#plus this au does need a rewrite still

[aestheticallynotdeerlightful]

So. Who’d be interested in hearing more about my Terios!Sonic au :]

[lemurballing]

tangle is so fun because she is a juxtaposition of something collected and contained with something loose and free and in motion

she’s a rough brawler but she has a stance and a style. she’s impulsive and thrillseeking, but she wraps her arms in sports tape to protect them, a precaution. she longs for adventure and action but she will always need to come to rest at home with friends. she’s bouncy and restless, but she’s an intent listener and considerate. she’s got months of off-and-on experience fighting badniks, but is still so new to real Adventure.

and while there’s plenty of traits sonic and tangle share, you can’t reduce her to ‘girl sonic’ without neglecting something of her own characterization. she fundamentally wants something different out of life than sonic does, because she doesn’t need to be anchorless; she isn’t a backpacker, sleeping somewhere new every night. she’s more like a goose, or a frigate bird; flying free for ages and ages, knowing she wants to go somewhere, until time comes to call her back to her origin.

[acourtofkindness]

Thank you for sending in all the stories, here you can find the collection! Some of these are one-shots, some are longer stories, just click your way through them and also check out their other fics!

A Court of Vice and Victors

by @wishcamper Acosf rewrite where Nesta actually gets help and she and Cassian have a healthier dynamic, plus an Illyrian murder mystery

Pages Turned

by @climbthemountain2020 A character study on Nesta Archeron, the hardships she's faced through her life, and how they've shaped her as a person.

Could You Love Me While I Hate Myself

by @witch-and-her-witcher Humans have just been freed from servitude to the fae after years at war on Prythian and times are desperate for Nesta Archeron. With Feyre MIA and Elain a shell of herself, her options are becoming increasingly limited. When one of the young fae warriors, Cassian, who has carved a name for himself on the battlefield proposes to her after recognizing a mating bond between them, Nesta doesn't see any choice but to agree to take him as her husband and move herself and her sister to his home Court and the wilds of Illyria. War brings them together, a bond binds them - but is that enough for two broken people to find love with each other?

Firm and Fragrant Still the Brambleberries

by @foundress0fnothing When Nesta became a nurse at the start of the war, she could not have predicted a patient as challenging as Lieutenant Cassian Davies, nor he a nurse as captivating as her. As the same war that brought them together threatens to tear them apart, Nesta and Cassian must navigate the complexities of love and duty to find the way back to each other. A WWI historical AU.

Wreck My Plans, That's My Man

by @c-e-d-dreamer Drummer for the Bat Boys, Cassian has a large following, but sometimes Nesta doesn't appreciate fangirls calling themselves "Cassian's future wife."

It Looks As Though You're Letting Go

by @Darkcat18 (on ao3) Everyone is born with an arrow on the back of their hand which points to their soulmate at midnight on their eighteenth birthday. After her parents' disastrous marriage and her father's subsequent depression following the death of her mother, Nesta realized a soulmate is nothing more than guaranteed heartache and ruination. On the eve of her eighteenth birthday, she packs up her car and leaves her family and life behind forever. What she doesn't count on, however, is having a soulmate like Cassian, who may be the one to prove to her that a soulmate is what she needs.

I Guess It's Half Timing (And The Other Half's Luck)

by @moodymelanist Nesta and Cassian have a steamy one-night stand while out celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, but their lives are changed forever once Nesta realizes her period is late. Follow along as Nesta and Cassian navigate preparing to become parents, balancing their other life stresses, and figuring out their feelings for one another!

Amidst the Madness

by @This_Immortal_Hope (on ao3) Love and war have always followed the same rules: Quick to ignite, slow to extinguish. There aren't many things Cassian has dared to openly want in his 500 years of existence. Not even the position he currently occupies as Lord of Windahaven (far too lofty a spot for nothing more than a well-blodded bastard, if you ask the other Illyrian Lords), but from the second Nesta Archeron stepped foot in his camp, the entire world ebbed into a single truth. She is his. He is hers. Everything else - the war he is meant to lead, the people relying on him, the legacy he should be fighting to protect, cease to exist the second his eyes are caught in roiling silver flames. There is pain in this female, his female. And retribution will be exacted. Rhysand has his war, and now so does Cassian. Whether the two align ... only Nesta can give that order.

Sweetest Con

by @separatist-apologist Nesta Archeron has been trapped in witness protection for the past five years, hiding a secret no one can ever learn. All she has to do is wait out the criminals back home determined to punish her and her sisters for a lie they told years before. She can handle anything- even the new agent sent to keep her safe.

The Whole Truth

by @TheTeaQueen (on ao3) A beautifully heartbreaking story about what if Papa Archeron used/sold Nesta back in their village, and the IC learning this truth. It features Rhys and Nesta sibling bonding over their respective SA traumas. And Cassian helping Nesta to heal and feel comfortable with touch again

The Nesta Variation

by @persegrace (on ao3) A modern AU where Cassian is a military vet and Nesta is a former ballet dancer. They're both dealing with trauma, and meet in AA.

Ultima Ex Nobis

by @fieldofdaisiies Six years into a global pandemic which was caused by a mass fungal infection that turns hosts into zombie-like creatures and makes the whole of Prythian collapse, the former army general Cassian Cadell is tasked with one very special mission – escorting Nesta Archeron, one of the few immune survivors, across a post-apocalyptic Prythian to a group of people of the name L. Their identity is unknown but they can make an antidote.

you make my motor run

by @wilde-knight When Nesta and Cassian are set up on a blind date, neither of them can imagine their families feeling whole again. But with sparks flying between them, will they finally be able to imagine the road ahead?

[yourdeepestfathoms]

Chimera!Perrine AU

à la Falin Dungeon Meshi

(also for the sake of the AU, monsters exist in Meadowlark)

Perrine gets swallowed whole by a manticore RIP

The only thing that makes it out is an arm, as they were reaching out, so when the manticore’s jaws snapped shut, the arm gets severed

Kingsley, who had been with Perrine, has to carry that arm back to the cottage

The Croon goes fucking ballistic when they hear about what happened

They storm to the Storyteller and Yarrow and demand that Story rewrites the past so Perrine is alive again

Story refuses at first, as resurrection would disrupt the balance of the universe, but after a bit of strangulation, they agree

So the Harkers and the Lark get together to take down a manticore! (Croon does all of the work)

And then once the manticore is dead, they start to dig through its because they need the body

Bad news! Only bones remain!

So, they have to use the flesh and muscle from the manticore to remake Perrine’s body

But it’s FINE!

