AU Meme!

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For m_a_foxfire, a 1930ish cops & gangsters AU starring the YYH boys.

It's worth pointing out that I know nothing about the 1930s and that I made most of this up based on old TV shows.

The Katana's Blade

Every cop in Detroit knows The Katana rules the underworld – but as they hunt down the elusive crime boss, none of them realize that the monster they're hunting is actually Urameshi Atsuko – a thirty-something single mom.

Urameshi Yuusuke grew up in the slums of Detroit, left to fend for himself as his mother fought and murdered her way from part-time prostitute, to bootlegger, to full-fledged kingpin of the Detroit underground. Yuusuke is the proverbial diamond in the rough – a street fighter and small time thief who somehow manages to keep well away from his mother's brutal line of work. But that comfortable distance is about to be shattered by a single violent act.

When a rookie patrol officer witnesses an execution carried out by Atsuko's lieutenant he finds himself targeted for death, not only by Atsuko's forces but by turncoats and traitors within the PD. Kuwabara Kazuma finds himself in the unenviable position of having only one person left to turn to – his best friend and greatest enemy, the son of the very woman who is trying to kill him.

****

The story also stars Hiei as one of Atsuko's lieutenants, Kurama as an internationally known thief who has some good reason for being around, but damned if I know what and Yukina as Hiei's younger sister and Atsuko's somewhat unorthodox love interest. Shizuru will show up at some point and seduce Kurama while going into business with Atsuko – to Kuwabara's horror. Kuwabara and Yuusuke spend most of the story shouting at each other and narrowly avoiding death until they sort of accidentally fall in bed together toward the end. Kuwabara finds out that Atsuko might be a criminal but she's a hell of a lot more honest than the local PD, so he quits his job and goes into work as a private investigator. He wakes up one morning to find Kurama has set up shop as his partner and without coffee, Kuwabara hasn't the wherewithal to argue about it.


For lady_flamewing, a pirate AU starring the YYH boys:

Pirates By Necessity

Urameshi Yuusuke is the greatest merchant trader on the seas! Except that his crew consists of a bunch of second-hand rejects, his reputation is non-existant, and he's pretty sure he doesn't own his own ship anymore. Also, the fact that his ex-wife Keiko, and his ex-partner Kuwabara have gone into business together is making him uneasy – almost as uneasy as the fourteen different attempts on his life in the last month.

His problems are about to get worse. Something dark is stirring to the south, something that stirs the long-dormant demon blood in Yuusuke's veins and drives the Halflings mad with rage. When the Empire gives the command to execute any of demon descent, Yuusuke is forced into the life of a pirate.

But if he thought he had problems before – well.

****

While enjoying himself entirely too much as a pirate – he's way better at that than as a merchant, it turns out – Yuusuke finds out that Kuwabara and Keiko are on the run as well, and that they're hiding something big. Since they're both human (and Kuwabara's a psychic, from a long line of demon hunters) Yuusuke can't understand why they've been forced to run. Kurama and Hiei are agents of the power in the south, though Kurama seems to spend more time being vague and ineffable than actually doing any conquering. And Hiei's only serving as the power's agent so that he can have access to the exiled Halflings – because the power he serves holds his sister hostage and only one of human blood can save her.


For amaronith, a TMNT zombie AU:
It has been three days since Leonardo and Michelangelo went out on patrol and never came back and Raphael and Donatello are running out of places to look for them. The city is in chaos as more and more people fall mysteriously ill, and now people are being attacked as victims of the illness seem to be going mad. But when Raphael is trapped with one of the infected, he realizes the situation is even worse than that: these people aren't going mad. They're already dead.

As the plague spreads, Raphael and Donatello join forces with their human friend Kid Terra, desperately building a sanctuary where survivors can wait out the coming apocalypse and hopefully outlive the plague. Unfortunately for all of them, not all of the survivors are interested in rebuilding society.

