#i was going to make a rating for pawn/yugo angst/yuri abnormality but it was already wordy enough

[fluffalpenguin]

IT'S HERE AT LAST @arcvmonth AU DAY YEAHHHH never mind that this post is late

I managed to stuff 10 AUs into this bad boy, so this is a image AND text heavy post, be warned! (I genuinely hope you enjoy the ride)

Not arranged in any particular order, and hyperlinks lead to doodles I've posted on Twitter unless stated otherwise!

(CW: imagery of drug use in the first one and mentions of violence in another)

1. Triad AU

It's the 1800s and everybody* does crimes! (*Not everyone)

Raised in the Fusion Society from an early age, Serena has always had mixed feelings about the child trafficking that her foster father's involved in. One day, she comes across a red-haired street performer that brings dazzling smiles of unbridled joy to children and decides to cut ties with her current life. As she eludes the men sent to retrieve her, she runs into who but the leader of a rival organisation, the Lancers!

This holds the distinction of being the only au that I didn't include pawn in some way or another because I can't figure out where to fit Yugo in (probably why my interest in it has somewhat fizzled out already lmao)

I wrote a short ~500 words fic of Serena announcing her departure to Dennis, Sora, and Yuri (conceptually the latter perpetually seethes about her audacity throughout the length of this au because that's funny)

2. Vampire Knight AU

Vampires and humans learning to co-exist in a boarding school is a genius set-up, thank you Hino Matsuri for giving me undying brainrot (pun intended) through creating this (albeit cursed) manga

Turned into a vampire against his will during a brutal massacre, Yugo curses his fate to be a blood-sucking monster every waking hour. And if his life didn't suck hard enough already, he's also forced to partner with (be the research subject of) a human with a set of morals worse than the most depraved vampire he's ever met. At least that lessens his guilt about drinking blood, because if anyone deserves to be a juice box, it's that smug purple-headed bastard! Life at the academy revolves around humans attending Day classes and vampires attending Night classes, but Yugo begs the headmaster to allow him some semblance of normalcy (denial) by letting him attend the Day Class, in which he dozes off often. Luckily, his roommate, Yuto, is there to poke him awake just enough times for him to pass his classes. Like his cousin Yuri, Yuto is also paired with a vampire through the latter's term in the academy. As one of the last surviving pure-bloods in the world, Yuya is uncomfortably used to his fellow vampires looking at him with undiluted reverence while fending off dubious intentions. The two quickly form a close relationship, a stark contrast to the other two boys that they share a house with.

I'm still deciding between having Yuri and Yuya being seatmates or not because both have their pros and cons (Also Yoko is a human, but is also the Night Class teacher; Yuya takes a liking to her pretty quickly)

Yuto, Shun, and Kaito are part of the school's Disciplinary Squad made out of vampire hunters-in training that patrol the grounds after dusk (to make sure their vampiric classmates aren't running around charming guileless humans into being supper) and Yuri, of course, despite being human has asked his beloved Papa for permission to attend Night Class in order to observe his research subjects in their natural habitat! (He unnerves everyone, but they don't disturb him because the last time someone tried they learnt first-hand that he has an taser whip to protect himself)

3. OCG AU

I've recently posted (how recent is recent?) a compilation post of doodles for this AU then I realised I never talked about the plot so

Childhood friends Yuto, Shun, and Ruri are training hard to join the elite ranks of the Dogmatikan Order. When Ruri doesn't return from her Ascension ceremony, the two defy sect rules to search for her. Yuto comes across a mysterious red-headed boy incarcerated within the inner confines of the Order's keep and...

I know it doesn't look like it but pawn is more of a background ship in this story, counterpart and swift take center stage (because Yuto and Rin are the main characters to me)

When I cooked this up in 2021, I was so desperate to escape from my schoolwork that I ended up making an 15+ chapter outline, here's an excerpt

(Just kidding I do have half a prologue and one chapter written out, one day I'll revisit this for sure)

Oh also, Yuri and Yuya are twins separated at birth

4. Exorcist AU

This one is the multi-series AU, because everyone has one, right!

