#jewel shards and broken bastards au

[brotherslayer]

Iklies you are lying through your teeth

[mamabearcat]

INUKAG Fanfic Rec List - SFW

Over the last few years, I’ve suffered from on again/ off again insomnia, where some nights I go to bed, don’t sleep at all, and then get up again – rinse and repeat. Rather than spending all night looking at the ceiling and pondering my place in the universe, I pass the time by reading fanfiction. A LOT of fanfiction. And now you, dear reader, get to reap the benefits.

All these fics are T Rated and under by the writer. Also, I’ve only included COMPLETED fics, so there will be some missing from this list that I would absolutely recommend. I have a huge ass list of uncompleted favourites also, but I understand that not everyone likes losing their heart to a fic only to find out that it was last updated in 2005. Log onto fanfiction.net and go through the fics I’m ‘following’ if you want to see those - I’m bearpluscat on there too.

I don’t claim this to be an exhaustive list, or the best of the best; it’s not even all of my favourites. This is just a list of fics that I have really enjoyed and would happily read again, and thought others might enjoy too. There’s probably some that I’ve forgotten, in fact I’m sure there are, so please don’t be upset if you’ve written an Inuyasha fic and I haven’t put it on here!

I’ll also post a list of NSFW fic recs (which is a lot longer - does that infer something about me, or the Inuyasha fandom in general?)

SHORT FICS (Less than 20,000 words)

Feminine Wiles  By grandlarseny: Kagome's broken Inuyasa's rosary! But fear not! Kaede has another one. But what's this? KAGOME HAS TO PUT IT ON HIM HERSELF? Watch Kagome carry out her kinda evil plots on an unsuspecting halfbreed with some SangoMiroku spying on the side Rated: Fiction T - Humor/Romance - Inuyasha, Kagome H. - Words: 9,770 Published: Jan 27, 2004 

Good Dog  By FrameofMind: Oneshot. Inuyasha’s being strangely...nice. But Kagome is about to discover that it is, in fact, possible to have too much of a good thing... InuKag Rated: Fiction K+ - Romance/Humor - Inuyasha, Kagome H. - Words: 13,723 Published: Oct 4, 2005

He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not By TouchofPixieDust: Inuyasha watches as Kagome shows Shippo how to play the flower petal fortune telling game, He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not. It has the hanyou asking himself all sorts of questions. Rated: Fiction K+ - Romance/Humor - Inuyasha, Kagome H. - Words: 2,346 Published: Feb 28, 2006 

The Talk  By TouchofPixieDust: Mrs. Higurashi explains the facts of life to Inuyasha and Kagome. This is The Talk excerpt that was requested from my story Kagome's Baby. Rated: Fiction T - Humor - Inuyasha, Kagome H. - Words: 2,885 Published: Jul 21, 2006

Sick As A Dog  By Bons Baisers: Woes and wails and puppy dog tales, that's what Inuyasha's made of! When a puppy infected with canine distemper bites Inuyasha, all sorts of hell break loose for everyone's favorite hanyou. Won IYFG's Best Oneshot award and won second for Best Romance. Rated: Fiction T - Romance/Humor - Inuyasha, Kagome H. - Words: 11,305 -Published: Apr 2, 2007

Of Demons and Schoolgirls  By Mustard Yellow Sunshine: That jerk, Inuyasha... what right did he have to destroy the demon and save her from certain peril? Bastard. Rated: Fiction T - Humor/Romance - Inuyasha, Kagome H. - Words: 5,645 - Published: May 12, 2007

Kiss of Life By LadyCash: Kagome is injured, far from the well and modern medicine. What can be done to save her, and what will InuYasha do? Rated: Fiction T - Drama/Romance - Inuyasha, Kagome H. - Words: 5,369 - Published: Jan 28, 2008

Earthshake By SugarRos: COMPLETE:: Canon:: *WINNER BEST DARK/DRAMA 2009* Natural Disasters are nothing to laugh at... and so Kagome realizes as she's trapped, hundreds of feet beneath the rubble of what was once her school, with her classmates dying one by one, and absolutely no hope of rescue. Rated: Fiction T - Angst/Romance - Inuyasha, Kagome H. - Chapters: 2 - Words: 14,528 - Published: Feb 15, 2008 