Except that when Perrine is brought back, they’re like a centaur, but instead of a horse lower half, it’s the manticore

And Perrine is actually a lot less grateful than any of them expected

In fact, they’re actually really horrified

They scream at them all, especially the Croon, for bringing them back

They were finally at peace!

And now they’re in the body of a monster!

But enough of the backstory!

Now the actual headcanons!

They’re about four feet tall at the withers, so they’re not TOO big, certainly not as big as the actual manticore used to be, but they’re a lot bigger than they used to be

They have trouble controlling their new body parts, especially their tail and wings

And walking on four legs isn’t always easy

Perrine doesn’t perform for a long time

They don’t want anyone seeing them

“Perrine, why won’t you come sing with us?” “I don’t know, maybe it’s because I have a manticore attached to my BUTT!”

Plus, their vocal cords are fucked up, so they can’t sing as well as they used to

The kids bundle Perrine’s scorpion stinger in towels so they don’t accidentally sting someone (it’s almost happened several times before)

Perrine makes biscuits with their big ol lion paws (which usually rips up whatever they’re kneading)

They’re still adjusting to their size, so they bump into things a lot, then gets mad because of it

They’re big enough to carry at least two of the others on their back (or all three if they strain themself), but they REALLY don’t like to because it makes them feel dehumanized more than they already are just by existing

But hunting is a lot easier now!

No more need for their bow!

They need to eat A LOT MORE to sustain their body

Tita Amara teaches them how to fly

Sometimes the manticore’s beast brain takes over, but it’s FINE!

A little murder attempts on your friends never hurt anyone!

Perrine is an abomination of nature, and nature wants to right what has been wronged…

[sapphicseasapphire]

Sorry for the many questions I'm about to ask but its been driving me insane.

How exactly does the story of Hyrule Warriors work with your cryptid au? Does Wars have a personality during those events or do the events of Hyrule Warriors not happen at all?

Your au is great and l really want to know how Wind, Time, and maybe Ravio interact with Wars. I am considering writing a short story with them, and I want to stay as loyal to the au as possible.

Also I love your art.

Hello!! First of all I’m SO SORRY it’s taken me this long to get back to you!! Sincerely I apologize!! But this question made me do a lot of deep thinking and I wasn’t exactly sure how to answer. I’m gonna break this up into sections under the cut because it’s gonna get pretty long.

How does Hyrule Warriors fit into the au? Gonna be completely 100% honest here, I’m kind of sort of rewriting the whole story I think. There’s a lot that I’m still figuring out, but (in the briefest of terms as this is all subject to change) here’s what I’ve got so far: Cia is still enamored by the Spirit of the Hero, and Ganon still takes advantage of that desire and purges her of her light, corrupting her. She still opens the Gate of Souls(s) and launches an attack on Hyrule, opening portals across time. However, in this era, there is no hero. (There was no Ganon either, before she showed up, so Link was never born. There was still a Zelda, since Hyrule’s princesses are always named Zelda. But yeah, Link just doesn’t exist). Not until Cia’s attack, that is. When Hyrule is threatened, Zelda and Impa decided that they need a hero. And so, they make one. They physically pull the Hero’s Spirit from its resting place in the Sacred Realm and manually place it in a sword, thus creating Wars.

They don’t call him Link, as he’s not a person. In this era, he’s always been called the Hero of Warriors, as that is his purpose. He was created solely to fight. To win the war and save Hyrule.

After the war is won, he is placed deep within a temple and abandoned. After all, he’s a literal weapon. A weapon without a wielder is dangerous- anyone could take up his sword and be accepted as his new Master. The temple that he’s placed in is a typical Zelda Temple TM, like a dungeon, and it’s where he will wait until he is discovered by the Chain.

Does Wars have a personality in Hyrule Warriors? Short answer: no. He is a freshly created sword spirit and bound entirely to his Master. (Which, at this point, is his Zelda). With the War of Eras still ongoing, his purpose hasn’t yet been fulfilled. At this point, he is very very similar to how Fi was in Skyward Sword: mostly residing in his sword and giving power ups to his Master, only manifesting outside of the blade when called upon. He doesn’t speak unless spoken to. He shows absolutely no emotion. Ever.

… which leads me to the bad news. How do the others (Time, Wind, Ravio) interact with Wars? Generally speaking, they don’t. Like. Not even a little bit. With Wars constantly in his sword, he’s pretty inaccessible. Plus, they don’t really have any reason to. Any of Wars’ advice is heard only by Zelda, who relays the information to the group, they don’t think to ask where these strategies are coming from. And they really don’t think much of the sword at Zelda’s back.

That’s not to say that nothing is happening between the Links, though!! I’ve been having a field day thinking of little Time, a godling, fresh out of Termina and trying to comprehend the weight of his fate while also being a kid and now fighting in yet another war he never asked to be a part of. He’d appear to the others as Child Link (and go by Mask), using his god powers to change his appearance. He doesn’t have to be Child Link, but with how new his powers are?? He’s scared to be anything else.

And WIND!!! Wind and Ravio interactions!!! I have been thinking about this for WEEKS, ever since you sent this ask. Wind, the chaos gremlin of an Aquili. And Ravio, the violence hating Mer whose whole family and everyone he knew was killed by the corrupted Aquili in his own world. Ravio witnessed his whole pod being murdered, he narrowly escaped. He was a child, alone and afraid. If Legend carries bias against Aquili, imagine the scope of Ravio’s trauma. I wouldn’t be surprised if he avoided Wind at any cost.

(I will be making a lot of Ravio content in the future. He’s just. He’s my little guy).

I’m having a very fun time thinking about these interactions, even if it’s a bummer that Wars isn’t a part of it. (Remember! The only one who knows what Wars is is Sky. Wind and Time never had the chance to meet him. Although, after they discover that he’s a Sword Spirit, I bet a lot of things suddenly make a lot of sense haha!)

ANYWAY. This is one of the less organized lore posts I’ve made but I wanted to get this answered. Like I said, I’m still workshopping this, but I hope this helps? You’re welcome to make a story (as long as you tag me)! I’m sorry if this was a bit of a let down, but even if Wars’ role isn’t very big, I already have so many ideas about the others! I hope this gives you ideas as well

[bc727]

About Chloe again as I am once again waiting for one of my cats to be neutered

Well, it's been a while since I thought about my Miraculous AU since things happened (WHB, my phone's battery swelled, new hyper fixation with manwhas with "reincarnate as the villain" trope, etc, etc.) so I figured that It would be better to write about what I have so far for my favorite character.

