#railroad roundabout au

[wysteriaisapenguin]

🐰Happy Bunny Day from Percy! 🐰

[arbitrarygreay]

MFS Division AU

Previously, I thought about a Division AU still in a world where witches exist, and the Accords happened after the World Wars, when espionage was the way for international conflict to play out. (Witch spy wars! It would be so good!)

This one is no-powers AU, because taking away the immortality aspect and having to then navigate the spans of generations to keep certain characters in the picture is more interesting.

So, Alder is still Percy, but a question of motivation does come into play, because Alder isn't driven by the same core ambition that Percy has. Maybe we tweak it so that Alder started out as Carla, and had to create Division when she got caught, but unlike Carla, didn't go away, and instead grew into buntzing out any challengers, including the original government partner. The Biddies, of course, are the Guardians of her Black Boxes.

The Bellweathers have to be volunteers rather than recruits, which means that they have to be either government or military. That maps them to either Michael or the Pierces. The Pierces allows for more family members (similar to the Scandal AU). But, the Bellweather line getting wiped out by the Camarilla could also help map Petra to Michael. (It would just no longer be a Kasim situation, unless we go with a much more roundabout fault via Division-->Spree-->Camarilla.)

Making the Bellweathers the Pierces makes it much more possible for Anacostia to become Michael, but the question becomes if she became Alder's foster child even before Division, or if Alder was just friends with her parents.

Anyways, as I said above, the ages and generations would get funky. As I noted in my PoI Nikita AU post, Roan's actor was 49 in 2010, and canonically would have been 35 when Division was founded. So, we have options. The show was set after 15 years of Division's existence.

For example, maybe Willa had Raelle as a teenager, and then got taken into Division just a few years later. That barely gives Raelle enough time to get old enough to be conscripted as a recruit, and for Willa to have escaped Division for a few years by then. Obviously this is much less possible for Petra, so she would simply have to be older than Willa in order for Raelle and Abigail to be similar ages. But then Abigail is definitely not Sean's age, so why would Petra let her near Division? Maybe Raelle and Tally's assignment during/after training is to come up through the military at Abigail's side, in order to further infiltrate the government.

The Cravens are an even weirder case to finagle. Like, Tally has to volunteer, right? So she has come in from the military, and somehow be in the know. Like the other members of the unit, the timeline simply prefers that Division is not that old (or Alder's age gets problematic), which means that their generation had to all be conceived before Division was founded, and yet for their parents to have worked there. Maybe the Cravens originally helped Alder back when she was Carla, in the social worker capacity? And then the transition into Division got some of them killed in various ways (some in power struggles like the how Amanda went after Carla, some from not learning opsec sufficiently). In this config, Tally and Anacostia would have known each other already.

Another possible setup ditches the dispensation backstory. Instead, Tally gets conscripted but very quickly drinks the Division/Alder Kool-aid, meaning the way its recruits supposedly get a better life and gain a more meaningful purpose than what they had before. Maybe Tally got conscripted from getting railroaded by a frame-up, and Alder offers her some vengeance after she's been burned by the system so. Tally said to Raelle in 1x1 that "You get to travel the world, do something great, protect the innocent," which mirrors what Robbie said in Nikita 1x7: "I'm gonna get to see the world. Fast cars, fancy hotels, Europe, Japan, whatever. […] They're training us to be James Bond. What's so bad about that?"

I think we have to dispense of Scylla's Dodger backstory. There are only so many characters we can excuse having parents related to Division. She's just straight-up Alex, a seemingly traditional Division recruit, who was actually sent in by the Spree. (Nicte, Nikita, it is fate lol!) Although, as with the Udinovs, we could have a slightly indirect parental Division connection, if they were collateral damage of a Division op, if that helps underline why Scylla joined the Spree.

The Imperatrix is Amanda! LMAO.

[bardic-inspo]

6, 18, and 19 for the meme! :D

Ahh thanks friend!! 

What character do you have the most fun writing?

Oh hmm, this is hard! I like that I get to rotate a fair amount. Mac’s ability to find a reason to grump or to just cut directly to the point without passing go is a relief sometimes. And Deacon is fun for almost the opposite reason, hehe. I think it’s close between those two. Deacon feels like a bit of a relief because I really only write him in post-game settings that are, for the most part, happier than what’s happening in BtG, even if he’s gotta like, do an emotional spiral about it. Gonna conclude roundabout answer by saying: Mac is my favorite to write in BtG, and Deacon is my favorite to write in Reclamations. 

Do any of your stories have alternative versions? (plotlines that you abandoned, AUs of your own work, different characterizations?) Tell us about them.

Oh shoot, I sort of rambled about this for a different question, but yes: The BtG Railroad AU. Nat gets recruited by Deacon into the Railroad in Chapter One instead of teaming up with Mac. I tend to think her and Mac never even meet in that version. I’ve never ended up writing an AU, so I tend to treat them more as choose-your-own-adventure daydreams than linear plotlines. I could see Nat and Deacon doing this awful silent longing thing and never fessing up. I could also see Nat and Glory getting together and meshing really well. Or both of those, for maximum bittersweetness. I also tend to think Nat would be a gigantic headache for Dez, dear god. 

Is there something you always find yourself repeating in your writing? (favourite verb, something you describe ‘too often’, trope you can’t get enough of?)

