#TMFoAS

[that-guy-sleepy-miles]

LET'S GO, WE'RE FINALLY AT MY FAVORITE!!! Not my favorite artwork though, yeesh.

This is Aizawa's fourth major undercover identity, Zukyō. She's more often referred to as Mama-san (a woman in a position of authority, especially one in charge of a geisha house or bar).

She works at Club Symbol, a small club in the red-light district. The place is frequented by villains and people who run in those circles, so Aizawa's job is to pick up on conversations had with the girls. Aizawa was sent there instead of a female Pro Hero because of worries for a woman's safety in such a situation. (Irony ensues, as Aizawa becomes a female pro hero who is a woman. But that's a story for another day.)

This look is achieved via shapewear, a corset, some silicone assistance, a look into drag, and a hint of anime magic. Most people don't notice his more masculine features because of the dark lighting and his undercover makeup, and anyone who notices, as well as the hostesses, think the Mama-san is trans. The hostesses act accordingly and protect her femininity with their lives. The character traits of Zukyō/Mama-san are based on Midnight, strict teachers, a few businesswomen Aizawa has met, and Aizawa himself.

Zukyō's 'quirk' is called Glare. The idea is that any stare from her is intimidating to anyone (perhaps enough to even make their quirk stop working out of fear). It's used as a cover for Erasure, but most often it's just Aizawa's normal scary faces.

And she is. The love of my life. I have drawn her the most, I have written the most ficlets about her, I have thought about her the most. I will be posting the hostesses separately, because this is a ZUKYO POST about ZUKYO goddamnit!

Also she's Hizashi's fake wife, but that's a long story. Everyone say, "Thank you, Nezu!"

[fjmarchive]

there's no way lmfaooo

[ahmedmootaz]

Is the reason that X only has 10 years to live at all related to the Script, which went on for only 10 years in the outside world?

Dear Anonymous,

First of all, apologies for the late reply! I was a little busy these days, so I apologise for responding so late!

To be honest, I originally intended to have a few scenes that delve deeply into X's lifespan, but then I began writing AiP when I thought it would be a short spin-off in my main PM AU. After AiP grew to its current length, I decided to abandon the "main sequel" that I had planned for TMFoA, but the reason X's lifespan would be limited to those ten years is because of the constant repeats and reconstructions of his body over and over until the body itself became frail and weak. I chose the 10 year mark arbitrarily, but I think it fits well with the theme of 10000 years passing within the Corporation and 10 years passing in the outside world, like a price that X has to pay on top of everything he already gave for enduring for so long.

If you have any further questions, feel free to ask them! Once again, thank you for your kind ask, Anon, and until next time, take care, and see ya'!

[dpfagency]

TAHA . . . . . #tmfoa #taqwa #muslim #islam #dakwah #fearofallah #quran #quotesi… TAHA . . . . . #tmfoa #taqwa #muslim #islam #dakwah #fearofallah #quran #quotesislam #tbt #quotes #love #instagood #me #prayer #pray #islamic #islamicquotes #islamicreminders #ramadan #ramadhan #fasting #inspirationalquotes #inspiration #stayathome Source

[that-guy-sleepy-miles]

The rate at which I make Aizawa MHA trans is crazy

[that-guy-sleepy-miles]

Whoooh boy, this is old! But whatever.

An action pose for Aizawa's third undercover identity in TMFoAS: Cheshire, canonically called Chesha (チェシャー).

Cheshire was an infiltration agent for the HPSC; he joined villainous organizations as a member of their ranks and took them down from the inside. Like Hawks with the LOV, but far more discrete and on the inside. Anybody the villians sent him to kill was put in witness protection. At least... they were. The Cheshire storyline took a darker turn that focused on the shady underbelly of the HPSC and how they'd apparently use pro heroes to take out other pros. (Aizawa tended to be "unsuccessful" on those missions. I wonder why.) I don't know if I'd keep that in these days, but I might toy with it in my mind.

The main focus of Cheshire's arc was going to be the villain gangs he hung around. These two villains—Titan and Man-Spider—actually aren't from the gang he was infiltrating, but a rival gang.

I'll explain Chesh himself more below the cut.

