Ask Special; It's Enough Part 2/2

 

Ask Wasty; My Sophie's Choice

 

Wasty: Juno, I am both surprised that no one has asked me this before, and totally frustrated over how hard this question is going to be to actually answer. I've been working with my Zootopia AU for like...what, seven years at this point? I've spent so much time with these characters and cultivated a lot of them into characters I super like.

Of course, my default answer would be Dawn and Vernon, even though that would be cheating as Dawn isn't an OC. But I just, I love their relationship. It isn't perfect of course, but no relationship is. Still, their relationship is just so cute, and I love indulging in them just being a cozy couple...although by this point I have several cozy couples. Even Ada and Yuri are cozy in their own way, as you'll see when part 2 of that comic drops.

So let's take Dawn and Vern off the board. Ada and Yuri too. Val for that matter. Val is a fun character, but I would hate to know her in person. God, it's like I'm looking at a mental 'guess who' board in my mind, but I'm just kicking my babies in the teeth one by one here...

Is it a Hunter? Hunters? I mean...I...hmm....god...Okay...Um...in terms of couples that are outside Dawn and Vern, I'd probably go with Dorian and Audrey, or Gus and Melly. I love their chemistry together, and the way both couples get along. And as for solo characters...I know I haven't gotten to show her off all that much in Asks or in "The Family Vulpes" yet, but I think...Ellie...Val's adopted Opossum sister. She's a sweetie...

But you didn't hear this from me okay? If any of my characters ask, I love all my babies equally!

Thanks for the Ask!

-Wasty

Ask the Ruminerds; The New Pokemammal Animalme

Vernon: Sweet Sawgrass...I watched that show so damn long ago it's nothin' but a hazy memory at this point...

Dawn: Right? I was actually kinda shocked it was still even airing, let alone had been since we were little. I didn't find out until we had just adopted Edi and Ali, like during the first week. He was watching cartoons and I saw one of the more recent episodes in the series...I couldn't believe they still had the same main character.

Gus: Gods, it's really weird to think about...Like Vern and I were like...what kids? We hadn't even met when Pokemania kicked off...

Vernon: I was super into it though...had the games, some plushes some tradin' cards, and I watched the show religiously...

Gus: Same...

Melanie: I think that goes for everyone here really...

Dawn: Less so for me...I did get to play some games but my father was...very on top of my TV time when he was...sober...*Dawn winces* 

Vernon: *Hugs the lamb sitting in his lap, nuzzling against her head poof.* Aww...Darlin'...

Dawn: It's fine...*The ewe reaches up, patting Vernon's cheek affectionately as she nuzzles back.* I did watch a little bit...mostly on the days when his hangover was so strong it kept him bedridden for most of Saturday morning...

Vernon: It ain't much consolation, but I abandoned most of my Pokemammal stuff when I started my...well, when went through my rough patch...Didn't pick up the games again till Gus and me met.

Gus: *Laughs* Glad I made you play Silver even though we were up to Diamond and Pearl by then. It was up to that point, what I considered the best one in the series. Couldn't have my best bud miss out.

Vernon: *Snickers* Yeah I remember...you made me catch up on a lot o' 'gamin' homework' once we became friends...

Gus: Hey it may have only been a few years, but you missed out on some great stuff! It was important in order to properly induct you into true nerd culture!

Joel: I still can't believe it though...like...It's like the Stompsons or Furmaly Guy...It had been running for so long you'd just think it was going to go on forever. *Shrugs* I mean technically it still is...But I just figured Ash Scratchum' would endure forever, y'know?

Gus: Truly the end of an era...

Dawn: It makes me feel old, that's for sure...*The ewe grips her upper arms, rubbing them briskly*.

Vernon: Yep, it only gets worse from here...er' so my Pa tells me... Can't wait till some newfangled tech comes out that completely baffles us, then I'll really feel ancient.

Melanie: Ugh...just the idea of that made me feel my bones crumble to dust inside of me...*Shakes head*

Joel: Gotta pour one out for old Ash. *Begins to pour out his Mountain Ewe* Godspeed young traveler...you were never a pokemammal master in your show, but you were the pokemammal master of our hearts...

