#Crow King AU

[bet-on-me-13]

I like to think that the first Crow he ever talked to became his Right Hand Bird. The one who always stays with him, perched on his shoulder and chatting with him while the others take care of business, but also takes on the most important Jobs that Danny only trusts to him.

That Crow gets a special Trinket that Danny purposefully put as much Ecto as he could. This makes it super Green and Glow but also acts as a Magic Charm that protects the Crow.

Imagine a scene where Red Hood is talking with one of the Batfam Members on a rooftop, discussing a Case they are having difficulty solving, when a Crow with a glowing green Pendant around it's foot flies down and perches next to them.

The Batfam Member questions as to why the Crow is there, and Jason says "That's [insert bird name], the Crow Kids right hand man. He only shows up if it's serious."

The Crow is giving them Information about that Case they were trying to solve, and the Bats follow up on it. The Crow follows to make sure they are okay, and throughout the Investigation they grow more and more attached to the Crow.

Until they reach the end. While in a Gun Fight with the guys they were investigating, the Crow is killed trying to save one of the Bats.

After the Fight, they take its body to Danny, and apologize for not having been able to save it.

Danny accepts their apologies, and then says, "No worries. Even in Death, my friends won't abandon me."

He takes that little trinket from before and Crushes it in his hands, sprinkling the Green Dust it turned into on the Birds Body. Magic mumbo jumbo happens, there alot of wind and glowing, and the Bird gets up again.

It's eyes are Green, and it's Black Feathers have a greenish sheen to them, but it' alive again.

Danny turned his Crow Friend into a Ghost Crow, like Cujo is. Now he and his friend will be together forever.

Ghost chirps au but instead of the cute little bird songs and peeps it’s just-

“CAW”

Like a giant crow or flock of crows if there’s more than one ghost. Danny being able to gather all of Gotham’s crows, as a giant army because he sounds like them.

Crows: Who tf are you

Danny: CAW

Crows: Say less homie

He’s named every last one of them and has trained them all to pick locks and steal. He’s respected by the crows because he’s the only one with dexterous hands. If they can’t open something they call in the big guns (AKA Danny) Like imagine being a Gothamite and watching a enormous flock of crows seemingly summoning a scrawny child out nowhere to unlock a dumpster? Like they’re crowding around him like he’s the messiah, a god even and they all just squawk in unison when the kid pulls out a bobby pin and picks the padlock. They’re dropping, coins, bottle caps, earrings, bullet shells, anything vaguely shiny and the occasional paper money into his hands.

The kid has a necklace of soda tabs and bottle cap earrings. He also just walks around collecting beer bottles and later sells little glass statues that have a bioluminescent glow (HC that Danny can melt and shape glass with weaker ecto blasts) Glowing glass jewelry is weaved into his hair that is seemingly a identity confirmation for the crows.

Nobody knows the kids name he just showed up one day with his massive army of crows and started to wander. After around a month of the kid wandering around without a care in the world and not dying the locals decide “Huh, I guess crow prince is here to stay,” Like, they accept him as a local cryptid.

Like “Yeah, crow king just kind of vibes but if you give him food, he’ll bash in a pedophiles kneecaps,”

Shit goes down When Danny discovers his chirps can also sound like geese.

[hannaloony]

PART 13 Everybody’s alive AU, where Niko is a friend of Edwin and Charles is a friend of Crystal

[laiqualaurelote]

“Let me get this straight,” says Crystal. “In order to avoid being sent to Hell, Edwin is going to break into Hell, steal the most important thing in the universe — whatever the fuck that is — and escape. Again.”

“Pretty much," says Charles.

“That,” says Crystal, “is a stupid fucking plan.” 

Instead of becoming detectives, Charles and Edwin embark on an afterlife of crime. When the long arm of the Lost & Found Department catches up with them, they are made an offer they can't refuse: earn their freedom by stealing from Hell itself. Heist!AU, Paineland Week WIP

Chapter 9: The Most Important Thing in the Whole Universe (a.k.a. this heist is heisted! this fic is complete!)

[killermaxaroo8675309]

Dead Boy Detectives College au!!!!

They all meet as teens then go to college together. Totally aces, am I right?

[puppetmaster13u]

So Anyway I Started Another Cryptid Batfam Au

Yeaah, they were human, and might've been the first vigilantes before the JL formed. Might've gotten caught by some mad scientist cultists. Might've gotten gene spliced a bit, but shhh. Don't worry about it :) They're fine. Absolutely Fine. This is Fine.

But anyway, they have wings now. And talons. And a lot of other things they have to adjust to and might straight up not have a civilian identity for a while- becomes more than a bit of social recluses while they figure this shit out.

