#ggg kit au

[strawberrij]

Human!Click Clack and Cobigail looking up and seeing Thespius hanging between the Rift and holding on while constantly suffering is so heartbreaking.

:]

:]]]]]]]]

it would've been a rough time

(human click clack design is credited to @molabuddy !!)

[strawberrij]

AHHHHHHHHHHH LETS GO LETS GO LETS GO

Woe Cob be upon you!!!

@jathis @strawberrij

[strawberrij]

concept art from the Keeping It Together AU!

[strawberrij]

back together again (thanks, king!)

(from this AU!)

[strawberrij]

Do you think there would ever be a chance of Thespius closing the rift? Your art is gorgeous btw! I love it!

THANK YOU!!!!

oh my god dude. the way ive been brewing this question in my head since i made that painting

tl;dr YES.................... AND NO

AU UNLEASHED NOW!!!!!!!! GO MY SCARAB

OK. SO.

all of my ideas about this stewed up before the GGG devs (yugo specifically) confirmed that the gods age xyz years that they've been in the rift if they leave, so I know canonically they would all crumble to dust and/or be old as balls. BUT. WHAT IF THEY DIDNT AND THEY JUST POPPED OUT AS THE SAME AGE THEY WENT IN

[title drop] great god grove 2: RETURN TO THA RIFT

[aka Keeping It Together AU :3c]

----

strong rift winds + isle surrounded by ocean = all of the gods miraculously survive being blown out of the heavens by way of falling into the ocean! so it's up to godpoke and king to find them all and get them back to the rift before thespius..................... well you know ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

the human-gods aren't doing too well... so many centuries of living as extradimensional cosmic dust only to turn back into a lil meat bag will do that to ya. they're scattered around the grove in various states of Bad, most of them sopping wet + looking/feeling like they've been hit by a truck and are too incapacitated to do anything right now. they feel helpless. the protagonists and people of the grove need to help their human-gods get better and FAST, because they all need to get back to the rift together if there's any hope of closing it.

thespius has no idea if the other gods survived the Fall or not. he's just doing the only thing he can to keep The Whole World alive, with just the glimpse of hope that he might be reunited with his love and his family one day. he can't give up. not now. not after everything.

inspekta is fully capable of ending thespius himself, but he's too afraid to touch another god. spending his entire godhood having capo and the bizzyboys do his dirty work for him has made him incredibly bad at direct confrontation. especially with someone he genuinely used to care about, someone who accepted him with open arms.

and so, he has capo and the bizzyboys do his dirty work. out of fear of retribution, they lock down the grove and trash the other gods' symbolism and any likenesses.

but their hearts aren't in it.

through hijinks and rediscovering their humanity alongside their own reasons for entering godhood, the human-gods, helped by the protagonists, regain their strength and form a coalition with the people of the grove-- and the bizzyboys! cue the march to the spire!

----

but strawberrij, you ask, why did none of the other humans offer to jump into the rift, ascend to godhood, and close that mofo themselves way earlier?

well, the people of the grove understand the unbelievably heavy burden of godhood. they have loved ones that they want to live their lives with, spend their final moments with, and that alone is too much for anyone to lose. And, they recognize the gods as a family; as much as they want to stay with their own families, they want to reunite the gods'!

they love their gods. truly. they can't think of anyone else more qualified for the position. (except inspekta cough cough)

it takes gods with experience to knock inspekta down. only they can understand his fear and reach into his heart.

----

at the spire, things aren't looking too hot. the roaring winds and sheer cosmo-electrical energy of the rift have done their damage on thespius; poor guy's barely holding on (literally and metaphorically), and each passing day around inspekta, hearing how the other gods are DEAD GONE EXPIRED wear him down more and more. his love, his core, is the only thing keeping him together.

----

something's wrong. inspekta's distracted by something in the distance, thespius notices in his state of near-unconsciousness.

people climbing the spire.

a crowd?

a grove.

something familiar at the front. someone. someones. his family.

before he can react, inspekta dives down at them, ready to rain fists.

godpoke, capo, and the bizzyboys intercept, blocking and distracting inspekta while the people of the grove rush to get the human-gods to the rift.

some of thespius' strength returns, seeing the people and feeling their love radiating out. he makes out one figure at the front of the crowd-- CLICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

his grip on the rift tightens!!!!

with the help of the grove, against the thrashing winds, the human-gods are lifted into the rift.

THE GODS ARE BACK IN!!!!!!!

with king's help, click clack grabs onto the rift, one arm wrapped tightly against the small unconscious thespius.

together, the five gods (click clack, king, mitternacht, bauhauzzo, huzzle mug) hold onto the edges of the rift, trying to pull, but to no avail.

the gods call out to the skirmish between inspekta and the godpoke. finally, mitternacht's words reach him--

"Hector, is this how you want to be remembered?"

---

the gods close the rift. king has joined them. hector is mortal again.

all is well...?

