Febuwhump Day 20: Truth Serum
Fandom: Linked Universe
Approx 1300 words
Rated T for alcohol consumption and mature themes (politics and violence, not sex)
(References a lot of my own backstory ideas for the boys from other headcanon posts I've made, and other writing.)
In which the Chain tries to relax, and a few lips get too loose.
“Frankly some of you should be grateful you don’t have a Queen,” Twilight said, and Link leaned back in his chair and reconsidered if he really wanted to keep up with the amount of liquor the others were having.
They were already a pitcher of arkhi and two bottles of wine down, most of which had gone into the older men’s glasses. Link was drinking, but he’d been drinking kumis and beer most of his life because the water wasn’t safe. It was getting better, slowly – as far as he could tell, monarchy and Hyrule seemed to make the world repair itself when they were aligned – but that wasn’t Twilight’s experience.
Wasn’t the rest, either.
“Why not?” Wind retorted.
“A queen’s at least better than a King,” Time said. He spoke over the smaller boy, his chair tilted back and a small smile on his face as he looked into his nearly empty cup.
“There’s no reason a Queen’s better than a king. Rusl doesn’t trust her, and he did know the old King.”
Link frowned. “Is it usually a King causing problems for all of us?” he asked. It was true a King had been why the younger Zelda was put into a centuries long sleep, but...
“King Daphnes did what he could to save Hyrule,” Wind insisted.
“I know King Rhoam was trying...” Wild added.
Warriors – sitting between Twilight and Time, and Link was beginning to suspect this was for the best – chuckled. “We haven’t had a King in a long time, but everyone does say it was a Queen that set us up for where we are now.”
Time raised his eyebrow. “That sounds like a bad thing.”
“Oh, it is.”
Link looked desperately at the bar. Legend and Sky were getting more food for their table, but they’d gotten caught up talking and didn’t seem likely to return soon, but by all the Gods Link hoped they would before this got any further.
“I told you,” Twilight continued. “A Queen isn’t better!”
“Does your Zelda know you think that?” Four asked.
“Yes!”
Time burst into laughter. “I imagine she takes that well.”
Twilight slapped one hand on the table. “She doesn’t have to take it well. It’s not like she can argue, they haven’t found the path into the castle grounds.”
“Is your Rusl one of the Sheikah?” Warriors asked, and Link rapidly tried to remember who the Sheikah even were. Judging by the look on Wild’s face, this was bad.
“No. Why?” Twilight made a face. “The Sheikah nearly died out, their village was destroyed.”
“Did the Royal Family kill them off?” Time asked.
Wild put his face in his hands. “Hylia’s fucking tits,” he muttered and pushed his chair back from the table. He got up, and the other three didn’t even notice. Wind followed. Four, seated next to him, continued to watch with a look of near fascination. Link was pretty sure he was drunk as well, given his size.
“Why would you guess that?” Twilight retorted.
Time shrugged, as if it didn’t matter. As if there was nothing unusual at all about his guess. As if he wasn’t about the say the worst thing Link could imagine: “I’ve seen what they did for the Royal Family.”
Warriors reached for the pitcher of wine again, and Link debated if he should take it away before they dug the hole deeper. “For them or to them?”
“For them.” Time blinked and offered his cup. “Why would you ask about what they did to them?”
“Zelda spent nearly four months not revealing herself again in case Impa was working with the Witches to try and kill her. It wouldn’t be the first time one of the Sheikah killed a King.”
Link’s throat caught, but that, of course, was the moment Legend and Sky returned. He waved for them to sit down and Legend shut his mouth on the obvious question and laid down the basket of bread before sitting to whisper in his ear.
“What the fuck are they talking about?”
Link swallowed. “Their royal families and the Sheikah, now.”
Time, unhelpfully, laughed again. “Did someone start telling that story then?”
“What story?” Sky asked.
“That it was a Sheikah who killed the King.” Time took a long drink and wiped his mouth. “I mean, I know Twilight comes after me so I suppose the distrust of the Royal Family would stick after what Zelda’s father did.”
