This world is ruined by man's folly. Spiretop City is built on a broken system that seperates its people using the same walls that created it. The "Purest," the Elite of Elites, build their towers to reach the Heavens while the rest are left behind to live within the dirt and grime of the lower layers of the city.
There exists a Prophecy that declares Dark Moon Magic as a gift. "Chosen Ones" were fabricated by the Lowtown Slums' herd to be lambs to the slaughter– until they found their true Vessel. They call and call for His Illuminance, The Fount of Knowledge, and He answers and answers and answers. But greed will always remain within the Elite as they continued to raise their hands up to reach the Divine.
In the Slums, a rebellion grows with the hope of dismantling this poisonous system. A child grows up alone, working hard within the rebellion whilst searching for his long lost friend.
— Art by Polaris; Typography and writing by Sirius.
*Welcome to the STARGAZE AU! This AU is a passion project made by 5 artists, otherwise known as The Founcil. Yes, it stands for The Fount Council.
*More information will be on a pinned post, including an AU TLDR, a masterlist, our other socials (Instagram and Discord) and who the Founcil's members are. Our askbox is also open for any curious minds seeking Knowledge!
havent posted abt change of fate mostly because i've been. roleplaying with the virtues. and having them interact with other variants of themselves (as seen with these two lovebirds)
..i'll infodump about that later i suppose‐ and post some doodles from it!
Actually, I’ve answered an ask about this fic before! You can find it here.
But basically, Liu’er (who Macaque goes by in this fic) gets killed during the burning of Flower Fruit Mountain, and Wukong is promised that in exchange for him helping Tang Sanzang retrieve the scriptures, Liu’er will be brought back to life. (yes this is another Stargaze AU lol)
I’ll also give you another snippet from the story, since I like sharing my stories. >:3
During the pilgrims’ journey, they run into some shape-shifting demons, kinda similar to sirens from Greek mythology. The demons can see into their prey’s mind and take the form of loved ones, and all that fun stuff. One makes the mistake of taking the disguise of Liu’er, thinking Wukong will be easy to manipulate with his dead mate standing before him.
Instead, Wukong gets angry, and rather violently murders the demon for daring to take Liu’er’s form. Here’s some of the dialogue following the fight.
Bajie: Explain. Now.
Wukong hunches his shoulders and curls in on himself. Wujing and Tripitaka exchange worried glances.)
Wujing: Brother… are you okay?
(Wukong doesn’t look at them, but they notice that his shoulders are shaking. Tripitaka stands up and walks over to him and places a hand on his shoulder.)
Tripitaka: (softly) Monkey… what is the matter?
Wukong: (sniffle) I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get so angry. But they… (growl) How dare they—
Bajie: How dare they what? You just beat the snot out of a random band of demons before they even did anything.
Wukong: (mirthless chuckle)
Wujing: … was it because of the other monkey?
(Wukong flinches, then jumps to his feet and turns to face them.)
Wukong: It wasn’t him!
(Everyone’s silent and just looking at him, confused.)
Tripitaka: It wasn’t who?
(Wukong falters, his eyes tearing up. He swipes at the tears angrily before walking over to the fire and sitting with his companions. He’s staring at his feet, his head hung low and his shoulders drooped.)
Wukong: Those demons were trying to trick us.
Bajie: (scoffs) You always say that. I think you just like killing people.
(Wukong would normally retort, but he remains silent, which is surprising.)
So Wukong and his pilgrim brothers have an emotional talk. They start to really bond after this, which is good for them. Wukong starts to tell them all sorts of stories about Liu’er, and by the time they finally get to meet said monkey, they already know him like an old friend. It’s sweet. I love me some good pilgrim bros bonding. Maybe I’ll actually write this fic someday. 😅
★ A postcard reaches your hands, somehow. It is an invitation to the renouned Climbing City. Do you wish to visit?
ENTERING SPIRETOP CITY ...
*We hope you enjoy your stay.
Stargaze is a Cookie Run: Kingdom AU set in a scifantasy steampunk world centered around the pairing of Pure Vanilla and Shadow Milk as we tell their stories within the city they live in. Spiretop/Lowtown is a city that acts as a dystopian Créme Republic.
This AU is made in collaborative with 5 artists otherwise known as The High Founcil. Each member has their own star-name within Stargaze.
Polaris -> Rinee @nyerinn3
Sirius -> Rei/Nilla @mystiffox
Pollux -> Millie @majorarcana.cos
Castor -> Billy @scribblin-spider
Albireos -> Skye @skystellations
We also post on Instagram!
Wanna come see our progress and hang out with other Starlings? Join our server!
*Postcard and Stamp design by Sirius; Invitation written by Pollux; Doodle and signature by Polaris.
AU Summary:
Following a prophecy that calls for a saviour who bears Dark Moon Magic, Shadow Milk was taken as a child and taught by the Spiretop's Order into becoming a Vessel for the Divine under the title of Fount of Knowledge. Pure Vanilla on the other hand remains in Lowtown and part of the growing rebellion, unable to come to terms with the loss of his friend and has been searching for him ever since.
Extra Notes:
Our Askbox is open! You may inquire about the AU or address a question to a specific Founcil Member instead. We are happy to receive anything, including fanart! Please tag us or use the #stargaze au hashtag so that we can see it.
