What led to her deciding to become a villain? How did her friends react? is this before or after the death of Gugu? If Jentry's the villain, who is left to challenger her- Stella? Michael? ED?
I really should make a proper post explaining this AU, huh? I've been far more active in discord than here lmao.
Small warning, my AU sketches are mostly drawpile doodles, so there are some things that look awful right now that I plan to redraw sometime soon.
Anyways! We'll start at the beginning. Spoilers, of course.
What Stayed the Same?
Episodes 1-5 remain completely the same with the main exception of Jentry taking things to heart more than she does in canon.
Gugu revealing she's hidden a huge secret from her her entire life (basically), Riverfork's focus on Jentry's past mistakes, and then the students turning against her when it's revealed she was the one who caused the fire cuts a little deeper than it did.
What Changed?
Episode 6 is where I really break away from canon in this AU.
By this point in time, Jentry has noticed Gugu's habit of lying to her, noticed the way she shifts the conversation when it comes to things like the Emperor's Robes. And it's pissing Jentry off.
She just wants the truth! She is tired of being so hurt in this place where she's suffered so much trauma. When she's certain she's alone, she trains herself and tries to feel out the limitations she has, which inevitably leads her to becoming stronger than her canon self (or, at the very least, she has a deeper understanding of her powers).
She's also got Kit on her tail the entire day, trying to talk to her and yet constantly being interrupted. Skip ahead and she's rushing into the giant cowboy to set it ablaze. As happens in canon, Jentry's locket is destroyed, but in my au, it's a little different.
I heavily picture Jentry bending back while in midair, inhaling as much air as she can (air that is tainted by smoke and flame). Her locket floats up, beginning to be consumed by the flame.
And then the thread/rope piece snaps.
Jentry jerks forward to curl into a ball, screaming until she can’t scream anymore, letting herself cry and feel.
Her powers lash out and the locket is snapped into two before being consumed by the flames. She is transformed by the very powers that she so despised.
First Steps into Villainy
When Kit saves her, she recognizes immediately that he has lied to her the entire time, and she's furious. She shoves him back, yells at him to tell her the truth. To Kit's credit, he does. The entire truth, what he can tell her in their current situation, anyway.
She studies him after he's finished talking and asks, "Is this what you've been trying to tell me all day?"
"Yes. I've been trying to talk to you alone, but." he'd gesture with his hand. "Clearly that didn't happen."
Then Jentry reaches forward, cups his face into her hands, and asks him slowly, "Do you swear to tell me nothing but the truth? Do you swear to never betray me from this point on?"
You see, Jentry messing around with her powers led her to discover that she has the ability to make others swear oaths that are then magically enforced. Whoever breaks the oath is killed.
It is considered to be her first real step into villainy here.
But Kit doesn't mind. If anything, he is overjoyed as it means she intends to keep him around, regardless of his true self.
The episode plays out the same - Kit disappears (only after Jentry tells him to text her that night) and Jentry goes home.
Into the Zhong is really where things take a turn for the worse, for Jentry's mental health and her future. See, Gugu hiding the whole Mr. Cheng issue was bad enough, but discovering that she's also cashed in a favor to have some shapeshifters lie to her to cover up yet another lie makes Jentry freak the fuck out.
Making a long story short (because this post is already pretty long), Jentry refuses to go back to Gugu's place and instead goes to Kit's. There, she plots her next steps, which she is quick to follow through on.
For starters, she's so sick of Mr. Cheng by this point. He's messing with her, he's messing with Kit, and he's something that Gugu should have dealt with but didn't, leaving Jentry to clean up her mess.
So Jentry (in her worsening mental state) decides she doesn't care anymore. She uses Ed's huge platform (which he was reluctant to help with but went along with regardless) to issue a warning.
Everyone in Riverfork needs to evacuate, or they will be burned alive within it.
Jentry's friends obviously try to talk to her, but she warns them again to leave before she sets the whole town ablaze; nothing is stopping her, and Riverfork certainly didn't have a good enough reason not to burn it down.
Most people think Jentry is just crazy, bluffing. No way she'd do that... right?
3 days later, Jentry begins to burn the place down. She does this in a calculated manner, burning only one edge of the town and moving the fire somewhat slowly so those who were finally realizing that she was being serious could escape.
Stella's parents forced her to leave, she was not given a choice.
Michael tried his best to pull the 'This isn't you' card, but Jentry merely responds that he's right. This isn't the Jentry he knew.
The Jentry he knew has changed into a whole new person.
Michael ends up injured, but not dead, and his parents pretty much take him while he's unconscious and books it. By the time he wakes up, they're settled in a new town and the news is reporting the massive fire that has spread across hundreds of miles; 15 towns were directly effected, with many more witnessing side affects.
Believe me when I say Michael tries to get Stella involved, to go back and fight for Jentry. However, their friendship is not as strong, and witnessing Jentry actively hurting people has changed their viewpoint of her. Stella is nice, but Jentry hurt Michael. That alone speaks volumes to her changes.
