#Verse: Firelight AU

[f1shbonez]

"Like you couldn't have lost Tall Dark And Clumsy in five minutes down here, if you'd wanted to," 

“Yeah, you’re right.” Vi was quick to retort. If Ekko was smart enough to figure out the obvious, couldn’t he follow that train of thought? That meant she was keeping the enforcer close on purpose. Vi felt her jaw lock with another swell of irritation. Caitlyn was the obstacle in finding out about Powder, now. Curbing the urge to let her agitation bleed into her words, Vi held her place.

It didn’t take much at the topic of shimmer for Ekko to bite. As he flew forwards, it was hard to hide the faintest twitch of a smile. 

There’s the guy I remember. 

"Well, you're both very late to the party. Because Silco blew sky high months ago. And while your new piltie pal has been preoccupied chasing dead ends, some of us have actually been busy working to fix all the damage he did."

Word on the street had been quick to confirm Silco’s death. Vi wished she’d been out of Stillwater soon enough to see Silco’s own people turn on him like a pack of dogs. He’d deserved it. But word of what had taken place in the aftermath was…confusing at best. There were too many different versions floating around the streets to keep track. 

“Oh yeah, by doing what? Are you killing people now too?” 

"You don't know shit about what's happened down here since you left - you don't get to tell me what I should be doing. Why the hell should I even trust you?"

“Yeah, ten years is a lot to catch up on.” It was hard to hide the bitterness- how much emotion was attached to everything- and it sounded in the waver of her voice. 

“I’m not going anywhere until I find my sister.” Vi reiterated. “Like it or not, Caitlyn is here. If you don’t like what she has to say, she doesn’t stay.” Steady, blue eyes lingered on Ekko’s face. So, they were bargaining like distrustful strangers? Fine. 

“I know you’re hiding something, Ekko.” Her fingers itched, toying with the idea of dropping the shackles. “‘Is. Powder. Alive?’ It’s a simple question. Yes or no.” Saying it out loud made Vi feel sick, but she pushed forward, holding onto the shreds of evidence that pointed to the least tragic outcome. 

“Because I’m starting to think it’s a ‘yes’.”

"You better start talking. Fast." ((@just--a--jinx Vi to Ekko))

Ekko's carefully flat expression didn't falter, but his eyes hardened as he looked down at the girl he'd believed had died long ago. The big sister figure he'd grieved, and painted on The Wall.

"Funny, that was my line." He retorted in a tone utterly bleached of humour.

Don't try to call the shots here. This is my interrogation.

"You disappear for years - and now you turn up out of the blue, all buddy-buddy with an enforcer." He nearly spat out the word, making no effort to conceal his vitriol for their secondary 'guest'. His arms folded across his chest as he appraised Vi, bitter and distrustful.

You left her. You left us both. We thought you were dead - why did you leave? Where did you go?

And why have you only come back now?

Focus. Practical questions first.

"Are you working for the pilties now?"

[vastayan--vigilante]

Tag dump 🔥

[zorosnavigator]

Need to talk about Ekko actually.

Its the way he did not abandon 'true paradise' or his 'perfect waifu' over his 'shittier' world. He leaves because he do not belong here. Yes, he let himself live for a few days (after freaking out, and nearly attacking Powder mind you) 'selfishly' for lack of better word, truly, a few moments of joy and peace with her and even then. even then. there's always this constant reminder like a tick tick of a bomb, that his time is running out and fast ah, the more they're advancing in building Ekko's Z-Drive and the thing to come back in the og verse, the more is departure is nearing. the endgame always was for him to come back to his own universe. (these joyful moments with AU Powder represent what could have been, bc he knows deep down the 'relationship' he has with this Powder here would and will never replicate what he has with Jinx, or what could be in the future with Jinx. It's both regrets of what he could have done earlier to help her and seizing the happiness of what the AU is offering him, a glimpse of Another life.) So he does not abandon jackshit: he leaves because he actively chooses Zaun. Jinx. The Firelights.