Blood and Bandages By Aryndiel: Kagome comes home to find Inuyasha badly injured and reacts in a way that surprises her mother. Mrs. Higurashi wonders: who is this strong, unwavering young woman who looks like her little girl?Rated: Fiction T - Drama/Hurt/Comfort - Kagome H., Kagome's mother - Words: 3,166 - Published: Apr 9, 2008

If I Were You By FrameofMind: Oneshot. A good deed lands Inuyasha and Kagome in an odd predicament... Rated: Fiction T - Humor/Romance - Inuyasha, Kagome H. - Words: 10,544 - Published: Apr 27, 2009 

White Dogs on Blue Cotton By ArtisteFish: Caught up in the rush following her unexpected return to the past and to the man she loves, Kagome realizes a little late that some of her wardrobe choices aren't quite as private as they used to be. Post-canon, InuKag reunion, super-duper fluffy. Rated: Fiction T - Romance/Humor - Inuyasha, Kagome H. - Words: 2,198 - Published: Feb 23, 2016

I Hear Your Silence By KeiChanz: Her silence spoke louder than any words ever could. Rated: Fiction T - Romance - Inuyasha, Kagome H. - Words: 8,469 - Published: Jul 6, 2016

The Pilfered Bride By ArtisteFish: "If your husband didn't want you gone, he should have taken better care not to lose you." She knew she should have been more careful, she should have listened to Sango, she should never have let her guard down when her guard-dog wasn't around to watch her back. Post-canon, InuKag Rated: Fiction T - Romance/Humor - [Inuyasha, Kagome H.] - Words: 7,576 - Published: May 12, 2017

Not Much Longer Would You Be Mine By WitchyGirl99: There was this one girl. Her name was Kikyo Hidaka, and she looked at Inuyasha the way that she looked at everyone else. He'd think of Newton's first law of motion: a body continues its state of rest or uniform motion unless it is acted up on by an external force. His current state wasn't satisfactory. He needed an external force. Enter Kagome Higurashi. InuKag. Rated: Fiction T - Romance/Drama - [Inuyasha, Kagome H.] - Chapters: 2 - Words: 14,541 - Published: Dec 26, 2017 

Protect By KeiChanz: Kagome receives some unwanted male attention while staying at a village and it leaves her feeling uneasy. Inuyasha is having none of that. Rated: Fiction T - Romance - Inuyasha, Kagome H. - Words: 8,548 - Published: Mar 12, 2018

For Her By akitokihojo: "Who did this to you?" Inuyasha seethed. Kagome's expression twisted sadly, the trembling in her chin and bottom lip bringing something to ache dully within his chest. She shook her head, looking down before shrugging her shoulders, and he tensed his fingers against her jaw so as not to allow her to completely turn away from him. Rated: Fiction K+ - Drama/Hurt/Comfort - [Inuyasha, Kagome H.] [Sango, Miroku] - Words: 4,490 - Published: Sep 8 2019

 CHAPTER FICS

Father Figure By Torenza: Kagome’s world turns upside down when her mother brings a new man into the home – her ‘surprise’ fiancé. But Kagome feels far from neglected as she finds her place at home threatened, and her double life in the past jeopardised. Rated: Fiction T - Drama - Chapters: 13 - Words: 68,542 - Published: Feb 8, 2003 

Kagome's Baby By TouchofPixieDust: There is a new addition to the Inuyasha gang. How will the group react? Can Kagome be a jewel shard hunter AND a mother? Rated: Fiction T - Romance - Kagome H., Inuyasha - Chapters: 21 - Words: 59,269 - Published: May 14, 2005 

Freak Attraction By ArtisteFish: A birthday outing to see a foreign circus turns into a nightmarish mistake when Kagome stumbles upon a circus of a very different nature and meets a sideshow freak with dog ears and a human heart. AU, Complete Rated: Fiction T - Supernatural/Drama - Inuyasha, Kagome H. - Chapters: 12 - Words: 101,398 - Published: May 29, 2015

Adorable Curse By Alannada: [Complete] Once upon a time there was a handsome prince cursed in the most horrific way. Would a simple, yet fair miko save the prince? True love kisses, spelled artifacts and much more awaits Inuyasha crew in this story. Rated: Fiction K - Humor - [Inuyasha, Kagome H.] Shippō - Chapters: 39 - Words: 48,602 Published: Aug 12, 2017

[brotherslayer]

Vinter/Ivonne

“And your laugh was the beginning of the end. You captured my heart and I was doomed.”

