#janus of guardia au

[janusofguardia]

So I was feeling well enough to try digital art just a bit. I decided to tweak Janus’s design again.

I like the version with sidetails better! Without looks ok too as a design but I think with has a better balance of making him look different from canon while still looking like himself (different but still believable, especially since I draw canon Magus with sidetails). 

[darksideofthemamon]

Oh oh!!! 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 11 & 30 for the art asks!

1. Art programs you have but don't use

MS Paint ^^" Or whatever default programs there are. Otherwise, I use what I have (and have it in the first place because I use it!)

3. What ideas come from when you were little

Back in 2019 I actually did a redraw of an idea from when I was young!

The old art is from 2012 but the idea's been around since, 2009 maybe?

I haven't posted about this yet, only vaguely alluded to it in previous posts (see #5 for why), but this is linked to my story for that purple haired Kingdom Hearts keykid I'm always posting about.

As for CT, I've liked it since I was that young, but apart from being a Magus fan since I was a kid, all my ideas for it now are recent. Except honestly, shipping Magus with Glenn (even just platonically. or heck not even just the whole dynamic). That's always been there but now I'm testing it out and seeing where it's going with the Janus of Guardia AU.

5. Estimate of how much of your art you post online vs. the art you keep for yourself

For drawings, I would say I post around 85% especially since nowadays I draw with the intention to post. When I draw for myself, it's usually sketches on paper which I don't do as much, but am trying to do more.

For ideas in general, fan stories, AU's and such, it's the opposite. I only post around 20%, mostly because I'm shy, and also because there's so much but not enough time to do it all ^^"

6. Anything that might inspire you subconsciously (i.e. this horse wasn't supposed to look like the Last Unicorn but I see it)

At first I thought I'm normally very aware of the things that inspire me, but I came to a realization lately.

What inspires me subconsciously... is my personality. Which sounds so obvious I know but lemme explain!

Most protags that I have, whether they're OC's or canon characters I projected on, are similar to me in some ways, and different in others. But put them all together and none of them are 100% my polar opposite.

Like I can write another character who is, but none of the main protagonists are. And thing is, none of my OC's are full self-inserts. Like if they're friends with another character, it's still not "me" being friends with them.

Just a fun thing I noticed recently! Like "huh, none of them are 100% my polar opposite"

7. A medium of art you don't work in but appreciate

Watercolors! I don't do them but I love how they look.

11. Do you listen to anything while drawing? If so, what

All the time! Usually music on Spotify, a movie or show in the background, ASMR, and movie/show analyses on Youtube.

30. What piece of yours do you think is underrated

I'm gonna say my recent piece of Desire of the Endless from The Sandman!

And I picked this one because it's fanart from a recent popular show with an active fanbase, yet didn't get as much interactions as my CT stuff (and CT came out decades ago).

[glemayteoli]

The Fiendlord and his Knight.

A fanart of @janusofguardia au ! AKA my favourite au ever, let's say it, it's amazing, I can't get enough of it.

Thank you @darksideofthemamon for creating such an amazing au ! I had fun drawing this less dark Magus, and this darker Glenn... I just love them so much.

I hope you'll like it ! Everything isn't perfect, far from it actually, there's no proper lineart, it's just a coloured doodle, but I enjoyed drawing this very much ! :)

[dustandspray]

Balade au Chaberton, un peu d'histoire...

Le Mont-Chaberton est un sommet des Alpes françaises dans le massif des Cerces et précisément dans le chaînon du Chaberton, dans le département des Hautes-Alpes. Il culmine à 3 131 m d'altitude.

Jusqu'en 1947, le mont Chaberton faisait partie intégrante du territoire italien (commune de Cesana Torinese).

Les anciennes batteries militaires

En 1898, l'Italie, qui venait d'adhérer à la Triplice, entreprit de construire au sommet du mont Chaberton une batterie de huit tours de maçonnerie surmontées de canons tournés vers la France et Briançon, défendant ainsi le passage du col de Montgenèvre.

