#interpreting ''au'' as something that could not happen in canon

[spinnysocks]

kiburi x ushari but specifically doomed kiburi x ushari. more than anyone else in the army they believe with full sincerity that scar's plan HAS to work because they can't succeed without him

[juliareed]

There is a lighthouse In the middle of the deep And I'm still stranded on the shoreline there And nobody hears me scream

[wheucto]

the way ii16 explodes several of my aus from being mostly canon compliant <3

[triglycercule]

i am severely upset at the sexyman polls for this year. yeah its absolutely because im biased and not a single one of the mtt won. but killer vs error is still going on you say!!! NO,,,,, killer's lost,,,,, its 70 error 30 killerISH so yeah,,,,, none of the mtt MADE!!!! IT!!!! and with the boom in killer content these past few months i wasSO FUCKING SURE that he'd like AT LEAST get higher up. nope. because of ERROR. listen i like him. he was my og bias when i first joined this fandom. i was an error fanatic. but bro,,,,, bro,,,,,,,,, killer,,,,, lost,,,,,, AND FUCKING HORROR AND DUST LOST TOO!!!! LIKE WHAY. WHAT. PUTTING HORROT AGAINST ERROR AND DUST AGAINST CROSS!!!! THEYRE LITERALLY BOTH THE TWO GUYS THAT (1/2 of them) WON LAAT YEAR!!!! OF COURSE THEYRE GONNA BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF THE MTT!!!!! this is very upseting im really sad imMAD. but no point in being a sore loser.... mtt won in my HEART 🧡

dust laughing at both horror and killer for getting the shit beaten out of them by error and then they bring up the fact that he lost to CROSS. this is the second time someone in the mtt lost to cross (theyre all making out in the loser's room) (mtt poly real btw)

[abyssalzones]

can you tell us about your interpretation of the better world universe!!!! especially curious how stan/mystery trio works into it

hell yesssss I definitely can. ABW is maybe my favorite niche gf thing and probably the only "AU" I care about but that may be due to the fact that it's an AU that exists in the canon and we know so little about it. so it has an established foundation that you're left to fill in the details with yourself... it's like a poke bowl to me. you can put anything in there

and since I felt like it here's a bonus pic of them living their best lives pestering ford

[explanation-y stuff under ze cut because I got very longwinded]

as for specifics of how I see everything working out, there's a few key points that establish why things happened differently from canon, the most important being:

Stan agrees to hide journal #3 somewhere

Ford reunites with fiddleford and they begin working together again

both of these are already confirmed in canon, the first being the most obvious "schism" between timelines. literally everything in ABW is the way it is because stan made a different decision. kind of crazy in terms of its implications: I feel like that moment in the basement is a really good example of how stan gets so few opportunities to shape her own life (while ford is in the picture...) because of her role as the 'black sheep' twin. it's not exactly a premeditated decision to push ford into the portal, it's her acting on feelings that have been bubbling unaddressed under the surface for 10-something years at that point, and only then does she have any sort of power over the "narrative" of both her life and the story itself, something that from her pov has been ford's story. and in the canon timeline, she says no.

so like, what the hell made her say yes in ABW's timeline? this question kind of haunts me because I feel like it has to be entirely dependent on what the inside of stan's head looked like at the time. it's possible something influenced her, but overall I think it's more interesting if ford did and said all the exact same things up until this point and it really was entirely dependent on stan's decision internally.

so stan says yes, goes on a big trip to the other side of the world somehow, and buries journal 3 somewhere probably never to be found again. yay! but, uh, going on a trip like ford was suggesting would... take weeks. that would leave ford alone again. and not to have my established thoughts informed by new material or anything but bill did give him 72 hours.

so, next order of business: how in the fuck would ford convince fiddleford to rejoin him??? I'm unsure between journal 3 and tbob's information how ford may have tried to reach out to him but it seems like fiddleford was pretty adamant about staying away from that guy, out of guilt or fear of bill/the portal or both. I don't think logically it would just be a matter of ford calling him enough times or finding out where he lives- and I think that's kind of getting away from the point of why ABW is the way it is too. if stan is suddenly making decisions that are influencing ford's life, I think it would be similarly interesting if fiddleford also possessed some unique autonomy in this scenario.

aka I think ford got fucked up badly (possibly involving losing an eye) and fiddleford found him half-dead while trying to burn his house down. [mabel voice] romance!

to clarify: I don't think fiddleford is obligated to take care of ford. a major part of him leaving the project was finally making the decision to leave a situation that was hurting him, that he'd been staying in entirely because he still cared about ford and felt on some level he could still help him (which gets broken with "I don't need you!") and I think that's a very reasonable decision on his part. but I also do have to think about all the times ford has been "the hero" in situations where fiddleford ends up hurt and helpless because of something traumatizing. I think it'd be fascinating to see that reversed and have fiddleford actively making the difficult, messy decision to take care of that guy even when they're on miserable terms. and so begins like a solid week of these two desperately trying to look out for eachother in a nightmare scenario where one of them probably needs to go to a hospital + keeps getting possessed off and on and the other is going through the worst addiction/withdrawal cycle of his life irt the memory gun. yay! (part of the reason this even works To Me also is heavily informed by the lack of secrets: if fiddleford is actively dressing that guy's wounds he can't really keep it all to himself anymore. crushingly intimate perhaps...)

stan gets back eventually. such is the context of this pic

from there it's a nebulous grab-bag of things I think could happen up to the foundation of the institute.

how do all three of these incredibly fucked up individuals get along? well they don't but then they do.

how do they get bill out of ford's head without performing amateur brain surgery? idk. my best guess is a fiddleford and stan bonding trip into ford's mindscape that potentially helps answer the first question. possibly utilizing the memory gun. shrugs.

what's up with that one picture you drew of parallel fidds holding the memory gun up to ford's head? well. okay that one might or might not be something that actually happened but the idea was just that ford is coping badly with a few specific things and I liked the idea of fiddleford "holding onto" something for him to remember and work through later when he's ready to deal with it, it's an interesting reversal of how he's normally more of a memory sink.

from the point in canon about them stabilizing the portal so that bill can't use it to get into their dimension anymore onward, I think it just becomes a matter of them living the lives they could've always had in canon without realizing it. hence "a better world." some cool tidbits I like to think about:

stan gets to transition much earlier (late 1990's perhaps?) and probably starts going by "lee" instead

she's also the institute's CMO and is mostly in it for going on business trips abroad with ford. and the money. obviously.

