aftg fantasy AUs? 👀
HI I'M LOVE YOU
I'm gonna try my best not to spoil too much of the stories here cuz I'd like folks to experience them by actually reading them,, But I'm also an aspiring anthropologist/fantasy writer so I have GOT to infodump about my worldbuilding.
Under a readmore cuz I wrote a fair amount
So first there's the andreil fae au: Andrew is a rich famous horror novelist, which happened accidentally when his therapist encouraged his violent fiction writing as a healthy outlet, and then an agent found him and convinced him to sign on, and then whoops this is his life now. He used a six-figure advance to spontaneously purchase an old farmhouse in the countryside, only to discover the hard way that the previous owner had dealings with all the nearby fae.
The hard way being by what he first assumes is a just homeless dude suddenly showing up on Andrew's property and promptly shunting him into the dangerous complex world of Seelie Court politics! (this dude is Neil, ofc)
Andrew did not ask for any of this, but he sees an opportunity in Neil, so he makes a deal with him -- ill advised when you don't know what the hell you're doing, but Andrew's like fuck it I have nothing to lose and no idea what I'm doing with my life, may as well fuck around with a fairy ig. Andrew gets schooled in the complicated Fae Rules so he can use them to help protect Neil from the trouble he got himself into, and along the way he accidentally builds a calm cozy domestic life in an idyllic little farm with this immortal being whom the most powerful immortal beings want to brutally murder :)
AND THEN we have the dark fantasy au I am ESPECIALLY excited about....... It's,, Kevin/Riko hear me out okay:
So, Kengo used to be a mortal man, but he was a powerful sorcerer and ended up ascending to godhood. He designated his mortal brother Tetsuji as king of their city-state, which Tetsuji then expanded into a prosperous empire by putting together a troop of sorcerous warriors to conquer nearby cities and tribes (these warriors are the Ravens, they use magic swords).
Riko is a demigod, son of Kengo and a mortal woman. Because of this, he has the crazy strong magic and crazy intense mood swings of a divine being, but he isn't allowed to enter the divine realm and rule alongside the full-fledged gods. He was given to Tetsuji and raised as prince, but his goal is to prove himself as a warrior so he can ascend to godhood alongside his father and half-brother.
Kevin is the bastard son of a well-respected priestess who refused to reveal his father. When she dies, Kevin is given as a royal companion to Riko -- basically a court-ordered friend/servant combo for royal children. Kevin has the healing magic of his mother, but also manifests strong offensive capabilities as he grows, which leads to him training to be a warrior alongside Riko. They grow up and Riko names Kevin as his second-in-command, and everyone can tell there's something More going on between them.
Kevin and Riko are each other's everything. Utterly codependent and obsessed, even as Riko's temper gets the better of him. Kevin understands! It's not Riko's fault he's like this! Riko's plan is to ascend to godhood and then name Kevin as next king of the Empire, keeping him as a lover even after Kevin takes a queen, and Kevin spends most of his life thinking that's exactly what he wants for them too...
But the stress and pressure are digging into them both as King Tetsuji grows frustrated over the warriors' lack of progress overtaking a nomadic tribe who refuse to assimilate under the Empire (these are the Foxes). Riko's powers as a demigod turn out to maybe not be as infinite as once expected. Plot Shit happens with Andrew and Neil that I won't spoil, and absolutely everything goes to shit. Kevin, for the first time, doubts Riko's master plan. Doubts Riko himself. And allllll hell breaks loose.
The setting is somewhat based on various ancient Mesopotamian cultures, Mostly the Babylonian and Neo-Assyrian ones, cuz Mesopotamia is a longstanding hyperfixation of mine. Nature was particularly cruel to them, shifting between violent floods and droughts, so naturally many viewed the gods as unforgiving, unpredictable, and difficult to please. I'm mashing together some historical accounts with some aftg characters and some magic ideas my brain offers me to create an unnecessarily complicated fanfiction that's surely gonna be novel length :) I'm having SO much fun you have no idea