Gus: DUDE! NOT ON THE RUG!! *Gus snorts*I LITERALLY HAD THE FLOOR CLEANED LAST WEEK!

Ask the Ruminerds; Mewrio Movie!

 

Gus: It was okay.

Melanie: I mean, really it's all you could possibly want in a Mewrio movie. Chock full of cute little references, but not to the point where it's super overbearing. The CGI, like the style, was beautiful on the big screen.

Gus: And as much as I was initially annoyed with some of the voice acting choices, I got used to most of them, even Chris Catt. *Chuckles* Though he's still no Charles Mewtinet.

Dawn: You guys took it better than Edi did...he was not happy with Mewrio's voice even after the movie...though he didn't hate the movie.

Gus: I didn't say I was happy with the voice acting, just that I got used to it. *Chuckles*

Joel: I think some of the better voice acting choices kinda balanced things out, like Bowser, Toad, and Mewigi. They may not have been the same as the games, but I don't think you get better voices or performances for those characters.

Gus: Maybe if they actually paid for traditional voice actors rather than paying for big-name actors they could have broadened their pool of choices.

Vernon: Eh, you know how it goes by now Gus, Y'all gotta have them big Howlywood actors to draw in more adults...

Gus: My rebuttal is that is the Mewrio movie. They were already going to have a maximum draw! Sweet Sawgrass Vern, Mewrio's the biggest mascot since Micky Mouse! Why not use Mewtinet? Or someone who could do an actual Mewrio voice...rather than just his normal every role voice?

Broomie: I love Mewtinet's Mewrio as much as the next guy... but do you really think you could endure an hour and a half of the Mewrio game voice? It would get old really fast...

Gus: *Snorts* Ehh...alright I'll give you that. But still, there were better choices than Chris Catt, I'm sure of it...

Melanie: *pats Gus' head affectionately.* Always need something to complain about huh Gussy?

Gus: *Chuckles* Hey, there's always room for improvement. Nothing can be a perfect ten out of ten...I'm just pointing out flaws that could be fixed going forward. 

Vernon: Classic Gus...*Chuckles*

Broomie: As for Star Wolves Day I-

Joel: None of us celebrate that stuff.

Broomie: Hey, but I-.

Gus: C'mon Brooms, you're going to tell us you actually celebrate some corporate holiday made to push merch sales? Melly and me don't even celebrate Mewrio Day, and we love that franchise...

Broomie: Look, I'm not going out and buying a crap ton of collectibles, or dressing up as Darth Grazer and going to some big dumb celebration. But it makes a nice night for sitting down with some snacks, curled up next to my mate, and watching the OG trilogy. It makes for a nice tradition...

Vernon: That doesn't sound half bad there Broomie...

Gus: It doesn't, but if I'm not mistaken, didn't you but a new lightsaber around then too? I remember like a week after May the fourth you spent your entire day off showing off your new lightsaber to anyone in the store willing to listen...*Smirks at Broomie knowingly.*

Broomie: *Begins to sweat, tapping his hooves together nervously.* W-well I...I mean...

Joel: That timetable is pretty suspicious dude. *The alpaca grins broadly at the little ram.*

Broomie: *Rolls his eyes and crosses his arms* Alright, alright. *Broomie Huffs* I...may have bought it during a... May the fourth sale...

Vernon: *Snickers, shaking his head* Hoo boy...*snickers*

Broomie: And it was a Starkiller Collectible 'Dark Saber', They've never tried to make a realistic dark saber before! It was thirty percent off!

Gus: thirty percent off...?

Broomie: *Sweating again.* twelve-hundred z-bucks...

Gus: TWELVE HUNDRED Z-BUCKS!? *Gus is genuinely shocked*

Broomie: Well it was Eight Hundred and forty after the discount...Not counting shipping and taxes of course...*Laughs weakly*

Melanie: Don't get me wrong, I love collectibles but that's....that's pretty steep.

Dawn: I'd say so...I mean while Vernon and I are sort of upper-middle class thanks to my writing, I don't think either of us would be comfortable spending that kind of money on a prop replica...

Joel: That you can't even really swing or hit folks with...

Broomie: OKAY! It was expensive! *Broomie blurts out, visibly annoyed.* B-But you can't deny that i-it looks so cool! *The ram whines*

Vernon: *Nods* I'll admit...it does look purty cool...

