New Story: Ash and Amber

Jumping in with a new story that undoubtedly will not be everyone's cup of tea (and that's okay!) but that I've been having so much fun with that I wanted to share:

Ash and Amber: Chapter 1

If you want to just dive in, go ahead and read! Or if you want a overly-rambling and lengthy explanation/background...keep reading below: 

Now, you may find yourself asking "What do you mean this might not be my cup of tea? I'm already in a space that's focused on a very specific genre."

To which I have to admit that this is fanfiction. 🙃😅 Specifically Witch Hat Atelier fanfiction. 

However. Hear me out! It's a (kind of) alternate-universe prequel (set at least 20-30 years before the actual story) and the main characters are an original character of mine and a (kind of) side character whose background we don't know a lot about yet who is canonically hypermobile (and maybe has EDS?) but who is also a paraplegic in this iteration of the story (which I hope grabs everyone's attention!! and is part of why I'm posting here!! the other part is that ao3 is down lol) 

As it's loosely an AU, I've taken liberties with how some parts of the magic system works (like with Bel's sealchair and smoke sculptures, which honestly aren't explained canonically yet anyway, at least not that I've seen, although I'm three issues from being current, so it's possible I'm just not there) and some of the universe's history. 

The biggest deviation is probably that in my story the Brimmed Caps aren't some shady underground sect (for lack of a better way to describe them), but rather a (maligned? maybe? read and find out!) faction of a fracturing Witch society that's kind of in a political/ethical powder keg with the other faction, the Pointed Caps. 

Bel himself has some changes, as in this story he's only in his early twenties (as compared to maybe his fifties or sixties in the manga), and I tried to backwards characterize him in the sense that perhaps the (albeit imagined lol) events in this story helped shape his overly whimsical and playful sides and also helped form his ideological stances (basically it's all a trauma response? maybe??). I also changed the design of his sealchair (the in-universe version of a wheelchair) to better match how I wanted it to move in later chapters (to kind of mimic how forearm crutches move, in a sense). Sorry that I'm not an artist, I tried to describe it, but you may have to really put your imaginations to the test in order to envision it! 

I think that's enough rambling...

For anyone who deigns to read it, I hope you enjoy it! If you have questions, please let me know! If you have any thoughts in general (good or bad, just be kind!) please also let me know those! 

P.S. to Lovis/DevoGirl/Lee/any other moderating individual: I feel like I remember reading a fanfic or two way back in the day when I first discovered PD and the original stories blog...but if fanfiction isn't allowed, please let me know! Happy to remove if needed 🙂