I Love This So So Much! When You First Drew It I Read It Like A Hundred Times And Skipped Around The

I love this so so much! When you first drew it I read it like a hundred times and skipped around the house in joy. The expressions are soooooo good and I just. Love it. Thank you Ray!!!

for @blueisquitetired's fic Silver Bloodstains! spoilers for chapter 18

something about a heartbeat

Aaaaaaaand I beat it. Nice. Going to do actual writing tomorrow lol

Oh side order is out huh. Whelp.

if emmet in faeU could turn into goop like ingo, what color would he be? (Also- if changlings could be made with shadow, I can’t help but wonder if they could be made of light too?)

Emmet would be a very light silvery! Aaaaaaalmost white but not quite.

You’re on the right track too! Emmet would be made of moonlight- a much softer sort of light then Akari’s holy light!

I’ve actually played around with the idea of a reverse AU quite a bit and might write a fic about it after everything is said and done lol. Lemmie dig out my notes….

Key differences between changeling!Emmet and changeling!Ingo:

-Emmet carries around a lot less inherent angst. He doesn’t think he’s a good person- but he doesn’t really dwell on it. It’s just a fact of life in his eyes

- Emmet takes matching his brother verrrrrry seriously. He spent a good chunk of their early life bemoaning that he couldn’t be exactly like Ingo. Ingo eventually offered the mirroring thing as a compromise that Emmet accepted.

- Emmet swings wildly between- keeping human form up as long as humanly possible and refusing to switch back even if he’s long over extended himself (he wants to match Ingo, it’s unfair he can’t match Ingo all the time), to being in changeling form as much as he possibly can. (So he can be picked up and carried around. When he’s in moods like these Ingo will have to carry him home because he refuses to be human for longer then necessary)

- He likes being carried a lot a lot. Like, changeling!Ingo enjoys it immensely but changeling!Emmet will be a little brat about it and DEMAND to be carried around. Elesa jokes about him being lazy but it’s more about the extended contact

- Another difference is that he likes that he’s changing Ingo…. While also feeling pretty guilty for feeling that way. Ingo assures him that he is in no pain…. but sometimes Emmet worries. He’s not sure what he would do if he actually hurt Ingo.

probably hide under the bed and refuse to come out.

- Probably is a lot stronger at night and weaker during the day- but the darkness of the subway tunnels help shield him from the sun

- how him and Ingo met is also completely different but I’ll save the exact specifics for later. Just know that they get adopted much younger in this AU ;)

ABANDONED WIP WEDNESDAY

This is the second part of the last WIP Wednesday, which I can't link here because I'm writing this in the past and it hasn't been posted yet. I'll fix it later.

Here's the final WIP that I'll be posting in this major batch- I've hope you've enjoyed them this past month or so!

Anyway, this is the outline of the entire fic overall, as well as a scene from later on in the narrative!

Heroes and Villains- Ingo is a Dad Now (Part 2)

Length: 2,132 words

Rating: G

No archive warnings apply

Akari has light powers. (Get it? Light? I’m hilarious) This is a VERY powerful ability as you can do things like lasers and their ilk- but also illusions and invisibility. She can manipulate light which means she can make you see what she wants you to see. The commission obviously really wants her abilities, but she is a stubborn authority defying teenager. With amnesia. Her first memories are waking up in the commission building with them being oh so worried about her :(( and her catching their bad vibes immediately. She plays along though, before eventually breaking out and running away. She ends up being taken in by the (Pearl clan equivalent, I forgot what it was called lol) a few weeks after Ingo and immediately reverse adopts him due to the shared amnesia. Her claim to fame is “well he could be my dad. We don’t have any proof either way >:))” (they don’t particularly look alike) She also super wants to be a villain- but Drayden’s organization is not letting the teenager fight for them. (Except in very specific situations where she is in no danger they just need her illusionary abilities- and Ingo is there to make sure she doesn’t run off to punch someone)

