#the villain Au is fire btw

[agathazinha2009]

So, everyone in Dinotrux fandom have the Main Au and random Aus right?

I love alternative Universes, the not main ones especifically. I have Two alternative Au besides the Main one. The first is a Swapped, The villains are Heros, and Heros are villains. and the Second is the Dinotrux x My little pony Au, Why? cause half Dinotrux voice actors also act in Mlp(Ashleigh Ball, Matt hill, Andrew Francis), In my head, Dinotrux and Mlp are like a alternative universe of each other lmao deal with this.

Now, What are you guys alternative Au besides the main one?

[satansbiggestkinnie]

A little Izumi approached her dad and her aunt and uncle. Apparently Sokka (her dad),was getting tea with his father in law uncle Iroh. With one question on her cute innocent mind. "Papa,auntie,uncle Aang." She bowed despite not needing to. She was to polite for her own good. Aang chuckled. Zuko smiled. "What is it,Turtleduck?" Katara lifted her up and put her on her lap,while Aang pat her her head.

"I had a question. All my friends have grandparents,do I have any?"

A jolt went up Zuko's spine. Perhaps it was heaven sent? Hell if she was dead in Zuko's opinion. Aang stood there nervously. While Katara tried to come up with a response. "Uh," Katara chuckled nervously. "Well,sweetie..." Zuko took a nervous sip of tea to try to calm himself down.

"And what was Azula like when you were children,papa?"

Zuko spat his tea out and coughed aggressively. Aang stood up to try to help him. Katara waterbend it out of the ground,while Aang tried to slap Zuko's back,rather hurting him instead.

"Well,auntie Azula is good now."

"Was my grandpa a good father?"

Zuko was on the ground,if he wasn't he would be laughing at this ridiculous suggestion. Katara decided to take initiativ.

"Long ago-"

"THERE WERE AWFUL AND SHITTY PEOPLE!"

They turned around to see Sokka standing next to Iroh. Aang swiftly covered Izumi's ears.

"Hi? I'm right here you know?" Azula stated from the back. Chuckling to herself. She walked over to Izumi and took her into her arms. "Good job."

Bonus:

Izumi sat in her papa's lap. "Okay,I'm going to teach you something very important. Alright,repeat after me. Azula always lies,Azula always lies." "Azula always lies."

Azula and Katara peaked through the door,an offended Azula next to a smug,teasing Katara.

Iroh and Aang were lecturing Sokka,that as Izumi's dad,he shouldn't curse in front of her. Albeit,Iroh, slightly kinder than Aang. Toph was laughing her ass off.

[klm-zoflorr]

Agnes Montague, the villain Phoenix :33

I used a stained glass filter on this one, looove how it looks. Also here are a few versions without as much editing so you can see the details.

Agnes is one of my favorites in this AU. And in general too I guess lol. So I made her entirely too overpowered! She's obviously based off Dark Phoenix/Jean Grey/The Phoenix from Xmen. Without as much of the hero-turned-villain vibes Jean has, Agnes can be nice but she's mostly a wrong-doer.

I'd probably say she's the most powerful super-human in the 'verse, or at least where the story takes place. Her and Magnus are buddy-buddies because. Um. I just want them to be.

So, her powers, right. She can control and

produce fire, lots of it. She can fly. The wings only appear when she wants them to btw. I think she has some form of telekinesis, sure why not plus I don't have a lot of people like that in the verse (and I'm quickly running out of canon characters anyways loool). I don't think I'll give her too many psychic powers? Maybe just some ability to block psychic attacks. Oh well nevermind lets just make her cooler let's say she can attack people psychically, as in not quite read their thoughts (even if I think she could grasp on some of the things you're thinking while she's there) but like, cause intense pain to her victim and maybe even kill them by hitting them with her mind.

Her hands are more like talons or claws, with tough nails and strong, too. She can rip someone's face off or hold herself up with them.

The nature of her powers make them somewhat incontrollable and ill-suited for precision work or limiting damage/casualties.

Despite all of that, Agnes is very tired and looks as such. Her abnormal body warmth makes her sleep poorly and not very much, if she isn't setting the room on fire or throwing objects around when she's having nightmares. She holds off from getting intoxicated in any way because she might level off the whole island if she did.

And the cherry on the cake... She can ressurect herself. AND others. Let the holy cleansing fire engulf you and be reborn anew with your sins scrubbed clean yadda yadda you know the deal. It resets people to a younger age and cures any ailment they have, so that's a rather extreme form of healing too if you will.

Naturally, with that sort of powers the Cult Of The Lightless Flame (named like that because Agnes hoggs all the light) treats her as a goddess. Which isn't that far from the truth actually.

Suffice to say in the story she is not the big bad our heroes have to take down because that would be straight-up impossible.

Design notes and misc:

-I usually imagine her with dark hair, but for this AU she really just had to be a redhead I feel.

-Yes, in the art she doesn't have feet but that's just because I got lazy.

-She wears practical gloves, a guilded shiny supersuit, impractical shoulder pads and a white flowy skirt and shoulder sash that both get set on fire very frequently. This is meant to evoke how she mostly doesn't care or need to be dressing appropriately for fighting, she's too powerful to need to.

-She doesn't carry anything on herself either, no pockets no bags no nothing, she has goons for that. She's just there to look impressive and deus ex machina everyone's asses to the ground if they get too annoying.

-She's lived a long life, done a lot, was in the military at some point which influenced a lot of how she thinks. Again, she CAN be unfrivolous and practical, she just doesn't want to and has to remain a symbol. She can shoot a gun pretty well.

-Her "crown" (it's a paper crown) is something children that admired her gave her. She's very very careful not to burn it, but can't wear it everywhere either

-She's not much of a strategizer or a long-term planner unlike Magnus, she just doesn't see the point in that and she already has everything she could ever want. She could have the potential to rule the city instead of having everyone vaguely follow her lead, but she's just not much of a tyrant.

Oh, yeah, and Jude. Jude Perry is Agnes' right hand woman and closest friend, her villain name is Lampadarius and she can make anything that isn't organic matter melt/heat up (like those cans in MAG012: First Aid). One of her favorite tricks is heating up her gloves and burning people like that. It pisses her off when you call her Agnes' guard dog. She's been ressurected a few times by the Phoenix, so been around for a while too.

[isjasz]

So there's this song. From the second game from a game series game called "I expect you to die" and it's giving showman Scar so much I'm OBSESSED

It's called "The spy and the liar" and it has old timey vibes?? Idk how to explain but this song has been CONSUMING my mind and I had to share

It's so good for the swap au??? Also a spy au would be cool too aaahh

I NEED more people to know about these songs istg I'm gonna explode

(COG IN THE MACHINE IS ALSO REALLY GOOD BTW)

https://youtu.be/d-NFcJAfugw?si=wN_SCJ2yc4Wrbq_8

EXPLODING YOU WITH MY MIND OH MY GODS THESE ARE??? AMAZING???????

