I went into it a little bit more here, anon, but I appreciate your enthusiasm đ
Tag: alternate universe
Travelers different hosts!AU brainstorm (2018-01-12)
So I finished watching Travelers season 2 on Netflix, and it’s still… I think I’ve mentioned before in some random A/N after watching season 1 that it’s an interesting premise but overall not… I like it, but I’m not moved by it, if that makes any sense? Mentally, everything is good, A or B for the most part, but it’s not something I would enthusiastically recommend. (Like, if someone didn’t have Netflix, I would tell them to get Netflix in order to watch Stranger Things, but I don’t know if I would do the same for Travelers. Whereas if someone who already has Netflix just wants a recommendation for something interesting to binge watch I’d maybe say Travelers, it depends on their taste)
Anyway, so the reason that I bring it up is that while the canon show itself isn’t exactly compelling, I just watched the finale and had an idea for an AU that I personally think would be based on the same premise.
So this is spoilers for Travelers season 2 finale–if you care to watch any of the show and don’t want to be spoiled, TURN BACK NOW.
Basically, different hosts!AU. In which instead of the canon hosts, it’s the “loved ones” kidnapped in the finale that are the hosts for the time traveler team instead.
And certain storylines carry over still–Travelers 3468 and 3465–are still in love, but instead of Grant MacLaren and Carly Shannon they’d be in the bodies of Kathryn MacLaren and Jeffrey Conniker. Traveler 0115 still marvels at the potential of youth but instead of being in teenage Trevor Holden, she gets to help shape multiple teenagers as guidance counselor Grace Day.
And, yes, that does remove the storyline of Traveler 3569 being sent into a “compromised” host of Marcy Warton, but considering she was tortured and traumatized by Traveler 001 it would be an interesting ongoing mission from the get beginning. As Marcy’s social worker, David Mailer is the closest person to her and the best one to protect her and figure out Traveler 001’s whereabouts as Vincent Ingram.
That would also remove the addiction storyline of Traveler 3326, although Ray (last name unknown?) being a gambling addict with known debts would be an equally as good target for the team’s historian. And it’d be pretty easy to tweak his and Philip Pearson’s backstory such that they know each other anyway…
Because, see, imagine it: instead of being an FBI agent, the team leader is married to an FBI agent instead. The whole “secret organization of terrorists” thing would feel much closer to home if it’s Traveler 3468’s husband doing the investigating rather than some kind of throw away thing in the last few episodes.
Traveler 3465 whose entire job is to keep his team safe is living a life of a man who abused his girlfriend and is absolutely scared of him–and also, it kind of makes sense to have the tactical officer be a cop.
Instead of Traveler 0115 being devastated at losing his guidance counselor who he (maybe?) had a thing for, it would be Grace Day trying to help Trevor Holden cope with the fact that the football coach molested his players and convince him to testify. And when Traveler 0027 overwrites him it’s a greater blow–she was helping him heal. And yes, the team can still just hack the coach’s computer, but that doesn’t help the fact that a teenage boy died before justice could be done (instead of bringing in a new character entirely).
… Anyway. IF I were to write this different hosts!AU, I would probably do it from the POV of the canon!hosts being interviewed/interrogated by Traveler 001, interspersed with flashbacks of how certain missions or plot points would be different because of the different hosts.
Also, imagining actual!FBI Agent Grant MacLaren stuck in a kidnapping situation with four of the most civilian civilians to ever civilian is pretty hilarious.
Best Thing That’s Ever Been Mine. Rockstar or Royalty au
I had to look through my entire Sabaku no Gaara tag because I foolishly didnât tag either AUs with a specific tag, mostly because I was probably hoping Iâd make a title to attach to them and just never botheredâŠ
AnywayâŠ
Definitely Royalty!AU. Iâm getting a vaguely Princess Bride vibe? But, like⊠also Titanic vibe. In the sense that itâs an older Gaara telling the story of his first love to, probably, the NGSS and the plot twist is that hey, what up, thereâs no sad ending. Everyone lives, everything worked out, hooray, Gaaraâs first love aka Shikako is in fact their adoptive mom so itâs all good.