Pour cela, les soldats et ingénieurs dirigés par le major du génie Luigi Pollari Maglietta ont réalisé une route depuis le village de Fénils (val de Suse) et ont abaissé d'environ 6 mètres le sommet du Chaberton pour y installer les huit tours de 12 mètres de haut, correspondant à la plus haute chute de neige enregistrée. En 1906, chacune des tours fut armée d'un canon de 149/35[2] (en réalité, des 149/36 — le tube d'acier étant porté à la longueur de 36 calibres), ce qui allongeait la portée du tir. Mais fut conservée la dénomination 35 pour préserver le secret militaire. Chaque pièce, servie par 7 hommes, était protégée par une coupole blindée relativement légère (50 mm devant, 25 mm sur le toit et 15 sur les flancs et derrière), plus légère que les normes en vigueur alors pour les forteresses : on considérait en effet que la batterie se trouvait hors de portée de l'artillerie classique, et on se contenta de coupoles de conception anglaise Armstrong Montagna offrant une bonne protection contre la neige, les éclats et les schrapnels. L'ensemble des travaux fut terminé en 1910. Le fort, parfois surnommé le « cuirassé des nuages », faisait l'orgueil des militaires italiens et était alors réputé comme le plus haut et l'un des plus puissants du monde. Sa position était inexpugnable, le mettant hors de portée de la plupart des pièces d'artillerie de l'époque, et permettant théoriquement à ses huit pièces de 149 mm d'atteindre la gare de Briançon distante de près de 18 km. Cependant, pour des raisons mécaniques liées à l'installation des tubes sous des coupoles Armstrong, la portée utile fut limitée à 16 km.

Pendant la Première Guerre mondiale, quand l'Italie entra en guerre aux côtés de l'Entente, les pièces d'artillerie furent démontées pour être employées sur le front contre l'Empire austro-hongrois.

Sous le régime fasciste, la batterie du Chaberton fut réarmée, et représenta de nouveau une menace pour Briançon et la France. En 1940, le fort fut intégré au IV Corpo d'Armata (général Mercalli) et constitua la 515a batteria du XXXIV Gruppo du 8° Raggruppamento Artiglieria de la Guardia alla Frontiera. Sa garnison comptait environ 340 hommes, sous le commandement du capitaine Spartaco Bevilacqua. Contre d'éventuelles attaques aériennes des mitrailleuses de DCA avaient été prévues.

Pour y faire face, l'armée française fit venir quatre mortiers de 280 modèle 1914 Schneider, répartis en deux batteries camouflées de deux pièces, une à l'Eyrette et une autre au lieu-dit Poët-Morand, deux emplacements situés hors de la vue du fort italien. Ces deux sections constituaient la 6e Batterie du 154e RAP (154e régiment d'artillerie de position), intégré au XIVe Corps d'armée (général Beynet). Les principales difficultés auxquelles se heurtèrent les artilleurs français venaient de ce que l'objectif, distant de 10 km, était situé à une altitude supérieure de 1 000 m à celle de leurs batteries, que les projectiles décriraient une parabole culminant à une altitude de 5 000 m et atteindraient leur cible plus d'une minute après le départ du coup. Il n'existait pas alors de tables de tir indirect pour des conditions de combat aussi extrêmes et inédites : le général Georges Marchand, qui commandait l'artillerie du XIVe Corps d'armée, fit appel à une équipe d'ingénieurs pour calculer en toute hâte les tables de tir des différentes pièces de l'artillerie de montagne, qu'il fit reproduire à l'imprimerie des aciéries Ugine non loin de là, afin de les diffuser auprès des artilleurs de Briançon.

Le 20 juin 1940, le fort du Chaberton reçut l'ordre d'ouvrir le feu contre les ouvrages français du Janus, de Gondran, de l'Infernet, des Trois-Têtes et de plusieurs batteries de campagne, mais ne causa que des dommages mineurs, par manque de précision. Les conditions météorologiques ne permettaient pas aux Français de régler leur tir pour répliquer, car le sommet du Chaberton restait voilé par les nuages. Le 21 juin 1940 à 10 h, le ciel s'éclaircit et le lieutenant Miguet, un ancien de Polytechnique qui commandait les deux batteries de 280 depuis un poste d'observation situé sur les pentes de l'Infernet, donna l'ordre d'ouvrir le feu. Il eut le temps de faire tirer trois coups qui s'approchèrent des tourelles du Chaberton, quand les nuages revinrent et lui masquèrent de nouveau sa cible.