For all the shitty things happening in his own universe, it's his world!! the one he worked his ass off to make a better place, his own paradise he succeded to create with others (however little the writers have shown us this season) against all form of corruption, the cops, the constant oppression, the inequality and if you think that he would have give up all of that for AU Powder then i fear you do not get him.

in short, Ekko does not belong in the AU more than AU Ekko would have belonged in the og universe!

and i repeat myself but helping Jinx aside, Ekko would NOT have stayed in the AU because my man loves his community, the Tree, loves what he built with the Firelights and how he contribued to make it a better place in the middle of a shimmered Zaun! so he will continue to do so!

[littlebigmouse]

Sure, episode 7 doesn't really have much time to spend on Ekko's disorientation in this new reality and everyone else's reactions to it. But I have to respect that the writer's solution to this was to make AU Ekko pretty mentally unstable.

From Powder's perspective, she startles him, he throws something at her, becomes hostile, tries to defend himself with a screwdriver, and then just starts staring into space and goes nonverbal while giving clear signs of a panic attack, and Powder and Benzo's reaction to that is a benevolent and casual "One of those days, huh?"

Given where they leave off, and pick up in the Last Drop again, it's implied Ekko has his crisis the entire way over, and probably didn't react much to either of them the whole time. When Claggor and Ekko remain at the table while Vander and Powder have their conversation, Ekko is ignoring Claggor and drawing repetitive circles over his notes and constantly clutching his head in pain. Right up until he gets up, which is when Claggor finally reacts to what he's doing but is waved off easily, and stumbles outside throwing up in a dumpster. And no one seems to notice or care about him acting weird or being in pain.

Everytime he says something off-colour or outright concerning it's met casually or chalked up to his sleep deprivation and imposter syndrome. Man's dissociating like nobody's business and everyone just claps him on the back in understanding. If that's normal for AU Ekko, or everyone thinks that's normal for AU Ekko, that's uh, pretty concerning actually.

I mean, given context clues and Powder's conversation with Vander, all the kids (or at least Ekko and Powder) withdrew pretty heavily and keep themselves on the down low. I assume they both blamed themselves for Vi's death to some degree and became overly cautious and more quiet. Powder prefers to support her siblings similarly to how Vi did, but there's fewer problems to solve with violence as they grow up (and they all know how that ended) so Powder plays emotional support and prefers to stay in her familiar bubble (The Last Drop, close to her family).

AU Ekko seems to be overcompensating with his inventions, focusing on (academic?) success and productivity. Between his fancier clothes (even fancier than the others, who all have newer outfits, but stick more to zaunite dressing sensibilities than him) and his AU friendship with Heimerdinger it's reasonable to assume that he's involved with the academy in some way, maybe gunning to become a student if he isn't one already. That's a lot of pressure for a kid from the undercity, nevermind that academia itself is pretty competitive even if the deck isn't staked against him.

That all is to say, I don't think the AU is all sunshine and roses, for either of them. AU Ekko and Powder are both way less extreme versions of their canon verses, but especially AU Ekko is apparently way more quiet, withdrawn and insecure (and not at all active within his community?? I'm gonna be honest, I'm a bit mad the Firelights weren't even mentioned that episode, they've been Ekko's main family for the better part of a decade now, they deserve some focus, damn it).

So yeah, I don't think AU Ekko is doing too hot.

(And now I want a fic of him waking up in canon Ekko's body, lmao).

[starry-nights12]

OMG!!!

I actually had a fluff idea that can fit into this!

.・゜゜・　　・゜゜・．

Ekko stared at the crystals and glowsticks hanging from his ceiling. He felt more tired waking up than he did trying to fall asleep.

Even with his head on Jinx's lap and her petting his hair throughout the night- he was still unable to sleep.

He often woke up in the middle of the night to her eyes staring at him with a small frown.

Jinx lightly tapped on his door and then opened it. "I made you pancakes, Little Man." she smiled.

"I also told Scar to tell everyone else to fuck off and leave you alone today." Jinx said, closing the door behind her. "He'll say it nicer than me though." she shrugged. 

