I didn't mention - I feel like I'm blanking on something Anti-Marigold experiences - but those are the ones that come to mind for FOP 'fics!

[fountainpenguin]

"'cuz half the time I can't love right, and I can't have sex and we both get quiet... Boy, I must be one f'd up guy ... It'll be fine- Quick, let's get married!" (x)

New Fairly OddParents 'fic today!

Rated T - 13k+ words

50 Words of Dale and Hadley

📖 Read on FFN || Read on AO3

🌃 City Lights AU

✨ More Fairly OddParents 'fics

🎲 Randomlists.com's 50-word generator

51. Connection - "Here, here- You hold Devin. Oh, look at his little feet... Have you got him? How's it feel?" "..."

50 scene snippets about two rich kids in Dimmsdale... and the newlywed life that came tumbling after.

OR, Dale and Hadley are doing their best. Maybe that can be enough.

(First 5 prompts under the cut)

- Blood warning (Hunting & field dressing a deer)

Saturday July 13th, 2002 - Sunday April 20th, 2014

Summer of the Last Berry - Spring of the Patient Lizard

1. Brown

None of the kids who'd worked the lemonade stand had brown eyes. Not like these ones, glassed over the way marbles shone. Life made its fortune in thin and fleeting things. Even the deer knew that. Dale loomed above it with his knife to watch its black tail quiver one last time. It died, probably, before it hit the ground. Soft summer grass bloomed beneath its snow-white neck patch. Crunchy leaves would make hunting 10 times harder when autumn lashed around. You could see the deer better through the trees, though. Hadley told him that on the drive up.

Sunlight striped the buck's bronze sides, which had thrummed in breath just seconds ago. Its eyes locked on skyward things. Had the deer gotten one last look at the sun before it tripped and fell? Or did it die in darkness, head in shadow while it grazed?

"That was close," said the girl beside him, leaning the gun against her shoulder. You could smell Dimmsdale pride straight on her. Dale flared his nostrils, breathing in the scent of blood and fur. And dirt, and morning's chill. Hadley patted his arm twice, her fingers warm even through his baggy sleeve. Mud and water splattered both hems of her camo pants. "But you really kept us in suspense. I thought you weren't going to shoot."

Those big, dark eyes…

2. Saw

Dale never hunted with his dad growing up. He wasn't old enough; it wasn't legal. But Hadley moved like a spider, following all her dad's field dressing instructions to the letter. After clean-up for the pictures, she jabbed her knife straight in the deer's stomach and drew it down the belly. Dark blood seeped out to the grass… and then came handfuls of goopy guts. Dale took every breath without blinking, but kept out of Hadley's way as she and her dad did their thing. Doug Dimmadome - his own dad - patted Dale twice on the shoulder.

"Now, that right there, son, is a thing of beauty. That's a Grade-A shot! Looks like you hit the brain. We'll make a hunter of you yet."

"Mmhm."

"Have you ever made an antler pen, Dale?" Mr. Leadly asked, running his thumb across one antler branch. They glimmered milky white. They looked funny where they sprouted from the head; you could see how tufts of fur bent to make way for giant forks.

"I haven't, sir." And, sensing this might be Leadly's way of turning the conversation to business, he followed that statement with, "Do you manufacture them for Pencil Nexus?"

Mr. Leadly beamed. Dale let out his breath. Good. I guessed right. When the man - short, but totally strong, and almost unrecognizable wearing camo instead of scalding yellow - motioned him over, Dale moved to stand above the deer. Blood and guts ran like water through Hadley's hands. Ew. She glanced up at Dale just long enough to smile and push that wild russet hair back from her eyes. Oh, she got that color from her mom, definitely- Not from Mr. Leadly. The way she wiped her fingers left a smear of blood across her cheek. Dale moved one hand to touch it, then stopped himself.

I'm not the babysitter anymore. She can do it herself. She peered up at him like a grim reaper decoration in the yard on Halloween. Uhhh. Dale hadn't seen a Halloween for 7 years.

