List of Alternate Universes

Alternate Universes (or verses) are plot-bearing storylines both written and theoretical that take place in different settings, employing existing characters to either "act" or exist in them. Only the worlds where they actually exist in the space are considered verses. Situations posed solely for humor or amusement are crack scenarios.

The resulting character variances (called variants or alters) sometimes have differences in appearance and personality that stray from their standard characterization, due to setting or events taking place. They can sometimes be entirely distinct from their base (original) forms.

Both BT and KoY are included together, as at points they start to overlap, due to the Break.

= Black Tears Verses =

Black Tears (BT)
Set in modern-day America, BT-verse stems from the Black Tears RPG. The verse follows the adventures of certain members of the Black Tears, a branch of the Russian mafia working out of Miami, Florida. The "base" world for most of the 'verses.

Primary players: Reoccurring Characters: Background Characters: Many of these characters reoccur in other verses with increased levels of importance. Most if not all of them share relationships of some sort with the others.
 * Aleksei Zel'dovich - a sociopathic mob chemist
 * Dema Khrushchev - a standoffish glass sculptor turned body disposalist
 * The Twins, Boz and Kolya Shcherbarkov - hypersexual magicians turned cat burglars, or vice-versa
 * Vova Koresov - a juggernaut serial killer, and major antagonist
 * S. Credo Santori - the twins' agent and Kolya's lover
 * Criso Santori - a sommelier, Credo's younger brother and Boz's lover
 * Paris King-Mason - a deaf marksman; the twins' chauffer
 * Irina Zel'dovichka - Alek's innocent baby sister
 * Dakmar Polek - a moody Polish orphanage director, friend of the twins
 * Pia Lubari - Dakmar's co-director, and Dema's controlling mother
 * Yuri Chekhov - a genderqueer FSB agent; Pavel's assistant
 * Pavel Shcherbarkov - an FSB agent; the twins' father
 * Peter Shcherbarkov - a bookstore owner; Pavel's twin
 * Sasha Lazarev - a boy with a hero complex; Irina's only friend
 * Ivanev Zel'dovich - a Russo-Lithuanian banker; Aleksei's late father
 * Zivon Khrushchev - a Russian expatriate, slacker; Dema's late father
 * Paolo Carriero and Arianna Santori - Credo and Criso's late parents (backstory only)
 * Grazia "Nona" Santori - the Santoris' highly religious grandmother

Sleeping Beauty (SB)
A writing project based on the story of Sleeping Beauty, set in a fantasy world in a medieval-renaissance time period. Taking place in the warring kingdoms of the Star and the Cross, SB follows the adventures of the Elementals, a trio of powerful fairies (Boz, Dema and Aleksei) tasked with the protection of the heir to the Star, who witnessed its destruction. A rewritten dark fantasy with a gay twist, as the heir is not a princess, but the Grand Duke Nikolai (Kolya), heir to an empire--with no idea how important he is.

Major Characters: Minor Characters: Featured Relationships: Most of the minor characters do not appear in canon directly and are "formally" introduced in this 'verse.
 * Boz, Dema, Aleksei, Kolya and Credo.
 * *Nona, Pavel and Peter, Paolo, Arianna, Danii, Dakmar, Pia and Vova.
 * Credo/Kolya, minor Dema/Aleksei (and Dema/Boz/Aleksei), hinted Pavel/Paolo

Variant Notes:
 * Boz, Dema and Aleksei have a better relationship overall. Obviously they weren't ethereal beings in canon.


 * Boz is more mature in the more commanding role of leader. He and Kolya are no longer related, though the resemblance remains. His aggression is represented in his offensive powers.
 * Dema is more proactive, though otherwise not wholly different from canon. His protective nature is represented in his defensive powers. He is 100% more active in going after Aleksei.
 * Aleksei is less awful, though still sharp in general. The love he has for Irina in canon is transferred to Kolya here. His healing powers are entirely ironic, his role as an alchemist a nod to his canon job.
 * Kolya, being younger, is generally less predatory and more innocent. And, he is 16 and not 30.
 * Credo is also younger, though otherwise exactly the same, albeit more naive. Criso exists but is not related to him. The fate of his parents is lifted almost directly from canon, but made worse.
 * Paolo, Arianna and Danii all die in canon, but Pavel does not. This is somewhat represented in Pavel's fate in the story. Peter 's attachment to him is similarly (though darkly) represented.
 * Nona 's role as the villain is an extreme exaggeration of her borderline-zealotous religious beliefs in canon.
 * Vova is adapted into a demon to contrast the main trio, and his hate towards them is based in his canonical obsession with killing Aleksei, and Dema (and potentially Boz) being obstacles to that.
 * Dakmar and Pia are married, in opposition to their non-committed relationship in canon. The orphanage doesn't exist as a result, and neither does Zivon.
 * Minor only in that she has little screentime; her role is actually quite large.

Horror Story (HS)
An AU-turned-writing-project based in a modern setting, with a distinctly horror movie tone. A quintet of college students get lost on a simple trip (three having gone, two having followed them) and end up caught in a storm, which swamps their truck and leaves them to seek shelter in an abandoned old plantation house--which promptly locks them in. The house itself has a foreboding presence, and is riddled with things that just keep going wrong. It seems intent on watching them fight the tide, leaving two options: kill each other--or die. It didn't bank on one will present being stronger than it is.