The Spy and the Liar fit Spectacle PERFECTLY ITS UNCANNY AT THIS POINT "if all the world's a stage, lets set it on fire" "I'll be the liar" "I will tear part all these works of art that disguise you" rattling the bars of my cage this is so cool its so him ohymhojsozjdsoajdawoijwiejawo

AND I LOVE COG AND THE MACHINE AS WELL @boonbeenblade said villain tango real. ALSO THE FIRST SONG "The best of the best still die like the rest" SCREAMING

Dude im obsessed. im def watching playthroughs of these games like right after this these are SO COOL💥💥💥

[modernsuperhero]

Btw ages ago I came up with a Scarian au where Scar is of course the mayor of a lovely city. He's quite wealthy too - before his venture into politics he designed the very successful Scarland theme park, which rejuvenated the city's economy and boosted his own pockets too. He's very active in the community and generally beloved by the people.

He is also secretly HotGuy, the city's vigilante superhero, using his wealth from Scarland and his connections as mayor to try to untangle the mess of corruption and organized crime throughout the city! And also like, saving cats from atop trees and things if he happens to come across those too. The city however has recently become host to a deathly parasite, the lethally beautiful Mother Spore. Because she's an independent villain, HotGuy has no way to anticipate her attacks and just has to drop everything when she starts to try to take over another city block or something.

However, HotGuy is not the only person running around the city with a mask and a dream! There's one character who's known just as much for his menace as for his heroism: Poultry Man! Poultry Man may not be a villain, but far be it from him to veer away from pranks or minor shoplifting. HotGuy has chased him down after catching him egging buildings or nicking treats he didn't pay for, but he's also shown up to help HotGuy pull survivors out of the water when there was a terrible bridge collapse, or help break up fights that start to get too violent.

And then, of course, there's the final masked figure in HotGuy's career: his sidekick, CuteGuy! He simply appeared one day, kitted out in military grade weapons and body armor spray-painted pink and white, complete with frills and bows and bullets, asking how he can help. HotGuy is skilled at combat and firing his bow, but CuteGuy is on another level. For some reason, he follows HotGuy's every command to a T, never taking the lead despite obviously having extensive experience. Despite his compliance, he refuses to discuss his past or identity.

Somehow, though, none of these three characters are ever in the same place. If Mother Spore is ravaging a street, Poultry Man doesn't make a peep, and CuteGuy never comes to HotGuy's aid. Poultry Man always gets away with his pilfered knickknacks before CuteGuy arrives, and so on and so forth. And you see, Scar is no fool. He knows all three's secret identities - or rather, identity.

[More under cut]

It is none other than one of Scar's long-time friends and neighbor: Grian.

Grian has known Scar since his dreams for Scarland were nothing more than doodles in his teenage sketchbook. He adores knitting, baking, and taking his cats (however unwillingly) on walks outside. Scar moved into the mayoral home when he was elected, but he still owns his old house right next door to Grian's. Grian is a cheery architect who proudly boasts about being Scar's friend.

And Scar has no doubt in his mind he is also secretly terrorizing the innocent people around him, and that he has both attempted to kill, protect, and annoy Scar as HotGuy on countless occasions.

...Okay, he doesn't know WHY Grian is doing that, or... how, but it HAS to be him! He swears all of their voices are the same, and even with the different masks on they all look exactly like him! And, he's never seen any two of them in one place! Scar is sure Grian's innocent civilian facade is nothing more than that.

It also explains some things: Mother Spore's flirtatious remarks whenever they fight, Poultry Man's annoying cackling when he leads Scar on another chase across town, and CuteGuy's insistence on keeping him alive and following him like a shadow.

Grian and Scar used to be close. But as Scar's life got more complicated, he had less and less time to spend with his friends.

As baffling as it is, Scar is certain that while he was gone Grian became a supervillain of epic proportions, and he's probably only just begun toying with HotGuy and the rest of the city for his own amusement.

...

The truth is Scar is completely wrong!

Grian, Mother Spore, Poultry Man, and CuteGuy are, legitimately, four different people (or entities, looking at Mother Spore) who have never met.

Or, well, that depends on your definition of "met". :)

[hogwartslegacyreactions2]

Hello it's me again can I request the hlc students, professor and villians meeting THE VILLAIN AU of MC, (Mc is a dark entity who was stored under wookrook castle after the first ancient magic stop was open they let out !villain! Mc who's a 11ft entity who is sassy, manipulative, playfull/ Mc in this au plays a game with her victims if they lose they lose a limb if they win they get some power (btw this is a discarded au of mine Lol)

A/N: If I'm following your idea correctly, MC is not human but a dark entity that manifested inside the repository under Rookwood Castle? I can roll with that.

HLC REACT TO VILLIAN!MC

WARNING: angst,death, destruction, mayhem, evil!MC

RANROK: Finally. The Rookwood repository was unearthed. This one was the largest by far, he could practically smell the magic buzzing within its cage. In his haste, the magic beam from his hand killed a loyalist that didn't get out of the way fast enough. The repository shattered, releasing the large black and red mass of magic.

Something was different. The magic didn't automatically come to him. It didn't attach itself to his armor or go inside his body. Instead it writhed formless on the ground. He angrily shot another beam of magic, but it had no effect.

The magic did not come to him. Instead it started to rise. Higher and higher until the mass was near the height of the surrounding trolls. The magic swirled in place, gradually forming the silhouette of a human. Two exceptionally bright red lights glow where eyes would be.

The goblins behind him started to back up, looking to him for orders. He stared up at the unknown entity, unsure of the correct action. His magic had done nothing.

His hesitation was his downfall. The creature of undiluted dark magic simply pointed a finger at him and he felt as though his own soul was being ripped from his body. All the magic he had collected from previous repositories flew from him to the entity.

He fell dead while the entity seemed to grow stronger. Its form was more defined, more humanoid. The faceless head split across the front into a gnarled, chaotic smile.

VICTOR ROOKWOOD: He was outside Hogsmeade negotiating his next step with Harlow when the sky above went red. He pulls out his wand, thinking he's ready for what's about to come out of the sky when he sees it.

A large winged creature, not unlike a dragon, swooped down from above. A blast of dark and red energy came from the entity's hands and vaporized entire rows of houses. The protective barrier around Hogsmeade is entirely ineffective in stopping it.

He and Harlow try to flee, but the entity lands within feet of them. The weight of the creature shakes the earth and knocks them to the ground. He rolls onto his back and starts firing every destructive spell he knows, including the killing curse. His magic is merely absorbed.

A low shrill laugh pierces the air, he looks up in terror to see the sound coming from the entity standing over him. An impossibly tall humanoid figure with undefined features was staring down at him. They seem to be made of liquid chaos and fire, their skin constantly shifting and morphing. From the back came four large wings, like those of giant bats. They too seem to be constantly changing shape and definition.

