give em the ol' razzle zazzle :]

Okay so my many many many donagus meeting aus. I’m going to put them into categories to help me organize my thoughts

The aus where they met and didnt stay together (on Augustus’ end because he doesn’t believe they actually have a future because of the curse and on Donatella’s end because shes too scared to upend her life and disappoint her family) but oops! Donatella is pregnant:

- first two are very similar they just differ by what time frame they meet again in. First possibility is only several months along. She hides the pregnancy as long as she can but eventually has to come clean and her family is nooooot happy about it. Her mother is actively trying to arrange a marriage for her before it gets too far along (which shes trying to dodge at every opportunity). Any time a circus rolls in town she goes to see it just in case Augustus is there. She regrets not leaving with him and misses him, but she doesn’t know if the baby would be a dealbreaker for him. But she has to TRY because he said he’d come back and see her someday so she believes he will. And he does, he comes back into town with his circus again having regretted not dropping everything to stay with her if she wouldn’t go. Tearful reunion etc etc and then the shock of his life when he finds out he’s going to be a father. He’s terrified but that only makes him more determined to stay with her, and at this point Donatella is more than ready to join him on the road. They elope very quickly and basically have to work backwards to build up their relationship. I think in this case while she isn’t actively in touch with her family, some of her siblings are a little more understanding about her choice because there was a reason for her to run off with Augustus.

- This one is basically that entire last au but Augustus does not come back that quickly and Dion is born in the time between. She eventually got sick of her mother trying to pressure her into an arranged marriage so she moved out (her sister Graziella helped her, but still isn’t very supportive because she thinks her sister waiting for this man who might never come back is foolish). She has to go back to ballet after Dion is born because she doesn’t really have any other skillsets. It’s especially hard waiting for Augustus because Dion looks so much like him, but she loves her baby so much more because of that. By the time Augustus does actually show back up, she had started to become convinced that he never would. When they first meet again she doesn’t have Dion with her so she can break the news more gently but he immediately wants to see his son. Again they elope but it’s even more of a hurdle trying to build their new life (and Dion does not warm up to Augustus quickly, he’s very fussy and cries any time someone who isn’t his mother holds him and she has to convince Gus this isn’t because Dion hates HIM he’s just very attached to her)

- Last one in this genre is YEARS apart. She had twins (both Dion and Frazie so the timeline evens out) but she eventually had to make the decision to move to a new city for better opportunities. Augustus did come back to try to find her but she was gone by then. So 3 years later shes doing an alright job as a single mom, shes reestablished herself in a respectable ballet company. She doesn’t love her life but it’s fine and she loves her little family. And then a circus rolls into town and while she no longer goes expecting anything she does still go for old times sake. And there he is. At first shes mad at him for never coming back and then he tells her he’s been looking for her for years. That he did come back but she was gone. And she’s like… oops. She brought her kids to see the circus with her btw so he’s like well I hope your life is well and you and your husband are happy etc. And she has to figure out how to break it to him that both these kids are his. And when she does he looks closer and he’s like oh my god they ARE mine. And he stays with her and moves in instead of continuing on with the circus. They don’t get married in quite such a rush this time because it’s been so long Dona is more focused on figuring everything out first, but they don’t get married get married after a few months. Both kids take a while to warm up to Augustus because it’s this sudden presence just in their lives that theyve never had before. About a year in to living in one place (and Augustus having to work a normal job) they realize they’re both miserable with their careers and pack everything up to go join a circus again.

Aus where they don’t stay together immediately but they stay in touch:

- This one is more simple but they promise to write letters to one another and Augustus promises to call her from a pay phone whenever he can. They stay in contact for a year slowly falling more and more in love through their letters until Donatella finally gets up the courage to leave and Augustus makes a detour to pick her up. And then get married etc etc etc

- Other option is they don’t write each other, but Augustus’ circus returns to her town at regular intervals, so they see each other every like. 5 months or so. In this au they’re a couple years younger when they meet and it’s much more of a slow burn through the years

Aus where they either don’t fully connect or don’t meet at all until they’re much older (this fucks up the entire timeline because the kids don’t exist until much later, and they probably don’t have all 5 of them)

- The first version of this is where they DO meet briefly. It’s the same as in my main storyline for them where she rescues him after he falls into a canal. It’s a very brief meeting but they do feel some sort of connection and then Donatella has to run off to go to ballet practice. Augustus doesn’t see her again. They both remember this event but it has different significance to them. Donatella thinks of it as yet another thing ballet took from her; this guy was so handsome and she felt some sort of connection maybe they could have had something if she didn’t have to leave. Augustus views it as a miracle, I mean this beautiful girl saved his life and then disappeared forever, that had to have been his guardian Angel. He’s not religious so he thinks there’s a chance that she was real, but he’s built her up as this mythological figure in his mind.

Donatella goes back to ballet, becomes a prima ballerina and is widely renowned. She never likes ballet but she does begin to enjoy the minor fame that comes with it and she’s very proud of how good she is. Her love life is terrible, most of the men she dates don’t handle her strong personality well and they expect her to bend to them so she’s given up seriously dating. She once wanted children but she’s accepted that’s probably not in the cards for her. As she gets older she stops being cast in lead roles so often, she doesn’t fit the roles anymore, they tell her. Shes lonelier than shes ever been, feeling rejected and thrown aside. She doesn’t know what she’s going to do when she has to retire, and that’s coming up faster than she’d like. Meanwhile Augustus stays moving from circus to circus with his mother. His love life looks like a series of flings, he’s too afraid to get into a serious relationship and has never met anyone who could convince him otherwise. He’s a lot more resigned to his lonely life than Donatella is, and as he gets older he’s less afraid of the impending death the curse might bring. But he’s still not happy.

