#poto / black swan au

[jadevalentine-writes]

WIP Wednesday - New HuaLian AU

Chapter 1 - Prologue

Yin Yu’s job was far from easy. Being a senior member of the stage crew for a prestigious playhouse was enough on its own, with long hours and physically demanding work. But it was the “extra” job that often drove him to his wits end, though he would be the first to deny it and the last to show it. 

He did not realize when he volunteered to be assistant production manager that the job would transcend even unorthodox theater hours. Nor did he realize that it meant running errands for the production manager. 

Thankfully, after years of servitude, Yin Yu was quite good at it. 

He knew which papers to pick up on Mondays, which bakery resold their Sunday pastries at a discount, and that if he actually wanted to have a seat for his hour commute he had to get to the bus stop early. He knew which keys of many on his keyring unlocked the playhouse gate, the front door, and the front office. He could disarm the front house alarm in his sleep. His Monday morning routine was pleasant, albeit predictable. 

After he sat down the bag of pastries and drinks - a plain, hot black tea for himself and a cardamom coffee for his boss - he would begin sifting through the mail, sorting into piles based on addressee. The majority would be distributed by the office staff, but Yin Yu always handled the production and stage crews' mail. Usually the pile would yield nothing but junk, but today proved different. 

A single letter addressed to his boss on the playhouse owner’s unique letterhead. 

Yin Yu scooped up the pastries and drink tray and tucked the letter under his arm. His boss was fortunately always at the playhouse. It was just a matter of finding him. 

Like Yin Yu, though, Hua Cheng had his own Monday morning routine. And Yin Yu knew just where to find him.

[janeewannabe-blog]

au where the phantom of the opera doesn’t actually exist, or at least isn’t a real person. it’s christine who has gone all-out black swan, breaking the mirror in her dressing room and getting lost in hallucinations as she wanders the passageways of the opera house, her mind a combination of the stress of becoming the lead soprano, the unexpressed grief over her father, and the stories she has heard for years from buquet. for a while, the others believe her claims to have been taken, but slowly, the stories begin to fall apart, and slowly, the evidence of notes and sabotage around the theatre begins to point back to christine, even though she swears that “the phantom” is going to eventually going to come after her too. this leads raoul to finally confront her on the roof with “there is no phantom of the opera!”

au where she honestly can’t escape from him. au where the phantom of the opera is really only in christine’s mind.

[ooc-charming-david]

A & U for the fandom ask game? :D

A - Ships that you currently like a lot. (They don’t have to be OTPs because not everyone has OTPs.) Friendships, pairings, threesomes, etc. are allowed.

Oh boy, I have so many ships. Like. So many. But don’t multiship, so only like 1 ship per character, and usually only like a few per fandom. So this doesn’t get batshit long, I’ll start with my current obsessions du jour:

OUAT: 

OTPs: Snowing and Frozen Swan 

Platonic Relationships: Daddy Charming, Mama Snow, Charming Wolf (Charming & Red), Grandpa Charming. 

Harry Potter: OTP: Wolfstar

Platonic Relationships: Harry & Sirius, Golden Trio, Marauders, Harry & Luna, Harry & Hagrid, Harry & Dobby, Harry & Remus, Harry and ALL THE WEASLEYS

And Miscellaneous that I’m not totally obsessed with right this second but that I will always circle back to (in no particular order):

OTPs: Elizabeth Bennet/Mr Darcy (pride&prejudice), Merthur (BBC Merlin), Fosterson (MCU), Stucky (MCU), Neo/Trinity (The Matrix), Jake/Neytiri (Avatar), The Doctor/Rose (Doctor Who), Legolas/Gimli (LOTR), Crowley/Azirphale (Good Omens), Link/Sidon (BotW), Jamie/Claire (Outlander), Victor/Yuuri (Yuri on Ice), Buffy/Angel (Buffy), Erik/Christine (PotO), and like... more but that’s what I can think of right now.   

U - Three favorite characters from three different fandoms, and why they’re your favorites.

Ohhhh good question.

1) Harry Potter

Sirius Black - Sirius has been my number one favourite character from any work of fiction since I was about 12. So like... over half my life. It’s almost hard for me to put to words why he’s my favourite, because he just feels so intrinsically tied to my heart. Sirius is good and brave and loving. He puts the people he loves before himself, always. First James and then Harry. He’s been through hell and he isn’t okay, but he’s kind. He’s cracked but not broken. I could write a 5000 word essay about why I love him so very much and how much he means to me. I have endless headcanons about him. Like. Endless. You know, he stayed in Azkaban and didn’t even try to escape until he found out Harry was in danger. He didn’t do it for himself, he did it because his love for his godson is so profound, and he had to protect him from Pettigrew. I just.... @ me some time for an essay about it. I won’t write more here but yeah he’s just... my favourite forever. 

