Star-stack - Tumblr Posts
I’ve actually been thinking of using this tumbler page a bit more often after a little inspiration. I will still be mainly active on my DA page but I figure to start off why not make my own take on an AU and since I’ve been on a TUGS roll as of late why not start there?
Admittedly this is maybe not an original one but one I don’t see much talked about in all honesty. A good ‘ol classic what if the good guys where bad and vice-versa. So here we go!
Zero Fleet-
> Obviously you have to start with the head of it all, Captain Zero. Or as his full name- Zero Zero. Born in France and then moving to America when he was a child, Zero’s childhood dream was to be a sailor and when he graduated school he made plans to move to Bigg City. Unfortunately a grandfather of his passed away during this time and in his will he left Zero his tug boat to help him start up a business. This tugs name was Morran or as many other tugs gave him flak for, Moron. As soon as Zero had made preparations to head to Bigg City he was happy to meet Morran for the first time. Needless to say he was swift in getting the tug repainted and having his name changed to Zorran, the two grew to be happily fond of the other and made it known that they trust each other a lot.
> Onto the No.1 himself- Zorran! Zorran was previously owned by Captain Zero’s grandfather though he was never used much. The idea of a status symbol if you owned a boat so he was kept in dry dock sleeping out his young years until the grandfather passed away and Zorran was given to Zero in the old mans will. Zorran is by no means old, he spent at best 3 years in dry dock so he’s mentally around his 30′s when he meets Zero for the first time. After about a year of being owned and working for Zero at some point the captain bought another tug who Zorran was in charge of showing around. Zorran often whistles through the gap in his teeth when he’s working and Zero finds it impressive that Zorran has a pretty decent talent.
> Moving to No.2 is Zebedee. Unlike his cannon counterpart Zebedee is actually an ocean tug. And also oddly enough his real name is Zebedee but he prefers the name Zebadiah as he finds his real one sort of childish for a tug like himself, but Zorran and Zero call him Zeb to smooth things out but the name Zebadiah is painted on his bow from his request to Captain Zero.
> No.3 is Zak or what his bow fully reads- Zakary. An ice breaker tug and the only one in Bigg City harbor making him in huge demand for the winter months. He hates it when people pronounce his name Zak-kar-ie so he just tells them to call him Zak but he doesn’t want the name on his bow changed. He’s a tug of few words and being rather blunt which has made for one too many instances where he’s accidently insulted someone, he’s not cold though, just not preferring to be the centre of attention.
> No.4 we have Zug. Zug before he came to the Zero fleet was actually abused rather harshly by his previous owner, this being why he is actually missing his left eye. He is still traumatized and has frequent panic attacks and has developed insomnia because of his past fears (which the Star-stacks mock him for and are behind half of the panic attacks he has when they intentionally spook him. Zorran has taken measures though to at least have one member with him everyday or close by.)
> No.5 we have Zip. Living up to his name sake he is rather hyper, talking really fast to the point if you think coffee is his fuel source. He protects Zug to a default and whenever the Star-stacks try to sneak up on Zug he creeps them out by how aggressively fast he is, almost to the point of Pinky Pie hyper and sometimes breaking the fourth wall.
> For a surprising 6 we have Zoomer, or as he likes- Zoom. A tug with a reputation of bad luck after he was brought into the Zero’s, Zorran was determined to help Zoom with his jinx. After a lot of trial and error the two eventually found a complex pattern that Zoom then exploited, making him have this almost supernatural power to jinx what ever he pleases. (Usually the Star-stacks) As thanks he often sticks by Zorran, going as far as to call him a best friend.
> As a late 7 we have- Z.J. Originally being the Star-stacks number 3 and being named O.J, when the paddle steamer had his engine blow out on him he was almost scrapped when Captain Zero bought him and had him repaired. A reclusive old tug to the point of being considered mute Z.J (as he was renamed) prefers to work alone and be to his own devices. Zug and Zak often company him in silence, their beliefs that actions speak louder than words. In truth Z.J is a sweet old man when you let him talk on his own terms, he had just developed this introverted quirk while working for the Star-stacks as they often told him to be quiet, calling him an old fool often. Like Zug he just needs time to recover and so far working for the Zeros he couldn’t be more happy that people actually want to listen to him.