I don't know about you, but I think filling your life with different father figures/mentors, the idea of ​​contradictory teachings I think would be a good thing to explore; André does not educate her and spoils her, Audry sets a terrible example for her, Gabriel plays an uncle role (forget the Canon! Gabriel), Armand is like a surrogate father who every time he's more worried, ​​(plus an OC I planned to literally have confrontations with Audrey and behave like a mother and mentor to Chloe, being strict but seriously caring about her). Yes, I replaced Bustier due to changes in the AU since they are separated into 2 different schools.

So, I think more or less their relationships could be said to be the following;

André; Even though he is her father, they don't really have a relationship, which causes a disconnection on both of their parts. Even when he gives her everything, it's just material things. I would like to think that he would start trying to relate to her after seeing signs or directly the results of his neglect, but I feel that it could be perceived as too late, so possibly Chloe could reject him and instead of insisting as a father, he would he would pay attention to Zoe to make up for his mistakes with Chloe, further driving the rift between the sisters. basically, he is negligent, hasn't learned how to be a father and is certainly selfish as he just wants to calm his mind by "fixing" his mistake. although I feel that the positive thing Chloe could have gotten out of him would be a political attitude, the way of analyzing and the importance of transparency (this man will also have a large rewrite).

Audrey; I still haven't made up my mind about this woman since I feel like some people are putting weight off her actions to disfavor Chloe when she's clearly a shitty mother, so I don't know whether to make her a total secondary villain or handle her solely as an antagonist. I definitely feel like she's a "you ruined my life" type of mom, resentful of her daughter and her husband, maybe married because she got pregnant. Obviously his relationship with Chloe is not good, even as she tries to follow his example and seek his approval, I think he will compare her to Zoe to hurt her. She is a flamboyant, unfriendly and cruel woman (and Cheater), but I think the positive thing Chloe could have gotten out of her would be the character, the determination she learned from trying to get her approval and the antipathy towards the judgment of others (like "that's all you have? my mom tells me worse things." sad, but useful in combination with other traits).

Gabriel; I will change even this man's DNA, so things are different here! First of all, he is not a shitty man, he has just really seen a lot of shit and is psychologically so fucked, but he does take into account how his actions can mark the children (he is also wrong, walking away during the duel to prevent his sons see him destroyed, obviously causing negative effects that he recognizes as his mistake as a father). For his part, he has repeatedly tried to talk to André so that he can relate to his daughter and has been in several situations where Chloe needed her father. Generally, he sees her as his niece who needs help but doesn't know how to support her other than to recognize her and advise her as best he can, but he's also not very good at dealing with children.

(As "Hawk Moth" the guy will definitely akumatize her often, but it's because in this AU the butterfly miraculous can take things from the akumatized person's mind, like pain or sadness. The butterfly miraculous can be a great tool for mental health as a great psychological weapon)

Armand (Jean?); Okay, let's be honest, this is Chloe's real father since a father is one who raises, not one who begets. (I don't know why but he has that vibe that he could be a malewife father, so I have the headcanon that he could have bought or even sewn the teddy bear for Chloe himself). This man behaves like a loving and proud father when no co-worker is around, even acknowledging Chloe's unpleasant personality traits. Curiously, I feel that he felt sorry for her when she was a child, so he wanted to compensate her for André's negligence, but before he realized it, he was already on the verge of crying while writing a speech for his elementary school graduation. Armand tried to avoid most of the Bourgeois' toxic influence, but he is too lenient in scolding her, so she gets her way easily without threats. They actually have a very good relationship, he will try to teach her the right path and will be there for her when she needs him. Armand is a sensitive, fatherly and calm man (as well as somewhat playful, as he is willing to participate in harmless pranks).

???; Since this character is an OC, I have doubts about introducing her since generally when OC's are introduced in AUs or fics I lose interest, so I will leave her for later, but I must say that she will be key for Chloe in the future.

(God, I think that with everything I upload about Chloe, no one is going to believe me that Marinette is still protagonist in my AU, although I must admit that I like to think that each character would be the protagonist in their respective akumatization episodes and that the focus It's not exclusive to Marinette.)

Well, that's all for now. I had to go home to write this on PC since the Tumblr page reloaded and deleted Armand's paragraph. It's been 3 hours since my cat was neutered.

[domoz]

PLEASE talk more about any + all of the tobiizu aus, starting with trust in reverse ??

A fic idea so old that I was still writing in past tense, I've really got to go and and rewrite that first 3k one of these days. Plus I think I've gotten better at writing too, soo…

Anyways, I'm treating this as the ask game, so here's a snip

"There might be someone." He admits at last. Their clan had been planning to install a system that would be able to cover the entire compound with room to grow, before all this happened. "But I don't see why we should share such a thing -- you're acting like this is going to be long term." Tobirama sighs. He's exasperated, Izuna thinks, with him and this entire situation. "We need to act like it will be if we want to prevent conflict." He still does not raise his eyes look at Izuna, though he's long stopped reading what's in front of him. "If our clans are forced to compete for resources, what do you think is going to happen?" One side gets desperate enough to kill the other, and then they all get executed. The reality sits bitter on Izuna's tongue.

Picking another one (not at random because I've been thinking about it a lot recently) ... The basis of In The Corner of Another Room is that at some point in his teens Tobirama realized that he couldn't fit into his father's demand for him to have/show no emotions... His solution was to only allow himself to act on his feelings when using a certain persona -- he just had to do this backwards from what anyone else would have done. Tobirama Senju is a cold emotionless tool, to the point that any actions he takes are viewed with suspicion -- because they're almost certainly the means to some pragmatic/distasteful end. His anonymous alter ego who wears a mask and refuses to reveal their identity is the one who gets to behave as an whole human person. (Izuna, much like everyone else, is too blinded by the differences to see the similarities) Ask Meme/WIP List

[storyofmychoices]

The beginning of 2024 had definitely already brought it's share of challenges for me, but I'm hoping that maybe things will still be improving from here! Thinking positive!

Writing Goals

Where to even begin? I have probably 100+ WIP ranging from a scribbled idea on a post it to an outline that needs to be typed. I'd like to put a dent in that? So far each year, that list keeps growing instead of shrinking. I find that I'm more of the in the moment writer. It's all or nothing. Either I finish a piece in one sitting or it never gets done. I'd like to try to find more of a balance in 2024.

In a perfect world, here are some stories I'd like to complete:

Mal's proposal: I started this fic last February, and would really like to actually write it. I have art for it. I don't know what I'm waiting for, especially now that I have their Blades 2 AU proposal done 🙈

Laser Tag with Brylivia: This is just a short little drabble that I think is like 75% written. It's from 2 years ago. I really have NO excuses lol

Love and Scotch: This series fell away when I stoped writing Ethan (for a number of reasons). I'd love to finish this series. I had several more chapters planned but I might just skip some and at least get to what I envisioned as "the end" aka Thomas and Alex's HWU AU wedding and a big turning point for Ethan and Ellie.

