#once again in my au they are 5 years older than they are in canon

[shima-draws]

Tell us about the AU! I know you want to!!

WAUGHHH. AGHHH. OKAY. OKAY SO. I've been watching one of my favorite content creators play through the DLC. Early on in the playthrough he was tossing around theories and said "Maybe KIERAN is Ogerpon??" and that gave me a BRILLIANT THOUGHT.

Ogerpon Kieran AU.......

I've already thought of a very long and complex backstory for this LOL but to simplify it. Before the ogre and its human companion came to Kitakami, said companion was actually living a very happy life with his child. However, they were caught up in the midst of a great war that ended up taking the child's life. The man was so overcome with grief that it summoned a great being (I'm thinking Xerneas), who blessed his dead child with new life. And that child was reborn as Ogerpon!! So kinda like how children who get lost in the woods and die are reborn as Phantump.

Fast forward to many many years later. A long chain of events leads to Carmine's grandfather's...father (so, her great-grandpa?) meeting Ogerpon and vowing to make it a new mask, a mystical and powerful mask that could grant wishes. Sadly, Carmine's great-grandpa wasn't able to complete the mask before he died. This project was eventually picked up by Carmine's father (and I have a whole other thing about him but I'm not gonna get into it right now lol). Carmine's father forms a very close bond with Ogerpon as he continues to gather materials to finish the wish mask. He expresses his desire for Ogerpon to finally be able to walk among the villagers with its name cleared, and for Ogerpon to meet his only daughter. He leaves for a journey to find the last material for the mask...and never returns 😔

Carmine's grandfather has a whole complex about the wish mask, but after seeing both his father and his son dedicate so much time and care into completing it, he takes the last material, imbued with the hopes and dreams of his family, and finally finishes the mask. When he presents it to Ogerpon, Ogerpon dons the mask and its wish is granted...it becomes human :") So it becomes Kieran, basically!! Kieran's wish was to be able to say thank you to all of the generations of mask makers that had helped him, and. To be part of their family 🥺 What he doesn't know is that his wish to be human stems from the fact that he already was human, once. But he doesn't remember his life before he was reborn as a Pokemon.

So, Carmine's grandfather happily accepts Kieran and his desire, and takes him home to live with him and Carmine. Note that Kieran is probably around 5-6 at the time, so he's BABY. And Carmine is only about a year or two older. She isn't sure what to think about suddenly getting a new brother, but she's happy to have someone to boss around lmao.

And once a year, during the festival of masks, Kieran lets his facade fall and wanders around as Ogerpon again. Just to keep in touch with his roots haha

So obviously with Kieran being Ogerpon the events of the DLC will play out differently than canon. Kieran slyly compliments the ogre in front of the player and mentions that maybe it's just misunderstood. He's been trying for a while to change the villagers' minds about what happened to him and the Loyal Three all those years ago, but it hasn't been going...too well lol. So when the player shows up, and things start to shift, Kieran gets really excited bc he realizes he finally might be able to clear his name :")

Is this AU silly and dumb as hell? Yes. Does it not really make sense with canon and is full of plot holes? Yes. Am I brainrotting over it anyway? Also yes.

Take a little edit I did of Kieran's official art to fit what I had in mind for the AU ;) I wanted to draw it but I'm at work rn lmao RIP

ALSO LITTLE DOODLE OF THE BOY

ALSO bc of Ogerpon's original gender Kieran probably goes by he/they pronouns in the AU

[voxofthevoid]

Poll time, yet again ❎

This isn't what I'd call a problem per se, but I'm writing at a pace my posting cannot keep up with, even with me currently posting 5 fics a month—4 for JJK from a roster of 5 and 1 for MCU/Bleach. This'd be fine, but posting for MCU and Bleach long after leaving those fandoms has made it clear that I will significantly slow down on posting for those regardless of the size of my backlog. While I continue to love sharing those stories, the editing process becomes more of a chore than usual, and I just...sit on those. I'd like to avoid that as much as possible with JJK.

I'm still very firmly in the JJK sauce and haven't slowed down any, but I'd rather do this while I'm at the zenith of my inspiration, so these fics (which are the longest among my unposted JJK fics) can see the light of Ao3 while they and I are both hot, so to speak.

I'm upping my ongoing JJK roster from five to six, though whether the updates will increase to five a month or stay four a month remains to be seen. I can handle both based on monthly energy levels and have drawn up schedules for each, but I might run another poll for that to see what y'all can take. But that's for later.

For now, pick a fic ✨

Descriptions, titles, and choice WIP Wednesday links for the fics under the cut. I'll reblog the poll once a day or so till it's over.

Amnesiac Yuuji

the ghost in me was true (but you were haunted too): No-Shibuya AU where Gojou sends Yuuji out of the country after he eats all the fingers. Yuuji goes AWOL a year in and reappears 12 years later without any memories. Gojou doesn’t deal with that too well. Goyuu.

Shibuya Swap

(this is also part of the story) how the story changes: Just as the PR ensnares Gojou, canon!Yuuji switches places with his older self from an alternate dimension where he’s Gojou’s teacher. Goyuu.

Mundane Unclekuna

bloodstains on the collar means just don't ask: Mundane AU Yuuji’s sexual awakening is his big, mean uncle and then his high school teacher makes him realize he just has a specific type in men. Goyuu and Sukuita.

Surprise Rut Sex

taking the flesh is the only virtue: Yuuji goes into premature rut after the vs Mahito arc, and Nanami ends up “helping” before Gojou shows up to escalate matters. Goyuu and Nanaita.

[dudewhy3]

Continue yours and Myrtle's discussion about Armin being a Twilight fan, what if it's a plot twist, and it's ARMIN who introduced Mikasa to Twilight?

Like, he was *analysing* everything and reading books and watching movies, but was ashamed of it, and Mikasa once spotted him writing another long essay about, "The more Edward loves Bella, the more he thinks he's in danger: principles of the selective abstraction and polarizes thinking", and so he introduced her with the saga after this.

BONUS: before AruAni became a thing, Armin heard Annie playing and singing Paramore - Decode, and he was mesmerized by her voice, playing and beauty, and so he was so smitten with her, that he didn't even notice that Annie was, in fact, smitten with him, too. It took them a while before they became a couple, but when they did, Annie plays Decode only for him :3

HI ANNAAAA, AND OH MY GOD YES!! THIS IS SUCH A GREAT IDEA AAAAAAGH, thank you for sending it in!! <3

It turned out rather long ahaha, so i'll put it under the cut. Please do beware of the angst ahead :3

So in a high school au, let's say Armin was 16 this year. That would mean that he was born in the same year the first Twilight movie was released (2008), just 3 weeks before. So, imagine his parents, a young couple, new parents to a little bundle of light, huddling up on the little couch in their little apartment, trying to ignore the cold, switching through channels to make the time pass. They randomly get to a channel streaming Twilight, so they watch it all. And little Armin doesn't cry once, he just stares at the screen with those big eyes of his, as if he understood everything that was going on. For the next 5 years, each November they would watch the release of another Twilight movie (except for that one time in like 2010 when they released it in June). And after the saga was complete, they'd watch it all in November, maybe even on Armin's birthday to make it more special. Until the day he turned 10, and his parents didn't come home– they never came home again, it was just him and his grandfather. Yet every time he missed them, he put on a Twilight movie, and the grief would get a little more bearable.

So as he grew older, he grew more attached to the saga. He started analysing everything about it, every little detail, because it made him feel closer to his parents. But he never shared those ideas, because they were so intimate and he was already getting bullied enough- so, he kept them in a little notebook. Until one day in math class when he was about 13 or 14, he was scribbling down ideas for that essay you mentioned- "The more Edward loves Bella, the more he thinks he's in danger" (which is such a cool title btw, love it). And Mikasa peeked over his shoulder and read a bit, and she was so engrossed with it that she didn't stop pestering him until he showed her the movies.Which was life changing for Mikasa, because she now finally had something she truly loved, but also for Armin- someone liked his ideas; he got to share his love for the series again, and it made him happy. So he finally found the courage to share his analyses and ideas, and they were well recieved by the fandom.

But he never finished that essay, not until he met Annie. He met her just as you said- he heard her singing once and was irrevocably in love. Except, i head canon that Annie would be such a distant and quiet person in high school, it would take a LOT to get close to her. Not only is she aloof, she's also extremely direct- so all his efforts to sit with her or strike up conversation ended up in her berating him for bugging her. Besides, there was Bert too, always two steps behind Annie in an almost stalky manner, but she seemed to indulge his presence better than Armin's.

So, Armin gave up on trying to pursue her. He accepted the fact that he was the Jacob in this situation and that his Bella has chosen the giant vampire, and drowned himself into his theories and analysis. He found that essay in his drafts, and decided to work on it again. "The more Edward loves Bella, the more he thinks he's in danger: principles of the selective abstraction and polarized thinking". It helped to put his own feelings and love somewhere.

But the bullies found it. They found his notebook, tore it all up, gave him one hell of a beating. Armin was left bruised and broken and with a ruined notebook. His work, his life's purpose- gone. He didn't know what to do, so he picked himself up, gathered the pieces of paper that used to be his essay, and started walking astray through the school. Until he heard soft guitar tunes coming out of the music room, and found Annie there, playing her guitar, wearing a scowl on her face. Somehow, her scowl only deepened when she saw him.

"I didn't know where else to go." He couldn't go home and worry his grandpa, and he couldn't go to his friends either, or Eren would have caused a scene. "Is it cool if I stay here? I promise not to bother you."

Annie looked him up and down, examining him thoroughly, her eyes widening the slightest bit at the sight of his bruises. "It's whatever," she finally said.

So they sat in the music room, each doing their own thing. Armin put his essay back together, and Annie carried on with her song. No word was spoken between them that day, or the next day, or the next week, yet there was peace in the quiet and comfort in the silent understanding passed between them. But Annie's silence turned into nods of aknowledgement and later into quiet 'hi's. Armin's turned into little smiles and stolen glances, and occasional "hey do you want some chips?"s. One day, two months into this arrangement, as she was taking a little break from her guitar and munching on his chips, she asked about that essay of his.

"How come you haven't finished it yet, don't you have a deadline for it?"

And so, feeling extremely self conscious, Armin beat around the bush and said that it was this silly character analyses for a show he liked.

The next day, Annie was playing another song, but he didn't recognize it at first because she played it in little sequences, never in full length. Eventually, maybe three or four weeks later, she asked him to put his essay aside for a minute and just listen, and she played Paramore's Decode, both guitar and voice. Armin was left absolutely mesmerized, so much so that he didn't know what to say, staring at Annie with a big dumb smile on his face. But the more he stared, the more self aware Annie became. She flushed a deep red, picked up all her stuff in a hurry and left.

That was the moment Armin realized he was completely smitten. He went home, sat down at his desk- and decided to finish his essay that very day, give it to Annie in the morning, and confess his love through it. Which is exactly what he did. He was an absolute zombie the next day, having barely slept, but when he made it to the music room his heart was beating like crazy against his chest.

Annie got flustered when she saw him. "This is my room, I found it first. If you're gonna sit there and mock me for what I play, then you can stick your nose right up your-"

He thrusted the papers in her arms. "Just read this," he demanded.

Annie looked between him and the papers with skeptical eyes, but eventually sat down and started reading through them. Armin sat next to her and carefully watched her face as she read, taking into account every little change in her expression.

When she was done, Annie sat the papers neatly between them.

"Okay. And?"

"What do you think?"

"What does this have to do with me?"

Armin took a deep breath in, building up his courage. He couldn't back out now.

"This is how I feel about you. What do you think?"

[moreespressoformydepresso]

I was just reading a new TBOSAS fic on AO3, it’s a Catching Fire AU that I found by religiously stalking the Treech tag. And the author just informed me that they’re not sure on who gets to live or die so my brain made multiple similar AU’s where I decide who lives :)

So first of all, these will all be focussing on Treech and Lamina. I headcanon Lamina as older than Treech, which I seem to be alone in? I’m sorry but she has big sis energy to me, and also I push the “younger people can be the (more) protective one too” agenda. In my head Treech is 15-16ish? So he’s a few months to a bit over a year younger than Lamina (who is canonically 16). I’m not 100% on what to make their relationship to each other, because I like them both as a ship and as platonic besties. I’ll mention which one I’m using (or if I’m making them related somehow) for the AU’s I’ll share in this post (and, likely, following ones 💜).

