If anyone's interested in my Under The Veil AU, I got/found a little more details about it
Cringe alert cringe alert, you have been warned.
Also mentions of death, near-death experiences and knives. In general, this one's a little more gruesome than the previous UTV post.
Other than wrapping around toons or items with his bow ribbons, the ribbons can grow thicker or thinner. It goes thin when he needs to reach into a tight space etc, or thick to wrap someone up. The points can also become sharp. I like to think it becomes sharp whenever he's angry too.
(Old drawing) This is during the scene where Box gets kidnapped by Datura (shape-shifted into Dandy) and Glist gets frustrated since Datura refuses to let Box go despite Glist following whatever games Dat had for him (Box had been missing for a few days/a week. Glist's patience is wearing thin).
When they become sharp, they can slice through almost anything: wood, concrete, metal etc. This implies Glist could've broken Box's metal rod at any time but chose not to (either that or he unintentionally hit it one time but it didn't break and Box didn't notice. Boxten's metal rod is stronger than he thinks).
I drew new drawings for this woahhhhh
Glist never lets his ribbons become sharp around Box because he doesn't want to hurt him (the drawing where Box watches him cut something is just an example). In general, he doesn't use his sharp ribbons to harm toons, he simply uses it to cut things (he used his sharp ribbons to intimidate Datura).
This is probably where UTV! Box and PaR! Box differentiates: Box in this AU has a fear of sharp things, particularly knives. He's fine with Glist's ribbons non-sharp form, but when it IS sharp, that's where Box gets reminded of his past (when Box was little, someone broke into his house and his parents lost their lives while trying to protect him (MINETTE WHIRREN NOOOOOO D:) This is how Box got his nightmares in this AU. This is a motivation/reason why Box decided to become a hero, he doesn't want that to happen to anyone). After this, Glist stops showing his sharp-ribbons to him.
Box uses his bandana to cover up a long neck scar he got from the attacker who broke into his house (doctors say he's very, VERY lucky to survive). He's extremely insecure about it and he doesn't like toons seeing it. He only shows it to people he trusts (Glisten, Poppy, his other family members etc). Box also nearly got one of his eyes cut, so seeing any sharp things up close gives him PTSD.
Now that I'm thinking about it, Box and Glist are helping each other with their traumas in both AUs (Glisten's parental trauma, Boxten near-death experience). They really are soulmates.
Box lives with other family members (don't worry, they were good to him) before he headed to college. After the incident, his aunt (one of the toons taking care of him) gave him a penguin plush (Pengu) to cheer him up. Since then, he'd been carrying it around everywhere, even when he reached adulthood. Some people make fun of him but Box doesn't care. Glist finds Pengu endearing and doesn't judge Box for having it.
Remember how I said Glist's bow ribbons can become thicker? I imagine this sort of scene happening:
During a night where Box was chasing Glist, it suddenly started raining. Glist halts MID-CHASE, spins back to Box, and covers him from the wet weather. Box's so confused but he doesn't protest. They spend an hour under a shelter talking to each other and once the rain stops they decide to go home. At this point, they're doing this whole cat-mouse chase just to spend time with one another.
Recall in the last UTV post where I said Emeran is a lot more prominent than Sol? That's because Sol died in a plane crash. I find it quite sad that a reason why Emeran is more important is because Sol's genuinely gone. If she was still here, Sol would've been prominent :(
Emeran, since he's grieving his wife, becomes very distant. The incident happened when Glisten was young, but he was old enough to remember how Emeran started crying when he discovered the news. Em falls into a state of depression and Glist has to take care of him. In this AU, Gigi is his twin sister (younger by a few minutes). Not only does he have to care for his dad, he also needs to care for his sister. THAT'S a lot of responsibility for a child that's like 7-10 years old when their mother died.
Underneath his confident, charismatic, and flirty demeanor, is an insecure toon trying his best to provide for his family. He juggled a lot of jobs while he was in school (Gigi tried helping but Glist insisted he's fine) and ever since he got his powers, he'd been using it to steal things (because he likes the items or sells them to earn more money for his family).
Glist and Gi teases/bicker with each other a lot, but when one's in danger, they drop everything and come to their aid.
Box and Glist bond over their dead parents/family situation. Box is the first toon in years Glist grows close to.
Alright, let's move to something a little happier: Glisten in this AU is afraid of the dark (different from PaR! Glisten). It's a fear he had as a child and he's embarrassed by it. Gigi teases him about liking the spotlight because he doesn't like being in the darkness.
I imagine Box and Glist are in a carnival and they get dared to go to a drop ride together. Once they're at the top (it's a 2-3 sitter btw and they're the only ones on it), all the lights and power goes off. They proceed to get stuck up there for an hour straight.
(Gotta love the inconsistencies in the art when it comes to colors in a dark picture).
Boxten's scared of heights and Glisten's afraid of the dark. They comfort each other with their mere presence. Yes, Glist had his bow which is the root of his powers but he's in public and he didn't want to reveal his villain identity to Box. Box had his metal rod in his pocket (upgraded it for easier carry) and also chose not to use it for the same reasons.