Cheshire's character traits are based on the Cheshire Cat from "Alice in Wonderland" and some of the less-than-sane villains Aizawa had come across. The reason for the storybook influence was the fact that most villains, consciously or not, have a 'theme'. Cheshire has a Pseudobulbar Affect to match this theme, in the same way Ingenious "has" palilalia. "In-character", this affect is the reason Cheshire took up the "Cheshire Cat" persona. The design reason is in order to give Cheshire a "defining villain trait", because those bitches are never fucking normal. The "Horikoshi-esque" reason is that he's the Joker, baby.

Cheshire's quirk is "Half-Cat", nicknamed "Neko", and is accomplished using prosthetics. The ears and tail have a core on the inside that is made of the same stuff as his capture weapon, and the paws are all linked to the movement of his fingers and toes; this way he can move them freely like an actual mutant could. Aizawa had to do a lot of training (especially on flexibility and being aware of himself) and research on cat movements, but he didn't mind because he got to watch cats and pretend to be a cat.

[that-guy-sleepy-miles]

This one is actually cropped from a bigger drawing of all 4 of them, hence why it's both crunched and there's more art peeking out from the side.

Meet Matosō Dokuna, better known (and really only known) as Ingenious. I never drew him enough, but he was definitely one of my favorites. He and Cheshire are in a constant battle for second place, but I think Ingenious has him beaten out just a little bit.

Ingenious had the least story written, but I think he had the best-formed concept and character. He was very eccentric and pretty frail—though nobody knew if he always had a cold or flu, or if he was chronically ill. This unknown health status was a way for Aizawa to wear a face mask, hiding his face! Aizawa also wears contacts as Ingenious, which makes his quirk harder to use but makes him harder to recognize. Hiding the lower half of his face, contacts, and hair extensions are just a few of his tricks for undercover! We're in a world with quirks, there are so many options!

Ingenious "had" palilalia—a rare speech disorder characterized by the involuntary repetition of one's own phrases, words, or syllables two or more times in a row. (It's important to note that he is a character being played in-universe, and thus does not "have" any disorders.) I didn't know that was a real thing when coming up with the concept for him, but now I do and will be doing lots of research!

Ingenious was a villain costume and support weapon designer who worked in the black market. Support weapon design was a lucrative business, that more often than not led right to the heart of a villain organization.

More on that under the cut.

Ingenious was taken in by different villain groups to design costumes and support items, which allowed him to gather information on them and groups working closely with or against them. In the newer years, villains have forgone professional costumes, but back when Ingenious was on the scene, nobody was a proper villain without an official look. Maybe that was because of propaganda on the HPSC's part, but you'd never know. (He's been retired for quite some years now. R.I.P. Ingenious, you'd have loved Stain and the costumes he inspired.)

Ingenious's designs were originally provided by the HPSC, but eventually, the iffy costumes and lackluster support items (the mission wasn't a top priority and they didn't particularly want to give villains great support) being delivered began to make Ingenious the least profitable in the market. Aizawa realized the mission could not continue like this, so he began to design the costumes and support items himself. After Aizawa's hard work on researching trends in villain appearances and learning how to do some very basic figure drawing (both with a bit of help from some associates), Ingenious was top of the market. Dokuna's character traits were based on Present Mic, villains Aizawa had come across, and the over-the-top characters in dramas (Aizawa was bored while researching).

Ingenious's "quirk" is called "Materialize" and is similar to Yaoyorozu Momo's "Creation", except everything he creates takes the actual amount of time a 3D printer would. This allows him to take hours or even days to himself without people bothering him because he's "still materializing" and if they bother him too much, he can't focus on making good quality materials.

Oh, also, he loves Barbie.

[that-guy-sleepy-miles]

Hey, everyone! I've been in a creative slump recently, so I decided I'll be posting some of my older work for a project I kind of abandoned: The Many Faces of Aizawa Shōta (TMFoAS).

It was going to be a comic that followed Aizawa going undercover over the years to apprehend different villains and gain knowledge for the HPSC.

This is Aizawa's first undercover identity, "Shout". He's about 18-19 when he takes up Shout to infiltrate an underground rave, which is actually a cover for a drug trafficking ring. The issue with catching the guy is that the drugs aren't drugs—they're Quirk Products.

