#key (hk oc)

[dialoguelostloop]

adds a bunch more ocs to the ocdex. look. its fine. dont worry about it

(yes thats shiratama & the boys from heliotrope which you can read in @oficmag issue 3!)

please read my faq page! (tl;dr version: dont use my art for icons/graphics/whatever without getting my permission beforehand, dont tag as kin/me/whatever pls)

[goblinbugthing]

Bugthing’s brand-new Pinned Intro Post!!!!!!

Hi! I’m Bug, I’m a mentally ill emo artist and fic author. This is where I put my nonsense for you internet ppl to look at.

I’m transmasc, currently identifying as xenogender, and I use he/xey/it/they pronouns. Mutuals, and only mutuals, can use my other neos, blood/bleed and gore/gory. I’m solian/mspec veldian, fictoromantic, and fictosexual. Please respect that!!

Currently, I’m into Hollow Knight, the Kirby series, A Hat in Time, Bug Fables, Cult of the Lamb, Rain World, and Fate/Zero. Do be warned, though, I can fall out of these fandoms at any time — my interests are almost always fluctuating.

This blog is safe for minorities! (e.g. disabled ppl, LGBTQ+ ppl, BIPOC, Palestinians, etc.)

I am a minor. Don’t be weird.

Other stuff under the cut!

(divider gif via @/animatedglittergraphics-n-more)

My asks are open! Feel free to ask me stuff about my hyperfixations, or whatever you wanna know about me, as long as it’s not too personal.

Commissions are open! You can support me by purchasing one. Ko-Fi linked below!

My other socials:

My YouTube channel (I don’t upload much)

My Wattpad I can’t link for some reason. My @ is koko-the-ann0yance on there (I hardly ever touch this one)

My AO3 (All my fics live here now)

My TikTok (Why do I have this? I couldn’t tell you.)

My $$app (Consider supporting me and my reckless spending addiction)

My Ko-Fi (Commissions & tips!)

My other blogs:

@princes-creations-askblog — An askblog specifically for my OCs.

@ask-emporianroyals-au — My AHiT AU askblog.

@kirby-souljourney-au — My Kirby AU blog.

@hollowknightinsanity — My HK sideblog.

@kokothedrag0n — My RP blog, where I act as my sona.

Current works:

Kirby: Soul Journey — My Kirby AU fanfiction, taking place after Kirby and the Forgotten Land. (Read on Tumblr / Read on Wattpad / Read on AO3) (To be rewritten)

Kirby: Soul Journey oneshots collection — A set of oneshots created for K:SJ. (Read on Tumblr / Read on Wattpad / Read on AO3) (To be rewritten)

Hollow Knight: Empty Promises — A set of fics created for my base Hollow Knight AU, Empty Promises. (Read on AO3 / Wattpad link to be added)

My tag key:

#buggie’s rambles — Text posts

#buggie’s randoms — Nonsense stuff! In other words, my homemade memes

#buggie’s doodles — Doodles and sketches

#buggie’s characters — OC stuff

#buggie’s creations — Proper artwork

#buggie’s creations (in the making) — Work-in-progress artworks

#buggie’s building paradise — All my Minecraft build stuff :3 (here’s a list of all the mods i use if you want em)

#buggie’s stories — My original writing

#buggie’s answers — My answered asks

#buggie’s polls — Self-explanatory. My polls

#buggie’s queue — The Very Rare Queued Posts (the only one unaffected by the name change)

#buggie’s stims — Stuff I stim to

#buggie’s sluttery — A tag I made specifically for my ace friends to block so they don’t get suggestive content on their dash. Also known as my hornyposting. Please block this tag if you don’t wanna see suggestive stuff!

