#just know i've thought about this au in a lot of depth (probably more then needed tbh)

[energeticpoltergeist]

Part 1: Mad King's War

Prologue: Diverged History(pages 22-25)

[sibillascribbles08]

Big Ol' Rottmnt Fic Rec List

Hi, I've needed to do this for a while, so here's a big bundle of fic recs from me !

I've broken it down between one shots, chaptered fics, and series. I'll try to mention what the character focus is along with a brief summary and some personal thoughts. If you need more details I encourage you to check the fics summary and tags for yourself! I will only include an author's tumblr account if it's easy for me to find haha

One Shots

Mama's Boy - ashtreelane: Technically two chapters but it feels like a one shot. Casey Jr. angst, involving him finding out that maybe you can fix kraang infections and that he failed to save his mother. I love when people really pile the grief on Junior after all the fighting is over and the fic does it so well.

Forget-Me-Nots - GibbousLunation (AKA @klunkcat ): Hi, oh my god??? Leo and Mikey centric angst, in which saving Leo from the prison dimension has an insane ripple effect. Mikey dying? Nah he's going to start getting erased from every timeline and Leo slowly watches it happen (and refuses to do nothing about it). I utterly adore how this fic handles this concept. You see almost all of it from Leo's POV, noticing the little changes but writing them off as memory failures, because of how subtle some of it is.

Fight or Flight - pickledcarrotsandradish: Leo centric, post movie, Leo keeps waiting for his family to start lecturing him about all the dumb stuff he did during the invasion, and they aren't, so it's getting to him. A very neat narrative about how self loathing can warp our perception of how others see us. A++++

The Friend Zone Sounds Pretty Good, Actually - Cryptvokeeper: Eating this, eating this. You probably already know I love aroace Leo and this fic is an INCREDIBLE exploration of that. Even as just an ace person it hit SO many notes where I was just like "Oh god... I've been there buddy". And as a bonus the dynamic between Leo and Yuichi is v sweet. Love this a lot I've read it like five times.

Pink in The Night - unnamedmystery: Incredible April/Sunita fic. Like seriously this author wrote April's crush so well I think I was starting to fall in love with Sunita. Just incredibly cute all the way through, and great April writing, adore it.

《 until then, matriarch 》 - chiangyorange: HI OH MY GOD A nice chunky oneshot about Karai, about her being a leader, and it's phenomenal. It hits and hits and does not miss, really going in depth about her emotions involving her father turning into something wicked and having to destroy him, and how it ruins all of her good memories.

The Kindness of Collision - SpoonerizedSwiftness (AKA @splickedylit ): Hi I still remember the fic and the art suddenly showing up in the tag and then I was thinking about it for the next like five weeks aslkdjf A very interesting idea that when the turtles reach the age they were in the doomed timeline before things got reset, all the memories of their other life more or less hit them like a train. All of them have to comb through that information and it's a wonderful and emotional ride.

Chaptered Fics

Hamartia - Punable (in progress): Hi this is one of my all time favorite rise fics, mainly because in a way, it helped me come to terms with my chronic pain. It's Donnie centric and smack full of angst in all the best ways. Shorthand summary, an explosion in Donnie's lab almost takes him out (or kind of DOES take him out) and the recovery is not only long and agonizing, it may only go so far, and Donnie doesn't cope well with that.

Kick It Up a Notch - Brokenpitchpipe (completed): Hi this is my other all time fav rise fic. Donnie centric separated AU in which Donnie is raised by Draxum. My love for it stems a lot from the characterization of Donnie though, and even Draxum in this case. Not to mention that in a lot of cases it matches the vibes of the show. And in spite of all the humor, there's a few really gut wrenching moments. 10/10 will re-read.

Lightning in Our Fingertips Today - DaFlangsLairde (AKA @daflangstlairde-art) (completed): Leo and Donnie centric, mostly angst, with body swapping between the twins which results in Donnie finding out that Leo's ninpo hurts him. Love love love the character writing in this, and also how the swap is written.

Under Pressure - ParvumAutomaton (completed): Not sure this is a single character focused fic, but basically April goes cave diving and is out for a while, and the turtles get worried and go looking for her. This might be personal bias but as someone who gets really into caving stories, this fic hits the spot for so many reasons. A really great emotional ride, and if you wanna see April go through it then I super recommend it.

Nothing Haunts Us (like the things we don't say) - mad_and_thick_as_theives (completed): A lot of great fics by this author btw, but this one personally stood out to me. It starts of silly and light only to sweep in with the emotional weight. Turtles are all cursed with a truth spell, basically, but I think my favorite bit is who gets out of it first (and why). V sweet.

Creation of a Philospher's Stone - IgnisCanis (completed): Whoooo boy, if you want some Draxum centric character exploration this is a great one. It really fleshes him out as a morally grey character and also does a fantastic job at writing Mikey when he finds out.

The Ol Switcheroo - radishhqueen (AKA @radishhqueen) (completed): Haha not going to lie I have a few by this author (so I'll only tag them once) but MAN. Hands down my favorite take on future leo coming to the past, and maybe I'm biased because I like when those fics actually explore Junior's character in the process buuuuut I love it. Junior's already struggling to adapt himself to the present, and after getting caught up in a foot clan spell which summons his sensei to the present too it really doesn't get any easier.

Vigilantism for Fun and Profit - radishhqueen (completed): The Cassandra Jones fic ever. Zero contest. If you're uncertain about writing Cassandra because she had so little development in the show I encourage you to read this for inspiration (I know it inspired me a lot). It does such a great deep dive into her character post show and a bit of the movie too. Honestly anytime radishh has a Cassandra fic I am clicking.

Tried to Grow Up Good - Sroloc_Elbisivni (AKA @sroloc--elbisivni )(completed): The Casey Jr. fic ever. CRAZY in love with this post movie take on him. It's messy, it's fun, it's so so real and you get a good chunk of Casey Sr. in here too. Adore it.

Hold On (Or Three Times Donatello's Soft Shell Almost Killed Him, and One Time it Saved His Life) - dunk_on_em (AKA @spockazilla )(completed): If you ever want a bit of angst involving Donnie's shell this is my go to. Every chapter has an emotional swing, even the positive ones. And shows something most people might see as a disadvantage as a good thing, actually.

Atlas, My Brother - swampcryptid (AKA @the-name-is-rizzotherat)(in progress): Get your Raph angst, specifically involving him always shielding his siblings, this time via a curse. My guy is already going through it and I think it'll get worse if a solution isn't found.

I've Got You Under My Skin - Cass_Phoenix (in progress): More Raph angst, and some Donnie, a truly chilling exploration of the possible consequences to connecting with the kraang. This fic constantly has me on the edge of my seat, and constantly stressing for Raph.

What We Leave Behind (How We Start Anew) - iam57311 (AKA @iam-57311)(in progress): Any Baronjitsu fans here? An alternate take on canon in which Draxum and Splinter co-parent the kids since they're first born (made?) Hilariously while I love the Baronjitsu content in here, I think some of my favorite parts are actually with the sisters, Big Mama, and Draxum's sister who is so so cool I love her.

Proof of Redemption - iam57311 (complete): Another one of theirs! A short and sweet lil close to canon fic about Draxum steadily gaining the trust and affection of the Hamatos, with each chapter focused on a different character. I love how they're all paced out from each other, really hits how some are much slower than others to trust Draxum hehe.

No Crime* Only Brooches - OllieTheScribe (AKA @olliethescribe) (in progress): Well I have to get THE HypnoWarren fic in here. Such a fun take on these characters, I love love love the backstory they built up for Warren too, plus the dynamic between these two and the turtles after (eventually) become friends haha.

Minor Interference - bambiraptorx (AKA @bambiraptorx) (in progress): What can I say? This fic is delightful. Between the hilarity of the turtles going with Draxum just to mess with him, the lore additions for yokai and the Hidden City, HoH Donnie, and their slowly building dynamic, always eager for a new chapter with this one.

Series

A Butterfly with a Mechanical Wing - Amethyst_Goldenwind (AKA @amethystgoldenwind ): Donnie centric series about being a non-verbal autistic. I'm always fond of non-verbal/mute explorations of characters, and so far I really like how, because his family has grown up with it, all of it is very normal for them. The various forms of communication are delightful. Excited to see further entries.

Analogous Hues - alwerakoo (AKA @alwerakoo): It's a separated AU with similar titling themes as my own, needed to check it out. The titles are just about all they have in common though! This AU focuses a lot on the turtles (Raph and Leo with Splinter and Donnie and Mikey with Draxum). I love how this explores not only the dynamics of the two groups and how different they are, but also the dynamics between each of the siblings, also how some magic sibling connections can influence that. Not to mention the different home life in more ways than one. If you're into separated AUs that really dig into the turtles dynamics try this one out !

[ceaselesswatchersspecialboy]

Love the not who he seems au!

I've got some(a lot of?) questions if that's alright?

After Ford finally wakes up, you mentioned that Bill watches over the littler twins' dreams, does he do something similar with Stan? do they chat in the Mindscape or anything? does he avoid Stan?

what are(of there are?) the immediate consequences to the relationship between them now that Ford is awake?

Has 'Stanfraud' ever had any interactions with any Unicorn hair?

What would happen if Stanfraud/Bill ever got any on him? Would he have an allergic reaction? Or other ill reactions?

Have the time police ever given Stanfraud/Bill any trouble?

In the 30 years that Stan and Bill have known each other, have they ever saved each other's life? Or gotten protective/defensive for each other?

Alright that's all for now! Bye!

Lots of questions are always alright!

Let’s go through all these:

— He definitely does it with Stan too. He doesn’t really have any reason to avoid Stan, except Ford obviously being against it. But… he won’t tell if Stan won’t. He makes excuses as to why he’s visiting Stan’s dreams so much, which Stan doesn’t comment on, he’s just oddly grateful he’s still around. And bleeding into the next question: this all being said, a few old angers have risen to the surface, seeing how broken down his brother is again, knowing Bill’s behind it, so sometimes their conversations get a little tense and Bill does avoid him for a few days after. Or he doesn’t, and gets a little to pushy, lashing out at Stan.

It doesn’t help that Stan feels some guilt still speaking with Bill because of Ford, and because of how adamant his brother has been about Bill being a threat to them. But, it isn’t as easy as just telling him to go away. He knows for a fact Bill wouldn’t listen. The kids would be upset too. They don’t now the depths of all this stuff.

And, not an immediate consequence, but the new tension will eventually bubble into a very intense argument between Stan and Bill that’ll probably have consequences for everyone.

— You know, I hadn’t quite considered that, but I think so yes! He has negative reactions to anything that works as an ingredient in repellent against him. Unicorn hair, definitely more of an allergic reaction, akin to something like hay fever. But something like Mercury probably burns him.

— I have thought about their being an ‘episode’ where Bill’s rivalry with Time Baby comes up, thanks to Dipper and Mabel messing with time, but I’d need to think more about that to give a proper answer. I don’t think he and Stan have ever been given any trouble prior, being as they haven’t messed with time themselves. Bill might try and get a rise out of any time agents if he spots them though, like Blendin. Just for fun.

— They have absolutely saved each other’s lives and that’s a catalyst in their relationship becoming what it is. This is another thing I need to think more on, but being as Stan didn’t fake his death, unfortunately some of his past comes back to haunt him, with old friends putting two and two together with his fake identities. I’m not sure where that would go yet, but I know Bill would step in and rescue him. Naturally, he claims it’s because he needs Stan to get out of this body, but he isn’t really convincing when he says that. There’s also likely a situation where Bill has gotten himself in danger, and Stan rescues him, but I haven’t settled on that. There’s probably a few more minor instances of them saving each other too.

And yes! They do get protective/defensive over each other. On Stan’s end it’s strange. Initially, he was having to protect Ford’s body from Bill. Bill was the threat. But now, he sometimes finds himself actually protecting Bill… because he’s his friend. He’ll jump to his defence about his behaviours if someone comments on them harshly for example. He’s the only one allowed to give him shit for being weird. And with Bill, he’s gone from trying to rile Stan up, calling him useless, a failure of a brother, to getting riled up himself when someone tries to have a go at Stan instead.

If either got physically hurt, they’d also be protective. They genuinely have each other’s backs. Stan at least has the excuse he’s looking out for his brother’s body, making sure Bill doesn’t damage it any further, and can poke fun at Bill later for not having an excuse.

“Sure you don’t just give a shit about this old ‘bag of flesh’?”

“Oh, please. Don’t flatter yourself, Fez. Your heart could stop right now and I’d dance over your corpse.”

I realise they’re basically just in a constant game of chicken on who’s going to admit they care out loud first — while sober.

I hope these have been satisfactory! Sorry if there’s a lot of questions I’m still unsure on or figuring out the answers too. I’m developing this AU as I answer all these.

[allpiesforourown]

I never really do this, but I mostly wanted to let you know you're my favorite SVSSS blog here. You've got all of the characters dead on as far as characterization goes and your AUs are hilarious and super fun. It's nice to have someone that doesn't just remember the fandom version of things. That being said: what's your least favorite part of the story, for curiosity's sake?

Hehe thank youuuuu

My least fav part was definitely the vague way they handled Qiu Haitang's end?? Like every other characters got their plot holes wrapped up (Yue qingyuan got to apologize, airplanes story was finished how he wanted, etc) and then for Qiu Haitang's character we just got... this line

I literally remember jerking in place, going "huh???? she died????", going back to the chapter and needing to reread it again and finding this

DUDE. You can't go "oh we'll just assume she's dead" with two small paragraphs to kill her off

And honestly I think there could have been a lot of depth to her character. The first time I read svsss, obviously I hated her for her braindead "we treated our slaves nicely, why would shen jiu do that!" take.

