#carachocolico

Poison Mushroom is so happy Licorice has new friends.

I'm genuinely enjoying this AU so much for no reason. So if some more context.

-Licorice has been hiding in the ruins of his village this whole time.

-Poison Mushroom gets to be here bc I love my lil shroomie dealer so much. they literally just followed Licorice home one day and never left.

-PM is the one who goes into the Milk Village to trade for food and other stuff with potions Licorice makes or fish caught from the sea. Licorice waits just outside for him where he can't be seen bc he's paranoid.

-Dark Choco sneaks out dressed as a Watcher sometimes. He and Caramel Arrow try to help out the kingdom doing this. It's during one of these times he sneaks out alone he notices Licorice and PM by the sea. This gives him an idea.

-Choco only remembers things about the Licorice Tribe from his studies and what others say about them. But he wants to help his kingdom and knows his dad needs to reopen the gates to do so. So his brilliant plan is to either find a Licorice Tribe member or something in their village to help control the Sea that's been acting up the past few years.

-Caramel Arrow wants to do her job but she can't just let her prince wander out into danger. (Bonus points, Dark Cacao genuinely just tells her to follow him just in case. He's confident in his son's ability, but unexpected things can happen and Choco is still young compared to him.)

-Caramel Arrow and Dark Choco are big sweeties and genuinely wanna help their kingdom somehow. Both are very distraught with Licorice and PM's living situation.

-(in reference to the sketch) Dark Choco is getting desperate so he is willing to use any method to do something about the kingdom's current affairs. Also he genuinely thinks it could work.

-Licorice's only contact in years has been PM. So he gets overwhelmed very easily by the two new Watchers who just randomly barged into his life (and home).

-Licorice genuinely does not know he's talking to the prince of the kingdom when he insults the pair or the royal family. Caramel Arrow gets very upset with this but has to bite her tongue because Dark Choco insisted on using fake names. He'll probably have a panic attack when he finds out he's been hitting the prince with sticks and calling him useless and stupid to his face.

-Before they confirm Licorice is in fact from the Licorice Tribe, he also gave them a fake name. Both parties agree the other is suspicious bc their names sound completely fake.

Sure! If you wanna know anything more specific, then please ask bc I just tossed on some random details that'll come up eventually.

-Licorice usually hides his appearance with an illusion to hide his more abnormal traits unless he's sure he's alone/with ppl he trusts. As an extra precaution, he also wears a scarf to hide his face and keeps his hood pulled over his eyes.

-There are four types of tribe members, Initiates (outsiders who marry into the tribe and perform a ritual to earn the Sea's protection), Common (the average person, not any different from other cookies besides having the Sea's favor), Sea Blessed (members specifically chosen by the sea. Often taking leadership roles as ambassadors, elders, or priests/priestesses. Considered uncommon.), and Sea Born (quite literally born from the Sea. Very rare, and an existence the tribe keeps secret as many already fear the normal members).

- The entire Licorice Tribe has 5 notable physical differences that set them apart. Black claws, sharp fangs, dimly glowing eyes, thin bodies, and pointed ears.

-Blue and white are common eye colors, yellow and green are uncommon, other eye colors are only from members with recent, non licorice family members. This is very off-putting as it only makes them look more like beasts of the Sea.

-Though not nearly as tall as the Cacao tribe, the Licorice tribe is still fairly tall. This adds to their scary appearance at first glance, their initial impressions being tall, willowy forms with glowing eyes and sharp claws and fangs among the trees or by the Sea.

-Licorice is small for his tribe. Sea Born are usually smaller though.

-Licorice met Poison Mushroom when he took the risk to go towards the Hollyberry kingdom looking for herbs for medicine. Poison Mushroom just started following him, first at a distance, then right behind when they decided he was 'safe'. (They saw him taking a medicinal mushroom and decided that meant he was a friend)

-At first he tried multiple times to get rid of Poison Mushroom when he first realized they were following him. Scaring them off, running away, even leaving them at a local guard station in a small town as a lost child. He's still not sure how they found their way out of that one and PM just says they don't remember.

-Licorice normally smells like salt and pure licorice extract, like the sea, but he masks it with the smell of herbs and medicines bc it's the only thing bitter enough to hide it.