#buggie irl — IRL pics of me, mostly just my gender euphoria

#saved 4 serotonin production — My comfort tag

#quicksave — Stuff I want to look at later

#important — Self-explanatory. Important stuff

#semi-important — I’m honestly not sure, just scroll through the tag if you want an idea, because I can’t describe it myself

#besties doodles — Art from my mutuals

#besties rambles — Ramblings from my mutuals

#other’s art (it’s awesome) — Other people’s awesome art

#other’s rambles (sick af) — Other people’s sick af rambles (I tend to forget to use this one…)

#bbg tag — Posts both by me and by other people about my F/Os

#images that describe my gender — My gender envy tag. Don’t question the stuff that’s in there.

I tag triggers with #cw (trigger).

I tag OCs with #oc: (oc).

If I make any new tags (or remember any ones I forgot), this section will be updated!

Also, please keep in mind that tumblr is a bit fucky and sometimes doesn’t show posts under tags for some reason! Some posts might have my old tags on them.

DNI list:

If any of these fit you, do not interact with my blog.

Pro//shippers

NSFW blogs (I scroll through every blog that follows me. I don’t wanna see that.)

TERFs

Transphobes, homophobes, racists, ableists, sexists, misogynists, antisemites, etc.

H//arry P//otter enjoyers (I fucking hate J.K. Row//ling and all her works.)

D//anganronpa-specific blogs (Very sorry — this is just a big trigger for me.)

People who support Israel’s genocide of Palestinians (Stay FAR away from me.)

People who ship The Knight/Ghost and the Grimmchild (I mean, you do you, but I don’t wanna. See that. Feels weird.)

A//I “art” supporters (this includes A//I generated anything. Text, music, images, ANYTHING. Go away.)

H//azbin fans (😐)

And I believe that’s it! Enjoy your time here :)

[hollowknightinsanity]

Welcome to Bugtism

Finally after a year, this blog has a proper pinned post

HELLO bug game likers it is me, the Bug Thing, here with a pinned post. Finally.

My name is Bugthing (or just Bug for short), I use he/xey/it/they pronouns. I Am The Bug Mod. This is a funky little sideblog I made over a year ago to post Hollow Knight stuff, but it has since evolved into Hollow Knight AND Bug Fables.

My main blog is @goblinbugthing; follow me there for a vast variety of other Nonsense.

Note: I AM A MINOR. Don’t be gross or I will send you to ADOFAI custom chart dimension.

Everything else under the cut!!! 🦗🦟🦗🦟🦗🦟🦗🦟

Asks r open :)))) if you have any questions abt my AUs go ahead and ask!!! I love talking!!!!!

Socials:

youtube

toyhouse (VERY unused bc I constantly forget to start learning html)

wattpad

ao3

tiktok (don’t know why I have this one)

ko-fi (comms soon YEEHAW)

$$app — $goblinbugthing

Other blogs:

@princes-creations-askblog — To-be-reworked OC blog.

@ask-emporianroyals-au — Mostly abandoned AHiT AU blog.

@kirby-souljourney-au — Kirby AU blog (in the midst of working on a fic for it!!)

@buggiethedrag0n — RP blog

AU rundowns:

Hollow Knight: Empty Promises — My main AU. Crossover between HK and BF:TES. Follows the main story of HK, mostly focused on THK (Holly) and their relationship with PK (Chrysanthus).

Hollow Knight: Twins of Void — Branch-off “what if” AU. Based on the concept of THK (Diligence) saving the Knight (Purity) from falling, unlike in canon. Shenanigans ensue. (To be reworked)

Hollow Knight: Reign of Light — Another branch-off “what if” AU. Based on the concept of THK (Moon) escaping the Black Egg with the Radiance (Sun) and usurping Hallownest. (To be reworked)

Tag key:

#*normal sounds* — Text posts

#funny silly art — Original art

#hk normalcy — Hollow Knight posts

#normal asks with normal answers — Asks

#normal polls — Polls

#completely normal writing — Original writing/fics

#hk:ep — Empty Promises AU posts

#hk:tov — Twins of Void AU posts

#hk:rol — Reign of Light AU posts

#hk:ep refs — Ref sheets for Empty Promises characters

#other ppl’s hk normalcy — Other peoples’ HK posts

I tag AU variants of canon characters with #hk:ep (character), #hk:tov (character), and #hk:rol (character), along with their in-game names.

