#like theories are fun to speculate about and even make aus for

[science-lings]

There are a lot a problems with this theory because totk is a jumbled mess, but a think the time Zelda traveled to might be before skyward sword. A few things might point to that, first is the forgotten temple, which is definitely a reference to the temple of hylia from skyward sword. The Zonai were keeping their secret stones in it, which implies that they built it, and if that’s the case then they came before sksw. Another thing is the clothing style. The ancient people of Hyrule wear obviously old style clothing and weaponry, but by skyward sword and every other games down the line, the clothing are more covered and « modern » and the weapons more refined

That's interesting and totally valid, I mostly don't personally believe it bc of the existence of the Rito and the Zora and the Gerudo which all didn't pop up until much later. Though it would be cool if Rauru and Sonia somehow were 'Hylia's' (or sksw Zelda's) ancestors, because Hylia and her bloodline are both associated with Time and Light and the mysterious 'Sealing Power' that keeps evil away, which both Rauru and Sonia do with the light magic in the shrines and what Rauru does with Ganondorf at the end. It's an interesting theory to be sure.

Maybe there was no goddess Hylia until the Zonai and the 'Humans' united. Maybe Hyrule came before Hylia.

[cambankromyy]

THE ISLAND LOOKOUT (pt.3): rumors - (smau & irl au) childhood bsf!rafe cameron x thornton!reader

series masterlist; general masterlist; taglist

part 2 - part 3 - part 4

an: lol i couldnt fit all the pics into the last part so im posting part 2 and 3 at the same time

the account took off faster than they ever expected. every messy, carefree post became something people couldn’t stop talking about. the comments, shares, and attention grew, but for them, it was still just a joke. they promised they’d never let it change them.

they weren’t influencers. they didn’t care about followers, clout, or anyone’s opinion. it was just something fun, something theirs. no matter how big it got, it would always stay that way.

but keeping that carefree attitude got harder. people started asking for pictures, treating them like celebrities. and island lookout? it went from posting blurry pics or random rumors to making them the center of attention.

people couldn’t stop speculating. island lookout loved stirring the pot, hinting at something more. if you ever defended rafe or left a party together, the comments exploded with theories.

at first, it was funny. something you were able to laugh off. you made jokes about it; and people ate that shit up.

but then the rumors started. and they didn’t stop. year after year, people kept talking—speculating, theorizing. the more they talked, the more obsessed they seemed to get with you and rafe. it was like they couldn’t wrap their heads around the idea of the two of you just being friends.

you’d never questioned it before. rafe was your best friend, and that was just how it was. no one ever thought anything of the way you two clung to each other at parties, or the way you'd be the first to tell eachother about anything. it was normal. you were best friends, and that was enough.

but it made you think. why was it so different with him than anyone else? it never crossed your mind before, but now... it kind of did.

it’s not like you and rafe never hooked up with other people, but it was never serious. whenever you tried to date or hook up with someone else, it always felt off. maybe you’d get annoyed when a guy tried to cling to you all night at a party or started acting too affectionate. you’d lose interest, but with rafe? it never bothered you. you could spend the whole night with him and feel fine, like nothing was weird.

and rafe? he wasn’t any different. whenever a girl started to get too clingy, too “relationship-y,” he’d laugh it off and say something like, “i don’t like jealous girls anyway,” and drop them. it got to a point where he’d text you during parties, asking where you were so he could be with you.

but after a while, you started to wonder—if he didn’t want anything serious with anyone, why did he keep coming back to you? why was it always you that he’d stick with, even when he was with other girls? maybe it wasn’t just friendship after all. maybe there was something more between you two.

an: finallyyyy some rafe and roni romanceeeee

tags under the cut

tags: @italk2god @angelicameron @marleymarleymarleymarley, @queenvane64, @raeven-marie43 @idiotussupremus @sereneera @yesshewrites1 @inlovewithchriss @ethanthequeefqueen @amterasuu @popou61 @frankocealuvr11 @drewsstars @yannew @anothertimegirl

[angstflavoured]

A little fiddauthor analysis...

Making this post mostly just to get all of my thoughts out about it regarding how I think it is inherently very toxic on both ends, despite people treating it as more wholesome near the beginning when they were both younger… and the fact that I think it’s very incredibly one-sided. I’m strictly going to be talking about CANON events, not headcanons or speculations or AU’s. If you wanna draw Fiddleford and Ford being cute and hugging and dating, I don’t care, I like a lot of the content for them myself. It isn’t canon to the show and doesn’t affect or harm anybody. That’s what a fandom is and I’m not trying to police anyone, I just think a lot of people misinterpret their relationship and thought it would be fun to talk about it because I find their dynamic really interesting. I’m going to be using a lot of direct quotes and scenes from Ford’s journal, TBOB, and the show, so buckle in baby ! This was supposed to be a quicker and smaller one while I work on my Billford essay, but I had a lot more to say than I thought…

First off, it’s interesting to see how Ford thinks their interaction after so long is going to go. In Journal 3 he says he has “no choice” but to call Fiddleford up to work on the portal because Ford just doesn’t have the smarts to do what he wants to do himself, and he thinks he’s going to have to literally beg Fiddleford to join him. But as we see in the journal and in the show, it hardly takes ANY convincing at all for Fiddleford to drop everything he was doing and leave his wife and kid for months on end to work on a project he knows nothing about. All the info he has he got over a short phone call. It seems like Ford, at this point being so close with Bill and thinking he’s the only one who cares about him, just assumed that most people he used to talk with don’t think about him anymore. He’s had Bill whispering in his ear that he’s the only one who understands him, so it makes sense he doesn’t think Fiddleford will want to do this with him. But from what it looks like, Fiddleford either has been waiting every second for Ford specifically to get back to him, or just has been waiting for any excuse to get the hell away from his family which is… yeesh. Either way, not very healthy regarding his wife and kid. He doesn’t seem to really care all that much about either of them, but more on that later.

Obviously Ford cares about Fiddleford, as soon as he comes down to live with him, Ford hasn’t been so happy in a good while. He missed human connection, despite how good things were going with Bill. Having another person there to talk with was nice. Despite Fiddleford having strange quirks that did irk Ford, he found them endearing and genuinely felt better in his company.

But I think the biggest thing here a lot of people overlook is that Ford only ever refers to Fiddleford as his college buddy in the show, and in the journals as “my assistant.” I’ve seen so many people have Ford call him his partner, but he actually only calls him this like once in the show i think. It’s always my assistant, my research, my theory. Which is funny because Ford didn’t come up with any of this stuff with the portal on his own. Bill was the one that gave him the blueprints. Fiddleford even questions Ford at one point, asking if he had help coming up with them because of how complex they are, and Ford decidedly DOESN’T mention Bill and instead tells him “with hard work, anything is possible.” (Btw he does refer to Bill as his partner multiple times… just sayin.)

The way he talks to and about Fiddleford, Ford is always talking down. He does think that Fiddleford is smart and does think he has a brilliant mind, but he still thinks that he’s below him.

Because Ford has Bill.

And oh my lord, do I not see anyone talk about this. Soooo many comics always depict Fiddleford knowing about Bill existence, but I think the biggest roadblock with their ship and a huge point of contention is that Fiddleford never canonically knows about Ford’s relationship with Bill until after he’s already lost his mind when he’s old. He doesn’t even KNOW that he exists until he’s half sucked through the portal. People ignore this, but it’s so important to their dynamic. Ford doesn’t think that Fiddleford could handle it, and he doesn’t think he necessarily deserves to know. Because Bill is Fords thing. Their relationship is special. Ford is special.

Ford claims he doesn’t tell Fiddleford about Bill because he would throw him in a looney bin, despite their research being so whimsical and ridiculous already. They’re literally building a portal to a different dimension, Fiddleford would’ve believed him. And the way Ford talks about it, you can tell it’s less about Fiddleford thinking he’s crazy and more about something else.

Could F ever truly appreciate the complex fates that brought me and my Muse together?

He doesn’t think Fiddleford could APPRECIATE it. The language he uses, you can tell that Ford knows that Fiddleford would see right through Bill’s facade. And Ford doesn’t want that because he wants to be friends with Bill and he wants to be special, and he’d rather hide Bill and stay in denial than tell his dearest friend, just so he can feel special a little longer.