But after reading and rereading scum villain so many times I've realized she's another victim of Qiu Jianluo's..

In Shen Jiu's extra we read this:

If Haitang married Shen Jiu, she wouldn't need to leave, and she'd still rely on their family for food, clothes, and money. It would be as good as not marrying her off in the first place. The plan had no flaws, other than the fact that matching her with Shen Jiu was a bit like letting a toad get a taste of some sumptuous swan meat.

Like what the fuck!! He manipulated his sister into being engaged to their slave so that she would remain dependant on him!! That kind of obsessiveness is not normal and I want to know what other things he did to make her end up in her place.

And there's the fact that Shen Jiu did genuinely consider Qiu Haitang someone he cared for, to the point he was very close to Yingying due to their similarity

Can you imagine her point of view of how things went down? Can you imagine having all he men in your house murdered, having your house burned down when you're a YOUNG GIRL, finding out it was your FIANCE that did it, and spending years hunting him down to get revenge for your family? And then right when she thought she was getting justice for her brother, she found out all along her brother was the bad guy.

Like holy shit her reaction to finding out the truth about what happened was THIS:

Give me a Qiu Haitang extra !!!!! I want to know more!! What did she think of her engagement to Shen Jiu? Did she think she was helping him out of slavehood? Where did she search for Shen Jiu all those years? How did she start working with the palace master and what lies did he tell her? What did she do after finding out the truth?? I refuse to accept "she probably died" as her end!!

[stellar-mop]

The Coffin of Andy and Leyley has me thinking about gender and gender roles a lot. I know other people have done more in-depth analysis of this, but I'm just gonna throw my thoughts out into the void of tumblr (the void is welcome to yell back, just be nice please)

I think one of the things that makes these characters fascinating especially for me as a vaguely-agender nonbinary person is like the places I can see where their gender is impacting their interactions and choices. Like changing the gender of the characters would fundamentally change their story and personality (love y'all's genderswap AUs tho, this is not an objection).

Something I'm not sure how to articulate super well is how the game interacts with like neurodivergence gender stereotypes. On the surface level they line up with the "women are emotional and men aren't allowed to show feelings" set of gender stereotypes. But I think there's another layer if you look at it through the lens of how societal pressures around mental illness and gender intersect especially in like school-aged kids/teens. Like Andrew being the "easy child" and Ashley being... Ashley. In not-particularly-nuanced terms: "boy" neurodivergence shows as acting out and being a problem child (which Ashley does), and "girl" neurodivergence gets hidden via masking and passivity (which Andrew does). I think it's neat that this is contrary to societal expectations - like this would be a very different story if Andrew was a pushy chaotic mess and Ashley was apathetic but seething under the surface. Because gender! What's even up with that?

Less sfw thoughts under the cut, including some coffincest stuff. Warnings for unhealthy relationships and attitudes towards sex:

The way Ashley and the mom talk about sex is fascinating. I've read some really good analyses on here about Ashley thinking about sex as transactional and I think she gets that from her mom. In that one scene ("you fuck her") the mom asks Andrew something like "what does she give you to make it worth it?" Like, the only reason she can think of for why Andrew wants to spend time with Ashley is sex. That says a lot about the mom as a person (also wow she really does see zero value in Ashley as a person wtf), and probably the way Ashley was raised to think about sex. And that's a very gendered (like cishet women specifically) view of sex. Like sex in a relationship as something to be tolerated, and for Ashley "another way to keep him around".

But I'm also wondering about the flip side of that, like is the mom only tolerating the dad for sex? Because I don't really get the impression that she likes him very much, but they textually have a very active sex life. If so, this is also sort of counter to societal gender roles/expectations. I really don't like the parents but they're such fascinating characters too.

I guess my point with all this is like we got distracted by the cannibalism and murder and incest and demon summoning, but there's some really neat and subtle stuff about gender in here that I want to talk about too! It's just so well written there's so much depth

*slaps roof of game* this bad boy can fit so much dysfunction!

[a-case-of-the-ace]

Thinking about @idanit 's polish Jeeves au, and wondering how that would work for my country. Nowhere near as in-depth, and I'm not a naturally fancy person but here are my thoughts on Jeeves and Wooster but in Australia:

(This'll have to be modernish too, history isn't my strong suit)

As far as the Wooster history goes, I'd say the Woosters were probably in Australia just as the colonisation was starting up. Perhaps his ancestors founded a town, or did some Stuart- esque exploring.

Perhaps they (particularly Aunt Agatha) are very proud to say that their ancestors fought in a war, and all fail to mention that it was the Great Emu War.

I'm not entirely certain how much of my Jeeves knowledge is fan-generated, but I imagine he started working young, perhaps his relatives worked in cruise ships, which would give him his experience in fancier settings. I'd wager he got a lot of his encyclopaedic knowledge from the quiz nights hosted on the ships, which gets him interested in learning new things.

As far as Jeeves and Wooster meeting, perhaps Aunt Dahlia meets Jeeves on a cruise, is impressed by his brains and decorum and hires him to look after Bertie.

As far as where they'd live, perhaps Sydney? Wealthy area, goodish weather.

I imagine Bertie would attempt to take up surfing, and fail dismally. A lot of rallying round and helpful towelling is in order afterward.

I can definitely picture Jeeves packing a little barbecue to cook sausages on the beach, for when Bertie gets back in.

I wonder if Jeeves would think surfing is undignified. Probably, but he's likely a strong swimmer, good for fishing Bertram out of the soup and various bodies of water.

I just KNOW Jeeves makes the most wonderful pavlova. And lamingtons from scratch.

Canon Bertie is very proud of his schooling but I've no idea where he'd go.

Tuppy has definitely fought a kangaroo at least once. Most say the kangaroo won. Also claims he can take on a cassowary. (He can't).

Gussie is into platypi. It is his destiny.

Bertie buys a cork hat that gets a swift execution.

In a more Jooster setting, a shared xmas would see Jeeves in a paper crown, after much pleading from Bertie. It is traditional, after all.

Bingo follows many girls into activities he's not suited to, including but not limited to: windsurfing, sailing (he buys a catamaran to repeatedly fall off), bird watching, skim boarding, surf mats and wake boarding (this romance fails after Bingo slings the girl into a riverside gum tree.)

A particularly peeved Jeeves sees no issue swatting mosquitoes that have landed on Bertie. Bertie has his suspicions about the mosquitoes existence.

Bertie still plays his piano, though an attempt to learn the didgeridoo causes issues between the two.

[endermaybe]

I loved reading the "From Eden" story, written by @aquaquadrant and the accompanying art by @lunarcrown. I keep thinking about the story/world, so I decided to be kind to myself and write it out, so at least my thoughts will be organized.

Or so I thought. It turned out to be more of a ramble than a coherent piece of text. I'm not gonna do it to myself to check and clear up everything, it's supposed to be a fun write, not a chore. I've made a lot of (obvious) observations and asked a lot of questions, but that's me just 'thinking out loud'. And I knew it would be long, but I hadn't expected it to be this long. I'm not sure if anyone will be interested in reading all of it, but here it is anyway.

------

I love it, and everything about it.

I love the whole "Hells to Pay" universe. I love how alive the universe feels while at the same time it still feels very much like Minecraft. I love how it has very much game logic while at the same time having very real stakes and dangers.

I love the characters, both the ones based on youtubers and the original ones. The first category are clearly recognizable with their way of speaking and mannerisms and the latter seem just as well developed. I love how everyone has depth. Everyone has strengths and weakness, even if it's not always obvious. No one is fully good and even the worst characters have some good qualities. And everyone has the ability to change and learn, for better or for worse, but only if they choose so.

I love the writing. The way it's structured makes it fun and easy to read. The wording very much supports the world and it's characters. I love how it lingers on some moments and quickly goes over others, it feels very natural. And though I am the kind of person that wants to know anything about a universe/story they love, I do think that the amounts of exposition and explanation are great. More would probably hinder the telling of the story itself. And I love all the extra bits of the world told through answering other peoples asks.

I love the art. Everyone is unique and easy recognizable. The bodylanguage and faces are really expressive. It's great to see. Beside that, it's also an artstyle that I just really enjoy.

So onto more details of the story. A LOT more details, I basically did another deep read to make sure I didn't miss anything. Spoilers I guess for anyone who hasn't read the story but somehow did find this post.

------

Lunarcrown's into comic looks amazing. It also wonderfully shows what kind of world Hels can be and the nightmare that is Tango's life. When I found the story, this intro was enough to get me hooked.

I think it's funny that the first part of an eleven chapter story (of which two are two-parters) is called a one-shot in the authors notes. I mean, I'm not a native English speaker and all that, but I don't think that's correct. Was it intended to be a stand-alone story? Had it been the plan for the AU to be told through short stories?

It's a small thing but I like how every new chapter/place is introduced by "Somewhere in [insert world], a player [is introduced, doing something]", with very minimal variations. It's a nice returning bit, through the whole story.

The way Tango's imprisonment is described is chillingly beautiful. It's horrific, but at the same time almost casual. But that's what is has become for Tango: just another day. In the same way, the manner of escaping is grueling, showing clearly his desperation. Well done.

It's so clearly noticeable, even through the immediate relief of escaping Hells Tek, that he's been through so much and that it impacted him so much. And then he decides to hide it and pretend it didn't happen for another decade. Even if he didn't fool people nearly as much as he thinks he did, it's so sad he though he needed to do that. Not to say that I can't understand it. Sadly, it probably stopped him from openly enjoying what he had: his freedom, all the wonderful experiences of the overworld and his friends. It's an amazing first chapter.

Also I love the way you write Xisuma.

And hello Bravo. I don't really like him as a character, too arrogant and snobbish. But at the same time, I love his journey and it's fun to follow him. He didn't deserve to be stranded here. But then again, that was kinda the point of the Universe's little experiment. I wonder, if he would one day learn about that, would it make him feel better or worse?

It's interesting to see his outside view of Hermitcraft. And them being considered a private bunch in this universe, while we see them pretty much place every block of their megabases, through streams and timelapses. Then again, in-story Hermitcraft is only in it's second world/season. I haven't been following Hermitcraft for THAT long, but it probably isn't a fair comparison. I wonder which of the Hermits Bravo was familiar with. Some of the redstoners, probably.

Timmy leaving his save spot to talk to Bravo wasn't something I noticed om my first read, and it's sweet of him. I love Timmy, and at the same time I want to yell at him for taking such poor care of himself. It's nice to see that through all he experienced he hasn't lost his kindness.

I've been definitely overthinking this, but while rereading Timmy explaining what Hels is to Bravo I was wondering how he knew the difference between Hells and a normal world. The logical explanation would be that some other player told him. But I remembered a post were there was mentioned Timmy was a Listener and I am a sucker for any Watcher Lore (and your version is great), so my mind came to the conclusion that a Watcher told Timmy. After all, he seems so lonely and so attention starved, that he would probably love it when the Watchers are around him. Maybe he tries to talk to them, make them stay a little longer. Most Watchers wouldn't be interested in him, since they can't make him leave. They would only be at spawn if someone more interesting has died without a respawn point. But maybe... Maybe some of the nicer Watchers decide to humor him, and talk for a moment. Maybe after a few times, they discover it's nice to sometimes just have a conversation with a player and just... start telling him things. Random bits of trivia, events that they've Watched somewhere else, things about their old lives. They would still be mostly doing other Watcher stuff, but when they are bored, or were about to visit Hels' spawn anyway, they stop by a certain avian.

Like I said, I've been overthinking this. It probably doesn't fit your story, but it has been fun to imagine. I like the idea that Timmy is one of the few players that is completely comfortable with being a Listener. And I like the idea of someone that people don't spend a second thought on casually having conversations with literal deities.

Back to Bravo for a moment. The stretchend out death-loop that is his way out of spawn is interesting to see. He starts out relatively optimistic but get's a hard and painful lesson on what life in Hels is like. By the time he meets the Arena recruiters he seems to understand why Timmy doesn't leave spawn. Bravo is glad with the resources he has, even though in any other world a second-day player would probably put him to shame. His first instinct on seeing players approach him is now to hide. He's already changed a lot, probably without even realizing it. And that is before he snaps.

The symmetry between the ending of one chapter and the start of the other is well done. One duo dies and Bravo finally gets a break in his struggle to survive. Another duo dies and Tango has a big setback in the game he's participating in.

The tone of chapter 3 is very different from the previous chapters. For a big part, it is an adaptation of Jimmy's and Tango's first episodes of the Double Life series. It's impressive how that part is both true to the source and a good adaptation. And then it smoothly transforms in your own work. Well done.

"They have only one bed." Look, I am very new to fanfiction, but even I know that this is a classic. I don't mind. Classics are classics for a reason, and you've written it good. I love the awkwardness here between the two of them.

Somehow the thing that's hardest to believe is that Grian would be the one to propose an end to the death-game, and it's funny that other characters seem to find that hard to believe as well. But it's a fun set-up to change mid-way in a death game to a survival world.

The addition that the soulbound can make you aware of your partners feelings and that it amplifies whatever is already between them. And thank you Impulse, for sharing your wisdom and for talking some sense into Tango. All the things Tango worries Jimmy will hate about him, seem to be the things he hates himself for. No wonder he feels unlovable. And thank you Pearl, for giving Tango some perspective.

So much of this chapter is just lovely and wholesome. After the Ranches have one good conversation, things just organically develop. Their relations grows closer and stronger. Tango learns to love and how it feels to be loved, he learns to be vulnerable, he slowly starts lowering his walls. There are still mountains of old pain, but there are new pieces that are healing as well. Thank you Jimmy, for being the healer that Tango needs. If only it would last.

Back to Hels. It's a nice detail that beds are a high end item. I guess that means making wool from string isn't possible (4 string into wool never felt right anyway). Though an anchor would prevent a long death loop by running out.