I tag triggers with #cw (trigger).

I tag OCs with #oc: (oc).

DNI list:

Pr0shipp3rs

NS//FW blogs (ion wanna see that)

TERFs

Transphobes, homophobes, racists, ableists, sexists, misogynists, antisemites, zionists, etc.

H4rry P0tt3r fans

D4ng4nr0np4-specific blogs (big trigger go away pls)

Israel supporters (ew)

Ghost/Grimmchild shippers (I just don’t like it)

AI supporters (that goes for AI-generated ANYTHING. Text, music, art, pics, anything at all generated by AI. Fuck off)

H4zb1n/H3lluv4 fans (I Don’t Trust You.)

Das it I think :) enjoy bugs

[just-patchy]

C for the alphabet soup ask ? :)

Thanks for the ask! :3c for my sanity sake I’ll be sticking with my twst ocs, though I’ve also included my wip babies (and breaking my own rules of reserving my wna girls for my wna blog bc i don’t talk about them enough www)

Cetus Larimar

3rd year in Octavinelle and I made him only bc i wanted a whale shark merfolk oc. He’s a big boi and a little pookie. I’m not sure if I ever posted his UM but he does have one according to my drafts, it’s just nameless bc I couldn’t think of a name yet.

Shi Canlong

3rd year of my WIP fandorm Qilin, was the former dorm head until Yanque (2nd year, current dorm head) fought him for the position and won. He’s adopted and raised in a strict family so he’s actually pretty hard-working, he’s just also an arrogant lil shit (lol). I like to think of him as a bit of an honest guy

Calla Megrez

2nd year in Monarchia WNA (Az’s fanschool). I ended up developing her quite a bit in terms of trivia because it was really fun to do a “wild child” character. I also did a Black Clover AU for her because of it (the “wild child” aspect) since hierarchy and social class is a major theme in Black Clover, I thought it would be interesting to see how someone who’s generally rather removed from such social classes (due to being a bit of a societal outcast) would function.

Celestia Vikare

1st year WIP in Kriegskald and based off of Icarus! She’s a child genius who got into WNA early (13) and is basically a lil shit www a very typical ore-sama type character who gets super defensive when criticised but if you praise her it’ll go straight to her head (lol). She just does whatever she wants so she’s always getting in trouble

Clair Moreau

Vice dorm head of Lyrania (my fanschool WOA) and based off of the violin princess from Music Land. He’s canonically shipped with Lula (dorm head and based off of the alto saxophone prince) and is gnc. He’s generally pretty reserved but also a bit of a violin/strings instrument freak (specifically the actual strings. He likes pressing on those). I think I named him after the Clair de Lune?

Calixto Fynderne

2nd year based off of Narcissus, originally for Key’s fanschool PSU but like idk what to do with him lol, he’s neighbours with Lauren (WNA girl based off of Echo) and was her first crush but didn’t work out. Since most of his parasocial fans are girls his age, he’s not very good with women. His favourite food is also not disclosed for related reasons. He’s an awkward kid who loves himself much more than others, but you just need a lot of patience and maybe a bit of masochism to get him to open up www

Cosmo Dorado

1st year for Lizz’s fanschool DIE and based off of the Grizzly Gulch in HK Disneyland. He’s a very happy-go-lucky (emphasis on lucky) kid and honestly I almost had Komaeda in mind while I was making him because his talent is luck (except he doesn’t have the luck cycle that Komaeda does, he’s more like Naegi, though I also based him off of Uno from Nanbaka and unintentionally Orias from Iruma). Another problematic kid that does whatever tf he wants, but he looks up to the dorm head :3c

Claude Avenant

Music teacher and residential manipulative hag of NRC based off of Maestro Forte. Formerly a bigshot in classical music but retired and currently teaching as a bit of a hobby. I think I gave him a cane because Maestro Forte as an organ is bolted to the wall, so a human twisted from him would probably have mobility issues? It probably would have made more sense to make him paralysed to some extent but Maestro Forte is basically part of the room he was in because of all the stuff that’s connected so like???? The only thing that moves is his face and keys???? I don’t know man

Callista Lebeau

Librarian/Teacher at WNA and based off of Belle/Beauty (both Disney and original version). I think I had something I wanted to plan between her and Vargas due to their inspos but it’s been so long I forgor. According to age-old discord messages her sisters are like, guest teachers at WNA from time to time because ✨plot devices✨

[princes-creations-askblog]

Upgraded Pinned Post!!

