#MODERN FARM AU CONCEPT.

[thesellsword]

lyric starters. / @resonette whoa, mama from bright star.

"I’m a restless small town boy with a heart as wild as a big city." bronn says, resting his elbows on the counter of her floral shop. he looks exhausted; it's no secret that bronn comes from the next town over and has a reputation for being a scoundrel. if they only knew what he was dealing with at home. he always had wanted to escape, but alas, sometimes you don't get what you want. "you're a sweet girl, wrap a man around your pinky..." has he been flirting with her every time he comes to town to deliver crops? yes. can't help it.

[kamari333]

O great UTMV lore expert, would you mind explaining the differences between the korean farmtale and the meme farmtale? I find it hard to understand what aspects belong to which AU and would greatly appreciate the help

Oh! 0/////0 Well, I do like being helpful! I do not specialize in Farmtale lore, nor have I gotten around to compiling my thesis on it. I do not have any proper citations on hand, nor can I definitively say what came first.

but I can give you some basics!

Because I dont have any backdates to offer at this time, I'll tell you about "Farmtale" in the order I became aware of it.

That starts with the Japanese Translation.

During the earlier fandom, when the game was being translated, it came out that Sans used the pronoun "oira". (I do not know if this was a fan-spread rumor, a beta concept, or if it made it into the final game -- all I can be sure of is that "sans uses oira" got traction)

In Japanese, to my understanding, "Oira" is a pronoun that has a lot of rustic connotation. To my understanding, it is used (at least in popular culture) by the japanese equivalent of "country folk", being part of a sort of "country accent". (There is a specific demographic/region it is popularly associated with, but I cannot be confident in naming it at this time: i dont want to give you wrong information)

So when it came out that "sans uses oira", a LOT of memes and fanwork came out of Sans in a straw hat, in various kinds of farming clothes.

This started in the eastern side of the fandom and then found its way to the western side of the fandom, where the aesthetic shifted towards the more american-localized "southern rustic".

To start, this kind of AU was aesthetic in nature, and didnt have a concrete singular creator or agreed upon lore. That being said, it was very common at least at one time for the story to be "Post Pacifist", where the skelebros just became farmers after coming to the surface.

That is the "memetic" "Farmtale" and "Oira Sans". It is an aesthetic AU based around the loose idea of the skelebros settling into a rustic lifestyle, with no real solid design other than Sans wearing a straw hat.

This is very different from GuinongTale.

GuinongTale (known as "farmtale" in the english speaking fandom) is a Korean-made AU. It is a surface-AU (meaning the monsters were never underground to begin with). The story takes place in a rural korean farming town, where the main undertale cast reside (including, but not necessarily limited to, Sans, Papyrus, and Undyne).

The characters all have distinct redesigns, as well as Korean-Localized Names.

Sans is called Saejun. On top of the seemingly universal straw hat iconography, he wears flower-print pants and rubber-palmed farming gloves. His gaster blaster is just a cow's head. Instead of bones, he summons little farming tools (a specific kind used often on korean farms, which has a specific name i cannot recall). He also has one-strap sandals instead of slippers.

Papyrus is called Pilsu. He wears a floral-print neck-scarf and overalls with one patch on the left leg. He has been depicted carrying a rake.

Undyne (her korean name is unknown to me, but i know she has one because they all do) has been depicted with a sweater hanging off her shoulders and dog tags around her neck.

The themes of GuinongTale, to my knowledge, center around Nature vs Modernization. I have been told that the "pacifist" route is where the farming community is preserved through Frisk's actions, and the "genocide" route is where the community is driven off their land by the encroaching urbanism/gentrification. However, I have to clarify that I dont at this time understand Korean, so this is secondary information rather than direct knowledge I have gleaned from the source material.

TL;DR:

In the english-speaking fandom, content tagged as Farmtale is usually a rustic-aesthetic post-pacifist AU which is believed to have been inspired by memes from the japanese Oira Sans era. Western creators will often bring their own flair or spin to the worldbuilding, making it a highly variable AU.

However, the Korean Farmtale GuinongTale (which in the english side of fandom is ALSO tagged "Farmtale") also exists separate from that, with a distinct aesthetic and lore all its own, which has its own unique charm deserving of distinction.

Like I said before, Farmtale isnt quite my area of expertise. I unfortunately dont have much concrete data or backdates. I do hope this little bit of info is helpful! (and if i got anything wrong, i am always excited to learn new fun facts)

[mithrilhearts]

Maeve's 4k Follower Event

Battle of the Plot Bunnies

2024 has been a great year of finishing up fics for me, so it's time to unveil some new ones! I'm so excited to be able to do this, and have you guys help me essentially decide which fic gets tossed into the actual WIP pile next! Which is to say, THANK YOU for your continued support!

There are eight plot bunnies I've plucked from my Ideas list that I'm interested in developing further. Some of them have drabbles already, some have a little outlining attached, and some have barely even a working title.

Each fic will have a small summary and some bullets of information attached to it so you get an idea of what the plot/concept is!

✨ Feel free to ask me about any of those fic ideas for more information if you like! I will provide what I can!

First Round

Battle of the "Modern" ideas

Battle of the "Erebor Never Fell" ideas

Battle of the "Based on another story" ideas

Battle of the "Maeve's Choice" ideas

Semifinals

Battle of the "Cottagecore vs Dragons" Themes

Battle of the "Soulmate vs Time Travel" Tropes

Finals

Battle of the "Cottagecore vs Time Travel" Ideas

‼️Fic Summaries/Information below!‼️ All information below is subject to change as the fics develop

Modern AUs

Courtesy Call - Rated Explicit

While trying to make a most courteous call to pull his RSVP from his cousin's birthday party versus not showing at all, a misdial directs him to a particularly spicy line that's all about receiving a good time with oneself. The man on the other end is both baffled and challenged by a sudden new caller to his private line, but takes the challenge with everything his voice can provide. - Outdated Ficlet

Sweeter Than Honey - Rated Teen+

Bilbo Baggins runs a successful honey farm on the west side of the Brandywine River. His peaceful days of honey handicraft grow tense as a new logging company, owned by one Thror Oakes, draws closer to his land. It’s how he meets Thorin, a lumberjack living under the thumb of his grandfather, the owner. They should have been adversaries - the two are on opposite sides of nature, but as it is so often said: opposites attract. - Outdated Ficlet - Basic Information/Ideas via ask game

Based On Another Story

No Place Like Home - Rated Teen+

Smaug the Terrible was destined to be slain by a hero in king's armor. To prevent such a fate to pass, Smaug, an enchanter of great power, invaded the kingdoms of Erebor, Dale, and the Greenwood, stripping its citizens of their memories, and taking the throne. Banishing the three kings in an attempt to secure his safety, Smaug took the best part of each king, making them more vulnerable than ever. No one was smart enough, nor brave enough, or had enough heart to stand in his way. Until a most unlikely creature tumbles in. - Influenced by Alice in Wonderland & The Wizard of Oz - Basic Information/Ideas via ask game

