#again if you dont wanna be tagged just lemme know and ill remove it o7

[smidgen-of-hotboy]

I promised to deliver my thoughts about my monster hunter juno au and well, here you are @one-joe-spoopy (@esquemeencanta i got a feeling you'll wanna see this too so here ya go)

To recap from my last post: Juno is a monster hunter. Rita is his right hand lady. Ben is alive. Vespa is human. Rita is human. Juno and Ben are human. Buddy is an elf. Jet is a werewolf. Peter is a changeling.

I also mentioned last post about how changelings work but to recap: changelings are the abandoned children of fae. They are exchanged for a human child and live out their lives until they return to the fae realm or rip of their human parents face.

!This is your obligatory gore and violence warning!

there are different realms, most notably: Waking (where all the living are), Fae (elves, changelings, nymph and dryad, and ofc fae), Slumbering (the place where dead and lost souls wander). There may be others but so far Monster Hunters haven't found a way to cross over to them. Not yet.

Nureyev was found as an abandoned child in the streets of Brahma. Mag (human) took interest and took him in. He trained him to be a thief. Eventually, Peter turned on him and ripped his face off. His instincts had kicked in and he was starving. He had always been hungry, nothing could satisfy him until he held Mag's face in his hands. New Kinshasa monster hunters chased him out of New Kinshasa and hunted him throughout Brahma. He met Slip while on the run

Slip is a monster sympathizer. He sides with Petya and believes in a free world where no more blood is spilled. He turns a blind eye to Petya's bloodlust and has helped him in the past secure meals. Together they've traversed across Brahma to Saraswati and there Peter was cornered by monster hunters. He was captued, drugged, and released for a hunt. He ran back to Slip and in his confusion hurt him, causing Slip to fall unconsious. He was found and recaptured but not executed. They took Slip from him despite his efforts to fight back. For a time Peter wasn't sure if Slip would survive... Slip has since recovered but is wanted by monster hunter associations in Saraswati, Brahma, and New Kinshasa for his betrayal to humanity.

Peter works for monster hunters to evade monster hunters to keep Slip safe. His "Keepers" are a monster hunting duo that are rumored to keep monsters in cages. No one knows about Peter because anyone who did is dead. Either bc Peter ripped their face off or bc the Keepers eliminated them personally. Peter is their most prized possession. The Keepers are the monster hunters that found and recaptured Peter in the first place. They are the ones that took Slip away to be taken care of.

So Peter takes out other monsters bc he's told to. He also takes out Monster Hunters, eliminating his Keeper's rivals. Blood covers the path he's walked. He is very tired of living like this chained to them, but they're withholding Slip. So long as Peter works for them, they ensure Slip is safe. And so long as Slip is safe, that's all that matters to him.

Juno, meanwhile, was a punk turned cop. He worked alongside Puck Falco for the hcpd. A case led to an arrest of a 76 year old monster hunter who babbled things about the apocalypse and how they're all doomed if they let monsters run rampant. While in their custody the monster hunter is killed by a monster and sharpshooter Juno shoots the monster down. He's awarded and recognized and approached by Hyperion Monster Hunter Association, the HMHA. He's told its more high risk high reward than cop work. He wasn't going to accept the offer until they name dropped Benzaiten. "His life will be hell if you don't take this offer Steel. Monsters got their own hunters out there. And if we can find him just by a quick check on you, they'll find him too. It's all about exchange. Eye for an eye. Blood for blood."

Juno becomes a monster hunter to protect Benten. He resigns from the hcpd leaving Puck without a partner, and Rita follows after him. He tells her it won't be safe and he tries to urge her to go back to Puck to the hcpd but she insists that "ain't no one seen the potential in her like he has. And ain't no one taken Rita as seriously as him. And ain't no way she letting him do this dangerous stuff alone, he needs someone for back up and she's just the right Rita for the job."