Like a less bullshit/skeezy version of How I Met Your Mother, basically. But because Gaara is very solemn and surprisingly poetic itâd sound like an epic in the literal sense and not just a creepy guy complaining about his failed relationships.
I guess this would be a good title for the more action-filled version of Royalty!AU where, along with the sweeping fairy tale romance tabloid drama, there is also a sub-plot of the Akatsuki being an anti-monarchy terrorist group and feeling of betrayal when Shikako is believed to be involved in an assassination attempt against Temari.
But thatâd basically be cheating on my part, so letâs seeâŠ
I guess this could just straight up be a bad ending!version of the Royalty!AU? Not ~dead~ bad ending, but a âit just couldnât work outâ bad ending⊠but thatâs dissatisfying.
Hm⊠I donât know, anonâŠ
This actually feels more like a TemarixShikamaru B-sides of Royalty!AU than the A-sides that is Shikaara. And, like, in this AU Temari canât abdicate her role so it is a âbad endingâ for themâŠ
OH! So itâd be more like the ClarissexJoe subplot from Princess Diaries 2âin that they never allowed themselves to be together because of ~duty and propriety~ until after her heir was established.
Which means it would still be a story to the NGSS (one of whom is taking up the throne) decades after the initial meeting and falling in love, but itâs not entirely cliche âthis is how it happenedâ because their story isnât done yet! đ
Like. Everyoneâs eyes were on the fairy tale romance of the century that was Shikaara, unbeknownst to nearly everyone else there was this drama of firstborns resisting love because of their duties. ÂŻ_(ă)_/ÂŻ
Team 7 in the royalty au?
Hm⊠I havenât really considered this, anon, mostly because in my head the royalty!AU is, specifically, a Shikaara!AU so I hadnât even really though of the rest of Team Seven.
But, like⊠I guess now Iâm wondering how much carries over to this AU. Did the Uchiha massacre still happen? Did the fall of Uzushio still happen? Are the bijuu even a thing in this AU? And then after deciding those, to match everyone with their respective clan prestige, Sasuke would be much the sameâsecond son of a Noble Clan Headâand Naruto would be⊠I guess heâd be the lost prince of Uzushio?
Um. Which sounds pretty cool, if Iâm going to be honestâŠ
Oh. I know.
So this would probably happen before the actual Shikaara eventsâthat is, before Temariâs coronationâbecause Iâm pretty sure Shikako and her age mates are approximately university age which means late teens at youngest (but preferably in their twenties because tabloid speculation about minors is skeezy and makes me sad).
And I guess the idea is that as actual teenagers (secondary/high school age) with Kakashi as bewildered and skeptical chaperone, Team Seven goes on some kind of Nancy Drew-esque escapade to solve the mystery of Narutoâs past. Because, even though he does go to the same upper class Fire Country school that all the other noble kids and various scholarship kids do, heâs mostly known as the weird kid that the eccentric Lady Senju dotes on.
Aaaaand then it turns out heâs the prince of Uzushio-now-Wave (because for simplicityâs sake, it makes sense to conflate them) and his family had been overthrown ages ago by Gatou?
And more escapades in which the people of Wave/Uzushio rise up against Gatouâs tyranny and reinstate Naruto⊠who doesnât really want to rule just yet? (Why yes, I am just adapting the Snow Country plot into this âverse, but didnât the Snow Country plot just basically copy paste the Wave Country arc?)
So, I mean. Shikakoâs encounter with Gaara isnât her first brush with actual royalty.
I think in this AU Fire Country is run by a five clan oligarchyâwith the Senju, Uchiha, Akimichi, Hyuuga, and Aburameâinstead of a single monarchy. So her friendship with Sasuke and Naruto actually elevates her status, even though thatâs obviously not at all why she befriended them.