Speaking of identities, it's a little confusing so I'll try my best to explain it. After stepping into the Black Substance (ichor, toons in this AU call it the Black Substance though), it momentarily erases your identity. If you call yourself the same name, nothing changes and everybody will see you as the same toon. But if you call yourself someone different, you are now considered that person and the old you and that persona are seen as two people. You can switch between your first identity and new identity when you activate or deactivate your powers. This is why toons don't recognize others despite them having no mask. The Veil keeps them hidden.
Glisten's villain form is called "Gen". The legit reason why he named himself that was because he thought it sounded cool. He likes to say it stands for "being GENuine" but Gigi teases him by calling it "GENerational trauma".
Boxten's name is Dex. Glisten (as Gen) nicknamed him "Dexy". When Glist and Box first met, Box almost gave him his real name but Glist shushed him and told him all about the Veil. He was the one to tell Box to name himself differently because if he were to say the same name, toons would "hunt him down". Basically, Glist was attempting to give him a warning/heads-up. Glist joked about calling him "Box" and Boxten panicked. He already knows my name?! (Glist doesn't).
Gigi's other identity is called Gacha. She named herself that because she liked playing Gacha games, but like how she teased him about calling Gen "Generation trauma", Glisten teases her for naming herself LITERALLY after what she is: "GACHApon".
Glist: It's like calling a golden retriever a golden retriever!
Gi: At least I put thought into it!
There's some more characters with different identities but I can't remember the names.
Gigi's powers by the way are similar to her toon ability, she can make anything come out of her head. The drawback is that it's entirely luck-based, she can get a smoke bomb or a toothbrush. That's why she puts items in her head already so she could pull them out at any time. In this AU, she likes creating items and her favorites are smoke bomb and confetti bomb. She uses a smoke bomb to get away or to disorient the opponent and confetti bomb for fun. Glisten ends up being the test-subject for her prototypes (Boxten and Poppy too occasionally. Btw Pop discovers Gi's identity and like she did with Box and Glist, she promises not to tell anyone).
I found a short terribly written story so here it is:
"Boxten's having a really bad day (failed exam, awkward interactions, failing to apprehend bad guys, gadgets not working, creator's block). He's obviously distracted, probably at some point he runs into a wall.
Glist stops playing their little cat and mouse chase to go back and check what's wrong. Losing it, Boxten breaks down crying. Glisten stares at him in shock before coming over to him, wrapping a bow ribbon around him like a scarf/blanket while he uses the other to make reassuring hand gestures. Glist then uses his actual arm to rub/pat his back. "There, there." He says. "Just let it all out."
Glisten remains quiet as he bawls his eyes out. After he's done, Glist stands back, doing his signature bow ribbon head pat. "Let's pretend this never happened, okay?" In an unusually soft tone, no trace of any flirt, just pure genuineness. "Just get good rest now, mhm? I'll go home. Try catching me again when you're back to your full self, alright? Take care." With that, he leaves.
The next day, Glisten acts as if that never happened and Boxten wonders if he hit his head to the wall too hard and he hallucinated the whole thing."
There are songs that remind me of this AU:
"It's been two weeks now since I blacked out. I won't lose control, no, I won't lose control. Read the papers, read the statements. I already know, yeah, I already know."
This is Boxten after he stepped into the Veil a couple days later. He read the news about crimes increasing and took it upon himself to be the hero.
"‘Cause I'm so smart and I'm so pretty, take away the pain, take away the pain. Can't find meaning in this city, think I'll change my name, I think I'll change my name."
This is Glisten growing stressed of all his responsibility and using his villain form as a way to get away from everything.
The instrumental of the song is just Boxten and Glisten in their chase scenes/hanging out with each other in other areas.
"Alice, Alice, heart and soul, fell into a rabbit hole. Dreamers dream until they don't, lost her mind a while ago. Alice, Alice, don't you know? Wonderland was all a hoax. Made it up so she could cope. Madder than a hatter, Alice."
Glisten and Gigi stepping into the Black Substance and being amazed by the powers they received. Little do they know, they just entered into Datura's plan. When Datura does his mind-controlling spree, Gigi is one of them and Glisten is forced to fight her (Glisten doesn't want to hurt her but if he does nothing, he'll get severely injured or worse: die). Sibling angst, being mind-controlled is the equivalent of being twisted :(
"Like the Cheshire Cat, the ceiling fades to black (Ah). And in her mind she'll drown, as she chased the rabbit down, down, down, oh."
I never particularly mentioned this before but at some point Box and Gigi (no longer mind-controlled for some reason) get captured by Datura and he forces Glisten to choose between which one to drown in the Black Substance. Glisten can't choose between either of them, so he sacrifices himself. He "drowns" as Box and Gigi cry out for him. This is where Glist gets transported to an alternate universe. Him "drowning" is Glist being dropped in there. Box and Gigi believe he's dead, though.
The song repeating "Madder than a Hatter, Alice." Is referring to Datura.
That's all I have, hope you enjoyed reading :D Question: if I were to take a break from PaR, would you guys want to see me write UTV content? Also speaking of PaR, YES I'm writing the next chapter, I'm just having procrastination/busy with schoolwork :(
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