Major Characters: HS is a psychological thriller (and better than it sounds), featuring extensive terrorizing, injury, psychological torture and even the deaths of the major characters. A supernatural element is heavily present and responsible, with occurrences of mind-control, time-manipulation and extreme paranormal activity.
 * Pavel, Peter, Zivon, Paolo and *Ivanev Zeldovich

Variant Notes:
 * Everyone is far younger than other appearances, with the twins in their early 20s, Zivon in his mid- and Paolo in his late-20s, and Ivanev (as the youngest) is 19. None of their love interests exist.
 * Pavel is the most changed. He is somewhat less militant than in canon, being more akin to his FLoE counterpart. His job as a campus guard is a nod to his time as a beat cop in Moscow in BT. His relationship with Peter is also more akin to FLoE than BT.
 * Peter is roughly the same, with additions of FLoE Peter's fear of ghosts. (Unestablished in BT.) Being a psych student is a nod to his reoccurring career as a psychology professor and shrink.
 * Paolo is gay as fuck, he just doesn't know it. Arianna either does not exist or has not appeared yet in this verse. His being a grocer is both a reference to his family in SB being traders and, through that, his base being from similar backgrounds.
 * Zivon is not dead. Aside that and being bi, he's probably exactly the same, down to not having a job and pissing people off. The butt of every joke, probably as punishment for his role in canon.
 * Ivanev is also not dead. He may or may not be gay. Mostly he's just uncomfortable. May or may not die first due to his being the first to do so in BT, timeline-wise.
 * Minor in canon, introduced directly here.

Beauty and the Beast (BatB)
A writing project based on Beauty and the Beast, in the same series as SB, set in an unnamed medieval setting. The story follows Paolo, the jovial but directionless fourth son of a merchant. When his bumbling father runs afoul of a monster crossing the mountains, Paolo is forced to sacrifice himself to save his life. He finds himself trapped in a frozen world, where the only life is the domain of his captor. Aided by an army of unseen servants, Paolo strives to piece out the history of this unnatural place, and in so doing, seeks to learn of its master, a dragon-like being who is certainly more than he seems.

Major Characters: Minor Characters: Variant Notes:
 * Paolo and Pavel
 * Most of the BT cast, *the Carriero family (Marco, his wife Teresa, Tonio, Polo, Cesar and Lola), **Masha and Peter
 * Paolo and Pavel's age gap is widened and reversed, with Paolo shy of 20 and Pavel half past thirty. Neither of their love interests exist that we know of.
 * Paolo, being younger, is distinctly more willful and less guided. His acceptance of the Beast reflects his ability to tolerate and accept Pavel's less attractive features. May or may not be an extreme masochist, beyond what is normal for him.


 * Pavel 's transfigured design is representative of the more hazardous habits and how easily they harm others in other verses, with the circumstances of his curse representing how his own actions tend to ruin his life. His design is directly inspired by a reference in SB (by a young Credo) to his being a dragon. He in his mid thirties, making him older than Paolo.
 * Peter 's fate is directly representative of how Pavel's actions tend to backfire on him.
 * Boz, Kolya, Aleksei, Dema, Dakmar, Pia, Credo and Criso all "appear" as the invisible house staff, and are referred to by titles, being the Painter, the Chamberlain, the Seneschal, the Groom, the Marshall, the Cook, the Pantler and the Butler respectively. Their personalities are unchanged, though none are related to the major players. Their relationships from canon are largely preserved.
 * ***Dick is suspected to be here...somewhere
 * A rare case of created in this verse, then written into others retroactively. Undefined until this point.


 * Minor in canon (Aleksei's mother), introduced somewhat directly here.


 * Character ported from UNS due to a connection to Peter there; becomes something of a thing

Bubbleverse (BV)
An oasis amidst the drama for the BT cast, as payment for these other AUs. An idyllic alternate timeline in which everyone is able to meet young, get together and have relatively normal lives, without the addition of the mob or endless death. Not without its drama, but the drama is way down by comparison.

Major Characters: Minor Characters: Variant Notes: Mostly slice-of-life stuff. Playing video games, family interactions, relationship issues, adults having sex, teenagers trying to avoid having sex. Oh, and violence. Major plot follows Kolya and Credo trying to navigate a relationship they shouldn't be in without their parents finding out. Gets complicated quick, and leads to Drama (tm).
 * Pavel, Paolo, Boz and Kolya, Credo, and Criso
 * Peter, *Dick, *Davy, Yuri, Chaz, and **Andrei Chekhov
 * Pavel and Paolo are now married! Because they deserve it. Which makes their kids stepbrothers. All the yikes, and yes, it's a problem. But a minor problem. So much banter. Religious and sex jokes, right in front of the kids. The kids want to be adopted. They're gross. We love them.
 * Peter and Dick are also married. Dick is a lawyer (shock), Peter is a shrink (double shock). They have a dog named Pasha and he is the biggest baby. They are also gross. We also love them. Cheating jokes, and doing chores. Sex as bribery. Dick is an ungrateful husband.
 * Boz and Kolya are their own unique entities due to not losing their father. Core personalities persist, though they are teenagers. Stealing not a thing? (Cop dad.) Still queer tho.
 * Pavel is now a police sergeant instead of an FSB agent, and is still a widower, but remarried. Speaks English, albeit reluctantly. Still as scary but perhaps a little less intense, due to social contact. In better shape due to constant nagging. And he has his kids. So he's happy. Also accepts that he's bi.
 * Paolo survived the crash this time, though he was the only one. House dad, relatively happy, if not bored. He spends half his time cooking and the rest nagging. Let's be real, he was probably always bi. May or may not have a Youtube channel. (Dad4Hire, Subscribe) Kolya calls him Dada (aww).
 * Boz is still a little shit who can't not get in trouble. Gamer nerd, reads a lot of hentai and collects comic books. Temper problems are still a thing. Relationship issues with Pavel carry over, ironically mirroring Pavel's relationship with his father. Brother complex may not be a thing? Not sure. Still overprotective.
 * Kolya is more withdrawn due to lack of trauma, though still horny, being sixteen fifteen (don't lie Kolya). Still gay, and unfortunately, still into Credo, which causes drama. Self-image issues are worse than usual because young. Adventures in Being a Gay Teenager. (Spoiler alert: it sucks.) Cute af.
 * Credo is a mess, as usual--just aged down. Track star, good student, goodie two-shoes. Banters with Boz, fusses at Criso, accidentally in love with Kolya. Again. Riddled with shame. Also...broke someone's hand. With a rock. (It's always the quiet ones.)
 * Criso really is the baby now! The youngest at thirteen. Follows everyone around and bothers them because he needs to. "Pay attention to me!!!" Comic relief, but he's smarter than he looks, as usual. "Daaaaad"s Pavel so much it's now a running joke. (Pavel loves him.)
 * Yuri is friends with Kolya, and exploring his gender presentation. Relationship with his father is somewhat improved from canon, where he never appears.
 * Chaz has been downgraded from relatively efficient rival character to classic teenager rapist stereotype. And boy does he play the role well. He also pays for it. (I'm sorry Chaz.)