Erm⊠I guess brainstorm fill instead of prose fill, if thatâs cool with you, anon.
Check out the Ask Box Authorâs Cut event!
Shikaara royalty!AU. When Ino found out
I see you, anon, and I like what youâre thinking. à»( ÍĄá” âŸ ÍĄá” )à„
~
Shikako tries to return to her seat without catching anyoneâs noticeârestless feet is no excuse for further international faux pasâbut considering sheâs sitting right next to Ino, thereâs no escaping it.
Especially not when she stumbles right into her, eyes still dazed from the multitude of camera flashes. Shikakoâs just a minor peerâthose picture probably wonât end up in the news, right?
Ino lends her a steadying hand, one eyebrow raised in appraisement, âWhat were you doing?â she murmurs beneath her breath.
Shikako flushes, embarrassed again at the memory, âI just ran into someone,â she says. And looked like a total idiot, she doesnât add.
Ino holds a stare for a beat, Shikakoâs cheeks turning further red, before letting the matter drop.
Sheâll find out soon enough, anyway.
///
âThe prince!â Ino shouts, bursting through Shikakoâs bedroom door without any hesitation. Cruelly, she walks over to the window and flings open the curtains. âYou ran into the prince?â
Shikako groans, curling into her pillows and away from the light.
âShikako!â
Thereâs an indignant flapping of paper, before Ino heaves a sigh and pounces.
Sheâs not heavy, but with a high enough trajectory and the element of surprise, Shikakoâs breath leaves her in a rush, âNoâŠâ
âYou didnât tell me you ran into Wind Countryâs prince. Spill now or else,â Ino threatens, yanking a pillow from beneath Shikakoâs head and brandishing it like a weapon.
What torments could she possibly inflict that is crueler than waking someone up?
Well⊠it is Ino.
âWind Country has two princes,â she says instead, just to be contrary.
Ino smacks her with the pillow. âYou know who Iâm talking about! The dreamboat with the gorgeous eyes and perfect cheekbones,â another smack, âJust what happened?â
âNothing happened⊠I just bumped into him, said sorry, and then returned to my seat?â Confused, Shikako finally cracks open her eyes.
In Inoâs hand is a newspaper, the front page dominated by a color photo of Shikako and the younger Wind Country prince, his arm around her waist, her hand on his shoulder: they had literally bumped into each other and just barely managed not to fall to the ground in a flail of limbs. Thatâs all.
Ino looks less gleeful, now; she hands over the paper, âNot according to this.â
~
Check out the Ask Box Authorâs Cut event!
1243, Team 7 + Reasons To Keep Living AU
Something is strange about the town of Konoha, though youâre not sure what exactly. It niggles at the top of your head, a phantom thought that is there one moment and gone the next.
But you stay silent. Who are you to cast judgement on these people, on their lives? Especially when theyâve been so hospitable.
They will aid you as best they can, so long as you do not look too closely.
â
The stranger is the first of a wave, coincidentally, soon after follows a troop of hunters on orders from the emperor.
Eternal life in exchange for killing a god.
They just need a weapon strong enough to do so.
â
Your father is restless. Prowling around and making ominous statements more than usual, picking fights with the other clans and snapping his fangs at empty air.
You do not dare sneaking into the town while heâs like this, possessively paranoid, constantly on your tail.
You donât understand whatâs happening. Youâve never seen him like this before.
Something terrible is coming.
Youâve never seen him afraid.
â
The stranger is your responsibility, and sheâs an interesting one at firstâyouâve grown tired of the same people and the same rhythms. The stranger is a breath of fresh air in your stagnant life, and you appreciate the change.
But you notice, after the second day, that there is more to this duty your family has assigned you. You are more distraction than tour guide, and vice versa, it seems.