This is why I think as much as Fiddleford’s romantic feelings for Ford were there, it never ended up going anywhere. Ford would always choose Bill over him. When Fiddleford got him the axolotl pet, Ford quickly threw it out and lied about it to Fiddleford just because Bill told him to. And there’s multiple cases of interactions like this, where Bill will talk down about Fiddleford and Ford will just be like damn… yeah. Here’s a journal excerpt from TBOB around Christmas time. For context, Ford got into a huge fight with a monster and tried to contact Bill to help him, but he didn’t come. And then Bill randomly shows up later when Ford’s at home decorating.

I was almost roasted by Krampus, and where was he? Off inspiring some other scientist? Posing for some tapestry? Were we even partners? He threw the accusation back in my face. “Hey, I’m not the one skipping portal work to carouse with a third-wheel hillbilly with second thoughts about our project!” I started to argue--but he had a point. F has seemed less and less committed to work lately.

Which is INSANE !!! when we see that only a fucking page ago, Fiddleford was explaining how he got in a fight with his wife because he didn’t get her a present for Christmas. After spending multiple weeks and making multiple prototypes for a pair of 6 fingered gloves for Ford.

And if we hop back to Journal 3, there’s a particular interaction with them which is crazy to me. While hiking up a mountain to go to Crash Site Omega, they get into a fight with the Gremloblin, which fucking swoops up Fiddleford into the sky. In Ford’s attempt to get him down, they both end up falling down through the roof of a barn, where Fiddleford gets stuck full of quills and breaks his arm.

Despite our fortune, I have become worried about my assistant. I was able to treat his physical wounds, but I fear there are mental wounds not as easily remedied. For the past several nights, he has been unable to sleep, apparently still haunted by the Gremloblin’s gaze. More alarming is his Cubic’s Cube. It has sat scrambled, unfixed, on his desk for days. I myself have survived many monster attacks without trauma, but perhaps F is more sensitive than I realized…

OH. MY. GOD. The way that Ford talks so condescendingly is enough to make any person's blood boil. It’s the same way when Fiddleford gets sucked through the portal, and when Fiddleford gets pulled back, Ford’s first words out of his mouth are “WHAT DID YOU SEE!”

As much as he cared for Fiddleford… he has no regard at all for Fiddlefords VERY VALID feelings about events that would traumatize literally anyone. But he just pats Fiddlefords back and tells him to get used to it because this is just part of the job and he shouldn’t be whining so much. He does nothing to properly comfort him and scoffs it off like “apparently he’s ‘TRAMATIZED’ or something. I’ve been through so much worse and never had a problem, I don’t get what his issue is.” And then ford is SURPRISED AND APPALLED when Fiddleford creates the memory gun.

Which oohhhhh lord, the memory gun. jesus christ. Such a big example of the distrust between them on both sides. Fiddleford literally canonically lied about destroying the gun and then erased Fords memory about it so that he could erase his own memories in secret without him knowing. And also probably fords sometimes! Not completely canon, but like…. Fiddleford did it once, I wouldn’t put it past the guy. And then when they go to the carnival, Fiddleford hands out his fucking card to Ivan (the leader of the society of the blind eye, who was a teen/early 20s at the time) so that he can erase memories for him that he didn’t like.

Biggest thing we can take away from everything regarding Fiddleford’s character, is that he always takes the easy way out. He ran away from his family he obviously didn’t really care for as much as he should’ve because that was easier than talking it out or divorcing. He pushed it aside for later. Bro was literally looking for a fucken Brokeback Mountain situation, but Ford wasn’t giving anything back to him. So instead Fiddleford constantly made a fool of himself doing things for Ford and tripping over himself to show his gratitude when all the while Ford was entirely focused on Bill. and then he just goes around and starts erasing memories, because it’s easier than having to actually deal with things. Which is why I don’t foresee a reality in which Fiddauthor makes sense, in the way they actually end up doing anything together. Because Fiddleford’s too much of a coward to admit his feelings first, and Ford obviously has his sights on someone else.

And here’s the BIGGEST damning thing, like oh my god.

In Journal 3, Ford goes to a fortune teller (which don’t get me fucking started on how judgy he is to her and how much he talks down about her, DESPITE HER BEING LEGIT AND ACTUALLY WARNING HIM). Long story short, she gives Ford a spiel about how someone close to him is deceiving him. She then gives him a mood ring and says “when this is blue, you may pull through. When this is black, you can’t turn back.”

And LO AND BEHOLD!! OH MY FUCKING GOD, when they’re at the carnival and Fiddleford is talking to Ivan and whispering--

Ford. Looks down. To check if the ring is black.

I took one last look down at my hand and was strangely relieved to find that the palm reader’s ring was still blue. I shoved it in my pocket, collected F, and tried to put the whole experience out of my mind.

FORD LITERALLY THOUGHT ABOUT THE IDEA OF FIDDLEFORD BETRAYING HIM BEFORE BILL. IN FACT, HE LITERALLY NEVER MENTIONS THINKING IT WAS BILL ONCE.

He talks about how they got into a fight at dinner the night before the portal test because Fiddleford was having second thoughts about it being dangerous, and Ford told him to be there or he would get left behind. He’d do it without him.

And when Fiddleford gets pulled through the portal and quits the project, Ford says gooooddd fucking riddance, I never even needed you bro.

F, you weak-willed hayseed! Go back to your doting family and a life of fear and compromise! I weep now not for our failed partnership, but for the golden opportunity thrown away. To think I considered him a friend! I know my true friend. It is my Muse.

One of the few times he ever refers to it as partnership btw. Literally only when they break everything off.

And Ford only starts fighting with Bill about everything after it starts directly hurting him. It literally just seems like Ford is less upset about Bill’s plan being evil, and more upset at the fact that he lied to Ford LMAOOOOO he didn’t like the fact that he was disposable and lesser to Bill, despite Ford treating Fiddleford the exact same way.

At the end of all of this… it may seem like I’m really fighting against this ship, but not in the slightest. I LOVEEEE them so much, but in a way where it would be really toxic and not actually end up with anything happening.

Such a biggg theme when it comes to Ford’s character specifically is yearning. He yearns for success and attention and love and acceptance, but he’s constantly never giving other people those things. Which ends in him not receiving any in return. That is obviously until he gets back from dimension hopping and works on being a better person. When he starts towards healing, that’s when he starts receiving what he always wanted.

There’s so much tension between Ford and Fiddleford it's like disgusting, they were so incredibly gay… but, I hate to say it, it was very one-sided. They did have some fun times together and Ford enjoyed his company for quite a bit, but it was nothing like how Fiddleford felt for him. Fiddleford was always thinking about how Ford was feeling and what he was doing, and Ford never really did that for Fiddleford unless he was prompted to. But he was alwayasyayayss thinking about how Bill felt. And he always chose Bill in the end.

I just see so much of all of this get swept under the rug and never addressed, when it's kind of sad because it’s all so interesting and really adds a lot to both of their characters. They were both so morally gray back in their day, and honestly even more so now that they’re older, and its kinda sad to see that all go ignored. I JUST LOVE TOXIC GAYS SM AND THEY WERE SO TOXIC AND I’D LOVE TO SEE PEOPLE EXPLORE THAT MORE. Hopefully maybe this will prompt some people to think about it like this…….. It’s all so very tragic and their relationship was doomed from the start and i loveeeee shit like that. only misery to be had...

[neyafromfrance95]

what's your opinion on sauron being celebrian's father? i have seen a few people theorize that he is the father but i don't think trop will make it happen. which makes me sad 😭

i think, like many other scenarios, it's a fun concept to speculate about or to explore in the parents aus.

i'm open to and enjoy the variety of theories and the fun of indulging in them, and while i think that one could argue for a possibility of sauron being galadriel's babydaddy, i do have an unpopular opinion when it comes to what i like about sauron x galadriel's "relation".

i think there is something tremendously more tragic and romantic about the fact that all they share is but a cosmic connection. and yet, that cosmic connection is something so grand and special, it's beyond and far above anything explainable within the limits of that which is common and earthly.

it's not an alliance they share, it's not the realms they share, it's not the marriage or the children they share. it's something much much more, much bigger than any of that. not something anyone else but they would understand. something entirely unique. it's their fate to never unite but to have their very beings bound for all eternity.

all they have is this love and hate and longing for one another and it's like a secret that'd be dirty for everyone else in the world but is sacred for them. that's why it's more intimate than anything else could ever be, bc it's something between them and them alone in the entire world.

it's just the two of them, and the eternal connection of their souls. "galadriel and sauron share the deepest connection to another being either of them has ever experienced."

that's why sauron is obsessed with groping for galadriel and her only. that's why galadriel feels alone even though she has family and friends.

they are betraying their own selves and are being selfish at the same time by indulging in this pursuit (sauron) and temptation (galadriel) but this dynamic won't ever manifest into anything other than the essence of the dark and the light and their battle and dance.

this only thing they share is so metaphysical, mystical, it's the connection above the flesh, does it even matter if it is so immaterial? it does to them!!!

or one could argue that one thing that did come into existence from their relationship and symbolizes it, is nenya. makes the fact that galadriel never took it off, even when it didn't have any powers anymore, still wore it when she went to valinor, so much more significant. with added trop context, it means that she could never let go of the one and only reminder of her connection with sauron.

and i think all of this is utterly beautiful and heartwrenching and different and thinking about it drives me insane a bit. quite a lot, actually.