Joel: It would be cooler if you could swing the damn thing...*Snickers*

Bellheroverse AU; The nature of Powers

 

Wasty: Phew, that's a lot of fun deep thinking questions. Of course, I love those. 

I think I've already established in a previous ask that almost all mammals with powers are born with them, and those that have powers thrust upon them by any sort of...well, scientific means, usually come with deleterious or often fatal drawbacks. (Think Chamelion and Duke Whizzleton, and to a lesser extent Rampage). Bleatdown is the only recorded 'success story' in terms of properly fusing powers to someone, which is why she is so sought after by the yet unnamed cabal. I would like to think that true superpowers, ones that defy physics, are metaphysical or supernatural in nature, space and time warping, that sort of thing are essentially akin to winning the lotto, or spotting a Unicorn...(Though there's probably at least one Unicorn themed equine superhero in the Bellheroverse.)

Though that doesn't mean I'd seal the door shut to the idea that there are lesser powers that can crop up that are more common. That could run the gamut of wild coloration, partial camouflage, being explicitly fire-proof, or being able to digest anything. This all would kind of run into a more...let's say exaggerated version of my rule of genetic evolution for my primary series of Bellwether fics. In my fics, at least I'm pretty sure its been hinted at in my fics as well as my asks so far...(I'm not sure, it's all starting to smear together.) Something happened around the dawn of the ice age that caused the course of evolution in mammals to basically start running double time. Only mammals who are almost entirely aquatic, or certain land mammal exceptions such as apes remained unaffected. 

This sped-up evolution causes a myriad of boons and setbacks, however. In the case of mammals like...say Cameron's co-worker Derrick Colton, old lingering DNA cropped up that ended up seeing him born with feral horse hoof hands, and it makes him technically disabled. On the opposite end, these mutations are what allows Dawn and Vernon to luck out and have a hybrid pup. (With a little splash of chemical Night Howler.) Naturally, the same process could be put on steroids in the Bellheroverse and basically cause an x-men (or x-mammal) effect, and that could manifest in a variety of ways, with varying levels of power. To end cap this, I'd say if a superhero with groundbreaking powers is about one in a million, then perhaps lesser-powereds could be anywhere between 10-50 in a million. That said, it could also run in bloodlines, and be passed down, so the numbers would rise as time went on.

In regards to your Beastboy question, I'd say that's a given. Though in terms of morphing into other sentient mammals, that would be more akin to Mistique. While the Beastboy equivalent would obviously run the gamut of non-mammalian species past and present. Of course, I don't really have any thoughts on characters I would use to fill roles like that, or if I'd craft up new ones should I expand the universe further. 

I would assume that tools and objects could exist that bestow powers upon the powerless. After all, this did happen with Nick. But that said, those sorts of things would be impossible to decipher and replicate, at least by those seeking to turn 'creating superheroes' into a sustainable business model. They are either a one-and-done item that is destroyed or disappears after sharing its power. Or they feature some sort of fundamental incomprehensible element that are simply beyond replication despite the efforts of the best and brightest. (Gotta have limiters am I right?)

As a general rule of thumb, I'm gonna say there's an 'awakening range'. I would say if it's an actual power and not just something appearance based, it's not something one is born being able to use. I feel like one could make it all the way to adulthood without even a hint of powers before they finally manifest, but I'd peg the general age range around puberty, as the body is already changing and under stress and all sorts of chemical imbalances. However, emotional or physical catalysts can bring them about earlier, or be what it takes to manifest at all (As I mentioned with Hopp Speed's origin.)

Finally, I think there could be one or two Hunters with powers, though nothing that's on the level of Invincibull or Mr. Mirage. I'm thinking perhaps Dorian has extremely high pain and physical tolerance, to the point where lower gauge firearms can't penetrate his hide, and he could probably lift a truck off someone. (Think Unbreakable here). But it would be a power Dorian keeps under his hat, both because he knows the kind of attention that sort of thing would bring him and his family. This trait is passed on to Vernon, which explains how he can take serious beatings fairly well and recovers quicker than average. Considering he's a Batman analog, he'd have the mental acuity of a prize fighter mixed with an ex-footballer player's body in short order without some resilience. Especially when Rampage nearly pummels him to death.

