#protagonist barry au

[callahanisms]

Impressions

pairing: tashi duncan x bipoc! fem! reader

word count: 1.9k words

context: 2019. los angeles. tashi duncan is looking to cast the protagonist for her newest film. she finds the perfect actor for her protagonist.

no specific pronouns used. reader is able bodied and can speak. reader is about 25, while tashi is 31/32.

this is me dipping my toes into the ghostface au. based on this post. if people really like this, then i will continue to write more.

Tashi Duncan.

Actress. Director. Producer. Screenwriter. Sometimes cinematographer.

Her list of credits are long. A child actress who evolved beyond the children’s sitcoms that your younger sister was obsessed with. You remember seeing her so clearly, seeing her laugh, seeing her cry, seeing her amazing fashion sense. Tashi Duncan was beloved and an icon.

Furthermore, she knew her standing.

She talked about the hard things, the things that kept so many people out of the industry: stereotypes and typecasting, racism, sexism, queerphobia. Tashi Duncan was a phenomenon, but only outside of the context of her being. She was an abstract to the industry, in an attempt to make her more appealing to their “base” demographic.

Some of them kept you back, kept you out. You were hoping this would be the moment where things would change for you.

You were an adjunct at a community college. You taught the basic writing classes. Most of your students were freshmen. On the side, you auditioned, did the occasional improv show, and helped students and peers with their films. You loved the movies. You loved films. You loved acting. You loved it all. You were excited to be teaching a class on film the next semester. One of the units, you knew, you wanted it to be on auteurs. What film would you show? What would you assign your students?

Reading helped pass the time when you were waiting for your name to be called. An open call casting for a new horror film by Tashi Duncan. The perfect opportunity for you. You remember the description: Non-white woman or femme presenting person. Mid 20s to early 40s.

You found that reading the script over and over again could cost you an audition. You would overload your brain, causing it to short circuit. You’d forget lines, stumble over your own words, and your cheeks would burn with the sense of humiliation. So instead, you were reading your book, highlighting and making notes in the margins. How many people would strangle you for such a crime?

“(Y/N) (L/N).”

You snap the book closed.

The room smells sterile, like they had soaked it in bleach and Febreeze. You almost wanted to choke. You were expecting to see a casting director. But in the middle of the table, with her sunglasses resting atop of her head, was Tashi Duncan.

She wore a combination of silver and gold jewelry. You recognized her gold cross necklace. The button down dress showed off her legs, bringing your eyes to the wedges that matched the white and blue vertical stripes. Her sleeves were rolled up to her elbows. Her brown eyes scan you. She saw right through you.

“Auteurs and Authorship.” Her voice commands the entire room. The door clicks shut behind you.

“I’m…sorry?” You’re so small in front of her.

“Barry Keith Grant. Your book.”

“Oh. Yes…”

“Interesting. An amateur move.” She folds her hands together on the table and leans forward.

“Could you…explain what you mean by that?”

“Makes yourself seem interested in the…intricacies, we’ll say, of film. Gives off the impression that you’re an academic. You’re a real film person.”

“Ummm…I do work in academia. I’m an adjunct. It’s what I do on the side.”

Tashi’s eyebrows rise. “Really now? Do you teach film, then?”

“Not right now. That’s the plan for the fall. I’m trying to plan the syllabus out.”

“And you want to talk about auteurs?”

“At some point.”

Tashi leans a little bit more forward in her seat. “Do you think I am an auteur?”

What a complicated question.

“Well…traditionally—”

“I don’t want the traditional answer. What I want to know is if you think I’m an auteur.”

Your mouth is dry. This had to be some sort of trick question. It had to be some trap. Piss off enough people and you’re done for good. Tashi Duncan was a phenomenon and if she wanted to, you could be erased. Hollywood did not provide the environment for solidarity. If one door opened, another door closed. If one movie was a sensation, then any movie that bore a resemblance (a resemblance that wasn’t even a resemblance) to said movie would just become that thing, reduced to that thing, ignored in all of its nuance and creativity and its passion. You lick your lips. “I think…it’s hard to tell.”

“And why is that?”

“Well you just started directing. You have three films and a couple of television episodes. Most of your credits are acting. And auteurship is thought more in terms of directing than acting. If you want to ask if you’re a star, then absolutely you are. But an auteur? I would wait some time. I don’t think three films and some television episodes is enough for an auteur study.” Your heart was pounding miles per hour. You were anxious, on the edge. “I’d want to see what else you’re doing. The landscape is always shifting and naturally, so is your auteurship.”

You can see the way her jaw unclenches. Or clenches? It was hard to tell. She detangles her fingers from one another and leans back into her seat. “If you need to use the script to read the lines—”

“I remember my lines.”

“Well look at you. Well prepared.” Tashi clears her throat. “The set is quiet. Everyone is on edge. She turns to camera 3 and speaks.”

Like a puppet, you speak.