The story has only been shown through concept doodles for the characters, the worldbuilding, and the timeline of events. However, there are plans to create comics/written works in the future!
This AU depicts the cookies as humans [names TBD]. It l also explores dark themes that are not limited to: bodyhorror, human experimentation, cult activity, derealization, etc.
the stars are dead. we gaze up as if salvation will find our ruined hands anyway. the moon remains cold.
"Take your seats, congregants. Our sermon is about to begin." "May His Illuminance light your path to True Knowledge!"
Stargaze is an AU built upon the question: "What if the Fount wasn't immediately born into his role?"
A young child was once taken from the slums and remodeled into a Vessel of the Divine, for the People. They call and call for His Illuminance, The Fount of Knowledge, and He answers and answers and answers. For this dying world, ruined by man's folly, will continue to reach up for the Divine– and this Vessel is their closest source.
In the slums, another small child grows up alone, working hard for a developing rebellion whilst searching a long lost friend.
Curious? Come visit us in the SPIRETOP ! This is the AU's discord server.
In other words: Here's an official intro to our collab AU! The Founcil has mostly been yapping about this on Instagram Stories (looks at Rinee) and since we just got the discord set up I might as well spread the gospel for interest, because the only ones who have tumblr are me and @scribblin-spider LOL. hey Billy
Anywho, to add more context:
Yes, the two kids were Shamil and PV. The AU is set in a scifi/steampunk dystopian world, and I'm pretty sure they're not cookies here. The location is based on the Creme Republic and its hierarchy/classism, with the Palace being home to the Elites and the St. Pastry Cult and the Mudtown as the "slums."
There are multiple sub-AUs for this AU, yes, it's that deep HAHA. While everything above is the Original, we have a Reverse variant and a Twin Vessels variant.
Reverse is, as the name suggests, a role-reversal between PV and SM. PV is called Truthbearer here. SM is.. well. He never looked for PV because he thought he was dead. He's not doing all that great himself.
Twin Vessels is where both of them were remodeled into Vessels. Truthbearer and Fount. Honestly, even as two vessels they are very codependent inseparable from each other, so they're practically one vessel anyway.
UPDATE: Heyo. Sorry for the lack of fics and stuff, this year has seriously been one of the worst of my life. I’m trying to post at least one more chapter of one of my fanfics before the end of the year (because writing and sharing my stories, like, makes me feel better, I guess) but I know I’ve got a few different fics that people are waiting on updates for, so which one do you guys wanna see? Lemme know and I’ll try my best to get it out before the end of the year.
Which fanfic do you want to see updated next?
Fire Lilies Chapter 3
Stargaze Chapter 9
To Hell and Back Chapter 1
Can't decide?
Voting ended onNov 11, 2024
(Sorry LotU isn’t on the list, that one’s a collab and finding time to work on it with @amalgamorph has just been... messy, to say the least.)
How do you torment your favs (aka how have you traumatized some of your favourite characters)?
Hmm… it depends! I mean, I guess childhood trauma is a good way to go, because it severely impacts the way your character develops in one of the most fundamental times of their development, like I’ve done with Last Shadows Macaque and a few times with Danny Phantom. (I actually started writing fanfiction as a way to deal with and process my own trauma (as suggested by my therapist at the time), so maybe that’s why this is a go-to for me… 🤔 anyway—)
Uhhh… hmmm… (trying not to sound like a serial killer or something here, the struggles of being a writer lol 😅)
Oh! Killing off loved ones. Always a good source of trauma, especially when you can bring in new characters that remind them of their lost loved ones (Thanatos in The Apprentice of Thanatos), or ghosts of their loved ones (Macaque in The Last of the Shadows)!
Another thing you can do is injure them, like I’ve done in a few Danny Phantom fics (Acceptance, and its sequel which hasn’t been posted yet) and with Macaque (in Peach Blossoms, Paralyzed, etc.). I think you’ve gotta be a little more careful with this one, though. Make sure you do know how to write the injury or illness that you give the character. For example, with Macaque in Paralyzed, I’m actually writing that fic as a way to deal with my own thoughts and struggles surrounding my own physical disabilities (which is why I haven’t posted any of it yet. It’s.. a little hard to work on at times).
Also, mental trauma! Throw them into war (Macaque in The Last of the Shadows, and Liu’er in Stargaze), or a life or death situation (also Liu’er in Stargaze 👀), or imprisonment (Last Shadows Macaque and also Danny in The Apprentice of Thanatos (don’t ask, it’s not posted yet!)). See how they try to process and cope with that, whether it’s the first time (And they’re panicking and have no idea what to do), or it’s happening to them again (and bringing up old memories and traumas).
You can also take an already traumatized character and put them into a new, safer situation, and write about how they struggle to feel safe and process their trauma in this new environment. Like, how seemingly harmless actions from others can trigger extreme emotions and reactions from them, or how they may feel like the safe situation isn’t going to last (Misunderstanding Liu’er and Last Shadows Macaque, but also Shadow in one of my Sonic fics).
Aaand that’s all I can think of for now, but I hope it answers your question! Thanks for asking! 😁 (And @amalgamorph will answer when they can, they’re just busy and also thinking of how to answer your question. 🤭)