The inner workings of Hels Tek are a nice bit of information, though the place itself definitely is not. How does it compare to other redstone labs, like iRaid? Many workers probably only tolerate the restricting of their freedom because it's still better inside than being alone on the outside.

Clear is a fun character, especially when interacting with Atlas. He can get away with almost anything because he is just to valuable to loose in Atlas' eyes. He is a tragic mess but highly intelligent and takes pride in his work.

It's very telling that young Atlas, with just two minutes of life experience, already assumed the worst of others. That is not something he learned. Why would someone bother to plug a hole at spawn? Ease of traveling? And it's wood, valuable and burnable, it could have been part of a make-shift bridge, or something. Atlas really is the worst. Oh, and rule number one of Minecraft: don't dig straight down, smart guy.

It felt strange to me that Timmy lied to Atlas about Bravo, while pointing them in the direction that Tango want, the guy Atlas is actually looking for. But now I realize that Tango could "still see spawn in the distance", just before the portal spawned. Did Timmy in turn actually see Tango leaving and Bravo joining, from his higher vantage point? That would mean he probably did protect Tango, by not telling the full truth. Also, he's seen both of them. Has he noticed their likeness?

I hadn't caught on to Timmy casually lying Bravo in the first few times I read this chapter. It's sweet. And that he is able to do so while sounding casual surprises me. It feels like a stark contrast with his counterpart, who seems to be a bad liar and with an very emotive voice. And Timmy managed to do so in the face of a powerful man who has already subtilty threatened him and his with minions around. A quiet display of (inner) strength.

Timmy has delayed Atlas and Bravo meeting for five years, half the time Bravo spend in Hels. Five years without answers, five years without any hope of returning. If Atlas had found him the next time Bravo respawned (shot by a skeleton, if matched up chapter II and V correctly) Atlas would have put things together. Bravo would probably have jumped at the chance to get to Hels Tek, to civilisation, and he hadn't learned the "healthy Hels skepticism" yet. Atlas would be his savior! And would have been able to fully shape Bravo's image of Hels. Now, Bravo had to build his own image. Would he think it would have been worth those five years? Maybe, after he finally escaped Hels. I hope so, for Timmy's sake.

Tango had five more years on the overworld because of Timmy's lie. Five years of healing, but also five years of hiding and festering. He would have been in the fifth or sixth world of Hermitcraft, which would have had more resources than Double life. But the Hermit are more thinly spread and not focused on pvp. And on Hermitcraft, Tango probably would have been alone, when Hels Tek came for him. Others would have probably too far away to reach him in time, if they even knew were to go. Or maybe Tango would have been lucky and Hels Tek would have entered minutes before the final battle of the season 6 Prank War. Probably not but that would have been funny. There is a chance that the five extra years were unnecessary and only stopt him from fully healing but I think its way more likely that it saved him. On Double Life and with Jimmy at his side it seems that everything was exactly right for Tango being saved and to make sure his past won't come back to hound him anymore.

I truly hope that Timmy's little lie made things better in the end. I didn't realize that I had so much to say about one sentence in the story. I hope you didn't mind the sidetrack.

Atlas looking for Tango in the Arena seems to be the reason that the recruiters that made Bravo snap ran into him in the first place. Credits were it's due, thank you Atlas, for giving Bravo the means to gain things like good food, end-game armor and weapons. I still don't like you.

Considering Alisker has a spy in Hels Tek, and doesn't actually want hybrid farming to succeed, could the failing of respawn anchor be due to sabotage? Or maybe it was just the will of the Universe. Also, Alisker humiliating Atlas is very satisfying.

The downward spiral of Hels Tek is also very satisfying. It seems that Atlas never bothered to make any protocol for things taking a turn for the worst. I guess that just would be unimaginable for him. And then dr. Clear manages to halt that spiral in one lucid peptalk. That makes me sad that his lucid moments seem to be so rare and frustrated that he uses his skills and talents for Hels Tek. Clear Cut's mental health issues could be some form of heavy depression. That would be treatable. Earlier in the chapter it was mention he has to use potions of swiftness to be functional, but that sounds like management to me, not treatment.

The difference between Atlas meeting Bravo, and Atlas meeting a young Tango is interesting. Tango's base is hidden, while Bravo's is not. Bravo asks questions before deciding whether to attack, while Tango does not. Both of them are wary, but Tango seems eager to work in a redstone lab, while Bravo only sees it as a way home. All of these differences seem to be learned, though. And young Tango is cute.

Bravo at the start of chapter VI has plenty of Hels experience, but without Atlas having manipulated his worldview yet. Still, it's not a pretty picture. He thinks Atlas is probably dangerous because "he’s from Hels, after all". As if overworlders can't be dangerous. Does he know how players on anarchy servers can be? Does he know how an UHC works?

Overworld players gain the ability to travel between world as teenagers, and Bravo mentions next chapter that he probably stopped aging while still looking young. Tango was recruited as a teen, and spent only a few years in Hels Tek. He is the same age as Bravo. In other words, Bravo probably didn't have that much of a window between gaining access to multiverse travel and getting trapped in Hels. Maybe Bravo is just naive when it comes to overworld players.

You know, I really thought Atlas was the one to bring out the worst in Bravo, but perhaps all he did was stop Bravo from examining his own biases. I know Hels is a though place but I can't believe Bravo is that special for having a grand total of three pieces of furniture. He also already considers hybrid players part monster. One of his first thoughts on hearing Hels is an actual prisonworld is that the players that have spawned here must deserve it. And when Atlas guesses that Tango managed "to utilize [Bravo's] connection to leave Hels", Bravo interprets that as Tango willingly trapping him.

Bravo's early days in Hels Tek probably mirror those of Tango. A rundown of practices and procedures of the place, other scientist gathering information about him, leaving the communicator with other scientist to let them figure out the data. Probably to work with the same iron farm scientist Bravo talked to. But Bravo is aware what it's actually for, Tango was fed lies. And Tango was a teenager that had probably grown up feral and just entered a community for the first time.

Hels!Keralis is another fun character. I love that one of the extreme traits that he got from his counterpart is more eyes. How does he know that Bravo isn't from Hels? With the number of eyes he has it somehow wouldn't surprise me if he has some sort of special sight. Or it could be corporate spionage.

I haven't mentioned it before but the way you write the passage of time, with short snippits to show significant moments or changes, is very good. It really gets across how not everything happens in short order, how events can have far reaching effects and how change can happen slowly. It also helps you feel that time has passed and the world isn't static.

Once Bravo had his first impression of Patho, he really didn't bother updating his opinion unless other players made him. Bravo wonders what it could take to loose an eye, and there is something that can do that. In some of the worldbuilding posts it's mentioned that Martyn lost one eye, and Grian both of them, to Watchers. It would make sense that an experienced player would be recruited, but it could also just be an coincident. Bravo disapproves of the fangirling towards Patho, but I wouldn't be surprised if he once was a big fan of Etho. Legendary overworld redstoner and all that. (IRL during April Fools 2013, Etho was famous enough to get his own Minecraft block) The manner Patho let's Bravo know that he doesn't like to be touched is way over the top. Patho is another interesting character, but one of those that I'm very glad of that he's fictional. At the same time it's sweet of Patho that he is very much willing to educate others and share his knowledge.

I like the touch that the first two times the portal is lit, it has everchanging colours. Like the Hermitcraft portal Tango went trough. And it's later explained that inter-world portals have unique color-paterns, depending on their destination. So Tango is still on Hermitcraft in the early attempts. After that it switches to the red-yellow-green of the Traffic SMP/Life Series.

Bravo almost shows some critical thinking and empathy when he finds the Tango Tek farm, but it's immediately ruined when Atlas shows up. I hope Bravo gets nightmares about this when he finally learns how to self-reflect. Bravo's sarcastic reply on whether he has said his goodbyes is telling. He could have made friends if he had wanted to, I'm sure. The scientist had been welcoming and curious about him, and as a redstoner himself it's not as if they had nothing in common. That's a good base to build upon.

His first moments in ten years in the overworld are beautiful. Though Bravo has very many flaws, I do have sympathy for him gotten trapped in Hels. But not for anything else at the moment.

Jimmy reflecting on getting to know the Hermits is fun and wholesome. The little things he has learned about Tango, the thing he seems to love most about him, seem to be mainly related to being a blaze hybrid. All the things that are just Tango. That makes Bravo's claim that he should have been Jimmy's soulmate just plain wrong.

The whole conversation between Jimmy, Tango and Bravo is amazing. Jimmy is trying to figure out what is going on and all is knows for certain is that the person he loves is scared and hurting. And once again Bravo almost seem to realize the universe isn't as black and white as he though it was.

And then the fight! Tango's terror and fight response. Jimmy's terror. Tango's shutdown when he realized that he hurt Jimmy. Just wow. And Jimmy's reaction to seeing Tango freezing up is pretty much forgetting he is on fire because Tango needs him! Poor, poor Tango. Bravo clearly sees himself as a good guy by taking back his rightful place and trying to help Jimmy, not realizing that for Jimmy he is the villain and the leader of the group that invaded the Ranch and is kidnapping his boyfriend. And Jimmy placing himself between the invaders and the portal, knowing he can't win is a beautiful show of his care, courage and determination. These guys have very shallow definitions of strength and weakness.

The Cavalry arrives! And the announcing their presence with the horns is very much Double Life. I know that battles are hard to write, but you did an amazing job with it. It's definitely chaotic with much going on, but it's clear to read and good to follow. Every Lifer does their part in the battle and everyone has their own fighting style.

Was Bravo so angry of Atlas that he tried to follow him back to Hels? The place that he tried to leave for ten years? The moment the portal breaks he is surrounded by overworlders. He can blame the battle going wrong and the mistrust of the players on Atlas, but they give Bravo a chance to explain himself and he messed that up all on his own. And Bravo has seen they are pretty much what he thinks overworlders should be. It's a server where they don't grief bases, where they work/fight together, where they defend each other, where they ask questions and don't immediately attack. (Outside the battle, but that doesn't count, they saw their servermates in trouble.) But they don't welcome Bravo as one of their own. They restrain him and mistrust him. They don't see him as different from the other players that came trough the portal. ("What did you guys do to him", emphasis mine) They hear his explanation but don't believe him. They dislike it so much they kill him, meaning this time he is send to Hels and it's not a fluke or mistake. It's overworld players wanting him gone.

I don't think he realizes this, not at first at least, he has his mind on other things. But once he has time to process what happened? It has got to hurt, even if he doesn't admit to himself he was wrong. I think it all does help later with Tango's words finally reaching him.

Jimmy's fear of not knowing were Tango is when the portal is broken is so real. So is the relief on knowing he's still (physically) with them. Scar being the one to shoot Bravo feels right. Scar has a goofy and easygoing demeanor, but he is very capably and not someone who you should cross, and Bravo did that by saying nasty things about his friend.

It's a relief that Bravo has finally up enough to stop working with Atlas. Progress? His fight against the hired muscle parallels the fight Tango had in brutality, as much as he might deny it. and slicing his own neck is brutal as well.

I'm still not sure how to feel about the Bravo/Timmy reunion. I'm happy that Timmy isn't alone anymore, that he is with someone who has been, not quite nice, but at least polite towards him. At the same time Bravo isn't doing this for the right reasons, he later admits as much himself. He is using Timmy as a substitute for Jimmy. Thing is, he doesn't know Jimmy. Is he really so hung op over the whole 'should-be-soulmates' thing over a stranger? I don't get it, and that could very wel just be a me problem. But he does want Timmy around, even if he's not Bravo's first choice. Since Bravo stepped through the portal that was supposingly taking him to Hermitcraft, Timmy might have been the only one that has been there for him. Timmy was the one who explained Hells to him, without trying to manipulate him. He has been welcoming to him. He has been the one who showed sympathy when Bravo died. The only thing Timmy wanted was not to be alone, but he didn't force that. I hope Bravo's biases don't blind him towards all that.

And that final sentence. If he can’t have the sun, he’ll learn to love its shadow. I know I haven't been the only one going crazy over that. That one sentence it saying so much. I've also have been (over)thinking what that makes Timmy, symbolism wise. The sun doesn't actually have a shadow, being a light source. But there is one thing, it isn't a real shadow, but there is something that is a lack of sunlight. If Jimmy is the sun, Timmy is the night sky. Both are beautiful on their own.

Back to Double life and their aftermath of the battle. I like that you fully wrote the aftermath. Things like this often get skipped or summarized. Now things have calmed down a little, the players have room to feel their exhaustion, their fear, their pain, to become more aware of their wider surroundings and to start figuring out what actually happend. It seems that no matter the universe, the Ranch is destined to burn down. It's sad to see, especially with how warm and cosy you had written the place. And ofcourse Etho and Joel have water buckets, with that clutching trick they love doing.

The state Tango is in, is heartbreaking. No one seems to be sure how to handle that situation, except Impulse, but that might just be appearances. Impulse and Jimmy have a very similar comforting warmth around them, I'm not sure how to call it. So, while Jimmy might feel useless (and the 'intrusive thoughts' aren't helping), I don't think he would have done a bad job with helping Tango. But Impulse has known Tango for years, and has some experience. And he didn't just went through the things that Tango or Jimmy just did. Jimmy's comment about the lights show that he does know Tango, no matter what he thinks. It's interesting that the comments from the Watchers right after are ambiguous in whether they are directed at Jimmy or Impulse.