Forged in Dragonfire - Rated Teen+

Durin the Deathless is a legend to every dwarf that knows the tale. A king, a dragonslayer, and one who possessed great power to do so. The blood of the dragonslayer was to pass from firstborn to firstborn, but as the war calmed, such rumors fell to myth, and those myths became lost with time, even as Smaug sought retaliation some generations later. A retaliation that was deadly, just as it was successful. Erebor had finally fallen. After many years of hardship, a wizard shows himself in Ered Luin, seeking the only dwarf who might be able to rekindle a little dragonfire in his blood to take down one of the world's deadliest creatures. One who is hellbent on claiming every kingdom in Middle Earth beneath his claws. - Influenced by Skyrim - Basic Information/Ideas via ask game

Erebor Never Fell

Heartstones - Rated Teen+

It’s believed that dwarves are blessed in one of two ways: by their heartstone, or their heartcraft, both a calling of the soul. When Thorin is convinced he has neither, a quest for his happiness takes him far beyond the Misty Mountains to the West. It’s in the West that Frerin is convinced they’ll find Thorin’s calling. Be that a happiness of the heart or the craft. - Outdated Ficlet - Basic Information/Ideas via ask game

Thief of Hearts - Rated Mature

Bilbo retired from his life of gentle burglary years ago to care for his ailing mother. With Belladonna's illness getting worse, he seeks out the aid of an enchanter, who is said to give people anything they want in exchange for a little task. Bilbo's task is to burgle one little stone from one lonely mountain under the nose of its king. Lucky for him, Erebor is preparing to host a grand party in hopes of finding a spouse for the oldest prince. It's the perfect distraction, and no one will see him coming.

Maeve's Choice

Twice In A Lifetime - Rated Mature

Just days before the siege on the Dimrill Gate, Thorin voices his guilt about his inability to keep his people safe when Smaug took the mountain. In the middle of an angry prayer to Mahal himself, the ringing of an anvil is the last thing Thorin remembers before waking up within the rolling green hills of the Shire. It’s there he’s greeted by a set of hazels he’d never forget. Not in this lifetime. - Outdated Ficlet

Wretched & Divine - Rated Explicit

After the battle, Bilbo continued to keep the Arkenstone close to his chest to protect those around him. He suspects that there’s more to this ‘Dragon Sickness’ than just the gold, and must figure out how he can save Thorin from his madness. All of this while trying to deal with the dwarf’s fascination with him with an intensity that rivals the obsession of finding the Arkenstone. Or: What if Bilbo had never given away the Arkenstone to Bard and Thranduil, and Thorin never kicked the gold sickness. - Outdated Ficlet

[tunamayuuu]

Hey tuna! :3 just a question or kinda of like a idea what if the entire kny cast meets ur kny!bsd cast? OR what if the bsd cast meets ur kny!bsd cast? (Also love the au btw ^^ )

hello <3!

THE ENTIRE CAST? DO YOU WISH DEATH UPON ME </3 that would be such a funny concept actually. i've thought of it before like uhm,....

thoughts below the cut because they ended up pretty long! i didn't cover everyone BUT if you'd like to hear my interpretation of certain characters meeting, just send an ask!

kunikida and rengoku would get along in a strange way. they're both reliant on books in their everyday lives and i'm sure they'd talk about it. kunikida would feel less crazy and also find kyojuro crazy for being able to become an accomplished swordsman by learning the rest of the fire breathing forms in only 3 volumes. kyojuro would find kunikida admirable for his rigid discipline in upholding his ideals through his notebook and his personal moral code. i think kyojuro would foot the bill if they eat together, and kunikida would be endlessly grateful.

kenji and tanjiro would be a UV hazard. in the bsd world, kenji would have to guide tanjiro around like a puppy, and tanjiro would be way too overwhelmed to be out in the Modern City for longer than 30 minutes. i think they'd make for excellent training buddies! tanjiro would definitely admire kenji's brute strength and find it fascinating that he has an active farm on the rooftop of their work building.

poe and zenitsu meeting would be hilarious i think.. zenitsu would actively cringe at this grown ass man for being down stupid for another man, and constantly writing for and sticking close to ranpo, but i think zenitsu would understand, given his clinginess to the kamado siblings. they'd also have an affinity for creating morbid works, because acc to kimetsu gakuen, zenitsu has a particularly scary art style, while poe actively writes murder mystery! post infinity-castle zenitsu would definitely ask poe to read the Legend of Zenitsu and be cooked alive by poe's disapproval.

atsushi and inosuke will not get along, period. even if they're bonding over food. i do not see it. atsushi would be reminded of akutagawa's petty nature everytime inosuke tries to start shit, and oh god i don't even want to imagine them brawling it up. i think the only time inosuke would possibly calm down is if atsushi cooked food for him, making him feel all fuzzy and reminding him of tanjiro's tenderness. though in terms of a physical brawl? inosuke would respect the hell out of atsushi if atsushi fights in his weretiger form, he probably thinks it's badass.

kyouka and kanao are telepathically bonding by the way. kyouka would introduce kanao to modern day sweets and i think they'd bond over cute trinkets and sweets. i bet you, they'd also talk about their sister figures (aoi and lucy), as well as the boys who saved them (tanjiro and atsushi). they'd trade hair accessories i'm sure.

ranpo would LOVE NEZUKO. the same way he treated kyouka when she first arrived at the agency, ranpo would spoil nezuko with sweets and they'd bond over their excessive sweet tooths. nezuko think ranpo's a friendly guy, and probably admires him like she admired mitsuri!

[surachibee]

if you’ve been following a lot of my recent stuff, you’ve probably noticed (or maybe you haven’t, idk!) that I’ve been tagging a few art posts as ‘pitverse’. You’ve also probably noticed that I’ve provided no context to these posts what-so-ever! and that sucks! So to explain a bit, I present:

”surachi what the heck is pitverse”

Okay, first. ‘Pitverse’ is a working title. Maybe. It’s cheesy, but I kinda like it because it’s cheesy.

Anyways, if you’ve been following me for a while, you may or may not remember this art where I designed a bunch of pits that were loosely based on the different ending to the original Kid Icarus on the NES. Some took influence from different places (eg. the solider ending heavily drawing inspiration from Kid Icarus: of Myths and Monsters) and some were completely made up (eg. the farm ending’s design). It was fun! And it pretty much started this whole idea to begin with.

I’d draw some stuff here and there for it, but other than that I never really did much with the idea other than ‘oh hey look designs’. That is until it came up again a couple years later when I started to get *really* into oMaM stuff, which led to me coming back to the idea of a weird multiverse thing.

Thanks to a few friends, we talked about it and eventually it became like a four-swords adventure multiverse labyrinth thing. Pandora’s Labyrinth times twelve. So as it is right now, it’s like a hypothetical game where some new *evil big bad* takes a handful of Pits from different universes/timelines and plops them into some pocket dimension of different levels and challenges, and together, they have to find out what the heck going on.

Right now, I think I’m gonna try to keep it to three Pits for simplicity sake. Obviously, Pit from Kid Icarus: Uprising has to be here, that’s our guy. He’s also the protagonist! He’s left relatively unchanged in this AU. This also takes place in a post-game setting, so he’s already fought Hades. This applies to the other guys as well, even if their hypothetical “games” and adventures aren’t actually real (Factor) or heavily rewritten (Myth) here.