the institute probably also legitimately changes the world on a sociopolitical scale outside of just interdimensional travel since their research renders them uniquely untouchable and all three of them are trans (I'm cartoon logic-ing a little bit here just let me have this one)

ford is the eccentric bill nye esque face of the company, fiddleford is the backbone. that isn't to say ford doesn't do anything as I think he'd always moreso be in it for the science than the fame (though it is nice to be more than comfortable financially) but it's an open secret fiddleford keeps tabs on literally everything, he's still very security-oriented.

the northwest family now has a more prominent ongoing rivalry with the pines family that could be very funny to think about. they've taken all the LOGGING JOBS with their damn SCIENCE

part of the reason I thought ford should lose an eye is because I think having him wear an eyepatch would be a neat way to parallel stan's "role" as mr. mystery visually! stan wears an eyepatch for no legitimate reason to keep up appearances as a schlocky tourist trap host, but it also alludes to her being more than she seems under the surface. ford's eyepatch does sort of have a legitimate reason to exist, but he also could just wear his glass eye and it would probably be less "conspicuous." he chooses the eyepatch instead because it's part of his image as Stanford Pines, Founder of Oddology, and because it keeps him safe. there's also a little residual scarring there from damage to his eyelid/tarsal plate which could easily represent him hiding the more "damaged" aspects of himself under his successes. ouch.

I'm unsure if ford and stan would ever feel comfortable getting back in touch with their parents. I know a lot of people go that route with fan material but I don't think they should have to. I think they're much happier now having healed the rift between them on their own and getting to live successful lives for themselves, rather than to prove something to their father.

that being said I do think fiddleford gets in touch with emma-may and his son again and they end up on better terms with time and a Lot of effort. tate's family is now composed of his father, mother, "uncle" ford (in the ye olde gay closeted sense of referring to your dad's partner as an uncle), and auntie lee, and I like to think they go out on trips to the lake together often :]

also ford and fiddleford tie the knot unofficially (in the eyes of the government anyway) in 1990. owed to stan somehow getting "ordained" as a rabbi. don't ask me how.

the pines twins start visiting the institute from a younger age than they do irt visiting stan in the show-- but they're only permitted to come along on heavily-supervised interdimensional excursions once they turn 12. cue antics!

anyway, hopefully this extremely longwinded and loosely structured mess helped answer your question. I like ABW sooo so so much you guys

[cartoonartistpng]

Mephiles the Mind, Iblis the Heart

Basically a breakdown of how I interpreted 06 but also a foundation I use for all my AUs.

Mephiles is highly intelligent and apathetic while Iblis relies on emotion and is more like a wild animal. Mephiles does not have full access to Solaris' time powers, but Iblis does. However, Iblis does not have the mental capacity to actually use them.

Things that are less “interpretive” and more “theory”:

This is why Iblis needed a powerful emotion to be released

In the original timeline, the one which led to Silver’s future, it was Elise’s death which released Iblis. Because the seal was broken improperly, Mephiles could not recombine with Iblis. Therefore, he would need to look for a different way, but he can’t with Sonic being there and being an obstacle (not while Mephiles is still weak). Hence why he brought in Silver—a powerful hedgehog determined to save his future no matter the cost—who is also a completely new factor to change the timeline. Silver would keep Sonic busy while Mephiles figured out how to properly release Iblis… Since letting her die didn’t work last time. When Silver began figuring out the charade, Mephiles didn’t care enough to try hard with his manipulations, especially if it meant Silver would help keep Elise alive. However, once Mephiles realized the way to release Iblis was via an extreme emotion from Elise well… how convenient that the Princess grew attached to a certain blue hedgehog. Turns out killing Sonic really was the key all along. And if you want something done right… you gotta do it yourself.

Essentially (to explain Mephiles’ weird planning in canon), Mephiles did not know the seal was reliant on Elise’s emotions in the beginning, so he sends Silver to distract Sonic while he figures out how to actually free his other half. How ironic that killing Sonic is indeed what needs to happen. Mephiles basically has a “wait, it’s actually that simple?” moment

The strong emotion can be anything—grief, anger, joy, fear—it just has to be strong. Like a “consuming your mind” kind of strong.

The original explosion which killed Elise was too sudden for any strong emotion to pop up. (Even in her last moments, she had faith Sonic would save her.)

Mephiles is the mind while Iblis is the heart. Only once combined does Mephiles—or Solaris now—actually feel feelings. However, Solaris is still adjusting after the disoriented episode of being literally split in two and so acts completely on his anger toward mortals for taking advantage of him.

At the end of 06, Solaris isn’t destroyed but rather is scattered/subdued, and everyone will already be long gone by the time Solaris’ pieces are reunited. Like “after Dark Gaia and Light Gaia have restarted the planet” kind of long time. They are gods after all. Time is different for them.

The rest of this is sparked from my “Trinity Gods” fanon. Aka, Gaia, the Master Emerald, and Solaris are the three gods who created Earth, as well as any planets prior to Earth. The Master Emerald is also called “Mother Chaos”.

While Gaia slumbers, Mother Chaos and Solaris watch over the planet to protect it. During Earth’s creation, Mother Chaos took on a physical form (ie. The Master Emerald) to live on Earth amongst its creatures. Curious about all Mother Chaos learned whilst living amongst mortals, Solaris decided to also take on a physical form and live amongst them. However, this meant limiting his ability to see the future—or rather which future would come true. Thus, Solaris did not see what the humans planned on doing with him until it was too late.

Gaia and Mother Chaos are A-Okay with Solaris destroying the planet. I mean, it wouldn’t be the first time one of them has, after all. It’d be a bummer for it to end so soon, but they can just make another one. It’s because of this that they don’t interfere with Solaris’ plot… as well as the fact that their creations had hurt their friend.

It’s also this familiarity that means the Chaos Emeralds will so easily obey Mephiles. Doesn’t matter who posses them or if they’re on the other side of the planet, if the gods call, they answer.

[smakonca]

Hi, i hope you be fine and having a good day.

I wanted ask You something, i like your Nightmare version and how You make the relationship between him and Killer. And i wanted know how would react with or how would be his relation with the Killer version from @signanothername .

And your art style looks great!. ❤️

Thank you very much!

Before I answer this, I need to describe my version of Nightmare more thoroughly.

I have touched on that subject in this post, but it was mainly about my interpretation of Dreamtale as a whole.

My Nightmare is a manipulator, a devil in sweet disguise. He knows how to persuade people in order to get what he wants. Instead of direct action he relies on strategy and deceit. He also does not have anger issues as his canon version. He controls himself, allowing to show only a glimpse of his true feelings. He won’t show his anger, sadness, envy, despair, happiness, vulnerability to you if he doesn’t trust you.

The fandom I think is missing out on the fact that he is 500 years old. Yes, none of us could say how exactly a long living person like him would act. But I doubt all Nightmare was doing for such a long time of living was sitting in his castle or randomly attacking Aus even after Dream got out of stone.

