#auuugust!cc

Prompt list transcript

Lorei's List:

Royalty AU

Mafia AU

Social Media AU

Family AU

Urban Fantasy AU

Idol AU

Childhood Friend AU

Detective AU

Role Reversal AU

Witch AU

Horror AU

Post-Apo AU

Violet's List:

Western AU

Academia AU

Coffee Shop AU

Sci-Fi AU

Stuck in [Place] Together AU

Neighbor AU

Arranged Marriage AU

Hollywood AU

Fallout AU

Bodyguard AU

Modern Domestic AU

Vampire AU

Mini-Game (Picker Wheel) Preview

Preogress sketches :3

I was the youngest in our family. The baby.

Takeru is the firstborn, and he’s got Mama’s gentle face and her hair color, but bright, ice-blue eyes from Papa's left eye. He’s sunshine and storms all wrapped in laughter and band-aids, the kind of brother who'd pull pranks just to make you laugh after crying.

Ken is next, light-blond like Papa, with the same sharp gaze, but both of his eyes are the same shade of sky like Takeru. He rarely spoke much as a child, always watching, always thinking. But if you so much as bumped into me on the playground, Ken would appear like a guardian knight ready to pummel anyone who layed hands on his sister.

They were always there. When I scraped my knee, when I drew on the walls, when I cried because I missed Mama during school.

My papa owned a barbershop in town, not the kind you expect. It was clean, modern, with a faint scent of sandalwood and cherry blossoms, and everyone in town knew him as the silent, handsome man who didn’t talk much but gave the best cuts in the city. Men respected him. Women tried to charm him. But his heart was already taken completely, permanently, by one woman. My mother.

Mama was stunning. And strange. She loved old movies and kept weird snacks in her purse. She was full of jokes and stories and used to sing while brushing my hair. She said if she has to live many lives, she would always choose Papa in every single one. I never really understood what she meant until I was older.

Sometimes, she and Papa danced in the living room, no music, just the sound of her laughter. He always looked so soft then, like all the hardness he carried melted away in her hands.

Takeru and Ken adored her, of course. Takeru was her partner in crime, always helping her prank Papa, who never got mad, just sighed and pulled them into a hug. Ken was quieter, but he followed her everywhere like a shadow. She used to joke that he was her silent knight.

Uncle Nobunaga visited often. I remember he always brought fancy sweets and would sit next to Mama like a bodyguard. He used to ruffle my hair, and I knew he loved Mama deeply in a way only a big brother could. Papa respected him, though they never agreed on anything.

We were the happiest family. Or at least… that’s how I remember it.

Time passed. I grew up. I fell in love with books, music, and later enrolled in school. But I never stopped watching my parents. I watched how Papa would hold Mama’s hand whenever he could. How he made her tea every morning and never let her carry anything heavy. How Mama would run to hug him when he came home, even after decades together.

Mama got sick when I started high school. The kind of sickness where the doctors whisper and avoid your eyes.

Papa never left her side. He closed the salon for a few weeks, grew thinner, quiet, like a ghost in the shape of a beautiful man. He still kissed her hand every morning, still held her when she couldn’t eat.

Takeru and Ken almost dropped out of college to help Papa when the hospital bills was becoming too big, but Papa was against it, saying they didn't need to stop school. We were very lucky because uncle Nobunaga stepped in, supporting us with anything we possibly needed.

We had hope at first, but then… one winter morning, Mama didn’t wake up.

Takeru cried openly. Ken stormed out of the room. I stayed with Papa. I remember how he held her hand long after she’d grown cold, whispering,

“Please come back... I don't know what to do without you.”

And then... he began to fade. Not all at once, but slowly. Like watching a flower wither over years.

Papa still opened the shop. Still made breakfast for us even though we were grown. But he became even less talkative. He stared out the window more. He wandered. He looked through old photo albums like he was trying to crawl inside them.

Takeru cracked more jokes than ever. Ken started helping him more around the house. I started making tea the way Mama used to.

We tried our best to hold him together, and he held on for a few more years.

But he started to forget things when I turned twenty-five. I found him outside during the first snowfall of winter. He was sitting on the porch with a coat over his shoulders, staring down the road.

“Papa, it’s freezing,” I said. “Come inside.”

He smiled softly. “I’m waiting for your mother. She usually comes home around this time after visiting the market.”

I couldn’t speak. Ken, standing beside me, clenched his fists and silently guided Papa back inside. We couldn't tell him that it has been years since Mama left us.