*****

Splinter becomes infected when the zombies begin to overrun the city. He dies fairly quickly, and Raph and Don are forced to make sure he does not rise again, an act that's pretty much gonna scar them for life.

The government tries to seal of Manhattan, allowing people out only through a quarantine site. Don and Raph take April and Oyuki there, and the two women manage to escape the city only hours ahead of a nuclear strike meant to wipe out the illness before it becomes an uncontrollable plague. While Don and Raph work to cross the country with Kid Terra, heading to his base in the Southwest. April and Oyuki put together a team of survivors as the plague spreads further and further.

The military has abandoned them, pulling back to the West Coast and setting up a line of defense at the Rocky Mountains, saving what they can. So those left alive are basically on their own.

And to make things even worse, as the dead outnumber the living, the living become beacons and a horde of the dead begin to swarm, slowly but inevitably, toward the few lingering bands of survivors.


For lilmatchgirl007, a YYH rockstar AU:

Okay, so it started as a cover for a job Koenma sent them on – a vampire, operating out of Europe, is posed as a musician and is converting his fans at an alarming rate. Koenma send the YYH team in undercover as a new and rising band – the Poltergeist Hunters. With Kurama as the lead singer, Yuusuke on guitar, Kuwabara on drums and Hiei doing whatever the hell he wants, they infiltrate a German charity concert and try to figure out which of the rockers is responsible for the sudden increase in Europe's undead.

Unfortunately, it turns out that their vampire has been busy.

And they just may be the only ones at this charity concert who aren't vampires.

****

It's not really an AU, sorry! It's the only thing that came to mind, though. Eventually the YYH boys realize that nearly every fan at the concert is a vampire, and that most of the band members are being converted as well. Their cover gets blown when one of the vampires tries to convert Hiei and gets himself skewered instead.

"Nice going," Yuusuke snapped.

"I think the very notion of a little vampire Hiei is more horrifying than anything these guys can do to me," Kuwabara said cheerfully.

"Look at it this way," Kurama interjected, "we maintained our cover for almost an entire day. That's a new record for us."


For deathgod02, a Magnificent Seven urban fantasy AU:


Since the American continent was settled generations past, it has been a melting pot of races; Human alongside Slayer alongside Kin. But the darkside has their own representatives as well: Nightfliers, Darkseekers, and the Skinwalkers. An unsteady truce remains in place, one that's about to be threatened.

The Kin have lived alongside the Humans for untold generations, separate but equal, friends and allies against the darker beings. But a power is rising inside the Kin, a living Abomination who seeks to seize control of his own race, as well as all the others.

As the Abomination rises to power, seven unlikely men find themselves forced into cooperation as they stand against him. Chris Larabee, the human Hunter, whose family and dearest friend were killed by the Abomination; Vin Tanner, a Slayer whose mother died at the Abomination's hand when she refused to serve him; a human witch, Nathan Jackson, whose healing talents will serve them well, and his friend Josiah Sanchez, a Darkeater at the end of his life. There is John Dunne, a human psychic whose visions will show the Abomination the road to ultimate power if he cannot effect his own escape, and Ezra Standish, whose background is cloaked in the darkest of the Abomination's crimes, and whose allegiance is yet to be determined. The Abomination's own son, half-Slayer, half-Kin, working from within the Kin to topple his father's regime.

They're going to have to stop a race war the likes of which mankind has not seen in a thousand years. And the Abomination is not the only one who wants to stop them.