Good news is that Uprising Pit can still communicate with Palutena! But he’s the only one out of the bunch that can. (Would’nt that have been nice? Imagine all the work you could get done with THREE Palutenas [haha reference]). In this AU’s logic, Uprising’s world in the pocket-dimension what-ch-ma-have-it space is closer to the one where this takes place, so (Uprising) Palutena is able to establish a decent enough connection to at least communicate, though it’s not the best. The other Pit’s worlds are further away, so communication with their respective realms are off the table. This also causes other problems like occasionally “bugging out” and forgetting stuff since they’re so far from their original worlds. So Uprising Pit got kinda lucky.

Speaking of other Pits, there’s other Pits! Both of them draw inspiration from things previously done/involved in the franchise so they’re not entirely made up, but they do stray pretty far from their source material. Anyway..first, we have Factor! He’s heavily inspired by Factor 5’s rendition of Pit from their “Icarus” project back in 2007-2008 that was turned down. Here, this AU’s interpretation of the idea is a little more in line with the franchise’s overall light-hearted and goofy nature. (In this AU the Pit’s are taken from different points in time, so he would’ve been plucked from the future. I did this so 1. They all could look visually distinct from each other, and 2. the thought of Factor going “oh he doesn’t know about [x] yet” or Uprising Pit insisting Myth to NOT go after the wish seed in the future was funny.)

Next…there’s Myth! He’s based on Kid Icarus: of Myths and Monsters, and besides a few plot points he’s pretty much just a modern take on the character. He was easier to pin down because while the concept of Factor’s story was interesting, being banished from the heavens for some unspecified crime, it’s pretty vague in comparison. With Myth, there’s an entire game with a plot to go off of, even if this AU strays a bit from it.

That’s pretty much the basics of this AU! Just a couple of Pits going on an adventure getting into other-worldly shenanigans. I’m having a ton of fun with it and hopefully I can develop the idea more as I go along. Thanks for reading! There’s some extra footnotes and miscellaneous doodles below.

• This AU follows the idea that oMaM takes place in a different timeline than Kid Icarus: Uprising, hence it not being referenced (at least not on purpose, I’m looking at you aurum track accidentally having the same intro motif) or mentioned. Plus y’know, Sakurai not knowing it existed so there’s that. Might as well rework it into a weird explanation. (coping)

• All of these worlds take place in different timelines, so Factor isn’t an older version of Uprising Pit, nor is Uprising an older version of Myth. They’re all still Pit, and all of them have fought Medusa, but it had different outcomes (somewhat based on the endings) and at that point they diverged from each other. • I’ll probably change the naming of the Pits at some point. While they’re good right now, I’m not sure if I wanna keep Factor named after a company. Might have their names based off the titles of their respective games, so instead of “Factor”, “Myth”, and “Uprising” it’d be “Icarus” (based on the project’s internal name), “Myth”, and “Uprising”.

[fiannalover]

Fate Fic Recs

Because I read a lot of fics and am always rolling that ao3 gacha, so I felt like sharing a non exhaustive rec list under read more. Feel free to reblog and add more!

past the lingering smoke - Kadoc-senpai is best senpai! Post-ID. Hurt/Comfort.

For Want Of A Relic - Fate/Zero Servant Swap AU where Waver gets Diarmuid and everyone else swaps around too. The resulting team-ups are honestly delicious and you get very good Diarmuid out of it. The writer came back after 4 years of hiatus to finish the fic and write sequels, go give them a round of applause!

Fragments of Chaldea - stares directly at the camera

Café of the round - Reincarnation AU Coffee Shop. The Main Round Tale reincarnate within the Fate Universe and get together to own a coffee shop, meeting and remeeting other nasuvere people along the way.

AND GUINIVERE IS THEEEEEERE!!!!! 🎉🎉🎉 yaaaaaaaaaay

Multiple Case Studies of the Strange Concept of Love - a Servant is summoned to Chaldea, and spends her days looking at the romantic couples within it and analyzing the emotions she feels. Once you learn who is the main character you'll start crying. Also, RamaSita, yay!

Sunset Cocktail - BediGudao Valentine’s day fic. Bedivere saves Gudao from stalker of the day, takes him to Moriarty’s bar, on Moriarty’s suggestion. Bedivere regrets his trusting of shifty old men from the word go, more at 11.

a planet between your teeth - Drabble. The god asks if the fairy wants to eat him.

what name is there for what we have done? - Post-LB6 Fic where Mordred is, quite frankly, blowing up after Morgan and Baobhan are summoned to Chaldea, specially with how much the former looks like him. This takes him to Bedivere’s room. Hurt/Comfort, amazing Bedivere, amazing Round Table dynamic (author uses he/him for Mordred)

vignette 50 - Sieg & Guda farming at New York Event. Cute. Cute. Cute. CUTE! def a fic to read to warm up cozily at the end of the day, I get cuteness giggles everytime I read it.

Taste-testing - CharlieGudao baking fic. Pure, unaltered fluff. Charlie lays the sugar Thick.

Conversation by the bus stop - Bedivere talks to a fairy who is not there

But we stay silly - GudaCas. Guda shocks Artoria out of dissociation by barking like a dog. Adorable. I SWEAR this is cute. Trust me.

Sign here - Modern AU GudaCas stuff following on that part of the chocolate competition where Cnoc says the winner will marry Ritsuka. A lovely comedy drabble that will Not tear your heart apart at the last second, unlike fics made by other authors who followed up on that scene.

遅くの成人の日 (救った世界が必ず貴方を救ったくれる、どんな形でもそれは貴方にきっと届く） - I can only pray the title formatted well. Summer event fic of Ritsuka dealing gwith how long she has been at this, and the acceptance of her own aging.

And Thus Did The Leaves Fall - BediArthur. Bedivere as Arthur dies.

Look at me - GudakoBarth. Gudako, Bartholomew, their feelings for one another and how much one needs to fit another’s type.

She did not want to die - NitoSche fic and character exploration. Amazing Sche character exploration, accompanied by an equally amazing Nitocris POV version of the fic in Act As A Pharaoh. If you like either girl, you HAVE to read it.

Have I Made You Sad, Mom? - Post-LB6 Morgan has been summoned to Chaldea. Baobhan hasn’t arrived yet.

(Free from) Sin - Morgan!Aesc, Aesc!Morgan, and the many times she felt love, wretched, cursed love.

Atonement - Ritsuka going through therapy and readjusting to a normal life post-lostbelt, as the voices of all her Servants remain ringing in her ears.

Your heart in my mouth, bitter on the tongue - MashMorgan. Mash confesses, Morgan vaguely remembers what emotions are. I do love a good rule of three emotional discussion fic.

Bridal Ox - Asterios goes to Habetrot’s workshop to ask for a dress

Taking the bit (heh) to its natural conclusion - Modern AU GudaCas. Guda is face blind, Caster needs someone to help her run away from the cops.

the odds don’t look far - Avicebron and David bonding over being the only jewish Servants in Chaldea (and, post-Part 1, the staff as a whole).