[brotherslayer]

I’m having a headache realigning the timeline. I want Penelope to run away from the duchy early as possible so she can be involved in the beginning stages of the revolution and build up the resistance  but at the same time I want to dial up her Derrick related trauma, but for that she needs to be older.

my suggestion for the timeline is this:

Penelope gets adopted at 12 either bad relationship with Derrick until it improves or he jumps straight up into manipulating her -> something happens (no sex)-> Penelope runs away at 14 -> builds up resistance -> meets Derrick once during a night patrol has a panic attack (he didn’t recognize her) -> meets Iklies at 17 OR Iklies gets enslaved earlier -> their rebel factions clash and they work together - > fall in love -> during one mission she runs into Derrick at the ball and kinda seduces him to gain time for the rebel’s escape and stabs him, leaving him bleeding out on the floor -> he survives, the duke was assassinated -> Derrick becomes his successor and has now absolute power, he becomes even more obsessed with Penelope knowing she is alive and with the rebels-> at 18 Penelope gets captured by Derrick during an attack, she thinks Iklies is dead -> Derrick promises her she’ll be safe with him and they can be a family again (lies) -> dubious consent sex -> Iklies goes a little yandere crazy and fights more ruthlessly -> ??? -> Penelope escapes -> rebellion happens -> Penelope kills Derrick, Iklies kills Callisto

things I wanna include in the timeline but don’t know how to make it work:

 -Ivonne being found by Iklies and Penelope who were raiding the church for supplies

- Ivonne x Vinter x Leila love triangle with Vinter being in hate-love with Ivonne and Leila loving to play with his emotions

- the slaves, children and exploited workers of the Eckart’s diamond mine rebelling and joining the revolution

- Penelope and Iklies adopting a child of Eorka and Iklies coming to terms with the fact that not all Eorka’s are evil and wanting to erase their country of the map would make him just as bad as them

- I want Ivonne and Reynold to see how fucked up Derrick is and being forced to choose a side. Like Ivonne sees Derrick fighting Penelope on the ground, she is afraid, she is torn between her biological family and the one who saved her and cared for her, in the heat of the moment her instincts make the decision for her and she grabs Penelope’s crossbow shooting an arrow at Derrick.

things I still have no clue about:

- what happens after the war? Will Delman and Penelope’s country unite or are they still separate from one another?

- Who will rule Penelope’s country? What form of government will they have? Monarchy or something semi-democratic?

- What happens to Eorka? Will they split up the Empire or will they find a ruler for it? Is Penelope returning to her own country or will she become queen of Delman?

- her father might be alive

- sometimes I entertain the idea that one of Iklies’s nicer brothers might be alive (I headcanon that his father has a dozen children, most of them ignored him or were abusive towards him but he had two brothers (twins) who liked him and helped him out sometimes). I’m leaning more towards them being dead though.

[brotherslayer]

first design idea for rebel! Penelope

[brotherslayer]

In this AU OG!Penelope runs away. Oh she still tries to cling onto hope, hope that she might one day be loved or even pitied by the Eckharts if she screams loud enough and their eyes are finally opened to her plight.

She tries to hope.

But eventually, it breaks. It burns and scatters into cinder, to ash. Nothing remains anymore, and she wonders if she is to despair.

But then another, a different kind of hope blossoms in her, sharp and jagged and bloody.

She wants to escape.

And she wants retribution.

But it feels wrong, feels like a betrayal almost. All these years she's been trying to love this place, this place full of people that hate her no matter what she does or doesn't do.

She packs up jewels and precious things one night. Then she hesitates— gazes at them with guilty eyes. Can she really call these hers?