"He's second in command. Let him deal with it." she offered him the stack of pancakes.

A hint of a smile made an appearance on his face. "Thank you," he sat up and rubbed the bags under his eyes.  "But I'm not hungry right now."

Jinx nodded and set the plate on his desk. "That's fine." she sat next to him."I made you something else," she revealed a piece of paper behind her back.

Ekko gingerly took the paper from her hand

Jinx drew a stick figure of him with colored pencils and hearts surrounding him.

BEST..

Leader

Inventor

Friend

Artist

Time Traveler

Cook

Boyfriend

Singer

Looking man

Engineer

Hugger

Kisser

Thing that ever happened to me

You're my favorite person ever! My heart belongs to you and only you.

XOXOXO

-JINX

Tears had pricked his eyes and threatened to dampen the drawing in his hand.

She cupped both of his cheeks in her hands. "Just because I call you an angel, doesn't mean I want you to meet them anytime soon," she said softly. She delicately wiped the tears that escaped.

They both reached for each other, their arms circling each other in a tight embrace.

"I love you, Jinx." he sniffled.

"You know I do."  she gently rubbed his back

"You're the best girlfriend I ever had."

Jinx giggled softly. "I'm the only girlfriend you had, silly."

He cradled the back of her head and nuzzled his face in the crook of her neck. "And I don't want anyone else to compare. I'm yours."

"Me neither." she stroked the shaved part of his head. "I'm yours just as much as you're mine." She momentarily pulled apart to place a tender kiss on his temple.

The Idea of a scene or chapter where Jinx has to comfort Ekko after she witnesses him having a breakdown would be heartwarming and heartbreaking.

Ekko always struck me as a person who despite looking as though he has everything together especially when it comes to the rest of the cast, he is actually hurting greatly almost to the point where it's starting to wear down on him to keep up his mask.

Ekko and Jinx have a lot of parallels but they also have a handful of differences that tie into those parallels as well. One is that while Jinx remained stagnant despite her getting older, Ekko was forced to grow up too quick to survive the harshness of Zaun, you can even make a case that the nickname "little man" is a reference to this.

The stress of leading the firelights

The stress of protecting his parents(if their still alive)

The years of anger and cynicism he's tried to control and bury down only letting it pop out in short bursts

He may even feel some guilt on how shitty things have gotten, after all he was the one who told the gang about Jayces apartment, he was the one who couldn't save Benzo or Jinx

The years of loneliness even within the Firelights

All these things eating away at his mind, trying to claw their way out and it finally happens after him and Jinx are alone.

It could be after a particularly bad Firelight mission. Ekko and Jinx are in his room and he's chewing her out about how reckless she's being. The argument spirals and soon Jinx taunts him about how perfect he is and about how he thinks he's above everyone else and finally that mask that he so carefully constructed after years falls off. It doesn't even fall off, it full on cracks and shatters into the earth. He yells "YOU DON'T THINK IM SCARED TOO!!!" this startles Jinx because this is the first time Ekko has raised his voice up to at least this volume.

Ekkos mask is truly gone at this and all these bottled up emotions are in the forefront. He starts to tell Jinx about how he's scared every time he goes into Zaun, how he's not like her and Vi and how they can jump into Zaun and fight whatever they need to get what they want. How he's always scared, always scared of something going wrong, always scared of bringing back another corpse and his perfectionist tendencies amplify this. He talks about how being the leader of the Firelights scares him, how he knows that no matter what happens if one of them dies it's his fault because he's the one who took them in, he's the one who taught them how to ride the hoverboards and use the crystal grenades, he's the one who has supposed to protect them but yet he couldn't. He didn't sign up to be a leader and he doesn't even know if it's worth it anymore or if he even wants to do this anymore.