[m-jelly]

I don’t know if you’ve seen the TikTok or not, but it’s basically a women sitting on her couch recording her husband walking into the house and when he does she starts laughing because behind the door is like a baby cow looking at him and he is like in shock but smiles and pets it. So imagine Levi x Reader living in a farm and she’s always bringing animals home either for foster care or to actually own so one day as Levi comes home from doing something in town or in the city. He walks into you laughing your absolute ass off like tears in your eyes looking at something and when he turns to see what it is, it’s a whole baby cow just staring into his soul. (They do have a farm to put it on btw I think it’s sad when people don’t have the right conditions for any animals)

Baby cow

Pairing: Ranch owner!Levi x Fem!Reader

Genre and tags: Modern AU, fluff, romance, cute, married, ranch/farming life.

Concept: You and Levi own a ranch which looks after rescued animals, as well as welcomes children and families to spend time with the animals. You both specialise in raising horses for kids to ride, which means Levi is often dressed like a cowboy. Levi comes home to the ranch after settling a few business things in the city. When he comes home he sees a baby cow in his living room and you dress it up.

Taglist: @levisbrat25 @ladycheesington @skittlelover69 @li-anne @nyxiieluna @youre-ackermine @nbinairyn @thebobaprincess @notgoodforlife @galactict3a @demonsimp6

Levi drove his truck down the dirt path as exhaustion clung to him. He just wanted to get home to you and be wrapped up in your loving arms. He wanted to rest and not think for a while. He had to hand over a lot of paperwork and approve a few things for the ranch. Everything was all perfectly set up and he'd never have to go to the city again.

Now, it was just you, him and the animals. Maybe kids in the future.

He pulled up into his parking spot and smiled at the lovely wooden home you shared. He felt his heart flutter as he gazed at it and admired your loving touch on it to make it appear cosy. It looked so peaceful nestled in a large field with views of the mountains and lake.

He slipped out of his truck and entered his home. He smiled softly at the wonderful smell of baked goods and home-cooked meals. He knew you'd probably been busy cooking and baking while he was gone for three days.

Levi stopped dead in his tracks when he spotted you putting a bow onto a baby cow's head. "What in the world is going on?"

You gasped and looked up at Levi. "Levi! You're home!" You squealed and ran over to him. "I missed you so much!"

Levi caught you when you jumped into his arms. He chuckled and stumbled back. He squeezed you tightly as he let out a deep moan. "Mm, darling I have missed you."

You showered Levi's face in kisses. "Welcome home, my love."

"I'm glad to be home." He put you on your feet. "But answer me one thing, okay?"

You giggled. "You can ask me anything."

He kissed you and then looked over at the baby cow. "Why is there a baby cow in our living room?"

You blushed a little and stepped back from your husband. "Well, she has nowhere to go and her momma died. So, I thought we could take care of her." You pouted a little as you played with your dress. "It's okay, right?"

He let out a long sigh and looked over at the cow. "You named her already, didn't you?"

You looked away from him as you blushed more. "Peaches."

Levi walked over to the cow and petted it. "Hello, Peaches, welcome to your new home."

"Yay!"

He chuckled and ushered her along. "I'll get her to a nice little home."

You hurried after Levi. "I'll come too!"

Levi led the cow to the stables and hummed in thought. "I know just the momma cow to look after this little one." He walked into the pen and moved the cow along to the big mother cow. "Hello momma who lost a lot of babies, I have a sweet baby for you to raise."

You welled up when you watched Levi introduce the cows and the two connecting with each other. You felt touched that the two had what they were searching for. You clapped your hands and grinned at Levi when he came back over to you.

Levi leaned down and kissed you. "Howdy there ma'am. You here by your lonesome?"

You giggled at Levi being playful with you. "I sure am. I'm wondering if a handsome cowboy might keep me company."

Levi lept over the fence and landed in front of you. "Well, I can help you out."

You squealed when Levi scooped you up into his arms. "Levi."

He purred at you. "I love you so much."

"I love you too."

[minecraft-cake]

When We Get Home: Main Navigation

A skulk-based minecraft apocalypse au, following the Outlaws Scar and Grian along with various members of the Hermitcraft and Life series servers!

Hello and welcome to my minecraft apocalypse concept! This has been in the works for well over a month or two so far in my personal documents, and I'm happy to finally introduce the first few details. Our first one is a spreadsheet revealing quite a few of the major characters, their infection status, and more! Underneath I'll be explaining the setting and how I've changed up the mechanics of the zombie apocalypse trope just a bit to fit it to minecraft mechanics and my personal taste :].

Status Board:

If there are many changes to this board, it will be updated here! This image may change over time as information is revealed and new chapters come out. For now,

What is the setting?

This is a modern setting, with a minecraft twist! Think of all our modern tech and cities, but with the edition of minecraft mobs and mechanics. Things like government sanctioned hostile mob grinders for citizens to safely gain exp, fully lighted road systems and cities to create safe zones for non pvp oriented citizens, etc. Pretty much everyday normal life but I still want minecraft mobs and items to exist.

What is the "Skulk Virus"?

After the entrance to an ancient ruin was discovered in the outskirts of the capital, a research team was launched to investigate what historians and archaeologists were simply nicknaming “The Deep Dark.”  Not long after the team's investigation and boarding off of the location, outbreaks of a deadly virus began to surface in less fortunate areas of the city, soon spreading terribly from hospitals, slaughterhouses, government sanctioned hostile mob farms, and more. The cause of the outbreak was presumed to be the hostile mob exposure that occurred overnight in the research area due to limited lighting budgets, as the black lichen seems to latch onto life force (mobs, nonhostile or otheriwse) to power a possible hivemind. Despite vaccination and quarantine efforts– the original discovery team going as far as to encase “ground zero”’s entrance in concrete –the spread of death did not cease. Once infected, the “skulk” pathogen quickly overwhelms the brain, using the remaining energy to roam and infect living hosts to spread itself.  The symptoms of contracting the skulk virus itself are most commonly visibly characterized by large, black abrasions and loss of vocal control, along with active decay of the body. It’s theorized that the skulk may distort and/or reconfigure humanoid vocal chords, which is what causes the chittering and racket-y calls usually produced by infected. The virus can also cause minor bioluminescence and hypermobility.  The infected are considered kill-on-sight. The virus controls the body wholly, and any person still conscious will be very unlikely to be autonomous despite vocal claims. It reacts with disturbingly quick instinct, and will rush toward any distinctive indicator of human life. An infected is most dangerous at its earliest stages, as their sense of sight, smell, and taste have not yet deteriorated and the virus has more ways to approximate the location of future host bodies.  

Are there surviving settlements?

There were two main shifts at the start of the end of the world: the prolificacy of death, and the human sense of organization. 

With the outbreak overwhelming major cities and spreading over oceans, Sanctuaries were made out of minor settlements to create safe areas. Usually dictated by some sort of warden, Sanctuaries are walled off communities that vow to be virus-free, safe places to harbor a semi-normal life. They have strict rules, even minor theft or endangerment is not tolerated, and all communities usually fight in groups of four or more. By law, anyone who endangers a Sanctuary is considered Outlawed. They are banned from all Sanctuaries, and their Outlawed status is documented on public forums on a digital record, along with their bounty. While death is not normally encouraged, Outlawed citizens are the exception. Most consider their removal a comfort, whether for revenge, or to deter others from defecting from the Sanctuary, but Outlaws are never kill-on-sight. For anyone hunting an Outlaw, the capture must be returned alive to the Sanctuary they were originally expelled from to face execution. This is to avoid fraud, as payment is usually given in a dedicated flow of supplies and armor to the hunter from any affiliated Sanctuary. 