[thatonecrookedsmile]

I decided to finally color and post this thing I made a few months ago since we're getting close to BATDR's anniversary.

Consider this a fun concept based on a few things at the very least,or a Headcanon Based On Nothing At All at most. The "basis" for this comes from the fact that the Keepers' body and head are some kind of suit, with the zipper and "lens" being the most notable details of this. Which I found interesting.

Now,could the fact that they look like suits just be a side effect of them being offshots of the Machine? Yeah,yes it could. At the end of the day,the fact that they look like that can only be summed up as "they were created that way". Wilson just accidentally created cool-looking OCs. I doubt we'll get any kind of lore drop for the Keepers in the future beyond what we already know about them (but I could always be wrong).

The moment of inspiration that led me to do these sketches was when I was reading FTB and I was thinking about Gent and their experiments for a bit. The Keepers ended up getting into those thoughts at some point,which resulted in me doing… this!

So,yeah,what if the Keepers, before the Dark Revival,were old GENT containment suits?

Essentially,in my head,when JDS closed its doors,Gent continued the ink experiments in its own workshop,and the suits above were worn by the company's scientists while conducting some of these experiments. While we don't know what else the guys at Gent were doing beyond what we saw in BATDR and FTB,I don't think it's far-fetched to say that not even their scientists would want to touch the damned ink,which,as we know,is best kept away from. So,the suits are used.

In 1952,the workshop was condemned and closed. Eventually,the location and by extension - the technologies,the experiments and things like the suits - ended up in the Ink Realm. Fast forward to 72/73,the whole thing about Wilson finding out and taking control of the Cycle happens. When it came to creating his own "guards" to help with his plans in the Cycle,I guess he just. Took stuff from the Gent workshop like the suits and other stuff like gears and pipes,threw it all through the Ink Machine and uhhhhhhh,boom,the Keepers are created.

Again,I wouldn't take this as a serious theory/speculation,and as said,more as ideas and concepts based on so little that I decided to put on paper. (Might as well consider all of this potential AU stuff)

Additional stuff:

- I didn't make the outlines and the helmet's lens glow in the first 2 sketches because I realized that it wouldn't make much sense in the suits? The Keepers,sure,make sense,but for the suits themselves? Not so much. So I left them "switched off",with the exception of the third sketch,done at the time when I hadn't thought about this detail any further.

- The idea for the fourth sketch,the gas mask,came to me while looking at reference images of real-life hazmat suits. I thought it might be intriguing to have Gent scientists wear these masks under their suits,so I sketched it out to get a better idea. The mask itself was based on one of the scrapped Keeper designs, the ones that had the more "alien" feel to them. I don't know if it would fit inside the Keeper suit,but it's still something I wanted to consider.

I also like this whole concept of the suits for two other reasons. First, it gives the Keepers an origin that predates Wilson and the Dark Revival. Second, reusing old Gent suits to create his own guards isn't that far-fetched for a man whose entire rise to power within the studio and plan to overthrow the Ink Demon has depended on the work (and existence) of others to come to fruition. So that wouldn't be so absurd.

Also,here's 2 bonus sketches. The second one has nothing to do with what I've said so far, it's just something I was playing around with at the time.

[crookedangelpizza]

Xiao streamer Au pt2

The ending was kinda rushed, so bare with me ;-;

Weeks had passed since the first collab, and Xiao’s stream had become something different. It wasn’t just about the game anymore. Sure, he still put his focus on every match, every level, but his thoughts would always drift to you. The teasing fights, the shared victories, and the easy comfort between the two of you were woven into his routine. He could barely deny it, he looked forward to your streams more than his own and even more to collabs between eachother.

The fans had gone wild with speculation ever since that first collab. "Xiao and [Y/N] are such a perfect match!" they’d chant in the chat. Xiao had grown used to it, but something about those words lingered in the back of his mind. A perfect match... He had never been one for fan theories or hype, but seeing your smile, hearing your voice, he couldn’t help but think that maybe just maybe the fans were right(ofc they were)

One day, after a particularly intense stream, Xiao sat back in his chair, massaging his temples as he read through his chat, replying to the usual fanfare. But then something caught his eye.

[Your Channel] has sent you a message!

Xiao’s heart skipped. You never messaged him on the birdy app, He hesitated before opening the message, wondering if it was another casual chat about a future collab, or perhaps just a thank-you for another successful stream.

But when the message opened, his breath caught in his chest.

[Y/N]:

"Hey, Xiao! I’ve been thinking about something! You know how I’ve been doing my baking streams lately, right? Well, I was wondering... if you’re not too busyy, would you be up for an in-person collab? I’m planning a special baking stream soon since im hitting 500k followers and your almost to 900k maybe we could make somethingg special for that!!, and I think it’d be fun to have you come over and join me! We can also hangout afterwards!!(if you want ofc) Think of it as a (game night meets cooking chaos) kind of deal. What do you think? :)"

Xiao blinked at the screen, his heart racing a little faster than it probably should. You wanted him to meet you in person? For a baking stream?

His mind spun. He wasn’t used to meeting other streamers face-to-face especially someone like you. Sure, he’d been comfortable in the virtual world, collaborating from the safety of his own space, but this was... different. His thoughts raced as he tried to form a response. Was this an invitation for a collab? Or was it something else entirely? A chance to get closer?

After a moment of hesitation, Xiao typed out a quick reply, his fingers trembling slightly on the keys.

[Xiao]:

"...When?"

NEW MESSAGE [Y/N]

[Y/N]:

"Yay!! I'm so glad that your up for it maybe like next week on a Friday!? And I've already announced the stream hehe ik you would do it!! Fans are asking for us to match are you up for that?!!

[Xiao]:

"Mhm that's fine"

He hit send before he could second-guess himself. His mind raced matching outfits with you and hanging out after the stream what did he do to deserve this-

The next few days flew by in a blur of preparation. Xiao found himself thinking more and more about your message, running through potential scenarios in his mind. How would he act in person? What if he messed up the baking? The thought of cooking with you-something so different from his usual gaming—both terrified and excited him. He wasn’t sure which one of those feelings was stronger.

"XIAO, I said you can stop that was your last lap. Why are you out of focus today does it have to do with your games" zhongli sighed as he handed Xiao a towel to dry himself off.

"No it's not.." He huffed

---------

When the day arrived, he found himself standing outside your door, his heart pounding in his chest. His usual composure had completely vanished. For the first time in a long while, Xiao felt utterly nervous.

Your door opened, and there you were, smiling brightly at him in the same pajama pants and black shirt. "Xiao! You made it!" You stepped aside (stopping yourself from giving him a hug)to let him in, and as he walked through the doorway, your kitchen came into view—a bright, cozy space filled with baking supplies and a hint of something delicious already wafting through the air.

"Come on in! Let me show you the setup," you said, leading him further into the room. Your voice was as warm and inviting as ever, and Xiao couldn’t help but feel a little more at ease. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.

You turned to face him with a mischievous smile. "So, are you ready for some baking chaos?" you asked, raising an eyebrow.

Xiao blinked, clearly uncertain. "Chaos?"

"Yep! It’s gonna be fun, trust me. We're making some insane desserts today," you said with a grin, already pulling out ingredients. "First, we’ll bake some cookies, then we'll decorate them. Simple, right?"

Xiao wasn’t sure if the word simple applied to anything involving you. But, he thought, if it meant spending time with you, maybe he could handle a little chaos.

You set up your equipment and placed the camera in the perfect spot to capture everything, then turned back to Xiao. "Okay! We're live, so don't be too nervous!" you teased.