Juno begins monster hunting. Benzaiten is endlessly worried for Juno but Rita always covers and soothes those fears "he's okay. I'm his back up and so far we've done great together"

Juno as a cop used regular bullets. Juno as Monster Hunter uses special silver bullets bc silver is known to burn and kill most monsters. He's armed with a pistol always but also owns a shotgun and sniper he breaks out for special jobs. He doesn't love his job, but it does indeed pay better than being a cop. He's content with his life and rather reckless.

Rita does not know of the horrors Juno faces in the field. If she did she'd be clutching her pearls and asking him what happened next. She knows its dangerous work but she doesn't have the blood on her hands. The HMHA raised a brow at Juno for bringing her on board, but they didn't question it any further when that was Juno's only condition he wanted to be met

Monster Hunting culture works so that hunters can take up job offers that are posted through their affiliated association, alternatively they can be hired by a third party. Going on "Hunts" is a group effort and usually involves senior hunters from an association capturing a monster, caging it, riling it up (prodding it with weapons, taunting it, starving it, etc) and releasing it to be chased after for sport. Greenhorn hunters frequently get injured or die during their first Hunt. All hunters participating have the opportunity to capture the monster or kill it. Either way they're celebrated. If a greenhorn hunter is the one to successfully kill or capture the monster, they are honored with a feast and recognized by either graduating from the Academy (this is what happened to Sasha), completion of their apprenticeship, or offered a position as part of the association (this is what happened to Juno. He was first approached to join, participated in Hyperion's Hunt, and was the one to kill the Hunt's monster (a gnarled dryad that was more forest than nymph))

Miasma is an eldritch abomination. A non newtonian fluid that solidifies liquid tentacles into sharp points that pierce Juno's skin and poke out his eye. The only way to stop her was to blow her up and contain her in a jar. Juno lost his eye and couldn't walk for months but Ben took care of him and Rita helped out. As soon as he could though he was back on his feet taking on job posting

Ramses O'Flaherty approaches him with an offer of a new eye and job. Juno accepts both (the eye is an organic eye enchanted by monster's magic. Juno is indifferent to having it, but other Hunters look down on him for it. They call him a crooked hunter, a dirty one at that behind his back) the requires Juno to act as a bodyguard. O'Flaherty is running for mayor and worried about being assassinated by monsters for his policies (he believes in a free Hyperion, rid of all the monsters, rid of even its Monster Hunters. Juno questions why hire him then and O'Flaherty asks why work for him if he wants to take away Juno's job. They're at odds sure, but Juno wants to be paid and O'Flaherty wants the peace of mind). Each task Juno is assigned by O'Flaherty, someone dies. Their eyes are scratched out, the tongues clipped, faces torn clean off. Juno thinks it's the Piranha and shoots them dead. Juno uncovers the truth and finds out it was O'Flaherty. O'Flaherty is a monster. He hired Juno to protect him from monster attacks, to keep his hands clean. Jack Takano is the first changeling Juno comes face to face with and never knew it until it was too late. He died starving but Juno buries a silver bullet in him for good measure. There's no reward or pleasure in it. He gets rid of the enchanted eye (gouges it out himself and nearly dies a second time losing an eye) and looks for different work. OldTown falls. A new hunting association moves in, NewTown Monster Hunter Association (NTMHA) and they're backed by Dark Matters. HMHA is not.

Shortly after theres a job posting for an upcoming art gala security. Some of the art on display and for purchase is art by humans. Other pieces are ancient "artifacts" belonging to monsters (humans don't know what they're actually for) Ben insists that he not take the job offer considering how his last venture as bodyguard turned out but alas. Juno doesn't know what's actually good for him or when to quit. He takes the job.

Juno arrives at the gala hours early to monitor set up. There's going to be a lot of elite socialite in attendance. There's a lot of hunters also on security like Juno. The gala starts and Juno is watching the front door. Benzaiten Steel enters the gala in a beautifully tailored suit hanging off the arm of a hot date. Junos stomach drops out from underneath him but ofc tonight should be safe. There's so many hunters in attendance. They'll be safe...

And there is so so so much more but yea know this is already a lot so I'll tuck the rest away for later ^-^