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the alternate universe meme

how to play
1. post with your character, name and canon in the subject line.
2. feel free to mention which aus you’re willing or not willing to play in the body of the comment.
3. tag by rolling for an alternate universe setting using rng.
4. or tag by picking whatever au you’d like to play in most.
5. have fun!

alternate universes
i - all human: in an all human au, characters who are canonically vampires, werewolves or superheroes, are now humans, with corresponding changes to their backstories.

ii - apocalypse: a portmanteau of "apocalypse fic", apocafic is fiction set during or after some sort of apocalypse, or end of the world. some canons carry a built-in apocalypse against which the protagonists are fighting: in apocafic, they lose. for example, apocafic in stargate and x-files is usually set after the alien occupation; supernatural apocafic is set on a demon-controlled earth.

iii - band: an alternate universe in which the characters are members in, or form a band. often, the instruments they plan and their roles in the band are analogous to their canon identities. for example, tony stark might be cast as the fame-hungry lead singer who is also a musical genius, or river tam might be a classically trained pianist who, after a terrible experience at julliard, writes songs for mal reynold's grunge rock band, serenity.

iv - circus: circus aus are a popular trope in fanfic and sometimes fanart. using a circus as a setting means introducing the characters to each other in a close-knit community. that can help break down barriers between them and make them bond together against the outside world which may not understand them as well as the other characters do. it also brings a sense of adventure and the idea that this world may have different rules and everything is possible. a circus can also be a good place for characters to go undercover and meet the love of their lives.

v - coffee shop: the barista au (or coffeeshop au, or the closely related bakery au) is a popular fanfiction trope in livejournal fandoms. in most cases, one half of the main pairing is the barista and the other is or becomes their favorite customer; in some stories the whole cast works at a coffee shop. this trope is especially popular in fandoms where one character is very attached to coffee, either in canon or in fanon, or is frequently stressed.

vi - college/high school: college fic is a popular genre of fanfic (less often a genre of fanart) that places characters together in college or another secondary institution such as the starfleet academy in star trek fic (then called "academy fic"). this can be canon stories, for example backstory if characters have or could have met during college, or college aus, similar to high school aus. in science fiction, historical or fantasy fandoms the present day college au is a popular subgenre of the modern au that puts fantastic or historical characters in more mundane everyday settings.

vii - cop/detective: an alternate universe in which the characters are cast as cops or investigators of some kind. often, the canon villain is also cast as the villain in the story. this might be set in modern times, or in a noir-like environment, complete with gangsters and femme fatales.

viii - daemons: his dark materials is a fantasy trilogy by philip pullman. the trilogy consists of the golden compass (1995; published in the uk as northern lights), the subtle knife (1997), and the amber spyglass (2000). there are currently two companion novellas: lyra's oxford (2003) and once upon a time in the north (2008). a movie adaptation of the first book was released in theatres in late 2007. humans have their souls living outside their body in the form of an animal companion. males have female souls and females have male souls. the animals often correspond to the character’s personality.

ix - fantasy: an alternate universe populated with fantastical characters like elves, dwarves, unicorns, sorcerers, and dragons. canon characters might be cast as analogous races (e.g. clint barton or katniss everdeen as elf archers) or they might be humans in a fantastical setting. characters also might be able to secretly shape-shift into another form, like a dragon, and therefore is related closely to were/vampire/supernatural aus.

x - historical: a historical au is a fanwork which moves characters into a different historical period than their canon setting. typically this involves taking "contemporary" characters (from the late 20th century or 21st century) and putting them in an earlier historical period (such as the 19th century or before). popular settings for historical aus include: pirates, america's old west, britain's regency period, ancient rome, a vague facsimile of medieval england such as robin hood, and many others.

xi - hooker/porn/stripper: hookerfic is a type of fanfic where one or more of the characters is a sex worker. there are many different types of hookerfic, ranging from more realistic depictions to the more common pretty woman-type fantasy of a hooker with a heart of gold, rescued from life on the streets by a client. sex work of all kinds is portrayed—brothels, escorts, street prostitution, "call-girls" as well as strippers and go-go boys.

xii - magic: magic aus are alternate universe fanworks that incorporate magic in fandoms where there is no magic present in canon. (or in some cases, fanworks that make a canon with magic more magical.) they differ from elf aus in that there may be magic without any elves showing up, and are opposites of all human and mundane aus.