He nodded, still feeling that rush of uncertainty, but his eyes never left yours. There was something comforting about the way you were so confident, and he could almost forget about the cameras and the chat buzzing behind them.

MEOWMEOW - "OMG THATS HOW CIAO LOOKS"

HUMEAO1856 - "Yalll I literally told you he is FINEEE"

YABOICHIDE -  "he got the MUSCLES just like me, I Approve this marriage!!"

For the next hour, the two of you baked, laughed, and fumbled through the process. There were flour fights, awkward moments where neither of you could remember the recipe, and more than one cookie that came out of the oven a little too crispy.

Anyway moving on its time to put these in the ovenn!!

Xiao found himself enjoying every moment. There was something calming about being in your presence, about hearing you talk cheerfully about all the things you loved while you worked. It was different from gaming, but in a way, it was just as captivating. And every time your eyes met his, his chest seemed to tighten with something unspoken—something that went beyond the game, beyond the stream.

As the final batch of cookies baked, you turned to him with a grin. "Okay, Xiao. It's time for the best part." You grabbed a tube of icing and held it up. "Decorating time!"

Xiao stared at the frosting, then at you. "What do I do?"

You laughed and stepped closer, gently guiding his hand with the icing bag. "Here, I'll show you. You just need to go slow and steady... and maybe add a little flair."

He nodded, attempting to mimic your careful movements, but the moment he squeezed the tube, a glob of frosting shot out onto the cookie and splattered all over the counter.

"Oops," he muttered, looking up at you with a rare sheepish expression.

You burst out laughing, and Xiao’s face flushed slightly, feeling his heart skip in his chest at the sound of your genuine, carefree laughter.

"Don't worry! That's part of the fun!" you said, wiping a bit of icing off his cheek. Your fingers lingered for a second longer than necessary, and for a brief moment, Xiao's heart seemed to stop altogether.

MEOWMEOW - "YALL DO YOU SEE THE WAY THEY LOOK AT EACHOTHER"

SKIBIDISCAR - " SHIP SHIP SHIP"

As the stream wrapped up, you and Xiao sat at the counter, your cookies (a bit more colorful than expected) lined up in front of you. The chat was filled with nothing but praise for your chaotic baking skills and how well you two worked together. But Xiao wasn’t paying much attention to the comments.

His mind was still on that fleeting moment—the way your fingers had brushed against his skin. Was it just a friendly gesture? Or was there something more? He wasn’t sure. The entire time you’d been together, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something between you had shifted.

"You did great today," you said, beaming at him as the stream ended. "I didn’t think you’d be so good at baking... even with the little icing mishap." You said as you were leading him to the couch.

Xiao simply nodded, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. He wasn’t used to this kind of praise, but somehow, hearing it from you made it feel different. Real.

"Thanks," he murmured, his voice quieter than usual.

And then, before he could stop himself, he added, "Maybe we can do this again sometime."

-------------

You raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You mean, another baking stream?"

There, it was an alert for severe rain and a reason for him to stay longer(yall I didn't know what to put)

"Oh my gosh I can't let you go home in these conditions" you say as you close the windows

It's fine I'll be home in 30 minutes he protested

-------

Really you have to stay you pled as you extended the couch. See I'll even sleep here so you aren't scared you giggled

You stretched out beside him, pulling a blanket over the two of you as the late-night tiredness began to settle in. "You know," you said with a teasing smile, "I’m really glad you came today. This was fun." You glanced at him, and your eyes caught his again. There was a brief, charged silence before you broke it with a light laugh.

---

"Yeah, me too," Xiao responded quietly. He shifted slightly, trying to get comfortable, but his mind wouldn’t stop spinning. The warmth of the room, the soft glow of the lights, the way your voice lingered in his head it was all so... comforting.

You shifted a little closer, nudging him with your shoulder as you closed your eyes. "I’m glad you came, Xiao. Honestly, I was kind of nervous, too," you confessed with a sleepy smile.

Xiao blinked, surprised. "You were?" he asked, his voice a little softer than usual.

"Yeah," you yawned, "I mean, it’s different, you know? Streaming in person. But it turned out fine, didn’t it?"

He nodded slowly, still feeling the pull of your closeness. The warmth of the blanket made his muscles relax, but his mind was still racing. He glanced down at you, noticing how relaxed you looked next to him—how soft your features were in the dim light.

Before he knew it, the silence between you two deepened, and with it, the realization that he was falling into a more comfortable, intimate space with you. He didn’t want to mess it up.

You stretched and let out a quiet sigh. "Honestly, I’m just so tired," you mumbled. "I think I might actually doze off."

"Yeah," Xiao murmured, "me too."

He turned slightly, trying to keep his distance, but you shifted again, now lying with your head resting just a few inches from his chest. He froze, his heartbeat picking up. The soft hum of the air conditioning and the peaceful quiet of your apartment filled the room. Xiao’s muscles tensed involuntarily, but it wasn’t because of any discomfort—it was just the strange feeling of having someone this close, someone who made him feel safe in a way he wasn’t used to.

Without thinking, he instinctively shifted, his arm coming to rest behind you, almost as if his body was telling him it needed to protect this moment, protect you. His bicep brushed lightly against your shoulder, and he instantly regretted it, feeling his entire face flush.

You shifted, your body naturally pressing just a little bit closer to his warmth. "Xiao... you have really nice muscles," you said sleepily, the compliment slipping out before you could stop yourself.

Xiao blinked, the sudden shift in your voice making his heart race. He hadn’t expected that. "I... uh..." He felt his throat go dry as he shifted awkwardly, his arm still around you. "I’m a swimmer," he said, as if that explained everything. "I just... have to stay in shape."

You smiled softly, your face still flushed from the warm comfort of his arm around you. "I can tell. I didn’t think you could get any more impressive, but I guess I was wrong."

Xiao was suddenly very aware of how close you were. Your body heat seemed to seep into him, and every little movement you made felt amplified. The rhythmic sound of your breathing lulled him into a state of calm, yet there was a strange tension in the air—one he couldn’t quite understand.

"Well," you murmured, almost asleep, "I think this is nice. We should do this again... more than just streams."

Xiao’s breath caught at the words. Did you mean it? His mind flashed back to the stream, the moments you shared—your fingers brushing his, the teasing, the laughter. He wanted to say something, to tell you that he was feeling the same pull, but the words didn’t come. He just shifted slightly, pulling you a little closer in an unspoken response.

You made a soft sound, almost like a sigh of contentment, and before he knew it, you were dozing in his arms, your body relaxed and safe against his chest. Xiao sat still, his heart beating steadily, unsure of what to think, but too tired to care. He could feel the steady rhythm of your breathing beneath his arm and the way your soft warmth melted against him.

The soft weight of your body against his felt more natural than anything he'd ever experienced. A warmth blossomed in his chest, one that wasn’t from nervousness or confusion, but from something deeper, something comfortable.

He closed his eyes, letting the peace of the moment wash over him. Maybe this was just the beginning, maybe it was more than just a collab. Whatever it was, Xiao wasn’t in any rush to figure it out. For now, he was content to just be here, with you, in the quiet, cozy warmth of your apartment. And for the first time in a long time, he felt like he truly belonged somewhere.

"I like you," Xiao whispered, his voice low and hesitant, but full of sincerity.

You stirred in his arms, a soft smile tugging at your lips. "Mhm, really?"

"Yeah," he replied, his arms tightening around you, as if to hold onto the moment.

"I like you too," you murmured sleepily, nuzzling closer.

Xiao’s heart raced, but he pulled you in even tighter hug It felt simple and perfect, just the two of you

It is so bad I want to give you a zero but that's not possible so i give you a 1😣

[blue-rose-soul]

Wait then for raised together au: what would be alastor reaction when he learn about Lilith's deal with the angels ?

Then again it still in theories.

That's a hard question to answer, since, as you said, we don't really have much information to go on. I have fun speculating but I don't like to assume mine or anyone else's theories are true with any amount of certainty until we have on screen confirmation. All we really know is that Lilith had some kind of deal with someone in Heaven, and that deal involved Adam.

With that being all the information I have, that's all the information I'm allowing Alastor to have in this AU.

Even in the scenario where Lucifer rescued young Alastor and brought him home, Alastor doesn't really see Lilith as a mother-figure. Things are pretty awkward between them early on, with him being a result of her husband's drunken indiscretion. But she doesn't resent Alastor for it. She's a tad cold towards him at times, but she seems to genuinely care* for the people of Hell, including this child. And there's a bit of solidarity between them, since they both became demons without dying.