The first arc of TMFoAS was going to explore a legal issue with Quirks: a blanket allowance of "Quirk Products" to allow more manufacturing at less cost, put more goods on the market, and create more businesses to boost the economy. Aizawa would come up against a villain abusing this system and have to find a way to bring the man to justice. Unfortunately, when working outside of the law, the way to "justice" is full of injustice.

I really wish I had started TMFoAS so everyone could meet the villain of the arc, Shabu, but I guess it wasn't meant to be.

[that-guy-sleepy-miles]

Zukyo posting hours bro!!!

[ahmedmootaz]

Is it just me or is canon Carmen so eager to be a mother just like how TMFOA&AIP Ayin is eager to be a father? She's calling the abnormalities and the Sinners her children weirdly enough.

Imagine being on the edge of distorting and hearing the equivalent of your adoptive parents arguing over who gets custody over you i.e. making you distort or giving you EGO.

Dear Anonymous,

You know, that's actually a good observation, and it's not even limited to Limbus with the way she refers to the Sinners and the Abnormalities; even way back in the Old Laboratory before the events of LC, she was the one who insisted that Kali bring Enoch and Lisa over, and was the one who primarily took care of them, even having Ayin come and help with raising them. And when it comes to how she was treating them, we can see that she pretty much did the things a mother would do with her kids (painting with them, reading with them, having Ayin take them on trips...). In other words, I most definitely agree: Carmen wanted to be a mother of sorts, and maybe it's natural, all things considered, seeing how she was the age to be one, it's just that the City isn't exactly the best place to find a partner for a family, not to mention her other pressing work attempting to save the City from itself and all that.

Maybe that desire of hers was twisted when she gave in to the Distortion and began Distorting people instead of saving them as she always wanted, re'birthing' the Distorted and making her their "mother" in a twisted way. I assume Ayin, too, has this desire, and I actually think it may be used against him in the Light; he could have everything he ever wanted if he just says 'yes'. He doesn't need to do anything, just sit back and let his mind be warped and then enjoy the journey, although if he really has some influence in manifesting E.G.O. instead...

...sheeeeeeeeeeeeeesh. Talk about an awkward experience if you're fighting with the Limbus crew and all of a sudden, while you're having your epic moment, a bickering pair of voices comes from above and you have to wait for them to finish so you could get your E.G.O./Distortion...

---

-"Behold, Sinclair~! My ultimate form!"

="No! KROOOOOOOOOOOOOOMER! I'LL KILL YOU, YOU WITCH!"

-"Ahaha, you can certainly try, my dear Sinclair, but not after I achieve my ultimate form!"

="KRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOMERRRRR!"

-"..."

="..."

-"..."

="Uhm. This is your ultimate form?"

-"...No?"

="Do I...Uh. Is this normal or...?"

-"They're...they're arguing up there."

="Arguing? Who? Do I...Do we just fight or...?"

-"Don't look at me! I thought this would've happened by now!"

="Oh, great. Just 'effin' great. You can't even get the climax right."

-"Screw right off! I've been planning this plan for years, it's not my fault!"

="You're literally a psychopathic mass-murderer!!"

-"Those are just quirks!!"

---

Yup, definitely a fun scenario to imagine, Anon. Thanks for the ask! Until next time, take care, be well, and see ya'!

[ahmedmootaz]

If X not being present to balance and calm Ayin down as well as help him make peace with his other selves leads to Ayin fighting himself, would Ayin have ended up killing his other selves or his other selves (Adam) killing him?

And if Ayin or one of his other selves did end up killing one another, what would the consequence be?

Would it mean the person dying goes back into the Light, actually dies and leaves a corpse behind for Angela to find, turns into a book since they're in the Library?

Or if they can't really kill each other, does the person "murdered" just becomes comatose, subsumed into the dominant personality that killed them, or just end up really injured and incapacitated for a time?

Dear Anonymous,

I think X's presence was for the betterment of the A3, actually. Do remember that Ayin is famous for attempting to log out of his mortal coil through self-harm, and if he gets a chance to kill himself three times, well...I'm guessing you can see how this goes. Honestly, Ayin's existence is just one big self-harm warning, heheh.

I'm not sure how Ayin would react when he realises that he can only summon his failed selves as companions without X's presence, and although I'm semi-confident he wouldn't resort to violence as the first option...not before Adam opens his mouth, at least. I think one of the things that would make Ayin really wish to murder them would be the fact that the A3 are all representations of parts of his mind; they're living, breathing proofs of his failures and mistakes, and they've come back to haunt him when he's at his lowest, especially with someone like Adam constantly bragging about his selfish, murderous and insane 'qualities'.