He laughs bitterly and it's like he's talking to himself now. He mocks the nickname Jinx gave him 'Boy Savior" how ironic because he can't seem to save anyone, how he couldn't save Benzo, or VI or Jinx. Hes talking more calmly now but it's a defeated tone and this strikes at Jinx's heart, it's like a loss of light has happened within the room. Ekko says that he sometimes wishes he stayed on the bridge with Jinx, sure he would've died but at least it would be over, the pain, suffering, anger, regret, it would all be over. He says sometimes the best dreams he would have is when Jinx would finally shoot him, he points to his chest "right through here" he says. It would be a perfect ending, the naive boy being taken down by the harsh reality of the world. This is starting to scare Jinx, she has never heard him talk like this....and she doesn't like it...not one bit.

Ekko is sitting on the bed at this point slumped over his knees, "Every time I walk past a mirror or a broken window or glass, I don't see a leader, a spark of hope or even a man....all I see is a little boy still clinging onto something that left him long ago. A little boy who's still afraid of the dark, a little boy who's still afraid of monsters" he looks up at Jinx with an expression that threatens to tear her heart out of her chest. Ekko always looked tired but this was something else, he was tired of everything, of the Firelights, of Zaun, Of Piltover, of everything "all those years I've spent fighting.....was it even worth it....is it still worth it.....I'm tired Jinx....I'm so so so tired" Ekko slumped back in his seated position again "...I'm sorry for yelling at you ji-".

Before he can finish his sentence, Jinx comes and sits on his lap and wraps her arms around his head and nuzzles him into her chest. He plays with his hair a bit and whispers things like "I'm sorry"and "it's okay, it's okay, I'm here" Ekko tries to talk but Jinx shushes him and holds him tighter "just let me hold you, let me love you" and Ekko quietly sobs while clutching onto her too.

I also like the idea that Ekko has Dark Impulses but doesn't act on them. Ekko is shown to be a very capable fighter so I have no doubt he could kill someone if he wanted to, i can imagine him having to hold himself back from doing it and those impulses could be worked into his break down. He starts to describe what he's thought about doing to the chembaron and chemgang members, some of what he says even disturbs Jinx.

Thanks to @starry-nights12 for giving me the idea!

[endlessburningdarkness]

Last Line(s) Tag Game

Thank you @sri-verse <33

This is from my omega Harry au

The death eaters enter and the cell door clangs shut behind them. Arranged in a line, firelight flickers over their faces, highlighting the hallowed-out cheeks and scars. These are Azkaban escapees. Harry doesn’t know their names. They grin at him, yellow teeth gleaming shark-like. One of them inhales deeply and groans, his eyelids flutter, and when he speaks, his voice is rough, grating, and ravenous. “Oh Potter, you smell good.”

Tagging @lialepoisson, @cealesti, @ictyn, @isalisewrites and anyone else who wants to join!

[kiawren]

Some clockvine lore

I'm lazy to get the pictures but in the AU, claggor was talking about a certain yellow flower that can purify the air in the undercity but it's not efficient enough I think powder says "not unless you plant a million of them" and milo says "no way" (idk if I'm remembering correctly)

I saw someone also point out some of sky's notebook sketches was on plants and flowers, idk if its canon she's a bio-engineer but I hc it now

I think my s/i first hoped to add greenery to the undercity but wasn't sure how achievable it was. He studies in piltover so he got in touch with sky to ask about the plant stuff so he had some idea. So in the next few weeks we went to the undercity to check out how suitable it could potentially be or if it's a long shot, couldn't hurt to try

Even though the sewage pipes leading to the firelights base is complicated, I feel like if you stand at the right area on top and look down, you could see the gigantic tree?? So eventually he does notice it, maybe from quite a distance so he didn't know there were people there, just that there was some green and sunlight obviously reached there. So he tried to find a way down and one of the firelights caught him like tresspasing or something lmao then he meets ekko later it's along that vein. and explains his thing and ekko wants to help so from then on they worked closely and wren stays over at the base a lot.

I don't think they figured out the thing about the yellow flowers yet, they have just been planting trees.

Not sure about the timeline for the ship lore but then Ekko goes to the AU. During that conversation I mentioned earlier, they were on the topic of plants in the undercity so he asked where Wren was.

They asked, who's Wren?