This continues. She wants to leave, takes a step forward, and then hesitates. It repeats and repeats and repeats, until her exhaustion runs bone-deep and her hope burns out.

Cinder and ash.

So she runs, and gets taken in by a seemingly ordinary lowborn woman and her daughter. She gains a mother and a sister. They're actually planning to lead a rebellion, the two of them. And preparations are already underway. It will take time to be ready, but the progress is there. Penelope's birth mother was from an ethnic group of a nation that was invaded by Eorka. And the woman would also be the same. And mother and daughter are mages. The woman takes her in as an apprentice, and teaches her diligently.

And for Penelope who's had tutors not giving the effort or even actively sabotaging her, Penelope who was so excited to finally fit in as a nobleman's daughter only to have her hopes crashed, Penelope who was hated whether she put in effort or not?

She thrives.

And if one day she happens to encounter an escaped slave, or helped enslaved people escape from an auction and happens to meet one with wild eyes and an almost graceful kind of strength?

Well, needless to say they might just fall in love.

And one day, they might rule the newly established Delman.

As for Callisto... there'd be no place in the narrative for him if he remains as is— but I have some hope for him. He could be developed further, an independent character with independent story arc very much not in love with Penelope. I think he's gonna be an antagonist unless he gives up his privileges to join the rebels— which I don't think he will.

I do not have a name for it... yet.

yess princesses running away from their abusive family and seeking their own happiness instead of clinging onto them. Keep the AU's coming!

*high fives* I had thoughts about a similar AU. One where Penelope runs away from the duchy or possibly even denies the Duke's hand because she has nightmares about being abused there (it's her mages senses tingling and warning her about the possible future). Then the war against Delman/Magicians happens, she gets descriminated and citizens from countries allied with Delmans get deported, resettled, forced to work in weapon factories, send to die at the frontlines, they emmigrate or get kicked out of the country. Penelope flees. Or she gets taken a war prisoner. Her journey leads her to the king's court at Delman where her magic gets recognized and she becomes promptly one of the court magician's apprentices. Basically a role reversal happens where Penelope becomes a type of servant at the court of Delman gets friendly with the King's youngest and most hated son and helps him rise to power.

Your concept reminds me a bit of your other AU a Perfect Summer Storm except Penelope wants revenge while Athy more or less wants to live in peace, yet her hand is forced and she gets her revenge if she wants it or not through a series of events that fall into place together. I can't wait to see a bit more of your AU because to me it's very fascinating to see how two very different girls would react if put in a similar situation.

Callisto as an antagonist would be interesting. Tragic villain character. You know where he's coming from why he is acting the way he does but nothing excuses his immoral actions and he is unwilling to change and thus seeks nothing but his own ruination. Or he dies in the war or manages to get away from it and lives peacefully at the outskirts of a village away from the man narrative. Turns into a better, kinder man. Someone spoilered me that he joined the war when he was a child. So what if he choses to betray the country and the family that has given him nothing but heartbreak and sides with Delman in the conflict? Unlikely but imagine two enemy princes becoming friends and instead of fighting over a girl it's the girl that binds them together and makes them cast away their differences, their toxic attachment to social obligations. Childhood friends Penelope, Iklies, Callisto? All three of them run away and through a series of happy coincidences fate draws them together?

[brotherslayer]

@a-perfect-summer-storm​ Do you already have any design ideas for the flags of Penelope and Iklies’ respective countries in mind? If I may suggest: we could base Delman’s flag on the Circassian flag but replace one of the arrows with an added crossbow in the middle. I’m headcanoning that Delman’s warriors are notorious for their excellent marksmanship and this would be reflected in their country’s flag. I would include other elements too but I’m still undecided on what symbols to choose and how to arrange them.

I’ve noticed that Aristia’s uniform that you send me as a design idea for Penelope’s rebel outfit resembled the Circassian traditional costume. Did you know that Circassian is an an indigenous ethnic group? They experienced a genocide in the 19th century which resulted in many Circassians fleeing from their homeland in Circassia to modern-day Turkey and the rest of the Middle East. (I just think that bit of information was interesting since you are planning to make Penelope indigenous.)