He turned his silent stare to Leadly again. The man made another gesture with his hand to guide Dale's eyes to the dirtied antlers. "We don't sell many finished antler pens at my company; a couple personalized batches each year. I enjoy the process, but it's more of a hobby than a savvy business move. I can set you up with a pen-making kit; we sell plenty of those. You carve the antlers with a saw, and you need a lathe. Ever used one of those?"

"No, sir." Leadly's bright-eyed energy seemed to relax everyone- His dad, Hadley, and Leadly himself. Dale scratched his arm, avoiding face to face contact until he caught his breath. But when he did, he met Leadly eye to eye. "I'd love the opportunity to work with you. Can you teach me how to saw?"

The best opportunities in life hail from networking. For a Dimmadome, hunting with the Leadly family is never just about the hunt.

3. Addition

"That fits you pretty good," Hadley told him, looking his camo outfit up and down. Dale pulled his mouth from the waterfall just enough to see her reflection in the stream. Well… He tried to, at least, though water dribbled down his hair and stung his eyes. At least it tasted clean and fresh. It hadn't been this way underground. Stinky or salty- Those were your two options in the Dimmsdale tunnels. You always pick stinky if you can't take fresh. Dale blinked, wiping splatters off his cheeks.

"Oh, yeah… Your dad gave this to me. Don't you have a brother?"

"Yeah, two older ones." Hadley moved closer, reaching out to touch a wrinkle in his hat. "I'm glad you're putting it to use. My dad wanted to throw it all away."

"It fits great. I'm low on clothes right now."

"Do you want more? I mean, if you're going to use them, I can get them for you. They'd just get tossed if my dad gets his hands on them."

"… Okay. That sounds nice."

4. Numerous

"Oh, she was serious," Dale realized when the summer meet-up rolled around. Not much changed with Dimmsdale's traditions, evidently- The Fancy Schmancy Country Club had hosted this picnic every year since before he was born. Up on the hill, he had a pretty good view of Mr. Leadly's truck idling on the other side of the fence. He, Hadley, and Hadley's older sister - Harper - were unloading cardboard boxes of stuff from the back… and even from up here, Dale could read the giant labels. He set the plate aside and sprinted down to join them. Hadley, a huge box in hand, lurched back from the truck on wobbly legs. She'd dressed in pencil colors for this, just like her dad, but a desktop drinky bird would've fit the moment better.

"Whoa, whoa-"

"I got it." Dale caught the box's edge. He must've been too quiet running up, though, because Hadley jumped. The box slipped from her fingertips. Oops. Dale grabbed the corner and helped it down more gently. No damaged goods today. "Are these all clothes for me?" That's what the Sharpie scrawled across the side said. "No way… Is all this from your brothers?"

"Sure is! I collect stuff! It's a whole thing." Hadley thumped a second box on the ground, then flipped attention to Dale with a wolf-bite grin. "I've kept it for years because I wanted to wear it someday, but I don't think it'll ever fit. They're my half-brothers, and my mom's first husband was way taller. It shows. If the hunting gear fit you, everything here should too."

Dale tilted his head. April sunlight had washed away a long time ago; he wasn't fresh from the underground anymore. These days, the air tasted like ocean, bug spray, and water melon. He'd stocked his closet with enough outfits to get by (You could thank his dad's assistant for that). But everything she'd bought looked slick and classy… Lots of black, white, buttons, and shiny cufflinks. Bowties, too. Hadley'd worn a huge white bow on her chest for as long as Dale could remember, so she must be into that. Maybe I can pass mine to her sometime; fair exchange.

Or he could try to sell them off. Make some extra cash. That wouldn't be a bad idea, especially since Dad wouldn't let him have a credit card (even though he turned 16 back in May). If Dad disappeared someday like Mom had - so Dad claimed - then keeping his own cash on hand might be a lifesaver. The precariously perched Dimmsdale estate sat on a cliff out by the ocean, so… running back to Dad to ask for spare change wasn't super practical on a shopping day.

He'd probably make a mess if he pried the boxes open here on the sidewalk, but he could see an embroidered rocket peeking through the folded lid. His heart beat a little faster. I've NEVER had rocket clothes before…

"Thanks. Really. I'll put this stuff to use."