 * First semi-official appearance in BT-canon, crossed over from UNS. Accepted as canon characters.


 * Introduced here, not even mentioned in canon.

= Kingdom of Yaoi Verses =

Kingdom of Yaoi (KoY)
Set in a questionably medieval and hilariously inappropriate universe, KoY stems from the (now defunct) Kingdom of Yaoi RPG. Largely a backdrop for porn with a sprinkling of the occult, the greater world surrounds locales themed in various fetishes and sexualities. Other settings include the all-female Kingdom of Yuri and the kinky Kingdom of Paraphilia. Puns are a thing. Lighthearted until it's not. 'Base' verse.

Primary Players Reoccurring Characters: Background Characters: Storylines include the development of Helvah and Frederick's unlikely relationship, Helvah's past (extremely dark, like pitch-black) and daily goings-on in the wacky Kingdom. The second point is the basis for most subsequent KoY AU-additions.
 * Helvah Sei'Dist - the manipulative Royal Inquisitor, a giant with a British accent and a dark past
 * Frederick Du Con - the sheltered but well-meaning court Counselor
 * Reginald Du Con: infamous Baron of Libertine in Sadistique; Frederick's adoptive father
 * Jasper: a thief and an assassin, possibly from Hentai (or Kamar); Reginald's lover
 * A. Vischias Sei'Dist - a cannibalistic slave-trader, and Helvah's late boogeyman brother; important
 * Whiltheld Sei'Dist - former Viscount of Sadistique in Paraphilia; Helvah's late father
 * Naughta Sei'Dist - Whiltheld's beautiful but sarcastic wife; Helvah's late mother
 * Jonathan Priest - chamberlain of the Sei'Dist house; Helvah's late mentor and Whil's lover
 * Isabella Brisby - a timid governess from Yuri; Naughta's lover, also late
 * Vienna: Frederick's mother, an escaped masoca slave; not much else known

Possession Arc (Possession/SS)
A parallel timeline to KoY, in which Helvah's nightmares become reality, to shocking, unexpected outcome. Originally a Halloween writing exercise exploring Vischias as a vengeful ghost/antagonist, it became more complex with the addition of Fred as a counter-measure. Equal parts horror and comedy that spirals entirely out of fucking control.

Major Characters: Variant Notes:
 * Helvah, Frederick, Vischias and *Fred
 * Helvah and Frederick are the same personality-wise, since the plot is canon-parallel. However--
 * Helvah is now prone to possession when his father's gauntlet is absent. Vischias' ghost is able to take control of him when he's mentally exhausted, banishing him to the back of his mind. The first time, he's awake for the result. Afterward, he isn't, but finds himself in varying states with no corresponding memories. He thinks he's going crazy.
 * Frederick is revealed to be a masoca, a race characterized by gold eyes and a "faulty" pain-sense, which causes the brain to process it as pleasure. This is canon but was never revealed, and was explored in the original Possession first. Frederick has no idea, because Reggie hid it from him.
 * Vischias appears as a poltergeist, in varying states of mutilation and insanity, to wreak havoc on his brother's perfect world. Mostly he's there to amuse himself, hurt things, or drive Helvah crazy. He's not sure which is at the top of his list. And it seems to be working, until he gets tangled up with...
 * the Djinn, also called Fred, an ethereal tied to Frederick as a makeshift guardian to ward him from harm. As Vischias is targeting Freddie to get to Helvah, this brings them face to face. Fred finds Vischias entertaining as a warped human being, and the two of them enjoy an entirely fucked up relationship through their respective vessels.
 * Originally a joke character retconned in and given a purpose. And then he took over.

Started with the original Possession RP, only to be expanded through the sequel story (Sweet Surrender) and various other ficlets. Plotlines include Helvah's growing paranoia, Fred and Vischias taking turns screwing/beating/punking each other, the two of them ending up in love (???), and Frederick's building awareness that all of this is going on. Starts the exploration of V's mental illness and expanding of his character. The end isn't finished but it's predicted to be bad, as only it can be when one of them is a mad, murderous poltergeist. Which leads to...

The Break
Fred's response to being told he could not keep his crazy new boyfriend--him being inhuman and Vischias being dead, and insane--was to break the multiverse and try again. Not only hard to explain, but it's never been done before.

As a result, Vischias (and usually Helvah) finds his way into verses he was not planned to be ported to, with Fred following shortly after. Vischias varies from incarnation to incarnation. The variants in order are: Fred appears to each of these as a normal person intent on getting close to him. Each time, he gets a little closer. The unique bit: Fred is always the same being from Possession. ''And he knows that he is. ''His goal seems to be finding a world in which he can "keep" or "save" him. He never manages. And he keeps trying, getting more and more attached to him as he goes.
 * "V" (UNS): a Cerresian noble turned witch hunter for his own amusement; not even kinda trying
 * Victor (FV): a privileged but severely mentally ill son of a land magnate; biker; pianist; trying
 * Changeling (HV): a disturbed young man with an ability and form for each of his three personalities

Every time he starts over, another verse is created, resulting in about a dozen fracture-worlds that dead-end, and V and H showing up in places they don't belong.

This process dead-ends at Heroverse, resulting in Fred making a Choice that might rewrite KoY entirely.

Kingdom of Yaoi: Wishverse (KoY-W)
Alternate canon exploration through the history of the Sei'Dist family. Vischias Sei'Dist is heir to the viscounty of Sadistique, but from the day he learned to talk, it was clear there was something up with him. His father's answer was simple: teach him social skills, using someone his own age. Simple in theory, difficult in practice, when the child in question delights in torture and cruelty. Enter Alfred Du Con, a boy Vischias' own age from a rough and tumble background, who is different for more than one reason. The major one: he's not afraid.