“No, no.” You shake your head, reading the essay. You highlight a portion and then type up your comment on the Canvas page. You’re probably giving the student a heart attack right now, if they have the app on their phone. A constant stream of vibrations as the instructor leaves an annotation on their submission document. You drink your lemonade soda. Blueberry lavender lemonade soda. It was always your go to, along with a cranberry orange loaf slice. It was a small cafe by the college with cheap food and cheaper drinks. Very popular among the students.

“You work a lot, huh?”

You look up from your computer. You’re tempted to close it, but you don’t. You lean back in your seat. “I tried calling you. But you wouldn’t pick up.” Tashi sits down in the seat across from you. Her hand reaches out and she closes the laptop. She doesn’t want to look at your stickers.

“I keep my phone off during the work day. Gets things done easier.”

“You don’t listen to music while working? Or anything of the sort?”

“I do it through my laptop. They have a Spotify desktop app, you know.”

A smirk is curling at the corner of her lips. “You’re quick, I’ll give you that.”

“So, you came to tell me I didn’t get the part? Personally? It’s a lot better than a lot of other people.”

“I read your resume. Couple of extra roles. A role on SVU for three episodes.”

“Doesn’t everyone go through SVU?”

“You’re not wrong. And a couple of short films. One of them critically received. And yet, no credit. No invitation to the award shows.” Tashi shrugs. “Nothing. What’s up with that?”

“What do you think? You work with some white people and a nepo baby. And the nepo baby takes everything that was supposed to go to you. It���s like a more fucked up version of Lena Lamont and Kathy Selden except there’s no retribution and the nepo baby isn’t talented at all but apparently their film is good.”

“You’re a little film critic, huh?”

“If you want to be a good actor, a good filmmaker, generally good in the process, shouldn’t you be a film critic? Lot of the greats got started in film criticism. Lots of people start their career by criticizing and addressing discrepancies.”

“Like what?” Tashi folds her hands and places her chin atop of them.

“Well, this is kind of a basic example. But The Watermelon Woman. Cheryl Dunye notices this discrepancy in old silent films where Black actors were not credited. And if they were, sometimes they'd be credited by a stereotype like The Mammy or, in the case of the pseudo-documentary film, the Watermelon Woman. And in the film, she’s creating an alternate film history that addresses this erasure of Black actresses and particular sapphic, lesbian Black actresses. So what does Dunye do? Make a cornerstone of Black and lesbian cinema.” You shrug.

“And is it on your top four on Letterboxd?”

“It is, yeah. Do you have Letterboxd?”

“I do. It’s a great way to interact with the fans.”

“Like Sean Baker?”

“We follow each other.” She shrugs. “He likes my reviews every once in a while. I enjoy that he talks about his viewing experience for the movies he watches.”

You pick up the small plate and take a bite of your loaf. The sour cranberry cuts through the sweetness, giving you that perfect balance of tartness and sugar. “Well, if that’s all you want to talk about—”

“I’m giving you the part.”

“What?”

You stare at Tashi with disbelief. She pushes her sunglasses up to rest atop of her head. You just realize that she’s wearing a sleeveless black turtleneck. Her cross necklace glimmers in the sunlight. “Me…the part?”

“You gave the best performance. And everyone in Hollywood is a yes man. I don’t want a yes man. I want someone who’s going to engage with my material critically, who understands what I want to achieve. Who has a knowledge of film history.” Tashi pulls out the script from her purse and sets it atop your laptop. It’s quite hefty. “I want notes. I want revisions. Production doesn’t start until next month. So cancel teaching. Find someone to sub in. Maybe a grad student. You’ll be filming a movie instead.”

A movie with me, was what she was really saying.

And you’d be stupid to miss out on this opportunity.

“Yeah…yeah. Of course. Of course!” You were in utter disbelief.

“Tried to call you to tell you that. But you didn’t pick up.” Tashi stands up from her seat. “The movie’s…a bit out there. Little something I’ve been brewing for years. They want to promote it as the next Get Out and Us.” She rolls her eyes. She pulls out a small notebook and scribbles her phone number down, placing it on top of the script. “It’s anything but. Think about it in terms of…exaggerated autobiography mixed with real life tragedy and homages to Dario Argento and taking inspiration from Santa Sangre.”

You weren’t the only cinephile, it seems.

“Yeah,  yeah. That sounds really interesting.” You swallow your own saliva nervously. “I-I’ll come back with notes.”

“Great.” Tashi reaches out. She holds your chin between her fingers and her thumbs wipe away some crumbs on your lips. Your lips explode with heat, her touch leaving tingles. “You better not disappoint me.”

She pulls her hand away too soon.

“I’ll see you in two weeks. My house. I’ll text you the address.”

You watch her walk back to her car, an Astin Martin. She pulls her sunglasses down and gives you one last glance, as if trying to take you in your natural habitat. Was she studying you? Studying your natural self to get a sense of how she would direct you? She turns to face the road and pulls smoothly out of her parking spot.

And that was how you started working with Tashi Duncan.

