#hi good mornign. i am having so much fun passing ideas back and forth like we're tossing notes at each others heads in the middle of class

[stuck-in-the-ghost-zone]

HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE YAYYYYY AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME I LOVE TORTURING MY FRIENDS <333333 PERFECT SPIKE WITH THE KNIFE VOLLEYBALL

>> yes yes yes I was absolutely picturing trickster seeing him on the news. Just like a shaky faraway video a civilian caught on their phone or something. but it's enough for trickster to see some of that dreamlike stuff and then ashe like. steps backward into one of his doors and disappears before a big wave hits where he was just standing or something. why does the trickster get TV service in his evil little chaos zone? why would the trickster be watching tv? I don't know! I dont care!! but he does and he is at least for this one moment. maybe he like. invades somebody's house and They were watching the news and he got distracted. idfk.

>> side note about tricksters territory I've been dying to picture visual parallels to the spirit realm even though i KNOW the chaos zone is different from the spirit realm they are still connected in my mind. also side side note on that topic i had a couple thoughts about clarence and mal in this au. and also the nilbog type situation where trickster first gets contained there. but that's for later it's trickster time now. speaking of mal though you know how when they first went to go find tide and they ended up in that haunted carnival. i think it would be REALLY really fun if tricksters territory was a city that had an adjacent theme park . for funsies and to play into the whole "his motivations are like a bored kid he wants to do things because they're funny" . i want the wards 2 follow muse through one of his doors and end up in an abandoned carnival. do u see my vision here

>> SPEAKING OF MAL AGAIN. EHEHEEHEE LOVINGGGG the fact that you said nhw trickster makes you feel the same way that canon mal does. i ALSO want to explode him with hammers so so so badly. BUT. i don't want him to be toooooo similar to mal because we do also still have mal in this au i dont want there to be Two Of Him. so while the whole using puppets to get Ashe to trust him thing is suuuper creepy and slimy and manipulative I don't think thats tricksters normal forte ? his usual style is busting in somewhere and causing chaos, but he knows the subtlety is what WORKS with ashe (btw the whole "oh people are Nice, Actually and my dad is just weird and paranoid" thing is EXACTLY what i was going for thank u for having the same brain cells as me) and he wants ashe bad enough that he's willing to force himself through the patience and slowness of it. but it's REALLY hard for him he gets frustrated so easily . maybe he's a little too eager one time and it freaks ashe out a little bit and shatters a little bit of the trust he's building up and trickster throws a huge fucking tantrum about it because now it's gonna take him even LONGER and UGH why can't he just go and take him NOW . using the taylor in her lair comparison again but while she's sitting calmly in her chair drinking tea the whole time, trickster is pacing around and kicking his feet and just going absolutely like

(there's a piece of pd fanart that i can SEND YOU NOW ACTUALLY- hold on ill do that in a second- that is pretty much what I'm picturing here like. his ass is NOT sitting still!!!!!!)

>> ohhhhhhhh having so many thoughts abt mark. having soooooo many thoughts about mark. i am still hung up on the muse/tricksterisms (give it up for DAYYYYY FIVE *Mr Krabs bell ringing image*) but maybe perhaps at work today I will type up a nhw mark essay in my free time. it should be slow today knock on wood. god. the aftermath of Overlord is going to be such a huge fucking mess. still not over the fact of u CASUALLY saying mark breaks himself out of the fucking birdcage. thinking forever about that thing bizly said once about mark being one of the smartest people they've ever met. yeah.

>> DAKOTA TIIIIIIM E. YEA YEA YEA YEA YEA even though we are in worm world and everything sucks so bad all the time and they are all so extremely traumatized. we CANNOT lose the dakota cole spirit. we cannot lose that energy. I love him so much he is so nice to everyone and so. bouncing around like crazy. maybe a little bit more subdued than in canon but it's still THERE. also ashe has been so very sheltered his whole life and mark is desperate to keep him away from anything dangerous so i don't think ashe knows a Whole Lot about capes? like he has the general base level knowledge that everyone has, maybe a little more (un)healthy fear of things like the endbringers but I think he's pretty neutral on the whole cape thing. his dad hates them but ashe thinks they're kinda cool from a distance. so I don't think it's like he IMMEDIATELY figures out dakotas identity, he's a little more distracted by the fact that Oh My God I have real friends for the first time ever to notice anything past the surface level weirdness in their living situation and behavior. maybe this is normal for kids his age, what does he know!