#HollywoodHacks: Does anyone even care about this series? Anyone even remember it? I feel like no. I was really only writing it for 1 person, but they're not in the fandom anymore...It might not be the ending I'd planned or wanted, but I think I could wrap the series in 1 or 2 (tops) more chapters. I had hoped that the story would lead to me writing more for Ben Parks and my #LoveHacks MC but that never happened

Tipsy Nia x Daenarya: an anon requested tipsy Nia hitting on Daenarya and I started it but then never finished it. It's such a small drabble it seems silly to even include it here, but here we are!

Blades 2 AU: At the start of Blades 2 I was doing a great job keeping up with the book and rewriting the chapters to fit my vision for the characters. That kinda fell apart around Chapter 5. I'd like to finish that rewrite and see how Iliana fits into how the rest of the book happened. Last I wrote, Daenarya didn't even know she was pregnant.

Rayden and Lydo's Adoption: Mal and Daenarya have already decided to adopt them. I've also written them as a family. But, I've never written the actual story of Mal and Daenarya telling the boys they were adopting them and they'd be a family forever, so I'd love to do that!

Pairings I'd like to write more of in 2024:

Thomas and Alex: I used to publish 1 new story a day when I first started writing them. It lasted over a year, then it gradually decreased. Last year, I only wrote them 10 times! I know the lack of interactions with their stories, has definitely made me want to share less and just enjoy daydreaming for them, but still, I'd like to keep their story going, regardless of interactions, because they are so special to me. Plus, if I could wrap those two series above that they're in, that would definitely lift my RCD/HWU fic count for the year!

Nyx x Aerin: I LOVE NYX! NYX is incredible and I love love love them. Aerin is kinda fun too. I would love to develop these two more this year.

Trystan and Lilah: I've only written them a few times and I'd like to get to know them better

Beckett and Emma: I haven't written them in a long time and when I did write them it was for 1 particular series (them in Detention). With the Book Club replaying TE, I'm hoping I might be inspired to see what they're like outside of the library.

Troy and Astraea: I love these two but I haven't had time to explore them more. I don't think I'll have time to participate in the group reread right now, but I would still like to reread WTD at some point this year and keep developing them.

Daenarya x Maiele (@lilyoffandoms) + Mal x Tyril: In 2023, Lily and I started to develop these relationships more. I loved every second of that and I hope 2024 will bring us more of these four lovely characters.

Mal's Orphanage: Blades 2 destroyed the orphanage storyline. If PB wanted to steal it they should have done a better job of it. Like there was literally no point in them having that storyline since they abandoned it the first chance they got. I'd like to fix the Blades 2 orphanage storyline but then go back to focusing on my original orphanage because those children are my favorite.

Other Goals

Catch up on reading and be a more active reader

Follow and support new Choices accounts

Continue with the book club and other events I host but find a balance with hosting that I still have time to create and read/support others

Try my hand at drawing again. I had been drawing chibi's a while back and I haven't had time/the courage to try again, but @lilyoffandoms's incredible art journey this month has inspired me to add it to my list this year

Keep editing Aerin in the sluttiest Choices outfits I can find

Flesh out more of Olivia's pediatric practice and how she transitions from Edenbrook to Sunshine Pediatrics

Be kind to myself and let myself rest when I need it. I am my biggest critic and if you ask me what I'm good at, I'd say nothing and I would tell you everything wrong with anything I've ever done, including all of my pairings. I see the mistakes and I want to let myself see the good and focus on only that this year.

[moistvonlipwig]

also speaking of AUs and since you were curious about it earlier when i didn't have my computadora @all-seeing-ifer here's a basic outline of how my ats s4 cordelia-is-the-beast idea would go. there's more stuff with the other characters but this writeup is focused on the main beats of the cordelia & jasmine plot. amazingly enough this is indeed the short version!

a key aspect of this concept, and imo of any good ats s4 rewrite, is giving cordelia a voice. in this rewrite we are alerted to cordelia's possession at the end of "apocalypse nowish" (more on that in next bullet point). from then on we get to see scenes inside cordelia's head where she is interacting with jasmine (who isn't named jasmine yet obviously but for efficiency's sake let us call her that) and commenting on the goings-on around her.

one element that isn't strictly necessary for this idea to work is that connor is not romantically in love with either real cordelia or jasmine-possessed "cordelia"; instead, jasmine positions herself as a mother figure to connor & tells him how cordelia took care of him as a baby. i admit to finding the pseudo-incest aspect of s4 kind of utterly fascinating but while it's interesting to explore in fanfic i ultimately don't really think ats had anything especially interesting to say on the subject & frankly i think the story kind of coheres better if jasmine is a maternal figure instead. you can still have angel be jealous of their bond -- they were supposed to be a family together & now they're excluding him?? :[ < angel's sad face (w/ fangs because he is a vampire) -- and you can also deal more directly with connor's parental issues. plus it makes the jasmine/darla scene in "inside out" even more poignant.

so with this in mind, the cliffhanger at the end of "apocalypse nowish" is that "cordelia" is watching the rain of fire while connor sleeps and we see her slowly smile and then we zoom into her mind and see jasmine, still wearing cordelia's face, gloating to the real cordelia (who is like. tied up or something. in her mind. idk.) that none of her friends suspect a thing.

so basically: we know cordelia learned how to do basic astral projection in "birthday". we also are never shown what her demon half looks like. the idea is that, while cordelia herself is trapped in her own mind, she is able to astral-project her demon half to carry out various attempted interventions in jasmine's plans.

due to reasons [i can explain the reasons but it requires a lot of context lol], the beast cannot communicate using language, speech, writing, anything like that. it can gesture and give Significant Looks and that's it. so cordelia cannot convey to angel investigations anything that's going on, even though she sometimes tries.

prior to "calvary", it would seem to both the audience and the fang gang that the beast is evil and working for jasmine, as it always shows up at scenes of massacres (the eye of fire, wolfram & hart, the svear house). at these massacres, it often kneels by the dying people and appears to drain some kind of energy from them; in actuality this is cordelia taking the pain of the dying person which we know she can do qv "benediction". the beast also performs the ritual to blot out the sun which we later learn is because jasmine needs the sun to be shining in order to be born.