I am sure the Multiverse is full of creatures who are much more powerful than Dream and can break Nightmare in half. He just had to be careful and had to learn to be more rational.

I also believe he had some sort of character growth during this time. People can turn into complete strangers in just a couple of years. Imagine living for eons. You would change your values, worldview, philosophy, everything multiple times. Nightmare have witnessed and experienced many things. He embraced the power and curse of an endless life.

Of course at the beginning of his new life (that is after the apple incident) he conquered/destroyed worlds, because at that time he didn't know how to cope with the loss of his brother, nor how to control his new powers.

But with years to come, Nightmare started to become more calm, more calculating and provident. He formed a library, began to study numerous Aus, formed alliances, including Ink and Error, in order to keep track of positive and negative worlds.

Why attack positive worlds and destroy the balance in Multiverse if you can take the negative worlds under your wing, find Aus which don't have a particular positive/negative side and destroy them from within? With civil wars or a cruel ruler that actually is loyal to you, for example. After all, how would anyone know Nightmare was the one to pull the strings if he didn't attack the Au directly? Especially it is hard to figure this out if Au has resets and is heavily dependent on the decisions of the player.

Why try to conquer positive worlds if you can nurture the ones that are doomed from the start? Why chase the unattainable goal of becoming the god of Multiverse if you can safely provide yourself with a stockpile of negative energy and thrive on it?

Nightmare is actually pretty much scared of death, so he uses all his knowledge to provide a safe future for himself.

He is visionary, but with that comes his main weakness. He stagnates. He is afraid of sudden changes that break his plans and destroy the usual order. That's why he doesn't bother learning new things if he thinks they are useless to him. You know, like the grumpy old man who complains about the youth and can’t learn how to use a cellphone. He can't cook, for example, because he doesn’t need normal mortal food. And sometimes he is oblivious to normal things. He holds a great knowledge and wisdom, but lacks intuition and ability to adapt.

I would say with years softened a little. You know, how people use to soften with age? That's exactly what happened. Nightmare won't admit it out loud, but he hates loneliness. He always hated it, even we he was little. He hates being left alone with himself. His thoughts, his hatred towards himself and the whole world. Also my version is much more sympathetic because he can understand what the other person is feeling due to his powers. He can relate to other's problems and fears sometimes. Doesn't mean he would help to get rid of them though.

That's why in my version, Nightmare got Killer as his subordinate partly because he felt a bit of sympathy for him. He knows what it feels like to be left alone. Alone after a massacre you've just committed.

I’m sure Multiverse was full of much more useful, more naive, more powerful puppets for him, yet Nightmare chose the one he could actually relate to. Because, let's be honest, Killer is a total menace as a subordinate. His behavior changes with stages and Nightmare can't properly control him, he talks back sometimes, refusing to obey. He asks too many questions and is too smart for a perfect murder machine.

So, yes. My Nightmare has much more personal reasons to take Killer with himself. Their relationship developed with years. At first it was just a game to Nightmare of how he could corrupt Killer. It wasn't simply: "I would beat the shit out of you and call you useless", but more "I will make you trust me and fall for my lies".

But Killer turned out to be a much more complicated person, who Nightmare heavily underestimated. Somehow he managed to see through Nightmare's masks and find his weak sides. And then he went like "I see what you're plan is, I'll play along to betray you later"

But... Both their plans broke when they actually developed a relationship beyond just the boss/his subordinate. Killer being as equally smart as Nightmare, if not smarter, made him realize many things, opened new sights for the world Nightmare got so fed up with. Their worldviews are extremely different, but somehow they managed to find something to bond over. And Nightmare allowed himself to be tamed by that. Even if he knows how dangerous it is to get attached to someone.

They both create a very interesting dynamic, where Nightmare craves respect and validation and Killer being used to receive orders from the player, can't help but please Nightmare's ego. Doesn't stop him from being brutally honest and strong-willed from time to time. Being a person who wears masks all the time, Killer notices Nightmare's disguise almost immediately and wants to crack them open to see what they are hiding.

Sorry, if it sounds like a fairytale, but I am a sucker for happy endings, when despite all the suffering, characters manage to find peace with themselves.

That is Nightmare's relationship with how I view Killer. He wanders somewhere between his canon and fanon version. You know, being a loud annoying ass, but actually hiding the pain inside. He does that mainly to entertain himself or to get any kind of reaction from people around him to escape the loneliness and emptiness in his soul. He may act impulsive, but in the end it's his slyness and adaptivity that win the game in the long run.

I love to explore Nightmare’s and Killer’s relationship in various types of ways but I never like to depict abuse between them. I know, it's how they should behave themselves according to their canon versions, but I just can’t bring myself to draw it. The entire thing just makes me super uncomfortable and I don’t receive pleasure from drawing it (which is my main goal when I doodle, mind you). That doesn't mean their relationship is entirely healthy. Hell, it's far from that. And yet I would rather show their emotional insecurities and cruelty in a different way.

Now to your main question.

@signanothername version of Killer(the closest one to the canon I've seen so far) is extremely interesting and always gets me inspired to create more art. And I eat up every one of her long posts.

In terms of relationship with her Killer, I think my Nightmare would find him extremely intriguing, after all, he loves to outsmart witty people, it feeds his insatiable ego.

My Nightmare values cunning people who can crawl under your bones and find every weakness you possess. It's what he does himself. So he would maybe even respect Anó’s Killer in his own way.

He definitely would try to persuade Killer to form a sort of partnership, tempting him with a sweet offer of finding peace with his emotions. But wouldn't take him as his subordinate even if he agreed, at least not forever. Nightmare doesn't like when someone questions his authority and Killer could be a potential threat to expose his weaknesses and wreck his plans.

That is, if Nightmare already knew what kind of fella Ano’s Killer is. If he didn't and actually managed to persuade Killer, he would have eventually got rid of him because he would be a menace to his status. Or maybe he would have genuinely tried to help, but only if they build up the bridge of trust, which I doubt would even happen in the first place. And besides, as I mentioned earlier, Nightmare values things in terms of how they are useful to him, so I don't think he would see any use in helping Killer if he didn't get something in return. Though their whole dynamic really depends in the perspective and how much time they have spent together.

And also I don't think my Nightmare would try to abduct Killer as he did in canon, as far as I remember. It ruins their relationship for Nightmare from the start, and closes the potential ways for him to manipulate and get Killer to trust him. Trust is an important thing when it comes to subordination and obedience and Nightmare wouldn't destroy it for as long as possible. Or as long as he is entertained enough.