Your brother and your parents stop talking whenever you enter a room, stranger at your side or not.
They do not trust you.
â
Heijomaru was the one that brought you here, footsteps certain for a reason beyond your knowledge.
Still, you have faith.
The town does not have what you need, or if they do they arenât saying.
To the forest you go, then.
~
A/N: itâs been a while since I watched Princess Mononoke, though it is one of my favoritesâŠ
469 for never lookin’ to come back?
â
(Never Lookinâ To Come Back)
If asked, each of them would say that it was the other who started it.
The smuggling, that is.
Sure, Kiba was the one who âfoundâ that first crate of rationsâmarked as heading towards ROOT training facilities (and if they needed it so badly, they should have kept better track of it.) He was just being a dutiful XO when he brought it to the captain.
What happened after that was entirely her decision.
âI couldnât just let that town starve,â she argues, magnanimous for a fleeting moment before continuing with, â⊠and we needed to offload it somehow.â
Kiba laughs, no matter how many times heâs heard it and the fact that he was there for it. Itâs the telling of the story that makes it great, not the event itself.
///
According to the system, Lee has violated his parole.
The fact that someone as good and kind as Lee could ever even be arrested shows how flawed the system really is. The citizens of the small moon Lee calls home would say, too strict.
They would not say corrupt.
(Lee was arrested for defending a young girl from the mayorâs unwanted attentions.)
Not out loud, anyway.
The people of his hometown loved him, loved him enough to pool together their meager money and send him far away in a ship that could use another hand and didnât look too closely at oneâs legal background.
One day, Lee will go back home and free them from tyrannyâuntil then, he sends the townspeople money and always wears the ugly orange leg warmers they send back.
///
No one outside of the Organization is actually sure what they are.
(âIâm putting my money on fancy hookers,â Kiba says, grin sharp and toothy and itching for a fight.
Not even the blankness of his face can mask the sheer irritation in Sasukeâs eyes.
âYou better hope so,â TenTen responds, shifting over on the bench where Shino has kindly enough made space, âbecause if youâre wrong, youâre really gonna get it.â)
Theyâre beautiful and well trained, always on the arm of influential people and frequently at the scene of major incidents. Twice, theyâve had to make a quick get away at Sasukeâs behest, hours before news broke of some scandal and a sudden death.
Shikako learns itâs better not to ask.
Still, he does have very good connections to various port authorities, and so long as he pays his rent on time, she doesnât mind what he might get up to.
///
According to the system, Naruto doesnât exist.
If they knew he did, theyâd kill him immediately.
None of them know it yet, but the most illegal thing on their ship isnât the Hyuuga chancellorâs missing daughter, or the crates and crates of contraband.
No, itâs the key to the Coreâs greatest and worst secret: the conspiracy to end all conspiracies.
The truth behind the destruction of Uzushioâthe would have been fifth member of the core planets.
~
A/N: Just little sprinkles of backstoryâI didnât think TenTen would be an outright criminal, and Shino works more outside the law than against it soâŠ
Thanks for the prompt, anon! đ
1, with platonic Shikako/Sasuke/Naruto
â
(Reasons To Keep Living)
The forests around the growing town of Konoha are haunted. At night, there are sounds and shapes and lights and movements that make their way out of the thick curtain of trees; it is eerie and fearsome and beautiful.
If a man goes into the forest, he is never heard from againâor so it is said.
Good thing you are no man.
///
The stranger has travelled from far away lands, dressed in strange clothes and riding a long horned deer.
She comes in search of a cure for her brother and she knows she is in the right place:
Either it will be found in the town at the forefront of progress, or it will be in the forest of magic and miracles.
///
All your life you have been told to stay away from the forest. There are dangerous things in there, beasts and monsters and horrorsâa good son would not make his parents worry so, just look at your brother, what an upstanding young man.
But they are too enamored by him to notice you, and you are ever so curious about what secrets are within.