The last thing he heard were his own screams as darkness descended upon him.

~~~

SEBASTIAN SALLOW: The school was in chaos. The alarm bells rang out as professors rushed to collect the students for emergency evacuation. He fought against the crowd to get to the nearest floo powder stantion. He needed to get to Feldcroft.

He nearly reaches one when the wall next to him blasts apart. He's thrown off his feet and half buried in rubble. His ears ring. The screaming of the students around him feel distant when he sees a horrific being approach him. It glares down at him curiously.

He couldn't reach for his wand, his arm was broken. The creature reached down towards him and he tries to shuffle away when he feels a slight tugging inside of his chest, like his own heart was trying to leave through his ribs. An oily black substance oozes from his skin, shining red like blood and he believes he's dying. But then...he feels nothing. Not fear, not anger, not pain. He doesn't need to go to Feldcroft. He doesn't need to do anything...he doesn't want anything.

He's left there in the rubble. The creature absorbed what they took from him and moved on through the school, heading downward.

OMINIS GAUNT: He's lost in the crowd and couldn't find Sebastian, no matter how many times he called. He's forcefully shoved through the hall and to an evacuation point. No matter how much he protested, he was floo-ed away without explanation of what was happening. The best he could tell was at the school was attacked by something. It had to be huge by the sounds of crashing and all the screaming. Whatever it was was horrible and he was slightly grateful he didn't have to lay eyes on it.

It's later he overhears people saying it's the end of the world. An unstoppable monster immune to magic was destroying the wizarding world as they knew it. He never heard from either of the Sallows. He doesn't know what to do or where to go. He's never felt so lost and alone in his life.

ANNE SALLOW: Her uncle rushed her away from Feldcroft without explanation. Only that it was urgent and they needed to leave the valley immediately. She asks repeatedly about Sebastian and Ominis but her uncle insists that the boys will be kept safe by the professors and likely taken to the ministry to be reunited with families.

She never sees her brother or her best friend ever again. No matter how much it hurts her, she screams and spits at her uncle for leaving Sebastian behind. Even if there was no time, he could have at least tried.

IMELDA REYES: She gets escorted away with other students and eventually gets back to her family. With them being well off, they could afford to flee the country. Not that it may matter in the long run. Any bit of news she could get her hands on, wizarding or muggle, talk of the end of days.

NATSAI ONAI: Brave soul that she is, she fights against the flow of panicked students to try and find her mother. She instead finds the monster cornering a group of second years. She casts at it, shouting for the young students to run, and gets the attention of the entity.

It stands to its full height, unfazed by her attempts to attack it. She stares back, showing no fear. The entity shows its horrible grin and echoed words, that sounded like screams of the damned, came from it. "You... look... fun..."

GARRETH WEASLEY: His aunt finds him before he knows what's happening. She shoves an old rag in his hands and he gets pulled away by it. The rag was a portkey back to his home. He sits on the floor, dumbfounded and confused. He doesn't get word until later at Hogwarts had been destroyed. Unknown casualties. He never saw his aunt again.

LEANDER PREWETT: He runs past the hall the monster is down. He only catches a glimpse of Natty in the monster's grasp, black magic being pulled straight out of her throat. He's in a blind panic for the nearest floo. Once he's on the other side of it, far from Hogwarts, he vomits on his own shoes.

AMIT THAKKAR, EVERETT CLOPTON: Both of them make it out together with many other students. The ministry had been alerted to the emergency and sending every auror they had to Hogwarts. The students being rushed in were collected in the main area around the fountain. They stayed together, trying to find comfort in their familiarity amongst the chaos.

POPPY SWEETING: Her only thought was to get home. Get back to her gran. They needed to- CRASH! The wall in front of her caved in as the entity came through it with another person. She didn't have to worry about her gran anymore. Or anything ever again.

~~~

ELEAZAR FIG: He sees the Onais with the monster. NATSAI was on the ground, Professor Onai standing numbly. He fires at the entity and distracts it. His magic doesn't seem to harm it, It just grins and rushes him. He gets shoved through the stone wall behind him. So many of his bones are broken, he can barely breathe. His suffering doesn't last long as the entity inhales and sucks the pain out of him, along with any energy he had left.

MATILDA WEASLEY: She is the one that raises the alarm. She witnesses the attack on Hogsmeade and rushes to get the emergency portkey for her nephew. If she could at least get one person out safely, it would be him. Seconds after he's gone, the ceiling above her collapses. The entity falls through the floor as it continues its destructive path to get to the repository it's senses beneath the school.

CHIYO KOGAWA: She's The first teacher to be evacuated out to the ministry to help guide the students and keep them together. Her voice is still calm and commanding as she tries to maintain order, but she feels the same dread and panic as the scared children around her.

AESOP SHARP: He actively pursues the entity. No matter how many times he fires at it, it doesn't seem to pay attention to him as he chases it through the halls. He and many aurors from the Ministry are the last ones on the grounds when the entity finally decides it's done playing and heads down to the caverns.

He sees it happen. The final transformation. When that thing absorbs every last drop of whatever magic was in the cage. Had no idea what it was or what was happening but it was bad. No matter what he threw at it, it just smiled. It looked at him and the others like they were curious insects.

To his surprise, the thing spoke to him, and it's awful voice. "Such suffering... I can taste it..." It raises one of its arms and he and all the aurors come off the ground. He struggles against the invisible force holding him, but to no avail.

Then he feels the tug in his chest. Black and red magic comes from his body, and the others, and is absorbed by the entity. When it was over, he did not care that he was falling head first to the ground. He didn't feel anything at all. Not even when his neck broke.

ABRAHAM RONEN: His class was one of the first destroyed in the attack. He and the students had no chance to defend themselves, not that there really was any way to defend themselves. For him, it was quick. Shards of glass and stone made for an unceremonious end.

MIRABEL GARLICK: She's at one of the evacuation points, getting students out. She sees the horrible thing come down the grand staircase and she stands between it and the students. The last thing she hears is it's terrible laugh as she and any students remaining have their pain removed.

MUDIWA ONAI: She finds the monster holding her daughter off the ground by her throat. She doesn't hear her own cries as her daughter falls limp to the floor with a sickening thud. She's too stunned to move. She doesn't even hear the entity's laugh as it rejoices in her pain.

BAI HOWIN: She goes through the floo after Kogawa to maintain order with the students they manage to get through to the Ministry. She is not, however, a steel willed as Kogawa so she's on the floor with her head in her hands.

DINAH HECAT: She manages to evacuate most of the defense against the dark arts tower before the monster comes stomping through. She tried to defend the floor the students were using to run, but it fired a black beam of magic and destroyed it. Her analytical eyes scanned the beast as she tried to figure out what it could possibly be. From her time as an unspeakable, perhaps this is an ancient beast that none have seen in centuries. She never figures it out, unfortunately. The monster feasts upon her pain.

CUTHBERT BINNS: He and the other ghosts are trying to Shepherd students to evacuation points. There's nothing he can do for them when the monster comes. Just watch as they become empty husks.