So I don’t think my Nightmare being a cunning brat would treat Killer as a slave or a pet. At least not directly. A silly mortal or a useful tool? Very likely. But beating the shit out of him and then expecting him to negotiate? I doubt that. It won’t make Killer more obedient and in the end will only cut off the branch Nightmare’s sitting on. (Haha get it?)

Even though Nightmare may be oblivious to general relationships between people (for example he still refuses to accept that people can be kind and merciful to you just because they can), still, he understands the very basics. If he didn't, he wouldn't have become a good deceiver and would not have survived for centuries.

P. S. I apologize for any mistakes. This was a long post to write hzhzz.

[starry-bi-sky]

more about og tue timeline twins danny and dan/jamie

very touchy with each other. you might even say. ccclingy. its to be expected, they're two halves of a whole after all and all they've got of each other. worryingly co-dependent. do not separate. ever.

Danny was really weak and sick after the initial separation, and was for a while after. Jamie knew internally that if Danny died, he'd take the whole world with it. He was the one sole caretaker for him while he got better -- not for lack of trying on Vlad's part, but without his ghost powers he was nothing more than a feeble (albeit handsomely rich) man, and James looked ready to bite his head off if he got within ten feet of either of them.

Vlad is intimately aware that James (or Danny, if he tried) could snap his spine in half like a twig, and is uncomfortably aware of his own lack of ghost half now. It makes him feel self-conscious and exposed, so he never fully returns back to "cocky and self-assured billionaire Vlad Masters". Making deals with other brands feels a lot harder now that he can no longer possess them anymore.

Speaking of, he very quickly has to come up with a cover story as to why there's now a James Daniel Fenton to the public, when no records whatsoever of him existing existed prior. Lots of forging false government documents on his end. James and Danny do not help because it's his fault this happened in the first place.

(Regardless of whether or not Danny actually willingly chose to rip out his ghost half/humanity in canon is true, or if that was Vlad Masters speaking out of his ass, a large part of the blame still falls on Masters.)

(As his primary caretaker and guardian, it's his responsibility to ensure the health and safety of his charge, and since Danny was in clear emotional duress at the time, it can be argued that he was not in the mental state to make such a decision. And, allegedly, couldn't do it on his own which is why he asked Vlad for help.)

I chose "James" as Dan's name since it's a popular fanon middle name for Danny, and since he's half of Danny, it felt like it just made sense lol. Also because of the ensuing comedy of the two of them introducing themselves as "James Daniel Fenton" and "Daniel James Fenton". It's got the same energy as "danny with a y" and "danny with an i" and it's the exact kind of name bullshit you expect parents to give their twins.

I don't have their exact personalities down, but something I am actively writing into this au's bible is that I think Danny should be the quiet and (ig technically) meaner one. There's a lot to go into about interpretations for ghosts, halfas, and the incident itself, but TL:DW; Danny is technically soulless, or at the very least missing half of his soul (altho Jamie is too just in a different direction).

Pair that with the trauma of losing his family in front of him + having his ghost half ripped out + all the trauma he would've sustained as a hero, and he's not doing too hot mentally! i think if the twins met good timeline!Danny, Danny would've mistaken Danny for Dan and Jamie for the original half.

He comes off to others as pretty apathetic and indifferent to a borderline terrifyingly calm degree. He doesn't go out of his way to insult people, but he also doesn't care enough to consider the other party's feelings so he doesn't filter himself, which makes him come off as rude. The only times he looks truly comfortable is when he's near Jamie or talking to him.

His standoffish, ice prince demeanor makes Jamie look like a saint in comparison. When really he's not all that much better? He's more outwardly emotional than Danny, whether that be positive or negative, but at the end of the day he doesn't trust or care about anyone else any more than Danny does, and he's got a bit of a sadistic streak. Danny reigns him in when he starts becoming too destructive.

(Which I think makes sense. Danny asked Vlad to rip out his ghost half specifically so he could stop feeling his human emotions. Dan, despite his monotone voice, does exhibit emotions. He's smug when he asks Valerie if he likes his ghostly wail, sardonic when he reunites with Sam and Tucker, annoyed, shocked at Danny's ghostly wail, etc. He enjoys wreaking destruction and chaos.)

(If Danny had survived his encounter with Dan and if Vlad was successful, then I imagine he'd be rather apathetic to his other half as a whole. That'd be interesting.)

Overall though they're both hurt, bitter, and distrustful of the world around them, with abandonment issues a mile wide. They can get better and they can heal, but it takes time and patience and proper support.

On the DPxDC side of things, they do genuinely hold some kind of respect or regard for Bruce. They also don't become vigilantes for a while. Neither of them are jumping at the bit to enter heroism again, not when it was heroism that killed their family in the first place.

In fact when they find out Bruce = Batman they think he's foolish for it. They think its a fool's errand, and they've been so spurned by their time as Phantom that for a few weeks, Jamie even refused to call Bruce anything but Sisyphus. Danny called him Tantalus, and the two of them had a faux-argument about which one was more accurate.

Bruce does, though, worm his way into both of their hearts, and that's like, the main reason they become vigilantes to join him. So that they could keep him safe and not because of any desire to return to the heroic life. Relearning to care and finding satisfaction in helping others was an unintentional side effect.

(Bruce is so very smug)

Essentially:

The Twins: this is our squishy and fragile adoptive father. If anything happened to him, we're becoming mass extinction events.

Bruce: Nnno.

[dee-morris]

Aziraphale's Anxiety

There's something I feel like we don't talk about enough when it comes to things that Aziraphale is afraid of. Fanfictions, especially human AUs, interpret his fears and his "rejection" of Crowley as a form of internalized homophobia, and given the strict oversight and corporate-megachurch-coded supervisors I get it. A lot of us have had similar experiences with religion, except Aziraphale gets the added perk of knowing that what they're threatening him with is actually real and not an abusive power play.

But anyway.

Setting side the Final Fifteen for the moment because I stand by my hypothesis that we don't know everything that was happening in that scene or exactly why the characters behaved the way they did, Aziraphale's fears have been primarily guided by a desire to protect. Usually Crowley, but not always. He meddled in Elspeth's situation to try to protect her from going to hell. And if you do the math, he wasn't wrong to do so. A couple of years of misery and poverty against an eternity of torture? For an immortal creature who actually understands the concept of eternity, it checks out.

When he said no to the holy water he wanted to protect Crowley. When he gave him the holy water, it was to protect Crowley, in a lesser of two evils kind of way. When he broke up with Crowley at the bandstand, I think several things are going on: he wanted to protect the earth, he wanted to protect Crowley, and he knew that ultimately leaving the planet wouldn't guarantee their safety because when the end came the ENTIRE universe was getting shut down, not just the earth.

