#THANK U FOR ASKIN!!!

[gryptids]

*breaks down your door* OCS ASKS!!!!

Cule: 20 and D for Saoirse, 34 for Cara, 43 for Vic, 7 and G for Jude

TGG: 23 for Luce, 38 and F for Maria, 28 and B for Alaric, 22 for Leander

annnnnd 40 and E for &Lav!!

HE HE HE >:3C Thank u so much for askin!! Answers will all be below the cut :]

CULE:

(Saoirse) 20: If they were asked to explain the difference between romantic and platonic or familial love, how would they do so? Re: platonic and romantic love, it's not too different for them! I don't think they see much of a distinction -- for them, relationships are very cyclical, so it's more about the point in the cycle the relationship is in (growing & then fading closeness/intimacy) than other distinctions. For example, she considers Victor a friend, but has a deep, intimate dynamic with him that involves sex. It's more about what the other party wants to classify the relationship as; if they had it her way, she wouldn't label them at all.

(Saoirse) D: Have they always had the same physical appearance, or have you had to edit how they look? Nope! Saoirse went through a big change when I was first settling on character designs. They've always been goth, but she originally had a different hairstyle (natural hair w/ braids on the sides to emulate a fauxhawk) AND was plus size! I knew I wanted to have plus size characters in the cast, because the splinters can 'choose' what form they pick, and I wanted to demonstrate that fatness was something people can and would chose to be if social and medical stigma around size didn't exist. But then I read a book called “Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia” by Sabrina Strings, where she argues that "slim, desirable white women [are explicitly and figuratively juxtaposed] against corpulent, seemingly monstrous black women." Well... I had made a thin white woman and a fat Black femme (who was also somewhat monstrous as a part of the story) as juxtaposed parties. That book as well as some gift art I received from YOU made me reconsider which characters I wanted to be fat -- and I eventually settled on Carolyn and Victor. I gave Saoirse another one of my favorite body types instead -- broad shoulders, narrow waist!

(Cara) 34: How hard is it for them to shake a sense of guilt?  Ooh, this is a juicy question. Cara tends to move to the beat of her own drum; the rules that society holds aren't necessarily the ones she believes in or follows in her day-to-day life. Where she feels the most guilt is when she feels like she's failed by her own metrics; when she can't live up to the ideals she holds for herself. She pretends it doesn't affect her when she fails to live up to her own expectations, but it will eat away at her until she directs her frustration at the nearest target.

(Victor) 43: If someone asked them to explain their sexuality, how would they do so?  "I'm bi. Why, you interested?" (In fact, the entire quartet is bisexual! As a bisexual myself, it's very important for me to increase bi visibility through my characters. Plus, that way I can smash them together in whichever configurations I please <3)

(Jude) 7: What triggers nostalgia for them, most often? Do they enjoy that feeling? Answered here!

(Jude) G: What trait of theirs bothers you the most? There's plenty to get bothered over when it comes to Jude, but the trait that bothers me the most is his obtuseness; he REFUSES to be vulnerable with others, and instead thinks he can guess what someone will like better than they can judge for themself. Instead of just letting someone fall in love with him, he tries to put on a show and tailor himself to their expectations. That and his (related) milquetoast opinions bug the hell out of me. Where's the vulnerability?? Where's the locked-and-loaded rant about your least favorite pastry????? He won't risk being 'wrong' for someone, which inevitably means that he's never right for someone either.

TGG:

(Lucia) 23: How does envy manifest itself in them (they take what they want, they become resentful, etc)?  She gets VERY competitive when envious (which happens a lot in the story; she has incredible magical talent, which has been outlawed in her home nation, and comes from a very low social rung). She WILL prove that she's the best, that she deserves what she wants, tooth and nail -- even if she's leaving with broken bones and bloody lips. It'll all be worth it to prove everyone wrong.