xiii - neighbors/roomates: an alternate universe where the canon characters live next-door to one another, or in the same apartment building or complex, or in the same apartment. often, this is also an all-human au, if the canon characters are powered in some way. the forced proximity is usually used to create romantic tension between characters.

xiv - space/sci-fi: a space au is an alternate universe where a source set on earth is transported into space; works are often referred to as "[fandom] in spaaaaaaaaace!" the trope can be a form of crackfic, but often includes surprisingly serious reinterpretations of the most earthbound of sources, particularly historical fiction written or set before space exploration. cyberpunk trappings such as robots, cyborgs and ais are often included.

xv - steampunk: steampunk was originally a term for a sub-genre of speculative fiction that imitated 19th century "scientific romances" like the work of jules verne and h.g. wells. later, the term was applied to a general aesthetic involving styles that would be "futuristic" from the perspective of the 19th century. steampunk appears in fanworks as both a genre and an aesthetic. there are some fandoms for which the canon is steampunk(-ish), e.g. the secret adventures of jules verne, but more often it is found as steampunk alternate universe.

xvi - western: the western is a genre of fiction set in the later half of the 19th century in the western part of north america, especially the united states, but also canada and mexico. sometimes also included in the genre are stories about western-type characters and plots in other settings, e.g. "space westerns" (in science fiction settings) and contemporary westerns (set in the western part of contemporary north america).

xvii - were/vamp/supernatural: a reversal of the all-human, in these fics characters who are normally human are now supernatural creatures of some kind the most common being werewolves or vampires.

xviii - choose your own: self-explanatory! choose your own option.

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"There's my mother," Ashley said, picking at a loose thread on an edge of the padded couch. "She's upstairs."

Dead, desiccated, in a locked room with an open window, seated in a chair and gazing out as though she were still waiting for someone.

Ashley knew, and did not know, that his mother was dead. He knew that she didn't like being bothered. He knew that she very rarely had time for him. He knew that she'd gone mad, and that entering her room would be dangerous. But he didn't think for long on any of these matters. There were still books to read, after all. There was still wine in the cellar.

He picked at the loose thread with his long fingernails, lengthening the thread and unraveling a hole in the edge of the cushion.

"And nobody else?"

If he can't get through to Ashley, perhaps his mother will be able to make him see reason, but he would also really like to speak to someone else just to gather information on what in the name of Elissa is going on here.

"No," Ashley said, sinking his head tiredly into his arms so that he was only a miserable swathe of pale skin and a fall of red hair. "They've all gone. Arkady will be back soon, though. He promised he'd come back."

Ashley felt weak, tired, dizzy. His head ached.

"You shouldn't go upstairs, though," Ashley said, just barely lucid enough to make the connection that if his guest went to see his mother, he might end up hurt or killed. "She's gone mad. She might eat you."

"...Eat me?"

But that can't be. If she is is mother, and he ghouled her, why would he have stopped supplying her with vitae? He's heard stories of ghouls fallen out of any favour turning on fellow humans in desperation for vitae, not realizing or caring that human blood will do nothing for them, but why would that be an issue here?

Ashley made a soft sound of agreement. "She's mad," he attempted to explain.

Frowning, he sat up. His guest wasn't understanding... something. Ashley tried to get his thoughts in order long enough to understand what was required of him. "She went mad with grief, when my father died. One oughtn't kill one's own servants, you know. It's distasteful. She took too much. I don't know why, if it was hunger, or rage, or simply madness. So they locked her upstairs, and she simply... stayed there." He shrugged, not significantly questioning why she hadn't just gone out the window or torn the door from the hinges.

Ashley considered his own elegant, long-fingered hand, and pouted. One of his nails had broken. All his life, there had been servants to see to his pedicures. He had no idea where the tools were kept to trim and file his nails. "My nail is broken. Can you fix it?"

No, he still doesn't fully understand. Was she a vampire and drunk one of the servants dry? But then why is he talking about eating her?

Though, considering that he walked a full day to come here, perhaps that is simply a regional difference in using language. There are a few differences even in villages that are only half a day's walk away, after all.

"...How long has it been since you heard from her?"

And that's a qualification that he doesn't have. He's a diplomat, a messenger, a scribe, he manages things. That's out of his area. "I cannot... where did the servants go after they locked your mother in her room?"