And here's my favorite example: the Job minisode. We really do not talk enough about the fact that Aziraphale could have walked away from this situation at any time without consequences. He never broke the rules. Gabriel told him, All we're doing is not stopping hell. And Aziraphale didn't stop Crawley, technically; Satan's diabolical minister had already decided he wasn't killing anyone. All Aziraphale did was help him, which wasn't the same as stopping him. Rules lawyer Aziraphale my beloved.

So he didn't lie to the Supreme Archangel's face to protect himself or the kids (unless he thought they'd off the kids if they knew they had survived, but that seems unlikely, the trials were over at that point); he did it to protect Crawley. And he was fully prepared to go to hell over it. Not happy about it to be sure, but resigned. And I believe that it wasn't losing his status in heaven that upset him but losing his role as Earth's protector.

Anyway, that's just something that's been kicking around in my head. We've spent so much time between seasons reveling in fanfiction that it's easy to lose track of the canon characters. Aziraphale's anxiety has rarely been on his own behalf, and higher self esteem won't fix his problems.

I stand by my belief, however, that a roll in the hay might help. There fanfiction and I are in complete agreement.

[barblaz-arts]

I remember seeing that the addams are immune to fire,electricity, and poison, so when does that kick in? Are Sora(I'm making the safe assumption that she becomes an addams) and Enid (ig Morticia also counts in this) immune from birth? Does it kick in when they fall in love with the bloodline Addams? When their last name is legally changed to Addams? What's your interpretation? Cause right now I'm thinking about the first 2 options and scenarios where they KNOW they should have burned, electrocuted, or poisoned, and are just wondering something along the lines of , "Why tf am I okay rn?"

I'm sorry, but I don't really like to think that people married into the Addams family gain those kinds of abilities. Stuff that are canon in the movies dont necessarily have to be for the show, especially when they were done for comedic effect(i.e. Morticia barely being bothered as she gave birth). The invulnerability may be something I followed in Addams Family fics related to the movie, but I don't apply it to the series version of Morticia.(The invulnerability probably isn't even canon to the show's version of the Addamses anyway)

That hc is kinda attached to the Addams Family curse fanon, which I was never really a fan of. I don't want some kind of curse of fate compelling my characters to fall in love, and I don't want some outside force confirming that the person they're with is The One either. Falling in love has to be something that happens because of how their relationship has developed, and staying with the person has to be something they decide on their own. That's romance to me, not some curse.

And with the kinda love life Pugsley's had in my AU, applying the Curse in that storyline would be giving implications that I'm not interested in exploring.

I also don't like the idea of people who marry into the Addamses suddenly gaining or always having gained invulnerability because of the kind of relationship arc I want for Morticia and Enid in my AUs. If you've read my fic, you might remember there was a scene between Enid and Morticia talking about boundaries.

As well as Morticia and Enid may fit in with the Addamses like a glove, I still want to emphasize that they are both outsiders being welcomed to the family, and it has to be FELT, you know? It's an interesting conflict to explore, that even Morticia had difficulty adjusting to a different lifestyle with the Addamses due to them being just so different in many ways. Because it would be interesting to explore it in relation to how she could bond with Enid over it.

That was the mindset I had when I wrote that scene. I actually had plans to further explore it. There were supposed to be more scenes with Morticia and Enid, but I had to cut it short.

[the-bitter-ocean]

(ACT 6 SPOILERS) Wanted to write my interpretation of what a one hat (or I guess in this case one bow? Lol) ending would look like for the ICAC au. It’s not canon by any means but I thought it was cool to have both options just like how the original game of ISAT does. Writing is under the cut:

{ You return to the Favor Tree.}

{You slowly take a step forward..}

{You look around. }

{The sun is shining.}

{The birds are chirping happily as they soar through the village.}

{The tree's leaves blow in the wind. }

{…!}

{ There's no one under the tree. }

{You pace around anxiously searching under bushes, near the rocks and behind the Favor Tree. }

{There's nobody to be found.}

{ Rewind is gone.}

{ But why? Why did Rewind have to leave? }

{Where could she have gone? }

{…}

{ Is it something to do with the loops, maybe?}

{ Rewind said that they were here to help you with escaping the loops..}

{ Well, you’re finally free now!}

{You’ve escaped and the loops won’t happen anymore.}

{You’re certain you couldn’t loop back even if you wanted to- you’re far too drained from overuse of craft. }

{ Is that really the reason? }

{ You solved the mystery of the loops.. so there’s no need of having Rewind as a guide anymore? }

{ She’s just gone forever? }

{ You feel your breath hitch. }

{ You feel tears prick your eyes. }

{ It’s.. not.. fair!!}

{ You didn’t even get to apologize for all the horrible things you said to her earlier! }

{ You didn’t get to thank Rewind for all the help they did for you either!! }

{ This can’t be how it all ends for the two of you..!}

{…}

{ You can’t help but feel empty inside. }

{ You kneel down at the base of the favor tree. }

{ Your hands are clasped together. }

{ You mourn silently. }

{ You pray that wherever Rewind is now, that she’s somewhere peaceful.}

{ Somewhere free from the loops like you are. }

{ You hope that she’s safe and able to rest. }

{ You wish with all your heart that your prayers reach her somehow. That Rewind knows how much you appreciate all that they’ve done for you. }

{…}

{ You wipe away the tears and get up from where you sat. }

{ You like to believe that maybe, one day, Rewind might return again. }

{ And if she does ever return, you want her to know that you were here. }

{ That you care about her. That you miss her. }

{ You want her to have something to remember you by just in case. }

{ You take out the bright flower. }

{ Rewind never accepted it from you during any of the loops. }

{..It’s all you have to offer to her now. }

{ You unclamp one of the circular emblems from your brooch. }

{ You rest the circular pendant and the bright flower at the base of the tree. }

{ You keep the other half of your pendant still attached to your cloak. }

{The sun hits the pendant, making it almost glow. }

{It’s the only thing keeping the flower stay in its place instead of blowing into the wind and being whisked away forever. }

{ “…Thank you, Riri.”}

{The trees around you are silent.}

{You walk back home.}

[pinkxpantha]

Mute in the Language of Love

- Lynette x FEM! reader

#: synopsis- Lynette is pining hard for her friend. A not-so breaking news, she's not that experienced in the field of love. But maybe you'll help guide her in this unexplored biome

#: cw- 1.4k words, you/her pronouns, winners love winning, canon complient, non-established relationship, mutual pining, fluff, reader is implied to work with reviewing books or something, reader implied to be older if you squint and look through a magnifying glass. cup'o'tea

Lynette didn't think of herself as the type to fall in love and fall so hard. As though an arrow was shot into her eye, blinding her of her own environment as she fumbled and was tossed by the world around her.