SATYAVATI SHAH: She makes it through a floo with her students. Only seeing two other professors and less than half the student body, the gravity of their situation hits her hard. One being, whatever it was, destroyed Hogwarts and most everyone in it in a matter of minutes. Not days, not even hours, but minutes. This was the end.

PHINEAS NIGELLUS BLACK: The coward fled when the school was attacked. Abandoning his post and ruining his reputation in the process, but he did not care. Nowhere in the job description was he ever supposed to fight off demons from the darkest pit of hell.

~~~

MC: Oh, what fun they've had! The screaming, the crying, the pleading, the begging! The insurmountable amount of pain they got to experience! They never felt so alive! Now the largest repository of dark magic was theirs! All theirs! They pry the repository apart with their bare hands.

When they consume the magic, they undergo their largest and most drastic transformation. They more than double in size, being about the size of a giant. They grow another set of wings, more demonic seraphim in appearance, and grow another set of arms. Horns burst forth from their skull and another set of glowing red eyes blinks open.

They're horrible cackling laugh echoes from the depths of the crater that was Hogwarts. Everything the ministry tried to throw at them, were now dead and gone. The world was theirs.

[ghostiezone]

@intertexts im being haunted by pd parahumans au. officially

some Thoughts under the cut hehe

WILLIAM:

I like 2 think he wears a LOT of body armor especially if his power involves leaving his physical body vulnerable. i think he'd take every precaution possible to protect it w armor/the majority of his costume being darker in color. since his powers wouldn't require direct contact with other people PLUS he's really the only one on the team with close direct family members to protect with his identity, he'd keep the majority of his skin covered/concealed and use loose bulky clothes + the cape to change his silhouette. bold of him to have fire motifs in his costume design and not actually have fire based powers <3 I'm totally bullshitting the classification numbers but I think his breaker level would be higher than the master level since he doesn't always have the greatest control over the wisps (they do their own thing sometimes it's fine)

DAKOTA:

I REALLY like the idea that at first glance everyone EXPECTS him to be a brute. but hes not. he's just insane about martial arts training and has built up a lot of muscle because of it. has the least protective costume. VERY little armor on him, doesn't like the restriction/weight of armor. has a ton of scars from a combination of that lack of protective gear + putting himself in front of teammates in danger + the insane amount of training he does, basically pushes himself to the limit constantly. has a lot of big pockets in his pants, usually keeps things like extra bandages and snacks in them :] belt around his waist is like a karate black belt. doesn't wear shoes, keeps hands and feet bandaged basically at all times.

VYNCENT:

also keeps a lot of bare skin showing in costume, mostly on his arms in order to use his powers. has a lot of belts that look pretty useless/only for aesthetic reasons but uses them to hide a lot of little concealed weapons in case his powers backfire and he can't use them immediately. pretty well trained in melee combat. the most lax with his identity, but is still somewhat careful about it. the highest power rating on the team, but also the one with the least amount of control over his powers. it takes him a while to get used to using someone else's powers, so it's general knowledge among villains that you DONT want to fight him more than once in close succession (and if you do, to stall the fight/draw it out as long as possible because he can only use his powers in short bursts. gotta wear him out). he's the most comfortable with using williams and dakotas powers (and on rarer occasions, tide's) but still can't fully control them

SIDE NOTES:

- when asked who the leader of the team is, william will say it's dakota, dakota will say it's william. vyncent will say either of them depending on the day

- I like 2 think tide kind of takes the role of director piggot ? since she seems the most like their caretaker/mentor. except it's different with tide, he's a little more directly involved with them 1) because he genuinely cares about them and they care about him and 2) because he's also a cape, he can more directly kind of teach them the rules (?)

- ashe joins the team way later and there's a little but of strain because of it. this is mostly from william, who gets jealous easily and doesn't generally do well with new people (he defends himself by saying putting two masters on the team makes them unbalanced, really he's just a little jealous that ashe is master 8 and he's only master 5) HOWEVER. eventually they end up being the ones that hang out the most out of costume <3

- THINKINGGGGG A LOT. ABOUT HOW ASHE JOINS THEM BTW. I think I need 2 read more worm before I actually decide. learn how the prt responds to certain things. i.e. how does this kid with a villain dad end up on the wards (right now im considering a chariot situation where he originally joins as a mole . but then decides he likes them <3 this could also contribute to why william doesnt like him at firsr because hes the most likely to figure that out. )

- thinking a LOT about the leviathan fight. i don't exactly know how to put those thoughts into words rn but. tide gets OFFICIALLY sent to the leviathan fight bc of his water powers and i think maybe. they follow him when they're not supposed to. but then they get to stay because they're already there and the rest of the heroes are not gonna turn down more hands in the fight. (somewhat similar to the meatball planet situation)

- extreme ghostkicks codependency. that is all

[fledermoved-too]

PiB AU Scourge and Fuego 🧊🔥

Some thoughts I had for a backstory concerning my request muse Scourge and @firestcr !! This is just an idea ofc, so if this doesn't work for you that's totally fine <33

it's okay to rb this btw!

info under the cut:

This is inspired by the Hawkstorm MAP, which is one of my favorites!

In this AU, Scourge and Fuego are siblings from the same litter, born in a small town just an hour or so out from Mexico City within a run-down, dilapidated hut. Their mother, a stray, does her best to care for the two with limited resources, and they have a fairly normal childhood at first, getting along well. Scourge (then Tiny) is raised as a girl, as that is his assigned gender at birth. He is often adorned with a flower, the anemone, which symbolizes the idea of being forsaken, which is pure coincidence to their reality, but foreshadows his fate.

One night, during a particularly devastating storm, lightning strikes a tree close by to their hut, and it catches fire. The fire spreads with extreme speed as their mother wakes to the roar of the flames and tries to get her children to safety, but can only carry one through the rapidly deconstructing building. Tiny does his best to keep up, but is barred from following as debris collapses, blocking the path to his only exit. Nutmeg flees with her remaining kit, devastated as she assumes Tiny has been crushed.

Fire has destroyed their home and Rusty's only sister, yet he is born from the ashes, and as Nutmeg eventually succumbs to her own burns and smoke inhalation in town, Rusty is taken in by townsfolk and named Fuego after his pelt and past. As he is raised, more and more of the incident falls from his immediate memory, but he never forgets the death of his littermate and mother, promising to carry them within his heart always as he becomes the hero that the town deserves, fighting evil as he travels place to place. As he outgrows the collar handed down to him by townsfolk, he no longer wears it, but keeps the item out of sentimental value. He gains a partisan to utilize as his favored weapon.