You cannot sleep, there are monsters nearby. That sentence fills me with dread ever time I read it. It's a dread probably every survival minecrafter knows. And for that sentence to be directed towards Tango is devastating. Luckily Jimmy knows just wat to say to pull Tango out of it. The whole conversation after feels beautifully sad and vulnerable and raw. And it's once again devastating that Tango still feels that he has to be strong in front of Jimmy and only let's himself cry when he thinks there's no one to see it. But Jimmy is not doing nothing, he is being Tango's shoulder to cry on, an that is worth a lot.

The game-chat log of the battle is a fun read. It's very bare-bones, due to it's nature but it gives a good overview and a good indication of how the other Lifers reacted. You have a very good grasp of how you can use the chat in the story. Also, good job Bravo, you did the impossible and make Jimmy hate someone.

Tango's desperate attempt to avoid talking about what happend is painful, and it doesn't exactly work when other players were actually there to witness it. He's still afraid of being rejected because of the truth. And when de finally talks about his past he uses the word 'evil' to describe the players of Hells multiple times, he really believes it. Of course, his friends know better. I like how mad the Lifers are about Tango's past, how offended they are for his sake. And Tango's fear of they kicking him out never crossed their minds.

Whether or not it makes sense for this AU to have a concept of years, I'm glad they exists because it makes it much easier as a reader to keep track of time and of a player maturity. Gradual growth isn't really a thing in Minecraft, so it could even work as kind of sub-growth-stages between player children, teens and adults.

Another vulnerable conversation between Tango and Jimmy, with Tango admitting things he probably never said out loud before. But how bad is it really if he found a healthy way indulge in his questionable desires? And it's not like death is permanent. I can't argue with Tango saying he's messed up, but that's the trauma, not an inherent part of him.

I don't think he has deceived and lied as much as he thinks he has. His friends seemed to realize that Tango had a traumatic past and that some things set him of. They knew Tango didn't want to talk about it so they didn't ask. And he may have hidden his past and a part of his personality, but that was mostly lying by omission. Were the parts of his personality he did show false? Did he not want people to have fun with his games? I highly doubt that.

And it's not as if he's the only one with questionable personality traits on this server. In chapter IV Pearl gave him a bucket of powdered snow so she wouldn't succumb to the temptation of torturing her own soulmate, for example. Nobody is perfect, don't try to live up to an impossible standard.

The good thing about Tango saying all his insecurities aloud is that others can point out he's wrong, and Jimmy let's him know very clearly. Tango seems to be so surprised about it. He never considered his fears being wrong.

All things considered the Ranchers seem to handle the burned out ranch well. They're sad about it and Tango feels guilty, and that makes sense, but no anger or panic or deeply repressed feelings. Progress? Jimmy's comment about liking to wear the gloves is cute. Him not giving them back to Tango is also saying that Tango doesn't need to hide his claws, or himself. I thinks Tango is starting to understand that, even if he has trouble believing it. Same with all the players showing up, Tango sees that the truth about him hasn't scared them off.

I guess that there have been times that all the hiding was too overwhelming at times. Those probably moments Tango looked for Hels. If he was there wouldn't have to keep lying to his friends. He would have felt so much guilt, especially after learning that he had a counterpart that was probably trapped there. So it's a good thing it doesn't show up.

The similarities and differences between Patho and Etho explaining the portals stuff are fun. They have different experience with portals and different tools to work with, but they figured it out. And Patho isn't willing to give up one redstone ore block, while Etho is willing to get up and look for one with a friend.

Every time Tango mentions something about his past in Hels, Impulse seems to be in conflict to be a comforting presence or to be in righteous furry. It's hard to blame him. It's nice to see Impulse and Jimmy kind of team up to try to help Tango work trough everything.

I'm not sure how firewalls and whitelists work (or don't work) in combination with hacked portals. I'm also not sure how those exactly work. Then again, I know it's more important that they work than how they work. My brain just wants to understand it.

Tango, I get that you want to protect your friends but going into Hels alone isn't the solution. That way they at least get hurt by your actions and you actually encourage them to make unprepared, desperate attempts to get you back. If Tango had succeeded in breaking the portal, the Double Lifers would still try to follow. Since they know Bravo met Etho's counterpart, they would probably open a portal with his data. That would definitely have been interesting, but that would not have been good.

Thankfully, Jimmy is there to prevent all that. It's good to see that he stands his ground when Tango wants to cut others out, even though Jimmy has his own insecurities to deal with. And he already followed him to Hels, so of course Jimmy wouldn't think twice about following Tango into a trap.

Bravo has so many villainous vibes. It's a miracle he hasn't noticed it yet. He has figured out why they are here, but at the same time doesn't seem to realize they are here to help. And the hypocrite is calling Tango a monster for his temper, while he started the fight because of his anger. Bravo is a very good fighter, we've already seen, he's been in much tougher fights against much more experienced fighters. So it's not that surprising that the Ranchers lose.

Even after they lose Bravo keeps on hurting Tango with actions and words. It's no wonder that Tango realizes that the personality trait he hates so much about himself -a thing that makes him believe that he deserves all the bad stuff- is something he inherited from Bravo. It's something he only has because it comes from his 'better' counterpart. And that realisation gives him wat he needs to get through to Bravo.

Bravo's breakdown is beautiful to watch. You can see his whole beliefsystem falling apart and him having nothing to keep up his mental strength. It's so well written. For all the wrongs he's done, I never saw him as an evil person. Arrogant, biased and misguided, yes. Even so, he came to Hels with a strong sense of justice but he had to spend so much energy on just surviving that somewhere along the way he had to give it up. One can only have a survival mentality for so long before things have to give.

Tango understanding what Bravo must have been trough heartwarming. And I'm very much with him on this. Him embracing and accepting Bravo and Bravo finally accepting him is great. And now it's time for Bravo to begin his redemption arc. I absolutely love redemption arcs and -though I don't think Bravo's finished at the end of the story- this is a good one.

Timmy and Jimmy meeting each other is pretty much the opposite of Bravo and Tango meeting. No mistrust or hostility at all but mostly awe. It's nice how Tango describes it in his point of view. Timmy admitting he understand why he isn't good enough is just so sad. He knew Bravo couldn't fully accept him as he was, and he sees that his doppelgänger looks much better than him (rather objectively, being healthy beats being unkept and skin-over-bones). Jimmy basically goes all 'protective big brother' over Timmy, it's great. It's a relief that Bravo learned to (or at least started to) see Timmy as his own person.

The last scene of chapter X. It was so frustrating to wait to see wat happened next. Bravo seemed to be on Tango's side, so it would probably be a ruse. At the same time, it wouldn't have been the first time if Bravo had lost his temper and stopped being smart. I'm rather new in the fandom side of Minecraft Youtubers, so this was the first chapter I came across and the first time I had to wait for an update. I found it after someone reblogged some of Lunarcorwn's art (along with a tiny excerpt) about this chapter. I was immediately fascinated, and after the intro comic, I was sold.

The start of the next chapter doesn't give immediate resolution to a first time reader. Bravo is definitely convincing. He has to be, Atlas is not easily fooled. But knowing what's going on there seem to be small tells in how Bravo acts. Or maybe I'm just imagining things. Bravo's aggression looks like anger but is probably his newfound guilt and insecurity. He only talks to answer Atlas' questions, his speech seems more to the point while at the same time he uses more filler words.

It's interesting to see Bravo trying to trust Tango and Jimmy, while at the same time having learned to be distrustful of everything. He's really going back and forth between the two. Thankfully, Tango is understanding and shows him grace. Why does Bravo tense up when Tango mentions his friends won't attack on sight? Had he forgotten that overworld players don't tend to do that? It would probably be painful for him to realize there are things he has unlearned or forgotten.

Poor Timmy probably hasn't interacted with more that one person in ages. The Double Lifers must be very much overwhelming, especially since many of them aren't exactly low-energy players.

It's Tango's job to make sure his friends don't go with a bad -but easier- plan? Talk about role reversal.

The conversation between Bravo and Timmy by the portal is nice. I like whatever kind of relation they have, messy as it is. I'm not saying it's good, but it's interesting to read about. They each have many issues. Bravo is now aware of that, but I'm not sure if Timmy is. I'm not even sure Timmy knows what a healthy relationship looks like. They both care about each other and I think they could help each other out. But at the same time, Bravo has anger issues and biases against Hels players and hybrids and Timmy is both and probably wouldn't set any boundaries. At this moment them being together could either be healing or toxic. So I get Bravo's hesitance.

Jimmy's hostility towards Bravo is so odd to see. It's so unlike him, though it's fully earned. Tango and Bravo sharing their braincells while coming up with a plan is fun, especially since Tango has to tell his friends that every time that, yes, he is on board with what Bravo says.

I admire Tango's courtage to enact the plan. Then again it's in a way a variant on Tango's earlier plan to sacrifice himself, now it's only temporary. It's no wonder he looses his nerves and fully panics at the last moment when he is actually faced with the machine that caused most of his suffering. Once again: poor guy.

Bdubs has a point about Bravo calling others bad, but Patho literally disemboweled him so I think Bravo is being fair in his case. As for instinctSV, he barely appears in the story, so that's hard to say. But I don't think you get to lead a company in Hels by being trusting and charitable.

Grian and his Watcher abilities! This is a great moment to use his powers, especially since he so hesitant to use them. And he and Jimmy are right, this is not the moment to explain it all. This is the second time that Grian uses his silent 'Watcher voice' in a group meeting and this time there is an extra Listener around. Grian's secret is all but out.

Grian getting Mumbo to come with him with some crazy but true explanation somehow sounds like a very Grian thing to do. I love your portrayal of Mumbo. It's been a lot so it's no surprise that he needs a moment to wrap his head around it. Mumbo is a good friend, keeping how he helped/helps with Grian's eyes a secret. And Grian turned up on his redstone world? Wouldn't that be single-player? How did Grian manage that? And it's good to know that Grian told Mumbo what happend over time.

Something that stood out was that Mumbo stopped himself from tugging his mustache. The way it was worded was like a habit he tries to unlearn. It was also something Clear did but didn't seem to mind.

Tango finally understands he doesn't have to do this on his own and that he can rely on his friends. The warmth he has for the people around him here is so sweet. And he finally doesn't just want to confront his past, but actually wants to put it behind him. He still thinks that the "entire mess is solely his fault" (as if he asked for it) but he knows they will do whatever it takes to help him. "Is it really any wonder he learned how to be a good person just by knowing them?" Just beautiful! Though, is he seriously gonna give Jimmy a lecture about self-blame? That's just funny.

It's promising that Bravo corrects himself about the burned Ranch. Especially since nothing about it is even spoken out loud. He might have had a change of view, fully ingrained change requires more than that. But Bravo is willing to work on it. He does note himself that he wouldn't have been able to see Tango's influence on the interior.

It's entertaining to see how Bravo describes the Lifers, and Mumbo. The sentiment of wanting to kill Atlas is very understandable. Though Bravo is the Plan Guy, Jimmy is the leader here. He listens to Bravo because Bravo has the most expertise. But Jimmy is the one who the rest listens to, the one who keeps the conversation on track and the one who validates the plan.

Tango and Bravo realizing how much they both have changed due to were they have been living feels like something they needed. I like how they are now that they're not hostile towards each other. Bravo and Timmy's realisation neither of them is a builder is a fun parallel of Tango and Jimmy, and I'm glad Tango is there to watch it. It feels promising somehow.

Once again, Jimmy is being a leader here. Checking in, helping, dispelling fears. I highly doubt that Jimmy sees himself as a leader, though. The talk between Jimmy and Bravo is amazing. It just radiates growth and caring.

Tango in the farm. Oof. It's amazing how he is so close to drowning in despair, but still manages to find something to hold on to. And then he realizes he was strong enough to survive it all before, and that he is stronger now. It's wonderful how he let his good memories strengthen him, and that while he is currently living through his worst nightmare.

Clear not realizing Hels Tek is being invaded and said invaders being fine with Clear just continuing to do his own thing is really amusing. Clear 'recognizing' Grian is so sad. But Grian doesn't seem to have the instinctive recognition of his counterparts name, and later when said counterpart realizes Grians name, it's not his player name. That's interesting. I appreciate that Grian stays with Clear and I wonder what is said between them off screen. I hope Clear eventually realizes Grian is not Scáil.

The invasion of Hels Tak is a fun read. Overpowering the first guard went so smooth! Then the ravager just had to shake things up. It's nice that during everything, Pearl and Scott seem to have patched things up and are flawlessly working together now. Jimmy seems to notice a 'intrusive thought' cutting another off, noticing how odd that is, even if he doesn't understand wat it means. Bravo and Jimmy fighting in sync is awesome! What's also a difference between this fight and the previous is that Jimmy uses his wings while fighting. Something that wouldn't be fair in a friendly fight. Tango notices later that he fights way better when he does use his non-human-side, for Jimmy it might be the same.

It's so nice that Jimmy notices that Tango lost the fear he always carried with him. He handled the last hours in the farm well. The first time I read this part I was so worried that there wasn't any mention of breaking the respawn anchor. I couldn't imagine that they would forget while standing right in front of it. Luckily there was no need for a respawn. I had also been a little nervous about Timmy and Bravo, had they made sure they would respawn at Double Life if their spawn point got reset? (Is that even possible for Timmy with his Hells-comm?)

Sweet Jimmy does not tolerate his boyfriend being name-called. And sweet Tango won't stand for his boyfriend being hurt. They're cute like that. It's good to see that Tango being called a monster has lost its power to hurt him, no matter how hard Atlas tries. He's finally able to fully accept his mob-side. It feels good that the three of them manage to piss of Atlas so much that he finally cracks, giving Tango the closure he needs. And then what's probably the most satisfying punch in Hels' history, even inflecting permanent damage.

This is the first time Tango consciously reached out for his own fire, isn't it? His own firestorm is a beautiful thing. And powerful. I'm so happy for Tango! Atlas having to helplessly watch how Tango casually strolls to the portal is extra satisfying.