the main plot line is (humorously) her relationship with Emmet. She’s able to easily connect the dots about him being Eeletross and is very not pleased with having a hero that can rat her out hanging around. Of course, they end up getting along just fine, especially because Emmet thinks she’s just paranoid and there’s no way the commission is after her

and then she goes missing

Ingo  is besides himself, praying desperately that it isn’t the commission- but as time passes it becomes increasingly obvious that that’s what happened. Emmet is still in denial of course, and in his free time is looking for the devious criminal that stole his niece away (part of him is tempted to report the crime to the commission in order to get more help looking for her- but he promised, he’s not gunna break that promise) Something that makes this even sadder is that Akari had confessed to Emmet at one point that it was an inevitably. She’s knows that she can’t hide forever, that the commission will find her and take her away eventually- so she’s just enjoying the time she has now before it’s all taken away from her.

And then, months after Akari goes missing, Emmet is assigned to help a new recruit with physical training. It’s Akari.

Emmet finds a way to pull her aside and goes “what are you doing here??? Ingo’s worried sick! I thought you hated it here!” But Akari just kinda looks at him and is like “how do you know I don’t like the commission!?! Are you a mind reader??? And who’s Ingo?”

and then Emmet gets to have a crisis because a) she was right all along and b) she got her memory wiped again

Turns out that this is just a thing that happens with Akari!! She’s very hard to manipulate the old fashion way so they’ve had to resort to memory wipes! If she was anyone else they would declare someone as difficult as her just not worth it- but Akari is powerful. Her illusions are much too useful to just toss aside- so they keep going at her, locking her up under tighter and tighter security every time she escapes, becoming increasingly frustrated that despite the fact she has literally no memories that they cannot erase her subconscious feelings about the commission… which is that she very much does not like or trust them. They just need to find a way to break her, and then they will have all of this power at their disposal. It might take a while but they can do it. They’re quite patient after all.

Pen: Question: does Akari meet Ingo or smokestack first?

Not sure! Since this is from Emmet’s POV that stuff isn’t really important? He just finds his amnesiac brother and the next day sees a teenager crawling through the window via fire escape

I think she just showed up one day, amnesiac teenager on the run who got taken in- and then immediately imprinted on Ingo

Like, Calaba or something was supposed to take care of her but she declared Ingo is her dad now actually and they all have to just. Roll with that.

Other fun things to consider:

Emmet having no idea how to tell his brother that he found Akari in the hero commission

Emmet breaking Akari out and then having Akari just casually let slip to her dad that she’s so glad her uncle is a spy that could break her out

they actually break Akari

Vision is just our eyes taking in light bouncing off of stuff, so if you could bend that to your will….

This isn’t just a hyper realistic illusion that can affect one person- she can make illusions that everyone sees and no one can tell the difference

Her power is terrifying and the commission needs it

unlike most of my AU’s she’s a legit teenager here Complete with the teenage invincibility concept backed up by the fact that she’s super powerful, has amnesia, and is living the yolo life because she thinks she could be spirited away any minute

No one lets her be a super villain so she does that on her own. She was climbing in through the window because that’s just ‘how she is’. When she’s comfortable she has zero filter, self preservation instincts, or craps to give. (This terrifies Ingo)

It’s not like she goes to public school either- she can’t. She’s completely homeschooled and while she does well at that…. gestures she has free time

Everything she does is underlined with the knowledge that she is constantly minutes away from “death” (an erasure of personality and memories) so it’s not worth wasting time

She grows attached quickly but is extremely flighty, constantly putting on a don’t care attitude. she’s terrified, but what else is she supposed to do? Nothing she does really matters in the long run- the conclusion is still the same

I like the thought that she was an orphan kid. Ran away from every orphan program she was ever in and lived on the streets. Tuning her powers on her own. It’s why she’s got wandering feet even when she has a home (plus, being as hardened to societal programs makes her horrid at listening to orders)

Akari initially suggested that Ingo was her dad as a joke basically. She wanted to hang out with him more and that was the excuse she gave. She didn’t expect him to actually start acting like her dad and is high key terrified about how attached to him she is at this point

And, as promised, the small scene:

(Set after Ingo has met up with Eelektross and Akari several times in secret during Akari's on the field commission training)

The apartment is as silent as it gets when Ingo sits at the kitchen table, head in his hands and sigh on his lips. Melli had gone over to a friends place for the evening and Ingo didn’t have any plans that could delay this… conversation any further.