Papa got worse ever since. He forgot birthdays. He’d ask, “Where are the boys?” even when they were standing right there. Sometimes he’d wander the halls, looking for her. Takeru said it was dementia. Ken didn’t say anything, but I saw his eyes water the day Papa asked him, “Have we met?”

He asked where Mama was every day. And still, he waited outside at six o’clock. Every. Single. Night.

Papa died a few months later. He had passed in his sleep, with her picture on his chest, wearing the shirt she bought him on their anniversary.

Maybe he didn't want to live in a world without Mama anymore. Or maybe he felt it was alright now to leave us and follow after Mama. Maybe it was both of them.

A couple of years later, I’m standing in front of the mirror now, in a white dress Mama would’ve loved. Takeru is already crying outside the door, and Ken just poked his head in to say I look “decent”, which is Ken-speak for “perfect.”

But I feel the weight of old memories.

I see Papa brushing my hair with that silver comb. I see Mama humming while setting the table. I see my brothers fighting over who got to sit at the front seat when Papa drive us to school.

They’re gone now, not really gone, but somewhere deep in me.

And I carry them forward, into this new life I’m stepping into.

The doors open.

Takeru and Ken walk me down the aisle. Uncle Nobunaga, despite his old age and silver hair, still looked as regal as ever sitting at the front row. He seemed proud and happy.

I see the man I love waiting for me at the end.

And I swear… I feel my parents hands on my shoulders.

I smile.

Because I am their daughter.

I was loved. So deeply, so fiercely, so completely.

I hope I will be loved by my soon-to-be husband, as fierce as Papa's love for Mama.

You've finally chose the king…

Months have passed since the crown settled on Leon’s head, and since Vernard walked away without ceremony, without goodbye. The other princes weren't happy with this decision, but they understood that the world in which Vernard was born wasn't kind to him at all.

But fate has a strange way of stitching things back together—not in the palace halls, but in the silence of snowfall, in the laughter of children, and in the warmth of a shared home.

The first time you saw him again was in the northern woods. You’d come to deliver books to a small village, years after leaving the palace behind. You were no longer “Belle.”. Just you—a bookstore employee, a woman with regrets folded neatly into the corners of your smile.

And there he was.

Vernard.

Leaning against a tree, fur-lined cloak dusted in snow. His white hair had grown longer, tied back messily, and his green eyes—still impossibly clear—met yours with a stillness that stole your breath.

“…So,” he said softly, “it took you this long to find me.”

You whispered, “I never stopped looking.”

He stepped toward you. His hand rose, hesitant, but you caught it—pressing your cheek to his fingers.

That night, in a cabin with only candlelight and old blankets between you, you told him everything. And he listened.

Not as a prince.

Not as a pawn.

But as Vernard.

Years Later —

A snowstorm curled around the house like an old lullaby. Inside, laughter danced through the wooden halls of your small home.

You sat curled on the couch, stitching a scarf. Your daughter, Veloria (6), braided her father’s hair with all the precision of a determined squirrel. She hummed as she added small wildflowers.

Your son, Finn (4), sat beside Vernard’s leg with a wooden lynx toy, trying to make it climb his father’s boot.

Vernard, seated calmly on the floor, eyes half-lidded, said nothing—enduring the chaos of fatherhood with the same calm he once held during state trials.

“You’re very patient,” you teased, sipping tea.

“I’m outnumbered,” he replied dryly.

“Would you rather face the court again?”

“Only if they braid better.”

You laughed—and he looked at you like he always did in private: as if you were the only sound he ever truly wanted to hear.

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐸𝑛𝑑 🤎

“No thanks,” Jin declined with a chuckle, “Besides, if my bodyguard was as lovely as Lisette here, I wouldn’t want to avoid her.”

Lisette snorted as she picked up her menu and scanned it. “I don’t think you realize how ridiculous you sound saying something like that looking the way you do.” The three brothers were all wearing caps pulled low over their foreheads, sunglasses, and fluffy scarves that covered their chins and mouths. As far as disguises went, it wasn’t anything new or particularly ingenious (or innocuous), but it was the only way Sariel would let them go to a bar.

“What, you don’t think we pull this off?” Nokto tugged his glasses down to wink at her.

Without looking up from the menu, Lisette deadpanned, “No.” Clavis snickered and couldn’t resist gently bumping into her side. Lisette grinned, hiding it from the other two with the menu.

“You are a tough cookie,” Nokto acknowledged, sounding more amused than pit out.

“The toughest,” Lisette confirmed.