---- epilogue ----

holding onto the rift for so long was unimaginably brutal.

thespius falls into a deep slumber in his domain, sloooowly recovering all of the divine energy that the rift sapped out of him. click clack stays with him, quietly worrying at his side. his back is always turned to the entrance when godpoke visits. they do what they can to manage both sides of hobbyhoo alone, and will reappear in their tower if he senses a visitor in need enter his own domain, but makes an effort to rush them out so that he can return to thespius.

when he wakes, thespius is changed. he lost much of his hearing from the shrieking winds blowing past him, and had a hand shatter from the sheer energy of the rift. the damage is psychological-- he can't will these things to change back to how they were, no matter how hard he tries.

but he adapts. he is already skilled in sign language, and now uses a mix of sign and spoken word to communicate. he still loves writing scripts with click, and making music. he can feel the vibration in his ukulele.

he's... quieter, now, though. those who visit his domain with often find him lost in thought, more shrouded by his clouds (his head is always in the clouds..... chronic dissociator + daydreamer, now x100000. it kept him alive in the rift... what is it doing to him now?)

the other gods do what they can to give him company, but there is so much to rebuild. these things take time. healing takes time.

----

:D

P.S. massive massive MASSIVE shoutout to @jathis for their writing inspired by this painting!!! i'm so freacking bamboozled at the idea of being perceived and they are so so talented. pls check them out for more wonderfully angsty (and also super wholesome) thespius/ggg content!!!!!!!!!!!! a lot of their writing also inspired the fleshing out of this AU :-]

[strawberrij]

OOOH i love this....

yeah absolutely!!!!! im such a sucker for [emotional experience that causes physical manifestations of change in a character]. i don't have a particular vision for these changes in mind, but i LOVE the idea that there Were Noticeable Differences in their appearances after re-entering the rift. feel free to come up with your own ideas on this if you want!!!

recovery was ABSOLUTELY a group effort-- i think the gods probably became even closer than before while bonding over the whole "wow being a human sucks a TON but there are also so many nice shared experiences in just having a warm meal together, etc"

YES RAZZMA MY BELOVED i think he would absolutely have a major role in this.. i left the "through hijinks, the gods get better!!!" part of the Au writeup SUPER open-ended for anyone to build off of this if they want!!! i think he would become really close to the gods-- i imagine that she needed to visit them all in order to paint the in-game triptych, and really comes out of her shell emotionally after bonding so much with the gods while they heal from the fall.

i like to imagine that click clack and cobigail become especially close during this time, being the closest to thespius. i think them seeing thespius still in the rift after getting their bearings as humans was pretty awful (click's heart just about split in two), and they had to rely heavily on each other to find the motivation to keep going for their partner/best friend, no matter how hopeless the odds seemed.

All the gods helping each other recover enough to get back to Thespius. The siblings leaning on each other, King and Mitternacht man… I like to imagine Razzma and the resistance help hide the gods until it’s time to take back the Spire.

I wonder if the gods are all effected from being mortal again for a while. Like if their forms are very slightly different. Bauhau with more cracks for example.

@strawberrij

What do you think?

[strawberrij]

Ok on Cobigail potentially exploring Milldread, imagine if she arrives and goes to the schoolhouse to find it completely empty. everywhere is empty... finally wandering into Bayker's bakery only to be jumped by the whole town who expected the Bizzyboy's to be the ones wandering around looking for them. And she gets to have a moment explaining herself while also being so happy to see her townsfolk. Bloom comes forward to confirm that its her and they have a good long hug and some tears. (as a bonus Saul is starstruck and nervous as hell and she manages to prank him several times over the course of the visit)

AHHHH YEAH YEAH EYAH YEAH

it's wild to think that so many of these people just haven't seen her before except for a scary statue in the middle of town! it would be such a sweet lil reunion with bloom and a great way for the people to really get to know the real her :D and ABSOLUTELY she would go ham with the pranks lmfaoaoaoao

[strawberrij]

Aaaa!!! im so glad you like it!!!! :D I dont know if I can turn this idea into a full fic but I like the thought of Sirena (the wet historian) talking with Mitternacht, I imagine she's a researcher trying to write a thesis on the world B.B. (Before Bauhauzzo, aka before *recorded* history) and her filling Mitternacht in on what she's figured out. And maybe that brings Mitty a little comfort, knowing a little more about her past (or at least what was left behind and uncovered).

FIC SO GOOD IT MAKES ME EXPLODE

AW YESSSSS

dude the b.b. idea is incredible i love it so much

i LOVE the idea of mitt being so far removed from her own past that she needs a history lesson. THERE'S SO MUCH SECRET JUICEEEE I WANNA PICK MISSY'S BRAIN SO BAD

[strawberrij]

Imagine with the holding it together au the oldest gods having to get used to a more modern world.

Mitternacht: King… dear what is this?