A conversation with himself. One that he has been putting of for quite a while.

Letting out a groan, Ingo slumps so his head is resting in his arms, the darkness helping him confront the mental beast head on.

No use putting it off any longer.

He starts with the facts, lining them up mentally like a legion of toy soldiers. Heroes are bad. Akari is a hero. Akari isn’t made bad by the fact the commission took her in- she’s still Akari and he still loves her.

Which means…. Some heroes can technically be good.

Ingo groans again as he lets his head drop all the way to the wooden table. He’s barely four facts in and he’s already completely over this “conversation” ….but it needs to be done, and Ingo doesn’t trust himself to try again if he aborts now.

Where was he? Oh right.

Some heroes can technically be good.

Right that…. He shifts tracks.

Eelektross hates him for killing his brother.

Honestly, Ingo can’t even blame him for his anger. If some hero came along and murdered Emmet, Ingo is fairly certain he would react the same way.

Elektross no longer thinks he killed his brother.

Which is because- No, not yet. Ingo doesn’t want to touch that one yet.

Elektross no longer hates him, and apologized for accusing him of murder.

Which is… much more then Ingo was ever expecting really. But more baffling-

Elektross has been taking care of Akari and taking her to see him.

Why?? How did he even know Akari was his child in the first place?? According to Akari that was the first thing he said to her- asking her what was she doing there and that telling her that her dad was worried. But not many people knew about Akari in the first place- or at least not in relation to him. The only real people who would know Akari would be the other Hisui residents and-

Nope. Backtrack.

Electross had been taking care of Akari and had been going behind the commissions back in order to let Ingo see her. Some heroes can technically be good. Elektross is technically a good guy.

Oh great, now Ingo feels nauseous. Squeezing his eyes shut eyes even harder, he try’s to get his roiling gut to accept the conclusion he’s come to.

But it’s true! Elektross has proven himself trustworthy time and time again- from the aforementioned Akari watching to just the fact that he HAS to know Ingo’s secret identity in order to know that he’s Akari’s father…… and Ingo hasn’t had the commission knocking on his doors. Yet another part of his mind whispers- but he has no idea what eelektross would gain by waiting, so he puts that thought to the side as well.

Which leads him back to…. Elektross knows chandelure is alive. Elektross knows Ingo couldn’t have killed chandelure because he saw his face. Elektross recognized Ingo. Elektross must have known Ingo before his memory loss.

Oh he hates where this is going. Full of nervous energy, Ingo begins to pace around the kitchen, anxiously biting at the skin around his fingernails.

Elektross- No. Reroute.

Ingo did not steal chandelure’s powers- Emmet says he has always had them. Chandelure’s powers are extremely similar to Ingo’s. Ingo appeared shortly after-

Nope nope nope nope. Ingo falls into a crouch as he begins to clutch his forearms, desperately holding back his frantic breathing. He needs to- He needs-

There’s Lichtenberg scars on his arms. Emmet hadn’t wanted to talk about those.

Ingo finds this route a bit easier to take, his breathing evening out as he releases his death grip on his arms.

Emmet found him shortly after elektross saw his face. Emmet wasn’t surprised by the burn scar.

…Emmet knew Akari was his daughter.

Aaaaaand he was back to pacing, hands flapping in an attempt to rid himself of anxious energy. It wasn’t working.

Emmet was- Ingo was-

Emmet was a good person, which is why he couldn’t be a hero. ….but heroes can technically be good. Technically. Especially if- their parents died when they were pretty young right? So hypothetically…

Ugh no this wasn’t working either. How was he supposed to….

