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Description
AU where there was no return of Simba, and as such Scar's reign went on uninterpreted.

So, sad fact about me: I'm not actually interested in TLK AUs! Just not for me, I've always been far more interested in fitting stuff in with canon. But it occured to me that it would be very fun to draw a properly elderly Zira and Scar. Scar's muzzle went gray, sure, but we never saw him old-old. That was fun enough to warrant humoring an AU ...Scar rather turned into Peter Cushing--

~~~

In this universe, Scar's reign went on with no prodigal son returning--perhaps Nala died out in the desert, or the hyenas succeeded in killing Simba. Either way, back in the Pridelands the clouds burst as they would have always, and the drought was over. Lightning still hit Pride Rock and caused a fire, but with nobody distracted, Kula and the children are rescued before anything bad can happen.

But things weren't perfect, because water did not immediately mean food: with everyone still starving and miserable, a three-sided civil war broke out: Scar and his loyalists* (both lion and hyena), vs part of the hyena clan who'd turned against him, vs the rest of the pride. With his enemies unwilling to unite with each other, Scar's side won out, and those on the losing sides were killed or ran off. With the number of predatory animals now less than a quarter of what it had been, new prey animals came to the Pridelands--but not in great numbers. The kingdom would be livable again, but still a shell of it's former glory.

*As well as his loyalists, Kula and Akina fought for him--they didn't think highly of Scar, Kula even hated him, but they had to prioritize the safety of their cubs.

Scar had chosen his heir, Kula and Ni's son Kovu, before the war. But, in this AU, Scar lives to see all of his children grow: his eldest, Nuka, Scar never finds promising as a leader. He's not abysmal, the boy is certainly devoted, but he's not strong or all that smart. Two of Scar's middle children are weak-ish, but alright--however, in the aftermath of the war, Scar begrudgingly accepts that he needs aid from neighboring kingdoms, and so gives those two middle children, Ushindi and Damu, away as betrothals. Uvumilivu, another of the middle children, is too physically deformed for Scar to consider as a successor, being much weaker even than Nuka. Vitani had been weak when she was born, but shows promise as she grows, being feisty and clever. Zuri, the cub that Scar had in secret with Akina, is a brainless wimp in his eyes, and he would rather not acknowledge her anyway as to avoid Zira's wrath. But Kovu was strong from the beginning, and shows himself to be smart and brave as he grows.

For a very long time, Kovu remained Scar's chosen heir. But as the cubs were growing into teenagers, Scar's trust in Kovu faltered, at the same time that he was realizing Vitani's potential. She had grown to be incredibly strong in spite of her early life, and more than that she was deeply devoted to her parents. She had her mother's fight in her, and, if not quite her father's brains, intelligence that was a match for Kovu's. Meanwhile, that boy was proving himself to be soft and gentle, and most concerning of all he had the nerve to question Scar. The king wondered if he had made a mistake in letting Kovu's mother live past her son's infancy--she wasn't his main caregiver, but Kula was ever present, and filling the cub's head with ideas. Vitani had Kovu's strength and smarts, with all of Nuka's dogged loyalty to mum and dad...

When Vitani and Kovu came of age, Scar made an announcement to the kingdom: Vitani would now be the heir to the throne, while Kovu would be made the leader of a new Lion Guard (he couldn't betroth them, as Kula would still be influencing the consort, and through him the queen). With no magic to pass down, Kovu's new role was a symbol at best, hard labor at worst--a title given to keep Kula from being able to complain too loudly. Vitani, of course, was over the moon: she was as loyal as ever to her beloved parents, sharing in their deviousness and bloodlust. For three members of the royal family, all was well.

But there were many in the family who were not happy. Nuka had thrown away half his life trying to impress his parents, only to find his sister rewarded instead. Uvumilivu hadn't even been in the running, something his parents had never hid from him. Kovu's future had been torn away from him like it had never mattered. Zuri, should she find out her true parentage, would have the righteous anger of one who'd spent her whole life unacknowledged and unloved by her father. And with bitter, angry, experienced lions to guide them (Kula and Akina), the four siblings could end up being a lot of trouble for the rest of the royal family....

~~~

And that's all I got! I don't actually want to write this as a full fanfic, I'm not that interested in it, lol. But it's fun to play a bit with, and I liked drawing elderly designs for Scar and Zira--I hope you enjoyed the detour! Oh, but let me answer the obvious question, Zira having tuliza: I see her as becoming more unstable as she ages (hence being very calculated in the first half of the film and TLG, vs maniacal laughter and threatening her daughter's life in the second half), so in a world where she had access to it (and a family looking out for her), I can see her chewing the calming plant regularly

Description
AU where there was no return of Simba, and as such Scar's reign went on uninterpreted.