I'm also thinking Ada might have the ability to digest anything, which really is more of a parlor trick than a power. It's also annoyingly ironic for her considering her species. And perhaps, if I really wanted to stretch that 'rare' element of power distribution, Audrey could be an empath.

Like I said, I don't want to go too wild and have everyone who has a connection to be exceedingly super unless it's the use of powers that brings them together, so to keep it light and fluffy, I'll take a gentler hand with the Hunter Pack.

Thanks for the Ask!

Bellheroverse AU; Peacekeeper Corruption

 

Wasty: I figure it's sort of a smattering of all those things, but primarily it's all trickling down from a semi-shadowy government and corporate cabal that's aiming to well... shape the path of Zootopia and Animalia to their desired designs. While the different heads of those divisions have different aims in some respects, the ultimate goal is to gain control of the ability to have and use superpowers as a whole. They largely throw their weight around onto the peacekeepers by virtue of blackmail, as being a 'legal' hero requires registering with the government, which of course means they have each hero's real name, list of family and associates, and of course, 'verified weaknesses' if they can manage it. To the public it's sold as a safety measure, to keep tabs on mammals with powers who could go rogue. But it also makes for a great manipulation tool in order to keep the peacekeepers playing ball. This is the case with 'Invincibull', whose actual weakness is that his mortal family is dangled over him to keep him from cleaning house.

There are also 'heroes' of questionable moral fiber, more willing to do necessary dirty work for profit at the behest of that cabal, and thus they are covered for. Essentially your dirty cops...but really dirty heroes, who moonlight as villains. And there are of course heroes among them who are aware of the corruption but have resigned themselves to do what they can with the position they've been given. This is what 'Hopp Speed' does for a while, even after Mr. Mirage and Deciyell leave the Peacekeepers, Judy lingers both out of fear for her family, and still wanting to do what good she can, even as the deeper scheming of those lording power over the Peacekeepers begins to grow clear to her.

Naturally, a system like this can't persist, and eventually, it's going to reach a civil war-style breaking point. The only hope for our heroes on both sides is that they'll be able to turn their fighting onto the real villains in the story, and finally cast off the yolk of this as-of-yet unnamed organization, leaving nothing but ashes in their absence. Ashes that will allow a better Zootopia to rise like a Phoenix and become the utopia it was meant to be.

Thanks for the Ask!

-Wasty

Ask Wasty; Hunter Girls Meet the Hunter Boys (Genswap)

 Wasty: If you expected art for this one, I'm sorry to disappoint. There are simply way, way too many characters to place for jokes and the scope of said jokes would be too wide for my side blog.

In terms of stacking up, I don't know exactly what you mean. Moist of them would of course be very similar to one another. The only real stray characters would be Varun and Vanna, Ada and Adamo, and Qali and Tarin, as their genders being flipped would significantly impact the way they grew up.

Ada is a take-no-shit kind of girl, and while that would be reflected in Adamo, Ada is a scrapper, and Adamo is scrappy. As you know, my in-universe yeen culture sees male yeens as the punching bag for their females. So while Ada was treated okay by her parents growing up, Adamo would be treated poorly. Perhaps not on the level of physical abuse, but he'd definitely have things tougher, and being physically weaker overall would see him on the losing end of most fights that he'd get caught up in with a mouth like his. However, he shares the same unflappable sort of personality with his gender-flipped counterpart, and so while his terrible jokes are more likely to get his ass kicked over Ada's, he's not cowardly, he just presses on. He's persistent, which is how he ends up bagging Yuki.

Varun, unlike Vanna, would grow up without any self-image issues. After all, one of Vanna's key insecurities is about her masculine build. For Varun, that same build is a confidence boost. He looks masculine and is male. Varun would have more of Lucero's personality this time around...more comfortable with being loud and relaxed around others. But like Vanna he's still generally quiet until he feels the need to speak. In that way his very in his own head, a very calculating mammal, which is why he makes for a great officer. This makes for an interesting inversion of how Zach and Vanna got together because the pair already had a friction that blossomed into a slow-burn romance. In Varun and Zelda's case, with Zelda taking even more from Audrey...or rather Adrian's emotional side, the pair would be near constantly frustrated with one another. That friction would build and build until they just start passionately kissing in their cruiser in the middle of a particularly fiery argument, directly after insulting each other no less.