Starting off strong: not necessarily a catching fire AU but close enough and better because the second rebellion happens much sooner here. Treech and Lamina can be anything here, but I my top picks are siblings or besties since birth so we’ll go with siblings (nice Gloss and Cashmere parallel minus the career/likely volunteer part I know). Treech is two years younger than Lamina here for ✨reasons✨. The 10th games, with Lucy Gray still as victor through cheating, are the starting point of the mentors. From then on, the victors slowly start taking over the mentoring. The academy students still get a chance at winning the Plinth Prize in the beginning, but that quickly falls away and it’s just about getting your name out there and bragging rights for them.

Lamina wins the 16th games at 16 (ha) as the first female victor for district 7. She and one of the two male victors from previous games are to mentor, since the capitol stipulates that if there are male and female victors, the two mentors have to be one guy and one girl. This happens during her second year as mentor. The mentors all watch the reaping together in the capitol, which also gives them more time to sort mentor business. District 7’s turn comes, and Lamina almost feels bad for how relieved she is that the 18-year-old girl is someone she’d only seen in passing and didn’t actually know. Most of her friends that weren’t already safe aged out this year, meaning she didn’t have to worry about potentially seeing anyone she cared about die. Treech’s name isn’t in the bowl as much as many others, especially since her victory meant her family had enough food to not require tesserae anymore. And their family had already been reaped once, so surely they wouldn’t be picked again, right?

Pause for effect

Treech’s name is called out, and Lamina screams in denial before breaking down into sobs while the other two district 7 victors try to comfort her. The rest of the victors look at her with pity and sympathy. He’d been her motivation to win her games, and now Lamina would have to mentor her little brother despite his low odds of winning the games. I have most of this AU worked out in terms of broad strokes, but I’ll move on to the next one and if you want me to expand just ask me.

Quarter Quell Hell:

The 25th hunger games had the twist that the districts have to vote on their tributes, but I’m adding a twist to this Quarter Quell. The tributes are reaped from bowls filled with the names of the 5% of kids with the least votes, to remind the districts that they’re powerless rather than the whole “you’re the reason they’re dying” thing. And when they’re chosen, a screen will show how many people voted. Treech, being the only direct relative of a victor eligible for the games, received zero votes. Nobody wished it upon their family to lose another child, especially given how they’re so kind to everyone (basing this off of Lamina, and Treech doesn’t have much canon personality so it works).

Quarter Quell Hell 2: Electric Boogaloo:

A completely different first quarter quell, where the tributes are picked from the victor’s direct family. A reminder that even the districts’ strongest cannot protect their loved ones from the capitol. The only restriction is that people above the age of 50 cannot compete, because those people have lived out most of their life expectancy, whereas younger people still have most of their life to live, and it’d be like letting the district off easy. Only one previous victor besides Lamina has a brother, and that brother turned 50 just that year, whereas Treech just turned 15 and is very much eligible. The parents that are still alive are well above the age cutoff. So, while there are more than 20 names in the bowl for the women of district 7 (sisters, wives, and daughters), there’s only one in the bowl for the boys. Treech. Worse even, he won’t be mentored by a previous victor but by a top performing student at the academy to reinforce the intended message.

I’m torn on whether to make Gaius Breen (because he deserves more attention) or Festus Creed his mentor (I wanted to go with Pliny, but he’s so tied to Lamina in my head it would feel weird to go that route). I’m gonna go with Festus, because he was nice to Sejanus. Am I lowkey shipping Festus with Treech now, even though they have no canon interaction whatsoever? … yes, yes I am. Sue me. The reaping happens in the capitol, and while the previous victors must go to the capitol to watch the games they’re only brought there a day before the games begin and aren’t allowed to see their family member at all before the games. Both the tribute and the victor will be alone. I’ve got a lot of ideas for this one, and for my newly invented ship FesTreech, so I’ll write a post about that once I’ve posted this.

Star Crossed Lovers AU:

Lamina is the Girl on Fire of this AU, winning her game with only one kill, made out of compassion. Lumber is used as firewood, and her stylist leaned into it. Hence her also getting a literally flaming hot costume. She’s sent into the games with Treech, but unlike Katniss and Peeta these two are in love from the start. In fact, they were dating before they were reaped. Treech joins the careers, but only because he doesn’t want to be the only one left with Lamina at the end because he doesn’t want to fight her. He leaves the pack very early, rather than being forced out, and stays alone for most of the rest of the games, before teaming up with Lamina towards the end when the announcement comes they can survive together. The announcement is revoked, they almost eat the berries, they’re saved, they start a rebellion.

Actual Catching Fire AU:

Lamina won the 71st games, went back home and started dating Treech. Then Treech got reaped and she had to mentor her boyfriend, but he won too so it’s alright. Then the third Quarter Quell happens, and their worst nightmare comes true. Not only are they both reaped to go back into the arena, but they’re going in together this time. And only one of them will survive. They stick together throughout most of the games, only teaming up with Tanner and Coral briefly because they’re good friends of theirs (less than half of the 75th games’ tributes are 10th games tributes because I refuse to kill any of them if I can prevent it). When the arena is destroyed, Treech is taken by the capitol. I choose him because this leads to Lamina going on an absolute rampage. The capitol was not prepared for her wrath at the sheer audacity they have to dare hurt her boyfriend.

What did I just create? I- it’s 4:35AM please cut me some slack

[writingforfun0714]

Hey everyone, sorry it’s been so long since I’ve posted. Here’s Chapter 5 of my Arcane fanfic

Sisters of Mine (all chapters—definitely recommend reading before this)

Warnings: AU, spoilers, reader insert fanfic, POV changes

Word count: 7,406

Sisters of Mine: Chapter 5

3rd POV

It’s been 6 long years since the tragedy at the old cannery in the Undercity. Vi is now a tough young woman of 22 and has been in Stillwater prison ever since the night Vander died. She had to learn quick how to survive in such a brutal place and she has gotten used to the nightmares that have plagued her since that horrible night Vander was taken. In that time, Silco has raised Powder, now known to those in Zaun as Jinx, and is his daughter. She’s a master sharpshooter that’s a loose canon because of her unstable mental state. It sometimes seems like Silco actually can’t control Jinx. In turn, the 16yr old wildcard of a teenage girl has thought of the crime boss as a father figure and has gotten deeply attached to him due to what Silco thinks is empathy. Nightmares also haunt Jinx’s mind, both when she’s asleep and when she’s awake, but she, like Vi, has learned to live with them.

Last is Y/N. While she isn’t the best at engineering or inventing like her older brother Ekko, she does like to tinker and she’s grown into an excellent artist. She’s only 10, but she’s quick to help others and is quite curious, to Ekko’s dismay. He loves the girl obviously but he understands Vi’s frustrations in regards to being in charge of a living being and Y/N sometimes doesn’t know her limits.

Y/N’s coloring the mural when she sees Ekko and Scar along with a few others, including Eve. Eve is a young woman a couple years older than Ekko with short, shaggy pink hair and a scar on the bridge of her nose. She’s really nice and often looks out for the girl if Ekko and/or Scar is busy. If Y/N’s honest, Eve’s pink hair really reminds the girl of Vi and a part of her sometimes can’t tell the difference, though Eve completely understands and doesn’t mind at all. Ekko and Y/N make eye contact before the girl suddenly drops the paint brush and races over to the older boy.

“Bro? Where’re you going?” She asks running up to him.

“There’s a shipment of Shimmer going into the docks in Piltover. We’re gonna do somethin’ about it,” Ekko says smirking before turning serious.

“Stay here. You know the rules,” Ekko says. She nods and looks away, clearly upset she can’t go with him.

Reader POV

“Stay here. You know the rules,” Ekko tells me. I nod but look away, pouting with my arms cross over my chest.

“We’ll be back before you know it. Keep an eye on the place,” Ekko says and I nod again.

“I love you,” he says.

“Get outta here already!” I exclaim and shove him away as he chuckles.

“Alright-alright-but seriously, I do love you,” he says and I can’t help the small smile that tugs my lips up and I nod once.

“I know. I love you too big bro,” I say and hug him tight before pulling away to watch him and the others leave the sanctuary.

Once I’m alone I sigh and head back to the mural to clean up my paints. I head back into our house that is now perched up in the tall, thick, sturdy tree limbs. I get to my room and sit on mine and Ekko’s shared bed.

Word of our sanctuary grew among the Underground since Silco flooded Shimmer in. People had either gotten addicted to it or moved here. Because of our growing numbers, we have to be careful. Luckily there is a dedicated group to defending the sanctuary. They are self taught and most of them have been there the longest and are most loyal to me and Ekko. I look around and spot the toy I’m building. It has spinning blades and is supposed to be controllable. I’m working on the controller now and have been over the past 3 months. I can’t figure out how to solder the electrical motherboard. Ekko taught me the basics but not enough to build a device that transmits radio waves. I try not to worry about Ekko when he leaves, and it really helps knowing he’s not alone, but I can’t help it. If anything happened to him, I’d be alone and everyone would depend on me. I can’t help them…not like he can. I can’t do anything…not even make this stupid toy! Angrily I throw the wired board across the room and it clatters to the floor. I can’t just sit here and do nothing. That’s when I remember Ekko was having problems getting enough food. I know someone who’d gladly give us his extras. Jericho. Ekko doesn’t go to him because his shop is so close to The Last Drop but we need food and I know Ekko coming back to one less problem would help. I make sure I have my key before putting my shoes on and hurrying out. I lock the main door that keeps what little supplies we have.

I hurry past Lyanna, a young woman who lost her home due to Silco taking over her neighborhood. She’s really nice and I trust her.

“Lyanna, I’m going out. I’ll be back in an hour,” I tell her.

“Where’re you goin’?” She asks.

“Helping Ekko collect more food. One hour,” I repeat and she nods.

“Yeah-I got it, an hour. I thought you weren’t allowed to go off by yourself since last time-“ she says but I cut her off since I could tell she was going to mention the time Ekko scolded me in front of everyone.

“He’s desperate. I’ll be back,” I insist and she nods.

“Alright, be careful,” she tells me as I nod and run off into the Undercity.

I make my way through the alleys, streets and I even crawl through the sewers for a bit. I manage to come out of a dark but crowded alley to see the neon sign of The Last Drop. Home. Memories of Dad and my older siblings flash by in my mind. I love Ekko, but I miss them. I miss how things used to be. I hadn’t even noticed I was crying until I see my vision blur from the tears. I sniffle and angrily wipe away the tears. No. That doesn’t help. Ekko needs me now and I have to focus on my mission.

I know Jericho’s place is nearby but I’m not for sure. I try the alley to the left and hurry. So much has changed, it’s hard to tell where I am…but there are familiar buildings. Like Margot’s Pleasure House and Benzo’s boarded up shop.

The alley opens up to another market area and I look around and spot Jericho and his shop. Thank god. I walk through a small crowd and head to an empty stool. I climb up and tap the counter. Jericho turns and smiles widely when he sees me.

“Kid!” He exclaims.

“Hi Jericho, it’s been too long,” I say and he nods.

“I’ll say, you’ve gotten bigger since the last time I saw you,” he says and I smile.

“What’re you doin’ here?” He asks.

“I came to ask if you had any old food you could spare? We’re running low,” I say.

“Well I got these burned bread loafs I tried to make. I’ll definitely stick to stews and seafood,” he says, pointing to the wall behind the counter. I kneel up on the chair to see a stack of bread loaves that are darkened to black on one end.

“I think I also have some leftover gumbo,” he says, checking a stew pot on the counter by the sink in his kitchen area.

“Thanks Jericho,” I say as he packs up the bread and grabs a spare backpack. I watch as he pours the gumbo into a rusty pot and locks the lid.

“Keep the pot,” he tells me, putting the gumbo in first before stacking the bread loaves in on top.

“Really?” I ask and he nods.

“Sure,” he says and I smile.

“Thanks,” I tell him and he nods.

“So where’s Little Man?” He asks, handing me the pack full of food.

“He’s out at the docks trying to stop some sort of Shimmer shipment coming in,” I explain and Jericho’s eyes widen.

“Hey can I get a-“ someone tries to order, but Jericho glares at him.