It's unknown how Tiny was able to escape that night and survive, but he did make an escape, bearing horrific burns that would result in hair loss, troubled breathing, as well as skin and nerve damage. Fortunately, some of his fur would grow back, but not the full amount, giving him a more mangy appearance and earning him the name El Chupacabra by locals. This treatment comes to the exact opposite of Fuego's, as Scourge decides to give himself a third name for shortness' sake and to keep his anger within his title. This is when he begins to realize he is a tomcat. To him, Tiny is dead as well, though more metaphorically.

He becomes an outlaw, bearing a hatchet ready to kill and a collar of bone and tooth to settle his new look. Though he is a bitter opponent, a few select strays admire the tenacity and fierceness of his work, occasionally grouping with him for resources in hopes of food and shelter, but they are not fully loyal. At a true sniff of danger, they flee, leaving Scourge alone in his mission to rustle livestock and commit vicious theft and killings.

Scourge remembers the night vividly in trauma, and knows who Fuego is. He harbors resentment for his brother, but will not openly acknowledge that he knows Fuego. Instead, he acts as the antagonist, and the opposing force to all that Fuego has built as a reputation. If Fuego is the hero, then El Chupacabra must be the villain.

[rockkal]

HOMESTUCK BEYOND CANON NEXT UPD8(s) PREDICTIONS (I'm delusional, btw) /SHITPOST

We get to see Jack Noir be a pathetic little meow meow and has depression because he's too busy working at the mine coal to see his wife

The Felt come into the screen, also somehow snowman, and they all say "We voted for Obama" (this is very important homestuck lore, btw)

Brand new character called HEROIN ADDICT is introduced. Son of Karkat and Dave. Has a brother named John Egbert Strider Vantas

Clover flirts with Jane and gets sent to the weed dungeon. And not like the good weed. I mean like the weed that really feels like shit

Jake becomes new leader of the Felt and Crowbar becomes his dad (Crowbar dad AU, write that down, it'll be on the test)

We get to see Death, the character, talk with ULT Dirk and he brang along the Midnight Crew, Mom Lalonde B1 and Dad egbert because he thinks they're cool (also, Mom Lalonde and Dad Egbert kiss a lot in death's office and have tea and buscuits with the Midnight Crew)

CALIBORN COMES FOR A SINGLE PANEL AND MAKES JUNE OFFICIALLY TRANS! BECAUSE HE HATES JUNE AND HE HATES WOMEN SO HE COMBINES THE TWO THINGS HE HATES INTO ONE (this is a joke, btw. I honestly want June's transitioning to be more in character then just the gremlin guy I like does it for me)

Ms Paint. becomes narrator of both Candy and Meat and it's just a podcast about different types of paint

Something related to The Midnight Crew's creator, Professor Mayasaka or however the fuck ya spell it, something translated into midnight. Whatever. I just wanna see the professor man come in and do something

JANE REVIVES AIMLESS RENEGADE SOMEHOW AND HE GOES GOD TIER! (His Classpect is Mage of Blood because I say so)

Sollux and Eridan kissing

B

Roxy breaks the fourth wall and says "it's Roxy Lalonding time" and Roxy Lalondes all over the place

A bucket appears and yeah

We see Andrew Hussie in a bath robe

Terezi manages to give back the legal rights to Beyond Canon back to their creators (sorry, I forgot your name, mister cool homestuck guy. I forget easily :'(]

Vriska dies. (I hate Vriska! (In a Kismesis way))

Equius comes back to say "I require horse" and then he gets prototyped with the universe frog

Matchsticks gets a personality and we learn he wants to become an actual fire fighter and save people since he was a kid

Stitch becomes hella cool by partnering with Kanaya to beat the shit out of Dirk

Rose just stays Rose because I forgot she existed

21 again but with Dave

June Egbert gets two new dads and they're Eggs and Biscuits from The Felt because it reminds her of her dead dad's cakes

Diamonds Droogs/Draconian Dignitary x Dad Crocker 20 hour oiled up make out session flash animation

Calliope has a child with Roxy. (comment what ya think they would be called)

Dirk eats a baby (it's John Egbert Strider Vantas)

AR gets to have a robo body and becomes friends with AR and Aradia and also Aranea is there to keep them in check and they call eachother the "AR squad", but Aranea is the out cast because she is blue

Eden Gardner (homestuck OC of @springselkie) gets a mention.

Monkeys become relevant to the plot

Jack Noir gets to show us his stabs

Bold Eagles are Aimless Renegade's second power, because he's the only AMERUCAN character in homestuck

Jake gets a beard and celebrates by showing us his level 100 GYAT

What Pumpkin office remains is an important location in the story

Mommy Condie comes back and marries Earth C's version of Colonel sassacres

Freddy Fazber, new character, literally the best. Hor hor hor hor.

Something related to drugs, I guess (I'm running out of ideas)

Fortnite becomes canon and everyone loves it

Deltarune reference

Jack Noir eats money and becomes lamborghini

Jack Noir villain arc where he and June kiss (their kismesis, it's ok. They want to kill eachother)

Rose's wifi is STILL shitty! COME ON, IT'S BEEN 10 YEARS, FIX YOUR INTERNET CONNECTION, GURL!

Kanaya gets to make something Lord English related

We see Doc Scratch because he's awesome

Wayward Vagabond comes back from the grave and does ANOTHER revolution against monerchy. He is truly the best diplomat.

MLP gets mentioned

Problem Sleuth shows up for 5 panels and then dies

Nepeta gets to kill Pickle Inspector

Eridan smokes weed

[S] Terezi: Do the mackarena

Weed chapter

Karkat gets a period cramp

Something something Lord English in black void, becomes normal Caliborn, being room mates with Equius, Gamzee and AR (auto-responder)

Free Bird fight sequence

Joe Biden gets a mention because he was probably in office before the clown fuckers took over D.C. Washington

Cockaine chapter

MSPA reader gets hella blazed and yeah

Caliborn kisses a rule 63 version of a Miku body pillow

Pic Yaoi sequence or smth

Sawbuck stays a fat fuck and eats the earth at the end

Itchy dies from tripping on a rock

Doze unslows himself and does a break dance

Trace and Fin make out session

Quarters gets to shoot ULT Dirk and is declared a war veteran

Bog from RHG shows up to eat a chocolate bar

I'm high

Ok, that was the end of this dumb shitpost. Hope ya got a kick out of it. Or not.

Wait

Shit

I should probably add an image so that I could look cool

Give me a sec

Yes, God of Yaoi.

Perfect for this.

See ya

[saline-coelacanth]

Not sure how much I'm gonna post about this au, but I've been really wanting some Oppo content, so bam, Beauty and the Beasts you Oppo.

Here's the design I made for Zane since he takes the role of the Beast:

I mainly wanted to give him mainly dragon and bird features while still being ice themed. Oh, and he's also based on the Ice Emperor because that was the main reason I wanted to make Zane the Beast was because of the whole Ice Emperor thing.

Btw, I have already figured quiet a bit of stuff out (my brain decided to hyperfixate HARD on this concept) and this isn't a one for one retelling of Beauty and the Beast, if anything it's more of a rewrite of s11 (specifically the ice chapter) that follows the basic plot of Beauty and the Beast. Hopefully that makes sense, but if not I will be happy to info dump about my idea.

Anyway, here's some actual Oppo for the au

Also for people who don't know, I tend to draw Zane as the same height as Kai. I know a lot of people normally make him tall, but I am in the minority there. So yeah, Beast form Zane is MUCH bigger than he usually is. But enough notes, I wanna give a basic rundown of the plot. I'll put that under the cut just because it'll probably get a little long.