5. Reign

Okay, he'd admit it… Hadley reigned supreme in anime trivia. Still, she had NOTHING on his Crash Nebula know-how.

"You'd like my friend Timmy," she said, tossing her head in a laugh. "I think he won a Crash Nebula trivia contest on live TV or something? I should ask him!"

"Hey, any friend of Timmy's is a friend of mine." When he showed Dale his room, he had Crimson Chin comics on the bed and a Crash Nebula video game they'd played for ages until Dad was ready to take him home. The words sounded so cliché, but they made a lot of sense.

📖 Read on FFN || Read on AO3

[fountainpenguin]

Cherry Lemon Ship Masterpost

Added a #cherry lemon ship tag to my Dale x Hadley stuff (and similar musings regarding Dimmadome x Leadly family headcanons).

Block or browse at your preference 👈👈

City Lights AU & Cloudlands AU

🌸 Cherry Lemon Overview 🍋

Dale (Doug Dimmadome's only child) and Hadley (Ed Leadly's middle daughter) grew up attending fancy social gatherings together (both before and after Dale's disappearance). Weren't super close, but definitely knew each other.

At ages 19 and 16, their dads arranged a betrothal, extended it to each of them, and they accepted- both relieved to marry someone they knew rather than some out-of-state relative of their dads' business associates.

Dale knew Hadley's older sister (Harper) a bit better, but Harper flipped out and said no to being betrothed without love- Harper still resents Hadley for not fighting her betrothal, but Dale still considers her a friend despite the sisters' tension.

After Hadley turned 21, they were married in January 2012 (the wedding planned well in advance by their dads, of course). Hadley was halfway through her Junior year of college and Dale hard at work on his own studies.

Dev was born in spring 2014; Hadley posted a lot of mommy vlogger content in his youth before moving towards travel vlogging. These days, she's gone for long stretches of time, but returns home for most holidays (to film family vlogs).

They're not the most lovey-dovey, but a lot of their interests and personality traits overlap, and they are definitely one of the couples to ever be. Relationship highlights include:

- Hadley's hoarding OCD vs. Dale's neat and tidy OCD. - They are sickeningly cute in matching holiday pajamas. They're also young parents who don't know what they're doing. - Dale can list 100 things he likes about his wife, but he could also walk away from this relationship at the drop of a hat. oh no. - Dale takes his ring off a lot for sensory reasons and chronically fails to indicate he's married, so he keeps going on dates he thinks are business meetings. Sometimes he brings Dev, who is horrified. Half his associates think Hadley is his personal assistant. - Hadley is paranoid Dale will cheat on her, so she'll call randomly to ask if her name is still written on his chest in marker. Sometimes at 3:30 AM because she forgets to check time zones. Things are going great. - They have their ups and downs, but they'd pick each other every time. Probably. Huh... Maybe that IS love.

I enjoy them very much, actually. Shout-out to me sighing and dumping old drafts of Adult Dale being super nervous and shy off to the side because now I have no choice but to play him as a horrible man, sdflkj. Deep down, he's still the awkward, jumpy person I always planned to write him as... he's just actively awful too <3

🌸 Cherry Lemon Links 🍋

- This post where I designed and introduced Hadley and her fairy, Eryx (or more specifically, the reblog of that post with notes about her being Leadly's daughter since that had been revealed in 'fic, plus cute fanart Linzie drew)

- This New Wish liveblog, where I look back at my Along the Cherry Lane character outlines to confirm I did indeed set Dale and Hadley up back in the day. lmao...

- Along the Cherry Lane is my largely drafted but not yet posted 'fic about the human kids in their teen and adulthood years. Once it's revealed on AO3, you can find it HERE.