So anyway, I haven't finished drawing or designing them, if I ever will, so have what each is based off of. There's a lot of robins. :) Also have how old everyone is at the start of the story. (Timelines are a fake thing that never make sense)

Bruce- Black Drongo (31 years old)

Kate- Scarlet Robin (31 years old)

Barbara- Red Backed Scrub Robin (16 years old)

Dick- Blue Fronted Robin (15 year old)

Cass- Hooded Robin (12 years old)

Jason- Red Capped Robin (12 years old)

Steph- Pink Robin (10 years old)

Tim- Collared Bush Robin (10 years old)

Duke- White Starred Robin (10 years old)

Damian- Olive Backed Forest Robin (8 years old)

Jarro- Rose Robin (4 year old equivalent)

Terry- Black Robin (4 years old)

Helena- Bagobo Robin (1 year old)

Matt- Norfolk Robin (1 year old)

[aletterinthenameofsanity]

Monty Finch, Dead Boy Detectives | Richard Siken, Dirty Valentine

@deadboy-edwin @icecreambrownies @anonymousbooknerd-universe @ashildrs

@tragedy-machine @just-existing-as-you-do-blog @orpheusetude @mj-irvine-selby

@pappelsiin @itsbitmxdinhere @rexrevri @sweet-like-h0ney-lavender @saffirez

@the-ipre @sunnylemonss @days-light @agentearthling @helltechnicality

@tiredghostby @sethlost @catboy-cabin @secretlyafiveheadeddragon @vyther15

@anything-thats-rock-and-roll @queen-of-hobgobblers @every-moment-a-different-sound

@nix-nihili @holvivum

[honestlyijustfindhersocharming]

"So! What should your punishment be?"

"What have you done to Niko?!"

"Niko, huh? Shouldn't you be worried about yourself here, Crystal? What? Oh... I see. Do you have a special friendship?"

"If you must know, we are best friends."

"Wow... okay. You really don't have to do all that. C'mon! This is a safe space, no judgement! My kingdom is all about knowledge and self discovery."

[ 1 / 6 ] Swap AU Supporting Cast...

[crow-aeris]

Mermay's almost upon us.... are y'all ready for my ~17.9k words of fluff and angst? 🥰

Featuring:

Bruce Wayne as King of Gotham

Dick as a Mer

Jason as a Selkie

Tim as a Siren

Damian as the Prince of Two Kingdoms

Special Appearances Include:

Clark Kent as Fellow King

Conner & Jonathan Kents

Alfred as Head Butler

and MANY many more! Tune in on May 1st for Part 1, Chapter One, of my 2024 MerMay writing challenge :3

Here is the bingo i'll be following:

by @skumhuu so check them out!

Here's Part 1 AO3:

[downbaddetective]

Next one because I can't stop thinking about this AU now:

Charles-Markl, a sorcerer in training under the tutelage of "The Cat King", who specializes in magical disguises and pocket dimensions (biggest successful one currently is a "bag of tricks")

Crystal-Calcifer, a fire demon currently magically tied to "The Cat King" due to a deal turned curse

Monty-Turnip Head, a missing prince from a neighboring kingdom, cursed to be a scarecrow (because I think that's hilarious)

Niko-Lettie/Martha (taking a little from the books for this one), one of Edwin's only friends before he disappears, Niko goes to learn magic from another witch (hi Jenny) to see if she can find her dear friend

Cat (Meatball?)-Heen, a lazy spy for the Night Nurse turned semi domesticated house cat

Esther-Witch of the Waste, kinda self-explanatory I think

Night Nurse-Madame Suliman, "The Cat King's" former teacher currently employed by the kingdom to recruit magic users to the war or remove power from those who won't

Part One | Part Two

[ro-doodles]

DBDA swap: The Cat King and Esther (+ Monty)

Part 3 finally here! I’ve gotta be honest, I struggled with this one. It’s probably the characters that stray furthest from their canon counterparts, and I’m still not 100% sure about Esther’s lore here, so lmk what you think.

Also, shoutout to @empikaraa for guessing my plan for Monty in the last post.

Master post for this au here

[laiqualaurelote]

The den is as they left it, except for the woman sitting on their sofa. She is all in black, and the ankh necklace gleams upon her chest. She has the kindest smile. 

 “Hello, boys,” she says. “I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure.” 

 “Yes, well,” says Edwin stiffly, “I hope you will appreciate that we have worked very hard to keep it that way.” 

 “I do appreciate it,” says Death. “I do.”

Chapter 9: The Most Important Thing in the Whole Universe a.k.a. heist heisted! fic complete!