So basically, the fire chapter happens like normal, Zane gets sent to the Never Realm, Vex gives him amnesia and manipulates him into becoming the Ice Emperor. But things take a turn when the scroll ends up corrupting Zane in a much more drastic way, turning him into a literal monster. And the staff itself becomes frozen in place, no longer able to be held by Zane (though he still 'channels' power from it) When the staff corrupts Zane, it also leaves a message that says something along the lines of "A strong flame from the heart is needed to melt the curse" and Zane just assumes he needs literal fire.

Meanwhile, the ninja travel to the Never Realm looking for Zane, having no idea what happened to him. Eventually, Kai ends up as a prisoner at the Ice Emperor's castle where the Emperor thinks Kai is the key to breaking the curse due to him claiming to be the fire ninja. Problem is that Kai's powers still aren't back. At the same time, Kai is still focused on finding Zane and he isn't actually able to recognize that the Ice Emperor IS Zane. And obviously the Ice Emperor doesn't know that he's Zane because of the whole amnesia thing.

And yeah, then it plays out pretty similar to the movie where they start off not liking each other, but then Zane softens up and they begin to fall in love. And if anyone is wondering who the villain is, it's still Vex. He doesn't play the same role as Gaston, instead his main goal is trying to get rid of Kai since he doesn't really want the curse to be broken since Zane is easier to manipulate when he's all depressed about his monster form.

And yeah, that's my idea for a Beauty and the Beast Oppo Au. I might make more of this au since it has been a lot of fun to think about and it also gives me an excuse to draw more oppositeshipping <3

[villainsandvictimsalliance]

League of Villains band au where:

Btw this is a no quirks au, skdjkdndmdmdnd

It starts with an announcement on Kurogiri's bar. Tomura had been on and off for a whole year on different bands, but nothing worked, so he decides to start his own project.

Giran owns Kurogiri a few favors, so he makes some calls and eventually comes across two young punks who look exactly like Tomura's brand of crazy.

Toga is a drop-out high-schooler who was kicked from home. She was making a name for herself singing in the streets while playing either the drums or her guitar.

Touya's dream was to be a pop king like his dad. After his accident and recovery, Rei and the other Todoroki kids agreed to help Touya change his appearance and move to his own apartment, where Enji wouldn't find him. He can't sing like before due the damage on his vocal cords, but his a total showman on the guitar or bass and an insane lyricist.

Tomura processed the trauma of his family death through music from a young age. In other words, he's able to play a good number of instruments and knows a lot about music theory. He prefers the piano, however. The movement on the fingers help him relax.

The first time they play together because they can't decide which genre they want to play or who sings or who plays what. They decide to find at least one or two more bandmates and try it out.

That's how they met Spinner, a barely known bassist from a small town, and Twice, a kinda older drummer that makes it sound like he has more arms than he has when he plays the drums, holy shit.

They try again. It takes them a few intense days until they make it. Funnily enough, they were chilling all across the bar messing with some cover when Kurogiri walked in and started correcting them individually. That's how they learned that Kurogiri is some musical genius or something.

They start pulling their influence. Found in Magne a make-up artist and in Mr. Compress a visionary man when it comes to the stage arrangements. Mustard is their first fan, Muscular their bodyguard and they have a poor mutilated plushie that they call nomu, the mascot of the band.

They start playing on Kurogiri's bar, getting barely enough money to buy a broken ass van and travel as they can to other places. Their reputation is mostly due how crazy they all look stumbling down the van and getting on stage. They're like a fever dream.

They start creating their own lore. Maybe there's a superior evil pulling their strings. Maybe the world turned them into villains. Maybe Dabi can breath fire and Tomura always wear gloves because he destroys everything he touches and Toga has fangs and drink blood and Spinner ir a lizard man and there is a different Twice every night and...

Before they know it, it's not about the fame anymore. They sign with Meta Liberation records. Magazines are calling them a menace to the music industry. They're competing with the best boy bands and solo artists and records of Japan.

It's a delicate thing to find themselves a second before diving in a spiral of fame and attention. It's chaos and it's hurting them but also there's nowhere else for them to be.

[ihauntyoursocks]

ALRIGHT IM GONNA POST A BIT ABOUT IT. No art for now because I’m tired but I’ll do some ramblings about my thoughts on teams and relationships and stuff

Pokemon Prime Defenders AU

These are going to be very incomplete rambles and these aren’t the final teams or ideas for the au but I need to talk about this lol

Ashe is the one I’ve thought about the most for some reason, it’s always in my thoughts that she has to have a Litwick, I do not know why fully, but that’s her original partner for some reason, and also she has a Porygon and after the whole Trickster thing and recovery she has a service dog Boltund (this is just a general headcanon that Yamper and Boltund make good service animals for some reason)

William originally started out with a Rockruff as his partner but after dying he finds that a lot of ghost types are pulled to him, I was thinking he catches a couple of them

I think that I’m going to make it so that Fauna doesn’t actually have Pokemon, so Vyncent basically gets the entire concept of training and types and everything explained to him when he gets there, but that might change, and I want him to have a Sandslash for some reason? Idk

Dakota has a mix of fire, fighting, and electric types, because generally they match his energy, but he also should have a Buizel I think

All of this part is pending btw, this is a very loose set of ideas👇

I’m thinking for this AU superheroes are still very much a thing, and the plot functions similarly to PD, but Pokemon fight alongside their heroes, and the heroes still have powers, and it’s sort of a mix between a battle between heroes and villains and their Pokemon, sort of a combo between a Pokemon battle and a hero battle? There is also a league and gym system, but it’s WAY less prominent then in the games, it’s mostly a casual thing to see how strong you can get, and be unofficially dubbed the strongest, but champions aren’t really celebrities, they cycle out pretty frequently, and the heroes are usually the most popular trainers

Also for season 2 once Ashe gets taken over the other three have her Pokemon, and the Trickster, instead of using Pokemon, kinda summons these fire creatures that semi-resemble them, but definitely aren’t (like the fire beasts in episode 39 sorta?) and for the road trip part of season 2 the pd have her Pokemon with them

Also Tide totally has a Palafin

Okay I think that’s it for now, some of this might be silly in retrospect, but I’ll keep thinking about it

[meltsyoutodeath]

Friday night funkin' x bnha crossover au where the fnf people were like born there and everything and. ok this post works better as a bullet list hang on:

(NOTE: anything I get fundamentally wrong is because I didn't actually get past, like, the training camp arc thing in bnha. I'm just going off the copious amounts of bnha crossovers I've been reading)