Lastly, for this exercise, we have Qali and Tarin. Both would share that same high-energy drive that has them zipping around like one of those vibrating ferret ball toys you used to see at toy stores. However, Tarin's a tod, and he's sort of leaned into the snarky, flirty kinda Romeo that tods can easily slip into being. This keeps him just as pushy as Qali when it comes to winning his mate's heart, in this case Tyra. She's quiet, she's enigmatic and tall...and boy does Tarin love that...both larger girls, and the challenge involved in cracking that enigma.

That said, should these characters meet, I'd imagine Tarin and Qali would kind of hate each other. Qali isn't into tod snark, and Tarin doesn't care for high-energy gals, at least personality-wise. Varun and Vanna would more than likely get along decently, but Varun would probably put Vanna off at times because he's a bit more extroverted and in their initial meeting would probably say some things that might cause some awkward moments between the two. Ada and Adamo however, would get along gangbusters. Adamo would be like the little brother she never had.

As for the other gals, their largely similar personalities would probably either make them instant friends or just put off by the weirdness of it all to connect. Garret and Giselle, Malcolm and Merideth, Mellvin and Honey, I could see them easily slipping into friendships based on their shared interests or talents. Dawn and Don however might have a bit of friction and discomfort because they'd be too caught up in the weirdness of it all to let their guards down. Dawn might also see a lot of Aster in Don, while Don would see much of Acacia (Female Aster) in Dawn...at least physically speaking. And those discomforts might prove to be completely impassable for them.

Thanks for the ask!

Found Ask AU; The Near Kiss Miss

 

Zach: I mean... y'all know how I feel already...I ain't exactly...I mean I'm still tryin' to come to terms with my boy growin' up. *Shakes head* Still, I'm glad that at least...despite my blunderin' with that trail cam, none of the rest of y'all pushed them into that.

Audrey: We were just given 'em a little push, that's all! *Shakes head* It was harmless!

Zach:  Thankfully it seems like it was. *Huffs* Still, I don't y'all pullin' anythin' like that again...'specially not behind my back.

Audrey: *Pouts her lip* Aw, yer no fun!

Ada: Eh, given 'em a push, not given 'em a push...ended da same way, so what does it matta?

Vanna: Still...this seems like it was better for them...at least they seem to be approaching their feelings on the same terms...

Qali: It was so cuuute! I was so hoping they were gonna really kiss this time! IT was SOoooooOOOooo close! *Squees in delight*

Ada: I dunno what's so hard, dey clearly both like eachudda! Dat goil just needs to grab Marcus by da cheek and give him a big ol' smooch! Den tell him, 'Hey's I like yous! You wanna's be boyfriend and goilfriend already? Cause I'm gettin' antsy here!'*Cackles* Dat's what I woulda done!

Dawn: Is that how you asked boys out when you were little?

Ada: Sure was Plush! I'm was a modern goil, I wasn't keen on waitin' around for a guy to make da foist move!

Vanna: And how did that go?

Ada: *Shrugs* I mean...like...okay, most a da time da guy would go runnin'...but hey, it woiked like ten percent a da time!

Dawn: I'm not sure I'd be so keen to be that forward with those sort of odds.

Ada: Youse miss 100 percent a da shots ya don't take Plush! *Laughs*

Vanna: At the end of the day, you'd be hard-pressed to find one of us who didn't find the video cute, despite the circumstances. 

Dorian: It was real cute...made me a little nostalgic...although Auddey wasn't exactly subtle about her feelin's when we met...

Audrey: *Laughs* Hey, I had to be! Tryin' to get it through yer thick skull I liked ya was like I was tryin' to direct a plane with them light baton things they use on a runway! Y'all just didn't get it until I was blunt!

Dorian: *Chuckles* I wasn't the most social pup! I was too worried about misinterpretin' stuff and making a fool of myself in the process!

Vernon: Geeze, and how many of us picked up that trait? *Chuckles* Cause I know I did...

Dawn: Granted with us there were...*ahem* very unusual circumstances at play.