Before Lilith disappeared for seven years, Alastor had some idea that she had her own plans in the works. He saw her actively working to better the lot of the people in Hell while Lucifer shut himself away. Saw her be an actual leader. But he wasn't brought in on her plan and so he was suspicious about what, exactly, she was doing. If he found out she had some kind of deal with the angels, that suspicion would grow with him starting to question whether or not she actually has Hell's best interests at heart. While he doesn't care too much about the sinners at large, he does care about Charlie and, over time, the hotel. While this version of Alastor is softer than his canon counterpart, having grown up under very different circumstances, he is still willing to step in to make hard decisions that he sees Charlie as unwilling or unable to make. And he knows how much Charlie cares about the people of Hell.

Alastor gets himself comfortable with the idea of seeing his mentor as an enemy, and prepares to take drastic action to stop her plans if they put Charlie's in jeopardy. But! He won't act until he's done some investigating and knows with certainty what Lilith's plans are. After all, she's still Charlie's mother.

(*I do enjoy portrayals of Lilith as a villain or a sinister figure, but that's not the interpretation I'm going with in the case of this scenario specifically. She's just sketchy.)

[radiosilence-psychonauts]

ASK RULES:

No NSFW asks. - Suggestive (but not straight up NSFW) questions are allowed to be asked to adult characters ONLY. If you ask a suggestive question toward the minor characters, you will be hard blocked. (The owner of this blog is 18+. Minors asking suggestive questions will not be answered.) - Proshippers/comshippers DO NOT INTERACT. I don't want to argue with you, just please do not interact. Proshippers/comshippers will be blocked on sight.

Roleplaying is allowed! - I love to roleplay and encourage it! You may muse as any character, even if it's a canon / different au version of the characters. However, please specify that you are roleplaying and who you are musing as. - Please don't be weird and follow all the blog rules, even in roleplay. - Please don't godmod the AU.

Avoid spamming. - Please remember that I am a real person in her senior year of high school (soon to be college) and that I may not reply to your ask immediately. If I do not respond to your ask, it is most likely for a reason. I have the right to not respond to your ask for any reason. - Spamming will result in a hard block. - Asks involving art take time. Please do not pester me for these.

Remember that this is an AU. - This is an AU that diverges from canon in a number of ways. There may be some things that are inconsistent with canon, and that is intended. Avoid derailing the AU / restricting it to canon. - If you'd like to add on to my AU or even insert your OC into the AU, feel free to DM me on Discord or on my main blog (both @soulsofairlight)! However, forcefully inserting your OC or character into the AU will result in a block. - Headcanons, theories and other speculation on the AU are more than welcome! However, please do not force things into the AU and try to "make things canon" to it that aren't. You will be blocked.

Haters will be made fun of. - If you're here to make fun of the AU or shame me or something, don't even try because you will not be taken seriously. You will instead be publicly shamed and made fun of for your pathetic behavior. - If you don't like the AU, I respect your opinion and am always open to hearing constructive criticism. However, if you're here to whine about it then like go make your own AU or something lol

BEFORE YOU FOLLOW (BYF):

Reminder that this is fanfiction. - The Plastic Age AU is a symbolic fanfiction based on the Psychonauts series by Double Fine Studios. All characters are owned by their respective owners and my takes on them are purely based on my own developments. - The plastic age AU shares the same topics of mental health that are seen in the original series. If these topics may upset you, please proceed with caution. Be safe. - This AU may be "cringe," however, I don't care and I don't want to hear it.

This blog is intended for 16+. - Due to the sensitive nature of not only Psychonauts itself but of the AU, this blog may not be suitable for younger or more sensitive audiences. - This AU explores the personal experiences of the creator in a symbolic manner and is a coping mechanism. It is used to understand and express these experiences in a healthy way. The heavy topics in this AU are treated with care and respect and are based on the personal experiences of the creator They may be upsetting.

This blog contains HEAVY SPOILERS for the entire Psychonauts series. - If you have not played/watched gameplay of Psychonauts, Psychonauts in The Rhombus of Ruin, and Psychonauts 2, you may have trouble following. - If you have not played/watched these games and do not wish to be spoiled, come back once you've finished them! I'll be waiting for you! ;)

Dividers source: @animatedglittergraphics-n-more

[lostinthewoodsomewhere]

It’s an honor to add to The Club lore, I’m doing my part 🫡 and yeah I do have a theory about Zane and Jesse!! I hope it’s alright to share lol

I think Jesse DID try to help Alan, but she ended up reaching Zane instead. He double crossed Alan with Scratch, it would not surprise me if he also tried to steal the helping hand Jesse would extend to Alan in order to get out of the Dark Place, maybe going as far as impersonating Alan to gain Jesse’s trust. Like maybe there IS some history between Zane and Jesse. He said they’re onto them. Maybe Jesse saw through the rouse and that’s why he’s scared? Or maybe he just said that to scare Alan. He gets on his knees and tries to hide like he doesn’t want Jesse to see there’s two of them, and he tells Alan to not tell anyone he was there with him. Whyyyyyy?? I’m assuming that at that point he hadn’t met Darling yet, so maybe he thought he was with Jesse. But once he saw Darling was ALSO stuck in the Dark Place, he realized he wasn’t in on the loop (pun intended) about Alan and that’s why he decided to manipulate/recruit him. Especially knowing he was part of the FBC, who obviously know more than most people about the Dark Place. That’s where my theory ends, idk how plausible it is, but it’s fun to speculate 😁

Hell yeah, it makes me so unbelievably happy when people engage with my silly Au's!!! Like, the club has exactly no basis in cannon, so it's so lovely that people want to engage with the random thoughts I have!!!

And of course, I'm always up for hearing any headcannons, especially any about Jesse and Zane!!!!

This idea is sooooooooooo goooooooood!!!!!! Good lord, I adore the idea of Zane pretending to be Alan to get help, just thinking of how pissed Jesse would be when she finally figured it out, just, ahhhhhhh!!!!! I could also imagine him communicating as himself, pretending he's trying to help Jesse get Alan out, but is absolutely planning on double crossing him, mabye even pretending to be him when he gets out, with Darling helping him!!!!! Love the idea of him recruiting Darling and just not telling him he's on the run from the Bureau he works for!!!!

Also just, Zane and Jesse talking, forming a friendship, only for Zane to betray her... 🥲 that's some good stuff right there...

(one of my personal headcannons is that Zane does know Darling when he appears on the tv, because him and Darling are exes cause Zane betrayed him, and now Zane is scared Darlings coming after him with his scary new boss 🤭)

Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with me, ahhhhhh it's given me so much to think about!!! And yeah, I expect all my feelings on Jesse and Zane to be completely destroyed by cannon, but I adore playing in the space with them, they bring me such joy!!!!

[imthepunchlord]

Man, hearing about the season 1 days of miraculous makes remember when we first saw the leaks of the season and first the art for the pearls and stone, Alya with the fox (and how everyone called her Volpina), and Chloe with the bee. Man, those were days. I also remember how everyone was thinking Gabriel had the peacock and Emilie had the butterfly originally. I even remember when we first got that one image of Pixie Girl, and everyone thought she was a teenage Emilie with the butterfly miraculous that was going to appear in a flashback episode 😆. Ah, I miss those days.

Gosh so much is taking me back.

I remember expanded Square chaos. I remember there were theories of Ladybug and "Volpina"/Rena being rivals/antagonists to each other as a reversal of them being best friends + clearly Marinette wouldn't trust the new Fox (which I was never crazy about, especially as you typically didn't see that for Adrien and Nino, felt like turning girls against each other); and QB and LB were going be friendly. And there were speculated shenanigans for QB and RR, I think there was also a small rise of Chloya and the idea that maybe they'd have their own Square going.

Some I didn't see, like the theory that Pixie was teen Emilie, but I did see that she was planned for the NY Special, and there were the plans for the Shanghai Special.

I really did theorize that Marinette and Adrien were going to get their own exclusive Specials to be focused on, with Marinette in Shanghai and Adrien in NY and he for sure was going to work with Pixie.

Another theory I had was where Fu was going to become Marinette's mentor, Gabriel was going to be Adrien's, cause I did like the idea that he had the Peafowl, not Emilie. And I thought this concept art of Duusu was her being furious with Gabriel literally shutting her away.