(Maria) 38: What memory do they revisit the most often? Maria holds a lot of fond memories around the ocean; it was a source of independence and bonding for her and her sister, and represents a wild kind of freedom that she was never allowed to embody growing up. She'll often return to a memory of her floating naked in the ocean underneath a full moon, completely at ease, and completely alone. No expectations, no needs she must address... just her and her skills, and the uncaring eye of nature.

(Maria) F: What do you feel when you think of your OC (pride, excitement, frustration, etc)? LOVE!! I love Maria so much. I've poured so much of myself and my experiences into her. She perseveres alongside depression and chronic pain, and her creative and passionate spirit never dims even in the worst circumstances. Her curiosity, kindness, and fierce defense of the ones she loves is what it's all about, babey!!

(Alaric) 28: Would they prefer a lie over an unpleasant truth?  Never. Lies ruined his life at a very young age, and turned him into the bitter fuck he is today. He makes it his mission to force people to face unpleasant truths whenever possible. Otherwise, when the truth eventually reaches you (and it will reach you), everyone will be caught in the crossfire.

(Alaric) B: What inspired you to create them? This is a great question! The seed narrative that would become TGG originally included just Maria and Leander -- but I decided I wanted a messy, bisexual love triangle (as well as a twist on the 'evil advisor' trope), and Alaric was born. Though that love triangle element wasn't retained into the current story, I still think it's a very fun dynamic. Two people who butt heads bond over the man they think they can't have, and have sex with each other as a substitute instead? That's the exact kind of mess I love. If the romantic rivals simply had sex with each other to blow off that frustration, everyone would be happier.

(Leander) 22: How does jealousy manifest itself in them (they become possessive, they become aloof, etc)?  ANOTHER GREAT QUESTION! Leander gets (even more) withdrawn when jealous, mostly because it's a very overwhelming feeling. It's very rare that he's confronted with something he wants but can't have, and even rarer that someone is willing to challenge him. It's... refreshing, in a way. So while he does get withdrawn, it's not in a submissive way, but in a 'the volcano is quiet but there's still molten rock underneath' way. That challenge is exactly what he needs to actually kick his ass into gear sometimes. Be assured; he might be quiet and stony-faced, but the gears are turning.

&LAV: (gonna answer for the main three -- Lav, Ro, and Zan -- since u didn't specify a char!)

40: How sensitive are they to their own flaws?

Lav: They try not to think about it (which works sometimes, and not others). They try their best to live an upstanding life, but upstanding lives are just so boring. The constant battle is between impulse and societal pressure, and they've yet to balance them in a satisfying way. Slipping up is a 'flaw' -- but they discover that flaws can actually be kind of delicious when held in the right light.

Ro: Kind of, but it doesn't get to her. I mean, her job is literally to get showered with praise in exchange for performance, so a healthy sense of self-confidence is key. She's had her ups and downs -- and she would say her biggest flaw is her isolation -- but has gotten to a place where she can handle herself with grace and confidence. Sometimes a little too much confidence.

Zan: Very sensitive. He was recently punished -- both socially and physically -- by his superiors for slipping up. Now he's back and trying to prove himself, and he's very aware of how much is on the line. He's prepared to claw his way back to the top (and then some), but he'd be lying if he said he never dwelt on what landed him in his current predicament.

E: Are they someone you would get along with? Would they get along with you?

Lav: They are very pretty, but we don't have much in common. I'm a very energetic person, and they tend to be more withdrawn; they're very refined, and I am... not that. I think we would have great conversations about their work (they carve gems! That's so cool!) but it would be a congenial exchange and nothing more.

Ro: A tentative yes! She's a homebody, so I think she'd appreciate that my idea of a fun hang-out is snacks and a movie at home. However, she's busy as fuck, so we wouldn't get to see each other often. Kind of annoying, but it's always a good time when we do see each other!

Zan: He IS an effervescent conversationalist, but our worlds are so different that I have no idea what we'd talk about. I'm not into cigars, or poker, or couture brands, or other rich fancy status stuff; likewise, he's not super interested in outdoorsy hikes or art, though he does have a good aesthetic eye. We might chat a bit at a bar, but it would be very low intimacy.

