The Wolves Of Warwick

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.

Shimmer Eyes (original notes)

Several people have time-traveled back into their past bodies. Vander is not one of those people, but he does become very concerned when Powder falls mysteriously ill. She's feverish, screaming, talking gibberish, and her eyes flash a sickening purple.

Her siblings are also very worried, but nothing they try makes her better. His patrons notice how stressed he is, but it isn't until Sevika catches wind of the state of his youngest that something comes of it. She goes into a strange frenzy, refusing to tell him what is going on, just insisting that she knows what is wrong with Powder. Vander doesn't trust her, but he's at his wit's end, so he doesn't punch her in the face when she bundles Powder into a blanket and takes off down the road. He couldn't make sense of what either of them were saying, Powder's feverish name-calling or Sevika's perfectly sober name-calling, but at least neither of them seemed distressed by being called Ogre and Jinx. He becomes more and more on edge as they make their way further into Silco's territory, but Powder is the most relaxed she's been in days once Sevika makes some comments about "going to help you feel better and making sure your Dad doesn't stab anybody." Vander didn't think he was known for stabbing people, but if it gave Powder some comfort, he didn't care.

Then they walk into a room with Silco, and he freezes. For a moment, Silco is frozen as well, staring into each other's eyes, but Sevika quickly intervenes. She shows Silco Powder's eyes with urgency, and Vander's panic goes up even further with Silco so close to his daughter. Especially when Silco's good eye widens in shock, and he traces Powder's face with something close to reverence.

Caitvi kidnapping

The kingdoms of Piltover and Zaun have slightly different politics and events. The two are on the brink of war, with Piltover refusing to give Zaun an inch of the power they have a right to. Caitlin is off on a hunting trip or the like when she runs into Vi, and they become close. Vi realizes that they have the perfect blackmail and convinces Caitlin to become their hostage.

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.

Bloody Claws - BlackFoy - Arcane: League of Legends (Cartoon 2021) [Archive of Our Own]

https://archiveofourown.org/works/62257153

Tags and sneak peek below the cut

When the Hound Awoke - BlackFoy - Arcane: League of Legends (Cartoon 2021) [Archive of Our Own]

https://archiveofourown.org/works/62177941

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

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Part 5

Part 6

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.

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)

Part 1

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Part 5

Part 6

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