King: it’s a hot dog, theyre pretty good actually

Mitternacht (whos never had processed food in her life): they look different then I expected… :( but I’ll try it

LMFAO this is such a funny concept to think about

give these gods some glizzies and taco bell asap guys. dont worry they'll be fine

[strawberrij]

OHHH I LOVE ALL OF THIS HEHE

we got to see bau without huzzle to balance him out, i would be SO HYPED to see what kinds of chaos comes out of the reverse situation... many lost medical licenses probably lmfao

and YESSS mobility aids ftw........... maybe that's even something he used to get around pre-godhood??

since angst seems to be the flavor of the evening I figured id share another little ggg hit au idea. Imagine if it took a couple days to find all the gods. or longer. And HuzzleMug was one of the last ones found. Bauhauzzo just forced to sit by and wait hoping that its ok and not at the bottom of the ocean somewhere.

AUUUUUUUUGHHHHHHHH </33333

everyone just getting their bearings and wandering confusedly and relearning what it means to be human alone...............

and poor bau having to relearn how to use his limbs so he probably couldnt be too helpful in the search!!!!!!

[strawberrij]

What would happen if Thespius had a breakdown or some kind of attack? Would the others be able to calm Thespius down? Would HobbyHoo be affected by His breakdown?

ooooooh man

ok first of all i LOVE the way that @wishgraanted aka MisterMeatball interpreted a Thespius Breakdown(TM)

(THEIR WORK IS SO AMAZING AND RAW. PLS READ IT IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY)

ofc the circumstances would be very different with regards to the cause and therefore physical manifestation of a potential breakdown, but since we already know the gods' emotions can have Very Real World Consequences on the grove, i have so much fun (sorry thespius lmao) imagining what this would look like

since he already has such a strong cloud association i'd imagine it would manifest as lots of lightning + thunder with serious turmoil, fog on more chill but still slightly distressing days, and ofc throwing in a good old fashioned Deadly Snowstorm never hurt anybody! :-]

[strawberrij]

Hello! I wanted to ask if Hector ever goes to see Thespius after he wakes up?

ooh this is a good one. I imagine that he tried checking in once while thespius was still in his resting state, and click clack just shot him a look so filthy that hector never even dared to come back lol

once thespius woke up, though, it was a while before hector got the courage to visit him, even though the guilt ate at him so much. I imagine that thespius has few words to say to him, even though he can't bring himself to outright hate him. just the sight of hector causes him to start dissociating and forming more clouds, until it's nearly impossible to hold a conversation with the guy. hector manages to mumble a small "i'm.. sorry..." and takes his cue to leave. but i don't think that would be their last interaction! :3c

[strawberrij]

The Gods: /learning and growing as people and Gods while trying to get back to the Spire/

Click Clack: /every time They look up has to see Thespius going through The Horrors, also thinks Georgia was destroyed along with everything else burned/ …

:,DDD

[strawberrij]

Do you think Thespius would have to relearn notes after the events of the au? Like his hands have been stiffs for so long and his mind had been so clouded- he’d have to rely on muscle memory but his muscles won’t even work anymore. So he’d sit there and have to relearn. A thing he used to be able to do without even thinking. And even then his once steady hands would tremble across the string and you could feel the shivering of his soul in the strings.

I think music would reflect a lot of his healing. A hoarse voice coming back and trying to hit the highs and lows (I HC that he’s a tenor- that self projection mainly.) and trying to find notes while half deaf. Because healing isn’t just reinstating what you had, it’s also finding a way around it. A new way to sing and a new way to play. Is it better? Is it worse? Neither. It something different. But it’s still Thespius. An artist style is forever changing, but always recognizable. And I think that’s what happened to him after the AU.

HI MOOT

ur full literary analysis in ur tags still live rent-free in my brain jsyk btw (screaming crying throwing up everyone go read them)

YES YES YES i love this idea so much........... the mental block just messing with him and him needing to relearn so much of what came naturally to him. the wording in visuals in ur description are so *chefs kiss* this is au-canon to me!!!!!

YES TENOR THESPIUS i imagine he has to rebuild a lot of self-confidence in feeling for his own pitch/volume without being able to hear as well as before, and strengthening his voice again. it's something different, but it's still and always will be thespius :-]

i think cobigail would also spend a lot of time with him helping him find the notes when he sings and get reminded by her experience as a music teacher a lot-- they both help each other heal in their own ways!

[strawberrij]

Do you think it ever got violent when the Bizzyboys were destroying things?

ehh other than cool ass boss battles i dont really think about direct violence too much! and in this au i imagine the bizzyboys and capo already became Aware of the situation (the in-game rift scene happens after the capo fight, after all, and i imagine that would be the scene where the gods get pulled out) and just did what they did bc they were ordered to by inspekta, and feared any consequences for acting out of line once they saw inspekta's endgame form

[strawberrij]

But now I gotta ask

Because it needs to be asked

How are the Boys doing after this?

Hector, Capo, Patty, etc?

yussss i love these freaks

I imagine they're all having a similar time as in the canon ending! i just got another ask about hector that i went a lil more in-depth in, and i imagine capo also feels a similar type of guilt for thesp. i love how youve written about patty, i think she's thriving in hobbyhoo! thesp has a special place in his heart for her since she salvaged georgia i think, and click too ofc!