When you are told to act as the strangerâs guide, you see an opportunity to fulfill a lifelong dream.
///
Youâve been to the town beforeâitâs your best kept secret, because if your father knew, heâd eat you, just as heâs always said.
You love the forest, of course you do, itâs your home: the cave where you and your father curl up together for warmth, the rivers where the otter clan chatter and play their tricks, up in the treetops the monkey clan howl and down below the boar clan stampede.
You love your home, but you want to see the world outside of it.
///
The kodama come out at sunset, when the Shishigami walks the forest and begins to transform;Â they watch and click their curious little heads, observing a phenomena that has happened daily for centuries and yet is still so breathtaking.
Sometimes, the fox boy joins them, head tilting in unison, mesmerized.
Sometimes, from the very top of the town walls, the second son can see the top of the Night Walkerâs head breaching the canopy.
They both wait, though they donât know it, for the stranger to arrive.
~
A/N: Out of order sectionsâthey were written as I thought of them, sorry, and it seemed weird every time I tried to put them in chronological order.
I donât know about you, anon, but I got very strong Princess Mononoke vibes from the prompt? Or was that just me? Regardless, new AU! đ
⊠I might have turned Naruto and Sasuke into Disney princesses what with the whole âwanting to see the world outside my forest/town/castle.â
4, Shikako/Sai ( if you have time )
â
(Friendship Is A (Mutual) Con)
Shikako stares at Sai, the breath for her response caught in her throat, more confused than concerned, but a healthy amount of both.
Sai stares back, guileless.
â⊠we can work on that,â Shikako finally says, hesitantly. She is angry and horrifiedâbut not at him, itâs not his faultâand it takes effort to keep it out of her voice.
âIâve read many books on this subject, so Iâm quite confident Iâve mastered the theory,â Sai responds, holding up his tablet which proudly displays the title: Love and Other Mysteries.
â⊠thatâsâŠâ this time there is no hiding her skepticism, âWell⊠think of it as needing field experience. Cooperation leads to teamwork, teamwork leads to friendship, and friendship is a great step towards love.â
Sai nods as if what sheâs saying actually makes sense and isnât something sheâs just making up on the spot.
And itâs not like anyone else on the teamâbesides Sakura, that isâis emotionally competent enough to dispute that.
///
Shikako realizes she still has her comm on ten minutes after the screaming fight with her brother has already ended.
Mostly because Sai, showing his developing social acuity, quietly clears his throat before asking, âDid he not like your gift?â
She sighs, exasperated and embarrassed with herself and, maybe, a little unapologetically petty at Sai for eavesdroppingâlet him deal with the audio feedbackâbut if he had to wade through that awful argument then she does sort of owe him an explanation.
âNo, he was grateful for it. Itâll speed up his recovery by months, if not years, and itâll definitely make his PT easierâŠâ
âThat didnât sound like gratitude.â
Shikakoâs chuckle is more bitter than amused, âHeâs worried about how I got it, instead of focusing on his own health which is what really mattersâŠâ
She sighs again, exhausted. Itâs been months of this, she just wants that easiness that they used to have.
â⊠sometimes love is hard.â
///
This is their final heist as a teamâor as this team, at least: Sakura returning to her previous team, Yamato clearing his name and getting reinstated, and Kakashi finally obtaining the peace that had eluded him for so long.
âWill you be staying?â Sai asks her as he packs up his rigâthere is a strange lack of urgency and so he takes his time to stow everything away neatly instead of just shoving things in his bag as someone else drags him away.
âYes,â she answers, swiftly, simply, no consideration needed. She tilts her head over at Naruto and Sasuke, who are both saying their goodbyes and trying (and failing) to be professional about it. âThey need me, still.â
There is a pause as Sai continues to pack and Shikako watches, not wanting to interfere.
âAnd you?â She finally asks, as the last zipper is zipped.
