Escapism
This AU features violence, death, gore, abusive relationships, and brainwashing. Discretion is advised.
This AU is on an indefinite hiatus and will likely never be finished.
Escapism is SPECTRA!Chai AU in which canon diverges at the very beginning of the Kale fight. Instead of fighting 808, he has Chai deal with her. Everything goes downhill from there.
Now working for Vandelay Technologies as the ambassador for Project Armstrong, Chai lives a tightly scheduled life. Not only does he do marketing-related things, he's essentially a jack of all trades, doing numerous different tasks all over the island—including dealing with any rebels.
The gang is in for a rough ride in their mission to get Chai back, and put a stop to Kale and SPECTRA once and for all.
The AU was conceptualized back in March of 2023. The first chapter of the first story for it was posted on the 15th of April that year. Since then, the story has changed a decent amount, rendering said story no longer canon and needing to be rewritten.
Stories
There are currently two stories available to read, alongside the non-canon one.
In a Blink
Details the events of where canon diverged. The summary is as follows:
Chai lets go.
Kale makes a choice.
808 gets scared.
Peppermint is conflicted.
Macaron does his best.
Korsica can't think.
CNMN is outside.
This is how Kale won—and the gang lost everything.
You Can't Get Hurt by the Things You Don't Know
Goes into detail about Chai getting brainwashed by Kale. Takes place over the course of a month and a half-ish following In a Blink. The summary is as follows:
Chai wakes up. Then, he wakes up again. And again. And again.
The End of the Rockstar
This story is no longer canon. Takes place seven months after You Can't Get Hurt by the Things You Don't Know. The summary is as follows:
Things have been coming up Chai for the past seven months! He got a functioning arm, a brand new job, achieved his dream, made some friends...it's everything he could ask for and more! Sure, things aren't perfect, but he never expected them to be.
So when things suddenly start going wrong, it stings. Things keep breaking down and getting destroyed; friendships are tested; and old faces begin cropping up more and more frequently. It's like the whole world got flipped on its head.
The more uncertain things become, the more unsure Chai himself is. But he has to keep on keepin' on. For the company.
Trivia
- The AU's name comes from the song of the same name from Steven Universe.