[velvetwyrme]

BORROWER AU???!! MY NEURONS HAVE BEEN ACTIVATED I’M AAAGDHXJCJ

I cannot wait to hear more about it I’m so excited RHDHEHE (but also take ur time with everything ofc!!! :D)

GRIPS YOU. BORROWER AU!!

It started off as being constructiprowl focused, then rapidly spiralled outwards to include jazz and soundwave hfjfjfbdm,,

the main thing stopping me from Making Stuff for this AU is that I can't decide who I want to be borrowers shfjfbdjfbfjfbdk,,, also i dont wanna draw humans BUT IT FITS BETTER IF THEYR HUMAN INSTEAD OF MECHS

ANYWAY rambling under the cut

So. there's two "main" versions of this AU (because my brain goes on wild, quick tangents) but here's the quick rundown of both:

VERSION 1

Prowl notices things going missing in his apartment. Initially he chalks it up to his annoying roommate, Jazz, but when Jazz comes to him asking about some of his bass strings that went missing, he begins to suspect something else is up.

Elsewhere, the Constructicons, a ragtag group of borrowers are trying to find their balance after the loss of their leader. Prowl is a detective, so cue a lot of silly shenanigans as the 'structies do their best to outsmart him.

They're super disorganized but they're inventive, which usually means Prowl keeps getting pranked, much to Jazz's amusement. Eventually this disorganization leads one of them to be found by Jazz :]

I like to think that Green exists in this one but shes Prowls pet lovebird who also likes the Constructicons fhfjfhkd,,

VERSION 2

The Constructicons are on holiday! Kind of. It's a holiday-slash-mandated-break and they bought a house to fix up to keep themselves busy.

Scavenger is CONVINCED that this new house is haunted, something which he is trying to convince everyone else of, very unsuccessfully.

... At first.

Jazz and Prowl are the ghosts borrowers haunting the house, and they're just trying to get by while having to make increasingly dangerous heists to get food and materials because there's FIVE guys living here now. FIVE!!!

Prowl keeps going and editing the drafts they leave out on the table, much to Hook's displeasure (Scrapper's hard work!) but he keeps finding out that the improvements are really effective... (Prowl knows what works in this weather, and he has an intimate knowledge of the house's structure, since he Lives There.) This results in a burgeoning appreciation for the Ghosts.

I like to think that Jazz is actually an outdoor borrower in this one, who stops by the house for materials and to trade with/annoy Prowl. He probably ends up singing in the vents, which echoes throughout the house and entrancing the Constructicons :] He also finds lost items and brings them round, and leaves little gifts for them.