-Caramel Arrow and Dark Choco's first impression of Licorice is not good bc the first time they see him, he's lurking around the woods near the Milk Village (foraging while waiting for PM). His outfit is very suspicious considering they can't see his face at all, and he's clearly armed.

-Because he thought it was practical, he spent ages teaching PM a basic subspace/storage spell. They immediately filled it with an unknown number of their Shroomies and other types of mushrooms. They usually summon them again from their sleeves.

-Licorice has had to stop PM from feeding their normal Shroomies to the licorice oozlings. They sneak Shroomies to them anyway when Licorice's back is turned.

-Bc I like the idea I used Licorice's scythe to structure a cultural relevance. It's basically a shepherd's crook for licorice oozlings. The sharp tips at the base are for shattering thick ice so Oozlings can get underwater before the sun dries them out. There's a spot near the blade's base that's blunt (where the bones next to the little spiral are on Licorice's) that's for scooping weakened ones into water. The blade itself is a necessity for self defense as the Dark Cacao kingdom is infamous for its harsh and dangerous lands.

-Licorice can breathe under water. However he is aware that's abnormal even for his tribe. This is a Sea Born trait. If you tried to drown him, he'd know he has to fake it. Another Sea Born trait he has to hide is his tail, which he keeps tucked into his pants to hide even in his own home.

-Dark Choco often seeks out Caramel Arrow for opinions on his plans. He probably trusts her most despite her loyalty to his father as she's made active attempts to aid the kingdom in her own time.

A Cursed Redemption

-Caramel Arrow's crush on Choco started when he was teaching her archery, but not right away. It took a bit for those feelings to develop as she was very dedicated to learning and kinda ignored those feelings. This would also be the case for the other AUs or in general.

-Dark Choco had a small crush on her before he left, but convinced himself he didn't deserve it after what he'd done. Those feelings come back after he leaves the COD but he's very conflicted because they're close to how he feels about Licorice (who it just then sinks in he abandoned like he did Caramel Arrow in the past) too. The guilt makes it harder to sort out these feelings.

- Licorice experiences his first real heartbreak when Choco leaves them, but bro doesn't even know that's what it is. He's tremendously bad at his own feelings.

- Caramel Arrow's first reaction on meeting Licorice when he finally works up the courage to leave the COD is to hit him as hard as she can. She knocks his ass out, much to Choco's shock.

-Licorice and Caramel Arrow fight a lot when they put him under her supervision. I mean a lot. He constantly makes snide remarks about the kingdom and the Watchers, throwing around insults. She hates how often he openly insults the royal family, namely Dark Cacao, but he casually bullies Choco a bit bc this was Choco's brilliant idea.

-It takes forever for CA to realize Licorice is not nearly as bad as he makes himself out to be. He's very low-key about caring for his loved ones, to the point of being verbally insulting as if he's scared to admit he cares.

-Choco had to be the one to help CA realize that Licorice's behavior is a sort of defense mechanism, only getting close to those he can't chase away. He does this through a mix of telling her how much Licorice changed as they grew closer and sneaking around with her to catch the rare moments Licorice drops his absurdly loud, "tough/evil" persona.

-Choco is the most outwardly affectionate, especially after he gains better control of his curse and isn't as scared of hurting them.. Hugs, kisses, hand holding, cuddles. He's very touch-starved from his self imposed isolation. Also says the sweetest things.

-Caramel Arrow will accept their affection almost all of the time. She rarely initiates physical affection with Choco because she never has too. He's always looking for it. With Licorice, she usually has to be the one to initiate anything at the start, but once he's more comfortable he can be just as touchy as Choco. She tends to be more affectionate in private than in public spaces or shows her love through words.

- Licorice is so used to being alone he's become just as touch-averse as he is touch-starved. He craves their validation and affection but would rather die than let himself be seen as "weak" or ask for it. Rather than touch, he'll gently prod them to take care of themselves, or do little things he thinks will make their lives easier like take over chores. Partly convinced himself that they only act like they love him.

-CA once asked Licorice about his tribe and Licorice stopped talking to her for two weeks straight. Choco had to break the news that there aren't any others left to their knowledge.