That swirling in her chest was unfamiliar, the rhythmic pulse of her heart felt as though she could feel the texture of her own ribs whenever she was with you. 

You were a fascinating girl, and you filled her mind more often than she'd like to admit it.

She'd be foolish to think she could keep her feelings hidden for so long, but she didn't expect to be found out so quickly.

It might've only been three hours since Lynette herself realized what that bubbling of her chest meant each time she stared at you. And it only took three minutes for Lyney to become absolutely insufferable. 

Any time she was with you and he just so happened to be in proximity, She'd see his teasing looks directed at her, small smirks flashed her way when the corners of her lips twitched upwards at something you said.

"Lynette, when are you going to tell her?" He pestered her at least once every day. 

It wasn't that she didn't want to tell you anything; each day she suffered in longing wondering if she could hold you in her arms and live with your touch always being available to her, too familiar to forget.

Yet she worried about how her words may come across, if it was too direct, how would you react? Do you like grandiose gestures? (as much as she'd prefer not to make her feelings into a public spectacle it was still an option.) Or would even a heartfelt note suffice?

But Lyney, the ever clever and somehow helpfully-unhelpful man he was told her to 'Just ask her'

Safe to say Lyney got a face full of pillow that night. (Look what you've done, reduced her into this immature mess..)

 The next person to recognize her love filled gazes; one that would commonly be interpreted by those passing by as almost soulless despite how drunk her soul was off of her love for you, Was her younger brother, Freminet.

He had seen the two of you walking down a pathway close enough to one of his usual diving areas to see that soft smile on her face, Lynette's gentle gaze on you as though you were the most precious being in the world.

It took three days for Lynette to even muster up the courage to talk about romance with you; and she didn't even bring the topic up.

It didn't take long to find you, as if an internal compass pulled her into your direction everyday. She walked up to the table you were sitting at, a book rested in one of your hands and a cup of tea in the other.

"What is that you're reading [Name]?" She asked, stirring you out of the focused concentration you held when reading. (Was it so bad she found it cute when your brows furrowed after reading a sentence a bit too quickly?)

"A friend recommended me this book from Yae publishing house," you said, slipping a ribbon in between the page you were reading, showing her the title of the book in your hands. "It's a romance but I wouldn't say it's all too romantic." 

She looked at the cover, reading out loud. "'Engaged to my Lover's possessed body..?' It sounds out of place for that genre, it's a bit...?" 

"Scary? Definitely." You finished for her, the curve of your cheeks becoming more pronounced as you smiled with amusement at her confused reaction. "It would be horrifying to wake up and suddenly someone you know well-- isn't them?"

Lynette hummed in response, "When you put it like that, I wonder how the author came up with that plot." To which you rested your head on the knuckle of your fingers.

"It really depends on how it's written. Good chemistry is good chemistry," you said before looking at the chair in front of you. "If you have the time, you can always have some tea and chat with me Lynette." You offered.

Lynette's ear twitched at your offer. She sat down with a 'Thank you' quickly feeling all her surroundings melt away into a fading background noise with you.

You went over to one of the staff, placing her order for her. Something you had already known by heart, Lynette liked the sharp bitterness of her tea, and she also liked a sweet aftertaste. Tea and biscuits was a perfect combo.

Soon you returned back to her, the sun coating you in it's rays as though it was accepting you to be of the same caliber.

In some ways you were the sun to Lynette. "Are romance books something you read often?" She asked as you sat back down in front of her. 

You held your position in thought, "Outside of reviewing books I wouldn't really say so. I definitely do have an appreciation for the romantic but its always better when you can see it on someone's face." You looked off into the streets of fontaine

Your eyes followed that of those walking together. Different pairs of couples with their arms interlaced with one another, "That look in their eyes, treasuring someone so much that they could stand out in any crowd. That's more satisfying than any well-crafted line of text."

Lynette wanted to beg you to look at her, to see how her pupils dilated each time she looked at you as if she wanted to take in your whole essence and keep it imprinted onto your brain.

"It sounds like you speak from expirence."  Lynette commented, a selfish part of her wanted to be the only one that could show you love on such a grand scale. But her love for you was unique in its own way. She would be the one walking with you as you recited poems from across teyvat that you remembered in that moment.

That love was hers.

"I guess you could say so, I have fallen in love before." You said after taking a sip from your own tea making her remember her own neglected tea. You turned back your head to face her.

Lynette hesitated, her mouth slightly parting as she asked, "If it's not too personal, could I hear more?" You nodded, "Of course."

"I love for simple reasons," You said, your hands folded on your lap as you watched Lynette. "They would listen to me as though I was the only sound they could hear." Your gaze dusted her cheeks like a feather, as if she could feel each movement of your pupils.

"And I watched them as if they were the only moving thing in a still world. " You said.

"Do you still love them?" Lynette asked, her words tumbling out almost instantaneously. Maybe if you were a bit closet to her you might've heard the waver of her breath or seen how her tounge rubbed against one of her teeth. 

 "I don't think its possible to ever stop loving." You responded, Lynette's breath caught in her throat, the vertebrae of her spine keeping it trapped as she looked back at you. 

How Lynette wished she were an artist so she could draw that fondness of your face over and over again, and feel her stomach explode and contort with each rendition. 

Lynette's mouth twitched into a small, barely noticable smile "I guess that's what makes absence hurt so much." She said.

You nodded, "Love really is a beautiful thing." You responded. 

The two of you sat in each other's company for a few more minutes, drinking into each other's presence in a comforting silence as you sipped your tea.

It was only a few minutes afterwards when Lynette placed her cup down with a clink, the empty teacup placed back on its holder.

"Thank you for staying with me for a while." You said, not finding something of substance to make her stay and talk with you some more, but also not wanting her to leave.

She stood up and gave a slight bow to you, "Of course. I enjoy your company." Those soft monotone words padded your ears in a comfort she probably didn't even mean to give.

"I'll see you soon?" You said to her.

"Yes, soon." She responded 

You watched as she walked off into the distance, her figure fading with each step. You let out a soft sigh, glad you could talk about love with her, even just for a moment. In three seconds you already missed her so.

I literally spedran this, it's 3:29 am and I have not proofread it, I will come back to fix mistakes tho 😁 trust ( ≧ꇴ≦)

its actually 1477 words but who's counting [proud]

[absolutelynotsanebaby]

Hey in you villian au I had a few questions about Kai if you don't mind.

First you talked about kai and him being a cult leader, whats the gist of that, something similar to chen? A death cult, a fire worshiping soceity, a volcano conclave?

