#ls!ren

Treebark Swap AU turning

There's so much to consider here. I think Scott would want to personally turn king Ren as a powerplay. Here's this other noble, and after the deed is done he is firmly and permanently lower in the hierarchy than Scott. Now, do the militia wage open war against the vampires in this world? After all, they suddenly have a much more level-headed leader, someone who, somehow, comes from a much more hopeless situation. This is a world where suddenly more than one person can survive. I bet Ren wants to avoid bloodshed at all cost, especially in light of his young Hand (daddy father figure setting a good example :).

...and so, in pursuit of peace, Ren goes to meet Scott alone. Since I want Pyro to live and already decided that Ren takes him under his wing, there could be some very complicated feelings going on here. Even if Scott is perhaps glad to be rid of Pyro, that's still his first fledgling, his property. Perhaps he even turns Ren not just as a message to him, but to Pyro as well: You will not escape me. A part of me is always with you.

And how does Ren react to being turned? What simmers inside of him, kept at bay by human restraint?

This might be silly but I genuinely think he'd be an all-out imperialist. Expand the kingdom, take on subjects, Rule as much as he possibly can, never satiated, never satisfied. ....Martyn offers his blood and he takes it, persuades his subjects the other town members to let him drink as well. He is the only vampire with a steady supply of human blood, and suddenly, open war is not off the table any longer.

Scott starts to think he might have made a mistake.

I LITERALLY CANNOT TELL YOU HOW MUCH I LOVE HTIS. HTIS IS EVEYRHTING ILOVE THIS SO MUCH

i def agree that ren would want to be more civil about it. depending on when exactly the swap takes place (or even bending timelines a bit we ball) he's already got some experience of running a kingdom and ruling. he's got experience with war and i think would perhaps find some kinship with legundo in this au since they're closer in age and def in experience more so than in canon ("they should make out also" martyn in my head shut the FUCK up we're doing angst)

-> leading on from this also perhaps it wouldbe cool to have it sort of like a reincarnation au? this has just come to my head now so it might not make tons of sense but having red king ren wake up in vsmp world after dying in third life. dying in battle with his hand beside him and not having confirmation but knowing in his heart that martyn would fall beside him in a heartbeat.

finding himself in oakhurst at the start and here's the spitting image of his beloved hand. they've found each other again, despite the odds, despite it all, so he goes to him almost immediately to strike up conversation. he might rush straight in acting like they know each other but this martyn doesn't light up with recognition. he looks at ren blankly, perhaps even with a bit of concealed fear, and the king falls short. this is not his hand

upon closer inspection, it really isn't him. it's martyn for sure, even shares his name, but he's not as self-assured, not as confident. when ren shows him kindness, he sticks to him like glue. there's no world in which ren would have turned him away; but so fresh off the battlefield, hurting and grieving his fallen, his kingdom, a younger, twisted echo of his hand at his side, it's like losing it all again. ren has no power here, knows nothing of this world. so he rebuilds

side tangent over going back to ur post: with all this behind him ren would definitely want everyone to survive. he's a very commanding force in the town having that social hierarchy being literal royalty (even if the others have never heard of his kingdom) while also being so strongly spoken, confident even if he's eccentric at times. he's somehow more down to earth than a lot of these people in town and tries to band together. the militia would be a lot stronger with him here (both in their bonds + their physical power) and would be focused on defensive measures rather than attacks as well because (as you said and i LOVE the way you said it) more than one person can make it out. they are not doomed forever anymore. ren isn't, martyn isn't, and he's going to make sure their fate is not sealed by recklessness again.

ough ough ough i love love lvoe the stuff with scott. they would butt heads at every turn, ren seeing him as an example of what a ruler should not be, all lies and manipulation and playing favourites. i looove him taking pyro under his wing.... i wonder if they'd go for the cure in this au or whether ren could convince him that being a vampire is not the be all and end all. much to consider

ren would have to have himself on the tightest leash imaginable after being turned. he can only liken it to the bloodlust of turning red for the first time, filled with this violent strength and the need to have it spilled at his feet. he's so hungry, still grieving, and he's different again. this could also mix really interestingly with dog/wolf instincts if we end up transferring the hybrid stuff

ii loooove that /. i lvoe that. he rebuilds his kingdom from the ground up and swears itll be better this time, and it is because they dont have to fall this time. there is no one winner, there is no time limit or restraint; once they're out of oakhurst, they're out for good, and ren can expand. his new hand beside him, just as unwaveringly loyal as his former, allies at all sides, he can make something good. he will make this into something good. it's that unshakeable determination that pushes him upright after being turned, vowing that he'll overthrow scott. for the red king, it'll be childsplay

ren getting blood from everyone in town and immediately becoming the strongest vampire in oakhurst, stage three and having the most allies who genuinely trust him. i loooove martyn offering his blood first because he WOULD. he'd set the example and prompt the others to give in and let them drink too. this would mirror the beheading in thirdlife in the effect it has across the server also being a drastic shift in tone and also towards ren's favour, because he's gentle with him and doesn't take more than he gives. this is a pact, a seal of trust. this time, his kingdom will win.