[sparklefell]

screw it late night post

(fellswap) FOREBODE AMULET and swapfell: venge nowhere

the roles are like sparkleswap, where barry runs the big bad and doom is the protagonist

for fellswap, it revolves around a cult and everyone being sacrifices (or at least partially like doom here)

for swapfell, it revolves around barry quickly becoming cold, and viewing his patients only as test subjects, striving to do anything at all costs for perfection

credit to @sparkleswap for.... yaknow. this probably won't be continued or anything (it was just for fun!!) but also feel free to ask any questions about either au

[qlala]

so i think the best way to do a coldflash au of the greatest musical of our time, mamma mia, would be—yes i’m aware it’s 3 a.m., why do you ask—

anyway, the best way to do it would be like, a morbid dark comedy take on it where barry’s not trying to find his father, he’s trying to find the person who framed his father. for his mother’s murder. so he’s like ‘okay i’ve reviewed all the case notes, and i’ve narrowed it down to these three men. also, unrelated, iris and eddie, you don’t mind if i invite three people to your wedding last-minute, right?’

and the three men can be like, harrison wells, eobard thawne, and of course, leonard snart

and barry has sophie’s protagonist attitude of “i’ll just know which one it is when i see him,” except obviously, he doesn’t. harrison wells is an asshole, eobard thawne is a creepy asshole, and leonard snart is… flirting with him?

(i have zero notes on the “does your mother know that you’re out” scene from the mamma mia! movie. just do that again, but angrier, because barry isn’t sure if len is taunting him over his mother’s death or just poking fun at their age gap. but it should be exactly as horny)

len would be the first to catch on to what’s going on, because he knows doc allen from iron heights and puts it together, and he would be impressed at what a ballsy idea it was if he wasn’t too busy being mad at barry for what a stupid fucking idea it was instead, inviting the man who killed his mother to a wedding he’s in, to what? give him a shot at slitting barry’s throat in his sleep next?

if that happens, iris will probably cancel this wedding that len fully intends on crashing, so naturally his only option is to follow around iris’s very stupid, very cute best man for the next three days, just to keep him from getting murdered by whichever of the other two men did kill his mother. and, since that includes the previously-mentioned threat of barry getting killed in his sleep, well… he’ll just have to talk his way into barry’s bed so he can keep an eye on him overnight, too

[klonoafan5]

Reverse AU Protagonists - The Teens

formal 

human warlock

grew up as a chipper kid until an unpleasant encounter with scary and discovering that his dad isn’t proud of him made him decide to turn emo

has a enemies to friends arc with her throughout the season

made a team with the rest of the crew and ended up having hero as co-leader (she joined so she could bond with him again)

nearly got replaced with a doppelganger and found out about his inherited connection with the doodler and the void 

got manipulated by barry and was kicked out after killing tony

fought with the others to break the anchors with hate instead of love until he got dragged into a healing arc /hj

got doodlerized after some bad luck with a spell and witnessed his dad’s death

was placed on the throne by his great-grandfather and fused with dood

nearly lost hermie but scary healed him and got kidnapped by barry until the teens saved him and dood

rebuilds his relationship with his family, becomes one of dood’s new anchors, and reconnects with his softer side 

scary 

human cleric

grew up as a peppy soccer player until her mom remarried with terry jr and became goth-punk

insulted formal before the mascot try-outs and was told that she wouldn’t be a good mascot if she tried, so she did and become it out of spite

has a enemies to friends arc with him throughout the season

made a team with the rest of the crew and became co-leaders with hero

found out about her connection with the doodler and the void as well as her being the reason why her step-dad activated code purple

sat on the throne and gained the ability to find anchors

saved hermie from dying 

reconciles with tj and veronica

taylor

human paladin

grew up with both of his parents 

found out that his dad is actually really cool and aspires to be like him until he kills sparrow

had a wake up call after experiencing his life in a simulation

changed his name to ronin sharpblade

met his grandpa in heaven 

lived his dream of fighting angels and killing god 

rebuilds his relationship with nick 

lincoln

human(?) ranger

grew up home-schooled with marco before being transferred to high school

found out that he had another dad who got betrayed by his teammates and inherited the ability to communicate with rats 

discovered that grant was not only there for him growing up, but also changed his dna from human to demon 

found out that his family is bigger than he thought

reconciles with grant and accepts his demon side

[sparklecarehospital]

Do you have other sparklecare AUs you havent shared?

I have 3 others!!!

One is a staff/patient swap AU, I made messy art for it last April but I don't have it on hand. The patients are staff and the staff are patients. The protagonist is Dr. Barium Ill (Bury 'em all) and he's accompanied by others like Nurse Cornelius and Dr. Caroline Cries (Hemera has a different name also, I just can't remember the spelling of it rn)

There's also my Barruni childhood friends AU where Barry and Uni met in their hometown as kids and grew up together and fell in love in their youth

Then there's my variant of that one, which is what I call the "school friends" AU, where the patients are all in school together and are friends :] This one also shows Barry and Uni growing up together but it also includes Cometcare in the form of the love train (Barry liking Polly while Uni likes Barry and Doom likes Uni) and they also all get together in this one but without the trauma >w< 💗💗💗💗

I think I may have come up with others but these are the ones that actually got development to the point I drew art for them