Eventually!! One of them gets found by one of the Constructicons, and chaos ensues :3c

~~~

And NOW you may be thinking. hey Doozi you mentioned Soundwave. How does he fit in, you may ask!!!! And the answer is: he doesn't, but im forcing him in here anyway.

Option 1 is that Soundwave is a borrower living nearby who's stressed tf out trying to take care of a pair of human(!!) kids who are. absolute menaces. He's befriended a local cat and has a couple ravens that he's raised from when they were young.

Option 2 is that he's a very tired guy who works from home and has a bunch of pets. One of which brings home a couple borrower kids and welp, he's a dad now!!! Rumble and Frenzy are a literal handful.

Both options can fit really well in EITHER version of the AU,,, (but I'm always biased to having Jazz/Soundwave on opposite size scales,, i have many thoughts,,,, borrower!SW pining as he watches human!Jazz play an instrument,,)

WHICH REMINDS ME-

I also went on more tangents because I really like the idea of Human Prowl and Soundwave, with borrowers Jazz and Constructicons,,, and the matching flipside of Human Constructicons + their cool neighbor, Jazz, with tiny Soundwave and Prowl,,,,,,, like those dynamics are also really good to me and I can't decide which one/s i like most so I can actually draw stuff,,

BUT YEAH. THIS AU and its many versions HAS BEEN PLAGUING MY MIND FOR AGES and there's more character dynamics I've thought of but this is already very long thank u for reading if u got here.

BRAIN SO FUCKING FULL!!!!!!

[gumjester]

hello sorry if you answered this before but the recent chapter made me remember i had never asked but!! why did you characterize goldie the way you did? like did you just need someone to play that part in the narrative and chose her because of mirrornet, or did you already not like her (valid), or...? love your writing!!! <3

HAHAHAHAJKSH....... WELL I WOULD BE DECEITFUL IF I SAID I DID NOT ALREADY DISLIKE BLONDIE..... BUT!!!!! do not get it twisted.... i LOVE HER. in the sense of having a character who is that much of an instrinsic maniac and has the potential 2 do SO MUCH DAMAGE.. i had to put her 2 work in the way she was always supposed to (in my eyes. LMFAO). however!! i never wanted a single character 2 be wasted on pure hatewriting EVEN the ones i TRULY hated , because how dull!!!!! if i made blondie jus Some Girl who Sucks and does Nothing Actually Relevant it would be completely unsatisfying for every1 including me, so while yes, there was absolutely a mirrornet propaganda pusher role that needed to be filled anyway and blondie was perfect 4 the job!!!, i have been careful 2 maintain her bitchassery as Narratively Productive. everything she does is as crucial as it is horrid!!!!! she is my wonderful vile girl and has the exact same right as every1 else to be a developed, meaningful character. i occasionally, bitterly recall a post where someone described rir as a 'blondie hatefic', which i am honestly now trying @ all costs to avoid. we have far richer ways to spend our words!!!!!! i luv u blondie. you are one of the most important characters in the story <3333

so to answer ur question frankly, both! and im having so much fun with her.

[fishpea]

cheesecake🧠

[sturnioloho]

i fuckin love yall 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹 thank you so much 🥰🥰🥰 i love all 1000 of u!!!!!!

[spinnysocks]

heyo spinny!! whats some of your favourite tlg ships? or just any you like in general

EHEHEHE rubbing my hands together. evilly. hehehe

well, kiburi is my pathetic wet cat blorbo and i happen to love all the crackships for him. kiburi x makuu? funny as fuck. kiburi x ushari? love them in nikki's pirate au they keep me up at night. kiburi x janja? the outlands brotp ever. my favourite character's stupid ships my beloved yknow?

in terms of other ships: reirei x goigoi obviously. baobabfruit ofc (thanks to you :] /pos). jasiri x kion because yeah. and as you could never tell (/sarc) i love poly ships so banzai x shenzi x ed, tano x nne x madoa, & kiara x tiifu x zuri are ones i really enjoy too. oh and i'll say timon x pumbaa too since they were my first tlk ship i suppose :]

[pampanope]

Can Levan lift a Pitbull? Just wondering for reasons👀

Yessss 👀 he can….

Your reasons piqued my interest 👀

[suddenly-stickmin]

I saw you answered my ask, and I totally will reblog it (planning a little something), but I just want to ask, I’ve been listening to the Creaks OST, and I love it! Do you have any more video game OST recommendations?