Now, I'm not saying this means he would kill one of the A3, but it's a definitely a large chance. While the A3 outnumber Ayin, it's important to know that their biggest weapon against Ayin, their psychological effect, has been overcome by Ayin, so they cannot push him down as they did in the past, but as for what would happen if they were killed...I think they'd go back into Ayin's mind once more, but the main purpose of TMFoA wouldn't be attained; in TMFoA, Ayin has already overpowered the A3, but he never accepted them; he never found peace with them. If he kills them and they return to his mind, they won't stop being his demons and won't stop haunting him. It won't be impossible for him to attempt to ignore or even bypass their presence and influence, but it will make life a heckuva lot more difficult for him than it would if he accepted them.

You know, Anon, I find it funny that this question was sent so long ago (sorry for replying so late, by the way!), and yet it seems in-line with the series of questions about Ayin's death that I've gotten lately, heh.

Until next time, Anon, thank you for the fun ask! Be well, take care, and see ya'!

[ahmedmootaz]

1.) Does X trust Angela after the events of AiP? He was salty on Angela’s betrayal ear MFoA/LoR so I wonder he changed his mind during AiP or repressed those feelings since Angela’s just a baby.

2.) Despite the nuggets left the library, what does X think of them? Dude did lead and manage for 50 days. And similarly on wanting to befriend them too? Or he doesn’t (to cope with the facility) befriend them?

Dear astrocourier,

Hello! Sorry for the very, very late reply! Again, I've been quite busy these days, but I am here at long last! Do forgive me for keeping you waiting for so long.

I think he's having mixed feelings now. Back in TMFoA, he was bitter that the Seed of Light didn't get to be released and that all of his work in the Corporation was in vain, something that severely affected his perception of her even with some vague memories of the happier cycles he had with her. In AiP, while X still doesn't exactly trust her 100% because of her hostile attitude towards Ayin which would translate to, in his mind at least, some degree of hostility towards him. However, by the time AiP happens, Angela has long since released the Seed of Light again, and so he cannot really fault her for anything since he himself recognises how much pain and suffering she had to endure, so he does not blame her for lashing out against Ayin, so I would say he trusts her to a medium-to-large extent at this point, knowing that her anger at this point is more than justified since she tried undoing her wrongs to the best of her ability.

2. I think X really respects the Agents he used to manage simply because of how durable they are. They've gone through several nightmarish, apocalyptic scenarios and yet they still stood strong regardless of the circumstances, although I don't think he was allowed to interact with them during the Script, so he could only really admire them from afar and have a mutual respect of sorts towards them during his management. It's definitely one of the many aspects of the Corporation that gave him trust issues since he couldn't get attached to any Agent lest they die on him all of a sudden, though if he had the chance, I'd say he'd want to befriend a few, but seeing how he likely has some of Ayin's awkwardness, he'd probably keep a limited group.

Once again, I apologise immensely for the late answer, and I thank you for the fun ask, astrocourier! Until next time, be well, stay safe, and see ya'!

[ahmedmootaz]

Good evening, Ahmed! With the recent influx of Ayin death asks and the potential angst resulting from it, what if instead of Ayin it was X? Maybe while Roland goes to help Ayin X gets sneak attacked... I feel like Ayin would take it slightly better than X would with Ayin (Although it's a bit of a low bar to hurdle). The real problem I can forsee is Ayin getting too dependent on the kids or Ayin going full recluse. What do you think?

Dear hncdhnmfr,

Good evening to you as well! Always a pleasure to see that my absurdly long response times haven't put you off, ahah.

But as for your question...It's a bit cold, but I think that in the event of X dying, while Ayin would be devastated, he could make it...at least for the most part. Ayin always saw X as his lifeline with the rest of the Library, and he did grow dependent on him during the time they spent in the few months prior to AiP's events attempting to better their standing within the Library, but at the end of the day, to Ayin, there's no loss greater than the one he experienced with Carmen's death.

Now, does this mean Ayin won't collapse in despair, begging for X to come back? That he won't cling onto him and ask why it was X that died and not him? That he won't run his admittedly small tearducts dry over the loss of the man who was closest to him ever since he started the Seed of Light?