Atlas just sitting outside and letting his laboratory burn really shows how defeated he is. If he was any other person I would probably feel sorry for him. And why is he so surprised that Tango and Bravo are the ones that beat him? They're both smart people that know how he works and with plenty of reasons to hate him. Are they really that unlikely to bring him down? Or did he underestimate them because they don't have the authority to boss others around? Good thing Tango had his friends on his side and that Bravo understood the power of friendship.

And then bX has the pleasure of kicking Atlas while he's down. Must have been a great relief too, to let the hybrid-farmer know his life's work was done for.

Even for the Hermits that had known something was 'off' about Tango, finally hearing what happened must have been a shock, for the ones that didn't know yet. And for Tango it must be nice to be able to tell it on his own terms, this time. He probably knew by now that the Hermits wouldn't abandon him after telling the truth, but having conformation must still feel great. It's also great that talking about it is becoming easier.

Alisker and xB are very sweet together. Very different from how they interact with other people. I admire Alisker's long term plan and how successfully it played out. He really made sure Atlas' damage stayed limited. I just wish his plans hadn't required for Tango to be locked in the farm in the first place.

I think it's a wise choice for Bravo to take some time for himself. Processing and healing from everything that happened can be nasty, and at those times it's nice not needing to mindful of others. At the same time, part of me is worried he's gonna overcorrect himself or close himself off. I'm not sure how excluded different worlds are, and how much contact players can have through the multi-net, but I hope that Bravo stays in contact with at least Timmy. It's sweet that Bravo clearly cares about Timmy's progress as well and that he regrets they both have to take different roads to heal.

The progress Timmy has already made is wonderful to see. Not only physically, he questions Bravo's decision to go and voices his discontent. Gently, but still. It feels like he's learning how to stand up for himself. Timmy himself really wanting to grow as a person is very promising, especially as someone who represents his counterparts (*checks external authors posts*) passiveness and victimhood.

Dbubs first appearance in the main story! His and Patho's relationship is both so warm and unhealty. I love complex people and I love complex people being even more complex together, and this story is full of them! I also love it every time when players are having that instinctual recognition at the proof of existence of their counterpart on page, whether is just the name or meeting face to face.

I wonder why exactly Patho wants to leave. It's not he didn't know about them having counterparts. Why does it suddenly matter? Is it because they visited Hells? Because they visited Hells together? Because of the recognition Patho felt? Or is it something else?

False, seriously? I don't think having someone chained up like an animal is keeping you in Tango's good graces. And you basically told him it could wait until he got back, while you're holding your twin prisoner! There might be something wrong with Sym, but what's wrong with you? It sounds like an interesting story, and I definitely have questions.

Poor Scáil. His suffering might actually surpass that of Tango in the farm. And if he's been like this since he left Hels Tek, it's been more than a decade, considering they never met. How did he become like this? I know it's related to Grian almost becoming a (full) Watcher, but this can't be how this is supposed to go. And even Grian has control of his abilities. Scáil using Grian's Watcher name makes me wonder how how much player vs Watches they actually are. Grian, please check in on your counterpart.

Stress' way of talking is always fun. Her and Doc's origin is cool. And I'm curious what your interpretation of the Hivemind is. Doc not having a Hels is a big relief, considering Doc himself already loves creating game-breaking machines. That trait would be terrifying on someone with a Hels mentality, let alone an amplified version of that trait. I understand why they are conflicted about it, though.

I'm glad we finally see Instinct in person. I like him and the vibe he gives off. Atlas working for him is amazing, how far he has fallen! I hope Instinct enjoys bossing him around.

Tango making the video about Hels and how to get there surprised me when I first read it, even though it makes sense. A lot of Hels players will probably change for the better because of it. It might also wreck the Hels economy. Overworld players could give their counterparts a way out, or provide them with resources that are easy to get in a normal world.

I have so many questions about it all. Can mobs travel through portals? How would it work when someone creates a portal in a creative world? Could they just spawn in rare items (elytra's or even things like spawn eggs) and bring them to Hels? Can counterparts create hacked portals when both of them are at different places in Hels? If so, that would create fast-travel. That would be especially valuable in such a giant world.

It would probably kind of sting for Bravo to see the video. Everything he needed to know and took him a decade to figure out, quickly explained in one video, uploaded not long after he finally escaped. Not that I think he woud disagree with uploading it, it's just, where was that when he needed it?

The idea of Bravo seeing Tango's video is interesting. Bravo could see all the videos Tango made while he was trapped in Hels. All the inventions and games (first Decked Out) that Tango created, all the projects he worked on with other Hermits. Tango could see the ones that Bravo made before they switched places. He could see how Bravo acted before Hels crushed him, the friends he had back in the day and how young he was when he got trapped. I wonder if they do that, and how it influences how they see each other.

It's very nice how you worked Steve, Herobrine and Alex in this universe. Does the Hels firewall being down also mean that overworld comms now work there properly? Herobrine being Hels former admin makes sense, as the first counterpart, though I hadn't expected it. It's nice that there won't be new player condemned to spawning in Hels.

The scene with Jimmy and Tango is just lovely. The cuffs and everything they stood for were so loaded for Tango. I'm glad he's finally able to take them off, and that Jimmy understood how much it meant for his soulmate.

I love how the last paragraph is inspired by the end credits poem. And I love how it both does and does not breaks the forth wall, and the things it explains. It's a nice touch that it's in-story explained by Aqua and Lunar.

-----

And that was it. For the main story anyway. I've also read the short stories from the Hels To Pay universe, but I leave that for another time. Maybe. I liked writing this but I've had enough for now. If you actually read all of this, you have my uttermost respect.

[englandsgirl18181234]

Ooooh. I just saw your most recent post, so I want to know what are the new AUs that you have thought up now. Are they more Naruto, Epic/PJO, or DC/DP? Or are there even more fandom AUs being introduced. Either way, I would like to hear about them!

So I few new ideas here!

The first one is an Epic sort of Pjo crossover in that it's part of my brain damage Athena AU, OdyPenAth AU called Athena's Prayer! I've been working on it with @dantsem who is amazing!

What happens in that one is that while Penelope and Odysseus managed to scare many of the suitors families out of retaliating for their deaths, one particular family decided that the threat of death wasn't enough to stop them from taking their revenge.

Essentially, after Odysseus returns and reunites with Athena and his family, Athena, Odysseus, and Penelope all get together. And then, some time later, Odysseus is out in Ithaca with Telemachus when they're attacked by one of the suitors families.

The attackers are killed in the ensuing fight, but Odysseus takes an attack aimed for Telemachus and is poisoned in the process.

No one in Ithaca knows how to find or make the antidote, and even when Athena searches her library she can't find anything.

So Odysseus gets worse and worse, nothing they do is helping, Athena isn't strong enough to burn out the poison because of God Games, and Odysseus is not going to live for long.

So as Odysseus's condition worsenes Athena finally breaks her promise of not bringing anyone in from Olympus and prays to Apollo for help. Literally begging him to heal Odysseus from the poison so they won't lose him after everything they've already gone through.

Apollo, upon hearing Athena legitimately praying to him, which Gods never do, goes to her immediately to see what the hell is going on because she's supposed to be resting, Fate's damn it, she just almost died!

Two more AU's under the cut! One Naruto MadaTobi, the other Epic/PJO

WARNING: The second AU under the cut, Hades' Lament, is Really Dark and I do go somewhat in depth about Zeus being abusive to Apollo and Athena!

Another AU is a Naruto Mada/Tobi one that I'm just calling the Wolf AU. Basically, some Hatake can shift into wolves in this verse as a kekki genkai, but those that can have a lot more trouble controlling their instincts than those that don't. And sensors are even worse off on that front than average. So of course Tobirama gets the kekki genkai.

Hatake that can shift have two forms. One that's roughly the size of a real wolf, so bigger than a dog but not enormous. And the other is huge, roughly the size of a moose. AKA 10-12~ feet tall at the shoulder with canines and claws longer than your forearm.

*WARNING: This one gets DARK!*

Now in this verse, if a Hatake that's shifted gets injured, they can't shift back until they're mostly healed. So when Tobirama gets wounded in his smaller form on a mission, he's stuck that way. He ends up in the same area as Madara, who is on a 'vacation mission' because Izuna and Hikaku thought he was too stressed out. Madara finds shifted Tobirama and takes care of his wounds, Tobirama sees who Madara is off the battlefield, all those cliches.

The vacation mission later goes to hell because of course it does. Tobirama, still in his smaller form and slightly hurt, takes several hits for Madara and gets him the opening he needs to get away.

Madara takes it, feels guilty, blah blah blah, hard cut to the next time they're both involved in a skirmish.

Madara is still recovering from his wounds, Hashirama's upset he was gone for so long and pushing him even harder because of it.

Madara missteps right into the way of one of Hashirama's attacks. If it hits he's probably gonna die.

Tobirama, on the other side of the battlefield fighting Izuna, vanishes and reappears between Madara and the attack.

He takes the hit, shifts to his bigger form without thinking, loses himself to his instincts because of the sudden and unexpected shift, and attacks Hashirama for almost killing Madara.

From there I'm not sure how it'll go yet.

I might have Tobi and Touka run for attacking Hashirama, might have it go a few other ways, but it's endgame MadaTobi either way. Might go with a Centering AU, might not, haven't decided yet.

Another AU is yet another Epic/PJO AU I've been considering called Hades' Lament. It's starts out very similar to the Chthonic Athena AU, except Hestia, Poseidon, and Hades are all at the meeting as well.

It goes roughly the same until just before Athena dies, but instead of Athena getting struck, Apollo manages to get between her and the bolt.

But Zeus is much worse here than he is in Chthonic Athena (I'll explain more on that front in a second) meaning that both Apollo and Athena fall into comas from it because of how badly off they both already were.

There's a fight, Zeus is dethroned for it, all that good stuff. Then the others realize that oh shit, Athena and Apollo aren't waking up, something is actually really wrong here.

Now to elaborate on how Zeus is worse here. Not only does God Games happen here, but afterwards, Zeus becomes physically and emotionally abusive to both Athena and Apollo. He treats them well in public, particularly in front of their siblings as a way to further isolate them and turn the others against them, but when alone he's much worse than anyone else on the council expects.

One particular change in this AU is that the plot is very different from any of my other ones so far. What basically happens is that when the others realize that Athena and Apollo aren't waking up, they go to Hypnos. Hypnos in turn sends them to his son Morpheus and reveals that a major part of the reason Morpheus fought against Olympus when Kronos returned was because of how badly Zeus treated Apollo and Athena.

When the Council go to him, Morpheus ends up revealing that, as the God of Dreams, after his brother Phobetor faded shortly after the fall of Ancient Greece, he had also been given domain over nightmares as well. Which was how he found out about Zeus's treatment of Athena and Apollo.

He'd essentially been stuck watching the two of them suffer through their nightmares ever since, because of how often they had them. Gods only sleep deep enough to dream when they're particularly exhausted or recovering from injuries, so the two of them were dreaming more than anyone else on Olympus. He could give them relief sometimes, give them pleasant dreams when he could, but that was all. He couldn't do anything about their suffering when they were awake.

Morpheus then tells them that, while he can't tell them the reason the two aren't waking up, he can show them what Apollo and Athena had suffered over the years.

The Council agrees to this, and they're then shown that not only was Zeus physically and mentally abusive to the two of them, but he also leveraged their relationships with their siblings and children against them as well.

Zeus would threaten to kill their children, or to hurt the others the way he was hurting them to keep them in line. Threatening Ares and Artemis in-particular was very common for him, because of how much Athena and Apollo cared for them as their other halves.

He would even leverage that relationship to make them hurt each other, making them fight until one of them was beaten unconscious.

The Council, and particularly Ares and Artemis, are absolutely horrified to learn all of this, but they still don't know why Athena and Apollo aren't waking up.

Morpheus gives them a cryptic clue about one of them having the ability to wake them, and then leaves them on their own.

So yeah, those are 3 new ones I have so far and I've been looking at a few others as well. You're all more than welcome to send any questions you might have about them or any others!!

[gerec]

At this point I'm embarrassed to ask how the search fics on your blog (I'm not very good with tumblr) this question probably already exists, but I wanted to read fics about Erik in prison or prison fics.

No worries Anon; I appreciate you wanting to do so before sending me an ask. These lists are fun to do but do take time, so I always encourage people to check if their ask has already been addressed before submitting one :D

As for how to search - if you go to my blog at gerec.tumblr.com you can click on the 'gerec's fic rec' tag on my left nav menu and it'll bring up all the lists I've posted over the years. There are a lot of great fics to explore! To find something more specific, go to the search bar and enter 'gerec's fic rec', a comma, and then whatever particular prompt you're looking for - in your case 'prison au'.

Tumblr's search is a little funky so it doesn't always work but there you go lol. In any case, to answer your question, I've NOT put a list of Erik in prison or prison aus before so here's one for you!!!

(Remember to read the tags!)

Jail Bait by Villain

Charles is the new psychiatrist at a high profile correctional facility for rogue mutants, and Erik is the notorious criminal who takes a liking to him.

The stars incline us, they do not bind us by ikeracity, Pangea

Intergalactic Federation pilot Lieutenant Charles Xavier is assigned last-minute to a high profile mission: transporting over two thousand prison inmates from an old and overfilled prison complex to a newer, higher-capacity prison stronghold located on the outer reaches of the galaxy. Just as he's settling down for a long and uneventful ride, things take a turn for the worse after the inmates riot and stage a hostile takeover of the ship, leaving Charles to find himself at the complete mercy of cold-blooded killers and facing the chilling prospect that he might not ever make it back home alive.