This AU is kind of a big deal.

Major Characters: Storyline follows these two through V's childhood, offering alternate scenarios to explore, in the interest of "saving" Vischias from his fate--the unattainable goal of all prior AU attempts. If successful, the result will cause a ripple-effect, rendering Fred human in all the other verses and effectively changing their outcomes.
 * Vischias and *Fred

Minor Characters: Variant Notes:
 * Helvah, Frederick, the Sei'Dist household, and Reginald Du Con.
 * Vischias remains as he always was: the brother destined for greatness, but hampered by mental illness that threatens to ruin (and eventually end) his life. His struggle with his insanity is clearer here, which humanizes him more than the canon perspective. A lot of his defining life events have the possibility of going entirely different, however, thanks in large part to the addition of...
 * Fred is Alfred Du Con, foundling ward of the Baron, and Vischias' companion from childhood. Mortal this round, due to supernatural meddling. He's present with a purpose he has no idea of. And this is his big chance. Has no idea how long he has been in love with that prick, or that he's about to head right back into it. Also masoca, because irony is fun.
 * Helvah is much the same, but with a twist; the addition of Fred keeps Vischias off his back throughout his childhood, neutralizing a lot of trauma. As a result, Helvah becomes a reasonable (if wry) foil to his brother, and a surprise ally. Oddly, the lack of trauma gives Helvah a chance to establish himself as a stronger character earlier on.
 * Frederick (the potato of legend), the same, plus an obnoxious older brother. Makes for an easier childhood, having someone else around besides your mean old man. Beyond that, still a bun.
 * Reginald and Whiltheld get along a lot better, having more common ground, each saddled with a nasty kid and a permanent headache. Otherwise the same.
 * Jonathan is revealed to be a "passing" (not visually obvious) masoca, which was never established in canon. Plays into the storyline in that it adds him as a supportive presence for Fred and another point of reference for the social issues of masoca in general.
 * Isabella is happy to have an extra baby to squish, okay?
 * First actual human appearance

Other Characters:

Added specifically in Wishverse and made retroactively canon.
 * Domine Aeon - a baron and an old "friend" of Whiltheld's. Their families keep trying to kill each other.
 * Prince Hyppoliti - a lord under House Domine, and Whil's ex-lover. Helvah's Inquisitor-Master.
 * The Domine Twins, Etienne and Aetrix - Aeon's children and potential hazards to Vischias
 * Prince Everleigh Charming - Pol's nephew, Etienne's bf; possibly the most dangerous person here
 * The Big Three - Cruelle Sei'Dist, Domine Nance I and Prince Leigh, heads of the three Houses

= Crossover Verses = Thought-experiments never intended to actually take place, which either developed plots of their own, or else were made some form of 'canon' by Fred's interference. The start of interactions between BT, UNS and KoY characters, which sometimes carry over to their respective canons.

Survival (SV)
A world in which everything is garbage and everyone dies. The Walking Dead and Resident Evil meets Fallout; originally intended as a post-apocalyptic thought-experiment before Fred and V showed up and made it worse. Zombies are generally called "muertos" by the Spaniard family, "assholes" by everybody else. There are classifications for different types of zombies.

This 'verse was banned by Fred, who caused it in the first damn place.

Variant Notes: Overarching plot follows Paolo and his kids as he joins Petrograd, makes "friends" with the natives, and gets involved with Pavel, them discovering Dema, who later bails, the bandits raiding the place, Boz getting shot, Paolo getting bitten and Petrograd's fall after the fact. Kids learning to survive, fighting bandits and fighting zombies. One major plot point sees Pavel vs Vischias in a major to-the-death battle royale that has no business being as cool as it is.
 * Paolo survived the apocalypse with his sons; his wife did not. He's both more relaxed and more strict, depending on the situation. Suddenly a huge slut, though that might have been the case. Gets the axe halfway in from a bite.
 * Credo is 18, and Dealing with Some Things (tm). Much more erratic than usual, with sudden spikes of temper and rebellious behavior that get him in trouble. Still enamored by Kolya, still protective of Criso. May be on the edge of going crazy. Weapon of choice is a pipe.
 * Criso is like 13, and ill-equipped to survive. Cute tho. Mostly there to get in the way and get Credo in trouble. May or may not get better at this after his dad is out.
 * The Twins are the same, just 15-16ish; Boz is a mouthpiece with a temper and a gun, and Kolya is the comm person and mostly here to dick with Credo. Boz gets the axe in a bandit raid; Kolya may or may not get bitten while out on a run by himself, if Credo doesn't save him.
 * Pavel runs a survivor's camp out of an army base, called Petrograd. He is essentially his canon-self up to eleven, militant, cold and not prepared to be nice. Pragmatic to the point of shooting people on sight. Paolo has a hard-on for him, big-time. He is Not Okay (tm).
 * Peter is the camp medic, mostly because he's the only person smart enough to do it. His job is to patch people up, check people out and keep Pavel from killing everyone.
 * Dick is MIA. Peter is not over it.
 * Yuri is a pre-teen around Criso's age, wearing a dress and able to snipe you. And he'll do it. Little bit desensitized to the violence.
 * Dema is a teenager leading the husk of Zivon around on a leash, and talking to it. He mastered the zombie-guts-as-cover move, to the point that Boz calls him the Corpse Herder. Not scared of anything. Doesn't talk much. Probably the least okay person here.
 * Davy, Katie, Archer, Katya and Andrei are all support characters. Archer abandons ship when Pavel starts to crack, taking Kat with him. Katie and Davy are unknown, but they're definitely trying to bang Paolo. (Yoo-hoo~) Andrei teaches firearms; gets sniped by bandits.
 * Henry runs the Other Survivors, along with older characters Mischa Zion, Adrian Parker, Ganymede Galen and Zelda York, a few others and an unknown character missing an arm. Frederick was around at some point, but he's...missing.
 * Vischias is just the Bandit Leader, because of Course He Fucking Is, and he is having a grand time of it. Controls pretty much every evil or questionable person from every other 'verse--including Gavrila Petrovsky and Cal Galen--kills with impunity and laughs while doing it. The epitome of how bad any version of Vischias can be.
 * Fred is there mostly to amuse himself and (sometimes) run damage control on V, not even trying to hide that he's immune to zombies and all harm. He is pretty sure he is in control, but surprise--he's not.
 * Anybody else not listed is definitely dead. Like, with extreme prejudice.