The conversation drifted to other topics: their next performance, the change to the choreography, and the silly things their other brothers have been up to as they ordered and waited for their food. Lisette chimed in with a comment here and there, but for the most part, she let them catch up and unwind. Clavis wouldn’t have minded if she participated more, but she looked content listening to them, and he knew she was being considerate of their downtime together. If she wasn’t there due to her role as a bodyguard, then maybe . . .

Clavis was all too aware of the line of heat coming from her arm, draped over the seat the way a boyfriend would casually show off that the person next to him was his. She’d taken her jacket off and left it at the hotel, leaving her muscles on display while she was in nothing but a pair of very nicely cut slacks and a cropped tank top. And even though he was wearing sunglasses, he couldn’t risk turning his head to admire the display too often otherwise Nokto and Jin would notice. If only Nokto had been late like he usually was, then Clavis could have sat across from Lisette.

“ . . . ordered another new outfit,” Jin was saying. Distracted, Clavis only caught the second half, but he knew exactly what Jin was talking about.

“Oh dear, I wonder what happened to his first one,” Clavis simpered. Lisette huffed a tiny laugh around her burger, causing Clavis’ grin to widen even further.

“What exactly did you do?” Nokto leaned across the table conspiratorially. “We didn’t get to see the damage. Chevalier didn’t seem too surprised, of course, but he refused to let us look at it.”

That was because Clavis stole it shortly after Chevalier discovered the wreckage. Well, he had Cyran steal it, because that was the only way Lisette wouldn’t find out. He had plans for that outfit, and he desperately wanted to surprise her as well. “That’s for us to know and you to find out,” he said cryptically.

“We?” Jin looked back and forth between Clavis and Lisette. “Don’t tell me you roped Lisette into it.” He sounded impressed. And why wouldn’t he be? What other bodyguard would willingly participate in his pranks? There wasn’t a single one cooler than Lisette.

“I did,” Clavis replied casually, knowing the more he did so, the more likely they were to doubt it, “In fact, it was her idea in the first place.”

“Uh-huh.” Lisette caught on quick, tone sarcastic to help sell it, flashing Clavis a subtle smirk. He couldn’t ask for a better accomplice.

“Riiiight.” Nokto sounded dubious. “It is odd that you went after a different target than usual, but you’re telling us, what, you happened to get the only bodyguard in the world whose as bad as you when it comes to pranks?” Clavis let his grin widen, inviting intrigue. Nokto sighed. “I know you’re messing with us somehow. I’ll figure it out before you set your sights on me, so you better think twice before you make me a target.” Psh. As if a warning like that would ever discourage Clavis. But now, Nokto was appraising Lisette in a way Clavis didn’t like (he couldn’t see his eyes but he could feel the way he was looking at her). Nokto propped his chin in his palm as he addressed Lisette, “So, what else have you supposedly convinced Clavis to do?”

Lisette opened her mouth to answer, but Clavis was spared from potential embarrassment when a pair of teenage girls nervously approached their table. “Excuse us, um,” the braver of the two spoke softly, low enough to avoid drawing attention from nearby patrons, “you wouldn’t happen to be part of Octarchy, would you?”

See? The disguises hardly worked. Maybe Sariel should be more focused on fixing that. Not that Clavis minded having the opportunity to brighten the day of loyal fans.

“You’ve got good eyes,” Clavis complimented, tossing them a jaunty wave. “Clavis Lelouch, at your service. My less talented and charismatic brothers, Jin and Nokto.” They griped at his comment but happily waved at the girls. Playing up their brotherly rivalry was always a big hit. On cue, the girls quietly squealed, nervously hushing themselves before they got too loud.

“We appreciate the candor.” Jin placed a finger over his lips in a playful shushing gesture. “We actually snuck out. Hotel food isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, and Yves never orders anything good from takeout when it’s his turn. He’d be upset if he knew we were here.”

“No, yeah, of course, we don’t want to cause a scene,” the other girl assured, giggling with nervous energy, “We just wanted to say thank you for all the effort you put into your shows. I can’t believe how lucky I was to go to this one, it was amazing!”

“Please let everyone know that you’re all amazing and we love you guys!” her friend added.

“Thank you!” Nokto turned on the charm. “We’ll definitely pass on the message. We appreciate you guys too. Without you, we wouldn’t be able to put in as much effort as we do.”

“Did you want a picture?” Clavis offered. Their meal was basically over anyway-if they had to wrap up early, it wouldn’t be a real loss.

“Oh no, we don’t want to disturb you any more than we have,” the girls declined, “We didn’t want to draw too much attention and ruin your evening.”