[brotherslayer]

OMG I love your ideas! They're so good, I might try to incorporate little parts of them in my AU... with your permission, of course.

The main difference between Athy and Penelope, I think, is how their “inner storms” are.

Athy's storm is still strong, still bright and cold and marvelous, but it's no longer the clawing, grasping, desperate thing that it was once. Her time in Siodonna has calmed and tempered it. She's cool rain and overcast skies and moonlit winds.

But Penelope? She's all edge. Broken glass and glinting steel. Cutting and wild, she has sharpened her edges. Makes sense, considering her circunstances. Street rats and escaped slaves and oppressed people, underground work and hidden shadows planning a rebellion. A war. She has very little softness left in her, little fragments of what remains from the time spent with her mother when she was still alive.

Their respective mentor/mother figures are two sides of the same coin as well, just like the girls. Both stern, proud, strong, but one is harsher and more vicious than the other, mostly due to the difference in their life circumstances, and it shows in their proteges. Athy's mentor wasn't privileged, not exactly, but she didn't go through what Penelope's mentor went through.

Callisto's approach to his situation, I think, is “I will fuck them over by thriving in their impossible system. It'll be a middle finger to their faces.” while Iklies and Penelope in this AU, they escape and they make a stand against it from outside the system. If Callisto were young enough... he could be converted, possibly. I'd like him to have an encounter with Penelope's future adoptive mother/mentor, during a war when he was a child and he's injured. They part ways after she nurses him back to health (“May we never meet again. Next time we meet it will be as enemies.”), but the encounter stays with him. Whether he decides to convert to their side years down the line, or he stubbornly continues to remain on the Empire's side despite it causing him nothing but pain?

Well.

That part is yet undecided.

I really like the idea of childhood friends Iklies Penelope and Callisto, though I wonder if I'll be able to have that in my AU... If I align the timeline just right...

If they did becomes friends when they were children, broken and battered and bruised all while a war wages around them... It'd be so much more gutting when they stand against each other (that is, unless, Callisto betrays the Empire and converts, but even then, there's plenty of angst potential before he joins their side). It'd lay a doubly tragic punch.

I really like the “Penelope becomes smth like a servant in Delman's court and helps Iklies rise to power” AU too! It won't be in this AU but it's certainly something to consider 👀

permission given with much love and hugs! <3

I think the reason why the situation of Athy and Penelope is so different is because Athy fled before anything deeply traumatic could occour meanwhile Penelope is already traumatized and will get traumatized further and further. (the death of her parents, starvation, discrimination and persecution). The thoughts of revenge will never let her sleep in peace. Even if she fled from the duchy she would make a mental to-kill-list just to cope with her trauma and find a reason to live and keep her going even if the times are hard. It's the thought that keeps her from slitting her wrist and ending her life. If she were to find a nice couple willing to adopt her while a war was looming on the horizont she'd be highly suspicious and feel...as strange as it sounds..almost uneasy? She wouldn't believe in kindness without ulterior motive. Penelope would deny herself such happiness. She chooses the road adorned with thorns. Pain is all she has ever known. This is why she would feel an irresistable pull towards Iklies and all the other outcasts who have gathered in the shadows of the city. They could empathize with her pain, had suffered the same hardships if not worse.

I hc her relationship with Iklies as almost always unhealthy and co-dependent. I guess in this AU Iklies would still be a yandere just not single-minded one. He has another goal besides her which is the safety of his people. Would he fight recklessly, torture people, be vicious and vengeful, cold and manipulative and willing to sacrifice innocents for his final goal? I think he would if Penny doesn't stop him. He's full of pent-up rage which begs to be released. But Penelope is similar in such regards. So I wonder if he could awaken Penelope's darker side too or if she would resist 👀. Or if she tried not to notice and at times compartmentalizes. I hc that Penny would be insanely loyal once she considers someone of her people, so she'd probably feel conflicted to bring up his problematic traits or straight up be unable to recognize them.