The Force of Reality by valancysnaith

Charles almost misses him because Erik’s mind feels different. Muted, somehow, like all those sharp edges and shimmering metallic bright spots are wrapped in cotton. Erik’s thoughts were never this foggy, even asleep; his is the prickliest, most carefully compartmentalized mind Charles has ever touched. Now it feels wrong.

Submission by FuryRed

Charles didn’t belong in prison- literally, he really didn’t. Accused of a crime he didn’t commit, Charles unfortunately found himself held captive in the world’s most formidable mutant prison- a place where even his telepathy wouldn’t be able to save him.

The situation would be bad enough, but to make matters worse it turned out that the man who essentially ran the prison- an experienced criminal by the name of Erik Lehnsherr- had a habit of doing whatever was necessary to get what he wanted, and it just so happened that the thing he decided he wanted most… was Charles.

plastics by phalangine

Erik has been convicted and locked away for years, but Charles still comes to visit.

Lies We Tell by Gerec

Dr. Charles Xavier thinks he knows everything there is to know about Erik Lehnsherr - renowned terrorist, fellow mutant, and his patient of the past six months. Their relationship blossoms into something intimate and wholly unexpected, and Charles finds himself fantasizing about a life at Erik's side.

When it happens, it's nothing at all like he imagined.

Rotten Rules by ellenchain

On Erik's first day, he can already tell that prison is indeed not a pony farm. Still, he can't help sticking his nose into dark machinations going on in the depths of the prison. He quickly learns that there is only one rule: eat or be eaten. In addition to all the rumors about dangerous inmates and a corrupt director, a charismatic man from block C in particular does not let him get a good night's sleep. But he too seems to have more secrets than he makes Erik believe ...

Heartaches Disguised as Homelands by InsertSthMeaningful

After Kennedy's assassination, Charles pays Erik exactly one visit in prison.

Containment by feathershollyandgolly

Guilt swirls within as Charles watches the concrete door slide open. As he enters a hollow prison, both modest and intimidating. He is well aware that what he is about to do is a terrible thing.

White by still_lycoris

Erik finds different ways to cope in his prison.

The Last Love Song & Testament of Charles F. Xavier by midrashic

When Erik is accused of domestic terrorism, Charles has no choice but to marry him to keep him out of jail.

Liability by citrinesunset 

A few guards in the Pentagon decide to give Erik some harsh treatment.

Conjugal Visits by ikeracity, Pangea (part of a series)

How Erik and Charles finally get married does not exactly go the way anyone involved ever imagined.

In The Dark by Gerec

Late one night, someone visits Erik in his cell beneath the Pentagon.

Quid Pro Quo by Gerec

Written for the prompt: While he's imprisoned in the Pentagon, some of the guards decide to punish/have "fun" with Erik.

[phoenixyfriend]

Thought- in the terracotta warriors thing, you mentioned that the Jedi archeologists brought in a specialist in mando iconography to try and work out what’s going on with the 501sts symbols- what if that outside specialist is jaster mereel? Could be pre becoming the mand’alor, could be just his side job, but either way he spends a few years studying it all and getting used to being the only mando in a base camp full of Jedi, makes friends, has academic discussions and disagreements, steals someone’s holopad to try and use the link to the Jedi archives to read all the things on tarre visla, gets into an actual argument, reconciles with agreeing to help with a historical reenactment of a Jedi mandolorian war, gets Madame nu’s comm number, introduces his new son to his comm bff who argues historical nitpicks with him, brings jango to the next summer at the site, clones react to jango somehow and/or there’s a few tubies in there who look distractingly like jango and/or someone has their helmet off and jango has a breakdown over it looking like a family member? And so on and so on

Context: Sleeping Soldiers AU

See, I don't really subscribe to the "halfway to archaeologist!Jaster" fanon. I'm especially reticent to engage with the Jocasta ship, honestly.

But... okay, here's the thing. It does feel pretty incongruous with how I've written Jaster thus far. I can believe him having like. A 'classical' education. Not actually tutored like a noble, but that he sought out the same subjects as an adult to make sure he understood how to rule once he started having a proper political angle. He's a history nerd in the way that a particularly political/philosophical aristocrat of the 18th century would have been.

Military history, philosophical history, political and even some arts... but not actually in an archaeological sense.

(Also, it raises my hackles because it's one of those things that feels like it's heavily associated with the whole "True Mandos Were Best Mandos" crowd.)

It also really depends on the era! Tarre makes more sense than Jaster, just because of the timescale! The soldiers are millennia buried by the time Jaster is born! That said, even Tarre is a few millennia late but... makes more sense than Jaster.

Most likely, there are historians and archaeologists coming by every few centuries, as new generations encounter the issue, and older analyses are lost in the depths of the archives. Frequency tapers off after a few millennia, but... by the time Jaster is around?

It's 100% a New Mandalorian with an art history doctorate. (With a military symbolism specialty, in this case.)

It's probably not a New Mando if it's an Early On moment, but it probably is a New Mando if the Jedi start getting Weird Vibes and investigating the soldiers in the decades leading up to the Prequels.

Would the New Mandalorians know more than the traditionalists? Not necessarily. Would they know less? Actually, no.

I firmly believe that the New Mandalorians are taught about their histories in a "German kids learn about WWII atrocities, going on field trips to historic sites of said horrors, so their teachers can stress that they don't repeat the mistakes of the past" kind of way. I imagine the New Mandos would have plenty of research and records in regards to actual history, with plenty of museums and such. Part of maintaining pacifism is ensuring that the coming generations understand what led them to pacifism in the first place.

Is this thousands of years in the past, and thus difficult to research? Yes, but the traditionalists would have that same problem.

More of them, even. If the New Mandos have been around for seven hundred years, like Legends claims, then the traditionalists have probably have lost a lot of history through various battles and bombings, while the New Mandalorians, while not entirely escaping large scale destruction and such attacks, are much more likely to have protected and maintained their sites, simply by not courting war as a matter of culture. The traditionalists, meanwhile, would have had a much stronger emotional and cultural attachment to legends and themes, though I'll admit those are probably prone to revisionism, much like real-world folklore and mythology.

As @atagotiak put it:

Ehhhh. The traditionalists do care about legends and history and stuff. Often in an idealized way, sure. But you could argue that they’d have more reason than new mandos to be into these stories. Which, to be clear, isn’t like, saying that Jaster is definitely a part-time historian or anything like that. It’s just I don’t think one side would have an advantage over another. (edited)

So the New Mandos and Trad Mandos are probably on an even playing ground, insofar as skill and resources and knowledge go.

But by Jaster's time, the Jedi would have more reason to think the New Mandos would cooperate. No real downside to asking them when it comes to knowledge/skill, and an upside in terms of 'not getting shot when asking.'

As Tia said:

And even if we assume Jaster is a big history nerd and would be receptive to the Jedi (and tbh there’s even less indication of the latter) there’s no reason to think the Jedi would know that.

So yeah, when the soldiers start having Vibes And The Force Becomes Suspiciously Active on that level... New Mando archaeologist, definitely.

[skyward-floored]

*burst through door* I AM HERE TO TALK

Let’s see…

What whumptober prompt are you most excited about?

If you could write a post-game adventure for any of the Zelda games you played, which would it be and what kind of vibe/premise would you go for?

Does Volga ever hug Link in hdw au? I know he’s a bit aloof

Speaking of hdw au I occasionally still laugh at the thought of Power and Warriors interacting lol, but I also keep forgetting that a lot of people, including your AU include Mask and Tune, so how do you think they would react to Power being there? For his part I think Power would be really weirded out and worried that Mask is there since the kid’s like 11, and mildly concerned but also low key impressed that Tune is 12-13 and an accomplished Hero. I’m a little shaky on how those two are characterized tho 😅

Hm, let’s see, what else… favorite IAU boy and favorite IAU segment that you’ve written!

Laslty, have a hug from me and puppy snuggles from Anakin ❤️

dangit Skye I'm gonna cry again hdbshbkdjsf thank you for the hug and puppy snuggles <3

Okay! So I'm very excited for days 10 and 18 which go together and are very dramatic and painful and have a big epic fight I will hopefully be able to write well hehe. I'm also excited for day 11, which has some fun things I'm looking forward to involving Mipha (who I've never really written much so it's been interesting working on!). I have some more ideas that don't really match any days yet, but I'm excited for those too. Basically all of them (except tomorrow's which has absolutely nothing for it yet heh).

Oooh that's an interesting question! I mean I technically have a fic that explores a bit of what happens after botw (largely written before totk and also an AU lol), and true form goes into a bit after tp (but again, an AU), but if I had unlimited writing time... I think a really big and long and in-depth post-skyward sword fic would be cooool. Spanning several years as Link and Zelda work through stuff that happened on their adventure and their relationship/family and building a settlement on the surface... it would be so cool.

I think at some point Volga does actually hug Link :) but not for a while though. He's got to go through all that messy "actually accepting you have a son and are maybe actually attached to him" stuff, probably brought on through some dramatic inciting incident. ANd when it does happen it's probably a quick "AGHH HOW DARE YOU COME SO CLOSE TO DYING" kind of thing where he just grabs him into a hug without thinking.

I think of that sometimes and laugh too XD For Mask and Tune, I think they'd sort of take it in stride? Like, what's one more Link in this disaster anyway? Though I think Mask looks at him and can kind of... tell this guy's adventure messed him up. Mask knows about that, even if it's not exactly the same. Tune can maybe tell too, but it's probably more "my older brother senses are tingling, I'm adopting him".

Favorite IAU boy?? That's like having to choose a favorite child, I like them all... :( okayyyyy well I'm very fond of Hyrule, I had a lot of fun with his backstory. Legend is always a blast to write too because he's so silly as a little kid, and having turning into a rabbit be part of his powers, it lends to some interesting things and dynamics. I seriously don't know about a favorite IAU thing I've written, I've written... too many things. Maybe that roadtrip one, that one is silly lol

[lemurzsquad]

Haikyuu High School Band AU (Karasuno)

I know I've seen this before, but I just HAVE to make my own version of this!!

Haikyuu High School Band AU!! Or at least headcanons on the characters

Starting off strong with Karasuno as a starting point (as much as I want to just do all my favorite characters first TvT), including the entire team and coaches and managers

Please lmk if you want to hear more about this au, and I'm happy to take asks for more headcanons or even story ideas!! (I do plan on writing more and for doing some of the other teams, albeit maybe not with such in depth headcanons and maybe not the entire teams)

(Also, small disclaimer, this is based almost exclusively on personal experience, and a lot of this is based on things that have actually happened to me/in my band gkhsbkj)

Karasuno:

#1 - Sawamura Daichi

Leadership: Band Captain/Section Leader

Concert: Tuba

Marching: Sousaphone

Jazz: Trombone

I feel like he'd totally play tuba and be in jazz on trombone, as well as being a band captain and section leader for the low brass (or just tubas if the band is big enough). Definitely gets "That's my band captain!!" yelled at him a lot, no matter what he does, and he's totally sick and tired of it. He is single-handedly the only reason the band hasn't fallen apart because he actually keeps close contact with everyone in leadership and makes sure stuff is organized. He also brought back running laps as a punishment, but he somehow made it such a thing that people would just join in pre-marching rehearsal laps.

In concert, he's probably first chair tuba in the highest band and thankfully actually knows his parts and is consistently called on to play shared parts with other sections by himself as an example.

As for jazz, I imagine he might not be in first chair, maybe even being on bass trombone, but he knows his part. Not perfectly, but he knows it well. He's also not the most flashy soloist; his solos are simple and solid and well-thought through (if they're improv-ed).

-----

#2 - Sugawara Koushi

Leadership: Head Drum Major

Concert: Bassoon

Marching: Flute

Marched flute his freshman and sophomore years before becoming a drum major his junior and senior years. While he tries (sometimes) to be serious and a good example, being in executive leadership, more often than not he's adding flourishes and shenanigans to his conducting whenever he feels like it and stealing Daichi's tuba, sousa, or trombone mouthpieces upon request from the non-low-brass underclassmen who aren't allowed in the low brass room where they're stored.

He also plays bassoon in concert in the highest band mostly because of a lack of bassoon players. Not to say he's bad---he is good at his instrument---but he also didn't have much competition. He's known for walking around the band room with a bassoon reed in his mouth and occasionally crowing on it (or putting multiple in his mouth and being almost as obnoxious as some of the other brass players). He always seems to have a pair of pliers or sandpaper during rehearsals, constantly adjusting his reeds whenever he's not playing---for better or for worse, especially when he overadjusts and doesn't have time to fix it before he has to play again.

-----

#3 - Azumane Asahi

Concert: Percussion

Marching: Front Ensemble (Mallots)

He managed to fly under the radar in terms of skill level until someone caught him practicing an insane marimba solo for fun when he thought no one else was in the band room. And then obviously he got stuck getting tons of mallot solos, quickly becoming the band's most prized percussionist. He's always terrified when doing solos, especially in front of judges by himself, but is absolutely in the zone when he's performing in concert or marching band, entirely focused on playing and nothing else.

At some point, the pressure got to be too much and he quit band for a year. Prior, he had been assigned primarily to more auxilary percussion instruments, so when he was suddenly expected to be this amazing player after one encounter, he caved and dropped the class. Fortunately, when the underclassmen discovered he used to be a great player, they managed to drag him back, and Takeda happily got him a schedule change to bring him back into band.

Now, he spends a lot of time hidden away in the percussion room, often interrupted by Noya, with headphones on and practicing his mallot parts. The band relied on him, after all, and he couldn't let them down.

-----

#4 - Nishinoya Yuu

Concert: Percussion

Marching: Lead Snare

Jazz: Rhythm (Drumset)

One of those crazy good percussionists that just seemed to show up one day with an insane talent for drumset and drums in general. While he struggles in concert to read rhythms (often improv-ing them instead, which often gets him a stern look from their band director, Ukai), he has a natural knack for drumset and setting up the jazz band with a solid backing.