They didn't meet in that AU, there were no firelights, the ones improving the undercity was everyone he knew, his friends and family. Himself too of course but not with the firelights, and not with Wren who didn't go down to accidentally meet him in person.

When ekko returns to the og universe he tells wren about the flowers and they'll eventually plant their own. Plus ekko leads a community that he can mobilise to do it on a larger scale. Although in the og verse the air is much worse so it'll probbaly take more than planting flowers to turn things around, but it's some impact nonetheless

It's either that or they already knew about the flowers and were already planting a number of them themselves before ekko went to the AU. So he goes and sees he and wren also did the same, and even were ahead in progress.

I guess what wren represents for him is just. Company in the journey towards what his dream for the undercity could be. In the AU episode in canon ekko says he "gave up on the undercity" so I guess if he had always been independent he would start thinking that. It's when he sees the undercity in the AU that changed his mind, but I feel like that trigger would also happen if he was shown that a way to improve the undercity was to better the environment through nature and involving the community he knows of to plant and be responsible for what they plant. I feel like that's a tangible thing that could inspire him to keep going and was sparked from wren's idea that he introduced to him when they met

Lol idk it's 5am goodnight

[charmerquilled]

I think I figured out something I can play around with. At least in Arcane. If Vastaya can exist in Piltover / Zaun here... then I'll play into that as an AU that doesn't correlate with Rakan's canon at all. I think that's the only way I'll be able to yeet Rakan in that verse. Much like how Star Guardian and Elderwood are extremely different as official aus. Because the longer I sit and think about it, it'll be impossible for Xayah and Rakan to even want to visit due to the fact that they physically would not do well at all away from Ionia. It's basically a death sentence if they are taken away from Ionia for a long span of time. BUT ANYWAY YEAH. An AU where Rakan and Xayah are a deadly power couple who runs their own faction of rebels in Zaun to better the lives of Vastaya in the under city. Them working together with the firelights because they both have the same goals despite being in different veins.. I still have a lot more to think on but what do ya'll think 🤔

[curseyou]

okay before i force myself into hyperfixating on work for the next 8 hrs, i wanted to word vomit little arcane au things for my ocs

savannah clark  ⸻  grew up in a wealthy family in piltover. hyper aware of the rift between piltover and the undercity and does what she can. she's a therapist in her canon ( or working towards that ), so let's play a game called arcane characters get therapy and she still does that in arcane.

sal larossa   ⸻  he grew up in the undercity, and is exceptionally jaded about everything there. not on his behalf, but on his siblings behalf as he essentially raised them. i'll probably have two variants for him, one in which he's a firelight and one where he's part of one of the gangs/works for a chem-baron. or maybe silco.

audrey ren massey   ⸻  audrey is a talented performer at a very young age, and grew up in a working class family in piltover. but by the time she is about 13 she is their primary earner. so when she is injured during a performance her family loses everything. they end up moving to zaun where she still lives now.

carina petras   ⸻  lives in zaun, but is sponsored by a kiramman-esqe family in piltover to study at a school. she's studies an old faith. and she lives ... in very much a religious cult. this cult worships the arcane and has been trying to access the power of it. they use runes and items touched by the arcane in attempt to bind them to people (children) to turn them into weapons. it's essentially torture, super fun stuff. carina is one of those people, and because of some latent mage genes it actually works. she is then utilized as a way to get people to join the cult, and she has really drunk the kool-aid. she thinks there will come a day that she's meant to do something great. there are likely rumors about her out there, but the extent of her abilities and what she can do is kept secret because they want to protect her ( and themselves ). she is exceptionally over powered because in her canon she is essentially a demigod. she essentially has energy manipulation abilities that manifests as light. she doesn't know the extent of her power. she's naive, and very very sheltered so probably easy to manipulate. have fun.

danny reese ⸻  literally an idiot. he's from piltover and he left. he lives in zaun. he performs in a bar and bartends for cash. he's genuinely happy with it too, and he's an embarrassment. farewell.

drew reese ⸻  he's a doctor, and also danny's brother, so he's in piltover. a very successful surgeon, who specializes in pediatrics. he's very nice and charming. willing to do anything for those he loves. some verses he'll be married to his wife tessa. because they're perfect. but also some he won't be because shipping is fun. anyways i love him. he likely volunteers his time to help kids/families in zaun with some outreach for medical care.