- Choco and CA bond over their determination to make Licorice feel loved. Also their determination to beat his insecure ass into oblivion and drag him back to smother him in affection when he caves under the pressure and tries to go back to the dark side.

- Licorice is very needy, clingy, whatever, but also acts like a cat with his affections. Also sometimes stands in a corner and stares at Choco/CA as if he expects them to know he wants a hug or something. He learns to be more vocal about when he wants or needs attention.

Forsaken Licorice AU

-Choco and CA are sorta kinda an established thing here. They both like each other, and acted like a really chill, put together couple even before making it semi-public.

-Since he never got cursed, Choco is much more open to their relationship and doesn't have as many fears about them being together. As a result when they aren't focused on something else, he'll shower her with affection.

-Choco gave CA permission to enter and leave his room freely, sometimes she sneaks in just for comfort cuddles. They wouldn't try anything more risky than that given the strict culture. At least not within the Citadel walls.

- Dark Cacao 100% noticed their relationship and purposely told CA to just 'make sure he comes home' if she catches Choco sneaking out of the Citadel.

-Choco is a bit naive, he tends to lean towards a more optimistic outlook than a realistic one. Caramel Arrow loves it, even though she often has to lend a more realistic opinion.

-If Choco is the optimistic one, Licorice is the pessimistic one. He's a grouchy, petty, mean-spirited, paranoid guy who assumes the worst in an unrealistic and dramatic way. But CA and Choco suspect it's mostly for show. Besides, who wouldn't be a bit of a pessimist when they're the last of their kind? Just cuddle him until he calms down and stops complaining.

-Choco started crushing on Licorice first when he didn't know who Licorice actually was. He felt extremely guilty about it and got a little sulky bc he already had CA and having feelings for the suspicious guy living in the abandoned Licorice Tribe village felt like he was betraying her.

-CA started crushing on Licorice after the few times he invited her to stay when Choco was away (also before they knew). But she didn't figure it out until Dark Choco admitted to his new crush while acting like he'd committed a horrible crime and she found she wasn't bothered by the idea at all.

Cursed Redemption AU

The sorta dark sorta goofy AU I been doing doodles for. Starts with Licorice learning about Dark Choco's curse and slowly starting to see the bad side of the COD he's been brushing off and excusing for the cruelty it actually is since it now directly impacts someone he's kinda claimed as one of his people. Eventually building to a point where he no longer feels safe and takes off with Dark Choco and his other ppl.

But of course it's Licorice, and he's pretty broken down from the constant disrespect and even mockery of his abilities. Plus Pomegranate having consistently torn him down for the smallest mistake. Or the literal extinction of his entire tribe. Or how much fear/hate/caution the other clans and tribes of the Dark Cacao Kingdom held for his tribe and their abilities/ connection to the Licorice Sea. And he kinda forgot how badly other cookies look down on black magic. It doesn't take much for him to reconsider his choice to leave and potentially play double agent as he struggles to remove Dark Choco's curse from him.

??? AU (no name for it yet)

A completely non-canon human/humanized fantasy mashup thing ig? Also a weird ship maybe but it's CaraChocoLico slowburn (yeah, Caramel Arrow, Dark Choco, and Licorice... Idk man, I just think it's kinda cute?) And it focuses a lot on the Licorice Tribe/Sea too (it feels so eldritch coded or has the potential to be to me and I love that. Leave me alone)

Basically, it's either:

1) Dark Choco and Caramel Arrow go to explore (read CA follows Choco when he sneaks out of the Citadel against Cacao's orders) the old Licorice tribe village ruins. However, they soon notice signs of someone still living there. At first they assume it's probably a traveller looking for a place to stay for a while and decide to wait it out until the person returns so they can give the warning that the Citadel is in lockdown after the Licorice Tribe went extinct and could no longer calm the Sea.

No one returns, so they search in case the person is wounded. They find Licorice out cold by the Licorice Sea and rush to bring him back to the Citadel in an attempt to save him.

2) Paranoia leads Dark Cacao to distrust the Licorice Tribe and fear an attack from the Sea so he shuts the gate to all. This action unintentionally leaves them open to the other tribes or clans, who blame them and attempt to wipe them out. (This just pisses the Sea off more btw.)

For one of my dumb AUs, enjoy.