“We’re closed!” He snaps, hitting the counter with his large hand, making everything rattle. The other customers scurry away. He leans in towards me.

“You have to get Little Man and the rest of your people out of there,” Jericho warns. My eyes widen.

“What? Why?” I ask.

“Word is Sevika is going to pick up this latest shipment of Shimmer,” Jericho says and I gasp.

“Sevika? She’s alive?” I ask and he nods.

“Ok, thanks Jericho..for the info and the food,” I say, shrugging the pack with my shoulder. He nods.

“Come see me again sometime…if you get the chance. It’s always good to see you kids,” Jericho says and I nod.

“You too…you know the offer to come live at the sanctuary’s still open,” I tell him.

“Ah, nah, the Lanes are my home. I can’t leave,” he says and I nod. Sometimes I wish I didn’t leave but I know we had to otherwise Silco would’ve killed us.

“Be safe,” I tell him and walk away with the pack of food.

“You too kid..and tell Little Man to come visit more often!” He calls to me and I wave, chuckling to myself.

I make my way through the alleys until I can look up and spot a bit of blue peeking through the buildings. I look around before seeing I’m alone and start climbing up.

I leap from a metal awning and onto a pipe sticking out. I grab hold of it and start inching my way up, swinging back and forth until I can swing my leg over and stand. I grab hold of a windowsill and pull myself up before jumping to another pipe that goes straight up. I scrape my knuckles against the brick building but manage to cling to the pipe, panting a bit. I manage to use my legs to help inch myself up. I pull myself with my arms with my foot slips and I fall briefly before I manage to catch myself!

“Gah!” I yelp, gripping the pipe for dear life.

I gasp and sigh with relief before pulling myself up. I manage to climb up to the side of a building that has a ladder and I get all the way to the rooftop. My breathing is a bit ragged, but that’s nothing new. Ekko had Scar look me over and he said I have ‘asthma’. It’s from the Undercity because lots of kids my age have it too. I look up and see the sky is so blue and bright that I have to squint slightly. I take a breath and enjoy the sweet fresh air for a moment. I grab my scope and look around.

As I look around, I see life is much different here than it is in the Undercity. People seem…happy. It’s…it’s not fair. I feel myself get angry and I realize that this is probably what Vi felt all those years ago when she was taking care of us. I can’t help the tears that form at the thought of my eldest sister with bright reddish pink hair. Stop! STOP THAT! I hit my head and pull my hair. I have to focus. Jericho said to get Echo and everyone else out of the docks. I don’t have time to be sad about anything right now.

I look through the scope again and see an airship heading a bit down near the big tower. There! I think those are the shipping docks! I shove my scope into my pants pocket and start making my way there.

Silco’s POV

I’m expecting a shipment of Shimmer from Piltover. Because I’ve had to expand production, one of my warehouses happens to be on Topside. I’ve had Marcus keep the Enforcers out of the area and he keeps me informed on the Council. The latest batch is ready but I know it won’t be an easy job, especially since the Firelight gang has gotten…bolder as they’ve been insignificant so far. I’ve sent Jinx to deal with them. Over the years I’ve noticed she seemed to have some sort of personal reason for attacking the Firelights. I’ve never questioned it since it helps me anyways. I just make sure Jinx doesn’t get in over her head. I can’t lose her. I’ve also sent Sevika, to make sure things go smoothly with the dock manager. Jinx was upset with me at first because she thought I thought she couldn’t handle it, and argued she didn’t need Sevika, but I made sure to give her clear instructions.

“Your targets are the Firelights. Let Sevika handle the Shimmer. Now..can I count on you Jinx?” My voice tells Jinx.

“Sure thing Pops,” Jinx’s bubbly voice response echoes in my mind.

3rd POV

Y/N finds her way to the docks and makes sure to hide. She hides behind a stack of wooden crates and spots an airship slowly coming in. The girl watches as various workers walk around until her eyes widen when she sees a hulking man with pale skin and tattoos. She recognizes him as one of Silco’s men. Y/N can’t see on the ship so she looks around and spots a place to climb up into the metal pipes that support the giant buildings. She only slips once but manages to catch herself until she can pull herself up onto a horizontal pipe so she can sit and look down.

On the ship, barrels of Shimmer are being loaded. Silco’s men make sure to keep track of how many barrels.

“Uh-shipping manifest?” The dock worker asks, holding out a clipboard of paperwork. A small pouch of coins is tossed on top and he looks up at the dark skinned woman standing before him.

“From your friend—downtown,” Sevika tells him, glancing at the bribe. The worker looks over and the muscular, tattooed man sneers at him, making the worker gulp nervously. He nods slightly and as he’s about to pocket the bribe, a flash of green light whizzes by! They gasp and Sevika stands at the ready. Masked Firelights, including Ekko fly by on hoverboards.

“Ah shit it’s the Firelights!” The worker exclaims. As people scramble, Ekko manages to toss a couple of crystallizing traps, pinning Sevika down. Ekko and the others land and the boy pulls out his stopwatch, clicking the timer button.

“We’ve got 5 minutes,” he instructs, unaware he’s being watched by Y/N.

A Firelight walks over to the barrels and pries the top open to see the sickening purple liquid.

“Have you ever seen this much Shimmer before?” She asks.

“They’re expanding,” Ekko says.

“Check for more below, burn it all,” he orders.

Two Firelights find the hatch that leads to below deck. Y/N watches as Ekko and the others move around on the top deck. Luckily the alarm hasn’t gone off yet. She looks and sees the other workers around the docks haven’t really noticed, just the ones near or on the airship.

Without warning, Y/N gasps when the airship suddenly explodes on the inside! It rocks back and forth as smoke billows out the windows that got shattered. The young girl watches smoke cover the top deck and that’s when she sees two long blue braids emerge from the smoke. Her dark eyes widen when she sees her older sister, Powder, who now goes by Jinx, step out. She blows her bangs out of her face.

“Hi,” Jinx greets before pulling out two grenades with chomping teeth and pulls the pins with her teeth. She throws the explosives as hard as she can, hitting the two Firelights beside Ekko, knocking them over the side and exploding. Y/N’s eyes are filled with shock and fear when she sees the two Firelights disintegrate in the explosions.

Jinx walks forward, twirling her pistol in her hand. Ekko grabs two more crystallizing traps and throws them at Jinx, but she easily dodges and fires off a shot at Ekko, that he ducks from. That’s when Y/N sees movement at the top of the ship and she realizes it’s Scar! He leaps down on Jinx, piercing the spot where she was with his spear, but she manages to see him in time and move. She aims at him and fires a shot! He manages to hold up his clawed hands in time. He has metallic gloves on but because of how close Jinx is to him, he gets knocked down and disoriented. Jinx jumps and stomps down on his head, forcing him to stay down. Y/N can’t help the anger that bubbles up inside her. Scar is like another older brother to her.

While Jinx is distracted, Ekko and another Firelight spill the Shimmer out of the metal barrels. Ekko whistles and the Firelight moves to the next barrel, opening the top. The Firelight ignites a flare and is about to drop it in when Jinx catches her wrist before roughly slapping the mask off, exposing the identity of the Firelight. Y/N sees it’s Eve, the girl with the same short, shaggy dark pink hair as Vi.

Jinx gasps, her eyes widen when she sees Vi!

“Vi?” Jinx asks. Eve gives her a confused, questioning look.

“I can’t lose you,” Vi’s voice echoes in Jinx’s head as a memory plays in her mind. She remembers sitting on her shared bed as Vi gently brushes her hair out of her face and gently strokes her cheek. But it’s not exactly the same. The pain warps the happiness.

“Why did you leave me?!” Powder wails.

“Because you’re a jinx!!” Vi’s voice snaps at her.

Jinx is so wrapped up in the painful memories that she doesn’t stop Eve from dropping her lit flare into the Shimmer, igniting a purple fire. Eve gasps and tries yanking her wrist out of Jinx’s grip, but Jinx won’t let go. Jinx’s dark eyes twitch in realization that the girl is not actually Vi. Eve manages to break free but that’s when Jinx grabs her pistol and instantly shoots Eve in the back!

“NO!” Ekko yells, reaching out to her. Jinx pants, holding the gun up by her head as she breathes hard. Ekko pulls out his pocket watch as the anger starts boiling in him. He looks at Jinx before looking down at the watch. His 5 minutes are almost up. It’s now or never! Ekko takes a few breaths before grabbing his metallic bat and charging Jinx, screaming.

“RAAAAUGH!” Ekko yells but that’s when Jinx pulls her gatling gun from behind her and sprays bullets.

“AAAAAGGHHH!!!! AAAAHGGGHHH!!!!” Jinx screams angrily. Fear and sadness takes over and all she can do is spray fire in every direction, not knowing where the Ekko and the Firelights are. Sevika manages to break free of her trap and hide but the hulking, pale man with tattoos isn’t so lucky. Jinx hits him and he cries out in pain.

Scar managed to get up at some point during Jinx’s firing and rescue Ekko. The surviving Firelights manage to get away on their hoverboards as Jinx’s gun slows to a stop. Sevika pushes past wooden boxes that are now destroyed thanks to Jinx. The dark skinned, one-armed woman storms up to Jinx and pushes her shoulder to make the teenager look at her.

“You were supposed to GUARD the cargo!” Sevika snarls as the Piltover alarm sounds in the distance. Jinx chuckles humorlessly with a small smirk. Sevika hears the alarm and looks away. Jinx tilts her head and darkens her glare, remembering how Mylo acted on the robbery job all those years ago. Knowing Enforcers will soon be swarming the area, Sevika and Jinx head back down to Zaun.

Y/N puts her scope down and thinks on everything she saw before also heading back down. She has to beat Ekko back to the Sanctuary otherwise he’ll know she was out when he told her not to.

Ekko’s POV

As we use our hoverboards to fly back down to the Undercity, I can’t help but replay everything that happened in my mind. Jinx killed Jax and Zane with her two grenades and Eve…Eve was shot in the back. She…she was so good with Y/N and I know the girl will be devastated to learn that we all didn’t make it.

“Hey, you good Little Man?” Scar asks me. I nod.

“Yeah…you know the drill,” I tell him and he nods back. Any time we lose someone, we prepare a funeral service. It’s nothing special really but it’s intimate and even though I don’t like funerals, I know it’s important to everyone else. Being in charge of the Sanctuary, I hate the services because it’s like losing a family member each time. I know I’m not alone in that feeling…but it’s different being the one everyone depends on.

We can’t go back for the bodies, so Scar usually goes around and asks for pictures of the deceased and gives them to Y/N. At first she thought they just went away…but would be back. But when Y/N was 8, she realized that each picture was of someone that died. I had a talk with her about it.

We descend into the Undercity. The air gets thicker and…grosser, plain and simple, but I’m used to it. We fly by the mines, where it’s the worst, but luckily it doesn’t last long.

We arrive back at the Sanctuary. The air is a bit better here thanks to our tree, especially compared to other areas of the Undercity, like the mines and the Lanes, but it’s nothing like Topside. We head through the small maze of alleys and come into the open courtyard with the tree.

Those that live here permanently look at us and when they see we are missing most of our people, they turn sad. I see Lyanna, a young woman who lost her home to Silco, hurry up to us.

“Ekko, we heard the alarm Topside sounded-“ she says, hugging him. He hugs her back lightly before pulling away. She looks at the group.

“Where are the others?” She asks. I shake my head.

“They…didn’t make it. We were ambushed by Jinx,” I explain and her face darkens. Lyanna knows Jinx through stories I told her.

I glance around.

“Where’s Y/N?” I ask and that’s when I see Lyanna shift on her feet nervously.

“I-well-“

“Lyanna?” I ask seriously. She’s about to answer but I see her eyes glance behind me. I turn and see Y/N walking in. We make eye contact and her eyes widen a bit.

“Oh shit-“ she says.

“Y/N! Where were you!?” I ask, running up to the girl.

“I-I was just-“

“I told you not to leave the Sanctuary while I’m gone-“ I scold as I take a knee so I can look the girl in the eye. I put a hand on her shoulder.

“I make these rules for a reason,” I tell her.

“I know-I just..I couldn’t just sit here while you do everything so…I thought I’d restock our food supply,” Y/N explains, taking off her pack. I watch curiously as she opens it and starts pulling out food wrapped in foil and in old containers.