Gray zones. Right. Some half remembered psychological thing that Ingo had no idea where he learned- maybe before the amnesia? Yes so, gray zones. Not everything is black and white. People can change. People can be good people but make bad mistakes. People can be-

Ingo is chandelure. Heroes are bad and if Ingo was a hero then that means Ingo is bad and-

He rushes to the bathroom to throw up, barely having enough time to pull up the toilet lid before puking his guts out. He’s pretty sure he’s crying.

But if Ingo is chandelure that means that-

Emmet is Elektross.

Emmet’s been taking care of his daughter for him.

Something in Ingo gives as he slumps in place, the agony of the previous reveal buried in the wake of the sheer relief he feels at the moment. Because Emmet is a good person who loves Ingo and Akari- and he will take care of her and help get her home.

And that’s more important then anything else isn’t it?

The rest of the night was spent in and out of a long running panic attack over the chandelure thing- but by the time the sun had risen Ingo had mostly made peace with himself. Mostly.

Silver Bloodstains chapter 18: Swanna Lake

Emmet hangs out with his brother and talks to Akari.

ABANDONED WIP WEDNESDAY

This one's a two parter!

Mirror Image was originally going to be a dad!Ingo fic before I decided better of it. I like what I have now more, but there sure is a lot that got scrapped unfortunately.

This post will contain what was written for the first chapter, and the next post will be the overall outline plus one scene set much later in the fic.

Heroes and Villains, Alternate Timeline- Ingo is a Dad Now

Length: 2,000 words

Rating: G

No archive warnings apply

PREVIOUSLY ON- HEROES AND VILLAINS:

*Tragedy struck early last year when famed hero Chandelure perished in a battle against the dastardly Mirror Coat. No body was recovered, but according to the Hero Commission and Chandelure’s former partner and twin brother Eelektross he was all but guaranteed dead.

Yet, not all was as it seemed, as mere months later a new villain arose- one sporting similar powers and going by the name of Smokestack. This outraged Eelektross, as to him it was clear that this was his brother’s true killer- one that had murdered him and stolen his powers for himself. Eelektross declared war on the villain, and swore that he would not rest until his twin was avenged.

That is, until one fateful confrontation let Eelktross see under Smokestack’s mask.

Because what lie under that mask was no heartless killer, but instead Nobori- a scarred amnesiac who emerged from the burning rubble of Chandelure’s battle as nothing but a ghost of a man. A man who was forced to build himself from the ground up, relying on the community who took him in, and doing his best to pay them back for their generosity. And considering that hero skirmishes are the thing that hurt his community the most, his best plan of action was clear.

Now Eelektross, (or Emmet as he is known by in his civilian life) must confront the difficult truth that the world isn’t as black and white as he thought. That villains could be good people, heroes could be bad people, and that he’s been fighting his brother to the death for months now.

But more then that- he just wants to be with his brother again.

Will Emmet manage to confess to being Eeletross? Will Ingo accept such a thing if he did? And will the commission figure out what really happened to Chandelure? Find out in todays episode of…* HEROES AND VILLAINS!

Ingo is alive.

Ingo is alive! Messed up situation aside, that’s the most important part.

Sure, they’re technically mortal enemies at the moment, and sure he’ll probably drop Emmet like a hot sack of coals when he realizes he’s Eelektross, but still. Even if he finds out, (when he finds out, because Emmet can’t keep this secret forever) even if he does disown Emmet, at least he’ll be alive. Alive and happy and mostly safe. ….as safe as an enemy of the law can be.

But whatever! Ingo’s back from the dead and Emmet doesn’t want to dwell on the inevitability of once again losing the most important person in the world to him. He can deal with that later. Right now he’d rather spend whatever time he can have with his brother.

….after he gets back from the bathroom.

Playing with his fingers idly, Emmet really wished Ingo would hurry up so he didn’t have to be alone with his own thoughts. ….but he didn’t want to rush his brother or anything- they’d been talking for hours at that point and taking a bodily break was fine and definitely not an issue. Emmet’s head was just a bad place to be at the moment.