Many years later when they’re around the ages they are in canon, Donatella decides on a whim to go see a circus that rolled into town. When Augustus sees her he recognizes her instantly. He’s been seeing her face in his dreams for years, of course he knows who she is. Donatella takes a bit to recognize him but she eventually does as well. Augustus is like pleaaase please let me buy you dinner it’s the least I can do to repay you. Donatella is down because he’s still hot and this is her chance to find out if they could have something. They fall in love very fast and hard. Augustus is very clingy, owing to the fact he’s basically worshipped the memory of Donatella for most of his life and he doesn’t want her to up and disappear again. For Donatella this is a bit of an adjustment because no one has ever been THAT into her, but she likes feeling adored again and it’s even better that it’s genuine and not from an audience that doesn’t really know her. She retires from ballet quickly and joins him on the road, happy that acrobatics is another option for her and she doesn’t have to completely stop having a career (it also helps that any circus they join up with are more than happy to add a former prima ballerina to their cast, it brings in good audiences!). Their choice to have kids is more deliberate this time. They only have a short window so they decide yes, they do want kids. Having had more life experience, Augustus is more sure he can keep the kids safe, and Donatella is happy to finally have found someone she can build a family with. I think they only make it up to Raz (and he’s a lot closer in age to Dion and Frazie). Because the timeline is all messed up it’s up in the air whether they’ll ever find out about the curse not being real, but at the very least because they’re more mature and have had more life experience, their parenting tactics are a little better thought through. Not perfect, they still have a lot of issues, but it’s not as bad as it is in canon.

- The other version of that au is them meeting at the age they are in current canon, but they had never met before. They’re such different people by that point they almost don’t even give themselves a chance to get to know each other. But they do, and it turns both their worlds upside down. Same sort of ending as the last ones wrt the kids and all that

Aus where Dona grew up in the circus:

- Augustus and Donatella know each other through a large part of their childhood and adolescence as Donatella’s family is a part of a circus that Augustus and “Marona” sometimes join up with. They’re the best of friends, but Donatella’s family does not like Augustus. They’re magicians, and they tend to not like acrobats. Donatella herself is terrible at magic tricks, so her family often makes her play the magician’s assistant role which she despises. It makes her feel like a useless ornament. She longs to be a part of the show in the big top and not a side show. Augustus secretly teaches her acrobatics when they hang out. Eventually as they get older, the friendship turns more into romance and they start planning to elope. Donatella’s family finds out about this and they disown her, so they end up eloping quicker than they were going to.

- Alternauts is my swap au so this one is more of a direct switch. Donatella is from a family of acrobats while the Aquatos are a ballet family. The only difference is that Augustus doesn’t not have family pressures to continue ballet because it’s just him and his mother like in canon, he’s just continuing on with it (in Italy now after grulovia fell) because that’s the family tradition but he doesn’t particularly like it. Donatella loves the circus, but her family is just as full of pressure as in my main headcanons. She has so many ideas for routines and they won’t give her any creative freedom so she feels stifled. Her family’s curse is fire and not water, so their circumstances are a bit different. They meet in a similar was but flipped, and it’s a bit different since their personalities are swapped to an extent.

Au where grulovia doesn’t fall and Augustus’ parents are still alive:

- There is no curse and Augustus is a lot less burdened so he’s happier and more at ease. Unfortunately Grulovia’s royal family is becoming more and more intense and life is getting harder. Meanwhile Donatella received an offer to join the Grulovian National Ballet which is one of the most revered ballets in the world. Her mother completely approves of this if she wants to go because of the status of it all, and Donatella realizes she can get far, far away from her family by taking the offer. So she does, and then she instantly regrets it. Grulovia is so different to Italy, and they don’t like foreigners very much. Her skill on the stage is applauded, but she has no friends, she doesn’t speak the language, and she’s in this very cold and (in her opinion) bleak country. But if she gives up and goes home, she knows she’ll hear no end of it from her mother. So she tries to stick it out. Then the royal family plans a spectacular celebration for gzaravich Gristol’s 18th birthday, and that includes performances from both the National Circus and the National Ballet. Donatella and Augustus meet during this. Augustus is a lot more forward with his flirting and asking her out in this au because there’s no curse hanging over his head. Meanwhile Donatella is just so happy someone is finally talking to her AND it’s a cute boy who’s asking her out. They start dating, and Donatella doesn’t immediately quit ballet be aus the National Circus doesn’t travel as often, so they’re usually in the same place anyways. But eventually she does open up about how much she hates it, and Augustus offers to let her join the circus which she gladly accepts. The funnest part of this au is her actually getting to meet his parents (they both love her). They get married etc etc. After they have Dion and Frazie they start making plans to move elsewhere because Donatella still does not like Grulovia, and the economy and treatment of their people is getting worse. Unfortunately, they never make this move because the country starts making it difficult to leave. They just stay and make the best of their situation. I still have to think of conflict that makes Raz leave but he does, he snuggles himself out of the country and all the way to the United States to see his aunt who’s a part of the esteemed psychic 7. Lucy had never went back home to grulovia, which is the only reason the country is still standing. There’s sooooo much more to this but I will stop there