[demelzathemer]

My Heart Is a Haunted House

𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘈𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘨𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘱𝘴𝘦𝘴, 𝘗𝘢𝘺𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 + 𝘗𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘢𝘬𝘪, 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘛

@dbdpromptober Day 8 (words: 1086)

Part 8 of dbd corpse bride AU

First Previous Next

Charles was grinning ear to ear, happily going along with Edwin’s lead. He didn’t mind looking a little silly because there was a bashful look in Edwin’s shifty eyes when the song ended and they were drowned in cheers and applause.

The Cat bowed deep on the stage, catching imaginary roses thrown his way. Despite the grim subject, Charles had to admit the performance had been pretty mint.

They retired back to the bar counter with Jenny, Charles refusing to let go of Edwin’s hand. The bare knuckles felt funny in his fingers, bone warming up against his skin. The ring hung loose on Edwin’s fourth finger and Charles nudged it to spin it around.

Jenny rolled her eyes but Charles could tell it was good-natured.

“Get out of here, you two,” she shooed them away from the counter. “Reckon we’ll be here all night.”

She shot a pointed glance towards the stage where the Cat was gearing up for another musical number.

Charles wouldn’t mind that; he was having fun in the lively atmosphere. But Edwin looked like he needed a breather and some alone time with him sounded even better in Charles’ head. She gave Jenny a grin and a thumbs-up over his shoulder when Edwin pulled him away.

The place was a closed maze consisting of endless winding streets and alleys made of cobblestone. The overcast ceiling hung low and felt claustrophobic, but Edwin made his way without hesitation. Sometimes, Charles saw the street shifting in front of them, like they were bending by Edwin’s will.

They passed through an open area that appeared to be a marketplace, several shops and buildings like libraries and council halls. The residents were few and far between and they were all walking corpses.

Finally, following a sloped meandering path, they climbed up a hill and onto a clearing with a view over the city. Edwin let out a sigh, his shoulders coming down. He walked on the edge and turned back to Charles, his hands tightly clasped in front of him.

“Much better. I believe… you might like to see the view,” he said, aiming for nonchalant but his nervousness bled through.

Behind him was nothing but a thin iron railing protecting him from falling. Scrubby vines had curled around it, blooming tiny blue roses. Gray sky arched overhead, framing Edwin into a beautiful picture.

“Oh, I like it,” Charles said, an easy smile spreading on his lips, when he closed the space between them.

He put his arms out to grab the railing, trapping Edwin between them. He was forced to back up until the iron touched the small of his back. They’d been this close when they waltzed, but without the steps or the music, the air suddenly felt charged.

Edwin cocked his head, squinting his eyes at Charles. Charles’ eyes roamed his face, committing every detail to memory. He’d never wanted to kiss somebody so badly.

He wondered what he’d done to end up dreaming about such a bizarre, vibrant place where he had the cutest boyfriend in the world who just happened to be undead.

Then the sight behind Edwin’s head caught Charles’ attention, and he had to admit, it was pretty brills. From up there, the city looked small like a child’s building bricks, the maze expanding into the horizon and beyond, endlessly. It was fantastical and impossible at the same time, waiting to be explored and to get lost in.

Charles leaned back to watch Edwin again.

“Who was that Cat fellow, then?” He asked, quirking his brow.

“He’s a Cat King, actually. A spirit with transformative powers, though his exact nature still eludes me,” Edwin said.

“Right, but, who is he to you?” Charles shrugged, like the answer wasn’t an itch under his skin he tried his best not to be bothered by.

“He’s an old friend. Though he does fancy me, but that didn’t work out,” Edwin answered honestly.

“What do you mean by ‘didn’t work out’? Edwin-” Charles gasped, but Edwin laughed.

“Charles, don’t be-” he started, but then his nose fell off.

His bright, wide eyes stared at Charles in shock, but in the place of his nose the dark caverns of his skull could be seen.

“Oh no, I’m sorry,” Edwin hurried to bring a hand over his face; the skeleton one, which did little in hiding anything. “That happens sometimes, I’m…”

“No problem, mate,” Charles responded, easily. He bent down, keeping himself from showing any kind of surprise. Edwin would totally take it the wrong way, with how horribly embarrassed he already sounded.

Charles picked up his nose and handed it to Edwin. It was a small little thing, feeling slightly cool and waxy in his fingers. Edwin turned away to fix his face, hunching his shoulders. Charles wanted to put his hands on them and tell him it was all okay, just so he could see Edwin’s tightly wound being relaxed again.

He was interrupted by a scratchy noise on the stone and then something crashed against his ankle with furious cawing. He looked down and saw a white skeleton of a small bird, waving his stick wings and pecking at him.