Outlaw hunters are incredibly rare, and incredibly dangerous to encounter. Many have vowed strongly to protect Sanctuaries, and view anyone outside them as a threat regardless of their legal status. If you are not Outlawed, you are likely to be killed by a hunter to prevent the future endangerment of a Sanctuary. 

Fun Fact: Most of our main characters are Outlawed!

Like I said, this story will heavily follow the adventures of our two main Outlaws, Scar and Grian! It's going to deal with some pretty complicated relationships as well. I'll be taking my time to write these chapters thoughtfully and thoroughly.

We will have long term plotlines with a few of the characters on the board (and some that have been blocked out to avoid major spoilers), so stay tuned! I'd love to answer questions about the au if you guys have any :]. Feel free to check out Scar's Cassette Playlist up on my pinned! It's the music that was left downloaded on his phone when the apocalypse hit and most proper internet connections were severed.

[fishedeyelenz]

Billy Lenz headcanons 2

Part two baby let's go

TW: child abuse, animal death again :( though I don't really get into the details of either of it

Grew up in a kind of suburban/rural like area, not totally isolated but definitely a bit remote, so a lot of things that happened in the Lenz household went unnoticed by the wider community

Lived close by to a pig farm as a child, hearing their grunts and squeals all day and all night. He quickly adopted the sounds, and now grunting and squealing and snorting are a stim to him. Though, because of this he often got compared to pigs by his family as a child :( he did sometimes sneak away to the pig farm to look at the pigs to get away from his house

Had a crooked broken nose. He either got it broken by one of his parents or Agnes broke it in self defense

As stated in the last part, he loves movies, and one of his absolute favorite ones is the shining. Jack Nicholson is one of his favorite actors, and he watched most of his filmography- exept one flew over the cuckoo's nest. He can't handle that one, it's too real for him

Likes those adult oriented animated movies that came out during the 70's-80's like Fritz the cat, Fantastic planet, Rock and rule, and so on. He also very much enjoys who framed Roger rabbit and cool world, though not really for their technical breakthroughs (perv)

I can see him also appreciating eastern block animated films if he ever got his hands on them, like Russian fairy tale animated films and early Hungarian folk tales, János vitéz etc.

Last unicorn enjoyer but prefers the book to the animated movie (though he enjoys both)

Doesn't really like Disney animated movies though (exept for Roger rabbit). The ones that came out during his adulthood were too "kiddie" for his tastes, and the ones from his childhood trigger him greatly

Has Italian heritage

Hates hippies, though likes a couple of bands that can be considered to make hippie/stoner music like Pink Floyd and the Doors

Yes he relates to Pink from the acclaimed concept album/rock opera movie Pink Floyd's The Wall why do you ask

Every weed is scary weed to him, don't let this man bake

Cat's are his favorite animal, aside from pigs, and he would feed the local stray cats as a child

Would honestly be catkin in a modern au

Garfield is his favorite mediocre but cute Saturday morning comic strip <3 he relates to Jon a lot

Doesn't like children, they freak him out, he would never want to have children and that's for the best

Has an appreciation for naive/amateur/outsider art, and he himself does make his own collages and drawings from time to time, whenever he's mentally stable enough to do that. His works are crude, both technically and thematically, and there is a very morbid quality to them. One of his great inspirations is Henry Darger

Has hoarder tendencies

Loves soft things, like blankets, pillows and plushies. His nest in the attic is like the most comfortable pillow fort there is

Yes the plushies are stolen directly from children

Honestly has his own collection of small, tinny , insignificant shinny things he found/stole. If he ever gets his own place his house would look like Howl Movingcastles room just more... Dirty and covered in cat hair

Liked to lay out all the things he stole from the girls in the sorority house on the attic floor, and admire his spoils from time to time

Yes he is a panty snatcher why do you ask

Doesn't like people staring/looking at him, though he himself has a staring problem

Is afraid of dogs, he got bitten by a stray dog one time when he ran away from home when he was just three years old. A stranger who just so happened to be passing by saw what was happening and defended him, killing the dog in the process. Then he took Billy right back to his family home, like any good Samaritan would. Sometimes Billy's nightmares have bloody, gaping black dogs in them.

[persephoneprice]

i am SO sorry lily for being annoying in ur ask box once again but i genuinely cannot get over dad!panlo..

like especially single dad!panlo who's doing it all on his own and he has no idea what he's doing...

doing face paint and dressing up w his girl and watching frozen and moana and crying at the end

him being really good at styling her hair because he has his own curly hair routine

making food that turns out to be kind of awful so he ends up just buying her takeout (he eventually learns to cook because sheaf teaches him vigorously)

he'd be trying to resist the urge to say yes to everything she requests like if she says we should get ice cream and get another dog he's like "that's not even a bad idea"

crying his eyes out on her first day of nursery/preschool

knitting and making clothes for her with the help of bobbin who taught him..

sheaf who babysits her when panlo has a long shift at the clinic (hc that panlo is a vet in modern!au) and she's like "ugh ok wtv" but ends up really getting into it and if ANYTHING happens to her lovely niece she will throw hands

sheaf being known as "aunty she" (because paisley cant pronounce sheaf yet)

panlo would take her to his family's farm and she'd love all the goats and cows :((

they'd go to the beach together as a family ugh lily this idea has actually rotted my brain in the best way possible ilysm

AHHH I SCREAMED WHEN THIS IS WHAT I OPENED THE APP TOO

i have also not stopped thinking about dad!panlo so i am so pleased that i’ve spread the dad!panlo agenda

STOPP panlo is absolutely the most patient person in the world and he’s just so good with his daughter 😭

he’d 100% be the dad wearing a tiara and sipping pretend tea at one of those little tables with the other stuffed animal guests

and he lets her paint his nails and of course she always chooses a very sparkly pink

omg he would love pixar movies 😭 imagine paisley patting his head to comfort him while he’s crying over bing bong or something (because he absolutely would cry over bing bong)

omg not only does he always do her hair but he always puts the cutest little accessories in her hair

i just KNOW sheaf is the one whose really keeping things together 😂 if it weren’t for her panlo & paisley would be having mcdonald’s every night and have like 50 puppies

sheaf rolling her eyes while panlo is crying and taking first day of kindergarten pics (she says she has to step away to grab something, but really she’s totally tearing up too)

sometimes when sheaf is babysitting they’ll go visit panlo at work and panlo lets her see some of the animals (she doesn’t get to go back for a while because she starts sobbing when panlo explains that the animals belong to other people and they can’t keep them)

and omg the mention of bobbin has me thinking of the other tributes meeting paisley- i just know reaper ash is putty in her little hands

thank you for sharing i just love this little concept 😭

[raymurata]

For Kelp: 🌹 🥩 🍎 🐞 🧣 💋

🌹 (rose) - What does your oc find attractive in other people? Are these traits found in their friends and/or romantic partners? Are they found in themselves?

Wouldn't you like to know weatherboy? 😌

I'll say this bc you already know about it thanks to a certain scene: Kelp finds athleticism and physicality hot. He likes ppl stronger than him, people who like to brawl (even tho he doesn't). He also likes people who get shit done, and people who stick it to the man. 😌

Those traits were found in Kom, and they can easily be found in Lehiri too.