Ahh.. Callisto. Every good story needs a villain doesn't it. The second prince is currently underdeveloped. And since the role of the hero falls to Iklies (as dubiously as he might act) that would make Callisto the villain until he gets a wake up call, but it'd be so much more tragic if he realized too late. If he regretted not having taking Penelope's mentor's hand and it's the shade of a certain girl's magenta coloured hair he sees in the corner of his eyes in the final moments before he dies. I'm so weak for (almost) friends turned enemies lamenting what could have been if they had choosen differently.

Penny's mentor sounds cool. I feel like she'd be the only person Iklies would secretly fear lol. In my mind have the image of a protective teacher who behaves kind of like a Mama Bear if they senses their students are threatened. Am I right?

[brotherslayer]

Meiming Punk Asymmetric Lolita Dress

[brotherslayer]

not sure how A-Perfect-Summer-Storm is going to handle Derrick’s character but I’m considering making him the one in charge of the operation of locating the rebels and hunting down Penelope. I’m still on the verge of deciding if they had “history” together or not. But I’m leaning towards yes. Mainly because I like I-wanna-be-an-author’s concept of Derrick being a loving yandere brother who manipulated the entire duchy behind the scenes into hating og!Penelope while he made her rely on him. She’d yearn for Derrick’s love but at the same time she has these episodes where she rebels against him. I’m thinking about Penelope running away from the duchy from time to time but always returning in the evening and begging Derrick remorsefully for forgiveness but one day she didn’t. And it’s the day when she meets Iklies.

[brotherslayer]

This came to me like a vision almost, but:

Consider AU Penelope and Iklies first encounter, with Penelope pointing a crossbow at Iklies or having a dagger under his chin?

I've got no frickin clue how they got into this situation but mmm, delicious regardless.

I've also decided to name the Penelope-runs-away-au Jewel Shards and Broken Bastards! I don't know why but those string of words just gave the right vibe. Perhaps it's the razor-sharp serrated edge sorta vibes? Because Iklies is a bastard and Penelope was treated like one?

great minds think alike. I have a sketch where Iklies holds his sword to Penelope's neck but I messed up his hair a bit so I'm gonna redraw it. I have no particular story behind this in mind (I just think holding a weapon to someone's throat is enemies to lovers peak hotness) but I can imagine that after Penelope ran away she found a nice place to hide but surprise! it belonged already to someone else. The future leader of the rebel faction. At night Iklies finds her sleeping there after returning from a fight. He believes she must be a spy or a bailiff and pins her to the ground pointing his dagger at her.

or if we are gonna make it less problematic after having an unpleasant encounter with some street thugs Penelope reacts violently when Iklies saves her and points her crossbow at him. A selfless saviour living on the streets where everyone only looks out for their own survival sounds too good to be true. She's immediately suspicious of him.

Another idea I have about how they became reluctant allies is that they both get arrested and get handcuffed together. When they escape their prison they are still forced to live together because they didn't get their hands on the key. Eventually they get over their dislike for each other and decide to fight side by side because it's safer not to be completely on your own.

[brotherslayer]

Penelope in knife garters

[brotherslayer]

Sudden, I know, but this song reminded me of Jewel Shards and Broken Bastards, plus my FMAB AU (Sunburst Sandstorm) and that one 19th century story where the British Empire becomes a republic (Painting A Perfect World, though I've never posted about it):

https://youtu.be/CoaS16WjGLQ

https://youtu.be/jw16QmhjTJ0

I don't even know which link was the dance choreo and which was the lyric vid but it has this... militaristic, revolution sorta vibe, and yeah.

Granted, many of the AUs I have tend to have rebellions in them but aesthetic wise, with the guns and all, these AUs fit so darn well imo.

I hope you like it! Dreamcatcher is awesome.

I like it! It sounds like something you would use as an anime opening while the main characters put on their uniforms and load their guns and look up at the sky with full determination before they march out to fight the enemy forces ready to die for their cause. Thank you for sharing!

[brotherslayer]

No need to apologize, darling. I’m also guilty of answering things terribly late.