Oh gosh, I’m horribly repetitive when I’m drafting. One of my editing checks is just making a list of things I know/am worried I repeat and ctrl-finding through the doc to see if needs to be addressed or not. I think, in my current wip, one of the biggest offenders right now is brows pinching together. And everything is simmering, too, apparently. Goodness.

But my biggest repeat offender is probably breath/breathing descriptions or metaphors. With writing Mac, I wanted to put special emphasis on that as a sensory thing. I figured he’d be especially in tune to it as a sniper. But I tend to overuse and have to go weed out those moments sometimes.

A trope I can’t get enough of, hm. Probably lingering touches/light brushes. Lingering looks, too. Oof. 

[wysteriaisapenguin]

Edward, Henry, and Gordon all shine bright like diamonds. But Thomas is just a diamond in the rough.

Based on this image by @blueart2001

[wysteriaisapenguin]

Some Gords cause I suddenly have the urge to doodle him

[wysteriaisapenguin]

Emily is Rosie’s mom and you can’t convince me otherwise

Happy Emily Day!

[wysteriaisapenguin]

If only you two never left my side...

Here's my half of a collab I did with @shikariiin! She's an amazing artist with pretty art and a cool AU, so check her out if you can! Our collab's based on this base and Edward was our main subject.

Speaking of which, whoever could those hands be? Well, let's just say the Big Engine Strike was not a good time for poor Edward...

[wysteriaisapenguin]

Merry Christmas!!!🎄

After successfully delivering all the Christmas letters, Harold saved one more for Percy! And there's no need to send this one to Santa ❤️

'Letters to Santa' has got to be my favorite Christmas TTTE episode, mostly because we get to see these two interact again! It's so sweet to see them help each other out. I like to think at this point, they both matured in their own ways and take pride in the work they do. They also respect one another, but haven't had the chance to admit that they have feelings for each other. That is until one very special Christmas~💚🤍

[wysteriaisapenguin]

I realize I never had a human design for Oliver. So I think it's about time I do, especially for his day.

Here he is, the Little Westerner himself!

[wysteriaisapenguin]

Say hello to Rosie! What a sweet little rose 🌹

Some lore down below

As a teen, she was a HUGE fan of Thomas and loved hearing about his countless escapades as the driver of Sodor’s #1 engine. She hoped that one day, she could start working on the railway so that she can work along side him. When she was finally old enough, her dream came true! But to her disappointment, Thomas had quit and already left Sodor to travel the world. Even so, she is determined to follow in his footsteps and work hard with her new steam engine. Her peppy and enthusiastic energy brings a smile to everyone's faces, but they can't help but notice a striking resemblance to Thomas.

Like Thomas, she has two different uniforms that reflect her engine's livery and her status. She initially starts off with the overalls, but as she continues to do well, her engine receives a new coat of paint and she gains a more refined uniform. But she likes both outfits and will sometimes switch between them.

[wysteriaisapenguin]

Percy and Harold’s helpful guide on how to talk to short people!

[wysteriaisapenguin]

*gently knocks on door before opening*

What about James?

That's a good question, what about James?

I'd say he's doing alright! He may have faced a lot of ups and downs, but he's strong enough pull through them. After all, someone still needs to run that beautiful ✨splendid✨ red engine on the railway.

Even when the Steam Team had to go through some rearrangements, James stayed and is ready to set himself as an example for the newcomers. Gordon even gave him a new coat as a sign of recognition. It's going to be tough work, but it's nothing he can't handle.

[wysteriaisapenguin]

It’s not Thomas and Friends if they’re not making silly faces all the time 

[wysteriaisapenguin]

I don’t know how I feel about you…but everyone else does.

I wish I could have met you.

Inspired by this panel from Veil by @_K0TTERl_

[wysteriaisapenguin]

Percy loved his best friend more than anything. He promised that he will always be by his side.

So it broke his heart to watch him fall into a deep despair...

[wysteriaisapenguin]

"What's up Blue Puffball? I'm Diesel 10."

Some lore down below:

One day, a self-proclaimed diesel engineer suddenly appears on Sodor, causing havoc on the railways with a Class 42 diesel engine. This involves destroying tracks, vandalizing sheds, scavenging scrap, and terrorizing trucks. Thomas is the first person to meet this engineer and demands him to stop causing trouble. The engineer laughs at him, saying that “steamies are so out of date that they'll say anything to stay relevant”. He threatens Thomas that if he dared get in his way or tell anyone about him, he’ll have a nice “talk” with “Pinchy”, the menacing claw on his diesel engine. Thomas is terrified, but he knows he can’t let this rogue criminal do as he pleases. The engineer refers to himself as “Diesel 10”.

From then on, Thomas goes through an ongoing cycle trying to prevent Diesel 10 from causing confusion and delay before anyone else notices. While doing so, he is in constant dread of facing Pinchy and doesn't want anyone else to be hurt by Diesel 10. He especially does not want Percy to get involved, since his best friend is finally content with his work life. The last thing Thomas wanted was to accidentally hurt him again. So he tries to keep this dilemma to himself, but it takes a massive toll on him. While Diesel 10 sees this as all fun and games, Thomas becomes more paranoid and stressed out. This causes him to perform poorly at work and everyone starts to suspect that something is wrong with him. Not wanting to let them down, he would tell them not to worry and pretend that everything is fine. But he was starting to feel inferior again, fearing that he would soon be replaced by new hires if he continued to do worse.