Le ciel se dégagea vers 15 h 30 et le duel d'artillerie reprit. Miguet multipliait les coups qui encadraient les tourelles du Chaberton, observant les impacts, en liaison avec les observateurs de l'ouvrage du Janus qui lui signalent les coups longs dont les impacts lui étaient invisibles. Un des deux 280 de Poët-Morand, commandés par le sous-lieutenant Fouletier, mit un coup au but sur la tourelle 1 à 17 h 15. Dans la demi-heure qui suivit furent touchées les tourelles 3, 4 et 5. « Manifestement, le Chaberton n'a pas repéré cet adversaire qui l'inquiète, car il tire sur le Fort des Têtes » écrira dans son rapport le lieutenant Miguet. À 17 h 30 la tourelle 3 fut touchée, et se déclencha un incendie qui fut bien près de gagner le dépôt de munitions situé en contrebas. À 18 h 5 la tourelle 2 reçut un coup au but, puis la 6. Le feu cessa à 20 h. Au total ce jour-là 6 tourelles sur les 8 furent touchées, et les Italiens eurent à déplorer 9 tués et une cinquantaine de blessés.

Le Chaberton n'était pas totalement hors de combat, les tourelles 7 et 8 continuèrent à tirer les trois jours suivants, sans être atteintes par l'artillerie française, jusqu'au cessez-le-feu et à l'armistice du 24 juin 1940.

Le fort, inutilisable, fut abandonné le 8 septembre 1943, même s'il fut brièvement réoccupé un an plus tard, à l'automne 1944, par des parachutistes de la République sociale italienne surveillant l'avance alliée par la vallée de la Durance.

Pendant la période de négociation du traité de Paris signé en 1947, le ministre français des Affaires étrangères, Georges Bidault, se laissait aller en privé à se plaindre du « chabertonisme » du général de Gaulle, président du gouvernement provisoire : il entendait par là la propension du général à se passionner pour des détails insignifiants, au risque de compromettre le rapprochement franco-italien auquel poussait Bidault. Ainsi en réponse à une note du 15 janvier 1946 où Bidault souligne qu'il ne serait pas de bonne politique d'exiger de l'Italie des clauses exorbitantes, le général lui répond-il deux jours plus tard en insistant sur l'importance qu'il accorde à l'annexion du fort Chaberton[3].

C'est ainsi qu'à l'issue de la guerre, le vallon des Baïsses, le sommet du Chaberton et la batterie furent annexés par la France, déplaçant, de fait, la frontière à l'entrée du village italien de Clavière. À l'été 1957, tous les restes métalliques des tubes et des coupoles blindées furent enlevés et descendus dans la vallée. Il ne reste plus aujourd'hui sur le site que les supports des tourelles en maçonnerie et les ouvrages souterrains qui se dégradent rapidement et dont la visite est dangereuse.

[lost-corridors-of-time]