“Stop that, Monty. He didn’t hurt me,” Edwin scolded and lowered his hand on the ground. The bird hopped on and perched on his shoulder when Edwin straightened his back.

“Charles, this is Monty. He’s also my friend,” Edwin introduced him and the parrot bobbed its head, proudly.

Was it a parrot? Charles was terrible at identifying birds, at least without any feathers. He reached his hand out as a peace offering.

“Hello, mate. A friend of Edwin is a friend of mine,” he smiled.

Charles found it hopelessly charming that every person here seemed to adore Edwin. He was like a disney princess, surrounded by talking animals.

Monty considered his hand with a tilt of his head. Then he stepped around, his beak in Edwin’s hair and showing his back at Charles.

“Would it kill you to be polite?” Edwin sniped. The whole exchange made Charles laugh.

“Don’t sweat it. You’ll see, everyone likes me eventually. Even your grumpy parrot friend,” he joked.

The parrot in question swung around, stomping up and down and throwing a flurry of loud caws at him.

“Monty wants you to know that he’s a crow,” Edwin explained flatly.

“Sorry, mate. Your grumpy crow friend, then. My point still stands,” he grinned.

From a distance, the dull sound of church bells rang out four times.

[arrow-jsy]

Dbda highschool au

Thomas/cat king : theater kid, background plot where the spring musical is Cats (because yes obviously)

Edwin : quiet kid/nerd, keeps his head down does really well in school always reading and eager to learn

Charles: dare i say jock? Jock but cool, jock but not a bully, jock but he always stays behind after the other jocks beat up a kid to make sure theyre alright (bonus points to fic writers if this is how he and edwin meet)

Monty: art kid. Thats all i have to say on that

Niko: bubbly friendly to everyone i kinda feel like could be theater kid (?) Or teachers pet but just because shes friendly to the teachers and staff

Crystal: art kid but more photography that drawing or painting which also puts her at good standing for yearbook kid or school journalist - maybe shes the person who runs the school/grade gossip/anonymous social media page

Jenny: for some reason is giving me school counselor vibes (its the protective nature) maybe accommodations coordinator or counselor idk what that position is called but the person who does meetings and things to get students ieps/504s and otber accommodations

Night nurse: despite having nurse in the title shes not the nurse shes the attendance lady

Kashi: art teacher/theater teacher/maybe another counselor?

[aletterinthenameofsanity]

Thomas King and Monty Finch (Actor/Accidental Pretty Woman AU)

The simple fact of the matter is that Monty has never once spent a single dime of the money that sits under that loose floorboard in his room.

It’s not the sort of justification that he could ever use in a court of law. No, your Honor, I took the money but I didn’t spend it, that means I didn’t do the crime, so I can’t do the time. 

After all, using money has nothing to do with whether you earned it. Courts don’t give a shit about what you do with the cash, only how you got it in the first place.

But Monty’s problem has never been with the courts. It’s never been with the letter of the law. He’s done so many things over the years that could and should have landed him in prison and yet they didn’t.

No, the problem has always been with his mother. With the fact that he can’t be like her. With the fact that he can’t be her.

-aletterinthenameofsanity, people think i'm pretty (so i'll sell my pride instead)

Why am I feeling so guilty? Why am I holding my breath? Worried about everyone but me And I just keep losing myself

Tell me it's nothing Try to convince me That I'm not drowning

-The Civil Wars, Falling

@nix-nihili @sapphic-corgi @ghostofthegallows

@icarus-n-flames @petvampire @sasakisyndrome

@idliketobeatree @cairngorm-ard @paradox-brody-chase

@saffirez @every-moment-a-different-sound

@e-payne @freudensteins-monster

[littlechaoticwitch]

Dead Boy Detectives Swap-AU but a little towards the left

-Edwin and Charles both attended St. Hilarion's at the same time, where they were paired up as roommates. During their second year, Charles saved Edwin from being kidnapped by a group of bullies trying to play a cruel prank, and a few months later, Edwin saved Charles by recusing him from the lake after the same group of bullies threw him in there. When both were sixteen years old, they escaped their horrible home lives and found a cheap flat in London right above an old antique store. They started up their detective agency soon afterwards, using their combined gifts to help solve supernatural cases. They still run away from Death whenever she appears, but more of the fear of what she might do for "taking over her job".

-Edwin grew up in a religious cult where he was targeted by the other members (including his own parents) for being gay and being interested in magical studies, which would eventually lead him into becoming a sorcerer. The cult was led by a maniac named Sal, who was obsessed with dolls and spiders, and he took a particular "liking" to Edwin. According to Edwin, the village where he once lived is "the closest thing to Hell on Earth".