Bf's quirk is that he can pull anyone into a rap/singing battle that deals real physical damage if the opponent can't keep up. of course, the harder the song, the hardest it is for Bf himself to keep it up

Bf's quirk doesn't make a battle stop just because a rap battle began. you have to imagine a guy simultaneously fighting for their life and trying to hit the right notes to a song that started playing out of nowhere

Gf's main thing is that she starts looking like a demon whenever she feels something too strongly. That emotion can be happiness, anger, hate, love, whatever. BUT Gf can also enhance other people's quirks just by touching them

(more under the cut because it gets long)

Gf and Bf both go to UA! this is not because either of them want to be a hero. neither of them are interested whatsoever in all that. but Daddy Dearest insisted that Gf could ONLY go there because it's a prestigious school and he wants the best education for his daughter etc etc (it was totally not because it's hard getting in UA and DD thought Bf wouldn't be able to follow her there so they'd FINALLY break up)

Bf, of course, is THE boyfriend of all time, so he sweats his way through UA's entrance exams just to prove he'd do anything to be with Gf. and also as a fuck you to Daddy Dearest

They join the hero course because someone said Gf could never be a hero with such a villanous quirk and they took that as a challenge

moving on to OTHER characters: Pico is the quirkiest quirkless guy on earth. man was wanted for a school shooting at age 14 (yes I know canonically he was older during Pico's School but let me cook ok). he wasn't even responsible for the school shooting in question, but everybody just kinda decided he was because he was the one of the only survivors, so.

these days Pico works as a mercenary, but he's done enough to be seen as a villain. some even consider him a Big villain (because, you know. massive school shooting)

there are conspiracy sites that discuss what Pico's quirk is, btw. one day he made a burner account and said "I think he's quirkless" in one of those and he got banned from the website

Darnell's quirk lets him enhance pre-existing flames. So while he can't shoot fire out of his hands or anything, giving him a lighter is the same thing as giving him a flamethrower

Nene's quirk lets her copy any object she's holding, as long as she knows its composition. It's basically Yaoyorozu's but nerfed

That's how she gets her endless knives supply, and also how Pico never runs out of ammo. she makes, like, 20 magazines for him per fight

Darnell, Nene and Pico are a group who are mostly seen working together. they only try to kill each other sometimes

Fun fact abt them is that they have a combo attack where Darnell uses a spray can that's actually a bomb to distract enemies and then Nene launches a bucnh of knives that Pico redurects with gunshots as needed. this isn't easy or effective but they find it fun AND it looks really cool

One day Darnell is watching the news and something about some place being burnt down because of a villain comes up and he goes "something big burnt down,,, and not because of ME???" and at the same time Nene walks in all sad and goes "there's this new girl with some evil league or something who's stealing my knives brand :((("

so naturally they decide they HAVE to bring down the leauge of villains now. not because of the crimes or whatever but because they're stealing their brands

Pico joins them because why not. they become the team rocket of bnha

during the... training camp arc? is that what that's called? those 3 trail the League because a big open area sounds like a perfect opportunity to catch one of them alone and, thus, very killable

Pico ends up running into Bf and Gf locked in a battle against an unspecified villain and he looks like he's having trouble so Pico's like.... omg is that my ex?? I forgor he goes here. he's still kinda hot... who said that. I should totally help him out

so Pico gravely injures his enemy but gets so caught up in the friendly rap battle Bf pulls him into that he forgets to finish him off

and then Weekend 1 happens as normal except avoiding Nene and Darnell is a lot harder because they're, you know, roommates

anyway after that he starts hanging out with Bf again more. eventually Gf starts coming too and then I reveal this was SECRETLY GF X BF X PICO PROPAGANDA ALL ALONG

one day Midoryia sees them hanging out and near instantly clocks who Pico is so he runs away very comically (after Bf tells him he can't kill his classmates)

later on Midoryia can't help but ask wyat Pico's quirk is and promptly stops working when they tell him he doesn't have one

and that's all I have for now but you get my point right

[yonemurishiroku]

hello! I know you super-ship jasico but I was wondering if you got any pernico fanfic recs? Ty! :D

wdym but? Just because I super-ship jasico doesn't mean I can't be obsessed with percico now can I? I'm a man (girl. woman. danger to society, if u will) of everything.

sorry losing track LOL anw you don't specify your references so I'm seriously going in blind here lmao. Imma just suggest those I love the most amongst my bookmarks then. There would be explicit content and i'd try to include as many warnings as i can think of, alrity

Everything by BobInTheComments. I barely read 1/10 of their works but I KNOW they're all brilliant. Trust me.

Again, everything by Doevademe (OriginalDaemon). Trust me.

too much poison in these veins and frankly? Everything by fuckin_rodent (I don't advise trying if you're a Will stan tho, and the content is pretty heavy sometimes btw)

betsib has some amazing works too! One of my favourites is Rest your head close to my heart wherein Nico and Percy have to take care of a baby legacy of Zeus (go figure) and Percy realizes his feelings!

The Who We Are series bc I cried

Fire Bringer by wewhofightmonsters: Percico in Prometheus' POV. It hurts so much. I cry every time for Prometheus and Nico's friendship. 😭😭😭

[with symphonies playing in a] World without Sound by shadowtraveled (orphan_account): THIS HURTS. But I love it. Because it's one of the rare ones that depict an unusual take on Percico of mine. Basically it's about Nico leaving, Hazel is sad, and Percy has an epiphany but it's too late. The author left it undone IMO but the work itself is beautifully heart-wrenching.

When the River Meets the Sea by bvnne: Again, shared custody. What's wrong with Percico and shared custody and babies?????

Where do I Begin? by Mitsumi in which Percy, Jason and Piper embark on a quest through Nico's memories to save him. Fuk u Cupid. Pls mind the tags btw.

Wash Me Throughly by creepy_crawly: This is short and kinda like a little treat LOL. Summary: "Percy helps Nico wash up, and gets a little jealous of the water." It's really what it is.

Only Human by Avaetin: “Will you be able to kill me, Percy?” Dark Nico. The villain in me is cackling.

Surfer Kid and Ghost Boy by exul_ansis: Gamers AU. Nico has mental problems. Percy thinks he is a failure. They try to help each other. PLS READ THIS JKASDHASKJDHASKJ

Shuffle 50 by ZoudiaxZoe: Topic: Drug Use. They're both a mess. Implied cousin-incest, if you will, their family is just fucked up. BUT PLS READ THIS 😭😭😭

I have a lot more but frankly I don't know if I should include lolol this is probably too many anyway.

I hope you enjoy!!! Please don't forget to show the authors some support if you can! ^_^)/ 💖

[aurorawest]

Reading update

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers - 3.75/5 stars

I hate myself a little bit for using this word to describe this book, but it's a meditation on modern (western) culture, the drumbeat of living a purposeful life, and, imo, the millennial condition.

It also, separately from that, made me think of the song 'New Constellations' by Ryn Weaver: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13EX7qGdUGI