And something was going to go down and this "Paon" was going to steal the Peafowl from Gabriel.

Or she already did and what Gabriel had was a fake.

And potentially that HM was who Gabriel and Emilie feared and that's why Adrien wasn't allowed out.

Those really were the days. The theories were so fun. And much of it I think was more interesting than what we got.

And it was a time of aus. I don't know how many aus are being done for ML these days, I think most are salt fics now, but that was the time to have fun, do different spins. Doing kwami swaps. Life swaps. Cowboy au.

You could get creative with akumas, like, I remember finding old fics that swapped Marientte with Bridgette and trapped her in a different reality/timeline, and I kinda wish the Paris Special did that. Off topic, but I feel the Paris Special should've gone full comedy and full reversal for characters. And that we actually got to see this different Paris.

Like, could you imagine Marinette and Emonette swapping places, either through akuma or Bunnyx, and Marinette's scrambling trying to figure out how to get back and how to keep going in this topsy turvy world where apparently Ladybug is a villain? "Hawk Moth" is a good guy? Wtf is Chat wearing? Wtf happened to Adrien.

And you got Emonette just needing shades cause this world is so bright and sunny and why do these people keep talking to her? Tf happened to Adrien, was he a poser this whole time? HM's a villain? But of course he's a bad villain just like he's a bad hero. And ooooh she's going to have so much fun with Chloe... and who tf is this Lila and what does she think she's doing picking a fight with Emonette. Oh, she's adding her to her list...

And you could add to it if kwamis were also kinda reversed.

Emonette stuck with canon Tikki trying to get her Marinette back, but also trying to rein in Emonette, try to be that voice of reason and her consciousness, and oh, she's dumping all of Chloe's things down the toilet... she's got her work cut out for her.

Meanwhile Special Tikki is more "pure luck" and is more chaotic and sporadic, she's not outright malicious, but she's just rolling with that neutralness of luck, it having good and bad and it comes down to karma and your own actions. She's just here to sit and watch the consequences play out. Emonette was kinda funny though she was predictable in her karma as her negative actions fed negative consequences. But man, this Marinette is freaking hilarious. Tikki is constantly eating popcorn, enjoying the show cause she never knows what she's going to get with this well meaning if all over the place Marinette.

[davekat-sucks]

Soriel shippers will always weird me out because of the time Toby said that Sans and Papyrus were 18 and 14. I know Toby retracted the tweet some time later and most likely retconned their ages, but it completely explains how the skeleton boys behave. Ever since Deltarune came out I started thinking maybe that's meant to be their DR ages, which makes Toriel a big-time creep. Why is a middle-aged, bordering on elderly preschool teacher dating a young adult who's only a few years older than the fun gang? Kinda makes me think Toby retconned the ages just so he could make Soriel jokes.

I'm not sure if Toby had mentioned the ages. I thought it was based on speculation like Papyrus' username CoolSkeleton95. People assume 95 means Papyrus was born in 1995. With Undertale happening around 201X, people assume he could be 15 - 24 years old. But since Papyrus acts more sweet if a bit naïve, which people attached him to being childish, they assume he would be like a teen around 14-17 years old. But I do think Toriel is older than Sans if only for the fact that Toriel and Asgore have been around a bit longer to known about the war between humans and monsters. Sans and Papyrus made themselves known after the monsters were trapped. Then there's the theory that Sans came from Delatrune because of the secret photo with the words "don't forget". People thinking later chapters 5-7, we would see Sans and Papyrus jumping into the Undertale dimension (accidentally or intentionally). Even if Deltarune's counterparts are not the same, there is still parallels that made me think certain events or roles are consistent no matter the alternate universe. Which is even applied to various Undertale AUs from fans. In this case, two people having a split because of an incident. In Undertale, Toriel and Asgore split because of Asriel and Chara's death. In Deltarune, it's Dess being missing. I wouldn't be too shocked if he backtracked upon realizing certain implications that the fandom has forgotten/didn't catch on until recently. I was never a fan of Soriel. I want Toriel back with Asgore and I think Asgore is king. Also, I ship Sans x Frisk. It's a good thing they are fictional characters, so people can ship whatever they want. So if people are shipping Sans x Toriel despite age gap implications, then Sans x Frisk is just as fine too. Be it in Undertale or Deltarune.

[moongothic]

Okay, here goes. What's your ultimate Crocodad timeline? You can go as wild or as believable as you want.

I mean I made this timeline chart/post/thing.

But if you meant it in a more "how do you think things actually went down" specific kinda way, uhhhhh. Great question, not sure I know how to answer. Like. The possibilities on what could've happened and how are nearly endless and all those options are so interesting to me. Even if there's ideas I feel like might be more likely than others, or I find myself more invested in some ideas, I can't fully like, dedicate myself to any specific idea for a plot point or a storybeat or anything, especially if there's nothing to suggest if anything even remotely similar could've happened.

Like, say for example, how did Crocodile and Dragon meet? There's literally infinite ways they could've met, to the point I'm not even really that interested in speculating on it, because more likely than not, any guess I make will probably be wrong. Like speculating about something like that feels almost pointless. Compare that to say, how did Luffy end up in Garp's care? While we know like nothing about what exactly happened, we do have any theoretical information (ex: Garp and Croc should not know about each other, meaning there must've been a third party to deliver the baby, and it's more than likely that was Dragon) that we can get to much more specific when speculating about what might've happened. Like there's still plenty of options, but the options are far fewer, which makes the speculation so much more interesting, for me at least

But at the same time, I don't want to get too fond of any idea in because Oda could still prove me wrong and debunk it and I'd be sad if I got like fond of a concept and I ended up being dead wrong lmao

Mind you, for me, a big part of the reason I'm invested in the theory to begin with IS the possibility of it being canon. Like yes Crocodad would and always will make for fun AU fanfics regardless of if it's canon or not. But I am here to more or less speculate about canon.

So between my brain treating Crocodad as this monstrous, gigantic flow chart, and me not wanting to get too attached to any potential path on the chart... Yeah I don't know what to tell you anon, I'm sorry

Like. Just as an example. On how my brain processes this shit.

(Sidenote, this chart is like under the assumption that Croc and Dragon had mutually agreed that their child would be put in the care of Dragon's father. And while that makes the most sense to me by a long shot, technically it's totally possible Luffy was taken away from Crocodile by force by Dragon or something else) (THERE'S SO MANY POTENTIAL THINGS THAT COULD'VE HAPPENED, AHHHHHHH)

Like here, I think the most likely canon scenarios would be the "Respectful Rejection" followed by "Too Stunned To Speak -> It's Bad" routes, though personally I might be most interested in the "It Was Really Bad" route because it'd be really fucked up and sad

So like. Yeah. I have no idea what my "ultimate Crocodad timeline" would be, there's too much room for speculation to the point anything specific would leave the room of Neutral Canon Speculation and just turn into a plain old fanfic, and I'm just here for theorizing

But hey if you wanted a fanfic, here's a TL:DR;

(You know I say this is a TL:DR; but this got so fucking long it almost broke this post. Like Tumblr would not let me save the draft or post it anymore because there's a 4k character limit to "blocks", I had to break this into chunks man)

If Crocodile was betrayed by his crew after losing to Whitebeard and had to kill them himself in self-defence;

Who the fuck knows, maybe by some twist of fate our wounded/dying, exhausted and traumatized Crocodile drifted in the sea and his ship ran into Dragon, the man rescuing Crocodile from the kindness of his heart or something IDK

If the dude had to kill his own crew immidiately after Whitebeard crushed his hopes and dreams, Crocodile must've been just absolutely shell shocked. Depressed and withdrawn, just out of it. So maybe Dragon being there could've been great for Croc's mental state. Maybe. Big maybe.