-Charles grew up in an abusive household, as his father had grown up in the "poor" area of the same village as the religious cult but moved out when he went to university. After getting an Indian girl pregnant during a one-night stand, they were quick to get married and he forced her to give up her gifts. But she still taught their son how to wield his magic in secrecy, and over the years, she gave him with enchanted items disguised as normal gifts.

-Both are currently 25 years old, with Edwin working at a bookshop in Soho and Charles works as a professional tattoo artist.

-Crystal is a 18-year-old psychic from the 1980s, whose body had been in possession of a demon she had been in a relationship with. Once the boys exorcise the demon, they manage to free her soul from the prison within her own mind, but the demon took her memories, causing her to be unable to pass on. Ultimately, the boys come to the conclusion that due to her being "involved" with a demon, if Death was ever to come to collect her one day, Crystal would be in real danger of being sent to Hell for her actions, regardless if she was in control or not. Her relationship with Charles is more one-sided on her part; while she has a major crush on him and mistakes him comforting her as him being flirtatious, he is quick to set up boundaries when she tries to kiss him after the lighthouse case.

-Niko is another spirit haunting Port Townsend, though her story goes back to the late 1910s. A grieving 18-year-old girl whose father passed away, she learned that the yōsei could resurrect the dead and decided to go find the bewitching spirits. Unfortunately, this would lead to her being captured, tortured, and killed by the spirits before being trapped in a snow globe; this snow globe would eventually find its way to Port Townsend in the mid-2000s, where she was accidentally freed and decided to act as a benevolent spirit to the young children, almost becoming a guardian angel. Much like in canon, she loves playing matchmaker to the town locals (as her mother was the local nakōdo in their village), but she has a better success rate in bringing together soulmates.

-Monty Finch is another tenant staying in the same apartment complex as Edwin and Charles. A quiet 21-year-old astrology student, he took a break from school after the death of his mother; during this time, he is possessed by a tree spirit to lure new victims to the woods but his unwillingness to leave his room had left it to starve. After the detectives save him (and his hair turns white from the shock), he unofficially joins the group as their fifth member.

-Florence Knight (aka the Night Nurse) is the property manager of the apartment the boys rent out while stuck in Port Townsend. While she is quite strict and practical about everything she does (including her job), she does have a soft spot for children. Niko and Monty work together to set her up on a date with her secret admirer; while the local librarian uses this as a chance to stalk her next victim, it is revealed that Asha was the one sending the letters.

-The Night Butcher (aka Jenny Green) is an executioner for the Lost & Found Department. Desperate for a promotion, she sees the capture of Crystal (who should have already been sent to Hell) and Niko (whose soul could not be detected due to being trapped) as the opportunity of a lifetime. As well, she can also "arrest" Edwin and Charles for basically taking over her job.

-The Crow Queen (aka Esther Finch) is portrayed as a younger woman, but she is practically the same personality-wise. As the queen of Port Townsend's crow population, she takes delight in toying with others and playing both sides, though she has a deep hatred for the local warlock. She tries to court Charles upon their first meeting but after being refused, the Crow Queen forces him to gather 100 feathers from different crows as punishment, forcing him to wear a necklace that keeps him trapped in town. In the end, she does develop some level of affection for Charles, giving him buttercup flowers during their last meeting. She also might have some connection to Dream of the Endless.

-Thomas King (aka the Cat King) is a cat-sìth who uses his powers to silently rule over Port Townsend, as he hunts and devours lost souls to keep himself alive. The son of an accused witch, he took it upon himself to learn everything he could about magic, but over time, his goals became twisted and self-centered; once he learned he could live forever by eating the souls of the dead, he performed a ritual to turn himself into a cat-sìth. He is currently turned himself into a cat six times, and he uses magic on his familiar to help in his plans to destroy the detectives. He takes a particular interest to Niko's soul due to her trauma of being tortured and killed for almost a hundred years.

-Maxine is the familiar of Thomas King, where she was once a mouse kept under his control. As a human, she comes off a cottagecore bookworm with a deep love for history and flower language; all of this is used to help her get closer to Crystal, though she does end up gaining real feelings for the ghost girl (and also helps Crystal overcome the internalized issues with her bisexuality). Her relationship with Thomas is similar to an abusive father, with her being ultimately killed when she refuses to help him anymore.

[ravenmoodle]

So. Cult of the Lamb blorbo AU???

listen it's rEALLY REALLY fitting fort hem you have no idea. Anyway- the Cursed King is a jersey devil because i've had em on the mind and it's perfectly fitting.

Bonus unlucky Child 13