Love Chrono Trigger? Ever wondered what the plot would be if Janus was an autistic teenager and was never raised by Ozzie to become Magus? Or how Glenn (Frog) would react honestly to being dragged into time shenanigans by Crono and the crew? Maybe you wondered what it would be like if Dalton was actually a bad guy you could take seriously?

~~~~~~~~~~~~

In 12,005BG (Before Guardia) the Kingdom of Zeal lost of their king in a tragic accident. Queen Zeal assumes leadership and while stern, remains fair and caring to her family and her people.

While in the planning phase, Balthasar’s project known as the “Ocean Palace” isn’t built after the three Gurus convince Queen Zeal that more research is needed before they dare draw upon the source of magic directly.

Within this timeline the course of events for some has been drastically altered, as one would expect when the ripples of time flow in a different direction. Lives may have been greatly altered by this slightest change in time’s course, but Lavos still slumbers until its fateful day.

[janusofguardia]

Initial doodle vs final sketch!

[janusofguardia]

Luckily I managed to finish this before my wrist got busted. Valentine’s piece I guess? XD

I like to imagine an after the final battle where Magus finally takes (Dark)Glenn to see the home he’d been talking about all these years (or what’s left of it).

[janusofguardia]

COMMENTARY

Here’s something fun! Behind the scenes from when I did First Meeting!

I sketchdumped the thumbs first before I went on to the actual panels. 

Here’s also parts of the script with some doodles! 

[janusofguardia]

COMMENTARY!

I’m gonna talk about an artistic choice I really like to do especially for this AU,  and that’s storytelling through design, particularly hair.

In a lot of my notes, I go on about why I chose certain hairstyles, and what they mean for the characters. Most notable is Janus since he goes through the most change in this story, and I like to show this through his hair.

But today I want to talk about Dark Glenn :D

Dark Glenn basically has canon Glenn’s hair (or my interpretation of it), except it covers one side of his face.

And what I like to do is, when he’s being brooding, mysterious, acting as a Mystic General, or otherwise being guarded, either his whole face is shadowed, or only the covered side of his face shows.

So for example here^ he’s basically “testing the waters”. He’s expressing reluctance over the war to Magus without outright saying it.

Other examples include:

But when Glenn is being genuine, vulnerable, or trying to talk to Magus as an old friend, that’s usually when his eye shows.

^^ Here he’s acting as a general but doesn’t go back on guard until Magus brings up the fact that he stays in Denadoro all night. 

^(Sidenote but I love how he look here it’s probably my favorite drawing of him that I did fjfjlkfdslgjfsdg)

Here^ he’s trying to talk some sense into Magus. I think this short comic was the first time I really committed to the Dark Glenn shadowy face thing XD 

On that note, Magus’s braid represents the time he spent in Guardia (a major part of this AU), and that’s why I had it facing the light here, while the part that’s just worn down and slicked back (his canon hairstyle in the game and the part that represents his “Fiendlord” self) is in the shadow.

Of course, I don’t always do it, but it’s fun when I do XD 

[janusofguardia]

MORE COMMENTARY

I will ramble a bit while my wrist is still recovering XD

It’s yet another hair thing XD

That last piece that had Magus and Glenn in Antiquity was supposed to take place some time after the final battle, so that’s what I had in mind when I made their designs. It was supposed to look like they just came from fighting Lavos and were now on the run (they both betrayed Guardia after all), so they threw on whatever winter clothes they had and jumped to Antiquity. 

As for Magus’s hair, I’ve talked in length before about his different hairstyles. To sum it up, hair parted in the middle is Janus's Zeal self, loose and slicked back is the Fiendlord Magus, and a braid specifically symbolizes his time in Guardia (which is the focal point of this AU). 

(I ended up tweaking the 20′s design, but it still has the same concept)

By the time this ending happens, Magus had already gone through a major transformation from court wizard to Fiendlord, he waged war, tried to summon Lavos (decimating his fortress in the process, which cost the Mystics the war) and in the end needed the group’s help to defeat Lavos. He went through a lot, got knocked down many times, and now decided to leave it all behind to go back to his home time with Glenn and search for Schala.

And that’s why his hair is loose --I wanted to give him this slightly unruly “letting his hair down”/”left in a hurry” look-- with one side slicked back like Magus, while the other side falls over his face like Janus (just like when he was a child). I wanted to reach that middle ground between “hurt child” and “vengeful adult”, and show he carries both experiences with him now. 

The part that had me debating with myself was the braid. It symbolizes his time in Guardia, and if he were on the run, shouldn’t he undo it? Even symbolically speaking, if he was shedding that title and starting anew, then he shouldn’t wear it anymore, especially since it’s a very deliberate hairstyle. 

But then again, the braid and what is symbolizes is the heart of this AU. And this raises a deeper question: can he truly shed his time as Janus of Guardia? Because the braid stays on even after he becomes Fiendlord. His time in Zeal and with the Mystics were significant but his formative years in this AU were at Guardia. Is that something he can really leave behind? 

In the end I kept the braid in. But I think it’s great food for thought!

[janusofguardia]

Snow Fic

(No, I don’t have a better title XD)