If Crocodile did turn out to be the Rev Army's Secret Sugar Daddy then perhaps this is how that relationship kind of started: Crocodile could've paid Dragon in cash money as thanks for saving his life, and then just kept the money coming since Dragon had an army to run and needed the funds

(Like we don't know why Crocodile joined the Shichibukai anyways, but if it was only ever for The Benefits of not having to deal with the Marines chasing his ass anymore and if he didn't give a rat's ass about the Government... Like yeah, why not fund the Revolutionary Army, give money to the people trying to directly take down the fuckers while right under their noses.) (Who knows maybe Croc does have his own reasons for hating the WG and had like a genuine reason beyond just being a petty king and/or having basic human decency in understanding why the WG was corrupt and needed to be overthrown)

Thus begins a secret comradery where Crocodile every now and then goes and drops off some money to Dragon to help fund the Army, nobody on either side of the war any wiser (except maybe Iva-chan, they're allowed to be in on the secret, as a treat). It's their secret that they keep for years

Time passes

Whoopsie poopsie Crocodile's prégónánté

The two realize that their kid is going to be in so much danger for a pletora of reasons and that neither can raise the baby. Dragon knows his father would keep their baby safe and they both agree to leaving the child to him (not a happy decision, it's just for the best, for everyone's sake)

Anyway Crocodile's gender dysphoria goes into turbo mode during pregnancy. Maybe he never really realized it was there and/or what it was, but boy howdy, it's there now and it's really really bad. Like, if it wasn't for the baby he might just kill himself (and god knows once the kid is out and taken away, there's not going to be anything to stop him from doing just that)

Crocodile must've gone into hiding during the latter half of his pregnancy to keep it a secret from the Government, and I could totally imagine him being hellbent on being completely isolated. He is a Shichibukai, everybody knows him, he can't risk having even some random doctor recognize him and find out about the baby. Besides, it's not like he can do much while hiding anyways, like he might as well read 150 medical books to ensure he can deliver his baby by himself

(Sidenote but the narrator in OP has called Fuusha Village Luffy's "birth place" (think the term he used was "umereta machi", lit. "town he was born in"), and if that's true, then. Croc should've been hiding in and/or near Fuusha Village in Goa Kingdom. Additional sidenote, there are wild crocodiles in Goa, which are the Sir's favorite food.)

To avoid suspicion and the risk of being found out, Dragon might've agreed to not go see Crocodile during this time, only agreeing to see his significant other after the child was born so he could then deliver the baby to Garp (after not just leaving the Marines but also starting a fucking revolutionary army, the dude probably didn't want his father to find out he had been dating a fucking WARLORD)

But surely he'd think Crocodile was insane if he thought he'd let Crocodile deliver the baby alone. Like no, somebody needs to be there by his side. Someone Dragon could trust, a fellow Revolutionary perhaps. Oh yeah, just send Ivankov, what could possibly go wrong

(Personal headcanon but since we don't know when Ivankov got their Fruit, I kind of want to imagine they ate it just a short time ago at this point and that they hadn't fully realized the potential of the Hormone Fruit yet. Like their genderfluid ass may not have understood the power they now held)

Iva-chan did not know Croc was prénánté, whether Dragon told Ivankov ahead of time why they were being sent to check on Croc is up or debate (if Iva-chan was aware of Croc being their Secret Sugar Daddy though then I'm sure they understood why Dragon wanted and was willing to help out Crocodile in this situation). Croc and/or Dragon probably lied through their teeth about the father of the child if Iva-chan ever asked about it, and whatever Iva-chan was told they clearly bought it since they never knew about Dragon having a kid.

When Iva gets there though they can see right away that something is fucking wrong with Crocodile, in ways even he can't understand. He is so uncomfortable 24/7 for seemingly no reason. So naturally Iva-chan pokes and prods at the dumbass until Croc has a break down and explains his weird feelings he can't even word properly and this is how Emporio Ivankov discovered transgenderism

What's that? You don't like what pregnancy has done to your body, doesn't feel like it's yours anymore? You feel love for your child but don't want to be its mother? Good news, you can be its father instead. Bad news, gotta wait until the baby is farted out. Aren't sure about it? No worries, there's time to think about it, and shit's 100% reversible anyways. Just hang in there for a little bit longer, you may feel god awful rn but that too shall pass

(Maybe this is how Iva-chan starts calling Crocodile "Crocoboy", just to get him to warm up to the idea that he could be(come) a man, get used to it etc)

Crocodile has an identity crisis of a lifetime. Like either he knew since he was a small child that something was fucky wucky, or he never realized it until now, either way, he must not have even been aware of the idea that he could trans his gender (which would make sense if Ivankov only recently got their Fruit just sayin'). So yeah. Enjoy that gender crisis, dumbass

Like he straight up just goes through the five stages of grief before he's like "god dammit if it'll make me feel less like I'll kill myself then it's worth a shot, don't care what Dragon ends up thinking"

At some point Croc must've contacted Dragon at least one final time just so they can agree on when and where they'll meet to hand over the baby once it's born (if Croc doesn't die at child birth. I mean they both know he'll be fine, Croc's survived worse. But if something did happen, Iva-chan will take care of the baby until Dragon arrives)

This is One Piece. Luffy was born at dawn.

Crocodile probably insists on getting the T literally immidiately after the baby is out. If he doesn't just pass out immidiately after giving birth. But like within 24 hours of giving birth. Iva-chan is probably like "Crocoboy you're exhausted, chill, your cooch needs to recover" and he's just like "why wait for it to recover when you're going to get rid of it, just do it"

(Iva-chan probably goes and gets Croc some emergency clothes and like bottles and baby food etc because god knows he's going to burst out of his old clothes and he ain't gonna have the tiddies to breastfeed that baby either)

Anyway he gets the rones and gets to enjoy gender euphoria for the first time in his life. Happy times, happy tears, a happy croc

Dude probably nearly shits himself when he tries to speak as he is now voiced by Ryuuzaburo Fucking Ootomo (even Iva-chan is like "HOLY SHIT your voice dropped") (like they probably agressively try to encourage Crocodile to speak more and let them hear that voice and Croc is like "ssssshhhhhhhhh stop yelling you'll wake up the baby!!")

Anyway he finally gets to fucking rest and relax and enjoy the sheer relief of not just being free of his dysphoria but also his baby boy being born and looking all healthy and happy. A happy dad

(If Crocodile was the first person Iva-chan helped transition, and under these circumstances specifically. I think seeing the guy and his sheer relief would give like Iva-chan a new mission in life. To help people like Croc)

(Ivankov: "It's like a great weight has been lifted off your chest... GET IT, 'CAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE TITS ANYMORE! HEEHAW!!" / 🐊: "If you wake up the baby I will skewer you")

Anyway if the Rev Army member stays with Crocodile for too long there's a risk of them getting found out and that'd be bad, so Iva-chan needs to GTFO (they have better things to do, like overthrow some governments and stuff). Also Crocodile needs to prepare because he can't have the Government wondering where the fuck he's been all these months much longer (god knows explaining his sudden manliness is going to be enough to deal with) and the kid needs to go into hiding. If Iva-chan asks where the child is going, Croc probably won't give a straight answer, just that there's a plan and he needs Ivankov to keep the baby a secret etc (perhaps that could be the blackmail Iva-chan brought up in Impel Down 🤔)

Crocodile gets to spend a little time with his baby boy (before and/or after Iva-chan leaves). Crocodiles (the animals) look after their babies for three months before they're on their own, so at most he stayed with his baby for three months, though I'd argue just 3 weeks, simply because that'd a painfully short amount of time that's just perfect for tragic storytelling

Perhaps that was the happiest time of Croc's life. No stupid Government to deal with, no pirates to fight, no villages to pillage. Just him and his beautiful baby boy. Not even the knowledge of knowing he'd have to say goodbye to his son forever would get in the way of his happiness at that moment.

(Did he ever think about what to name the child? Maybe Dragon had wanted Crocodile to name their child and Crocodile was supposed to think of something while expecting, before the baby was born. Or maybe, knowing he would never see that child again (until the Government blows up) he could not bring himself to think of a name. It'd be Dragon's father who'd look after the baby anyways, Dragon should name him)

Dragon comes. Either exactly at the agreed upon time, or perhaps a day early (dude was too excited and wanted to be with his wife and child, together as a family, even if it was for a day). Whenever he arrives;

See the chart earlier in the post

However things go down, Dragon and Crocodile go their separate ways. Crocodile leaves the island immidiately.

Well. I certainly became absolutely deranged writing this.

HOPE YOU FOUND THAT ENTERTAINING

[doctorbrown]

what got you into bttf in the first place? what about the franchise still sparks joy for you to this day?

I first watched it as a kid I think because my dad put it on one day but I remember being too young and stupid at the time to really appreciate all the nuance and subtlety that went into it. So young me was like yeah that's a film, sure. Didn't have too many thoughts about it beyond yup, that's a film.