Trenton: That's it! *Chuckles* That's what this reminds me of! That whole part in Dawn's book about the 'shearin' incident! 

*Dawn and Vernon begin to blush, the pair looking down and away bashfully.*

Zachary: It better not be! *Huffs* They're too young to be havin'...*ahem* those thoughts in the back o' there heads...

Yuri: *Quirks a brow* Zach, they're pre-teens...not toddlers...

Trenton: I just meant it had the same energy...that same skirtin' the subject, with both of 'em havin' the same feelin's and wantin' to just embrace them, but they're so scared o' bein' wrong 'er ruinin' a good thang that can't bring themselves to confess...*Laughs* I think kissin' is about as far into the future as them kids is thinkin' right now.

Zach: *Grumbles* R-Regardless, y'all can't rush 'em...let them figure thangs out as they go...at the very least so I can get maybe a few more weeks er' so not havin' to make a house rule about all the doors bein' open when she's with him.

Vanna: *Flashes her mate a dull, half-lidded gaze* Zach, you do that already, with all of Marcus' friends in fact, not just Aiko...

Dorian: *Groans, placing a paw over his forehead.* Son, I thought we were well and done with this whole 'gang' thang!

Zach: *Sputters* I-It's not! I mean! *Huffs* I-It's to make sure everyone's safe is all damnit! I just like to keep an ear on 'em i-incase there's an emergency!

Yuri: It's an excuse to eavesdrop is what it is...*Snickers*

Found AU Ask; Zach's Trail Cam Trouble

 

Zach: I done told ya, that was an ACCIDENT!

Yuri: A likely story...y'all really think yer gonna yer gonna be able to put one over on six Hunter's with their bullshit detectors aimed yer way.

Dorian: Seven, don't ferget yer ol' 'mam.

Zach: I fergot about the cam okay!? A-and Rose she...I mean...

Audrey: *Frowns* Zachary David Hunter, fer' shame. *Audrey shakes her head dissaprovingly.* Tryin' to blame yer own daughter to cover yer tracks...and barely a toddler no less!

Zach: *Ears droop sharply* B-But Ma! I was-I was! *Turns to Ulric and grips him by the shoulder, shaking him briskly. * C'mon, tell 'em how long that trail cam of yer's has been missin'! Hell, even I fergot about it! Y'all think if I was still so fixated on monitorin' my son, I'd have been on that thang like a hawk!

Ulric: *Huffs, and pulls away* Why should I help you dig yourself out of that hole!? You stole my gear, and then you treated that high precision, and might I add, extremely expensive trail cam like crap. *Shakes his head* It's amazing that it was able to record anything in the state it was in by that point.

Vernon: Ulric, let's be real here. A repackaged gopaw with a triple-digit price tag ain't exactly a precision instrument.

Ulric: It was NOT a Gopaw! It had thermal imaging, night vision, and even dots projection and SLS cam...

Ada: Isn't dat da camera setting dey had fer dat X-bucks console...da failed one?

Yuri: Oh yeah, I remember havin' one o them...what a waste o' money...

Ulric: Hey! It may have started as a cheap peripheral for a game, but ghost hunters have refined the tech! It's actually really-!

Yuri: *Cut's Ulric off, holding out a paw to silence him* Ully, y'all seem to be under the impression we give a shit about yer little toys...this is about Zach bein' a dumbass....again...

Zach: *Whines* Side's! I already spent a week sleepin' on the sofa fer this! Haven't I been punished enough fer y'all to stop rubbin' my nose int it!?

Vanna: *Places a reassuring paw on Zach's shoulder.* It's alright Goofball...I believe you.

Zach: *Seems overjoyed, and rushes to hug Vanna so quickly that she barely has time to pull Rose out of his path. Rosie giggles and claps her paws excitedly at her Daddy being a goof.* Aw Kitten! *Zach nuzzles into her chest as he grips her waist tightly. * At least somebody around here believes in me! I'm glad I finally got ya to see my side o' thangs, even if I had to sleep on the couch!

*With Zach's head firmly buried into her chest, Vanna glances at the other Hunters. She softly shakes her head, mouthing silently to the other Hunters.* He absolutely did it. *Shakes head* No question.

*The other Hunters nod in silent agreement.*