This is already long enough so I’ll leave the Star-stacks for a second post. Feel free to ask and expect human art of these guys in the future as well as quite possibly a fanfic on Ao3, until then, Bye!
(Also credit to @funnie-train-hell for their original idea of Zorran’s name formerly being Morran before he joined the Z’s and @the-starfleet for their own idea in their reverse AU of Zeb being a ocean tug and where I got the idea of Zorran and Boomer being good friends. I apologize for not adding that sooner I honestly didn’t expect this to get noticed and thank you for flagging me down for it.)
Alright, I said I’d do the Star-stacks in a separate post so here it is.
> Starting with the captain himself, we have Orion Star. A former navy solider, after coming home to finding his wife had cheated on him and she sent their son into the foster system he drowned himself in booze and less than smart ideas. After chalking up some considerable amount of dept he decided to help pay for it he would open a business. Star tug and marine. And right next door was Zero tug and marine.
> Hopping on next to the no.1 himself we have a Dime. Dime may look young but appearances can be deceiving, and so is he. A smooth criminal type known for being rather slippery, he’s wise on words and harsh in harassment, if you don’t want you’re ego or pride or worth cut to being shattered in the span of a day or less then you don’t cross this switcher. He maybe be small but that doesn’t mean the biggest of liners don’t know to respect him. He leads his fleet mates with an iron tow.
> Next is Big Mac as the no.2. A tug Dime uses often as he’s one of the wisest on the fleet but not the oldest, if the number 1 had his say in second in command it’d be him.
> the former no.3 being O.J when his engine gave out on a rather hot day he was sold for scrap and then bought by Captain Zero being renamed Z.J. The current number 3 being Top Hat. Before Top Hat was brought into the Star-stacks like Zug he was heavily abused except to a far more dramatic extent. Blind in one eye and missing the other Top Hat is often seen rather distant, and is often described as numb from other fleet mates. He is selectively mute and uses a constantly admitting sonar to tell his way around, his one eye left can see colour but it’s not good enough for him to see defined shapes. Before O.J left Top Hat found the most confinement with the old tug and has been debating for a while now to ether go talk to him or to Zug.
> At no.4 we have Warrior. Living up to his name Warrior is quite often all brawn and no brain. He is impulsive and daring and aggressive to a default, a far cry from his older brother Big Mac who is normally the one to be by his side so he doesn’t act out. His Warrior’s mind- the scrap yard be dammed, if I ever go out I’m going out fighting.
> At number 5 we have the only female tug of the harbor Goliah. An ocean tug that in one word could be summed up as a succubus. Actively seductive and flirtatious. She integrates manipulation into her daily life to get her way especially over Zebadiah whom she has a crush on. Despite her star-status, fame and confidence, she also appears jaded at times. She is capable of being petty and mean-spirited, as well as highly competitive. She’s a queen and she knows it. But she also has a high caution for Dime, as on her first day he made it very clear that he was the boss by tricking her into showing her true colours in front of Zebadiah, thoroughly humiliating her in front of her crush and making Zeb turn away any of her advances. She’s also known for being a cool auntie/mother to Moonshine.
> Speaking of the smallest tug with the number 6, we have Moonshine. Formerly working up river in secret he ran moonshine for buyers around the area hence his name. It wasn’t until the people that owned him where caught that he was sold to Captain Star. Dime has taken a liking to Moon having him be his assistant in most of his jobs and setting up a new scheme that has Big Mac as his left hand man and Moonshine as his right hand.
> Last is the sub with the 7- Grampus. Captain Star at the time was actually rather fond of Grampus because he did many things for him and his tugs, he also had a bit of reminiscence from in his old navy days. He decided to buy him off the navy because he knew Grampus would be relieved of duty soon-ish by that point so he beat them to it.
I’ll work on the side characters last. Feel free to ask if you have questions and have wonderful day.