“W-Where did you get all this?” I ask. This is one of our biggest restocks, even I couldn’t get this much last time I went out asking around. I notice that Y/N isn’t looking me in the eye and I realize I’m not going to like the answer.

“Y/N? Where did you get this food?” I ask seriously and she shifts.

“Jericho’s,” she admits.

“Y/N! You know you’re not allowed to go to the Lanes!” I snap angrily.

“I was careful! I made sure I wasn’t followed and no one even saw me!” Y/N argues with me.

“You don’t understand, it’s what could’ve happened! You know Silco’s base of operations is at the Last Drop!-“ I say.

“I can handle myself! I know I can’t fight like Vi, and I can’t shoot or make things like Powder could…but I’m small and sneaky. And Jericho seemed really happy to see me,” Y/N’s face softens at the mention of the seafood stand owner. I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose in frustration.

“I don’t want you going to the Lanes period, end of story. Understand?” I ask and she pouts.

“I’m not a little kid anymore Ekko, I can help out around here so you don’t have to do everything,” Y/N says and I freeze for a moment.

“W-What?” I ask.

“You do everything around here. You keep us safe. I wanna help you,” Y/N explains.

A memory from 6 years ago comes to my mind. It was a few days after Benzo and Vander were killed. Y/N was plagued by nightmares and I couldn’t stop thinking about what happened…about what could’ve been different. I remember something Y/N said about Powder. When they were left alone at the Last Drop, Y/N said Powder wouldn’t stop crying until she remembered the blue crystals they found on the job Topside I told them about. I wondered if Powder had been given something to do, would she have been alright?

Now…is the same true for Y/N?

“I..I know you wanna help out, but you’re only 10. You’re still a bit too young,” I tell Y/N.

“You’re just being overprotective big brother,” Y/N says. I smile.

“That’s what big bros are for. But…since you’re so eager to help me…I guess we could go on supply runs together. You could show me how you got to Jericho’s,” I tell her and her eyes light up.

“R-Really?” She asks excitedly and I smile and nod.

“Yeah…but together,” I tell Y/N seriously.

“Together,” she nods in agreement.

“Why don’t you go put that in the supply closet? I’ll meet you back in our room,” I say and Y/N nods.

“Ok!” She says and shoves everything back into her backpack and hurries over to the small brick and wood building off to the side, behind the tree.

I turn serious and look at Lyanna.

“I told you to make sure she stayed,” I tell Lyanna.

“I’m sorry Ekko—Y/N can be…stubbornly determined when she sets her mind on something,” Lyanna says. Stubbornly determined. Like her older sisters Vi and Jinx.

“Makes sense,” I sigh.

“You go ‘head and get cleaned up, we’ll take care of things here,” Lyanna says, motioning to Scar and the others. I nod my thanks and head up to my room I share with Y/N.

3rd POV

Despite the turmoil going on at the docks, life goes on for the Council and many others in Piltover, including Jayce Talis and his partner Viktor. Working together using their hextech science, Jayce and Viktor have set out to improve the lives of those in the Undercity, people like Viktor. Viktor himself has thought about using it to see if he improves from his own illness. Together, they’ve created 2 new inventions. The Atlas Gauntlets are giant mechanical gloves that allow mine workers to work more safely and efficiently. The other invention is a mechanical arm with a laser strong enough to cut through a block of obsidian rock. The two decided to show Council member Heimerdinger. Along with being the head of the Council as a leading founder of Piltover, Heimerdinger is also Jayce’s mentor and was originally Viktor’s boss.

While proud of the two boys, Heimerdinger concluded that the two inventors needed more safeguards for their inventions, rightfully so after Viktor nearly accidentally killed Heimerdinger’s poro that follows him everywhere. However, Heimerdinger doesn’t understand the urgency of Viktor’s illness, which is why he had such a problem with Heimerdinger’s objections.

Back at the docks, the new Sheriff of the Enforcers is talking to the bribed worker.

“I think there were 4 or 5 of them-“ he says. Young rookie, Caitlyn Kiramman makes her way into the crime scene and looks around at the destruction. Bullet holes cover everything, the floor is scorched and empty metal barrels lay all around along with the remains of the crystalline traps. Cait glances around. She looks and spots an open hatch to the deck below and sees a messy monkey head painted on it. Cait grabs her camera and takes a picture. She takes pictures of everything while looking at the bullet holes. The Rookie Enforcer holds her hand up and points around, mimicking Jinx’s movements from earlier until she spots one of the crystal traps has blood on it. She follows the trail and spots a small hiding space in the floor and shines her light in to see the huge, hulking man with tattoos. He groans, clutching his side. Cait gasps and jumps down to help him.

“What happened here?” She asks, but he doesn’t say anything.

“Who are you working for?” Cait asks and again no answer.

“Who shot you?” Cait asks and the man looks at her, wincing in pain, clutching his bullet wound.

“You can tell me, I’ll protect you,” Cait says.

“I can’t…he’ll kill me. She’s crazy,” he pants, breathing hard.

“Who?” I ask. Before he can answer, a shadow falls over them. Cait turns around, gasping when she sees Sheriff Marcus.

“Caitlyn Kiramman, why am I not surprised to see you?” he asks rhetorically.

“Interfering with an investigation, again,” Marcus scolds.

“I realize you’re used to getting your way, Kiramman, but we have a chain of command for a reason,” Marcus tells her.

“I understand, but there’s more going on here than just smuggling,” Cait tries to tell Marcus, “if I could question him-“ Cait motions to the injured man but Marcus interrupts.

“I’ll take it from here,” Marcus says definitively, “since you’re looking for work, you can take the graveyard shift tonight at the fair.” He orders.

“Yes sir,” Cait sighs.

“Good. I want this one on a boat to Stillwater prison,” Marcus orders before walking off.

“Yes sir,” an Enforcer replies.

Back in the Lanes, Sevika makes her way to Silco’s office in the Last Drop. She managed to grab a bottle of whiskey before walking into Silco’s office, shutting the door shut behind her. She sits and pulls the cork out of the bottle with her teeth, spitting it to the floor.

“She fired on us,” Sevika tells Silco, who’s sitting at his desk.

“There are always mishaps in battle. The Firelights were her target and most are dead,” Silco argues calmly as he flips a page in his paper, reading, seemingly not taking Sevika seriously as she takes a swig from her bottle.

“It wasn’t a mishap, she froze up and lost her shit. I could’ve handled those brats. She’s a problem and we all know it,” Sevika explains frustratedly.

“We? Who’s we?” Silco asks, turning to look at Sevika darkly. She looks away, not answering him.

“I expect better from you than excuses. It was your job to make sure things went smoothly. You failed. Don’t disappoint me again,” Silco tells her. Sevika grunts as she pushes herself up off the couch and she storms out, slamming the door behind her.

Silco sighs.

“The world’s growing smaller everyday, thanks to the Hexgates. And now, we’re cut off, the topsiders are leaving us further and further behind” Silco says, grabbing his eye poker off his desk and puts the two pieces together.

“What happened?” Silco asks and at first, there’s no answer.

“She already told you,” Jinx’s voice carries down from the rafters. Sevika hadn’t noticed but Jinx has been perched up on a wooden beam the whole time.

“I’m asking you,” Silco insists, wanting to hear Jinx’s side of the story. He hears a thump and turns to see Jinx sitting with her legs pulled up to her chin on his desk.

“One of those Firelight wackos was a girl…with pink hair,” Jinx explains.

“Hmm…” Silco says, turning to her. He holds out his eye poker to the wild, explosive teenage girl he considers to be his daughter. Despite her personality, he trusts her with his life and she with hers. They understand each other. Jinx takes it and moves to sit on the edge of Silco’s desk so she can lean against him, which he doesn’t mind.

“Your sister’s gone. You know that as well as I do,” he says as she leans against his chest.

“I know..I know! Sister’s right? Can’t live with ‘em, can’t shove ‘em back in the ol’ babymaker. Hehehe-“ Jinx says before blowing on the ring around the eye poker, making a slight noise.

“Today’s screw-up will set us back weeks,” Silco tells her. She lets her head rest against his shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” Jinx apologizes before playing with Silco’s eye poker.

“I need to know that I can rely on you,” he says and grabs her wrist to get the girl’s attention and it does.

“I’m doing this for us, Jinx. All of us. The sons and daughters of Zaun deserve more than their runoff,” Silco tells her before leaning his head back.

“It won’t happen again,” Jinx tells him.

“I know,” he replies as she lines up the eye poker and makes one quick poke on his eye. He grunts in pain and bends forward a bit before managing to sit back and sigh with relief. Silco uses his hand to wipe away the excess Shimmer that leaks out of his eye.

“Sevika will clean up today’s mess,” he tells Jinx.

“Sevika?! That ogre couldn’t clean a dust bunny with a blowtorch,” Jinx argues.

“She’ll suffice. You should focus on your gadgetry,” Silco suggests.

“Ugh,” Jinx groans.

“Take some time,” Silco says as Jinx lays down on his desk.

“I-I don’t need time-“ Jinx tries.

“Take it anyhow,” Silco insists. Jinx’s lip trembles slightly as thoughts of being incompetent take over before she gets up and heads out to her own personal workshop.

Jinx grabs her grenades and sits on the propellor that hangs over the seemingly endless cavern below her. Her ‘workshop’ is actually part of a destroyed airship that hangs over the cavern that leads to the mines.

Ekko’s POV

Because she disobeyed my rules, I did have to ground Y/N. She’s not allowed to leave unsupervised. While she didn’t really argue, I can tell Y/N’s not happy about it.

The sun is set and things have settled down a bit. I’m tweaking the fan blades on my hoverboard while Y/N’s working on the mural. I see she’s adding in Jax, Zane..and Eve. Y/N’s just doing the basic shapes right now with chalk but I can tell who’s who. I didn’t tell her what happened though. I couldn’t so I blamed the Enforcers. I know I shouldn’t lie to her, but Y/N’s only 10 and she still thinks she can get her older sisters back. She definitely has Vi’s determination I’ll give her that.

“Ekko!” I hear Scar call to me. I turn and see him run up to me. I can easily see the worried look in his eyes.

“What’s going on Scar?” I ask, putting my tools down and pulling him a few feet away so Y/N doesn’t overhear.

“There’s been an attack, topside,” Scar tells me.

“An attack? Where?” I ask.

“The Progress Day ceremonial hall, where the new inventions are debuted,” Scar explains.

“Was it Silco’s guys?” I ask and that’s when Scar looks away uneasily. I frown.

“Scar? Who was it?” I ask.

“Jinx. I don’t have confirmation but there’s rumors she took something important to those fancy scientist topsiders,” Scar tells me and my eyes widen.

“She..took something?” I ask and he nods.

“I don’t know anything else, but we should be careful next time we attack Silco,” Scar tells me.

“There won’t be a next time. Lay low here for a while until the heat from Jinx dies down. Y/N just stocked up on food so we should be ok,” I say and Scar blinks in surprise.

“Y/N? As in, Y/N-Y/N? I thought you said she wasn’t ready for working around here-“ Scar says and I nod.

“I know-and yeah, she’s not. She left while we were out at the docks. She decided to go off on her own. The older she’s gotten, the harder it is to keep her out of trouble,” I sigh. I feel bad for Vi. She kept us all out of trouble when Vander or Benzo was busy. Now that I have that job…I can understand how stressed she must’ve been.

“I’ll have Kiyi and Senna keep an eye on her, make sure she doesn’t leave, yeah?” Scar asks me and I nod.

“Thanks,” I say, “and tell everyone to lay low here until the Enforcers calm down.” I remind him and Scar nods.

“Will do Little Man,” Scar replies and walks off, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I mostly wonder about what Jinx stole. I glance back and see Y/N starting to add details to the faces as well as the first layer of color.

3rd POV

Spending her night working the graveyard shift, Caitlyn was there during Jinx’s attack, and even caught in her as well as 6 other Enforcers in a massive explosion, killing everyone but Cait. She managed to catch a glimpse of someone chuckling before passing out.

Luckily Jayce was nearby and managed to get Cait to safety. He took her to a nearby clinic and despite her objections, took her back to her parents. Jayce explained what happened to the Kirammans but had to leave to check on Viktor. He didn’t want to leave his partner but the young man heard about the fire and explosion and the Enforcers.