Back in Riverfork, Jentry taunts Mr. Cheng out. As a means of further mocking him, she is wearing the Emperor's Robes, albeit they are more tattered than before due to a mini fight between Jentry and Gugu.
Jentry, of course, won. If there is a canonical method to trapping a ghost, Jentry did that to keep Gugu out of her way.
While Jentry is far more hardened here than she was in canon, she is still very empathetic to what happened with Xiao Lan and Cheng. So, Jentry revives Xiao Lan here.
This is not a favor to Cheng, nor is it done with good intentions. Jentry actively knew that pulling someone from the dead can only lead to misery.
She wanted Cheng to suffer for what he did to her.
So she brings Xiao Lan back, only to falter when she sees how scared she is. How desperate she becomes. At some point, Jentry's anger cools and she helps Cheng become his human self again, then buries both Xiao Lan and Cheng (with Kit's help).
The mogui is burned before it can get a word out to Jentry, meaning that she does not, in fact, find Moonie. Since I have a post showing that Jentry would not take kindly to her mother being alive in general (since again, a big lie Gugu told), it is safe to say that this is for the best.
Now, Ed frees Gugu and they try to get to Jentry to either convince her to go back to her normal self or to take her down in the event she refuses. Jentry, angered by Ed's betrayal, freaks out so much that he runs off (similarly to when they fought, but he's actively afraid for his safety and Jentry is not holding back). Gugu ends up once more sealed away, her words falling on deaf ears.
Business as a Villain
I call Jentry a villain in this au for a reason, which are heavily showcased in these doodles:
Jentry is not a good person in this AU.
After defeating Cheng and burning Riverfork to the ground, she makes something similar to the hidden Daoist market that we saw in Episode 6. Lots of shops, lots of illegal trade, lots of violence.
Jentry and Kit take up residence in a much nicer home, the only one still standing after the big fire. They set up operations there, which involve extortion, intimidation, and, most entertainingly (to me), games.
She is, in essence, a mob boss. She maintains control over various properties, runs illegal and legal businesses to expand her wealth, and resorts to physical violence if crossed.
Those who lie to her are given two chances to tell her the truth; if she asks you a question and you lie, that's your first strike. If she asks again (to confirm) and you choose to lie again, she becomes violent. Unless you are her spouse, the second chance (if the victim chooses to lie) will result in maiming or death.
As an example (as I discussed this within the discord), Jentry uses Kit or other people close to her to feel out for spies or those who wish her harm. She was told a girl who she had befriended, Mary, was a spy sent to kill her. Jentry asked Mary once where she was - Mary lied. She called Mary over and threatened to physically harm her if she did not tell the truth. Mary lied again. Jentry proceeded to keep her promise, harming her and ultimately killing her. Mary's friend, who was also a spy, begged for forgiveness and was tossed into the games.
The Games
So, what are these games I speak of so fondly? Why, child games turned gruesome. Call me edgy, but I'm just having fun!
You see, Jentry grew a bit bored, and despite what she's become, she's still Jentry. She loves karaoke, hanging out with friends, all that jazz (just uh... don't betray her... ).
Darling Darling - This game is a horrifying twist on Karaoke. Music will play over speakers that Jentry will sing to. In an arena below her, 'players' (prisoners aka people who have lied or tried to backstab her) are forced to keep track of the music. Why?
During her singing, Jentry will use her powers to create those chains we witnessed in canon and will effectively use them as whips. If a player is hit, they tend to either become gruesomely maimed or are killed on impact. The winner is the 'Darling' of the game, and can have one of two endings depending on Jentry's mood. Either they are shuffled back to their cell to await the next game, or they are burned alive by Jentry.
Free Fall - In a series of platforms that hang from the ceiling, players are placed on the lowest level platform. They must make it to the top, which becomes increasingly difficult due to the platforms shrinking the closer to the ceiling they get. To add difficulty, the lowest platform drops to the ground after a certain period of time, and Jentry will be dancing with one of her spouses, causing shockwaves to be released, shaking and tipping the platform. It is every player for themself.
An Arm and a Leg- This game is specifically for Kit and is typically reserved for those who have tried to backstab Jentry or get her killed. It is a simple card game with high stakes. Players bet a body part, and if they lose, they lose the body part. Stakes start small - teeth, nose, eyes. Then gets bigger - fingers, arms, feet. Those who win don't really win, obviously. Kit is very good at the game and has never lost.
Other games include Red Light Green Light, where Jentry uses her powers to try and make the players flinch (those who do are killed), and a few others that I forget at the moment or will discuss in a separate post.
Jentry plays these games sparingly, mostly because she doesn't want to run out of 'players', but also to create hype when the next game comes along.
There is so much more to this au that I've been turning over in my head, but I cannot think of much more atm AND this post is rlly long. But I hope you guys enjoy my insane AU!