The resistance treating Ivonne more like a weapon than a living human being while also hating her silently..yeah I can see that happening. It would mess horribly with poor Ivonne, because the people she is with only value her life, because of the parasite that has invaded her mind. And then she has to hear them say horrible things about her beloved family, every single one of them worse than the other but all true nontheless. It’s even worse if the precious memories of her families where the only thing she clung onto to keep sane in captivity. Only to find out that the Eckarts weren’t any better than her captors. Locking up a girl her own age and abusing her...Penelope’s got the scars to prove it. Ivonne might be in denial for some time, and when she can’t deny it anymore because it’s right there in front of her eyes, the truth about Derrick would absolutely break her.

Rescueing Ivonne way earlier so that her body wouldn’t be completely taken over by Leila would bring in another problem regarding the Ivonne x Vinter romance. What I mean is that the age difference between Vinter and Ivonne is too big (it’s roughly ten years). That means when Ivonne was 12, Vinter was already 21 which is uhh...problematic. Vinter isn’t a creep like Derrick and probably wouldn’t pursue someone under 17 romantically. He is supposed to be the good guy here.

I think this problem could be solved by making it so that whenever Vinter resets the timeline it’s not his consciousness that travels back in time but his body. Meaning Vinter could be theoretically younger in this AU simply because he hasn’t turned back time that often unlike vadd Vinter, but that would lessen his desperation to break the circle and it would imply that JSABB is one of VADD’s previously failed timelines. hmm 🤔

I’m having a headache realigning the timeline. I want Penelope to run away from the duchy early as possible so she can be involved in the beginning stages of the revolution and build up the resistance  but at the same time I want to dial up her Derrick related trauma, but for that she needs to be older.

my suggestion for the timeline is this:

Penelope gets adopted at 12 either bad relationship with Derrick until it improves or he jumps straight up into manipulating her -> something happens (no sex)-> Penelope runs away at 14 -> builds up resistance -> meets Derrick once during a night patrol has a panic attack (he didn’t recognize her) -> meets Iklies at 17 OR Iklies gets enslaved earlier -> their rebel factions clash and they work together - > fall in love -> during one mission she runs into Derrick at the ball and kinda seduces him to gain time for the rebel’s escape and stabs him, leaving him bleeding out on the floor -> he survives, the duke was assassinated -> Derrick becomes his successor and has now absolute power, he becomes even more obsessed with Penelope knowing she is alive and with the rebels-> at 18 Penelope gets captured by Derrick during an attack, she thinks Iklies is dead -> Derrick promises her she’ll be safe with him and they can be a family again (lies) -> dubious consent sex -> Iklies goes a little yandere crazy and fights more ruthlessly -> ??? -> Penelope escapes -> rebellion happens -> Penelope kills Derrick, Iklies kills Callisto

things I wanna include in the timeline but don’t know how to make it work:

 -Ivonne being found by Iklies and Penelope who were raiding the church for supplies

- Ivonne x Vinter x Leila love triangle with Vinter being in hate-love with Ivonne and Leila loving to play with his emotions

- the slaves, children and exploited workers of the Eckart’s diamond mine rebelling and joining the revolution

- Penelope and Iklies adopting a child of Eorka and Iklies coming to terms with the fact that not all Eorka’s are evil and wanting to erase their country of the map would make him just as bad as them

- I want Ivonne and Reynold to see how fucked up Derrick is and being forced to choose a side. Like Ivonne sees Derrick fighting Penelope on the ground, she is afraid, she is torn between her biological family and the one who saved her and cared for her, in the heat of the moment her instincts make the decision for her and she grabs Penelope’s crossbow shooting an arrow at Derrick.

things I still have no clue about:

- what happens after the war? Will Delman and Penelope’s country unite or are they still separate from one another?

- Who will rule Penelope’s country? What form of government will they have? Monarchy or something semi-democratic?

- What happens to Eorka? Will they split up the Empire or will they find a ruler for it? Is Penelope returning to her own country or will she become queen of Delman?

- her father might be alive

- sometimes I entertain the idea that one of Iklies’s nicer brothers might be alive (I headcanon that his father has a dozen children, most of them ignored him or were abusive towards him but he had two brothers (twins) who liked him and helped him out sometimes). I’m leaning more towards them being dead though.