neither jasmine nor the beast manipulate the fang gang into removing angel's soul, they misinterpret things and do that all on their own. in this version though angel does not remember the beast at all. however, jasmine needs angel souled for her plan to work [again, due to reasons lol], so after the svear massacre, which cordelia begged jasmine not to go through with, cordelia in her beast form steals angel's soul. jasmine does not know it is cordelia controlling the beast but she knows the beast is trying to stop her, so she lets angel out of his cage so as to try to force the beast's hand to return angel's soul. she still kills lilah and this is how the audience learns the beast does not work for her -- the beast arrives at the hotel just a little too late to save lilah and the cliffhanger of "calvary" is jasmine taunting it that at this rate it'll never stop her.

jasmine maybe also absorbs lilah into the mindspace with her and cordelia as well? so as to prevent her from showing up as a wolfram & hart ghost and spilling the beans.

jasmine's pregnancy is just a virgin birth situation which impresses connor and he plans to be the best big brother ever. maybe it's even a metaphorical pregnancy?

previous 2 bullet points i still need to work on. anyway, wesley gets faith etc., they're not able to defeat angel or find his soul though.

angel lures cordelia's parents to her old apartment and kills them. then he calls up spike and inquires after xander. at this point, feeling both grief and guilt as well as hopelessness from jasmine insisting that her plan will be able to move forward with a soulless angel, just at a delayed pace, cordelia gives in and the beast shows up and returns angel's soul to him.

the beast takes angel on a little excursion to various places in their history which angel does not understand and at first he thinks the purpose is to make him feel bad because well it's angel what do you expect him to think. then the beast takes him to point dume and leads him into the water and has a little splash fight with him and angel relaxes and realizes the beast wanted to communicate that he was being forgiven for something. But What? he wonders.

at this point harmony shows up to talk to cordelia [she's also in the earlier part of the season but that's a story for the long version...] and she notices something is amiss. also around this time the fang gang have uncovered information that leads jasmine to realize that cordelia is the beast although she does not vocalize this. harmony realizes cordelia is possessed because her outfit is ugly, and when jasmine tries to stake her, the beast bursts in and spirits harmony away. jasmine gives a dramatic speech to the air where she reveals she knows the beast is cordelia. this is the cliffhanger ending of "orpheus" and also the point where the audience is let in on the truth about the beast as well.

jasmine leads the fang gang through a ritual to force the beast permanently back to its source body which would trap cordelia entirely under her control. the ritual works and jasmine leaves only for harmony to show up [after a battle with jasmine's servants] and be like hey guys cordelia is possessed.

after this s4 plays out more or less like the show does except that the demon species that the beast is part of is the same species that jasmine once ruled over and can pronounce her true name. so in order to defeat jasmine cordelia has to wake up and say her name out loud. darla comes to visit her in her sleep and tells her this. but if she does so then it would drain the rest of her energy and leave her in a coma potentially forever. she's like so wake me up already. she shows up at the hotel and says jasmine's name and falls back into a coma but this time it was on her own terms.

again this is the short version ._. if you can believe it...

[eemoo1o-animoo]

oh em gee can i have a title

(TW: Unwanted tangent. I’m so sorry.)

(Previous post)

I mean—it stems from the kuro blog chess idea.

I suppose if a blog is particularly sticky-outy/popular, I take note of what they’d have a title for.

Like, @anawkwardlady and @nullb1rdbones would be the knights of the board for they both impact the Alois (and Claude) community greatly—in their own respective rights (conceptually, therefore anointed two of the hierarchal pieces—Nana with her Weston AU and scenario posts, and Null with their fanfictions, art and S2 rewrite). Hence the “Dame” title for Nana (Null can choose what they deem most fitting for themselves).

I’ve already got the queen worked out (we all know who that is, and due to my recent posting habits, so does she @pain-in-the-butler), and I’ve only speculated the king. (Also worthy to note that art-only blogs don’t register with me—and as amazing as they all are (@/i-n-e-a, @/vapidus-art, etc.) I haven’t added them to the idea. And to that I abide and apologise.)

The hierarchal pieces would be those especially known for concepts or multi-characters pawns would most probably be less-noteworthy blogs in terms of popularity, but still highly prominent in the community.

Pawns would also be assigned to a singular character and perhaps a representative democratically (although it’s just me who’s deciding the roles… sorry, I am such a dictator, I know) or communally elected or merely agreed upon by the communities they are meant to represent.

This is mostly due to the holy-fuck-what amount of Grelle-based blogs there are (especially those with manga-panel profile pictures, like by god, there is a lot), therefore they, as a mostly unspoken but vast community need a president or mayor of sorts.

(Honestly, I’m stuck between @cherumie — who I’ve already called the Grelle Messiah* in the past — and @milfhandholder, they’re both so equally incredible in their own rights. Plus Maia’s written The Whole Being Dead Thing. So… scores, people. Scores. /jk)

As for the UT representative, I can only assume @abybweisse or @imintobones would be a good place holder (although I’m sooner to elect Bones, because the former isn’t just Undertaker-based and therefore would be better suited to a turret or castle or whatever those things are called… as their lengthy analyses on Kuro pieces allow them to travel lengthy paths along the board).

(Plus, if imintobones and cherumie were elected as character representatives, and then Grelltaker was ever hinted or directed to in canon—which it most probably will not, but the idea’s been stuck in my mind ever since I proposed it to bones himself—I just think they should collab or hold hands (/p), or something. As a celebration. The fandom would go wild.)

I’m still stuck on the knaves and other pawns, though. I’d appreciate help on those, thusly.

TL;DR: You’re the head of cherumie’s (or milfhandholder’s) presidential office.

[incognito-lionbeast]

Just read the entirety of Zettai Kareshi / Absolute Boyfriend in one sitting. It's not perfect, but I overall enjoyed it! Concept is fun & it held up better than I thought it would, considering the last time I read it was over a decade ago....

Anyway, re-read it so I could continue brainstorming an SVSSS AU where Shen Yuan's sister "accidentally" buys him an android boyfriend. That's totally not based on Blorbo from his Novels. Unlike Riiko in the manga, they definitely have the money to pay for it.... but like hell does SY want his parents to find out what s/he's spending their money on, okay?!

And also he's not gay!!!!

Airplane is the Gaku Namikiri equivalent (and then some, really)-- in this case, a washed-up former author who got involved in something he really didn't mean to. And yet, it pays the bills better than writing ever did. He's inwardly a bit touched that someone wanted a figure so blatantly based on Luo Binghe.... only discovering later Who That Person Is.

I don't think it'll follow the plot of the manga very closely outside of general concept, because I don't feel like SY needs a love triangle. Or school drama. And I kinda wanna keep the focus on BingYuanPlane, since there's still the Gay to work out. Among other things (such as harassing Airplane about PIDW & it's failure to really... have a proper ending in this AU. Plus all of its other canonical problems.)

Readmore in case you care about spoilers for the ending of Absolute Boyfriend?