🥩 (steak) - Does your oc have any coping mechanisms? Healthy or unhealthy?

The first one I can think of is meditation, which is healthy but it doesn't come as easily to him anymore after the years in the cage. Same for "talking things out with people he trusts." A little harder to do now. He even met with his father, but he couldn't quite share all the things he would have once shared.

On the unhealthy side, he has always set aside personal feelings for "the work that needs done," and he's doing that again now. Getting busy so that he doesn't have to feel much and he can weather all the difficulties he is sure to come.

🍎 (apple) - Does your oc go to school or take classes? Did they go to college? What was/is their favorite subject? Did/do they get good grades? Did/do they enjoy school?

Kelp did study, but it was a far more practical and farm oriented education than academic. There was a teacher in the village (Nori's mom) and kids had classes, but they also learned their family trades with their parents. He also read a lot on his own, and became more politically educated like that. If he went to school in a modern au his favourite subjects would be history and geography. He would get excellent grades on those, average passing grades on languages and biology, and he'd struggle like hell with maths and physics and chemistry. X.x

🐞 (ladybug) - What does a perfect day look like for your oc? What do they do? Who do they see?

A perfect day for Kelp is entirely unattainable. On a perfect day, he is in the past again. Florenz is theirs, and he can fully believe it is all for something, that fate can be trifled with. They pace around the map of Pyrifera and devise a plan to keep it independent for many years to come. Everyone is alive.

Of course he is entirely aware that this is impossible, but I think that goes hand in hand with the fact he would quickly dismiss this question with a comment along the lines of "perfection does not exist in reality. it is a concept that can only exist in the realm of the imaginary." He cannot picture a feasible perfect day.

He can picture a "good" day, though. A day in which the Hateful Six and the surviving Protectors of Luet further their goals: they learn what they need, they gather significant supplies, thwart their foes and kill more of their enemies. They all come out alive, and they all share a fulfilling meal and a have a good, distracting talk. Sof forgets about her suicide mission, Lemmiwink and Lehiri let the mantle of guilt off their shoulders for a while, Kyic and the rest of the grung kids are well taken care of. They sleep somewhere safe enough they don't have to keep an eye open. That's a good day. Perfect is impossible anyway, so he humbly wishes only for "good." 😌

If it weren't for Kombu being in that vision, today in game would have been good lol.

🧣(scarf) - What comforts your oc? Is it an item? An action? A person? Whatever it is, how any why does it comfort them?

The kids (Sof, Ribd, Leppu). Having them to watch over is comforting to Kelp. They don't have to do anything, just... Be well.

Lehiri has been comforting to him, too. So has Lemmiwink. Because both have been there and listened to him and shared some of their own woes with him too. Bonds are another source of comfort for Kelp bc he is extremely community oriented even if he is an introvert.

Being in nature is also good to center his emotions and make him feel like he belongs in this world, especially in the Luetkeana reef, but that doesn't really exist anymore so the mere thought is depressing to him. Yet, knowing that there is still some of it to save is comforting.

He also takes comfort in meditation and trance. And there was a bit of comfort to be found in Lehiri's arms, but the grief ended up getting in the way of that.

💋 (kiss) - Is your oc a good kisser? Have they kissed anyone before? Do they even enjoy kissing? What was their first kiss like in comparison to their most recent?

Kelp does certainly enjoy kissing, and I think he's a good kisser. He's had relationships before so, yea!

Hard to compare his youthful first kiss woth the last he's had. They're worlds apart.

[kicksnscribs]

Ok so I dug up my checklist of Transformers themed ideas that I’ve though up over the ages and I’m pasting it here for y’all to see where I’m at lol

I think I’m going to make one of my main art goals getting through at least half of these by the end of the year

Transformers “Roadtrip” Series

Jazz and Prowl; Gas Station

Hound (x2; Spotted on Route 66 and stuck on a farm during a thunderstorm)

Prowl/Un ID’d human piece; just an excuse to draw the ARK and a lot of clouds lol

Cybertron Concepts

General Appearance

Places of Interest:

The Aiming Arches

The Aquarium

The Zoo

Lunar 1-Orbital Mining Outpost

The Rust Sea

The Nest

Flora and Fauna

Phantasmagoria/Life on the Lost Light stuff:

Art Deco Posters for Leigh’s old job

Concept art for the “Golden Moon” Joysetroid” and Interiors

“Interstellar Punk” Thumbnails a.k.a the Daft Punk Episode

Concept art for Huilara, Uthuonos, and Zeprhyke planets

Character Sheet for Leigh

“The Great Space Race” Mockup Cover

Leigh/Rodimus “Interstellar Marketplace” Piece

Whirl/Leigh “Stuck in the Thunderstorm” Piece

Offroad Jazz designs

Phantasmagoria “Space Centipede” Concept and Interiors

Lunarglide Concept Art and design elements

Lunarglide’s/Leigh’s Space shuttle concepts/ Interiors

IDW-verse Steeljaw and Thunderhoof redesigns

Thunderhoof’s casino concept and Interiors

“Spaceport” Piece

“Night in the Woods” Inspired Piece

Mini-Comics:

“The Monster Hunter Episode” - Phantasmagoria

“The Pokemon Battle Episode” - Phantasmagoria

Beach or Forest comic ?? idk

TF-Centric Pieces

TF OC Lineup

Rodimus “Ghosts” and “Green-Eyed Monster” Illustrations

Minimus “Inside the Suit” Illustration

Merformers-Whirl

Modern Beast Wars AU Movie Concepts; Megatron and Tarantulas individual mood pieces

Sparkeater Rung

Urban Grimlock Piece

Brainstorm’s “Ratchet and Clank” Inspired weaponry

Prowl on Cybertron Concept

“Kup and the Ick-Yak” Piece

Rust Strider Cinematic Piece

Prowl and OP on the Subway

Bluestreak “Little Weapon” Illustration

BW Megatron Illustration

AU’s

Daemon AU

Hellcat Rodimus

River Deity Hound

Wraith Mirage

Krampus Cyclonus

Fae Tailgate

Naga Getaway

Pokeformers Concepts (just for shits and giggles)

[sunlightandsuffering]

Lys I’ve been thinking that modern AU Mikasa screams horse girl. Like cute innocent horse girl who meets the city boy Eren 😭

Hmm i can defs see like farm girl Mikasa and city boy Eren, it's always a fun concept !!! Switch it up, like bratty unimpressed delinquent city boy Eren and sweet innocent wide eyed Mikasa who's all gaga for her new neighbour lol!! Probably teaches him to ride a horse, gets caught skinny dipping in the river near their houses, takes him out to his first bonfire and stuff, teaching him the ropes. For some reason im just thinking of footloose LOL!

[kingofthegophers]

★ Genshin Star Stream AU: Mondstadt Arc ★

Hi hi I'm back with that Genshin x ORV AU I've been working on on-and-off, and I spent an entire night plotting out the Mondstadt arc??? I need help LMAO

Overall premise - An apocalyptic modern AU that borrows the mechanics of the Star Stream from ORV (so like scenarios and constellations, none of the novel-come-to-life stuff). Aether and Paimon are siblings looking for their sister Lumine, who has gone missing since the scenarios began. What they don’t realize is that Lumine has already gone through the scenarios and is now constellation.