>> I LOOVE BTW. I LOVE THEM FINDING OUT ABT HIS POWERS THROUGH SOMETHING STUPID. YES THAT IS SO PERFECT. dakota yelling "HEY ASHE, CATCH" and throwing something at him. ashe is unathletic as fuck and so very nervous and awkward he can't catch for shit. pillow flying at his face he throws his hands up to block it and oh wow wait it's floating in midair! huh! weird! cue dakota FREAKING OUT "oh my god you have POWERS" do u remember that bit with Doug where dakota kept being so weird and asking him if he was a superhero. I think william and virion are very On Edge about this situation at first. they like ashe, yeah, but now he's a cape? who the hell is he we've never seen anyone around here with telekinesis. is he a villain in disguise trying to get to us? does he know our identity? oh fuck. but then they have a Talk and it's Fine

>> extremelyyyyyy weak over the post-leviathan scene. mark winters please give your son a hug im going to fucking kill you. side note of course tide is there. and he's got his own issues with His Boys recklessly putting themselves in danger and giving them their own earful about it but also I am not immune to the tidalwaveisms of him seeingggggg Exactly what marks motivations are. This is why he does what he does. etc. he's just a guy. tide is really normal about this and does not have a soft spot about it at all . turns away from the sight of mark kneeling on the ground with his arms around his son who is too slowly coming back to his senses and there's floating debris falling back to the ground around them and they're both bruised and bleeding and maybe theyre crying but this is a private moment for their family so tide grabs his boys by the arms (dakota and william, he knows virion understands enough to follow without too much of a fuss) and brings them away partially to give the winters their moment alone and partially to talk to his own pseudo-sons (huge bone crushing hug followed immediately by what the hell were you thinking?!) sorry I got kind of lost in the sauce about that. I think about the leviathan thing a lot. what was I talking about before this?

I think that's all for now actually. mark winters essay maybe incoming later I have to live up to my reputation of being perpetually unwell and insane over him. love and peace on planet earth prime. prime worm. whatever we're calling this version . 🤞🤞🤞

YEAYEAYEAG I FORGOR. TRICKSTER TIMELINE. SITTING DOWN WITH MY PENCIL AND NOTES!!!!!!

OKAY. OKAY. OKAY. this is all a bunch of half-formed-while-at-work ideas so if they dont make sense im blaming it on that.

first. backrground worldbuilding context. u know how nilbog is like . they keep him sort of quarantined because they let him take over a town and be a little king of his own territory there (at least i think this is what happened. to my understanding) . im thinking maybe pre-nhw times trickster was in a similar situation. hes this horribly powerful terrifying master but his big weakness is that hes motivated by chaos, motivated by finding things funny or entertaining. he doesnt want to take over the world in the same way a villain like coil does, he wants to take over things because theyre fun, because theyre interesting, because he thrives in destruction and chaos . if they just like... let him take over a town, let him have his little army of puppets to play with, he stays somewhat contained on his own unless any other cape pokes their nose where they shouldnt. i assume the prt would monitor him from a safe distance just in case, but he falls sort of low on the priority list when theyve got other issues to distract them. and this works for a while.... until he gets bored. hes caused all the damage he possibly can in his little chaos zone, taken over the last of the remaining civilians... theres no challenge for him anymore.

but HEY. news from one of the closest big cities... theres a new cape thats joined the wards team, and his powers look. so fun. imagine the possibilities for silly fun distruction with powers like that. so hes got a new challenge. He Wants That Toy. i think he approaches ashe using one of his puppets first. hes not stupid, he knows the prt is watching him, he knows if he leaves his city theyll be on him in an instant, so he sends like... unassuming regular normal people. theres nothing special about them they arent even capes. but theyve all got these glowing orange eyes. and it starts small- ashe accidentally bumping into someone on the street, and they smile at him as they help him pick up his bag. a cashier giving him a complement on his outfit. after a particularly rough fight with his dad, ashe leaves home to go to the wards house. its pouring down rain, maybe hes crying as he walks. a friendly stranger offers him their umbrella. asks him whats wrong. ashe winters, clinically lonely teenager who has had extremely rare and paranoid contact wiht the outside world for 10 years. does not see anything wrong with these nice orange-eyed strangers. call it naivety, call it innocence, whatever. hes not stupid though. every time one of these people talk to him, they have the same smile. the same inflection in their voices. one time he asks them who they are, why they keep being so nice to him. i think this takes the trickster by such surprise that. camera cut to him in his lair taylor style and he just. sits up straight eyes wide, huge grin on his face. yeah this is the one.