He shoulders his bag, two hard shell cases in either hand as well, and answersâswiftly, simplyâ
âI havenât finished my lessons, yet.â
~
A/N: I donât know why this was so difficult for me, anon⊠itâs not the pairing thatâs the problem. I think maybe because this prompt was already asked with a blank check platonic pair and I had to NOT do the same thing hereâŠ
Anyway, hope you enjoy!
46, platonic team 7+kakashi, that one fairy tale au with big bad wolf kakashi i think u talked about a while back
â
(Tamed)
âMy brother had magic,â Sasuke says, muted, staring into the campfire. Naruto and Shikako look at him, attentive and enraptured: Sasuke never talks about his past.
Kakashi looks awayâhe already knows this story.
âMy parents. Our entire kingdom. They were so proud,â The words are stilted, as if dragged out of him, but he pushes through, âThe first prince in generations to have magicâŠâ
The silence is so long that for a moment they think heâs stopped, thatâs all he will say on the matter.
ââŠit overwhelmed him, turned him mad. He cursed everyone.â Sasuke closes his eyes, clenches his fists, âThatâs why I have to kill him.â
He stands up quicklyâthe sudden movement causing the other two to flinch backâand stalks off.
âNot too far,â Kakashi calls after him, getting only a dismissive grunt in return, but he does stay within shouting distance and returns to their campsite after an hour.
He is still silent, sullen. For the next two days, the three of them donât hear another word from Sasuke, but at heart his mood isnât regret.
Itâs relief.
///
He doesnât know it, but Naruto comes from a long line of legends: foresters who protected children who strayed off the path, knights who slew monsters, seventh sons who cured kings, princesses that outsmarted trickster demons, all the way to heroes whose names grew beyond any single act.
They were there whenever an injustice needed to be righted. They were on the front lines in wars against evil. They were wanderers who faced the worst the world had to offer and gave their all to make it better.
And then they gave some more.
Sometimes, fortune favors the bold.
Other times, fortune is feckless and all consuming, taking and taking and granting only rarely with the highest interest rate.
Kakashi knows, but will never tell him: on the day of Narutoâs birth, despite all the sacrifice that was made, that debt harshly grew.
He is the last of his line: any luck that falls his way will exact balance upon himâŠ
⊠and on his precious people.
///
Shikako does not have a tragic background. Her lifestyle has always been, if not gentle, then fair and without strife.
She has enjoyed much from her station and she knows, one day, that she will have to take up the duties expected of her and return the privileges that have been afforded her.
But not yet.
âPlease,â Shikako whispers, small hand clutching at the rough fabric of his cloak, âNot yet.â
He doesnât know where the misunderstanding aroseâShikako intent on fleeing an unwanted arranged marriage, her father sending search parties and hiring an, if heâs going to be honest, overpriced hunter to make sure she hasnât been taken against her willâbut itâs both a hilarious and heartening situation that he thinks heâll keep track of.
That is what he does, after all.
âThe world can be a scary and overwhelming place for young highborn ladies,â he says, just to gauge her mettle. If she really canât hack it, heâll deliver her to the Nara stronghold himself.
The same hand that clung to his cloak for comfort now tugs sharply, jerking him down closer to her level. He bends with it, because why not?
âI may be a lady,â she responds, quiet but fierce; she brings her free hand between them, and in her palm blooms a small green flame âbut Iâm far from helpless.â
~
A/N: Are they a train crash waiting to happen? MAYBE?!
Sorry for the late response, sociallinkmax, I had the first part done and then got waaaaay swamped with RL⊠stuff.
I was debating whether or not Big Bad Wolf Kakashi was literal or figurative or a mix of both (like some kind of Ladyhawke situation?) so I just went the ambiguous route.
Number + Character/Ship + (optional) AU â> my ask box
[If anyone else wants to do a softer world prompt that isnât on the list, you can just send the page id number for the original comic instead.]