CONTEXT (link to the original post with the initial concept)

Anyways, a lot of it still needs to be fleshed out but Mondstadt arc details are below the cut!

Start of the scenarios:

Star siblings are not Mondstadt locals (only recently moved there)

Aether is picking up Paimon from school, they’re heading home via public transit

For whatever reason, Lumine is in another part of town or in a completely different city running some errands

Amber is the first to make small talk with Aether and Paimon on the bus/subway <3

SCENARIOS BEGIN

Main Scenario #1 - Kill one or more living beings to survive

Aether, Paimon, and starter characters (Amber, Kaeya, Lisa) survive bc of Paimon’s ant farm from her school’s show-and-tell

Cell service isn’t working, Aether can’t reach Lumine

Middle scenarios, meeting other parties:

Aether’s party meets up with Jean’s party at the station

Jean’s party consists of Barbara, Eula, Mika, Noelle, Klee

Jean is the incarnation of Lady Vennessa (historical-grade), JHW vibes

Aether’s party encounters Diluc who has taken in Diona after her dad died

Aether’s party encounters Rosaria and her party of teens that she took in (Razor, Bennett, Fischl, Mona)

Decarabian is a constellation that wishes for Mondstadt’s destruction and incarnations’ failure

(Idk what scenarios they should go through here, but they just need to somehow meet all the characters before the disaster scenario)

MAIN SCENARIO: DEFEAT THE DISASTERS TERRORIZING THE CITY

The disasters are Dvalin, Durin, Andrius

Dvalin and Andrius are former constellations in Barbatos’ nebula that have “fallen”

Split into smaller parties to fight them

Fight through sub-scenarios on the way to the bosses

During this time, Barbara gains Nameless Bard’s sponsorship (historical-grade) after encountering his statue, obtains his lyre

Dvalin - Aether, Paimon, Jean, Diluc

Durin - Kaeya, Amber, Eula, Mika

Andrius - Rosaria, Lisa, Razor, Bennett, Fischl

On standby taking refuge under Nameless Bard’s statue, holding down the fort - Barbara, Noelle, Klee, Diona, Mona

DVALIN:

Located in Decarabian’s tower

BOUNTY SCENARIO - Barbatos wants Aether to save Dvalin instead of slaying him

Decarabian is goading other incarnations into slaying Dvalin by bribing with coins

Barbatos attempts to help by descending but gets stopped by probability

Aether succeeds in freeing Dvalin, obtains Barbatos’ stigma as a reward, Dvalin becomes an ally

Party returns to standby team to wait for others to return

Barbatos blesses/upgrades Barbara’s lyre, can now be used to communicate with him or summon Dvalin

Aether tells Barbatos about his journey to find Lumine, Barbatos will try to locate her whereabouts

ANDRIUS:

Located in the forests of Wolvendom

Andrius doesn’t actually want to fight, tries to resist the Star Stream and the Abyss Order but fails

Razor MVP saves Andrius from the Abyss’ control, nullifying the scenario

As thanks, Andrius becomes an ally and Razor’s sponsor

OR Andrius does get killed but gets reborn as a wolf pup under Razor’s care

Party returns to standby team to wait for others to return (they are the first to return, before Aether’s party)

DURIN:

Located in the mountains of Dragonspine

Kaeya’s party finds Albedo’s party (Sucrose, Timaeus) already there trying to fight Durin, both parties join forces

Durin takes over Albedo's body which makes the situation much much worse (inspired by 4dango’s “Voices in Ice and Snow” series)

Aether and others are concerned about Kaeya’s party for taking a worryingly long time, fly over on Dvalin’s back to help

Klee reunites with corrupted Albedo

After new forces join and the wounded evacuate (via Dvalin), remaining party to fight Durin consists of Aether, Paimon, Kaeya, Jean, Diluc, Klee

Everyone wants to save Albedo/Durin like they did with Dvalin and Andrius, but Durin is far too corrupted by the Abyss

Durin is purged along with Albedo’s consciousness, his body is cursed and turns into chalk (maybe he does this to himself sacrifice to save everyone else?)

Aether obtains Durin’s blood, uses it to forge Festering Desire sword (dw he’ll still keep his dull blade as a backup)

Aftermath:

Barbatos informs Aether that he can’t find Lumine in Mondstadt, even among the deceased

Barbatos has exhausted all his probability during disaster scenario, all he can do now is open a portal to Liyue dome for Aether and Paimon, maybe his old friend the geo archon can help

Everyone else stays behind to defend Mondstadt from future threats, also to search for a way to cure Albedo (using the power of constellation Rhinedottir)

This is was originally supposed to be Aether and Paimon -centric but omg I'm so proud I managed to somehow include all the playable Mondstadt characters in this arc?? (Don’t expect this to happen in future arcs tho lmao)

Links:

CONTEXT (link to the original post with the initial concept)

#genshin star stream au tag

[amemoire]

My too long ramble about Scara in a long winded attempt to touch on my thoughts of Ei in relation to him. Mostly because while some of fandom likes to draw up modern AUs and the like in which she's a good mom to him, this just isn't my belief for a few reasons. That isn't to say that I will shove my opinions onto others, and I would welcome anyone that does write her and want to plot out nicer terms for them, but I also don't want anyone to fight me on what's been my view for a long time now. This is just something that I hold to my own portrayal.

First of all, one of the primary things in Scara's character is the fact that he views Ei as more than his creator. He views her as his MOTHER, even to this day. Something made clear in his story when his voice literally breaks on the word as he holds back tears. But to Ei he was a CREATION. A proof of concept. A failed prototype. He was always intended to be taken apart. The only reason he wasn't is because she took pity on his tears. He somehow bore a conscience— he was a little too HUMAN. And because of this, it did occur to her that it may be wrong to end his life like that. So she sealed away his power and placed him on another island instead.

She sent him away without anything more than the clothes on his back and that golden feather. Locked in Shakkei Pavillion where if he woke, she thought he may leave and lead his own life. Except he didn't. He stayed here for days on end until being found because he wasn't told he could even leave.

He had no explanation for why he was being " tossed away " and quite literally no knowledge of the world. He was a prototype— why would he need to know anything more than necessary for initial testing ? He was clueless to its laws and how it functioned. And while the point of this was to give him his best chance apart from Ei and the Gnosis, how was he supposed to know any of this when he wasn't told ? He didn't even have a name. There's a line in Polumnia Omnia that I'll never stop thinking about and that is the singular Japanese line.

" ごやのすゑなぞながられ ". " Why did you throw me away on the fifth night? "

This is referring to an old Japanese custom to name a child on the SEVENTH NIGHT of their birth. So now we know how close he was to the exact time where he would've been given a name— a sense of purpose and being and an identity of his own. He wouldn't have been aware of this tradition at the time as he was quite literally a newborn, but came to learn of it in the near future and thus resented his abandonment all the more. But again, I don't believe he would've gotten a name even if Ei had kept him. He was ALWAYS intended to be dismantled before then.

