Caen's Lair

Archive of My Own

Please peruse at your own leisure! Do direct any complaints at Tump for giving me ideas and any praise to me for having such good ideas.

(as always, dates are given in german standard d/m/y)

leave a light on for me

08.08.2024-????

A story about a haunted house and dealing with the past. Originally this was meant to have the Woman in White as an actual ghost, but I couldn't very well do that after I'd put together that she's Lia, not Rin. So abstract bs it is!

love letters from the other side of a canyon

04.01.2023-23.07.2024

A full length fic following Silicia from her starting at Frinet to the beginning of EXE1 in 2020, focussing mostly on her relationships with Mira and the CIECE (+ Erik) kids. As close to canon as could be arranged in most cases, although the characterisation of Mira runs fairly counter to everything previously assumed. As canon is still unfinished as well, some things are outdated but too baked in to change like the main facility being in Minnesota instead of the tentatively canon Alaska. The fic's working title was originally 'women :)', and stayed that way until 21.03.2023, although Caen had been considering a similar title to the final choice since 15.01.2023.

untitled

20.06.2024

A short ficlet set during EXE4-1 which follows Rin as she walks out on Tump & co. to find Lia.

Meanwhile the world goes on

29.03.2024

A short fic exploring an alternate dynamic for Cris and Tex, featuring Rin as a savior of sorts. The title is from Mary Oliver's Wild Geese.

YAma nashi, Ochi nashi, Imi nashi

29.10.2023

A Le Tex Halloween ficlet set in 1829 in which Le Tymp and 04 are resurrectionists supplying corpses to doctor Pristum, and Le Tymp gets a little fixated on his new assistant Tex. The title is 'yaoi' written out, implying that the fic contains neither climax nor punchline nor meaning, which it indeed does not.

Kings Among Runaways

10.10.2023-????

A short, unfinished fic expanding on something previously only imagined as a mid-2000s teenager AU for the CIECE kids. Written in short instalments with very little planning from Rin's POV as she and her friends navigate growing up without much support. The title is taken from On The Bus Mall, a song by The Decemberists.

summer's freckled knee

17.09.2023

A short ficlet trialling a Silicia/Mira college AU in which they are britisch and also sort of academic rivals. The title is taken from Don't Carry It All, a song by The Decemberists. The lyric suggests taking a break from your struggles in the peace of summer, and doesn't quite fit the ficlet. Originally it was intended for a longer fic, which would focus in a bit more on summer as a theme and on disrupting that peace of letting it take you away, but in the end having this ficlet done precludes the longer version of the AU from being written (at least by Caen) and so it couldn't be helped.

untitled

31.08.2023

A super short drabble that quickly outlines the idea of Cris emotionally becoming Pristum.

untitled

14.06.2023

A very short drabble that depicts a scene between the CIECE members as children while at the facility. It was directly prompted by a discussion of what they would wear as teenagers/young adults if it weren't for the horrors of canon. In it Alec criticizes Tump's choice of t-shirt - a reference to theoretical children's book Albert and Tumpy.

eucharist

22.02.2023

A short drabble loosely reinterpreting the ritual Pristum attempts to make the users into suitable vessels, which is very akin to a christian eucharist. It features Tex being turned into a vampire by Pristum via blood drinking, which even in the original Dracula is likened to christian rituals. It isn't explicitly shippy, but inarguably sensual enough to suggest it, which made it the first of Caen's fanworks Tump disapproved of. The title is hopefully self-explanatory.

Fuck it, we Ball

08.12.2022

A decently long Silicia/Mira ficlet that is a volleyball AU, inspired by Lily dropping the line "That was some good sporting on the sports ball!", which features in the ficlet, in a conversation about how nonsensical professional sports are. In it Silicia is the coach of the Blue Teacups and encounters her ex and former friend Mira, now a player for the notoriously shifty Moustachioed Machines, at a game. The ficlet is Caen's first real attempt at a heavier AU, although it maintains the vague shape of canon relationships between the characters. The title is a reference to the meme/phrase, which usually means going all in on an idea without a second thought, but is here taken literally to be talking about sports balls.

Like cymbals crashing, like molars gnashing

01.12.2022

A decently long Silicia/Mira ficlet which depicts their entire relationship in a few short vignettes. It envisions them as college friends/girlfriends and explores the way that one moment reframes years of relationship in Silicia's head when she understands finally what kind of person Mira is. The ficlet is sort of the prototype for the later longer fic ‘Love letters from the other side of a canyon', and the first but not last Silicia/Mira focussed fanwork. The title is taken from Constellations, a song by The Oh Hellos. In the song the lyric describes the singer’s inability to express something.

untitled

01.11.2022

A very short drabble that is an attempt to get more of a handle on Rin as a character. It followed on the heels of discussion about how little time had been so far dedicated to Rin in the games. It misses the mark a bit, but arguably is a first draft more than anything.

September Child

27.10.2022

A decent sized ficlet from the perspective of Silicia, set during the time she supressed Tump's memories and hid him away from the facility. It was influential in how irl!Tump later referenced this period in time, and brings up him meeting the Amino Squad. It contains nothing overtly distressing, but a certain inevitable doom hangs over the whole scene. The title is a reference to the idea of a summer child, someone naive and sheltered. September, as the beginning of autumn, is meant to hint at innocence being spoiled, peace being disrupted. Tump was conveniently born in September.

And Your Stomach Goes Hollow

25.10.2022

A two part drabble likening Claire/Loli Tump's being integrated into the system to Erik/YanTump's experience, written before EXE3's Pristum arc revealed more about his treatment in the Tump Inc. facility. Trigger warning for dehumanization. The title is taken from New River, a song by The Oh Hellos. The full lyric is 'And your stomach goes hollow at the thought that it could swallow you whole', referencing the idea of being eaten by something much greater than you.

All I want is a fight to fight (anything but quiet)

12.10.2022

A decent sized ficlet that is a bit of a character piece about Alec/Plectum. Takes place in EXE3 before Pristum is killed, but also reflects on his childhood and especially his strained relationship with Tump. The title is taken from The Quiet, a song by Troye Sivan.

untitled

29.09.2022

Another short Le Tex drabble from the perspective of Le Tymp, and set sometime between both of them being created and Pristum being freed by the users in EXE3, as the scene takes place on his abandoned throne. Their being in close proximity suggests it might take place during EXE2.

untitled

04.09.2022

A very short Le Tex drabble, which essentially cemented the ship as an in-joke. No specified setting, it's just a snippet which explores their dynamic.