No, of course not; we subsist on angst here! I can't possibly deprive us of that!

But what I mean by Ayin taking it better, well...I mean that he wouldn't probably Distort. For as much as he'd want to, he wouldn't Distort over X's death, at least without additional factors coming into play here like the kids getting hurt or worse; the scenario isn't new to Ayin, after all, as he was originally planning on letting X return to his mindscape at the end of TMFoA, but it was X who wanted to continue on living, not to mention the ticking timer on X's life. The concept of X dying wasn't one Ayin was wholly unable to imagine, it was just one he loathed to imagine, and one he wouldn't have expected to happen so soon.

The biggest problem with Ayin would be that he'd be very, very willing to recluse himself after the De-Aging Incident is over. He'd blame himself over X's death, over being unable to transmit his memory as well as he should've, and over feeling guilty that the Librarians didn't get to know X as much as he wanted to know them.

But the immediate problem with X's death would be his daughters: Elijah, Kali, and Garion, the three who loved him very, very much...What would their reaction be like? It'd certain put Ayin's to shame, and considering the immense resolve Garion and Kali hold in particular when compared to the other kids, it's not out of the realm of possibility that they'd hear Carmen...Worse, as we saw in Chapter 14, Garion had grown very, very dependent on X, and if it was confirmed as a matter of fact that he died, well...Let's just say she might've seriously considered options of self-harm that even Ayin or Roland might've had difficulty stopping her from going through with.

And as for what would happen when the kids are re-aged into the Librarians...well, even with Roland's vouching for Ayin, X's death will definitely have a lot of regrets floating around, with those who are staunchly anti-Ayin perhaps even blaming Ayin for not doing enough to save X...And perhaps Angela, too, will be a little distraught considering the complicated nature of her feelings around X...overall, while Ayin would fare better than X in such a scenario, it would be sombre regardless...

...But that's what we thrive for as Ayin fans, ey? A sombre tone and rivers of angst, keheheheh~

Thanks for the fun ask, hncdhnmfr! Until next time, be well, take care, and see ya'!

[ahmedmootaz]

Hello Ahmed! This time, instead of questions about the cast, I want to ask questions about you. What's your favorite fic for LobCorp/ruina/limbus? Imo yours (TMFOA/AiP) are my favorite simply because of the depth that you go into and the characterization the cast being in point. Second, how far would you say you are from your next chapter, and do you plan on implementing a segmented release like how you did chapters 26/27? Lastly (cast related fic), since you're technically God in your fics, how would the cast react to your existence (Assuming they don't know that they're fictional, only that you made their world. We don't need any existential crisis on top of the mountains of angst!!)

Dear hncdhnmfr,

Oh, questions for me, personally? You flatter me too much, but hey, who am I to complain about it? Also, hey, would you look at that! I'm actually responding to an ask before 24 hours have passed since it was published, what has the world come to?!

On a more serious note, I feel you certainly deserve a quicker response considering the ludicrous wait you had to go through last time, so apologies again for that.

So for you questions...Ironically enough, for as much as I write about it, I don't read too many PMverse 'Fics, mostly because I can't find Ayin 'Fics that have a focus on his as I want them to, although off the top of my head, Silent Resonance by KABN (https://archiveofourown.org/works/31268576/chapters/77295107) and A_Random_Reading_Person's LC works (https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_Random_Reading_Person/pseuds/A_Random_Reading_Person/works?fandom_id=14487746) have always scratched my itch when it comes to Eyucar content and even Roland-centric stories. They're not bloated messes like my 'Fics, they have lots of monologues and character introspectives, and frankly speaking, they're a lot fluffier than my works. Who can say no to some PM fluffiness at last without having to suffer a whole ton of angst to get to it?

As for how far I am from the next AiP Chapter...that's an answer I wish I had covered. I'm writing more and more of Epilogue II every day, but honestly...it doesn't end. It keeps going on, and on, and on...although I have hopes I can finish it relatively soon, I also had plans to release it in August of 2023, soooooo...take from that what you will. What I will say is to keep your eyes peeled for April or May, or so I hope.

Also, yes, it's definitely going to need to be split into two parts, believe me. Even if I don't want to, the Archive editor can't post a Chapter that's longer than 500K characters...