Despite the robbery, Cait is still invested. She managed to gather all the information she could. Everything about the robbery, what was stolen, the photos she took of the docks, the monkey symbol. She had seen it trying to put out the fiery building before getting caught in that explosion. It has to mean something. There was also the muscular, heavily tattooed man that was shot. He made it seem like…like he was shot by someone he knew. Someone on his side. Friendly fire.

Cait is working in front of her evidence board on the floor when she hears a knock.

“Jayce?” She asks, turning to see the young man she sees as her older brother. He’s holding a bouquet of white lilies.

“Good, you’re here, I have to tell you something-“ Cait tells Jayce, hurrying up to him. She grabs him and pulls him towards her evidence.

“Shouldn’t you be resting?” He asks, handing her the flowers.

“While the trail’s hot?” She asks back, tossing the flowers down to the side with the rest. She’d gotten nice ‘get well’ flowers from various people her parents know.

“What trail?” Jayce asks.

“I think the same person who started the building fire and killed those Enforcers is the same person who attacked the Hexgates,” Cait says.

“The same symbol showed up at the botched smuggling operation at the Hexgates.” Cait tells him, referring to the monkey head symbol.

“The Hexgates?”

“Keep up,”

“All this time, they’ve kept their dealings localized to the Undercity. Low priority. The attack on the square changes things. They’ve overstepped. If I can figure out who made this,” Cait says, putting down a picture of Jinx’s monkey symbol, “it could lead me directly to whoever’s behind it all. The answer is here, staring me in the face. I can feel it,” Cait steps on to her footstool and looks over everything.

“How do you intend to prove any of this?” Jayce asks.

“If I can just work this out, Marcus will have to listen,” Cait insists.

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned about the Council, it’s that they need more than theories,” Jayce warns the young woman. Cait chuckles.

“Since when did you concern yourself with the Council’s opinion?” Cait asks.

“Since I..became a Councilor,” Jayce reveals. Cait looks at him and at first she doesn’t believe him but when she looks in his eyes, her face changes.

“You’re…serious? When? Why?” Cait asks, “have they discovered how to govern with grease and a spanner?” She jokes.

“Haha-“ Jayce replies sarcastically, “I was actually hoping you’d consider joining my staff,” he says, handing her paperwork in a message tube. Cait takes it and opens the canister to read the files inside.

“‘House Talis Security’. That’s a ceremonial position, I’d live behind a desk,” Cait says.

“You almost died, Cait. I just…I just want you to be safe-“ Jayce steps towards her but Cait shoves the canister back into Jayce’s chest.

“Thanks. But I already have a job-“ Cait says, kneeling down.

“No. You don’t,” Jayce reveals and Cait’s eyes widen.

“After the attack, your parents talked to the Sheriff,” Jayce explains and Cait groans quietly in frustration.

“This was the best I could do,” Jayce tells her.

“I don’t need charity, Councilor. Yours or my parents,” Cait replies, not looking at him.

“Cait-“

“Get out,” she orders in that quiet serious tone that Jayce knows not to argue with. Once Cait hears Jayce’s footsteps head out the door, she looks over at her map and sees Stillwater prison.

Marcus. Marcus sent that injured man there. Cait believes she can talk to him. She grabs what she needs, gets her clothes on and makes her way downstairs. She spots her father and hurries up to him.

“Father-I-I need to talk to someone about a case I’m working on..it’s important,” Cait tells him urgently.

“Cait-I…if…if you’re certain you can go,” he says, trying not to be as overbearing as his wife is. She nods.

“I feel fine,” she assures him and he nods.

“I’ll talk to your mother. Go. Come home when you can,” Mr. Kiramman says and the two hug before Cait sneaks out a side door of the estate.

Cait manages to take the ferry to Stillwater Prison and heads inside. It’s dark, cold…unpleasant. Cait walks up to the Warden’s desk.

“I need to speak to one of the inmates,” Cait says.

“Oh, folks in here aren’t usually very talkative,” the Warden tells Cait.

“This one was hit by friendly fire. He’s got reason to talk. Must have been sent in…today?” Cait asks.

“Oh. Inmate 2135,” the Warden recalls.

“Yeah uh..I’m afraid that’s not possible,” he tells Cait. While the two talk, said inmate is getting his jaw broken by a cafeteria tray.

“Why not?” Cait asks, raising an eyebrow.

“Uh..well, there’s been..an incident,” he says.

“What kind of incident?”

“The not so pretty kind,” he tells the rookie Enforcer.

“You don’t understand, I have to talk to him,” Cait insists.

“Oh, you’ll be able to talk to him…as soon as he can move his jaw again,” the warden explains.

“Who assaulted him?” Cait asks.

“Inmate 516, sub level 40, cellblock 25,” the warden tells Cait, who nods her thanks before walking back to the elevator.

Cait makes her way through the hall, clutching a manilla folder to her side. As she gets closer to cell 25, she hears a noise every second or so. A thudding sound. Like something hitting the cement walls. Cait stops in front of cellblock 25 and spots a mop of shaggy, short, bright pink hair that’s shaved on one side. The inmate’s head turns to reveal her ice blue eyes and small cheek tattoo

“Who the hell are you?” The pink-haired prisoner asks Cait.

End.

Chapter 6

[mongoose-bite]

fic writer interview @nevermindirah tagged me! Thank you, Happy New Year :3

I'm tagging @thana-topsy @baratrongirl @amazinmango @raindrop-rouge, but only if you want to, no obligation.

How many works do you have on AO3?

83.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

1,369,970

There you go, substantially more than a million words, for the sheer love of it.

3. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Fuck: My Life Nearly 190k of eruriren porn star AU. Of course it's my top fic.

These Weren't Memories ereri canonverse, written after the first season. It's old, and I don't like all of it, but it's a classic of the ship as I tried to make it work as close to canon as I could.

Neither Tarnished Nor Afraid ereri, and the first true AU I ever wrote. It's a weird police procedural, and I think it's up there just because it's old and has had more time to accumulate kudos to be honest.

The Beneficent Gentleman Finally a non-snk fic. Kingsman, hartwin, and my only epistolary story, loosely based on the novel Daddy Long-Legs, and I'm quite proud of how it turned out.

Flight (When None Pursueth) And we're back to ereri; it was just the biggest ship I ever sailed. This was my serious take on a reincaration AU, and it was not fluffy.

4. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Usually I do now, but back in the heyday of the SNK fandom I rarely did, cause there were just a lot of them. I responded to long ones or ones that asked a question. I also think the culture has changed on it too; ten years ago it was much less expected for authors to respond to generic 'i liked it!' comments, but as comments have dried up overall, it's become more common.

5. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

If There is a Cure Skyrim fic. Delphine/Dragonborn, and there is no happy ending.

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

95% of all my other fics tbh.

7. Do you write crossovers?

I don't enjoy crossovers. I wrote one tiny Ojisan to Neko/Persona 5 fic that probably would have been funnier as fanart, but I can't draw.

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Ooh yeah, back in the day on ff.net in the early 2000's I had a guy get all caps on me cause I paired the PC of a game with an older woman, and a few others that were clearly designed to sap my confidence, presumably because I was writing the wrong ship.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yes. Consensual.

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not as far as I'm aware.

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yeah a few times. Very flattering. I even had a translator pass on translated comments once.

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes but it's rare. Honestly I've only ever met one person with whom I really clicked as a collaborator. That was a long time ago, and we do very different things now. It's fucking magic if you can find the right person though.

13. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Ereri is not my current interest, but it really was something special. I sometimes wonder if I'll ever write like it's 2014 again...

14. What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

I don't have one. The only fic I never finished I abandoned completely.

15. What are your writing strengths?

Description; I can do a lot with few details.

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

Sloppy editing, repetitive phrasing, (a symptom of the former) and the pacing on long serialised fics can get very baggy.

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

Keep it to a minimum. If you don't need it, don't use it. It's more trouble than it's worth (I'm wearing my reader's hat for this one; my eye will just skip over it.)

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Morrowind.

19. What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t written for yet but want to?

There isn't one. I've missed fandom a lot over the past few years, and if I'd wanted to write something I would have.

20. What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

My Old Friend. It's barely a fic, really. A man goes back to his hometown to bury his abusive uncle and reconnects with the father of his childhood friend, on whom he had a powerful but obviously unrequited crush on as a teenager. I had to string together a bunch of unrelated prompts as part of an event, and it just turned out really well. I'm proud of it.

[joshuaalbert]

In your opinion, were the relationships in nova squadron an interconnected web or more like a pentagon? Like Locarno clearly has enough influence to brow beat all of them into silence but were him and Sito friends per se? Or was sito friends with joshua who was friends with Locarno so they’re always together regardless, and there’s more spokes to the group friendships in that way?

oh my god ok I literally diagrammed this once because I’m unwell about them so we can use that as a starting place

transcription because my handwriting is bad

light purple - friends (normal) - josh and jaxa

dark purple - friends (somewhat conditional but would be friends anyway) - jean and jaxa

dark blue - teammates who respect each other, civil but wouldn’t be friends otherwise - wesley and jean, josh and jean

light blue - previous but they’re friends - wesley and jaxa

red - crush - josh to wesley

light green - repression. - wesley to josh

orange - leader, impacts all dynamics w/him - nick to everyone

pinkish - something is going on here. - jean and nick

dark green - circle of codependency - all of them

so that’s our starting place but with regard to nick specifically, because he’s the team leader and because it seems more like a coach position than just like a team captain, I don’t think his friendships are on particularly level ground even though he does genuinely care about each of them (which I do think is canon despite everything bc of the way boothby talks about the team dynamic and because he does ultimately take the fall for the rest of them).

I like to write him as being closer friends with josh because that heightens the tragedy and imo works with the themes of nick’s character, but because there is that power dynamic, they’re not necessarily like…..genuinely close friends? like there’s always a little bit of a distance there. I also think it would be fun if nick and jean had a potential fwb-esque dynamic going on. like even if nothing actually happened the potential is there but I also don’t think they’d ever actually Date. wesley and jaxa I think look up to him as a team leader more than they’re mutually friends. for jaxa this is completely in headcanon territory but I actually think her main friendship is with jean until the trial, at which point that completely shatters. during all the trial scenes jean is so completely unshakeable and I could easily see her losing respect for jaxa, who IS so clearly shaken to the point of nearly ruining their case before nick steps in.

I think she and josh are friends but they aren’t best friends EXCEPT in an au where they both survive. this is into my fics territory but I can see them getting a little unhealthily codependent just bc they’ve gone through a lot together.

at the academy I think she and wesley are also friends but I could also see him as coming across as kind of young to her. like canonically she’s presumably at least a year older and in my head it’s about two, but it’s also about the fact that he’s not bajoran yknow? like he’s seen some shit he has literally died before but he didn’t grow up under an occupying force and that’s just fundamentally Different. again in an au where she and josh live I do think jaxa and wesley become closer friends but it’s a dynamic that requires a little more work to become that way.

with jean I think she’s only really close friends with jaxa and then she’s got whatever thing we could decide to throw in with nick. I think it’s always unclear how much she actually likes wesley, and I think she and josh have a mutual respect for each other but wouldn’t be friends under other circumstances. she just strikes me as the type of person who largely holds herself apart, although there’s only so much you can do that on a 5 person team.

for all of them overall i think there's a very specific dynamic created by being on a small college team where like...you don't even have to like each other but you would die for each other. in this case i DO think they generally like each other pre-accident but there’s just a very specific bond you develop when you have to spend one million hours training together that I can’t entirely describe but I feel in my heart that they have it.

[romanaisalive]

Fanfic Tag Game

Tagged by @sarcasticsciencefictionwriter thanks so much for the tag!

I'm afraid this won't be very riveting... I need to upload more stuff, I have a bunch of short fics I could technically upload but never got around to it. Also, the whole "writing three long projects for years" thing.

1. How many fics do you have on AO3?

13

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

29,956

3. What fandoms do you write for?

I have stuff uploaded for Doctor Who, Star Wars, Sanctuary, Dragon Age and The School for Good and Evil.