- More commentary as I debate whether to keep Dale and Hadley together in 'fic in light of A New Wish

- "Lost and Founder's Day" liveblog where I joke about how I think Dev interacting with his grandpa Ed Leadly would go

- This "The Battle of Big Wand" liveblog where I briefly discuss reasons why I think Dev's mom being a Leadly is funny

- Honeymoon sketches & additional commentary about what my original plans were for Dale and Hadley in Along the Cherry Lane (Pre-A New Wish airing)

- Dale with misophonia sketches

- Hoarding OCD vs. food sketch

- "50 Words of Dev and Hazel" 'fic announcement (Dale and Hadley appear as Dev's parents)

- Dimmadome-Leadly family tree

- Timeline fix sketches

- Dale meets Kevin Crocker sketches

- Dale getting wrapping paper

- Naming Dev "Development" together

- "You Deserve It" 'fic announcement (Reuniting after Dale's return aboveground)

- "50 Words of Dale and Hadley" 'fic announcement (Developing relationship)

🌸 Tags and Stuff 🍋

- #Cherry lemon ship tag

I made this masterpost because some posts don't show up in this tag (Not uncommon for ones edited to add tags), but I expect future posts will show.

- Hadley's full character profile (Sideblog)

Main Blog Tag - #Hadley and Eryx Sideblog Tag - #RD Hadley AO3 Tag - #Hadley Harrington

- Dale's full character profile (Sideblog)

Main Blog Tag: #Dale Dimmadome owner of Dimmadome Global Sideblog Tag: #RD Dale AO3 Tag - #Dale Dimmadome

[fountainpenguin]

Do you have any Hazel fics in the works?

I do, but none I expect to post for a quite a while.

I'm doing the Dimmadome story set-up first since Dale is the main bridge between Cloudlands and City Lights AUs (He and Hadley are the only characters who are the same in both AUs; everyone else, including Cosmo and Wanda, have completely different story directions - Poof and Peri are especially different due to aging differently - so Dale is really the only canon character who makes that easy bridge leap for me).

I guess Doug technically does too, but he's such a minor character that he hardly counts

I talked more about this in the City Lights AU Guide, but I'm doing the Dimmadome arc in the "50 Words" style all the way from Dale's childhood to Dev's young adult years. This builds the skeleton of the AU so we know where we came from and where we're going... very useful for my character profiles that would otherwise have spoilers; Dev's for example won't be posted until the end of this.

Then we'll circle back to fluffier things, including a multichapter called An Old Wish (Dev and Peri and their attempts to win Dale's love with magic), plus separate stories for the Wells family, Hazel, and her friends.

I do also have space in the 130 Prompts for her (specifically, after the next two prompts on our list), and I've loosely planned to include her there, but no promises. [Non-Cloudlands AU, obviously]

I'm doing it this way so I can outline Dimmadelphia founder history (via Dimmadome family) so I know my setting well, and I'd like to know if we're getting a Season 2 before I do much with Hazel. Due to the existence of my OC Hadley and my pre-established plan to have her marry Dale, the Dimmadome content was going to be AU from A New Wish no matter what.

With the Wells family, I might hold out until we know more about Hazel's extended family (Ex: cousins and grandparents) before I do things like make the Wells family tree. If we don't get a Season 2, I have free reign with those things, and if we do get a Season 2, then I can consider what pace I want to go.

- I don't mind populating her family with my own OCs, but I don't write many standalone one-offs; I prefer multiple works that build on each other in a single consistent canon. I want to be thoughtful about what I "lock myself into" writing for the next however many years of my life.

So, that's where I'm at. I'd like to do a pre-Dimmadelphia story for Hazel about her life before she moved... which is a topic I think Season 2 might explore.

We know she came from "the suburbs," but if they reveal she had a best friend she left behind, I'd rather write the canon character than make up one. Canon character tags will help more people find the story, and I might genuinely like the characters from her past (if any), so I don't want to spend my time and energy there while canon's ongoing.

I do have a Wells family draft I worked on during October. It's Angela-centric, focusing on her and Marcus during Hazel's early years. That said, it's a little too personal to me and I don't feel comfortable posting it to the public. Honestly, I may not ever share this one, and that's fine- I write for me.

I have several Hazel AU thoughts that I don't want to share yet because the outlines are rough (and might be scrapped), and I don't want to build false hype. I'm more likely to post these Hazel AU ideas - i.e. things that go in the Off the Rails series (for misc. AUs) - than I am to post Hazel-centric works in City Lights AU right now.

