DMC!Anonymous

(Bear with me, I'm about to be very sappy. If you're not interested in reading all this, skip to the bottom - relevant information about the physical and digital release, as well as schedule plans going forward will be in big text and blue. )

I discovered COD (more specifically GhostSoap as a ship) in the tail end of 2022, like a lot of people when the "Alone" mission and its insane, sexually-charged banter went viral on Tiktok. I indulged the interest, thinking it was a passing fixation that I'd be done with within a week or two. And now 3 years later, I've finished the biggest fan-project I've ever undertaken for this fandom that has given me so much.

While the first comic of the Monster AU went up in August of 2023, the first character profiles were posted even earlier than that in March. Besides the Soapbox Saga, which consumed the first few months of my fixation, the Monster AU has been going on for almost my entire time in the COD fandom. While starting out as a fun, gimmicky sandbox for me and others to play around in, it quickly took on a life of its own and spiralled into a behemoth of a story (even without the Korangi section that I quickly realised I didn't have the scope for). Being able to serve up new comics for this project on a (semi) regular basis has genuinely been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I'm not exaggerating at all when I say that the audience here and on all my other social media, the comments and the likes and the notes left in QRTs and reblogs kept me going long after I thought I'd be burnt out. Whether you've just joined this space, or you've been here the entire journey, I honestly can't thank you enough.

In a time where AI threatens to cheapen the industry and craft I've dedicated my life to, I am so so privileged to have been given the resources, patience and engagement that you all have allowed me. It means a lot to me to have this project under my belt; as someone who has issues with staying committed to one idea for long, the idea of being dedicated to one idea for multiple years to see it to fruition has been a pipe dream. It means something so important to me that I was able to do this, and the sheer fact of the matter is that it would've been impossible without your support.

I owe so much to this fandom and to this project that has accompanied me through the past few years as a comforting ever-present project to gradually chip away at. There have been some genuinely difficult moments that I was able to get through by holding onto this project and my posting schedule as something to keep me afloat. I truly hope from the bottom of my heart that it managed to reach expectations. And if not, I deeply apologise, and I'm still grateful for the opportunity to have given it my best shot.

While the main story of the Monster AU is finished, there's unfortunately still a lot of work that has to be done before it'll be ready for purchase. Book covers, extra illustrations, internal formatting, an actual coherent write-up of all the lore, actual diagrams for how these damn monsters put on their clothes around their wings and tails...maybe even an extra exclusive comic? All that before it's even compiled!

Because of that, the physical copy of the Monster AU will likely only be available for pre-order in mid-late January of 2026 (you'll be able to purchase the digital copy in the same store-opening).

If nothing goes wrong with my chosen manufacturer, the physical copy of the Monster AU set (it'll be split into 2 volumes but sold together as one package) will be $110 AUD which translates into $72 USD. The digital copy of the Monster AU will be a pdf priced at $50 AUD, which is $33 USD.

Miscellaneous Character Questions:

1. How did Gaz react after Soap told him what he and Ghost did in the shed-thing when Gaz was captured?

He was affronted, incredulous and briefly impressed all in that order. He's not too bothered by it in sincerity since they did it not knowing the state he was in - nowadays he just likes having it in the backpocket to throw in their face if they're annoying him.

2. Given that Simon and Price are ever the analyst; What do you personally think they would commit themselves to the most, now post mission? Would they be selfish and take a personal path and focus on their emotional/mental/physical recovery- more specifically with their partners? Or would that sense of duty override their need to rest, and poor Johnny and Kyle would still find their men awake past lights out going over what scraps of intel they found to try and stop Valeria/Makarov for good?

After surviving what they did (and soap getting them a win by taking care of Graves), both Price and Simon are very happy to take it easy for a while. The latter is actually forced into relaxation, as not using his powers for a prolonged amount of time is the only way for his wispiness to abate and get him back down to normal levels. Soap and Gaz would honestly be more driven into maintaining contact with Los Vaqueros to keep hot on Valeria's tail.

3. With your interpretation of price being a dragon and all is his hoard only people or did he have a different kind before he found his team?

Before Ghost, Price's previous hoards were all minor, brief fixations. He collected vinyls for a while, and specialty shot glasses. As a child, he liked to collect rocks and specialty matchbox designs.

4. The hybrids that can fly in the Monster AU, do they need some kind of permission to fly anywhere? For example, could Gaz freely fly around a city just because he wants to?

There are zones where winged folk in the monster au are allowed to freely fly and zones where it's illegal. It can be overly restrictive, so there are specialty regions that have predominantly winged populations.