Out of these I'm still active in Sanctuary (if you could call it that) and Dragon Age. I partly moved on to write original stuff, but a DnD & Dragon Age AU story is in the works. I have some stuff for Fallen London too, just didn't upload it yet.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Cold And Consequences - 357 (SGE, Dovey/Lesso)

all my words are left with you - 221 (SGE, Dovey/Lesso)

Star Wars Fictober Challenge - completed - 129 (Star Wars, various)

All My Pieces - 116 (SGE, Dovey/Lesso)

Littles - 54 (Star Wars, Boga POV - written for fic exchange)

...what can I say, SGE fandom was very lively when I was active in it

5. Do you respond to comments?

Mostly! I really appreciate them all and try to answer always, some slip through the cracks though, for older works where I'm no longer in the fandom.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Don't Save Me (I'm Already Dead)

Canon compliant Luminara fic... The canonical character death was a given, then I spiced it up with some extra angst.

7. What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

The Luminara lives AU in the Star Wars Fictober Challenge. I might have been compensating a little.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Nope! I don't think I post enough for that. Also, hate would require readers and other than my old SGE stuff I'm proudly representing the Very Niche Subfandoms division here. :)

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Nope! I'm the kind of ace where I'm not sex-repulsed but I usually skip smut scenes because I find them boring, no reason to write it.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Not really, more of an AU girl. I contemplated involving Warehouse 13 in my big Sanctuary fic just to explain where James got the exoskeleton from, but still undecided if I want to go ahead with that.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Nope!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I translated one of my own fics once, does that count? I wrote it in Hungarian originally and wanted to post to a wider audience. (Never again, by the way. Translation is a whole other discipline, I'd rather write it in English from the getgo.)

13. Have you ever co-written a fic?

Kinda? We had some stuff with @cardeakelsey once but it never really got written.

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

Oh boy. Ever? I don't think I have one.

15. What’s a fic you’d like to finish but don’t think you ever will?

I like to think I will finish all my projects one day. Fingers crossed. I might need to rehaul some of them first to be feasible, though.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Mood setting, foreshadowing, internal monologues. Angst.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Dialogue.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in a fic?

I sprinkle it in sometimes, not too much. In my opinion if two characters speak French it's better to just say "they switched to French" in the description.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

No idea. It was a WHILE ago.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

Out of my published ones probably the broken and the damned (Dragon Age canon compliant) or Smile (SGE, Emma-centric character study).

Tagging anyone who wants to do it! :)

[kirayamidemon]

Ok, I have to defend Anonymous on one thing. I'm 4'8" and 35 years old. I've been called pedo bait and shit all my life. But your Yuu... you have an adult version on him. At that point, it's not just "coding" your Yuu IS a child. And you're dawing him in some messed up situations with the tweels... I can see where anon os coming from, and I will agree they were rude. But they do have a point.

Look I'm genuinely sorry that you had to experience that, but that doesnt give you the right to also dictate wat I am or am not doing with my mc n wat they are

First off, if the "adult ver" you're talking bout is the less than 5 doodles or so that I've posted in the past of a fucking au nonetheless, I didnt realize the rules of creating had to be the fucking same even if its a fucking alternate universe n decidedly not canon n that all chars still had to be the same even if its my own mc.

I feel I shouldnt have to clarify but since I apparently do, need I remind you: 1) it is a fucking au once again, 2) Yuu in that au is not even the same fucking age as they are in canon twst world, of course they are going to look different, nvm that my styles are usually inconsistent anyways even with going around diff aus, 3) while Yuu is decidedly older in there, I have never fucking stated their height n your only point of ref with that is only cause the canon cast are literel kids in there which anybody who iSNT a kid would be taller than all of them regardless, 4) did I mention its an au? ? ??

Second, NOWHERE have I stated that Yuu is a child, n have even stated in a prev ask that their age is round first year groups, 15-16. If you're going to claim that my mc is a child due to height n face n overall design, then you are also claiming that Riddle, Epel, n Ortho are also children bc they all are also pretty short n baby-faced n I dont see any of yall bitching bout that now do I. Ortho especially suffers from this n unfortunately is seen n treated as a literal fucking child by practically the entire fucking fandom but since this isnt the main focus of this post, that's another fucking story.

Now, "messed up situations with the tweels"

Pls point to me these so called "messed up situations with the tweels" esp considering that I do no post or share every single one of my arts.

Putting aside those claims, you need to remember that these are also Jade and Floyd. They generally arent nice or perfect in gen, I don't think I need to remind you of how they are in the game. While I like and indulge in soft tweels as much as the next person, they are not "soft blushy uwu romantics" in the first place n I do not always portray them as "soft blushy uwu romantics" 100% of the time, so sorry if that disappoints you.

Again I repeat, if you do not like or want to see my shit, just move on then. Nobody is forcing you to stay here n look at it.

[sualne]

Arc 3 to 5 +Strawhats whereabouts

After the timeskip Luffy doesn't wear matching outfits with Croc anymore, though his father does try to keep some sort of coordination between them when he can. I was really weirded out as a kid when I learned some of my friends had their outfits decided by their parents on a daily basis. Matching outfits are super cute when they're babies but once they're kids and older isn't kind of strange??

This arc starts with a lot of lighthearted comics, Luffy befriends Violet and other Donquixote Family members, he even gets to go outside every day!

When Luffy running to lose Daz is meant to be a call back to when he, Robin and Bonclay ran from a disguised Crocodile years ago. This time he's all alone but he isn't scared, in fact he's happy and feel freer than ever even if his chest hurt from running too much. Still he starts missing both Robin and Bonchan when he stumbles upon a lost Zoro.

I wanted for Luffy to meet each Strawhat in the same order he's met them in canon (minus Robin).

I had decided early that Luffy would end up with Ace's fruit, it's another type of sun and it made up for some nice haunted imagery, something about eating someone's devil fruit you used to know, doesn't it feel like eating their heart or soul?

The image of Luffy on fire also wouldn't leave me, I love when a character's power mixes up with their feelings. There's something about the mera mera no mi that give me the image of a candle type of character, they're here to burn bright and strong and certainly not to stay. Ace wondering if his whole life why he's alive only to die at the worst possible moment, Sabo "dying" and coming back slightly unhinged. That fire's haunted I think.

The strawhats side of the story was meant to be released in a similar style to the chapter cover story, an interlude usually around the end of the arc until they finally show up in the main story.

In a way I'm a bit sad to reveal the plot twists I had planned to build up (in theory) subtlety in the background, at least it's out now.

Law isn't too important in this AU but it was funny to see all the similarities between this one and the modern AU that's focused on him. Something about being disabled with a shitty family that comes up a lot in my stories.

I really liked the idea to Dragon and Crocodile missing each other each times, the timing always being wrong, two ships passing by. That storm was convenient, wasn't it?

Crocodile I think is kind of terrified of people, trust issues, fear of being betrayed to the point he'd rather betray them first. He's got a lot going on. Keeping watch in a hotel, I figured was a good way to show he isn't really okay in his head that guy.

Usually I'd say the idea of a character getting outed because of their period is meh at best but since it very much does happens in real life I figured I might as well. It's a very real fear.

Once I thought of Croc losing his hand because he tried to protect his face from being sliced in half I went kind of mad with it, what if other people jumped in front of him to protect him too? I wouldn't want to get attached to anyone else again after that.

Crocodad AU Story overview from mid prologue to the end of Arc 2, checks out the current timeline of published comics to remember where we left of. Does not include the Strawhat whereabouts. Anything is up to change but that's the gist of it.

Warning for blood, injuries and general angst.

Luffy is easy to read as autistic and dyslexic in canon, i wanted to see what it would be like accumulating learning disabilities in an AU where he's expected to study, the struggles that comes from it. Again, disabled ppl being disabled is important to me, all that.

Not mentioned here but Luffy is upset with his father already with his constant plotting, all the plants are dead now and there's a lot less ppl outside when he goes out with Robin. He doesn't fully understand what's going on but know it his fault and in order to take over Alabasta. On multiple occasions he makes it clear he doesn't want to be prince or have anything to do with Baroque Works.

That feeling of helplessness born from Crocodile's disregard for his feeling and really, own sense of personhood, is a problem through the whole of the story until Arc 7 when Crocodile has to face the fact that his kid is a whole person. The actual quote in my note is "once again he's incapable of seeing luffy as his own capable (unhinged) person".

Also Miss Mini Sorbet gets injured trying to protect Luffy when he's being tied up, that's how she gets her scar and why Crocodile insist she's not a bodyguard.

Unlike in canon Luffy doesn't magically recover from being stabbed, he still magically survive and recovers pretty well considering he's been impaled but still, i like when things have a little bit of consequences health wise. The exact nature of his new condition stays a mystery until Arc 4, though there's plenty of clues through the arcs.

Arc 2 is all text. I didn't want to draw an entire crowd of ppl fighting but there's lots of vivid imagery in my mind.

[elleonmybeloved]

Lumine sits at the base of the anemo archon statue, leaning her weight heavily on the cool stone. Two crunchy Mondstadt hash browns and a sunsettia lie on the ground beside her atop a small cloth, but she’s in no state to bring herself to eat just yet.

The flow of healing magic is slow, but dependable, and she knows from experience she won’t have to stay for more than an hour before it heals the wounds on her body. The electro cicin mage had stopped just shy of killing her: She can’t quite see, her fingers involuntarily twitch every few seconds, and there’s a shooting pain that travels from her hip down her left leg. There might be a couple burns here and there too, but her whole body hurts and her vision isn’t healed enough to see them clearly in the steadily dimming light of dusk.

Paimon is absent. Lumine had sent her away. She needed time to think, alone.

Why had the mage spared her? She could think of no shared love between her and the Fatui. Maybe she was imagining it but recently in her encounters with abyss mages, they quickly turned tail and ran away. Ever since... Signora had stolen Venti’s gnosis.

Unable to find a reason for the change, she searched her memories, for what must be the hundredth time.

She and Aether had always traveled from world to world looking for... looking for... something important. Teyvat was dangerous. It didn’t have what they were looking for, so they were leaving. They were passing the... the only beautiful realm, with the clouds, and an unknown god had stepped out of a void of blackness and attacked them with sinister cubes of something that resembled the void the goddess had stepped out of.

Lumine remembers noticing her gaze shift to her and had instively dodged back. Aether had been taken by surprise and engulfed in the cubes. And she’d attacked the goddess with such a ferocity it made a huge explosion, that was engulfed in cubes that surged up her arm. She had used her power to resist as much as she could but it wasn’t enough and she was surrounded by the void as well.

It had taken her a long time to escape. She wasn’t even sure when she’d managed it, because she had used so much power to resist that she had fallen unconscious somewhere along the way. She had awoken powerless, wingless, and alone in a Teyvat that looked nothing like when they first arrived. Of course her first thought had been to search for Aether. But she hadn’t found anything in the area other than slimes, and bipedal beasts that had attacked her on sight.

Paimon says she found her while fishing. Lumine thinks that’s right. Like the monsters, slimes, and ...ghostly cliones, Paimon was the closest thing she had yet to find resembling humanity in the Teyvat she had awoken to. But Paimon is wasn’t human, of course.

And now, she has scoured the face of Mondstadt and Liyue, leaving no cave unexplored, no villager unquestioned, no chest unopened, but somehow there isn’t a single shred of evidence that leads to Aether. She would feel it if he was dead, she’s almost certain. So why hadn’t a soul seen him? Lumine has headaches from the constant use of her elemental sight, hoping to catch a glimpse of the gold she desperately wishes to see again.

Well enough to sit up now, Lumine lifts her meal off the ground and chews monotonously through it.

There’s always been this melody, in the recess of her mind. She’s been trying to remember it, hoping for a clue to break through the amnesia, but only gets snippets at a time, and can’t remember any of the words. Lumine is always quick to sing it when she is alone, unwilling to let it fade from her memory.

In light of finding no answers, maybe working on this will give her enough sense of a victory to hold the encroaching despair at bay. Her fingers are sticky with sunsettia juice as she wipes them on her cloth, and she clears her throat to sing.

The melody is slow in coming, and there are still no words, so she replaces them with an ooh, opening up the sound into an aah when it feels right.

Getting stuck in a few places doesn’t discourage her, and she just starts the part again when it happens. To her surprise, she pushes through into a new part, where the melody swells high and it’s beautiful and eerie, and unmistakably sad. But Lumine is filled with euphoria at the breakthrough and sings louder for once, getting carried away.