Cancelled after the reveal that V had captured Frederick and--[this post has been redacted by Fred because V is Still in Trouble]--forcing Fred to kill V and Reset the whole thing. Nobody is sorry.

Ficverse (FV)
A UNS-based AU set (questionably) in modern times, following the adventures of multiple characters who have no business being near each other. Hilarity ensues. Includes two timelines, the second created by Fred's meddling in the Break. May be peripherally related to Bubbleverse.

Variant Notes (Group 1): Stems from a handful of AU-fanfictions written over a few long nights. Scenarios include the Bad Trio (Teag, Dick and Davy) meeting Robin (and Rose) at a college party, some random porn, attempts to get Teagan a dog and stop him from drowning himself in a bottle, and--most frequently--them hosting episodes of RiffTrax while watching movies. [Kingsman, V for Vendetta, Pleasantville, & Jaws.]
 * Rainer is identified by his first name, Robin (or reluctantly, Robbie); more true to his actual nature than presented in UNS canon. Shy, awkward and desperately conflicted. Rainer's issues with sexuality and self-consciousness show all over the place. Dresses like a dork--and rides a motorcycle. Running joke that he manages a restaurant.
 * Caspian is Teagan, a college-age Irish hustler. Minus magic, he is exactly the same, down to hypersexuality and self-destructive tendencies. Lacking powers, Teag is more fragile, and suffers from a modernized port of his canon history. Just as bad as it sounds. Easily triggered due to past abuse.
 * Dick is a middle-ground between two variants, being spoiled, caustic and combative (FLoE) while maintaining a sense of right and a strong protective instinct (UNS). Friends with Davy and Teag, with indications of a little more. Might be in friend-love with Teag. Connection to him carries back to UNS.
 * Bower is Davy, Dick's friend and a hopeless, well-meaning flirt. His working-class chav presentation is a nod to his low-born upbringing and casual nature in canon. Will 100% end a tosser if they mess with his mates. If it moves and walks upright, he'll flirt with it. Might be in friend-love with Dick. Super bi.
 * Milady is Rose, a friend of Robin's from a high-society background. whose only goal seems to be getting him into trouble. As always, she is never out of her depth. Single appearance.
 * Kura is Sarena, Teagan's twin sister and a small-time criminal. She is an active part of his life, and is equally resentful to and protective of him. Next to no appearances.
 * Peter is a psychology professor at the local college, whom Dick is a little crazy over. He is mostly ignoring him, for the moment, but that's obviously gonna change, let's be real.

Other Characters: Other Variant Notes (Group 2): Plotlines here include both the Before and the After, with the Before focusing on Victor's attempts to get his mental situation in order and Fred's attempts to help him, the After focusing largely on Henry (Helvah) and his wrecked love-life. Important features are V trying to get his shit in order, daily life stuff with Fred, family interaction in the Before, rom-com relationship problems with Freddie and Helvah, and unfortunately, Victor's execution and its ugly aftermath.
 * Helvah, Vischias, Frederick, Fred and the Sei'Dist family, now with appropriate names (see below)
 * Helvah Sei'Dist becomes Henry Christophe Abernathy; a professor at Dick's university, specializing in sexual psychology. Lost his job for being a slut. Problematic relationship with just about everyone but he's funny? And still hot? 90% of his plot is him kicking himself over bad choices. The rest is his brother. (Still goes by Helvah.)
 * Frederick Du Con becomes Frederick Duncan; a psych professor and unfortunately Helvah's ex. Still too nice, and too ready to deal with bullshit. His blind devotion to Helvah carries over but is filtered by having too much of a clue to be entirely blind. He's just a little blind. Dad calls too much. "Dad, I have to go. Dad--"
 * Vischias Sei'Dist becomes Anton Victor Abernathy; before and after becoming a convicted murderer. Before-edition is 20, seeing a shrink, and trying to keep his shit together. A breakdown results in the whole family getting the axe, as usual, except he did it himself. 20 years later, he's on death row. Shockingly, Helvah visits him. (Pre-Reset)*
 * Fred is just Fred, supposedly Jasper's "nephew," and Victor's boyfriend from the Before. Barely pretending to be human. Showed up early enough to have a real relationship but didn't manage to stop him. He invested actual time trying, gaining an actual understanding for what V is going through as a result. This is the place where Fred gets attached for good. (Pre-Reset)*
 * The Sei'Dists are now Wilhelm and Nadia Abernathy, a very rich land baron and his wife. Both still gay and married for convenience. Servants are exactly as they were, just modern. Will is still tired of his older son. Older son still hates him. Consistency. They still die, but this time, V did it himself.


 * The ripples created by the Break may change anything involving V, Fred, Henry and Frederick