5. Would Gaz carry any kind if guilt/shame about being captured even though he logically knows it wasn’t his fault?

Yes. He's naturally really proud of his independence as a harpy and feels like he'll need to make up for his lapse in behaviour, even though it absolutely wasn't his fault.

6. What was going to be König and Horangi's part in the story originally?

I'll be including the original plan for the Korangi storyline in the compiled version. It's just a bit long to put in a comment.

7. Why does Konig need a handler? In his monster form, Konig is a rampaging mindless beast. He needs a handler to sedate him and bring him back to his human form or else he's impossible to control.

8. I always wondered what actually happens to soap when his tail gets grabbed?

It's a sharp jolt of pleasure that shoots up his spine.

9. As we saw in the last few comics featuring Valeria, Makarov is involved. My question is, since your AU has taken a different path with the timeline/series of events than the games, does Makarov have the same goals as canon Makarov? I know he might have been name-dropped as an Easter Egg, but if you would further the story, what would Makarov be building this blood-gorging experimentation up to?

Monster AU Makarov is still a mercurial force. It's clear that he was the "vampire friend" Roba was talking about in the flashback with Simon, but his intentions aren't obvious. Overall, he's trying to de-stabilise human-monster relations globally while also making a profit off of distributing what's basically a monster steroid.

10. Since Graves ended up surviving Cod MW2 (by not being in the tank) did Graves survive the attack from Soap in this au?

Nope. Got his head bitten off. He's very dead.

11. What happened at the end when Ghost gave Soap part of his shadow? Is it safe for Soap or was he affected by it more than we've seen?

It's safe for Soap. In the same way Ghost can control his shadows to stab through someone, he can also control them to cover someone of his choice. This was his first time doing it, so it was a hell of a gamble, but he was also getting really close to overloading, so he needed to disperse his shadows and alleviate the sole pressure on him anyways. He essentially just put a big bullet proof vest of shadows over Soap's wolf.

12. On a scale of one to "this boy needs more meat on his bones" how likely are Soaps family members to take a liking to Ghost?

Most of Soap's family takes a strong liking to Ghost and his spooky messy business. Soap's grandmother is especially superstitious and hangs onto the old ways a lot - she'd genuinely be really terrified of him at first but grow to enjoy his company (he's quiet, big and strong and treats her grandson gently, so it's an easy thing to warm up to him). Soap's sisters find him entertaining, although his younger one warns Ghost about never breaking his heart or else.

13. Do you think that Price & Soap have a unique relationship because they are the only ones with the 'pack' instinct? or do they both manage it in different ways?

They definitely have more of a shared understanding of each other because of it. It's still pretty different though - dragons actually don't like to travel in big numbers of other dragons, so a hoard is definitely different to a werewolf pack, which is exactly that. I think Soap and Price are able to understand their mutual possessiveness, but everyone in the 141 is kind of a freak about each other, so it's not especially unique.

14. Did Price struggle at all mentally with 141 all essentially needing to be on bedrest? I imagine with his hoard instincts it'd be pretty rough for him to see them all like that.

Nah , his hoard instincts love that. All of his hoard in a convenient place under his control where he knows where all of them are and what they're doing? It sucks that they're all recovering in some way, but his internal hoard instinct is veeeryy satisfied at how easy it's gonna be to cater to their needs.

15. What was your favorite part of the whole story?

Soap getting shot and Ghost patching him up in the shed.

16. Reflecting back on the monster AU, if you could go back, is there any designs or monster types you would like to change? Or, if you had to pick different monsters for the 141, what would you choose?

I don't think I'd change any of the monsters. If there's one thing I could easily change, it would be making the drugged blood vials a different colour or doing something fancy to denote it had been tampered with. I feel like all blood being the same shade of red made it difficult to discern when someone was getting drugged or not.

17. This might have been already established and I just forgot, Alejandro and Rodolfo already together at the start of the comic? What do they get up to when they return from the mission with 141?

Alejandro and Rudy have been in a committed relationship with each other for over 2 years when they're first introduced in the story.

And after they return from the mission with the 141 they have hot sex in their bed.

18. What info about wolves did you not end up including in the comic? Anything about Soap, I loved how you portrayed him in his wolf form.

He met a dire-werewolf when he was a young pup on a family camping trip. Nothing happened, they just looked at each other and the dire-werewolf walked away, but it was a significant moment in his life.

19. Do you have a reference of how Ghost's voice sounds when it changes?

Ghost's voice gains a kind of guttural, reverb quality. Lots of bass.

20. Which Monster gave you the most struggle to put together? Which one surprised you the most?