There's also "alternate ways Barruni became canon" AUs I've thought of but I don't think those count as much

[flickys-courage-club]

My Courage The Cowardly Dog AUs:

Main AU - The show is the same except I added my headcanons and my own OCs to it

Caretakers of Anxiety AU - This AU only involves Barry and The Revenge Six. When Barry gets kidnapped by the villains as a small kitten and taken to their home, however, instead of killing him, they began raising the baby with little help from Freaky Fred and the Banana Dealer

Cowboy AU - This AU involves the episode 'Cowboy Courage' but the whole series takes place in Wild West era

2P AU - This AU is inspired by @ppanhwi involving the characters having alternate personalities and apperances. For ex: Courage is brave dog and isn't afraid of anything

Detective AU - This AU takes place in the 1970s-80s across New York. Courage is the main detective, though he is a coward but brave enough on his cases there he also meets with one of the new detectives in town named Barry and his partner Shade

Witch Hunt AU - This AU takes place in the medieval era in which the witch hunt begins

Frostbite Family AU - This AU is about Barry and Team Frostbite. Before Nathan and Teresa died, they had to send Barry who was a baby over to the snowy lands to which Team Frostbite found him. Since they realise that his parents died, they took him in to their place and raise him

Bloodlust Curse AU - This AU focuses on the episode "King Ramses' Curse". It is said that anyone who comes across his slab or himself would face the same plagues but Ramses gained the fourth plague which is his victims being slaughtered to death by thousands of bloodlusted bats

Eternal Night Curse AU - This AU follows a curse of eternal night being said by cat like creatures known as "Dream Cats" that night time will be stay forever in Nowhere. However it is said that if it happens, it will end all life really quickly due to the cold weather and lack of food. This also takes on the OC Crescent who after being free, was desperate to find someone who can play with her little games

Barbers Asylum AU - This AU focuses on Freaky Fred. Since Fred's mother(also the sister of Muriel) couldn't take her son's obsession of shaving hair, she had no choice but to send him to an mental asylum for life. Though the person he is fond who is Muriel, she pays visits to him whenever she is out

Weirdcore/Dreamcore AU - This AU follows the characters in a distorted version of their universe with their morbid appearances based of what they are. Ex: Computer is a computer head. Kitty is a cat plush made of cotton and wool and her mouse toy becomes a real mouse. Bunny is also a bunny plush made out of cotton and wool. Courage is a dog puppet, has stitch marks over him and buttons sewn into his eyes

Gorecore AU - This AU follows the characters in a horror and gory take on their universe, with their appearances being gory. Ex: Courage's eyes and limbs went missing, Katz has spider bites and wounds all over his body and Cajun Fox has burn marks from boiling water or oil, his eyes were sore from sunlight and his glasses are broken

Bad Ending AU - This is a What If... AU which the protagonists didn't get their happy endings. Ex: Courage and Muriel get killed by their enemies in Ball Of Revenge, Bunny and Kitty didn't reunite together due to Bunny meeting her fate at the hands of Mad Dog in The Mask and everyone died in the submarine explosion except for Katz in Katz Under The Sea

Gem AU - This AU is inspired by @welpimspooky it takes on Steven Universe. Courage/Coral and others are gems living across a fallen world

Reunited Family AU - This AU follows Courage and the Bagges meeting two dogs who look a lot like Courage, however the old couple don't realize that the two are Courage's actual parents

The Amazing Digital Circus X Courage The Cowardly Dog AU - This AU follows the TADC story but with CTCD characters as the characters. Ex: Courage has the role as Pomni, Muriel is Ragatha

Humanized AU - This AU is the same as my Main AU except the characters who are anthropomorphic animals or monsters are humans

[the-new-pokespe-futures]

Ngl in your shackled revelations au, I’m imagining doku getting ganged up by the 20+ rivals who are PISSED that he killed their either best friends (or romantic partner in the case of like Blue because those two are pretty much a married couple at this point), the legendary pokemon whom the protagonists bonded with, and even a few of the evil teams like team star or yell because of the above.

also are Liko and Satoshi canon to the verse cuz I’d feel like Dokutaro would research him the most.

Actually, that does happen in the final storyline of the AU. Essentially, they are EXTREMELY PISSED OFF when they find out. However, they can't immediately go in guns blazing, they need to defeat all the mind controlled pokemon and trainers, knock every single secret base out, take out and find the 25-27 generals of Pecharunt. It'll be explained in due time. Speaking of the generals, some are actually the real killers of the protags and some have connections to some of the them:

Ethan: Ethan encountered one of the generals in Bellsprout Tower. The general proceeded to chase and attack Ethan. Ethan, thinking it’s just a regular pokemon to attack him, however, this proved to be a near-fatal mistake. Not being on the same level, his team got wiped, Ethan couldn’t even see the appearance properly for some reason, and he felt one thing that overpowered him: fear. He needed to run, and get out of here. However, due to the general’s ability to produce oil and paint that can mess with the mind (in this case, cause extreme dizziness), Ethan stumbled through the tower and barely got out before passing out. He was hurried to the nearby hospital to rest. He was still a bit shaken from this incident.