On the topic of Hazel, I did have someone ask a while ago why I used Dev and his parents as the cover image for City Lights AU and not Hazel. I did that because:

- I'd already drawn Hazel as the cover image character for the Off the Rails series, so I wanted to draw someone different (Same reason I used Cavatina and Anti-Wanda in the 130 Prompts cover instead of H.P. and Anti-Cosmo to represent Pixie and Anti-Fairy stories, because H.P. and A.C. are the cover characters for Origin and Knots). - I wanted three character pictures for the image so I could use red, yellow, and green blob backgrounds to mimic traffic lights (to fit the city theme). - There will be many Dimmadome works early, with Hazel works posted later. Dev and his parents felt more applicable than Hazel on that particular image. - My OC Hadley marries Dale, and this is something unique to my AU. City Lights doesn't have a special world-bending characteristic, so having an OC on the image may help people identify this AU better than Hazel alone.

I've not been asked this, but it's something I want to clarify in case anyone's been thinking it: the reason why Hazel isn't on Cosmo and Wanda's relationship chart on their sideblog profiles.

- The sideblog is for Cloudlands AU content, although a profile may mention how a character changes in a certain AU. A New Wish is a spin-off show, so it's not part of Cloudlands canon. - Hazel is a City Lights AU character. Cloud!Cosmo and Cloud!Wanda don't have a relationship with her. They're godparents to Tommy and Tammy during that time (in line with the "Channel Chasers" ending). -> I drew an image of my AUs HERE to give a visual for how City Lights branches off from Cloudlands (and where other AUs exist in relation to it). - I imagine Hazel does exist in Cloudlands AU, but she'll never be mentioned because she's a spin-off character. A New Wish is not canon with Cloudlands AU. -> She's there in the same way Viv and Roy are there: Technically they exist because I included them on the Turner family tree, and they might appear in a family reunion story, but "Fairly Odder" isn't canon in Cloudlands AU. -> In my timeline, Antony is born shortly after time is unfrozen. I opted for Angela and Marcus to be in a long-term honeymoon phase with no non-aging babies to care for. -> Hazel is born around the time Tammy and Tommy are, but I don't plan to include her because we don't know where she was born. If we find out she was born in Dimmsdale, then she'll possibly appear in Cloudlands AU, but only in her early years. Cloud!Cosmo and Wanda don't move to Dimmadelphia.

tl;dr - I do have Hazel thoughts in my head, but I don't expect to post them soon.

Thus far, she's appeared in my posted work "50 Words of Dev and Hazel." I'd like to do more relationship studies (Namely "50 Words of Hazel and Antony" & "50 Words of Wells" for their family, plus "50 Words of Hazel, Jasmine, and Winn" or individual stories for their duos), but I'm waiting for Season 2 news so I can decide if I want to use its canon.

-> Season 2 might also bring us more info on Wells and Jasmine's families, so I can write sleepover stories and house visits using canon family members instead of creating OCs. I don't mind creating OCs, but I'd be sad if I loved the canon characters and had already written Tran & Harper family stories that exclude them (or if they have single parent, stepfamilies, or adoption plotlines I want to explore).

-> It was an easy decision not to keep the Dimmadomes close to canon because I had a pre-existing OC married to Dale, and the OC is obviously not going to appear in canon. Thus, I didn't mind not waiting for Season 2 news to plan their family relationships. My Dimmadome works are helping me shape Dimmadelphia and its history before I add Hazel and her friends' families, but I do plan circle back to Hazel and the Wells family when I'm ready.

- Obligatory reminder that Cloudlands AU is my primary AU and is much higher priority than my City Lights works.

I do have some Hazel ideas that excite me, but I can only write so many things at once, so we'll get there when we get there. Some Hazel things might be posted in Off the Rails before I do stuff with her in City Lights.

[fountainpenguin]

Me looking at my generated words for "50 Words of Dale and Hadley" like...

I don't love where this ending's going... I'm sure it's correct for them, but hey... you didn't have to do me like that.

What do you mean #6 is "Corn." What do you mean I have to go immediately from "Macho" at #19 to "Undress" at #20. oh no.