This started as my 2022 Halloween pawn piece and then over a five-hour midnight bus ride at midnight two months later I decided to make a bad decision that led me to dozing off while queuing up in a theme park in the middle of the afternoon

(Yuto's design is so horribly outdated but I haven't digitalised his new one yet sorry, also shark and kaito heads are by @2-ennn)

In a world ravaged by demons, Yugo has spent his entire life on the tiny island he's called home learning the ropes of exorcism. His life is shaken up when he's assigned to show a visitor around, an exorcist from the mainland with a devilish smile that raises his hackles. He finally drops his suspicions and guard when Joeri sustains injuries protecting him from a demonic attack, and the two become closer... (They even have cute fluffy dates) Well, only until Joeri reveals that it was all staged and that he's a demon (and that his name is actually Yuri) before making off with the church's most prized weapon/artifact/thing/sorry I haven't really decided yet

If you saw my tweet from last year complaining about how I have to write 7 chapters first before I can write about my otp kissing I was referring to this au (joke's on my past self because I skipped ahead to write it anyway)

Yubel, Placido, and IV are the respective leaders of the three factions, but the island that Yugo (and Rin) grew up on is managed by Sherry because man am I hungry for Sherry Yugo sibling-like interactions

I love this AU, but writer's block crashes down like a brick (I've attempted to rewrite Chapter 1 more than two times and I'm still pulling my hair out because I need it to be Perfect)

5. DGS AU

What's up Ace Attorney fans, do I have a fangame in the works for you! It's based on The Great Ace Attorney/Daigyakuten Saiban, but there's no spoilers for it if you haven't played it

I can't talk too much about the plot since I do want to make a playable version one day but I will say that the first trial is defending Yugo from a murder charge (lol)

It's also one of the rare AUs where there's barely any explicit romance(?), only murder and mystery here! (you bet I'm going to write so many allusions for my favourite ships though winky face)

I started writing trial scripts for this but then I got really overwhelmed when looking for a good AA game maker so if anyone has recommendations please send them my way (Ideally they'd have the DGS UI...)

6. Casino AU

The Yuboys are dealers in a casino, and maybe it's a fun goofy little vn (it's a vn)

I have a whole thread on twitter for this one for the drawings i've made, but I'll post some on here so I can ramble a little

It started out as a concept for gacha cards, but then became its own monster (that's currently slumbering)

Originally Reiji was the owner of the casino, but I'm trying my best to include Ray and Zarc more into my aus when I can because I just want more excuses to write/draw my trophy wife (zarc)

this drawing is so old but clutches head i love u4 so much rrrrrrr

I wanted to make little acrylic standees back then (honestly still do a little)

Speaking of little acrylic standees...

7. Rune Factory AU

This one is roughly based on Rune Factory 5, but all you need to know is... nothing, actually; I can't even reference the plot because I've barely played the game myself lol but i just really wanted fantasy farming yuboys

(and then none of the characters ended up being vegetable farmers, even outside of the yuboys)

Harvest Moon/Rune Factory is a game where you live on a farm and eventually maybe marry someone, so one day when I've done all of the full body sprites (pauses and looks to the horizon) I want to make a uquiz that tells you who your destined Bachelor/ette is

It'd be one of the AUs without any 'canon' ships but Ray and Zarc's backstories are kinda tied together so... yup anyway here's a list of things that are true in this AU:

yuya zarc siblings and zarc is a mean older brother

i was going to make zarc the cool mysterious guy that you rarely see but gap moe is one hell of a drug

yuzu and her dad own the grocery store, yuya helms the local inn with yoko, who manages the baths within, zarc opens his diner for business when he feels like it (he's actually so good at cooking), yugo and rin are a blacksmith/carpenter duo, kurosakis have a bakery, though ruri spends her time playing detective, yuto runs the local clinic and sawatari is the town mascot

every monday night, a mysterious phantom thief with orange hair stalks the streets!

the squad that reiji captains serves to fix problems like monster infestations, but they usually have a lot of free time on their hands (well, not reiji) so yuri is constantly annoying yugo and yuto for fun and serena spends her time befriending the girls

ray only returns to town and opens up her flower shop when you defeat the 2nd boss and yuri can be found loitering there often, ray is the only person that makes him remotely uncomfortable

i was going to make yuto the 'protagonist' with amnesia (it's a RF thing) but then i was told he'd be funnier as a doctor (and now I can also give him glasses)

8. Gunvolt AU

Azure Striker Gunvolt is a fast-paced 2D action sidescr-- okay you know what, all you have to know is that the yuboys are villains belonging to a mega corporation that aims to control society through the power of virtual idols and music (yes, this is a real plot point from the original work) and Serena storms their hideout to kick their asses in order to truly free Yuzu (who escaped and was found unconscious in an alley by her now gf) from their clutches

Yuuri: Well, well. Maybe today won't be boring, after all. Serena: Is… Is he in a straitjacket?  Yuuri: I'd really appreciate it if you didn’t talk about me like that to my face, thank you. Serena: If I did, would you move out of the way? Yuuri: If I did, would you free me of these restraints? Rin: That doesn’t seem to be the wisest thing to do. Serena: Yeah. Dream on. Yuuri: Then we only have one choice left, don’t we?