RARRRGHHGGHHG IM SO HAPPY TO HEAR YOURE LOVIN THE CREAKS OST!!!!! Seriously I think it's one of my top favorite OSTs to listen to whenever I need some music while I draw/write, or if I need inspiration for a very specific tone. It's just oogoughughugh soooo phenomenal. As for other recommendations!! I'll suggest some that immediately popped into my head when I first read this question! Night In The Woods - This game has a wonderful soundtrack, it's also another game where I'll put on the complete OST as background sound. But my two favorite songs out of them all have to be: Astral Alley & Astral Coal , specifically these two versions [which I've provided through the links!] where the creator mixed and matched different instrument tracks to see how they'd sound & what emotions they'd evoke. Honestly I think they accomplished their mission perfectly, I swear this is the only version of these songs I listen to and there's certain segments throughout them that just go insanely hard.

Super Paper Mario - Another fantastic game with an equally fantastic soundtrack. Honestly I need to give it another listen cause it's been a little while, but some of my favorites that came into my mind instantly were: The Ultimate Show, The Woah Zone [especially 1:30 and beyond, something about that repetitive 'falling' sound is just so perfect to me], and Memory [a very very beautiful mashup of multiple songs throughout the game]. THIS VERY SPECIFIC SONIC SONG --> Solaris Phase 2 ITS LITERALLY SO PERFECT FOR IMAGINING AN INTENSE FAST FIGHT SCENE BETWEEN TWO OR MORE CHARACTERSSSS RAAARRGHHGH NIGHTS JOURNEY OF DREAMS!!!!!!!!!!!!! PROBABLY ONE OF MY OTHER FAVORITE OST TO LISTEN TOOOOOOOOOO ESPECIALLY THE BOSS MUSIC Some of my personal favorites: Drifting Donbalon [something about those voices that come n go throughout this song is just sooooooo fantastic], Queen Bella's Ball [SUCH A BANGER SUCH A BANGER I could listen to this one for eons], and NiGHTS and Reala [Specifically from 1:25 to the very end, it brings such an ecstatic and freeing feeling it's just rhaogughurhgsdjgjfddg melts its so awesome]

Definitely recommend giving any of these bad boys a listen! Thanks so much for askin!!!

[cassyapper]

noritaro fave music genres?

GOOD question...hm..

jotaro canonically is into kinda jazzy/pop music (cause his fav is toshinobu kubota and his dad ofc) and i can't see that changing much with age tbh. he likes things that flow into each other well he doesnt like very sharp ups and downs like u might find in rock

UNFORTUNATELY FOR HIM kakyoin likes rock canonically (fav band is sting) but he doesnt strike me as someone who is very picky with music i think kakyoin can get behind anything. jotaro definitely jazz pills him. unfortunately he has a soft spot for the beatles too thanks joseph. but yeah kakyoin can get into anything i think but his preference is rock/faster jazz

[cubtales]

haiii my cubbie i hope your day has been good to you so far!! 💗 every so often, i’ll drag wrio up to the surface with me to buy flowers for sigewinne and the inmates in the infirmary! while we’re in the court of fontaine, we might also buy a pastry or two to share ( .. and maybe wrio tries to feed it to me and i bat his hand away for being embarrassing in public? lolol ) ^-^

"what's the order this time? daisies? carnations?" the duke mused, his thumb caressed the back of his beloved's hand, fingers interlaced with hers as they inspected flower booth in front of them.

"why not tulips?" rae questioned back, her free hand playing with the feathery tips of the petal. a fond smile on her lips as she picked up the bouquet and tilted the blooms towards his nose for him to sniff. "you always choose tulips, dear." he responded, as he took the flowers from her grasp.

rae tapped her chin momentarily before nodding along with his words, "well... it's my signature. would it really be us if i didn't bring any?" she giggled, causing the duke's lips to curl, her smart but endearing responses always made his heart feel all fuzzy. he twirled the bouquet a bit as he looked at them and looked back at the loveable flower that stood in front of him. "huh. i suppose it wouldn't be us."

"glad you agree." rae spoke with a cheery tone as she pulled him over to the daisies, saying that it'd fit perfectly with the tulips they picked. her voice faded a bit from the duke's ears as he admired her, painting a perfect portrait of a princess— no, a majestic fairy among flowers.

"pretty girl.."

before he knew it, wriothesley slipped his fingers out their small embrace before sliding them up her waist to pull her close, his chin resting on her shoulder. a small surprised noise left his dear fairy as her eyes made contact with his, squinting suspiciously as his sparkled playfulness, but nothing short of adoration. "don't you dar—"