Lucas: In this AU, he's the professor's assistant, but does accompany Dawn and Barry later on, however, he does get whisked off to Hisui by Arceus and goes by the alias Rei prior to the events of the game. Later he ends up finding a 'shiny' gligar when completing the dex. Let's just say, it wasn't a gligar. That incident scarred him and was one of the few times it scared the hell out of him. The same Pokémon is also the reason why he stopped his journey (when he got back in Sinnoh) after the 4th badge as the same Pokemon killed one of his team members. So he hasn’t battled since then. He only got back into the battling after some encouragement from Dawn and Barry.

Hilda: In this AU, she alongside her twin are the heroes chosen by the dragons. She encountered one of the generals, thinking that he’s a regular trash bag when she wanted to throw her trash. She only found out when it stood up at a rapid speed upon noticing her appearance. She just finished her 5th gym badge so feeling slightly confident, she took the Pokémon on wanting to catch it, it proved to be a mistake. The general wiped out her team but he wasn’t done yet, the moment he saw Hilda, he said in clear English: “You are the one”, before approaching Hilda at a rapid speed, Hilda didn’t know what to do so she just ran. When she looked back she saw that the general was wielding a…knife? It was pretty late at night so she couldn’t see. Just before the ‘knife’ stabbed her, her brother (Hilbert), Cheren and Bianca arrived to help her. They all engaged in a brawl before the general had to retreat. Till this day, neither knew who or what attacked them.

Serena: She alongside her neighbor Calem are the main protags in this AU. She encountered one of the generals in Lumoise City, she got an invitation when she woke up in the morning in the Pokémon Centre. The invitation says that she was invited to an Opera Play called ‘The Phantom of The Opera’. The invitation says to follow a specific set of instructions to the place. The place ended up being an abounded Opera house in Lumoise city, far from any place. She was told to pay 4000 Pokédollars to enter despite the lack of the door. Nevertheless, she paid the exact amount before entering. Serena disappeared for exactly 8 days, 8 hours, 8 minutes and 8 seconds before she was discovered lying unconscious outside the Opera House. She claims to recall the events, when she woke up, there was a piece of paper in her hands that says ‘Thank you for watching The Phantom of The Opera, we hope to see you again!’

Florian: In this AU, he alongside his twin are the protags and he is the Violet side. He encountered one of the generals when he was looking for a dunsparse for his team. When he encountered the general, he was about to battle thinking it was a regular dunsparse, the general revealed the whole thing before Florian could send out a Pokeball. The general’s eyes turned red and blue, flashing through both with swirls like when he was hypnotizing Florian. When the general was done, he went back underground with Florian falling unconscious after being hypnotized. Florian woke up the next morning as his sister found him, he mentioned that he doesn’t recall anything that night. He claims to be fine but for the next 8 days, he started to have an insatiable greed for power. So he trained his team relentlessly and not caring for anybody. It only stopped after Juliana and their mother’s support helped him. Till now, he doesn’t know why he had this feeling.

Juliana: Like with Florian, same info except she represents the scarlet side. She met a general outside Levincia city. When she accidentally encountered one, it appeared to be friendly and didn’t seem to attack her, ultimately she decided to catch it. This proved to be a mistake. The general dropped its disguise and shocked Juliana badly, leaving her with some electrical burns. Her pokemon, went out to battle the general, while some helped her to carry up on Koraidon. The general quickly defeated her pokemon with ease, while the remaining got returned and Koraidon immediately dashed as fast as possible away from the attacker. However, the general was fast and was able to close in the distance, however, due to being close to Medali City, Rika and Larry were to able to deter away the general, and because of the need to conceal their identities, the general left. Once that happened, Juliana was treated for her injuries with Florian being informed of the situation.

Now, sorry if I rambled on for too long but yeah, that’s what happened. And the people who are close to the protags are royally screwed.

As for Liko and Ash, they’re not canon to this AU. This only has the main series games. However, in my trivia post about Pecharunt, this one should ambiguously answer your question

So, yes, he did actually do some research on both Ash and Liko on Bulbapedia (yes, that Bulbapedia). He’s even aware of other dimensions, AUs and timelines, you can see the post relating to his quotes. However, this does mean he’s aware of your ‘Kaijumorpha’ Au as well as ‘Scars of Black and White’. His main thoughts are interesting and ‘Ghetsis being Ghetsis’ respectively. Also, I would say if Kaijuran (Kaiju Kieran) and SR Pecharunt fought. It’s a one-sided beatdown for Kaijuran, details on his power level next time.

Well that’s all I have.