Anyway, endgame is that Binghe still suffers the same Expiration Date problem as Night did, functionally dying/in a coma for the foreseeable future... and after SY finally accepted his feelings, too. After all this, Airplane quits his job at Kronos Heaven, having found inspiration, bit by bit, to return to writing throughout the duration of the plot. He & Shen Yuan are friends! Kind of. Insomuch as they are normally, anyway.

&at some point, Airplane had begun revising / rewriting PIDW. Still getting yelled at by SY, but less!

....and then, many months later (and as a departure from the inspiration for this AU), Luo Binghe shows up at Shen Yuan's door. Yet, despite SY's premature celebration, it's not the android. He's not fixed, and it's not another in the series--another 01, a 02 or anything else. It's Luo Binghe. The real one.

The real one who'd been dreaming, off & on, throughout some of the early arc(s) of PIDW about a living metal body... and the man who loved him. Suddenly unable to return to that synthetic form, no matter how desperately he tried, Binghe took matters into his own hands.

After all, what else was Xin Mo good for, if not for slicing the barrier between worlds?

....but it's a struggle all over again, because even if the "man" Shen Yuan loved & this very real man in front of him are actually the same person? He'd fallen in love with an android. A figure. Based on someone he knew to be fictional (as pathetic as that was...).

Asking him to suspend his disbelief for a real flesh & blood Luo Binghe is. Something Else. Though he's trying & it's still easier than the first time. They'll get there eventually. They'll also probably end up back in Binghe's world. Screw PIDW's plot; he has a boyfriend!! And like. their Creator God. Took Airplane with them, too.

[winter-spark]

Hiya friends, I'm having a writing predicament.

See I think just maybe my arranged royal marriage au might be too long. And mayhaps I need to break the chapters into their own stories and make the story a series.

Which is wild because the chapters were me trying to find the best places to split up the one shot that was getting too long. Plus that means that it might feel a little cheap to stop before the actual wedding.

But like let me explain why it might be too long. My first draft which was this 🤏🏾 close to being complete was a one-shot turned 3 shot, turned technically 4 because chapter 2 was split (chapters are named by "Acts" so chapters 2 and 3 are both Act II but Act II part 1 & part 2), then turned 5, then 6. It has about 35,988 words and again was incomplete(finished in my head.) But to put the chapter sizes in perspective, in my second draft, chapter one is currently 8,183 words. I'm still writing chapter two but I'm a third - halfway through it at 3,226 words. For comparison, the first two chapters of my tangled hs au are 3,926 and 4,601 words, chapter two being the longest of all the chapters I've written for it, chapter 9 the shortest at 2,899. Chapter 9 is not the end. With the way the story is going, there's still 4 (give or take one or so) chapters left.

Now that was a lot of words what am I saying? Well before I fully clarify, I love both stories. And I like reading both, and I have ideas still cultivating for both for my edits and conclusions. But it's easier to get in gear for the tangled hs one(I need less misleading nicknames for these). And I'm starting to think it's the way they're broken up. I think it's easier to get through thus easier to work on. See when I did draft two, draft one was a bunch of loosely connected scenes here and there (the beginning was solidly connected but as it went on the rest was just "oh I have an idea for a scene" several times some more attached together than others) so when doing draft two the hard part was making a calendar for the story and deciding when each event happened. Then I could just write the chapters like "this is day three so this thing needs to happen", and it's all heading to a conclusion and the chapters are complete chapters but they're largely built around small scenes I'd written, some things becoming a thing because "oh something needs to solidly get them to that point of their dynamic."

With the arranged marriage one, I started out solidly writing a story, each part in full, each part following the next, to the point that it visibly got too long to be a one-shot. With the tangled one, I was like oh to tie all this together this is gonna be too long to be a one shot, but with the arranged marriage fic I heard my sister in the back of my mind saying "some one shots are so long it's like okay you really could've cut that into chapters" or something along those lines as she told me before that she does feel like with some large one-shot there are clear good spots to cut it into chapters at and that it should be cut into chapters. So I thought, dang, this is probably one of those one-shots. I wasn't even done writing it I was on what became chapter three maybe now chapter four, thinking I'd be able to end it soonish but knowing it was long and needed that chapter split. So the division started up as large portions of the story. Then I went through to solidify them as solid chapters and fixing the pacing by adding more scenes to more clearly elaborate on the amount of time passing and what the characters were noticing. Which of course made the chapters longer.

Thus in editing and getting to the scene that's stuck in my head, it takes a minute while with the tangled hs au, revisiting rereading rewriting takes less time. I don't even think the arranged royal marriage one is a drag or anything but it's lengthy. In several aspects. So maybe leaning towards the bite-sized would make it easier.

However, I do have hesitance in doing that. See the thing is, it's a complete story. From chapter one to chapter 6. If I make them separate stories I have to work out if they standalone alright. Honestly, I think the first chapter would but Idk where to split it into chapters. And again how would I end the series? Like literally the last chapter is mostly wrap-up and fluff like idk if it can be its own standalone or if it would be a solid enough end to series rather than a single story. Like if I do this I'd have to probably expand it and I've already expanded it so much, it's so long.

On the other hand, if I do expand, like maybe I can throw in another perspective here or there as I do have thoughts on scenes that happened off-screen. I dunno though. But who knows how long it'll take if I do that. And I might have to give the others actual storylines. I mean like I could bring back the Izumi maybe having a crush on someone plotline that I scrapped because I was too indecisive but like that's a story rework lowkey? And another thing. I can't post a story until I'm done writing it but if it's a series would I be able to share the story as I go, as I finish individual works? Because finishing a whole series before posting any of it sounds like it'd take forever. But then I won't be able to go back and edit freely to make it flow better.

Oof. I don't know what to do.

[saltysunflowersugar]

Ride The Tumbler patch notes/random little details I'm gonna put in the AU

• everyone's pupils become slit with yellow-ish scleras during the songs, as if Bill is possessing them to dance, I'm thinking the backup singers will have two Bill eyes while the lead singer for each song only has one Bill eye because they still have enough free will to sing what they really think.

• Cecil Gershwin Palmer is gonna get replaced by Tony The Talking Clock as Virgil, his whole thing I time which is obviously a big theme in Ride The Cyclone, plus he's a clock so his face would be made of glass, I think this version of chewing through the wires would be Tony shooting Bill with the memory gun and then the recoil just hits him in the face. Sorry Cecil, I just know a little more about Tony than I do about you

• the Onceler swears exclusively in made-up Dr. Suess words

• IDK if I still want Alastor as Noel, I don't want to have to rewrite all of Noel's Lament to take out the hooker stuff since Alastor is canonically AroAce. Honestly, I don't really like my human Alastor design I made for this AU that much anymore.

