WT: All of them are really fun ideas, but I think the one that kinda pulls at me the most is the Deco Nouveau Cyberpunk AU. I've had a sort of on-again, off-again love affair with Deco style since the Bioshock series, and the noir aspect really appeals to me. The idea of taking the style-forward, to a sort of resurgence in a cyberpunk era seems super fun. So if I was gonna spend any time on a weird, out-there AU, that would be at the front of the pack.
Rowan: I mean...it's not often another mammal accidentally or purposely destroys a squirrel's nut cache, *grumbles* but that doesn't really matter all that much when it comes to mammals using the phrase 'busted a nut' around squirrels for the sake of the joke. A joke which at this point I've heard far too many times from both Cameron and Derrick.
Cameron: What? It's funny.
Derrick: It is pretty damn funny.
Rowan: It's old is what it is. And honestly, it's something I'd expect of Derrick, but not you Cameron.
Cameron: Oh come on... it's harmless fun...
Derrick: And coming from a stick in the mud like Cam, that's gotta mean something! *Laughs*
Cameron: In Derrick's case, Rowan even sets him up for opportunities to say it.
Derrick: Yeah, since chubs is too cheap to buy a nutcracker, he'll ask me to crack open a few of the more troublesome nuts with my hooves.
Cameron: At that point, it's impossible to resist making the joke.
Derrick: I see it as payment for my services thank you very much.
Rowan: Alright! Enough already! I'm sorry I even agreed to answer this question...Saint Hazel please...can we just forget about this?
Cameron:...
Derrick: ...
Rowan: ...
Cameron: Alright Rowan, jeez...we were just having some fun...no need to...
Rowan: *Glares at Cameron* DON'T!
Cameron: Bust a nut over it...
Derrick: *Lets out a whinnying laugh and a snort*
Cameron:*Chuckles Smugly*
Rowan: That's it, you're both fired. I forgot we don't employ thirteen-year-olds...
Zach: Worried? Heck no we ain't worried.
Vanna: Marcus is a good boy. Well-mannered and soft-spoken. I don't think he'll have any trouble getting along with her, especially with how excited he seemed. Well...that is after we told him that we weren't 'exchanging him' for a new kitten.
Zach: Yep, thankfully we didn't hit that skid nearly as hard as Dawn and Vern had to in terms of their adopted pups feelin's about Paige comin' along.Marcus seems ecstatic...o'course...that has made it harder to turn him away from takin' on too much responsibility.
Vanna: *Sighs* Yes. As I'm sure you're all well aware, Marcus has been hard to...well...because of his upbringing he...has had quite a bit of trouble learning to be a kitten. We still catch him doing a number of chores we didn't ask him to, and since we found out Rose was coming, he's only leaned into that habit more in order to help 'prepare for the new kitten.'
Zach: We practically have to throw the boy outta the house sometimes, and make sure his friends er' with him fer good measure er' else he'll start tendin' the lawn...*Chuckles*
Vanna: I'm just worried about when we finally manage to break Marcus of his urge to be so servile...eventually the time will come where we do ask him to take on a chore or two, and I really don't want to see him relapse. He's our son, not a butler...
Sharla: Well the easiest answer would be to say that Giddy has gotten even more cuddly and softhearted since we adopted lambs, something I didn't even think was possible as he was practically as soft as a sponge-cake already. *Giggles*
Gideon: Aw shucks Darlin'...*blushes* Makin' me flustered here...
Sharla: I'm only stating a fact Giddy.
Gideon: Still though...*chuckles*
Sharla; It's not like I'm saying you're a pushover hubby, in fact, that's another thing that's changed since we adopted. Giddy has...well, he's been very afraid about coming off like he did as a kit...so much so that I've seen him back down when in situations where he was totally in the right, just to avoid the confrontation...
Gideon: I mean...It's true. I don't...I don't wanna be that fella anymore. I really want to keep that version o' myself in my kithood.
Sharla: I still think you're over-correcting sweetie, which is why I'm glad to see you taking a more...aggressive stance when it comes to our lambs. If they get picked on, or something happens to them, Giddy is always the first to rush to stand up for them. It's one of the few situations where he'll risk the confrontation.
Gideon: Well...I mean...bein' a kit can...can be tough. So many adults just look down their nose as kits...treat 'em as lesser without even thinkin', especially iffin' they're actin' out. No one want's to listen to 'em. They need someone in their corner....a-and what kinda Pa would I be iffin' I didn't stand up fer my kits.
Sharla: You did split that one rabbit's lip open...
Gideon: When his kit says loudly in front o' me and the rest of the kits that 'his daddy says he ain't allowed to play with a 'filthy crossers' kits' at the public playground in front of the other parents, what was I supposta do? There weren't no reasonin' with that kinda bigotry.
Sharla: I'm not saying you were wrong. Had I been there I probably would have taken a swing at him myself. But my point still stands, my hubby turned into a fierce and protective Papa real fast.
Gideon: They made lil' Daisy Lee cry! No one makes my baby girl cry...
Zach: Well this one got to us late, huh Vern? Thanks fer that...
Vernon: Sorry guys, *Chuckles uneasily*, we get a lot of these and some of them sorta...slip through the cracks.
Dawn: I blame our junk mail filter. S-sorry Vanna...
Vanna: It's quite alright Dawn. To be honest...we do celebrate Deevapurrli, but we probably don't do it up as big as most Bindians, especially now that I live with Zach. Maybe one rangolis altar area, with a few diyas...