(I have to do this with all my blogs now…)

Hello!! My name is Bugthing, I’m the mod for this blog. This is a side account dedicated entirely to my non-fandom OCs, including my sona, Lord/Lady Nebulis/Yk, Ancient Mother Galactica/Vuu’yk, and many more.

My main is @goblinbugthing — for other content and too many reblogs, follow me there!

Both my sona and I use he/xey/it/they pronouns interchangeably. My mutuals can refer to me with blood/bleed and gore/gory. Please keep that in mind!

This blog is safe for minorities! (e.g. LGBTQ+ people, disabled people, BIPOC, Palestinians, etc.)

I AM A MINOR. Don’t be weird.

More under the cut!

(Dividers via @/animatedglittergraphics-n-more)

Asks are currently open! Send in any asks directed towards/regarding my characters and stuff.

My socials:

YouTube

Wattpad

AO3

TikTok

$$app

Ko-Fi

My other blogs:

@ask-emporianroyals-au — AHiT AU askblog

@kirby-souljourney-au — Kirby AU sideblog

@hollowknightinsanity — HK-specific sideblog

@buggiethedrag0n — RP blog dedicated to my sona

I have no currently released original works. On my AO3, I do have my Kirby AU fic + oneshots and my HK AU fics.

Please read and leave kudos if you’re interested!

Tag Key:

#ooc post — posts out-of-character.

#(character) posting — posts created specifically regarding the named character.

#nebulis’ concepts — concepts for characters, animals, and other things.

#character antics — skits and shitposts.

#universe storyline — lore posts.

#multiversal post — reblogs of my other AUs.

#nebulis’ art — original art.

#your question has been answered! — answered asks.

#unrelated sillies — posts unrelated to the stories.

#nebulis’ polls — polls.

#mod likes talking — text posts.

I tag triggers with #cw (trigger)

I tag OCs with #oc: (oc)

(This is to be updated later with fixed tags. I’m too tired to do it now.)

DNI list:

Pr0sh1ppers

NSFW blogs

TERFs

Transphobes, homophobes, racists, ableists, sexists, misogynists, antisemites, etc.

H@rry P0tt3r fans

D@ng@nr0np@-specific blogs

People in support of Israel’s genocide of Palestinians

AI “art” supporters (i will personally amputate your arms.) (this goes for ai generated ANYTHING.)

H@zb1n fans (😐)

That’s all, I believe! Go ahead and do whatever!

[darkautodraws]

Lua redesign + @chipper-smol​‘s Pleasant Beginnings AU.

[eggobuggo]

So a synopsis of that AU I displayed is in order. All of it will be beneath the cut.

I will also put out the references once I am done with this.

Okay so it is a Beauty and the Beast au and I made that clear the first time but I will go over what is going on.

So there once was a royal family a Lurien is the son of the king and queen making him the prince. One day his parents travel off to meet other families to discuss royal matters with them and they trust their son in taking care of the castle.

He does well until he really annoys Soul Master (his name is Namata in this) and accidentally destroyed his dreams. In fury Soul Master builds up a plan and works with Radiance, who is a powerful witch in the woods, to curse him with a powerful curse.

Now to get in the place Soul Master collects up a group of soul warriors to distract the guards to get him to Lurien and when does he cursed him to become a huge butterfly beast. Now Soul Master leaves the tower cursing all that remained inside.

Those who remained inside were:

Marissa, a songstress who only came for a day to entertain in the lounge.