In concert, he loves to play the big percussion instruments, like gong, bass drum, or timpanis, but he's content with anything that's loud and stands out (slapstick, flexitone, castanets; if you know, you know). He seems to always be late for rehearsals, usually with a snack, smoothie, or full on fast food meal that he brings into the band room and immediately gets chewed out for for bringing open food into the band room.

He somehow ended up on lead snare for marching despite wanting to play tenors or bass drum because they needed someone with really good tempo and feet timing, as well as skill on the drums, in order to line up with and help the drum majors keep the band in time out on the field.

In jazz, he essentially only plays the drums, having no particular skills on vibraphone or piano. So when rhythm rotates and someone else is on drumset, he often has to sit out if there isn't another set of drums needed for the chart.

He seems to never leave the band room, similar to Asahi, except he doesn't actually seem to do anything except cause problems. If he's not confined to the percussion room, spending time with Asahi, he's on a drumset somewhere in the band room or helping the underclassmen pull pranks (no he definitely was not the reason there were tons of stickers of Ukai's face now being distributed among the band).

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#5 - Tanaka Ryuunosuke

Concert: Alto Saxophone

Marching: Alto Saxophone

Jazz: Alto/Soprano Saxophone

Ah yes, the bane of every band director's existence: that one loud alto sax player. Is he good at his instrument? Yes. Does that make him any less obnoxious? Absolutely not. He practically carries the entire marching alto section out on the field with how loud he plays (for better or for worse) and is constantly told to play quieter, play less aggressive, soften the articulation, just chill out a little bit. He is, shockingly, usually the first to marching rehearsal (sometimes throwing a ball with some others on the field before it starts) and probably the most hyped out of anyone. This does not, however, stop him from being late to stretch block despite being there earlier than anyone.

He is very well known for trying to play every instrument that isn't his. At least once a week, he's trying to convince someone to let him play their trombone, bari sax, trumpet, bass clarinet. Many times has he been lectured by Daichi for playing other people's instruments, especially when Band Plague (tm) is circulating.

He plays lead alto in jazz. It's a miracle they let him play soprano sax in jazz, but they really couldn't pick anyone else that had the same skill for jazz and improv as he had. He and Noya are a duo that should not be messed with or underestimated, especially if they're assigned to the same combo.

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#6 - Ennoshita Chikara

Leadership: Quartermaster, eventually Band Captain/Section Leader

Concert: Euphonium

Marching: Trombone

Getting the instruments right for him was hard, but I could honestly only see him playing trombone and euph. It's kind of a mystery how he ended up as a quartermaster after putting in his leadership application, but him lugging around equipment and setting things up quickly became a very common sight. He proved himself to be extremely reliable, and Daichi would often go to him for advice and to make sure everything was set up and ready to go. When he becomes band captain and section leader, it was very natural; the irony was having two low brass band captains in a row, which isn't the most common sight.

He's probably what would be considered the model band student, which is most likely the reason he is assigned to executive leadership. He's always on time, always the last to leave after helping clean up the band room and put chairs and stands away (that no one else bothers to). He diligently practices his concert and marching music, which does land him with his fair share of solos. He's the best euphonium player they have in the highest band simply due to his dedication. He does, however, seem to have a sixth sense for misbehavior, and he's scared a number of band kids when he suddenly appears just as they're breaking the rules.

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#7 - Kinoshita Hisashi

Concert: Alto Saxophone

Marching: Alto Saxophone

Jazz: Alto Saxophone

Kind of just your average, quiet alto player. The problems lie in who he has to be around consistently: Tanaka. Their lockers are next to each other, and he's always second to Tanaka. He really doesn't mind, he just wishes when the "altos" get yelled at, they would specify "just Tanaka." Fortunately, he's a decent player---albeit often told to play louder on his second alto part---so the attention usually isn't on him very much.

He's often found outside the band room by the vending machine, usually doing homework or chatting with Narita (and Ennoshita if he's not practicing, which he usually is). He prefers to practice at home, so he brings his instrument almost everyday. Even if he is (definitely) a better concert alto than Tanaka, he doesn't bother challenging him for his chair because he knows he will never hear the end of it. Better to keep the peace, he thinks. Second alto isn't such a bad part to play.

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#8 - Narita Kazuhito

Concert: Oboe

Marching: Baritone Saxophone

Jazz: Baritone Saxophone

Another quiet but strong player, he's a very reliable oboe and bari sax player (the double reed to saxophone pipeline is very present). Initially, he never expected to play bari sax after spending middle school playing oboe and alto sax for concert and marching, but when Ukai became band director, he decided they needed more low reeds. So, he ended up picking up bark sax when he joined jazz in sophomore year and really enjoyed it, enough to start marching it.

While he's still second chair oboe behind Kiyoko in the highest ensemble, he does often end up being the only oboe when she switches to English horn for some pieces. He's had to learn a lot in terms of being confident in his part and not leaning on more experienced players. Jazz band helped with this as well given the standard big band only has one bari sax; he can't always rely on having Daichi on bass trombone sometimes to back him up, especially not in sax features.

His locker is actually next to Kinoshita's despite it being one of the massive bari sax lockers, and seeing a tiny oboe case on top of a giant bari sax case is always entertaining. He also probably rarely uses an actual school locker with how much space he has in his band locker (even if he's not there super and they're technically not supposed to store non-band things in there). I imagine he doesn't spend more time in the band room than he has to most of the time---no particular reason against it, he just doesn't see the need to be there.

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#9 - Kageyama Tobio

Leadership: Section Leader

Concert: Clarinet, Bass/Contrabass Clarinet

Marching: Clarinet, Mellophone

Every band has that one person that can play way too many instruments and takes the "give me five minutes and a fingering chart" phrase way to literally. That person at Karasuno is Kageyama. While his primary instrument is---and always will be---clarinet, he picks up other instruments pretty quickly given the chance: piano, saxophone, flute, trumpet, and mellophone in particular. In concert, he is the best clarinet player the band has, which gives him opportunities to play bass clarinet (if they don't already have one) and contrabass clarinet when it's needed, at least when the parts are particularly vital and they need a solid player.

During marching season, he marched clarinet as well, becoming section leader in his junior year. He did, however, start investing in playing mellophone with the intention of going into DCI---essentially professional marching band---when he graduated. While some of the woodwinds gave him flack for starting to learn a brass instrument, they couldn't deny that he did get pretty good at it.

He is always in the band room, practicing or otherwise, and if he's there, then so is Hinata. They constantly seem to be competing about something even though there's no real basis of comparison considering they don't really play the same instruments. This does not stop them, however. Often, they will have to be yelled at to go home and get out by Daichi (and eventually Ennoshita and Yamaguchi) and their band directors so that they can also go home.

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#10 - Hinata Shouyou

Concert: Trumpet

Marching: Trumpet

Jazz: Trumpet

(As much as I loved the idea of giving him bari sax,) I had to give him trumpet because this kid is absolutely obsessed with DCI. He wants nothing more than to be the absolute best so that he can march out there with the best of the best. His playing style is overzealous most of the time, but he has skills built up from years of teaching himself. They are far from the conventional methods of a classical private teacher or band director (since his middle school essentially had no real band class and barely enough to keep the class on the roster). He joined jazz as just another chance to play trumpet during the day and have more pieces and charts to play. Any excuse to be playing.

He is very loud, to the point where his playing is instantly recognizable even from outside the band room. He actually struggles quite a bit to play proper swing in jazz, to Ukai's frustration. If he's ever given solos, it will be on a Latin or shuffle or any chart without a strong swing. In concert, however, he is given almost every trumpet solo under the sun, especially with Ukai picking pieces specifically to cater to giving both him and Kageyama solos and features.

Hinata takes every opportunity to try and compete with Kageyama, to the dismay of everyone around them. Made worse by the fact the underclassmen ended up with last pick of lockers and the only available ones were next to each other, they always seem to be bickering about something. Kageyama had tried to ignore it, but eventually gave into the competitive spirit, and both are known to be constantly practicing to show up the other. Every cracked note is met with a perfectly in tune melody, and every solo is met with a perfect rendition of the background part.

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#11 - Tsukishima Kei

Concert: French Horn

Marching: Clarinet, Mellophone

Arguably the weirdest combination of instruments, he prefers to play a few instruments that he can get really good at than be like Kageyama who is very good at a couple and pretty okay at a handful of others. He never really showed insterest in leadership, preferring to focus on himself. Being in the highest band, especially in first chair, means he constantly has to see Hinata and Kageyama, but he doesn't mind as much since Yamaguchi is also there. Why he started marching clarinet as opposed to mellophone is a mystery to most, although Yams will claim it's because he didn't want to have to hold up a brass instrument out of the field so his arms would hurt less.

Unfortunately, marching clarinet meant he had to be around Kageyama, but as long as they didn't have to sit next to each other in concert band, he was fine with being in the same section out on the field. Until Kageyama became section leader and gained some level of authority over him, which led him to switch to the standard french horn alternative: mellophone. Some called him petty, but he just shrugged it off.

His indifferent attitude---and the fact that he never seemed to be in the band room---might have led to assumptions that he didn't care, but others were not aware of the personal french horn he practices on regularly at home, away from the prying eyes in the band room. He opted, rather, to use a school-owned horn in class, only bringing his own for concerts (not that anyone paid enough attention to notice aside from his own section, but they want nothing to do with any backlash from anyone for revealing this).

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#12 - Yamaguchi Tadashi

Leadership: Uniform Staff, eventually Band Captain/Section Leader

Concert: Tenor Saxophone

Marching: Tenor Saxophone

While entering high school as a perhaps below average tenor sax player, he managed to distinguish himself as a very perserverant player by the time he got to his junior year. Rather than relying on natural talent, he put in the work to get to be one of the top saxophonists---not the best, but he was certainly not to be looked down upon. Especially when he made up for what he lacked instead with his leadership skills. He practically redefined the role of uniform staff (a role that initially just meant "know how to fold uniforms and check that they're put away correctly") into something that actually took initiative in managing uniforms and allocating duties.

If anyone had met him in his freshman year, they would never have said he would become such a good leader or player, but he became that regardless. He and Tsukki tended not to spend excessive amounts of time in the band room until their senior year when Yams had to be the first there and the last to leave as band captain, so Tsukki often assisted and stayed with him so he wasn't by himself once the other section leaders had left.

He actually made it a point to learn bari sax and bass clarinet (at least in terms of knowing the basics and how to transpose from concert pitch to Eb and vice versa) to be a better low reeds section leader. He may seem sweet, but he has more than earned the respect of his band---and there is a reason they don't mess with him because it can never end well. It's also how the band room is spotless by the end of every day.

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Shimizu Kiyoko

Leadership: Librarian

Concert: Oboe/English Horn

Marching: Front Ensemble (Keyboard)

Jazz: Rhythm (Piano/Keyboard/Vibraphone)

The absolute model student and kid in band (not to be confused with a band kid). She plays oboe and English horn in concert, but her skills from years of piano lessons still landed her on piano parts. As a librarian, she constantly organizes and finds music and makes copies for all of the bands for the band directors and even occasionally the orchestra; when Yachi also became a librarian, she did her best to train her, and they were able to split up the workload much more reasonably.

She is easily the best oboe player not just in the school but the county. Oboe and English horn solos are commonplace in the pieces that are chosen for the highest band specifically for her. In jazz, she typically plays piano or keyboard but branched out into vibraphone when percussion did their instrument rotations. In marching, she stands in the front, headphones on, playing keyboard with the rest of the front ensemble.

Despite not being on executive leadership, she is still well-respected and very rarely left out of the loop on important issues and discussions, being a somewhat honorary member of upper leadership.

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Yachi Hitoka

Leadership: Librarian

Concert: Flute

Marching: Flute

Jazz: Trumpet, Flute

Poor Yachi, she was not ready for how intense Karasuno's band would be and how seriously they take the program. But she quickly got used to it, practically adopted into the main group, namely when she joined jazz after her first year and became a librarian. Since there typically isn't a designated flute player in a big band set-up, she opted to learn trumpet with the help of Hinata when he found out she joined the lower jazz band as a beginner. With his help, she got to be a decent intermediate player, occasionally playing flute on the off chance a chart called for it in the instrumentation.

She became more outgoing slowly but surely, somehow suddenly ending up with friends and acquaintances in almost every section and ensemble---Kiyoko thinks it's because the boys are rubbing off on her. Becoming a librarian also really helped in learning names and faces so she can get music and dot cards to the right people. By the end of her time in high school, it seemed that everyone at least knew her name or face with how much time she spent in the band room doing homework, helping out band kids and the band directors, and keeping everything organized.

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Takeda Ittetsu

Position: Assistant Band Director, Orchestra Director

Teaches: Orchestra, Symphonic Winds (2nd band), Music Theory, Jazz Band (lower)

Instrument: Cello, Trombone

Band was certainly not his first calling, considering he played cello in high school. When the previous Director Ukai retired, Karasuno struggled to find another teacher to replace him, thus their orchestra director took the place for a time until he managed to track down the current Ukai. With the extent of his experience with band being the instruments he learned for his degree in Music Education, he struggled, to say the least. But with the help of the students and other staff members (and the temporary band director that filled in for a while), he made it work the best that he could. He did start to get better at trombone (the wind instrument he enjoyed the most in his college music ed classes) so he had at least some band experience.

He did a lot for the program in terms of finding places and gigs for them to perform at, adding more marching competitions to the schedule and finding more performance opportunities for the bands and individuals. Despite the couple of years of transition that led to the band program losing many members, especially experienced players who graduated, it was eventually built up again.

