On The S.I.D.E.

AU Sampling For The Soul

The thing about Sanders Sides is that it's the kind of show that sends your creativity through the roof. I've never been this invested in one thing before---though, I probably have the amazingly creative and supportive fandom to thank for that---and ever since joining it back in the beginning of April last year, I've come up with several AUs.

This segment is one where I showcase some AUs that I'm pretty attached to at this point---mostly due to the designs of the characters (which I can't draw), the overall premise and how fun it is, and just how compelling it can be. They're honestly just concepts, but I thought it might be fun to show you guys them.

Here we go!

The Carnival AU

Premise

The Carnival AU is essentially a genderbent 20's AU, but there's a lot more to it than that. Remus---or, rather, Rhea---is the main character, starring as an English duchess who ran away to New York City to avoid getting married, hoping to find her twin sister---Reyna---who'd done the same thing three years ago. By sheer luck, she stumbles into a nightclub known as the Serpent Carnival, where all of the entertainers are women, and the one in charge is a skilled illusionist named Janis Devareux (who, as I'm sure you've already guessed, is Janus). Rhea soon discovers that Reyna is also employed there, and she does a fencing act that is a massive hit. Janis offers Rhea room and board as long as she helps out with the Carnival---which isn't unusual, as nearly all of the girls employed there were once strays or at least living under less-than-ideal conditions---and over time, Janis and Rhea end up falling for each other.

What the characters are like

Rhea: The epitome of a disaster lesbian, with some love of chaos and partying thrown in for good measure. She's very social, but she has literally no filter, which usually doesn't end that well. Her wild nature was actually why her parents wanted her to get married in the first place---they thought that they could maybe control her more, which backfired pretty badly. When you get to know her, she's actually pretty nice... though, she can barely function around her crushes. She eventually starts doing an escape-artist act that people go crazy over.

Janis: Sophisticated, sarcastic, and unapologetically self-loving, she's someone you don't want to cross unless you want to have your eyes gouged out with a stiletto. She started the Carnival after her father died in WWI, using the money he'd left behind to rent a space and do a one-woman show (well, it was one-woman at the time), going by the stage name 'Deceit,' though she eventually dropped it. She's a firm believer that women can do anything they please, and several of her ex-girlfriends were married to rich guys who didn't really pay attention to them... which is another reason why she has a lot of money. She's very protective of her girls, especially Rhea.

Remi (aka Remy): A flapper girl who lived on the streets for a while after accidentally burning down her house. She's a fire eater who pretty much flips off society and the government daily, and she and Rhea get along pretty well because of that. She was the first performer who joined the Carnival---she saw Janis's act, decided that she had to be a part of that, and begged to join. Despite Janis's insisting that it was a strictly one-woman show, after Remi actually showed her her talents, Janis hired her on the spot.

Emily (aka Emile): Janis's assistant, and an absolute delight. She and Remi knew each other when they were still in school, and after her parents kicked her out when they discovered she was gay, Remi instantly asked Janis to give her a place to stay. In time, Janis started to teach her the basics of sleight-of-hand, and Emily got pretty good at it, though she excelled at fortune-telling. She's always looking for a way to make people smile, and nine times out of ten, she succeeds.