Emilitia, another entertainer who also works in an office in the castle.

Cas,( also known by HK players as the Collecter) a station guard who most definitely has ADHD and is just a quirky individual.

Rus,(he is the love key husk) a cleaner who yearns to be an astrologer also is best friends with Cas.

Poggy Thorax, his real name is Pageo but Poggy is easier, he cooks for the castle and he also wasn’t meant to be here forever but now he is.

Glea,(more well known as the Gorgeous husk): is a snobby but sweet aristocrat who volunteered to help design clothing in the royal family.

Pajett, a watcher knight who was determined to fulfill her job to show her loyalty, she is now dating Sota.

Sota, a great husk sentry who didn’t expect to enjoy being a patrol guard but she did, she is dating Pajett.

Belvedere, lemm’s father and Lurien’s royal tutor when he was a kid. He is a chill guy and has memorised each book in the library’s first three pages.

Tenna, a dish washer who longs to be something more, he keeps moping about how he is forgettable, he is also a baker.

Bixbee, an 18 year old in an 8 year olds body in present day. They look cute but they are quite feisty and really don’t like it when you mention that they are cute.

Vienne, Bixbee’s mom, she works in the castle garden tending to the plants, she loves here kid and has a short temper.

Donn, a previous soul warrior who’s clumsiness got him stuck with the others, he has a good heart but he is a little thick headed. He is close to Belvedere due to their fascination in books.

Celeus, Lurien’s butler and his childhood friend, her job is to report news to the top, she is timid and polite and generally wants to keep order.

Finally we have Lurien, the prince of the isle. He is gloomy but polite. He has anger issues which need taming but generally he will go out of his way to protect the others as he believes it is in his duties to repay them for what he brought upon them.

Now these 15 spend ten years in this castle that is until one day a certain man comes in.

PK ( his name is Albaver in this) is brought to the doors when one day his wife does not come home and much like in the thing this is based after he takes her place in the castle but due to how polite he was he is deemed guest.

Now you can guess how it goes. He starts of distant until one day he stupidly goes up to the top floor (this AU’s equivalent of the west wing) and gets caught but gets saved by the Beast (Lurien) and this causes romance to start brewing, within this we also get character development and tons of pining.

After all this we will have the iconic dance scene and the mob and of course a kiss on the lips to cure the curse and boom they are human again.

With the main plot out of the way, some side things to bring out. Now the castles curse locks them in the castle and the garden behind a magical barrier. There is plenty characters I could bring into this but I would prefer not to right now and tons of areas and magic that I also don’t go too into depth. Another little thing I will bring up is that it is in the time era of 1700’s

Now that is all I will put in this, there will be more to put later.

[winterwoodragon]

Drew up some refs for my Hollow Night Ocs!

Key uses a key as a weapon, but I forgot to draw it,, They can glide, but not fly! They mostly hang around Greenpath and Dritmouth

Leaf is a weaver who survived the infection, and they enjoy scurrying around in small tunnels down in deepnest

Gemm is a vessel in the crystal peak, they are slowly being overgrown with gemms!

[transmogrified-in-the-void]

Silks holds the Grimmchild charm close to their body as they walk to the main tent. They had been Summoned here, to this cold and desolate land, and that means that Grimm must be given the charm holding his blood and fire. They made sure to rest briefly before coming, one must always be ready to perform, and such a journey is hard on their body. 

They cross the threshold into the main part of the tent, where they usually hold performances. And where Grimm will meet with the Summoner. Instead of seeing Grimm waiting for them to arrive, they see him with his head bowed down, not in respect, but in pain. In front of the Troupe Master is a bright and metallic green bug with translucent wings folded across their back. In one of their claws is a long, sharp nail, dripping with glowing red blood. 

Silks carefully hides away the Grimmchild within the folds of their cloak and pulls their staff from their body. They look at Grimm and nod, and he disappears. They are the protector of the next line. This Summoner is not worthy. 

The bug turns around, their antenna and eyes showing their bee heritage. 