Another voice harmonizes with hers in a beautiful duet. Her startled voice falters a little, but she continues, unwilling to squander her newly gained ground against her lost memories. The voice is male, and for a moment her heart does a painful squeeze as hope that it’s Aether soars in her chest. But the hope lasts only for a few seconds, as she listens and hears that the voice is not his. The experience distracts her, and she loses the next part of the song, voice withering out.

Lumine looks around her for the source of the other voice, but the sun has fully set now and despite her restored vision, she can’t see anyone.

“I’m up here.” He calls, and Venti jumps- floats- down from his perch high in the branches of the Symbol of Mondstadts Hero, landing lighter than a feather.

“You? How do you know that song?” She questions in an urgent demand. In the moonlight he looks ethereal, unhuman.

“I was here before you arrived.” He responds defensively in reaction to her tone, but keeps his expression open and inviting as always. “I know I’ve told you I know every song, past, present, or future.”

“I’ve never sang that part before, it’s new even to me.” She refutes. The air is growing tenser.

“... Your voice carries on the wind.” He admits reluctantly. “So I already knew the other parts. It was easy to improvise the new one. Comes naturally to me.” Venti shrugs as if it’s no big deal.

“But I’ve never...” She trails off before saying ‘sang here before’, realizing with great embarrassment that the wind flows everywhere in Mondstadt and there have been several nights she has left Paimon behind to raise her voice in lament to the moon with this melody. “I didn’t realize. You must be accustomed to a lot of noise then.”

“Most of the time I tune it out if it’s not a song.” He admits. “I like to compete with the other bards in the city.”

It sounds to Lumine like an excuse to deflect her attention away from the fact that he has been listening to her voice on the wind with some degree of intentionality.

“Forgive me.” Venti says, “I didn’t want you to have to sing it alone again.”

Lumine’s embarrassed indignation dissipates as she hears what he didn’t say. That she always sounds lonely.

“It’s okay. You’re right. Singing it alone is... it felt better with you.”

Venti surprises her by stepping in close and squeezing her in a hug, just a little too fiercely to be gentle. The way he feels pressed so close against her is like a balm for the ache in her chest and she hugs him back with an almost greedy haste. They are almost the same height, so when he leans back, not breaking the embrace, they are face to face.

He reads the expression there and asks. “What about Paimon? I thought she never leaves your side.”

“I don’t trust Paimon.” It’s the first time she had ever said it aloud, and it feels weird. She doesn’t even know what Paimon is, but for some reason she never thinks of this.

“But you trust me?” He doesn’t say even though he is an archon, but she knows he implies it.

She thinks of how vehemently he fought for Dvalin’s freedom, and what he sacrificed to get his precious friend back. She understands that more than anything. He kept her from plummeting to her death during the storm, and gave her the closest thing to her wings back.

“Yes. I know I don’t want to see...” The sharp gurgled sound of pain he’d made when Signora snatched out his gnosis from within him resonates with the loud crack of the woman’s hand across his face when she had slapped him in her mind. “... Don’t want to see you go through what I did.”

“I’m not powerless. And giving up my gnosis was worth nobody getting hurt.” His blue eyes glow in the night and he presses his cheek to hers with an affectionate nuzzle. “Especially you.”

Lumine processes that for a moment. It’s been so long since she felt so...

Loved.

[whumpsday]

Kane & Jim: The Purring AU

Masterlist

content: vampire whumper (first part), vampire whumpee (second and third parts), manhandling, whumper turned whumpee, whumpee turned caretaker, begging, torture, burns, touch starved

by POPULAR DEMAND! after 5 requests, you all wanna see a grown man purr, well HERE HE IS!!! a collection of three looks into the life of Purring AU Kane, one per arc. two hurts and a comfort :)

this is not canon lol but i had fun with it!!

-

(Jim’s captivity)

Kane had had a very good night. He didn’t have very good nights often. Even after acquiring a human, everyone still underestimated him. Nothing seemed good enough. But tonight, he was not the laughing stock of the family. Oh no, tonight that honor belonged to the youngest of his older siblings, Anton. Kane grinned again just thinking about it.

His brother was always a nosy gossip, and had been trying to sniff out a secret of some noble or another last night. In the process, he’d failed to keep track of time, and found himself caught outside when the sun rose. A naive child’s mistake, unthinkable for a man almost three-hundred years of age. For once, Anton was the victim of passing mockery rather than the perpetrator. Even Kane, half-disowned as he was, had received a rare call from one of his older sisters tonight filling him in on the latest drama through fits of giggles. In time, the blunder would be forgotten, but he was going to enjoy it while it lasted.

Kane took a nice hot bath, one of his favorite ways to relax. After drinking his fill of delicious blood --problem-free, the human had entirely given up physical struggle in favor of verbal rebellion at this point, though he still winced at every bite-- he allowed the human to join him in the living room.

He knew that most human-owning vampires did not allow their bloodbags out of their quarters save for very special occasions, but most vampires had... friends, as much as he hated to admit it. So sometimes, he treated the human more like a pet than a meal. After giving the millionth grumbled rant about how Kane did not have “cable”, whatever that was, the human picked out a tape and put it on.

This was nice. Sitting on the soft couch, reveling in his brother’s albeit-temporary downfall, still warm from his bath, the taste of fresh blood in his mouth. So nice.

Purrrrrrr...

“What the hell is that noise?” the human asked.

Kane hadn’t purred in a very, very long time. It usually only happened with physical contact, and isolated as he was, he didn’t get a lot of that these days.

“Is that you?” the human pressed. “Are you purring? Like a cat? Vampires purr!?”

Kane rolled his eyes, his voice coming out somewhat rumbly through the purring. “Yes, we purr. And it’s not “like a cat”, it’s actually--”

“Holy shit, that’s hilarious!” The human burst into laughter. “Oh my god, big bad vampire over here purring like a little kitty cat!”

Kane felt his face flush with embarrassment. He wasn’t even sure why, this was one thing about him that was normal, the human’s lack of knowledge about his kind shouldn’t have gotten to him. But this was supposed to be the day someone else was the laughing stock. The fact that he was still being mocked, by his own human...

The purring stopped.

“You think you can disrespect me like that?” Kane snapped, standing up. “Get the fuck out of my face.” He pointed back toward the human’s quarters.

The human’s face fell instantly. “Aw, come on, I was just kidding around. I just put the tape in.”

Kane was angry now. First insulting him, now disobeying orders.

Humans were slow. Slow to move, slow to percept. It was effortless to grab him by the shirt collar and slam him against the wall before he could even blink.

“You seem to have forgotten that you are to listen when I give you orders. Do I seem like a kitty cat now?” Kane snarled, roughly slamming him a second time for good measure. A satisfying thunk as his head hit the wall.

The human’s voice trembled. “N-no. You, um, you don’t.”

Kane threw him to the ground. “Then do as you’re told.”

The human wasted no time in scrambling fearfully back to his room, shutting the door behind him.

Kane slumped back onto the couch, but the moment had passed.

-

(Kane’s captivity)

Kane was on the floor of his cell, bound to the board. They’d left him strapped to it after the most recent time they took him in from the sun, which must have been about two week ago by now, given that the burns covering nearly every inch of his body had healed about halfway. His position itself was not stressful, but he ached all over from being locked into place for so long. His skin hurt everywhere, his silver-bound wrists and ankles most of all, but at least they’d left him alone while he healed.

It seemed his time was up and that he was determined fit enough to punish again, because two hunters entered his cell that day. Kane just stayed very still, not that he had any other choice, quietly laying there as they exchanged banter. Inevitably, their attention turned to him. He winced under their gazes, silently hoping that it wouldn’t be the sun again this time.

“Ha, it thinks it’s not ready for another round. So flinchy.” The man scratched under Kane’s chin mockingly. The angle he’d been placed at when they’d left him in the yard had allowed him to protect that spot from the sun by letting his head hang down, so it didn’t hurt. It had been so long since Kane had last felt a touch that didn’t hurt. So, so long.

To his horror, he began to purr.

The hunters took notice immediately.

“Are you hearing this?” the man asked. He stopped scratching, the purring stopped. He started back up, so did it. On and off and on and off, like Kane was a light switch.

The woman laughed. “Guess you learn something new every day. The things fucking purr.” She leaned in close. “I think that means we’re going too easy on it, if it’s still finding a way to enjoy itself.”

The man smirked. “Think we can train it out of it?”

Kane was instantly overcome with dread, his eyes welling with tears. “I c-can’t control it, sir.” he protested feebly. If they tried to train it out of him... he wouldn’t be able to stop. He wouldn’t be able to be good.

“Oh, of course you can’t.” he replied, starting up the scratching again. “We just wanna see how bad we have to make it hurt before you just can’t purr anymore.”

The woman pulled out a silver knife with a smile at his words.

Kane sobbed. Silver on his skin was bad enough, but it was so much worse on the inside. Burning metal against his unprotected innards, penetrating muscle and organs, the sickening sizzle of his flesh burning inside freshly-sliced-open wounds.

“Aw, don’t like that idea?” the woman teased. She nodded at the man. “Keep going.”

The ironically gentle scratching started up again. Kane’s body betrayed him, beyond desperate for any semblance of comfort. Purrrrrr...

He screamed as the knife plunged into his stomach.

Two hours later, after the hunters obliged his begging for them to press the blade against the underside of his chin, the purring finally stopped.

-

(Kane with Jim, a few months in)

Jim had somehow gotten used to having Kane around. That day, like many others, was spent lounging around with the blinds drawn. It was strange, how much it resembled his own captivity with the vampire, when things couldn’t possibly be more different.

“Hey, pass me the remote?” Jim asked.

“Mm-hmm.” Kane handed it off to him.

“Thanks.” He gave Kane a friendly pat on the shoulder, earning a rare smile from him.

And that’s when he heard that sound again. Soft and rumbly, just like a cat. Purrrrrrrrr...

They both froze.

Jim remembered the last time he’d heard Kane purr. It... hadn’t ended well. He recalled being tossed around like a ragdoll, slammed into the wall by the man sitting right next to him. He pulled away instinctively, echoes of fear settling into him.

Kane’s reaction was much worse. His eyes went wide with terror as he flinched violently, clutching his shoulder, the purring stopping instantly.

“I d-didn’t mean to.” His voice was barely a whisper. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to purr, I’m sorry, please.” He sounded like he might cry.

Jim felt his fear ebb away somewhat. The Kane here now wasn’t going to cause him any harm. In fact, it sounded like he was afraid Jim was going to hurt him.

“What’s wrong?” Jim asked.

“I won’t, won’t do it again, I-I mean, I’ll try my best,” His breaths came quick and fearful, “I can’t control it.” He sounded entirely defeated, suddenly resigned to the horrible consequence he was picturing.

“Hey.” Jim tried to pull him back out of whatever dark place his head was going to. “I’m not gonna hurt you, remember? It’s okay to purr.”

“Thank, thank you.” Kane seemed to start to calm down.

“Say it back.” Jim instructed. He’d been trying that for a while to help Kane feel safer, and it had been working pretty well so far.

“It’s okay t-to purr.” Kane repeated, his shoulders relaxing slightly.

“Those sick fucks hurt you for it?” Jim couldn’t help but ask.

Kane nodded, shuddering. That was just too damn sad. When was the last time this guy had real contact with another person that didn’t involve pain?

Guess that was his responsibility now.

Jim hovered a hand above Kane’s head. “Can I...?”

“Just... please not my chin?” Kane said, tentatively. Still afraid to make any kind of request. The fact that he’d asked at all was a sign of progress.

“Of course.” Jim lightly petted his hair, and the purring started up again, much louder this time. Slowly, the vampire started to relax. The smile returned.