A scrabbling sound at the window caught Emmet’s attention, a humanoid shape huddled behind the curtains. He jumped to his feet as the window slammed open, curtains pushed aside as-

As a teenager rolled into the room.

Or what Emmet assumed to be a teenager. It was a bit hard to tell, as she immediately turned around to close the window behind her- but teenager was Emmet’s best guess. She was a bit on the shorter side with long black hair and a dirty white t-shirt, and when she turned back around Emmet was able to make out large gray eyes. Eyes that grew wider at the sight of him.

“Who-“ “TRAITOR!!” She shouted, before Emmet could get more then a word out. “I HAVE BEEN BETRAYED! FORSAKEN!! FATHER NO LONGER LOVES ME!!!” Dramatically, she crumpled on the ground, limbs splayed and the back of her hand to her forehead.

“Hello to you too Akari.” Ingo quipped from behind Emmet, obviously just coming back from the bathroom. “Why am I a traitor exactly?” “You know what you did!” She shouted, sitting up suddenly- and then pausing when she caught sight of of both Emmet and Ingo. “….ooooor not. When’d you get a clone?” Getting to her feet, she scampered over to Emmet and began to examine him thoroughly, making him feel a bit like a bug. Ingo pulled her back. “This is Emmet!” He told her, a his lips curling up into a little kitty smile. “He is my twin!” (He looked so happy saying that) “Wait really?” ‘Akari’ looked skeptical, and Ingo had to pull her back again before she could enter Emmet’s private space again. “‘Cause I thought you got another illusionist behind my back and I was not going to stand for it.”

“I am Emmet. Not an illusion.” He wished she would stop staring at him. “Who are you?” “Oh my apologies! This is-“ “I am Akari No-Last-Name-Given! Daughter of Nobori No-Last-Name-Given!” She punctuated every word with a dramatic punch or pose, as if she was a cartoon superhero. “I might look small but I’m stronger then you and will beat you up if you hurt my dad!!!” Dramatically, she ended her introduction in some kind of off brand ninja pose- one where she was obviously threatening Emmet.

Ingo looked torn between touched and embarrassed out of his mind. “Akari-“ “Because you coming out of nowhere is super duper sus and Dad is a complete doormat!” “Akari!!” “So if you think I’m gonna just accept you as my unc-“ She let out a high pitched squeal as Ingo grabbed her around the middle, throwing her over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry. “Apologies for Akari! She means no harm- she is simply a bit spirited.” “I DO MEAN HARM!!” Akari kicked desperately in an attempt to get free, but Ingo wasn’t budging.

“….You adopted a kid?” Emmet finally managed, watching his brother wrestle with the strange teenager with obvious fondness. “Ah, well, technically she adopted me but-“ “We’re both amnesiacs with superpowers!!! No one can prove we AREN’T related!!!” “I can.” The teen froze for a moment, obviously processing Emmet’s statement, before- “DANG IT!” And Ingo laughed, a loud mighty sound that Emmet missed. He couldn’t help but feel jealous that this strange teenager managed to coax it out of him, that she got to be Ingo’s family while Emmet was still a stranger. …But the thought was stuffed down almost as soon as he thought it. His jealously was stupid and petty, and not earned in the slightest. If he wanted to be Ingo’s family again he needed to work on it- and being jealous of Ingo’s kid wouldn’t help him get back in his brother’s good graces. If Ingo would even allow him to.

“Alright Akari, Emmet and I still have things to discuss. Why don’t you head back home and you can interrogate him another day?” Plopping Akari back onto the floor, Ingo paused for a moment- before giving Emmet a searching look. “…Assuming you would like to return?” “Yes!” Emmet did his best to keep the desperation off of his face. “Yes I would like that verrrrrry much.” “Excellent!” Ingo clapped his hand together in obvious joy. “Now then Akari, if you will please excuse us…” “Yeah yeah whatever.” With a twirl and flourish Akari began walking backwards to the door, flashing Emmet the ‘keeping my eyes on you’ hand gesture. “Watch yourself strange doppelgänger! I ain’t one to be messed with!” And with that ominous statement she bolted out the door.