Summary: Janus never liked snow, but it’s what reminds him of home. 

Rating: G

Warnings: Angst, sadness, doubting reality

I’ve actually had this fic cooking in my WIP’s since 2020! One major reason why it took so long is cus I didn’t know how to write snow (it never snows where I’m from), so I had to ask help from friends and the good people of the CT discord server XD

Hope you like it! 

------

Janus never liked snow. 

To begin with, it never really snowed in Zeal. It was never too hot either. The Kingdom’s protective magic saw to it that its citizens would only ever experience pleasant weather that was never too hot or too cold. 

It snowed down below though, where the Earthbound Ones dwelt. Janus quickly learned on his first trip there that snow was the worst weather phenomenon he had ever encountered. It was a pain to walk in. It wet his feet and ruined his good boots. And as if the numbing cold weren’t enough, icy powder blew all around and left him soaked, freezing, and miserable. 

To make matters worse, it was always like this. Always. It was a constant blizzard and he had no idea how his sister Schala managed to remain so graceful as she administered aid to the Earthbound Ones. 

Of course, Janus didn’t have to be there, but he chose to anyway because he wanted to be by his sister’s side. Never mind that he was casting a low-level fire spell to keep warm. 

Now, Janus stood in the open courtyard of Guardia Castle. It was snowing and he hated it just as he always did. He discovered that winters here weren’t as bad as the frigid blizzards he had known, but he hated it all the same. Snow was still a pain to walk in, it still left him soaked, and it still ruined his good boots. 

He still didn’t have to be out there in the open, fully exposed to the weather he hated, but he chose to anyway. It was as awful as ever, but if he closed his eyes and focused on the feel of the wind and the cold flakes falling from the sky, he could pretend he was home. 

Never mind that the snow reminded him of the unpleasant dwellings of those who were considered beneath him (Schala would say: “We are not above anyone Janus, no matter what they say. We are all equal in this world and must be kind to one another.”). Never mind that the cold wind stung his face and he was starting to shiver. It felt close enough to home. 

And “where” was home, anyway? Or, “what” was home? “What” even was this “Kingdom of Guardia that stood on the earth yet had tolerable winters and also no humans at all who could use magic” that Janus now lived in and had come to know as part of his “existence”? 

When he first arrived in this realm, he spent much of his time seeking answers and trying to find what had happened to the world he knew and how he could return. Years passed with still no leads, and the young prince soon found himself wondering if his old life was just a dream. Other times, he wondered if it was being in Guardia that was. 

(Am I a Prince of Zeal dreaming of Guardia, or a child of Guardia who simply dreamt of Zeal?)

There was one thing Janus was certain of, and it was that he felt time stopped. Years passed, and though he was growing into a young man, he often felt as if he was still the child whose world was ripped from him. 

The wind howled. (The ordinary kind). Janus closed his eyes. He could almost hear Schala calling him to return to the Land Bridge. 

-----

A/N: And that’s it! Even after learning more about snow (and boy did I learn a lot!) I had to juggle which parts specifically Janus hated, and in a way that suited the vibe of the fic. I’m glad I finally got to post this, and in December too XD 

Thank you to those who helped me learn more about snow! (I hope I got it right lol)

[janusofguardia]

“What was that!?” “Should we go after it!?” “Cyrus should go first...”

Whipped up something Halloween-inspired that’s been on my mind for a long time but only got to do now! 

The premise is that spooky things were going on in Guardia Castle so the resident wizard and his friends ended up investigating it! Shenanigans ensue. 

Have a great spoopy month!

(I’m still doing those asks btw until the end of the month so go ahead and shoot one if you like!) 

[janusofguardia]

Just a little doodle XD 

They were playing Roundillo kickball and Dark Glenn was brooding somewhere nearby. 

[janusofguardia]

Oof I just realized something. 

So Magus can use all the elements including Water, yet can’t (or doesn’t?) heal unlike Marle and Frog. I imagine Janus in this AU is the same. He’s a prodigy and so powerful yet can’t heal for some reason. He compensates by learning barriers (much like in canon), buffers, and brewing his own potions. One of his personal projects when Glenn first meets him is trying to recreate those instant healing circles at Zeal. He never finishes it though and Guardia XX (his father figure) passes away. 

Then in the Dark Glenn AU, Glenn is given the resources to use magic and is capable of healing :’) 

[darksideofthemamon]

Chrono Trigger AU where Janus gets taken in by Guardia instead of Ozzie, right? One night I thought of an AU/bad future for that where Janus becomes the Fiendlord anyway and Glenn ends up joining him and becomes a villain (ooh! Dark Glenn!). That’s what this piece is based on XD 

What if Glenn guards the Masamune (cus it can kill Magus right) and the party has to fight him for it on Denadoro? 

What if Cyrus gets cursed instead? O_O he becomes like a mouse or something idk and is the one to join the party? 

Glenn still can’t use magic himself (cus he never visited Spekkio) but instead uses enchanted stones and the like to channel Janus’s magic (so it’s borrowed power)??

That’s all, this was just supposed to be a casual sketch but I ended up going ham XD 

[janusofguardia]

Dark Glenn guarding the cave at Denadoro! If you want the Masamune, you’ll have to go through him. 

Drawing Glenn is fun, drawing edgy Dark Glenn more so! XD