As for that last question...I don't think of myself that way at all, not in the slightest sense. I would say I am closer to the Narrator when it comes to my role in the plot of AiP; sure, I write some elements, but I just nudge things in the right direction while letting the Narrator explain what, exactly I nudged and in what direction...at least, that's how I would describe it if I were to place myself within the Canon of my PM 'Fics.

So how would the cast react finding out I exist...honestly? They'd probably laugh it off or think I'm just another power-tripping lunatic from the City, although once they realise what I'm truly capable of, maybe they'll be resentful I didn't just write "Oh also Carmen suddenly unDistorted" or did something to aid them on their journey, which is frankly a good question. An answer of "well, you were never in any real danger, and lots of people love reading about you since you're celebrities" will sound more unhinged than I would intend to come off across, but with the correct wording and explanations, I'm certain that we can have an amicable relationship of sorts. Although Ayin and Yesod would definitely begin to worry if every action they partake in has been nudged by me or whether it's whatever free-will they have acting.

Overall, considering the nature of the City, it's not far-fetched to say they can get used to it...the question is just what, exactly, they'll go through before getting used to it. Hatred? Confusion? Indifference? All are possible options considering how wide the range of our dear cast is, although I'm almost certain the primary reaction will be anger for all of the angst I've pushed them towards for our sick pleasure, but then again, maybe I can argue my way out of that one by saying that in the end, the events I pushed them towards led to better results in the end, no? It's quite the fun thought exercise!

What do you think, hncdhnmfr? Surely you have your own opinion, hmmmmm? Regardless, and as always, thank you for your fun ask! I always look forward to them, and I hope this one makes up for last time's delay. Until next time, be well, take care, and see ya'!

[ahmedmootaz]

So X never being sent into the light... How's Ayin and his many facets without X? Does Adam win in his side and being more of a pest in the reverb battle?

At first I thought of X being in LoR au has him suddenly reappear in the library and get Awkward with Angela and others but then realized with X in the light he can try and deal Angela's coup the best he can.

If that still happens. Like is the extraction team more of afraid of Binah even with X around? X being Patron Librarian of General Works alongside with Roland?

It's funny how I thought X in Lor au would give me X/Angela adopts the bh but no, there's more things that butterflies with him around and not just romance.

Dear astrocourier,

Indeed, there's plenty of things that hinge on X's presence or absence in both LC and LoR...without mentioning of course my little Tale of a Library series. For a faceless, nameless clone, he sure does play a surprisingly large role once you think about it...especially with the scenarios you suggested.

When it comes to TMFoA without X, I think that it would actually turn out worse for the A3; X was a major part of why Ayin tolerated their presence begrudgingly; without him, he would've been free the lash out at them and beat them up as he pleased, which would've definitely rendered the reconciliation he had with his facets a distant dream if even that. I doubt Adam would even make it to the Reverberation battle with how much Ayin despised him back then, and in a way, I feel that would've worked out worse for him since his mind would've still been subject to the A3's destructive influence since no matter how much he suppressed them, it would've never been as effective as a reconciliation.

Had X not been in the Light during Angela's coup, I believe that would've complicated things quite a bit for her as well, since Binah was shown to respect him at the end of her Meltdown, and although she would've likely attempted to balance out the sides as she did in our timeline, I have a sensation the Agents would've been more loyal to the man who managed to earn Binah's respect twice, so that would've definitely complicated her coup if not made it impossible as you said...and if he was still transported into the Library anyway, then I think Roland would still take over as Patron Librarian of the Floor of General Works, since Angela would likely have a rather large grudge against him by then...

It is indeed quite fun to imagine all of these possibilities, and it's quite interesting to think that they all happen with X when he's no neglected both in Canon and in Fanon. I guess that's where we come in to fix that, keheh. As always, thank you for the fun ask, astrocourier! Until next time, be well, stay safe, and see ya'.

[ahmedmootaz]

Since you respond here quicker than ao3 and had to look up what was my question, why won't X give himself a new name post-tMFoA? I can get the explanation with Hope. (And had X had been named Hope in au, I really would’ve think Angela would scoff at the reminder from Hope the person, with the seed of light being grown by blood and suffering)

But this is actually me segue on what will X and Angela would name BH? Would it be the same as Ayin, since one is a clone and the other is his creation? (Weirdass family tree there) or one or both of them have better naming sense than him?

