MINE

The King's Soulmate

Jayce is royalty, or close enough to it. Viktor is a prisoner from the neighboring kingdom of Zaun. Several Zaunites are brought before them, intended to be slaves to the highest in Piltover. The slavemaster doesn’t think Viktor is all that important, and with his disability, is prepared to kill him once he is not chosen. Much to everyone's surprise, Jayce chooses Viktor and will hear no other argument. He has visions of other worlds due to him messing with the Arcane, so he knows that this man will be the most important man in his life. Viktor has no clue why the King of Piltover calls him Perfect, and he is both flattered and terrified.

Nobody from Piltover knows that Viktor and Violet are the eldest Prince and Princess of Zaun. Zaun royalty does not dress like royalty, so they were assumed to be just another couple of citizens. Tensions rise even further between the two countries, war on the horizon, and Piltover doesn't even know what they've done. Zaun has no proof that they are the ones who took their Prince and Princess, so things build slowly over time. Viktor and Violet assume that Jayce and Caitlyn know what they have done, the statement they are making by keeping them.

Viktor finds out how oblivious Jayce is when Jinx/Powder breaks in to rescue them and kill their captors. Viktor is in the middle of trying to convince the youngest Princess not to assassinate the King of Piltover when Jayce wakes up, sees the armed intruded fighting with Viktor, and immediately puts himself between them, shielding Viktor with his body. This makes the younger girl very confused since she had been expecting a gaudy and snooty man who didn't care for their lives. Viktor manages to talk them both down, and their conversation leads him to figure out how little Jayce knows. Jayce finds out that the assassin was there to rescue the slaves, and while he's actually a little relieved and will make no move to stop her, he really doesn't want Viktor to leave, and makes this clear in his body language and hesitant words. In the end, Viktor stays while Jinx/Powder goes to find the other slaves and bring news back to the Kings of Zaun.

In the end, after some sneaking around of Vi and Viktor's parts, Zaun proposes a peace treaty to Piltover. It is a bunch of normal politics stuff, along with a double-arranged marriage. The King and the Head Guard of Piltover would marry the eldest Prince and Princess of Zaun. Both Jayce and Caitlyn protest, both wishing to be with their partners, but in the end they agree to the terms.

Part of the treaty was also to free all Zaunite slaves, and while Vi and Viktor had been practically free already, this just made it official. They hadn't been expecting the two to actually leave, and both become even more stressed without them. But then the wedding day comes, and the Zaunite royalty arrives, and everyone puts everything together. The main characters are overjoyed and in shock, and they all get married and one day unite the kingdoms through their adopted children.

(Currently working on a fic for this au. I have no clue when or if it will get posted, or how long it will be. Once it is posted I will link it here. Wish me luck!)

Asteria Diamond: Bismuth's pov (part 3)

Bismuth hit the bubble surrounding her with her sharp hands, but it refused to pop. They were being floated through the halls of the ship, Garnet stuck in another bubble and Pearl blank-eyed and forced to walk by the Diamond's side. No matter what she did the bubble wouldn't pop, and she could do nothing but watch as the other Crystal Gems were similarly entrapped. They were brought to a seemingly empty room, or at least it had been empty when they had entered. The Diamond did something with her weird song-like powers, and suddenly there were the beginnings of a torture device sticking out of the wall. She shouted for Garnet as the fusion sent her a panicked look, but she could do nothing but watch the rose-tinted scene unfold. Garnet fixed her face into a blank mask as she was restrained, ready to withstand the Diamond's torture. Bismuth glanced at Pearl, who was standing on the opposite side of the room from her cage. The other gem had the presence of mind to be staring at Garnet, but Bismuth couldn't tell if Pearl actually knew what was going on. Her form was stiff and her eyes were blank, only the slightest twitch of her fingers and her eyelids to tell that she wasn't a statue.

(Pearl doesn't stay watching as Garnet's taming becomes more violent, but at this point she is just aware enough to know that Garnet is distressed and is trying to comfort her. Unfortunately she is doing so in Pearlsign, which no one else in the room understands. She isn't quite aware enough to realize this, and once Garnet starts screaming Pearl checks out to do some sorting as a distraction.) Garnet screamed, and Bismuth's gaze snapped back to her. Her friend was twisting and convulsing, writhing in her bonds as the Diamond's song shook her body and the Diamond's hands pressed down hard into her gems.

Bismuth watched in horror as her friend thrashed and screamed, fighting against the Diamond with all of her strength. Bismuth called out to her, trying to ground her somewhere other than the obvious pain she was in. "It's gonna be alright Garnet, you've got this! I'm right here, just keep fighting it!" She kept up a steady mantra of support, despite the horror and dread pooling thick in her gem. She oh so badly wanted to bash this fuckers face in, but no matter how hard she pushed the bubble surrounding her wouldn't pop. She watched in slight confusion as the Diamond leaned over Garnet and pressed a soft kiss right above her third eye. The fusion went from having all of her eyes scrunched shut in pain to wide-eyed shock. She shouted some more, but Garnet didn't respond. Her eyes were blank, glassy and listless in a way Bismuth had never seen. Her body had relaxed completely, sagging against her restraints as the Diamond watched. Bismuth swallowed hard, hoping that it wasn't already too late. That spark of hope was dwindling within her, and she desperately tried to call Garnet back to herself with her voice. Garnet blinked almost frantically, a spark of awareness showing in them once more. Relief swept over Bismuth, and she kept encouraging Garnet to come back. But the other gem didn't come back all the way, didn't start to fight again, barley twitched her fingers. Bismuth begged her to respond, but at this point, she wasn't sure the other gem could hear what she was saying. She growled as the Diamond pressed another kiss onto her friend, now aware of the dangers of the action. After a while, Asteria Diamond spoke for the first time in several minutes.

"Garnet," she called, hands now holding the fusion's instead of pressing into them like before.

"Yes My Diamond." Garnet responded in a placid tone, and Bismuth felt like the air had been knocked out of her. She had never heard those words from Garnet, and she had hoped she would never have had to. Despair tried to rise up and swallow her, but she pushed it down.

"Unfuse for me." The hands and the restraints retreated, and Bismuth held her breath. Please don't be brainwashed, please be strong enough to resist, come on, no one tells Garnet to unfuse, this should snap her out of it! Right?

"Yes my Diamond."

There was a bright white light, and Ruby and Sapphire appeared. Despair gnawed at her as she watched Sapphire and Ruby be restrained, only a single cuff necessary to keep them in line. She had stopped shouting now, knowing it would do them no good. She glanced back at Pearl, who's eyes were blank as she stared at a spot on the floor. There wasn't a thought behind her eyes, and the despair climbed higher. Pearl was brainwashed and out of commission, Garnet was now brainwashed as well, to the point where she obeyed when told to unfuse, and now Ruby and Sapphire were getting the Diamond treatment. The Diamond was on Ruby now, murmuring to her with her song infused voice and periodically pressing kisses into her gem. Ruby whimpered and squirmed a bit, but didn't fight like Bismuth wished she would. She tried to strain and hear the conversation, but she only got a few words here and there. Then she heard the dreaded words once more.

"Yes my Diamond."

Asteria Diamond ran her claws over Ruby's hair, undoing the restraint and praising her.

"Good gem. Now wait here for a moment while I talk to Sapphire."

The Diamond moved on to her next pinned prey, while Ruby stood next the them, fidgeting and watching with anxious eyes. Bismuth tried to get her attention, but Ruby only met her eyes once, shook her head, and went back to looking at her lover. Bismuth didn't know how the other gem could stand watching her love get molested by a Diamond. It was hard enough for her to watch, and she wasn't nearly as close as they were. Eventually Sapphire gave her own, "yes my Diamond," and was allowed down from the restraint table. As suspected they immediately held hands, and to Bismuth's surprise the Diamond didn't object.

"Ruby, Sapphire. Fuse."

Bismuth was shocked, trying to figure out why the Diamond would want the two gems fused. Of course Ruby and Sapphire did as they were told, and in a flash of light Garnet was back. Bismuth couldn't help but hope something would finally go their way, but then she saw the altered design on Garnet's chest. She looked almost exactly the same, except now there was the outline of a diamond etched in black. It sat right below the tip of her half star, giving the shape a pink background. It hurt to see the symbol of a Diamond on a gem she knew had never had to wear one. Bismuth could see the angle here. The Crystal Gems' cross fusion war machine, brought to heel by the newest Diamond. Garnet took a step forward and knelt down on one knee before Asteria Diamond. Her arms crossed over her chest in a salute, something else she should never have been forced to do, and spoke.

"I am at your service, my Diamond."

Bismuth wanted to scream, but instead she fixed her eyes on the Diamond. The bastard seemed far to pleased with herself. The Diamond's next words were so laced with song that Bismuth could barely understand them, but it is clearly praise of some kind. Another kiss was pressed into Garnet's form, on the back of her offered knuckles this time, and the fusion was quickly lost to the Diamond's power.

The Diamond stepped away from Garnet's still kneeling form and turned to her. Bismuth bared her teeth in a growl, knowing that it was her turn now. The despair trying to swamp her told her that she was powerless to fight the Diamond's power, but no matter what she would fight till she could fight no more. For the Crystal Gems. For Biggs. For Garnet. For Pearl. For Rose. There was no room to fight her restraints, but she fought anyway. Her struggle against the unyielding metal was cut short as the Diamond once more started to sing, the sound echoing with power in her ears as it sank into her form like a stone sank into water. It was like a lullaby with power behind it. It surrounded her and tried to drag her down, a gentle but all-consuming pressure that had her muscles unclenching. She grit her teeth and clenched her jaw. She had to keep doing it every time the song dragged against her, but she kept making sure to twitch her fingers and toes. It could do her good to save her strength, but she couldn't let this consume her. She couldn't let the Diamond do what she pleased with her. No matter how trapped she was, no matter how angry she was, she wouldn't back down from the Diamond's strength. She didn't care if it got her shattered, she wouldn't let this monster use her against her friends. Against her home.

She narrowed her eyes at the Diamond in challenge. "That all you got?"

The diamond hummed in reply, before reaching out and putting her hand inside Bismuth's gem. Bismuth jerked and yelped as the Diamond's fingers rubbed her gem, waves of calm turning into spikes. Fingertips stroked the facets of her gem, making her pant and whine at the song's strengthened intrusion. She threw her head back with a clang, heaving for breath as she fought against the encroaching apathy. The fingers turned into a full fist, and the lulling song turned into an almost harsh demand. Bismuth knew she wouldn't be able to fight it forever, not with the gentle pressure in her gem that insisted she stop fighting. She screamed out her anger and fear, yelling with all her might like it could keep her from the Diamond's clutches. It was only over if she gave in. But it felt so much better than she thought it would. She had braced well for pain, and against that she was strong, but the sweetness of the song beckoned to her like the scent of rose petals on the wind. The song shook her with the force of it, but it was trying to bury her in calm and peace, not the pain or numbness she had been expecting. There was a cloud of apathy that came close, but it hadn't managed to muffle her. Bismuth had the feeling that it wasn't staying on the outskirts because of a lack of ability. The Diamond leaned over her, and she stared with wide eyes as a kiss was pressed into her sternum. The storm of rage and calm fighting faded into the background.

She saw the conversation Rose had with her when they first met. It was like she was looking through Rose's eyes, but she was detached in a way she wasn't when looking through her own. It took her a moment to realize that this was an information transfer in the form of a memory. Rose asked her what she wanted to be, and a spark of awed rebellion caught in Bismuth's eyes. Rose was gleeful when she had shown her the first weapon Bismuth had made with her own two hands. The memory was soon soured by the thought of war. Of Bismuth choosing to make weapons because it was useful, not because it was what she wanted. Rose wanted Bismuth to be who she really was, not what she made herself to be for Rose's benefit.

Bismuth blinked hard, jarring herself out of the memories. The Diamond still sang above her, sharp diamond eyes soft with the emotions Rose had once held. The Diamond's words were woven with intent, notes of reassurance laced deep in them as she spoke. "With the death of Rose Quartz, it may be the end of the Crystal Gem rebellion, but it is not the end of the Crystal Gem ideals. As long as one of us is standing to brandish the star, the spirit of the Crystal Gems lives on." With her words, she showed her palms, which each had half of the Crystal Gem's symbol sitting there. It wasn't immediately obvious, but seeing them both side by side left no doubt. Bismuth realized that this was somewhat mimicked by the two triangle cuts in the other gem's dress. There was a triangle cut around her gem, and another tringal cut flipped the other way above it. A diamond symbol cut in half horizontally, and a star symbol cut in half vertically, This might not be normal fusion, but it was similar enough. Rose was a part of this gem. Unfortunately, so was Pink Diamond. That thought held her back from giving in and falling into the ocean of song. It was one thing to trust Rose, but it was another to trust a Diamond.

"...S-still a Diamond!" She managed to gasp out, shaking with the effort to resist the blanket of calm. She knew things like talking and breathing would be easier if she did, but she couldn't bring herself to trust a Diamond with herself. Asteria Diamond hummed again, an almost mournful note to it this time. Before she could really question it, another kiss was pressed right above her gem.

This time instead of one of Rose's memories, it was one of Pinks. She had a feeling this was a long time ago, when the Diamond was still young. Bismuth probably hadn't even emerged at the time this conversation happened. Pink Diamond was not the cruel dictator Bismuth knew now. She was bright and bubbly and kind. She was small and deep-cut and not the color she should be. Nothing the other Diamonds did or said could make her act like them. Pink confronted them about how they treated her, about how she came out wrong. The other Diamonds brushed her off. She was just too young and immature for her duties. She could have a colony like the rest of them when she grew up and acted like a Diamond should. Pink Diamond looked at the shards of an off-color who couldn't do their job right and tried to find the difference between them and her. She couldn't.

Bismuth gasped in shock as she came back to herself with a few sharp blinks. Her already shaken world just did a spinning jump and had ended up upside down with everything having gotten jumbled up and eventually fallen out.

"Even Diamonds can be different."

Bismuth stared into Asteria's soft weary eyes, and slowly, shakily, started to loosen her iron grip on her mind. Rose had always wanted freedom for all gems. All those who didn't fit within the Diamonds machine. She wasn't surprised that Rose's soft heart had gone out to a Diamond as well. Said Diamond smiled at her as she lowered herself into the lapping waves of calm. She had been right, it felt wonderful after days and days of stress and panic.

"We will bring peace." Asteria Diamond sang. And Bismuth found she believed her. If there was anyone who could fight the Diamonds, it was another Diamond.

Bismuth does take her time accepting the new order, but with further reassurance from her new Diamond and talking with Garnet and Pearl she accepts that Asteria really does want what is best for them and the Earth. Asteria also told Bismuth that if she was ever worried about something or needed anything that she could come to her like she could with Rose. The Diamond did tell her that for now, it would probably be best not to do so in front of any Homeworld loyalists so that she doesn't cause any more drama with them than she already has just by being there. Bismuth likes to help out with the lower class's work when they let her and has a tendency to make friends with gems whose ideals lean more toward the Crystal Gems, even if they don't realize it. Soon enough, she finds that she has a knack for picking out perspective Crystal Gems from a crowd, and when combined with Pearl and Garnet's own talents, they can separate a group of gems by what introduction they will need to Asteria's rule. They might miss a few here or there, but when Yellow Diamond's gems come, they separate them out by who needs to be informed with a firm hand and possibly threats to keep them in line until they can be handled individually, while the softer, typically kinder gems are more receptive to the positive changes that come with working under Asteria Diamond.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Pack or Prey? - Chapter 1 - BlackFoy - Arcane: League of Legends (Cartoon 2021) [Archive of Our Own]

https://archiveofourown.org/works/62210176/chapters/159141145

Baby Viktor

Due to a magical mishap in the lab Viktor ends up de-aged. Little Viktor comes to himself in a place he doesn't recognize, with no clothes and no cane. He is very obviously in Piltover, and there is a very large man calling his name and asking him if he's ok and what he remembers. The poor boy is very frightened, and it doesn't help that they are not speaking in his first language, so he is still having some trouble with words at this age. Jayce, of course, helps the little one up and puts his own shirt on him, which hangs down like a dress, but little Viktor is even more terrified because of the strength in Jayce's arms and the fact that his hand practically covers his entire torso.

Of course, the poor child tries his best to put together how he got here. He understands that he is missing memories, but he doesn't know he's been de-aged, so he is trying to figure out how a crippled child from the undercity ended up in the rich part of Piltover. The feeling of being out of place gets even worse when he finds out that Jayce is a councilor and when he meets Mel, who looks extremely extravagant and is also a councilor. Any and all ideas he can come up with are, of course, bad ones, but there is little good he can figure from his situation. He had never thought of himself as one of the ones to sell their body for food and shelter, much less to big, strong, rich pilties, but he assumes his past self must have had a reason and tries to be good and not make himself sick with his own thoughts.

The Hound's Gone Feral

The Hound, after everything, has found himself back in time. He does not know how, and he does not particularly care. All he knows is that he will protect his pups this time, no matter the cost. Vander has time-traveled. Except he's not really sure he's Vander anymore. He's been Warwick for a long time now, and after that, he was part of a hivemind. He's not even close to the man he used to be, and he isn't sure what to do now that he's back to the time when he was still human. But then he sees his pups, his kids, and he knows that nothing else matters. But if he's going to protect them, then he's going to have to take care of the Silco problem. He isn't sure if the man is friend or foe, pack or prey, and so he sets about finding out.

This Vander is feral in a way that nobody is used to. Or, at least, nobody but Silco, who believes that Vander had gone soft. He finds out pretty quickly that Vander is more feral than ever before. Vader has Sevika tell Silco he wants to talk alone, which was a shock by itself since Vander shouldn't have known she was working for him. Silco comes long after the sun has set and the kids are in bed, not actually alone since he decided to bring Sevika with him. But that's fine with the Hound because he knows Sevika is good with his pups when she wants to be. Silco tries to go into the conversation with his silver tongue, but Vander is blunt and honest with him. He tells him that he's been changed, tells him he isn't sure how to see him. Silco tries to scoff and needle and provoke a reaction, but the Hound just watches.

In the end Silco finds the push he was looking for, the kids, and gets a reaction out of Vander. Vander has his hands on Silco almost before he's finished speaking, surprisingly gentle as he pins him against the wall. Silco acts like he's won, gloats about Vander's savage nature, but instead of flinching away Vander leans in closer and *admits that he's worse than ever.* Now Silco's starting to understand, with Vander growing into his neck, that the man pinning him down is far from soft. He starts to panic and struggle, making the Hound chuckle. "Regardless of if you are Pack or Prey, you will not harm the pups." Silco foolishly decided to push his luck, "And if I do?" Vander growled deeper than it should be possible for a human. "Then you will wish you had drowned."

And then Vander lets him go, lets him gasp for air, lets him run off trying to act like he wasn't completely terrified. But Silco knows that Vander has changed, that he isn't soft, and that's enough to change his plans. He also has to bury the part of him that wants to be a part of the Hound's pack, wants to be protected by Vander's bulk once more. Silco realizes that Vander holds seemingly no remorse for what he's done and is willing to do it again. This strokes his anger into yelling, which Vander shuts up by biting him hard enough to draw blood. The Hound is testing to see if Silco's blood will entice him to hunt, but Silco feels the punishment and the claim of the marking. Vander declares him not prey and lays him down in a booth to get the first aid kit and some water. Silco reacts when Vander grabs him to treat the wound and Vander growls back, enforcing the dynamic some more. Some more conversation.

After a few days and then a few meet ups with no violence from Silco, the Hound assumes that Silco has chosen Pack. Which means he starts trying to make sure the man has ate and drank and slept and is otherwise protected since he doesn't sleep in the den with the rest of them. He's been doing the same with Benzo and Ekko, but they take it much better than Silco does. Sevika is mostly amused by this point, and takes the occasional glass of water shoved her way with a nod.

Eventually, they get into an argument about something or another, and Vander threatens to punish Silco. Silco laughs, but then Vander handcuffs him to the chair and plops Powder in his lap with instructions to tell him about her inventions. Powder kind of shrugs and goes with it, and while Silco is definitely feeling the punishment in the beginning, by the end, he's getting along pretty well with Powder and actually helping her with her bombs. The Hound is smug.

The second the Hound and Dr. Corin Reveck are in the same room it is a blood bath. Silco is introducing them for one reason or another, and then Vander is on top of Reveck pounding his skull in. Corin struggles, and manages to get a few wounds in, but he is quickly and brutally overwhelmed by a panicking raging Hound. Silco is in shock and also fairly terrified, especially when Vander rounds on him, but Vander just holds him close and mutters some curses at Reveck's dead body before insisting he is shown his laboratory. Not wanting to get hurt by trying to say no, Silco brings him and watches as the Hound tears the lab apart. He knows very little of what is going on, but he knows from the few words Vader spoke to Reveck that the scientist had been involved in whatever it was that changed him. Silco doesn't think that Vander has taken shimmer, but Reveck did something to him, and so he's not that upset at the man's death. More so the destruction of his plans and a whole lot of shimmer. The only thing Vander handles with any care is Rio, who he puts out of her misery as gently as he can.

Sheriff Grayson meets with the Hound, and is very unnerved by him. Not to mention not very pleased about the hard changes they will have to make. The Hound isn't afraid to threaten, to state facts that double as threats, to drop Grayson's own death into the conversation.

Boba's Vode

For some reason Boba has time traveled, probably because of Din, into the past. Back when his ba'buir was still alive. They end up in a situation where they and their allies are cornered in an old temple, hiding from an enemy/army that they do not have the strength or numbers to fight. There is an artifact in the temple, and they are all told that while it can summon a person's relatives to them, living or dead, but it can only do so for very close relatives. This is seen as not super helpful, but Boba resizes that he has a really big close family. And so, after asking some clarifying questions, ("So if someone touched it and wanted their Vode, it would bring all their Vode to them?") he touches the artifact and calls for his Vode. His millions of Vode. It's a good thing the temple is big.

The Great Jayce swap

Jayce from a world where he and the machine herald are true enemies switches with an au where the two are secretly on the same side but pretend to be enemies in front of others. Enemies Jayce will be known as Defender and freinemies Jayce will be known as Progress.

Defender takes a few days to settle into the new world before he is forced into a fight with this world's Herald. The battle is a bit stranger than usual, with his enemy seemingly going easy on him, but then he falls straight into the cyborg's trap and finds himself injured and at the Herald's mercy. His own Herald had never done anything like this, had always aimed for the kill, so he is understandably panicked by his kidnapping. He believes that the Herald plans to augment his body and take control of his mind, turning him against the people of Piltover and his friends. Viktor is actually just trying to help heal the wound he caused while kidnapping the other Jayce. He also wanted the chance to get a read on the man and talk with him privately. What he finds is a man absolutely terrified of him, and his heart softens a good bit as he holds the struggling man down and tends to his wounds. Defender has never seen the technology the Herald is using on him, so he has no way of knowing that it's just going to help close the wound.

Progress, on the other hand, runs into the new world's Herald the first night there, but not in a battle. He finds him nursing an injury far from his base, so he drags him to his home to patch him up, babbling on all the way and not letting the Herald get a word. Viktor is very confused by this new Jayce, who seems so soft and bubbly and calls him cute nicknames while patching him up. He's so very different from Defender that The Herald can't bring himself to harm him, not when the man didn't even seem to realize they were enemies.

The Wolves of Warwick

Time/dimension travel causes the wolves involved in creating Warwick to suddenly gain a level of sentience they did not have before, along with an urge to protect their human pack. They still see Vader as one of them even though he is human and doesn't remember being Warwick with them, and therefore his cubs are their cubs. The wolves can speak, although it is in broken sentences like Warwick, and they don't typically talk to many others outside of their pack.

Vander is meeting up with some people to try and broker peace with the Uppercity. Of course, his wolves come with him. He was hoping they would work as intimidation and protection, but instead, they insist on gently kidnapping one of the Counciler's children.

Arcane possessed Jayce

Due to some experiments with Hextech, Jayce ends up possessed by something arcane. His eyes turn a rainbow myriad of colors, and he is no longer himself. His palms and fingers spark with magic, able to control things and do things he shouldn't be able to accomplish. The arcane being that can temporarily reside in Jayce's skin doesn't mean any harm; it will actually oftentimes try to help, but it isn't the best at helping without instilling a great amount of fear in the process.

One of the first things it tries to help fix is Viktor's illness. It recognizes Viktor as someone important to Jayce, and it also recognizes that Viktor is dying and in pain. So it goes about working sparks of magic into Viktor's body, trying to help him heal himself. Give his body the jumpstart it needs. Viktor is terrified when Jayce, who is strong and able-bodied, pins him down and starts removing his clothes. He figures out that Jayce is not fully himself quickly enough, but that does not change the terror of the situation. He is helpless against Jayce's body, and no matter how hard he squirms and writhes, he can't get away. Warm, callused hands sparking with the arcane dig into his tender muscles, and while the magical massage is ultimately helpful, it is painful and terrifying while it is happening. Viktor falls asleep before possessed Jayce lets him go, and so they both wake up the next morning with a mostly naked Viktor still pinned by Jayce. Jayce, of course, apologizes profusely, but Viktor mostly just wants to move on and figure out what happened to Jayce. Possessed Jayce hadn't done him any harm, not really, and while he hadn't appreciated the scare, he was more interested in exploring the new phenomenon of the arcane. The arcane creature now bound to Piltover's golden boy tries a few more times to help Viktor through the occasional massage, even taking him down into the forge to help keep him warm, but Viktor works his body too hard for them to make any real progress. He's dying slower than before, but he's still dying. That's when they decide to use the forge and create metal pieces infused with arcane to attach to Viktor; that way, he can have a constant stream of magic helping to stitch his body together. It works in the end, but Viktor has no way of knowing what possessed Jayce is doing. He knows nothing other than that the Arcane creature is holding him down and attaching metal to his flesh with magic.

Asteria: Yellow Diamond (Part 5)

It does not take long of no contact, both via communications and any gems they sent, for Yellow Diamond herself to show up to earth to dispel the crazy rumors going around and fuss Pink about her disaster of a colony. They have heard rumors about the situation, but all of them seem so outlandish that they disbelieve all of them. Yellow barges in demanding to speak to Pink, and to her frustration the gems bring her to another gem instead. To her shock and disbelief she finds out that some of the rumors were indeed true. Not wanting to believe that Pink is gone Yellow throws a fit, intending on shattering this gem that for some reason manages to strike fear in her, but she is no match for Asteria who just bubbles her before she can do any damage. Yellow manages to pop it once or twice in fits of rage, but Asteria just makes thicker ones in its place.

She is brought to the correct room and restrained. There is also a camera that Asteria turns on. The video will be edited later to look like it was stolen and then leaked out so that it can be seen without pinning the blame on any particular gem that it got out. Yellow Diamond starts her Taming full of anger and frustration and just a slight bit of fear. But a slight bit for a diamond is unusual enough that it might as well have been ocean deep. Asteria starts her work, slowly and steadily trying to bring Yellow into a state of calm.

Yellow is having none of it, and her struggle quickly starts to make it look like she is in pain. Her thrashing gets less angry and more desperate or instinctual, actively having to fight the new Diamond's song. She is more immune than most as she is another Diamond, but it still affects her and Asteria's song is like no other in this world. After a while of Yellow stubbornly putting up as much of a fight as she could, Asteria started to kiss little packets of information over to her. Each time she did this was jarring for Yellow, forcing her to stop her thrashing and fighting for a few moments each time as she blinks through the information and shock. Along with that the information itself becomes more and more distressing.

Over the course of several kisses Asteria shows Yellow not only that Pink is dead, but that she didn't think they would care if she died. She thought they had not cared about her, and therefore would not give much care for her death. She had agreed with Rose Quartz, had tried to get them to stop the colonization, but they had thought she was just being difficult. And now she was gone, her power given to make this new being. She was truly gone, and never coming back. As good as shattered. All because she thought they didn't care. That they would prefer a Pink Diamond of greater power, that they would listen to someone of greater power. The only thing Yellow could think of was that she had been right. Asteria did not keep pushing for calm as Yellow broke, dismissing her helmet and running claws through her hair as she sobbed out her regretful anguish. Yellow sobbed and cried and screamed for a long time, frightening any gem near enough to hear her.

Eventually, after her cries had started to slow from exhaustion, Asteria once more pressed a soothing calming song into the larger Diamond's gem. This time Yellow welcomed it, letting her turbulent mind be calmed and allowing her form to go lax. Asteria whispered soothing nothings and encouragement to her, occasionally giving her a less distressing kiss. Nothing much so soon, but small things like Pink's joy at seeing the simple beauty of a flower, and Rose's determination to protect the Earth's beauty in its unique life.

Eventually Yellow was coaxed into moving, and brought to a room with a soft place to lie down big enough for a Diamond. Yellow faceplanted into the closest thing gems had to a mattress and let herself fall deep into the well of the other Diamond's power. Asteria knows that Yellow is hiding from her emotions, but seeing as she has already cried once and Asteria would not let her hide forever, she let the larger gem be for now. She visited every once in a while to pull Yellow out, introducing her to the ideas of things like fusions and organic life and free will from a more positive perspective, adding restraints if needed while the other Diamond was made to work through at least some of her emotions, before she was submerged back into the calm. The process was helpful for many reasons, and Yellow didn't fight as much as she had been expecting. The poor thing hasn't had a proper break in millennia. She also took the time to remove some of the Diamond's clothes, her gloves and heels taking priority after the helmet. It wasn't much on the outside, but Asteria could tell it helped to make Yellow Diamond both more physically comfortable and more emotionally vulnerable.

Yellow lay on the plush surface in the quiet room provided to her, floating in the calm nothingness of the new Diamond's power. She had come here with the intent of bringing things back to order, by force if necessary, but instead she had learned a horrible truth that left her world in pieces. It had not taken long for the new Diamond to go from an enemy to an ally. She could not handle the weight of her grief, her anger, her horrible bitter self-lothing. Here, deep within the soothing song of the other gem, only the slightest touch of it could reach her. She knew it would not last forever, but for the time being she cherished the time she had before she had to face the consequences of her actions. She knew once she came out there was nothing she could do to soothe the ache of what her negligence had lost.

(Direct inspirational quote) "You either get bitter or you get better. It's that simple. You either take what has been dealt to you and allow it to make you a better person, or you allow it to tear you down. The choice does not belong to fate, it belongs to you." Yellow doesn't fight Asteria even when she does things that make her mad because she understands that this is what Pink died for. To make them, to make her, listen to what she had to say. Asteria will absolutely chain Yellow down if she throws a fit over what she is trying to tell her, and Yellow can't stay mad for long because she is upset at herself and ashamed that the other Diamond has to resort to such measures just for Yellow to hear her out.

At some point Yellow is in a deep almost coma-like state because she discharging lightning to the point she's hurting herself. Asteria makes special restraints to syphon the electricity away before it could cause damage and keeps Yellow deep under so that she can't feel it. Between the glowing restraints, the Diamond's blank eyes, and the small twitches from the electricity, any onlooker is petrified by the sight.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6