[hidingoutbackstage]

This is a problem with lots of fandoms at large but it’s true for Resident Evil as well so I’m gonna be specific and annoying about it. The men in the series will be assumed to have their own lives with their own depth and be their own people, while the women can only be defined by their proximity to the men. Even in canon, that’ll often be the case. Ada’s never in media that doesn’t have Leon. Female-centered games or games with a female protagonist will still have a majority male cast or characters related to men. In re3 Jill is the only relevant female character, in Code Veronica Claire and Alexia are the only female characters, in Rev2 Claire is the protagonist but Moira is defined by being Barry’s daughter and Alex is defined by being Albert’s sister etc. In canon properties that focus on the men, the male and female supporting cast are treated differently by the fandom. Best example, RE4 (esp in the wake of the remake). Luis is given so much love and care and headcanons and theories and attention, while Ashley, the secondary main character, is given jack shit. Moushley was probably the best possible thing to come of her existence in re4make because it gave her a cute gimmick and jokes that weren’t sexual harassment like the first time around. No one assumes Ashley has a life outside of Leon. No one makes headcanons about her life growing up as a politician’s daughter, but they care about how Luis grew up. No one makes headcanons about Ashley’s life post-4, but Luis Lives AUs are obsessed with what he does post-4. People brush past the trauma Ashley explicitly endured on screen in 4 to talk about what Luis was up to off screen and how he and Leon should’ve made out or fucked during it. What’s the only real difference? Ashley’s a woman

[interstellarbozo]

My few cents for a sparklecare swap au

Barry/Uni - Pretty obvious. Protagonist/deuteragonist.

Caroline/Hemera/Jay - I honestly don't know. No matter what, at least one of these three will end up being left out.

Doom/Mood - Siblings.

Mel/Cyn - Pairing.

Cuddles/Prickles - Shitty cheapskates we see in Sparklecare and Wedoncare respectively. Not that great of a swap, but eh.

[love-is-a-pearl]

I think Pearlshipping is cute, but your last post has me wondering what DP would have been like with Dawn as the main protagonist and Ash nowhere to be seen. Who do you think the companions might have been?

That's a good question 🤔

If Ash retired before DP there is the chance they could've gone for battler Dawn, like Platinum and AU purple Dawn (could those be a hint :0c?) Cynthia is super iconic and having the endgame be a battle against her would be something they would absolutely want to include (i mean we even got it in JN so.. yup)

But if Dawn stayed as coordinator then its possible they could've gone for Lucas? Or a anime OC to be the main character? Again, Cynthia is too iconic so I can't see them sidelining the Gym challenge in the case of main character coordinator Dawn situation.

Maybe Barry could be the main character?! He fits the "shonen" stereotype that pokeani loves so I could see him being the one replacing Ash. And thus we keep Dawn doing contests.

So… Barry and Dawn. That leaves the 3rd slot empty.

I would love to say one of the stats trainers. Having Cheryl or Marley to take a big sister role in the place of Brock could be fun but I doubt they would do that.. Mira and Buck could work I guess, but I'm dunno what their goals could possibly be.

If we go for the gym leader thing… Only Maylene and Candice have ages that match, but they're too far in the game to make sense so… idk…

Maybe a Goh&Ash situation would work better? Since this hypothetical scenario could still use the general ideas from a "scrapped" Ash season and thus just delete the Brock parts since they weren't that many to begin with.

Either that or like.... Sorrel and Verity lmao

[the-fantastic-leo]

Pokemon AU Fanfics I would/might write

Down To Earth - This AU takes place after Pokemon Adventures: Platinum. Cyrus and the Team Galactic admins change their identities and run around Sinnoh evading the law. They've stopped committing crimes, but the International Police are after them for trying to end the universe. Cyrus now goes by Sirius (Real creative, I know), Mars goes by Maia, Saturn goes by Sol, Jupiter goes by Juliet. The story alternates between Galactic adapting to living a somewhat normal life (found family style) and high-stakes action-packed chase scenes where the cops show up and Galactic are run out of whatever town they've been staying at.

Survey Master - Ingo appears in Hisui where the MC does at the start of PLA, joins the Galaxy Expedition Team, and goes on the MC's adventure instead. His initial partner is either Litwick or Klink and evolves over the course of his adventure. Barry has also been brought to Hisui and is Sneasler's warden because you can't stop me and also his name is Pearl in the manga.

The Superstar Project - In this AU, Clavell doesn't let the protagonists of Scarlet/Violet off the hook for entering the crater. He assigns them a month of community service. Nemona, Arven, Penny and Macy (MC) are required to camp at Star Training Centers and help with developing them. Nemona goes to Eri's camp, Arven to Ortega's, Penny to Giacomo's and Macy to Mela's. Mela's STC is the first to open, and Macy is then sent to Atticus' camp. (I imagine he'd need the least help.) The story focuses on the episodic hijinx of the characters trying to organize the chaotic Star Bases.

[duckapus]

The Union of Scorned Avatars

Barry

Protagonist of the puzzle game "Blook" and leader of the Union. If you saw my posts about the first arc of the Origins Interrupted au you know what his deal is.

Lord Ramagog

A massive generic-looking demon who is the villain protagonist of Tactical RPG "Hellking." The Admins overestimated how much the memes would dampen his evil nature and lust for conquest.

Red

From Angry Birds. No one's entirely sure why he joined the Union since he only talks in bird noises.