****

So, in brief:

-Nathan's a healer (aka, a witch). His village was slaughtered by Darkseekers when he was a child and he was kept alive as a food source for months until he was rescued by a man named Josiah Sanchez. The trauma of his captivity pushed his healing talents into remission, and it's only since his marriage to a witch named Rain.
-Josiah's a Darkeater, someone who can siphon energy and magic from the Darkseekers and their kind, use it to fuel his own powers. Darkeaters die young, usually, but Josiah's religious upbringing kept him secluded and he did not utilize his abilities except rarely until late in his life.
-JD is a psychic, which is pretty rare among humans. Visions of the future are usually the domain of the Slayers and even it's usually relevant only to their personal experiences. JD is unique because he sees the future of others and that's what the Abomination wants him to do.
-Chris Larabee was a young man when his wife, son and best friend were killed by the Abomination in a violent, unprovoked attack. He's spent the past several years becoming one of the strongest and most powerful Hunters alive, protecting human and Kin from the Darkseekers and their like.
-Vin Tanner is a Slayer, the son of Emily Tanner, who was a Slayer of almost unbelievable power. When the Abomination wanted her to serve his new regime, she choose to die rather be a part of the new order he was building. What, exactly, the Abomination wanted of her, Vin never knew. But there are two men who can answer that question for him.
-Ezra Standish is the son of a Kin woman and a Skinwalker father, making him a sort of abomination himself. He's served in the Abomination's court since he was a child, but his allegiance is not to the Abomination, but to the Abomination's son.
-Buck Wilmington is the son of a Slayer and a Kin lord – the Abomination himself. He had lived much of his life among humans, until his father killed Buck's adopted family, Chris and Sarah Larabee, and their son, Adam. Now Buck lives amongst the Kin, working with a handful of true allies to bring his father's new order crashing down. Now he must find a way to rescue the psychic John Dunne before the boy's power can be usurped by the Abomination.

Because the Abomination doesn't want JD to see the future for him. The Abomination wants to steal JD's power for himself.

It's more period fantasy than Urban fantasy. Sorry!


For rin_sakaguchi, a TMNT AU in Ancient Rome

It's worth pointing out that all I know of Ancient Rome is what I get from Lindsey Davis novels. So, bear that in mind. ^_^

Raphael, Donatello, Leonardo and Michelangelo were infants when they came into the possession of the emperor Claudius, a gift from a foreign dignitary named Hamato Yoshi. Yoshi believed them to be animal spirits. Claudius believes them to be demons, and raised them to be warriors, meant to lead his armies in brutal conquest.

But Claudius is a weak ruler, and Rome is already divided from the chaotic rule of Claudius's predecessor. As the new Emperor rises to power, the four brothers must decide for themselves whether they will fulfill their training and fight for Claudius – or if they'll decide on a new future – as a family, and as individuals.


For kahn, a Hardy Boys science fiction AU:

Fenton Hardy was one of the greatest law enforcers of the Terran Prime Government, quelling unrest and terrorism and his death slowly toppled the planet into a violent Civil War that had been decades in the making.

As Earth slowly consumes itself, Fenton Hardy's two sons leave the planet and their father's legacy behind, starting anew on the planet Artos – an uninhabited, fertile world that is slowly being terraformed for human colonization. Privately owned and outside the control of the Terran Prime Government, Artos has managed to escape the bloodshed and chaos of the war.

Frank Hardy is a communications expert, organizing the terraforming teams into cohesive groups and maintaining contact. Therefore he's the first to notice when the teams begin to suffer casualties at an abnormally high rate – and then begin disappearing altogether.

Despite their best efforts, it looks as if the war has caught up with the terraformers. And despite their effort to leave it behind, it looks as if Frank and his brother Joe will finally have to face their lasting legacy of their father's involvement in the most brutal war that humanity has ever known.

****

-Frank's a super-genius computer expert, specializing in communications. He was recruited for the colonization on Artos because of this, as well as for his partnership with his brother.
-Joe is a scout team leader, commanding a team of gengineered canines in a Search and Rescue squad that has already earned a name for itself. His presence amongst the terraformers is about the only protection they have.
-Callie Shaw is a regulator for the Prime Government. When the government fell, she abandoned her post and fled to the colony worlds. How she arrived on Artos is anyone's guess, but she's unusually interested in Frank Hardy – and his computer skills.
-Chet Morton, his parents and younger sister, came to Artos as a terraforming team, planning to cash in for a plot of land once the planet was safe for habitation and start a new life far from the chaos of the Terran war.
-Biff Hooper is a soldier in the Terran Cadre, stationed on an uncolonized world. When his orders demand he execute a family of terraformers he rebels, and becomes a fugitive.
-Vanessa Bender and hr mother, like the Mortons, came to Artos hoping to come out of it with the money and land to start a new life. But Vanessa and her mother are both brilliant scientists and the Cadre take them prisoner to use their talents against the rebels.