What about Carmen anyways, how's her naming skill? And why not throw The Distortion, I guess. Because who names them, the distorted themselves? TD? the patron librarian (and lcb sinners)?

I was mostly thinking X and Angela adopting BH post-AiP (but an au of X being part of Library founding would be neat in a different ask) but wasn’t sure how far BH is cause Angela in her bad end has ridiculously long hair, versus LoR's short hair. Cause X's fate is nebulous if he wants to live long, or died from the battle or from clone degradation.

So potentially we could have Angela adopting BH with fond memories of X, X lived long enough to love and care for BH but still cut short anyways, or none of those two and I'll finally get X/Angela slowburn.

Dear astrocouriers,

Good questions all around! And quite the complex and interesting ones too, although I hope you'll forgive me for not replying too quickly, even though it was quicker than the time it would've taken on AO3, ahah.

Essentially, my personal reasoning for why X wouldn't change his name is that whatever he would choose wouldn't be him anymore. Being "Hope" or "Ayin 2" or any other name simply wouldn't have had the relevancy to him that X does; simply changing his name would be too easy after everything he went through, in a way. There would be no struggle in just deciding to be "Hope" from now on, but it simply isn't who he was. He was never the hope that the Corporation's denizens needed, and he wouldn't stand up to Ayin's legacy and power, he was simply an unknown factor in an otherwise perfectly planned equation. An 'X' factor, if you will.

Hence, X's name to him signifies that battle that he had to endure. It signifies that he was simply a variable that had no real purpose beyond his assigned role, a failed clone with little abilities compared to his original version and with a far meeker attitude, unimportant enough to the grand scheme of everything and everyone that he wasn't even given a proper name.

But more than just that, it especially signifies that he survived. In spite of all of these hurdles, in spite of being a faceless, nameless clone with a singular task and no grand purpose after it, in spite of being intended to simply die after his purpose was complete, he not only lived, but he carved himself into a person. The name X, then, is a proof that he survived everything that was thrown at him and gave a meaning to a nameless, faceless clone, just as Ayin gave meaning to the hollow word that 'promise' is in the City when he promised Carmen and went through the unimaginable for her.

As a last note, I think X wouldn't like discarding his name because, despite all of the negative memories associated with it, it's the name he came to recognise for himself as well. For all of the pain it holds, it holds a lot of happiness and relief as well, a constant reminder that regardless of how bleak it is, he can make it out again, just as he made it in the Corporation after countless (mostly forgotten) restarts to the Script.

As for your second question, hmmm...I think Angela would have great difficulty finding names, and honestly, so would X, seeing how both of them are either close to Ayin's method of thinking in X's case and straight-up Ayin's daughter in Angela's case, which means both of their creative skills are likely a...dud, to say the least. Still, I reckon that eventually they can settle on something that they'd find from their books, such as Aqua because X is a sentimental fool and the name reminds him of Angela's hair (plus the name is semi-neutral so whether or not the BH is a boy or a girl it'd work). But yeah, if the other Librarians were around, they'd likely be the ones to find a suitable name while Angela and X argue together about how weird/not weird their relationship/family tree is.

As for Carmen, considering she's the exact opposite of Ayin, I'd say her naming skills are vastly superior, and that she/The Distortion is likely the one that picks Distortion names, seeing how most Distortions aren't exactly conscious enough to pick their own names. If we go by the theory that Abnormality names were also spawned from Carmen's subconscious/Bucket, then she seems to have quite the palette of names to choose from, definitely something she'd be sad she couldn't transfer to her daughter, hehe.

If I recall correctly, Angela's bad ending occurs some thirteen years after Roland's defeat, so in such a scenario, I think X would definitely choose Angela repairing his wounds and degradation so he could not only live with her, but with the BH. I think X isn't averse to living a long life, actually, but I also think he would wish to die at some point. He's evaded Death long enough now, and even if he decides to grow old with Angela by his side, he has to pay his due one day, and he'd like to come to terms with it on his own instead of being forcefully evicted out of his mortal coil.

In other words, yes, I think that if Angela and X adopt the BH, you'll finally get your Angela/X slowburn, kehehe.

Once again, thank you for the insightful and fun ask, astrocourier! I hope to see you again soon! Be well, stay safe, and see ya'!