Frenzy the Chupacabra

From a blatant Sonic ripoff. His story is similar to Barry's, with neglectful guardians and a bad reaction to meme energy resulting in nearly all his friends getting driven away. It was made worse by the fact that he was already a little unhinged and violent to begin with.

Doppelganger Arle

This is gonna take a bit to explain.

So in the series lore(at least as much as I understand it), the change in tone between the original Madou Monogatari games and the Puyo Puyo games is because the world got destroyed by God and then remade by the series' main villain Satan. Yes, those God and Satan. The only survivor of the original world's destruction besides Satan was the main protagonist of both series Arle Nadja, or at least her soul. After Satan remade the world using both of their memories as a base, he inserted Arle into it with no memory of the previous one, or at least...part of her.

It turns out her soul got split in half when things went boom, and the half that got left behind was just floating in the void for what it perceived as thousands of years. That soul piece eventually found its way into the new world and was extremely unhappy with getting forgotten and replaced(neither Arle knows that they're two halves of a whole, they each think the other is a copy), so she set up a trap to get revenge on Satan and defeat Arle, since in their world two of the same person can't exist for long at the same time, so whoever's considered strongest gets to stay.

Anyway, Current Arle managed to beat "Doppelganger" Arle and free Satan from her mind control, and Doppel fades away like you'd expect...only to show up in other things down the line, since she's both not a normal copy and too stubborn to die.

Anyway, back to SMG4 stuff, because both of them are Arle Nadja, the Avatar Code got split between the two of them, and the addition of Meme Energy Adaptation Insanity and two more Arle lookalikes did not help with Doppel's already horrible mental state.

Also, due to the Avatar being two halves of a whole idiot, their universe is a little unstable. Not enough to be immediately dangerous, but still cause for concern.

[yukidragon]

Idk if you've had this ask yet but since the Sauce has made an Alice In Wonderland AU where Shaun is Cheshire Cat, what do you think the other roles of the love interests are in said universe?

Well, for starters, I would say that MC would have to be Alice. They’re the protagonist who had their world turned upside-down after all. Plus, they’re surrounded by crazy people if my theory that the romantic leads are all yandere is correct.

I find it kind of funny that my version of the MC is also named Alice, so she’s doubly suitable for the role. I didn’t even learn of the Cheshire Cat AU until well after I picked that name.

I think Jack fits the role of Mad Hatter quite well, just because the character’s outfit is always flamboyant and it fits a clown so very well. The Mad Hatter is often paired up with Alice in reimaginings of the story and becomes her companion as well.

Though Jack could fit the role of the Queen of Hearts as well for taking control of everyone, including Alice. Plus he would be the one most fitting to declare someone should lose their head. Of course that would be potentially anyone but Alice in this case...

Still, I’ve got to go with Mad Hatter for Jack because the look would just suit him really well. This AU is more about the style than the plot, really.

Ian would probably be the white rabbit or the march hare given it would be the perfect opportunity to put him in his Halloween Costume again, just with an Alice in Wonderland flare. I can see him in either role, as his cheating put MC into this vulnerable state of mind that likely is why Jack got into the picture, thus starting the crazy path their life has gone down to begin with. However, he could also be the March Hare since his role in the story is similar to the Mad Hatter and Ian does take up the role of the rebooted Jack...

If I had to pick one of the two for Ian though, it would probably be the white rabbit. The white rabbit can be timid at times, but also manic and aggressive. Plus Alice has a hard time letting go of her chase of the white rabbit even though it really would be better for her if she did...

Nick is a tricky one to pick. After looking over all the characters, I think the closest pick for him is the Dormouse, who panics at the word “cat” (only in this case it’s “Jack”) and needs to have his face smeared in jam to calm down. (Clawing at his face perhaps?) Not to mention he’s always sleeping, perhaps because he was haunted by nightmares and not getting enough sleep?

Moon Pie, of course, would take the role Alice’s pet cat Dinah. Of course in this universe she would probably be snagged by Cheshire Cat Shaun at some point, but, hey, the more craziness the better, right?

Oh, I know someone who would fit the role of the Queen of Hearts better than Jack - Barry! Remember to clean the counters, Alice, or it’s off with your head!

@channydraws @earthgirlaesthetic @sai-of-the-7-stars @cheriihoney @illary-kore @okamiliqueur      

[klonoafan5]

Reverse AU Protagonists - The Dads

henry 

half-elf rogue

last name’s not oak but willow

born in faerun with ron and taught by barry to see him as a enemy until they met face to face and became friends

found out that willy killed him and spent his life alone until he woke up on earth

repressed his memory out of grief until they got transported into faerun

saved lark and sparrow from a vampire pretending to be him in roqueporte

inherited a strong connection to the doodler from his grandmother along with ron (it manifests in a mindscape known as the woods)

builds a strong relationship with his sons after the events of s1 and is still alive in s2 making a shelter on earth with ron after terry jr activated code purple

lost mercedes but can go in and out of heaven to see her

becomes one of dood’s new anchors after the teens free them and defeat barry

ron 

human druid

full name is ron stamp-may

born in faerun with henry and taught by willy to see him as a enemy (he thought he was a worm) until they met face to face and became friends