The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by KJ Charles - 5/5 stars

This book features Gareth Inglis, a member of the gentry whose father shipped him off to his uncle when his mother died. Gareth never saw or heard from his father (who remarried and had another child) again, and no one knew he existed because his father was a piece of human garbage. Which meant I couldn't stop thinking about my former father-in-law, who had two sons from his first marriage whom he, as far as I could tell, never had any contact with after remarrying and having another child. Life imitates art?

Anyway, it's KJ Charles, so you pretty much can't go wrong. I saw someone refer to this as enemies-to-lovers and realized my toxic trait is railing against people who want to apply enemies-to-lovers to everything. Spoiler alert, this is not enemies-to-lovers. But it is lovely, and includes Gareth and Joss Doomsday (a smuggler) bonding over beetles.

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by SA Chakraborty - 4.5/5 stars

It was no Daevabad Trilogy, but then again, I remember finishing City of Brass and being like, yeah, it was fine, I'll probably pick up the sequel at some point. It wasn't until Kingdom of Copper that I grew to really love the series, so I'm hoping the same happens with this. This book was a lot of fun, and the fact that all the characters were middle-aged was pretty delightful. I'm definitely excited to see where this series goes.

The Long Run by James Acker - 5/5 stars

Excellent YA book about two lonely jocks in New Jersey.

Feel the Fire by Annabeth Albert - 3.75/5 stars

His Accidental Cowboy by AM Arthur - 4/5 stars

Brida by Paul Coelho - 1/5 stars

One of the reviews for this book on Storygraph says it 'aged like milk' and I can't put it better than that. This is a soul mate AU where souls undergo cell division, essentially, and your soul mate is from your same base soul from before the soul split in half. Okay, great. Oh but wait, the soul always divides into male and female. And your soul mate is always someone of the opposite sex, even though that doesn't make sense because as souls divide again and again, that means there are a lot of people out there who came from the same original soul as you. Also, witchcraft? Also also, even though the book is called Brida and is ostensibly about the title character, her whole journey was really just to serve the unnamed male character, the Magus. This isn't implicit either, it's completely explicit. At the end it's like, 'sometimes young women come along to show men the way' (I'm paraphrasing but...not much).

This went straight to my give away pile, and I hated it so much that the rest of my Coelho books joined it (except The Alchemist).

Enlightened by Joanna Chambers - 5/5 stars

Or, For The Love Of God Please Give David Lauriston And Murdo Balfour A Break, And Preferably A Happy Ending.

They got one, btw.

Song of Silver, Flame Like Night by Amélie Wen Zhao - DNF

Honestly, the Mad Libs YA title should have warned me off of this one, but I always give my Illumicrate books a try. Cartoonish villains and protagonists I find myself liking less the more we get to know them. The prose is quite good but not enough to make up for the character deficiencies.

Solomon's Crown by Natasha Siegel - 5/5 stars

Blurbed by no less than Tamora Pierce (Song of the Lioness supremacy!), Rainbow Rowell, Freya Marske, and CS Pacat. Did I go into this book with insanely high expectations? Yes. Did it mostly meet them? Yes! If you're a Captive Prince fan, this one's for you.

Siegel tells us up front, before the book even starts, that it's a romance and not historically accurate. So don't go into this expecting a historically accurate love story between King Richard of England and King Philip of France. It is, however, a gorgeous romance. The world-building is top notch. Even if it's not totally accurate to the High Middle Ages, it feels accurate, if that makes sense? Siegel really captures the feeling of being in a different world. Lush writing, amazing sexual/romantic tension, lovely sad boys. Highly, highly recommend.

Daniel Cabot Puts Down Roots by Cat Sebastian - 4.75/5 stars

I docked .25 stars because it bugged me that they didn't move in together at the end. Idk, just felt too 'look, I'm subverting romance conventions!' Still good, obviously.

Like Real People Do by EL Massey - 4/5 stars

A very wholesome and low stakes hockey romance. I found myself often thinking that the interactions of the men on the hockey teams seemed unrealistic, but it was charming and sweet enough that I didn't care.

The book reads like fanfiction, which is because it was fanfiction—but it's in a mostly good way, not a bad way (*cough* All The Way Happy *cough*). Apparently the original version was Check, Please! fanfiction, which I am vaguely familiar with as a thing that exists. Apparently it's a web comic? Anyway, I enjoyed the book enough to pick up the sequel.

[bonefall]

Question: I noticed if you had a choice you'd have given Thornclaw Ashfur's evil arc (except without the incel motivation.) And made Ashfur not evil. May I ask why? Is it from the characterization Ashfur had in TPB?

Reason 1: I think Thornclaw's underlooked as an AU villain

The DELICIOUS irony of the very first warrior Firestar names becoming his family's worst enemy... The contrast between the xenophobic and prickly Thornclaw and his kindly brother Brackenfur, both of them well-known as reliable and responsible warriors. Being stolen by ShadowClan at such a young age and having his father killed in a violent attack, and yet still, concluding that that's the right path.

It's about how Thornclaw could become so committed to the "well being" of ThunderClan that he'll kill and murder for it. The seriousness in his eyes as he hunts you down, the honor of a true warrior without need for underhanded tactics. Nothing about him is a joke, this isn't funny.

The Fire Scene, with Villain Thornclaw, isn't about 'getting back at Squirrelflight.' It's nothing personal; but she has to die along with her whole family so he can get away with it.

It's something I'm so fond of that I do have some Villain Thornclaw in my AU, if you look closely. He's working with Breezepelt and Whiskernose to kill Firestar. He might have known about the plot to get Brackenfur killed and said nothing.

Spiderleg takes his roles post-OotS because he will be dying in the Great Battle.

Reason 2: Shallow childhood fondness of pre-Po3 Ashfur

An AU is an AU, after all. Sometimes I just like to feed the miffed 10-year-old inside of me whose favorite TPB apprentice was Ashpaw, lmao.

Because MAN when I was a kid, I loved Squilf, and haaaated the Fire Scene with villain Ashfur. I remember it happening and being like, "ASHPAW WOULD NEVER. Ashpaw was Cloudpaw's best friend and always helping him cover up secrets :((( he wouldn't DO THIS who is this man... lionblaze was his apprentice.... this is so fake....."

I never had an Ashfur Stan phase, I was just mad that he turned into that lmao.

I love Ashfur now though btw, I am actually very fond of WC's incel villain and I'm really glad they committed to the idea of StarClan making a mistake. I think it's worth what Little Baby Bones lost... that said, sometimes you can just do stuff because it's fun and sparks joy, y'know?

It's why I call that AU "Sweet Nothings," I don't put a lot of thought into the thematic and metatextual implications of it like I do for the Bonefall Rewrite. It's self-indulgent fun.

So instead of being an incel, he's just a petty drama queen who's upset he got rejected and whines about it, not a murderous monster. He's ride-or-die when it comes down to it, and likes to gossip with Ferncloud and Cloudtail. A characterization a lot closer to TPB Ashpaw instead of Po3 Ashfur.

Also he's in a polycule with Hawkfrost/star and Reedwhisker because I like the drama of Hawkash but also have a big soft spot for Hawkreed.