“….spirited kid.” “Indeed.” Ingo smiled slightly with his eyes, before turning and gesturing back to the couch. “Would you like to continue our earlier conversation? Or would a change of tracks be preferable?” “Please continue.” Hesitantly, Emmet took Ingo’s hand and dragged him back to the couch. “The breaking system? Yes?” “Ah yes, that was it! So as I was saying…”

oOo

Apparently, despite being Ingo’s kid, Akari didn’t actually live with Ingo. She was technically under the care of some other apartment resident, but had the tendency to climb the fire escape and hang out in Ingo’s apartment. Ingo himself didn’t seem to do much actual parenting, but from the few times Emmet saw the two interact it was quite obvious they were close.

“Akari has amnesia as well.” Ingo explained one evening, as the two worked together to cook dinner. (Emmet wasn’t a cook by any means, but Ingo had invited to show him the ropes- and Emmet would never turn down an opportunity to hang out with his brother) “She seemed to see me as a sort of… kindred spirit, and declared herself my daughter.” “She has good taste.” Emmet joked, and Ingo turned away in embarrassment. “I- I would not say that. I am not-“ He shook his head. “It is… quite lonely living without memories. As far as you know you have no friends or family, and are alone in the world.” There was a pause as Ingo gathered his thoughts, the muffled audio of a neighbor’s radio being the only real sounds left. “Meeting you has been… wonderful- like a soothing balm on my soul. You fill a part of me I thought would never be full, and I cannot thank you enough for that.” He smiled slightly with his eyes, and Emmet did his best not to cry. “I believe Akari’s adoption of me was an attempt to fix a similar issue.”

Emmet, well Emmet couldn’t really imagine that. He had been destroyed when he lost Ingo- but at least he knew what he was missing. Ingo and Akari hadn’t had that luxury. “I am glad then. That you found each other.” He fidgeted slightly. “And I am- being with you is also-“ “I’M BACK!” Akari’s cry interrupted Emmet’s stuttered admission, leaving the man cursing his incompetence with words.

“Welcome back Akari!” Ingo called back, bumping lightly into Emmet’s shoulder with an apologetic look. “Emmet and I are almost finished cooking dinner, would you like to join us?” “Eh depends. What’re you making?” Akari shucked off her shoes and backpack as she stumbled into the kitchen area- making sure to give Emmet a distrustful look. “Stir fry.” Batting Akari’s hand away from the vegetables, Ingo does his best to steer her out of the kitchen. “You will need to wash your hands first though. The fire escape is filthy.” “Spoilsport.” She stuck her tongue out at him but did what he said anyway, running out of the room with her arms held out behind her back.

Dinner was in fact almost done, and in no time at all the three of them were seated together at a tiny table. The food was delicious, and Emmet was happy to spend time with his brother- but he wouldn’t deny that Akari’s glaring spoiled the atmosphere slightly. “Be nice.” Ingo scolded gently, tapping the side of her bowl with his chopsticks. “What?? I haven’t said anything!” “Yes, but you are glaring with the heat of a boiler engine on a steam train.” He gave her a firm look. “And as I happen to quite enjoy his company, I would rather you refrained from scaring him off.” “He’s still suspicious.” She grumbled quietly as she finally looked away, pulling her bowl up to her face and glaring at her noodles instead.

Emmet really reeeeeeeally wanted to fire back that he isn’t suspicious, and that he’s here for perfectly benign reasons…. but he can’t. At the end of the day it doesn’t matter that he wishes Ingo no ill will- he’s still Eelektross and he’s still keeping that secret. In some ways she’s right to suspect him.

So he doesn’t fire back, instead asking Ingo about work, all while ignoring the guilt that runs down his spine when Akari shoots him another glare.

He deserves it anyway.