[cal-daisies-and-briars]

Before I even say it, I'm not necessarily asking for this just curious lol: would you ever write something without a Happy Ending? And what do you think is the closest to a sad/not exactly happy ending (my immediate thought was change the prophecy but I would consider that more hopeful than sad idk) you've written. I'm just wondering because of what you said in the ask about the third coma-verse au you were considering and not thinking you could pull off a happy ending.

I love your work 💖💚

Ahhh idk maybe I would. It’s a struggle for me not to because I spend soooo much time in my own head with these stories that they really affect my mood. I was NOT PLEASANT when writing Both Blade and Branch and some chapters of comaverse. But I do love themes of grief and that’s always a consideration.

For that third comaverse idea I wanted to take the buck who had lost Eddie and the Eddie who had lost Buck and connect them and give them a chance for closure, knowing they could never stay together because of their respective Christophers. But that’s a little too sad idk. So I did something similar with a Bobby fic where I could end it happily.

I’m not sure basically!

Change the Prophecy is definitely one of my sadder ones. I still think Both Blade and Branch is too, even though it has a happy ending. Firelight which I’m working on now will have a mixed ending I think.

[letters-to-rosie]

Hi! So my questions for the Q&A are:

Will Powder and Silco meet in the future?

What's Powder's fashion style in the fic? Do you have any visual description of an outfit she'd wear in the revolution verse, or an aesthetic pic with the right feel?

Speaking of visual aids, I'm sorry but can you help me out identifying the support cast and who is who from the show? It took me an embarrassing amount of time to realize who Scar and Kai were from the show, and Eve I know is the pink haired Firelight Jinx shorts, but I'm a bit confused as for the others 😅

Favorite scene you've written so far?

Scene from the future you're most excited to write?

Can you share a future fluffy moment between Powder and Ekko we should be excited about?

What has been/will be the more taxing scene to write due to its political and personal importance to you?

I think that's it, sorry if I pushed the bar 😅

oh my gosh these are great lol and certainly provide a (more than welcome) challenge! I'll do my best!

the plan is that they get to meet at least once, not far from the end of the story. By then, things have gotten pretty crazy, and Powder has to appeal to Silco's dad mode

I feel like Powder would still be generally in the Jinx color palette, lots of pinks and purples and black, but also blue. Lots of tank tops and t-shirts, and she's pretty much always stomping around in combat boots. I imagine her wearing a good bit of denim. She has a favorite denim jacket, too, kinda bomber jacket style, totally swallows her up, that sort of vibe. High collars, chokers, etc would still be part of her look. I see her as certainly liking style but keeping it more practical these days to make things easy. Like an effortless look. She still paints her nails fun colors. I figured I'd pull up some Mush pics to honor the originator of the reverse au design that started it all lol. These I think Powder would wear:

jacket would be kinda like this, though I'd do a lighter wash of denim:

no problem! So as far as the supporting cast is concerned, Sky is Jayce and Viktor's lab assistant. Megan's an OC, but they'd look similar (I needed someone to work at the hospital for chapter 3 and then I liked her and just kept her around lol). Gianna is based on the Firelight who kicks Caitlyn in episode 6 lol and is working on the mural in episode 7, though we never see her face. Ajuna is part of Ekko's lore from League, a friend who dies and he's unable to save. He's connected to the predecessor to the Firelight mural from the show. i just kinda threw him in there for fun because "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" did the same. I think that's it for actual characters. The rest are OCs. I really ought to gather some visual references for them. Marnie is around Mel's skintone, for example...