• for The New Birthday Song, I think it would be cute if all of the choir members gave John something. Like, Wally could use one of his apples as a substitute for the Hello Kitty cupcake, Dabi could light the candle, Luigi could put a fire flower behind his ear or something, IDK what Alastor/Alastor's possible replacement would contribute, and The Onceler could give John his thneed to substitute for Jane's birthday cape

• during What The World (Th)needs (yes, I do believe he would make his song title a pun) The onceler changes into his Greedler outfit because of course he would

• I already posted art of this, but I really like the idea of Dabi creating an illusion of his lover out of flames during this AU's equivalent to Talia

• I've also been slightly toying around with the idea of replacing Jack Frost with Sans as the John Doe, since Undertale Monsters turn to dust when they die, but I still think Jack Frost works really well in this role, maybe I'll put this on a poll

• speaking of Jack Frost, I remembered that all of the guardians used to be normal humans but they got chosen upon death by the man in the moon to gain powers, so I'm just imagining he wakes up in the hospital with his head re-attached and the Man In The Moon is just like "DAMNIT! I GOTTA WAIT FOR HIM TO DIE AGAIN!"

• Bill and Tony are just shit-talking the Onceler under their breath the whole time during What The World (Th)needs

• The whole warehouse freezes over during TBOJD

[daz4i]

If you had to invent any kind of AU involving Nikolai, what would it be?

ooooooooo probably some performer au! actor or musician, but not a big one. he tends to explore philosophical and deep topics in his works so not a lot of people are into it. the story is more about the struggles of remaining true to yourself vs needing to make a living (yusuke's confidant-esque situation, yknow how it is), and how it affects other aspects of his life like, if he has friends in this setting, how it affects his bond with them to struggle this much and probably not being the most stable in general.

ok putting it more coherently lemme brainstorm it into a proper story (that halfway through i realized is basically a tick tick boom rewrite. i am so sorry. i did try to stray from it i promise) (also this got so long i'm sorry. so under a read more it goes):

nikolai, 26, just wrapped up a solo project he's been working on where he writes, directs, and performs. it's a bit abstract, unclear, and confusing, but he's proud of the result regardless

however, after only 2 nights, the venue tells him his show simply does not pull enough audience so they know he won't be able to keep paying them to rent the place, and that tonight will be his last run

still, he pulls through, finishes the show with a smile, except this time in the end he adds something to the show to... maybe not ruin but kind of vandalize the venue a bit, as his own "fuck you" to them. he acts like it's all a planned part of the show, and the audience indeed eats it up, some of them even asking when they can come see the show again bc "it's so daring! very unique! can't wait to see what you do next!" etc.

but. obviously this gets him in trouble. he's already depressed abt the show getting cancelled, trying hard to find some other place that'll host it (and hopefully for a cheaper price), moping in his dingy apartment, when he gets a call from that venue demanding he pays to fix whatever it is he vandalized or they'll take legal action. so now he's got more shit on his mind

through it all he's obviously very stressed, and when his friends (sigma and fyodor. obvs) try to visit him or call to check on him he's being very short and unpleasant, unable to keep up his upbeat persona

sigma is a bit tired of his shit. i imagine they won't be SUPER close in that universe? sigma is more like his previously close friend from college who somehow made it big and is now rich and busy and therefore has less time for this stuff. still, he offers to help with the money and legal end of things, but nikolai has to ask, and has to be courteous in whatever meetings sigma arranges for him

nikolai, ofc, does not take the offer, bc he doesn't wanna rely on handouts, let alone from his friends. also he has some trust issues and warped perception of what friendship is bc he's nikolai, and he doesn't wanna feel like he owes sigma in the future. he tells sigma he'll take more shifts in [insert job] and figure it out himself

fyodor doesn't mind his behavior too much, but does try to remain logical here and keeps giving nikolai advice on how to fix things which only makes him more upset.

he takes on more shifts, pulls out some money his parents gave him before he left home that he refused to touch, but it's still not quite enough to both make up for the cost of renting the venue, plus fixing it, plus his usual expenses. i think he will have a full on breakdown of some sort here ngl

(couldn't find a place to shove it but since i mentioned usual expenses here^ i imagine he'll start having issues with like. electricity/water/rent for his apartment and such, which will definitely not help his mental state to say the least)

i also feel like sigma might help him behind his back by paying for stuff secretly, bc even tho he's mad, they're still friends. when nikolai finds out he somehow loses his shit even more.

i do want it to have a happy ending tho. so. through his breakdown, nikolai starts writing, and comes up with a new show/new music, and it's really really good, and raw, and real. he doesn't do much with it yet, if it's music/a music based show he might record it, but that's it for now

however! also behind the scenes, fyodor figured out that giving that guy advice is a bit pointless. so instead, he did him a favor in his own way and uploaded footage of his last show - the one that got cancelled at the start - online, and it's a hit! nothing too mainstream, but the people who loved it originally are able to show it to more people, and by now it's gotten popular enough to actually make money

when he tells nikolai about this. he does not take it too well. "why did you do this?? i didn't ask you-" "i know. i didn't do it because you wanted me to. i did it because i thought it was the right thing to do. more people deserve to see your show, and you deserve to have your art seen by more people." and when he gives him some of the money it already made, "why are you giving this to me? is this your plan here? to make money off my work without even asking me?" "for christ's sake kolya, this is your money, your worked for it, all i did was post it for you. all i want here is so you get what you deserve for the work you put in, because i'm your friend." it's a very touching scene :P

eventually nikolai gets it, and he gets why sigma did what he did as well and meets up with him to thank him properly (i'm imagining it as like "let's meet up somewhere! my treat :)" "i'm gonna regret this aren't i" and then he takes sigma to some lame ass fast food place or cheap coffee spot, and sigma is not only touched by the gesture but makes a joke about how refreshing it is to go someplace like that after he got used to all the fancy places he usually has meetings in)

he releases his new stuff - online if it's music, or finding a new place to perform if it's a new show - and while they're still very niche, he develops somewhat of a cult following within other weird ass people, possibly even meeting new friends through that

so, things aren't perfect, but this way he feels like he can continue doing his own thing, and he even if he doesn't make a lot through it to be rich or w/e he can still at least keep his life running, and while he's still not 100% with it he also finds himself able to rely on his friends for help more and open up for others as well uwu

[shadowsong26fic]

Coming Attractions!

First Monday of the month, so here goes!