“What did he do?” Legend asked. He looked like he wanted to regret it immediately, but stuck it out and kept his face even.
Time stared blindly into his cup and shrugged. “He tried to change Hyrule to suit himself. He killed Zelda’s mother and sisters and left her alive thinking she couldn’t inherit the goddess’ blood because he considered her a son. He was wrong, obviously.”
“Didn’t you say he was still alive?” Twilight asked.
“Oh, he is, but he can’t do anything.” Time gestured broadly with his glass, drunk enough he nearly spilled. “Zelda would hardly let him try even if he could. He narrowly survived an attempt on his life and stays in his rooms now.”
“By the Sheikah?” Warriors guessed.
Time, unnervingly, laughed again. “Well. Sort of. What about yours, Twilight? Did Rusl kill the King?”
Twilight sighed. “Yeah, him and a group of his friends. They were helpful when Zant took over, because that meant they could get me into the castle and help out but Zelda knows they exist now so it makes it harder.”
“So better for them you’re with them and she can’t retaliate,” Time pointed out.
“Can’t she just tell you to stop?” Warriors asked. “Like – wait you’re not in the army are you?”
“No, of course not.” Twilight rolled his eyes and shot Warriors an annoyed look. “Why are you?”
“What?” Warriors blinked from him to the rest of them. “It’s not like I had a choice, I’m the eldest son. All of us belong to the army.”
Four sat up straight. “Wait, belong to, like you’re stuck there?”
“Yeah, like that.” Warriors toasted the smaller man. “You’re too young still, aren’t you?”
“For another year or so, but I’m not sticking around for it.”
“Who would?” Legend muttered. “Hylia’s cunt, Wars, just leave.”
Warriors’ cup hit the table heavily and he spread his hands with a dark smile. “I can’t, Legend. It’s not allowed. If I go anywhere, my mother and sister goes to jail, and me too if I’m anywhere they can find me.”
Time put his hand on Warriors’ shoulder then. He closed his eyes with an almost pained look, and Link swallowed the lump in his throat.
He knew of people trapped like that. Usually young women in the cities, caught by charity that turned into demands they work off the debt before they could leave – but what debt had Warriors had? Was it something about the war?
He couldn’t ask. Wouldn’t. He could already tell the question had left him cross and angry, and Time pinched the bridge of his nose.
“We all have duties we can wind up trapped by,” Time said. “Fuck this...”
“Sure you’re trapped by loyalty. Not all of us get hung up on that,” Twilight snapped. “Did Zelda buy you off?”
“She gave me Lon Lon Ranch, if that’s what you mean,” Time said. He turned a deceptively mild smile Twilight’s way. “Mostly because I needed some protection after she blamed her attempt on her father’s life on me.”
“On you?” Warriors’ chair hit the ground with a snap. “Why?”
“It was convenient. Everyone already knew I’d lost my mind in the last battle.” He touched his face, over his scarred eye, then shook himself off. “Excuse me, I should go to bed. You, too.”
Warriors didn’t need more convincing. Twilight muttered something rude under his breath, and left not for the bedrooms upstairs but the stables. Link let go of a breath he didn’t realize he was holding and swore.
“How much of that do you think they’ll remember in the morning?” Legend muttered. “Fuck. Hyrule, what the fuck else did they even say?”
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Obsessively reading everything in game by and about Gortash and the dude is
On a philosophical trajectory that ends in immortality thru technology / the machine
Doesn't have an original bone in his body, but he can backwards engineer anything
Halfway to being a decent scientist but doesn't have the education and is deeply impatient
Overconfident in the veracity of his own results and conclusions
Accurately predicted that the brain would metamorphose and become more difficult to control and then did nothing about it
Outsources his propaganda / arts and humanities
Charming, but he got there in a Pavlovian way (learned from trial and error and probably doesn't consciously know how he does it)
Vindictive af (learned / reinforced)
Darwinian (in the worst way)
Sociopathic, obviously, but extremely Rationalist about it
Never asks questions he doesn't know the answer to and probably thinks this makes him sound more authoritative
Completely incompetent as a strategist (but doesn't know it)
Not nearly as narcissistic / full of himself as he pretends to be
Thinks what he wants is praise but it's never enough because it's not actually what he wants (he wants to be wanted)
Bane makes him feel wanted (conditionally)
Durge made him feel wanted (unconditionally)
Understands intellectually that Durge got ambushed, but he feels abandoned
See also: thematic parallels between Gortash and
Silouv Yali (the Adamantine Forge & the construct Grym)
Oliver (in the shadow-cursed lands)
Astarion and Gale, obviously
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Danny slowly lowered himself down onto Luther's newest death machine thanks to his bat themed grappling hook. Making special care not to let his heart beat or his lungs take in breath lest Superman hear him and intervene, he used his intangibility to sink into the machine itself to steal its parts.