"They left," Ashley said, irritably. Hadn't he said that? He couldn't remember. He couldn't tell what was and wasn't real, or what had happened when. "The servants left, and my father left, and Arkady left and I'm all alone."

And his nail was broken, which was a crisis which really deserved more attention than this stranger was giving it. Ashley hugged his knees to his chest, scowling distrustfully at his guest.

"What's your name?"

"Mago."

So this guy has been in a house alone for who knows how long, with his mother... he wonders if there is a chance that she is still alive. Or awake, if she's undead. But with how Ashley has warned him against it, he's starting to feel like there is good reason to not check. If he can talk him into coming with him without help, he certainly won't try. Maybe recommend that Zyabqot sends some of the guards to look for her later. Though not having checked might also get him in trouble with her, he can't quite tell.

"And you won't be all alone anymore if you come to the city with me.

There will be servants who can look after your nail, too." Maybe that will be an argument to agree to come with him? "And you will be able to feed until you are full there." It feels like he's speaking to a small child instead of an adult vampire, but it also feels like that might be the only kind of reason that he will listen to.

It worked. Ashley immediately became more alert and cooperative, rising to his feet and starting to think about what he needed to take with him. There wasn't anything, really. His trinkets were only trinkets, and he was wearing the cleanest item of clothing in his expansive wardrobe. He wanted his books--Arkady's books--but there were too many to carry.

"All right," he said, clarity much improved now that he had something to focus on. He looked around himself for a moment as if lost in this unknown place, and then turned toward a back corridor. "Come on."

Expecting to be followed, he led the way upstairs. One of the upstairs doors he passed was sealed with heavy chains. Ashley didn't pause as he went past it, going to his own room and taking what he wanted. His case of jewelry, his favorite hairbrush, and a pair of sandals.

Hooking a pair of dark gems into his ears, he fastened a golden crescent into his hair and pulled on a cloak with a hood to cover the glitter of it. "I need a bag," he realized, having stacked hairbrush and sandals atop the case and then understanding this was not a sensible way to transport things. He'd never needed a bag before. Servants took care of that sort of thing. At a loss, he looked to Mago to solve his problem.

(( ooc: no worries! I will probably be a little slow as well, but I am happy to backtag forever; I'm love this thread! Also always let me know if my tags don't make sense/are going too far. ))

[ Allura had noted their ages, but put her thoughts about how young they were out of her mind. She wasn't sure if they were actually that young or just looked it, and besides, Allura knows all too well not to dismiss the power of youth. She's young as it is, young enough that a few of her countrymen had protested her attendance. But she had been training for this for her entire life and knows how to play room. Not only that, she had the best understanding of the defense and control system they were planning on introducing.

Allura pauses in front of the window, back to Shiro. The curtains aren't open but a crack, and she glances over her shoulder finally. ] Is it okay if I open the curtains or do I have to leave them closed?

[ She'd like to be able to see outside, and the question is asked with just a trace of flippancy, because she suspects the answer will be no. ] Zarkon knew my father, so I suspect that's why I'm being targeted. And he has no foothold in Altea, with little chance of getting one. If anything, he'll try to scare us a little by threatening me.

[ She knows there is more - knows exactly why Zarkon is targeting her, targeting Altea - but they just have to make it another two days, and the news will be out in the open. ] Some of our data is better hidden.

[ Gunshots, the universal sign for alarm in every language. Emnpathetically speaking, the sound of an altercation filtering through the building is a signal for Venom to provide his buddy with cover fire. Practically speaking, it's a call for Venom to start clearing the perimeter for their escape.

He takes the latter, because he can imagine how Frost would react to the former.

(Don't fucking patronize her, Big Boss.)

So. First things first: take care of the remaining hostiles outside, along with that pesky DShK. He mutters a low don't die on me before he sets off, footsteps muted among scattershot warnings ringing through the night in hurried Russian. Zero down, eight to go.

What tips the scales in Venom's favor is that these men aren't idealists— they're mercenaries, which means that their ultimate allegiances are to their own lives instead of a higher power. Their ingrained cowardice makes them sloppy, which accounts for the fact that his first two engagements approach him in fucking single file instead of the sensible pincer. The first in line— older, with less to prove— comes at Venom equipped with a well-polished KS-23 and noticeably poor judgment. Fancy gun, great firepower, fatal reload time.