Eventually they're going to discover that Fenton Hardy was working for the rebels all along, and that his death was arranged by members of the rebels who felt that his methods of change from within were taking too long. His sons had no idea of his involvement – and no idea who to believe when the Cadre and the rebels alike come to collect revenge for their father's actions.


For yashakizu a cowboy space drama with the YYH boys
For scheherezhad a YYH Space Opera

I hope you guys don't mind sharing, but I seriously ran out of inspiration when I tried to come up with two different story ideas. ^_^ Sorry!

In the two hundred years since the Earth government began interstellar colonization, they have so far extended their reach that they've all but abandoned their colony worlds. Now, as Earth itself suffers from a virulent plague, the colony worlds find themselves cut off, alone and without support.

A hundred years later, as the Earth government is rebuilt in the hands of an entirely new generation, the colonies have formed a loose alliance and trade partnership – the only way any of them survived. These colony worlds are mostly primitive, with little technology beyond that which was used in their terraforming. Space travel is almost impossible for them and is limited to essential trade so as tostretch their sparse fuel supplies. Life on the colonies has become a sort of pre-industrial society or farmers, hunters, craftsmen and traders.

Urameshi Yuusuke grew up on the colony world of New Hope, one of the last terraformed before the fall of Earth. The settlers of New Hope are mostly families seeking a fresh start, adventurers looking for a challenge – and, unknown to any others, the descendants of the terrorist cell that unleashed the plague upon Earth. When mysterious ships begin appearing in the skies, and rumors come with the yearly trade vessel of a revitalized Earth, New Hope is plunged into a battle nearly a hundred years in the making.

****

This takes place in a dessert town called Last Chance. Atsuko runs the local whorehouse and deals in the black market. Yuusuke, for his part, works as a hand at one of the larger ranches. Keiko's family runs a local inn, and Keiko's father has been trying to arrange a marriage for his daughter and Atsuko's son for a while now – hey, the Urameshis may not be reputable, but they are wealthy. The Kuwabara family are the local law – and Chief Kuwabara may or may not be Urameshi Atsuko's ex-husband. His son, Kazuma Kuwabara, is Yuusuke's close friend, at least until the rumors of their parents' relationship begin to spread, ending their friendship.

And then there are Kurama and Hiei.

Their ancestors were not on the colony ship. Their ancestors didn't even come from Earth. And as the Colonists of New Hope prepare to fight Earth for their independence, they're about to discover that this world was inhabited long before they came – and the original owners do not like what they've done with the place.


For jenjinn a YYH AU set in Rome:

Yuusuke is the son of a Japanese Geisha named Atsuko and a Roman merchant who proved to be too gullible and too kind for his own good. Raised in Rome by his mother (his 'father' departed when it became obvious that Yuusuke didn't look a damn thing like a Roman), Yuusuke is largely ignorant of Japan and everything about his mother's life before he was born.

But as he grows older, Yuusuke begins to realize that whoever his father was – he wasn't just a merchant.

And the Gods of Rome are beginning to realize just what sort of being has been rising to power in their midst.

****

I figure Yuusuke's like a Demigod, only the Roman gods are really unhappy about having the child of a demon as powerful as Raizen lying around, interfering in their city. So Yuusuke's going to end up with most of the pantheon against him, which starts out being kind of funny and gets dangerous real fast.

Kurama and Hiei will show up – drawn by the display of godly vengeance and Yuusuke's own developing powers. Kuwabara and Keiko probably won't appear, though.