Yeah, so a full white outfit wasn't the best choice for stealth, but it was better than dressing like a traffic light. Plus the black gloves and boots made him feel nostalgic. It had been only seven months since the accident that took his life, so much has happened since then.
Biting his lip as he smiled as he began gathering up parts and wires with his intangibility and placing them into his bag. Lastly he grabbed the power source, which-surprise, surprise, is kryptonite.
After he grabbed what he wanted he quickly stuck a note on the maintenance panel of the machine for when someone opened it and discovered it now had a large hollow space, then simply sank down through the floor and flew to freedom.
Danny sighed once he was clear. Or, at least he thought he was.
"Young man." Crud. Danny turned around to see big blue floating behind him in all his red underwear glory. Great. "I believe you have something that doesn't belong to you." The Kryptonian said, looking pointedly at the large chunk of kryptonite Danny held under his arm.
Instead of an excuse, Danny got an idea. "Uh, hello? Recognize the mask?" He said, gesturing to his face.
Superman narrowed his eyes, staring at his face for a few very long seconds and just as Danny was about to cut his losses and book it out of there, a look of recognition graced the heros face. Sweet. "Thats Nightwings mask."
"Yeah. Just smaller."
Superman nodded, then asked, "Why aren't you wearing a bat symbol? I wouldn't have thought you were a thief if I knew you were working with Batman." Danny had to fight to keep his face neutral.
"I haven't decided what symbol I want on my suit yet." And that was true. Danny wasn't sure he wanted any symbol at all. The mark of the bat would mean that he belonged in the batclan, and Danny was a lone ghost. A wandering spirit if you will. He didn't belong anywhere.
Some small part of his mind that sounded suspiciously like Jazz said that might be one of the reasons he's been behaving so poorly lately, but he brushed it off. Superman just nodded sagely. Danny doubted he actually knew how Danny felt and was just nodding along to appear sympathetic. Adults lie, and they lie often. Danny kinda hated them for it.
"Well, I'm kinda on a deadline, so I should get going. Crime to fight, goth furry to annoy, you know how it is." Danny said, waving the arm that wasn't carrying the kryptonite around in the air before using it to readjust the bags strap on his shoulder.
"Alright," superdude smiled warmly, "Tell Batman I said hi." Danny grinned back at him as he jogged away, "Will do!"
That went better than expected. Thank you, Nightwing~! The boy thought to himself as he ran off into a secluded area and turned invisible and flying away.
Just imagining Supermans face if- no- when Batman finally breaks and tells the Justice League about the little menace thats been stealing all his and his sidekicks stuff for the last few weeks nearly sends Danny into hysterics.
Danny still has Robins sword mounted above the fireplace in his favorite safe house in Costa del Sol. Red Hoods "favorite" motorcycle was in its garage and Red Robins wrist computer and chest harness thing were mounded in a glass case next to the first thing he stole from them:
Batmans utility belt.
Sure, its a pain to remove all the tracking stuff from them, but man is he proud of those accomplishments.
Still. Its better to leave Metropolis after he got caught by Superman. Its only a mater of time before someone finds out about the old switcheroo he pulled at the last museum robbery and that combined with the bodies of those creepy rich guys he had killed (human trafficer buyers) well, surely Batman has noticed he had been gone for a while and would pick up on the matching M.O. in Metropolis.
Time to bounce.
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