“You want to challenge me, runt?” They spit at Silks, who makes no move. They are the protector of the next line. “Your funeral.”

The bee charges at Silks with blinding speed, but Silks is faster. They grab one of the silk scarves that was set up from their last performance, and rise. Here, they are free. They are graceful. They are powerful. 

The bee flies up to meet Silks, lunging with their nail. Silks moves around them, hitting one of their legs and crushing it. The bee screams, but continues to fly. 

They try to cut down the scarves, and Silks elegantly lets go of them and jumps. When they are above the bee, they position themselves to face downwards with the staff out, and become a ball of fire. They will protect the child.

The bee staggers up and attacks again, which Silks steps aside from, and unleashes a string of fire onto them. The bee collapses, crying out. Silks walks up to the bee, looking down at them. 

“Please.” They beg, coughing. “Let me walk away. I surrender.”

The staff goes up, and swings down.

They will protect the child.

[disheveledapathy]

Some hollow knight vessel oc doodles featuring a new friend, a friend we already know and their twin, and a "Joc isnt slick" trio

[inksymerengues]

I love this lil bastard so here i drawed him since on a group of friends they decided im sly

You guys know it draw yourselfes yo x)

[askvoid-auntsand-uncle]

Unpleasant memories 

[freezinglemur]

Art?

At 6 in the morning my time?

More likely than you think!

So this is a pfp for a thing I’m doin’ and it has my second sona character named Abyss! They’re called F.L. or Opal though when I use them to speak but I needed to give this OC a different name for when they’re just a “normal” character or else there’d be 4 or 5 Opals in my strange multiverse-

Anyhow, they’ll be getting a ref soon-ish along with Five! (Because I’m finally getting off my butt and doin’ that)

Aight, Imma go make more art because I can and no one’s stopping me and I have that “I pulled an all-nighter” motivation.

[karen360-x3]

Art Trad with KorosuMegami on DA

Thank you for proposin this art trade ^^

I had alot of fun drawing your HK OC

Her DA: https://www.deviantart.com/korosumegami2

Her part of the art trade (I f*cking love it <3): https://www.deviantart.com/korosumegami2/art/Kei-Art-Trade-846472670

[voidendron]

Okay so

for V’ehsz Legacy canon Synnda obviously (ironically? considering it’s V’ehsz Legacy??) isn’t Outlander. that means he ends up meeting Koth under different circumstances

well. I’m thinking Synnda was part of the rescue mission to free the Outlander, so that’s where he knows Koth from, was on the Gravestone with them on Asylum blah blah blah

buuuut OC Synnda is super super awkward and not at all smooth and wouldn’t know how to flirt unlike in-game Synnda.

(un)fortunately he ends up befriending and actually becoming really close to Qizulth (Darth Nox) once he joins up with the Alliance to the point I’m heavily considering having them as a QPR. 

he notices his buddy Synnda totally has a crush and goes into I’m Your Wingman Whether You Like It Or Not mode

well. turns out he’s a Horrible wingman

Key is a Dramatic Bastard Who Causes Problems On Purpose(tm) and probably makes things even more awkward but it’s also really endearing because he’s the supposedly terrifying Darth Nox who electrocutes his problems and eats ghosts for breakfast and here is giving his sweetheart of a Jedi buddy nudges and side eyes to “Go talk to him!!”

pair that with HK-55 also playing wingman and HK-51 just being blunt about his master having a crush and it’s a total mess but it’s also cute and actually ends up working out??

because you can’t tell me that Koth doesn’t notice and just kinda “Hey. Before Nox causes A Scene I think you and I have something to talk about” while grinning knowingly because this is Koth we’re talking about

hi yes I have Feelings about Synnda being awkward and Key wanting to be a Good Friend even if he doesn’t really understand romance

[atelier-dayz]

The Conception and History of AtaLao

This is just a post for me to ramble on about how Ata and Lao (and Asha but he’s like 1/2 not an OC) got started as OCs and recount some of their history leading up to their roles in Under the Desert Sky. So for the one or two of you interested in reading this:��

(GIF from awhiteshirt)

It’s long and convoluted so everything is under the ‘read more’ link.