Heroverse (HV)
a superhero AU in a world where superhumans are vilified. Features the twins and Santoris centrally, with Alek, Dema and Paris acting as antagonists. Watchmen meets Eastern Promises. Overarching plots include: Credo meeting Silver Shield and them forming a rivalry, Credo meeting Kolya and not realizing who he is, later figuring that out and lording it over him, Boz and Kolya's power struggle and damaged relationship, SILENCE being dispatched to kill Silver Shield, the criminal club being destroyed and both Santoris dying (fake-out), and Reactor stealing everyone's powers with a machine, rendering the superhumans mortal and forcing normal humans to take up the mantle. Would probably make a great comic series.
 * Everyone is either the same but worse or completely polar opposite here?
 * The Twins are separated, due to a difference of opinion regarding their powers. This deviation leaves them both to become worse than they are in BT canon, due to the lack of support system.
 * Kolya is Silver Shield, a vigilante who uses barriers and gravity manipulation. He wears glasses, speaks in an English accent (to hide his Russian ancestry) and is more withdrawn due to time spent alone, showing next to none of Kolya's hypersexuality. His low self-esteem is personified in his superpower: shielding. His alter ego, Cole Kinsley, is one of Kolya's many pseudonyms.
 * Credo (hoo boy) is completely different from his base form. Not only a crime boss with a hired assassin (played by Paris), but over-confident and personable, albeit kind of a dick. Plays the role of a criminal mastermind while secretly finding ways to take his competitors out. He is basically "evil" Batman. Not actually evil. Wears a beanie sometimes. Enjoys being shouted at by Kolya.
 * Boz is Rebellion, an antihero with hyper   speed powers that he abuses, to deadly side-effects. Without Kolya to babysit, Boz is out of control, his hedonistic tendencies upped to eleven. His natural energy is symbolized in his power--called Blurring--the drug side-effects of abuse nodding to his addictive habits and tendency to overindulge. His eyes turn red when he uses his powers, as a nod to SB!Boz.
 * Criso is not very different on the surface, but is a lot more shrewd here. He plays the airhead host at his brother's club, Biano Rosso, secretly acting as an information broker for the criminal underworld. Not nearly as helpless or as foolish as Criso in canon. Still into Boz. (And Paris. For some reason.)
 * Paris is SILENCE, a deaf assassin. Bullets shot from his gun make no sound and mute the person they strike, stopping them from screaming. The worst possible variant of Paris, utilizing his canon skill with a gun for evil, and suffering the fate he fears the most: complete hearing loss.
 * Alek and Dema are minor super villains Reactor, a scientist who can manipulate matter on a molecular level, and his brainwashed lackey armed with a flamethrower, Inferno. The worst possible variant of both of them, with Dema lacking any of his personality, defined by his attachment to Aleksei, and Alek's superiority complex magnified into full blown megalomania. Not fully explored. Not sure it will be.
 * Vova is Atlas, an insanely strong superhuman imprisoned by the Project after failed experimentation drove him insane. Ironically the most human variant of Vova, prior to going crazy. May or may not know Kolya from being in prison. (Wink.) Deus ex machina of the story.

In addition, the Break added Their plot is largely trivial in the initial run, though the ripple-related Reset adds more. Highlights include Pace knowing who Fred is, Hunter and Fred playing murder tag a la original SS and Fred slowly facing the fact that this has all spun out of his control.
 * Victor from Ficverse and his bullshit are dialed up to eleven, as the shapeshifter Changeling. His personality is divided into alters, between Vischias' "levels", each with their own powers and forms: the Patient (or "Pace," calm; a seer), the Hunter (aggressive; a telekinetic) and the Jackal (psychotic; a juggernaut). Victim of superhero experimentation project called Titan, which just made him worse. On the run from the law, when he's not fighting with himself (as Pace and Hunter) or destroying the city.
 * Fred appears as the Traveler, in a last-ditch attempt to get his hands on V after Ficverse's failure. Displeased to find that he's even crazier than usual but not deterred, he gets attached to two of the three personalities, which just complicates it further. In denial that he just wants the original Victor back.

Immigrant Song (IS)
A Prohibition-era scenario, based on the fact that almost nobody here is an American. (Is there an American here somewhere?) Pits the Russians and the Brits variously against each other. 20s-30s aesthetic, gun violence and porn. Largely shenanigans with a healthy heaping of Drama™. Themes of family, community, identity, and preservation of one's culture are persistent throughout.

Variant Notes:
 * Credo is an Italian immigrant new to the city, working as a clerk for one of the few businesses not sunk by the stock market crash. He makes next to nothing, but passes himself off as someone with money out of pride. He is obsessed with a cabaret performer, and spends every dime he has trying to impress him. The results are mixed. His little brother Chris (formerly Criso) is also around here, somewhere.
 * Boz is now Beau, owner of a speakeasy masquerading as a bisexual cabaret. He imports illegal booze and provides entertainment for anyone who can keep their mouth shut. His policy is hands-off: as long as you don't hurt anyone, and don't talk about anyone's business, you're welcome. Despite a big smile and easy manner, he's got a gun in plain sight. If he isn't in trouble yet, he will be.
 * Kolya is Nikki, a young man using his brother's club and a job delivering newspapers as a cover for his main side-hustle: working as a rentboy. He is very fascinated by dangerous men, and has little care for his personal safety. Credo is infatuated with him, much to his amusement.
 * Victor Abernathy becomes Vic Castle, a bootlegger during the stock market crash. As his family is now on the brink of ruin, his goal is to make money and a name for himself independent of his name. When he's not supplying Beau's club and outrunning the cops, he spends his time in college, largely as a cover. His attempts are both fruitful and immediately costly, when he gains the notice of--
 * Domine Aeon, now Ian O'Rourke, an Irish philanthropist and secret mob kinglin, known in the underworld as Reaper Bishop, or the Irish King. Vic's business brings him into his notice. Bishop is well-liked in Irish circles, with most of the populace unknowingly sending their children to be his soldiers under guise of respectable employment. He is Catholic, despite his work--and he is utterly terrifying.
 * Henry is Vic right hand, helping him run liquor and acting as an alibi when things get sketchy. Barely sixteen, he is a reluctant gangster, but resigned to his role. He becomes a hostage when Vic runs afoul of Reaper Bishop, and has to find a way to save himself. He is not getting paid enough for this.
 * Fred and Teagan are rentboys, variously employed at the speakeasy as either bartenders or entertainment. They share a shitty flat in a poor tenement. Fred is involved with Vic (as usual), much to Teagan's exhaustion. Fred only sort of knows about Vic's side-hustle, which leads to some unfortunate complications when shit hits the fan.
 * Prince Hyppoliti becomes Holden Paul McKnight, an Irish-American lawyer and captain under Reaper Bishop. He is Reaper's first line of defense in the legal arena, and acts as his sounding board for major decisions. His mentor/student relationship with Henry causes a conflict of interests when he's captured.
 * Wilhelm Abernathy is a businessman ruined by the stock market crash. Formerly a mobster named William Castle, he bought his family out of the business when he took over for his father, only to have his oldest son put them right back in it. He is displeased, to say the least. The danger to his children brings him out of retirement to face his former friends in the Irish underworld.
 * Etienne and Aetrix become Ethan and Beatrix O'Rourke, civilian children of the Irish King. They are aware of their father's enterprise, but largely uninvolved. Ethan is a law student, banned from involvement in the family business due to his poor health and good nature. He is a better sport about it than his sister, who is more involved in his work than her father knows.
 * Davien is now Irish, working as an enforcer for Reaper Bishop, possibly in preparation of succeeding him in place of his delicate son. He takes far too well to the violence of being in the mob. His usual partner in crime is *Shanon O'Leary, fellow enforcer ward of the Bishop house.
 * Prince Everleigh, as Evan McKnight, is a police officer who goes undercover in the Irish mob in order to identify its leader and his suppliers. His uncle's involvement complicates his cover, forcing him to act as if he has finally taken up the family business in order to successfully pass. He is very much in danger, with a single slip standing between himself and a shallow grave, no matter whose family he is.
 * Exists in W, ported along with House Domine