After he brought Ukai on board, he had more time to invest in the orchestra program like he had before while still teaching the middle level band, the lower jazz band, and the Music Theory class. His insight on and relationships with the band members was invaluable, however, to help make decisions on leadership and ensemble placements.

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Ukai Keishin

Position: Head Band Director

Teaches: Concert Band (3rd band), Wind Ensemble (1st band), Jazz Band (upper), Percussion

Instrument: Trombone, Euphonium

It took a lot of convincing for him to get on board with becoming a band director, but it was one of the best things that could have happened to Karasuno. Having a solid band director who had lived and breathed band when he was younger (and a father who was the previous band director at that very school for many years) was exactly what the program needed to finally rebuild. He may not be the best conductor or organizer, but he does pick challenging and achievable music to push the bands to be better. The jazz band in particular soared, many joining to get a taste of its success under new leadership. Despite not getting to choose leadership the year that he joined (that being established the year prior), he was not afraid to keep a tight reign over those that were not doing what they needed to in their positions.

Through high school, he played trombone, being a skilled jazz and concert trombonist. He picked up euphonium for concert band in late high school and college and for some community ensembles he joined. He is also very knowledgeable of marching band, helping write one of the best shows the band had had the chance to perform in years.

He teaches the lowest and highest bands as well as the top jazz band and the percussion class. Takeda makes it a point to get him to organize joint band and orchestra events in order to bring the programs closer, specifically having a full orchestra (something students from both always asked about and looked forward to) and concerts where they both perform. The jazz band also got many opportunities for gigs and other performances, and the wind ensemble got chances to be a showcase band at band events and camps on more than one occasion. Parades were also events they got chances to perform at because of him (and Takeda's persistence, of course).

Thank you for reading!! <3

If you'd like to add to this or share your thoughts, please lmk!!

Do not copy and/or repost!! Any likes or reblogs are appreciated, though! (c) 2024 LemurzSquad

[firecooking]

(bruhstation) hey neil! thank you very much for supporting fortezza bigg city so far :] I really appreciate the thought you've put into analyzing bits of my silly little AU, and I've also gained a huge appreciation for your own works as well. it's so clear you've put a lot of thought and research into your AU and it really blew my mind because everything is so meticulously thought out!!! and I'm looking forward to more!!! here's a quick sketch of your gal zaffre! once again thanks :3 (also you're inspiring me to make my own z-stacks oc! haha)

OHHH MY GOD LOOK AT HER MY BABY GIRL MY SWEET CHEESE SHE LOOKS AMAZING AHHH YOUR ART IS SO GOOD I LOVE YOUR FORM AND VOLUME AND HOW YOU DO YOUR LINE WEIGHT WITH THE OPACITY AND LINE DYNAMICS your handle on anatomy and rendering is really interesting to me, reading you work in Fire Alpaca with a mouse is mind boggling to me, i remember when I was doing the same years and years ago and the skill you show is really fascinating and i am jealous, the way your art is put together is scratching my brain. i have been doing art studies of it and trying to dissect it, it'd have such a interesting feel for animation, you have a wonderful style for breaking down into a limited animation style with a emphasis on dynamics with animation in a 8s, 6s, and 4s with 2s detailing and a hard tweening style [<- just professional animator things lol] The way you render shadow and lighting is also ough. This Zaffre is genuinely so wonderful, new desk top background moments. I love her gesture and expression here, it really captures her as a character! Also the way you draw hands, augh, just augh I wish.

You, my friend, are a fabulous illustrator!

And oh my god your AU is scratching my brain in ways I didn't think possible! I know so little yet there is so much there. When I genuinely say that it is affecting me as much as if not more that @askthefamous8 that is the highest compliment I can muster [that AU has been one of my special interests since 2015,]. I am legit making a post it note wall over FBC just like ATF8 had when I was in middle/high school

You have the most loyal human AU fan on your team now, I genuinely smile thinking about Fortezza Bigg City all day long, my friends and partner are getting annoyed to death from me ranting. sorry dear if you are reading this: I know you hate tugs

Also thank you! I really love doing in depth research, its the autism at work. I am a proud vehicle autistic. I've said it before but working on a ship for a summer just to know the mechanics of how actual sailing works is probably the most unhinged thing I can say I've done for accuracy sake. Loved my Captain and fellow crew, very sad I got sick and had to leave. Honestly would love to be a sailor if my heath wasn't bungled up and I wasn't like $200k of debt in animation college.

My humanoid vehicle AU's are partially based on my sadly never going to be picked up pitch bible for a science fiction based historical vehicle show [my fatal flaw is niche interests] And it literally makes my day to sit down and work on the most expansive and historically researched BS on earth, my AU is both a lovely love letter to TUGS as the show it is and a Love Letter to what TUGS wanted to be! At the end of the day TUGS wanted to be it's days Steven Universe or MASH [something I am gonna elaborate in another format later] but unfortunately it just didn't have the right ingredients. Its the Same as the TUGS musical I'm working on, it's a love letter to what TUGS both is and was supposed to be along with being a love letter to the characters themselves

Also:

Join the Z-Stacks OC League, we have cool hats and crime

[pensbridgrton]

I promise I don't mean to insult you or any ill intent, but I read your post about Colin being Penelope's prize and just wanted to say that the moment I saw the S3 plot, I thought it would be a Regency retelling of your fic dress (which I adore and read daily) 🙈 🙈 I know that when Nicola speaks about Polin it might seem that way, but Luke's interviews have me hopeful for good Colin development, and if it's even half like a Regency version of your story I'll be THRILLED. I hope the season leaves us happy :)

Follow up - I know the plot of dress isn't Pen needing lessons to find suitors but anyway okay maybe you're right and my hope for S3 was wistful thinking 🥺 🙈

Now listen - the moment the plot summary was revealed for S3, I kept saying to myself... wait, this is regency Dress! So yes, I do want that to happen really badly.

My problem is, after two seasons of this show, I know what they prioritize and how they tend to structure their writing, and it doesn't align with what I prefer and would like to see. And that's fine, the show has a different tone and purpose and narration that they want to tell. I'm pretty sure it'll be a decent season of television, casuals will eat it up, and I'll have a good time turning off my brain and watch Nicola and Newts kill it.

But I won't love Colin and Penelope in the show as much as their characters in the books (they're already so different and while they have potential to be absolutely excellent, I don't think they will reach that potential for me... especially since it'll require retconning a lot of Colin - or at least providing sneaky flashbacks of him actually being a matchmaker - and a more character-driven arc for Penelope that the show would never do because they are plot-driven). I do think I'll enjoy the show! I just have a gut feeling that Colin's development won't reach nearly the depth of the books (because if they actually kept the jealousy of Pen's legacy plot I would SCREAM in excitement but I doubt it) because again, the show prioritizes scandal and plot - and all of that means focusing on Colin groveling and Penelope being LW.

Having said all of this - I try to keep my expectations very low because both S1 and S2 disappointed me in regards to Penelope/Colin and them as individuals, so it's hard for me to have hope (except when Nic and Newts talk... they're what's keeping me here). But I would LOVE to be wrong and absolutely love everything about S3 and its direction and the depth and care of the arcs presented. But I've accepted that my Modern AU fic is probably gonna be WAY more in character than the show's out-of-character fanfic that emphasizes groveling, spice, and scandal over the growth and imperfections of the book.

But if S3 really is just regency "Dress" I expect royalties.

[pinksaphira11]

The Appeal of Linked Universe

Been thinking about this for a little while; why is Linked Universe so well liked? I mean, there's plenty of other 'Links meet' AUs out there, and yet this is the one that got popular. Granted some of the others probably popped up because of LU but still; why? Well, I think I've figured it out.

Adherence to source material.

This is it, the whole thing making everyone love LU more than other AUs. (Probably.) Let me explain; it's fun to put your own spin on things, right? To change things up as you like and tweak things to fit your headcanons. Everyone does it, it's fun and makes things interesting and different. But in the case of these 'Links meet' AUs, I think it's hurting them. Why? Because it's not canon.

Now, I'm not saying adding all your own things is a bad thing. Quite the opposite, I love seeing what other people come up with! The creative ways they take things and the fun ideas they have can add a lot to the fandom and make things even more fun, so I'd like to encourage people to continue to add their own spins! But that doesn't change the fact that it's simply not going to resonate with quite as many people.

This is because they've changed too much. Some people simply won't like those changes, and so they won't read it. That's fine, they can just go read other stories that have the things they do want. But it does mean there will be less readers. That's where Linked Universe shines; it has only the source material, and that's it. Their designs may be a little different, with certain things exaggerated and what not, but that's just to get them to be more recognizable from each other. Besides their redesigns, nothing has changed. They're just Link.

That's the heart of it; all of them are just their respective Links. No added abilities. No added lore. No need to go read an in-depth page of backstory in order to know what's doing on. All you need to know is that the Links have all come together. That's it. You don't even need to know how or why. Heck, that hasn't even been explained yet. It's just more visually distinct Links hanging out for some reason. On some sorta adventure. And you let your imagination run wild from there. The only material that might be nice to know before reading it is it's source material; the games. That's all the context you'll need for why each Link behaves the way they do, and even then you really only need to know one game to be able to enjoy it. That's how I started, although I've since educated myself with more games.

There are SO MANY fics that have been made just based on the base concept alone. At first it was just Jojo doing little snippets too, just for fun, of things that could happen if they were traveling together. It's just, the normal Links from their games meeting. It's as simple as that. Granted a story has now been put into the works for it, but you can still enjoy the basic idea of it without needing to heed the story Jojo has come up with. Because at the end of the day it's just all the protagonists getting to interact and it's so fun getting to compare and contrast them with each other.

There's of course other things going for it; like Jojo's great art, characterization of the Links, and the splendid way it all flows, among other things I'm probably forgetting at the moment because it's getting late. (Late night thoughts strike again!) But I really do feel like the heart of it is that it's simple. Nothing complex or convoluted to the general, basic idea of it. They're just the Links you already love and know from the games. They happen to meet. And then whatever the heck you can imagine can happen, or you could read the story Jojo made for them instead. It's just a good time, particularly with some of the ideas the fandom has come up with for the AU.

That's why I think LU is more appealing than any other 'Links meet' AU out there. It's simple but effective and I think Jojo is doing great with it, she loves treating her fans and always adds little things in the background. Just, Jojo is great and Linked Universe is great and I wouldn't have this going any other way. Thank you Jojo. If you haven't checked out Linked Universe yet and are a Zelda fan, I highly recommend it! Fun to be had for every type of fan, no matter what your favorite game or Link is.

[chromotps]

Do you have any favorite acelu headcanons/tropes/dynamics?? All your works of them are so gorgeous and amazing and wonderful that it’s got me curious on what other thoughts you might have for them. （●´∀｀）ノ♡

AHHH thank you!! From you, it means a lot--I love so many of the details and backstories woven into your works for them!! TwT

I barely know where to begin with this bc like. Everything about acelu is my favorite. But I've also sort of been in a brainrot for them for so long now that my brain is entirely mush when I even think of them. Where do I start???

I guess, I love all the Ace-Lives-related headcanons. Anything about him finding more of a sense of self after Marineford, now that he's reckoned with the fact that he really is unconditionally loved... I personally adore any storyline where Ace kind of mellows out, like, his life isn't about proving he deserves to exist anymore, so he isn't as unforgiving with himself. I actually wanna link this comment thread between me & @to-a-merrier-world bc the headcanon of Ace getting a Stawhat tattoo makes me go wild. It just makes so much sense—his Whitebeard tattoo was on his back as a sign of worth and labor and duty, but the Stawhat tattoo over his heart would place more emphasis on his joys and dreams and jusT gosh. I need to lie down. This idea also ties into your to be deserving fic and Ace allowing himself more like, purely whimsical adornment?? Especially if it's gifts from Luffy??? I can't quite word it now, but the way it could symbolize him just loving the parts of himself that aren't just for fighting makes me. weak. I think it's why I like drawing post-timeskip Ace ideas so much (I already have another sketch I'm planning to post 😂)

hhhh okay that was a lot of Ace Talk. On Luffy's side... tbh Luffy is always harder for me to pin down. But I always love the idea that he needed Ace as a kid just as much as Ace needed him. Like this hc (from another comment 😂)—"Ace needs someone to prove unconditionally that he's lovable, and Luffy needs someone to prove that his love is important, and not easy to abandon." tbh acelu reminds me of my old D&D character, where basically, she was always pretty cheerful and resilient, but felt isolated—like she was always too alien to really relate to others. But then, this other character loved her as she is, and I think Ace did something similar for Luffy in the end? Like, in a world where Luffy never got Ace, I wonder if he'd still be as emotionally secure and kind. Probably! But... ahhh. This hc is more indulgent, but I really love the idea that Ace helps Luffy remember who he is beneath all the power and bravery. Where most of the One Piece world loves Luffy for being a liberator and a fearless captain, Ace loved him before all that—when he was just a kid who loved to laugh and share a meal and marvel at the world.

Oh my goddd I'm rambling. uuuuhhhh there's so much more, I love both when people write Ace as cool and suave, but also when he's a giant lovesick dork... The enemies/annoyance-to childhood friends-to lovers trope works in every world, I'd love to see it in AUs as like a bodyguard + celebrity/royalty plot, or arranged marriage—or pretty much, any story where Luffy wins Ace over with his terrifyingly stubborn love. I also love the fact that their dynamic is so playful!!! If an acelu fic/art doesn't imply that they can—and love—laughing together, then it's out of character to me. 😂

I don't know... they just have it all.... the depth and "I would die for you" level of devotion. But also the ridiculous "we're two feral gremlins who dare each other to eat doritos soaked in mountain dew" shenanigans. It's that mix of both.