Clavis shared a look with his brothers. There was no way they could let a couple of fans go without dong something for them, so they were about to reassure the girls when Lisette spoke up.

“No need to worry. They wouldn’t have offered if it wasn’t okay. And for an entertainer, the greatest honour is being able to give something back to their fans, especially in moments like this when you guys give your direct support.” Lisette smiled warmly at the girls. They hadn’t paid much attention to her until now, and Clavis could see the moment she utterly won them over. “So won’t you let them repay the favour by doing something for you?”

The girls practically melted, giving in and setting up the photo as discreetly as they could. Thankfully, most of the booths beside theirs were empty (exactly why they chose a Tuesday) and the few people around didn’t care, so no one paid attention when Lisette briefly stood up and out of the way and the brothers shed their ridiculous accessories. They all thanked each other one last time before the girls, tittering over their camera roll, returned to their families.

“That was slick,” Nokto said when Lisette sat back down, “Where does a bodyguard learn to sweet talk like that?”

Lisette furrowed her brow in confusion. “What are you talking about? I just told the truth.”

Jin and Nokto did a double take, eyes searching Lisette for any signs of sarcasm. Clavis couldn’t wipe the elated grin off his face if he tried. There was nothing better-as he was just discovering now-than people realizing what an enigma Lisette truly was.

“Clavis, where did Sariel find her? And how have you not driven each other crazy?” Jin asked.

“I didn’t think I’d ever meet someone as pure-hearted as our little Evie, yet here we are,” Nokto said in disbelief.

“Pure, right.” Lisette echoed dismissively. Clavis, the only other one at the table who’d heard Lisette curse like a sailor and seen her climb through the window of a hotel room on the eighth floor while insulting the trap he set up by the door, knew how dubious it sounded for anyone to call Lisette pure. But as someone who’d heard her laugh like a little kid and respond with honesty every time she spoke to Clavis like it wasn’t the most frightening thing in the world, Clavis couldn’t help but agree.

The four of them quickly wrapped up dinner after that, redonning their disguises and striking poses as they walked past the table the girls were seated at, earning themselves another adorable round of squealing. Jin and Nokto were grilling Lisette on previous celebrities she’d worked for (something she was incredibly and unfairly tight-lipped about) as they trekked back to the hotel. Clavis, having tried and failed to find out the same thing, made up elaborate stories that Lisette pointedly didn’t confirm or deny, somehow keeping a straight face so the two were left wondering what was real and what wasn’t.

Just a couple blocks away from the hotel, Lisette announced, “We have company.”

“More fans?” Jin sounded unsure, and rightfully so, given the time and location.

“Nah, but just as fun.” Right on cue, a group of men in hoodies and masks sauntered out of a nearby alley, dripping in shadows. There were four of them, coincidentally, and the one that stepped out in front of the others had a switchblade in hand, knife extended in their direction. The others likely had weapons too, then. But when Clavis looked at Lisette, she didn’t appear concerned at all. Her confident smirk had excitement crawling up his spine in response.

Time to see why she was hired as a bodyguard and not a babysitter.

“You guys look like you got a lotta things to hide,” the supposed leader snarked, “And that usually means you got money, too. So why don’t you hand it over all nice and easy and we won’t have to escalate things.”

“Easy now.” Jin held his hands up peacefully. “We don’t want any trouble. Why don’t we-” A blur raced past Jin, cutting off his words. Clavis had been watching Lisette, but even he was surprised at how fast she moved, jumping from stillness to motion with a suddenness that caught him off guard.

She’d caught their muggers off guard too, if the way they didn’t react until she was already upon them was any indication. She disarmed the leader with a swift kick to his wrist, slamming her elbow into his gut immediately after. While he dropped to his knees in pain, Lisette took down the other three in a matter of seconds: she knocked one out with a brutal chop to the back of his neck, downed the other one by juking behind him and kicking out his ankles, blocked the only punch that was thrown at her by the last guy and used that momentum to draw in close to him and judo flip him to the ground.

Four people, all but laid out flat in maybe twenty seconds max. and Lisette was grumbling as she began searching them for weapons, complaining, “First bit of action I get all week and it’s a bunch of two-bit thugs who can’t even provide a decent warm up. What’s even the fucking point if you’re gonna be this weak? Didn’t even know how to properly hold a knife, for fuck’s sake.”

“Holy shit,” Nokto blurted. Clavis refused to take his eyes off Lisette, but in his periphery, he could see Jin and Nokto watching Lisette with shock and awe, the same way Clavis felt when he’d been exposed to her incredibleness.