He wastes his first bullet on a kneejerk response to staring down the barrel of Venom's HK33, spurred by poor trigger discipline and the time-honored fight or flight. The shot veers way off-course, disappearing into obscurity, while Venom pushes forward and uses the seconds afforded to him while the man clumsily fumbles with his manual reload (a luxury, really) to hook his bionic into his assailant's collar.

Panic grabs the soldier by his balls, and Venom makes good use of it; he flips the man around, back-to-chest, and lets his itchy trigger finger take care of the other incoming threat. A pity for the young man with his semiautomatic, who goes down with a sizable hole blown into his right shoulder.

The rest happens quickly: knee to the back, bullet to the skull. Two down, six to go. He trusts Frost to have engaged with the scientist by now, so he has to work quickly.

His next two kills are just as neat, afterthoughts left facedown on the dirt. He lays the bodies on the ground strategically, so that pursuers will be forced to go around them or waste a beat with the stepover.

Four down, four to go. Not to mention the DShK, which he's getting to now with a nice C4 decoration along its base. Happy holidays, from him to you. ]

Excuse me, senpai. I believe you dropped this.

[He was finally given an opportunity to fast walk after the subject of interest. There was never quite the right moment to approach such a person nor was there any reason for him to. The person he was following after appeared to be mildly popular and was never really alone. He had seen the fellow student at a sports event or two actually participating and being plenty impressive. He seemed to be energetic and had quite the laugh but Monoyoshi Sadamune didn't know this person.

Surely it would have been rude to approach someone with no purpose. There was only now as he gripped onto the straps of his bag, other hand extended out. What he had was a mere pencil but he knew for a fact it had fallen off of the other's person. Trailing behind him, he wasn't trying to be loud and speak again and allowed the pencil to do the talking for him as he lightly poked it against the other's shoulder.]

[Gotou wasn't too popular, but he was proud to say he had some friends outside of his many brothers. Taikogane was one of them. Both were in the same soccer club and both had a very high amount of energy, so it was only natural for them to get along very well.

He noticed Monoyoshi a few times when walking home from school with Taikogane but never really had the courage to talk to him. He was so graceful and well mannered, completely different from him. Today was different, Taikogane was home sick so he was walking to his first class alone.]

Ah!! [He yelped when he felt something poke his shoulder quickly turning around to see who it was.]

Oh... [Play it cool.] You're Monoyoshi, right?

Oh, I'm sorry- [He was quick to draw his arm back, not expecting such a reaction. But there wasn't any time to finish up with his apology and he was leaning over for a swift bow.] Yes! I'm Monoyoshi Sadamune!

[Monoyoshi hadn't thought that Gotou would actually know his name and he was addressing him so familiarly. But there was no mind to complain as he straightened up with a soft smile. And he would remember to hold the pencil out between them.]

I don't mean to slow you down. I just didn't think you noticed that you dropped this.

( prompto is the worst. noct is gonna break up and end this relationship. go set out with ignis and gladio, maybe. he'd be able to go to sleep without smelling chocobos. 'cause if prompto isn't feeling too frisky, he definitely shouldn't still be disturbing noct's sleep with his ridiculous, excessive kisses. unfortunately, at this stage of could-be-sleep noctis can only scrunch his face and make sleepy disgruntled sounds akin to the threatening level of a kitten.

as bothered as he is with the numerous kisses he is, noct doesn't budge more than trying to duck his face away from it. he's still in the warmest, most comfortable place available. more so, when he goes the extra mile in his cringing complaint and their legs end up tangled and warm together. after the pecks, he can feel prompto watching him. noct does his best to remain "asleep" and keeps his eyes closed. his boyfriend is the worst. a total sap.

it's really cute.

he finally cracks his eyes open, only to lean in and steal a small, slow kiss. he pulls away with a heavy sigh, eyes closed as he drops his head back to the bed. voice all thick with sleep and pretend protest. )

What do you want from me?

Ah, did I?

[He asked, he had tons of pencils but he wasn't about to tell him that. Then they would have nothing to talk about, something Gotou didn't want to happen. He had been trying very hard to get his attention.]

I didn't! Thank you!

[It really was just one pencil but maybe he needed it. But there wasn't really anything intelligent to be said now that he had done his good deed for the day. Monoyoshi brought his hands together in thought.]

After school... Would Toushirou-senpai want to come see Taka-kun? I know the two of you are friends and you could fill him in on what he missed.