almost died by willy’s hands at 12 only to be saved by dood and wake up on earth 

got adopted by beth and befriended glenn and casey

grew up with them, reunited with henry, and became a wingman to samantha and terry sr

made a promise with terry sr to take care of sam and tj

successfully convinced terry jr not to continue with the ritual in neverwinter and faced his past while traveling through faerun with the dads 

inherited a strong connection to the doodler from his granduncle along with henry (it manifests in a watery mindscape)

gets betrayed by tj at the end of s1 BUT is still alive in s2 making a shelter on earth with henry after terry jr activated code purple

rebuilds his relationship with tj after the teens defeat barry

glenn

human barbarian

has wild magic

met ron and befriended him as a child

lost his mom silvia in a accident and was raised by bill until he died

met morgan and got married

accidentally made a blood deal and Changed nick also by accident in meadowshade

became a time traveler for a short amount of time

bonded with paeden while exploring faerun and found out that he’s actually his dad

made amends with bill and nick at the end of s1 and is in heaven in s2 along with mercedes and their grandparents

darryl

human bard

met carol and married her 

lost her and frank

raised grant by himself until he and the dads got transported to faerun

helped him with the battle axe of hatred in waterdeep and got sent to meth bay where he became the rat king

got replaced by darnell 

died by barry’s hands and came back as a demon

found out that frank has been mind controlled by barry and freed him 

rebuilds his relationship with grant and remarried carol at the end of s1 and lives in hell in s2 

gets turned back into a human after the teens defeat barry and sit on the throne of god

[danvssomethingorother]

I have definitely been watching too much final destination but I want a resident evil au where protagonists are being hunted by death but unlike in final destination, they don’t know it.

Their first appearances the deaths would have been simple. Leon was supposed to arrive on time and die in the initial fall of the RPD. Chris and Jill were supposed to die against Wesker. Rebecca and Barry were supposed to die before the manor (mainly saying this cause one or the other is dead whichever version you play.)

Claire and Sherry may have been destined to live after Raccoon but Claire was probably supposed to die thanks to umbrella and Sherry because of the us government.

But because they all survived it caused a domino effect. Leon being late because of the STARs investigation, Sherry living because Leon, Claire living because Chris lived. Then they keep pissing death off by making more and more survivors on accident.

So that’s why the characters keep running from more and more insane monsters.

[epicspheal]

Since Ash has just departed from the anime and new protagonists are going to replace him I figured I'd ask. How would you do the same for your own OCs in the Cactusverse?

Hi there namelessbaron! Good question! This is kind of standard for cactusverse honestly since it is a primarily gameverse-centric AU (breakdown of canon influences goes 80% games, 10% manga 10% anime) basically when the credits roll for the game that's when the main story for the protagonist ends. While the protagonists (both OCs and Canon) may show up in different regions at various times they only are in the spotlight once. Of course after the credits roll they still have lives that continue. From Hisui to Paldea Akari continues being part of the Survey Corps while also helping her mom and Cogita preserve as much of the Celestica people's history as they can. Red (after being talked down Mt. Silver) continues being a traveling trainer until he gets thrown to Hisui where he becomes even more of a living legend than he already is. When he gets back and regains his memories he ends up deciding to settle down for a bit in Alola at the Battle Tree May divides her time between conquering the battle frontier in Hoenn (and eventually Sinnoh) while also helping her dad Professor Birch out with research.

Dawn after the whole distortion world events is just over battling for a bit and decides to take up contests like her mom does but eventually with the help of Barry she does regain her love for battling.

Ethan after beating Red on Mt. Silver decides he wants to join Silver in becoming a G-man to help protect not only Johto and Kanto but other regions across the world.

Jack gets his butt handed to him by Leon and loses his title of Galar champion and because of the multiple crimes he committed that gym challenge season goes to jail. Hilbert after beating Alder decides to look for N and travels the world just always just missing N whenever he tracks him down. He eventually goes back to Unova and reunites with N and his friends/family. He decides to help N, Hugh and the rest of the good part of Team Plasma reunite people with their stolen Pokemon Cami after becoming champion and finding the lost Kanto Trio (Red/Blue/Leaf) and helping them regain the memories they lost from being transported to Unova finishes up medical school and goes to work as a doctor on Poni Island.

Rosa after helping to rid Unova of Team Plasma for good decides to split her time between the Pokemon World Tournament and Pokestar Studios Jabari spends a good portion of his time repairing the reputation of the Kalos League after their disastrous handling of the Team Flare incident. He also becomes a grand duke at the Battle Chateau Marsha works with Kukui to help establish the Alolan league while maintaining Alolan culture and helping to rehabilitate Team Skull

Calla works on improving the reputation of Poison-type Pokemon (particularly Eternatus) but eventually decides to go back to school and become a Pokemon Professor Valen begins to work with Looker and the International Police in being an Ultra-Space Explorer to help return Ultra Beasts back to their home dimension Raihan after he obtains champion Rank in Paldea returns home to Galar to finally defeat Leon and then they run the Battle Tower together!