he drops the illusion of being different people and leans into it. he calls himself something insidiously innocent sounding. "just someone who wants to help" "are you familiar with the concept of a guardian angel?" << EUGHHGHG THIS ONE MAKES ME SICK. ashe isnt stupid. he knows thats weird. but the idea of someone out there who doesnt know him, doesnt know the horrible things hes been through and done, just wanting to help him for no reason. its tempting!!!!! so he doesnt mention his secret friend to anyone, just... accepts the gifts as theyre given. this guy doesnt ever ask for anything in return, even! it all. comes to a head though with the overlord thing.

im gonna switch now to kind of talk about ashe timeline outside of trickster stuff. the wards are together maybe a year or two before they meet him. ashe is in his rebellious teen phase, hes frustrated, he wants to have a life to live, hes tired of being in his room, hes tired of his dad not telling him shit and leaving for days at a time, hes just so. lonely. so one time, when mark is on a long weekend "business trip", ashe sneaks out of the house. now. mark is a tinker, you bet your ass hes rigged their house to the teeth with motion sensors and cameras and shit . but ashe is smart. ashe also has powers. ashe has not used his powers in a Long Time, but hes so mad and hes already made up his mind, he wants to get OUT and hes doing it TONIGHT. so he messes with marks equipment and leaves. goes for a walk. maybe goes to like. a gas station convenience store to buy a slushie wiht the crumpled 5 dollar bill he found in the pocket of the jacket he grabbed from the closet on his way out (its marks).

theres. some sort of trouble that he gets caught up in. something minor, maybe someone tries to rob the store while hes there or something. maybe its something silly like le frog. idk. but hey guess who is on patrol in the area to deal with it !!!!!!! its failsafe. and dakota has this bad habit of being Too Friendly with people. hey theres this kid my age who looks SUPER uncomfortable and hes hiding behind his long hair and this big jacket and he looks kind of miserable but he just has this ENERGY about him like . adrenaline. giddy excitement. something like that. and dakota is just drawn to him. at first its a "check on the civilians involved to make sure theyre okay" and then its a "wow youre a blue raspberry guy? i like cherry more but my friend really likes blue raspberry too, you kind of remind me of him, i think youd get along-" cole style! rambling! and ashe is just sitting there like. why are you. talking to me. (<< same inflection as why are you in my house bc i fucking love that those are his first words i miss you so much ashe winters) but internally hes like "whoa this is so cool this whole talking to people thing is so easy my first night out in 10 years and im already making friends with a fucking cape, okay-"

ANYWAY. whatever whatever dakota runs into him a few more times on patrol and because hes. him. hes always really excited like "HEY I KNOW YOU!" etc. idk! whatever! they become friends! he meets the rest of the wards when theyre out of costume, dakota seeks him out out of costume specifically because he wants to be friends but oh my god ive only ever talked to this guy as failsafe i need to talk to him as dakota. the boys become ashes first friends ever! and then he. excited that he has someone to talk to other than his dad for the first time in forever. he tells them or shows them or whatever that he has powers. and then he learns about them being wards. idk this in btween state is still fuzzy to me. he helps them out sometimes acting as a rogue. idk how or why he officially joins the team but he does somehow. eventually. mark is EXTREMELY displeased wiht this, but its at a point where... turning down the offer would almost be more suspicious. whatever. help me out here i havent throught about this part as much.