paying no mind to her brief warning, wriothesley pressed a quick barrage of kisses on her left cheek as she attempted to lovingly shove him off with complaints. "you— what just got into you?" rae whined, pressing her hand against his lips as he gave her a satisfied look. "whatever do you mean? i'm always like this." he shrugged, pressing one last kiss on her palm before she retracted it away.

wriothesley watched her ears burn as she grumbled softly under her breath, welcoming the sense of pride swelled in his chest along with his everlasting adoration for her. "now let's purchase these and get something sweet, some for sigewinne too." the duke chuckled, nuzzling his girl close.

"let's enjoy the sun a bit more."

[tojisun]

I wanna get into Ghost but Idk what song to listen first 😭

ANON!!! im literally so giddy right now because youre asking me about the band ghost so forgive me for the upcoming ramble hshaheheh

naturally i was gonna tell u to listen to ‘mary on a cross’ because thats their most popular song!

but i thought u mightve heard moac already because of how much it was used for edits so my actual suggestion re: what to listen to first is ‘cirice’. idk what is in this one (the bass) but i truly love it!!

then i thought i might use this time to actually suggest ‘year zero’ so that it could act as an exposure therapy to what the whole bit that the band ghost got goin on. theyre a theatrical rock band with an emphasis on satirical approach to organized religion. theyre not subtle about it at all (thus why they have ‘papacy’, ‘clergy’, ‘ghouls’, etc.)

but i got so excited to share some of what i think would appeal to first time listeners so i made a playlist! these are just some of their songs! lmk what u think (if ur comfy)

note: u dont have to like them. i have a few irls who do not see the appeal and that is just fine!! we all have different music tastes <333 on my end, im just glad that i get to share w u (all) one of my playlists ^v^

mwah mwah and happy listenin!!

[prohaloplayer]

hi bo!! how's cheese? any pic updates? :]

shes doing really good!!! she's so sweet and she's really taken to mint and will not leave her alone ever...

we're slowly introducing her to maia because she's a grumpy old hag who's only 4 but. we'll get there soon hopefully

[squipdop]

how about 27 and 81 :)

#27: Bob Vylan - Must Be More

Bob Vylan might be my favorite artist I discovered this year!! They were also heavily featured on a Bullet Train playlist I listened to on loop over the whole summer LMAO

#81: Bonelang - Like a Bird in a Jet Engine

Another banger I expected to rank higher ngl? But yeah I love this one to bits, there's just something about the instrumental that scratches the brain

[tetsuskei]

what did u get ur man for his birfday :3c

jadie hihi ^_^ ! i got sweet boy a new bow to practice with and also crocheted him some new scarves to wear for the cold. also a nice pocket watch for him to use and think of me when he does heehee 💗

[trentskis]

What book are you reading? 😁

vicious by v.e schwab! i actually finished it today bcus the last third of it was sooo pageturner-y omg.. i loved it i luv fantasy/sci fi and unhinged characters 🥰

[sankttealeaf]

19, 23, 25, 27 or 28 (or as many as u want lmao) for the writer asks!!

hehe ty!! answering these fic writer asks :3

19. While editing, did you kill any darlings? What were they?

oh gortash's birthday scene from let sleeping dogs lie. you will always be famous to me. we got to see rue's birthday and i wanted to do the same for gortash! it's only fair, after all.

i have written it up as a stand alone piece but we'll see if anything comes from that!

also during the party chapter (chapter 7) gortash was supposed to "accidentally" kill the guy they were looking for. and rue gets angry because he had promised her she was to kill him. things kinda end the same as the chapter written but they end up getting it on next to a dead body instead of an empty room lmao

OH and another thing - originally rue was going to be so against the idea of kissing gortash. he could have her, sure, they just werent allowed to kiss. i was really dead set in that trait until i had to write them getting it on and decided rue can have a little kiss. as a treat (og plan was to have them properly kiss after the crown of karsus heist)

23. How did you come up with the title?

i like the phrase "let sleeping dogs lie". if things are going fine, dont say anything to ruin it. it sums up their relationship to me because confessing that they love each other would, in theory, cause everything to fall apart

28. Write a new summary for the fic, but badly

"imagine walking into a bookstore and seeing crime and punishment but instead of it being a literary masterpiece its about the two worst people to ever exist."