#xanreplies

In the show, TNWK doesn't belong anywhere, he's between two worlds, he's incomplete. He explicitly says that he wants to create a family and others like him in the minotaurs.

The heart of the AU is him learning to accept himself and see himself as worthy of love through his children (and also cute shenanigans w/ little goopy eldritch deer babies). It’s also about him learning that he can find happiness in new things, and not cling to the self-loathing and fixations that undid the Elktaur (pun not intended I swear).

(And to be clear: as cute as it is, him turning into a big proud papa obvs isn’t the only way he could have found joy, or at least peace, in the end)

And while it's less relevant to this ask about the babies themselves, in the more wholesome versions of the NW Fam AU, we also tend to envision him building more of a society/creating a place in the world for the minotaurs; becoming a true leader/king; and forming positive relationships. Ending the war, promising to find a way to change the minotaurs back, discovering ways to make amends, introspecting, learning that love goes beyond infatuation, maybe even bonding with a different human/centaur, etc. of course, not everyone will forgive him or care for his attempts to make things right, but he understands, he still tries -- if for anything, to set a good example for his family.

In darker tracks, his rage persists. He’s opportunistic and views his children as soldiers. And they’re raised to be more ferocious. They’re less talkative, more feral, but still relatively calculating.

The babies (my beloved) themselves are exactly what it says on the tin. Weird little genetic offshoots of TNWK that manifest diff traits of his, magically created or maybe they hatch from eggs. I won’t dig into that much rn lol but we have fun thinking abt their diff quirks and personalities.

There are a few baby ideas we play around with. Like one who has hands — they’re fast, mischievous, and smart. And Fallfen, a thoughtful but tired middle-child figure who ends up playing big bro to the younger calves.

There’s Dewdrop, who's a runt/smaller than her siblings but also Papa's Specialest Little Princess (she realizes that if TNWK is a 'king' then that makes her a princess v quickly) who loves dolls and pretty bows and might end up w/ a Little Mermaid II story arc later on.

We have a wider cast of babies but are undecided on many of their names, like a chumby bb who's v bulky and strong/easily as big as King, but also (to his dismay) a gentle giant/total softie who just wants to garden and help the minotaurs around the grounds. c:

There’s a lot of “cute but kind of gross” elements here too lol They have blobby, seal-like anatomy and flippers as newborns, with appendages/limbs that develop in time. their skulls are covered with thin velvet when they're very young. they wriggle mostly before they can fly. King spends a lot of time helping them control their buoyancy. Dewdrop is too scared to fly. She floated too high up in the fortress once and King had to help bring her down. She also has rows of teeth inside her throat LMAOO

They try to race, they spar. Their sounds evolve as they grow. Their weird barks might turn into actual bugles one day; others might reflect different animal traits from King’s warped DNA. It’s fun to play with!

We paint with broad strokes depending on the mood we’re in lol but I personally think there will always be people calling for King’s death (whether or not his connection to The General becomes common knowledge). In versions his children are a secret, he fortifies the fortress and keeps them hidden. They’re taught to fear humans and outsiders. If they're discovered, The General calls them abominations, proof of some greater, evil scheme to take over the world -- whatever fear tactics he can use to keep people behind him.

In other versions, King learns how to cast Glamours, or enchants objects, to help the kids blend in society — though not very well. They’re still skull-faced, and far too tall to not draw attention. So they stay covered. In happier versions of the AU, they don’t need to hide at all. then there's the possibilities of his relief at his kids playing with human or centaur kids, or his dismay at one of them coming back crying because a human mother yelled for them to get away.

AHH okay I rambled so much, I'm sorry <_>

Thank you again for the ask!! It was nice to ramble and gush about them all ;3; if you have any more thoughts/questions pls lmk i'm not used to talking about my ideas at length on main LMAO but it's a pleasant surprise to see folks care about these little goopy babies