Hermione Granger - Hermione got me through the worst time in my life. I’ve always related so very much to Hermione. I was bullied horribly in elementary school and high school (like to the point where I was escorted off the school premises by the police for my safety once, and the school board apparently had a meeting about my case. Like. It was BAD). And seeing how Hermione was so bullied, especially in the first book, and how Harry and Ron became her friends... I read that when I needed to read that the most in my life. In my heart, when I was growing up, I was Hermione, and when I had no one, I always had Harry and Ron. 

Remus Lupin - Goddamn I love Remus. He’s been through so much and has been ostracized for something that isn’t his fault for most of his life. He has a softness and a patience and a gentle kindness that I will always love him for. He’s such a wonderful teacher, and another parent to Harry. I want an au where Sirius and Remus raised Harry more than anything, y’all. Remus is just so beyond wonderful, I can’t even. 

2) Once Upon a Time

Charming / David - Y’all do I even need to say it? I love literally everything about Charming. He’s so profoundly selfless, loving, brave, kind, romantic, loyal... and yet flawed and real. He would do anything for his true love and his family. He’s the best dad and the best husband I can think of in fiction. He’s just the best and I love him with my whole heart. I could say so much more but I don’t want this post to go on for 100000 years.

Snow - Y’all know I love my Snow. Snow is strong and tough and brave, and yet she’s always forgiving, and soft in her love and understanding. She will do what she has to do to survive and to help those she loves, and even those she doesn’t. She has been hunted and tortured and traumatized, and yet always remains kind, forgiving and hopeful. I love her so very much. She reminds me of my late Baba, sometimes. My Baba was a holocaust survivor  -- her parents, siblings and best friend were all murdered (except for one brother), and she always said of the Nazi monsters who did those terrible things that she wouldn’t even slap their faces. Some people think Snow is weak for how forgiving she is, but I see nothing but strength in her. 

Emma - How can anyone not love Emma? She’s the one that started it all. She is her father’s daughter trough and through. She’s strong, passionate, takes no shit from anyone, and loves her family. Her relationship with her parents are two of my favourite platonic relationships of all time. (Also she’s a beautiful bisexual disaster and I love her.)

3) Marvel (especially MCU)

Jane Foster - LISTEN. I love Jane Foster with my whole entire heart and anyone who doesn’t love her can FIGHT ME. She’s a tiny fiery Jewish Genius and she’s the BEST. The first Thor movie is one of my favourite movies of all time. The beauty of a scientist falling in love with a God/Alien is just so profoundly beautiful, y’all. She’s strong and smart and brave and so very real and I love her so much. I am SO BLOODY PUMPED to see her become Thor in Love and Thunder. 

Thor - I fuckin love Thor, y’all. As you’d see the second you walking into my apartment. Thor has such a beautiful character arc in his first movie, going from a dumb, entitled jock to this caring, soft, kind man who saves kids and would do anything for his lil scientist soulmate. He is such a fish out of water, and he’s just such a wonderful, loving man and I love him SO MUCH. Also, his power set is just so fuckin cool, y’all. 

(oh gods now I have to pick between Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes, and Clint Barton???? How could you do this to me, Becky?!) 

Steve Rogers - Steve is the character who I most relate to in the MCU, especially pre-serum. I, too, am short and have shitty joints and will always stand up for the little guy. Steve is a tiny hero in the body of a suped-up god. All he wants is to do the right thing, to help everyone he can, and to protect Bucky Barnes. Steve and Bucky are one of my alltime big OTPs. That man was ready to start a whole goddamn war to protect Bucky, don’t @ me. Also, as the grandchild of holocaust survivors, how could I not absolutely adore a man who beats the shit outta Nazis? My Hero. 

[cosmicroyalty]

I have to confess that I asked because I was wondering what you think a Lotura Phantom the the Opera AU would be like. (But with Lotor in Raoul's role and not Eriks. Every PotO AU I've ever seen always seems to forget Raoul)

*nods in agreement* Tbh I’ve thought about Raoul and Erik after reading your ask, anon.

The Lotura + POTO AU I’ve seen are all with Lotor in Erik’s role, which is also valid. (There’s a twitter thread of @starrycove‘s amazing fanarts with Shiro as Raoul, but you probably have seen this before :3)

But if I’m going to make a Lotura POTO AU, I would include Dark Entity! Lotor. Which means DE Lotor would be Erik while Lotor is Raoul. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

(I’ve heard an adaptation of Swan Lake makes the villain Von Rothbart the dark version of Prince Siegfried, just like the mirroring image of White Swan/Black Swan. So why not?)

After all, it’s DE Lotor who comes to visit Allura in her strangest dream. ♫ In sleep he sang to me, in dreams he came ♫

Here I am proposing Allura/Lotor/DE Lotor again, I’ll see myself out. *inserts this pic I made before and runs away*

[jadevalentine-writes]

So Phantom of the Opera ending on Broadway has me thinking of dusting off my HuaLian POTO/Black Swan AU...