And secondly, whats his relationship with his sister, ambivilance, getting along in the 'Oh lets go on a pilaging and raid together thats sounds like top tier sibling fun' sort of way or a bipolar could be fun or could be fatal depending on the way the wind blows kinda way?

Finaly (and sorry for being long winded) you talked about his main thread / power came from societal manipulations, is this more cloak and dagers or populism / manipulation, the steel in the dark vs the gilded spider web so to speak?

PS fun au, realy cool designs my favourts are probaly kai pixal and jay, all just fab :)

Disclaimer: long ass ramble about my Villain AU.

so many questions today, not that I'm complaining! I love to talk about my aus. Kai's an interesting one too.

Kai's cult doesn't actually have a big base or anything, at least not in it's fully developed form. It's not ironed out but, I have the thought that the basis is that by joining the cult, you protect yourself from the end of the world snake of fire (definitely not it's actual name lol). By joining, you get into it's good graces, it won't eat you when it returns to Ninjago. By worshiping Kai, who presents himself kind of like a human-form of the snake, you fully ensure your safety. It's a complete lie of course but by the time the AU officially starts, it been over 200 years since canon, so it's had a long time to marinate. That's another thing, because of that time span the cult is huge. Functions more like a society than a small-time cult. Whole generations of families have been born into the cult, it's really soaked into the population. One thing I like to think about how you could walk into a random, harmless looking town and be completely unaware it's cult territory. That everyone in it is a member. I like to call them snake-dens (also what they're called in story).

(also note: since you mentioned Chen, Kai's cult does actually have similar snake imagery if that isn't clear lol.)

As for Nya, well, that's kind of complicated. See, Nya isn't a villain in the same way Kai is. Most of the art I've posted about her have been of her post-reformation design. Essentially within the two centuries since sea-bound, she'd developed into a sea monster. More akin to a destructive force of nature than a traditional villain like Kai. A lot of her destructive stemmed from anger, people abusing and polluting the ocean. Namely, Zane's kingdom would throw a lot of oil, trash, and broken/old tech into the ocean before an event where Sea-Nya had thrown it all back over the walls of the kingdom down onto it through a huge wave (hugely destructive, had a death count, just plain disgusting). Sorry for the ramble about her but I thought some context would be important lol.

So, Kai and Nya didn't actually talk like at all during those two centuries. Pre-seabound but post ToE their relationship was -- very bad. Nya was very, very angry at Kai for leaving them behind and becoming so awful. They never resolved that before Seabound. Kai felt guilt about that, what happened to her and that he never went to fight for hr or save her. But he never changed, so how bad he really felt is -- up to interpretation. it's a big part of why he and Jay fight/fought so much. After Nya had returned to (mostly) human, their relationship is interesting. Nya kind of hates him but it's -- muted. She can't stand the person he's become, how he threw everything away and never changed. That he had a real choice when she didn't and he used it to be -- a violent, cruel cult leader. When he comes around, she doesn't tell him to go away. She thinks he's pathetic. Kai wants his sister back, but he's not willing to change. They're complicated.

I'm going to say it's a 'gilded web' type thing but it also is very shady. He has a lot of connections and is just a plain focal point within the underground crime scene (or overground because this ninjago is really fucked up and dangerous lol, the entire land. ninjago city itself is completely gone). For instance, in Zane's kingdom, up in the ranks an advisors runs a smuggling operation for citizens to 'escape' (before Zane was de-overlorded anyways, after that he opens up the borders). Only about 50% of the time would those citizens actually get out of the city, the other 50% of the time they'd be sold to someone/somewhere or killed. Kai's allies with them (I haven't figured out exactly who that is yet lol). Another ally is Wen Xia (oc talk sorry) who's just a general power. Usually runs a fighting ring(s) but does a bunch of other stuff. Very dangerous and very rich. Kai just has a lot of connections and a strangle-hold on a lot of ninjago. MAN this got LONG. thank you for the questions I love the chance to info dump, haha!

(and TY!! Jay's one of my favorite designs too)

[piosplayhouse]

Binghe's cutie mark in MLP aus is an interesting thing to contemplate because it feels obvious to just give him the demon mark, but there's quite a bit of debate regarding what exactly the cutie mark is supposed to represent and why/when ponies earn it. I'm personally inclined to the interpretation that cutie marks are earned not when a pony discovers their talent, but instead when they discover who they are (the example that rlly hits this for me is how Rarity, despite having diamonds as her mark, earns her mark not when she finds gemstones, but instead after she uses those stones to design costumes for her school play, an act which shows her creativity and generosity). So there's a few routes you can take with Binghe depending on what you want to emphasize:

A. He earns his mark with his adoptive mother and enters qjp with it. This could work as he is his truest self with her-- filial and innocent, but I personally feel him entering qjp as a blank flank would make more sense as it further emphasizes his vulnerability to bullying and ostracization from the other disciples

B. He earns his mark on Qing Jing Peak. I assume most disciples earn their marks at this point, and binghe could very well follow that pattern. I think this is much more likely for bingmei for obvious reasons, but if bingmei develops a cutie mark before bingge was supposed to that might tip sqq off that he really fucked the story up earlier than someone might want for world building reasons.

C. He earns his mark at the Abyss OR his mark changes at the Abyss. This is the most angsty for obvious reasons, on both a meta narrative level and on a character development level as this would suggest to Binghe that his "true self" is being a dangerous heavenly demon and that he can never return to being an innocent disciple. Of course, we could also get into the weeds here with if the heavenly demon equivalent to ponies are creatures with no cutie marks and therefore him being a hybrid means that he has unusual cutie mark expression under the influence of heavy demonic energy. If bingge made it this long as a blank flank I expect him earning the demon mark would be the natural outcome at this point in the story, or even within the abyss. Alternatively:

D. Bingge was intended to be markless for the entirety of PIDW. This slots in as an equivalent to the "bingge was never supposed to find true love" element of his character, going further to hit on the implication that the original Binghe is a deeply hollow person who doesn't truly know who he is despite appearances (I imagine he would keep his flank covered, or even use magic to disguise it as a demon mark cutie mark). Obviously this would not happen to bingmei which brings us to the alternative for him:

D.2. Bingmei earns his cutie mark sometime during the falling arc/postcanon after getting together with sqq. This makes sense in that this is really when Bingmei is fully free to be his true self with no inhibitions, but it could be argued that he had his life figured out as a teenager (see B) and got lost along the way, which wouldn't have much of an impact on his mark as we see various canon villains go through redemption arcs where their marks don't change. Of course, though, this would open the way for his mark to be something much more romantic, like a lotus blooming on a fan or something. So this could be a cute route that would provide a nice, if a bit less dramatic, end to his journey.

[adarondweek]

Adarond Week 2025

I have prompts! This challenge week starts on Sunday, January 5th, and runs until the 11th.