Vernon: Uhh...Raviolis?
Zach: 'Rangolis', it's like colorful patterned rug, 'cept made outta organic stuff like chalk, er colored stone dust, er flower petals. And a'fer y'all ask 'diya's' are the word fer oil lamps made outta clay er' somethin'.
Vanna: Granted I cheat quite a bit, as I use a patterned rug instead of organic material, and tea lights instead of true diyas. Of course, my mother always did a more serviceable and traditional Deevapurrli when Myra and I were growing up. We'd draw the pattern circles as a family, and make all the little lights which were probably my favorite part. Myra was always more into the pattern circles.
Zach: *Chuckles* Fireflies, oil lamp makin', my Kitten certainly loves her little lights...
Vanna: *Rolls eyes* Zach...
Dawn: It sounds like a lovely little tradition.
Vanna: It is. I'd honestly love to share it with a kitten of our own one day. It's one of those traditions that really...well it made me feel closer to my family, even if we weren't anywhere near each other. It always left me with a warm feeling, and even sharing it with Zach has been a wonderful experience, and I'd love to share it with the rest of the pack.
Dawn: Well, I know we'd be honored to join you for a Deevapurrli ceremony sometime. I bet our pups would love it too.
Vernon: Yeah, we'd love to.
Vanna: As for visiting distant relatives back in Bindia well...let's just say my Mom didn't exactly...um...leave the family on the best of terms. You see, in Bindia arranged marriages are still very woven into the culture, and well...my mother was originally meant to marry someone other than my father. As you can tell by the fact that Myra and myself exist, she chose to marry for love instead of going along with the arrangement. So her side of our family more or less disowned her.
Zach: As fer' Mr. Felidae, welp he's third-generation Maneish, so they don't celebrate too much of the traditional Bindi ceremonies. But we have visited Lucero's side of the family fer' Deevapurrli before, but usually, we end up over there more often fer 'Manish' traditions instead of Bindian ones.
Vanna: my father loves his Cassowary fights.
Zach: And so do I! That stuff is wild! Always has me on the edge o' my seat. Ole!
Vanna: As for advice on keeping the 'Aunties' away...I'm not really sure how to advise on that...granted my experiences are limited to the aunts on my fathers side...of which there are five...
Zach: Lotta' estrogen in Lucero's household growin' up. *Chuckles* Even so, I don't thin Maneish aunties er' any different than Bindian ones in terms of meddlin' with the love life of their immediate family. Y'all can just tell 'em yer workin' on it. Or that yer talkin' to someone and yer hopin' things go somewhere with it.
Vanna: Vagueness is usually good...the vaguer you are, the harder it is for them to give you 'advice'.
Zach: Iffin' all else fails, pretend to be deaf...*Chuckles* I used to do that with Ma...
Vernon: Didn't work though, did it?
Zach: Nah, o'course not...it just made the conversation shorter...*Laughs*
Dawn: Lamb Sakes, that's wonderful! I'm so happy for you and your friends!
Vernon: Always good to hear about that sorta progress goin' on outside our city. When you live in Zootopia sometimes it's easy to ferget there's a whole big world out there that's filled with its own inter-species relationship struggles. Yer sorta...fixated on yer immediate surroundin's.
Dawn: Granted Zootopia is quite a...multi-national draw in terms of vacation and emigration, so living here sort of brings all of Animalia to your doorstep in terms of foods and cultures. Especially over at the Animalia World's Fair.
Vernon: Yeah, I don't think there's a corner of the world's foodstuffs that ain't covered over there...*Chuckles* Me, Wade and Gus have all made ourselves sick from stuffin' our muzzles whenever we'd go down there fer the day. I think I finally get why the ancient Pridelander's used to have them 'vomitoriums'. *Laughs* We really need to take the pups sometime soon.
Dawn: Oh they'd probably love that, well minus the overstuffing their faces with foreign treats, lest they turn the rides...or our laps into little vomitoriums...
Vernon: *Chuckles* Yeah, good point.
Dawn: As for a world book tour, well I'd honestly love to do it. I mean, I've been talking to my publisher about it, and they are very on board...it's just...well it's quite difficult right now. Between raising our lambs and Vernon's job, it's been a bit of a stretch just making a North Mammalian tour work. Between Vernon's availability, and having Wade, Gus or Dorian and Audrey free to watch the pups, it can be a nightmare.
Vernon: Not to mention cuttin' it close with all them exhaustin' red-eye flights back home. Comin' in ready to drop, but still havin' to pick up the pups and then prayin' we get enough sleep a'fer we gotta send 'em to school, er' I gotta go to work. At least y'all get to sleep in once the pups are at school.
Dawn: Maybe before Paige was born...but not anymore. *Chuckles* Right now she's kind of stuck in a crepuscular sleep cycle that...I'm really hoping won't persist when she's a toddler. Anyway, I'm hoping that we'll be able to put together an international tour for sometime next summer. With the Lambs out of school for Summer break, and with Vern being able to Telecomm some of his job, it seems like the most feasible time for such a tour.
Vernon: They said they won't need me 'in-office' as much over the Summer iffin' I need the out. But fer the next few months we got some crunch meetin's.
Dawn: That said, I'll see what we can do about making Singapurr one of our earlier stops if we can make the tour work! I hope to see you and your friends there!