So, sad fact about me: I'm not actually interested in TLK AUs! Just not for me, I've always been far more interested in fitting stuff in with canon. But it occured to me that it would be very fun to draw a properly elderly Zira and Scar. Scar's muzzle went gray, sure, but we never saw him old-old. That was fun enough to warrant humoring an AU ...Scar rather turned into Peter Cushing--

~~~

In this universe, Scar's reign went on with no prodigal son returning--perhaps Nala died out in the desert, or the hyenas succeeded in killing Simba. Either way, back in the Pridelands the clouds burst as they would have always, and the drought was over. Lightning still hit Pride Rock and caused a fire, but with nobody distracted, Kula and the children are rescued before anything bad can happen.

But things weren't perfect, because water did not immediately mean food: with everyone still starving and miserable, a three-sided civil war broke out: Scar and his loyalists* (both lion and hyena), vs part of the hyena clan who'd turned against him, vs the rest of the pride. With his enemies unwilling to unite with each other, Scar's side won out, and those on the losing sides were killed or ran off. With the number of predatory animals now less than a quarter of what it had been, new prey animals came to the Pridelands--but not in great numbers. The kingdom would be livable again, but still a shell of it's former glory.

*As well as his loyalists, Kula and Akina fought for him--they didn't think highly of Scar, Kula even hated him, but they had to prioritize the safety of their cubs.

Scar had chosen his heir, Kula and Ni's son Kovu, before the war. But, in this AU, Scar lives to see all of his children grow: his eldest, Nuka, Scar never finds promising as a leader. He's not abysmal, the boy is certainly devoted, but he's not strong or all that smart. Two of Scar's middle children are weak-ish, but alright--however, in the aftermath of the war, Scar begrudgingly accepts that he needs aid from neighboring kingdoms, and so gives those two middle children, Ushindi and Damu, away as betrothals. Uvumilivu, another of the middle children, is too physically deformed for Scar to consider as a successor, being much weaker even than Nuka. Vitani had been weak when she was born, but shows promise as she grows, being feisty and clever. Zuri, the cub that Scar had in secret with Akina, is a brainless wimp in his eyes, and he would rather not acknowledge her anyway as to avoid Zira's wrath. But Kovu was strong from the beginning, and shows himself to be smart and brave as he grows.

For a very long time, Kovu remained Scar's chosen heir. But as the cubs were growing into teenagers, Scar's trust in Kovu faltered, at the same time that he was realizing Vitani's potential. She had grown to be incredibly strong in spite of her early life, and more than that she was deeply devoted to her parents. She had her mother's fight in her, and, if not quite her father's brains, intelligence that was a match for Kovu's. Meanwhile, that boy was proving himself to be soft and gentle, and most concerning of all he had the nerve to question Scar. The king wondered if he had made a mistake in letting Kovu's mother live past her son's infancy--she wasn't his main caregiver, but Kula was ever present, and filling the cub's head with ideas. Vitani had Kovu's strength and smarts, with all of Nuka's dogged loyalty to mum and dad...

When Vitani and Kovu came of age, Scar made an announcement to the kingdom: Vitani would now be the heir to the throne, while Kovu would be made the leader of a new Lion Guard (he couldn't betroth them, as Kula would still be influencing the consort, and through him the queen). With no magic to pass down, Kovu's new role was a symbol at best, hard labor at worst--a title given to keep Kula from being able to complain too loudly. Vitani, of course, was over the moon: she was as loyal as ever to her beloved parents, sharing in their deviousness and bloodlust. For three members of the royal family, all was well.

But there were many in the family who were not happy. Nuka had thrown away half his life trying to impress his parents, only to find his sister rewarded instead. Uvumilivu hadn't even been in the running, something his parents had never hid from him. Kovu's future had been torn away from him like it had never mattered. Zuri, should she find out her true parentage, would have the righteous anger of one who'd spent her whole life unacknowledged and unloved by her father. And with bitter, angry, experienced lions to guide them (Kula and Akina), the four siblings could end up being a lot of trouble for the rest of the royal family....

~~~

And that's all I got! I don't actually want to write this as a full fanfic, I'm not that interested in it, lol. But it's fun to play a bit with, and I liked drawing elderly designs for Scar and Zira--I hope you enjoyed the detour! Oh, but let me answer the obvious question, Zira having tuliza: I see her as becoming more unstable as she ages (hence being very calculated in the first half of the film and TLG, vs maniacal laughter and threatening her daughter's life in the second half), so in a world where she had access to it (and a family looking out for her), I can see her chewing the calming plant regularly