Plotlines feature being gay in the early part of the century, crime thriller stuff, the mob and all sorts of other nonsense. Suit porn is a Thing. Highlights include Vic and Henry's adventures in bootlegging, Vic being shot in a deal gone wrong (he survives), and a trial regarding his "business," as well as Beau's exceptionally queer cabaret, Credo's building obsession with Nikki the sexy postboy and Chris' attempt to find where he goes in the world. Reaper Bishop acts as a major antagonist, taking Henry hostage when Vic crosses him and sparking a war between the old crime families as a result. The whole of the plotline is dark, dark, dark, and revels in it entirely.

= "Fractures" = In screwing with the multiverse, Fred unintentionally destabilized it, resulting in a number of worlds that are both completely non-canon and unwinnable scenarios for him personally. They serve no point other than to delay him and waste time he could spend chasing V.

Most of these take place between Ficverse and Heroverse.

Moulin Rouge (Verse)
"Not to be confused with Moulin Rouge (Play)"The first of the fractures, and the first one in which Fred finds himself both not in control and completely unaware of the state. Essentially an adaptation of both movies--the 20s and the 90s--the plot becomes convoluted by the influences of both Fred and V. Major plot moments include Fred and V finally forming an attachment, albeit reluctantly on V's part, and the plot-breaking murder of the Duke by V. The Elder Gods (in the forms of Jasper, Frederick and Reginald) step in to present an ultimatum: allow Victor to die and the world will be Reset, or try to save him, and share Satine's painful death by TB, as a mortal. Fred spitefully chose the latter, in an act that got it Reset anyway.
 * Fred fills the role of Satine, and is otherwise unchanged, save his loss of power and equal loss of awareness of the fact. He remains aware that the situation is one he caused, though he has no damn idea how it ended up being in that setting. He rolls with it to a point.
 * Victor takes the role of Christian, though his being a writer is swapped out for being an artist doing design-work for the production. He is blase at best and openly hostile at worst. He is a destructive presence, more than in any other world.
 * Unknown Character as the Duke, the financier of the Moulin Rouge. A then-unidentified person who acted as the first genuine threat to Fred. His interest is entirely nihilistic, viewing him as an object to own.

PKMN
(To be added, I'm tired)

Haunting Ground (HG)
Fred wants to play games? The Elder Gods have got games, and the first one is fucking Haunting Ground. Fred wakes up as a girl, to a world where everyone wants to kill him her. Mostly just Fred being pissed off and half-naked while the gods play puppetshow with his friends. The only goal is getting the fuck out of here.
 * Fred wakes up as Fiona Fredette, a teenage girl in the Italian countryside, confined to a strangely oversized gothic manor-castle. All of his world-bending abilities are gone. The stakes are simple: prove he really wants his bae by completing the game, or be trapped in a comical, never-ending death loop. He responds about how you'd expect--by kicking his way through the game, bitching all the way.
 * Victor is a dog of the same name. No, not in the sense that he's a terrible man. He's literally a dog, reduced to a red shepherd with a scarred-up face. How sentient he is--or if he even is Victor--is up for debate, but he's a smart dog. He'll help Fredette out, sometimes. When he feels like it. Maybe.
 * Henry takes the role of Lorenzo, the mastermind behind Fiona Fredette's capture. Having a good time being a villain, though his portrayal is more serious and less flat-out comical than the actual game. Still reads like a bad, dramatic impression of Helvah more than Helvah himself.
 * Frederick takes the role of Daniella, the robotic maid. A role that should not suit him but he's terrifying in it, flat-affected and dead-eyed, his masoca background tying into the character's masochistic tendencies. Unlike V, this is implied to be the real Frederick. And in rare moments of clarity, he knows who caused this. Fred may never forgive them for that.
 * *Valice is dragged out of mothballs to play the creepy, gun-obsessed Ricardo. He is essentially a caricature, even within the bounds of his own limited character. His job is largely to get Fred to try and murder him. And, he succeeds. Don't hurt my dog you gigantic prick.
 * Debilitas isn't played by anyone as of yet. Which is just as well because Debi is cute and we like him. He just has red hair now.
 * Introduced here, taken from KoY; included due to minor antagonistic history between him and Fred. Becomes the disposable 'villain' from here

The goal here is just to finish the game, as presented by Fred's Bosses, the Elder Gods. The whole exercise is a punishment for him "playing games" with people's lives. It's not that They care--They just don't appreciate Fred playing God. That's their job. Any argument he could have is cancelled by the fact that They're just doing what he's been doing the whole time. Turn-about is fair play.

Highlights include Fredette playing Hide and Seek with the other characters, realizing his attachment to Frederick through Daniella's scripted death, getting reluctantly attached to the goddamn dog, making eyes at Lorenzo and almost forgetting he needs to escape, and a whole lot of breaking the game script because fuck that noise. His misuse of the mechanics--including snorting camomile, trying to brute-force traps, making messes to slow down Daniella and outright trying to fight Riccardo--gets him in trouble, and exhausts his tormentors. He tries to cheat through puzzles a lot, and dies a lot, respawning at the save-clock.