-

purry kane: do i seem like a kitty cat now? me: yes :)

special shoutout to this anon for giving me ideas!!

taglist:

@ceph-the-writing-spook

@crystalquartzwhump

@cupcakes-and-pain

@deluxewhump

@extrabitterbrain

@harri-00

@inpainandsuffering

@kira-the-whump-enthusiast

@lactose-intolerant-egg

@littlespacecastle

@melancholy-in-the-morning

@myhusbandsasemni

@mylifeisonthebookshelf

@nicolepascaline

@octopus-reactivated

@pumpkin-spice-whump

@quirkykayleetam

@ramadiiiisme

@thecyrulik

@thegreatwhodini

@whump-cravings

@whump-for-all-and-all-for-whump

@whumpilicious

@whumpthisway

@whumpwillow

@whumpy-writings

@whumpyzombie

@wits-and-wrongs

[uselessroyals]

fanfiction recommendations pt 2

(because i have more! 1st list is here.) (These are once again all wilmon, because of course they are)

oneshots

"you're everything i have (and i don't think i've had enough)" by storyoftucks post season 1, Wilhelm bumps into Simon at a party and they finally get the chance to talk about them and their relationship, fluff, 2.1k words

"Show me how (you care)" by orphan_account season 1 retelling from simon's pov, 3.1k words

"This Boy" by fandom_commitment_issues post season 1, Wilhelm comes home for Christmas and Kristina invites his friend from his old school over, 10.3k words

"The worst things in life come free to us" by ageminiheart Episode 5, Simon's pov of Lucia, angst, 2.5k words

"Let Me Go" by paspeurpasseul post season 1, Wilhelm and Simon talk for the first time since Christmas break, it's harder than Wilhelm thought it would be to see Simon smile again, especially when that smile isn't directed at him, angst, 2.6k words

"forget me not" by spa_ghetto post canon, established relationship, Simon hits his head and gains temporary amnesia, h/c, 6.7k words

"Dandelions" by willehelms post canon, established relationship, Wilhelm is tipsy and they're in love, that's it, fluff, 1.4k words

"and they were roommates" by toffeelemon au, Simon boards at Hillerska, Simon and Wilhelm are roommates, 28.5k words

multichaps

"A Royal Intervention" by AnxiousAnaconda AU where Erik doesn't die, and he is a slightly overprotective older brother, 8/8 chpt, 17.8 k words

"Put Me Back Together and Take My Heart" by notalotgoingonatthisinstant post season 1, Simon gets a serious head injury and it might be the last straw for Wilhelm to gather the courage to blackmail his mother, 10/10 chpt, 49.5k words

"the way you look at me" by strummerjoe university AU, Simon didn't go to Hillerska, Simon and Wilhelm are roommates at uni, 13/13 chpt, 33.7k words

"my kingdom come undone" by tennisfangirl post season 1, Wilhelm goes looking for salvation at the bottom of a bottle, this one's angsty but also a lot of h/c, 3/3 chpt, 9.2k words

"and each slow dusk" by loyaulte_me_lie two months after Wille’s arrival at Hillerska, war breaks out, when his and Erik's last-ditch attempt to leave the country goes badly wrong, he ends up stuck in Bjärstad - with Simon, lots of politics, 3/3 chpt, 48.5k words

"call me back" by paldogangsaan post season 1, Wilhelm attempts, yeah this one's angsty, 6/6 chpt, 15.8k

"Answer Me This" by BishopRose 7 years post season 1, What if Wilhelm and Simon both eventually moved on, heartbroken, but never really stopped thinking about what could have been? What if they thought they’d never see each other again... until suddenly, years later, Fate stepped in, series, 10.2k words

(1st list is here!)

[wafflecat2]

It's me, back again designing Genshintalia designs!

Here's China!

He deserves his own post since he's a cool guy. Also, this is my first time drawing him, so ye...

Anyway;

China is a 5-star Geo character! He uses a polearm but he can use a bow too. He's an Adeptus; known as the "god of storytelling."

Don't know what kind of role he plays, but being a sub-dps might fit the best.

Even tho China is 4000+ years old in Hetalia, In this AU China is a bit younger than Zhongli (about 6000 years old) But it would be funnier if he's older.

Here's the mini refrence photo of the design.

From this on, I'm writing a bit of China's lore. It might come close to canon lore, but I'm gonna ignore that.

China is an Adeptus known as the "god of storytelling." He told many stories to other Adepti and those who he seek worthy. However, many were charmed by it and wanted to know the arts of Adepti.

He refused many times. He didn't see humans worthy enough.

Before the Archon war, he used to take the form of a crane. He didn't have a human form, but he could turn himself to other birds as a disguise. He could talk to birds and they were loyal followers of his.

He was the one who invented the "Liyue Opera." It was different compared to present-day opera, but some resemblance remains.*

During the Archon war, He died to severe wounds. Before his death, his final wish was to continue his legacy by letting people tell stories and let birds sing.

People got the gift of storytelling and birds singing.

many years later, he reincarnated as a human. He still remembers the stories and the knowledge he gained before he died. However, he isn't as powerful as he used to be.

Not many know his existence as a god or human. Only historians know him (+ Adepti.)

Nowadays he roams around Liyue Harbor. He also travels around Liyue too. He complains about how slow humans can be since he cannot fly anymore.

To peoples eyes, he's the type of god you either hate or love. He has the balls to tell people (and Morax (aka. Zhongli)) what he doesn't like.

He sometimes stops to listen to peoples stories. He might tell people his stories and use his vision/Adepti powers to visualize them. Kids love him but storytellers dislike him. Some might even challenge him, but you probably can guess who wins.

He can also be seen watching Yun Jin's performance. Once, Yun Jin tried to ask China, if he knows something she doesn't about opera. He quickly avoided her, but she always tries to ask him the same questions, if she sees him.

END OF LORE PART.

This might change, but I doubt it. Hope you liked my lore writing part!

Next might be Russia or France since they also have lore parts.

*Note: I don't know much about Peking opera (or Beijing opera) nor its history. From what I've seen, it kinda looks like there imitating birds or smth? Especially this type of costume;

Idk it kinda looks like it.

Also, birds seemed not to exist back then 🤣

[moltensunlight]

Some basic world building for my version of the Kusakabe role swap au:

- The fire happens at the Kusakabe house when Sho is 5 (same age Shinra was in canon), which means Shinra’s Adolla Burst suddenly awakens when he’s 9

- Like what it says on the tin, events play out like they did in canon, but this time with the white-clad taking Shinra instead of Sho

- Sho’s 3rd-gen pyrokinetic abilities activate - six fiery wings that sprout from his back and draw in all the heat in the area, leaving the space around him cold as ice

- Shinra is brainwashed by Haumea to the extent that he’s effectively a slate wiped clean - and retains no memory of his life before joining the white-clad

- Whereas in canon Shinra is the pillar of rage and Sho the pillar of apathy, in this au Shinra is the pillar of apathy, and Sho is the pillar of grief (not a canon pillar title, but one I feel would lead to ‘despair’ all the same), and instead of rage at the destruction of his home and his family, he feels overwhelming sadness and grief, sparing him any of the ‘devil’ treatment that Shinra canonically got

- Sho will end up following Shinra’s canon path to Haijima and then the Fire Force, sans being called a demon of course - more often than not he’s called an angel, or as being watched over by one

- After his parents leave, Arthur winds up at a convent that the white-clad use to scout powerful pyrokinetics, and as soon as they catch wind that Arthur is a plasma-user they scoop him right up

- Despite being a part of an evil organization (and knowing that), Arthur retains his sense of self, translating everything through his imagination like he does in canon

- After several years of training and (attempted) indoctrination, Arthur is assigned as Shinra’s guardian - they’re both 12 at this point

- Sho is still closely watched by the white-clad, and when he joins the Fire Force Academy, they send Arrow in as an older recruit (her story being that she’s had a change of career) to watch over him, and despite her also being a recruit, she ends up as a kind of mentor-figure for Sho

- Company 8 starts the same time it does in canon, but remains just a 4-member group for some time, struggling to get on its feet. There are several members that wind up coming and going between the core 4 (Ōbi, Hinawa, Maki, Iris) before Sho joins, those temporary members either winding up as unfit for what Company 8 stands for and being recommended to a different Company by Captain Ōbi, or being a few rookies from other Companies doing the whole ‘rookie training’ system that the 8th does with the 1st in canon

- Sho joins Company 8 when he’s 17, with Arrow following soon after - the both of them good friends by this point

- Things begin to progress as they do in canon, only there’s a lot more of Shinra & Arthur’s presence in the white-clad incidents, and though Joker does still clue Sho in on his brother still being alive during the rookie games, Sho winds up seeing Shinra several times before the second meeting with Joker, where Joker tells Sho that his brother is a commander for the white-clad

- Shinra winds up being called the ‘devil’ of the white-clad by the members of the special fire forces, as once information begins to be exchanged between the companies, it comes out that they’ve all seen him before - and the devil is always accompanied by someone wielding a blade of plasma. Of course this is before Sho is actually able to put together that the devil is his brother

- Shinra’s trademark smile begins when he first sees Sho during his missions, because though he might not consciously remember his life before the white-clad, some deep unconscious part of him does, and it causes the muscles in his face to tense up into that smile the more he’s faced with situations and people that remind him of that past

- Sho actually does save Shinra down in the Nether, unlocking Shinra’s memories via Adolla Link, and Arthur steps in to prevent Haumea from brainwashing Shinra again, allowing the brothers to escape

- Haumea runs off before Arthur can defeat her, and Arthur then joins back up with Shinra and Company 8 as they’re leaving the Nether

- Shinra & Arthur are brought into protective custody by the 8th, and they begin to divulge the Evangelist’s plans

- There is of course a private confrontation between Shinra & Arthur and Arrow, as they know her mission, but none of the rest of the 8th do, and she pleads with them to keep it a secret - having had a change of heart herself

- Shinra and Arthur are stupidly strong, having been raised amongst the white-clad, but Shinra has to learn/relearn his pyrokinetic abilities without the use of his grace-fueled light speed and time travel that had been supplied by the evangelist

[tommyinnit-fic-recs]

hi!! can i get some one chapter hurt/comfort fics with crimeboys as the main focus? ty!

you sure can! :DDDD

Here you go:

i'm somewhere, you're somewhere by bonesandthebees [Rated T, 44905 words, complete]

“I just don’t see why anyone would choose to live in a place without a bathroom,” Tommy shrugged. “But I guess you’re just weird.”

“I’m not weird! There are a lot of people who like living on the road,” Wilbur told him, furrowing his brows.

Tommy snorted. “Keep telling yourself that, bud. But I know you miss your shitter.”

Wilbur once again sighed. “Is this just what all our conversations are gonna be about? You harassing me over the fact that I don’t have a toilet?”

Suddenly, Tommy brightened up, as if he’d just remembered something. “As fun as that is, I actually have something to ask you.”

“What is it?” Wilbur asked, narrowing his eyes.

A hopeful smile spread across Tommy’s face. “Can you teach me how to play guitar?”

or, Wilbur agrees to teach a random kid how to play guitar, and ends up getting a little brother in the process.

and i will love you as i always have, over and over and over again by Imshookandbi [Rated T, 1155 words, complete]

They’ve only been in Pogtopia for a week and Wilbur was losing it, and all Tommy could do was stand and watch. He didn’t want to, but he knows that words won’t get through to him.

So he does what any sensible baby brother ought to do when your older brother was going insane in an underground ravine;

You drag him out by the ear.

Wilbur Soot's Guide to Befriending Wild Racoons by bonesandthebees [Rated T, 1767 words, complete]

“Nice night, innit?” The kid asked after a moment, giving him a sideways grin....what? Did the kid not realize the situation they were in?

“This is my house,” Wilbur stated a bit dumbly.

“Yeah, I reckoned it was,” the boy replied.

“You’re in my house, stealing my food,” Wilbur continued, staring at the kid and waiting for the fear at being caught to set in.

But to his surprise, the kid just shrugged.

“You gonna do anything about it?”

or, how Wilbur ends up adopting the local thief

but i'll figure out a way to get us out of here by itstheadomania [Rated T, 6231 words, complete]

“He’s out, Wil,” he whispers, voice cracking on the second word. “He escaped, he—oh my—I can’t—I can’t do this, Wil, I can’t do it again, I know he’s your hero and I know you don’t believe me but he’s fucking, he was there, he was after me, and he’s hiding now, he’s waiting for you to leave me again—”“Dream’s out of the prison?” Wilbur asks quietly.

Tommy makes a desperate, terror-stricken noise. “Please don’t let him get to me.”

(based off of tommy's stream from when dream breaks out. an au where he runs into wilbur instead of phil.)

What If I Told You I Was a Thing of Fairytales? (5+1) by cupqueencake [Rated T, 6218 words, complete]

Tommyinnit is an old and ancient dragon, who has hidden that part of himself since he was captured by that lab all those years ago. However, he wants nothing more than to tell someone.

Or, five times Tommy had to resist telling Wilbur about being a dragon, and one time he couldn't.

A Canon Divergent Dream SMP fic.