Otherwise, just carry on scrolling through your dash! 8D

The Beginning

To talk about the start of AtaLao, I first need to talk (briefly) about Rogue One and The Lost Bladesman. 

So I watched Rogue One and fell deep into Chirrut/Baze. That of course meant watching movies that Donnie Yen (DY) and Jiang Wen (JW) were in, which included The Lost Bladesman. 

The Lost Bladesman was set during China’s Three Kingdoms period and starred DY as Guan Yu (GY) and JW as Cao Cao (CC). And lemme just say, in this movie (and in several other Romance of the Three Kingdoms adaptations, including at least one of the Dynasty Warriors games), CC is HELLA THIRSTY for GY. Which kicked off an interest in CC/GY and led me and two friends to evocates’ phenomenal Romance of the Three Kingdoms/The Lost Bladesman series a guide to (dis)honouring your deities which had an interesting approach to A/B/O. 

Between that fic series and the many Hong Kong triad films and old “classic” HK films we watched, my friends and I ended up writing an A/B/O HK Triad AU in which CC was the head of a recently resurrected triad trying to protect/build up their home-city, while GY was one of the few good cops in a (obviously) corrupt system. 

Anyways, getting to the AtaLao part... 

On the left is General Zhang Liao, who acts as CC’s right-hand man in The Lost Bladesman. So naturally, he became CC’s second-in-command in our Triad AU! And look! He is, in fact, Asha! 8D Hence why I say Asha technically is and isn’t an OC LOL

As our Triad AU grew bigger, we added three “elders” to CC’s triad, people who had been important members of the triad before its collapse (due to the police) and were pulled back out of hiding when CC resurrected the triad. One of them, we decided, would be Elder (Ata) Zhang, Asha’s father. (Which was how CC also met Asha.) Elder Zhang had been The Accountant for the triad pre-collapse, knew where all the money in the triad was and went, highly trusted and held in high esteem. He was never arrested by the police, though they did pull him into interrogation once with...not great results for them. (Keeping this PG with minimal violence LOL I can talk about this another time if anyone is interested.)

I, on a whim, decided Elder Zhang’s facecast would be...

Tony Leung because it’s Tony Leung. 

CC had his work cut out convincing Elder Zhang and Asha to support his bid for lead of the triad. *nods*

But what happened to Elder Zhang’s mate? Asha’s other parent? (Lao?) 

(Aside: Andy Lau as his facecast because I LOVE HIM. And he and Tony Leung have SUCH AMAZING CHEMISTRY and ALL THE FODDER for me to use for inspiration, but I’ll stop myself here before I pic spam.)

WELL. 

He died when Asha was about 5 or 6. He was shot and killed by the police while he and Ata were out on a date under suspicion of being a triad member. (”He has the face of a gangster,” they said.) The irony is, he is actually a normal civilian, a low-level architect, and has nothing to do with the triad other than being Ata’s husband.

Thus, by the time our AU took place, Lao hadn’t been present for...over 30 years and was only rarely referenced as a near mythical figure. (;﹏;)

So there we have the beginnings of AtaLao. 

Their backstory makes me incredibly sad all the time. Especially when I think about their childhood/courtship and their dreams and plans for their future. I have lots of art drawn, content made, and thousands of words written for them so just say the word and I’ll share LOL

Proper AtaLao

What do I mean by ‘proper’ AtaLao? Well, when we were working on the Triad AU, none of the characters outside of the canon characters GY, CC, etc had names; we just abbreviated actors’ names. (Asha was just called Zhang. Ata was Elder Zhang. Lao was AL.)

Sooo that brings me back to Rogue One and....