Day 1: First meeting

Cute? Bitter? Tense? Canon? AU? What happened during their first meeting? What was going through their heads?

Day 2: The spark

What draws them together? (Or one towards the other?) Who falls first? Who falls hardest?

Day 3: The Children

How do Adar's children figure into all this? Are they routing for their father to get some? Do they like Elrond or hate him? How does Elrond feel about the Uruk Children?

(Do Adar and Elrond have a child of their own? 👀)

Day 4: The Reactions

Elrond has a lot of friends (Gil-Galad, Galadriel, Durin, Camnir). How do they react to him being with Adar, however you imagine that happening?

Does Adar have someone close to him that is surprised to see him with Elrond? (The children could also come in here too, if you have multiple ideas)

Day 5: Home

Where is home for this ship? Mordor? Rivendell? How do both of them feel about it?

Day 6: The end

Happy, sad, bittersweet, a few days after meeting, a thousand years in the future; what is the ultimate fate of this ship? If Adar still dies like in canon, how does Elrond feel about that? Does Adar take Celebrían's fate? Do they sail off into the sunset after thousands of years? Something else?

Day 7: Freeform

Did I miss something? Do you have an idea that didn't fit with the prompts? This is for you!

All interpretations of this ship are more than welcome! I've tried to leave the prompts as open as possible to allow for takes with different levels of happiness, conflict, and... consent. At the end of the day, though, these are just prompts. Go where your art leads you and have fun with it!

[flightlessfinch]

an overlong exploration of death eaters as a cult:

(+ regulus black's identity as a death eater)

death eaters are understandably a difficult topic because of their implications allegorically, but i'm always a bit disappointed with the lack of inclusion of them in any sort of muggle au.

especially in an au that involves the house of black.

a muggle au where regulus and sirius are escaping indoctrination into a cult (this is something that happens in real life all the time, cults are not a fictional fantasy invention) would be a compelling concept for a story with a darker atmosphere. i understand why people who write fluffy, cozy fics would leave something like this out, but for stories that are moody and deal with heavier themes it seems like a missed opportunity. in a way, it might be a good thing that most people don't consider this when they're deciding what to take from the source material and what to leave behind, because cults are complicated, but it also feels like it is taking away a huge aspect of the conflict between sirius and regulus not to include the death eaters.

canon regulus is defined by a lot of things and most of them are in contrast to sirius. he's like a narrative foil for him. the golden child and the scapegoat, the slytherin and the gryffindor, the obedient son and the rebel. they sort of mirror harry and draco's dynamic, in a way. obviously it's an imperfect comparison, but that is the primary canon basis for my interpretation of their characters.

however, there is one major difference between draco and regulus.

regulus wanted to be a death eater. he chose it. his parents weren't like lucius malfoy, who was already a death eater and recruited draco into the cult by virtue of his birth. walburga and orion were bigots but they weren't death eaters.

cults are opportunistic. they look for people who don't have a sense of belonging or identity. people who fall prey to cults are often people who are lonely, directionless, and traumatized. it's like an abusive relationship. they prey on the vulnerable. regulus was soft. he didn't have a loving and gentle home life. he didn't have friends who could just up and take him away from his abusive parents the way james did for sirius. vulnerable, sensitive, tormented young men are the primary targets of alt-right radicalization in real life. men aren't permitted softness or sensitivity so it turns into a socially acceptable emotion instead: rage. hatred. they find a new target so they can stop attacking themselves. they need somewhere to put their pain. in my opinion, this is also the case with many of the death eaters from the marauders era.

barty is a perfect example to use to demonstrate my point. he has a terrible relationship with his father, which means he has a vacuum in his life where that form of guidance would be. the death eaters offer him a new family and an identity. both of his best friends, his found family of evan and regulus, are death eaters too. if he didn't become a death eater, he would lose them just as pandora and dorcas lost them. he's given a socially accepted outlet for his rage in the form of muggles and muggleborns. he's promised he's special just because of the blood that flows in his veins. he views it as counterculture, punk, because he is going against the rest of society and his father, when in reality there is nothing punk about blood supremacy. regulus is the opposite of punk (a conformist to the extreme) and he is in the same organization. if you'd like another example: severus joins the death eaters because they offer him friendship and a sense of belonging after a lifetime of abuse, from james and sirius, obviously, but primarily from his own father. he's given power. he can finally hurt the people who hurt him back.

it's all about the cycle of violence. cults are inherently abusive, yet often these DE characters aren't written as if they're victims because of the violence they eventually inflict on others (as is often the case with characters like bellatrix and severus) and their reprehensibly bigoted beliefs. or it swings too far in the other direction, and they're presented as if they had no agency in their own decision making.

anyone can fall prey to something like this, but sirius had a lot of the things he needed to avoid indoctrination into a cult. a strong network of friends, a strong sense of identity, an eye for and familiarity with abuse. he's not comfortable with authority and questions it frequently. he doesn't like being told what to do. sirius never expected to earn love with obedience. i think regulus did.

the alienation and isolation of outsiders when someone is being indoctrinated into a cult is likely a large part of the reason the rift between sirius and regulus became so insurmountable. cults require a religious sort of devotion. they try to erase your former identity and make you a brand new identity that revolves around the cult.

the death eaters are defined by their death eater identity even more so than their personal identities. the donning of a mask so they all become indistinguishable, and cover their faces except for their eyes (a window into the soul that is being damaged by the darkness of their magic and actions) is a clear visual symbol for this.

i don't think regulus was a very good person. he was complicated and deeply flawed. his beliefs were reprehensible. i think he was a blood supremacist when he took the mark, and i think he took the mark because he was eager to be a death eater. he became disillusioned as he grew older when he realized the gravity of the fact he was in it for life, and discovered the extent of the violence he would be expected to inflict. he died doing everything in his power to stop the dark lord. but because of the nature of cults, and their impact on identity, it wouldn't be remiss to acknowledge that he may have intended to die in that cave because a life outside of his identity as a death eater, without the other death eaters he considered friends and family, likely seemed hopelessly out of reach.

exploring this when you're working in a non-magical setting would be interesting. even if you don't actually include a cult in the story, taking into account the implications of why regulus would choose to become a death eater at sixteen informed so much of my perception of him. a lack of a sense of self, extreme loneliness, fear, a longing to be loved, a longing for community, an escape from his parents' grasp, ect ect. i'm rambling. i only have a surface level understanding of how cults work because we touched on them in a psychology course i was sitting in on lectures for a few years ago.

i might write a fic about this, i might not. my longfic is already taking up so much of my time, affection, and mental space that i'm reluctant to start another story. but a muggle cult au + jegulus would be fun to write :)