UGH favorite scene this is so hard lol. I still really like all of chapter 2. I just can't help it. But since I've talked about liking it before, let me get out of my comfort zone. I think it's a little too hard to pick one, so I'll give a handful: the last section of chapter 3, all of chapter 7, really, the deal scene in chapter 10, the hospital in chapter 16, the balcony in chapter 18, the room key scene in chapter 19, and Caitlyn's conspiracy board in chapter 22 are all ones I'm pretty proud of or just enjoy reading because I think they're funny lol. I'm also proud of chapter 20 in general because plot twist!

I pre-write a lot of things, but as far as a scene I haven't written yet, I'm really excited to finish some stuff for Ekko's collection and there are some fun scenes of Powder really coming into her own. In particular, there's one that'll be quite a ways off where Powder sits down with Vi and they hash out a lot of the things between them, acknowledging the need to give each other space to live their lives as they've chosen to live them.

ahhhhhhh these idiots are gonna have so much fluff! What I will say is they should be dating within the next ten chapters (lest the story get away from me which is possible but I think by then they should be together lol). Before then, though, they're going to do some graffiti, fall into a fountain, and get all sappy in Ekko's car. And then after they get together they cuddle a lot and have a bunch of sex lmao. In a way, the physical relationship relates to the broader story in that Ekko helps Powder work on her confidence and articulating what she wants, which is similar to her journey of growing as a leader, a journey he also kicks off (though he kicked that one off by accident lol).

I think as the story keeps going it'll just get more taxing for me in general, if that makes sense. I'm always worried about coming off as preachy or heavy-handed. I'm probably overthinking things a lot. But I'd say that some of the setbacks the characters are going to face in pursuing their goals are going to be taxing in that emotional way. So far I think some of the stuff at the beginning was hard, and chapter 17 with Powder thinking about her hair was also hard, but it's kind of cathartic. The most I struggle with is how do I write a liberation story that works, because there's not a lot in the world for me to draw on in the way that I want due to international sabotage, etc. So I'm kinda taking these movements and trying to learn from their mistakes without feeling like I've got a perfect solution, because that's certainly not true, but I want to be hopeful. That balance of hope, a gesture at realism, tone and balance, trying to learn from the past, all of that can get a bit difficult for me.

okay, I think that covers it! These were so good for getting me to really think. It got a bit rambly at the end. I need to give that last one some more thought, so I might revisit it later. Thanks so much! 😄💙

[gatheredfates]

78!

spotify wrapped is HERE! send me a number 1-100 and I’ll tell you the song it corresponds with on my top 100 playlist!

I've been splintering apart, breaking open from the start. Gates of heaven are closing. What did you do in my head? Weren't you laying in my bed telling me I was chosen?

TW: Suicidal ideation.

OHHH ULTRAVIOLENT, MY HEART. I got into Crywolf before Sleep Token, and he was my favourite artist for a very long time. OBLIVION PT. I was such a comfort for me, and when I found out PT. II was coming out late last year, I chomped at the BIT to not only listen to the album the moment it came out but also ensure I got my vinyl. QUIXØTE remains, to this day, one of my main Kor songs.

Which, who-da guessed it, this song also pertains to. I kind of split it into two separate sections. One half revolves around it being a ship song, reflecting her fears and anxieties around the idea she could be wanted by someone. The lines 'you're the fear inside my gut' and 'you've been my reason to breathe' are the dichotomies that she chooses to live for someone, but accepting such a reason means she has to combat the terror of being loved and loving someone - no matter the outcome; no matter the consequence.

That terror relating to section two, her sister. No matter what verse or AU I write Kor in, she was bestowed the Echo by watching her sister die. In her WoL verse, I reconciled it through Endwalker that she asked for it — that she would never have started her hero's journey were her sister alive, and having such a deep-seated hatred for Hydaelyn's machinations would be one of the few things that would stop her from killing herself. That whole expansion represented a level of... forgiveness in her character? To others, but mostly to herself. Her sister's death was an inevitability; the same as Elpis' fall, of Amaurot's destruction and of Azem's demise.

The same can be said for her regular verse, though she has a greater support system in Firelight and those around her.