(And, as is often the case with these, I'll be keeping an eye on my askbox for an Open Question Night. Anything I've posted about here or on AO3 is fair game; I do take prompts but am not necessarily very fast at filling them)

Year of the OTP

I'm still behind on all of these, haha...I still have to do the three origfic ones for June (but...honestly, I didn't...really like most of the June prompts, ah well) and all five for July, plus get caught up on August. Goal is to get all of that done by the end of the month, but we'll see how it goes (especially since this month involves the Actual Moving sooooooo yeah)

Other SW Fic

Mostly putting this here to say that Precipice is not dead because I refuse to let it die; granted I haven't been actively working on it as much as I should lately, but I will update Someday, I promise. Unless I end up falling out of the fandom entirely, that fic continue.

BSG Fic

Once again plugging the Big Bang/Mini Bang event! There's still time to sign up! We are particularly low on betas, and could also use a few more artists. So given the numbers I'm not going to participate as an author myself (though I'll beta and probably jump in to podfic). Also the idea I had I'm not sure how to structure it (Zarek character study; the general idea was him looking back on his first arrest as he waits for his execution; drawing some on that great quote of his from Kobol "It's a lot easier to get blood off your hands than on it" or something like that; sort of approaching the questions of how much of his rhetoric does he (still) actually believe; some things about charisma and leading other people to their deaths; I was going to title it 'The Blood of Angry Men'...)

Other projects--aside from the OTP stuff, I am still slowly putting The Other Battlestar together. No real ETA on that, but it is coming. And it is going to be. Extremely Long, lol. Even if I do end it after Pegasus, which is my current plan (because while I have Some thoughts, figuring out how drastically things would shift after that is. A Pain. I can more or less do In Spite Of A Nail between Atia and Kimble to get the fleet in Close Enough to that same position by the time that encounter happens but. After. Man.) But yeah, very long, because...I don't need to cover/rewrite everything, but there's a Good Chunk that does need to be reworked, plus covering those six months from the Pegasus side...It's probably going to be Precipice-length (200-250k) by the time I'm done, lol.

There are always other things noodling around in my head, but that's pretty much all that's sort of Actively In The Works.

(But sign up for the event! Join us!!!!)

Les Mis Fic

Yeah so this is the current primary brainrot, lol. Papa and J... is picking up again; Ari will start learning some things in the next chapter! And will find it way easier to identify J than initially expected, lol.

For the stuff Ari won't be able to learn (due to letters/records being lost, either deliberately or because...just...::gestures at the 19th-century French governments:: ), I'm going to post a companion piece after P&J finishes, working title Provenance.

The other project which I'm hoping to start posting soon is a Groundhog Day AU, working title Acheron. I'm excited for that one but. uh. Definitely heed the warnings when it comes out because. Yeah.

Other Stuff

I'm doing the occasional origfic snippet that's not connected to the OTP fills; plus bouncing back to some of the AtLA projects I started on at the beginning of that fandom renaissance, but nothing super concrete coming up.

But also pod_together! Writing is done, recording is mostly done (I think?), I'm really excited for how this one's turned out. Leverage in the style of Shakespeare, it's a delight. (Three scenes; one with Eliot and Parker set fairly early; one with the whole crew in the Exposition scene; and a soliloquy from Sterling which was actually the first thing I wrote XD)

I also haven't forgotten about Incinctus, especially since Nocturne finally has an actual Trailer. But I think I'm going to need to rewatch the show and get in the right headspace in order to actually update it (which I do want to do! I just. Got stuck on the next chapter that needs to come out, haha...)

fun fact: watching castlevania was actually how i ended up getting actively back into bsg fandom XD

...I think that pretty much covers it! Like I said at the top, Open Question Night, and I'd love to hear about what you guys are working on, too!

also this is a reminder to me to finish putting together the Story Details form/do a reminder post about the first GBB checkin coming soon...

[theinsanecrayonbox]

Sins of Sinister #1

Ok right off the bat disclaimers: this is all obviously an AU setting, so continuity hiccups are forgivable to a degree, and we can be less nitpicky about character assassination. For those new here, AoA is actually my favorite comic arc, so this being billed and built like it has me interested.

Ok so Sinister has Moiras he pops on occasion to reset timelines for his own purposes, thus how we are here and how it’ll get undone at the end. Cool, I’m on board.

We open up with Sinister going to the Pit (why do they still use that when Vic and crew roofed they could escape it???) but then reveal that most of the council of dumb is Sinister infected…which honestly does explain a lot. They fight at the table to make the non-infected not question their motives. But they’re releasing respawning to the human population…ok…

I know it’s Sinister’s evil master plan, but again, if your population never decreases there’s no need for new births, plus you will run out of resources and culture will stagnate.

Anywhos, that bit of logic aside, it’s actually not that bad a plan

Sinister is handing out tainted artificial X-genes that will alter people’s dna and minds to his way of thinking. Very zombie plague. And…

Wait…isn’t that what crazy anti-vaxx people think is going on? An inoculation meant to prolong one’s life/health but secretly is mind controlling you and rewriting your dna. Oh geeze, is this Secret Empire again where the comics writers think they’re playing current events but don’t realize they’re doing it on the wrong side? Yikes!

Ahem, moving on…at least that excuses why there’s a Sinister!Cap when he’s not part of the X-stable I guess…

But wait it was working though? I don’t understand…

So we montage through Sinister’s take over. They nuke Krakoa’s brain, claim Orchis did it so humankind will turn on them. Defeat Thanos, podperson several major players so they’re on their side, Sinister gets out of the Pit and starts his happy fun chimera time, Storm realizes stuff is wacky and peaces out then hooks up with Raven and Irene. Sinister pretty much wins and humanity is all “yeah cool bro” about it

Well not everyone (yay resistance is plausible!) but hey is Spidey/Nightcrawler called ‘Night Legion’, or are all the Nightcrawler hybrids called that?

But we then wind down with Sinister realizing he gave the council of dumb too much free will and decides to go hit the reset button…but someone stole all his toys. So now he’s all ‘zomg I’m stuck in this timeline now!!!’

So yeah, I’d say it’s a pretty good start to this event. It cleanly states where it is on the main timeline, and we have a steady progression of the takeover. I love AoA, but it’s bulk did just start with ‘Xavier dead, bad stuff happened, look at the messed up present’ which is fine and good, but SoS has us starting at the present and says ‘ok see what happens now going forward’ and idk, it’s just kinda nice to see a logical progression? The island of stupid has so little logic at times a small bit is nice to have as a treat.

No signs of Arkady yet though…I know there’s a Sabrecrawler in ‘Nightcrawlers’, but no Omega Red yet…then again he didn’t get much in AoA either so *shrugs*

I’m here for this ride. It’s clearly an AU that will get reset at the end and may or may not leave marks on the main timeline, we’ll see.