Once he finishes the game, he's free--for the moment.

Technoverse
Blade Runner and A.I. meets Detroit: Become Human. Potentially a peripheral tie-in to the story WIRED.

Fred wakes up in a futuristic setting intent on finding Victor, only to learn that he's too late. Victor is already dead, having killed his family, leaving his mother the single survivor. Fred is shocked to discover that Nadia vented her grief in a mad way: transforming her sons into AIs and selling them on the open market. The models based on Victor are not even a shadow of him--save for one, and it's convinced it really is Victor. The major deviations in this verse are that Victor did not survive his final breakdown, and that he managed to take Henry with him, inadvertently sparing their mother instead. This has never happened before; V always fails to kill Henry due to his absence, and ends up captured before he can kill himself.
 * Fred is the same, though he is entirely out of place. No one knows or recognizes him as in other worlds. The only boon he has is knowledge, his limited powers translating as the ability to interface with technology he touches. He is tasked with destroying the rogue AV100 before it can kill its creator, or anyone else. The problem is, he isn't sure that he wants to.
 * Victor is dead, replaced with AV100, an android clone. Convinced that it's the real V, AV100 plans to take revenge on his mother for "changing" him. He can jump between AV models at will, infecting them like a virus. His presence is signaled by the androids' standard issue brown hair turning scarlet. His vision is red-filtered, to mimic V's colorblindness.
 * Made from a sample of his voice, HENRY is a phone-based virtual assistant, and a top-selling app, the boyish, friendly voice and cute avatar endearing it to the population. It is Fred's only ally, and implied to be more than an app. The real Henry was killed by his brother.
 * Nadia is CEO and head developer of a cybernetics company. Left broken by the loss of her family, and aware that her indifference may have led to their deaths, she responded by creating artificial copies of her sons. She did too well with Victor, who tried to kill her before he was taken by force for mass-production. She is not okay.
 * Will, Isabella and Jonathan were casualties. A.I. versions of the former lurk unfinished in Nadia's workshop, one because she didn't know him well enough to create a convincing double, the other because she couldn't bring herself to finish it. The third was never attempted.
 * Frederick appears as an employee at the cybernetics company, implied to have knowledge of either the real Henry or the digital one. Fred may use him as an "in" to access the main office.

Highlights include Fred's shocked introduction to the world, the dangerous cat-and-mouse game with AV100, the discovery of the history of both it and the HENRY app, and the growing realization that he is wasting time chasing ghosts. HENRY acts as Fred's main companion, helping him bypass obstacles and learn about his target, all while consoling him in its too-familiar voice. The story culminates in a final confrontation between the murderous AV100 and its reactivated sibling, the secret model HC100, which Nadia hid when the AV model was seized.

The background involving the creation of the androids, their programming and AV's inevitable breakdown is a side-plot, as well as an attempt by a rival company (owned by Ian Bishop) to acquire the failing cybernetics corp in a merger. Frederick's involvement may or may not indicate his awareness of the false verse--having known of Henry despite his death, either through multiverse memory, or the android itself.

There is no good ending here. The best outcome is HC100 throwing itself and the rogue AV off a roof, to prevent further chaos. The worst is a critically damaged AV100 playing the piano and reflecting to Fred about the reality of death for an A.I. before finally shutting down.

= Experimental Verses = Thought-experiments that explore the psychology of certain characters, but do not otherwise fit into any other category.

Silent Hill (SH)
An AU in which the major characters are subjected to a Silent Hill scenario, both for their personal issues and as a group. Features Aleksei, Dema and the twins, and in one variation, Sasha. Largely conceptual, with monster designs and plans written out but no actual story minus framework for each plot. Personalities are all the same.

Symbolism:
 * Aleksei: most of the monsters representing his past crimes, the violence he's done, and the guilt over it. His role in Vova's madness is a large factor. Alek is unable to defend himself, being a coward, and as such has no access to weapons of any kind, forcing him to flee or use his brain to survive. The Titan is his demon, symbolizing Vova, and it remains immortal for as long as he denies his wrong-doing.
 * Dema: monsters are representative of his personal delusions and his reclusive, do-nothing attitude. Dema's Silent Hill is somewhat more industrial and features multiple instances of burning or fire, culminating in his demon, Firestarter, a warped and twisted personification of his greatest enemy: himself. Crosses over with Aleksei's in certain places.
 * The Twins: many of the creatures represent their joint damaged childhood, their issues with authority figures and in particular, their co-dependent relationship, represented by their stalker, Otstali' (meaning backward), a pair of monsters fused into one, whose existence relies on the other. It stands for their inability to function apart, and how crippling it is.
 * Credo: centers around the polarized feelings he has regarding Kolya and how those feelings go against his religious upbringing. Most of the monsters are representative of his uncertainty regarding the people around him and how his beliefs affect his relationship with Kolya, with the town divided between worldly and religious themes. Themes also include his blindness to Criso's growing up.
 * Sasha: a more standard Silent Hill, with the twist that Sasha has nothing to atone for. His monsters are representative of his warped perspective on good and evil, with many of them actively manipulating or targeting him by playing victim or impersonating people. Brings into question his hero complex, and if he is truly helping others, or just sacrificing himself.

Most of the SH plots revolve around each character's issues in themselves and how they must be forced to overcome them or die. Mostly psychological exploration into each victim.

An interesting new addition to the lineup is Victor (FV), who appears as a side-effect of Fred's reality-bending putting him in the crosshairs.
 * Victor: features largely depersonalized monsters, symbolizing his disconnect from people due to sociopathy, their habit of gawking from a distance representing his subconscious fear of being judged. His demon is the Withered Wraith, a physical manifestation of a hallucination he regularly suffers: his reflection, horribly mutilated. It appears from mirrors when glimpsed too long. The appearance of pill bottles represents his growing need of medication...and the refusal to take them causes the world around him to become even more nightmarish.
 * Unlike every other verse, Fred is unable to meddle, beyond contacting him through a radio--one that only works if he is clear-headed enough to "hear through the static."