Instead, it was the villagers of Tatarasuna that gave him something close enough to a name and taught him everything he needed to know. The laws of the land, how to cook, clean, farm, sew, dance, etc. etc. He caught on tremendously and in time became even better than his teachers in some rights. But most importantly, they taught him what it was to be human. The only thing they hadn't taught him about was human mortality itself. Which is why I believe he viewed the kid's passing as a betrayal despite it being something that couldn't be helped. Because he was still a stranger to the concept of death. Yes, people had died during the events of Tatarasuna, but those were by other means. UNNATURAL means and by other peoples' hands. He likely never even saw the bodies himself. But his friend had died of some natural sickness. And this body he did see.

We know from Ei telling us herself that she was aware of everything going on in Inazuma during the AQ and specifically the involvement of the Fatui and simply chose to let things happen. I don't bring this up to say that she knew what he was going through in his early years, but rather that she knew of his involvement during the AQ. By extension, we could probably say she's also aware of his role regarding the fall of the Raiden Gokaden. And again, she did nothing. Even after everything is resolved, she doesn't mention him and she doesn't seek him out. Granted, we do know why. She states in now unavailable voice lines that she doesn't wish to control him. So this is why he's allowed to do virtually whatever he pleases.

Yae similarly confirms just how hands-off Ei wishes to be. To the point that she won't even fight him despite all the trouble he caused for the nation. The fact that Yae would kill her " son " in secret and without remorse is a separate matter I won't get into. ( Though it makes me wonder if Ei would even be sad if this were to have happened with how casually Yae says this ). But it does speak for how even she doesn't view him as Ei's kid but still just a creation. Still just a puppet. Heck, she doesn't even call him by " he " like she does at the end of the AQ but by " IT ".

All that said, going back to the matter of AUs and Ei's ability to be a mother, it leads me to believe that at best she would have other people raise him. ( Nannies, house staff, maybe homeschool teachers ). And at worst she would be a neglectful parent. She's just too busy to do it herself and probably doesn't even know where she'd start. Without a doubt, he would have to take mandatory lessons and classes that keep to their culture and tradition, but otherwise she isn't too privy to what he does or likes. She wouldn't bother getting involved in anything unless it happened that he had failing grades or was getting in trouble. Additionally, because of her allowing him to do whatever he wants in canon, she may even become one of those parents that covers up the trouble their kids cause. Their relationship is quite strained as a result and while he would still regard her as his mother, he wouldn't regard her as someone who loves or cares about him, much less understands him.

But he does crave to be loved. Best shown by the feather being present in his Wanderer design.

The fact that he still carries it with him shows that it STILL means something to him. Even more importantly, it shows that he's held onto it all these centuries and will continue to do so despite never receiving any insight to Ei's true intentions and despite all memory of himself being literally written out of history. Because that feather was the one kindness he KNOWS she afforded him. It was a symbol that offered him protection by showing his relation to the Shogun, and it was a token that allowed him to request an audience with her. Though it failed him in the end, he still kept it. The only gift he ever received from his mother. One he will continue to hold close.

[pomellon]

DTK+ AUs:

🐈 Shattered Star AU Cat au inspired by the dsmp, Dream-centric and focused on the dtk+ friend group. Main Tags: Cat AU | Characters Refs | Lore/Worldbuilding | Trivia Currently working on:  • Revamping the AU 🦌 Himbros/DTK+ Centaur AU Himbro-centric centaur/creature au featuring a dtkq+ cast. The au focuses on separated soulmates Punz and Foolish, following the journey of Punz getting taken from his family, eventually getting freed from human capture, and finding a new home. All the while Foolish searches for him, crossing land and sea to find his lost soulmate. Both of them find adventure and new friends along the way!

Main tag: Centaur AU | Character Refs | Lore/Worldbuilding Ships: A big poly soup! Mainly focused on Funz, Punznap, Koolish, and DNN Currently working on: • Mini refs • “Sabertooth” Fic

🐲 DTK+ Dragon AU Takes place in a fantasy setting where a mass extinction event has happened, killing most dragon and magical creatures. What’s left are small settlements and groups dragons fighting to survive in a harsh and hostile world, fighting to stay alive and figure out ways to bring back their elemental gods.

Main Tags: DTK+ Dragon AU | Character Refs | Dragon AU Lore/Worldbuilding Ships: A big poly soup! Currently mainly contains Koolish, PNF, and Funz Currently working on: • Refs

🌊 Himbros/Funz Mermaid AU Currently only rambles and ideas, no art yet. AU takes place in an alien ocean world where narwhal!Punz and beluga!Foolish have been separated from their respective pods. Despite their species differences they end up sticking together and forming a tight bond to survive in their new hostile surroundings.

Main Tags: Mermaid AU Ships: Mainly Funz, with some future Dreamnap and KNF planed Currently working on: • AU setting • “Blue” Fic

🌆 DTK+/DSMP Euplerian AU Euplerians are a man made species made to replace animals for lab testing, but when the world found out about them they also gained popularity within the pet trade. While they have same logical and emotional intelligence as humans they’re often treated as sub-humans and have few to no legal rights. Because of this they’re easily abused or taken advantage of, resulting in many of them escaping their human care takers to live a harsh but freer life on the streets.

AU is mainly Punz-centric and focuses on Team Chaos and Staged Duo as they survive on streets and slowly start to unearth the true abilities and origins of their species. Main Tags: Euplerian AU Ships: Another poly soup, but heavily focuses on Drunz and Punznap, later to contain some Funz, and bit some slight background Awesampunz and PNF Currently working on: • AU setting, concepts, and refs • “Scrap” Fic • “Not a pet” Fic

👾🌐 DTK+ Digimon AU Takes place in a similar setting to the Digimon Cyber Sleuth games, where humans Sam, George, Karl, and Tina happen upon strange digital creatures Punz, Dream, Sapnap, and Foolish within the cyber space EDEN. With the digimon all ending up separated from each other they’re determined to find their friends while their new human partners learn to care for them while also try to under stand where they came from. 

Main Tags: Digimon AU Ships: Relationships between human and digimon partner are all platonic, while the digimon share romantic bonds with each other  Currently working on: • Digimon Designs 

🌱🥚  DTK+ Dragon Valley AU A modern fantasy AU inspired by Stardew Valley with a dragon twist. Punz inherits a farm and dragon egg from an unknown relative and while he first planned to sell both the egg hatches under his care. He names the hatchling Sapnap and decides to keep him while they keep living in the city, only remember the farm property a few years later when Sapnap has grown inconveniently big for their city life. They move out to the countryside where Punz soon meets the carpenter and vet tech Foolish, and the adventurer and monster hunter Dream.

Main Tags: Dragon Valley Ships: Funzwastaken Currently working on: • AU setting

🌑💀 DTK+ Dead Space AU Follows the story line and plot of the first two Dead Space games! Sapnap and George, engineer and data annalist, are dispatched to respond a distress signal on board the plate cracker USG Ishimura. Hoping to see their boyfriend Dream who had been assigned to the Ishimura on a 6 month mission they arrive wholly unprepared for the horrors and bloodshed that awaits them.

Main Tags: Dead Space AU Ships: DNN in the first part, with an addition of Funz in the second part, and an OT6 between Dream, George, Sapnap, Punz, Foolish, and Karl developing in the third. Currently working on: • AU timeline