ANYWAY. SOMETIME AFTER ASHE IS OFFICIALLY ON THE TEAM. the leviathan attack happens. i feel so very strongly about the leviathan attack being the equivalent event to the Meatball Planet only like. so much worse. leviathan is showing up in some random coastal city called. idk. maybe brockton bay. for funsies. and all the capes in new haven are called on for the battle. (tide especially. but this aint about him rn). mark winters is the kinda guy who would hear that and go "no fucking way i want no part of that my first and only priority is protecting myself and my son i dont give a shit about another city or other capes" but. he has to go. because overlord wants him to go. for whatever reason. and mark, knowing about ashes whole thing with the wards now, puts him on total lockdown. dont even fucking THINK about going anywhere near this. i dont care if your team gets summoned, you. stay. here. etc etc etc. the wards, ironically, do not actually get summoned! they are really powerful, yeah, but the prime force is already goign to be there and the prt cannot risk their backup prime force also getting taken out because they dont have a third option to turn to right now. the boys Do No Like This because! tide is going. they want to go with tide. they plan to sneak away and follow anyway. ashe tells them mark put him on lockdown he cant go with him. they break him out and the 4 of them get to town in the MIDDLE of the fight. shit is baaad. they kind of regret it almost immediately. but theyre here now they have to fight. i actually think it would be cool if. like with the meatball planet thing. having the nhw there is a huge advantage and they start winning. but. i think this is the first time they see ashe's breaker state. maybe its because one of the wards gets hurt, maybe he sees his dad going up against leviathan alone at one point, idk. something in that vein. i think breaker state ashe is actually the catalyst they need to start winning against leviathan, the thing that distracts him enough right in time for scion to get there and do his thing or whatever. the battle is over, they have a REALLY hard time getting ashe out of his breaker state. (side note i think the only way ashe can really come down from breaker state is by having whatever threat set him off completely removed from the situation. however bc he doesnt recognize good from bad in this state, any sense of big power or sudden movement or whatever is enough to kind of reset that meter and it just gets harder to break him out the longer they make moves toward him.) personally, because im biased as fuck, i think it would be sooooooooooooo fucking good to have mark be the one to get him out of breaker state here. the wards have never seen this side of his powers, they dont understand why trying to help him only makes him worse, the battle is over shouldnt he be okay now? but mark has seen this before. mark knows, if only instinctually, what worked before. maybe itll work again. and hes fucking pissed, hes pissed that ashe is here, that he disobeyed him, that he put himself in the worst fucking danger possible, that this is all the wards fault etc etc. but he HAS to push that anger to the side for a second to get ashe to come back to his right state of mind. they can have a screaming match about it later when reality is not actively bending and breaking around them. i also think this would be good for the wards to see that mark isnt... totally a horrible person. they only really know him from ashe, theyre super biased against him they hate his guts from the things theyve heard, but here. they just. get to see how much he loves ashe and even though his actions fucking suck and ashe has been miserable as a result... hes not an evil guy. hes just the universes most hated man.

ANYWAY. BACK TO THE ORIGINAL POINT OF THE POST. reports from the leviathan fight and the new member of the wards whose powers turned the tide (ha) of the battle. this is how the trickster learns about him. so ALL THAT STUFF i talked about before happens . and then mark goes missing. ashe doesnt. realize it at first maybe. hes used to his dad being gone for days at a time, but hes never stayed away for longer than a week. day 3 passes with not even an update from mark and he starts to get a little anxious, day 5 passes and still nothing, day 8 hes. freaking out. the wards are maybe a little crass about it "that guy sucks you can just stay with us" btu then they see ashe is like. genuinely distressed about it and they say theyll help him look for him.

mark. maybe disobeyed overlord in some way. idk. he did something stupid that made overlord mad enough to punish him. the wards track down the guy mark is working for (i imagine their knowledge about What He Does in this au is a lot more limited than in canon. they know hes wavelength, they know wavelength workds for someone, but they dont know who that someone is). they track down overlord and bust into his base and its. idk. similar ish scene to canon. ashe sees his dad in whatever the equivalent is of the tube he was in in pd. hes unconscious, but they cant tell whether hes alive or not. this sets ashe off almost IMMEDATELY into breaker state. and overlords base is not . the largest thing in the world. maybe its like. warehouse sized. but its still an enclosed space. shit gets dangerous FAST. ashe ends up killing overlord and its pretty gruesome and horrible. when he gets out of breaker state and fully processes what he did, he just. runs. he doesnt know what else to do. hes scared hes upset he still doenst know if his dad is alive (did he just lose the only family he has left? was this the thing mark was hiding them from for so long? mark dead, ashe a murderer, is that what simurgh wanted?) . he thinks the wards will hate him for what he did so instead of fighting them he runs! and who. is conveniently waiting for him. a kind stranger with glowing orange eyes. who hugs him, tells him everything will be okay, wipes his tears away. how can i help? do you need somewhere to stay for a while?

ashe is gone for a handful of weeks before the note appears on the wards' door.

IDK. THIS IS ALL SO LIKE. VIVID TO ME BUT AS ALWAYS IF U HAVE OTHER IDEAS I AM SOOOO OPEN TO THEM. i have a lot more thoughts about the trust that trickster tries to build with him through his puppets but this post is so fucking long already that might just have to be a full separate thing . god. im so FUCKING unwell. nhw disease instead of brain there is nhw. ashe im so sorry we put you in the blender i promise i love oyu and want you to be happy. what are your thoughts i need 2 know. oauguhg. dying 2 talk about this. as if i didnt just write out like a thousand words talking about it.