But that's where the lines, 'I've been splintering apart, breaking open from the start, gates of heaven are closing' lines are most applicable. She has never believed she was a 'hero' — especially not of the light. Heaven is where her sister lay, closed-off and inaccessible to her. She's always had outside forces (ie. her father) tell her she would never be worthy of it, so why should she? At many a juncture she's believed Lily would be a better candidate; she was warmer, kinder and lacked her teeth. But then the Echo would hit, or she would dream of her, and it would reinforce the fact she was the one that was chosen.

She couldn't see her own worth, tangled up in her own self-doubts. It harkens back to that line at the start, 'What did you do in my head? Weren't you laying in my bed telling me I was chosen?' She dreamt of her sister decaying in her bed, the sacrificial lamb, telling her she was destined to be chosen. It was never supposed to be a gift. It was an inevitability.

I think about it a lot.

[independentzaun]

Poly ship:

Silco/Jinx/Ekko

List some muses/characters you'd want to see in a polyamourous relationship with my muse: Still Accepting.

Ohhh well first of all obligatory "depends on verse, AU, blah blah blah" now moving on from there... I'm willing. Mostly because the idea of Ekko having to accept that the woman he ends up in a relationship with will ALWAYS have someone else that she prioritizes at a minimum just as much as him that is also someone he on a fundamental level hates is hilarious to me. The weirdness of Ekko having to share in every way Jinx with the man he hates and on some level (I'm guessing) blames him for what Powder turned into, and him having to deal with is entertaining to me. Ekko just vibrating with the urge to kill Silco meanwhile Silco is just *hugs Jinx and smirks* "So nice to have the family all together now why don't we talk about those Firelights of yours? I certainly don't want my people to keep hunting yours, but obviously I can't just stand by and allow the Firelights to interrupt my operations... particularly now that you and Jinx are together which makes them at least in part yours as well."

"Zaun may be an enterprise, but at least my organization is a family business."

[lawain-dimensional-heroes]

So while I am mostly a crossover kinda guy, I did wonder how an AU for some of my muses are for Arcane.

Do keep in mind that i don't know about the rest of the League of Legends lore so I'm keeping my mind strictly to the Arcane lore that I know thus far.

For Maroon I'm conflicted about, mostly because he can go two routes. One of them he is a Piltovian archeologist who wants to learn the technology of ancient times. I always see him having an interest in history, even in his main verse and thus I feel like that's partly why I feel like that route might fit him. The other route is that he can be one of the Firelights-as one of the mechanics/technicians/engineers/etc. He's a tinkerer in his free time in his main verse and also someone who visits and checks up on the dragon tribe at time to see how his brethren are doing and if they need his help, so I feel like he would fit well as a Firelight member.

And then there's Hanaka and I can see her as one of the enforcers or a vigilante from Piltover who went to Zhaun to find out the state the place is in. This girl has a heart of Justice in the main verse so anything justice related will likely fit her. Other than that? I don't see much of a route she can go, less she can be one of the ordinary locals. Maybe someone who works at a pet store perhaps?

[runes-menagerie]

Sky AU verses

#Shimmer Assistant

Instead of following Viktor to Piltover Academy, she instead meets Singed and becomes his assistant after Viktor leaves. While with Singed, she helps him develop Shimmer and try to save Rio while doing what she can to make the creature more comfortable. This will eventually lead her to have interactions with Silco, Jinx, Sevika, and others in the organization although she remains more in the background than a major player.

_____________________________________________________________

#Firelight Assistant

Another AU where she stays in Zaun rather than going to Piltover. This time however she joins with the Firelights and helps them to build and develop their sanctuary. Here her focus in on improving the hover boards and developing medicines to help ease the effects of Shimmer addiction as well as general medicine.

[feathercall]

Xayah came to Zaun looking to free a group of captured Vastaya before the poachers who had taken them had the chance to take them away to Noxus. Along the way, she ran into Ekko and the firelight gang—they promised to help her free the other Vastaya, and in return, she promised to help the Firelights take down one of the local chembarons. Their first mission was a success, and after the Vastayan captives were freed back to Ionia, Xayah returned to make good on her promise, and has spent her time since working with the firelights proper.