(Yeah I put him in a straitjacket)

The grey numbers are for the design notes I wrote alongside when drawing this, here's a pastebin! (It's not required reading, but I would deeply appreciate it if you checked my rambling out)

Reiji is the final boss for some light AkaSere, but I'm still figuring out his character (and everyone elses', tbh)

The main fun of this AU for me was definitely making parodies of the skill cut-ins! (Yuri's one is due for a remake... I also really need to get around to finishing Yuto and start on Yugo's to complete the set)

Yuya's second one is for when you beat his first form and he uses his last resort to merge with the other three or something (His pose and cape is a nod to Astrograph!)

9. Obelisk Force AU

Okay, before you continue, go and get this song playing in the background first (I will give you a cookie if you read the lyrics too)

Okay, let's go! (with the energy of an excited tour guide)

It'd be an absolute understatement to say I love the concept of Obelisk Force Yugo; one time I made a 10-minute TED talk trying to pick apart why I liked it so much, but back then I still didn't have a good grasp of what my ideal ObeFo Yugo/Pawn was... Until I came across that song on Spotify and asked a friend for help on brainstorming (lost if u see this HI) and the rest, as they say, was history

Yugo is picked up (kidnapped) by Academia at an early age (think like, 5-6) after they witness his duelling skills (Leo really needs LOTS of child soldiers)

they erase his memories then for better assimilation into the academy, though he still retains a sense of stubborn individuality

he's constantly bullied by the other students for being an orphan from the Synchro Dimension, and he gets into fights often

eventually, Leo orders Yuri to take care of the matter (children will be children, but Academia MUST have order)

when Yuri approaches Yugo, he's just finished throwing hands against yet another crowd of students

Yuri attempts diplomacy, even challenging him to a duel, but Yugo is exhausted from his earlier fight and turns him down brusquely, stalking back to his room

Yuri attempts to block his way and gets shoved aside, falling to the ground and cracking his duel disk

he snaps, as the duel disk had been a gift from the professor, and how dare you?

he's beating Yugo half to death when a lightbulb goes off in his head

he proposes to Yugo to personally take charge of his education because he is so gracious and charitable and it's the least he could do for someone who shares his face

Yugo, of course, is completely dumbfounded but faints from a combination of blood loss and fatigue before he can reply no

when Yugo has recovered, Yuri pops the question again, and the two decide to settle the matter through a duel

Yugo loses (duh)

time flies as Yuri teaches Yugo how to stop students from coming back for revenge, among other things (it also helps that the other students are already creeped out by him) and significantly raises his quality of life at Academia which Yugo is thankful for

time skip! Yugo successfully joins the Obelisk Force and promptly unbuttons the jacket instantly (it's a tight fit, okay)

Yugo can feel his serpentine gaze drill into him from where Yuri sits cross-legged on a chair a distance away, his chin cradled thoughtfully in one hand. He waits for a comment, but nothing but silence comes. Finally, he mutters, "What, you're not going to scold me for desecrating the uniform?" A wide smile crinkles Yuri's face. "Not just your wardrobe, but even your vocabulary's upgraded, hm?" Before Yugo can form a retort, he goes on, "Actually, I think I like it." His chair barely makes a sound, muffled by the carpet as he stands up and makes his way across the room. The footsteps stop when teal and magenta are inches away. Lightly, he fingers the lapel of Yugo's new jacket as he rakes a half-lidded gaze from head-to-toe. "It makes you stand out from the others in the Force. And that's fitting. After all..." "You're not the Professor's. You're mine."

One day, Yuri and/or Yugo are sent to capture... Rin! Her picture gives Yugo a sense of deja vu, but he doesn't understand why...

Yugo's memories come back in a flood when he makes eye contact with his old childhood friend that he hasn't seen in almost a decade

The capture is successful, and back at Academia Yugo begs the Professor for the authority to be in charge of her incarceration (In trying to mold Yugo into his shadow, Yuri has unknowingly created a competitor for the Professor's acknowledgement)

Before the Professor can respond, a girl of Yugo's age steps into the room to report to the Professor as a fresh recruit

Leo introduces a brainwashed yandere Ruri as Rin's appointed jailer

Yeah that's right I managed to fit apple and swift in here thumbs up emoji

Anyway it's now a romantic comedy with a love triangle (it's not)

10. Hades AU

No deep thoughts nor any plans for this one it was more of a costume design exercise but I'm including it here because I still like them quite a bit

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If you've actually made it this far, I don't know what to say... thank you!

If you'd like to see more of any of these (including some of the ones that I didn't manage to include but might have posted before like the Alice in Wonderland one, or the Dark Signer one, or the university one, or the Yuri half-turns into a Starve Venom dragon boy one, or the the Monster Hunter one (less of an AU and just a hey they are gaming), or the Z-arc suddenly has four toddlers and they are the yus and he has to juggle parenting and pro-duelling one, and whichever ones I might have forgotten, my ask box is open!! Again, thanks for reading!