The Ascension of the Lord of Imwe *jazz hands*

With so much inspiration material thanks to the movies DY and JW were in (and because I’m a martial arts nut), I started writing a Chirrut/Baze epic wuxia AU titled the above. It involved Chirrut inheriting the title of Lord (Baze as his right-hand / retainer), a power struggle between households to gain/hold the favor of the Emperor, and the Imwe household working to prove the murder of Chirrut’s father. (It is not posted anywhere. Don’t think it’ll ever see the light of day, but it exists. LOL) 

Since the story involved such a huge cast, I thought, why not pull in Zhang to help Baze with security. And if I’m gonna bring in Zhang, I should bring in Ata and Lao! And give them a happy ending. ;u;

And as it turned out, Ata worked perfectly to serve as a parallel for Chirrut (and AtaLao for Chirrut/Baze). 

(And this part, you’ll notice, I took to fill in his backstory in Under the Desert Sky.) Ata Zhang was the firstborn son of a prominent family, but he was born mute (a reference to an...incident in Triad AU) and treated poorly because of it. He would have been selected to inherit the family title, but was passed over for his “normal” younger brother. He took over the family’s bookkeeping (a reference to his role as The Accountant), and later, bowed to their wishes to an arranged marriage, from which he got Asha. 

(Chirrut is the firstborn son of the Imwe family, fully expected not to inherit the title because of his originally sickly constitution and failing eyesight. To the surprise and consternation of many, he did in fact inherit the title.)

As for Lao, he was an orphan taken in by the Zhang family and initially raised to be a servant, before they switched him to security. He met Ata when they were tiny children, and he accidentally found Ata crying over the way people were treating him. Lao ended up promising to always protect Ata, and eventually becomes Ata’s personal bodyguard. 

Please know there’s a LOT of PINING, and longing looks, and knowing they have feelings for each other but never acting on them, and then there’s Ata’s marriage, and baby Asha imprinting like a duckling on Lao, and-- aaaaaaaaah (　ﾟДﾟ)＜!!!!!!!!!!!

Eventually though, as I reference in Under the Desert Sky, Ata’s wife leaves, causing a scandal, and the family takes their displeasure out on Asha, which is the last straw for Ata. He takes Asha and leaves, but of course Lao goes with him. They finally work things out, and when we see them in the fic, they’re an old(ish) married couple who joined the Imwe household along with Asha to protect Ata from his younger brother, who is trying to assasinate him to secure his leadership in the family. 

That is AtaLao. 

(Please look at this picture of them that my dear friend Kei / kannibal on here and twitter drew for me and that has been my phone wallpaper ever since. ♡ฅ(ᐤˊ꒳ฅˋᐤ♪))

And since they already were in a fic with Chirrut and Baze, I figured, why not include them in Under the Desert Sky, an actual SW divergent AU and not just something wildly AU LOL And it works out perfectly as a pseud-parallel(?) with Ata as a Guardian, Lao as a Mando vs Obi as a Jedi, Jango the Mando. d(￣◇￣)b

Other Existing Iterations of AtaLao

I will keep this brief in the form of bullet points:

Infernal Affairs AU - After watching Infernal Affairs, I had to, had to write a mash up of it and our Triad AU. In it, Ata is still an accountant for the Triad, but was planted by the police. Lao is the mole the triad places among the police. Ata and Lao have a sort of missed connection history when they meet in the fic. I do want to finish it someday because I love what I have written so far. Maybe for the zine I’m hypothetically making one day...

In addition to Triad AU, we also ended up creating an epic high fantasy/Three Kingdoms AU and made two additional variations on top of it. The Main AU involved Lao as a High Priest and healer who ends up mentoring one of the Emperors’ daughters in the healing arts, while Ata is a major in the Emperor’s army who ends up leading a lot of supernatural investigations alongside Lao. 

Modern AU is a urban fantasy version of the high fantasy AUs, with everyone in similar roles, just updated for the modern age. 

AAAAND THAT’S IT. I’ll do a post on AtaLao in Under the Desert Sky sometimes since I know their backstory won’t be much of a focus in the fic. :)

PS I ended up making a little diagram to make sense of the AUs that ended up popping up in what order and from what influence. Not sure it’s actually helpful to anyone but here is it: