Grounding

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.

Property of Progress

(Please note that this was written without having actually watched Arcane and before season 2 started.)

In this au Piltover hates Zaun just that bit much more, and up top, the people of Zaun aren't considered people, much to several people's chagrin. There are rights activists and people trying to change things, but there are even more people in powerful places who benefit from being able to take Zaunites as slaves. As such, the culture of Zaun is a little more focused on running away and staying hidden, and there is a bit of culture shared between Zaunite slaves. There is more comradery between them with the threat of enslavement by Piltover.

Jayce manages to figure out Hextech on his own, but it's much slower progress when it's just him on his own. Not that he knows this. He first meets Viktor when some rich investor barges into his lab, wanting to see his experiments. One thing leads to another, and Jayce, in a panic, agrees to take ownership of the Zauntie to experiment on. Seeing the man roughly handle the disabled man and treat him like he was disgusting trash was too much; he couldn't just leave the man in his care. Plus, maybe, hopefully, he could do something to help the man with his disability, even though he would have preferred to ask him first. But the man is watching, so he straps a frightened Viktor down and carves runes into his skin. He manages to give the man a few whispered comforts and apologies, but nothing much with the powerful cruel man watching. In the end, it works; Viktor is embued with Hextech and is able to walk unaided after some practice. The man is pleased and tries to take Viktor back, but Jayce insists that Viktor is now classified as experimental technology, specifically his experimental technology, and so the man leaves less one slave. Poor Viktor is still terrified and a bit confused, especially when Jayce apologizes and treats him well.

Viktor finds that he likes being able to tell people that he is the experimental technology of Jayce Talis. It almost always gets the annoying, disgusting people he's forced to interact with to fuck off, and after getting to know Jayce, he can not find it within himself to begrudge belonging to the man. Of course, this only really works on the kind of people who like to keep Zaunite slaves. The ones who actually have morals are discomforted by him, but for the most part, try to ignore it. The few Zauinites who meet him look at him with pity and anger. They do not understand how he can be happy as a slave, proudly announcing himself as his property. His experimental property, no less.

Vi also ends up with Caitlin in this world. Caitlin sees the abuse she's going through in prison and needs someone from the undercity to help with her investigation, so she buys her, even though the Kiramins don't support slavery. Vi is, of course, expecting all the abuses of an owner but finds herself falling in love instead.

The Dark Mage and his Prince

Viktor and Jayce don't die when they save the world together, which is a surprise for both of them. What is even more of a surprise is when they suddenly find themselves in the bodies of their alternate-universe selves. The problem is that they were mid-battle when this happened.

The Crown Prince of Piltover had taken a band of warriors with him to defeat the rumored dark mage whose castle sat not far from their border. Things had been going well up until a blast of magic left everyone, but especially the Mage and the Prince, disorientated. Viktor figures out what is going on before Jayce does and uses that to "capture" the Crown Prince in his magic. They both have blurry memories of the bodies they inhabit, so he knows that if he doesn't end things quickly, Jayce will be expected to fight him, and after everything that had just happened, Viktor had a feeling that Jayce would shoot himself before having to hurt Viktor again.

The Piltovians watch in horror as the mage snaps a collar of magic around the prince's neck and holds him hostage, demanding that they leave without him. Caitlyn would rather do anything else, but as the mage orders the prince around, orders him to stand and kneel and stop breathing and start breathing again, she knows they need to retreat and regroup. None of them had ever seen a magic spell that could control someone like that, and they needed to be smart, or the mage would kill the prince.

Of course, Jayce is really just doing what Viktor says because it's Viktor, which is what Viktor was counting on.

Caitlyn hadn't been expecting too much from the battle they had gone into. Maybe something crazy would happen when fighting the Dark Mage, or maybe it would be just as easy and simple as every other battle she had shared with Jayce. Up until a blinding flash of light and a snare of magic left the Crown Prince of Piltover in the Dark Mage's hands, seemingly unable to disobey him.

Asteria Dimond and the Era 1 war (part 1)

It is towards the end of the war that it happens. Pink Dimond, also known as Rose Quartz, does something both unexpected and unprecedented. Pink Diamond did not believe that the other Diamonds cared about her, and she knew that they would not listen to her as herself nor as Rose Quartz. But she had to find a way to make them listen. She knew she was defective, off-color, but maybe if she could find a way to increase her power the others would listen to her. And so she did. No one knows how. No one knows uf she knew the consequences. In all honesty, even if she had known, she probably hadn’t cared. She somehow became Steven Universe. But an adult Steven Universe who has long balanced himself to look more like his mothers' forms and who goes by Asteria Diamond in professional settings. Asteria sends out a message to all the gems on Earth, both the Crystal Gems and the Homeworld Gems. In the message, they state:

"I am not Rose Quartz. I am not Pink Diamond. I am not a fusion of the two. I am something never before seen by Gemkind. Pink Diamond and Rose Quartz are dead. I am taking their place. This war is over. All Crystal Gems are to give themselves over peacefully to Homeworld. All Homeworld soldiers are to gather up the Crystal Gems peacefully and bring them to containment in my ship. There will be no shattering or excessive force from either side. Crystal Gems, if the ones trying to take you in are being cruel, leave them and find someone else. Gems still loyal to the diamond courts, only use violence if absolutely necessary. I repeat, I want no shattering and no excessive violence. That will be all."

Pearl had been watching this all in horror from across the room, the only one aware of the fact that this could not be some kind of unknown fusion between Rose and Pink as they were the same person. She could tell that this being was not her, which had horrible implications on its own, but she could also feel that her gem had shifted in a way she had never experienced but knew what it was instinctively. This gem was her new owner. She shied away in fear as the new gem, the new Diamond, approached her, but she could only go so far as her back hit the wall. They made a deep purr-like sound she assumed was supposed to be soothing, and she froze as a white-clawed hand brushed over her gem. His song weaved into the core of her being, bringing with it a great soothing calm. 

She was brought into a deep calm headspace, everything else chased away for the moment by the Diamond's song. She made no attempt to fight it, as it came from her Diamond, and let herself be picked up into her new Diamond's arms and carried away. Her Diamond purred deep in her chest all the way to the ship, almost rattling her body with the power it sung into ribbons twirling around her being. Her Diamond sat in a quiet and fairly dim room, and the soothing purring stopped. She started to come back to herself, but the entirety of her emotions refused to come back with the hand on her gem. As her grief started to hit her that touch quickly became a comfort, and she tried to lean further into it to try and hide from the pain of loss. Her Diamond did not take away her grief, or let her hide from it, but she held her and rocked her and comforted her as best as anyone can when faced with a pearl's fresh grief.

Eventually her Diamond laid her down and told her to stay and take deep breaths. She was all worn out emotionally, but somehow the unnecessary breathing helped to take the edge off everything. Her Diamond was somewhere in the room, dealing with reports and giving out commands. She had not been ordered to listen, so she did not bother too. Her programing would not let her miss an order if one is given to her.

Because the Crystal Gems are going to of course fight back, especially gems like Bismuth and Garnet, Asteria decides to use Pearl as bait to get the remaining fighters in. This is of course after Pearl has calmed down some and understands that Asteria doesn't want to hurt her or the other gems. He doesn't want to hurt anyone, and only wants the war to end without bloodshed. He reveals his plans to her, explaining how he will be taking the Crystal Gems into his court along with Pink Diamond's gems, mixing the two together just like he was a mix of the two leaders. Pearl expresses her doubts, both with the gems who had just been fighting getting along, and the fact that Asteria is not actually a mix between Pink and Rose. Asteria assures her that they can learn to get along with help, and that he was very much like a mix between Pink and Rose seeing as they are the same person. This shuts Pearl up about her doubts. And so Asteria goes to his new throne and pulls Pearl onto his lap, having her in her rebellion garb. They need to make it seem like the Crystal Gem's sneaking onto the ship to rescue her was their plan. Asteria knew that Garnet would discount the idea of Pearl betraying them, giving them a strong advantage when it came to getting around her future vision. So a message about a captured and tamed Renegade Pearl is sent out.

Biggs came running up to them with the Crystal Gem's pirated communicator. It had been three days since Rose and Pearl had disappeared. It had been three days since the message from the fusion(/?) of Rose Quartz and Pink Diamond. Garnet hadn't been able to see much with her future vision as none of them could have ever seen this coming. What she could see wasn't good, and while it seemed like no one was shattered, many of them had been captured in the last few days. Bismuth could do nothing but worry and wait. They couldn't find their resident renegade anywhere, and none of them knew what to expect from "Asteria". She had asked Garnet her opinion, and the only thing the other gem could think of was some kind of heinous forced fusion. They knew that this was a dark and uncertain time, they knew that things were not likely to go well in this situation, but they fought anyway. And then Biggs, with her misty eyes filled with tears, handed her the communicator with another video from Asteria to all Earth channels.

Pearl sat in between Asteria Diamond's legs, a hand bigger than her entire head curled around her neck and up her chin. It was clear she was being held in place, and with more than the strong hand and sharp claws threatening her. Her eyes seemed hazy and far away, and she stared resolutely at the floor. Bismuth was aghast for a number of reasons, but a big one was her eyes. There was no spark of fire in them. No sparkle or otherwise rebellious look. She looked like-... like a pearl. Asteria Diamond spoke of their disobedience like it was utterly trivial. Like the entire rebellion was not only not a threat but something that would soon be neutralized. But instead of threatening them or ordering her troops to fight them once more, she reassured them that they would not be shattered. That there would be no need for them to be shattered. But the Diamond's "reassurance" only made Bismuth's mouth dry with horror. The Crystal Gems don't need to be shattered because they can be tamed. She could do nothing but watch and try not to gag as white claws and pink fingers traced over Pearl's gem. The Renegade shuddered and whined at the intrusion of the Diamond's power, her hands tightening in her lap, her eyes screwed shut, her body folding in on itself the best it could. But it was obvious she had long stopped fighting the control. The Diamond pushed, and the rebellious pearl shuddered and went lax, a low keen the only thing to show her discomfort. The Diamond cooed and pet her like she was a dog finally giving in and submitting to its abusive master. Bismuth didn't want to know how much Pearl had been touched and tortured to get her to this point. This was the fate the new Diamond had in store for them. To Bismuth, it seemed worse than a fate of shattering. But as the horrific message ended, there was only one thing on her mind. It looked reversible. Maybe not completely, but it was obvious that unlike what she had heard of White Diamond's mind control, Pearl was not completely a shell of herself. At least not yet. She turned to Garnet, who was clutching herself as she stared in open-mouthed horror. She snapped her out of it and got her to check her future vision. It didn't exactly look good for them, but there seemed to be a high chance they could get Pearl out, along with sabotaging the enemy. However, there was also a chance they would fail, that Pearl would already be too far in the Diamond's control, and they would end up captured. Seeing few other options, they planned their infiltration.

Asteria Diamond makes it clear that Pearl is fully allowed and even encouraged to fight the prejudices of other gems. After Pearl stabs the first gem who won't back down when she told them to, most of the others fall in line. Especially when her Diamond backs up her behavior. The gem was out of line, and Pearl ensured she knew that.

Pearl is seen as off by other characters because she is processing the change in owners and orders. Asteria takes the time to put a whole bunch of fail-safes into any direct orders so that Pearl can get around them if she needs to. Having all of these extra what-if's and stuff makes it a whole lot more to process, and Pearl will often use times when Asteria has used her powers on her to sort through stuff. She appreciates having the owner given power to circumvent her orders, and she also appreciates the concreteness that Pink/Rose often lacked, but it's still a lot.

Rumors say Pink Diamond and Rose Quartz didn't fuse. They melded. Instead of their forms becoming one, able to separate if they wish, their gems melded together and they beget an entirely new being.

(This concept was based very very loosely on this fanfic. It's not all that similar in terms of plot, but it is very good!)

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Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Baby Blue Protocols

(Please note that this was written without having actually watched Arcane and before season 2 started.)

Becoming a father changes Silco in ways no one could have anticipated, certainly not himself. But it had changed him, and with that, it changed the underground. Silco by no means stopped being a dangerous man, but he focused more on making the world better for Jink than he did on his own goals. From there comes the Baby Blue Protocols. Silco comes to rule the underground even more than he did before, and with that comes the strict rule that nobody touches his daughter. Even those not directly under Silco's rule come to respect this. Things change as Jinx gets older and is able to defend herself; if she starts a fight, then of course, the other party can retaliate, but everyone still understands exactly who they are dealing with and who stands behind her.

Things get messy when time travel becomes involved.

Vander and Powder wake up in a version of the Lanes they don't recognize, and anyone who sees them coming immediately runs away. Even if they weren't faced with Vander back from the dead, nobody wants to deal with getting too close to Zaun's princess while she's so small and fragile. Eventually, Sevika shows up all grumpy about having to deal with this mess, grumbling about them scaring the shit out of half the Lanes and bringing them to Silco. Vader is, of course, on high alert, trying to be prepared for anything through his old heartbreak, but Silco is kind with Powder and cordial with him, if not a bit cold still, and Vander allows himself to relax slightly.

And then Jinx jumps down from the rafters, and things go to shit again.

Arcane Vampire au

Zaunites are vampires and Piltes are hunters. So Jayce is a human and Viktor is a vampire, Caitlyn is a human and Violet is a vampire, ect. The two cities are much more insular which changes politics and such.

Universe A)

Viktor never left Zaun, but somehow him and Jayce still end up meeting. In the end Jayce sets up a secret lab in the undercity where him and Viktor can work. Viktor struggles to feed himself since hunting in the state he is in is almost impossible, so Jayce allows him to feed on him in return for help with his work. They become very close over time, even with the huge amount of stigma a relationship like theirs has. Jayce maneged to keep Viktor a secret, but then one day Caitlyn is at his door and he knows he needs to figure something out quick. Thankfully he had thought of something like this happening and has a semblance of a plan he can throw together. He asks Viktor if he trusts him, which of course the man does, and he gives him a quick apology before shoving a gag in his mouth and attaching him to the wall by his brace. Viktor is trying to trust, trying not to panic, but he hates being helpless, and this is basically his worst nightmare. Jayce makes sure he isn't hurting in the position he's in (it's actually pretty comfortable, it stretches and decompresses his spine in a way he didn't know he needed), before going to let Caitlyn in. Except Caitlyn isn't alone. Caitlyn has fallen into a secret affair with Vi, but now the girl is injured and she doesn't know where else to take her. She's hoping that if she covers her mouth then she can get away with making sure Jayce won't ask questions by promising not to tell about his secret lab to her parents. And for a while it seems like it might work, but then they see the gaged vamp hanging from the wall. And like hell is Vi leaving one of her people here to be experimented on by a Piltie, and Caitlyn understands that this is a person Jayce is doing experiments on. Vi wants to do a jailbreak immediately, but Cait manages to talk her out of it. 1, she's injured and the whole reason they are here is for medical attention. 2, Caitlyn knows Jayce, the man is practically her brother, and she knows that if she can convince him that vampires are people, he won't keep experimenting on them. She wants to try and do this without a fight, but it's also a huge risk. He could tell her parents; he could try to hurt Vi if he finds out what she is; there are so many things that could go wrong. But even if they free this vamp Jayce could just capture another, so she has to at least try. All of these plans would have gone better had they not discussed them in Viktor's presence. Viktor waits until Vi has gotten medical care to take out his gag since his hands aren't tied up and interjects into the conversation. There are a few minutes of confusion and panic from both sides, but eventually, they all figure out that they are all on the same side.

Universe B)

Viktor was a part of the Hounds pack up until his death. He ran away to avoid being killed by Silco's goons, and somehow meets Jayce. Jayce, of course, wants to help, but if he is seen doing so, it will cause all kinds of scandal. So he ends up pretending to keep Viktor for research purposes. The lab is locked, and anytime anyone wants to enter, they have to let him know so that he can "secure anything hazardous." So he has time to help Viktor put on his gag and situate him in his restraints. And nobody can try and say having the vamp doesn't do anything, because Jayce and Viktor work so well together that "Jayce's work" jumps in productivity and such. Of course everyone assumes that it is because he is experimenting on Viktor, not because Viktor is also a brilliant scientist. Several people see Viktor over the years. Both Himerdinger and Mel are unnerved by him. Himerdinger has tried to convince people before that Vampires are people, and hasn't made much progress. He hates seeing Viktor because he knows that his student is experimenting on a man, and there isn't anything he can do about it. Noxus also has much more lax ideals about Vampires, and while Mel knows better than to try and speak out in that area, it still unnerves her to see Viktor. She can imagine the pain that Jayce puts him through, and she doesn't like thinking Jayce capable of such things. Caitlyn has of course seen Viktor before, but she was never sure how to take him. Of course, then she meets Vi and understands that Vampires are people, and then she feels sick thinking of the poor, thin, sick-looking vamp that Jayce has kept locked in his lab for years. She wasn't planning on saying anything to Vi; she knew she would just get mad about it, and there wasn't anything they could do about it, but then, for their plans, they realized they needed something from Jayce's lab. And Caitlyn tries to warn her, tries to infuse that Jayce is a scientist and not a vamp-friendly one, but Vi doesn't really understand until she sees the man that was practically her brother gaged and hanging in a laboratory. At this point she's ready to fuck the plan, but before she can Viktor has tapped some instructions to Jayce. Jayce locks the doors at Viktor's command, not that the girls know that, and tries to ask Caitlyn what she's hiding from him. Caitlyn is trying to doge, scared that he knows Vi is a vamp, and keep Vi from pouncing on him as he goes over to mess with Viktor's restraints.

Don't meet your gods

(Please note that I have not fully watched all of Arcane.)

Season 1 Arcane ends up with visitors from an alternate timeline/the future. They end up with several different people from different walks of life, but they all treat Viktor strangely. Viktor believes that it is because of his disability, but in reality, they hear Jayce the Defender call him Viktor and realize that they are in the presence of the Machine Herald in human form. He is basically a god where they are from, and they don’t know how to handle meeting him in the flesh.

Isha Bunny's Adventure

Isha ends up in a modern au. Since she's not in her alternate body it is not difficult to convince them that she is from an alternate universe. They care for her while they try and find a way to put her back, but the more they get to know her the less they want to send her back. They get her a talking tablet to help her communicate, and some of the things she says can be... concerning. Like talking about how hard Vader can hit, about being in the habit of watching his body language to make sure he wasn't upset, just in case she needs to dodge. She is, of course, referring to Warwick, who does not have full control over his bloodlust and actions, but they do not know this, and with Vader having had an instance of domestic violence in the past with Silco, he knows he is technically capable of hurting his family even if he loves them.

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

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

Asteria Diamond: Jasper and Pearl (part 4)

Jasper takes her place under Asteria Diamond fairly well, especially when the Diamond's power is used on her, but she does not adjust to the Crystal Gems and their ideas so easily. There are a few skirmishes here and there, just enough to have Jasper get a taste for Asteria's brand of punishment, but things really kick off when Jasper insults Pearl. Pearl, having just gotten concrete confirmation that she was allowed to defend herself, waits her out for a moment before summoning a sword and proofing Jasper with a single swipe. She goes to her Diamond to make sure she isn't in trouble and to ask what to do next, and Asteria decides it would be best to beat out the more violent prejudice sooner rather than later.

Asteria, with pearls permission, tests something that they think Rose had done on accident a few times. Pearl is given an order to go along with her fight, which means any time she might have slipped her coding automatically corrects her, keeping her from getting as hurt in the fight. The advantage is slight, but enough to beat Jasper. So Jasper reforms in an arena with Pearl at the other end, waiting for her. They spar three times, Jasper losing all three times. The first time Pearl just poofs her again, the second time they spar for a bit longer so that Pearl can get a good grasp of her fighting style, and the third one is just Pearl making an example of the buff gem. Seeing as Jasper is one of the most powerful gems on the ship everyone learns that day not to mess with Asteria Diamond's Pearl. Jasper admits that Pearl is a strong warrior, but that is as far as she goes. She still has many negative beliefs about others.

Next time Jasper acts up, horribly insulting one of the Crystal Gems which quickly gets physical, she is told by her Diamond that her punishment would be handled by her Pearl. Jasper isn't thrilled, but she's not as insulted as she would have been before Pearl defeated her. Pearl was waiting for her in a sparring room. She was told that she was allowed to move around and be defensive, but she couldn't fight back or summon her weapon. She isn't happy about this but doesn't have time to complain as Pearl immediately attacked. She was using a rounded blade so her strikes hurt, but wouldn't slice through Jasper's form. She took the beating for a while, but eventually she got fed up and fought back. Pearl immediately stopped the fight and chastised her, instructing her to put her hands through the holes in one of the walls. Chains fastened themselves around Jasper's wrists, diamond hard, and Pearl gave her a few good wacks before leaving. After a while she came back, and they did it again. Eventually Jasper stopped trying to fight back, and was worked until she dropped. Just barely not poofed, but exhausted enough that she laid down on the ground and gave up. She half expected Pearl to keep hitting her, but after a few fairly soft thwacks her surrender was accepted. Pearl sat on her back and started to talk to her as she messed with her hair. The action made her want to growl and puff up, but by this point she had learned her place. Pearl talked about her lack of respect for others, and how it all came from a lack of respect for herself. Jasper wanted to deny it, but she was too tired to fight even a verbal battle at this point. Pearl talks her through some big thoughts, before just staying silent. Most of Jasper's hair is braided by the time she is strong enough to lift herself, and Pearl instructs her to leave her form how it is and rest for a few cycles before returning to her for the last of her punishment. Jasper knows better than to fight it, and does as she is told, returning to her bunk room. She settles into her cubby, ignoring the stares of the other gems around her. One of the other Jaspers bothers her, i.e., is worried about her, and Jasper, practically the gem equivalent of half asleep, gives a concise version of events of what happened to her. To the much smaller and weaker Jaspers it sounds like absolute torture, and even more rumors spread about the ex-renegade Pearl. Seeing such a huge gem, a Jasper warrior no less, return from her punishment with a bruised form and an elaborate design weaved into her hair is terrifying. No one has seen Jasper look this beaten before, not even after huge battles. And everyone knows you don't mess with a Quartz's hair unless you want your hands to get cut.

After taking a few cycles to recover, Jasper goes back to complete her punishment. The Pearl exsplains that she will poof her, and gives her specific instructions on how she should regenerate her form. After she was poofed she could smooth over the damage, but she must make some change to her form to show Pearl that she understood her punishment. If Pearl approved of the changes her punishment would be over and her new form would be shown to their Diamond. Pearl told her to take her time, and then poofed her. When Jasper returned she looked fairly similar to before, the main change being the pink diamond symbol on the front. It was still pink and still a diamond, but instead of straight edges between the points each side swooped in, giving it a concave look. It took a moment, but Pearl quickly realized what it represented and found herself pleased. It was a diamond star. Pearl praised her for her choice, and told her to go show their Diamond for final approval. Jasper wasn't sure how to feel at the Pearl's praise, frustrated about how much she liked it. She pushed off the nagging thoughts of Pearl's words and went to show her Diamond her form.

(Something like this for Jasper's new symbol)

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Part 6