I've also never been a huge film person, ever since I was young (I was a video game guy through and through), so that was probably part of it. I didn't grow up with a whole bunch of films being shown to me outside of a few, but I did get Godzilla so there was that and I'll forever be thankful to my mum for introducing kid me to the sexiest lizard ever to grace the big screen.

Ironically, a lot of the films and franchises I thought were stupid as a kid are actually some of my very favourite now as an adult. I'm also looking at you, Star Trek.

ANYWAY.

Fast forward to older, slightly smarter me who rewatched the film with a friend when we went on half an '80s classics binge and half a Red hasn't watched most classic films that everyone has seen so let's start doing that and went holy fuck is that the same film?? Because it felt like watching it for the first time but THIS time I actually really appreciated all of it. And I'd never seen all of pt2 all the way through as a kid (I think) and hadn't seen pt3 until my friend and I watched it together. And now out of the three, pt3 is my favourite of them because Clara is everything to me and I really appreciate that this film is all about '85 Doc and his badass character growth and I missed him terribly. (Not that I don't also love '55 Doc but I wanted more about the man that Marty did all this for in the first place.)

But this film was way more amazing than I remembered it being. And Doc almost instantly became one of my absolute favourite characters. It kind of spiralled very quickly from there.

What still sparks joy about it for me is that it's one of those films/franchises that just keeps on giving. Like, the films have been raked over with the finest toothed combs man can make and there's still more and more to delve into as you go. Always new theories and things to find. More things to talk about, speculate on. There are consequences to time travel, and I tend to look at the events/repercussions of the films through more of an 'Eric Stoltz reading of BTTF' lens because I absolutely fucking love dealing with the consequences of your own actions, be they intentional or inadvertently brought about. There are a lot of really harrowing things that happen in this film to all the characters that get glossed over and that lends to so much to explore in fandom and theory.

Not to mention all the AUs. And all the incredible backstory for Doc.

And re-watching the films is still fun. I always have a great time when I put them on. I've now gotten to see both pts1 & 2 in theatres and I'm hoping to finish that off with pt3 later this year.

I also love that the main cast at least appear to still have great love for the franchise that they helped bring to life.

I love that there's a fandom that's active and passionate and put out some really amazing stuff and have also been welcoming of me and my slide and crash into it. Even with my favourite franchises I don't typically venture too far into the fandom side of things to the point where I'd be writing all these fics and making graphics and putting out content like that. It's still a newer thing for me and still kind of terrifying, actually.

[magicalswordgirls]

Heh, I’ll draw a better Aerial next time. The important thing is that I got over my fear of drawing mecha and also over my fear of building plastic models of robots, so thanks, Okouchi! Some headcanons and ranting under the cut. (With spoilers)

For some reason most of my WfM fanfiction has been centered around Aerial/Ericht ever since the theory about Aerial being Eri started circulating during the first season. I’ve been thinking about AU’s where she doesn’t lose her body and instead is an older teenager/young adult who has to deal with a mother obsessed with revenge while also trying to protect her little sister from the consequences of said revenge (and precisely because of that, she ends up questioning herself wether following her mother’s path is worth it or not).

I think that Eri was a character with a lot of potential in the story. She’s this girl who lost absolutely everything, who might be sad and angry about it but can’t do much on her own. She loves her family and even if she also wants to help her mom get revenge, she knows that it’s wrong and she doesn’t want her clone/little sister to get involved in any of it but, yet again, she can’t prevent the fact that her sister is used as a pawn, and she’s also being used, even if her mom doesn’t want to admit it. The dilemma of wanting to help her mom while simultaneously wanting to protect her sister’s innocence is a very compelling part of the story. Also the relationship between the sisters had a lot of potential. Eri could’ve seen Suletta as everything that she wasn’t able to become and that could’ve lead to very complicated feelings. There were a lot of elements that would have turned Ericht into a very interesting and nuanced character and I’m not even mentioning the transhumanism angle, there was a lot that could be explored in that area.

However, as we know, there wasn’t much about this character in canon (even if she was important for both the protagonist and the antagonist of the show). She remained a mysterious figure throughout most of the story and we didn’t get to know much about her motivations. In fact, most of what we know about her comes from the short novel “Cradle Planet”, the anime didn’t bother to put that information in the story and that’s why for most viewers she’s this creepy girl haunting a Gundam who’s almost as big as a jerk as Prospera. To be honest, I was expecting her to be more conflicted during her battle with Suletta or at least I wanted to kow why she was so convinced to follow her mother’s plan. At the end we didn’t get any of that, and she remained as an underdeveloped character.

So yeah, I have the impression that in my head I made up this nuanced and tragic character out of someone that ended up being a Funny Little Guy inside a keychain. Well, I guess this is very common when one starts liking a secondary character from a show. (I always wondered how people would make long essays and fafics about characters that didn't do much in a show... guess I'm that kind of person now).

Well, I suppose that I’ll have to stick to my fanfics and headcanons, at least I know that nothing I could write’s gonna be more wild than what actually happened in canon. So there’s that.

…Thanks Okouchi :/.

P.S: I like to speculate what kind of teen/young adult she would’ve been, specially in slightly less tragic AU’s, maybe she’s more like she was in the Prologue or she’s a little bit messed up because she’s shielding her sister from everything that’s wrong with their family. Idk, I just find her very fun to write (although I’m always aware that I might be creating some sort of pseudo OC, man I really wish that canon had given us more material to work with!)

[thetoyboxau]

Do u have any ideas for ppl that wants to creates there own AU like tips and general character design and maybe writing tips (if u do writing au) like ideas on critter character design

🎤: hiya! And yes I do!

with character design for already existing characters, its pretty important that you keep their original vibe in tact, but of course go as crazy as you wish!

for me personally I find that styling the characters/your characters is good to leave your mark and make an easy-to-recognize au (or at least in my experience)

I might not have a popular AU in that sense, but with styling the character from the original source can not only be fun but give you a chance to add in your own quirks for the character ! :3

For example, you could add stuff that portrays their role in the AU or what they are known for (like giving a main character more style or referencing stuff thats already happened to said character if wanted)

As for Writing tips, for AUs try to think about it this way-

what is this AU focused on?

for the TOYBOX AU its Simon and their want to figure out what happened to the factory and if he can save anyone

Who would be the main character that we would be following, who are their allies? Who wants them dead? Are there teams?

for this AU, Simon is our angel, Flurry and some other heretics are his allies, and the prototype cult wants him dead- there being the teams of bystanders, heretics, and the survivors ^_^

and with that, thinking about character relationships can help with story-building and even design choices! Like making colors be in contrast, or showing similarities through shapes or color, either way its really up to you but subtle hints like that can really put it all together-

and with building your universe, you can flesh it out with your own perspective of things, for instance if you believe in a certain theory or want to use it for a AU of some kind you can incorporate it in somehow! Its all really up to you and your speculation so of course you can do what you please, but if your looking for more direct advice, heres a list/questions of things that could help you get started :]

What are the Character designs + relationships?

Who are the main characters / roles, whos bad whos good, whos perspective is all of it from?

what time period it takes place

how close to canon is the universe ?

what will be the main plot?

what are the possible endings/ending you want it to close with?

how do you define each characters personality and/or will ypu incorperate it into your own work or change it?

To me, I think the most important of all to really think about is what will you keep, what will you speculate, and most importantly- what will you add or change?

Hopefully you found this helpful! Apologies if not, peace! - 🎤

[theneighborhoodwatch]

Can we be friends? /hj It’s just that you describe my feelings for the fandom perfectly! I used to like the AUs that came up but eventually I feel kind of worn out about it. After all, there’s so little of the original project that came out so naturally the AUs felt just like headcannons instead of like, adding on another layer of canon, like most AUs do. I do like some of them! It’s just that there’s so much of them that I have grown…kind of tired of it.

I also wish for more people to make theories about the actual project! even though it’s clarified to not be an ARG, because it’s fun to speculate about stuff outside of how characters would act in “_” scenario, and idk I feel like the fandom is a little lacking in that area.

HAHAHA yeah that's the kicker isn't it. AUs straying far from canon is a tale as old as time, it would be a non-issue in most other fandoms. but in welcome home i feel like it's like, 85% of all fanwork so far? so it's easy to get burnt out if it’s not your thing to begin with.

and i think welcome home invites plenty of speculation already! it may not be an arg but it is definitely Some Kind Of Unfiction so far, which by nature is a method of storytelling that thrives when paired with genres like mystery/horror/etc.