Mago followed easily, simply glad that he seemed to have hit the right nerve, finally, and Ashley was cooperating now. He stopped under the door, though, not following the other man into the bedroom without a reason to do so.

"I shall see if I can find one." He might not know this house, but he knew enough about how houses were usually structured and organized to be positive that he should be able to locate something useful within a reasonable timeframe. ...While he was at it, he probably should check if there was a horse or something similar around still, though having seen this place, he doubted that he would be so lucky.

Looking at the time of the night, they wouldn't make it back to the city before sunrise. Normally, he would have seen no issue with postponing them hitting the street until the next day so that he could procure something to carry things in the meantime - something to speed up their travel, too, there had simply been no reason to assume that Ashley wouldn't have his own methods of faster travel at hand - but with how fragile the vampire's grasp on reason seemed to be, they should probably better hit the street now. There was a small military station only an hour out form this house, which they should reach easily before dawn, and that should grant them shelter for the day without much of a problem. He knew some of the guys working there.

He returned a little while later, carrying two bags that he set down on the bed. "Here."

There was a horse. It was as half-wild as its owner, fenced in a spacious paddock with a stream for water and plenty of long grasses, with a shelter awaiting it. All the other horses had been taken, leaving him alone with too much space for one horse, too much silence, and a temperament ferocious enough to discourage would-be thieves.

"Thank you." Ashley loaded one of the bags with his few most precious possessions, limiting himself to only three of Arkady's books. Everything else could wait, and he had already consumed all of the supplies that might be useful to them. Except for the wine, and Ashley had just enough good sense to recognize that was not a necessity for a journey.

"Help me with these," he said, half request and half command, as he sat on the edge of the bed and started in on the complicated lacing of his sandals, which he had never previously done for himself.

That at least Mago could help with, and he made quick work of lacing them up for the ...younger? older? man. It was hard to tell with vampires, but probably older, going by experience.

"Are you capable of taming the horse in the paddock?"

Perhaps it was his horse. Perhaps he had some ability. Perhaps Mago would have to do it. He was good with horses, but... he kind of hoped that Ashley would be able to deal with it instead. That horse looked wild.

Taka-kun? Oh! Of course! [Gotou probably looked more flustered and excited than he should but he couldn't help it! He never thought he'd talk to him so quickly or soon. Let alone that he'd actually actually go out of his way to talk to Gotou.]

Um...Do..you wanna walk home together? I mean we are heading in the same direction...

[ student council president yagen is cool, confident, and mature. boys wanna date him girls wanna be him etc. etc. but like any boy their age, he's, well, a boy. he still has fun, hangs out with his friends, cracks jokes and generally enjoys life.

having a large family like his, a lot of his brothers attend the same school he does - gotou included. the two frequently took on the roll of eldest when their eldest brother ichigo was working or at university. and when gotou was a mess, yagen was there to be the older brother, ever since they were kids. but...

well, growing up in a family raised by one older brother would always have its weirdness underneath everything...

today, yagen's looking over some club proposals after school in the student council room, idly flipping between pages. he's too tired for this... ]

[Gotou was a very big crybaby, but only his brothers and close friends really knew that as Gotou would never confess or admit to it. He was very good at soccer, but that was about it. Everything else was only average as he wasn't too smart nor was he too cool. But that didn't matter, his brothers relied on him anyways.

He did have very big shoes to fill however, Ichigo was a VERY good brother and caretaker for them after all. Gotou hurried to the student council room, very upset.]

I can't believe it! They sent me home early! [Gotou cried, clearly very upset by something.]

[ he's only mildly surprised when gotou comes running at him barging into the student council room. carefully shifting his chair back, he beckons him closer with an exasperated smile on his lips. ]

Come here Gotou, strop crying. What happened?

'm not crying! [He quickly denied, despite the clear evidence on his face. Gotou stormed over to him and immediately did what he always did when he was upset, hug the other boy for emotional comfort.]

One kid on my team was sayin our family was weird 'n he wouldn't stop so I hit him and they sent me home!

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rips off my mask to reveal myself as the true villain of this story

six.

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ooo i was thinking sada-chan would be on team with him nice

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Taikogane and Gotou seem like they would really get along!

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g a k u r a n s

b r o c o n s

hEELLLAAA

NOT AN ANNIME WITHOUT THE OLD BROCON